On the face of it, the attraction is lots and lots of panels and presentations about all kinds of diverse topics, plus a trade show where you can get to talk to exhibitors. What SXSW is really famous for, though, is the parties and the get-togethers. Austin is a party city at the best of times apparently, SXSW just even more so.

Many people go to conferences on a "mission". To get a job, land a contract, meet a-listers, get JV partners, date or just party. I was always in two minds about going until I was offered a place on a panel, but that fell through so in the end I booked with the intention of going to meet existing friends and make some new ones.

At one point I was supposed to give two talks, in fact. Neither happened. Really, once I found out I wasn't speaking I should have cancelled. The whole time I was there I was worried about what was happening at home. My daughter had just come out of hospital and my head wasn't in the right place anyway, being thousands of miles away just exacerbated that.

This is all background and gives a few insights into why I sucked so bad at SXSW, but here are some points on how I sucked and the tips I learned in the process

If you want lots of free traffic then you are going to need to get your Search Engine Optimization sorted.

Most of us are not SEO gurus so we try our best and see what happens. That can never compare with the advice of a true “battle hardened” SEO veteran.

Good news everyone!

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What is holding you back?

Are you afraid of what people will think of you?

I bet you have skills, knowledge, experience or time that you could share with others, that you could offer to people to help them, but something is holding you back

One of the frustrating myths about internet marketing is that it is easy, takes no work, and can turn the web into your “personal ATM machine dispensing cash on demand”.

There is another myth though that comes up every so often that is related, but subtly different, and so attractive that people really really want to believe it.

We know the rewards are there but you have to put in some effort, and preferably stick to one proven system rather than dodge between each new, shiny, flavor of the month.

Some would have you believe though that all your effort needs to go into creating your offering. Create your product, course, service, or tool and the rest almost happens magically.

1. Create your product
2. Product Launch
3. ???
4. Profit!

It’s the product launch equivalent of “build it and they will come”

Today’s thought is related to that article, and the feedback I got from it. It seems a great deal of website owners are facing a similar challenge, and it comes down to the “C” in the ARC sequence.

Conversions.

There are two big issues. Can you guess what they are?

Well, I imagine you can guess one of them easily.

People want to make more sales! Sales means more income, and it also means you are serving more people.

I am glad so many of you are not in the “how dare you make money” camp!

Really, when you offer a service or product to your audience you are doing a good thing. You are helping people, you are offering them what they want and need, and they get value from their investment.

Around a dozen people asked me how they can make more sales of their existing stuff or how they can create something that their audience will really want. Of course my default (if slightly flippant answer, heh) was to buy my course and I will show you everything in detail! But there is a short answer too, which I will share with you now.

This also brings us to the second challenge that you guys are facing …

A big claim? Maybe, but I see it work over and over when I coach my clients so I am confident if you implement what I am about to tell you.

I have been there.

• First in the programming niche.
• Then in the SEO and affiliate niche.
• For a time in the photography niche.
• And of course I am now in social media.

The system I used to enter and ultimately get established in each of these niches is the sytem I call Authority Blogging, but it is not just about Authority, and we are not just thinking of blogging here either …

Starting Over

When I was a programmer hoping to get notices I didn’t have a system and I wasn’t doing what you would strictly call blogging either. But I found my profile was growing to the point where people wanted to pay me a lot of money to teach them, help them out of sticky situations, coach them to do what I was doing, and to buy products from me. I was invited to talk at seminars and events, and was offered magazine and book writing opportunities.

After I decided I didn’t want to be a programmer any longer I had to figure out what I had done to get this great reputation and revenue so quickly and effortlessly.

Family and friends thought I was crazy. I was going places in the coder nerd world, I was making decent money from my day job and my sideline businesses. What was I thinking giving all that up? Especially as I was making little progress moving to gaining full acceptance in the marketing world. At the time I was seen as a programmer with marketing skills, but I wanted to be known as a marketer with a technical background!

Why was breaking into this new niche so hard when somehow I had found it so easy in the programming world? I had passion, I had expertise, and I was putting in the effort. Something was missing.

The solution turned out to be a combination of three fundemental things.

Authority we have already touched upon, and I have talked about it a fair amount on this blog, it is after all the name of my course where I teach all this stuff in step-by-step detail.

I found the biggest missing ingredient, and the real nuts and bolts of my system is the ARC process that I am going to talk about now.

With only one of the vital ingredients this stuff does not work half as well. I guarantee also that someone will read this and think it is common sense, but when I click through to their website I will see while they think it is common sense they are not actually implementing it.

So it should go without saying, but the third ingredient is actually putting these factors to work.

To summarize so far:

1. Authority
2. ARC System
3. Action

Before we get into this, what were the two big challenges my clients ask for my help with?

Growing an audience and making more money. The solution is right here, so read on …!