Woah! It’s been awhile!

The past several months have been interesting… LOTS of learning and implementing new ideas. I built a WordPress theme from scratch last weekend (first time), built several new Sales Pages, Squeeze Pages, Membership websites and created hundreds of pages of content for my other projects (including video content). There has been a huge focus on growing new businesses and building out existing ones… I could use a full time Marketer on my team.

I had some extra time yesterday so I added a new comment plugin to the blog (Disqus) which I like a lot because of the community feel it brings. I cleaned up the front end (index page), added a new cache system and a few other tweaks. I like the aspkin blog again!

I created a new section awhile back called, Make Money, and it’s still there. And I was starting to build out that section and then I realized something… I could expand on it greatly and create a step-by-step guide on making money online, and so that’s what I did! I created SixFigureBoss.com! A whole website dedicated to showing a person step-by-step HOW to make money online. Go there and enter your email address to get started.

Make Money Online with SFB

And it’s not just another Affiliate ‘How To’ guide, like a lot of marketers put out… rather show you how to create your own products: eBooks, Membership Websites, Virtual Products and even services which bring in recurring income. Isn’t that awesome?

It’s been a big focus of mine and continues to be a focus as it’s awesome project. It’s something I can sink my teeth into and teach others how to make money online by creating their OWN business.

The thing I love about creating new things, whether simple how-to guides or software… I learn a lot in the process. I gain a lot of skills that I can apply to other parts of my businesses. SixFigureBoss was a HUGE project, larger than all my other projects combined and it’s impact could be huge. The skills I gained will make all my other works more awesome… I’m excited for what’s to come. 🙂

Talk soon!

Many people understand during the summer months there tends to be a slowdown in sales, but they don’t understand why. From my understanding it’s not so much a slowdown sort to speak, but a switch in demand from indoor products to outdoor products.

During the summer month’s people tend to be outside more often than in the winter months, and so they do more outside activities. A lot of people tend to go on vacation for example, or pursue more outdoors hobbies. The fishing industry as well as the camping industry has their busiest time in the summer months. Many other retailers by contrast, such as DVD rental or toy manufacturers have their slowest period then.

There are some industries that constantly have steady sales all year long. For example clothes manufacturers that sell both summer and winter ranges, or stores that sell essential products such as bread and milk, or newspapers. The sale of these products isn’t affected at all by the weather or seasons, because hot or cold, they are still needed by most people.

So in fact it really isn’t the case that businesses in general tend to slow down in the spring and summer months. The reality is that there are just different types of businesses and different retail sectors that are going through their own busy times. This shows us that to an extent many products are more seasonal than they might appear to be. Most people when asked to name a seasonal product would say ice cream. Obviously more is eaten in the summer then the winter. But it seems to be that all non essential retail products are seasonal to some extent.

So what can you do about it?

Like I say all the time being diversified keeps you going. I like to sell a mix of must have products and entertainment products. I find my entertainment products tend to sell better during the summer months and educational products do better in the winter months. If you’re struggling this summer, think about what you’re selling and how much of a demand it really is these days. Just know diversification is the key to success in anything you do.

If you’re having trouble finding the perfect product to promote this summer, I recommend using Google Trends. With Google Trends, you can compare the world’s interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over time. Google Trends also shows how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and in which geographic regions people have searched for them most.

For example here is a trend search for Nike Shoes..

As you can see Nike shoes search tends to peak around August, obviously for the new school year. And again around Christmas for gift giving. That’s when you’ll see the most sales for Nike shoes.

Okay now we look at fishing equipment. As you can seed during the summer months is when fish equipment is more popular, but during the winter months it’s pretty much an afterthought.

Give Google Trends a try and see how you’ll do this summer.

Good luck everyone!

Today I went to the BlogWorld & New Media Expo. I usually don’t go to these conventions but since I currently live less than a mile away, I decided to go. My first impression for the three day event wasn’t great. I got bored the first 15 minutes I was there. I couldn’t understand why I paid $100 to go when it seemed they should have paid me. I mean there were about 50 booths of random companies, some I knew and others not so much, that all seemed to just want to push their product. But then I found the free stuff! Almost every booth had some free item they we’re begging to give away. I wish I brought a backpack I had so many t-shirts, sunglasses, pens, and other random items I couldn’t carry them all. Tomorrow I’ll be prepared though! I just got a free Paris backpack a few days ago, and I’m going to put it to good use! I’ll report back if I get any extra nifty items.

– The Copeac Money Grab Machine

The Famous John Chow

The iPhone 3G! I don’t know how I survived without it; I mean for one it’s a GPS device. I used it for my road trip from Texas to Las Vegas not even a month ago. It’s the full blown internet with a real browser that works just the same as any other browser on a computer. It’s 3G so it’s fast and if I want an even faster connection I can connect it to a router and I get the same speed as my laptop. I can have emails pushed out to it every few minutes; the apple store is ridiculous with the amount of content you can download, free and paid applications worth every penny. And it’s my iPod! It’s an all in one device that keeps getting better!

Apple recently released a Firmware update. iPhone 2.1

Basically what it does is this:

• Improves Reception
• Battery Life Slightly Improved
• Reduced Backup Time
• 3G Browser Speed Declined Slightly (I guess to improve battery life)
• Faster Application Installs
• Less Crashes If Any
• No More Keyboard Lag

It’s the best! I find myself sucked into it or my laptop at all hours of the day. To me it’s the best device every invented, I just wish for the next update they add a ‘cut and paste‘ feature and then I shall be complete. 🙂

It’s that time of the year again, kids are going back to school and money is moving! It’s said to be the second-busiest shopping season of the year after Christmas. Kids need new clothes, shoes, gadgets, school supplies, books and lots of other things now! If you haven’t geared up already, it’s time to launch more auctions, and get your products seen by more shoppers.

Keywords to focus on in your auctions should be:

• New!
• Fast Shipping
• Easy
• You

Talk to your potential buyers on a personal level, use ‘you’ a lot. Emphasis a fast delivery and how easy it is to use your product. If what you’re selling is NEW, say it! If it’s the latest gadget out there, let it be known.

Good luck guys! Get those sales going!