Colin Klinkert Dot Com

Last week we organized a Twitter experiment to learn more on the traffic sent by Twitter to the blog. At this time of the year, the traffic the blog receives is very low and it was thus the perfect time for us to launch this experiment. We created a blog post and tweeted the link @ColinKlinkert a total 6 times over a period of 48 hours (at different times in order to reach most time zones at day time at least once). We also wanted to study the traffic in terms of conversion: Would visitors take action by commenting the post (as we asked them) and get a chance to win $50? Let’s find out!

Overall traffic (over a week)

- 22 total visits on Thursday
- 38 total visits on Friday
- 35 total visits on Saturday

While the overall traffic to the blog is fairly low at this time of the year, we can notice a slight increase during the time of the experiment. This chart has a limited interest for the experiment but at least we can see if there is a significant traffic increase or not. Now let’s move on to the traffic that interests us the most: the Twitter traffic.

Twitter traffic (over a week)

Here we can see that over the week Twitter generated 41 visits to the blog but only 25 between Thursday and Saturday. During that period of time, the blog post we created for the experiment received 26 visits. This can be considered as fairly low for a Twitter account with a list of over 26,300 followers, don’t you think?

Twitter generated traffic to the blog post but not as much as we could have expected. Even though this experiment is not comprehensive enough to draw solid conclusions, we can suggest a few reasons for which the Twitter traffic hasn’t exploded during the period of the experiment and despite the 26,300+ followers @ColinKlinkert.

First, as suggested by several industry experts and confirmed by research firms, Twitter has a lot of members but most of them are inactive (or not active enough to have an impact on the traffic). Secondly, the way the list of followers was built (with tools to be automatically followed by other users) is probably not the most appropriate list building method in terms of conversion. Thirdly, the way we tweeted the links (with call-to-action and link to the blog post) also played a role in the experiment. It is however difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of the calls-to-action.

Out of 26 visits, 4 visitors commented the blog post in time and 2 after the experiment was over. This is a 15 to 23% conversion rate, which isn’t bad but cannot be considered as satisfactory either… Anyhow, the experiment was successful in the way that we were able to study the traffic sent by Twitter to our blog. Have you ever done any similar experiment? If so, please share your own thoughts with us!

In April last year I organized a Twitter experiment that saw a lucky visitor win $25 cash. This time, I want to go a little further and am ready to give away a total of up to $150! If like me you often wonder how powerful Twitter really is, how much targeted traffic it can send to your site or blog, then take part into this experiment!

Win $50 by simply commenting this post!

To get in, all you need to do is to comment this post answering the following question:

What will make you want to subscribe to my RSS feed
and follow me @ColinKlinkert?

Hints: It could be:
- a type of content you would like to see;
- a topic you would like to learn about, etc.

If we get 50 comments, I give away $50. If we get 100 comments, I give away $100 ($50 each). If we get 200 comments, I give away $150 ($50 each). It is as simple as that. The more comments we get, the more chances you have to win $50 cash! No more questions asked.

We will tweet this post 6 times over the next 48 hours. Like for the previous experiment, Twitter will be the main source of traffic so we can see how many people post a comment and retweet our initial tweets. If you aren’t interested in the cash, you may still participate to help us with this experiment.

You are of course encouraged to retweet my tweets, increasing your chances to win cash.

>>> Click here to retweet <<<

Post a comment now and get a chance to win $50!

The winners will be chosen at the end of the experiment. Please use a real email when commenting, so if you win you will get my reply to your comment on how to get your money!

Good luck to all of you!

P.S. – Why not subscribe to my mailing list in the top left too… You get a cool free e-book and also updates on future competitions & industry-leading information! You can opt out at any time.

You’ve certainly heard of Mike Filsaime’s TweetGlide already. It was launched a few months ago and has rapidly become one of the most used Twitter apps in the internet marketing and home business industry. Well, soon after launch we got Mike and his team to add ViralUrl to the list of URL shorteners that the application provides.

For those who don’t know what TweetGlide is, here is a short introduction: Designed in a similar fashion to the popular TweetDeck, TweetGlide is a Twitter desktop app that makes tweeting even easier and brings more advanced features (like sponsored tweets) to make the most of this very powerful social networking and micro blogging platform. TweetGlide is currently available on PC, Mac and soon on iPhone.

To shorten your links on TweetGlide with ViralUrl, you simply have to select ViralUrl in the drop-down menu on the TweetGlide dashboard, enter your ViralUrl username and password and… that’s it! The links you tweet will automatically be shortened with ViralUrl. If you can’t find ViralUrl in the list, you may want to update your version of TweetGlide.

This is truly a great addition as it will help you build your downline with no effort from your part. As a reminder, your ViralUrl affiliate link shows up on the landing page of every shortened link you may create with the system. You also get a greater chance to earn commissions but that’s just another of the advantages of using ViralUrl with TweetGlide.

If you aren’t using any of these tools yet, you may join ViralUrl and download TweetGlide now. Both tools are free to use so make sure you give them a try before you realize what you’re missing out on!

In the internet marketing industry, getting people’s attention is vital. Period. Even if you’ve just created the best product ever but can’t get people’s attention, you’re unlikely to succeed. However, getting people’s attention shouldn’t be your only goal. You certainly want to go further than that. You need to get the word about your products or services, build yourself a list of subscribers… and make money. Misleading subject lines are still far too common to get people’s attention and are clearly bad marketing. If you aren’t sure what we’re talking about, here are some examples:

- “Congratulations, You’ve Just Made A Commission!”
- “Your Affiliate Commissions”
- “You Owe Us Money!”
- “Your Credit Card Has Expired”

We strongly recommend to avoid using any type of misleading subject lines in the emails you send (to your own list or somebody else’s list). These subject lines can badly hurt your reputation and can be very damageable for your business. If you start communicating with someone with a lie, there is a very good chance this person won’t trust you for anything. The notion of trust is very important in our industry but too many just forget about it. So yes, you will get people’s attention with misleading subject lines, but what happens next is very unlikely to be favorable to you and your business.

Why would you use these subject lines anyway? Is the product you’re promoting so bad that you can’t find a proper subject line to get people’s attention? A few internet marketing gurus seem to provide email copies with misleading subject lines to their subscribers. Well, let’s be honest here: we believe they should rethink their recommendations… You’re in a better place than anyone else to know what you should and shouldn’t do for your business. You don’t necessarily have to do everything they tell you! How about you think about what they say before just doing it?

Our policy on misleading subject lines

As a reminder, misleading subject lines are strictly prohibited on ViralUrl, ViralNetworks and ViralHosts. If we receive a complaint and have the proof that a member has used a misleading subject line, we send one (and only one) warning to the sender. The next step is a suspension for an undetermined period of time. These misleading subject lines damage both their reputation and our own reputation and this is simply not acceptable.

The path to success won’t begin with a lie. Simply avoid any type of misleading subject line!

Last month I shared an MLM Lead System Pro webinar video with you. The main focus of this webinar was on our new web hosting system called ViralHosts, but the guys at MLSP decided to do another webinar about a product of ours. This time they invited Internet Marketing Expert Jim Chao to talk about ViralUrl. Once again, the video call was recorded and is now made available to anyone who wants to watch it:

>>> MLM Lead System Pro Webinar Video <<<

Jim Chao only spends 2 minutes every 3 days on ViralUrl and gets 60 to 80 leads with every single mailing he does. If you want to find out how he does it, make sure you watch this video. It’s only 40 minutes long and is full of great insider tips. It’s definitely worth the watch! Like last time, if you want to download the MP3 file, go to the MLSP archive section (you need to be logged in to access this page).

The videos are also available on ViralNetworks:
- MLSP Webinar – ViralUrl & ViralHosts
- MLSP Webinar – Supercharging ViralUrl

Late October I published a blog post about Google Social Search explaining that Google uses your Google Profile to know who your friends are and deliver you relevant social search results. A Google Profile can also help you gain online exposure, which is obviously very important if you’re in the internet marketing industry. This week let’s see how to set up a Google Profile. It’s a very simple process but let’s go through it step-by-step so you don’t miss a thing.

Step 1

Go to Google Profiles and click ‘Create my profile’. You need a Gmail account to be able to create a Google Profile. I suggest you to use a user-friendly email address as your username can be used in your Google Profile URL (only if you decide to), as in google.com/profiles/yourusername. It’s also more search engine-friendly like this.

Step 2

Enter your details: first name, last name, where you grew up, where you live now and so forth. Don’t forget to add a short bio of yourself so people can learn more about you, and most importantly, add links to your site and blog as well as your Twitter, Facebook, ViralNetworks and other social network profiles. This is how Google will find out about your friends and be able to provide you with relevant social search results. You may also upload a picture of yourself. Once you’ve entered all your details, click ‘Create a Google profile’.

Step 3

You can now see how your Google Profile looks like. You can of course edit it any time you want. That’s all you have to do! Now if you want Google to generate social search results when doing a search, make sure you join the experiment. As explained in a previous blog post, it’s all about relevancy!

Feel free to check out my own profile: Colin Klinkert. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them here! Julien and myself will be happy to help you. Setting up a Google Profile is quick and easy and has many benefits for internet professionals. You don’t need to tell everything about yourself though. Keep it brief!

About week ago I participated in an MLM Lead System Pro webinar along with my VP of Operations Julien Duc and Top Network Marketer Brian Fanale (co-owner of MLSP). Unfortunately, a few MLSP Members missed out because the webinar was at 6.30pm instead of 9.30pm (Eastern) but the video call was recorded and is now made  available to anyone:

>>> MLM Lead System Pro Webinar Video <<<

If you were unable to make it last week and want to learn more about ViralUrl and ViralHosts, make sure you check out the video. It’s about an hour long but is full of useful information: features and benefits, how to get started, testimonials, questions and answers… We got a couple of very good testimonials that we’re really happy about. If you want to download the MP3 file, head to the MLM Lead System Pro archive section (you need to be logged in to access this page).

I hope you enjoy it!

Update: A new webinar video about ViralUrl is now available. Make sure you check it out! Both videos are also available on ViralNetworks:
- MLSP Webinar – ViralUrl & ViralHosts
- MLSP Webinar – Supercharging ViralUrl

Early this week I was invited to join the preview version of Google Wave. There’s been a lot of hype over this new communication and collaboration tool. My VP of Operations and I were able to give it a try over the last few days and even if we aren’t very impressed, we both believe that this new tool has great potential. Google Wave was designed to merge emails and instant messages, along with other forms of communication such as wikis and social networks… but truly, you can use it the way you want.

With Google Wave you don’t send emails to recipients but share waves with collaborators. You can of course add links, but also polls, photos, videos and lots of other different types of file as you can see on the two screenshots above. You can drag waves around, embed them in blogs and sites and even play them back so you get an idea of who said what when. Google plans to release most of the source code as open source, which is great news as web developers will thus be able to create applications and extensions.

Even if Google Wave is still in development and it’s a little too early to tell if this is going to become the next-gen marketing tool, it looks very promising. Google Wave allows you to communicate not only with your friends and colleagues, but also with your customers. It may indeed open new doors to marketers as it allows to share content such as product photo, videos, ratings and testimonials… and almost anything else you could think of. Any business could even invite their customers to join Google Wave for customer support or product development.

If you haven’t received an invitation to join the preview version of Google Wave yet, make sure you ask for an invitation around you or request an invitation from Google. Worse, if you don’t know anything about Google Wave, check out the following video:

This week I want to tell you about a new traffic site that is just launching. It’s called
Perfect Traffic Storm and is run by longtime business partners of mine: Todd Gross and Mark Lareau. Todd and Mark have done a great job again. I’m really impressed! Perfect Traffic Storm will help you boost your web traffic and get your promotions in front of more qualified visitors, guaranteed.

Make sure you get your hands on the early bird bonuses before they expire. It just went live and if you hurry you might still be able to get a fast action bonus. It took them over 2 years to develop this unique traffic site which focuses on conversions rather than just hits and visits. I’m talking signups and sales here… in other words: cash! Here is a great opportunity to speed up your online income in no time.

I highly recommend Perfect Traffic Storm to anyone who’s after targeted traffic that converts (almost everyone, right?). The system is pretty ingenious, make sure you check out all the features and benefits and join before the bonuses are all gone!

ViralHosts – our new web hosting, traffic generation, list building and mailing system – has been going strong since it was launched a few months ago. As a thank you for joining the system, we want to offer our Elite Members:

10,000 text ad credits
10,000 banner ad credits
(valued at $40)

This means your ads will show 20,000 times! This is especially targeted at MLM Lead System Pro members but not only, any Elite Member can claim this bonus during the next 48 hours. To claim this bonus, simply submit a ticket to the ViralHosts Help Desk. Make sure you select the General ViralHosts category and indicate your folder name (also known as your affiliate ID).

If you haven’t joined ViralHosts yet, make sure you register and take advantage of this limited-time bonus before it’s gone! Remember that you need to become a Gold Member before you can upgrade to the Elite Membership. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!