Inside the Mind of an Internet Marketer

So if there are any of you who like me haven't gotten your mother anything for Mother's Day yet, have no fear!

I just found out that you can get a gift basket or any other Mother's day gifts and have them delivered the same day you order them in most cities!

This is great for me, because I am heading out to Shreveport, LA for the weekend to do some gambling and won't have time to do any shopping for my mom.  Yes, I will be back on Sunday to spend time with her though - poker is fun, but I can't skip Mom's day for anything.

Good luck to all the rest of the procrastinators out there ;) 

Posted by markbarrera at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In my quest to begin investing in real estate, one of the first things I did was a full audit of my credit reports at all of the major credit agencies.  What I found was interesting because I expected to have a pretty good credit score.

However, a few things were on there that I didn't know about and there were also a few things that I didn't think were a big deal. 

One of the things I found was that I had a 'charge off' of about $30 from Macy's for a credit card that I opened to buy an item and never even remembered opening this account. What happened was that Macy's didn't get my proper address when I opened the account and they were sending the bill and other account info to the wrong address.  After doing this for a few months with no response from me, they closed the account and reported me to the credit agencies.

I had no idea at first that I even had opened this account and I also didn't have a clue as to how to investigate this and have it removed from my credit report.  Since there were a few other things on my credit report that were hurting my score, I decided to contact a professional credit repair service which at first I was very apprehensive about.  My fear was that this was one of the companies that you pay a settlement amount and then nothing really is solved.

However, GACS was able to investigate all negative issues on my credit report and sent letters to the agencies to have the innacurracies removed from my credit report.  I was amazed that they were able to get these things removed for me and now -  a year later, I have a GREAT credit score and am able to qualify for much better interest rates and programs for a home purchase.

I suggest that everyone run a credit report and if you find anything at all negative, give a credit restoration company a call and see how they can help.  I know it has greatly helped me out and will save me a lot of money for a long time to come. 

Posted by markbarrera at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Listen up affiliate marketers - I have found a niche that is sending me a bunch of traffic that I never even wanted and am sharing my secret with you to act on now.

I recently wrote a post titled "Free iPhone Ringtones - Download or Create Your Own".  I am a big fan of the iPhone and don't know what I would do without mine.  I wrote the post to simply point out an awesome ringtone site that I found and use all the time now.  This post was written about a month ago.

So what has happened since that post?  I get over 100 visitors a day for people looking for iphone ringtones. The most interesting thing is that I get the majority of the traffic from the term "free iphone ringtones" for which I am currently ranked 18 in Google.  This is the highest referring term I have ever had for a second page SERP ranking.  Imagine if I was on the first page of search results - there would be tons of traffic coming my way. 

There is also a pretty big longtail on this one.  I am seeing referrals from the terms 'free ringtones for iphone' 'iphone ringtones free' 'create iphone ringtones' and a whole slew of other terms that also don't necessarily rank on page one of Google's results.

So my message to you, go setup an iPhone site and get some links to it.  If my blog that isn't about the iPhone can pull in this level of traffic, then surely with some hard work and focus you can have a site that is making you some decent money.

Not sure how to do Niche Marketing - check out this awesome ebook, Nichework Marketing - The Step by Step Guide to Finding & Dominating Your Marketing Niche.  This book was just written and released released from my friend Ben Fitts.  It is geared towards network marketers but the information is accurate for any type of niche marketing on the Internet.  I just got done reading it and it is the reason I even decided to share this iPhone niche with you, my readers, so check it out and let me know what you think. 

Posted by markbarrera at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

So I recently began to look at investing in real estate, and have found that there are many modular homes that are very cheap.  I assume that investing in manufactured homes doesn't bring great returns, but I don't see anybody talking about if it is worth while.

Does anybody know more about this type of investment and should I even waste my time researching it? 

Posted by markbarrera at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Last year, I made a decision to leave my employer (MasterLink) and moved over to help launch Franklin-Spirko.  After a year with FS, I am now moving over to Dallas Internet Marketing Firm Vizion Interactive.  I will be in charge of Client Services, among other activities, and can't wait to get to know all of the clients better.

It looks like I have found a company that I can call 'home' for a long time to come. Vizion is very focused on delivering measurable results to clients yet is able to maintain a balance of professionalism and fun in the workplace - things that are very important to me in my choice of employer.

I am lucky to join such a great team including Mark Jackson and Bill Hartzer and look forward to helping the company grow and achieve great results for our clients. Vizion offers offers search engine optimization, ppc management, web design, web development, email marketing and other interactive services to some very well known companies.

I will also be contributing to the Vizion blog so check it out and subscribe to the feed. 

Posted by markbarrera at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

I am a big fan of the Apple iPhone and have been enjoying everything about it.  Yes, it does have a few bugs here and there, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

I have been using the default ringtones but I just came across a site that has thousands of them for free download.  If you don't like what you find, you can also upload your mp3s and pick the part of the song that you want to use as your ringtone.  Once it is created, you just download it straight into iTunes and then sync it to your iPhone.  I am going ringtone crazy right now and am very glad I found this site.  It takes about a total of 5 minutes to create a ringtone for your iPhone and have it ready to use.

If you have an iPhone - make sure to check out Audiko. 

Posted by markbarrera at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

As everyone knows, it is very important to stay active with social media and it is a good way to gain traffic and links to your website.  I get lots of emails and IMs from people who ask which sites I like to use.  There are a TON of different sites out there - some are niche specific and some covers lots of different topics.

If you are looking for some all purpose sites to submit your stories and news to, make sure to check this post on Social Bookmark Links that are Worth Building.  It is a great place to start with your marketing efforts.  But make sure you don't just rely on these - it takes a much larger effort to achieve top notch results.  So take the time to find similar sites that cater to your niche.

On another note:

If you ever have a question for me or just want to exchange war stories PLEASE feel free to add me to your IM at the following:

AIM - untmarkbarrera *at* aol.com
Yahoo - untmarkb *at* yahoo.com
MSN - searchengineexpert *at* hotmail.com

Posted by markbarrera at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

I just stopped by my brother's new house in Waxahachie this weekend on my way back from the Austin Half Marathon.  His house is very nice and I am sure he is enjoying the extra space.

While I was there, I got into a discussion with my sister-in-law about golf.  My brother has played golf a few times but doesn't have any clubs of his own.  His wife has never played but is interested in learning more about playing but she seemed to have 1,000 questions about getting started playing golf.

I took the time today to see if I could find a site that would teach her the basics of golf and I found the best site with golf tips for beginners. The site is run by a woman who calls herself the "Golf Virgin" which is exactly what my sister-in-law is, brand new to the sport.  The site looks brand new and content is rolling out daily but I love the tips and answers that the Golf Virgin gives to her readers.  Hopefully my sister-in-law will take the time to start asking the Golf Virgin her questions about how to play golf.  She didn't even know how to keep score in golf so I am sure that this site is just what she needs.

If you are thinking about getting into golf, which every business person should think about for the networking opps, take the time to visit this beginners golf site. 

Posted by markbarrera at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

It was just announced yesterday that Toshiba will be discontinuing development of its HD-DVD players.  This means that Sony's Blu-Ray is now standard for high definition movie players and discs. (More Blu-Ray talk here)

I have been waiting for this war to end which was a similar battle that occurred between VHS and Betamax years ago.  Our DVD player at home recently broke and I have been wanting to purchase a high-def disc player so now I finally know which one to buy!

However, if you are looking for a deal, the price of HD-DVD players is dropping and is below $100.  There are still hundreds of movies that are available in HD-DVD format and I am sure their price will be dropping very soon too. 

What will also be interesting to see is how Microsoft reacts to this announcement from Toshiba.  Microsoft's Xbox 360 uses Toshiba's HD-DVD format and which will no longer be supported.  Sony's Playstation 3 uses Blu-Ray (since Blu-Ray was developed by Sony).  Microsoft may have to do some retooling of its platform or offer some type of discount on an external upgrade that is compatible with Blu-Ray discs.  Who knows what they will do.

In the meantime, I am off to pick up a nice new Blu Ray player and begin my collection of movies. 

Posted by markbarrera at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been involved in running half marathons for a couple of years even though I never saw myself getting involved in running.  I have never run track or anything similar - soccer has been my main form of conditioning until a friend talked me into giving it a shot.  Now I have the bug and enjoy the races that I get to participate in for both the personal challenge and for the great views and support of each host city.

This Sunday, February 17, 2008, I will be running the AT&T Austin Half Marathon along with thousands of other runners.  I can't wait for this trip to Austin as I always have a good time there.  If any of my readers are in the Austin area, give me a shout and maybe we can meet for a few drinks.  I will definitely need one after the race :)

Posted by markbarrera at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)