We had scheduled an ad for APPsy a new tool for building mobile apps, today. But we decided against it after using the software ourselves. Our opinion is that it needs more refinement before it will be useful for most of our readers. If, after reading this review, you think you have enough tech skills to handle the deficiencies we point out, you can buy this new tool here: APPsy. This tool makes an app (both iOS and Android are possible) from a website. As a test, we built an app for IM NewsWatch. We have experimented with APPsy. It seems to build apps quickly and easily, as advertised, but we... [...]

IM NewsWatch has taken Spin Rewriter to the proving ground. This is the result of our testing. First released in 2011 and improved every year since then, Spin Rewriter has become the most popular and most advanced text spinner available to small- and medium-sized online marketers. We place this limitation on the claim since major corporations could, in theory, create a content spinner for themselves that isn’t released to the public. We bought a lifetime license, and we are using it to do this testing. To use this tool (which is currently available for a 5-day free trial), after signing up... [...]

IM NewsWatch has taken 50 Shades of Traffic to The Proving Ground This is training on how to get traffic for your website, created by a team of marketers led by Peter Winyeci. The heart of this product is the set of 16 detailed videos reviewing sites that can bring traffic to your site. I watched several of these videos and was pleasantly surprised at the thoroughness of the reviews. It’s not just that the list of sites is so thorough, including PPC options, CPV options, etc., as important as that is. But each site he reviews is reviewed in a thorough manner. This is not just a list of... [...]

There’s a big advantage to being in the first spot in the search engines for your keywords. People start clicking at the top, and if they are dissatisfied with the first entry, they work their way down. Being number 1 gives you a major advantage. You will get more clicks than anybody else. That’s as true with paid listings as with organic ones. If you satisfy those who click, you will do well and your competitors will be left far behind. Brian Howard has developed a system that he says solves the problem of getting to the top of search results. The Proving Ground explores his claim... [...]

IM NewsWatch has taken Overnight Rankings to The Proving Ground. This a report of our findings. If you want to have marketing success, the basic principle successful marketers use is “enter into the conversation in your audience’s mind.” In a chapter titled “Minds Don’t Change”, in his book, The New Positioning, Jack Trout gives example after example of marketing campaigns that were intended to change the way people think. Most multi-million dollar campaigns taking this approach were failures. Solo entrepreneurs and small businesses can’t afford multi-million... [...]

IM NewsWatch has taken Full-time Passive Profits to The Proving Ground. This a report of our findings. Internet marketer, Phillip McGough says he has found he can make a full-time living from working only an hour or less a day, and letting his marketing system do the rest of the work for him. He uses email as his primary marketing tool, although he uses other tools as well. He reports, “after you’ve established a sizable Email subscriber list, all you need to do is write a single email per day, which can take anything between 10 and 30 minutes, to make a full time living.” In Full-time... [...]

IM NewsWatch has taken The Online Marketer’s Toolbox to The Proving Ground. This a report of our findings. The author, Forrest Smyth has spent quite a while writing and, now, revising and updating, Online Entrepreneur’s Toolbox. This is a 30-page review of many tools and services (including many free ones) that are aids for online marketers. His review is, of course, based on his own experience. This has the value of being first-hand knowledge. It also has the limitation of being first-hand knowledge. He didn’t have the resources to, and doesn’t claim to, do a large-scale,... [...]

Being a consultant to offline businesses that want to advertise online can be lucrative, but it also can be frustrating. If you try to compete on low price for your consulting services, you will almost certainly become frustrated. Usually, there will be someone willing to undercut your price. Even if that doesn’t happen and your low price wins you the bid, you will probably find that the job is worth a lot more than you charged, and you will resent having to do the work for such a low fee. How can you avoid that predicament of always chasing clients that are looking for the cheapest solution... [...]

This is a 23 page report, available here: Social Weaponizer. In light of the current importance of social media in search engine rankings, it discusses how to use a particular social media site for backlinks to your “money site” or to an affiliate offer. The heart of the training is the revelation of the site name. It’s a site we had heard of, but had not paid much attention to. Perhaps, that was a mistake. It does seem to have significant marketing value in many situations. Besides the site name (which is hardly enough to justify the price), there are several tips included... [...]

The definition of Authority Site is mushy. Clearly Amazon is an authority site for books and ESPN is an authority site for sports. And most solo entrepreneur internet marketers would agree that IM NewsWatch is an authority site for internet marketing. But practically speaking, the issue comes down to profitability. Authority sites, by virtue of their authority, are profitable. That’s why we all long for the “scent of authority.” And for profitability, the key question is “How much authority does Google (and Bing) attribute to your site?” That’s a particularly... [...]