Becoming An Executive Affiliate in SFI

The recent changes to the commission structure in SFI from a 2-wide matrix to a single 1-wide Powerline Structure are great news for every member of SFI! Up until now only the "big dogs" in SFI have really benefited from the Powerline structure but that all changes from 1st January 2007.

From 1st January 2007 every affiliate joining SFI enters a Powerline. On that date the Powerline will be constructed and to be included in the new Powerline you must be an Executive Affiliate by the end of December 2006 (that is of course unless you joined SFI very recently and are still in the "first 30 days in SFI" window) and your placement in the Powerline will depend on when you joined SFI. Everyone who joined SFI after you will be below you in the Powerline - as this means everyone who joined companywide you can imagine the sort of numbers we are talking about! The Executive Bonus you earn automatically each month will be based on the Commission Volume generated by everyone below you in the Powerline.

If you are not an EA by the end of December 2006 you have permanently forfeited your position. Yes, of course you can still upgrade to EA at a later date but you will be placed at the bottom of the Powerline. For more info click here.

Do I Have To Buy Something To Become An Executive Affiliate?

No - you qualify for EA status when you generate 10SVP (Sales Volume Points). These points are generated through your personal sales - you will see your current SVP at the top right hand of the screen when you have logged in to the SFI Members Area.

Some of the ways you can generate 10SVP are:

• sell one membership to the Institute of Home Business Entrepreneurs (IAHBE). In some ways this is an ideal way of doing it because it's an ongoing monthly membership so will keep you as EA each month as long as the buyer remains a member.
• sell 2 Gallons of Veriuni Family Safe and Earth Safe Laundry Detergent
• sell 1 bottle of the very popular Veriuni Liquid Nutrition
• sell a single subscription to any one of the popular magazines in the Veriuni Magazine Rack

You can make these sales by referring people to your specific SFI Gateway Websites. You literally have hundreds of Gateway websites to choose from all personalised with your name and SFI ID number. Find a listing of your Gateway sites here. Familiarise yourself with these sites and use them! Unfortunately many people ignore this aspect of SFI and focus solely on recruiting affiliates. Recruiting others is important but to maximise your income potential with SFI you should make use of every resource available to you.

You can of course buy from your own store and thousands of Affiliates (myself included) initially upgraded to EA status by doing this. Personally I signed up to the IAHBE which gave me my 10SVP and later I also signed up to the VeryVIP International Resellers Package. As you know (or maybe you don't of course!) I am from the UK so I understand it's difficult for non-US affiliates to make full personal use of their product range but I can certainly recommend both of these packages as excellent value in their own right. If you are from the US then your SFI Affiliate Store is your oyster!! Also remember that as an EA you buy from your store at wholesale prices (up to 56% off retail price). Shop at your store here.

 

Why You Should Be Using Forums

Basically there are two reasons why you should be joining (and posting) in forums.

Firstly and, in my opinion, most importantly, it's a great opportunity to learn from others and make contact with people already involved in Internet Marketing - and, of course, it's also an opportunity for you to share the skills and knowledge you have with those just starting out in IM.

Secondly, it's free advertising! Most forums allow you to attach a signature to your profile so that everytime you post you are creating a link back to your website. Also remember that forum posts usually just sit there forever - they are not normally deleted so your link will be hanging around there forever too.

The first thing you must do when you join a forum is read the rules! All forums have them but some are stricter than others and you must observe them if you don't want to fall foul of the Forum Moderators. Create your profile - many forum profiles give you the opportunity to add additional links to your website etc.

I suggest spending a bit of time browsing the forum so that you get a "feel" for the topics under discussion, etc. You don't have to post straight away although most forums have an "Introduce Yourself" thread which is a good ice-breaker. Don't just post for the sake of creating a link back to your site and remember that your post itself should not be an advert. You are there to contribute and add value to the forum. It's easy to spot the people who are only interested in getting their links out there - their posts are usually one or two words (yes, no or I agree/disagree!!). This is not only irritating for others to read but it also damages the poster's credibility which is just not what you want when you are trying to get yourself "known" in IM.

I recommend you join the following free forums right now :
www.conqueryourniche.com
www.earnersforum.com
http://associateprograms.com
www.netmarketingforum.com
www.trafficroundup.com/forum/index.php

The above forums are all free to join and I recommend them all - they are all entertaining, useful, informative, busy and welcoming to new members. Basically, all the things you look for in a good forum! There are lots of other forums around which may be equally good but these are the ones I use the most. To find others go to Google and search for "home based business forums" or "make money online forums" or similar and you will get hundreds of results.

I can't write about forums without covering the most famous IM forum around. I am mentioning this separately because, unlike the ones mentioned above, membership is not free. You can get membership to The Warrior Forum if you sign up for a Host4Profit account which costs $24.95 per month. Host4Profit is actually a very good hosting service in it's own right but, to be honest, I don't really need their hosting services. I retain my Host4Profit account because I want to continue with The Warrior Forum and I would willingly pay more than $24.95 per month to do so!

Here's what makes it special :

• All the big names in IM are active Warriors - John Reese, Cody Moya, Stone Evans, Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford, Jeff Mulligan, Yanik Silver, Carlos Garcia, Dr.Mani to name just a few. It's the stomping ground for the best Internet Marketers on the planet.
• It's a training ground for thousands of up and coming Internet Marketers. I've learned far more from browsing/asking questions in The Warrior Forum than I have from all the Ebooks, reports and articles I've read over the years.
• It's a place to share ideas, find answers, make friends and develop partnerships.

If you plan to be an Internet Marketer there is simply no better place in the world for you to hang out than The Warrior Forum! I would encourage anyone to join and get involved in it as much as possible. 1">

This Weeks SFI Newsletter

This week's newsletter topics include:

This week's news:*
Where to advertise for results*
16 new products and services*
Product Spotlight: IAHBE*
NOC & TuneFlow news*
Don't have time? What to do*
Affiliate Center enhancements*
Love lessons for your business*
Poll: T-Net 2.0 element you like?
More

Click here to view

Constructing A Great Headline

Your headline can be the most important part of your online prescence so never underestimate the importance of getting it right!

Also remember one of the great things about headlines is that you don't have to stop at just the one - strategically placed, eye-catching headlines are a great way to break up a long body of text and also to keep the readers attention. However, the most important headline on your page is the one at the top because that's the one that will make people start reading in the first place.

Look at your competitors headlines for ideas and ask yourself the following questions:
what (if anything) grabbed your attention?

• was it good enough to make you read further?
• did it make you want to take immediate action?
• what keywords were used that made it stand out from the rest?

Focus your attention on your online competitors work - offline headlines have different requirements and can often be fairly straightforward and direct. Writing online copy demands an attention-grabbing style. You only have seconds to attract your readers attention.

Avoid writing headlines as if they are an advertisement - try to make it as personally aimed at the prospective reader as possible and a good headline should also give an indication of what is to follow. Don't make outrageous claims unless you can back them up! If your headline reads "make $10,000 in three days" you need to provide proof of that claim in the body of your copy. Blatantly lying to people in order to get their attention will not establish a good rapport between you and your prospective buyer at the outset. As soon as the reader realises they have been "conned" they will have a negative view of your sales pitch, your product and probably you as well!

A good headline should tell the reader what he/she will get from your product, for example more money or more time. It should also create a sense of urgency in your reader - as if they don't read on about your product right now they will be missing out on something they need/want right now.

Testimonials can also be good attention-grabbers in a headline. Instead of saying "I will show you how to make $5000 every month" what about "When Jim lost his job we helped him fatten up his bank account" Of course you would need to expand further on this theme in the body of your text but you can see that the latter headline has a more personal touch and is more likely to engage the reader. An alternative to this would be to give your personal testimonial in the headline "I lost my job and had no-one to turn to, now I make $5000 every month using this program". This also works because it creates empathy with your reader who may well be able to identify with that situation.

Unlike offline sales copy, you do not usually have length restrictions for your headlines when writing online copy. The exception to this would be writing classified ads or email headlines. However, a headline should not be longer than one sentence and should be kept as "snappy" and to the point as possible.