FabianTan.com

A faster way to get results from Internet marketing is to absorb teachings and philosophies from other spheres and apply them to the way you operate your business.

Bruce Lee, the most efficient human fighting machine the world has ever known, is a great person to glean success lessons and even money lessons from. Although Bruce Lee was often smaller than his opponents, he regularly took his opposition “to the cleaners”, even when they ganged up on him in groups.

How was he able to do this? Bruce Lee knew that in a battle of blood and fists, relying on any one style was risky business. So he created his own unique martial arts system, Jeet Kune Do (“The Way of the Intercepting Fist”). He cross-trained in all of the most dangerous martial arts around. At the height of his powers, he could perform amazing feats. These included moves like two-finger push-ups, where he literally does push-ups with two fingers, and the one-inch punch, which sends his opponents flying across the ground with one flick of his fist standing just an inch from the opponent.

Okay, but what does this have to do with Internet marketing and making money though? Everything.

With the amount of money-making strategies and traffic generation tactics out there, it is dangerous to rely on any one strategy or tactic. Start off by becoming a master of one method (or ‘style’) then incorporate other methods into your business to make it failure-proof. By implementing different methodologies, not only do you insulate yourself from risk, your business also expands faster.

While The Little Dragon’s philosophy may not apply directly to making money and business, they have formed a large part of my business and success philosophy.

Here is my interpretation of some his quotes as they apply to success and making money:

• “I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times.”

It defeats the purpose to practise 10,000 Internet marketing methods but only know each of them superficially. The main goal is to start practising one method 10,000 times (or as many times as required), master it, and then move on to the next technique.

The key is to focus on one technique, become a master at it, then move on to the next, adding more workable methods into your business.

• “A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard.”

Businesses are seldom built overnight. The “magic pill” solution is rarely the answer to all problems. There is work involved in building a successful business.

An interpretation here is to learn to either do things by yourself or outsource them to an expert. But it is best to know how to do the important things (like building a website) so that you are not entirely dependant on others.

• “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it.”

As an online entrepreneur, you will at some point have to work with entities like Internet Service Providers, autoresponders, search engines, and other ‘authorities’. As much as it can be tempting to say ‘screw it’ and not follow their rules or boycott their services, oftentimes it is better to be flexible as there are more advantages to be gained from it. As Bruce Lee would say in this case, don’t be ‘for or against’.

• “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”

Successful entrepreneurs realize that they create their own luck. The harder you persist, the more luck you will receive. Most people who are successful started from some place that is worse than most of us are at now.

Many unsuccessful people fail to look at the big picture – luck is a consequence, not a cause. Look at small failed marketing campaigns as learning lessons that are opportunities to improve.

• “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

Time is money. Money lost can be earned again, but time wasted can never be found again. Learn how to say ‘no’ to unessential activities. The likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs didn’t have time for frivolities when they were growing their worldwide technology empires. They had only one goal – to build a successful enterprise that would benefit millions.

Get in and maximize while the going is good and you’re healthy and capable. If things get better, you win. If things get worse, you’re agile and prepared.

• “Any technique, however worthy and desirable, becomes a disease when the mind is obsessed with it.”

Be careful of getting obsessed with technologies or methods. Principles will always outlast technologies and methods. The principles of marketing that worked 30 years ago still work today. In 10 years time, the whole technology landscape will be different again and we will all have new toys and gadgets to play with.

Techniques like SEO, PPC, and article marketing will either evolve or be replaced by something entirely new. Be a master of techniques, but don’t become obsessed with them. Use them as a means to an end.

• “Eliminate “not clear” thinking and function from your root.”

Bruce Lee realized the importance of clear thinking in achieving success in anything. These days, it is harder to get focused with all the distractions surrounding us (Facebook, YouTube, American Idol, forums etc). Focus on what you want to achieve in your business and work in a straight line towards achieving your goals. Keep leisure activities for the end of the “workday”.

If you have to, turn off your Internet connection while you’re working on that ebook or writing that new blog post so as to eliminate all distractions. Get good ear plugs if there are construction noises or passing vehicles outside, take the phone off the hook, or get an office away from home. Do whatever is necessary to “get clear”.

• “It’s not the daily increase but decrease – hack away at the unessential.”

Whether you are Warren Buffett or the homeless man on the street, we all have only 24 hours a day. Don’t add more things to your plate if you can’t already. Avoid adding more unnecessary activities into your business. If you have to include non-essential, small continuous improvement processes into your business, always look to outsource them or automate them. Focus on what you are strong at, and delegate the activities which you are weak at.

Bruce Lee knew that in a world that is getting more complicated, keeping things simple is often the answer.

Now that you have read this list, which quote made an impact on you and why? Please share your comments in the comments section below.

To YOUR Online Success!

- Fabian

P.S. When Bruce Lee was at the lowest point in his life, he wrote a Mission Statement called “My Chief Personal Aim In Life”: 

“I, Bruce Lee, will be the highest paid Oriental superstar in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting in 1970, I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession the sum of $10,000,000—then I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.”

Although he did not achieve all of goals due to his tragic young death, he is certainly an inspiration to everyone of us.

When is the right time to give your day job the boot? That’s a question that many entrepreneurs have asked at some point in time.

While it is possible to build an Internet business while you are still at your day job, many have also quit their day jobs as they were determined that they were going to succeed and simply found their time spent at their day job a waste of time. If you do quit your job and work hard at your business, you will have plenty of time and you will have a greater chance to succeed in your Internet business.

To help you out, I have created a simple quiz (this should be used only as a guideline):

1. Do you have enough cash to survive for at least 6 months?

You should have enough money in your bank account to sustain your current lifestyle for at least 6 months if you want to quit your day job. You want to start your Internet business, but you also do not want to be starving or struggling to make ends meet!

2. Does your current online income match or surpass your job income?

This is an important question. The decision to quit your job based on this question depends on your risk profile. If you are more of a risk taker, have less financial obligations and you are confident in your online ventures, you can quit your job now even if you are not making a great income. The time you spend at your job can now be focused on your business. On the other hand, if you have more financial obligations, quitting your job now may not be a good idea at this moment. As you can see, it depends. Before you quit your job, make sure you also have health/medical insurance and life insurance.

3. Do you know how to setup a website?

This is one of the basics. You absolutely need to know how to setup a website to do business on the Internet! Spend time in the beginning learning how to set up a website, it is a skill you will be able to use for years to come.

4. Do you know how to build a subscriber list?

Most successful Internet businesses have huge subscriber lists that allow them to keep in contact with their customers. Having a subscriber list almost always increases profits if you do it the right way. You must know how to setup an autoresponder, drive traffic to your page to build your list, and market properly to your prospects.

Want to learn more about building a subscriber email list? Go to http://www.ListProfitBlueprints.com

5. Do you have the determination to do what it takes?

Ultimately, your own success depends a lot on what actions you take towards your goals. Are you serious in starting an online business or are you just ‘playing’? Create GOALS and WORK towards them!

I’d like to know if you have any questions, comments or feedback. What actions have you taken towards your online business success? I look forward to hearing from you!

- Fabian

I’ve got some GREAT content for you today! You may or may not have heard of this Google traffic system. Either way, if you’re not using it yet, you’re missing out on tons of highly-targeted traffic. Here is how to get started:

Step 1 - Do a search on Google for some of the main keywords in your market.

Step 2 - Make a list of all the top 20 sites for each keyword.

Step 3 - Look for blogs or websites that sell advertising space such as banner ads or Adsense ads.

Step 4 – Buy an Adwords Placement Targeting ad spot on the blog/website to get your ad amongst the Adsense ads. Placement Targeting, unlike normal search Adwords, allows you to place ads on specific sites. Bid high to have your ad occupy the whole Adsense block, get the high CTR (click through rate), then lower your bid after one or two weeks. You can also buy a banner ad on the site if they sell it or you can ask them if they would sell a banner ad spot to you.

Example: I did a Google search on ‘home business’ and found a site called http://www.homebusinessmag.com that sells banner ad spots.

To set up Adwords Placement Targeting, go to Settings in your Adwords account, scroll down the page and you’ll see this option to choose how to advertise your offer:

Choose Content Network and choose “Relevant pages only on the placements I manage”. This allows you to target SPECIFIC sites to advertise on!

Learn more about Placement Targeting at Google’s official site or look deeper into it at:

https://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107914

More ways to get traffic by leeching off sites on Google:

- Consider being a guest author to get your own articles on the blog/website and get traffic. This is a GREAT way to leech traffic and gain credibility in your niche!

- Subscribe to the RSS feed using Google Reader and Bloglines if it is a blog and post a comment whenever a new post is made.

- ‘List swap’ with the list of the owner (eg if you have a list of 1000 subscribers, ask the website owner if they would like to do a cross-promotion – you send their offer to 1000 subscribers and they send YOUR offer to 1000 subscribers)

- Exchange banner ad spots on each other’s home page, Thank You page or Download page.

- Link exchange to build backlinks to increase your Google Page Rank for higher search engine positioning.

- Article commenting. If it is a high-trafficked article on an article directory, put in a short comment to get your website link in there.

- Interview the website owner as part of your audio or video product and then invite your new joint venture partner to promote your product when it’s finished.

Step 5 - Expand this system into long-tail keywords (keywords consisting of three/four words or more) and other search engines like Yahoo and MSN.

Step 6 - Study the backlink structure of the top sites and create a blog/website for each keyword to enter and break into the top 20. Do a search on Yahoo or Google like this – link:urlhere.com to see what sites are linking to it and contributing to the high search engine positioning of the site.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Don’t forget to leave your comments/feedback in the comments section…

- Fabian

One fast and easy way to get free traffic is through blog commenting. Spending a few minutes a day commenting on high-traffic blogs can drive dozens of visitors to your site every day. Commenting on blogs can be fun, and it’s a great way to drive traffic for your business!

When talking about commenting on blogs, I don’t condone spamming them with one-liners or promotional messages. I am talking about posting quality content and information that will benefit others. This is the correct way to get targeted traffic to your blog.

The most important thing to remember is that people are reading your posts. These days, many blogs also have comment moderation enabled. Which means your comment won’t be approved until the owner approves it. So if your comment is spammy, it won’t appear! You’d definitely want to post good content to make the most of your efforts.

Now, the first step to the blog traffic generation method is to find blogs that receive good traffic in your niche:

1. Search Engines

Ideally you’ll want to comment on blogs that receive a lot of traffic as well as have good search engine rankings. I recommend doing a search like this “your niche + blog” on Google and scout those blogs in the top 20 listings. If they appear suited to your niche market, start making a note of them.

For instance, here are some of the results I turned up when I typed in “weight loss + blog” on Google:

If you’re in the weight loss niche, some of these blogs may be good places to post comments.

2. Blog Finder Tools

Another great way to find blogs to post on is to use blog finder tools. These tools typically search using keyword values to find related blogs.

Here are a few of these tools:

http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/

http://www.fastblogfinder.com/

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Search-engine-tools-submiting/Total-Blog-Finder-Tool.shtml

Let’s say I want to promote my golf product in a subtle way. A search on Technorati for ‘golf’ brought up these results:

http://technorati.com/search/golf?media=blogs

While not all of them are entirely relevant, there’s certainly a few blogs there that I can comment on to receive targeted traffic to my golf product.

Another great idea is to contact these blogs to do joint venture affiliate deals or place banner ads on their site.

How To Start Getting Traffic From Blog Commenting!

First, you’ll need to download an RSS reader. These will allow you to add RSS feeds from the blogs on your shortlist so you can receive updates from them.

The RSS feeder I use is BlogLines at http://www.bloglines.com. It’s free to download. Another one is Google Reader at http://www.google.com/reader

Now you’ll want to add the RSS feeds from the list of blogs you have compiled. Visit all the blogs and add their RSS feed to your blog reader. You’ll be notified by your RSS reader whenever a new post is uploaded to those blogs.

The reason you’ll want to do this is so that you’ll get first notice of when a new blog post is made, so you can quickly post a comment there. This ensures you’ll be one of the first few to post comments, and those are the ones that usually grab the most eyeballs and get the most traffic.

Now the important thing that I touched on earlier is that you must offer value to your blog comments! You can’t just post ‘Great blog, nice design’ and expect to receive a ton of traffic. So be sure to add something valuable to your comment. Position yourself as an authority in your market by engaging in the conversation of the blog post.

If you’re not sure about how to use an RSS reader to syndicate blog posts, let me walk you through how to do it:

1. Register your name and enter a password of your choice at the Bloglines home page –

2. You’ll then receive an email verification message to confirm your account. Click on the link in that email verification message.

3. Download their Notifier by going to the link as shown below.

Choose the download version that is relevant to your PC (whether it’s Window, Mac etc)

4. Now, start finding blogs and adding their RSS feeds to your reader. Usually, blogs that have an RSS feed will have an Orange icon on their home page. The icon will typically look something like this:

Click on it and you’ll end up on page that looks like this once your reader is installed:

Leave the options as is, hit the ‘Subscribe’ button and you’re ready to go!

Have you used this method before? Do you have you have your own strategy for getting traffic from blogs? I’d like to know what are your thoughts. Feel free to add your comments and thoughts below…

- Fabian