Internet Marketing Generation 2.0 (Part 2 of 2) --by Bradley G. Smith

Internet Marketing Gernation 2.0 (Part 2 of 2) --by Bradley G. Smith

If you need to get caught up on part 1 of Internet Marketing Generation 2.0, then you can Read Part 1 Here. Let me pick up where I left off with Part 1 of 2. As I was saying, I have spent tons of money and countless hours of studying to learn how to market online. I was also saying that Generation 1.0 (at the time of writing this blog) is a little farther along in the trek than I am. And it won't be long before I can catch up and demonstrate to others the steps to take to do the same.

So the purpose of the website, bradleygsmith.com, is not to build "bad blood" so to speak between Generation 2.0 and 1.0. On the contrary, it is to "bridge the gap" and get myself and others like myself up to speed with Generation 1.0 of Internet Marketing.

So what direction is this site headed in? Well, over the next few days, weeks, and months I am going to be giving free tips and tools to internet marketers. In conjunction with Internet Marketing Generation 1.0, I will be giving you a reference of where I received these tips from Generation 1.0 so you can follow up with the concept by simply doing some research. The tips can be read directly off the blog and the tools can be downloaded directly off the blog. And I will definitely be showing videos on how to implement these tools and tips, so stay tuned.

And in context with showing videos, I realize that not everyone may be familiar with RSS and how to view blog content in an RSS Feed Reader, so I am going to start by giving you a video on subscribing to an RSS Feed.

So, don't hesitate, subscribe to this blog now so you can be updated with free videos, tools, and tips on Internet Marketing Generation 2.0. I'll talk to you soon.

Internet Marketing Generation 2.0 (Part 1 of 2) --by Bradley G. Smith

Yes, I, Bradley G. Smith, coined the term "internet marketing generation 2.0". The reason is simple, the explanation is detailed. Read on to find out why I came up with the term.

If you read my Personal Bio, you already know a little bit about me and can begin to see where I'm going. But before I get into where I'm going with this, the term internet marketing generation 2.0 is not a substitute for the term Web 2.0. Of course the difference is that Web 2.0 is for online communities and network marketing and user edited content which does coincide with internet marketing but can better be explained by one such Tim O'Reilly who coined that term. To understand Web 2.0 a little better just do a Google search on Tim O'Reilly or Web 2.0 and I'm sure you can get more information. And, just as Tim O'Reilly could not contain his Web 2.0 concept to just a short blog, I as well cannot contain the whole internet marketing generation 2.0 concept to just a short blog but will try to give you a fair understanding of what it is. To do that, let me pick up where I left off with my Personal Bio.

As I was saying in my Personal Bio having ideas and being able to create products is good especially if you have JV partners or can drive traffic to your sites. Now, I am no guru on driving traffic to sites, but I do know things (free and paid advertising) that work and I do know (through hours upon hours of continuing research) how to optimize web sites for search engines. But let me focus on the first part of the last part of the first sentence of this paragraph... errrrr, uh, whatever--the part about having JV partners.

As I have had ideas, I have known that these ideas will sell. How do I know that? Well, market research, which is one thing that I've learned through generation 1.0 of internet marketers--how to do market research. I will get into explaining how to do market research in later posts for those of you eager readers, but for now let me continue. And I've also learned that there is kind of a 'catch 22' if you will in the world of internet marketing in general. And that is that it is easy to get traffic to your product and in turn make sales if you have JV partners, but (and here's the catch 22) all of the potential JV partners who have the big lists that can send you traffic are swamped with JV requests. Are there solutions to this JV traffic problem? YES. What are they? Well this is where the whole concept of "Internet Marketing Generation 2.0" comes in.

I coined the term because there is a gap between what I call generation 1.0 of internet marketers (the first generation) and myself (and I'm sure others like me). So what is this gap you are asking? Are they better than me? No, no. Are they some super guru? No, no. To explain this, I have several words for the gap and I have one word for the gap. In several words, the gap goes along with the "microwave society" concept (that everyone wants things now and because of this our world has developed products that give us what we want quicker than ever before, like microwavable food). When you become successful making money online, you have unlocked the code so to speak and the profits come in steadily. As this first generation of internet marketers unlocked the code and shared the secrets with each other, they exceled quickly ahead and quickly realized their dreams could come true marketing online. How do I know this well, Mike Filsaime has explained his internet history online and I compared that to when I began marketing online, it was (as you read in my personal bio) September 2005. Following Mike Filsaime's internet timeline, he was already making $50,000/month at this time. I missed it. Have there been others to surge forward like this since then? Sure. That's where I get into the one word that I have for the gap.

In one word, the gap is "MONEY". It is the amount of money that I am able spend to purchase the products that generation 1.0 puts out that will help my business. Stick with me, you'll see where I'm going with this. Here's an example. I had this site, bradleygsmith.com, in mind for a couple of months before I started it, but I actually got it up and running on July 6, 2007. For all internet marketers who are keeping up-to-date with product launches, this is the date that Mike Filsaime launched the 7 Figure Code for $497. I'm sorry, I can't afford that. And yes, he knows that. It's simple economics. Lower the price, you'll sell to more people. Increase the price, you'll sell to fewer people. And Mike has done a great job at finding the market that is willing to pay big money for the secrets to making money online. But this explains my point of the money gap. I held a job down working third shift in college, I just graduated college in May 2007 and still have the same job, have dreams of being my own boss, and can barely justify spending $197 on one product, let alone $497. Here's another example, the internet marketing conventions--the most recent one was in Singapore. Good grief, even if the event did not cost a penny, I still have to pay airfare and accommodations to get out there and stay. I currently don't have the money to afford generation 1.0 of internet marketers. If I can't go out and meet these people in person to JV with them, can I succeed?

Now, where am I going with all of this? Have I spent thousands of dollars purchasing products? YES. Have I spent countless hours along with tons of late nights working in front of my computer to see a return on my time? YES. What is it that keeps myself and others going? Easy, the dream. The dream is different for all internet marketers but for me it is being my own boss, not worrying about "getting by" (which just means I would like to live comfortably), and having a car that does not have a bazillion problems with it.

Now, I'm going to end this post, but before I do and before you get a misconception of the whole idea of "internet marketing generation 2.0", I want to explain two goals here, my personal goal and my goal for you, the reader. My personal goal is to one day be able to JV and speak with the internet marketing generation 1.0. I don't believe there is some earth-shattering difference between them and myself. I have learned from all of them. And I hope that some day they will want to JV and speak with me too. And my goal for you the reader is two-fold. My first goal is that I want you to take the products that I will be giving away in the near future and use them to do your internet marketing. My second goal in giving you these beneficial marketing products is for you to help me take internet marketing to a whole new level. What do I mean by a whole new level? Well, that's for you to decide.

Look for my next post on Internet Marketing Generation 2.0.

Personal Bio

Hi my name is Bradley G. Smith. I realize you may not know who I am. So if you have a minute, please allow me to bring you up to speed.

I live in Indianapolis, IN. I have lived here ever since I was 9. At one point, I lived a block away from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but I have never actually been to an Indianapolis 500 race.

I graduated high school in '99 and went to college in Florida for two years. When I transferred, none of my 69 credits or 3.91 GPA transferred with me. It was an unaccredited college. Whether it was a mistake going there or not is debatable, I learned a lot while I was there. I then transferred to a private college here in Indy. This was definitely a mistake. At the time, the price was $8-9k PER SEMESTER and I didn't have the money to pay for it. I couldn't get transfer scholarships because none of my credits transferred and I couldn't get freshman scholarships because I wasn't a freshman. Enter student loans. I went there for two years. I'm sure you can do the math.

When I came to my senses, I transferred to IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis). After drilling out a long three years and racking up more student debt, I graduated with my B.S. in Business Management from the IU Kelley School of Business in May of '07.

How I Got Into Web Design. After going to the private college here in Indy, I sat out a year trying to develop and run my own insurance and investments business. I had some success but in the end I had to get a part-time job to make up for the lack of clients and sales. At this point however, I knew I wanted to be my own boss and call my own shots. When I transferred to IUPUI, I wanted to change majors to computer information systems. You know, get on the forefront of technology and the internet. I ended up not changing majors because it was going to add even more time to the three years I had ahead of me.

But in September of 2005, as I was in the school bookstore getting books for the upcoming semester (which, by the way, the student book market is highway robbery), I noticed I could get a copy of the Macromedia (at the time, now Adobe) Suite for $25 as a student. I jumped all over that opportunity. I began studying Dreamweaver and reading documentation on how to use it. I put up my first site, eyoucandoit.com, which at the time was dedicated to showing people how to create wealth through real estate *scratch my head*. Book knowledge is a lot less useful than practical knowledge.

At this time, I reached a turning point. An internet marketing newbie, I was trying to learn how to get traffic to my site. Enter Mike Filsaime. When I searched for "free website advertising" at the time, instantbuzz.com came up. And after I got on Mike Filsaime's list, the rest is, as they say, history. He introduced me to Michael Cheney, Brad Callen, Andy Jenkins, Brad Fallon, Mark Joyner, Joel Comm, Sterling Valentine, Jonathan Leger, Kelvin Hui, Anik Singal, Keith Wellman, Michael Rasmussen, Codrut Turcanu, Cody Moya, Jeff Walker, the list goes on. Who am I forgetting?

As I quickly learned more through my studies about web design, I changed eyoucandoit.com to focus on web design. I also began developing adsense sites and blogs right at the point when Google, rightfully so, made it more difficult to create "spam blogs" and "spam websites".

As I spent hundreds and thousands of dollars over the last couple of years learning internet marketing and failing and getting back up and trying again, I also continued to develop my skills as a web programmer and designer.

And recently, I reached the point where I can develop scripts for myself that have been useful for internet marketing. And it has even got to the point where when I think of a new idea, I can just create it. And, aside from being a huge visionary, I am an idea man. I have a million ideas a minute. Having ideas and being able to create products is good if you have JV partners or can drive traffic to your sites (whether through paid advertising, free advertising, or search engine optimization).

ENTER Internet Marketing Generation 2.0 (read my post about Internet Marketing Generation 2.0 for more details)