Archive | July, 2020

The only way you can fail is to give up. If you don’t give up, you can never fail, and it is only a matter of time before your perseverance pays off. Trust me, it’s true.

For example:

Have you heard of Theodor Seuss Geisel? Or perhaps you’ve heard of Dr. Seuss?

Theodor studied at Dartmouth College and Oxford University because he planned to become a series writer. But the Great Depression saw him working as a cartoonist and advertising illustrator just to get by.

Deciding to launch his writing career with a children’s book, Theodor wrote, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Unfortunately the manuscript was rejected 27 times. 27! Imagine going to 27 different publishers and having every single one of them say, “NO!” No doubt you’d want to throw the manuscript out, which is exactly what Theodore planned to do.

As chance would have it, he ran into an old college friend who happened to be working for a children’s publisher. Yes, the book was published, and Dr. Seuss went on to write over 40 books that have sold over 200 million copies. He won Emmy and Peabody Awards and even a Pulitzer Prize.

So what would have happened if Theodore had thrown out his manuscript after his 27th rejection? He wouldn’t have had it to give to his friend. And likely he would have given up and stayed in cartooning and advertising.

Never give up.

One more story…

You’ve probably never heard of Paul Rokich. He was born in Utah, near a sulfur dioxide belching refinery that destroyed everything around it. The place looked awful, so Paul vowed he would bring back the trees that had been destroyed by the sulfur.

But the refinery refused to give him permission to replant the trees. So Paul went off to college to study Botany, where his professor told him nothing would ever grow in such a wasteland.

But Paul didn’t give up. Years later he began sneaking back onto the refinery grounds and planting seedlings week after week. Most of his seedlings died, but he kept planting. Drought killed many, some were destroyed by fire, others were dug up by workers, and most just wouldn’t grow in the poor soil. But then, some of them started to grow. And animals began returning to the area.

Eventually Paul got permission to be on the land. He got machines and a crew to help him, and today the area is 14,000 acres of trees, bushes, plants and wildlife.

Even when things seem impossible and beyond your control, and even when your efforts prove futile time and time again, just keep planting.

Because sooner or later, persistence always pays off.

You’ve got a terrific offer that’s converting at 10% with earnings per click of $1.50. Anyone who mails for you is bound to make money. So why is it when you email potential JV partners, you don’t hear back from them?

Let’s look at it from the perspective of the JV partner. They probably get 2-5 emails a day just like yours. They already have a lot going on. They already have a lot of income coming in. They’re not desperate to mail, but they know if they do they will make money. So they need to get around to it, and they will, but it’s probably not going to be with your product unless you make it super easy for them.

Yes, you’re going to have email swipes in place and everything ready to go, but that’s not exactly what we’re talking about.

When someone gets your JV request, she has to review your product to see if it’s any good. That alone is generally going to take an hour or more. If she likes it, she’ll want to form her own opinion of it so she can tell her list. More time. Then she’s got the whole autoresponder thing to deal with. It’s an investment of time for her, for sure. Frankly, she’d rather be doing something else.

So to help push her in the direction of choosing to do this work for your product, here’s what you can do:

Don’t ask for the promotion because that’s what everyone else does. Instead, let her know you’ve got a ‘ready to go promotion’ for her mailing schedule next week if she hasn’t already filled it.

Provide a swipe email or two with her affiliate link already inserted into it. Provide a review copy. Provide all the details, like: Earnings per click, conversion rate, commission, who has promoted it, etc.

By saying it’s a ready to go promo and giving all the details up front, you are standing apart from every other product owner who is saying, “My product is great and I’m great and you should promote me.”

You’re focusing on what the JV partner needs and wants, and what’s in it for HER, not for you. Yes, it doesn’t seem like a big difference. But like anything else, it’s not just what you have but how you present what you have that can make all the difference.

Are you getting something expensive done for your business? For example, are you having some special software made just for you? That might set you back a couple of thousand dollars, but not if you’re smart.

When you tell your coder what you want, ask him to create a stand alone version that you can sell to others. It might be a blank version with no graphics or banners that you can then sell at a premium rate to other marketers, who can then brand the software and sell it under their own name.

This might cost a little more money up front, but the money you earn on selling the software will likely pay for the whole deal, and maybe even put you in profit.

What if you’re having your lawyer draw up legal forms for your website? Same thing. Ask your lawyer to make generic versions you can then sell to other marketers who can’t afford a lawyer. Make it clear that they need to do their own due diligence, and that you are not offering legal advice.

Anytime you are paying for anything pricey, ask yourself how you can turn the expense into a profit stream. It’s a simple shift in your mindset that can greatly reduce your overhead and even put some extra money in your pocket.

I know a marketer who subscribes to a PLR membership. He gets good stuff, usually video courses that are quite extensive. When he finds a course he likes, he renames it and gets new graphics for it so it looks like it’s his.

So far so normal, right?

But this is where it gets good. Instead of just selling it like you would any other course, he offers it as a personal mentoring course that lasts for 30 or 45 days. And he sells it for $297 to $497, depending on the contents of the course and the duration he chooses for the course length.

Then he simply makes himself available via email and twice a week via Skype to answer any questions. Of course he makes sure he knows the topic well, but anyone who’s been marketing for any length of time will know the basics well enough to do this.

He also limits the number of people who can join to somewhere between 10 and 25, depending again on the course. This creates urgency, and it’s not uncommon for him to completely fill a class. But even if he only sold a couple of mentoring courses, he would still be plenty in profit since his monthly membership is only $49.

The real work is done by the students as they progress through the course. He just answers questions. It’s a great deal for both him and the students, since they are learning by doing and they have someone to go to with questions. And he doesn’t put in much work to make the profit he gets.

If you’ve got a decent amount of Internet Marketing experience yourself, you may consider this for an additional income stream.

What if you were to do the exact same work and put in the exact same effort on your next product, only you made 3 tiny changes and increased your income? Here’s how…

1. Change the commission amount that you offer to affiliates. If you normally give 100% to build your list, try offering just 60 or 70% instead. Surprisingly, your affiliates will often send just as much traffic, but you get to profit as well.

Alternative: Bump the commission up to 100%. If you normally pay 50%, trying bumping it up this time instead. Then offer an upsell in which you either split the commission with affiliates, or take it all yourself.

2. Insert referral links into your product. This is old school but it still works. Choose a product or two of your own that fit well with the product you’re selling and talk them up inside your new product. Don’t oversell, just mention how they will help out with whatever it is they do.

Alternative: Add the sales pages for the products as index.html files into your download zip. Or better yet, do both.

3. Place links for other products on your download page. This is prime real estate and a great place to make other offers.

Alternative: Offer your best affiliates a link to their product on your download page if they will promote your product like crazy. This works really, really well at motivating some affiliates. Decide if you want to split the profits from their products with them, or let them keep 100% of the profits.

It is surprising how often simple little tweaks can substantially add to your bottom line. You just have to test things out and see what works best for you – it’s well worth the extra few minutes it takes.

This won’t make you rich but it can make you a full time income… Every day there are new people wanting to do Internet marketing, but they don’t want to do the work. If you can take the pain of the work away from them, they will pay you handsomely for it.

The pain is in the actual “doing” of the thing. So you do the “thing” for them. What’s the “thing?” It could be creating their first product, setting up their sales funnel, building their website, writing their blog posts, putting a list building system in place… anything that needs to be done to start an online business qualifies.

Let’s say someone wants to have their own website but doesn’t know where to start. “I will create your website for you” is going to resonate with them. So you create a professional website for your customer, and then when you’re in profit and have your own service you can start marketing – you outsource the rest of the website development while you focus on building your next service.

Yes, it really can be that simple. Watch to see what people want when they’re starting their online businesses, then jump in and be the one to give it to them. It’s a guaranteed plan to make money online now, and far into the future.

That’s right – you can make 50% for products you haven’t even created or sold, simply by offering this service. There are plenty of people out there who have created products but are reluctant to bring them to market. Why? Probably because they either don’t want to spend the money it takes to launch a product, or they don’t know how to do it, or they’re simply scared. The reasons don’t matter so much. What does matter is they’ve got a great product that will sell, if it’s given the chance.

You can offer to launch the product for them.

You put up the sales page, create the membership page if it needs one, write the sales letter and get the graphics done. Or you can outsource the entire thing, depending on if you’d rather do it yourself or pay someone else to do it.

In exchange, you get 50% of the profits. The product owner gets the other 50%, of course. You get 50% of profits from sales, 50% of recurring sales, 50% access to the list and 50% if you sell off the product.

Be sure to get this in writing. Never assume, even if it’s someone you’ve known for years.

This is a win-win for both of you. The product creator gets their product out there and gets 50% of sales. You don’t have to create a product. You just handle the marketing. If you have a list and JV contacts, this will be even easier. If not, budget for solo ads, Facebook ads or Google Ads to get the ball rolling.

If you’ve never launched your own product, you might want to do that first to get the experience. Then go to forums like Warrior and find folks who have products and need help launching. Be choosy about which products you want to launch. And then make it a big success for both of you.

You already know about the BIG THREE niches: Health, Relationships and Money. It’s been estimated that as much as 80% of online revenue has something to do with these 3 niches. Of course, if you’re going into one of these niches, you’re going to want to niche it down a whole lot more. For example, Health could be: Weight loss, yoga, running, herbal remedies, healthy cooking, etc. The list is endless.

But how often do you find a great niche that isn’t in one of these three categories? That is, how often do you find a hot niche that isn’t over run with competition? Not too often. That’s why when I stumbled on this niche, I had to tell you.

Of course, this niche is nothing novel or new. It’s simply overlooked by the vast majority of marketers. Which is a shame because it’s highly profitable and the buyers in this niche will fork over big bucks to get solutions to their problems.

So what’s the niche? Education. It’s a multi-million dollar category with an endless stream of parents ready and willing to pay to help their kids.

If you go into this niche, you’ll again want to sub-niche it down to a particular field (math) or grade level (anything from kindergarten all the way to university).

Imagine a young parent with a child who is struggling in school. Is that parent willing to pay for a course or book to help the child? You bet. How about a parent who is worried their child won’t get into a good university, or worried they can’t afford one, or just wants to help their child write term papers – the list is endless.

If you have a teaching background, or if you can enlist the help of teachers, you could probably make a small fortune in this niche. At the very least you could publish a line of Kindle books on tips and tricks to do well in each grade of school, and another series of books to show parents how to help their kids. The possibilities? Endless.

Did you know that mobile adoption is growing at least 8 times faster than traditional web adoption in the 1990s? So, being able to visit a page through a dedicated mobile application is very important in marketing terms too. Unfortunately, there is a myth that all apps are effective and highly engaging. Nothing could be further from the truth. To make sure that yours is headed in the right direction, let’s look at five tried-and-tested principles that should always be taken into consideration during its design.

People Are Busy

This should already be a foregone conclusion. Translated into the world of the mobile app, this essentially means that the user will not have a great deal of time (or the willpower) to remember a password or a certain sequence of steps. Some of the best apps in the world can be accessed anywhere at any time with the simple click of a button. Should the app be difficult to get into, it will likely remain in a dusty corner of one’s homepage and as a result, the site and its offers will not be accessed as frequently. Simplicity is key.

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide and continues to increase. This trend shows no signs of slowing down; hence any mobile application has a very real selling power today. What should this mean to you in marketing terms?

This: Your content should be delivered efficiently, aka. in a QUICK way.

It’s not a secret that a slow loading website will receive few visitors due to the fact that we live in a “now or never” society. The same principle holds true for the humble mobile application.

The message, product or service that you are trying to send needs to be accessed quickly – as soon as possible when the user opens your application and the user should be quickly taken to the most relevant page.

People can (and will) make mistakes when it comes to complex tasks. Make it easy for them. Keep It Simple: Design your app around simplicity and easy integration.

All About the Brand

Keep the brand in mind when designing the app. It should mirror the company logo, incorporate the same colors and exhibit the same “feel” as the website in question. Think of this principle much in the same way as any traditional marketing campaign. The most successful brands are the ones whose logos can be recognized in an instant.

Imagine Coca-Cola, Apple and Facebook and how quickly consumers recognize their logos. Your app needs to mirror this very same notion.

To put it another way, let’s imagine that you enter into a supermarket. Which product are you most likely to purchase; the one with a great logo that is easily discerned or the generic box in the corner? The answer here is clear, isn’t it?

Clarity

Your app should quickly and clearly guide the potential customer to the “meat” of your presentation, website interaction and sales. People are indecisive especially when they are on the run or taking a quick lunch break before heading back to the office.

Thus, the app should have a clear navigation, making it super easy for the visitor to land in the right place.

Not all users will arrive at the same result/page simply because this is what you as a marketer wish them to do.

Here is an example: Should the application be directed to the homepage of a flower business, the page should clearly state the benefits of its service and there should be a clear link directly to the purchase page.

All “fluff” should be removed.

Remember that.

An app is just as much about pragmatism as it is about flashy branding.

Allow the User to Interact

This has actually been one of the guiding principles of website design since the “ancient days” of the 1990s.

To put it simply, visitors learn best by doing things. Enable the application to allow them to explore, navigate and investigate what the site and the product both have to offer. A sequence of steps set in virtual stone can be a turn-off and ultimately, a potential customer could very well be sacrificed. The longer an application is able to hold the attention of an individual, the more likely he or she will be to take the next step and become a customer.

All seasoned Internet marketers are aware of the importance of the mobile application. Still, it is amazing that there are countless platforms (both large and small) that still have yet to embrace the suggestions mentioned in this article. These tips are all based upon solid research and as this market continues to expand, you can only expect that the role of m-commerce will increase exponentially.

Why not stay ahead of the curve as opposed to being left in its wake?

Speaking to someone through their email is the next best thing to calling them. Used correctly, it’s a way into their heart and can bind them to you for multiple years and transactions to come. But sadly most marketers are truly terrible at email marketing. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of the 33 best email marketing tips to double and possibly even triple your profits – sometimes overnight.

One of the goals of the very first email is to set the tone of things to come. Let them know how often you will be emailing, what you’ll be sending and what’s in it for them. If you’re going to be selling, tell them up front by making it clear you will from time to time be recommending products you think will be tremendous assets to them. Basically, you want them to know:

A. You’ll be sending great info they can USE and will enjoy.

B. You’ll be sending recommendations, and if that is going to blow their minds, they should unsubscribe NOW. This will save you aggravation later and sets the stage to allow you to sell (in the right way) to your heart’s content.

From the very first email, try to get replies. Ask them what one thing would help them the very most right now to get what they want. You might phrase it something like, “What’s your biggest challenge right now in ___.” Then use their responses to drive your marketing.

Send testimonials. Often. Like once a week. A person’s guard is down when they’re reading their emails, which means it’s a perfect time to send a story about someone who used your product and had terrific results – the same results the person reading your email wants to get.

If your business requires more information from prospects than just a name and an email address, gather this info slowly. If you ask for name, email, address and phone up front, you’re likely to get nothing. But if you ask first for just an email address, and later ask their name, and then their address and phone number, you are much more likely to get all of this information. [ALTERNATIVE: Let them opt in to your list with just an email address. On the next page, ask for more info. Even if they don’t give it, at least you captured the email.]

Do tons of research. Know your prospects better than they know themselves.

Write to them every day. Yes, every day. The key is to send something INTERESTING every day. Simply sending offer after offer is not interesting. Sending stories or tips or news or updates is interesting – and you can always close with an offer. Just don’t make the offer the only thing in your email.

No hard sales. Repeat: No hard sales. What’s hard selling? “Buy this right now because it’s fantastic, on sale and will never be offered again at any price and oh my god this is so wonderful I just wet my pants.” Yeah, you know what I mean. Instead, use the soft sell. Third party testimonials and stories are excellent for this.

Pretend you’re writing to a friend who has the same needs and desires as those on your list. Picture your friend in your mind as you write. This will help you to connect with your list.

If you have your own products, then promote them. After all, if your products or services are what will most help your lists, then why promote anything else? Be proud of your products. Only promote affiliate products when they fill a need your product does not, or when list members have already purchased your product.

Do promote affiliate products that are similar to yours to your buyers. For example, let’s say you have a product on how to drive traffic. The buyers of that product will be excellent prospects to purchase other traffic courses as well.

For your buyer lists: Follow up. Give them tips on how best to use the product they purchased, along with a recommendation for a related beneficial product.

Don’t do your real selling in emails. Email is for relationship building through valuable content. Do your real selling on the sales page.

Carry a device or a simple notepad with you to record ideas for emails. Ideas are everywhere, you just have to start looking.

Segment your lists to stay relevant. Sending emails on a topic readers aren’t interested in is a no-no. Instead, offer a free report on the topic. Those who opt to get the free report have shown they are interested in the topic, and you can now tailor content to their interest.

Tell them why. If you want them to take some sort of action, tell them why they should take it.

Meet them where they are now, not where you want them to be. If your prospects are new to your niche then you’re going to write to them differently than if they are seasoned veterans. Start with their mind set (Confused? Skeptical? Scared?) And walk with them to the solution you offer.

To become the authority in their eyes, you need to do two things: First, know more about the topic than they do. This means you read, study and so forth. Second, educate them. Share your knowledge and you are without question the expert.

Infuse your marketing message inside a compelling story to hook your readers.

Create open loops to get your emails opened. That is, finish one story and start another in one email. They open the email to get the end of the story they read yesterday, then have to open tomorrow’s email to get closure on today’s story.

If subscribers aren’t opening your emails, take them off your list. Too many people not opening emails can hurt your deliverability and your emails could fall into spam folders.

The purpose of social media? To get people on your email list. Remember that and market accordingly. In social media people may (or most likely won’t) see your message. But get into their inbox and your odds go up exponentially that your content will be read and acted upon.

With email, you OWN your audience. With social media, they can shut you down anytime they choose. Again – the purpose of social media is to get people on your list.

Create a set of emails based off of your niche’s frequently asked questions. The subject line is the question, the email body is the answer.

Trouble finding topics? Use movies, songs, TV shows, news, topical issues – anything you can relate back to your subject. What would you talk about with coworkers on break? Yeah – that’s the stuff to use.

Get creative with your lead magnets. A list of resources, a video tutorial, a webinar – you don’t have to just do a pdf anymore.

Buyers are best, but freebie seekers can be useful, too. Buyers tend to buy again. But some freebie seekers do eventually buy. And others might share your stuff on social media with new buyers. So yes, let the freebie seekers on your list.

Treat your buyers like royalty. Give them special perks and benefits for being your customer to keep them loyal and buying your stuff. Let your non-buyers know they are only getting the standard red carpet treatment, while your buyers are getting the platinum star treatment. Encourage them to become buyers, too.

Create a 7 day email series for prospects who abandon the shopping cart. Acknowledge them in the first email, give them social proof in the next email, then combine social proof with the reasons they should buy from you in the next 5 emails.

Have a personality. Don’t write like a machine – write like yourself. You’ve got a personality and hopefully it’s a good one. Use it to connect and let readers see the real you.

Build a cult of ‘you.’ Unite your readers with a common goal. Give yourselves a name and create your own language, too.

Write F.A.Q. emails. These tend to get opened and read a LOT. If you have a big promotion going, send out an F.A.Q. 2 days into the promotion and 3 days before it ends. Also place the F.A.Q. at the bottom of your sales page, underneath the order button. It will increase conversions.

Use $1 trial offers to greatly increase sales. Let them know up front how much they will be charged and when, so they can cancel if they decide to. But if your product is good, most won’t cancel.

Need to raise some cash fast? Do a 72 hour sale with a great offer. After 36 hours, lower the price again and let them know that people who purchased in the first 36 hours are getting an incredible bonus for having paid a little bit more.

There you have it – 33 tips to make your email marketing more profitable today, tomorrow and next year.

Of course the unspoken king of email marketing tips would be this:

Always, always, ALWAYS be building your list.