Archive | July, 2020

Let’s say you want to start a new business, but you need some capital to do it. Maybe you want to start making apps or some other kind of software. Or you need software for your own social networking site, or whatever. Here’s how to get others to fund it for you.

As you are building your business, record everything. Every problem you solve, every step you take, every misstep you make – take notes of everything.

Offer these notes for sale to others who want to do the same thing you’re doing. For example, if you’re building apps then you’d sell your info to other people who want to make money with apps, too.

You might offer them a weekly update as you progress. Or bundle it all together and sell it when you’re done. It’s up to you, but frankly the idea of letting your customers watch you as you set up your new business and turn a profit can be pretty exciting for them and motivating for you. Plus, you’ll get paid up front.

Offer this insider info for a reasonable price, and remember to offer an appropriate upsell as well. The right upsell will more than double your profits. Use this money to fund your business, and you’ve basically started a business for free – not a bad deal at all.

You’ve likely seen comments in IM forums such as: “How much will I have to spend to do this?” Or, “I won’t have to spend any money to start this $1,000 a week business, right?”

Yeah. Right.

Where did the notion come from that it should cost zero dollars to start a real business? If you open a barber shop or a donut shop or a flower shop, I guarantee you will need funding for the shop, the supplies, the tools, the counters, cases, inventory, etc.

Yet somehow we’re under the impression that doing it online should be free.

I have 3 words for you: Get over it.

If this is your way of thinking, then just get over it. You will spend the next year searching high and low for the magical, mythical business you can start for zero dollars and be making a grand a month within the week.

And you’re as likely to find it as you are a bag full of unicorn horns.

Here’s how a real business person would think: “Okay, I’m a marketer, not a web designer. So instead of mucking about for the next six months to build a website and a sales funnel, I’m going to outsource the whole thing and have it done in a week, two weeks tops.

“And while that is happening, I’m going to create a free report to give away to build my email list. And while I’m at it, I’m going to create an OTO (One Time Offer), too, so I can immediately start making a few sales from my new subscribers.”

Of course, if you’re not a writer, either, then you would outsource the report and the OTO as well.

The point is, if your specialty is marketing, then that’s where you need to put your focus. Let other experts handle the stuff you’re not good at while you do what you do best.

The difference between trying to do it all yourself (the “free” way) and hiring pros to help you is usually about 6 months. That’s right – try to do it all yourself and you will lose 6 months of business growth and profits.

Or it could take even longer. I know of one ‘marketer’ who has been trying to figure out the tech stuff for over two years. That’s two years he could have been building his business, but instead he’s trying to do everything himself rather than pay someone. That has got to be the most expensive version of ‘free’ that I’ve ever seen.

Outsource your challenges and focus on what you do best. This is the fastest way to get into profit, with the least amount of headaches and hassles. You’ll be glad you did.

You could not be blamed if you think a blog exists to inform and entertain its readers. After all, a blog really isn’t much different than a magazine, right? And a magazine exists to inform and entertain its readers. Right?

Actually, this is the exact point where many information marketers go horribly wrong.

Let’s pull up a quote from an ad executive named James Collins:

“There is still an illusion to the effect that a magazine is a periodical in which advertising is incidental. But we don’t look at it that way. A magazine is simply a device to induce people to read advertising. It is a large booklet with two departments – entertainment and business. The entertainment department finds stories, pictures, verse, etc. to interest the public. The business department makes the money.”

James Collins said that in ’07.

That is, 1907.

And it’s as true today as it was then. Maybe even more so, with the advent of the Internet.

Why do websites make you click links to read the following pages in an article, rather than putting it all on one page??

Why do websites make lists of “The Top 20 __” and then make you scroll through each one, rather than putting the entire list on one page? It’s to expose you, the reader, to more ads. If you have to go to 3 different pages or 20 different slides to finish an article, you’re exposed to 3 times or even 20 times the number of ads.

As a content marketer, you must focus on two things:

Providing interesting content. It could be entertaining or informative or both, so long as it captures and holds attention. But the content isn’t what’s keeping you in profit – it’s the products you’re selling. Content is simply a means to a sale.

Making a profit. This profit could come from ads on the page, or products you promote, or even products you create and sell.

One business, two functions: Entertainment and business.

When you view your business in this light, everything becomes much more clear. You suddenly know what it is that you have to do, and more importantly, what you don’t have to do.

Look at it this way: The only purpose for your content (blog posts, articles, podcasts, free ebooks, tweets, posts, etc.) is to gather the specific audience you want.

So you choose your audience and then tailor your content accordingly.

Now then, ideally you want your audience to sign up to your email list. This makes it far easier to do the business side of your business. Otherwise you are dependent on readers to click your ads or buy your products. But with a list, you can send emails to your prospects promoting products they can buy.

Your focus should be on turning every reader you can into a subscriber. And when you do, you offer them whatever it is that they already want.

Find out their desires and sell them the solutions and products they already want. Don’t try to forge new paths by educating your audience on what they “should” want. This is an uphill battle you will lose. Instead, discover what they already desire and also how they like to be sold. Then act accordingly.

Remember: Your content is simply a device to induce people to read and act upon your marketing. It’s that simple.