Shoemoney System Review & Overview

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….

Friday 5th March, 2010

Continuing on from yesterday’s post, todays video was an introduction to Facebook advertising. Jeremy tells us that it’s about to get “hot and heavy”, so we’ll see if he’s right on this one. However, for this video, it’s just an overview of how it all works.

Now I think I must have some sort of “ad blindness” when it comes to Facebook because I can’t really recall any ad I’ve seen there. Not that that’s unusual as I have a general ad blindness for most webpages unless they scream out at me! I can’t say that’s a bad thing though. Quite the contrary in fact. As an affiliate marketer it pays to not automatically notice ads unless you’re specifically looking for them. Google AdSense beat that one out of me years ago!

Jeremy takes us to the Facebook advertising page where we can create or manage our ads (not that we have any at the moment, but still). Going to our “existing ads” shows us all the pages that we administer. For this demonstration Jeremy shows us how he creates a Facebook ad for the Shoemoney System, once again using the step-by-step method.

NOTE: I had to laugh when Jeremy was selecting the keywords for his ad. He had typed in “Money” and the suggested keywords from that were “Blackpool Pleasure Beach”, “Lucozade” and “I Love My Quilt”. WTF??????

Jeremy runs through a few more options — target audience, daily budget, starting date etc. He also touched upon whether to go for CPC or CPM. A decision not to be taken too lightly, it appears.

OK, that’s about it for now, I think. I’m just gonna go over to Facebook and drop a cool $1000 on advertising for my “Quilt & Lucozade Blackpool Pleasure Beach Vacation Tour”.

Till next time…..

Thursday 4th March, 2010

In this video Jeremy gives Jamie a rundown on what Facebook is all about. He explains that, while MySpace is an open network by default — in which almost anyone can see your page — Facebook by comparison is a closed network by default — which of course offers more privacy. People can’t see you or be a part of your world unless you invite them to. Facebook also offers real-time status updates, whereas MySpace does not.

Like many of the earlier videos, this one is a basic step-by-step process to making a Facebook account. Jamie inputs her details and voila! Facebook account done! As I’ve had a Facebook account for some time I didn’t need to go through this process at all.

While Jeremy did mention that he will show us exactly how to leverage Facebook to make money, he also talked a bit about some of the cool things that Facebook was useful for — such as connecting with old school chums, friends and family (Jamie was a little excited when she saw some of her school buddies). Thankfully he didn’t mention all the annoying applications that prevail on Facebook! I mean some are good, but most just want to suck your precious time away (though it’s not quite in the YouTube league!)

Once again it was a simple, yet effective, tutorial and fine for those who are just starting out. No secrets or tips and tricks, but that doesn’t bother me at all.

Until tomorrow…

Wednesday 3rd March, 2010

I’ve retitled the “Shoemoney System Live Chats” to “Webinars”, as this is the name they’re now under in the System Dashboard. All the webinars from now on will be under their respective weeks (Week 1, Week 3, Week 5 etc.)

Once again I expect the webinars to be chock full of information, tips and tricks — especially now that we’re getting further into the guts of the system. Unfortunately for you, Dear Reader, this means that you’ll probably get less and less information each time. Why is that? Well, basically it’s because I’m not gonna be able to say that much without giving too much away. In fact by the end of the 12 months this blog may end up being like those Government documents you see in the movies, where most of the type has been “blacked out” and censored with a thick marking pen. I hope it won’t quite be like that, of course, but this is not a “kiss-and-tell-all expose of the Shoemoney System. You’ll have to go elsewhere for that, I’m afraid!

Perhaps what might happen instead is that there will be less about what the System is about and more of what I’m doing. That’s a definite possibility.

Anyway, on to this week’s webinar. Once again we have Jeanne reading out the questions and Jeremy answering them. The first question is about eBay and arbitrage, which was featured in a couple of the videos from Week 4. The user wanted to know the exact steps that Jeremy used to pick items out. Unfortunately it’s not that simple as each item needs to be looked at and approached individually, which is basically how Jeremy answered. The idea of the system is to not necessarily copy EVERYTHING that Jeremy does with each item, but to do some research and come up with your own list of items to buy and sell for profit.

The next user seemed to have some difficulty with the emails that are sent out every few days or so, not linking up with the videos on offer. I’ve not experienced this particular problem so I can’t comment on this from a first-hand basis, and Jeremy said that it seems to be a problem with that user’s particular account and that the Shoemoney techs would look into it.

There were questions about just how fast the content was going to be rolled out and what affiliate offers were good and what weren’t so good (a lot of that depends on what your site is about, really), more questions on eBay arbitrage and what categories perform best, exactly how CPA campaigns work, and problems with slow shipping times and high costs between distant countries (something that I have issues with as well). Jeremy answered all of these reasonably well, I think.

One user wanted to know about how to make a website from the ground up, and then how to sell affiliate products on it. Jeremy said that that was something that would be looked at “in Week 3″, but I’m pretty sure he meant “in Month 3″ instead (I’ve just noticed that later on he does say “month”).

Some of the questions were repeats of earlier questions, such as the eBay arbitrage thing. That’s not so bad actually as it does give Jeremy a chance to go over the question in more detail — kinda like learning something through repetition. Likewise there were a couple of similar questions about AzoogleAds and how to implement them.

One of the things that became apparent in the webinar is that there are people doing this System from all parts of the world – England, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Europe etc. While there were many people asking basically the same question about market imbalances, each of them seemed to miss the point and continually talked about playing eBay U.S. off with eBay Canada (as it was demonstrated in the arbitrage video). They didn’t then make the same jump and compare the imbalances between, say eBay Spain and eBay France. In fact Europe would be a huge market to trade between countries — some right next door to each other — but some of the people asking questions didn’t seem to pick up on this fact.

One user asked Jeremy just how to go about streamlining your time and being more efficient, another asked about incorporating a business or business name and how to go about it (there’s a video or two just on this alone), and another asked about what sort of websites needed to be built to make the system work (almost anything really, though some would be easier to monetize than others).

One of the scary things — again with eBay arbitrage — was that one user kept on getting his listings banned by eBay before he was able to sell the product. Jeremy immediately said “Woah!!” and asked that the user contact him and show him one of the listings. I don’t know what the guy was doing wrong but it needed to be looked into quickly.

There were more questions about the affiliate managers from AzoogleAds and how to use them, whether it was a safe option to try dropshipping at this stage of the program and one or two other things.

Jeremy finished off this video by talking about some of the things that they were probably going to try out over the coming weeks and months. These included a forum for users, another survey or two, various competitions (with prizes) etc. Sounds pretty good to me. Bring it on!

Until tomorrow…

Tuesday 2nd March, 2010

First up, I want to say that I think this blog is a little too plain looking so I want to spice it up with a bit of color from time to time. With that in mind I’ve included a random picture of a chipmunk for no apparent reason other than it was on my hard drive. I have no idea where it came from (I think someone sent it to me), only that it was there. So here it is! Enjoy!

Now back to what this blog is really about. I just wanted to say that the Shoemoney System has been re-opened for new users to join up and start making money. Now normally there would be someone, such as myself, telling you how ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS this system is and that you should USE MY AFFILIATE LINK to sign up immediately and, therefore, generate GREAT WADS OF CASH for me! Well, that’s not what this site is all about, Sunshine! There are NO AFFILIATE LINKS (well, not on this site anyway) and, instead of telling you how great it is, I’ve written extensively about it so that you can MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND about whether or not it’s a worthwhile thing for you to pursue.

I have my own opinions of course. So far I think it’s been a good thing and I’ve learned one or two tips along the way. Keep in mind that the first month-and-a-bit has been aimed at beginners, whereas I’ve been around for a little while and I’m already making money online, so much of what’s been covered so far I’m already doing and/or have some knowledge about. It’s the coming months that are going to be much more interesting to me.

Oh, and the fact that I’ve already made more money so far than I’ve paid out is also a good thing, so I’m not complaining at all.

So read through this blog and make a choice. If you ARE interested and you miss out on getting into the course this time then there’s always the next time. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

Till tomorrow…

Monday 1st March, 2010

After the dozens of very short “Getting Started” videos I’ve viewed over the past week, it was good to get back into something a little more meaty. While the other videos consisted of Jeremy basically flying through things on his own (as in no Jamie or Jeannie), it was good to get back to a “more traditional” (for the Shoemoney System anyway) format.

In this video Jeremy talks about the basics of social media, what it is, how we use it, how to “dominate” it and how we profit from it. Sounds positive!

Jeremy explains that when the web first started it was all about downloading content from websites. With web 2.0 it was more about us uploading to these websites and sharing stuff. Sites like Flickr and YouTube stand out here. Social media is the next step, where users share a lot of the stuff that is already on the web with other users through linking to them etc.

So the YouTube video that we uploaded, for instance, can then be “promoted” through sites like Facebook or Twitter or other social networks. By interacting socially through these sites — updating your status, uploading a video, commenting on other users posts etc. — you start to build up trust amongst your peers and they will begin to “tune in” to what you have to say more readily than they would have when you first started. Giving people some value to their lives is what it’s all about, and one way to do that is to provide them with something they want to see or read.

Jeremy talks about how he’s used YouTube in the past, how it’s brought him new subscribers to his newsletters, new clients to his websites and also how he’s profited monetarily from this (sometimes making upwards of $2,000 a month directly from it). He adds that YouTube is a great way to show the world how funny or how talented or how smart you are (amongst other things). Looks like I need to buy a video camera!

Jeremy then moves on to Facebook, and how to go about using that to make money online. Now, at the moment, I mainly use Facebook to see what my friends and family are up to and I only occasionally write updates myself. I’ve joined a few “Fan pages” but I didn’t realize that you could have many more fans/friends with a Fans page than you could with a ordinary Facebook page. Not that it bothered me until now, but there’s a lot more to Facebook than I had originally thought?

Next up: Twitter. Like Facebook I had originally set up a Twitter account but never really used it. It’s only been this year that I started to create a couple more Twitter pages (my first one was a personal account) and start to build a fanbase. In a couple of months I’ve managed to get over 2,000 followers on one account and several hundred on one or two of the others. These followers have started making an impact on my moneymaking sites, so I’m pretty happy about that (obviously). Coming up with good, regular tweets is not easy for me though (more outsourcing perhaps?), but it’ll work out eventually.

Likewise StumbleUpon, Jeremy’s next topic, is something I’ve only ever toyed with. I’ve promoted a few of my sites, as well as other people’s sites (people I don’t know, I mean), but I’ve never really used it to any great effect.

Delicious is next up. I have never even been to this website in all the time it’s been around, so I can’t really comment. I think I just thought “Who needs a bookmarking site? That’s what my browser is for!” without even giving it a look to see if it was any good. Seems that it is good, so I need to know about it pronto!

Jeremy then talks about Digg and Reddit. Once again I’ve never used Digg — mainly because it was technology based. I have used Reddit once or twice in the past though — years ago. The first time I got thousands and thousands of people to my site but, as it was a micro-niche site, the conversions weren’t really there. It just wasn’t the right demographic. It was exciting to see the stats counter ticking over at a fast rate though! Jeremy says that these two websites (especially Digg) are better for brand recognition or brand advertising than they are for generating profits. I’ve heard similar quotes from other internet marketers and SEO gurus.

Now I haven’t really said a heck of a lot about what is actually in the video. For instance I’ve not mentioned anything about how Jeremy makes money through these sites, but I have given an overview of the sort of sites he’s talking about — and this particular video is an introduction to social media after all.

As I stated earlier, I’ve never really used social media to any great effect. In fact basically everything I’ve done on social media has been “reactionary”, rather than pro-actionary. I’ve understood that I needed to know about these things, but never really understood WHY I needed to know about them — let alone how to make money from them. When I joined up to the Shoemoney System one of the goals I had in mind was to get a much better understanding on how all of these things “mesh” together.

There are some pretty major differences between how Jeremy uses the internet and how I use the internet. For a start he’s making a hell of a lot more money than I am, but that’s not my point. The main difference is one that is apparent right from the very beginning — intent!

Jeremy uses all these things to not only promote his websites, but to promote himself as a person as well. It’s Jeremy Schoemaker, the internet marketer extraordinaire, the husband, the family man, the joker, the straight talker — you get the picture! Jeremy is a character of flesh and blood and you start to get a sense of who he is as a person when you read his stuff.

With me there’s basically none of that. Unlike Jeremy I do not promote myself online as such. In fact, for the most part, I prefer to “detach” myself from my websites. I stay in the shadows and just let the content speak for itself. And it’s GREAT content I should add but, in the past, I’ve wanted it to stand on it’s own rather than have me push it. Not with every website of course, but most of them.

Now some of these sites are quite old and make absolutely no money at all, but most of those particular ones were created before I even realized the concept of making money online. I just did them because I wanted to. Other sites generate good pocket money, but not enough to retire on. Around $1,000 each month in total. That’s not to say that I’ll abandon my existing sites, of course. Just that I’m starting to work smarter and “grow” new ones. Like everything I try to do they will each have good content and, therefore, have great value to the end user. Personally I cannot stand sites that tell me absolutely nothing, and I won’t create them either — no matter how much income is involved!

So I need to reinvent myself — which is partly what I’m doing with the Shoemoney System anyway. I need to create new websites, revenue streams and a fresh way of thinking in regards to social media and other things. More than anything else I need to promote ME!. Given that almost my entire life has changed dramatically in the past two years it is a very good time to do just that! I’m not yet sure as to how exactly to go about it, but it will happen soon. Heck, it’s happening already. All I can say is that the next year or so is going to be a very exciting time for me!

As always, stay tuned to this station…

Saturday 27th February, 2010

I think I first read about this last month or so, but it seems imminent now. Jeremy is about to open up the Shoemoney System so that more users can join up. Personally I think it’s a bit too soon, and I wasn’t sure he was going to do that for a while (something about the “500 spots only” kinda made me think there were only 500 spots, but I guess that’s marketing for you. Or, more precisely, a Call To Action campaign!)

Anyhow, I understand that Jeremy was going to open it up when he was sure that the system could handle it. I just wasn’t expecting it just yet, that’s all.

So if you like what you’ve read on the Shoemoney System in this blog then sign up for it when it becomes available again. If you don’t like what you’ve read then don’t bother. I know that some people might be put off by the cost, but if you start to make some good money then it’s not much cash to fork out at all in the long run. Only you are going to know what your budget is and what you can afford.

I know I’d be making a lot more money if I took more time to work on my newer sites (that I’ve been setting up purely to do this course). As it is at the moment though, I’m not worried.

Until tomorrow…