Rose Mateus

A few weeks ago Shawn Collins, co-founder of Affiliate Summit, was kind enough to send me a review copy of  “Internet Marketing from the Real Experts.”  This softcover book is a collection of tips from well-known Internet marketers.

It’s billed as “3 minute lessons on affiliate marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, social media … and more.”

The book initially caught my eye because it has tips in it from colleagues such as Jim Kukral, Geno Prussakov and Mark Schumann and from other marketers whose work I have followed for years, such as Janet Attard, Brian Clark and Scott Jangro.   I always get value from them — not fluff — so I figured it was worth a read.  (And I was right.)

An Affiliate Marketing Bent

While the title of the book refers to “Internet marketing” this book has a heavy focus on a particular subset of Internet marketing called affiliate marketing.  If you know what affiliate marketing is, read on — this book is for you.  If you don’t know what affiliate marketing is, then … scroll down to read “Who This Book is For”.

Despite the bent toward affiliate marketing, at least half of the book applies to more general online marketing.

If you like books that are organized as individual tips, you’ll like this.  Each tip typically runs two pages.  That makes the book easy to pick up, read and set down.  It doesn’t require a major time commitment.

I especially recommend these tips:

• “Ten Ways to Promote Facebook Business Pages” – If you have a Facebook Page for your business but are floundering with how to interest people in becoming fans, this article is a must-read.
• “Get in Your Subscribers’ Address Books Now”  – If you engage in email marketing, you will likely learn a tip or two from this article by Justin Premick  about how to get recipients to open your marketing messages.
• “The Five Most Common Missing Pieces to Affiliate Sites”  — Even experienced affiliate marketers (and anyone marketing online) are likely missing some of these pieces.  A good reminder from Matt McWilliams ….
• “Automation FTW” – You can lower your costs and improve sales with automation.  This simple article by Missy Ward outlines 4 automation tools.  If you’ve ever searched online for affiliate marketing tools and felt utterly confused at the end of an hour, you’ll appreciate this straightforward curated list.
• “Affiliate Marketing – A Game of Numbers” – The author, Jason Forthofer, demonstrates how affiliate marketers can make just $12/hour, yet bring in over $100,000 per year.  The math relies upon making $12 an hour 24/7 — but still, the concept of  ’slow and steady wins the race’ is an important one.  The takeaway:  stop looking for the get-rich-quick offer.  Start doing!

Man (and Woman) Does Not Live on Marketing Alone

I love the way this book emphasizes the “holistic marketer.”  It focuses not just on marketing techniques, but on becoming a happier, healthier and more well-rounded business person.

For instance, you’ll find a section on inspiration.  I highly recommend the short piece called “Struggling Entrepreneurs, Do Not Give Up.” As an entrepreneur, I’ve found that one of the biggest success factors is managing your own state of mind.  Sometimes an attitude adjustment is what we need most — more than technical learning.

There’s also a wonderful article about a marketer who uses a treadmill desk.  It’s not as crazy as it sounds.  If you are someone who finds that sitting all day at a computer has caused you to put on weight, you may just get the inspiration you need to fashion a desk (easier than it sounds) that will burn 500 or 1,000 calories a day — just by walking 1 mile per hour while you work.  I don’t know about you, but if I could burn an extra 1,000 calories a day, painlessly, I could reverse my weight climb and get back to the “real me.” And become healthier, too.

You’ll also find articles on such topics as leadership; recycling/green practices; blogging; taking photos for your website; personal branding; social media; even a list of women in affiliate marketing (if you’re feeling the gender gap).

Who This Book is Best For

The sweet spot for this book is those who are at the intermediate level in online marketing. You’ll get the most out of this book if you already know something about subjects such as affiliate marketing — and want to improve to get to the next level.

Those at the advanced level will get benefit from perhaps half of the tips, because you will already know the other half.   But even half of the tips are well worth it.  And most important of all, you get a glimpse into how other experts think.  That may cause you to shift your thought processes or strategic approach — which could be valuable if you feel your marketing has stalled and needs a reboot.

Beginners will also find the book of value, but a word of caution:  some of the tips assume that you already have baseline knowledge.  For instance, some tips assume that you know what affiliate marketing is, or that you have engaged in some kind of email marketing already, or know something about pay-per-click ads.  If you’ve never tried your hand at affiliate marketing, for instance, then that advice may go right over your head.  However, you can still get value from tips that are on topics such as inspiration; the treadmill desk tip; the legal tips; blogging tips; and many others.