Shoemoney System Review & Overview

Saturday 13th March, 2010

In this video, Jeremy introduces us to Kara. Now I have to ask at this point, what is with all these girls? Why not have another guy in the videos every now and then? Then again, I can only assume that Jeremy has probably done his homework and discovered that his target demographic is primarily red-blooded alpha males who want to look at nice chicks while he’s explaining the “how-to’s” on a particular subject — and don’t get me wrong, they are nice women to look at… if somewhat a little distracting. Makes me wonder how his wife feels about it all though?

Anyway, I digress…. (FOCUS, FOCUS. Get back on target)

Today’s video concentrates on how to advertise your Facebook Fan Page. Kara is not new to social media and has used Facebook for a while now. She also works at nights as a bartender for a local club, which just happens to have its very own Facebook Fan Page.

Jeremy talks about how Facebook came up with their advertising method, leveraging both images and text to target a specific user rather than using just a simple “catch-all” effect. Now I have to say that I’ve never really noticed the ads on Facebook much (I have mentioned this fact in previous blog posts), so I didn’t realize that they were supposed to zero in on your specific interests. Now that I think about it I’m not sure I’ve set up my Facebook profile properly anyway, so the ads that are shown to me might not be that targeted?

I also didn’t realize that there was a “More Ads” link down the bottom of the page so I’ll check that out soon and see what ads are targeting me. It could be interesting because most of the stuff I say on Facebook, which granted isn’t much, is fairly trivial…

Kara then asked Jeremy about the big ads when she logs on to her page (man, I don’t recall ANY of this stuff? I think I must have a severe case of ad blindness!), however when it came to actually showing a sample page it did come flooding back to me — though I wouldn’t say the ads were big at all. Besides, I thought most of them were just more of those useless applications….

Jeremy goes on to talk more about CPM and CPC (which was covered somewhat in an earlier video) and the differences between the two. He also talks about how to set up a targeted ad campaign for Kara’s club/lounge — plus how to check the statistics to see what is, and isn’t working once it all goes live. Apparently the reporting is very good with Facebook and, as Shoe says, the numbers never lie!

Jeremy finishes up by adding a number of different images for the ad, to see which one of them gets the most clicks. Once that’s determined (I guess in the next video) the most popular image, signup/click wise, will be the final one used for the extended ad campaign.

Anyway, that’s basically it for today’s video. Until next time….

Thursday 11th March, 2010

For this week’s webinar Jeremy is on his own (I guess Jeanne is still not feeling well?). He opened up by making a few announcements, most notably the fact that the Shoemoney System now has a different ticketing/support process in that everything will now be handled “in house” (I think?) rather than with a 3rd party. Hopefully the responses will be a lot quicker for those members who require it.

Jeremy also said that he would be getting in industry pro, Frank Kern, for a future webinar/chat session which might be interesting? Frank has done some very cool things online over the years, and is a master at creating mailing lists which work really well for you.

So, on with todays questions… The first one was about how to place Clickbank links (and other links for that matter) on your blog or website. A fair enough question if you’re new to the internet and just starting out with marketing online. Jeremy answered by saying that he will get a video together on basic HTML to address this.

The second question was in relation to the best place to market your own products using PPC on the social media networks (Facebook, Twitter etc.), to which Jeremy answered that the Facebook stuff was happening in month two (basically now if you’ve been reading the blog) and your own product creation in month three. he said that we’ll also be looking extensively into membership sites training — using one of his own websites as the “training ground”.

Someone then asked Jeremy about how and when he met Paris Hilton (ho hum). As I don’t really give a rat’s ass about her I’m not going to relay what he said here on this blog.

Next there was a question on Jeremy’s upcoming appearance at the Underground Conference and whether or not it was going to be taped for the Shoemoney System members to see. Jeremy answered with a resounding “No”, as it was not up to him to do so. However, he did say that he could record his own presentation in an upcoming chat room/webinar session, where members will be able to submit their own questions. Jeremy also said that his talk focused on branding and how best to leverage your brand name, as well as talking about social media. He also had a few interesting things to say about Twitter which I’m not at liberty to talk about on here. Sorry about that, but this is a review — not an exposé.

The next question was back to the Facebook ads and how to implement them (301 redirects, landing pages etc.) As these things are now being covered in the current videos I’ll not get into what Jeremy had to say about it. Actually this question was a series of separate and in-depth questions so I’m not even sure if I’ll write on this blog just how to go about doing these sorts of things anyway. I’ll have to digest it, mull it over and see.

There were questions about using images and HTML, issues involving Nigerian scammers on eBay (talk about dumb luck!), and even “How do you make your head look so good? WTF???

Jeremy finished by saying that the System might feature stuff that the members are doing (not this little black duck, thank you! I value my limited anonymity). He said they might even go out there and interview or talk to some of the members about what they’ve been up to? Again thanks, but no thanks.

That’s about it for today’s video. Until tomorrow, seeya!

Wednesday 10th March, 2010

While the last video was all about creating a Facebook Fan Page, this video concentrates on optimizing your Fan Page so that you can get the most amount of fans possible.

Jeremy begins by saying that one of his methods of optimization includes the use of HTML. Now, while a number of beginners out there might be a little wary of using HTML simply because they don’t understand it or know how to use it, Jeremy explains that all the code needed will be shown in the video, as well as in writing just underneath the video, so it’s just a matter of simply copying and pasting the code, which can then be edited to your requirements.

Jeanne is not actually in this video as she was apparently ill on the day, however, Jeremy takes us through the process of optimizing Jeanne’s account on her behalf.

Jeremy navigates his way to a link down the bottom of the edit page which says “Static FBML”. Now FBML apparently stands for FaceBook Markup Language, which is similar to HTML (HyperText Markup Language) Yeah, whatever, Facebook!

Anyhow, Jeremy goes through the process of creating a new page, adding the optimized code (which is basically just been copied from one of his own Fan Pages, initially), editing the code for that particular page so that it suits Jeanne’s business, and a few other things (including a nice little tip or two). This is basically where the video ends, with the completion of Jeanne’s new Facebook Fan Page.

Jeremy suggests that you play around with the code a bit until you get something which suits your needs. Even if you are a complete HTML — Sorry, FBML — beginner you should try to get to understand what the code is doing and how changing a few simple things can dramatically change the layout. Plus it’s something that you WILL be using in the future as it’s very helpful and effective to know at least a little bit of coding in your online marketing endeavours.

I remember how difficult is was to learn HTML when I first started making websites over a decade ago — cause basically the whole internet thing was so new to me back then anyway. Still, I was able to pick up a few things here and there just by using Dreamweaver (actually I think the first software program I used was Claris Home Page? Anyone remember that?)

After a while I stopped using all the WYSIWYG programs and just started coding, or modifying code by hand, using a text editor. Since then I’ve learned a little Perl (a beautiful language), PHP (not a beautiful language at all), JavaScript and a few other things along the way.

So learning code is a GOOD thing, and it will only make your online marketing better!

Until tomorrow!

Tuesday 9th March, 2010

It’s the start of week seven of the Shoemoney System, and I need to update my earnings on my sidebar. Things have been going well on autopilot for a week or two. I haven’t really started up any new campaigns — Azoolgle or otherwise — so there hasn’t been a great jump in profits as such. More of a continued trickling — which is fine by me I should add!

I’ve also been busy with offline stuff — spending time with family and friends etc. going out, and even managing to fall asleep lying on the grass in the sun at a park! I also want to see a couple of movies at the cinema sometime this week. I haven’t been to the movies in ages, and I’ve still yet to see Avatar! I also want to see The Hurt Locker as well, as I have friends who have said that it’s really good.

Today has given me the chance to type up some of the blog entries I’ve been meaning to do, So far they’ve been written on bits of paper and stuff. Interestingly, although I spend most of my working time on the computer, I do a heck of a lot of actual “analogue” writing on paper and in notepads. Needless to say I go through a TON of pens as well!

So, having said that, I’ll post this short entry for now and type up as many as the other entries as I can for today.

Until next time….

Monday 8th March, 2010

I haven’t got around to doing a Facebook Fan Page yet, because I’m not sure which of my sites I want to promote in this way. I did do a “kind of” Facebook Fan page a while ago, but it was a different setup and I’m not sure it was actually a Fan Page or not. I’ll need to check it to see. As it was basically a “placesetter” for a non-profit organization — and therefore I have no desire to monetize it — I’m not sure I need to check it out just yet.

I’ve been slowly working on my (non Shoemoney System) websites and tweaking a few things here and there. I’ve also been updating the CMS software and plugins as this seems to be a never-ending thing. Still, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know there are plugins and systems out there that will allow you to update all your WordPress sites at once, abut as I have my sites spread over a dozen or so shared webhosting accounts I’m not sure those systems would work well for me. Plus doing things manually, site by site, lessens the processor loads of those sites anyway, so I prefer doing things my way. maybe if I were on dedicated servers then that would be an option for me? Most likely though I’ll outsource this part of my business to an assistant when the appropriate time comes for that.

For the past year and a bit I’ve been avoiding doing a major new website — mainly because it’s such a big job. The only thing I have done in that time is to work on the theme templates so that it looks the part — and it looks GREAT I should add!

However now, or at least in the next couple of weeks or so, I feel that I can now delve into it and get it up and running as a proper website soon. I’m still “ummming” and “ahhhhing” at the moment, but I’m getting there.

So, until tomorrow, bye for now…

Sunday 7th March, 2010

Today sees Jeremy and Jeanne setting up a Facebook Fan page. Now Jeanne already has a Facebook page and is already an avid user, but she doesn’t have an actual Fan Page at this stage, so Jeremy takes her (and us) through the steps of setting one up.

Jeremy goes on to say that one of the biggest reasons to have a Fan Page is that you’re able to mass email all of your friends through it, as well as being able to have more than 5000 fans (your normal Facebook page/profile will only support up to 5000 fans). Apparently another reason is that you are able to tell what your demographics are when it comes to your fans which, I guess, makes it easier to market yourself to them.

I won’t go into the details of setting up the page, as you can most likely find some tutorials out there that can help you. I will say though that apparently it is important to name your page properly, as you have no say over changing it when it comes to advertising/promoting the page.

Jeremy talks about the various settings you can use (geotargeting, age restrictions etc.), the settings for your wall (user generated content for instance), settings for your default landing page, and various applications that you and your users can use.

After typing in a little information about what the Fan Page is all about, we’re all set to go! Unfortunately for now though we’ve come to the end of the video, so all of the optimization of the Fan Page will have to wait until the next video is up.

Until then, bye for now….

Saturday 6th March, 2010

There are more Facebook-related videos coming up, but the video that grabbed my attention was “This Is The Video Title” — Ya gotta love place-setters!

Anyhow, in this video Jeremy talks to Jeanne about how Facebook originally got started by Mark Zuckerberg, and what the idea behind it was. Now basically this sort of information — or most of it anyway — can be found at Wikipedia and other places, so I’m not really gonna get into it here at all. The reason for that is twofold — a) The aforementioned “find it at Wikipedia” thing and b) The fact that I’m just so busy with other stuff (I’m actually writing this (originally) on a paper napkin at the local mall. Heck, a guy has to eat sometime, doesn’t he?)

Anyway, Jeremy goes on to talk about Facebook “Beacon” (part of Facebook’s advertisement system), which worked with selected retailers from around the world, integrating from within Facebook itself. Although Facebook Beacon eventually fell by the wayside, it did make way for Facebook Connect, which has since become a big success.

Another thing Jeremy spoke about are the applications that work with Facebook, and the fact that anyone with sufficient enough skills can make their own application to work on Facebook (whether good or bad). He also talked about the fact that “real people use Facebook” and that it has some form of accountability. Now I really didn’t buy this as, basically if you really want to, you could set up a fake profile (or 20) and no-one would be the wiser. I mean why not? It’s not rocket science after all.

Jeremy also talked about the various people using Facebook — everyone from celebrities to politicians to internet marketers, businesses and even “ordinary” folks. He finishes by adding that, in the coming days, we’ll be learning how to set up our own Facebook Fan Page, learn how to optimize it and, finally, how to advertise and promote it to bring traffic to the page.

So until tomorrow, seeya soon….