Free was definitely the price point of choice.  Here are a few observations that I recall from watching:

• All members of the panel loved GMail.
• Google is a trusted brand.
• They don’t click on ads unless made to. When clicked, they don’t buy.
• Several had hand-me-down cell phones.
• While all used it, most would not pay for Facebook.
• Not all used Twitter.
• They will pay for online services if their friends are there too and if there aren’t free options.

It is important to note that this was a small focus group and it would be a stretch to apply these conclusions to teens and early twenty-somethings universally.  However, these are important insights. Free and good, will attract them. It is hard to get them to pay beyond that.  I think that Guy got a little frustrated in that he didn’t find much they were willing to pay for!  You remember the lean years as a student, don’t you?

• Google Adsense integration
• Ready for Twitter
• Nice graphics for RSS and Twitter
• Configurable ads in sidebar and header
• Contact form
• Featured post carousel
• Big text
• My daughter said it looks professional!

One upgrade I wanted to accomplish was to add polish to my email opt-in form.  I always felt that the standard forms from Aweber didn’t look too good.  I really liked Lynn Terry’s form, so I started poking around the SSWT forum looking for clues.  Well, she pointed me to where she got the graphic! (I didn’t intend on picking the same color that she did, but blue is what matched the new theme.)

I want to share with you where I got the custom email opt-in form.  It is part of a great offer containing 120 Squeeze Page Designs.  When you follow this link, you will have the opportunity to get 2 free squeeze page templates.  One is an email opt-in form and the other is an optimized squeeze page.  Here’s where it gets good.  For only $37 you can have the full 120 Squeeze Page Templates.  You could not even get the email opt-in form completed by a web designer for that price!  I think it is a great deal.  (Of course, I bought it!) It is so important to have a good, Web 2.0, look to your web pages in order to increase opt-in rates.  This package will definitely help you with that!

All in all, I am glad that this step toward building on-line income is complete.  It is time to move on to step 2 – launching my first affiliate marketing site.  I’ll keep you updated along the way.

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 3: Getting Started the Right Way on Twitter
• Chapter 4: Building a Following on Twitter

Just click here to enjoy this great FREE offer.  Even better, you don’t need to provide any information to get this.

Also, once you are on Twitter (or if you are already there), follow me at http://twitter.com/mikesmind.

Twitter Power

Anthony Robbins (Foreword). Wiley 2009, Hardcover, 248 pages, $8.98

This morning, I wrote a post for one of my blogs.  This blog has about three to five views per day.  It is a WordPress blog, so I added a plugin to automatically tweet a link when I publish a new post.  Within a couple hours, I had 30 views.  Now, that is pretty powerful and it doesn’t take much imagination to see how a plugin like this can really get you new readers for your blog.

Here are two plugins that I have tried that automatically tweet your blog posts when published.

1. Twitter Tools – This is what I am using on the blog mentioned above.  It is written by Alex King, who is well known in the WordPress plugin world.  It is configurable and I have included a screen shot of the options page.  As you can see, it is pretty straight-forward to configure.

   

   I found this plugin easy to use and it works like it is supposed to.

2. Another plugin that I am using to automatically tweet my blog posts is a commercial offering called TweetMyBlog.  This is an affiliate-based plugin that gives you the opportunity to make some money.  I have it installed on this blog, but have not made anything from it, yet.  It is free for you to install, but it does have a commercial intent as well as look and feel.  I found the extra graphics too much for many of my blogs, but if your blog is about making money, then this plugin should help you do that.  As you can see below, it doesn’t have as many configuration options as Twitter Tools.

   

   This blog has a few hoops to jump through as you get set up to receive affiliate commissions.  If you are looking to add another income source and increase traffic by automatically tweeting your blog posts, TweetMyBlog is a good option.

Either option I listed above will help you build traffic to your WordPress blog by harnessing the power of Twitter.

So I searched for a solution and found a great free tool called AUCTIONFB. This tool displays a simple badge that shows your feedback rating, eBay user name, feedback score, and the date it was last verified. It works with several different eBay locales and has ten different color options. There is a registration process, but this is necessary. The tool needs to know your eBay user name and you also need an account so you can change settings later.

I added the widget to my right sidebar so that it displays below my other badges of trust. If you like, click over to Ten Foot Table and see how it looks.

Lynn also has a forum called Self Starters Weekly Tips, which I joined. So far I am only lurking, but that won’t last for long. I like to participate and learn through forums. She also has a weekly webinar and email newsletter that are free! Follow the links I included and look around. Tell me what you think. I think that Lynn has a lot of good advice to share that will definitely be of benefit to you.

Here is a quick rundown of those techniques:

1. Top sites for keywords on Google.
2. Research software popularity at Download.com.
3. How to study Digg and learn to submit content to rank on the first page.
4. Getting friends on social networking sites like Facebook.
5. Increase your clickthru rate on Google Adwords.
6. Use eBay to research what items are selling well for a niche or market.
7. Learn how to get your press release picked up by thousands of media outlets.
8. Get tons of links to your blog using Technorati as a research tool.
9. Find out who gets the most traffic and where it comes from at compete.
10. Research what kind of ads you should use by researching what is working for others on Commision Junction.

John’s introductory video is about 14 minutes long. It is well worth the time. In it, you get several free ideas. I know I learned a lot. When you are done, sign up for the Traffic Secrets 2.0 Notification & News list where you will get access to another free video.

I’m not one of John’s affiliates (yet!), but John is one of the three internet marketers I always listen to. I am a friend of John’s on Facebook and follow him on Twitter. I know that John is part of my formula for future success.