photo credit: Daquella manera

I‘m going to Affiliate Summit West in January

First off, I’d love to hang out with any readers of Vacant Desk who happen to be there. It’d be great to hear what you’re up to and how you’re finding success online. (Let me know in the comments if you’ll be there.)

The reason I’m going to the conference is because I can’t think of a better place to get my head back in the game. I’ve  been neglecting the daily practice of search engine marketing as far as PPC and Media Buys are concerned for the last 6 months. I’m very much into list management and have some valuable partnerships with list owners that have been very profitable. So there hasn’t seemed the need to spend much time working the search engines.

However, I believe that the most important business skill today is the ability to direct quality traffic to landing pages (sites) that convert into dollars. You can argue with me on that (I welcome it) but the fact is that you can have the greatest product/service in the world and go nowhere – because you have no eyeballs. No one knows you exist!

It really doesn’t matter who you are and what you sell – legal services, hose bibs, mail order steaks, or lawn care – you need more opportunity (prospects and customers) to grow your business.

Sure, there are some revolutionary businesses that just…grow. No advertising required because the word of mouth more than amply provides for traffic. But if I had to wait until I had a business like that to make money I’d probably get very hungry.
So one needs to adept at moving eyeballs from one place to another and then converting them into something meaningful. (A sale, lead, or referral)

What does this have to do with the Affiliate Summit West conference?

Well, I’m going to there to learn from and hang out the ninjas of the direct marketing industry.

Successful affiliates are probably the best people to learn from if you want to understand how to convert internet traffic into profits. Here’s why:

1. Affiliates use their own money to promote merchants in the hope of getting paid. No advertiser will care as much about being successful in online marketing as someone who’s putting their own dollars on the line.
2. Affiliates plumb the depths of trends and methodologies in order to maximize their ad dollars, conversions, and subsequent revenues from their merchant partners. I have found that affiliates are like the shifty ninjas of the online marketing world. They run circles around Madison Avenue guys with their knowledge of how to put together a high conversion ad campaign.
3. Even though most successful affiliates don’t realize it, they are actually masters of direct marketing principles that date back to the 1940′s. They use time-tested techniques to create meaningful action on the part of the consumer. They just effectively leverage the internet to do it.

I plan to go soak up some great seminars, pick the brains of a few successful affiliates I know, and get some new ideas for my online marketing/affiliate activities.

Are you going? Let me know in the comments. Let’s grab a drink or meet in the hallway somewhere.

Affiliate Summit West – January 17-20 – Las Vegas

I’m not exactly sure when GoToMeeting web conferencing started to work with Macs. All I know is that it has been amazingly useful for my mobile lifestyle.
I’ve been traveling for the last month and I have another couple weeks to go. In the time I’ve been away from my desk I’ve launch two websites and performed training for the customer using GoToMeeting. I also held a performance review for one of my internet marketing clients where I was able to log into her advertising accounts and go over the numbers.

Here’s what I like about using software of this type. Especially GoToMeeting:

1. It’s actually a better experience for demonstrating software and online work than being face to face. I know this may seem counter intuitive. It works though. Rather than crowding around a screen each participant can sit in front of their own computer comfortably and fully participate.

2. You can have multiple presenters and the hand off is super simple. With one of our meetings I had three presenters going over the areas that they were responsible for. To switch to their screens and give them total control all I had to do was choose their name from a simple drop down and instruct GoToMeeting to make them the presenter. You also can opt just to give them control of the keyboard and mouse while staying as the presenter.

3. It makes your clients feel good. Yes, it gives them the “warm fuzzies”. Or, at least, I’m assuming it does. A lot of your clients/customers/partners may have not had a web conferencing or webinar experience before. It’s a high-tech communication experience for them that gets the job done.

4. You can provide support easily. If a client needs help setting up a piece of software, needs training on a web tool, or needs you to look at something on their computer, it’s super simple to switch the present and have control of their mouse and keyboard. This has been very useful to me more times than I can count.

Check it out. They have a free trial period that includes all the features and functionality. Let me know how you like it (or don’t) in your comments below.

GoToMeeting: Free Trial + $10 Off.

I was reading a travel magazine today and started to feel euphoric. I realized that I’m really motivated by travel. It’s a big reason why I build businesses and push through, at times, unbearable impending failure.

Travel removes you from your current situation and your circumstances. It allows you to stand back and evaluate your world from a distance. It’s the great perspective machine as far as I’m concerned and everyone should do it. There’s, of course, the upside of digging your toes into the white sandy beaches of Mexico with a Corona in your hand or cruising the volcanic plateau of Santorini, Greece on your rented scooter. No matter your destination travel refines, relaxes and releases you from your cares.

Of course we’re big on the tools of travel but what’s the point of being able to connect from anywhere if you don’t have anywhere to go? So here’s what we’re going to start doing on the Vacant Desk blog. We’re going to start highlighting locations, accommodations, and the associated costs with escaping there.

Let’s start with one of my all time favorite destinations: Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

I used to live in Guadalajara while going to Spanish language school back in 1998. PV was a scant four hour bus ride to the coast. We’d stay in a partially completed hotel called La Paloma. (I think that was its name) We didn’t care if it wasn’t completed. We just wanted to hang out on the Malecon and the beach. Ahhh the carefree days!

You can still find some incredible deals in this pristine and historical coastal town of Mexico. I dug one up off of Craigslist in a cool part of town. It’s not on the beach but it’s got awesome views. Check it out.

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8,000 pesos is about $630 US. Not bad for a month in a very beautiful and restful place. For about $1,000 – $1,500 per month you could have a great time in Puerto Vallarta. Throw in the abundance of wifi connected coffee shops and restaurants and no one will know you’ve left!

Here’s a link to the property’s booking website.

I’m always on the move and my productivity doesn’t suffer in the least. This is because I use a particular set of tools – hardware and software – that allow me to work from anywhere at anytime. I guess I wouldn’t travel as much if I hadn’t taken the time to weed through all the “mobile work” solutions and come up with a winning combination. Actually, I try to work as little as possible but when I need to take care of business I’m able to do it whether I’m on a random, spontaneous vacation with my family or overseeing a particular business project somewhere.

This subject is actually somewhat of a passion for me. I’m intrigued by the way we are changing the way we work in the 21st century. I believe we still work in the old way mostly because it’s an entrenched idea that’s pretty irrelevant to the demands of most jobs. If the average worker/entrepreneur/contractor of knowledge based businesses was to be a little more purposeful about how they worked they’d find that they enjoy a quality of life that can’t be found by being anchored to their desks. (Even if it was for even one hour per day.)

In this blog I’m going to share with the world the tools and concepts I use to be totally free of my desk whenever and for however long I want. I’m looking forward to hearing about your suggestions and methodologies for being an efficient “desk free” human as well.