OK -- so you might think this is crazy.  But from time to time you need to actually stop working, get up from your computer and stretch.  I am not talking about procrastinating -- I am talking about taking a break.  Case in point:  Jason Van Orden from Internet Business Mastery actually sets a timer to remind him.  After 50 minutes or so, he takes a break to stretch.

It’s normal to get bored with work and to want to do something different.  It's also true that sitting in front of your computer too much will lead to health problems.  It's what Nicole Dean calls "computer butt."  You can solve all that simply by working periodic exercise and stretching into your routine.

Personally, I like the idea of taking a walk. It’s a good way to unwind, get some physical exercise, and distance yourself from your work in a healthy way. Take your iPod and listen to your favorite internet business podcast.  By the time you return, you’ll be refreshed and ready to get things done.  It also gives you some time to think -- which might lead to that killer new idea you've been waiting for.

Bottom line -- get some exercise in short bursts throughout your workday and you will like the results.

Join us! Every Monday morning at 6AM Central Time we publish the motivational tip of the week. Each week we offer a short simple motivational tip to help you in your business. If you like this, you can check out our other Articles On Motivation.

In this episode of the MasonWorld Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast, we talk about "our new Internet Marketing Motivator segment" and about making money online without selling make money online stuff. We also interview Pat Flynn from SmartPassiveIncome.com

I've known Pat since just after he left his day job and started trying to make a living on line.  His story will amaze and inspire you.

As an added treat, we have a special mystery guest doing the podcast intro this week.

We need reviews on iTunes!

If you like the podcast and are willing to take a second to leave us a favorable review in iTunes, that would be fantastic. You should be able to do that using this link. You will need to do this from inside of the iTunes application (which is free).

This week we give a shout out to Josh Spaulding who gave us a nice review over at iTunes.  Josh says:

In the episode, I introduce a new segment I am calling "Internet Marketing Motivator".  Each week, we will cover a topic that will help you stay motivated in your internet business.

Also this week, we tackle that difficult topic -- can you really make money online without teaching people how to make money online.

Most importantly, I continue with the interviews I promised last week.

Pat Flynn from the Smart Passive Income Blog is in the HOUSE!

Pat talks about how he got started (an amazing story) and reveals the three most important things new marketers should know.

Links Mentioned in the podcast:

• Smart Passive Income Blog
• Internet Business Mastery Academy
• Nicole Dean

When the transcript is available, it will be here.

If you are lovin' the podcast, please be sure to leave us some feedback and subscribe in iTunes!

Podcast Alley is another option:
My Podcast Alley feed!

Here is the Raw RSS Feed.

I'd love to hear what you think about the podcast. Drop me a line here on the blog on on the digital recorder at 214-444-8655. Ask a question or leave a comment and we may use it on the show.

In this episode of the MasonWorld Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast, we talk about "the mouse in my pocket" and about having the right mindset for your internet business. We also interview Jeremy "Sterling" Frandsen from Internet Business Mastery.

In the podcast, we're still rocking out the new MasonWorld Late-Night Internet Marketing Podcast Theme Song that I introduced last week.  I really hope you like it

If you like the podcast and are willing to take a second to leave us a favorable review in iTunes, that would be fantastic. You should be able to do that using this link.  You will need to do this from inside of the iTunes application (which is free).

In the episode, I talk about the power of teams, the value of "we", and the critical mindset that you must have if you want to be successful in business (and in life).

Also, I continue with the  interviews I promised last week.

Jeremy "Sterling" Frandsen from Internet Business Mastery is on the show this week talking about lifestyle design and definite major purpose.

All that I want to do for you that have to do with how to think about internet business. Then, I will be turning my attention to affiliate marketing techniques.

Basically, I plan to touch on the kind of things that I will be teaching over at NicheProfitUniversity.com (starting in about 4 weeks).

When the transcript is available, it will be here.

If you are lovin' the podcast, please be sure to leave us some feedback and subscribe in iTunes!

Podcast Alley is another option:
My Podcast Alley feed!

Here is the Raw RSS Feed.

I'd love to hear what you think about the podcast. Drop me a line here on the blog on on the digital recorder at 214-444-8655. Ask a question or leave a comment and we may use it on the show.

The next thing you need to do as far as getting your head right and owning your plan, which is the second piece of the strategy, is you’ve got to know what you’re doing.

I’ll submit to you that there are anywhere between 10 and 100 real legitimate ways to make money online.  As a part time internet entrepreneur you’ve simply just got to pick one. I don’t mean pick seven, I mean pick one. You need to pick a business model and you need to execute around that business model.

For example, Sterling and Jay teach an excellent proven business model at the Internet Business Mastery Academy, but there are other ones I like too.  No matter what you choose for your business model, you need to work through that and pick a single business model to execute on as a part time internet entrepreneur.

Once you pick it you need to be single minded and task oriented.

In future articles, I'll be talking a lot about how to handle the task oriented side of things.  For internet entrepreneurs that are working part time, I strongly recommend some sort of project focused next action driven plan, like the Getting Things Done program, GTD from David Allen.

If that’s a little too dense for you, and quite frankly, it’s a little too dense for me, there is an excellent ebook out there called ZTD, (Zen To Done). Take a look at that. That’s kind of a short version of GTD. Those are both great resources.

No matter what, you need to have a good task management system so you can stay focused and single minded.

This has been another post in our Part-Time Internet Business Series at MasonWorld.com, where we build successful internet businesses one night at a time.

This week's Part Time Tip is super simple. Avoid the Negative Nellies out there and push forward with your internet business to achieve your goals.

Another thing part time internet people really need to do is avoid negative people. This applies to all internet entrepreneurs, but this can be particularly devastating to the part time guy who is having trouble getting the motivation to put that extra effort in to start the business in the first place.

There’s several kinds of people you need to watch out for. You need to watch out for people who are just going to bring you down. Sometimes, unfortunately, this can include your spouse and your parents.

Not in my case.

In fact in my case I’ve told this story before, actually I told it on the Internet Business Mastery Podcast about how my wife was actually instrumental in giving me the idea and impetus to start my business.

I'm Talking About You

If this you, then you need to take some steps to get those people on board or decide to ignore them. I recommend the former, and the way I recommend that you do that, particularly if it’s your spouse, is involve them in the business. That usually works wonders. If you can get them excited about some part of the business they can really help you be successful if you’re working part time.

You’ll also run into people with funny attitudes about money. This is something that Sterling and Jay teach in their Internet Business Mastery Academy. You really need to surround yourself with people that recognize the fact that it’s okay for you to make money in a business. I won’t say too much about that, but as a part time internet entrepreneur this is very important to have a proper mindset about attracting wealth and being successful monetarily.

For me, my hope is to help people profitably.  I am running a business, and I want to help people.

This includes you, by the way.  I want to help you.  Yes, you.

Right now I am helping you by providing some valuable content to you.  There is no charge for this content, but it forms the basis for a relationship where you and I can exchange value.  That might be something much more valuable than money.  But it starts with me providing value to my readers.

Lot's of people don't get that.

Some People Will Sabotage You

Finally, and I think this is the one that I see the most, you need to watch out for people that will see your success as their failure. After all, if you’re smart enough to do something and you’re successful in your part time business, your coworkers at work may feel like they got left behind.

In fact, they may feel like they have somehow missed out and be very jealous of you. These are the kind of people you need to watch out for as a part time internet entrepreneur.

This has been another post in our Part-Time Internet Business Series at MasonWorld.com, where we build successful internet businesses one night at a time.

The other day (a couple of months ago actually)  I was pleased and surprised to find that I was the subject of the feature segment on the 89^th episode of Internet Business Mastery’s podcast. Those of you that have followed me for a long time recognize that I owe a lot of my internet business education to Jay and Sterling over at Internet Business Mastery.

I got started listening to their podcast and eventually was a founding member of the Internet Business Mastery Academy. So, imagine my surprise when I turned on my iPod last week early in the morning to find that I was the topic of their feature segment and they hadn’t even contacted me.

My Forum Post Blew Up!

Basically, Jay had seen a hot topic in the Internet Business Academy forums that I had started about a comment that I had received right here on MasonWorld.com. In that comment a reader of MasonWorld.com called me out for a post that I had made in the Internet Business Mastery Academy forums back in June of 2008, I think.

In that post I identified some income goals that I had set for myself and they were pretty lofty. The blog reader challenged me on my motivation. Basically, the reader was asking me if I was all about money and just trying to make money off of people trying to make money, or whether or not I really was the principal centered guy that I was advertising myself to be. It was a pretty threatening question. I answered it and then took the discussion over to the Internet Business Mastery Academy forums to get some feedback on my answer.

Jay identified the post for two reasons. One, he liked my answer in terms of lifestyle design and other things that are taught at the Internet Business Mastery Academy. The second reason he liked it was because he felt like I had done a good job not getting angry at the commenter. My answer was very professional and I didn’t come across as being threatened by the person who left the comment.

This is a very important principal that I want to highlight here that you need to understand. If you are going to have a public face in front of people where you’re presenting your opinions and ideas, you need to expect that people are going to disagree with you.

It’s just a fact of life. If 100 percent of the people that are reading your blog agree with you, you’re probably not saying anything very interesting. If that’s the case, that’s probably not very good for your business, so you need to expect criticism. In fact, you need to invite criticism, because if you’re not getting that level of engagement from your readers you’re not doing it right.

Brace Yourself -- Not Everyone Agrees With You

Expect to be criticized. When people criticize you, you need to respond professionally. I have a very simple rule of thumb when someone is unprofessional to me, when they speak to me in an unprofessional way I get more and more polite. It has an amazing effect on people.

If someone gets angry with you, you should try to understand what’s making them angry. Maybe they have a legitimate reason. Maybe their dog just died that morning. For all you know, they could be dealing with some major tragedy. Getting in their face and taking yourself down to their level never helps.

It’s always important that you act professionally. In fact, my simple rule of thumb is, as I mentioned before, the more ugly they get the more professional I get. I’m not saying you should let people abuse you, in fact quite the contrary. If someone is being abusive you should terminate the conversation.

I always first seek to understand what is motivating the person’s comment. Second, I try and make sure to take the emotion out of the conversation so we can operate on facts and understand what the person is trying to say. I’ll give you a great example of where this has helped me recently in my business.

A Real Example

Periodically in my business I get unsubscribes from my mailing list. I know it’s hard for you to imagine that someone would want to unsubscribe from the fantastic mailing list that I offer here at MasonWorld.com, but it does happen occasionally.

On a few occasions someone will leave a comment about why they are unsubscribing. Overwhelmingly, the comment is that people are trying to reduce the amount of clutter in their inbox. I totally understand that, in fact I teach that people should go on an information diet. This is an idea that I got from Internet Business Mastery, Tim Ferris, and others.

The other day I got a crazy angry unsubscribe from a guy who was telling me that he didn’t have to deal with my unsubscribe procedures. He said some nasty things about how frustrated he was and so forth. He even filed a support ticket based on this unsubscribe.

My initial reaction was, “What an angry yucky person.” I wanted to send back a nasty reply, but I didn’t. I followed my own advice and I wrote back and said, “Thank you so much for your ticket. I’m happy to unsubscribe you. I’ve checked the records and you’re already unsubscribed. Do you mind if I ask why you’re filing a ticket?”

He went on to calm down and explain to me that he had filed the ticket because I had actually messed my autoresponder so that when he unsubscribed he got a subsequent email from my support desk. Now, this was a configuration error on my part, but it’s very important that I understand this. Had I just gotten angry at him there’s no doubt I wouldn’t have gotten that information.

That was a really good example of how instead of just responding to someone in an angry and escalating conflict, if you’ll just take a step back and be professional everybody benefits. It’s a win-win situation.

The bottom line for business, treat your business like a business, stay professional, value every customer, understand that people can have extenuating circumstances in their life that causes them to misbehave and treat their misbehavior with professionalism and kindness, you’ll love the results.

I’m Mark Mason from MasonWorld.com where we teach people how to build internet businesses one night at a time. I’d love to hear your comments in the comment section below.

I really like Thai food and Mexican food.  This is a story about both.

I look to some people to learn about internet marketing, and I look to others to learn about internet business.  It's not that internet marketing gurus are not good at teaching internet business and vice versa, it's just that everyone is great at something, and it makes sense to learn from the best people in every area.

Jason van Orden is one of my favorite internet business guys.  One thing I will never forget is a tale that Jason tells about a friend of his that ended up on the wrong end of an investment joint venture.  The guy had a successful business, but after the deal went bad, he no longer owned the business.  In fact, he was forced out.  He lost everything over night.

Well, not everything.  As it happens, the guy had his email list.  He was able to contact his loyal customers, explain the situation, offer value to them (as he always had in the past), and rebuild his business quickly.  When people say "the money is in the list," I think they have it wrong.  The value is in the list.

What About Thai Food

Well, I was eating Thai food the other day and was talking to Ann, the owner (I cannot even say her Thai name - it is beautiful, but I am a native Texan with limited language skills).  Anyway, she had recently tried to sell the restaurant.  When this happened (months earlier) I was sad because I had been eating there for years and the new owners were just terrible.

In fact, the new owners were so bad that they ran off all of the old customers (10 years worth of loyal customers) in a matter of weeks.  On top of that, they apparently did not pay Ann for the restaurant and walked away from the deal after selling a lot of the tables, chairs and kitchen supplies.  Ann was left with a gutted restaurant and few customers.  When I was in there, the place was a ghost town.

What Ann needed was an email list.  If she had been asking for emails for the last ten years, she would have thousands of loyal customers on her list.  Just a simple monthly coupon is all a restaurant needs to maintain a list and drive foot traffic.  Using Aweber, this costs about $20/month.  You don't even need a web site (although I recommend one). 

Ann could have simply sent an email to her list explaining about the Grand Re-Opening and how happy she was to have the resturaunt back. She would have been flooded with customers (me among them). But she did not do any of that list building, so now she has to start all over again building a new customer base.  Ten years of work gone!  It's a very sad story.  Are you like Ann?  Do you have a site without an opt-in?

Then, There Is Mexican Food

I also like Mexican food, and I eat at my favorite neighborhood place as often as I can.  I know the owner there too (Kevin).  Every time I eat there, Kevin catches me up on the progress they are making on their new location.  The new place will be much nicer and will bring more traffic to the business because of a better location.  They are moving in August, and I am a little bummed because it will be further from my house.  Not too far, but definately farther.

I love this particular place, and I like the owners.  So, I asked Kevin when the Grand Opening would be.  I want to eat there on the first day -- to be part of his success.  He said -- we are not sure yet, but we will notify the mailing list as soon as we know!

I am already on the list.  I love it.  I get coupons and drink specials from him about twice a month.  It's just enough to remind me that he is there -- or to offer me free queso with my fajitas or what ever.  See the difference -- Ann just about lost her business and Kevin is able to move his.  All because of email marketing.

Two Lessons For You

Lesson 1:  You better have opt-ins on all of your sites.

Lesson 2: You can probably sell Aweber to people like Ann.  They need you, and you can help them.

I don't really do this because I have a day job -- but you could.  How?  Simple.  Create a page on your site describing how email marketing can help offline business.  Offer consulting, setup, and whatever else you are comfortable with.  Create a 1 page flier with the same information.  A business card would be nice too.

Then, go eat (I am reall good at the eating part).

You to waiter: This place is great!  Is the manager around?  I'd like to compliment him on your service today.

Waiter: I'll be right back!

You to Manager: I just want to tell you that I love this restaurant, and we had great service from Jimmy.

Manager: Thanks, we appreciate your business.

You: Do you guys have a mailing list that I can sign up on so I can remember to come back here.  This was great.

Manager: No, I am sorry.  We don't do email.

You: You're kidding.  You could really get your numbers up with some email marketing.  If you ever want to consider it, give me a call.  I do that sort of thing for a living.  Customers love it.  Here is my card.

Manager: Thanks.  I'll think about it.

You get the idea.

One last thing.  If you want to know what to do with your list after you start it, I recommend Josh Spaulding's email marketing guide called New Age Email Marketing.  It is excellent.

Have a great day,

Mark

If you want to be good at something in life you've got to work at.  There really just aren't many shortcuts that will allow you to completely avoid hard work if you want to be successful. When I talk to people who seem to be successful without working hard, I often find that they are actually working very hard at something they love. When you're working on something that you love, you can make hard work look effortless.

A big part of working hard is learning. My personal opinion is that you should never stop learning about things that you're trying to master. This is specially true in Internet marketing where the landscape is changing on an almost daily basis. Two of my mentors, Jay and Sterling from Internet Business Mastery talk about the need to be a lifelong learner. I am totally bought into this, but I have the same excuses as everyone else. As a part time Internet Marketing hobbyist, I just don't have a lot of extra time for learning.  Still, I think it's absolutely critical.  So, for my learning, I turn to podcasts.

The great thing about podcasts is that I can listen to them absolutely anywhere at any time.  For me, this means I can listen to podcasts in the car during my commute to my day job. This solves my time problem as it relates to continuous learning about Internet marketing.  It also means that I need a really big iPod.

A New Podcast

I wanted to share with you the most recent podcast that I have found on Internet marketing.  The podcast is called Internet Marketing This Week.    There are some serious heavy hitters on this podcast, including Paul Colligan (new media guru), Ed Dale (30DC guru), Michelle McPherson (Web 2.0 guru) and Lynn Terry (Affiliate Marketing guru).  Of course in every case their guru power extends far beyond the parenthetical representation that I've provided here. These people really know what's going on in Internet marketing.  Sometimes, I am amazed at the breadth of their understanding of the trends in the IM industry.

There are several things that I really like about podcast.  this podcast is not a "how to make money online" podcast.  believe me, there is plenty of money being made by these four people. But that is not the focus of this podcast. This podcast is focused on trends and issues in Internet marketing, and the impact of new media on these trends.  Of course, there is some amount of tips and practical information, as well as a very cool segment called "Pick of the Week."

My only complaint about the podcast to date is that they are apparently using Skype and probably recording it with Pamela.  This is a great technology for quick and dirty recording, but the resulting sound quality is not up to the standards that I would expect from Paul Colligan.  The thing is, the content is so good I don't care.

Photo: photo credit: Gideon Burton

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means. It's time for another weekly Internet Business Fortune Cookie. Monday I went to a "real" Chinese restaurant in a primarily Asian section of greater Dallas. I've been eating in that particular restaurant for more than 10 years. The place is really neat - there are traditionally prepared roasted ducks hanging in the front window.   The place has a "Chinatown Market" feel to it.

When I first started eating there in the mid-nineties the there were no English menus. I would go there with a Mandarin-speaking friend and he would do the talking.  This sometimes resulted in weird stuff like "chicken feet" being brought to the table, but in general the food was fantastic. The only thing that has changed since that time is that there is an English menu available now, but the daily specials are still written on the board in Chinese characters, and I still can't read them.

The Cookie Speaks The Truth

As you know, everything you need to know about running an internet business can be learned from fortune cookies. This week The Cookie has come out on the side of building your business around a loyal community of followers.

Hear The Cookie:

"An hour with one friend is worth more than ten with strangers."

Of course, the fortune cookie is obviously referring to the fact the most successful Internet businesses these days are built around a loyal community of followers.

A Life-Long Business or A Quick Buck?

Are you trying to build a sustainable life-long business, or are you just out to make a quick buck?  No offense, but if you are just trying to make a quick buck, you are reading the wrong blog.  If you are trying to build a life-long business, get to know your customers and invest in them.  The cookie is telling you that you need to give freely to your customers so that they value the trust and expertise that you are offering them.   As the cookie knows, one customer who knows and trusts you is worth ten (or a hundred) that don't.

Get out there.  Interact with your community of followers.  Give them value.  When it comes time to ask for the sale (and you will ask for the sale), you'll be glad you invested in them.

So, listen to the cookie. Build your business by creating a community. For more on this concept, check out the guys at Internet Business Mastery today (I have written about the Internet Business Mastery guys before).  To learn from them, you don't need to spend a dime.  Their podcast is awesome.  You can start with their tremendous free materials on their podcast website and learn a lot about how to think about building a life-long Internet business.

Have a great day.
Mark

Photo credit: Uploaded on July 17, 2006 by headcase

It's time for another weekly Internet Business Fortune Cookie. Last night I had Kung Pao Chicken, extra spicy. It was yummy.

The Cookie Speaks The Truth

As you know, everything you need to know about running an internet business can be learned from fortune cookies. This week's cookie actually hits right at the heart of the fear that we all have when starting a business on the Internet -- "Past Experience: He who never makes mistakes never did anything that's worthy."

Of course, that fortune cookie is obviously referring to the fact that many people who are trying to make money online fail because they fail to act. As the guys over at the Internet Business Mastery Academy say, people "don't go to bat." This reluctance to take action can be due to many things -- but chief among the barriers is fear of failure.

When you first get started at anything, you are going to have some failure mixed in with your success. What you want to do is fail as quickly as possible. Take massive action, fail, correct your course, and fail again. Rinse and repeat until you are successful. There is a word for this tenacious behavior -- learning.

Most of the time, the difference between actually making money online and dreaming about making money online has to do with taking action. Internet Business is not a spectator sport. If you want to win, you have to put yourself in the game.

Follow The Cookie

So, the message for you today is, take action. Skip that episode of "Private Practice" tonight and do something that will advance your business. Write a new blog post (or start a blog); start work on a new product for your niche (or identify a new niche). Just do something that will materially advance you toward your goal. Make some mistakes and learn from them. You'll be glad you did.

Planning on taking some action as a result of this post? Let me know what it is by dropping a comment. Publicly declaring your intention to make progress is a great way to hold yourself accountable.

Have a great day.
Mark

Photo credit: Uploaded on July 17, 2006 by headcase

My wife and I like Chinese food, and there is a pretty good Chinese food place that delivers to our neighborhood.  So, just about every Wendesday night we order Chinese.  It's sort of a tradition with us, and I really look forward to it each week.  Sometimes the simple things in life are the best.

Lately, I have noticed that all of the fortune cookies have messages inside that relate to my internet business activities.  So, I thought I would start sharing those with you.  Who knows, this may even become a regular feature.  So, without further delay, here is my first "Internet Marketing Fortune Cookie":

"Your Efforts Are Budding -- Results Will Appear Soon"

This is a message that a lot of us in Internet Marketing need to hear.  So many people get into Internet Marketing because they need to make money fast and easy.  While that certainly does happen, this is not the typical case.

The fact is that Internet Marketing is a lot of hard work.  Sure, it may eventually be possible to work 4 hours per week and make $17 Million a year, but that will not happen until after a lot of the hard work and learning is done.  There are exceptions, but this is the rule -- you have to work hard (and smart) to succeed.

However, if you work hard and treat your Internet Marketing efforts like a business, you can and will succeed (especially if you have the right coaching available).

The number one reason people fail in Internet Business is that they quit too soon. Why do they quit?  Often times it is because they are looking for "something for nothing."  Other times, they just get discouraged or listen to bad advice.  Don't be that person.  Keep making progress.  Do something today that will help your business.

Your efforts will generate results soon.

Do you agree?  Or are you frustrated about your internet business or have another point of view?  I want to hear about it in the comments below.

Best regards,
Mark

Photo credit:  Uploaded on July 17, 2006 by headcase

Wednesday I talked a little bit about stuff going on at the Internet Business Mastery Academy and the importance of Lifestyle Design -- and I got a variety of responses.  A lot of people got what I was talking about -- but I think a lot of people just thought that the idea of designing their lifestyle sounded "Goofy."

I wondered why, and I decided that must be because a lot of people just let their lives "happen to them."

They get into a college (or just decide not to go), they get a job (whatever one happens to be available, they get into relationships (and have kids and dogs), they buy houses and cars.  They have everything - everything except a plan.

Then, before they know it they are trapped in a life they never really thought about.  They failed to design their life.  It's like building a house without a blueprint -- you get what you get, and you may not like it.

The cool thing is that it doesn't have to be this way.

That's why everyone needs to listen to "The 3 Pillars of Designing Your Ultimate Internet Lifestyle" that I was mentioning on Wednesday.  In that audio, you can start to imagine the possibilities.  Just imagine if you could:

• Live anywhere you want
• Make money doing something you really enjoy
• Choose where you spend your workdays
• Decide how many hours you work each day
• More importantly, choose how many hours you play

Sounds impossible?

Too simple?  Too good to be true.  Maybe.  Of course, if you let them, Sterling and Jay will tell you about their students that they have coached that have quit their 9-5 jobs.  Those students are running their own successful internet businesses on their own terms.

But don't take my word for it -- check it out (the audio is free).

Regards,
Mark

When I first started studying Internet Marketing, I immediately ran across Sterling and Jay and their Internet Business Mastery Podcast. I found the podcast while searching iTunes looking for information about how to make money online.  At that time they had the number one internet business podcast, and they still claim that title today.  When I first downloaded their podcast, I did not even know what Internet Marketing was.  Since then, I have written about these guys many times on this blog.  I respect them as honest experts on a variety of topics.

The Internet Business Mastery Focus

Sterling and Jay are really all about Lifestyle Design.  They know a lot and teach a lot about making money online, but money is not their focus.  They also know a lot and teach a lot about Internet Marketing,  although teaching the latest marketing strategies is not the primary focus of their business.  While they are experts on these topics and do teach all of this stuff, Internet Business Mastery is really about lifestyle design.

So what is lifestyle design?

Most of us have lives that revolve around our business.  I know that my life is centered around my traditional engineering job at a large company.   I love my job, but I know that most people out there are not as fortunate as I am in that regard.  Lots of people are working 9 to 5 for a paycheck (and that paycheck is not really all that great).

What Sterling and Jay argue is that you should create your own business that is designed around the lifestyle that you want.  It's about working to live versus living to work versus living the lifestyle of your dreams.  They ask the question -- What is your definite major purpose in your life and is your business designed to support that?  Their goal is to teach you how to do that, starting from scratch today.

As I have mentioned previously, I am a charter member of their Internet Business Mastery Academy -- even so, I have a difficult time impressing on people the greatness of it.  Now I don't need to anymore.   Finally Sterling and Jay will handle that for me.

Free Course -- Pillars of Internet Business

Sterling and Jay have decided to release a free 45 minute audio course and lifestyle design guide so people can finally see what they are all about.

I strongly recommend that you check it out.  It's free, and the ideas in there are important.  In the audio, you'll hear reference to the Internet Business Mastery Academy.  Even if you never decide to join the Academy, the listening to the free audio will be well worth your time.

So, what are you waiting for -- check out the 3 Pillars of Internet Business today.  You'll thank me later.

Regards,
Mark

Several weeks ago I did a review of the Internet Business Mastery Academy and highly recommended new membership site. At that time I mentioned how excited I was about the quality of the content and offered there. I also noted when I wrote that first post that at that time there was no affiliate program (yet).   That is still true -- so you can relax.   I am not trying to sell you anything.  At the time of this writing, I am not making a dime from this post (although I expect there will be an affiliate program later this year, and I definately plan to promote the site).

Lots Of Cool Features

The Academy has several main features. There is a robust members only forum, course content, and a very cool "Rolodex" feature that helps people find recommended solutions and services. The latter feature is sort of like a cross between "Angie's List" and a How-To Guide. You sort of have to see it to appreciate how cool it is.

Anyway, the course material is being added and created over time. There are currently five complete courses available, with the first part of the six course coming starting this week. I thought it would be cool to review the first course here to give you a feel for the flavor of the material inside of Internet Business Mastery Academy. (I am also going to spill the beans about some of the key parts of the course here -- I hope that Sterling and Jay don't kick me out).

Money Ain't Everything

As I have mentioned before, Sterling and Jay are about more than just making money on the internet. They worry about things like lifestyle choices, definite major purpose and fulfillment. Their basic premise is that if you are working on something "just for the money" that you don't really care about doing stuff you don't really like to do, you will not be successful. When they say "successful" they are talking about having the lifestyle of your dreams (money and time to spend it) while enjoying what you do (passion).

Course 1 is all about the foundations and mindsets that that you need to have to be successful in any business (especially a internet entrepreneurship). The course is rich and includes ten audio files as well and some additional supporting material. Some key points from the course are (the following is a summary of content blatantly stolen from Sterling and Jay without permission):    

• Why internet business? What is it about internet business that should make you consider starting your own? There are three pillars to a successful internet business, and Jay and Sterling cover them in some detail. They also outline a road map for internet business success. While the content is too much to repeat here, I can tell you that my favorite recommendation is "take massive action."
• While there are many ways to make money on the internet, information marketing is an important one due to several critical objective business considerations. Sterling and Jay cover the value of information and why selling information can be the ideal internet business.
• Success means being a lifetime learner. The most successful people at the top of their game never stop learning. This is similar to what Covey teaches when he encourages people to "sharpen the saw."
• If you plan to make money and live the lifestyle of your dreams, you may need to reset your thinking about time and money. Your time has value, and you need to recognize that. Some of your preconceptions about time and money may be holding you back. Sterling and Jay discuss how to recognize and deal with that.
• Everyone has fears (sometimes they do not even realize that they have fears). If fears are stopping your from starting your internet business (true in many cases) you need a framework for rationalizing and analyzing those fears. Don't let fears stop you -- most things that you are worried about are not a big deal.

Bottom Line:  Highly Recommended

There is a lot more where that came from -- I am just scratching the surface. The bottom line is that a month into the Academy, I am still a big believer in both the message and the messengers. I strongly recommend Internet Business Mastery Academy and encourage you to join today.

Got a question about Internet Business Mastery Academy? Want an honest answer?  Drop a comment with your question and  I'll give you straight answer.

I'm writing this in the United Airlines Red Carpet lounge in Narita airport near Tokyo.  It's 2AM Dallas time, but it is the middle of the day here in Japan.  I am waiting on my connection to another Asian country.  That will be my third airplane today and I have a bus ride to follow that.  I left my house in Dallas 20 hours ago and I have another 8 to go before I reach my hotel.  I am officially declaring that a long day (phew).

It's A Small, Small World

All is not lost, however.  I am chatting with Garry Conn via GTalk as I write this.  He is still up in the middle of the night generating content about how to make money online as usual.  It's funny, because with the internet, he has no reason to suspect that I am in Tokyo aside from the fact that I told him.  The technology is simply amazing.  The first thing I did when I got off the plane was to check on Michael Phelps.  Looks like he won his eighth Olympic Gold Medal while I was somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.  Well, on this day, swimming meant something very good for him -- for me, not so much.  Needing to swim during a scheduled international flight over the pacific is never a good thing.  Luckily, no swimming for me today.

Working On The Road

I did spend time on the plane catching up on course material from the Internet Business Mastery Academy (check out my review of the Internet Business Mastery Academy if you missed it).  The courses in the Academy are targeted at designing an "Internet Lifestyle."  Many people in the Internet Academy have left or wish to leave their day jobs to pursue a career on the Internet.  As I have stated many times, I love my day job and have no intention of leaving it.  Still, it would be cool to have a low maintenance part-time Internet business that generated enough cash to pay off the house and support early retirement on my terms.

So, this has gotten me to thinking about my own goals for MasonWorld.com specifically, and my internet business in general.  I know I want to continue to grow this blog, and I want to develop multiple streams of passive internet income (not necessarily from this blog).  In the very beginning, I thought my passive income was going to come from building armies of AdSense and eBay sites.  Sure, I have a few of those, but they are not very fulfilling.  The thing that I love is helping people be successful.  For example, I was happy the other day because someone was able to implement my free link cloaking solution successfully on their blog with my help.  It was not a big deal, really -- but I was glad I was able to help someone (even just a little).

Time To Update The Roadmap

What all this really means is that I need to update the MasonWorld RoadMap with an eye toward 2009.  I will have accomplished everything I set out to accomplish in 2008 by December.  I will have some AdSense sites, a blog I like, some eBay sites, a my first product.  So, what is next?  What do I really want from all of this?  That is what I am working through using some of the methods taught over at the Internet Business Mastery Academy.  When I figure it all out, you will be the first to know.

What Do You Want (Leave a comment below)?

One thing I would like to know is who are you, why do you read my blog, and what would you like to hear about?  That will help me set the direction.  I will also use your feedback to put together a reader survey.  So, let me know what you are thinking.  Leave a comment below, send me email, or drop me a note on the MasonWorld contact form.

Best regards,
Mark

I am totally excited.

I am very excited about the recent launch (July 23, 2008) of the Internet Business Mastery Academy membership site.  So excited, in fact, that I decided to spend my hard-earned money on a membership.  I have been a member for almost two weeks (as far as I can tell I am one of hundreds), and I could not be more pleased.  So, I thought I would tell you about it and offer a review based on my current experience inside the hallowed halls of the Academy.

Here is something that you need to understand first. At the time of this writing, there is no affiliate program for the Internet Business Mastery Academy (IBMA).  I am not making a dime writing this post.  In fact, the IBMA site will not have an affiliate program for months, I'm told.  Sure, when they add an affiliate program, I will edit this post to include my affiliate link -- but at the time of this writing there is no marketing hype.  Just info.

So Why Promote The IBM Academy Now?

I have talked to you before about the Internet Business Mastery podcast.  As you may have heard on CNN, I am currently the World Record holder for "IBM Podcast Rate of Consumption" -- I once listened to 30 episodes twice in 48 hours (or something like that) while traveling around Asia.  Needless to say, Jay and Sterling are by far my favorite internet marketing podcast.

It's not just me. I recently learned that the IBM podcast has in the neighborhood of 15,000 subscribers and climbing.  It has been the number one internet marketing podcast on iTunes for years.  These guys are the real deal.  Jay and Sterling both had real J.O.B.s before leaving them to pursue their dreams on the internet.  They have both had multiple successful internet businesses (and some failures too).

It's Not The Money, Honey

See, the great thing about the Internet Business Mastery approach is that it is more about lifestyle design than making money online.  There are tons of internet resources offering lots of ways to make money online from a hammock on a beach.  Don't get me wrong -- money is a critical necessary element.  It's just that money for money's sake is not what the IBM crew is about.  Jay and Sterling are about lifestyle design -- living the lifestyle of your dreams and using internet business as a tool to get there.  Their tagline is "Escape the 9 to 5" -- and the Academy is designed to be a place where you can learn to do just that.

So, What About This Academy Thing?

The Internet Business Mastery Academy (IBMA) is a membership site that is currently centered around three key value propositions:

• The IBMA Internet Business Courses. Jay and Sterling have previously taught a sold-out coaching course on internet business and internet lifestyle.  They have taken that material, their personal experiences from running their own internet businesses, and material from their time doing the IBM podcast and made it all into a new set of courses for the academy.  At this writing there are 3 courses, with new material coming monthly.  The courses start at the very beginning with lifestyle design and justify why internet business is their focus.  Then, they move right to market research and other key foundational information.  From their, they cover all the information that you need to create a internet business that is aligned with your "Definate Major Purpose."
• The IBMA Mastermind Community. Good membership sites have great forums, and the IBMA forums are off to a great start.  There is a nice mix of brick-and-mortar business owners, regular people with regular jobs, people with online businesses, IBM Coaching Course grads, total newbies, seasoned internet marketing types, technology gurus, etc.  Jay and Sterling have set the tone for a helpful, supportive commuinty with shared goals.  It is really cool.
• Access to the Jedi Masters. OK -- it is probably true that Jay and Sterling put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else.  (I am actually not sure about this).  Still, they are very active in the forums at this point, and they are fun to be around.  What I like about them is that they do not pretend to know everything about everything.

My Strong Recommendation

Well, I am thrilled with the Internet Business Mastery Academy.  I strongly recommend that you give it a try.  Jay and Sterling are offering an iron clad money back guarentee, so there is no risk.   Courses like the stuff in the academy can cost thousands.  (Read their sales page -- it is excellent.)  Or, skip to the bottom and sign up based soley on my recommendation.  Try Internet Business Mastery Academy today.

building photo credit: eflon money photo credit: pfala

I just spent $27 of my own money.

Those of you that have been following me know at least one thing about me: it is not very often that I will promote something sight-unseen on my blog.

This is one of those times - I am excited about this product.

The Community Magnet Teleseminar

You see, I have listened to almost every Internet Marketing podcast on the planet (well it feels like it anyway). As part of that journey, I have come to know Jason Van Orden -- one half of the Internet Business Mastery (IBM) Team of Jay and Sterling.

Jason is also the brains behind the best Podcast about Podcasting: The Podcasting Underground.

I have gotten to know Jason through his podcasts, and his blog -- and more recently through private conversations on email and twitter. (Note that I am currently the undisputed world-record holder for IBM Podcast Rate of Consumption (PRC) at over 20 podcasts per day).

I've been on the inside. Before the Teleseminar, (when Jason started writing his Community Magnet eBook,) he asked me to review an advanced copy, and I was stunned.

Now, Jason says this Teleseminar is the most important content that he has ever created -- and I agree.

I hope this blog post reaches you in time because I just made a special arrangement to get you a $70 discount on a special teleseminar. Jason's teleseminar reveals how to magnetically attract a following of loyal customers with an easy and inexpensive marketing strategy...podcasting.

Because I'm a partner in this teleseminar, you can attend as an insider guest for $27 rather than the normal $97 list price. But you have to hurry because the call takes place this Wednesday, June 4th.

For the last few days I've been busily at work on the e-book promised in the sidebar of my blog.  The book is an attempt to document the 10 most important things that new Internet marketers should know.  It hasn't been that long since I was new, and I distinctly remember being bewildered by the enormous amount of information available about making money online.  I remember having a hard time even understanding all the words that were being used: squeeze page, WSO, WordPress, search engine optimization, post-slug, etc.

So, this eBook is an attempt to help those who come after me.  I'm making some good progress on the eBook, and I'm trying hard to keep it under 20 pages.

I did get completely distracted today by something I discovered (I learned about it on the Internet Business Mastery podcast) called jott.com.   jott.com is this really cool voice-recognition transcription and e-mail service available for free.  Once you sign up for service with jott.com, you simply dial the toll-free jott number, specify to whom you wish to jott, and leave a message.  The jott system then magically transcribes your voicemail and sends an e-mail to the specified person containing the text of your message.

It works surprisingly well.  I was amazed.

As an extra bonus, jott supports connections to WordPress, twitter, and a dozen other tools.  So, the next time you see a twitter from me in traffic, you can feel good knowing that I am using jot rather than typing and driving.

Best regards, Mark

I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but I think a lot of people get into Internet Marketing because they want to land in the Internet Marketing lifestyle. Everybody wants to be the guy on the beach with a laptop making $4 million a year. Topics around the Internet Marketing lifestyle have been discussed extensively in the mainstream media lately, and the focal point for a lot of the discussion has been the book "The Four-Hour Work Week". (That's a great book, by the way).

Of course it's one thing to talk about the Internet lifestyle of your dreams, and it's another thing to actually live it. So, I was excited to find that Melanie Van Orden had finally launched her much anticipated website about living the "travel lifestyle of your dreams without being filthy rich." She calls her blog JetSetNow.com. The blog is brand-new, but from the looks of it Melanie plans e-courses, podcasts, regular blog posts and an e-mail newsletter. Phew. She'll be busy.

I don't really know Melanie, but I'm familiar with the work of her husband Jason Van Orden. Jason is the brains behind The Podcasting Underground podcast and is also half of the Internet Business Mastery team. If Melanie's stuff is half as good as Jasons, JetSetNow.com will be a blog to watch. You see, Jason and Melanie are currently living in Buenos Aires Argentina, having recently moved there from New York. Their niche is their passion and their blog, and you can follow along with them in their adventures across the globe.

Check it out you be glad you did.

I spend a lot of time in my car, so one of the best ways for me to learn about things is through audio recordings. In the past, this has meant buying "books on tape" -- more recently "books on CD." The explosion in podcasting in the last five years has really changed everything. You can find podcasts on everything from the bible to neurology to health and fitness.

Of course, it is no surprise that you can find tons on internet marketing podcasts on the internet. As of this writing, there are hundreds if not thousands, of search results in iTunes for the search term "internet marketing.". One of the first internet marketing podcasts that I found on iTunes was the Internet Business Mastery (IBM) Podcast. I found it because it is currently the most popular Internet Marketing podcast on iTunes. I personally think it is the best IM podcast on the net.

Since that time, I have loaded my iPod up with subscriptions to several IM podcasts so that I have enough content to fill in between IBM episodes. Actually, some of the content that I have been able to find is simply excellent and a great compliment to the IBM podcast.

Here is my current list of top 5

• Internet Business Mastery Podcast with Jay and Sterling
• Podcasting Underground Podcast
• Internet Marketing VooDoo
• 10 Golden Rules of Internet Marketing Podcast
• Marketing Online Live with Alex and Paul

You can search for these on iTunes -- they are easy to find.

I like Yaro Starak's podcast, but it is not on iTunes (at least I could not find it) and I usually do not bother with stuff that is not on iTunes. With Yaro, I was able to add his RSS feed to iTunes and that seems to work pretty well.

In my day job, I do a lot of public speaking -- this makes me want to launch the MasonWorld Internet Marketing podcast. Will have to see about that. If I did a podcast, it would be all about how to get started in internet marketing. I have found that much of the existing content is targeted a people who have been in IM for some time, making it hard for beginners to get up to speed. Since I can barely find time to post, I think I will hold off on launching a podcast for a while...

So, do you listen to any great Internet Marketing podcasts that I missed? Let me know.

Regards,
Mark

Almost completely hype-free, the book covers five methods for making money on-line:

• Information Marketing -- Selling digitally delivered information. In this section, Yanik describes why selling digital information is the ultimate way to go. I happen to agree with him, as this is part of my long term plan. He covers the basics about how to get started registering a domain and setting up a shopping cart. The section is only about 100 pages long, and is not a complete guide. However, looking at it from the perspective of a brand-new-to-the-internet person, it is a great beginners guide.
• Selling on eBay. I don't know the first thing about running a real business on eBay, so it was hard for me to evaluate this section. Sydney Johnson covers how to select products, how to do listings, and what makes a successful seller.
• Affiliate Marketing. This sections is nicely done by super-affiliate Rosalind Gardner. I like this section too as it is also part of my longer term strategy. When I started looking at making money on line, I did not even know what affiliate marketing was. It would have been really nice to have seen this section of the Silver book at that early stage. Gardner talks about how to find and work affiliate programs. The advice she gives is very similar to the advice in a recent post about how to make money online by Garry Conn. Good, solid fundamental information about how to get started.
• Yahoo stores and E-Commerce stores. Again, not something that I am highly interested in. The section covers the history of Yahoo stores and how to select a niche, drop-ship, take payments, etc.
• Blogging. I liked this section. It was written by Darren Rowse - lending instant credibility. It covers what a blog is, how to set up a blog, and how to monetize. Again, since it is only 50 pages long, it is just a start and covers the basics. However, if you are just starting out, it is a great overview.

So, why write a real book? At $21.95, this 300 page book sells for less than most eBooks. The answer is that this book (which provides useful information and is a great value for the beginner) is actually a loss leader for the associated website. The book comes with free videos. When you go to the web page, you hit a squeeze page that collects your email. According to the book, they have plans for a membership site.

No matter. If you are a beginner and you are having trouble telling whether or not guys like Jeffrey Lant are on the up and up, this is a great book for you. If you are not brand new, take a pass on this book.

Regards,
Mark

Greetings from Asia

One of the great allures of Internet Marketing is the lifestyle that it promises. Almost every Internet Entrepreneur that you run across will talk to you about the magic of being able to work when and where they want. In fact, Jay (from my favorite podcast Internet Business Mastery) recently moved to Buenos Aires ostensibly just so he could learn how to Tango. Now that is lifestyle management. He was able to do that because of the miracle that is the Internet (which was invented by Al Gore - not). Of course, what a lot of these Internet gurus fail to tell you is that they are totally addicted workaholics. But that, my friends, is a topic for another post.

As I have mentioned many times, I have a day job, and Internet Marketing is a hobby for me. This week, my real job has me in Asia visiting suppliers. It's a lot less exciting than it sounds, involving lots of jet lag, too many calories, not enough exercise, and too many different hotels. Anyway, I wanted to be able to do some work on the blog off-line on the airplane. I use WordPress, and the post editor (which is not that great) is an on-line tool. So, I started searching around for a good tool for off-line blog posting tool that would run on my Dell laptop.

It turns out that without too much searching, I was able to locate a tool called ecto. Now ecto is actually a "desktop blogging tool." I am not sure how it will behave off-line, but it is neat when you are connected to the Internet. Basically, you tell it about your blog and it interfaces to the blog backend. This post is my first try to use it. It is a pretty neat tool that is available for the Mac and for the PC. I hear that the Mac version is much better. Ecto has nice features -- YouTube, Amazon and Flickr integration, WYSIWYG editor, spell checking, category and tag support, and lots of other things that I have not investigated yet. I am still not clear if it will work well completely off-line (on the airplane). I'll be flying from Taiwan to Singapore via Hong Kong tonight, so I will test it then. Can you say "jet lag"?

Ecto comes with a free 21 day trial, so you can try it out yourself if you are so inclined.

Best regards,

Mark

Technorati Tags: blogging software, ecto, internet lifestyle

I have mentioned how much I like Caroline Middlebrook's blog before. Caroline's eBook on building niche sites in WordPress inspired my current "Niche Super-Site case study." It's inspiring to watch her progress because she is doing what I want to do -- having success making money on line without going down the "snake oil path." A lot of people refer to Caroline as "the honest blogger," and that is about the highest compliment that can be paid in my book.

So, I was surprised and excited to hear that Caroline is finally working on an email-based StumbleUpon course that will result in her building an email mailing list. I was surprised because she has resisted this in the past. She finally settled on this project because it focus on delivering valuable free content, and not on selling. In fact, she has no definite plans to sell any specific products right now. For now she is happy to add value and learn about building lists. The press was stunned and amazed, and as you can see here, the story was instantly picked up by Net Money Daily.

I also said I was excited. I was excited because I have wanted to start working on my own list. Jay and Sterling over at Internet Business Mastery are always talking about the value of lists. Like Caroline, they focus on real businesses (not snake oil). They also happen to have the best Internet Marketing Podcast on the internet. Anyway, as usual I will be able to leverage off of Caroline's excellent work. This is great for me. As a part-time internet entrepreneur, I need all the help via mentoring I can get.

See, even though this is not Caroline's focus at this time, mailing list are important for sales. I heard once (from Sterling?) that studies show that it takes an average of 7 contacts before someone buys something. The cool thing here is that Caroline is not all about money - and she will build a list of people that know that about her. I expect that if she tries to sell me something from the list, it will be something that she really believes in. Why? Because that is her behavior. So, let's forget about internet marketing for a minute. What if one day Caroline's becomes aware of someone in her community that needs some help? She can use her list to ask for some help. It's permission marketing. People on your list have given you permission to talk to them. Lists are powerful -- they are the asset in an internet marketing operation.

Now the cool thing is that Caroline is introducing the project as a contest. The winner gets the privilege of having Caroline use their Aweber Affiliate ID to sign up for Aweber's excellent mailing list management service. This is an excellent prize as the affiliate commission is paid each month for the life of the subscription. Very cool. Aweber is really supposed to be the best, and if it's good enough for Yaro Starak, it's good enough for me.

So, I knew right away, I had to try to win.

But, Caroline has thousands of readers. No telling how many entries there will be. It's all very brilliant really -- a viral contest about mailing list to get mailing list opt-ins. I love it. Anyway, I was immediately worried. See, Caroline lives in the UK, and I live in the US. I was scared to death that she might still be pissed about that whole taxation without representation - tea party thing. Then I thought that maybe she is already over that. Phew. (God save the Queen and all that).

So, I settled on a multi-part entry. Here is my entry to Caroline's email course project contest in multiple parts:

1. Appeal to her European heritage. I've never been to Stratford-upon-Avon, but I suspect quoting William Shakespeare could have some positive effect. As it happens, much like Nostradamus, Shakespeare predicted the arrival of Web 2.0. "Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast." Of course he was talking about the dangers of quick love in Romeo and Juliet -- or was he?
2. Buy her a word. I actually bought the word stumble from The Big Word Project and pointed it at yet to be defined page on her site. (Caroline, you need to make a landing page. You now own the word "stumble". This is a big responsibility). The Big Word Project allows you to purchase a word from their list to represent a site. That site will then represent stumble in their list and when people click on it, they will be taken to Caroline's site. The project is aimed at changing definitions and creating a new tapestry of words, meaning altogether different things.
3. Write poetry. Women love poetry. I wrote a haiku:

Web two-point-oh comes

In it's wake, some will stumble.

Some will be stumbled.

4. Digg and Stumble her contest announcement. OK, that was shameless, I know. But, I did it. I'm not proud, but I did it. I really want to win. I need to win. Winning is everything.
5. Find a cool graphic for my post. Boy, I sure did that. The above "stumbling down the stairs" graphic is from All Sux dot Com. I have given them a backlink, so hopefully they wont be pissed that I used their graphic without permission.
6. Long sales letter. Caroline loves long sales letters. I suspect she will be using a lot of long sales letters in her email list. I could add testimonials and yellow highlighting. There could be bonus video and free ebooks if she picks me. It could be a limited time offer. I would win for sure then. Strike that. Just kidding Caroline.
7. Redesign my blog.  Sure, it's a big expense and a lot of work.  But if I really expect to win this contest, I need to go all out.  So, a blog redesign may be just the ticket!

8. Call on a higher power. Looks like some local advertising might be just what I need to win.

That about does it for my entry. If you like my entry, please leave a comment here for Caroline to see, stumble it, and then go visit her blog. Note that I reserve the right to augment my entry before the deadline...never know what the competition will bring.

Thanks,
Mark

This week I had the opportunity to drive a convertible Ford Mustang with the top down in sunny San Jose, CA. Man, was that great. Surprisingly, I did not have the radio on -- I was actually listening to the Internet Business Mastery (IBM) podcast on my iPod. Jay and Sterling just released their latest episode -- an interview with Yanik Silver. Now, I happen to think that the IBM podcast is the best internet marketing podcast on the net. If you have not checked it out, you should.

I think I hold the world record for rate of consumption of Internet Business Mastery podcasts. I discovered these guys exactly two weeks ago, and have listened to the entire series (37 episodes and counting) twice. Sterling always talks about "information overload" on the show, and how he listens to Dan Kennedy audio books in line at the grocery store. Well, this is worse by any measure -- geeking out to an internet marketing podcast in a convertible mustang.

I am not in either of those groups. I really like my job and I really want to add some value on the net. I am not looking for something for nothing. This is more of a hobby for me. So, I ordered the Silver book after hearing Yanik talk about it on the IBM podcast, and I will let you know what I think in a few days when it arrives.That sort of gets me back to California and the Mustang. As many of you know, my first foray into internet marketing is really twofold -- creating a "Niche Super Site" with a $2/day passive revenue goal, and blogging about the creation of that site on this site (thus creating useful content for those who come after me). So, it's back to work. I got my first eZineArticle rejected. Woo hoo! That will be the topic for my next post.

As a side note, I got very distracted reading the very famous Butterfly Marketing Manuscript by yet another guru, Mike Filsaime. This Mike guy is another guru and a total internet wildman. After reading that report, I can see how these big-money guys can make millions per year (his description of how HotMail happened made me realize that I have been under a rock for some time with regard to internet marketing). The whole report was a real "AH HA" moment. But, I am not ready for that yet -- back to the getting started work for now (and waiting for Yanik's book).