For a little Friday fun I thought I would share this thought provoking video. I think it really sums up what the web is and where it is headed. It kind of makes your mind boggle at all the possibilities. Scary and exciting.
Sometimes I wonder what the web will be like in 20 to 30 years. What do you think? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment and help teach the machine. 
With all the issues going on with ClickBank lately such as slow sales, downtime, and delayed sales reporting I decided to call them and go straight to the source for clarification. I ended up speaking with Diane, she was extremely friendly, and very informative. This is what she had to say…
As far as the sales gaps go, she assured me that no sales are being lost because of this, the sales are still tracked they are just not shown right away in the reporting area of your account. It appears their systems get overloaded at times and that is the cause. Although they ARE losing sales, but I will get into that in a minute.
She also explained that they have two systems running right now. Their new system, and their legacy system. Their new system is the one most of us login to, the one with the new reporting features, etc. The legacy is the older one and apparently they are doing away with it. According to Diane running both systems has been a strain and slows things down.
If you noticed, a email was sent out recently notifying everyone that the old legacy system login will no longer work. This is part of their process of eliminating the old system.
So what about lost sales? How are they being lost exactly? I asked Diane this and she said that when their system gets overloaded they are losing sales because hoplinks are timing out.
So what now? She alluded that things will be back to normal again once the old system is removed, etc. I believe she said the time frame was about a week or so. So we shall see.
Diane also admitted that they should be more proactive about notifying everyone about what is going on.
Diane mentioned that they are still split-testing their checkout page. This of course I already knew as I’ve seen their changes. Although it makes me wonder for what REASON they are split-testing. To increase sales or to test other bank processors?
Take a look at the screenshot to the right of one of the checkout pages that has been tested recently.
Notice the three lines below the pay button? Now I’m not sure if this is a legal issue, but I don’t think stating ‘The ClickBank Marketplace is not a financial institution.’ is going to increase sales much.
Anyhow, although ClickBank is having some issues, they are a great service and I have always received timely payments, they really do offer some fantastic features and make it easy to sell a product or service. I’m sure though that all these issues will be resolved soon.
Last weekend in Washington DC I got the pleasure of meeting and having dinner with Tom Kulzer, CEO of Aweber. Aweber is an autorepsonder service which I personally use, and as the title of this article reads, I LOVE IT! Tom was very open to my suggestions and comments about Aweber, and demonstrated why this company is a class act all the way. If you aren’t currently using an autoresponder or are having problems with the one you use then I recommend switching over and trying out Aweber. I’ve used a few other autoresponder services and self-installed solutions in the past (see From AutoResponse To Aweber) and nothing comes close to the support and constant improvements that Aweber offers.
Here are 5 reasons why I love Aweber, and why you will too…
So yes, I admit, I admire and love Aweber. Try them out for yourself and you’ll fall in love with them as well. Have an Aweber experience you’d like to share? Leave a comment!
If you don’t have an autoresponder up and running you’re missing out on lost sales. An autoresponder allows you to follow-up indefinitely and automatically with your customers through email. Not only can you build trust, rapport, customer loyalty and confidence, but you can increase your profits! The autoresponder service I use is Aweber and you can read ‘5 Reasons Why I Love Aweber‘ if you don’t already have an autoresponder and are looking for one.
Here are 5 reasons why you absolutely must get an autoresponder…
If you don’t have an autoresponder go to Aweber right now! If you have one then write ONE additional message in it right now, then resolve to write one message every week. Over time that one message turns into 50 messages in your autoresponder series and every day you’ll be increasing your customer loyalty, brand perception, and income!
Right now is the PERFECT time to revitalize your goals and get organized. Something that has helped me tremendously is my custom homepage. Anytime you open Internet Explorer or Firefox you are presented with a page, so instead of having your homepage as Google or MSN, why not make your own? That’s what I did, I put my goals on it, my websites, and many other important links, as well as pictures of my family and inspirational quotes.
I believe my custom homepage has been responsible for much of my success. Everyday I see my goals several times, they are there, directly in front of my face. I’m a firm believer that what you focus on expands, and seeing your goals keeps you focused on them. I have already achieved several of my goals on my homepage and have to replace them several times.
Another great benefit I have noticed about having my own custom homepage is that I can easily login to any of my sites, I don’t have to go looking for links, everything is right there, fast, easy, and within a single click.
If you want to see what my custom homepage looks like take a look at a video I did about it, you can watch the video here.
After the release of the video a lot of people asked me for my template. Well, you asked and here it is.
My custom homepage template is now available for free download. The template is ready to go and has places for your goals, website links, other relevant links, rotating quotes, and a unique way to monitor your websites and make sure they are up and working.
So if you want to get motivated and organized I STRONGLY recommend setting up your own custom homepage, whether you download my template or create your own it’s one of the best things you can do for your online business.
Usually when a blog hasn’t had any posts for quite a while either they’ve given up, or they got busy and swamped beyond belief! I’ve been swallowed up by the latter. The new year rang in with a bang of high sales, lots of work, and many great opportunities. So many opportunities in fact, that I’ve had to become very selective about what I can and cannot participate in anymore.
I hired my first employee this year and it looks like I am going to really charge full steam ahead in 2007! Having someone help you in your business can make a world of difference, I know it already has for me. I will also be outsourcing as much as possible this year so I can have time to do things like write on this blog. 
So for those of you who wondered if I would return, I am still here, working hard, ready for a great 2007!
While I was watching ‘The Secret‘ I remembered something I had done that is similar to what is mentioned in the movie. Back in October of 2001 I wrote a check to myself for $100,000.00 and dated it for two years in the future, Oct. 2003. I had no money in the bank, no plans to make money, and no real ideas for making any money. However, I knew I wanted to have $100,000 in my bank account. I filed the check away and almost forgot about it.
Over the next two years I began to make a substantial amount of money online. Eventually, my bank account had over $100,000 of available funds in it! Only until I got close to $100,000 in the bank did I remember I had written that post dated check. I pulled it out and guess what, it was ONE MONTH before the date on the check! I had over $100,000 in my bank account and reached my goal a month before the date on the check!
Here is a copy of that check which I keep framed in my office today.
Oh, and yes, I have written myself another post-dated check!
Last night I was watching Larry King Live. Larry had a panel of five guests talking about how to get what you want out of life. Many of the guests mentioned a movie they are in called “The Secret“. I had heard of the movie online and never really thought much of it. I figured it was a lot hype, some ‘secret’ they made up to get you to watch the movie. Well, then as I was surfing online tonight I came across an ad for it. Coincidence? I think not! I decided to check it out. Wow, I was completely blown away, what a fantastic movie! You’ve GOTTA WATCH IT!
The movie is about getting what you want out of life, and for us Internet marketers, entrepreneurs, it’s a definite must see, I couldn’t recommend it enough. It really makes you think, and I already did some things after watching it that I know will change my life for the better. Many of the concepts I have heard, or read before, but the movie really motivated me and makes you rethink what you are doing in your life.
You can watch it directly online for only $4.95 or buy the DVD. I chose to watch it online and now I am going to buy the DVD. Yes, it’s so good I want to watch it again!
Have you seen this movie? Share your thoughts and leave a comment, I would love you know what you thought of it. If you haven’t seen it yet come back after you watch it and let everyone know how you liked it!
Over on Shoemoney’s Blog he has a coupon for a free $50 when you sign up with MSN Adcenter. If you don’t know, Adcenter is basically Microsoft’s version of Google Adwords. Since I didn’t have an account with them yet I decided to give it a try and claim my $50. There are some limitations however, it’s only good for new accounts and those based in the U.S. You also have to pay a $5 signup fee.
When I signed up though something caught my attention. Look at the screenshot below, this is a tiny one inch box and you are supposed to read their entire terms and agreement through it! No way to enlarge the box, nowhere to click and read it in a new window. What the heck!!!! I selected everything in the tiny box and pasted it into Microsoft Word and it’s 6 full pages of thick text! Now if that doesn’t make you trust Microsoft I don’t know what will.
You’ve probably seen James Martell mentioned on this site a few times, his best selling Affiliate Marketers Handbook is one of my Top Recommended Picks. Well, James has done it again and is now offering a full eight-week online course for those who want to learn how to build profitable money-making websites.
Affiliate Marketers BootCamp Online “Night School” Edition will begin sometime this November, with Martell coming into your home “live” through an engaging, real-time online conference room. The 8-week curriculum will be delivered every Thursday evening for eight weeks, each night-school style course is dedicated to one of the eight steps outlined in Martell’s Affiliate Marketer’s Handbook.
The BootCamp materials and live instruction have been further broken down to ensure online BootCamp attendees fully grasp each of the eight steps, and will have time to ask James questions in the live question and answer sessions held at the conclusion of each evening course.
What’s more, online BootCamp attendees will be able to access and review more than 10 hours of NEW video shown recently at Martell’s offline BootCamp held in Canada. Attendees of the offline BootCamp held in Martell’s hometown paid $3400 to attend this event and now online BootCamp attendees have access to this video instruction, and view the videos any time.
The online BootCamp is targeted to new and experienced affiliate marketers alike, to those who already have Martell’s newly released Affiliate Marketing Handbook – “2006″ (THIRD EDITION), and are looking for the extra push they need to get up and running, and to “newbies” looking to break-into a profitable web business.
For more information, and for class schedules just visit the Afilliate Marketers Bootcamp website.