‘An Interview With Tony Shepherd’ - free
By Daniel Flower | August 4, 2008
When I first discovered internet marketing, the first thing I wanted to know was what OTHER marketers spent their days doing. We all know what makes up IM - blog posting, eBook writing, article writing etc, etc, - but what does a successful internet marketer actually spend their days doing?
24-hours in the life of Tony Shepherd (business partner of Sara Brown) is just ONE thing I managed to uncover when I interviewed Tony, and there’s plenty more fascinating bits of information and insights in what I think is a VERY interesting read.
Find out how Tony would make $1000 in 7 days from scratch, why most JV’s are a ‘pain in the arse’, and why a lack of knowledge in the early days = success.
I won’t go into any more detail here, but suffice to say I expect this to be VERY popular - and best of all it’s completely FREE. You don’t even have to join my list to get it!
=>> Just go to http://www.TonyShepherdInterview.com
You see it’s worthwhile you visiting my blog, and I’ve got plenty more fantastic freebies for you over the next few weeks and months : -)
I hope you enjoy it - and I genuinely think it makes for great reading - but please post me a comment here on the blog to let me know what you thought of it.
Dan
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Basics of FTP - Something I Struggled With For Years
By Daniel Flower | July 26, 2008
Next in my series of videos showing you ‘internet marketing basics’ is this short tutorial on how to upload files to the internet using FTP. This really is an essential skill for any internet marketer to have, and it took me quite a while to learn how to do this as it can look quite daunting - but hopefully this will show you how to do it in simple steps. Please leave me feedback as it is only my second video, and if you have any questions or comments about anything then please feel free to get in touch by leaving me a comment on the blog.
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Feeling Like You Can’t Swim? Then Dive Right In!
By Daniel Flower | July 15, 2008
Until last week I’d never made a video before in my life. In fact as I sat at my computer with my newly purchased microphone and a copy of Camtasia Studio, I felt about as nervous as I’ve ever felt about anything in my life. Silly I know, but trying something new has a habit of doing that. It can instill fear to a point where you end up thinking ‘I can’t do this’ and give up before you even try.
But I’ve done it now (you can watch the video in my post below.) It’s not the best video in the world, and I still think my voice sounds terrible, but I’ve made a video, and I’m confident that I’ll go on to make many more.
What I’m saying here is that when it comes to internet marketing, don’t be afraid to dive right in. If you’ve got a good idea for a product in your head then start working on it right now. Not tomorrow or next week, but right now. The same for a new video, new article, new JV, new blog post, forum post - whatever it might be.
If it’s something new don’t be afraid to try it. You can worry way too much about ‘what might not work’ - the chances are the worries you have WON’T become a reality if you just get up and do it. If something doesn’t work, move on, learn from it, and try again. The beauty of internet marketing is that failure rarely results in great loss. If I set up an offline venture and it failes then I might lose a ton of money - but online it’s different. The stuff I’m working on at the moment will be promoted solely by free methods.
Before I made the video, I was thinking ‘nobody will be interested’, ‘people will find my style confusing’, and ‘I’m not good enough at it yet.’
But all those thoughts are now a distant memory because the feedback I’ve had on it has been incredible. I’ve learnt a big lesson - and that is to believe in yourself and the fact that your own abilities ARE good enough. Even if you’re feeling like you can’t swim in the online world, don’t be afraid to dive right in. You might just be pleasently surprised at what you CAN DO.
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Feeling Lost and Stuck For Ideas?
By Daniel Flower | July 10, 2008
For the past two years or so I’ve felt like this - but in the month since I started this blog things have really started to change. I think it’s all down to a chain reaction of ideas. Let me explain…
Sitting there with nothing is very, very daunting. You have a computer and an internet connection, but you have no list, no product, no ideas for products, and no JV partners. It’s daunting, and you can end up feeling like you’ll never make it - and that you’re firmly on the ‘outside’ of an inner circle.
Now I explained in my last blog post why I think networking is SO important, and it’s mainly through just talking to people that in the last month I’ve gone from having zero product and JV ideas to having more ideas than I have time to implement! Getting yourself known to other marketer’s means that you feel like you’re suddenly apart of something on the ‘inside’ rather than the ‘outside’, and I truly believe it’s something big.
This is powerful stuff - get talking to fellow marketer’s, and before you know it you’re striking up a JV venture, collaborating on a product, or maybe it’s just something they say that sparks an idea for a new joint venture, a blog post, a new video, or even a whole new product.
It could just be something you observe. The other day I was reading through someone’s blog and I noticed a comment from someone that gave me an idea for a JV on a product.
One idea leads to another too. Just by talking to people on forums and reading people’s forum and blog posts it’s absolutely incredible the amount of ideas you can generate. And once you’ve got one, there’s no stopping you. It’s almost like a mental block suddenly unleashes and everything suddenly makes sense…
I am very, very excited by the projects and ideas I’ve given myself!
Stay tuned to the blog and I’ll update you on my progress!
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Are You On The Radar of Other Marketers?
By Daniel Flower | July 7, 2008
The other day I read a very interesting blog post by Graham Cox. He was talking about some advice he recently gave to someone on the excellent Standing Start Profits forum.
The person was asking about how they should start an internet business, and the advice given by Graham that really caught my attention was:
“Build relationships with other marketers. Ring them up, email them, help them out in forums etc, promote their products if you like them, do interviews (I did one with Lee…google “Lee McIntyre Interview” to see how viral its gone.)”
“Get out from behind your computer once in a while and go meet other marketers in person at seminars, workshops etc. They’re far more likely to promote your products if they know you personally.”
“Do what it takes to get on their radar!”
I think this is fantastic advice. The better the relationship you build with someone, the more likely you are to get them to do a JV with you, and certainly joint venture’s (JV’s) are an incredibly lucrative thing. They can give you access to other marketer’s resources - and if you only have a mailing list of 500 people yourself, just imagine if you get JV’s with 5 other marketer’s who each have lists of 500 people themselves.
It’s not just about finding potential joint venture partner’s either. I for one find networking and building business relationships to be great fun, and it’s amazing how much you can learn from other marketers. I also genuinely enjoy helping people, and it’s truly a wonderful feeling to think that you’ve helped someone out.
So my question to you today is ‘are YOU on the radar of other marketer’s?’
Several years ago when I was starting to earn some pretty substantial money online, JV’s were a HUGE part of how I did it.
This time around it’s exactly the same, and I’m currently devoting a great deal of time to networking and helping people out.
Do what you have to, and get involved. Email people, private message people on forums. Meet up with other marketers. Do whatever it takes to get on the radar of other marketers.
Please feel free to get on MY radar. You’re always welcome to leave me a comment here on the blog or send me an email to daniel AT daniel-flower.com
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Do You Know These Basics of Choosing a Domain Name?
By Daniel Flower | July 3, 2008
Having a good domain name that people remember is essential to running a successful website. I’ve seen quite a few people asking about this recently so I’ve decided to make a quick video on the basic principles behind choosing and registering a good domain name. This is my first ever video so I was quite nervous producing this (and I hope my terrible voice is at least bearable for a few minutes lol!) Please leave me comments on what you thought of the video. I am keen to produce lots more videos and I need feedback to help me to do it!
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If You REALLY want it, you WILL get it
By Daniel Flower | June 29, 2008
I’ve just returned from a trip to Wimbledon to watch the tennis. For those of you who don’t know already, I am a huge tennis fan, and I’ve been going for eight years or so now - there’s really nothing like being there!
Tickets are not easy to come by. I had to spend 24 hours queueing for the right to buy a Centre Court ticket - and you do get the distinct feeling that you’re one in a heard of sheep (thousands in fact) - and let’s just say it’s not the most comfortable nights sleep I’ve ever had!
They say that the good things in life are only achieved by making some sacrifices - and I completely agree. If we apply that to internet marketing then the sacrifice is definitely bloody hard work! If you think that building an internet business happens by pressing a couple of buttons then you’re very, very wrong. It takes work, effort, and desire.
The good news is that it’s worth it - and I personally think it’s fun. I’m writing this blog post now, and it doesn’t feel like a chore at all. I’ve met some amazing people online - and I hope I’m on course to building a successful business.
I’ve got tons of work to do. I’ve nowhere near got done everything I wanted to in the last few weeks, and I fully realise that this has to change if I want to reach my goal.
I’ll have some videos to post up on the blog in the next few days. I’ve never made a video before so I’m slightly nervous, but hopefully you’ll be able to withstand my terrible speaking voice and hopefully enjoy what I’ve got to say. Those of you who are members of the truly excellent Standing Start Profits - just expect me to keep pestering you first about what makes a good video 
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What Are You Too Embarrassed To Ask?
By Daniel Flower | June 23, 2008
Internet marketing can be a very confusing thing - even when you have years of experience, but especially so when you’re just starting out.
Firstly you face the battle of figuring out exactly what action you’re going to take (are you going to become an affiliate marketer, write your own eBook, become a joint venture broker… or one of the hundreds of other possibilities?)
Then you have potentially an even bigger challenge to face - figuring out how to actually do it. I know how frustrating it is to read an eBook that tells you to “launch a Wordpress blog”, or “upload your eBook via FTP”…… but what if you don’t have a bloody clue what any of it means, let alone how to do it?
When I read certain online forums I always get the feeling that sometimes people are too embarrassed to ask certain questions because they fear that they’ll get attacked by some ‘guru’ who’ll make them feel small because they don’t understand some of the technicalities. I say that it’s absolutely fine to ask questions - and let me tell you now that a few years ago I didn’t have a clue what ‘FTP’ meant. I used to upload my websites using some crappy ‘wizard’ type program because that was the only way I knew - and I probably WAS too embarrassed to ask!
So my question to you is:
‘What Internet Marketing Skill have you got no idea how to do, but thought you were too embarrassed to ask about?’
Please post your responses and ideas in the comments section of this blog - and I’ll produce some tutorials and answers to the best ones and give some of them away for free. You’ll also be doing me a huge favour because you’ll be helping me greatly in a new product I’m currently working on.
Perhaps you’re new to internet marketing, or maybe you’re a seasoned pro - but EVERYONE has something that they don’t know how to do. Maybe you need to think back to what you struggled with yourself when you were starting out (and if you struggled with something then the chances are other people will too!) or maybe it’s something you’ve never quite grasped even to this day. Either way I’d love to hear from you so please please please post your responses in the comments section.
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Why I’m Simple
By Daniel Flower | June 6, 2008
If I remember rightly, it was my sister who first got me interested in making money online.
Back then, ‘Beanie Babies’ (who remember’s?) were the biggest collectable out there, with some of the rarer older bears fetching several hundred pounds each.
At the time, these things were produced in fairly limited numbers, and shops used to get supplies in, only for them to be sold out in a few hours or less.
I remember us going into town first thing on a Saturday morning, and standing outside the shop waiting for it to open. I loved the thrill of the chase, and when I’d managed to track down a particular bear that was considered ‘rare’ it gave me such an amazing buzz because I knew that I could log onto eBay and sell it for much more than I’d paid for it.
Unless you were prepared to do a lot of chasing (like I did) then these things were very hard to get hold of, but people were DESPERATE to do so.
Back then, eBay was free, and there were a tiny amount of competitors compared to what there is today. It was the year 2000 and the ‘DotCom boom’ was very much in evidence, with every man and his dog trying to grab a slice of the online pie. It’s probably fair to say that both my sister and I got ‘hooked’ on eBay, and I used to spend literally hours conducting research, and listing items I’d bought to sell.
So I’d found a way to make money online:
I sourced items that people were DESPERATE for, and put them in a place where those hungry buyers could see them.
And that guys is THE KEY to online business.
I’d learnt a very important lesson, and I’ve since realised that you can massively over-complicate making money online. At the end of the day, the above sentence pretty much sums up internet marketing.
Ok, so there are many ways to make money online. You can write an eBook, or you can source physical products to sell. You can become a bum marketer, or become a blogger, or write squidoo leneses, or use any of the hundreds of other methods out there.
But if you think about it, your blog or your articles aren’t the things that really make you money. They are merely ways of getting people in front of the product you’re trying to sell - they aren’t the things that actually generate the money.
I believe strongly in a simple way of working online, and throughout my challenge over the next year or so I plan to work in a very simple way. It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in complicated methods and forget the obvious ‘rule’ of business.
Yes have a blog. Yes write articles. Yes produce a squidoo lens. I certainly plan to do all these myself. But don’t spend hours and hours worrying about this that and the other.
As always I’d love to hear your comments so please feel free to speak your mind. Your words and feedback really do make my day
Until next time - keep it simple stupid!
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