You Are Not Going To Believe This!

So, there I was on the sofa, doing my taxes on my laptop PC (taxes are such a pain, even with TurboTax!!) and I get this phone call on my business phone.

Happy for any excuse to get away from the taxes for a while, I walk over to my home office and pick up and I hear this woman's voice say hello and my name. Her voice sounds so familiar. Then she introduces herself and I am shocked to realize...

It is Mary Gersten Herself Live on My Phone!

It was Mary Gersten, the VP of Global Cash Flow Network. SHE actually CALLED me, one on one, in person - live! This is amazing, because she's nearly impossible to reach normally.

You can hear her voice on my main CMPS splash page where it says "Hit Play For A Special Message." It was her voice!

I could hardly believe my ears, and was sort of in shock for the first few minutes as she started talking to me about why she was calling.

She was very polite, by the way. And yes, she knows my real name, since they have my records & everything based on my website address. (I just like to maintain a little privacy on the web, that's why I write under my nickname of Koala Bear)

Why Is Mary Gersten Calling the Little Ol' Koala Bear?

Well, apparently, my blog (and my Squidoo page, GCFN - My True Story) are high profile on the internet (when you search for GCFN or CMPS) and they've noticed my blog and actually read and follow my posts.

Amazing.

Based on some of my recent post, Mary wanted to "clear up" some "misconceptions" I have about the Ultimate Traffic System/Guaranteed Traffic Program. She also wanted to make sure I got my latest referral bonus commission check for $208.

Yes, Another Check. $208. Here's the photo!


So anyway, she basically called to explain some of the things I didn't understand about the Ultimate Traffic System, and let me know about recent upgrades that have become available since I first signed up with GCFN last year. And she let me ask a few questions. She said she only had a short time to talk before she had to get to another meeting, and we only talked for a short time. I asked her two questions (one about what happens when someone doesn't get the Ultimate Traffic System, and another about why they don't have a way to track your results...I would have asked more but I couldn't think of anything, I was sort of shocked I was actually talking to her like this).

The "TRUTH" About The Ultimate Traffic System (UTS)

One of the first things Mary Gersten wanted to explain to me was that they've made some changes to how they "sell" the Ultimate Traffic System (UTS). When I signed up, the Level I coaches "overemphasized" the "guaranteed traffic" aspect of the system.

But, according to Mary Gersten, the "guaranteed traffic" isn't the main point of the system. The UTS is really an added training package (on top of the $300 basic CMPS training package) that comes with extra bonus trainings and the "black binder" of information that helps you learn how to generate massive traffic yourself on the web.

My take: Mary's explanation made a lot of sense. She was sincere and trying to help clear up any confusion I've had (and that I am spreading via this blog...) I've felt for a while that this whole CMPS thing is great as a LEARNING EXPERIENCE and TRAINING COURSE, but the conversion rate of those guaranteed visitors to buyers was a percent or less. And that's basically what Mary was telling me. The real value of the Ultimate Traffic System isn't intended to be in the thousands of visitors they will give me, but rather in the extensive training provided about generating your own targeted traffic.

You have to remember, this is a "certification" program, not a "make money fast" program.

Apparently, the ONLY way to get the special training about generating massive web traffic for your business is by ordering the Ultimate Traffic System.

IF you don't get the UTS, you won't receive the black binder or get access to a several of the online "surprise" bonuses.

I knew you wouldn't get the black binder if you didn't get the Ultimate Traffic System, but I didn't realize that some of the best "unannounced" bonus internet marketing courses that I've been studying only come to you if you sign up for the Ultimate Traffic System. Those "unannounced bonuses" are among the most beneficial things I've been studying as a CMPS student!

UTS Delivers Double Commissions

Regular students who sign up for the CMPS program but don't get the UTS will only receive a 10% commission. Mary told me that when a CMPS student also signs up for the UTS, they actually receive a 20% commission on every referral. I've actually been getting 20% commissions, not 10%. This is the only way to get a 20% referral commission as a CMPS student.

Obviously signing up for the UTS can make a big different to your earnings.

Other Interesting Program Improvements: Improved Tracking Option

Among the recent changes and upgrades to the CMPS program since I first signed up is an ability to have multiple phone number extensions to allow you to track your results against different types of advertising methods. I plan to get that upgrade, and will let you know more about it in future posts.

The reason they don't have a more straightforward tracking mechanism (like what Clickbank.com uses) is that the phone number and extension are on all your advertising...so if you just used a web "tag" or "cookie" type of tracking system, you wouldn't really be capturing all the responses to your ads. Many people call in before signing up, and there's no easy way to track where people got the phone number and extension when they call in.

But by offering this upgrade where you get multiple phone extensions, you can actually target specific advertising to specific phone extensions, and in that way you'll track nearly everything.

It's not perfect, but it sounds sufficient for what I'm looking for. And it's a massive improvement over not knowing ANYTHING about which traffic is converting (which is where I am now without this upgrade).

Radio and TV Advertising Too?

Mary also mentioned something about their including TV and Radio ads as part of the program now, for Ultimate Traffic System buyers. That sounded really cool, though she didn't explain it in any detail. Hopefully I'll get a chance to learn more about it. If/when I do, I'll let you know.

That's all I have time to write tonight. But it's been a really interesting night!

Shocking $951 Check Received from Global Cash Flow Network

Last week I received a check from GCFN for $951.00! Signed by Mary Gersten!
I actually received a $50 check several weeks before this, but didn't think it was worth mentioning (I just didn't have time to photograph and post it).

If I've done the math properly, this brings my total "earnings" so far from promoting GCFN with web-based advertising and postcards to about $2800. I spent over $5000 total to enter the Certified Media Placement Specialist program, so I haven't broken even yet. I've got to make about $2300 more to break even. (Actually, it's probably more than that if I take account of postage spent on postcards. I'll try to add that up and mention the actual numbers in my next post. I do most of these blog entries without looking up my detailed accounting records).

I've actually been slacking on the postcards. Postage costs 26 cents per postcard. If you mail 500, that's $130. I plan to try it again based on this latest check, but I'm beginning to wonder if web-based marketing is more cost-effective for me.

The sad thing is, right now there's no way for me to know whether it's postcards or something else that is working.

Does Anyone Know What Is Working ?

Although I still have some concerns about the way the GCFN sales process is hype-intensive, I am definitely on board with this as a way to make some money on the side! The CMPS program is a legitimate training opportunity with real income possibilities as far as I can tell! You just have to stick with it, look at it as a training/certification program (not a pure money-making machine) and keep trying different things until something works. A bit hit or miss, but that's honestly all I've been doing so far.

Apparently my advertising is working now that I fixed my problem with domain-masking (see my Feb post about that). I've mostly been using some super-cheap pay-per-click type advertising (using very narrow, focused keywords that gives me a few dozen hits a week), plus Squidoo, this blog, and free advertising on TrafficSwarm and TopSurfer.

But the thing that really bothers me is that I have no way to actually track WHICH advertising is working.

Every advertisement is just a shot in the dark. That's not a 21st century approach to marketing!

Internet Marketing Training

Since I started with the CMPS program, I've been getting internet marketing trainings from Joshua Shafran and others (I get Josh Shafran's "3 comma club newsletter" via CMPS at $47 a month and worth every penny I would say).

The key to massive success as far as I can tell from all the resources I've read about making money online is that you need to be able to track what advertising and marketing channels are working, and which ones aren't. To maximize profits you need to optimize the winners and cut-off the losing advertising that is costing you money but not making any back.

So far, GCFN hasn't provided the features that allow me to do that. I just have to average over all of my advertising costs. Very frustrating.

Judging by the checks that keep rolling in, SOME of my advertising must be working. But I don't know which parts!! If I did know, believe me, I'd be ramping it up!

Checks Delayed 30 Days?

By the way, according to the GCFN back office, the checks are sent out 30 days after the sale. This makes sense, as they need a delay to be sure the order hasn't been canceled or contested by credit card companies. But this means the successes I've been having occurred 30-days prior to the check being sent. So this latest $951 check was earned from sales made prior to Feb 12.

I have hardly a clue about what I did in Jan/Feb that would have brought in all the sales required to make me $951. Between Jan 1 2008 and Feb 14 2008 I collected 9 prospects in my back office. If each sale was several thousand dollars total and I earn 10%, then $951 represents maybe 2-3 sales. I'm not sure if phone-ins are counted in my back office (and some of my advertising points people to call the phone number with my extension, not go to the website) so there may have been others not listed in my "MyWebCashStore" back office.

The point is, without a tracking system, it is really hard to justify putting massive effort into more advertising. I don't know what kind of return to expect. And therefore remain a bit skeptical about this as a business with "full time" earnings potential. (Is anyone from GCFN taking note of this??)

Anyway, I'll keep you posted. Thanks for submitting comments, it's good to know you are reading this and getting something out of it.

I do plan to put together some tips on how to do better with promoting GCFN (and other things, like ClickBank). But I'm still working at a job that completely drains all my mental energy and haven't gotten around to it yet. Sorry...but I'll be working on it, I promise.

Warning About URL Forwarding/Masking and Affiliate Tracking

A few months ago I was reading something about internet marketing (honestly, I do not remember where I was reading it) and they talked about using your own URL to foward people to your affiliate website.

Having a unique URL (like the one I use for my GCFN affiliate website) can really make a big difference - so I am told - in getting people to your actual affiliate page.

If you have a page with an address like www.24hourwebcash.com/myusernameis
a lot of people who see your link will just type it in as

www.24hourwebcash.com
and leave off your username. This results in visitors coming to the site, but not to your page (resulting in YOU not making money).

So the best thing to do is get your own URL
(GoDaddy.com is a good cheap source)
and then forward your URL (say it's http://www.mywebsite.com/ ) to your affiliate page.

BUT... (there's always gotta be a "but..")

Warning - Do not use URL Masking

What I discovered to my dismay in December however, is that if you "mask" your affiliate URL, affiliate systems will not be able to "drop cookies" properly to give your credit, and you will lose comissions.

Since the end of September I had been masking my affiliate URL...and not getting a single check since October! I had also been putting stickers on my postcards and having my own url (cashflowurl.com) over the regular url.

Oops!


What Is Domain-Name Masking?

Masking is an option you can set when you set up the domain forwarding, so that the person going to your URL only sees your URL name, and never sees your actual affiliate link.

For example, if you have a URL mywebsite.com and forward it to your affiliate link
http://www.24hourwebcash.com/myusernameis

then when someone types in "mywebsite.com" into the browser address bar, the browser will get forwarded to your affiliate website and show
http://www.24hourwebcash.com/myusernameis
in the address bar, not "mywebsite.com."

On the other hand, if you use the domain name masking option when you set up forwarding, when a person types in "mywebsite.com" into the browser address bar, the browser will still SHOW your affiliate page, but the address in the address bar will still read http://mywebsite.com

This way, the visitor never really knows they are looking at an affiliate website. Except you don't get credit for the sale either, so it doesn't help!!


Unfortunately for me, this also means if the visitor signs up for the GCFN online (by putting in their name & info, then reading the "one time offer" special page and signing up right there rather than calling in...) then I won't get credit for any sale.


The Solution
So I realized my mistake at the end of December and turned off domain name masking in my GoDaddy.com account. So now when somone types in my URL, they can see my affiliate page name in the address bar...and I should get credit if/when they apply for the CMPS program online.


The Reward: A $899 GCFN Check!

And guess what? I have not sent out postcards now for over a month, but I have been doing some free advertising at places like trafficswarm.com and some cheap paid classifieds.

And completely out of the blue, I got a check for $899 from GCFN last week.

(I took a photo of it before I cashed it in, but sorry - the photo almost too blurry to read. But it looked like real pen & ink on the signature, like maybe Mary Gersten actually signed the check herself!)






This thing with the domain masking explains why I didn't make money from my last postcard mailing in October, since I had covered up all of the original web addresses with my own address (which was using masking at the time).


I don't know if this will help any of you out there, but if you are using Domain Masking...stop doing it!

A $639 Check from Global Cash Flow Network!

I was stunned. Amazed! Overjoyed!!!

I just got a check in the mail today from the GCFN for $639!
Here's the photo!

This brings my total earnings so far to $849.

My main concern now isn't whether I can make money, it is how to track WHAT is making me money. Their system for telling me where the money is being earned (and which advertising is bringing in the buyers) is pretty poor.

I suspect it was the postcards and possibly some of the web advertising I've been doing - mostly free advertising on the web with Link exchanges (Topsurfer and TrafficSwarm mainly) - as well as free classified ads. Of course there is this blog, but until now I don't think this was doing ANY sort of good sales job! And only last week I submitted an article to ezinearticles. I plan on doing more of that soon, and possibly a press release and advertisement in a magazine soon.

But I may never know which advertising yielded this income. They really need to do something about that though! Not knowing where your good prospects are coming from is a crazy way to do business. How do I know where to continue focusing my efforts? As it is, I just have to keep doing everything, and try to make this happen more often.

Anyway, I just sent out 250 more postcards that Mary Gersten's CMPS program sent me a few weeks ago. So I am hopeful that more big checks will be coming my way in the weeks ahead!!

Only about $4151 more left to earn before I break even. :)

I am really getting enthusiastic about this program now!

Global Cash Flow Network: My Current Opinion

A gent named John recently wrote to me. He had just signed up for the GCFN and -like me - paid big bucks for the Guaranteed Traffic but turned down the Dan Kuschell mentoring.

He was having doubts.

Brother, I've been there!

I responded to him with my current opinion and some tips. Here's the content of what I told him:

My Updated Opinion
of the Certified Media Placement Specialist Program
and GCFN:
I do think the GCFN company is legitimate (and I keep hoping I'm right).

They may not be the most well-run company for customer service, but they do seem to be for real and not a scam operation.

About every couple weeks, they send me a new notice about another "bonus training" course that I can download and learn from, and so far, all the courses have been interesting, and several have been very useful (especially the Joel Christopher "Mr. List" audio course). This is where the real value seems to be...the training courses they send you over time.

Long Telephone Wait Times for Level II Coaches
If you can manage to get through to a Level II Media Coach (calling towards the end of the week seems to have shorter wait times), they can give you all the links and websites for downloading the different links.

Tip: Mondays are the worst day to call, their lines always seem jammed with callers on Monday.

"Guaranteed Traffic" - Too Expensive?
The "guaranteed traffic" stuff ticks me off. I doubt the $210 I've made so far came from their traffic, and I don't really know exactly how they are generating it. (Supposedly it is Pay Per Click like on Google, but the opt-in rate is terrible. I have about 10 opt-ins for 14,185 visitors so far.)

I paid for 20,000 visits, and so far (after about 2 months) am up to 14,185. But I've only made $210. So they are going to have to run it again for me once my first 3-month run is over even if they hit 20,000 visitors, as their guarantee states. But I'm not counting on their traffic to actually make me money at this point. (I hope it does, but doubt it!)

Shou'da Could'a Would'a Gotten the Mentoring Instead
From what little I've learned about Dan Kuschell and Joshua Shafran, they seem legitimate "gurus" and I think I would have been better off getting the Kuschell mentoring and NOT getting the guaranteed traffic…though frankly, I don't know what the mentoring really would deliver, so I'm guessing. (And they don't tell you about the mentoring until AFTER they offer you the guaranteed traffic program).

The Good News
If you start applying what they teach you in the binders and from all the online audio courses, you can begin to develop your own websites and build a list of your own ezine subscribers, and start making money as an affiliate marketer.

I'm not progressing as fast as I'd like in setting up my own site (hbibr.com - still under construction), as I am doing about 3 business projects at once and working a part-time job. But the audio courses they've sent me by Tellman Knudson and the Listbuilder dude have been really informative. If I had bought equivalent courses separately, I'm pretty sure it would have cost $1000+ so far (and the emails I keep getting have been promising more courses as time goes on, which keeps me thinking this program is legit and in the end will profit me via education).

Some Tips for People in the CMPS Program

1. Set up a Blog of some sort, like I have, and start writing. You could write about something completely unrelated to the CMPS program if you aren't comfortable promoting it on your blog (or even do what I've done, telling your story of how it's going with the CMPS thing and stay neutral).
2. One of their leading affiliates is (apparently) http://www.dont-get-scammed-again.com/ who as far as I can tell is one of the GCFN's leading affiliate money-makers. (But what irks me is that we can't duplicate what he's done exactly, because as far as I have been able to determine, I have to drive traffic to my business webcash affiliate page, rather than making a direct link to a sales page)
3. Submit articles about home-business and media placement (full-on promotional babble) to article-submission sites (the media coaches can give you a list of sites to submit articles). This can help drive traffic to your 24hourwebcash page and also improve your pagerank, and in general is a good internet marketing trick.
4. Look at the CMPS program as a learning experience, rather than a fast money-making scheme. It's been pretty disappointing for me so far as a money-maker in the short term, but I really do think I'm picking up skills in the CMPS trainings that in a few months will make me good money independent of the 24hourwebcash website.

Bottom Line
I believe the CMPS program is legit in that it DOES offer good material to learn how to do advertising (aka media placement) for internet & affiliate marketing. You have to go thru & apply the courses they give you access to. That's how you're going to benefit from the program.

Go thru the courses one at a time (especially the Faster Webmaster and Mr. List courses first) and also make sure you do everything on your checklist in the white binder, to get your $300 back (which I still have to finish).

I keep reminding myself, this is a "certification program." So it is a lot of work (like going to school). I now believe it will pay off for me eventually (even if promoting the program as an affiliate in and of itself isn't generating much cash for me).

CMPS Postcard Marketing

If you have read my Squidoo Lens about the GCFN, you know that I received 500 postcards and mailing labels from the GCFN office in August. These postcards were to be used to drive prospects (highly targeted leads, supposedly, with the mailing labels) to your website.

Well, I have heard that summer-time is the slowest time of year for people who are looking for a home business. Basically, people are more concerned with vacation than they are with making money. (Obviously that didn't apply to me, since I went on my home-business buying spree in July!)

So let's say I am trying to stay positive about this whole postcard thing.

Based on the GCFN Back Office system, which tracks who has entered their name in my autoresponder, it appears about 8 people (out of 500 postcards) responded to my mailing.

And none of them signed up.

An 8/500 response rate is a 1.6% response rate. I know from other research I've done in the past on direct mail marketing, this isn't that unusual a response rate. If you get 1-2%, that's pretty typical.

But the fact that I didn't make any money from it, after spending $130 on postage is a bit disappointing.

And I just got another bundle of postcards and labels today, delivered by FedEx. You get at least 250 postcards to send per month included free as part of the program.

Will I send them out? Probably yes (it did generate some traffic, and some of the traffic did put their info into my lead-capture form). But I'm doing a lot of this just because I'm stubborn, not necessarily because I think it's going to generate more income for me at this point.

Did I mention I'm starting a part-time job next week?

Anyway, if the prospects who responded to my postcards read this blog - it may explain why they haven't signed up. Sad to say, I have not been exactly doing the best job here of selling the Global Cash Flow Network as a great way to make money.

But that's only because I don't know yet if it IS a good way to make money.

I certainly haven't made much money from it yet. Just $110. No more checks received so far.

On the bright side, I am learning gobs of stuff about internet marketing and media placement techniques. From that perspective, the CMPS program really has delivered as promised. For a sampling of what I've been able to learn so far (admittedly, not just what I got from the CMPS program, but mostly from the CMPS program), you can see my other Squidoo Lens on media placement in multiple channels. I actually wrote that lens a month ago, so I should probably update it a bit.

But the GCFN as a great home business? Not so far. Of course, my whining about it here isn't helping me make any money with the program. But at least I have a clean conscience about it.

You know, if I hadn't spent that $4400+ on the "guaranteed traffic program" I think I would be a raving, highly satisfied customer. I really have been learning a lot of great stuff about marketing and using the internet to market information and sell product. The $4400+ I spent on "guaranteed traffic" is supposed to deliver 10,000 highly qualified visitors to each of my 2 GCFN webpages over a 3 month period. They have been providing the traffic (it's up to about 4400 now per site, with about 1 month to go), but none of that traffic has turned into a sale.

So, like I was saying, I have a rapidly dwindling bank account as I manage my credit card balances...but a clean conscience.

Anyway, I am growing suspicious that the way the system works may not be properly crediting me with referral bonuses from applications to the Certified Media Placement Specialist program through my "24hourwebcash" web page. I plan to call customer support tomorrow and make sure my links are all working correctly and crediting me properly with any signups. Though I'm not sure I'll ever know until I confirm someone has actually signed up for it (and if I get a check from it or not).

Maybe I'm just paranoid. That tends to happen when you spend, er..., invest $5000 and aren't sure if you'll ever get it back.

I did notice that the eBay, Amazon, and Google Adsense links on mywebcashstore are all working properly. So that's good.

But I'm not sure I'll really be making any money from the affiliate links on mywebcashstore based on the way it's been set up.

I'll probably have to establish another website or blog somewhere else to try and cash in on affiliate profits separately using the techniques the CMPS program is teaching me.

Wish me luck. And stay tuned.

The Truth about Mary Gersten's Global Cash Flow Network

If you've been looking for a way to make money on the internet, but don't know where to start...let me warn you, there are lots of scams out there. This blog is intended to help you learn more about one of the offerings out there, the Global Cash Flow Network. Whether it is a scam or a great opportunity is not yet clear to me, I am trying to figure that out as I chronicle My True Story about the Global Cash Flow Network and Mary Gersten's "Certified Media Placement Specialist" (CMPS) Program.

In early July 2007, I became a "student" of the CMPS program, as one of many things I was trying to use to make money and start a "home-based business" of my own. I had quit my job in June (to pursue a network marketing opportunity that I had been in for over a year, which I thought would explode if I pursued it full time...which is yet another story for another day).

Anyway, I was sick of corporate-life slavery and I wanted to be able to work from home and become an independent entrepreneur.

Needless to say, after plugging away at it for a couple of months, the MLM thing still wasn't making enough money for me and my wife to live on. Savings began to dwindle, credit card balances began to rise.

I had heard all sorts of hype about people making hundreds of dollars a day on the internet. After a bit of searching (see my Squidoo Lens for the full introduction and summary of my story so far), I ended up as a student and "business owner" with the Global Cash Flow Network.

After spending several thousand dollars on GCFN "add-ons" I was really questioning my intelligence. Doubts were overwhelming. Is it all just a scam?? Can I really make money with this program, or should I abandon it and try to do something from scratch? Did I just waste my money on this CMPS thing? Money that I could have used more productively?

Which brings me to this Blog today.

I have a couple of Squidoo Lenses about this topic. As the main one about my story grew in length, I decided the best thing to do was start a Blog and just use the Lens as a summary.

I am writing this in my spare time. As none of the "businesses" I have started are producing enough money to live on right now (even collectively), I have taken another job, which limits the time I have for blogging.

But I continue to implement what my "CMPS Media Coaches" have been telling me to do, as part of the program I have invested so much money into so far.

If this is a scam, it needs to be revealed as such! I think the public deserves to know the truth.

If you have tried the CMPS program and GCFN, maybe reading this will help you make more money with the program (only time will tell...)

Bottom line: The GCFN gives everyone who signs up 12-months to try their program, after which I can get (some of) my money back if it hasn't worked out. So I don't want to be hasty in calling this thing a scam. They claim some of their students are making thousands per month. I have actually received some checks back from the company (as of August 27), but not enough to be fully convinced I've got a money-maker on my hands. For all I know, they sent me those checks to make me THINK I had a legitimate opportunity, since I've put a lot more in than they've sent me so far.

On the other hand, from all the "rich gurus" I've read and heard in the past, I am led to believe the biggest factor determining the size of your bank account is yourself, not your product. That's what marketing is all about.

For the record, I am dead-set against so called "prosperity doctrines" and the "think and grow rich" thing. I think they're hocus-pocus hogwash. But I do agree with the concept that my attitude and personal growth are the primary things holding me back from making a good living as an entrepreneur.

Anyway, these are some of the things I intend to touch upon in this Blog.

Join me here each week, as I chronicle my story...primarily about trying to figure out if the Global Cash Flow Network is a scam or not!