When I first started venturing online, I made one huge mistake:

—> Too Afraid of Subscribing To a Monthly-Based Service

I always searched for a “one-time” payment product.. and I ALWAYS thought that I’ve saved a lot of money by doing so.

Boy, was I wrong BIG TIME…

When I added up all my expenses, I actually ended up spending more.

Let me give you an idea:

I’ve been running a video membership site for quite some time which requires me to have at least a virtual private server hosting (VPS) as videos do take up very large space and bandwidth. I also have other websites which I need to host using just one hosting account.

To make long story short, I ended up getting myself a dedicated server for $156 per month.

Now if it’s not because of this cost, I would not have been able to run my video sites successfully if my mind is still in the “avoid monthly price” way of thought.

Is $156 per month a high cost for me?

Absolutely not!

Because with that kind of cost, I’m able to run a successful business online.

Similarly, someone in the hosting business can vouch for what I’m saying here.

Let’s say the for every server which I rent for $400, I’m able to host 200 websites from my customers and rake in $2,000 in sales.

That means for every $400 I spend per month, I’m earning a huge profit margin of $1,600.

Theoretically, if I’m able to get more customers in the long run, I’m looking at a $16,000 monthly profits for every $4,000 per month in expenditure.

Certainly at that point, $4000 per month is NO LONGER a huge expense!

A businessman may need to spend $20,000 per month in expenses, only to earn a whopping $100,000 in sales every month!

So again now you see that the $20,000 per month expense is no longer a huge expense, rather it becomes a NECESSITY in order to earn huge profits.

So let us get back to online business.

Just look at the various autoresponder services online. Eg: aweber.com

Aweber used to charge only $19.95 per month for the first 10,000 subscribers. Most marketers who are doing it right are raking in hundreds and thousands of dollars from their mailing list just by subscribing to the $19.95 monthly service.

Once again, the monthly expense becomes a NECESSITY in order to earn huge profits.

There are a few very good membership sites which offer “All-In-One” marketing tools such as hosting, autoresponder accounts, private label rights products, etc for $97 per month.

Once again, a marketer who does not understand this may look at it and say “That’s TOO EXPENSIVE! I can’t afford it!”…

… but a smart marketer who is willing to take action and make use of all the marketing tools in that membership simply subscribes to such service and continue raking in thousands of dollars from using the services & tools which he’s paying for only $97 per month.

So don’t commit a mistake that will deprive you from your huge potential profits. If you’re an action taker & confident that the products & services will directly give a HUGE impact on your online business profits, then go for it!

Remember that once you’ve identified these products & services, they now become a NECESSITY for you to earn huge profits.

To Your Success,
Ameer Salim

My Biggest Question To All “Internet Marketers Wanna-Be”:

Are You REALLY Prepared For An Online Business…?

Now before I proceed with my blog post, here’s the summary of what I’m going to say:

• More than 95% of people trying to make money online do not smell any success and quit permanently
• Most of these people are “NOT prepared” for an online business
• Most of these people thought that the ultimate goal of an online business is just to make as much money as possible

Over the past few years, I’ve been approached by a few of my friends who do not understand how an online business is.

They thought that it is as easy as A-B-C…

The most common questions sound something like these:

“Hey Ameer! I heard that you’re doing well with an online business. Could you teach me some tips and strategies so that I can get started? I really need spare cash right now. I have a family to support and it’s really becoming a burden for me right now”

or…

“Hey Ameer! I want to ‘duplicate’ exactly what you’re doing right now…” (This question is even more shocking!!)

or…

“How do I start an online business??”

Now most of these common questions are far too general to answer. For me, it is almost the same as asking how to conduct a business in the real world.

Here I will list a few VERY important elements that you need to know before you decide that online business is your cup of tea:

#1 – Building An Online Business Requires Time And Effort

Especially if you’re just starting out, building an online business requires so much time and effort. You need to treat it as a real business rather than a hobby.

If you treat it like a hobby, you will get “hobby results”. Treat it like a real business and that’s when you see the real profits coming in.

In the offline world, lots of time and effort are needed to setup your business. Almost everyone knows this, and in most cases it will take years for the business to break even.

…So the question now is – are you prepared to sit long hours on your computer desk to do your work?

Is this REALLY your cup of tea?

As far as most of the successful internet marketers that I have known during all these years, ALL of them work VERY VERY long hours on their computer.

…You may have heard about the “super-affiliate” Ewen Chia – during his early years when he was still working for a company during office hours, he worked his butt off till the early morning hours of 2-3 am every day despite the need to go to work the following morning.

I know this because I did exchange emails with him during that time and I always got his replies during those times. Ewen also mentioned about his wife who kept on complaining about his long working hours.

Now Ewen wasn’t the ONLY one whom I know about the working habits. Every successful internet marketer whom I know (yes, not a single person is left out) works long hours and put in tremendous amount of effort and time to build their own online business.

So now, are you willing to put in the same amount of effort???

#2 – Building An Online Business Requires You To Have The Right & Proper Mindset & Attitude

This is too commonly said but extremely important. In fact, it is the most important element in building any businesses, especially an online business.

…Most people who want to have their own online business do not see the importance of this. They see online business as a “money-making” opportunity or a “quick and get rich scheme”. Their goal is to make as much money as possible regardless of the ways and means for them to achieve that. To them, it is very simple and easy to “make money online”.

Instead of focusing on developing their own business, they focus on “money-making” opportunities… so what they have is just a “money-making mindset”! Their aims and goals are just to make money! Yes… making money and making more money and making more and more money.

…They do not focus on building a business… building relationships… spending quality time… learning and applying internet marketing education… focusing… etc…

When you want to start your own online business, please have the right and proper mindset.

Building an online business requires time and effort…

Just think about running your own offline business in the real world…. when you have that picture in your mind, then let me say that that’s how it will work in an online business.

#3 – Building An Online Business Requires You Learn And Apply The Fundamentals of Business

That’s right…

It’s just like going back to school and start learning all the basics and fundamentals of the required subject. In this case, you will be learning about Internet Marketing education.

This is called the ‘Learning Process’.

You must take the time to study and learn the subject before you can understand the whole concept of the business.

Once you have learned a few fundamental concepts, you must then apply them to your business. Take Action!!!

Take MASSIVE Action!!!

There’s no point “graduating 1st class honors degree” in Internet Marketing if you do not take action or apply what you have learned. You may be the most learned scholar of Internet Marketing but if you don’t take action, then there’s no use in learning them… seriously!

….

……

………

Now I’m not trying to scare you into not setting up your own online business but I’ve seen so many people not having the proper mindset and attitude when they want to do that, which is why I prefer to let these people know about the reality of running a successful online business…

It may not be the cup of tea for most of you…

So, do you have what it takes to run a successful online business???

To Your Success!
Ameer Salim

Hi Loyal Readers,

During my wedding period I planned on running a “Wedding Honeymoon Fire-Sale” to help me cover some costs for the wedding event itself. Originally it was supposed to run before the actual wedding day itself but somehow it was postponed due to the overwhelming amount of preparation work for both my wedding & the firesale.

Therefore, after the wedding I went for my honeymoon trip at Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. The air was very fresh and cooling especially during night time.

…I still remember the night when I emailed all my JV partners and subscribers from the desktop computer of the hotel lobby at Equatorial Hotel. Things got more hectic and thus the firesale got postponed again for the second time.

This is the first lesson learnt - Always add more days, weeks or even months ahead from the anticipated time of the firesale. The anticipated amount of work is always less than the actual volume amount of work itself.

…After the second postponment date, a damage has already been done. A few JV partners decide not to proceed with the promotion. This is due to the fact that they themselves have their own schedule and time-table for other events and promotions. So when I changed the date again, somehow it undermines my credibility as a marketer.

Because of this, I was forced to find more new JV partners when I came back from my honeymoon. It was very very hectic. There were only a few days left before the firesale (I think it was only 3-5 days). Despite the short notice, I still managed to get around 3-4 more JV partners.. and I still managed to get a few more product contributors… phew thank God!

Details of promotion:
Package Price – $47
Upsell Package Price – $67
Affiliates Commissions – 50%

Final Results
Total Sales – $7,997
Percentage of Sales derived from Affiliates: 22%

The real value of the package is more than a thousand dollars but it was sold for just $47 during the firesale which lasted for 5 days only.

My Comments

This fire-sale could have done much better if I did a much proper preparation. Everything was hectic and thus this really affects on the overall performance of the firesale. In fact I have a few marketers telling me that if I didn’t contact them on a short notice, they would have promoted the firesale for me. Overall, the profits aren’t bad at all- it did cover more than half of my total wedding expenditure.

All the best!
Ameer Salim

ps: Do you have any comments or feedback? Just leave them on the comments box of this blog. Thanks..

It has almost been 3 months since I got married.

Thank God, my wedding day went on smoothly without any major hiccups and I was fortunate to have a big group of family who were willing to help out all the way from the days of preparation till the end of the wedding event.

Basically, my wedding occasion consists of two days (just like most traditional Malay weddings in Singapore nowadays):

• Solemnization Day
• ‘Hari Persandingan’ (Sorry can’t find the word in English, yet)

Most of you should know the first one but the second day consists of mainly the lunch feast for all the guests. At the same time, the groom will travel to the bride’s place to so-called “fetch” the bride back to his place. This is called ‘bertandang’ in Malay language. During both times, the groom and the bride will sit on the wedding dais of each other’s place. At the end of the day, both will return to the bride’s place to spend the first night there.

(Note: This doesn’t apply to all Malay weddings. As time passes by, the culture changes according to individual’s situation)

During Solemnization

Kissing The Bride

The early stages of our marriage life seems to be quite hectic for both of us since we have more responsibilities as husband and wife. There were so many adjustments to make. We haven’t planned to buy a house yet so we stayed at both of our parents’ homes. (After all, my parents have offered both of us to just stay with them since there are extra room in our house)

…We take turns on the number of days we stayed at each other’s homes – I have to admit that this is the most troublesome part for now.

But anyway, it’s always good to reflect back on the pros rather than the cons of living with parents. Even though having a home of our own gives us so much freedom and privacy, I like to think of the challenges of living with my parents’ and parents-in-laws.

…For me, life is all about overcoming challenges, tests and trials.

It gives me a peace of mind to be able to do good deeds to our parents. So this gives us more opportunity to do so when we live with them. After all, they are the ones who have brought us up from young till our adult life.

…No matter how much time and effort we’ve spent on helping, loving and making them happy, all of those can NEVER (and I mean never) ever repay back the deeds of what our parents have done to us.

So everyone, when you have the time please reflect back on what deeds you have done to your parents.

• Do you think you have done enough for them?

• Have you given them the love and care that they need?

• When was the last time you visited them?

• How high is your tolerance level towards them? (As we grow older, it’s human nature for our ’sanity’ to decrease slowly. We will go through that same state sooner or later, so imagine how our children will be like if they can’t tolerate us one day)

• If they have passed away, have you send prayers to them?

• And even if they’re still living in this world (especially to Muslims), do you send them the special invocation prayers regularly?

Hope this serves as a reminder for myself especially and my readers.

See you soon and have a great holiday season!

To Your Success!
Ameer Salim

Hi Everyone,

In less than 24 hours, I’m no longer a bachelor..

I’m feeling a bit anxious, excited and at the same time… extremely nervous!!

Why?

…because marriage means responsibility, and I have added another “burden” to myself. But to think of it again, it isn’t so bad. Most people will go through this phase of life sooner or later.

But one thing for sure is: MY LIFE WILL CHANGE!

…I will have mother & father-in-laws. Sister in laws. Brother in laws..

You name it…

…In the meantime, I will live with my parents AND my parents-in-law’s place (rotation schedule). My life will change! Oh yes it will!

My daily routine, plans and schedule will change too. And it’s no longer “I” or “Me”. It’s “WE” now…

…It’s going to be Me and my wife now.

My Internet marketing lifestyle will change FOREVER!!

I will probably be one of the most pro-active marketers on the internet soon.

…I can no longer procrastinate on my work.

Marriage FORCES me NOT TO BE LAZY anymore… (Well, I am a bit lazy sometimes..

…Heck! I have someone under my care whom I need to take care of, and thus this forces me to be more hardworking and proactive in many things that I do.

I will also have less time on the computer.. hhmm… not much difference actually even though my main office is right in my bedroom of my house.

…Probably one or two hours less than my normal “working time”.

• But internet marketing will go on!
• My online business will keep on running!
• I MUST be MORE successful in my business now!!

Wish me good luck for my marriage!

See ya soon!

To Your Online Success,
Ameer Salim

I’ll tell you how I get started with my online business.

First of all, I would like to say that it WASN’T easy… There was WAY TOO much learning curve that I had to go through.

Somewhere in the year 1998, I was studying in a local polytechnic majoring in Business IT. I stumbled upon a website that had my eyes fixed like a glue.

…It was Allen Says’ Internet Marketing Warriors! (Unfortunately the sales copy is no longer being used)

Allen had a sales copy that was so powerful in my opinion… so powerful that I read it from beginning till the end. It was a simple one. He wasn’t using the copy writing formula from great copywriters like Micheal Fortin or softwares like Push Button Letters from Marlon Sanders.

But the sales copy consists of mainly a few important elements:

• Bullets & Benefits (TONS of benefits… like as though there’s nothing else except for these)
• Extremely High Perceived Value
• Members’ Testimonials
• Positive Mindset

Basically that’s all that there is.

• And this is the sales copy that made me frantically search for ways on how to make a purchase something online…
• This is the sales copy that diverted much of my attention away from my studies at that point of time (Yucks!! Don’t do this please…:-)
• This is the sales copy that made me waited for quite some time in a long queue to apply for a debit card from a local bank.
• This is the salesletter that get me started into Internet marketing…

But guess what..

…After joining the site, I faced the similar problem which MOST newbies encounter:

—-> INFORMATION OVERLOAD

There’s simply too much information that I didn’t know where and how to get started. The only thing that I understood at that point of time is to promote the membership site which will earn me a cool $30 commissions for every sale.

…So I started looking out for classified ads (This is the wrong way folks!)

There were so much promises of high returns from these advertisers.

Do you know why?

…Because they claimed that they had tens & thousands of subscribers. So I was thinking that out of these thousands of people, I can surely get many sales easily… (yeah right!!). That’s how most newbies think.

• I know nothing about open rates…
• I know nothing about conversion rates.
• I know nothing about email deliverability issues.
• I know nothing about loyalty of readers.

—-> I Didn’t Even Know All Of Those!!

All I know was if they have 30,000 subscribers, ALL the 30,000 of them will open and read my advertisement in their inbox.

…Sounds familiar?

You see, this is the exact same problem everyone will face if they do not have the right guidance & mentor.

A mentoring coaching program may cost you thousands of dollars but believe me (I’m speaking from experience), mentoring will help you build your online business the fastest way you can ever imagine…

Not like me who took almost 6 years to break even.. Because I didn’t have the right mentor and guidance. I learnt blindly from trial and error.

So folks, especially newbies out there…

…When you want to start your marketing journey, make sure you follow the right guidance from the right people. Stick to just one PROVEN method and concentrate on it. You will be able to find success in the shortest possible time.

Ok now back to my story…

So what I did afterwards (after despair and sadness overtook my soul for losing so much money) was to develop a membership site like Allen Says’ Warrior Group.

Hey why not? I was under the assumption that the more products I have in a membership site, the better will it be… (Is it?) So I started purchasing resale licenses to many products and I did spend around $8,000 just for this. I spend TOO MUCH TIME building my product and NOT focusing on creating traffic. I wanted to make my product PERFECT! So most of my time was devoted to product creation (and I didn’t even know if people are going to buy)

I charged $297 for the package.

The first few weeks, many sales started to pour in.. Wow! I thought I’m going to be rich in no time. But after a few days, one after another customer started asking for refunds. They said they’ve tried so hard but couldn’t get them to work.

Well of course it won’t work!

Because they’re reselling what I’ve sold them… and if you don’t have the knowledge about marketing, and on how to market online effectively, then there’s no point spending so much money to obtain resell rights products. Just after a few weeks later, people have started to resell the products at much lower price..

…So it was a disaster for me!

I was forced to lower my price to just $50 cuz that’s the price range that many people have been selling. In the end, the products became almost worthless because they could be found almost everywhere on the internet at low prices… these products have saturated in the market.

…This is the first lesson I learned… never to offer Internet marketing products that come with resell rights with the hopes of making a long-term killing.

It could only last for a while but once the products have been circulated widely at low prices, the profits could nowhere to be seen. In fact, I also lost a lot of customers’ trust because they felt that they were fooled and deceived into believing that these products will make them rich.. just be reselling the same products over and over again.

So I was wrong..

…Apart from these, I also spent a lot of time and money trying to learn all the technical stuff. I used to spend at least $25 to get just one CGI script installed. And I bought so many scripts but I couldn’t use all of them effectively.

I hired programmers to do this and that…

…But my business wasn’t running as good as I wanted it to be. I always spend most of time on “perfecting” my product. This was the stupidest mistake I have ever done. Mind you… at that time there wasn’t any “marketing automation system” yet. Now there are plenty of them. So there is a lot of learning to do.

…which is why I recommend all newbies to join my Hot Marketing Videos Membership site. Consider this as an investment for an Internet marketing education and NOT another “get-rick” quick system or “make thousands of dollars in 7 days” type of products. It will save you SO MUCH time and money:

=======> http://www.HotMarketingVideos.com

My Internet marketing journey is very long… but I can’t afford to write more details about it. There are more failures than successes during my “early years”..

But what I can say is this:

—-> Internet Marketing WORKS!!

…ONLY if you have the burning desire to succeed, motivated and follow the EXACT SIMILAR PROVEN models from successful people. Don’t re-invent the wheel.. and you’ll be fine.

BUT you really have no choice but to work hard and to learn the basic technical stuff of running a computer, websites, and other technical stuff (of course unless you’re so rich that you can hire professionals to do all the work for you)

Hot Marketing Videos Membership will help you do just that! … sincerely from the bottom of my heart.

=======> http://www.HotMarketingVideos.com

That’s all for now… Thank you for reading and I wish you all the best in embarking your Internet Marketing journey!!

To Your Online Success!
Ameer Salim

Dear All,

After months and months of thinking, I’ve finally decided to blog.

This is the first time I’m blogging. Most of my friends have already done so and a few of them even managed to earn a decent income from it. I feel that this is the best way to interact with my readers about my personal life and my online business.

Get ready for more posts from me soon… especially since my BIG DAY is coming!

See ya next time!

Best Regards,
Ameer Salim