Dale King Interviews Ed Zivkovic

I remember acquiring a shopping mall script with the hope of selling offline businesses some mall space for a yearly fee. I did not like the style of store that the script generated, and because no editing of the script was permitted, I quit the project.

I was green. I did not know what a HTML editor was and did not know how to even code a hyperlink. While unknowingly teaching myself to code HTML, I purchased Internet marketing courses, memberships, software and books. To date I have spent thousands.

Buying informatin Online has helped me in two ways.

1. Learn a strategy or two.

2. Learn what others charge for a particular piece of information.

Dale King: Some Internet marketing experts advise newbies to steer clear of certain areas of Internet marketing, because they're too competitive. Do you agree with that assessment?

Ed Zivkovic: Stay clear of Internet Marketing as a niche to target?

Yes and No. Yes it is competetive, but so is credit cards, weight loss, online dating, home loans, small business, and so on. Just because the credit card niche is not Internet Marketing related does not ensure success. As a niche, Internet marketing is a broad term. We are told to find a "niche within a niche". I think this applies to any industry.

On the other hand, why do it hard? Why get involved in a niche where people right-mouse click on a link just to see if it is an Affiliate link? Why not go to a niche where people do not even know what the hell a right-mouse click or a StatusBar is?

Why get involved in an industry where people bypass an affiliate link by inserting their own before they purchase? Why not target a niche where the consumer does not know the meaning of the term affiliate?

If people do their own testing, and send search engine traffic to products and services that are not Internet marketing related, they will discover that in many cases, conversion rates are much much higher.

Remember that I am talking about search engine traffic here. The traffic has not opted into a list, has not been mailed "7 times" and yet they have no trouble getting their credit card out on the first visit. Compare this to a niche where it is necessary to maintain an email list, mail the prospects several times before they think about spending $49.

To steer clear of marketing to Internet marketers is pretty good advice, however, at the end of the day, if someone has an idea, why not give it a go?

Dale King: How is Internet marketing different now, as opposed to when you first got started online?

Ed Zivkovic: It is almost the same. The only difference is there is more players, more products, tighter niches and many more choices.

Web hosting and domain name registration is much cheaper. When I started it was $35 per year per name and $50 per month for web hosting without much disk space, no PHP, no mySQL databases, no fancy stats, just bare bones hosting. Now a webmaster can get unlimited mySQL databases, with dozens of pre-installed PHP Content Management Systems (CMS) for about $7/mo.

Dale King: How important has goal-setting been to your overall success?

Ed Zivkovic: Very important. I think that the priority in which goals are set is most important.

Setting financial goals may not be the highest need or want of the Being involved.

In my case, peace and harmony must be the number one goal.

To do this, one must be willing to frequently spend time in stillness in order to draw attention to any circumstances which require attention/correction and must be willing to remove from their life any cause which produces dis-harmony or turbulance.

This includes staying away from negative, angry or unsupportive people and not involving one self with projects/activities which one would not be proud of.

What If My wife/husband is negative and unsupportive? As Ted Nicholas has said in his book "Magic Words": "An important decision must be made".

Writing goals out daily has been a great benefit to me. I include spiritual goals along with material goals, and I use visualization techniques in an attempt to think only about that which I desire.

Dale King: How important has reading been to your overall success?

Ed Zivkovic: I guess very important, but because I read a lot on the computer screen, I really enjoy audio books these days.

As Charles T. Jones would say: You will be the same in five years time as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.

And, Mark O. Harolsen would say something like: Most people spend more money on beer than they do on books, that's why their bellies are bigger than their brains.

With that said, I know that reading and acquiring information is not as important as actually applying the information. This involves action. For example, there is no point reading a fitness book which tells us to do so many sit-ups, so many push-ups etc unless we actually do some of that stuff.

Another example: There is little value in reading a book about self-confidence which teaches us to have complete Intregrity on the inside, and then "choose" to remain in a love relationship or a job which causes us to be unhappy, disturbed, or dissatisfied.

Yes, reading is important because it shows us what action to take in order to acheive a specific effect, but information without action has little value.

We are the cause of all the effects, conditions and circumstances in our life. Thinking what we think, believing what we believe and doing what we do is all a choice of action.

Dale King: If you could recommend one book that all Internet marketers should read, what would it be?

Ed Zivkovic: I would say that the best type of book any web marketer should have on their book shelf would be a credible search engine book. The first one I ever bought was "Rankings Revealed". With that said, it may not suit all Internet marketers because there are many different Online marketing strategies.

For example, knowing how to get higher search engine rankings would not benefit a Pay-Per-Click marketer who uses only PPC ads to drive traffic to landing pages or one page sales letter mini sites.

Also, search engine marketing does not complimemt joint ventures, viral marketing or email marketing. Search engine marketing is a stand alone strategy. You either love it or you don't.

I had only a few pages on my web site when I purchased Rankings Revealed. After reading it, I decided to buy a Content Management System (CMS) and start adding more content to my web site. I did not know what a CMS was back then. I thought I had to build each page one by one with my HTML Editor. These days people can download "The CMS Paper" and find lots of Free Content Management Systems.

People should read a "credible" search engine book before they build any kind of web site. This way they will be able to determine what software and web hosting they really need right at the start instead of doing it all backwards.

Reading Rankings Revealed will also enable the Internet marketer to see more clearly the difference between acceptable SEO and Black Hat SEO. Once people know what Black Hat SEO is, they will pick their Online mentors more wisely, and save a lot of time and money.

Dale King: In your opinion, what technology has changed Internet marketing the most over the last 5 years?

Ed Zivkovic: In my humble opinion, I feel that automation technology has changed Internet marketing the most.

Positive example: Gone are the days where we build web pages one at a time. These days we just use a CMS to build full featured, user interactive web sites suitable for any niche.

A marketer can sign up with a web host who has pre-installed Content Management Systems, pick some bloging or article program from their hosting control panel and can be publishing content almost immediately.

Negative example: Black Hat SEO and the Sneaky Redirect.

Dale King: What new technology do you see changing Internet marketing over the next 5 years?

Ed Zivkovic: I can only speak on behalf of own experience. But, Without being specific, I feel that automation systems will always change the way Internet marketers do business.

The way niche markets are targeted, the way transactions are executed, the method and speed at which information gets published and delivered will always be changing.

Dale King: What person has influenced you the most in your lifetime, and how?

Ed Zivkovic: I guess Brian Tracy in his course The Science Of Self Confidence.

One of the most important things in the course that has had a big impact on my life is the fact that I never have to stay in a situation which for any reason makes me unhappy.

He teaches that if I do what I know is right for *me*, regardless of the short term consequences, and regardless of what other people think, that it will always work out in the end.

However, the course also states that if I do not do what is right for me, it can have devastating short term and long term effects. It seems that there is a Force of retribution which will not allow us to get away with it for too long.

The course has also shown me where my talents are. They are the things that I have found easy to learn and easy to do while other people find those same things difficult to learn and difficult to do. Now I know why I get that blank look from my clients while teaching them to manage their web site :-)

Dale King: If you could give my readers one piece of advice, what would it be?

Ed Zivkovic: Think long term.

A good long term strategy is to get a CMS and create a web site where you can share your Online or other personal adventures. Post your thoughts about your discoveries good and not so good and do not be frightened about what people think. Do not post your secrets unless the cat is out of the bag already.

Look back at some of your older articles in a few years to see how much you have changed. You will notice that your writing is getting better each year because your ability to translate thoughts into words has become easier.

You will also discover how much the Internet has changed since you started the web site.

You will see what information is time-less (that which can still be used today) and what information no longer has value. This is a valuable thing to discover because you will be more careful in the future when writing about so called new stuff which can easily become out of date or even destructive to the reader.

Never try suspicious SEO strategies on this web site and before too long, it will be considered an Authority Site and you will own a Treasure.

Dale King: Ed, do you have any final parting words, before we conclude this interview?

Ed Zivkovic: Take one day off a week from computers and Internet.

Working too hard is not indicative of taking good care of ourselves.

After awhile, the mind will perceive that life is all work and no play which can cause us to feel restless and unhappy.

Rest and recreation is required in order to bring to the surface those things in life which are important to us.

Taking a day off every week from all computer and Internet activity helps us get connected with ourselves, rest the mind, and induces creativity.

Do what ever things you want or need to do during this time. Some of the things people can do is:

- Give yourself a treat like a nice expensive ice-cream and enjoy it all by yourself or buy some nice clothes that make you feel good

- Goof off by watching TV and not feel guilty about it

- Catch up with some well earned reading time

- Experience a bit of nature and take some photos of plants and animals, running streams, sundowns and sunsets.

- Go somewhere you have never been before.

- Visit some of those people you keep meaning to

Continuous distractions like working all the time is a sign that we are avoiding reality. Being hesitant about taking a day off is a stronger sign of avoiding reality.

Dale King: Thank you very much Ed. I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview.

Ed Zivkovic: Thank you Dale, it was a pleasure.

Ed's website: http://ezau.com

Warning: This interview is the exclusive property of Ed Zivkovic. It may not be reprinted in any format...period!