Video 1 – Amanda Evans

Video 2 – David Gardner

Video 3 – Dennis Shaw

Video 4 – Thomas Chang

Does Your SQUEEZE PAGE Have:

• An optin form asking for name and email address (single optin recommended)?
• A free giveaway that entices visitors to subscribe?
• A clear call to action (for example: Get Instant Access Now!)?
• A compelling headline that calls out to your target audience?
• A sales video or sales copy (on the squeeze page, you’re “selling” the optin)?
• Squeeze page immediately tells prospects what’s in it for them?

Does Your SALES PAGE Have:

• An amazing offer that prospects can’t refuse?
• A Unique Sales Proposition (USP) that tells prospects what makes you different from your competition?
• A compelling headline that calls out to your target audience?
• A sales video or sales copy centered around the benefits of your product or service?
• Testimonials and case studies from happy clients (include their full name, city and photo where possible)?
• A guarantee that makes the offer a no-brainer?
• Upsells related to the initial offer to increase the dollar amount of each purchase?
• A secure order page?

TRAFFIC GENERATION:

• A blog that you update at least three to five times a week?
• A sitemap to help search engines index more of your site’s pages?
• A consistent backlinking strategy?
• Pages focused on relevant, long-tail keywords with a keyword density around 3 percent?
• Keywords in the header, Meta and ALT tags of each page?
• Outgoing links to authoritative sites in your niche?
• Links to your privacy policy, terms of use, and any applicable disclaimers in the footer?
• Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer installed to help track traffic and split test offers?

Does Your DESIGN AND NAVIGATION Have:

• One simple navigation bar that remains uniform throughout the site?
• A clear path of action on each page. For example, the one goal of the sales page is to get prospects to buy. Anything on the page that distracts from that goal should be removed?
• Easy-to-find contact information?
• A memorable logo?
• Graphics that call out to the target audience?
• A uniform color palette and set of typefaces that are centered around your brand?

How Signature Takeover Works

As product creators, we are always looking for additional methods to drive traffic. Online forums are a great, free way to drive additional traffic to your sites. The simple idea is to frequent online forums in your niche and contribute to the forum by posting quality content. Any tips that you can provide or additional material on a given subject is always welcomed.

You will end each of your posts with a signature file that lets those reading the post find out more information about you. The best signature files are hyperlinks where individuals can easily click the link and be taken directly to your website.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Any additional traffic to your site is always a good thing as long as your site can convert that traffic into sales. Your forum posts should contain some great content, but also leave some questions unanswered.

People who read your posts will want to come to your site just to get their questions answered. The best thing to do is to put yourself in the place of those visiting your site. Do you have a low front end offer that you can promote to these new visitors? These work well for cold traffic that you might get from posting in forums.

Find Active Forums

You can search online for forums in your niche. Just go to Google and search for “[Your Niche] Forums.”  Take some time to review these forums while watching for:

• How many registered users are in the forum?
• How much activity is in the forum?
• Are the visitors potential customers?

Don’t spend time posting in a stale forum. If you want to see an active forum, check out WarriorForum.com.

Choose a Topic

When you find a forum that you like you can look at the various threads already started and respond to those topics or you can post a new topic or announcement. Some forums offer a search function so you can search for a specific topic, or an option to look for new postings.

When you find the topic that you want to comment on, then it’s time to post some good content.

Cast a Content Lure

Your forum post must look professional if you want people to actually read it. It should be neatly formatted and spell checked. The goal of your message is to get the reader to visit your site. The way to do this is to provide great answers to the various questions raised. This will help show your expertise on the subject. Keep in mind that you don’t want to answer the posting in complete detail as you want people to come to your site to get more information.

You can conclude your post with: “For a full explanation visit the site below.” You can also end with: “This is just one of the three ways to do it,” making them want to know the other ways.

Style Your Signature

Your signature is crucial now as you want to get people from the forum to your website. A typical signature would be: name, one or two lines of descriptive site text  and your site URL.

You may not want to use your direct email address as email harvesting programs can pick it up. You could however replace @ with AT (for example bcoppieters AT dotcomsecrets.com.

Change Your Message

Some forums allow you to attach an automatic signature to your posts. Consider varying the descriptive text from time to time to keep your signature file looking fresh.

Instantly Multiply Your Efforts

A great tool that a product owner can create for your affiliates is hyperlinked signature text that they can use in their forum marketing or even adding to the bottom of their emails. Your tools page should allow your affiliates to enter their affiliate username somewhere on the page, and then customize their tools with their affiliate link.

This would also affect their new signature tool. Your affiliates can copy the signature file and use it. This tool creates a win/win for both you, the product owner, and for your affiliates.

How Ebay Parasite Traffic Works

Did you know that eBay is the world’s biggest online retailer with an astonishing 100 million shoppers and users online? Last year the website increased its global revenue by nine percent and gross merchandise volume by 11 percent. This means that every year more and more people are shopping and, more importantly, frequently visiting the site.

Let’s talk traffic numbers. Right now eBay attracts over 659 million visits and 75 million unique visitors per month! That’s 75 million pairs of eyes that see this site every month!  Wouldn’t you love to get 75 million unique visitors to your site every month?

EBay attracts customers in every niche and target market that you could possibly think of. So chances are that eBay already gets the kind of traffic you would like. Many of your potential customers are already there! What if you could siphon even a small percentage of that traffic to your site? How would that change your business?

Turning Traffic Into Cash

At this point I’m sure you’re asking, how do I get traffic from eBay? All I can do is put up a product for auction, and potential buyers can view my auction and make a bid if they choose, but that’s about it. There is no way to get the traffic off of eBay, and over to my site, right?… Wrong!

Let me explain. In one way, you are correct. EBay does not allow you to provide a link on your auction page that takes people off of eBay and to your own site. But here’s what most people don’t know. Every seller on eBay is given the option of having an “About Me” page. If the seller has an “About Me” page, you will see a little red and blue “me” graphic to the right of their name in the seller information box on the right hand side of their auction. This link directs traffic to the seller’s “About Me” page. Many people who shop on eBay like to check out the seller first, and that “me” link is another way for customers to learn more about the seller.

The rules and restrictions on your “About Me” page are much less strict. On that page you are allowed to do almost anything. The only restrictions are that you are not allowed to have java script or iframes, including videos… that’s it! That means you can have a sales page, or even a squeeze page on your “about me” page and collect names and emails from eBay traffic!

Get Started

Sign up as a seller at www.eBay.com. Create your “About Me” page. Once signed in, click on “My eBay” Then click on the “Account” tab, and “Personal Information.”

From there, under the “account information” box, you will see the last line “About Me” page. Click on “Edit,” and on the next page “Create Your Page.”

On the next page, I recommend you choose “Enter Own HTML Code.” On the next page you will be able to drop in your code.

The Right URL

I recommend taking one of your existing squeeze pages and copying the HTML code (making sure to delete any java script or iframes, including videos), and paste it into here. Preview and submit, and you are done.

All that is left to do now is to list something for auction. I recommend using one of your low-priced, entry point products.  If you don’t have one, create one… like an audio cd. You can use www.Kunaki.com to fulfill your CD or DVD orders on demand for only $1 plus shipping costs.

The City Center

Here’s a hint: On your auction page, remind people of your “About Me” page. You can say something like, “To find out more about me and my products, visit my ‘About Me’ page by clicking on the “me” icon next to my seller name.” And that is how you siphon traffic from the world’s biggest online retailer!

TIP: I found a great article in the eBay reviews and guides about how to attract more traffic to your ebay listing. You can read it by clicking here.

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You often hear, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” Don’t believe it. What you don’t know about a missing strategic element in your info marketing product is wreaking havoc on your bottom line. Fortunately, I not only can help you identify this missing element, I can help you fix the problem so you can maximize your profitability.   Let’s get started by identifying this missing ingredient in your product.

The missing ingredient in every info marketing product is integrating emotional intelligence strategies into your program. Let’s begin by learning how emotional intelligence factors are affecting your program’s success. First, what is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is widely viewed as the single most important factor determining your life success. It covers a wide range of topics including your ability to interact with others and adjust to change.

For example, have you ever experienced anxiety while taking an important exam? How about your road test for a driver’s license? How many people do you think failed their road test because they were frightened? More importantly, how many people have underachieved on important exams like the SAT because they became nervous?

You can see that your emotional state can exert a powerful influence over your success on exams, but what about its power to influence your customers while learning your info product? Let’s look deeper into how emotional intelligence can impact performance.

The Impact Of  Emotional Intelligence On Performance

I am about to tell you an interesting story about a Russian study on emotional intelligence. A group was asked to learn a set of nonsense words to test their memory. Nonsense words are widely used by psychologists to test verbal learning ability. They are a grouping of letters that sound like a word, but are meaningless. Here are a few examples of nonsense words using English letters: zoofer, ferto and bliffy.

The study presented each of the participants with a large list to memorize. Here is where it gets interesting. Each participant was required to drink a large quantity of Vodka prior to learning any of the syllables (I understand there was little difficulty in getting volunteers for this experiment in Russia). The results were amazing.

Each participant was able to remember a large number of the nonsense words while they were drunk.    However, when they sobered up, they were unable to recall the words they memorized.

Here is where it gets really relevant to our discussion of emotional intelligence. When the subjects drank enough Vodka to once again become drunk, they were able to recall all of the nonsense words they had previously learned. Here is the important psychological discovery of this experiment: the emotional state you are in while learning needs to be the same state you are in while using the information.

Think about this. What are you doing to create the emotional states your clients need to successfully use your info product? Let’s look a bit more at the relationship between emotional state and performance.

I have never served in the military, but many of my associates have experienced the joy of boot camp. They told me how live ammunition was fired over their heads while they were training to stay alive under enemy fire. Why was this done? Imagine you trained a soldier how to stay alive under enemy fire while they were sitting in a comfortable classroom sipping a cup of coffee. How well do you think they would remember this vital information while experiencing actual enemy fire?

My last example involves a life threatening experience I had when I was younger and training to become a swimming instructor. Part of my training involved learning how to train other lifeguards, as well as perform the duties of a lifeguard. Over a period of 18 years, I saved about 16 people who were drowning. One experience stands out as an excellent example of the importance of integrating emotional intelligence into a training experience.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

One day, while I was guarding a pool, there was a group of emotionally challenged adults swimming in my pool. One was swimming in the deep end of the pool, and suddenly began to drown. I tried to hand him a pole, but he turned away from me, and went under the water. That is the signal for a lifeguard to enter the pool. I instinctively performed what I had been taught for years, and approached him from the rear. As I reached to grab him and swim him to safety, he lost control. He started thrashing about, and tried to drown me.

Because I had experienced this simulation dozens of times in the past, I knew precisely what needed to be done. One wrong decision could have cost both of us our lives. But I had the emotional intelligence of how to handle this situation, and the rescue preceded flawlessly. Let’s look at how this applies to your info marketing product.

Integrating Emotional Intelligence Strategies Into Your Info Product

You know that learning is affected by emotional states. But what are the optimum emotional states needed to successfully learn and use your info product? More importantly, what have you done to teach your clients how  to create these important emotional states? What instruction are you integrating into your product to accomplish this?

Let me give you an example of how I did this for the speed reading program I created for DotComSecrets.com. Speed reading and learning requires stamina. When you are reading challenging material for a long period of time, it is easy to get distracted or tired. Knowing this, I included specific instructions on how to wake up and get more energy instantly while learning. Let me share this strategy with you in this article, so you can see how emotional intelligence can be integrated into an info product.

An Emotional Intelligence Exercise You Can Learn

First, stand up. You know that the left side of your brain controls the right side of your body. You also know that the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. Let’s take advantage of this knowledge to give yourself a brain massage.

Begin by touching your left hand to your right shoulder. Next touch your right hand to your left shoulder. Notice how you feel while doing this. Now touch your left hand to your right knee, and then touch your right hand to your left knee. Notice that you really have to concentrate to do this. You have to concentrate because you are using both halves of your brain at the same time. Now clinch your right fist around your thumb. Hold your right fist high in the air and squeeze it. While squeezing it say, “I feel energized.” Now pull your right fist down to your right side while saying, “yes I do.” We are going to perform these steps together three times. Each time you are going to do this a bit faster, so the last set will be very fast. Let me give you a list of the steps you need to perform:

1. Touch your left hand to your right shoulder.
2. Touch your right hand to your left shoulder.
3. Touch your left hand to your right knee.
4. Touch your right hand to you left knee.
5. Make a fist out of your right hand.
6. Squeeze your right thumb and raise your fist high in the air.
7. Say, “I feel energized.”
8. Pull your right hand down to your side while saying, “yes I do.”

Now you are going to perform these steps in three different sets. Each set consists of eight taps to each shoulder, and then eight taps to each knee followed by your exclamation, “I feel energized – yes I do.”  Do each set faster until the last set is done very rapidly. When you are done, I’ll explain the emotional intelligence skill you have just learned.

Remember Pavlov and his famous experiment that made a dog drool? He rang a bell and then fed a dog.  He repeated these steps many times, and then what happened when he rang the bell without feeding the dog? The dog drooled. The dog was conditioned to expect food when the bell rang, causing him to salivate. This same conditioning occurs when doing the eight steps outlined above.

What have you just accomplished by doing this exercise three times? Nothing. Doing this three times will accomplish absolutely nothing. Emotional intelligence learning often requires some repetition to work. Just like Pavlov’s dogs you need to do this exercise over a period of time. Imagine you perform this exercise every day for a month. Now something magical will happen. When you are in an important meeting, taking an exam, or speed reading, and need a burst of energy, what will happen when you squeeze your thumb and say, “I feel energized – yes I do?”  Your brain will remember the energized state you created while doing this exercise. Let’s see why.

This exercise stimulated each side of your brain, and then stimulated both sides of your brain at once.  By speeding up the exercise with each set, you began to move your blood and brought more oxygen to your brain. You felt more alert. At the peak of feeling more alert you squeezed your thumb and said the words, “I feel energized – yes I do.” The squeezing of your thumb and saying the words acts just like the bell in Pavlov’s experiment. It becomes a stimulus that can trigger the state you associated with it. Getting more energy is very important for succeeding in speed reading. That is why I included it in my program.

There are emotional states your clients need to learn to successfully use your info product.  If they become nervous, frustrated, or distracted they will not get the benefits you promised to them. What happens next? You get returns. Returns that wreak havoc on your bottom line.

In my next article, I will teach you how to identify the critical emotional states your customers need to learn for successfully using your info product.

Creating info marketing products requires you to learn a great deal of information. Imagine being able to learn that information in half the time. How many more profitable products could you create?   DotComSecrets.com has joined with me to create www.SpeedReadingUniversity.com where you can learn the world’s most powerful speed reading program.

How many people do you know who are unable to learn the information they need quickly?  We would welcome you to market our program as an affiliate of www.SpeedReadingUniversity.com. Virtually everyone you know needs to learn this program making this a lucrative opportunity while helping others realize their dreams. Go to www.ClickBank.com, and search for our program under my name, Howard Berg.

> Click Here to Read Part 1 of This Article

For the first time ever, DotComSecrets started opening local chapters late last year, headed up by marketing professionals from across the globe. Out of hundreds of applicants, only 43 people with the most potential were chosen to lead chapters in their hometowns. Within the past two months Steve Sipress, leader of the Chicago chapter, has hit the gate running and is one of the fastest growing local chapter leaders.

But Steve’s story starts long before he met up with us. The millionaire marketer, renowned for his ability to help small businesses grow in economically tough times, graciously agreed to share some of his most lifechanging moments as an entrepreneur, as well as the top five challenges he sees local business owners facing today and how they can use them to their advantage to rise above their competitors:

Q: What was your first experience as an entrepreneur? How did that affect the path you chose to take your career and life?

A: I have always been opportunity-minded. When I was about 10 years old, I would ride my bike to the local bagel store on the way to school to buy bagels and add a small “delivery charge” to sell them to my classmates. I learned a valuable lesson when other kids would be absent or not hungry once in a while, leaving me to have to “eat all my profits” and in fact, suffer a loss.

I also responded to mail order ads in comic books to sell seeds, greeting cards, etc. door-to-door. Another thing I would do was to ride my bike around town, collecting bottles to return to the store for the penny deposit. I did all kinds of stuff like that until I was old enough to get my own paper route.

I’ve always looked for an “opportunity” instead of  a “job” – which has really served me well thanks to the massive shift away from any notion of “job security” that previous generations had. As a result, I’ve always had a special connection to other entrepreneurs and been able to relate to the ups and downs of being one’s own boss (and being responsible for others as well).

Q: Of the over one dozen businesses you’ve owned and operated, do you remember your first big success?

A: Yes! After graduating from law school, I turned my hobby (a fantasy sports game) into a business that quickly grew to the largest in the fledgling (pre-pc days) industry and attracted an offer of $1.75 million for 45 percent of the company after only three years.

Thanks to the immediate and significant success of that business, I never even had to think about the prospect of working as a lawyer.

Q: Online marketing for local businesses has only recently been in the limelight as the new frontier for internet marketers. But you’ve been helping local business owners build their online presence for years. What first sparked your interest in internet marketing and, in your experience, what potential does it have to help local businesses grow?

A: I was first attracted to internet marketing because of the time and geographic freedom it can bring (my first online business experience was buying and selling stuff on eBay starting in 1999).

There is little doubt that more and more people are searching online all the time for local products and services and using media such as the Yellow Pages and Val-Pak less and less, making an effective internet presence an absolute must for every brick-and-mortar business.

New technologies are coming along all the time – such as social media and text-message marketing – that promise bright futures for local business owners who embrace and implement them (especially those who recognize the value of listbuilding).

Q: You are an active user of several social networking sites including Twitter, Meetup and Facebook. Do you have a favorite? Any tips for how other marketers can use it to get more clients?

A: Facebook is my favorite of those three, and YouTube is my next-favorite. Marketers can use Facebook ads to drive traffic to fanpage “Welcome” tabs, where offering a free video or free report can lead to opt-in leads.  Delivering basic tips with videos and Facebook posts is a must, and offering prospects the opportunity to post questions and get answers (and observe how you interact with and serve others) is a great way to attract clients.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you see local businesses facing today?

A: Wow. What a question!  Unfortunately, I see many. Here are just a few:

Too many small business owners are not taking responsibility for their own success or failure, instead choosing to blame anyone and anything (“the economy,” “the government,” etc.) for their shortcomings during this challenging economy.  But even during boom times, 90 percent of businesses fail in their first five years, so blaming “the economy” or anything else is just an excuse.

Small business owners need to stop hiding out in the “fulfillment” or “doing” area of their business and take a more active and creative role in generating leads and converting them into customers, clients or patients.

Way too many small business owners are operating out of fear these days and not getting aggressive with their marketing – which is a shame, since this is the time to “buy low” and practically steal market share from other fearful, head-in-the-sand, waiting-for-tough-times-to-blow-over competitors.

Buying into the commonly-accepted myth that this is a tough time for business is a big mistake. It’s always a tough time for business owners who don’t do the right things, embrace the right strategies and employ the right tactics. But believing there’s nothing you can do to be wildly successful in business these days is a huge mistake. Common? Comfortable? Yes. But not smart, not profitable – and not at all true.

This is also no time to be “going it alone” and operating a small business without input and help from expert marketers. The entrepreneur experience is, by nature, a lonely one, and we often think we are the only – or best – ones who can do everything. Getting mindset input and implementation help from others is the key to bigger and faster profits. That’s why our local DCS Chapter is such a great resource for our members: Can you imagine the power (and fun!) of getting together with over 100 like-minded marketers every single month to share ideas and resources? There’s nothing like it!

Q: What actions do you see business owners taking today that help them thrive while others around them are becoming casualties of the slouching economy?

A: Actively seeking out and engineering strategic partnerships is one of the most-overlooked and most-powerful ways local business owners can grow their businesses. They should always be asking themselves questions such as, “Who else provides a product or service that could be of value to my prospects and clients?” and, “Who serves my prospects and clients either just before or just after I do?”

There are many ways local business owners can team up with each other to provide more value to their prospects, clients and each other, including cross-promotion in each other’s newsletters and physical locations, co-hosting live events and seminars, sharing advertising and marketing costs, etc.

Q: What are some of the most important factors in getting a business ranked for local search terms?

A: It all starts with keyword research – making sure to optimize for search terms people are actually using to find local products and services. Registering an effective domain is also key – way too many businesses use their company name for their URL, which only in very rare cases (such as if your company happens to be named “Chicago’s Best Plumbers” or something) helps a site come up high in the search engines.

But “getting ranked” is just the beginning. Local business owners don’t naturally think about listbuilding, which is the key to long-term, consistent success. They need to make the focus of their website all about capturing leads instead of just having it be a static brochure.

Q: Our readers have a strong grasp of SEO and social media, and many have expressed interest in using their knowledge to help grow businesses in their communities. How would you recommend they get started?

A: I recommend picking a niche to specialize in, so that basic work can quickly and easily be duplicated to additional clients. Small business owners are bombarded with offers to “Get You Ranked On The First Page of Google,” etc. – so proof is an extremely important element for a marketer to provide to confused and fearful business owners who don’t know who to trust.

I suggest doing work for a couple of clients for free to get proof (testimonials, before-and-after screenshots, etc.) that you can in fact deliver the results that you say you can. New marketers should also provide a rock-solid guarantee as an additional factor to help prospects overcome their skepticism and decide to give your services a try.

Finally, marketing consultants must be congruent by marketing themselves well. Treat yourself as if you were your own client, and use everything you know to market yourself and make yourself the obvious choice for business owners to use you to market their businesses.

Q: What motivates you the most to continue building your consulting business?

A: I love helping my fellow small business owners “see the light” and discover innovative ways to grow their businesses and improve their lifestyles. My mom was a teacher and my dad was in sales, so I’ve always very naturally enjoyed teaching people how to boost sales.

Q: Can you give us a sneak peak at what you’re planning for your business in the near future?

A: I really need to put up one or more paid membership sites, so I can help so many more people than just the few hundred I do now here locally in the Chicagoland area. I’ve had so many people ask me if I have one that it’s time for me to just make it available already!

In this article, I am going to give you some great tips and ideas on how to write the copy for your guarantee, as well as show you some examples of great guarantees out there in the online world.

I am also going to give you my opinion on guarantees, why 30-day guarantees are “out of style,” and why you need to think more creatively when it comes to your guarantee.

The purpose of the guarantee is to give the person who is purchasing your product an “out” when it comes to buying from you. It basically gives people confidence in knowing whether or not they can get their money back if they aren’t satisfied with your product.

The Typical Money Back Guarantee: Boring!

Okay, I’m going to give you my opinion on what I think regarding guarantees. I personally think having a plain-Jane “30-day” guarantee is too old-school.  Everybody and their dog is doing it and it has absolutely no effect whatsoever on a prospect’s chances of buying from you.

I believe you have to go further when it comes to guarantees. People are becoming more and more skeptical online and offline when they purchase. And you have to stand out from the crowd when it comes to guarantees. I will give you more hints on this later.

Of course, some shopping carts require you to have a specific guarantee, and that’s fine. For example, ClickBank.com requires you to offer an eight-week guarantee for all your products.

So if you are stuck with using a regular money-back guarantee, or just want to stick with the regular 30-day or 8-week money back guarantee for other reasons, then that’s fine. But I do advise you to give your guarantee a little pizazz… which I will show you in the next several examples.

Example 1: Kevlar Tough

Here is one example from Steve Iser’s Auto-Click Profits. You can see he added a little flair to his guarantee so it’s not just a regular phrased guarantee with boilerplate language:

You can see that Steve did not use the usual “30-Day Money Back Guarantee”  subhead. He put a little pizazz in his guarantee by calling it a “Kevlar-Tough” Guarantee. Kevlar, of course, is what bullet-proof jackets are made of.

Example 2: Risk Free Purchase

Here is another example of a good guarantee. This is from George Brown’s “Google Sniper 2.0” website.

You can see here how he worded his guarantee. You can easily use these two examples of really good guarantees when you create your own pages.

These two products are really raking in a lot of money on ClickBank right now, so make sure you study them closely.

Longer Guarantees

Frequently, you might want to offer a longer guarantee. Some guarantees are a year long, or even a lifetime!

In general, the longer the guarantee the better. However, if you are selling information products, my recommendation is to stick with a 30-day or 60-day guarantee because you will hear from people who bought your product a year ago (especially around the holidays, when they need shopping money to purchase Christmas gifts) and request a refund.

I recommend limiting the guarantee if you are selling information products.

However, if you are considering having a longer guarantee, here is one example you can check out. It is from OHP Direct…the company that sells golf information products. The great copywriter John Carlton wrote the copy for these, so you should print them all out and study them closely.

This specific example comes from Mike Gorton’s Extreme Distance information product — which consists of two videos that teach people how to hit longer drives on the golf course.

In this particular product, they are offering  a 100% guarantee that lasts for a full year.  Here is the copy:

You can see that the guarantee is clearly spelled out – and written in a language that allows the guarantee to “bond” with the target audience: the rabid golfer who will do anything to hit longer drives on the golf course.

You can also modify this guarantee so that it is as long as a lifetime if you choose. These are things you will have to test in your own marketing.

More-Than-100 Percent Guarantees: The Way To Go!

This is the good stuff! Here is what I recommend you to do if you are selling a product or service. Offer to actually pay them if they’re not satisfied with your product! This is what John Carlton did in an ad that sells another golf product. You can see the ad here.

In this ad, he offers to give the customer’s money back, but also $10 dollars for their trouble (you can see the screenshot below). This is extremely effective since it is a unique guarantee, and more risk is shouldered on the seller.

You can even go further and offer a 200-percent money back guarantee where you promise to double their money if they are not satisfied. This is what Tim Ferriss advocates in his excellent book, “The 4-Hour Work Week” and a strategy you can test yourself.

Guarantees For A Service

A guarantee doesn’t have to be a money-back guarantee. If you are selling a service you can offer a different type of guarantee – something that puts a seed in the customer’s mind that you are reliable.

For example, here is the guarantee for my copywriting friend Mike Morgan (www.OutsourceCopy.com). His guarantee is that he will rewrite your ad two times if it does not convert within the first 60 days of delivery of the copy.

Notice he does not offer to give their money back.  This assures he gets to keep the money the client paid him to do the work. He just has to rewrite the ad, which is fair.

The guarantee for my site, KevinHillCopy.com, is non-existent. Since my site is a general site, I do not advertise a guarantee. However, when I am working with a client, I do add in the conversation that there is a one-rewrite guarantee, but I do not advertise it on the site.

My reason for doing so is because I do not want to plant a seed in my client’s mind that they might have to undergo two rewrites if they work with me. Since my unique selling proposition is that I am the “Professor of High Response” and that I can send a “nailed” draft to them on the first try.

Those are my reasons for leaving it off my website. If you are offering a service you might want to leave it off the page on purpose.

It’s like going to a fancy hotel and handing your car to the valet – and the valet tells you that they will not take your car out for a spin around town or speed it down the highway. It focuses on the negative and that could be a turn-off for some people.

So if you are selling a service, be careful what kind of a guarantee you advertise, and only mention the guarantee if a client asks you about it.

Conclusion

So go ahead and use the guarantees I went over in this article. Having a strong guarantee could flip a skeptical prospect into a rabid buyer. Also, make sure you print out and study these ads as well, since they are really raking it in for the owners and affiliates. Until next time.

You may be all about the next idea. You’re consumed with the next widget, gizmo, or info product that will fly off the shelf. If so, good for you. I’m currently working with a few guys who have warehouses, far-east connections, and the ability to fabricate almost anything at ultra-low costs with surprisingly high levels of quality. We’re in the process of building online stores to sell products in certain niches. Some will be temporary, short-lived successes much like beanie babies, or more recently, silly bands. Some will be ongoing.

However, this might not be you. You might be all about building a lasting, enduring, profitable company. You may be all about building a powerful brand locally, regionally, or nationally that spins off cash and is a lot of fun to be involved with. Sure, the next idea or innovation is important to you, but so is protecting and advancing the brand.

I spend most of my time working with entrepreneurs who are building lasting companies. I love the process of building great local and regional brands. For example, I’m working with a local car wash called Auto-Magic that offers full-service washes, waxes and details. They have four locations in my home town and a glowing reputation. We recently shot some tv commercials that featured unscripted testimonials from real customers.  One guy said that after going to Auto-Magic just once in 1984, he’s never gone anywhere else. We are using stories like that to continue building the brand and drive sales.

Regardless of whether you’re building an enduring company or simply riding the wave of a hot product until it fizzles, the two concepts we’ll discuss in this article will directly benefit you.

There are really two sides to any company: the Inside Reality and the Outside Perception. The Inside Reality is who you are as a company. It’s your products, your process, your people, it’s ultimately what makes your company great (or not so great). The Outside Perception is what the market thinks about you. It’s what a prospect in your market might say if asked what they think about your company.

What I’ve found with most of my consulting clients is that the two rarely match up. Rarely does the Outside Perception mirror the Inside Reality. Who’s to blame for this? Well, primarily you, the businesses owner. And the problem stems from a lack of understanding of two key concepts – the Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and the Unique Selling Proposition (USP). I’ve heard some describe these two concepts interchangeably, but I disagree. There’s an important distinction between the two. When you understand that distinction, good things can happen in your business.

Unique Value Proposition: Who You Are

Your UVP is simply who you are as a company. This is your Inside Reality. It’s your personality, your identity, and your strengths. A UVP tells you and your team what you are all about. It’s what will guide you into the future through changes, challenges, and opportunities.

Your UVP also serves as a great basis for making decisions. If you know ultimately who you are as a company, then making decisions becomes much easier. Should you buy the new software program? Update your office? Hire more staff? Fire staff? If you know who you are and have a clear UVP, then it’s much easier to answer these questions.

Take for example, Pixar, creator of the hit movies Toy Story, Cars, Finding Nemo, A Bugs Life, UP, and others. Pixar has yet to produce a dud. All of their movies have turned a profit. Actually, most of their movies have been huge successes. How is that possible? How can you only produce winners? Partially because of a powerful UVP.

While I’ve never heard Pixar formally express this as their UVP, I think it’s pretty clear, observing the way they operate and viewing their product. Also if you’ve ever watched the documentary “The Pixar Story,” this is a theme throughout the film (I highly recommend this movie to any business owner).

I would argue that Pixar’s UVP is “We tell great stories.” Not average stories.  Not stories that will do just enough to produce an acceptable profit. Great stories.  Their ability to tell great stories is what fuels Pixar’s phenomenal success. It’s not the technology. Sure the technology is cool… super cool. But their movies and the company would fall flat if the stories weren’t good.

Do you see how the UVP of “we tell great stories” could help Pixar with almost any decision they make?  When faced with a decision or opportunity, they can ask, “will this help us tell great stories?” The answer to that question alone will help guide them.

So what about you? Who are you as a company?  What is your Unique Value Proposition? Once you know, then it’s time to move on to the USP.

Your Unique Selling Proposition: Why The Market Should Care

Basically a good USP takes a solid UVP and puts it into language that speaks to your target market. If a UVP describes who you are, then a USP tells your market why they should care. It expresses what’s in it for them. A great USP comes from a deep understanding of who your customer is, what they want, and what makes them tick.

A good USP should cause your prospects to crave your product or service. It should cause them to see almost instantly that they would be silly not to check out your company and your product. Likely you’ll have a different USP for each product or service you offer.

Here are some great examples of successful USPs:

• Workout In Exactly Four Minutes: This USP is attached to the amazing, crazy-looking, and wildly expensive ROM workout machine that will set you back close to $15,000 to own. However, it boasts the ability to pack the body-building benefits of an hour long workout into just four minutes. That’s a pretty unique selling proposition.

• Look 10 Years Younger In Just 10 Minutes: I’ve seen this ad used by medical clinics to sell BOTOX injections. In just 10 minutes you can lose those unwanted wrinkles and look 10 years younger. Who over the age of 40 (or so) wouldn’t want to look 10 years younger, especially if it only takes 10 minutes?

• When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be There Overnight: This is the USP that launched Fedex. It built confidence in FedEx and created subtle doubt about any alternatives. It was implied that if you don’t use FedEx, you’re gambling on delivery.

• Packs The Power Of Five Tomatoes Into One Little Pill: This line helped sell a pill that provides all the health and nutrition benefits of five tomatoes in one easy-to-swallow pill. Would you rather try and choke down five tomatoes or simply take a pill?

A good USP puts your UVP into language that immediately resonates with your target market. It pulls them in and makes them say, “I want that!”  And ideally makes them say, “I want that, now!”

Using A Good USP And UVP Together

Here’s an example of how a good UVP and a good USP can work together. A good friend and business partner of mine, Don Harkey with Galt Consulting does a lot of strategic planning work with mid-sized companies. His focus, or his UVP is “helping business owners live with passion and do what they love.” That’s the guiding force behind his business.

This is a great UVP, but there’s just one problem. It doesn’t sell. So, Don has crafted this USP that he uses to get in front of clients and make the sale: “We can help fix your people problems.” People problems are a major hot button for a lot of companies. Managers and business owners everywhere are desperate to find an answer to eliminating employee turnover, getting employees motivated, handling problem employees, etc.

This USP has some real power behind it and it’s getting Don in front of a lot of great clients. In the process Don helps his clients do what they are passionate about. But, it’s the promise of fixing people problems that gets Don in the door.

When you truly understand who you are and what your customer wants, you can become an unstoppable force. This is true whether you are building a lasting brand that you can pass on to the next generation, and it’s also true if you are just looking for the next winning product to sell for as long as it’s hot.

This one-two punch of a UVP and USP can really help set you apart from the pack and make you a winner.

I want to share a strategy that some of you will dismiss because you’ve heard that it “doesn’t work anymore.” But what’s happening with this traffic source is similar to what people were saying about banner ads for years, while others were secretly making eight and nine figure incomes exploiting them.

What I want to talk about is the concept of co-registration paths, not necessarily because I want you to do co-reg, but to understand how it works. It will open up a whole world of possibilities for any business.

A few months back I had a chance to go to London for a week and attend a seminar. That night there was a get together with the attendees, and I had a chance to sit next to a woman who owned a very successful co-reg company.

I spent about an hour dissecting her business so I could understand it better from her point of view, but more importantly, so I could figure out ways that I could exploit it for my own profits.

What they do is create offers for general consumers, and then pay to drive traffic to those offers. For example, their website might have you optin to get a free mp3 from itunes or a free online giftcard.

Then what they do is create a co-registration “path” where, after the person has opted in for the offer, they then see a path of other offers. For each offer that person responds to, their contact information is then sold to the person owning that new offer.

So, they may get a subscriber, and it will cost them $2 to $3 to generate that subscriber through PPC, banner ads, or affiliates. They then put that person through the offer path, and sell their name to six to 10 companies for $2 to $5 each. In theory if they did it correctly, they paid $3 to generate the customer, and then got paid between $10 to $15 by others that they sold the lead to and generated a new subscriber for their own marketing purposes.

So, based on this process, I came up with a few simple and powerful ways that we are currently using this concept to make money and build our lists.

First, look at the co-reg game from my friend’s point of view. She got paid $10 to $15 to generate a new subscriber. How many of you reading this actually make money generating a new subscriber?

Does Google or Facebook pay you to generate an optin? No, most people I know are paying $2 to $6 per optin, where she is getting paid more than that per subscriber! Wouldn’t it be 10 times smarter to find other people who aren’t competitors in your niche, but also benefit from the same customer you are trying to acquire? What if you set up your own customer co-reg paths, and plug in your partners and let them pay you for each new lead you generate. What a great way to self liquidate (and make some money) on your lead generation.

Another big take away I had after talking to my new friend was to start looking at the paths that my ideal customers are already going down, and figuring out ways to tie my offers into those customer paths.

Recently we found some CPA offers that were getting 1,000+ new subscribers a day and they were paying up to $5 to acquire each subscriber! I negotiated with the offer owners to get their leads, and I now pay them $0.25 to $0.50 for each of those subscribers! So I get the same data at a huge fraction of the cost and they are able to cut the cost of their lead generation.

When you start identifying the paths that your current customers are going down, you can tap into a huge source of leads at a very nice discount. When you understand the concept of monetizing your customer path, you can find partners to fund your lead generation activities.

A little over a year ago we started to see the “Groupon” craze sweep across the country, and we wanted to be part of it. So we found a cool domain and brand, created a killer website and early last year launched CitySmart.com.

Now, as an “internet marketing guru,” I thought that this site would be as simple to launch as any of our other niches that we play in, but quickly we ran into some problems.

First, because we were the first “deal of the day” site in Boise, we had to do a lot to educate our market, both business owners and consumers. Second (and a much bigger problem) was how we were going to get a lot of local traffic quickly to our new startup business.

So we started to pull out our bag of marketing tricks to see what would work best. At first we thought we’d just target local search through pay per click and organic search, but quickly found that it was too slow and we couldn’t get the momentum we needed to really launch our website.

Next we decided to try some offline media as we thought it would be easier to target local consumers, so our next test was radio. After a few thousand dollars in radio ads, and very few actual website impressions, we pulled the plug on that as well.

We then decided to go “guerilla” and we printed out sticky notes, and got a team of people to run around neighborhoods sticking up our notes on people’s front doors with our ads all over Boise. Quickly we found the ROI on that wasn’t really worth it either.

So our site had been live for almost two weeks, and our sales were coming in, but not at the rate we had hoped for. We were frustrated and almost ready to give up, but lucky for us we didn’t.

About that same time, we met a few “mommy” bloggers at a networking event we were at, and one of them posted a blog post about an offer that we ran one day on the website. What happened next was amazing.

We sold 1,528 coupons that one day! Up to that point, I don’t think we even had 1,500 visitors that had ever been to the site. So obviously, after that fluke we wanted to see if we could replicate it. So we started to buy advertising on this one blog.

We then went out and found six other local “mommy” blogs in our town and also started buying ads on their websites as well. The results have been amazing.

We are getting ads at a huge discount over any other type of advertising we have ever tried. Most of these women don’t understand the value of the traffic they have and for a few hundred dollars a month will send you thousands and thousands of visitors.

The visitors who come from these sites not only are great customers, but they tend to pass on our offers  to others more than any other type of traffic I have ever had. Most of them are women who are looking for deals, and they get significance by sharing deals they find with everyone they know.

After our tests with CitySmart worked so well, we decided to try it out with some of our other businesses to see if it was just a fluke, or if it would work for other things as well. I’m happy to report that we have filled seminars, sold info products and made money as an affiliate by buying very cheap, high quality traffic from local “mommy” blogs.

Start looking in your local area for the underground mommy blogging networks and align your business with them immediately. You will see huge surges of traffic and an increase in quality customers almost overnight!

Getting Ranked for local keywords in Google is simple. In most markets, you can get results quickly, even if you aren’t experienced with advanced SEO methods. To get started, you need to create a free account with Google Places (formerly Google Local). This should take less than 20 minutes.

This checklist will show you how to optimize your account to get the highest rankings as quickly as possible. So even if you have already created one, make sure you’re not missing any critical pieces that could propel you to the top of Google in your local market!

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Google Places can be monetized by local business owners and those marketing primarily online. If you’re a local business owner, you can increase your business drastically by appearing in the search results when prospects in your area search for relevant keyword terms. For example, a dentist in Boise, Idaho might appear at the top of Google with a map pointing to his office when a local types “Boise Dentist” into Google search. More and more people are tossing their phone books and relying on search engines to help them find the products and services they need near them.

As an online marketer, you can use Google Places to find high-traffic keywords that have little competition. By targeting your offers to residents of specific cities, you can call out to prospects and get their attention more easily.

Many businesses still don’t have a listing in Google Places, so there are many opportunities to use these traffic methods to help owners in your area take advantage of the local search market. DotCom Secrets has recently opened local chapters. You can learn more by going to local.dotcomsecrets.com.

Get Started

Go to http://places.google.com/business

and open a Google Places account. You’ll fill out your company’s name, address, phone number and other relevant information. While some of the information asked for sounds straightforward, think about everything you enter carefully. There are a few small changes you can make (that most business owners never think of) that can help your listing stand out and rank higher in the local listings.

The Right URL

You are given the option to leave a link to your company website. If you don’t have one yet, choose a domain name that includes the city you’re targeting. For example, www.BostonComputerRepairPros.com would help a company rank for “Boston Computer Repair.”

Most business owners don’t realize that they can use all caps in the website field. Use this to your advantage to make your URL stand out when it’s listed next to others. You can also use all caps in the description field if you wish.

The City Center

Just like phone books reward businesses that are ordered first alphabetically, Google seems to reward businesses that are located close to the city center with higher rankings. So what do you do if your building is on the outskirts of town? You can get a PO Box located closer to the city center! This is a simple way to dramatically influence your rankings.

Categories

Google Places gives you five chances to tell them what categories your business fits into. The categories are an important place to insert the keywords you want to rank for, so don’t use the automatic suggestions that will pop up as you type. Use Google’s free keyword tool to help you choose the most searched terms related to your business.

Videos and Photos

Just like adding properly tagged photos and videos to your site will help your search engine rankings, so will using them on your Google Places listing. You can have up to 10 photos and five YouTube videos. Here are some easy video ideas you can use to post on your listing:

• Commercials: Make a quick, 30 second commercial using Animoto.com. Using photos, music and backgrounds they’ve provided, all you have to do is write the text. Within 10 minutes you can have a professional video ready to upload to YouTube.

• Virtual Tour: Take prospects on a tour of your business place so they can see your facilities and staff in action.

• Welcome message: Take a moment to tell prospects about your business and what services you offer. Giving them a chance to see your face will help build trust

• How to Videos: These will work in almost any industry and lend credibility to your business.

These videos will also help you drive traffic through YouTube, so you get double the benefits for your work.

Peer Power

If you’ve gone through the first five steps, you have a fully functioning Google Places listing that is ready to get ranked. At this point, you’re already ahead of 90 percent of local business owners. But there are still some things you can do to boost your rankings, especially if your local market is competitive.

Your first priority should be to get customers to post their reviews of your business. If you don’t want to wait around for customers to do this on their own, you can ask some of your top clients or offer incentives to the first few people who post their reviews. Getting good reviews is one of the best things you can do to both boost your rankings and improve your chances of landing more customers!

How Mini Ebook Traffic Works

Getting online traffic to your websites and offers is one of the biggest challenges for anyone wanting to make money on the Internet. Creating a mini ebook for your affiliates to use in promoting your products is easy and has many benefits.  As the product owner, you can create these mini ebooks highlighting information about your product, and then make it available for your affiliates to give away.

Mini ebooks are a great way to help get the word out about your new product. If done correctly, your mini ebook will help to create a huge demand for your product. The best part about mini ebooks is that they are  simple to create, but have tremendous long term sales benefits.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

A Mini Ebook works great for the product owner as it provides another way to advertise. If done correctly, mini ebooks will help generate increased sales for the product owner. This is also a great opportunity for affiliates. They don’t have to go through the work of creating the advertising tool. All they need to do is give the ebook away to as many people as possible. The more people who have the chance to review the ebook, the better. If someone clicks on their affiliate link in the ebook, goes to the product owner’s site and buys, then the affiliate gets a commission. That makes everyone happy!

1. Make Your Mini Ebook

Create the ebook as a PDF. It’s as easy as creating a Word document and saving it as a PDF using free software called Primo PDF (www.PrimoPDF.com).

What information should your mini ebook include? You can scrub some of it from your sales letter, and also give a few extra tidbits that are not included on your sales page. This will make readers feel like they are getting hooked up. It’s also nice to include screen shots, and even some behind the scenes photos so readers really feel like they are holding something of value.

2. Set Up Tracking

Make sure to leave areas throughout the ebook where the affiliate (if making this available to affiliates) can insert their tracking link. This is very important as the content in the ebook is focused on getting the reader to take action and go to the site for more information.

As the product owner, you may also want to create your own special affiliate link so you can track any sales that come from your mini ebook. Tracking sales is an important step in knowing what marketing tools and efforts are working.

3. Train Your Army of Affiliates

Once the PDF is ready to go, make it available for affiliates in your affiliate center – or on the product’s affiliate tools page.

You may also want to write a few instructions on the page letting your affiliates know how to best market the ebook.

It’s important to always break everything down for your affiliates. Do not assume that they know what to do with your mini ebook. You will also want to remind them to insert their affiliate link prior to giving the ebook away.

4. How to Give Away Mini Ebooks

Give some suggestions of where affiliates can promote the ebook. Places such as forums, Craigslist, eBay, Kijiji, online classifieds, and article directories are some great places to start.

Your affiliates can also give your mini ebook away by posting it to their blogs or emailing their list of subscribers. Affiliates who feel confident in the offer can advertise the mini ebook using pay per click marketing or buying Facebook ads. It’s important to note that paid advertising should only be used by experienced affiliates.

Some affiliates will prefer promoting the mini ebook, rather than trying to sell the product directly. It makes them feel like they are giving away content instead of just telling their subscribers to go and buy another product.

5. Focus on Evergreen Offers

Make sure to notify your affiliates if your mini ebook or offer ever go away. The last thing you ever want is for affiliates to be promoting offers that are no longer available. That’s why this mini ebook method works great for evergreen offers, or offers that don’t expire and continue to work for a long time.

6. Take Orders

Sit back and let the traffic come to you! If you did everything right, those who come to your sales page after seeing the mini ebook will be excited to get their hands on your product. You are essentially pre-selling to them, so that by the time they get to the sales page, they are just looking for the “Buy Now” button.

There is a critical piece missing from your info marketing product. It is costing you money and losing you clients. This is a problem you must solve now. Let me share with you how I discovered the critical missing piece in your info-marketing product before I teach you how to fix it. I actually discovered it while visiting the DotCom Secrets headquarters in Boise, Idaho. I was fortunate to be able to attend one of Russell’s very powerful immersions into how to succeed as an info-marketer.

I actually went there for two reasons. First, as an info-marketer I wanted to learn from the best. I was blown away by the incredible amount of invaluable information shared in such a very short time by Russell and his team. A virtual think-tank on the cutting edge of what you need to know for succeeding in your info-marketing business.

As I said, I went there for two reasons. I actually also had a hidden agenda. I wanted to see if I could spot anything missing in info-marketing success that brain-based learning strategies could help fix. In today’s article, I will address a critical missing piece.  The technical word for this missing element is schema, but what it is called is not that important. What is important is that you learn how to use schema to make your info-marketing product a breeze for anyone to learn to use. Let’s begin.

What The Heck Is Schema And Why Should I Care About It?

Schema is a big word. Why? Because I learned about it in college while studying to become a Psychobiologist. Professors like to use big words, and schema is no exception. Fortunately, schema is a very easy thing to understand.

Schema is your database. Everything that you know about the world in which you live is part of your schema. Another way to define schema is to think of it as your map – the way your brain sees and interprets your world. This is very important not only for your understanding, but also in helping to make your info-product easier to learn and more importantly — easier to use.

What Is Your Clients’ Map?

Everyone has a map or way of looking at the world.    Let’s take a simple example, and then I’ll explain why it is so critical to your clients’ learning success. Imagine four different people are observing the sun rising. Here are the occupations of each of these four individuals:  (1) astronomer, (2) physicist, (3) artist, and (4) musician.   Let’s look inside each of their minds to learn what each of them is actually seeing while viewing the sunrise.

The astronomer is visualizing the earth as it rotates on its axis. He can see that the location on the globe where they are located is moving from the night side towards the daylight side. As the planet continues to rotate, it creates the illusion of the sun rising on the horizon.

The physicist watches the sunrise, and sees how the light rays are being distorted into different brilliant colors. He knows that the angle created at the horizon has a thicker layer of atmosphere. A layer that acts like a prism and distorts the sunlight into a spectrum of different colors.

The artist begins painting a picture of the sunrise using an incredible potpourri of colors. All different hues of reds, blues, oranges, and gold go into his gorgeous painting. The artist is almost overcome by this incredible display of colors created by nature.

Finally, our musician views the sunrise, and feels inspired to write a song. A good example is the song by the Moody Blues entitled, “Dawn Is A Feeling.” It starts with, “Dawn is a feeling. A beautiful ceiling. The smell of grass just makes you pass into a dream.” The musician literally translates the experience of sunrise into emotions using music.

Notice how radically different each individual experienced and processed the simple act of viewing the sunrise? Which individual got it right? All of them. Each experience is as valid as the other.

But here’s the really important questions you need to be thinking about. How many different maps do your clients possess when learning you program? More importantly, how do their different ways of viewing your program affect their ability to understand, and apply your invaluable information? Do you have any idea what their maps look like? What do these maps have in common? How different are these maps? How are these differences making it more difficult for some to succeed while using your product while others find it easy to use? Finally, what are you doing to make it easier for everyone to learn and use your product?

If you are like most info marketers you weren’t even aware these questions existed, so how do you possibly find the answers to them? This is an excellent example of what you don’t know hurting you and your business.

As you can see these are very important questions that demand answers from you. Many of your returns, and frustrated clients are the result of failing to get the answers to these questions. Let’s begin to demonstrate some of the ways to use brain-based learning to turn these challenges into opportunities to make your product more successful.

First, I would like tell you a story about how learning about maps helped win World War II. This story will definitely help you become a better info marketer so you are going to want to read it.

Malcolm Knowles—The Man Who Discovered What Will Help Your Info Marketing Business

If you are like most people, then you are probably thinking, Malcolm Knowles? Who is Malcolm Knowles and how will he help make my info product work better? This is a great story that took place at the start of World War II.

When World War II began, all able bodied men went overseas to fight. They needed planes, boats, tanks, guns, and much, much more to win the war. But who could possibly make these things with all the men out of the country? Women! For the first time in history, women were asked to go to factories and take manufacturing jobs. It was unthinkable. Delicate women working in a factory? In today’s world we  know women can perform this work, but back at the start of World War II is was unprecedented. Knowles was given an impossible task, and he knew it.

Knowles was sitting in a factory cafeteria sipping a cup of hot coffee, and feeling depressed when he overheard a conversation taking place at the next table that would change the course of history. A woman was talking to her girlfriend. She said, “I don’t know how to use a drill press.” Knowles became even more depressed.He had just met one more woman who didn’t know how to do her job.

Her friend smiled and said, “It is easy to use. It is just like the mixing bowl in the kitchen. Instead of swirling through the dough, it swirls a path through wood.” Like magic the woman said, “That is easy, I now understand how to use the drill press.” They didn’t know it, but they had stumbled upon one of the most important secrets to learning.

Everyone has a map, and everyone must learn using their own map. If you want to train a woman who knows everything about running a home on how to build large war machines in a factory, then you better explain it to her in the context of home appliances.

Knowles found the solution he needed. A kiln for baking ceramics was an oven. A laminator was an iron. Instead of putting starch on a shirt, you used it to melt plastic on a wooden wing.

What do you think happened? The women stopped getting injured, and the machines they built started to work. This same magical formula is precisely what you need to use in creating your info products. Let’s see how to get started.

How To Uncover Your Clients’ Map

One of the most powerful ways to uncover your clients’ map is to use a tool that Russell already has taught you to use: the flycatcher page. If you create a flycatcher page that asks pertinent questions about your clients’ experiences and backgrounds, you will begin to see patterns you can integrate into the design of your info product.

Let’s use the example we just saw with women working in factories. If you discover most of your clients are women working at home, then you would want to have numerous examples based on home appliances.

Let me give you the perfect company to use for this example. Joy Anderson created an info product to teach moms how to run a pre-school in their homes. Her course would need to focus on the maps of a mom. It isn’t always that simple. Let’s delve further.

My product teaches people how to read and learn faster. The range of my clients is immense. I have youngsters in school trying to succeed, and adults in college struggling to graduate. There are professionals who want to stay on top of the information their success depends upon. Others are baby boomers who know that reading will help to keep them mentally fit.

What did I do? I integrated examples and stories throughout my program that targeted each of these groups’ specific needs and goals. The result? An extremely low return rate, and lots of sales. In fact, in the early 90′s I created a version of my product following these same rules. It earned over $65 million dollars!!! Isn’t this the result you are seeking from selling your programs?

Know Your Clients in Person

Before I conclude this article, let me share one more powerful way to learn more about your clients.For the past 30 years, I have been offering live seminars throughout the country. I make sure that I spend time with my audience, and ask them questions about who they are, and what they do. Often I go to lunch with them. It gives me the opportunity to truly understand the typical person taking my program. It also gives me the opportunity to learn more about what they enjoy and find challenging.

After 30 years, my program has been adjusted numerous times to find the perfect match to my audience’s needs. As a result my product is easy to learn, and has a high stick rate.

If possible, I strongly advise you to perform some live seminars before you create an info product. You will learn as much from your audience about making the perfect product for their world view as they learn from you. There is also another bonus – you get to make a lot of friends by helping them realize their dreams.

Speaking of making friends, I would like to become one of yours. Russell and I have teamed up to create www.SpeedReadingUniversity.com.

My world acclaimed program has been featured in Forbe’s, Selling, Men’s Health, Red Book, and on over 1,000 radio and television programs. Please go to www.clickbank.com and look up my name, Howard Stephen Berg. You will be able to become an affiliate of my program on clickbank.

If you are selling a product that requires any kind of learning, then your clients will love my program. It will make it easier for them to learn and use your program, and lower your return rate. Imagine making more money with your existing clients with a brain-based learning program that helps them use your products faster and better. This is a true win-win.

Please send me your questions about how to make your info product easier to learn and use. You can send your questions to the editor by emailing them to bbyron@dotcomsecrets.com.

It would help me to have a sample of your program to analyze so I can offer you a more specific answer to your questions. I will choose the best questions, and feature them in future columns. In my next column, I will talk about the single most important ingredient you need to include in all your products. A critical ingredient that you probably never considered using.  Till then, “best of success.”

While studying at Harvard years ago, Bud Bilanich, a respected author and coach, opened a marble covered notebook and began writing down the qualities he saw in the successful people around him. After filling the notebook, he narrowed his observations down to four concepts. These four concepts became the foundation for his career as a success coach and author.

After years of putting his own success system to the test by working his way up the corporate ladder, Bilanich declined a job offer as Vice President of his company to start his own coaching business. He wrote multiple books and coached executives at major companies like Pfizer, Citi Bank, AT&T and General Motors. But  after a battle with cancer, he decided to take his business in a completely different direction – one he says has more meaning for him. Instead of working solely with high-end clients, he wanted to make his success system available to the average person. That’s when he started using internet marketing to get the word out to a broader audience.

Bilanich is still writing books and self-publishing them with great success through CreateSpace.com, a division of Amazon that makes it possible for anyone to print physical copies of their books on demand with no minimum order. Bilanich graciously agreed to an interview where he shared some of his ideas on how to use the many tools available online today to reach more customers with ebooks and physical books:

Q: After years of working your way to the top in the corporate world, what made you decide to leave your job just when you were offered a position as Vice President of your company? What did you do next?

A: I am entrepreneurial by nature. I ran a small T-shirt business in college. I did freelance ghostwriting and grant writing when I was working for companies. In the back of my mind, I knew that I would be doing something entrepreneurial at some point in my career.

I was at a career crossroads in 1988.  I could stay with my company as a VP of Learning and Development, or I could strike out on my own. I knew that if I accepted the VP position, I would be unlikely to satisfy my entrepreneurial interests.

I spent a lot of time asking myself the old rock and roll question: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”

I chose to “go” because I felt that if I didn’t I would always be left with a nagging question, “Could I have really made a go of it as an entrepreneur?”

I left my corporate job the last day of March 1988 and struck out on my own on April 1.  I had one small contract and a lot of contacts.

This was the right decision for me.

Q: What marketing methods did you use to land big-name clients like Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Chase Bank, AT&T and General Motors, to name a few? Do you have any advice for our readers on how they can sell themselves to the big players in their own industries?

A: I have always cultivated relationships. I moved around a lot as a young guy, meeting lots of people. I stayed in touch with them over the years. My early marketing was tied to my network. I called people, told them what I was doing, and asked for their business.

As I became more established, two things happened. First, my early clients began referring me to their friends in other companies. And second, I developed a reputation in organization development and coaching circles, so I began to get calls from people I didn’t know who had seen me speak at a conference, or read one of my books.

I found that a big network of contacts and satisfied clients is the best marketing one can have. I was always willing to do a lot for my clients. They see me as someone who delivers exceptional value. I never quibble over price, and often do much more than is required by my agreements.

Speaking of agreements, I tend to do business on a handshake. I sign contracts and prepare POs only if it is required by the procurement folks at the companies where I do business.

My best advice for selling yourself to the big players in your industry is simple. Get known in the industry.  Participate in professional societies, volunteer for committees. Write for professional journals – even if it’s only a letter to the editor commenting on an article.  Network like crazy.

The more well known you are, the easier it is to get introductions to people in decision making positions – the ones who have the money and juice to hire you.

Q: How did your experience fighting cancer effect the direction you decided to take the rest of your life?

A: Profoundly. Up until the time I had cancer, I was content to work for large companies. The coaching work I did was paid for by my client companies.

My cancer experience made me realize that I have some knowledge and wisdom about creating a successful life and career and that I should be sharing that knowledge and wisdom with as many people as I can – not just those who work for large companies.

That’s when I decided to create a home study course that anybody can easily access. My cancer experience made me realize how fragile life is. I chose to make the most out of my time here on earth and to consciously help as many people as I can.

Q: What are the four qualities you wrote down in your marble covered notebook while you were studying at Harvard?

A: Clarity of purpose and direction for your life and career. A sincere commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career success. Unshakable self confidence. Competence in four key areas: creating positive personal impact, outstanding performance, dynamic communication, relationship building.

These are also known as my “4 C’s of Success” – clarity, commitment, confidence and competence.

Q: How did you first break into the competitive publishing industry and land your book in major retail stores like Barnes and Noble?

A: In 1994 I was doing a lot of consulting work with manufacturing companies. I came to realize that the first level manufacturing supervisor role was a tough one – and one that was greatly misunderstood. Senior manufacturing managers expected first level supervisors to be people leaders. Most first level supervisors saw their role as being a super technician. This caused a lot of headaches for both groups, and a lot of dollars wasted on supervisory training.

I developed a set of expectations for first level manufacturing supervisors for one of my clients. They used this as a precursor to their supervisory training.  These expectations added context to the training. This worked so well, that I began using it with all of my manufacturing clients.

This work became the basis of my first book “Supervisory Leadership and the New Factory.” Once the book was published, I realized that writing it and getting it published was only the first – and very small step – in making it a success.

Royalty publishers are not willing to spend a lot of money promoting an unknown author who is writing for a tightly defined audience (like manufacturing supervision). So I learned that I had to take total responsibility for the marketing of my book.

I spent a lot of time working with booksellers to get the book on the shelves of their stores.

Unfortunately, I found that bookstores are not a great place to sell the kind of books I write. So after my first book I took a different approach to book selling – self publishing, direct to the consumer.

Q: How has information marketing changed since you first started publishing books?

A: The internet has made it much easier to market books. Today, you can self publish and get your book up on Amazon.com very easily.  I use CreateSpace.com an Amazon company when I self publish. Amazon.com provides a great distribution channel and print on demand technology eliminates the need to maintain any inventory.

I printed 10,000 copies of one of my books, “4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations.” I sold about 8,000 copies over ten years. Recently, I took the remaining 2,000 to a recycling center as I wasn’t selling very many, and it was costing me about $45 a month to warehouse them. Print on demand technology allows me to maintain little or no inventory.

Blogging is also a great way to sell books. I have created a sales page for each of my books. I write about my books on my daily blog and provide a link to the sales page where people can purchase directly from me. I also make sure all of my books are available on Amazon.com.

Right now, I am giving away one of my books, “Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less.” I give away Success Tweets in order to build my list. I have created a squeeze page at SuccessTweets.com where people can download a free copy of the ebook. I have found that many people who download the .pdf buy the book from Amazon.com after they read it. A perfect bound copy of a book is much easier to carry around than a downloaded .pdf.

I have begun blogging about Success Tweets. As the title suggests the book is composed of 140 tweets – 141 actually, as I always try to over deliver. I have written a 700 to 1,000 word blog post about each tweet. You can see the blog at SuccessTweets.com/blog.

I did this because tweets are funny. You may read one of the tweets and say “I get it.”  Someone else may read the same tweet and say, “I wish I knew more about this.” The blog explains each tweet in detail.

And, once I finished blogging about all 141 tweets I had another book.

Q: CreateSpace is an amazing tool for anyone who wants to publish a physical book without fronting any money. How have you been able to use it for your own books?

A: I love CreateSpace. They make it very easy to self publish. Once you create a finished .pdf of your book all you have to do is send it to them and they will create a sales page for you on Amazon.com.

I now publish all of my books through CreateSpace.  Here’s what I do:

1. I write and edit the book.
2. Once the copy is done, I have my designer create the interior of the book and the cover – front, back and spine.
3. We upload the completed .pdf to CreateSpace.
4. The book is now ready to be sold on Amazon.com. Since CreateSpace is the print on demand arm of Amazon.com, they handle printing and fulfillment. I carry no inventory except what I want for my own promotional purposes.

I used CreateSpace to publish “Success Tweets.” It retails for $9.95. For every copy sold through Amazon.com, I get a royalty of $2.95. 30 percent may not seem like much, but considering that I don’t have to worry about printing, warehousing or shipping costs, it is a good deal. I can purchase copies of “Success Tweets” for $3.10. This enables me to discount books and still make money. For example, I am doing a talk for an organization that wants 100 copies of “Success Tweets.”  I gave them a price of $7 per copy. They are happy with the 30 percent discount and I still make $3.90 a book. Remember, CreateSpace printed and shipped the books for me.

One final point – you are under no obligation to use CreateSpace to print books that they don’t sell and deliver. In other words, if you were to sell 2,500 books to a customer, you could do better than the $3.10 CreateSpace charges to print books (no matter what the quantity). In this happy circumstance you could send the .pdf to a volume printer and get their pricing, which gives you more flexibility in your pricing with your customer.

Q: What made you decide to start marketing your success system online?

A: As I’ve mentioned, I want as many people as possible to benefit from my knowledge and wisdom about life and career success. Online marketing allows me to reach a very large potential audience.

Q: Can you walk through the process of getting your www.CareerSuccessGPS.com website ready to launch?

A: Here are the steps I took:

• I created the content for the Career Success GPS membership site modules – 24 in all, to be delivered two per month. These are 30 to 90 minute modules full of high quality content.  They explain my four C’s of success model: clarity, commitment, confidence and competence.
• I created the Your Career Success GPS ebook as a giveaway.
• I wrote a squeeze page where I give away the ebook.
• I wrote a sales page for the Career Success GPS membership site.
• I recruited lots of affiliates to help with the launch.
• I launched the product.

These are the six steps I followed. They are simple, but took lots of work. Russell and his folks guided me through the process. Their assistance was invaluable.

Q: Can you give us a sneak peak at what’s next for you and CareerSuccessGPS.com?

A: I am continuing to grow my list. Right now, my main giveaway is the ebook version of “Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less.” I’ve written a blog post to further explain each tweet. I’m in the process of recording these blog posts as podcasts. I am positioning this as the best free information on life and career success on the internet.

I am creating a new comprehensive site called Career Success Expo. On this site, I will offer lots of free stuff I’ve written over the years, the Career Success GPS membership site, a group coaching program, a smaller membership site, several of my books and other information products. I will also have a link to my Amazon.com affiliate page, and links to several of my affiliates. The Career Success Expo will be a one stop shop for all things Bud Bilanich, and for the work of others I admire.

You’ve seen them before. If you’ve ever bought one of Russell’s products or any information product within our industry, you’ve probably seen one. We usually include at least two to three upsells with all of our launches because they are extremely profitable.

The Upsell

Now, if you do not know what an upsell is, it’s a related product that you offer a customer right after they purchase from you. For example, most of our lead products are usually in the $27 range. Then we immediately hit buyers with another offer that’s a little more expensive.

One time offers work because you are placing your offers at a time when your prospect is in the buying mode. They’ve already taken out their wallet and bought from you. And it’s been shown time and time again that the chances they will buy from you immediately after an initial purchase goes up astronomically.

That’s fine, but how do you write sales copy for upsells? Unfortunately most people really mess this up when they write their upsells. In this article I am going to reveal several important tips when it comes to writing copy for this very lucrative sales device.

Secret 1: Do Not Oversell The Upsell!

This is something that most people get wrong. They treat the upsell as a standalone product and lose sales as a result.

In copywriting, knowing your audience and their “buying mode” is extremely important. If you treat a cold prospect (someone who has never heard of you before) like someone who you’ve sold to again and again, you will not get the sale because you haven’t built rapport with that prospect.

Likewise, if you treat a “warm” prospect like a cold prospect, then you will bore them to death and they will not buy from you.

So let’s implement this in your typical one time offer sequence. A buyer immediately purchases from you and you hit them with a one-time offer. They have just bought from you and already know who you are.

Further they trust you; otherwise, they wouldn’t have yanked out their wallet and purchased from you. So the worst thing you can do is start your letter as if the prospect has never heard from you before!

Here is a proven way to open your one time offer sales pitch. This is an example from the old Conquer Your Niche forum we used to run, before we sold it to another company:

As you can see, this was written knowing that people had just joined the forum. They already knew what the Conquer Your Niche forum was so I didn’t have to sell them on it.

Another way I often start one-time-offer sales letters is by writing a variation of the following: “Thank you for purchasing [insert name of lead product]. I know this product is going to [insert big benefit]. However, before I finalize your order, I would like to give you the ability to [insert how they are going to get even MORE benefits].”

Basically what you’re doing here is getting right to the point. You’re thanking them for purchasing from you and giving them the opportunity to get even more benefits by offering them something else.

So to summarize, you do not want to “oversell” your upsells. Remember, they just purchased from you moments ago, so they know your story.

Secret 2: Use The Appropriate Above The Fold Copy

In this section, I am going to reveal our time-tested one-time-offer layout we have been running again and again. This is what you should test for your own offers as it has worked well for us.

Below is a screenshot of the “above the fold” copy and graphics for TheViralSecret.com.

You can see that we use a green “STOP” sign and copy that tells people not to close their window because their order is not complete.

You can also see that we used the text, “Please Customize Your Order Now.” The word “customize” is very important as you are telling people their order is not finished and they can modify it if they choose.

We have been running this for the past three years and it converts like crazy. It gets people’s attention (who has ever seen a green stop sign?) and directs people to the offer in a non-threatening way.

Secret 3: Use A Video!

Another thing you should always use in your one-time offer pitches is a video. We have tested this time and time again and a video with copy upsell always out-converts both video-only and copy-only.

We used to run video-only one-time offers but we started to include the sales copy later. This is something you will want to test for your own promotions.

Why does both video and written copy work? Because it gets the attention of people who want to watch sales pitches and those who simply want to read the sales copy.

You don’t have to use an extra-long video pitch either. What you can do instead is summarize your sales copy in your video in about two minutes. If you go to TheViralSecret.com you can see Russell’s video pitch and use it as an example.

Below is another implementation of video and sales copy in one of our one-time offers for ExitFire.com.

You can see Russell’s video is up front and center on the page. You will also want to have the video autoplay as soon as people hit the page… while giving them the chance to pause it if they choose.

Secret 4: Put The Order Box At The Bottom

One thing we do for one time offers is we never end the sales letter with a signature or a P.S.

Remember that people are customizing their orders at this point, so you want to make sure the order box is at the bottom of the page. Further, you want to make the link where they can refuse the offer clear so that they can easily finish their order. The image above is an example from ExitFire.com.

Usually I like to add a little flair to the “No Thanks” link by inserting in the prospect’s mind what they are missing out on if they decide to refuse the offer. In this case I said, “No thanks – I don’t need the extra traffic…” After all, no internet marketer on the planet would refuse extra traffic!

Secret 5: Keep It Short!

Since you do not have to re-tell your story in the upsell, the sales copy can be relatively short. Most of our one-time-offers are only four to five pages long rather than drawn-out sales letters.

Remember, as I mentioned earlier in this article, people just bought from you on the previous page. You are merely offering them another product.

Further, you do not want to further obfuscate the ordering process since they are in the middle of completing their order.

To conclude, upsells and one-time offers have been the lifeblood of our business. If you do not have upsells in your marketing plan, get some ASAP. They are probably the easiest money you can make.

We’ve had $97 upsells convert as high as 40 percent.That’s money just sitting there on the table if we didn’t add upsells and one-time-offers to our marketing plan.
This article will help you write copy for your upsells. Feel free to visit the sites mentioned to see them in action… and use them to model yours. Now go out there and take action!

How to quickly double or even triple your marketing results with technology that’s been around forever.

Sometimes the one thing your small business is missing to take it to the next level is not something brand new, but something low-tech that has been around forever. I’ve found that when you blend low-tech with high-tech activities you get even better results. There is one low-tech tool that no successful small business can live without.

What is this low-tech tool I’m referring to? A marketing calendar. I’m amazed at how few of the small and mid-sized companies I consult with actually have a working marketing calendar. And those that do have a calendar I’m surprised at how little is on it.

Why is a marketing calendar so important? By forming a marketing calendar I’ve found that most companies can double or even triple the amount of marketing activity they have driving leads and sales.

Adding marketing activities doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to increase your budget either. There are dozens of “guerrilla” marketing strategies and tactics discussed on these pages that cost little to nothing to implement. When you’re adding the proper things to your calendar the increased activity can provide a serious boost to your bottom line.

Also, if you don’t put marketing activities on a calendar very little will actually happen. Let’s look at a quick personal example to illustrate the need for marketing calendars. My wife and I have five small children. Our oldest will turn nine in a few months.  Needless to say, we don’t get a date night very often.  If we waited for a date night to just happen, it never would. We have to plan in advance, coordinate baby sitters (notice the plural – one babysitter usually won’t cut it), etc. Without the calendar and the plan, a “date night” would merely be a concept we hear our friends talking about, and not something we actually get to experience.

Without a marketing calendar the results you read about on these pages will merely be a concept that you hear and read about, and not something you actually get to enjoy.

The beautiful part is that once you fill out a calendar everything else becomes much, much easier.

What You Should Put on Your Calendar

I use marketing calendars to stay on top of two types of marketing activities: seasonal or short term activities, and ongoing marketing activities. By having both types of activities you can stay fresh and current (with seasonal messages) and consistent with the things you should be doing all of the time.

Short-Term or Seasonal Activities

Your seasonal or short-term activities could be seasonal sales like a Christmas promotion, a 4th of July sale, or an anniversary sale. Or it could be themed events or promotions like a St. Patty’s Day email series complete with leprechaun and pot of gold and a special offer. Webinars, seminars, and special events could fall into this category as well. Pulling off these kinds of events and promotions becomes impossible without planning. With a calendar, you can create some top-notch promotions and events that are fresh, relevant and get response.

Ongoing Activities

Your ongoing activities serve as the staple of your marketing efforts. Every month you should be doing the things that separate mediocre companies from successful ones. Things like lost customer reactivation campaigns, referral programs, JV partner programs, your online newsletter, listbuilding by giving away free content, blogging, and others.

These activities should always be a part of your calendar. Sometimes you will use a constant “evergreen” message with these activities, sometimes you will flavor them with a seasonal message like doing a Christmas themed contest as part of your referral program.

The first thing you need to do is sit down and make a list of the seasonal and short-term activities you want to engage in and make a detailed list of the ongoing activities you’ll implement. I personally like to plan out the entire year at least in general terms and then on a quarterly and monthly basis fill in all the details.

How to Structure Your Calendar for Maximum Impact

With each item on the calendar, whether it’s a seasonal activity or an ongoing activity, here are the things you need to spell out:

• Description: Describe what the activity is about, and who the target is for the activity (past customers, prospects, etc.).

• Goals: What do you hope to accomplish from the activity in specific terms? If it’s a totally new activity for you, then the first time you’ll have to use an educated guess. Still, thinking about results ahead of time is an important part of actually getting good results. I’ve found that when I set goals for events, as long as I do all the things on my calendar then I usually come close to reaching my goals.

• Time Frame: When should you start planning and when does this activity start and finish?

• Who’ll do the work: Is this something you’ll do or will an outsourcer or employee do it for you?

• Actual results: Here’s where you compare your goals to what actually happened. This will help show you if you should repeat this activity or not.

Tools for Creating a Marketing Calendar

No need to get high-tech here unless you want to.  A simple Word document or even a notebook can work fine. If you’re like me and you lose paper, you’ll want a digital option. One option that I use a lot for marketing calendars and to-do lists is Google Documents. Google Docs are free (you just need a free gmail account to access Google Docs) http://docs.google.com. You can also find some calendar and to-do list templates here http://docs.google.com/templates.

The great thing about Google Docs is that you can access the files from anywhere you have an internet connection and the documents are easy to share with outsourcers, employees, or even clients.

Once you create and implement a marketing calendar you’ll quickly see how much more you can get done. You’ll feel the energy and momentum that comes just by creating the calendar.  After you have something spelled out on your calendar you can easily delegate to an outsourcer, an employee, or in some cases do the work yourself.

Once you get started you’ll find that planning and mapping out a calendar can actually be fun….especially once you start seeing results from your activities!

As a gift for this post I wanted to put together 50 traffic tips and ideas that will help you to increase the amount of visitors who come to your websites.

Now, if you’ve ever thought that your excuse for not making money online was traffic, you now have 50 ways that you can test out. Some of them will work better than others depending on your offers, but they all work. Try a new one each day and start watching the traffic counter on your website increase!

1. Pulse360.com: This is one of my favorite traffic networks where you can get banner ads across MSNBC, USAToday.com, Weather.com and more with a single media buy.
2. BuySellAds.com: Buy ads on over 2,900 successful blogs! Just pick the site you want to advertise on, and within minutes your ad will be shown.
3. Fiverr.com Tweet: There are a lot of people who will “tweet” your message to 50,000 or more of their followers for just $5.
4. Mturk.com: Hire people for pennies to do “HITs” (human intelligence tasks) such as posting on forums, commenting on blogs, and more.
5. WarriorForum.com/warrior-joint-ventures/: Find “ad swap” partners you can use to send traffic to your squeeze page.
6. Stumbleupon.com: Buy cheap ads that will drive users who are looking for similar content directly to your site.
7. TubeMogule.com: Create videos and submit them to over 30 video hosting sites at once. A video syndication account with TubeMogul.com is free.
8. CommentSniper.com: This software monitors blogs and notifies you when the owner has made a new post so you can comment with your link.
9. CommentKahuna.com: Get backlinks from niche specific sites by automating your blog commenting.
10. Arcamax.com: Drive traffic with email marketing even if you don’t have your own list by renting space in one of Arcamax’s many email newsletters.
11. TrafficVance.com: Display your ads on your prospect’s computer when they search for relevant topics.
12. ArticleSubmitter.imwishlist.com/: Create articles and submit them to the major article directories.
13. DirectorySubmitter.imwishlist.com/: Submit your website to top directories and get high quality back links.
14. RentAnEdu.com: Use our .edu linkbait technique to get the highest quality backlinks possible.
15. “Mom” Blogs: Find “mommy” bloggers in your area – they often get a lot of traffic and have huge followings.
16. Answers.yahoo.com: Answer questions people have related to your niche and leave a link to your site where they can get more information.
17. SENuke.com: This software is just flat out awesome… it does too many things to explain in one article.
18. InstantSocialAnarchy.com: This software crashes the social media sites to give you tons of backlinks and MUCH more.
19. PlacementLocator.com: Use this software to find sites listed in the top 10 in Google for your keywords with Google adsense on them. You can then bid on these ads to get targeted traffic
20. Facebook: There are lots of great ways to advertise on Facebook, so I won’t go into all of them here, but USE IT!!!
21. Craigslist.com: This free classified directory has been around for years, but we still drive a significant amount of our traffic and leads everyday from Craigslist.
22. ebayclassifieds.com: This is a great local directory similar to Craigslist that you can use to generate leads for free.
23. backpage.com: This is another great directory for classified ads that we use every day to drive traffic.
24. LinkedIn.com: The average person on LinkedIn makes over six figures per year, so it’s a great place to network and find qualified buyers.
25. Meetup.com: Find dormant meetup groups in your area or niche and buy them. One of our employees bought three meetup groups last week and instantly had over 0 people in a local mastermind meeting.
26. Ebay’s ‘About Me’ page: Use eBay to build your list by turning your About Me page into a squeeze page and then point to it within all of your auctions.
27. Ryze.com: This is a great business networking site (similar to Linkedin.com) where you can find clients or partners.
28. Epage.com: Another great classified site you can use to drive traffic quickly with both free online ads and paid iPhone listings.
29. blogtalkradio.com: Start your own online radio show and build your followers. You can get a basic account for free.
30. Ustream.tv: Start your own live online tv show where you can teach, educate and sell your products.
31. Twitter: Enough has been written on Twitter over the past two years that I won’t add to it, except to say use it to target people talking about what you’re selling.
32. Ping.tv: Tie together all of your social sites into one account. Ping once, and it will update everything.
33. Flowtown.com: Get information about all of your subscribers and followers to see who your centers of influence are
34. Parasite pop-ups: Find sites that are already listed on page one of Google, then contact them and offer to buy a pop-up on their website
35. Auto blogs: Setup auto blogs that will generate search engine traffic on your long tail keywords.
36. Squidoo.com: Google ranks these pages very high. Just post your content and get pages indexed and ranked fast.
37. YouTube sniper: Find YouTube videos that are already driving large volumes of traffic and offer to purchase a link on their description pages.
38. BlogAds.com: This is another great site where you can purchase ads on other people’s blogs within your niche.
39. SelfGrowth.com: This is a great list in the self improvement niche that we often rent.
40. JVRocket.com: You can email their double optin list of 266,000 people interested in the internet and affiliate marketing niches.
41. Mobile Ads: This will be the future of advertising that few people have cracked.
42. Forums: Become a member of a forum and drop links in your signature file that will show up everytime you make a post. Offer helpful advice to build your credibility with forum members.
43. Google Groups: Join groups in your niche and provide content and you’ll be able to drive a lot of targeted traffic.
44. Animoto.com: Create a quick Animoto video, then submit it with PixelPipe.com to multiple video sites at once.
45. Joint Ventures: Find someone who already has an email list in your niche, and then get them to promote your offer for a percent of the sales.
46. Weebly.com: Google ranks Weebly’s pages very high, so you can create a quick website and get instant Google love.
47. PrWeb.com: Write a press release about something happening in your business or industry and submit it to PRweb.com.
48. Createspace.com: Make a book, cd or dvd and post it on CreateSpace and don’t pay for printing until you make a sale. Your work will also be listed on Amazon.
49. Giveaways: Create and sell a product with resell or giveaway rights and include links back to your websites.
50. Contests: Run a contest and make it go viral by getting people to sign up their friends.

Hey there everyone, it’s the Professor here. We’re going to do something a little different this time around. I am going to find several really good examples of copywriting you need to implement in your marketing. Then I’m going to explain why this part of the letter is extremely effective. So this will turn into a “swipe file” of really good elements to put in your sales letters.

This will be something you’ll want to refer to again and again when you’re writing your own promotions. And the part we are going to talk about in this section is the value builder! This is a critical piece of copy where you introduce the price of your offering. You never want to tell people the price of the product right away, but you want to frame it around other ways they can receive the benefits your product provides. I am going to show you several examples of this right now!

Example 1: The One Legged Golfer Ad

The following is an excellent example of a value builder from the One Legged Golfer ad I use time and time again for examples of great copy. You can see the full sales letter here.

You can see that the price is introduced but it is framed around this paragraph:

This price wouldn’t even buy you 15 minutes with Milt at his regular fees — the thousands of dollars that people have been giving him for over 10 years for personal lessons. Yet, for the price of one green fee at a fancy country club, you can own Milt’s swing for yourself… with this video (plus the manual) that reveal to you everything you’d learn in private lessons!

What’s happening is, after introducing the price of the video, which is $54, it is compared to actually paying the instructor to show you the special swing.  Not only that but the fact that you can learn this secret for the price of one green fee. This makes the $54 price more valuable since the readers now have a frame of reference for how much value they are getting.

You see, I think paying $54 dollars for a video is very expensive — especially since I can walk into Wal-Mart and purchase a DVD for $5 to $10. However, if that product is going to save me thousands of dollars in paying a golf pro as well as improve my golf game by 10 strokes, I am willing to part with my $54.

That’s how a value builder works — you tell the prospect the price of the product is irrelevant compared to the benefits they are going to get. If you convince people in your copy the value they are going to get will be greater than the price they are willing to pay, you’ve done your job as a copywriter!

Example 2: Hemorrhoid Miracle

Here is a long-standing sales letter that sells a cure for hemorrhoids (HemorrhoidMiracle.com). This has been running for a couple years and does very well. Here is the value-builder portion of that letter:

If nothing else, I guarantee you’ll love the results on how your body feels… Now, due to production and advertising costs of getting this out to people, I do have to offer this “H Miracle package” at $69.95 for my publisher costs. That’s $69.95 for the final definitive solution to hemorrhoids… and I’ll bet you’ll get TEN times that value back from this because you’ll never want another pill, cream, gel, or ointment again… it’s that powerful. Not to mention the peace of mind you’ll save by having no hemorrhoids.

Now you can see that this value-builder is short yet effective. The copy does a good job describing how creams and ointments do not work and how expensive they are. The copywriter frames the price with the fact that they could get tons of value back since they don’t have to use these remedies that don’t work.

This plants the seed in the prospect’s mind that, yes, they are spending a lot of money on remedies and the price of the product is a drop in the bucket if they can cure this painful condition.

So never reveal the price by itself… always frame it around what value they are going to get out of the product. Because people aren’t paying for the physical product — they are paying for what they are getting out of it!

Example 3: Tinnitus Miracle

Here is another example of a value-builder in the sales letter from Tinnitus Miracle (TinnitusMiracle.com).

As you can see, they used a very effective value builder trick where they revealed how much less people are paying by purchasing the ebook. Most hard copy products will sell for twice the amount so if you’re selling a digital product you can easily put this in your value builder.

Example 4: Cure for Bruxism

Here is another very good example of a value builder in this product that claims to cure bruxism (teeth-grinding). You can see the full sales letter at www.CureForBruxism.com.

Here they are doing an effective cost comparison — comparing the price of the product with how much they are going to spend on an expensive night-guard or dental work to fix teeth that can run into the thousands.  That makes the price of $37 easy to stomach!

Conclusion

I hope you use these examples as “swipe files” for your own products and services. Adding a value builder will boost your conversions and all the top sales letters out there include one. It ensures the customer will get the benefits they are paying for.

You never want to introduce the price in a vacuum…always frame it around a value builder!

Secrets To Making A Video Go Viral

Have you ever put a video on YouTube and thought, “This is going to be the next ‘Charlie Bit My Finger?’” As of this writing, the “Charlie Bit My Finger” video has received 259,411,027 views. The Evian Roller Babies have 31,801,069, and Miss Teen South Carolina has earned herself a viral video badge of honor with 47,485,308 views.

Have you ever wondered how in the heck did that get so many views? Your baby may be just as cute, can roller blade, and even embarrass itself on live tv, but, well… the truth is most of these videos that seem to get randomly popular really had some sometimes subtle, and even sneaky marketing strategies behind them before they became YouTube sensations. Imagine if 1 percent of that traffic visited your website, or even 1 percent of the traffic from a video with a measly 100,000 views!

Now what I’m about to share with you, YouTube does not appreciate. But if you use these secret viral video traffic techniques I’m about to teach you, then you may just be the next “David After Dentist.” All you need to do is link to a domain you’ve bought which has been masked and forwarded to a product or affiliate URL of your choice.

Content is King of the Jungle

It is estimated that YouTube gets anywhere between 10,000 to 65,000 video submissions a day. Let me break this to you gently – no one cares about your video. No one is

going to see it no matter how good you may think it is. Unless, of course you know how to get people to see it.

It is important that the content in your video is quality, meaning people will like it because it is funny, cute, informative, shocking, amazing, etc. Content is not the “end all, be all” though. Your first goal after you have decent content is to get 100,000 views. Sound like a lot? It’s a minimum. And I will show you how to get your first 100,000. Show that to your friends and tell me they are not impressed.

Remember we are marketing to real people so having quality content is what will lead people back to your site. Here are some guidelines on your content to get maximum viewership:

• Keep It Short And Sweet: 20 to 40 seconds is a good guideline.

• Avoid Making A Blatant Ad: Nobody likes advertisements unless they make them say, “Wow.”

• Shock People Into Watching: Make them watch out of pure curiosity (ex. “Gorilla Eats Person”).

• Fake Headlines: Pique their interest with crazy headlines (ex. “Stolen Jet”).

• Make It Remixable: If someone can put it on repeat and keep on laughing, then you know you’re on the right track (ex. “Antwoine Dodson Song,” “Dramatic Hamster”).

Get on the Most Viewed Page

80 Million people watch videos on YouTube everyday. A big chunk of those videos are watched from people clicking the “videos” tab at the top. This tab lists the “Daily Most Viewed” videos. You want to be on that page. Not only on it, but on the top of it to get most of the clicks.

How to Get Your First 50k Views

It takes a minimum of 50,000 views to get your video on the most viewed list. How do you get your first 50,000? Here are some ideas:

• Blogs: Contact individuals who run relevant blogs that would be congruent with your video and pay for ad space so they will embed your videos on their site.

• Forums: Open several accounts in a relevant forum. Embed the video in your thread and start a conversation with yourself between user accounts talking or having an argument about the video.

• MySpace: Lots of MySpace users will let you embed a video directly into the comment section of their page. Take advantage of that.

• Facebook: Share with everyone! Set up a new profile on Facebook or use your existing one, build a large presence of friends and share it with all of them. You can create events that announce the release of your video with invitations sent to the whole list. Try tagging them in it with a note written to them. You can embed the video in Facebook or post a link to the original video in YouTube. Then “share” the video with all your friends and direct them back to your fanpage or the original YouTube video.

• Email Lists: You can send your video to thousands of people at once with email lists. This can be a very effective strategy. The more targeted and relevant your video is to the list, the better.

• Friends: Make sure all of your immediate friends and family watch it several times and email it to their friends for support. Have your friends post it on their Facebook walls as well.

• Video Submission Sites: Use PixelPipe.com to submit your videos to up to 60 different sites similar to YouTube at one time.

Every video has a 48 hour shelf life. Which means you have 48 hours from the moment the video is uploaded until the video moves from the Daily Most Viewed to Weekly Most Viewed.

YouTube Video Optimization

So you got your initial 50,000 views. Once it has landed on the Most Viewed page, how do you compete with the other videos on that page to really make views explode? Your Title and Video Thumbnail are the mini sales pitch that needs to entice viewers to click your video. For the first few days you want to have a catchy title, even if it is a little bit misleading. Then change it back after a few days to something more congruent with the video. A few phrases you can use to maximize views are “leaked video,” exclusive,” “behind the scenes,” “limited,” or “restricted.”

A Thumbnail Speaks 1,000 Words

The thumbnail of your video on the Most Viewed page carries the most weight when people are scanning “the 20.” Keep in mind these two things to make sure your video thumbnail is optimized. YouTube takes three snapshots from the exact middle of your video and two others around it. They let you choose which one you want to use. As you edit your video, make sure the screenshot of the middle of your video is an interesting one. Make sure the thumbnail of choice is clear and distinguishable. Also make sure you have a person or face in the screenshot you choose. The video needs to suggest that it is high quality, so make it clear.

Light a Fire

Or try to put one out you started. Most avid YouTuber’s have several accounts. You can do the same. Then start a conversation with yourself from different accounts ideally starting some sort of heated controversy.

Nothing draws attention like a firey battle in the comments section. Have people post heated comments throughout the day fueling the controversy you started. If you don’t like what some people are saying about your video, feel free to delete those comments. Specifically saying your video or brand “sucks,” that negativity gets deleted. Good heated discussion will increase traffic back to your site.

Relentless Video Releasing

Most people when releasing several videos are under the mindset that, “I will release them in a steady flow of every few days to build anticipation for the next video.” Wrong. Specifically, with the intent of incubating a viral video, don’t make people wait for more of your content. If they like the content in your video, you want your other videos right there at their fingertips. Give them the ability to view all your videos upfront.

If you have several videos supporting your main video, release them all right after you upload your main one. Then, when you want to run a viral campaign for one of those other videos you released with your main one you simply delete and re-upload it so you have another 48 hour window of opportunity to push it to the Daily Most Viewed list. This allows your viewers to fully immerse themselves in your content.

Sneaky Tagging Strategies

YouTube allows you to tag your video with keywords that show up for the relevant search term. For the first week in YouTube, a good strategy is to not optimize your video for related YouTube searches just yet. You can actually use the tags to strategically place your other content in front of your viewers’ eyes instead of them clicking over someone else’s content.

After your viewer gets done watching your main viral video. Wouldn’t it be great if all the videos that showed up in the “Related Videos” box in YouTube were your own?

Here’s how you do it. Choose four to five unique tags and use only those tags for each one of the videos you post. Don’t use vague tags that every other YouTube video uses. I’m talking about very specific, unique tags that only you and your video uses. You can even make up your own words and use them as tags for all your videos.

If you do it right you’ll see all of your own videos show up in the “related videos” box in the search, depending on how many videos you have made related to your main one.

After about a week to a week and a half, start using more generic tags that optimize your video for actual searches in YouTube. Another good strategy to rank for the search term you want on YouTube is to look at the top two or three videos in the search results and use the exact same tags they are using for your video. This strategy has landed me towards the top of the first page of YouTube for the specific keyword I was targeting almost instantly. I recommend using long tail keyword tags to appear higher in search results of YouTube and even Google.

Keeping Track

You can measure how well your newly created viral video is doing. You can add a tracking ID to the end of your video by changing the links of your video in the description. If you add “?video=3” or “?video=A” to the end of each URL it will be easier to track the success of each individual video.

You can use a service called VidMetrix to track all sorts of things like comments, views, and ratings. This service will also track how well it gets spread among other sites beyond YouTube like blogs and social media sites.

Wrapping Up

YouTube has become a dumping grounds for video so achieving true virility takes some planning, a lot of hard work and even a pinch of magic lucky dust. To quote the infamous “David After Dentist” which currently has close to 76 million views, some of these secrets may make you ask yourself “Are we in real life?”

The best way to learn is by doing it. This can send some serious traffic back to your site which, if you are not in this business for charity, will result in more money. And that makes the wife happy, so it’s worth the effort.

There is a critical missing element in info-marketing that is costing you a fortune.   Most info-marketers focus upon two critical elements. First, they learn how to market. Without marketing, even the best product will never make a sale. Second, they focus upon product creation. It is product creation that contains a huge gaping hole. As the world’s fastest reader, I have identified this problem, but more importantly, I know how to solve it.

I am honored to be a guest writer for DotCom Secrets, and will share with you in a series of articles some of the solutions you absolutely need to know for making the best possible products.

Typical Product Creation Steps

Product creation often starts with good market research. Russell and his team are among the best teachers on this topic. There is no point in developing a product that no one is interested in purchasing.  DotCom Secrets experts teach  us to use Google, and other research tools to determine topics people are looking for by using these search engines. You want to find a topic that has sufficient interest, that is step one.

Step two in typical product creation is investigating how many other products already exist in that space.    Amateur info-marketers often get discouraged when they find that there are many others in a specific niche. I am thrilled when I find a potential niche with numerous products. It reminds me of the story of Vanderbilt and how he built his original fortune. This is a story you need to hear.

Vanderbilt made a point of never being the first person into a market. He always waited until someone else had created a product or service, and was making a lot of money. Vanderbilt knew that if someone was able to make money in a specific niche then he could too.    His strategy consisted of two things. He would make you an offer to buy you out, or he would create a better product at a lower price and drive you out of business.     Personally, I think his ethics were questionable, but his overall approach still applies today. You want to be in a niche that is already generating sales. Next, you want to create a product that has a unique selling proposition that none of your competitors can match.

The third step in typical product creation is to do the research and create the product. During this step the focus is typically upon good content. While many info-marketers create their own products, others simply find a product someone else made that the niche will buy. Remember Bill Gates? Bill did not create the first version of Microsoft Basic. He found a computer nerd, and paid him for all the rights to the program. Bill resold this product to IBM, and went on to become the richest man in the world. I think the results he achieved speak for themselves.

For most info-marketers this is the end of the story.   They begin marketing, and start developing their next product. You want to be different. Here is where I begin to teach you the next level of info-marketing, and how to overcome a crucial missing element.

How I Discovered The Missing Link In Info-Marketing

I discovered the missing info-marketing element when I was a Junior attending the State University Of New York At Binghamton. I was majoring in Biology.    During my Junior year, I read a book about Ethology, the Biology of Behavior.  I was hooked.  I knew I wanted to spend my life learning about the Biology of behavior.

I went to the Dean, and told him that I wanted to add a Psychology major to my Biology major. With a stunned look he said, “How are you going to accomplish this? You only have one year of college remaining, and you haven’t taken a single Psychology course yet. You will have to complete the entire four year Psychology program in a single year. Frankly, you are not smart enough.”

That was when it hit me. They don’t teach learning in school. They tell you what to learn. They tell you why to learn. They tell you what will happen when you fail to learn. Yet no one explains why you can remember the words to “I Shot The Sheriff,”  when you don’t even want to remember it. But after you learn a program for hours, you put it down, and immediately have a problem remembering the name of the product and its author.

I knew there had to be a way to learn the things we need to learn, since we are already able to learn things like song lyrics without paying any attention to them. I was right. There was an entire world of brain-based learning strategies. Some developed by me. Some developed by others. These brain-based learning strategies can make the difference between creating an info product that is soon forgotten, or one that provides benefits year after year.

Think about this. If your products are easier to learn, easier to recall, and easier to apply what effect would that have on your clients’ desires to purchase more programs from you? You are going to love the brain-based learning strategies that I am going to share with you in this article series. These are strategies that will have your clients anxiously waiting to purchase your next product. Anxious because they know they can count on you to make a product they will easily learn and use to succeed in their world.

Let’s begin to look at some of the elements that need to be integrated into your products to take them into the 21st century.

Identify The Missing Brain-Based Learning Elements

No doubt you are providing first rate content in your info-marketing product, but what are you doing to make sure your content is easy to retain and recall?    More has been discovered about the brain and how it learns in the past ten years than in all of human history; yet, little of this information is actually being used to make learning easier. Doesn’t it make sense that your clients will derive far more benefits from your product if they can remember the information you teach? Fortunately, there are numerous techniques for accomplishing this.

What are you doing to make sure that your information is easy to understand? Everyone has a different learning style. Everyone interprets information through their own personal experiences.

What have you done to make sure that your product provides information using a variety of learning styles?   Even more importantly, how much do you know about your typical client’s viewpoint of the world – the map they use to interpret information. Are you presenting your information through your own eyes, the way you see and learn things? If so, many of your clients are getting confused by your program. Isn’t it safe to say that a frustrated and confused client is more likely to return a product than one who is easily absorbing your facts? Isn’t it also safe to say that a confused client is likely to avoid purchasing more products from you in the future?

Think about this. How many products have you found difficult or confusing to learn? What did you do with these products? Did you return them? Did you continue to purchase more products from the individual who provided you with a frustrating experience? Let’s get real. People today have choices. Marketing requires a great deal of time, and money to succeed. Isn’t it tragic that your product may sabotage all your hard work because it is missing some brain-based learning component?

The Most Important Brain-Based Learning Element

The next brain-based learning element that I want to introduce in this article is probably the single most important missing element in almost every product, and service. I am talking about emotional intelligence. Did you know that your emotional intelligence is a better predictor of your life success than anything else? Let’s take a closer look at emotional intelligence for a moment.

Have you ever experienced tension or fear while taking an exam or going to a meeting? How did your negative emotional state affect your performance?   How does getting anxious help you answer important questions? A good example of this is your road test.  Many people tell me how terrified they were while taking their road test and despite having all the necessary driving skills they failed. Why? They didn’t have control over their emotions.

Here is the critical question you need to ask yourself: What are you adding to your info-marketing product to provide the emotional intelligence skills necessary for successfully using your product? If you are like most info-marketers the answer would not be very good. Almost no one considers teaching their clients the emotional intelligence skills vital to success.

Speed Reading University

Before I conclude this article, I have one more thing to say about a specific product—mine. I am thrilled to be working with Russell and his brilliant staff on a joint venture called www.SpeedReadingUniversity.com.  My program is designed to double the rate at which you read and learn the information that your business success depends upon. Using my program you will be able to learn the information you use to create programs in half the time resulting in higher profits and more time for other things you really want to be doing.

You are also encouraged to go to www.ClickBank.com and become an affiliate of www.SpeedReadingUniversity.com. You can become an affiliate of my program and be partnering with both Russell and me at the same time. Think about his:  how many people do you know that have more information to learn than they have time available to learn it?

This is a product that everyone needs, and will help them become more successful in their information-rich world. Both Russell and I would welcome you as an affiliate, and the best part is you can help to make a better world while making money doing it.

I am looking forward to writing my next article, and helping you create more powerful and successful info-marketing products. Please send me your letters. Till next time, “best of success.”

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a newbie to the “web video” game, you already know that there are tools and tricks that you must have in your belt to be able to compete.

You may already have a set of hardware or software tools that you use, and they may be perfect for you, but there is no harm in seeing what others are using. Maybe you will see something new that you have somehow overlooked or maybe you will find a quicker or easier way to do something you already know how to do. Maybe you just don’t know where to start and you would like a few recommendations. Whatever your reasons, I hope this article helps you on your path to web video success!

Video Camera

The first thing you need is a video camera. The question everyone immediately asks me is if they need a fancy, high-end expensive camera. The answer is: no. You can make perfectly fine videos with any home camcorder that you may already have. It just takes a little time getting the footage off the camera and onto the computer so that it can be edited and uploaded.

A low cost alternative to a camera with tapes is the Flip. The Flip camera is pocket sized and records straight to an internal flash storage media. The camera has a built in USB plug so that you can easily transfer videos to your computer in seconds and be ready to edit them with no hassles. You can get a Flip camera that records in high definition for around $150 and it can hold about two hours of footage before you have to transfer! This is an incredibly handy device to have even if you don’t use it for web videos.

There are many other brands of pocket cameras that are similar to the Flip. Some of these other cameras have more features and some have less. I recommend the Flip because it’s right in the middle. Also, most digital cameras have a video setting which can also be used for shooting web videos.

I don’t recommend using a cell phone camera as your video source because they just aren’t quite good enough yet.

Microphones

Now, if you record with a Flip or similar camera, you may notice that the audio quality is not perfect. This is not a problem, but if it does bother you, then the next tool that I recommend using is a lavaliere microphone. This is the microphone that you see clipped to a shirt or tie about a foot below a speaker’s mouth.

These microphones can range in price from dirt cheap all the way into the thousands, but you can greatly increase the quality of your videos with a simple $50 set. Remember, if you do want to use a separate microphone, you need to make sure your camera has an auxiliary microphone input.

Screen Capture Software

Okay, so now that your video has been recorded and transferred over to your computer, you should have a software program that can edit your video. I recommend having a copy of Camtasia. This software retails for $299 through TechSmith.com. It has a built in editor and lets you finalize your video to a number of different output formats for different uses. Whether your video is going to go on DVDs or up on a web page, it can help you get the right file type.

But Camtasia is not only a good video editor, it can do more! It also features the ability to record your screen. This is called screen capture and it can be used to record a demonstration or training video. If you have a web page, or a piece of software to show, Camtasia can record your screen as you walk through the steps. Camtasia is a helpful tool to have, and every successful internet marketer will tell you the same.

Video Editing Software

If you want a different video editor, or need a DVD authoring program, an audio editor, or you just need something to convert from one video type to another, I have a very important resource for you. It is the website AVS4You.com. You can buy a license for $59 and it gives you 18 software programs with free upgrades and support! There are video, audio, imaging, and even protection programs that you get when you buy a license.

The video programs include a video editor, a DVD authoring suite, a media player and a very powerful video converter. Just the converting program alone is worth the full price for a license. If you have a video that needs to be in a specific format or you have a video in a format that doesn’t work with your editing software, the converter can fix them.

The audio programs include a very decent editor, a converter to change between audio file types, a ringtone maker and CD creation software. The imaging software is great, and the additional protection software is just an added bonus. You get a registry cleaner, firewall and anti-spam programs!

Public Video Hosting

Okay, now that you have recorded your video with your preferred recording device and edited it to your liking, you need to put it online! You basically have two options for this – use a video hosting site or host the video on your own.

For the videos that you want to have get a lot of traffic, you should use YouTube. This includes your squeeze page videos, your SEO videos, and your testimonial videos. Those three types of videos are the ones that you want huge amounts of traffic for and there is no better place to host them than YouTube. You are limited to 15 minute videos, but you shouldn’t need any more than that for your free content videos.

Video Traffic

If you are looking for mass traffic to your video, the next step in the process is to upload it to more places. YouTube is not the only place to host your videos, there are hundreds of video sharing sites now! And there are a ton of them that give you free accounts. So you can create accounts at these places and then go upload your video to each one of them, or you can use one tool to upload to all of them at once!

The tool is a website called PixelPipe.com and it’s free to use! After you create your account, you put in the login information of all the video sites that you have accounts with. Then you only have to upload your one video to PixelPipe and they will send it to all the other sites for you! It takes a little bit of time to create the accounts at each site, but after the initial setup, it’s very simple to use.

Private Video Hosting

You should host your private videos on your own, rather than posting them on a site like YouTube. This can be a complicated process but there are tools that can make it easier for you. You can put the videos on your own server if you would like, but they might not stream, or load very fast.

You may have heard people talking about Amazon S3, but if you haven’t, here is the gist of it. It is very fast and reliable online storage. You put videos on it and they stream fast and you only pay for the storage and bandwidth you use. But to be able to use S3, you need to either know a bit about video encoding, player customization and embed code creating.

It can be tedious to learn about all of these, but luckily there is a tool to make it all easier. It is a website called EZS3.com and it basically turns your S3 account into your own private, personal YouTube! After you install it, it helps you encode your video, build your player, and upload and embed it. Now you can have your product or course videos online but only available to those who have paid you to have access to your content.

These tools should help you get started on your path to web video success. I hope you’ll see that it’s not as hard as it looks and realize that there are tools and websites out there to help you through the process. Good luck and I wish you success.

Kenya Contest

Hey Everyone – as you saw in the video, there are 3 ways to become a finalist.

1st – Be one of our top 5 affiliates. Here is our CURRENT top 12 list:

1st – Steve Jenkins
2nd – Abe Cherian
3rd – Mike Filsaime
4th – Jerome Chapman
5th – Robert Jones
6th – Grayson Brookshire
7th – Jonny Balfour
8th – Kelly Broich
9th – Jesse Jameson
10th – Darren Olander
11th – Frank Salinas
12th – Stone Evans

2nd – Everytime a DCSX member signs up a new member, you get one new “drawing” into our contest. Next week we will be drawing random people during the week! So make sure to sign up as many new members are you can – because each new member puts your name in another time into the drawing.

3rd – The Social Contest – you can see how to play the social contest below… it starts NOW and goes until May 4th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you’re NOT a member of DotComSecretsX yet – then go signup here: http://www.DotComSecretsX.com

I’ll keep you in contact during the week so you can see how close you are to winning!

Thanks
Russell Brunson

There were a LOT more… but thought this would give you a quick picture of what some of our students are experiencing.

So – check out their comments, and then come and watch the DotComSecrets X webinar and get started!

You can see the webinar here: http://www.DotComSecretsX.com

Thanks!
Russell Brunson

Webinars and video sales letters have been working for a long time to help generate sales. Most people marketing online will do a webinar once, generate a few sales, then move on to the next product. What if you could leverage that one time webinar, and continue to generate sales for years to come? I am going to show you a way to do it.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Affiliates selling your products can give you a tremendous opportunity to turn your one-time effort into a steady stream of sales. If you can create a great offer that converts, affiliates are more than happy to drive long term traffic.

Make An Offer

Step 1: I know it’s easier said than done to create a high converting offer, but trust me, if you can create something that sells you will be set. Spend some time to really create something of value and substance. Focus on not just “selling” but actually giving away some good material. Model your offer after other successful offers.

Record

Step 2: Sign up for a webinar service such as GoToWebinar and record yourself presenting the content and offer. If you already have a list of subscribers, you can record your webinar live. You need to give them ample time to register.

GoToWebinar will allow you to record the presentation. If you don’t like it, or want to make some changes you can. Get it dialed in, so that it converts.

Multiply

Step 3: Now take that recording and make it available for your affiliates to promote by posting it in your affiliate center. Make sure you post all the details about the commissions they will earn, as well as how and when they can expect to be paid.

Record

Step 4: If you do not have your own in-house affiliate program, there are several other affiliate centers that you can use. ClickBank, Commission Junction, and ShareASale are three examples of affiliate networks where you can house your offer. Along with your affiliate link, you may also want to create banners and other marketing tools that the affiliates can use to drive traffic.

Know Your Numbers

Step 5: Knowing the average EPC (Earnings Per Click) for your product is important and will help you in getting affiliates to drive traffic. You can figure out your EPC by dividing the amount of money earned by the amount of clicks received. For example: let’s say that you created a great offer, and promoted the webinar initially to your list. Let’s say that you made $50,000 in sales and your tracking shows that you had 8,000 clicks. Your EPC is: $6.25. That is awesome!!! In order to get an average, you would need to get traffic from other sources, such as buying an advertisement in someone’s mailing list.

Record

Step 6: Contact your affiliates, and let them know your offer is rocking and ready to go. You can decide how much you will pay for commissions – and watch the sales climb. If your offer is “evergreen,” meaning it never expires or will stay current, then your affiliates can generate traffic for years to come. This allows you to maximize the work you did once, to generate never ending sales.

Sometimes it’s not enough just to write new copy or introduce a new product. Sometimes you need to turn your entire model upside down. Sounds scary, but usually the alternative is scarier (like going out of business or getting left in the dust by a competitor).

We’ve seen this “model re-invention” in several industries. Two examples are the music industry and movie rental industry. Think about it, when was the last time you purchased an entire CD? Now you just get the songs you want on iTunes or another online provider. When was the last time you went to an actual movie store (it’s hard to even find a movie store now in some cities)? Now, it’s easier to either get your movies mailed to you via Netflix or to visit your neighborhood Redbox (most neighborhoods now have a Redbox on every corner).

A combination of the recession and customer demand for change led these two industries to undergo major, fundamental shifts. Those companies that decided to innovate (Apple, Redbox, Netflix) are growing by leaps and bounds. The companies that decided not to innovate (record companies, Blockbuster, Movie Gallery) are taking a beating and even going out of business.

Whether your business is struggling, thriving, or just starting it’s a good idea to consider possible model innovations for your business. Shifting your model can help you do two critically important things:

Give your customers what they want… now. Your customers’ needs and wants change. Model innovation can provide better ways to deliver to your customers exactly what they want, when they want it.

Stay ahead of the competition. Being a leader in your market is critical for your long-term success and profitability. Setting the pace for your competition is always better than playing catch-up or being a “me-too” company.

Here are two examples of model innovation that are generating nice results for two struggling industries.  Hidden in these two models are gems that you can use to innovate your own business model.

Don’t Buy a Boat

If you’ve had any experience with the boat industry over the last couple of years, you know one thing -  almost no one is buying. But the interesting thing is that people still want to get out on the lake and enjoy a boat. People still want to water ski, tube, and just relax on the water.   So here’s what some marina’s are offering – boat clubs.  These clubs allow members to use a boat whenever they want without the expense or hassle of owning a boat.

Here are the two big selling features of membership in the “Boat Club”:

• Enjoy a boat without all of the hassles of boat ownership. No maintenance, no cleaning, no hauling to and from the lake, no winterizing -  just boating. Sounds pretty fun to me.

• Save money. No boat payments, down payments, slip rentals, licensing, cleaning, or boat insurance. Just membership dues.

One major perk of this model is that it’s getting people to call marinas. Before this model no one was calling. Now with this model marinas have a chance to at least get people to call or visit so they have a chance to sell a membership or a boat for those that decide they would rather own.

What lesson can you take from this model? Think about how you can overcome the biggest barriers or objections that are keeping prospects from buying your stuff. Sure, you can and should overcome those barriers in your copy, but sometimes it’s better to overcome them with model innovations.

Play Piano in a Flash

Similar to the new boat dealers, new piano dealers have had a rough go of it lately. Most piano players already own a piano or keyboard and once you own one, they can last a lifetime. That makes buying a new piano less than a priority when people become conservative with their spending. So what’s a new piano dealer to do? Sit around and wait? Close up shop? Or create a new model that creates a new revenue stream and produces a steady crop of new buyers?

Lots of adults dream of being able to play the piano, but the thought of learning to play can seem overwhelming (and boring). Long, tedious, solitary hours of practice make most would-be piano players change their mind about their dream of playing.

A long-time piano dealer client of mine came up with a great idea: partner with The Piano Guy, Scott Houston (featured on PBS) and create a Play Piano in a Flash Class that dealers can teach in their stores. These classes teach students to play their favorite tunes in just eight weeks and all the classes are taught in a fun, relaxed group setting. Because of the easy-to-learn pitch and the fun environment these classes are attracting droves of people wanting to learn to play. This creates a nice revenue stream for dealers and also gets people fired up about buying a new instrument.

Some dealers are completely changing their model, and becoming a “lesson” business that sells pianos, rather than just a business that sells pianos.

What additional revenue streams can you add to your business? What can you do to generate a steady stream of new potential buyers? How can you change your front-end offer to attract the right kinds of buyers?

Companies that just trudge along doing the same things the same ways they’ve always done them will eventually stagnate and likely die. Only the innovators will thrive.

I’ve talked a little about this in the past, but with the new year upon us, I wanted to revisit what I feel is the most important thing that you can do over the next 12 months to change your life forever.  And while I normally write about things that will change your business (and this will) I challenge you to use this information to change other things in your life as well. If you need to lose weight, spend more time with your family, or quit a habit that you aren’t happy with, this is going to give you a blueprint to follow that will make it simple and give you the lasting change you want and need.

I learned this process originally from Tony Robbins, then re-enforced it during my study of Neurolinguistics Programming (NLP). But I really saw it work in my life while working with one of my personal coaches, Mandy Pratt, from RichCoachBrokeCoach.com.

I hired Mandy a few months ago when I heard one of my close friends, AJ Brown, tell me that he hires a new coach every three months. AJ is a multimillionaire, and a really nice guy, so at first I thought he was crazy to hire a coach. But after he explained to me the power that comes when you have someone look at you and your patterns from the outside in, and help you to see what’s holding you back, that’s when I decided to go for it and hire my first coach.

During our first coaching sessions, we spent some time trying to figure out what it was about my life that I wanted to change. I had obviously signed up for coaching for a reason… so what was it that I wanted to change?

Step 1: Identify the Symptom You Want Changed

This (fortunately) is what most people are great at.  I’m too fat… I’m too poor… I’m not happy for some reason. The problem is that most people stop there, but after you identify what you want changed, you need to be able to see two things:

• What your life will look like if you continue down the same path (pain).
• What your life will look like if you change it, and get to where you want to be (pleasure).

I think it’s important to see both of these things, because it will help you see the pain that is inevitable if you keep following your same patterns, and the pleasure you can feel if you are able to break out of them.  The more real you make this first step, the more likely you will be to go on to step two.

Step 2: Don’t Fix The Symptom, Find The Pattern That Is Causing The Problem

One of the biggest problems I have with traditional medicine is that our hospitals are focused on finding the symptoms, and then giving you a drug to cover up that symptom. Just like your body, the symptom or the problem that you want to change is rarely (if ever) the cause of the problem. It’s an effect of some other pattern that you have in your life.

You’re fat because you eat too much, or you exercise too little. But the pattern that is holding you back (and it’s different for everyone) is probably related to you looking to food as a way to escape some type of pain.  Or the reason you are broke is probably because there is some pattern that is keeping you from focusing the time or energy necessary to make the change because your mind perceives it as pain.

Our minds are amazing things that have created millions of patterns that run our lives unconsciously. Most of these patterns are focused on helping us avoid pain, and go towards pleasure. Now, while pleasure isn’t a bad thing, too often our minds take the route to an “easier” pleasure for something that fills an immediate need, but leaves us unfulfilled.

For example, every morning you wake up, and you know you should work out. You know the pleasure you’ll feel this summer when everyone sees you at the pool and they are amazed at how great you look. But, then you start thinking about the pain of rolling out of your warm bed, getting your workout clothes on, and actually driving to the gym, then as fast as possible your brain starts trying to convince you that the pleasure of falling back to sleep, or having a doughnut for breakfast is a much better idea than the pain of getting out of bed.

I’m sure you’ll see the exact same patterns if you are running a business. You see the pleasure of what you want in your business, but then the pain of change comes in, and it’s too easy to slip back into your old patterns and not study or implement what you know you need.

Now the bad part is that we have these patterns always running our lives, but most people are not aware they are happening. Today is your time to become aware.  Start identifying the patterns that you are experiencing that are causing the symptom you identified in step one by writing down:

What these patterns are When you are slipping into them

Step 3: Identify The Words You Say To Yourself When You Slip Into A Pattern

What you’ll find is that as soon as your brain starts to feel pain, it will quickly try to rationalize to you why it is going to go after some type of immediate pleasure. For this step I want you to identify the actual words that you are saying in your head immediately before you slip into that pattern.

If you can identify the words you are telling yourself, then it will help to give you a trigger you can use to break and replace that pattern. If you aren’t aware of those words, it’s too easy to slip back into your pattern.

Image that you are about to slip into the pattern that you are trying to break and write down the words you say to yourself. For example, you just finished dinner, and you know you should stop eating, but what do you say in your mind to rationalize having dessert (I’m just going to have a little… it’s the weekend…  how bad could this really be…)? Or if you’re trying to break the smoking pattern, what words do you say to yourself immediately after you eat? You need to become aware of the internal dialog that you are having with yourself, and write down the words or phrases that you are saying so when your brain starts to slip into that pattern, you can catch yourself.

Being aware when the internal dialog starts, then stopping yourself is how you break the pattern.

Step 4: Replacing The Pattern With Something Else That Is Pleasurable

This is one of the biggest keys that most people miss. They don’t replace their bad patterns with a new one that helps to give them what they want. If you want to lose weight, you won’t get lasting results just by  avoiding junk food. Your brain is not strong enough to keep away from pleasure and quickly you’re going to revert back to your old patterns. You have to replace your old patterns with new good patterns. So, find a food you do like that is good for you and gives you pleasure. Every time you start to hear your internal dialog start to slip you into your pattern, quickly replace it with your new pattern.

So, for me, when I would start to feel some stress at the office, I would grab some candy or anything else that I could find. I was gaining a ton of weight, and had a huge lack of energy from all the junk food. Now, I also really like to eat peppers (the yellow and orange peppers), so I started bringing tons of them to the office. Every time I start to feel stressed, and I know my mind is starting to wander, I grab my pepper and eat something that gives me pleasure and gives me the energy that I want and need.

I do this same thing when I get overwhelmed with the business, and I know I need to be planning or executing something, but my brain starts trying to talk me into surfing the internet to break away from the work. As soon as my internal dialog starts wanting to check my email, or look on my favorite forums or blogs, I quickly get up, walk to my whiteboard, and start mapping out what I’m working on. At that point, I know if I sit at the computer any longer I’m going to end up wasting hours of time. So instead I break away from that pattern, and go to something that I really enjoy and will keep me focused on what I need to do to move my business forward.

So, those are the steps you need to use to change your life this year. It all comes back to finding out what you don’t like about your life or your business right now.  After you know that, find the patterns that are causing that symptom. Then after you’ve found that pattern, the keys are to break it and then rebuild it with a pattern that will give you what you want.

We are all creatures of pattern and the most successful in life become masters at finding, breaking and replacing their patterns with things that will serve them the most.

I am going to share with you several predictions I have when it comes to copywriting in the upcoming year. Of course, the fundamentals of copywriting will never change, but I want to share several tips I am employing in my own copywriting in the next year.

This comes after reading tons of books and blog posts on the subject. As a copywriter and a marketer in general you have to be “in the know” when it comes to the latest selling techniques. Not only face to face selling but selling via the written word. You constantly have to keep upgrading your skills in order to keep up with your prospects, customers and competitors. Not doing so could mean suicide for your business.

So here are three predictions I have based on what I see going on in copywriting and marketing today. I am also going to share with you some techniques that will allow you to get an upper-hand in your copywriting over your competition so this can be an awesome year for you and your business!

Prediction 1: The Survivors of the Economic Downturn Will Be Those Who Provide Value Upfront

It is no secret that the economy is in the dumps in the United States and many countries throughout the world. People are holding onto their wallets and are being more and more frugal with their money.  This is also affecting business owners who are forced to make budget cuts and enforce layoffs. With the unemployment rate in the United States hovering around 10 percent as of this writing, it doesn’t look like it is going to get better anytime soon.

What this means to your copywriting is you have to use new techniques in order to close the sale. People these days either have less disposable income or are becoming more frugal with their money. I honestly believe this recent dip in the economy is a “wake up call” to many people to manage their money better instead of blowing it on the latest toy. Therefore, people are going to be more discerning regarding where they spend their hard-earned money.

This means you need to have a couple tricks in your arsenal that will allow you to sell to these people and convince them to give you their money.

I believe that the marketers who are going to survive in these changing times are the ones who are going to give a lot of value up front. People only buy from people they trust, and marketers who give a lot of value up front are going to engender more trust than marketers who ask for money from their customers before offering value.

What does this mean in your copywriting? Instead of writing a long sales pitch, you can inject a few of the best tips in your niche right in your letter. People will see this and think to themselves, “If they revealed all that value in their letter for free, imagine what their paid products will be like!”

So try to reveal more value in your copywriting. This will allow you to capture more mind-share in your customers which will in turn increase the chances they will give you their hard-earned money — even in this economy.

The tips I am going to share in my next two predictions go hand in hand with each other and are also going to help you get more sales in this bad economy.

Prediction 2: Customers Will Become More Sophisticated

Another factor that is going to be huge are more sophisticated customers. Now let me define the word “sophisticated” in this sense. This concept was introduced by the late, great copywriter Eugene Schwartz in his book “Breakthrough Advertising.” As an aside, if you can get your hands on this book, it is one of the best copywriting books you can get.

Schwartz defined the sophistication of a customer as the number of times they have been exposed to an ad in a specific niche. For example, the first weight loss ad ever could get away with a headline like, “Lose Weight Fast” and still get the attention of the target audience. It sounds like an unoriginal headline but since the customer is not sophisticated (i.e. they have never seen a weight loss ad before) it will get their attention and sell.

Of course, nowadays, everyone and their dog is selling a weight loss product, and customers have been exposed to weight loss ads over and over again. They have seen it all: the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, the Zone diet and many more. In other words, today’s consumers are “sophisticated” when it comes to the weight loss niche.  If you were to run an ad in Cosmopolitan magazine with the headline “Lose Weight Fast” it would more than likely get ignored because it wouldn’t hook prospects like previous ads they’ve seen.

One thing you need to understand about copywriting and marketing in general is we live in an over-advertised-to society. I read somewhere that the typical person is exposed to 1,500 advertising messages in a single day.  Of course this isn’t the number of advertising messages a person has actually consumed in a day, just the number they have come into contact with through the internet, radio, billboards and print media.

Customers are becoming more and more sophisticated every day, which means you need to work harder than ever to get their attention. The easiest way to do that is to have an irresistible unique selling proposition (USP) for your business that is going to draw people into your advertising. You need to stand out amongst your competition now more than ever, and you may need to retool your unique selling point in order to get the attention of more sophisticated customers.

Further, you need to think of an irresistible “hook” that is going to draw your customers into your copy.  The best example of a hook I use over and over again is the “One Legged Golfer ad” written by genius copywriter John Carlton. It tells the story of a one legged golfer who was able to hit long drives even though he only had one leg. This story became the crux of the ad and the headline because it is such an unconventional story that caught the attention of millions of golfers who saw the ad in Golf Digest for eight years. You can read this ad by going to this website: http://www.ohpdirect.com/pro.php?sku=772G

This ad worked because it had an irresistible “hook.” So let me ask you: Is there a story about your product or something unconventional about your business you can use as the hook in your advertising? This is one of the hardest things to come up with, but once you find that irresistible hook, the ad literally writes itself.

Both having a well-defined USP and hook are going to be paramount as customers become more and more sophisticated. Just having these two things can put you ahead of 99 percent of your competition who do not know these two secrets.

Prediction 3: Skepticism Will Be Higher than Ever!

In the same vein with becoming more sophisticated, customers are also becoming more and more skeptical when they see ads. By now, everyone has either gotten screwed by a product or knows a friend or family member who has been ripped off.

Here is a little secret: nobody gets up the morning and says, “I think I am going to read some advertisements today!” You are essentially an interruption in people’s lives so your ad has to really cut through whatever they are doing at that time and get their attention.

Here is another secret: Your customer does not want to believe you! They automatically think your ad is some kind of a scam or is not going to give them the benefits they are looking for.

So how do you overcome this skepticism? If you truly have a product or service that is going to bring value to the customer, you can say something like this:

“Listen, I know you’re skeptical. Believe me, I was too. But if you suspend your skepticism for a minute and read every single word of this message, I am going to show you how you can (insert big benefit here).”

What you are doing is addressing this skepticism in your letter. It’s like a face to face conversation you’re having with your customer. You know they are skeptical and you’re acknowledging that fact. This will allow you to further melt that skepticism and get you closer to making the sale.

Another thing you can do is increase the proof elements in your sales letter. This includes case studies, testimonials and endorsements. This shows prospects that other people have used the product to get results for themselves. This social proof is critical to melting prospect’s inherent skepticism as well.

Make This Your Best Year Ever!

I do not mean this article to be full of doom and gloom. But I firmly believe it is going to get harder and harder to sell and you need to adjust your approach when it comes to copy for the reasons I outlined in this article.

That said, I believe these tough times are excellent for marketers like you and I who are willing to adapt to changing times. The people who are stuck in their ways are the ones who are going to falter not only now but in the long-term. That means you’ll have an awesome opportunity to really rake it in with your copy. And I hope these insights will help you do just that!

I have used Autopligg extensively for many years when working on my SEO campaigns. It can make link building a breeze while getting you traffic in literally hours. The best part about Autopligg is that it is mostly automated! If you have been working online for any amount of time, you definitely understand that automating tasks is always highly desirable.

When you use Autopligg, you get keyword links, also known as anchor links. These are links to a site or page using a keyword. This is the best type of link to get from a site, since this tells the search engines indexing the link that the page it is leading to is about that particular keyword. Think of it as a site “vouching” for another site’s content and value.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

By using Autopligg, you can post your content or articles on thousands of sites at once. The content will then link back to the specific page on your site using the title you choose, giving it the keyword rich anchor link. It will get more pages indexed by allowing you to spin the articles and titles. Since there is a higher index rate, you have more chances for the content you post to rank high on the search engines, since you “piggyback” off of their Page Rank and authority.

All of this leads to traffic from the search engines, and the sites you post content to. Over the long term, the SEO rank for your site will rise as you start ranking for the keywords you target. I use this tool to get some of the best SEO rankings out there. Traffic leads to money and leads, and I know we can all use more of that!

Create And Spin Content

Step 1: Autopligg allows you to create accounts on autopilot. It also allows you to import your own sites to target. This is great because you can customize where your links and content are posted.

Spinning content will allow you to get more links indexed, and more traffic. Make sure you spin the content to at least 50 percent or more for best results. Spinning titles is also a must.  Make sure to spin as many words in the title as you can for maximum indexing.

Start Your Own Buzz

Step 2: Autopligg allows you to track articles you’ve posted so you can go back and look at them anytime. Since you can track the posts, you can also comment on your own stories. This allows you to comment and re-comment on your content and create buzz. This helps with getting more traffic and higher rankings.

Drop Keyword Anchors

Step 3: Anchor links should be used in the articles to get more SEO value. An example of the keyword “Internet Marketing Techniques” as an anchor link is: <a href=”http://darkside.dotcomsecrets.com/” target=”_blank” >Internet Marketing Techniques</a>

Using Serpscraper can allow you to find more targets. You can get it at http://dotcomsecrets.com/darkside/links/serpscraper.php. Use coupon code “dotcomsecrets” on any of their products to get a huge discount.

How was Stonehenge, one of the most visited sites in the world created? Well, no one knows for sure, but one thing is clear, someone used a whole lot of leverage.

One summer when I was in high school I got to help construct a walk-in safe for a small community bank. Really all I did was mindless grunt tasks for the skilled workers, but one thing will always stick with me – how they moved in the vault door. I don’t remember exactly how much the door weighed (seemed like about a million pounds), but one of the first questions I asked the foreman was, “How the heck are we going to move that thing?” “By using our brains,” was his response. I wasn’t sure if he had Jedi mind powers or if he was just messing with me. Turns out he was right. The only way to move a million-pound vault door is with leverage. We used small steel rollers and big bars for leverage. With the proper leverage it really wasn’t that complicated. Within 15 minutes we moved the door from the parking lot to the vault inside. I was thoroughly impressed.

Here’s why that story is valuable from a marketing standpoint: you need to leverage your marketing efforts. If you have big sales goals, or if you are just starting out and fighting established competitors then you are trying the marketing equivalent of moving a million-pound vault door. You need leverage.

How do you get it? Here are three “guerrilla-style” ways to leverage your marketing efforts:

Develop Cheerleaders

Nothing can help further your marketing efforts like a group of enthusiastic customers or clients who are outspoken on your behalf. If you can get enough positive word-of mouth in your community, or enough solid social media buzz, then you can create a steady stream of new customers. The good news is that you don’t have to just wait for this to happen. You can create it.

I helped a doctor client of mine create a group of outspoken cheerleaders for his practice. We invited some of his most influential patients to a “client appreciation dinner” and asked them about ways we could improve the clinic. We also floated some of our marketing ideas by them and got their feedback. Finally we told them that we wanted more patients like them and asked them what groups and organizations we should be involved with. The feedback we got was very helpful, but even more importantly, we started getting more referrals from that group. These influencers became serious cheerleaders for the practice.

You could do the same thing even if you do business online. You could offer thought-leaders and influencers free samples of your product and ask them for feedback. If they love your product, then ask if they would be willing to help you promote it. This can lead to some profitable JV opportunities.

Help a Charity

One great way to get a flood of new customers is to do a charity event. The beauty of this strategy is that it’s the ultimate win-win-win. If done properly, it can be great for you, the charity, and your prospects and customers. Here’s how it can work. I have a chiropractor who each year hosts a food drive for the local food pantry. For a full week he offers new patients free office visits for the donation of four or more non-perishable food items.

When he does this, he usually gets a dozen or more new patients and he fills several large barrels of food for the food pantry. The food pantry also sends out a notice to all of their donors that Dr. H is offering free services for a food donation. This is a classy way to get in front of the movers and shakers of big charities, who are typically business and community leaders.

Another great strategy is to take a product that you have considered giving away for free as a lead gen device and instead give it away for a donation to a charity. So if you want to build a list of business owners, offer to do a webinar or seminar to raise money for the charity of choice for the local rotary clubs (rotary clubs are full of business leaders). If you can create a unique event and 100 percent of the proceeds go to a charity, then you may get the powerful backing of some Rotary Clubs.

Get Customers Involved

One of the best ways to grow your business is to get more sales from your existing traffic. My good friend Joseph Ranseth always says it is easier to double your conversions than it is to double your traffic. Ideally you want to do both, but you should start with getting higher conversions. One way to bump conversions is to get customers more involved. If you can get website visitors to spend a little extra time on your site and interact with your content more, you have a much better chance of making a sale.

One great involvement device is a wish list. I have a very successful jewelry store client who hosts a Ladies Night each year near the holidays. For one night the store is packed with wealthy women laughing, trying on jewelry, eating hors d’oeuvres, and more importantly, filling out wish lists. To make the night even more fun this year someone is going to get their entire wish list for free.

The beauty of this promotion is that hundreds of women will fill out a wish list and only one will get theirs for free. As they fill out the wish list they become emotionally attached to the items they pick. Then when they don’t win, they still want the jewelry. To further ensure each woman gets some or all of the items on her wish list, we get the names and addresses of all the husbands, fiancés, and boyfriends and after the event we mail a letter saying, “good news! We know exactly what she wants this Christmas.” This event is always a huge success.

This idea of a wish list can be used in an online environment too. You could host a wish list contest where visitors pick the item or items they would love to win for free. In the process you can build a list and get people really wanting your product in the process. A wish list promotion makes for fun email campaigns, display ads, and easy JV promotions. Also, it’s easy to follow up and say, “Well, you didn’t win, but here’s what I’d like to do for you…”

Stay tuned. In future articles we’ll discuss additional ways to leverage your marketing efforts for big results.

It always amazes me to see how much energy is put into so many different forms of traffic generation that involve finding new clients. There is obviously nothing wrong with trying to find new clients, but way too many of us don’t turn our existing customers into repeat customers nearly as often as we should. Remember that the only reason you are building a list in the first place is because you don’t want to have to find brand new traffic every single day. You should be putting just as much weekly effort into driving your current customers to your site as you do trying to drive brand new traffic to your site.

Follow up email messages seem like they are becoming a lost form of art. I think that this is mostly due to how the “gurus” are approaching their follow up campaigns. Every email sent from a guru these days seems to be selling something, with little to no value in any of their messages. However, when start up internet marketers begin their follow up campaigns they copy what they see them doing instead of remembering that gurus can get away with things that normal people can’t. Most gurus spend years building trust around their names, so most people are willing to cut them a little bit of slack. For the rest of us who need to provide more value in order to drive traffic that we already own back to our websites, follow the steps on the following page when creating your autoresponder series.

Start With a Goal

Step 1: Remember that the overall goal of each follow up message you send out is first, to get the email opened, and second, to get it read. Simply remembering these two things as you put your messages together will make a huge difference.

Don’t Oversell

Step 2: Make sure that you are not always trying to sell something to your subscribers in your follow up messages. If you want to effectively alienate your customers there is no faster way of doing so then by constantly trying to get them to pull out their credit cards and buy something else that you recommend. If you want to get as many emails opened as possible then you can’t have your potential customer thinking, “What on earth is this guy going to try and sell me this time?” When you create that feeling within your customer, you make your job of selling something to them much more difficult. Instead of selling something in each follow up email you send, share some interesting news that is happening in your niche or offer up some helpful advice.

Provide Value

Step 3: Next, it’s important to remember that you need to provide value to your subscribers in your follow up messages. If your subscribers are getting smarter, more resourceful and better prepared because of what they learn by reading your emails, the odds of them opening up on a more regular basis are going to increase dramatically.

Keep It Short

Step 4: Keep your emails short. In today’s world, few people have the time to sit down and read a mini novel that pops up in their inbox. If you want to get as many of your emails read as possible then aim for messages that are around 125 words long. Most people can find the time to read a 125 word email on a regular basis.

Writing shorter follow up messages can seem like a contradiction to the recommendation in step three, because it is hard to provide value to people in such a small amount of words. That is where the beauty of step five comes in.

Direct Your Traffic

Step 5: Use each 125 word follow up email you send as a teaser to get people to your blog. It is there that you can provide the kind of value you want to give your subscribers.

This strategy is beneficial for a couple of reasons. First of all, it puts your subscribers in a different mindset. No longer are you an “invited” guest that pops up in their inbox, you are now someone who they have actively invited onto their computer screen. Second, if you can get people out of their inboxes and onto your website (even if those people never buy anything from you) you are making yourself look better in the eyes of the search engines because you are generating more traffic to your site – which makes you look more authorizer to them. That will end up helping you out in your organic search results.

Make sure to test out these and other methods so that you can find the perfect combination of strategies that will help take your internet business to the highest potential profit it can reach.

Over the past year there has been a lot of buzz around Facebook and how people can use it to drive traffic and build their businesses. As a company, we dabbled in it initially and had some successes, but never anything worth bragging about.

Then recently I saw the new movie, “The Social Network” (which I highly recommend as one of the best movies I’ve seen in the past year) and it got me excited again about the possibilities. I started to dive in again to see what gold I could find, and what I found actually had nothing to do with buying Facebook ads, but in using its viral nature to pass your content on and to quickly grow your traffic geometrically.

In this article I want to show you a few of the tools that we’re using (all free) to drive more traffic to our blogs, which has helped us to generate more leads, and make more money online along with two other powerful traffic systems we’re using at DotCom Secrets right now.

Facebook Traffic Tricks

When I found out about this first tool, and really understood its power, I got so excited that I deleted my old blog. Yes, the same blog that I’ve spent over five years building up. It’s a plugin for WordPress that actually allows users to comment on your blog through their Facebook profiles.

Let me explain why this is so powerful.

• Today Facebook has become the center of the internet. The average user spends almost an hour a day on their website. But what is even more powerful is that as those users surf around the internet, most of them are still logged on. When users come to your site and read your blog, they are automatically logged in. This plugin makes it so when they comment on your blog, it pulls their profile from their Facebook account.

• Because they are commenting with their actual profile, you will see a lot less spam and fewer people saying bad things because they are no longer hiding behind a blind computer.

• And MOST powerful, when they comment on your blog, by default it will also post that user’s comment on their Facebook profile page! This will show their friends that they posted on your blog and will start to cause a viral surge of traffic without you doing any extra work!

You can get this plugin free by going to www.GrahamSwan.com/facebook-comments/

Now while I feel this is one of the most powerful strategies that you can use to get viral traffic back to your blog, there is another plugin that we’ve been using for the past few months that has brought back a lot of viral traffic from Facebook for our squeeze and sales page videos.

This tool puts a “like” button on a piece of content on your website. When someone clicks on one of those “like” buttons it rates your content and it also posts the fact that that person likes your content on their Facebook profile page.

This is another free script that you can get at  http://olussier.net/demo/facebook-social-plugins/

These are two of the most powerful scripts that we have integrated into our business so far that have had the most noticeable impact on traffic and lead generation. Keep looking for other tools that will leverage Facebook’s ability to pass on your message.

Monetize The 98.4% Who Say NO!

I remember reading a sales letter by Vince James, and in the pre-headline he said, “Here’s How You Can Make $1 Million With Your Ideas… EVEN WHEN 98.4% OF YOUR PROSPECTS TELL YOU TO GET LOST!!!…”

He then went on to talk about how he wrote a sales letter that made him over $77 million dollars in just one year that “only” had a 1.6 percent conversion rate, so 98.4 percent of the people he sent the letter to threw it away and never responded. I still remember reading that and being impressed by the story, but I remember thinking it was a shame that he didn’t have a way to monetize those who said no.

Then a few years ago, I remember hearing John Reese say something to the effect of “you need to figure out ways to monetize the traffic that is leaving your website!”  When I heard that, and remembered Vince’s story, I started a personal mission to figure out ways that I could monetize my visitors who were leaving my website without making a purchase.

Over the past few years we’ve tried a lot of different things, but I wanted to share with you a few that have made me millions. Apply just one of them, and you’ll see some huge increases in your profits or apply all of them and you’ll realize there is gold in those who are leaving your website.

• Exit Pop Discounts: This is the most simple, but arguably the most powerful as long as you use it the right way. The first step is to realize why someone didn’t buy. The main reason we find people don’t buy is because of price. So usually when we have an exit pop we offer a small discount, and we’ve seen a huge percentage of people take the offers. We also add exit pops to the exit pop pages. For example, our last launch we sold 7,000 copies of our product, but only 3,500 paid full price. 2,000 people bought through a $10 discount we offered on the first exit pop, and then about 1,500 bought from the second exit pop discount. If we didn’t have the exit offers, we would have sold only half as many products!

• Exit Pop Surveys: In an exit pop-up, ask the person why they didn’t buy your product. Then depending on which answer they give you resolve their concern, or add them to a specialized autoresponder that will follow up with them about their concerns.

• Exit Affiliate Offers: If they were at your website, but didn’t like your product, then they are interested, but for some reason didn’t like what you had to offer. So find your biggest competitors and have their webpage pop-up when someone leaves your website.

• Banner Retargeting: Banner ads keep getting more and more powerful every day. Google now allows you to place a pixel on your website, and then when someone leaves, you can follow them around with banner ads wherever they go. So they will see your message on every website they visit after they leave yours. This will build your brand and bring the person who had already shown interest in your website back again.

Just remember there is gold in the people who leave your website, so figure out ways to capture them, find out what they want, and redirect them to where they will receive the most value.

Fast Blog Traffic Tricks

In the past few years the shift in traffic has gone from large news and media sites to personal blogs. People no longer get their information from news sources they don’t trust, but from thought leaders who are posting on their own blogs. Within almost every niche are communities of people gathering around the bloggers and thought leaders. Because of this, today it’s easier to target your potential customers than ever before. This is true for information marketing businesses, but also for local brick and mortar businesses.

We recently launched a local company called “CitySmart.com” and built our entire customer base advertising on the blogs of local coupon bloggers. Each ad brought thousands of visitors to our website and within weeks we built a local following of over 5,000 people and that number is growing daily.

So the big question is, how do you get people who are visiting these personal blogs to come to your website? While there are many ways, here are just a few that are fast, easy and effective:

• Comment Sniping: There is a free software program you can get at www.CommentSniper.com that will allow you to subscribe to certain blogs in your industry. It will follow these blogs, and when someone makes a new blog post, it will notify you through desktop notification and/or SMS text letting you know that there is a new blog post. As soon as someone makes a new blog post, within minutes tens of thousands (if not millions) of people will be notified that there is a new blog post, and almost immediately they will come to read what the thought leader just posted about. Then immediately afterwards they are going to read some of the comments that others are making on their blog. If you use Comment Sniper, you can be the first person commenting on their blog, and then tens of thousands of people will see your comment, and the link back to your website! This is a powerful strategy for getting a lot of visitors consistently to your blog.

• Buy Sell Ads: One of the first ways we test out any new campaign is by going to “BuySellAds.com” and finding a niche blog that relates to what it is that we’re selling, and buy a banner ad on a related blog. They have over 2,900 bloggers in their network, and all you have to do is find one that is related to your website, and buy an ad for your product.

It’s a fast and easy (and usually pretty inexpensive) way to test out a blog or a new ad that you are running. If it converts well, then we always suggest going directly to the blog owner and buying an ad directly from them. For example, last month we bought an ad for $200. It was on a related SEO blog to a product we offer. From that ad we got 27,211 impressions, but only 18 clicks. We didn’t continue to run that ad, but we did see how many impressions they received, and have contacted them directly for better rates and ad placements.

We are constantly asked by our clients, “What kinds of ads work?” or “How should I advertise my product?” And where these are certainly legitimate questions, the answers are often hidden in plain sight. In fact, they are often delivered right to you. These come in the form of direct mail, newspaper and magazine ads. (Sure there are other ads, including online, email, television, and radio… and you can still collect them… it’s just a little more effort to do it).

You see, there’s a pretty simple rule in direct response marketing – if it works, it gets repeated. Based on that, if you continually see an ad (whether it’s sent to you, run in the local paper or your favorite magazine), you know one very important thing: it works. And if it works, or if you like it, you should keep it as part of a swipe file you can refer to and use in your own marketing.

It comes down to a very powerful concept: modeling. If you see success, rather than going out and reinventing that success, you should model it. Modeling is looking for the patterns of success and implementing them in your own marketing. Modeling is not blatantly ripping someone off (that’s plagiarism, and just plain wrong).

What is a Swipe File?

Let’s go over the essentials of a swipe file. This can literally be a file, or as your file develops it can turn into an entire filing cabinet. But the container doesn’t matter nearly as much as what you put inside it.

There are a few things you absolutely must have in your swipe file:

• Ads From Your Competition: You should have as much of your competitors’ marketing materials as possible.

• Relevant Ads: Marketing materials from products that are sold in a similar way.

• Other Ads: If you see an ad you like, you should keep it – even if it’s not related to your market.

• Sales Processes: It’s also a good idea to collect as much back-end material as you can get. This includes in-box advertising, phone scripts, up sells/down sells and more. This is where most companies go wrong. They get the front end sales letter and then walk away thinking they have everything that matters. The sales letter is only the tip of the iceberg… there are many additional components to running a successful campaign, and as you will probably already know, the back-end is where almost all the profit is made. When a company is giving away a product if you pay shipping, that may seem nice, but there is a back end. There is always a back end.

So, in addition to collecting the ad, one of the best ways of building out your swipe file is by actually ordering products from your competition. Go through their entire sales process just to see where it takes you. I can say from experience you will be stunned at how clever certain upsells can be.

Backend vs. Frontend

One of the biggest reasons you want your swipe file to include the back-end processes is that this is where all the money is made. You may ask why? Well, the difference between the back end and front end is simple: it’s where the money is made.

Just by way of example, Vincent James, author of “The 12 Month Millionaire,” used a preferred customer model to change what would have been a single order into an average reorder rate of 4.4 bottles per customer. This one simple change led to nearly $5 million in extra profit, and it didn’t cost him a thing. He simply asked if people wanted to continue to receive the product at a discount so they could maximize the benefit.

That is the true beauty of the backend. You have already done the hard work recruiting a customer. You know they have a problem they are looking to solve or something they need a cure for… now you are simply extending the benefit beyond a single purchase. You are creating a relationship.

The $60 Million Paragraph

Your swipe file cannot be focused entirely on the front-end. So, to help you get your back-end swipe file started, we have decided to give you the exact wording Vincent James used to help incentivize his customers to enroll in his member program. Please keep in mind, you need to change this to make it work for your business and customers, and to make sure it complies with federal and local laws (you’ll want to run it past your attorney to verify this). Without further ado, here is what Vincent James calls his “$60 million paragraph:”

“And if you’re one of the first 200 people to order, you’ll receive FREE ENROLLMENT into our Forever Trim Club, where you’ll qualify to receive a full $20 discount on all your future bottles of (product name). And, so you don’t have to go a day without (product name) in your system destroying fat, you’ll automatically receive a fresh bottle every 30 days and your credit card will be billed the Club Member Price of $39.95 plus $6.95 S/H – not the $59.95 fee non-members have to pay. There are no minimum amounts of bottles to buy and you can cancel at any time. The number to call is 1-800-123-4567, and you can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

Let’s take just a second to go over this… because there are a few powerful things he is doing:

• An Incentive: He has given an incentive to call now in the form of free enrollment.

• A Benefit to the Customer: You won’t have to go without the product in your system… destroying fat.

• Another Benefit: You get special pricing of $39 instead of $59.

• Another Benefit: No minimum and you can cancel at any time.

• Another Benefit: Call anytime.

Throughout this, he has taken the time to make the continuity sound like it is an absolute no brainer. He has made it beneficial to the customer and taken the guesswork out of enrolling. Now that you know why this works, imagine what this information can do to your bottom line if you implement it into your own sales strategy. That’s the power of a good swipe file!

The Importance of a Swipe File:

Your swipe file helps you spy on your competition. You get to see what is working without spending thousands of your own dollars testing. You get to see headlines, sub heads, transitions, artwork, calls to action, everything you could ever want to see… is all right there, hiding in plain view. All of this is available to you, if you start collecting and analyzing. It does nothing for you if it just sits in the file.

You absolutely must pay attention to what others in your market are doing. You can literally save yourself thousands of dollars if you follow what is working. So start your swipe file today!

Imagine what you could learn if you could read a full book within minutes. What advantages could you gain in your business if you could read a mountain of the best marketing books in just a few hours? Clocking in at 30,000 words per minutes, that’s exactly what Howard Berg can do. In fact, if you were at our last Millionaire Incubator workshop, you might have spotted Berg picking up one of our books and reading it from cover to cover within seconds.

You see, Berg has a knack for reading that’s earned him the title of fastest speed reader in the world. He is also the author of multiple bestselling books and a master at using free offline traffic to create buzz – with over 1,100 television and radio interviews in his portfolio to prove it.

A true genius both in reading and marketing – Berg has quickly taken the speed reading and brain-based learning industries by storm, his products amassing tens of millions of dollars through traditional media channels. In fact, one of his products alone sold 650,000 copies!

He graciously agreed to share his story with our readers on how he broke into the info marketing business and made enough money to replace his full-time job within four hours. Plus, read on to discover a few simple strategies any marketer can use to start generating free traffic through PR and learn more about his latest venture – SpeedReadingUniversity.com – where he’s continuing to teach people his breakthrough learning methods:

Q: When did you first discover your ability to read at record-breaking speeds? Was it something you learned consciously or did it come naturally?

A: Did you see the movie “Good Fellows?” I grew up in that gang ridden Brooklyn neighborhood. It was like living in “West Side Story,” without the music and dancing. I discovered very early that the safest place to go was the library. Apparently, gang kids treat libraries like vampires treat churches – they stay away. I became a voracious reader very early in life. It shaped my brain and I had college reading skills in sixth grade. Going out to play was a “death sentence” so reading became my sport of choice.

I went to the State University of New York at Binghamton when I was 17 to major in Biology. During my Junior year, I became interested in the Biology of the brain. I decided to become a Psychobiologist, but it required me to complete a four year Psychology program in my senior year. I was told it was impossible to do this.

That’s when it hit me. They don’t teach learning in school. They tell you what to learn, and why you need to learn. They even tell you what will happen if you don’t learn. But they don’t explain why you can remember the words to songs like, “I Shot The Sheriff,” which you don’t even want to remember, yet you study a book for hours and after you put it down you don’t even remember the title or author’s name. I thought, ‘There has to be a way to remember the things that matter as easily as we remember things we barely pay attention to like song lyrics.’

I started studying how the brain learns. My reading speed went from 3,000 words per minute to 25,000 words per minute which became the world record. I’ve spent my life teaching others how to use these same techniques to succeed in their information-rich world.

Q: After 10 years working as a teacher in New York’s public school system, what made you decide to quit?

A: I worked in a high school where two percent of the students graduated. I told the principal, “I am the world’s fastest reader, I have a degree in Psychobiology, and I can help you by teaching our students brain-based learning so they can complete their studies.” He told me it wasn’t in the curriculum and forbade me from helping my students.

I didn’t listen. I was there to help kids learn, and not play his political games. He caught me teaching my Biology students how to do their homework in their Biology textbooks during class. He said that meant I wasn’t working. So he wrote me up as not doing my job.

When 98 percent of the students drop out, and you are helping them to do their homework in the textbook related to their subject, and the principal tells you that isn’t your job, it’s time to quit.

I learned how to make products, and book radio shows. I read 10 books on how to do this in under three hours. I made my year’s salary as a teacher in a little over four hours, and then quit. Best decision I ever made. I wasn’t going to spend my life dumbing down students when I could help them succeed. When you have the ability to learn, you can do anything in your life you want. I know our readers will really enjoy the experience of unleashing the full power of their brain by using my program for their family and themselves. It is quite a liberating feeling knowing you can learn and do anything you choose on your terms.

By the way, they shut down the high school soon after I left because so few students completed their studies. I viewed it as divine justice.

Q: Where did you go from there?

A: I started teaching speed reading and learning all around the world, and became the speed reading instructor for the Learning Annex, the nation’s largest adult education company. Each week I did seminars that helped people succeed in their information-rich world. Major companies like Sears, Rockwell and JC Penney also hired me as a knowledge management consultant.

Q: Can you tell us about your experiences creating and marketing your first speed reading course? What was the process you used to sell it?

A: My first book, “Super Reading Secrets,” was published by Time-Warner and went into 28 reprints.  Barrons Books requested that I write a book for students. Nightingale-Conant sold over 650,000 copies of my “Mega Speed Reading,” on a television commercial that was shown around the world.

Nightingale-Conant financed an infomercial that was the most successful speed reading commercial in history. It grossed over $65 million. Unfortunately, I did not receive that full amount, although I did quite well. Our commercial had no script, no rehearsal, and very little editing. It simulated a live interview and it worked very well.

Q: You’ve been featured on over 1,100 television and radio programs, and contributed to some of the most widely circulated publications in the world. Most business owners would love to get a fraction of the media attention you’ve generated. Do you have any advice on how our readers can create good PR when they’re just starting out?

A: There are quite a few things you can do to get started:

• Be unique. Offer something no one else is doing.
• Find a local angle that ties in with your press release.
• Link your story to a major story currently in the news.
• Create an event like a fundraiser that draws media attention.
• Partner with someone already in the media spotlight.
• Continually send out media releases and test their effectiveness.
• Read books by others who are successfully getting booked on shows.
• Get a publicist.
• Purchase media directories.

Q: In all your experiences creating and marketing your own products – what’s been your favorite method of traffic generation?

A: My favorite method is live shows, and live workshops. People are most responsive when they know and like you. Live shows and events give them a chance to experience who you are. The second best thing you can do is create videos that link to your website that project your personality.

Q: On a lighter note, what was it like recently filming a commercial for Sony with Peyton Manning and Justin Timberlake?

A: It was very different from what I expected. It took three days to film a 30 second commercial. I had the time to get to know both of them. Very interesting young men. I also spent a lot of time with the spokesperson for the Verizon commercials. He was filming next door and wanted to learn to speed read. I had so much free time, that I taught him and his girlfriend how to get started.

Q: What do you have planned for the near future of SpeedReadingUniversity.com?

A: SpeedReadingUniversity.com will evolve into the most powerful learning center on the planet. Our next program will focus on writing. How to get into the flow state and complete your writing projects on time – all the time. Next we will cover memory. You will learn how to remember and recall words, names, dates, statistics, even foreign languages. Speed Math will soon follow with powerful strategies that make it fun and easy. Yes, math can be fun and easy. We will continue adding new programs to keep SpeedReadingUniversity.com the place to go for staying successful in your information-rich world.

We also have an affiliate program so you can profit while helping others become more successful. Go to www.ClickBank.com and look up Howard Berg or www.SpeedReadingUniversity.com to sign up today.

In my last article called “How to Dominate the Untouched Keywords in Your Market,”  (September 2010 issue), I revealed how you can easily discover keywords in the “sweet spot” where you have little competition with decent search volume and then dominate the search engines for those terms even in overcrowded markets. Today I will discuss a few more ways to differentiate yourself from your competition by narrowing down your keyword research.

Beyond Market Samurai

As great of a program as Market Samurai is, trying to interpret the SEO Competition grid can be more of an art at times than a science. And with keyword research, science rules! Market Samurai gives you the raw data based on the number of backlinks a site has going to it, PageRank and other important information. But the interpretation of that data is critical.

Once you have your top 10 to 20 keywords and the SEO competition looks good (there is lots of green in the PR, BLD and BLP columns) you will need to figure out which keywords are the best of the best. You see, going after 20 keywords at once is not recommended.  Instead, it is better to narrow down the top five and start ranking for those first. But how do you determine which ones are the “cream of the crop” and the ones you’ll want to start promoting right away?

Enter Keyword Blueprint. This tool from Steve Clayton and Tim Godfrey is great for fine-tuning your keyword selections. It is based on a proprietary algorithm that helps you “interpret” the same type of raw data you get from “Market Samurai,” and gives you a way to rank your keywords from good to poor. This allows you to filter your keywords in a systematic, predictable way.

First, using the techniques in the previous article, I usually find around 20 keywords which meet all the requirements – the problem is, they all appear to be good! So then I take each one of the keywords and input them into Keyword Blueprint, one at a time. Next, scroll down the list to find the keyword with a key icon next to it. This indicates the keyword you entered. Check the box next to the keyword and then click the magnifying glass at the top. This will run the keyword (weight loss secrets in this example) through an algorithm that ranks it:

Here are the results of the scan on the keyword phrase “weight loss secrets”:

You can interpret the results by the symbols shown next to each keyword:

• Star: Go for it!

• Green CheckMark: You should be able to compete. You will also get a corresponding number – with one being the most difficult to compete with, up to 20 which is very good.

• Red X: Too Competitive, find a new a keyword.

If you input 20 keywords that meet all the Market Samurai filtering requirements, you will probably never see a red X. You will see many stars and a few green checkmarks with corresponding numbers for each keyword. By ranking these keywords from star down to checkmark with a number one rating, you’ll easily be able to determine which keywords are best, good and okay. Pick the top five keywords and start dominating right away!

Site Sniping

Another way of looking at Keyword Research is by employing the “Site Sniping” model. This method revolves around building an entire site around one keyword phrase. The benefit to setting up a site like this is focus. You will be much more likely to get your site ranked well for a specific keyword if the entire site focuses around that keyword phrase.

If you go down this route, the first thing you’ll want to do is have an exact match with your domain and keyword phrase. After finding the perfect keywords, run them through the “Domains” section of Market Samurai. This amazing little tool will easily check to see if an exact keyword/domain match exists. You can search for any combination of extensions but it is recommended that you stick with .com, .org or .net. These three will rank well in the search engines as well as maintain perceived value in case you sell the site. If you do plan on selling the site, avoid using non-standard extensions such as .info or .ws as they can lower the perceived value of the site.

You will want to have as close to 100 percent keyword density in the domain as possible. If you cannot get a 100 percent match with the three main extensions, you should consider adding dashes within the phrase. Adding these dashes usually helps the domain rank nearly as high as a 100 percent keyword phrase. Try and get any of the three main extensions for these dashed domains as well.

Here is a recommended list of domains in order of importance:

• YourPerfectKeyword.com
• YourPerfectKeyword.org
• YourPerfectKeyword.net
• Your-Perfect-Keyword.com
• Your-Perfect-Keyword.org
• Your-Perfect-Keyword.net

In competitive markets, you might find that none of these domains are available. If this is the case, then you will want to add suffixes and/or prefixes to make them unique. These should be as short as possible to help preserve the density level. Market Samurai already has a few suffixes and prefixes listed by default. The prefixes are the, my and e, and the suffixes are blog, spot, site, info, news and tips:

Here are some domain examples using prefixes and suffixes to the main keyword phrase:

• MyPerfectKeywordPhrase.com
• My-Perfect-Keyword-Phrase.com
• PerfectKeywordPhraseInfo.com
• Perfect-Keyword-Phrase-Info.com

Proof that Site Sniping Works

If we take a look back at the SEO Competition tool in Market Samurai, you’ll see that even competitive first pages in Google can be pierced by a 100 percent relevant keyword/domain match. Look at how few backlinks this site has relative to its competitors!

Advanced Keyword Research Techniques

Many people are concerned about competing in major markets such as internet marketing and weight loss. Competition is in fact high in these markets, but… let me ask you a question. Are only English speakers looking to make extra money or lose weight? Of course not!

But most marketing is confined to the English language. There is almost no competition in other languages. This is because most internet marketing is currently in and for the English language.

There is huge potential out there.

Look, even if you failed out of Spanish class in high school, you can still make money in foreign markets!  How? Google Translate.

• STEP 1: Visit Google Translate and put in your keyword phrase in English and pick a language. Translate.

• STEP 2: Head over to Market Samurai and see if you can land some sweet keywords with high searches. It’s almost guaranteed that you will have nowhere near the competition in these foreign markets, both in terms of quantity and quality, compared to the English market.

For additional research you can visit Google in the native languages. Here are a few:

• Spain: www.google.es
• Germany: www.google.de
• Hong Kong: www.google.com.hk
• Portugal: www.google.pt

I recommend you use Google Chrome when doing international research as it has a built-in Google Translator for the entire page.

Congratulations! You now possess more knowledge in regards to keyword research than 99 percent of internet marketers out there.

You can now go after and penetrate large markets by targeting keywords within the “sweet spot” where you’ll find little competition and lots of search volume. You also have the knowledge to rank your site highly on the first page with hardly any backlinks! Finally, you can now go after foreign markets where there is little to zero competition. Now go out, take action and make some money!

It seems like everyone is talking about SEO fixes these days. The problem that most people run into is that SEO can mean many different things to different people. Once you get one part of your SEO working correctly, then you realize that Google has changed its algorithms, and your energy needs to be spent doing something else. The real big key to making sure that you are getting the most out of your SEO is to work on a number of different components of SEO all at the same time.

That way when search engines change their rules, you still have a number of good quality SEO strategies that are still working for you.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Since SEO is based around getting buyers (not researchers) to your site, it is obviously something that any serious internet marketer needs to take seriously. If you make sure that you are bringing in traffic that has the best chance of pulling out their wallet and typing in the 16 digits on their credit card, then you will immediately start getting an ROI on your SEO efforts.

Remove Unnecessary Objects

Step 1: Web Page Analyzer: This tool allows you to see how many objects are on your site (this includes graphics, videos and basically anything else that isn’t text). Most websites simply have too much “junk” on them, and most of that junk slows down the speed of your site. It is rare that a mass number of objects on someone’s site has helped them profit more. Usually the simpler the site, the more profitable it is.

Keeping these extra objects to a minimum is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of good SEO.

You don’t need to run your main website through the Web Page Analyzer because most of the traffic you receive will go to your squeeze page or blog. Those are the pages that you want to make sure are free of unnecessary objects. Since you are usually only going to drive your list to your main site, you don’t need to worry as much about its speed, because you already have your list “hooked.” Below is an example showing the objects on the Boise State Football website:

Check Your Meta Data

Step 2: Visible.net’s Analyzer Tool: This site has a couple of very valuable tools on it. The first is that it will let you know how spiders are viewing your meta data. Now, before anyone blows off the importance of that, let me remind you that well over half of the clients I work with think that they have different meta data than what the spiders think they have. Don’t ever assume that you have your meta data set up correctly. Always run it through a program like this, and make sure that spiders are viewing this information the way you want them to.

Below is a screenshot of WhistlerBlackcomb.com and an example of their meta data:

The other thing that this website can do for you is let you know how many internal outbound links, external outbound links, and external incoming links your site has. This is especially helpful because all too often, we as internet marketers are only keeping track of the backlinks that we have coming to our site, and we forget about the SEO importance of those other links

Make the Grade

Step 3: Website Grader: This tool is an all around checkup for your site. It will analyze your blog, images, domain info, social networking, RSS feeds, and a host of other things. I have found it most helpful to make sure that I am not missing any major components of my site. Here is a screenshot of the main DotComSecrets site:

Remember in this world that nothing is free, and even though all of these services that we have talked about today can be accessed for free, all of them are also going to try and upsell you to products or services that will help you overcome the problems that they are bringing to your attention. Some of these services will be helpful to certain people, and others will not be. Make sure that you are taking advantage of outsourcing, while avoiding spending money in areas that you don’t need to at the same time.

Start using these different tools, and become familiar with them, so that you can more effectively start using SEO and get buyers to your site more quickly.

If you have been online for any amount of time, it’s more than likely you have come across a few 404 Error Pages. 404 Error Pages occur when someone comes to your website through an old or broken link. The visitor sees a generic message telling them that the page they were looking for is not found. When most people get to this page, they hit their “back” button and go to another website. That potential visitor is now possibly gone for good. For this reason, your ability to customize that 404 Error Page can be very important.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

You can monetize this for yourself and your affiliates by creating a customized 404 Error page. This way, instead of your visitors seeing a generic error message, they will see your number one selling evergreen product, or a product for someone else that you are promoting as an affiliate. Instead of leaving, they can take whatever action you are asking them to take. That might be to fill in an optin box to receive a free report or to click an ad to get more information. They would then be redirected to the product site.

You can also create 404 error pages advertising your products for your affiliates to use on their own websites. If you had hundreds of affiliates with your offer on their 404 Error pages, think of the potential cash you could make! This is passive traffic, meaning that your affiliates didn’t really do anything to send the traffic and earn commissions – and it’s the best kind of traffic to get. Who wouldn’t love to earn commissions with very little work?

Getting Started

• Step 1: If you lack some of the technical knowledge required to set up 401 error pages and do not have someone on staff that you can use, you can outsource the task at a site like Odesk.com or Scriptlance.com.

Promoting Affiliate Offers

• Step 2 You will want to follow the same steps as above, but you will want to make sure you have your affiliate tracking link available so you can incorporate that into your 404 Error page.

For Your Affiliates

• Step 3 Take the time to take everything from above, and instead of using your own code for your products, use your affiliates’ tracking information. For your top JV partners and affiliates you will want to contact them personally and give them all the code they need to get their own 404 Error Pages set up. You should also offer this in your affiliate center along with the other tools you provide for your affiliates. All they will need to do is enter their affiliate username, and your page automatically customizes the code with their affiliate information. Then all they have to do is copy, paste and promote.

By Brett Curry, CEO of OnlineMarketingGiant.com

I run a local advertising agency and spend most of my time working with small businesses (under 500 employees). Some are exclusively online, but most are doing business online and offline.

One trend I see across industries is that business owners are eager to generate the next new sale, but often overlook the idea of generating more sales from existing customers. Admittedly, it’s more exciting to generate new customers. However, it’s more profitable to sell more to existing customers (I’ll take profits over excitement almost every day of the week).

The numbers vary, but studies show that generating a new customer is up to seven times more expensive than retaining and reselling an existing customer. This is true whether you are selling info products, services, or widgets. Once you go through the labor of gaining the trust and patronage of a customer it’s deflating to lose that revenue. So whether you do business exclusively online, offline, or a combination of both it pays to obsessively focus on retaining customers.

Keys to Customer Retention

One of my favorite ways to retain customers and make more money is by giving stuff away. Before we talk about ways to use gifts to make money, let’s look at some keys to customer retention:

• Giving your customers what they want. We are in the business of constantly discovering what our customers want and then giving it to them.  Without providing consistent customer delight and satisfaction, nothing else matters. No other trick or tactic can reliably build repeat business if you aren’t giving customers what they want most from you.

• Out of sight, out of mind. Just showing up and being available is remarkably important in getting and keeping a customer. Stay in touch: email, mail, call, advertise.

• Do something unexpected. Give a gift of your time, energy, product, service, cash, etc. Gifts have the tremendous power to build loyalty and drive sales. I recently received an “anniversary” card from my printer celebrating our business relationship. Inside were two $5 gift certificates to a local frozen custard place. I always think of this printer first, and this gift makes them even more top-of-mind. It also makes me more likely to send them referrals.

The Power of a Gift

A few years ago I had a long time client of mine, Mitchum Jewelers, give customers $50 diamond dollars.  The diamond dollars spent just like cash in their store with no strings attached. We mailed these “diamond dollars” as part of an anniversary promotion.

The result: Lots of traffic, and lots of sales. It was no surprise that almost everyone spent much more than the free $50 (many spent thousands). Also, customers were very appreciative of the gift. Randy, the owner, also got a lot of compliments on his new currency. Any online business can use a strategy very similar to this one.

Gifting as a marketing strategy seems counter intuitive. Giving away something for free to make money seems like a delusional plan – except that it works. Gifting as a marketing plan is proven to be extremely effective in almost any industry. Here’s why:

• Builds “know, like, and trust” quickly: We largely do business with those we know, like, and trust and gifting builds up our relationship with prospects and customers fast.

• Leads to purchases: Gifting works largely because of the law of reciprocity (see Roert Cialdini’s classic book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”). When someone does something for us, we feel obligated to do something for them in return. If a friend buys us lunch, we are compelled to buy for them next time. If someone sends us a Christmas card, we feel compelled to send them one in return.

• Builds a “fence” around your customers: If you deliver results and deepen the relationships (through gifts), customers will want to, and maybe even feel obligated to stay with you. This is a great way to eliminate worry that competitors will come and “pick off” your customers.

Ways to Use Gifts

• Reactivation strategy. If you haven’t seen a customer or patient for a while, sending a gift to get them back in is a great idea. Every business has a desired frequency of repurchase. For dry cleaners it’s once every six weeks, for hair salons it’s once every four to six weeks. If they haven’t purchased in a while, get them back with the enticement of a gift.

• First-time customer. The appeal of “come in, or visit the website” and get a free gift can be pretty attractive. The best come with no strings attached. A clothing store can give away free socks, or a free shoe-shine kit. A jewelry store can give away a free pearl necklace, or “diamond dollars” as I show in my example.

• To reward referrals. When someone sends a referral and it goes unrewarded, that referral source will likely dry up. Even a simple thank you is better than nothing. When possible, send gifts when someone sends you a referral.

• To kick off a big event. If you are celebrating an anniversary, launching a new product, or kicking off a sales event, giving gifts can be a great way to get customers in the door.

• Just because. Sometimes the best gifts we can give our spouse or significant other are those that we give “just because.” Unexpected, “thinking of you” gifts can go a long way with customers too.

• To keep from losing business. Recently my cable company called and offered a free DVR upgrade with more channels free for 18 months.  No strings, no contracts. They just asked that we didn’t cancel. Why the kind gesture? A competitor is coming to town and they wanted us to stick with them. It worked.

Congratulations for a Job Well Done

A few years ago I was awarded a spot on our local business journal’s “Top 40 Under 40 Business Leaders” list. Afterward I got a letter from a local politician and a local business congratulating me. I’ve never forgotten those letters.

If you are targeting a high-end JV partner, or looking to land a large client, then this can be a great strategy. People always like to receive a compliment or congratulations.

Using Gifts in Your Business

So how can you use gifts to grow your business? The possibilities are truly limitless. The profits can be pretty nice too!

Before I jump into the “hows” of finding out what people in your market want, I want to recap the three simple steps of the Underachiever Formula. They are: first, find a hot market, second, ask them what they want, and third, give it to them.

The second step in the Underachiever Formula after you’ve found your hot market, is to find out what they want. This unfortunately is the step that almost everyone skips. For some reason, many marketers think they know what people want to buy, but rarely do I see people hit home runs when they skip this step.

This step can be broken down into two simple things: your flycatcher page and your “ASK” campaign.

Your Flycatcher Page

In the screenshot shown above, you’ll see an example of a simple survey page we create for every market we go into. Its goal is to ask people what their number one question is about the topic we want to create a product about.

Second, Your “ASK” Campaign

Your “ASK” campaign is the process of sending visitors to fill out the flycatcher page to find out exactly what your target market wants. The fastest way to get people to fill out your survey is to find a forum where your target market is congregating and tell them that you are creating a new product – and if they will fill out a quick, one-question survey, then you will give them a copy of your product for free when it’s finished.

The goal is to get about 100 people to fill out the survey. You can then take the responses you receive and use them in a few ways.

• Answer the Questions: When you are ready to create your product, you can take the questions you received and simply answer them. This is the easiest way to give your customers exactly what they want.

• Use the Questions in Your Sales Copy: When you create your sales letter, you will turn those questions into bullet points. For example, if someone asked you, “what’s the best way to train your parrot how to speak?” you will turn that into a bullet point in your sales letter that says, “Discover the best ways to teach your parrot how to speak!”

• Find Out What they want so you can give it to them: The most important reason to ask your target market what they want is so you will know what they want. Let me give you an example. When we started to create our product “How To Overcome Pornography” we thought that the people we were selling to were men who had pornography addictions. What we found out after we started to run our “ASK” campaign was that the people who were looking to buy our products were not the men. It was wives and mothers of people who had pornography addictions and were looking for information on how to stop. Just think how much different our sales message and our product became after we found out who our real customers were.

I have a close friend who had a product that taught students how to get a college scholarship. He tried for months to sell the product, but couldn’t get any traction.  He was about to give up when he had a thought. “I wonder if the parents of the high school kids would want to buy this product.”

So he changed the sales letter to be written to the parent instead of the students and almost overnight his product became a huge success.

One of the other benefits of running an “ASK” campaign is if no one will fill out your survey, then you will know that the market you wanted to go after isn’t looking for that information.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people who spend months creating products and find out later that no one wants to buy them.

Why Run an “ASK” Campaign?

These are the four major questions that your “ASK” campaign will answer for you:

• Who should you be selling to?
• What do they actually want?
• What are their pain points?
• What words do they use to describe it?

Now, after I have the questions back from my “ASK” campaign, I am going to use those questions to create my system outline or table of contents. What normally happens is from the 100 responses you get back, you are going to get eight to 10 core questions from your audience.

I then take these eight to 10 questions and turn them into chapter or module titles. After you have this outline, it becomes very easy to create your product. If you’re writing a book, just answer the questions in each chapter. If you’re making an audio or video product, each module is simply you answering the questions that your market has asked you.

Next time I’ll be discussing step three – how to give them exactly what they want!

A Proven Formula

First, create a series of at least seven e-mails to send out at specified intervals immediately after a lead opts-in on your squeeze page. They should be sent one to three days apart (don’t be afraid to email your list too often – you want to get them in the habit of watching for your messages every day). These emails should consist of your sales letter split into seven parts.

Once that is in place, you can create additional follow-up emails to maintain your relationship with your list and notify them of new offers. As you construct your email autoresponder series, keep in mind that the goal is to get your leads to make small commitments (like reading your email and clicking a link) that leads to larger commitments (posting a comment on your blog or making a purchase).

People who won’t keep small commitments rarely, if ever, make or keep bigger commitments. So you need to train your audience to be commitment makers. These are all little commitments, but they train your customers to become action takers because those who open, read, click and comment are the same people who buy.

Likewise, don’t be afraid to ask for the sale. Avoid giving away too much free content. If you do this you will train your subscribers to expect free content from you and when you do try to sell them something you will be sorely disappointed because you have trained them to be freebee seekers who do not respond to offers.

About This Swipe File

This swipe file includes several emails created and tested by the DotCom Secrets team over several months. Each of these emails have been sent out to one or more lists and resulted in high conversion rates.

These emails worked because they followed the proven formula previously mentioned and they:

• Advertised a Great Offer: This is the most important part of any marketing campaign.

• Were Sent to a Targeted List: Without an attentive audience, an email will fail.

• Felt Authentic: As you read these emails, you will notice spelling and grammar errors, subject lines that aren’t capitalized and a conversational tone. All of this is to help the reader feel like they’re receiving a message from a friend.

• Were Tweaked to Get Past Spam Filters: Changing words like free to FRE.E help land the message in more people’s inboxes.

Also be sure to use applicable disclaimers required by law when sending an email, and build your list using a reputable autoresponder like Aweber to avoid getting marked as a spammer.

Email 1

Suggested Subject Lines:

Get an “online” education…

Academy of Internet Marketing

he made $250,000 his Senior Year…

Hey Firstname,

I just came across an “ONLINE” university, that not only teaches you how to generate money on the Internet- but gives you access to amazing programs and tools too.

[ONLINE UNIVERSITY]

They call it DCS University- and it was created by Internet Entrapreneur, Russell Brunson.

DCS University gives you access to several products that Russell has created all with a focus of teaching people like you how to make REAL money on the internet.

He also gives you access to software that will make your life alot easier…

[AMAZING SOFTWARE]

Did you know that Russell DID graduate from a legitmate accredited university?

Did you know that in his senior year he made over $250,000?

Ya, he made more than all of his professors…

… They were so impressed that most of them asked him to teach his fellow students what he was doing.

[LECTURE AWAY RUSSELL]

I didn’t want you to miss this opportunity-so go and check it out right now.

Your friend,

Your Name

P.S. If you were to pay for each individual program in DCS University- it would cost several Thousands a month. Go see what I am talking about.

[CHECK OUT DCS U]

Email 2

Suggested Subject Lines:

Black Hat vs. White Hat

The Darkside is LIVE…

Very rarely do people talk about how they use “Black Hat” marketing in their business..

But the truth is, most successful marketers use these tactics. However, they are scared to share them because “Black Hat” is so misunderstood.

Today, Russell Brunson is exposing the “Black Hat”  seo and facebook techniques that have made his company millions…

BE WARNED, if you are nervous about using tactics that are extremely effective and can drive lots of traffic fast – don’t go to This page:

[Insert Link]

If you do want to learn some sneaky (and powerful) stuff to Get you ranked high, fast – then go learn about The dark side here:

[Insert Link]

On this page you’ll find out if you qualify to get a FRE.E copy of an interview with MR. X- he’s the guy who runs the “Black Hat” stuff for Russell. See if you qualify here:

[Insert Link]

Thanks,

Your Name

P.S. – Russell had never planned on sharing these secrets but at his last workshop someone walked into a room that they call “the dark side of dotcomsecrets “. Go find out what they saw here:

[Insert Link]

Email 3

Suggested Subject Lines:

It’s Social Anarchy

WARNING…Anarchy

Hey Firstname,

- This is IMPORTANT…

Forget about all the things you have learned about Social Media- It’s all Crap! You Really don’t have to work so hard.

[Instant Social Anarchy]

This new Software is literally turning so called “Social Media Experts” on their heads…

Never before has it been so easy to use Social Media to get Never before seen Traffic to your sites.

[Get the Software]

This software was on the “hush-hush”, until now. I am getting all GIDDY just thinking about how much time and money it will save you. It will:

Create over 10,000 social media accounts at the push of a button

Use these accounts to get 10’s of Thousands  of backlinks to your sites

Create “Link Pools”, Spin Posts titles,  message and profile descriptions..

and lots more…

[What are you Waiting For?]

It’s so simple to use that even a complete NEWBIE can use it.

So don’t waste anymore of your precious time. Check out Instant Social Anarchy right now.

your friend,

Your name

P.S. If they Max out sales before you read this I am sorry.

[Don’t get left behind]

Email 4

Suggested Subject Lines:

$147… Free Today

You must check this out…

This is AWESOME!

Hey Firstname:

I just came across a terrifc site that you MUST check out…

[It’s Free]*

It’s an AWESOME Software that does a ton of cool stuff like:

Makes Long URL’s short

Neat way to advertise your website

A super cool Viral component that will help you generate more traffic

Plus lots more…

[LET ME IN]*

To top it off, instead of paying $147 for this software, they are giving you access for Free!

(I couldn’t believe it either)

So quick… click on the link and check it out.

[FREE SOFTWARE]*

your friend,

YOUR NAME

P.S. They could start charging for this software anytime, so don’t wait.  Go and check it out NOW!

[It’s AWESOME]*

Email 5

Suggested Subject Lines:

Don’t get Hijacked

Affiliate Pirate Protection!

Powerful Affiliate Tool

Hey Firstname,

So LINKBRANDER is live, and it’s REALLY starting to get HUGE…

[HERE’S WHY]*

It’s Free right now (normally $147), and helps protect you from Pirates.

Let me explain that…

Big ugly affiliate links are really easy to hijack. Sneaky, dishonest people will change your tracking info. in your affiliate link…

This short 2 minute video explains

[YOU MUST WATCH]*

Don’t get robbed, & Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

your friend,

Your name

Email 6

Suggested Subject Lines:

Cool & Fresh Advertising

It Grows Virally

Hey Firstname,

If you are looking for a neat way to generate new traffic to your sites then you need to check this out…

[GET TRAFFIC]*

You can cusomize your URL to say whatever you want…

You can also get free advertising just by telling others about it.

[Get Advertising]*

Don’t be left behind. If you don’t jump on this, your competitors will!!

your friend,

Your name

Email 7

Suggested Subject Lines:

the “Local Marketing” lie…

Controversial Video about local marketing

local marketing myth (free video)

the “local loophole” exposed!

Hi [fname],

For the past few months you’ve heard everyone talking about “Local Marketing” and how you can make a killing providing internet marketing services to local businesses…

but, did you know…

There is a secret opportunity in the Local world that almost EVERYONE Is missing?

It’s a loophole that is worth tens of thousands (if not millions) to people who grab this opportunity fast!

[Local Loophole Exposed On This Video]

For the very few people who know this local loophole, they are all quickly shifting their focus this direction.

You’ll understand WHY very soon because Russell Brunson just posted a video exposing what he calls the “Local Marketing Myth.”

You can watch this short video presentation here:

[Watch the controversial “Local Marketing Myth” Video Now]

So, why would Russell show you this if he’s making so much money with it?

What he’s stumbled up on is BIG… VERY BIG…

The problem is that he just can’t tackle it all by himself.

Instead of hiring a few hundred employees to run with it, he’s decided to partner up with YOU and give YOU a huge piece of the pie!

If you like the idea of working with an internet multi-millionaire on what he feels is the BIGGEST deal of the decade…

and want to get started INSTANTLY (yes, within 10 minutes from now) – then go watch this short video presentation now:

[The Local Marketing Myth Video Presentation]

Thanks

[your name]

P.S. – This video will be coming down very soon – if you miss it – then I apologize in advance. What’s in this video WILL change your life forever

[Insert Link]

Email 8

Suggested Subject Lines:

Make $13,898.09 by Giving Stuff Away!

So easy, even my grandma could do it…

Hey Firstname,

If you are looking for something that is super easy, then you need to check this out…

[IT’s EASY]*

The best part is you don’t need…

Any technical experience

special tools

or Marketing degree

You get to give away FREE CD’s! (even your grandma could do that…)

[Grandma’s FREE CD’s]*

If you are ready to make some serious cASH, then watch this short video now.

until next time,

Your name

Whether you’re an at-home entrepreneur, a local business owner, or the CEO of a large company there is no question that a blog can be one of the most powerful tools you use to drive traffic, boost your credibility and generate more money. Your blog is important for many reasons. For example, it can:

• Have a powerful pulling effect on the search engines. Since search engine spiders love new content, they reward websites that are updated frequently. Blogs are naturally set up to be updated with new content on a regular basis so if you’re posting at least a few times a week, you’re telling the spiders to scan your site more often.

• Create a sense of community that you can’t get any other way. This “community” effect also gives you a credibility boost in the eyes of your visitors, making it more likely that people will make a purchase from you.

• Be an easy way to promote affiliate and joint venture offers to make extra cash.

• Drive traffic to your sales page and other offers.

• Give you a great opportunity to get visitors to bond with you and reinforce your authority status in your niche. If the information you offer adds value to your visitors’ lives, they’ll keep coming back for more.

12 Blog Post Ideas

The more frequently you post to your blog, the more potential it will have. So the question is, what do you write about? As editor of the DCS Journal, I’m constantly on the lookout for great new ideas for articles that will help our subscribers grow their businesses. Here are a few favorite ideas that I want to pass on in the hopes that it will inspire you to blog more:

• Any Questions?: Go to forums or FAQ websites and use the questions you find as fodder for your next blog post. Websites like Yahoo! Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com) are question search engines where you can type in a query and get a list of questions that people are asking about any topic you can imagine. If you find a question that pops up more than once, you might just be onto something hot!

• Watch Headlines: When you read a newspaper or magazine, take note when a headline catches your attention. Chances are, there’s a reason it did. You can use the structure of great headlines and adapt them for your topic.

• Get Critical: Find an affiliate product and write a review. It is often easier to rank for long-tail keywords like “[Product Name] review.” Plus, people searching for specific products are often considering a purchase decision – which means you’re that much more likely to bank the commission.

• Become a Deal Watcher: People love to get a great deal – even if they weren’t going to purchase the item to begin with! If you find a hot deal happening in your market, be the first to make it known by writing a blog post about it. Be sure to include your affiliate link in your instructions on how to get it.

• Share Your Secrets: Nobody likes to feel like they’re not in on a secret. Assuage their paranoia by writing a blog post revealing the top secrets to success in your niche. If the secrets you offer are helpful, a post like this will keep them coming back for more information.

• Ideas: Make a list of ideas (like “5 Creative Ideas for Family Activities” or “10 Ideas for Finding New Prospects”). People love quick lists they can scan, so keep it short and simple.

• Freebies: The fastest way to catch your visitors’ attention is with the word “free.” Take advantage of this powerful word by compiling a list of free resources related to your niche. A lot of affiliate offers include trials where you get paid a commission every time someone signs up for a free account. Your readers will be happy to get the tip, and you’ll earn some extra cash.

• Mistakes: People are inherently paranoid that they’re missing information that other people know. A post about the most common mistakes rookies make in your niche will hit them right in the ego – and is sure to make them pay attention.

• Contests: A surefire way to get more people to post comments on your blog is to run a contest where the top poster wins a prize. You could give away your own product, cash or a fun gadget like an iPod or digital camera. If you don’t want to pay for a prize out of your own pocket, find a JV partner and offer to advertise their product in your blog post in exchange for them giving one away to your selected winner.

• Inspiration Boards: With this blog post, you can either use your own photos, a stock photography site like iStock.com or sign up as an affiliate for a retail company within your niche. For example, if you’re in the wedding niche, find a company that sells a variety of wedding favors. Since most retailers include product photos in the promo tools they give their affiliates, this is one of the easiest posts to do. Your post can include a few photos of your favorite products. In the wedding favor example, I might show my top three favorite Asian wedding favors.

• Lead by Example: A great way to boost your credibility is by posting case studies of successful clients on your blog. Contact someone who’s given you their testimonial and ask them if you can share their story.

• Read Up: The best writers read – a lot! Subscribe to your favorite magazines and newsletters in your niche and take inspiration from what’s happening around you.

More Inspiration

If you ever get stuck for topic ideas, there are great tools sitting at your fingertips that will help you find out what’s hot in the marketplace today. Here are three of my favorites:

• Check Your Pulse: You can always find hot new ideas that are happening by the minute at BlogPulse.com. Here, you can type your niche into the search bar and find out what bloggers around the world are writing about right now. If you click on the “trend” tab in the search menu, you can also access charts showing the popularity of up to six topics at a time over a selected time period. You can then click on any point on the chart to see what bloggers were posting about at that exact time! Look at the chart below and you’ll see just how powerful this can be when you’re coming up with your own topics!

• Google Goodies: Google also has a tool that lets you easily find blogs and individual posts about any topic you can think of with one simple search query. You can find it at http://blogsearch.google.com.

• Pop Videos: Another tool you can use to get ideas is Technorati’s popular videos page (http://technorati.com/videos). Here you can find the best video blogs and see what videos are getting the most traffic.

There are many more ways you can use these tools for the benefit of your own blog. In the right hands, these tools provide extremely valuable information at your fingertips. Be creative on how you use them for your own business.

Hi there everyone! In this article I am going to talk about several timeless copywriting techniques that could help you get more sales. I know there is a controversy right now in internet marketing regarding what converts better: long copy vs. short copy, video sales letters vs. long copy sales letters, etc. However, I think most people miss the boat and forget that the purpose of the copy is to do one thing: to get the attention of the buyer and lead them to the order button and the sale. So I personally think the whole debate about what type of copy works best is moot because it depends on the market and each individual.

At DotComSecrets, we provide tools for people to use to make money, but it’s not going to work for every person in every market. It is literally impossible to say that long copy converts better than short copy or video sales letters convert better than audio sales letters because we do not know your market.

The reason I say this is I have a lot of people ask me at seminars what works better: long copy or short copy.  Again I tell them it depends on what you’re selling, what type of traffic you’re siphoning to your site, and other factors. I can give you a general recommendation that long copy is better, but ultimately you have to test it for yourself.

That said, there are three timeless copywriting techniques you can apply — no matter what vehicle you are going to use as a sales pitch. This is going to be the subject of this article.

Timeless Principle 1: The  “You’ve Gotta Be Kidding Me” Factor

Time and time again, the copy that proves to win defies conventional wisdom in a lead or headline. That’s what’s going to get people’s attention and get them to start reading your ad. Get this right and you’ll get so many eyeballs on your ad you won’t know what to do.

I call it the “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” factor.  That’s what you want your potential customer to say when they read your ad. If you show your headline or ad to someone and they say to you, “you’ve gotta be kidding me” then you potentially have a winner. Let’s take a look at some great headlines that have this factor.

The first one is the One Legged Golfer ad.  If you’ve been subscribing to this magazine for a long time, you know I refer to this ad over and over again. This is mainly because it ran in “Golf Digest” for eight years and was written by John Carlton. It also has the “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” factor.

This headline is great because it defies conventional wisdom. Anyone who has played golf knows that you have to have two legs to play… or so we thought.   Imagine flipping through “Golf Digest” and seeing this ad… it would stop you in your tracks because it has the “You’ve gotta be kidding me” factor! You can check out this letter in full by going to http://www.ohpdirect.com/pro.php?sku=772G

Here’s the next one I want to show you. It’s from a dog training site that does a good job of having this factor:

This headline is great because it defies common wisdom. As soon as most people think about solving the behavior problems of a dog, they think of some kind of physical discipline. However, this product promises to cure these problems without touching the dog! For anyone who has a dog, this is a huge, “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” headline.

So whatever method you use to get more people to your site, you need to make sure your copy has this, “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” factor.

Timeless Principle 2: Layer On The Proof!

When people see your video or sales letter, they are inherently skeptical. They don’t want to read your pitch. Nobody gets up in the morning and says, “I’m going to read a bunch of ads today…” except for copywriters of course.

But when they see teams of people who have gotten the advertised benefits then their guard goes down. They see other people who are getting results with a product and it reduces their skepticism.

Let’s take a look at the dog training sales page again. You can find the page at www.TheDogTrainingSecret.com. You can see there are tons of testimonials on this page that build the social proof of the product.

Here is one of the testimonials:

My lab used to be very hyper, would constantly be running into the street, and digging holes in our yard. So we were so happy to see her totally change in a little over 5 days, with just a few training sessions throughout the day.

Now I don’t have to worry about her taking off into the street and getting seriously hurt. That peace of mind is priceless!  – Sara Seitz, Phoenix, Az

What’s great is that they also have photos of the dogs that were helped as a result of the product. This is a perfect example of social proof showing that this product works.

If you’re doing a video sales letter, you can do the same thing too. We just use simple powerpoints to do our videos and lay out the testimonials as we would if we were creating a real sales letter.

So it doesn’t matter what you use to deliver your pitch… your target audience by default doesn’t want to believe you. They have probably been pitched before on a product like yours. Having plenty of social proof will suspend their disbelief and increase your chances of getting the sale!

Timeless Principle 3: Make It Easy To Take Action!

Every month or so, I get a (horribly written) direct mail letter from a local web developing company in Boise. They are trying to convince me to use their services and submit a form so that they can follow up with me if I’m interested.

The only problem is they require people to fax the form back to them! I get this letter at my place of residence and I don’t have a fax. I always get a kick out of the letter every time it comes in my mail — as for a web development company they should be telling me to go to a link to fill out an online form and simply hit “Submit.”

This company is putting all kinds of obstacles in my path and makes it harder for me to show I am interested in their product. I am not going to go to Kinko’s to fax this form back to them because it’s too much effort.  That’s why you need to make sure your order process is as simple as possible.

A good thing to do is to give your sales page to a person who doesn’t know anything about internet marketing and tell them to order the product. See how long it takes them to find the order button. If they have trouble, then you need to make it more obvious.

This might seem simple. But we have a lot of clients who do not make the order process obvious to the potential customer. If you have a lot of experience putting together sales pages you might think it should be a no-brainer. But to the untrained eye it isn’t.

So that’s why you need to make it obvious where to order. Make it as easy as possible and for Pete’s sake don’t make me fax something back to you if you’re a “state-of the art” website development company.

Conclusion

These three timeless copywriting tips will help you boost your conversions no matter if you’re using a long copy sales letter or a sales video. The principles are the same. No matter what new sales vehicles come up in the future, the same copywriting tips that have lasted for the past 100 years still work.

Sure some selling strategies have changed based on the economy and people becoming more skeptical in this overadvertised society of ours. But having a headline or ad that has the “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” factor, social proof, and ease of ordering will always be important — and timeless.

Product creation has never been easier! How about a free way to create a product in less than an hour where large companies do the work for you? Sounds great, right? Well here’s my never before revealed secret (I didn’t even tell Xan about it until just last week)!

To use this method you need to have a Facebook account and “like” large companies related to your market so you can see their status updates. For this example, I’ve chosen to “like” Walt Disney World on Facebook. Now I simply keep an eye out for the questions they ask on their page (almost daily!) and find one that catches my attention. You can also take a look at their status update history on their page and find a ton of questions that have already been answered.

Choose a Question

Next, I need to pick one of those questions they’ve asked. For example, “What do you do to relax at Walt Disney World?” sounds like a great idea for a product!  A few other ideas might also be: “List your criteria for an amazing Disney Parks visit” or, “What must you have in your bag at the parks?”

They just did my ask campaign research for me!  Now I can create an ebook to give away or sell called “The Top 100 Ways to Relax at Disney World.” All I need to do is compile the best answers from their 3,175 comments and create an ebook. Obviously there are going to be some duplicate responses and some silly comments, but out of 3,175 comments I’m sure to get 100 really cool ideas on how to relax that I can put in my own words to create an ebook. Simple, right?

What To Do With Your New Product

Now once your product is created using this method you can then give it away to your list, add as a free bonus, or sell as your own product. There is really no limit on how much you can do this because companies are publicly asking their customers questions like these all the time and helping do research for us. You just need to know where to look and you can have a product created in less than an hour! Facebook has been the best source of this research for me but if you keep your eyes open online I’m sure you’ll find other ideas to use like this too.

Some of Dr. Pauline Bao’s first memories are of assisting her father with patients as a little girl in China. She helped her first acupuncture patient at the age of 10 and since then, the Chinese healing arts have become a way of life. Early this year, she realized a lifelong dream and opened her own TCM practice in Canada where she, her husband and son currently live.

But for Dr. Bao, owning a practice was not enough. Her early experiences working alongside her father sparked a deeper passion to spread her medical knowledge to the West. So when her husband, Daniel came up with the idea to market her knowledge on the internet, she jumped at the chance to reach a bigger audience and launched LoseYourPostPregnancyBelly.com.

Along the way, the couple has learned some little-known traffic generation secrets that have helped them break into the competitive weight loss niche and drive traffic faster than ever. Just one secret they’ve applied multiplied their listbuilding efforts by 384 percent within one week!

Dr. Pauline Bao graciously agreed to share the experiences that led her to this point, along with some of the marketing techniques she and her husband are using now to get extraordinary results in their online business. Here are some highlights from our interview:

Q: What was it like assisting your father with acupuncture patients in China at the age of 10?

A: When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be just like my father. I loved him so much, and he loved me very much as well. He used to call me his ‘Zhang shang ming zhu,’ which in English means, ‘the pearl in the palm of his hand.’ At age 10, I was so happy and proud to be working with my father. I would listen to him talk with his patients, and when doing acupuncture, he would explain to me what he was doing and why he was doing it.

When we used to walk from town to town, he would sing songs to me and make me memorize them.  The words were actually teachings about meridians and acupuncture points that my father was getting me to learn through songs.

In the evenings, I would practice acupuncture on my little sister. She didn’t like it of course, so I used to pay her twenty-five cents for each needle I inserted into her.

One day, my father was busy doctoring several patients at the same time. He turned to me and said, “Yan, put the needles in that patient over there.” I was so nervous. I started sweating right away. I wanted to do the needles right, and not hurt the patient. I’ll never forget that day. I remember feeling like a ‘real’ doctor. From that day on, I helped my father with every patient I could.

Those were very special times in my life.

Q: What is the biggest thing you learned in those early years that has helped you get to where you are today?

A: The value of determination…of never giving up.

It was quite difficult growing up in China and trying to become a female medical doctor. While there were some women doctors in those days, they were much rarer than today. I was one of the only females in my university Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) program.

I always felt I had to prove myself; patients wanted a male doctor, university teachers favored the male students, friends and family members told me I should stop trying to be a doctor and just ‘be like other girls.’  I faced not only a gender bias, but a very strong cultural one as well.

I determined at a young age however, that I was going to be a great doctor like my father… that I was going to help and teach as many people as I could about TCM and the Chinese healing arts, just as my father had done.

I faced a lot of challenges and obstacles along the way, but I refused to give up, and now I’m living my dream each and every day. I’m so grateful.

Q: What were your results using the Darkside of DCS traffic methods? Do you have any advice for our readers who might be considering using these traffic techniques that will help them get more results faster?

A: In May of this year, Daniel went to a DotCom Secrets Partnership Workshop in Boise, Idaho.

He came home extremely excited about all he’d learned, but couldn’t stop talking about the 90 minutes he spent with the ‘black hat SEO guy.’ We implemented just one of the ‘Darkside’ secrets he was taught. Within seven days, the weekly new subscribers to our emailing list increased by 384 percent. We were very happy with that!

My very untechnical advice for everyone out there looking to generate traffic would be to find a traffic generation system… one system… and stick to it until you get it working well.

My husband played around with… and spent a lot of money on various courses from all the different internet ‘gurus’ and really just ended up confusing us and wasting a whole bunch of time. There is so much information out there. It wasn’t until we decided to follow just the DotCom Secrets methods that our internet business and site started to take shape. I figure, if these traffic generation techniques are good enough for Russell and the DotCom Secrets team, they must be good enough for me!

Q: What has been your biggest motivator as you’ve faced the obstacles of building an online business from scratch?

A: The biggest motivator for me has been sharing my knowledge, skills and message with the world.

Growing up, my father made a lot of people angry because he shared Chinese medical knowledge and skills with me… his daughter. Back in those days of China, the father was supposed to teach these family skills to the sons only, not the daughters. It was hard for him at times, and I am so grateful he did this for me.

I made a promise to him as a young girl, that when I grew up, I would share our family knowledge and skills with the whole world… with anyone who wants to learn. Now I can do this through the internet.

Whenever I get frustrated with the ‘business building’ side of things, I like to read the emails I’ve gotten from women who’ve benefitted from my videos, or who have questions about Chinese medicine or the Chinese arts.

I can’t believe the amount of people around the world who are interested in Chinese healing practices. It really is amazing, and I’m so happy to share what I know.

When I think of joint ventures I also think of integration marketing. Look at any fast food restaurant and their “integrating” another product into their advertising and marketing. When Toy Story 3 came out this year (2010), I saw an insurance company integrating some of their animation into a commercial for them. I thought it was very creative. Both companies were hoping they could leverage each other in order to generate more sales.

The movie and television business is always integrating products into their shows. When your target market matches, it makes sense to form a joint venture to reach one another’s prospects.

When I was a kid, one of the first movies I really enjoyed where I noticed integration marketing was, “Back to the Future.” I can’t remember which specific movie in the series, but one featured cool, futuristic “Pizza Hut” pizzas that were small, but grew as you cooked them.

Here was a worldwide brand (Pizza Hut) advertising and successfully integrating their product in a popular movie. Both companies recognized the value of working together. “Back to the Future” most likely received some money from the product placement while Pizza Hut was able to advertise in a creative way and reach their target market by incorporating their product into the movie.

You need to look at your business and think of some creative joint venture ideas that you can implement right away.

Recently, we received an interesting letter from one of our subscribers. It said:

I just read your article, the Step-by-Step Blueprint for a Thriving Online Business. I am very impressed. It is really a great blueprint, especially for me who does not know very much about online marketing.

I do have a question about Step 5: Do Your JV Research.  I do not see anywhere in the article that explains how to use JV partners except, “You’ll be using them a lot in the future.” I understand this is a brief outline, but I do want to know what the use is for JV partners. In the article it says that I need to find minimum 20 to 100 potential JVs and interview each of them for 60 minutes. Since I invest so much time in it, I surely would like to get some ideas on how to use these JVs in the future.”

Charlie Yue, Texas, United States

Instead of commenting directly to Charlie, I wanted to share with all our subscribers some examples of successful joint ventures that you can and should start doing today!

In this example, finding 20 to 100 potential JV’s and interviewing them would take some work, but what a great way to find out more about what they are doing! You will know if you have the same target market, and if they ever promote for others. This is valuable information in terms of research. It’s also great information if you want to create an “experts” product.

Some other tips and examples of JV deals are:

Joint Venture Idea 1: Cross Promote

This is one of the biggest ways in which we joint venture with others. Obviously, you need to take your customers and your JV partner’s customers into consideration. You wouldn’t want to promote your JV partner’s offer to your list if it didn’t make sense, nor would you want them to promote for you if it didn’t make sense.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

The biggest part of this is actually promoting. When you agree on a date, stick to it. Nothing can hurt their trust more than failing to do what you said you would. Go the extra mile for your JV partner, and they will recognize and value your support.

Joint Venture Idea 2: Ad Swap

An ad swap can also be considered a cross promotion, where you each advertise to the other’s subscribers and customers. It also can be more in-depth, such as trading banner ad space on your websites or blogs. Some other examples are: pictext ads, video ads, in-video ads, inline text ads, text ads, full page ads, pop-up ads, pop-under ads and splash advertising.

Joint Venture Idea 3: Direct Mail

A cool way to get your product in the face of potential new buyers is by sending a direct mail piece to your JV partner’s list of customers or subscribers.

An easy way to do this is to contact your JV partner and offer to cover all the costs if they will let you send something to their list. They don’t even have to give you the addresses. You can use a third party mailer who will take their addresses and send the direct mail out. This helps your JV partner feel secure that you won’t be sending anything else to their list without their authorization.

Joint Venture Idea 4: Cash is KING

Some joint ventures might be structured so the only thing one partner brings to the table is cash, and the other partner does everything else. I have seen some recent joint ventures where one person has paid for software to be created, and the other partner was responsible for marketing and selling the software.

Joint Venture Idea 5: Creating a Product Together

An easy way to JV with someone is to find a partner who may have skills and excel in areas you lack. You can create a product together where each partner creates content in areas where they have achieved success. Another example could be, again, where one partner creates the product and the other partner markets and sells it.

Joint Venture Idea 6: Thank You Page and Autoresponder Advertising

Something that is becoming popular in the internet marketing joint venture game is when someone who is “launching” their new product to the marketplace asks others to promote. In exchange for them promoting the new offer, the marketer will place the JV partner’s offer on their thank you page. So when a customer buys the initial product, they are taken to a thank you page where they will download the product or get more information. Also located on that page could be a “bonus” featuring some other products that the customer may be interested in.

JV partners may also decide to integrate other offers into their autoresponder series to their customers.  This can help generate long term traffic and sales.

Joint Venture Idea 7: Article Marketing Swap

It’s important for people to have new and updated content for their websites, blogs, or physical newsletters.  A creative joint venture idea is to offer to write content for your JV partner. If people enjoy the content, they can contact you for more information.

Joint Venture Idea 8: Broker Deals

I must admit that this is truly creative. A couple of weeks ago, a marketing friend of mine introduced me to someone via email. Well, this guy and I were able to talk on the phone and he introduced himself to me as a JV broker. He wanted to introduce me to any of his contacts I didn’t already know. Since I met him, he has opened doors to marketers who I’ve had a hard time reaching. I asked him what I could do to thank him and he told me I didn’t have to do anything. He said that he was launching a product in about a month, and if that product fit with our list, perhaps we could promote it.

I thought this was awesome. His primary focus was to connect people, but as a result of that he will greatly benefit when he launches his own product. Very smart!

There are several other awesome ways to joint venture with others, but these are some of the things that we have done in the past or are working on right now.

Keep in mind that you need to work out if and how much you are going to pay commissions on sales. You may pay a set commission percentage per sale on some joint ventures, and other JV deals you may not want to pay a commission. However you want to structure the joint venture is fine; just make sure that you and your partner agree on the terms. This is very important.

Good luck on your future joint ventures, and please feel free to email us your terrific results.

> Click Here to Read Part 1 of This Article

Double Opt In Trouble

There is nothing more detrimental to the growth of your list than to require new subscribers to go through a double opt in process. Your job as a business owner is to make it as easy as possible for new leads to get on your email list.

When you set up your email form as a double opt in, you are at a minimum doubling the amount of work a potential client has to do to get onto your list – and you could quite possibly be making it impossible. What if the confirmation e-mail gets caught up in a spam filter? What if the subscriber doesn’t understand that they have to verify their email address? What if they forget that they need to verify it? Or if the e-mail never makes it there in the first place?

There are so many variables that can effect the delivery of a confirmation email that you will simply be much better off if you get rid of it all together. You will get more erroneous email addresses if you do this, but if you use your call to action to make people aware that the free product they want from you will be delivered to the email address they put in, you will still be able to get the correct addresses for the majority of your opt ins.

Squeeze Page Product

Building a list is vital if you are serious about making money online, and your squeeze page product is a huge part of that process. Make sure that you are clearly explaining to people what they are going to get from your e-newsletter, or what value they are going to get out of the report that you will email to them, or why the quote that you will give them for free will help them out.

Don’t ever assume that the benefits of a free product will be obvious. The more you can tell your customers about the benefits of your squeeze page giveaway, the more customers you are going to have.

Split Test Essentials

Testing the individual components of your website is a must if you want to get the highest conversion rates. The bottom line is that none of us have a crystal ball, and although we can do research, and see what has worked for people in the past to improve our chances at success, we don’t know what is going to convert the best for us at a specific time, or with a specific product.

There are a number of case studies that talk about increasing sales by over 1,000 percent by altering just a few words. Google Website Optimizer (www.Google.com/websiteoptimizer) is a free tool that allows you to easily collect and analyze split testing data.

Don’t test completely different versions of your pages – you need to test subtle changes so that you know exactly why one page is converting better than another.

Google Analytics

This is a must if you want to know how your site is performing. You need to make sure that you not only install it on every page that you want to track, but you also need to make sure that you are using it on a regular basis. Analytics will let you know what is converting well for you, and what is not. If you don’t have Analytics (or something similar to it), then you are leaving money on the table. You can sign up for a free Google Analytics account by going to www.Google.com/analytics.

Sales Funnel

Visitors to your site need to know exactly what you want them to do in order for you to make a sale, generate a lead, etc. Organize your content so that there is a clearly defined sales funnel that people can follow. If a first time visitor to your site doesn’t know what to do, or what to look for – or more importantly if they can’t find ways to get onto your list or spend money with you, then you need to improve the lack of focus that your site has.

Most websites have two categories of visitors – first time visitors and return visitors. Make sure that people in both categories know what they need to do when they come to your site. Show your clients how to spend money with you or get on your list. Never assume that they will figure it out on their own.

RSS means real simple syndication. This is basically news in the simplest of platforms. More than likely you have seen RSS feeds on your email or on some websites. It usually looks like a list of headlines for that website. RSS feeds are great to keep track of what is going on with a specific organization or industry. They also are useful when building a list. This checklist will provide tips on how to do both.

How to Track People in Your Niche

In order to use RSS feeds to track what is going on in your niche or industry you need to go to the sites of the top players in your niche. More than likely they will have an RSS feed you can subscribe to. There should be something on their site that looks similar to the image on the left. This is one of my favorite industry sites.

Once you find the RSS button click it and you will find a screen similar to the one shown below.

You can choose which account you would like to use. Once you have done this it will set up the feed on your email account site. That way every day before you check your email you can catch up with what is going on in your industry. You can have up to 10 to 15 RSS feeds on your account at once, different users have different limits.

Post an RSS Icon

Step 1: Once you have tracked all of the leaders in your industry, you can use the RSS option to drive traffic to your own site.

First you need to make sure you have a blog or website set up. Depending on who your web host provider is, there should be an option to add an RSS feed to your blog. Blogspot and WordPress have those options set up for you. If you are using something other than these hosts or have a website, ask your designer to add an RSS option to your site’s homepage. Your RSS feed option should go on the first page of your site.

Spread the Word

Step 2: From there invite all of your email list to check out the latest about your site or company by subscribing to your RSS feed.

Sneaky little trick People love to watch videos! Making a video explaining how to sign up for your RSS feed is an interactive way to attract the attention of your audience. In your video you can point to where the RSS button is.

Important: Do Not Skip This Step

Step 3: If you choose to have an RSS feed you need to make sure that you have content updated at least two to three times a week starting out. Once you have a little larger of a following then you can minimize it, but if you tell people to sign up for your feed and then never update it there is no reason to have it.

Once You’re Up and Running

Step 4: When you have your RSS feed set up, advertise it using social media, webinars and more. Tell people to subscribe to your RSS.

Some marketers run contests through RSS. For example, “If you subscribe to receive my RSS feed you are entered to win__.” People love contests and the opportunity to win things.

Reach Out

Step 5: Once someone signs up for your RSS feed you will receive an email with at least their name and email address. It is good to reply or have an auto responder send a message to people who sign up. It can be something as simple as, “Thank you for subscribing. I look forward to working with you more.” Or, “Thank you for your support.” Just be sure to give them some form of positive reinforcement that you appreciate their support.

I hope this checklist has helped you to learn more about RSS feeds. Now get out there and build your list!

Forget Google! Let’s face it, Google has not been too friendly to us internet marketers over the past couple of years. But as we know, paid traffic can be such a great source of quick and reliable traffic. Smart marketers are now seeking out alternative ways to drive paid traffic to their websites and affiliate offers. Enter MediaTraffic.  MediaTraffic is a CPV (sometimes called PPV) network. CPV is a relatively unknown traffic source that allows you to “legally hijack” traffic for pennies on the dollar. If done correctly, this “under the radar” traffic source can bring in very quick cash.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

The biggest difference between PPC and CPV traffic is that CPV allows you to leverage “adware”software that sits on millions of computers worldwide while PPC advertising primarily uses search engines. With MediaTraffic, you as the advertiser are buying “popups” which are delivered via the software that sits on the end user’s computer. (Popup blockers are useless to MediaTraffic!) You bid on URLs (and sometimes keywords) and your website “pops” above the intended website when entered into someone’s browser. This gives you unprecedented attention and exposure to highly targeted users. And the best part is that traffic is dirt cheap with almost zero competition in smaller niche markets. Just be aware that larger niches can be quite competitive. But with a little testing and tweaking you can often start to see profits in a very short time.

Back to the Basics

Step 1: Get started by doing basic keyword research to find the most obvious keywords for your market. Then enter the most searched for, targeted keyword you find into Google, Bing and Yahoo.

URL Harvesting

Step 2: Next, harvest all the URLs from the top three pages on each search engine into an Excel file. “De-dupe” the results using Paul Galloway’s Remove Duplicates tool.

You can target URLs better by removing the specific page names from the URL and leaving only the subdirectories (or categories) or even stripping down to the domain itself.

Running a Campaign

Step 3: Register an account at MediaTraffic and create a new campaign. Pick an affiliate offer (direct linking) or create a squeeze page (build yourself a list) and enter it as the “Destination URL,” then choose a category. Copy and paste your URLs as “targets.”

Tracking Your Results

Step 4: Setup tracking at Tracking202, so you can determine which URLs are profitable. Use the information you get to weed out all non-profitable URLs (pause keywords when you spend more than the payout of the offer).

A few years ago someone discovered that if you drop Mentos mints into a two-liter of Diet Coke, the soda will erupt and spew foam several feet into the air. For just a few bucks you can create your very own diet soda geyser. Very entertaining. The top YouTube video featuring Mentos and Diet Coke experiments currently has over 12 million views.

We can take several marketing lessons and analogies from this experiment, but the one I want to focus on in this article is the power that takes place when you combine various media. Mentos and Diet Coke on their own do nothing special. Put them together and the results are literally explosive. In similar fashion, the right combination of online and offline marketing can create some explosive amounts of traffic for your business.

One mistake I see entrepreneurs make all the time is focusing on just one medium. Several years ago when I started my local ad agency I often heard local retailers say, “we just advertise in the newspaper.” I rarely hear that anymore, but now I hear people say, “money is tight so we’re just focusing on social media,” or “we grow by word of mouth only.” The trouble is that when most entrepreneurs use social media (or any media), or try to generate word of mouth, they do it in a severely under-leveraged way.

Let me give you two real world examples of fusing online and offline marketing together for powerful results. Allow the wheels to turn, and see how you can modify these ideas and put them to work for your business.

Joint Venture Marketing Made Easy

One of the time-tested marketing strategies that is easier now than ever before is joint venture marketing. Here’s an interesting way one of my retail clients used online and offline marketing with some JV partners to inexpensively launch a successful event.

My client, Maschinos (www.maschinos.com) sells outdoor furniture, grills, and accessories. In an effort to drive traffic to the store and sell more patio furniture, they came up with a creative plan: host an in-store trade show called the “Outdoor Living Party” and invite other outdoor-related companies to display their goods and services. They invited a deck builder, a pool company, a landscaper, a window and siding company and a few others. We also got a company to sponsor beverages and they had a vendor come in and cook some appetizers on the grill. It was a real party. The total cost to my client was literally a few hundred bucks (ask an event promoter what it typically costs to host a trade show and you’ll realize what a bargain this was). Here’s how we made the event a success:

• Email to partner company’s databases: Much to my surprise, over half of the vendors did not have an email database. Crazy, I know, but we still had a combined email list of a few thousand people. We sent emails leading up to the event encouraging people to invite friends and come by for the party.

• Facebook event page: We created an event page on Facebook and had all vendors, employees, and anyone else we could coerce invite all of their friends to the event. All together we had about 4,000 Facebook invites go out.

• Facebook ads: We spent a grand total of $50 bucks on Facebook and ended up with over 100,000 impressions. For weeks after the event we received comments on how good of an idea it was from people who couldn’t attend, but saw it on Facebook.

• Posters and flyers in partner’s stores: We had partner companies hang posters in their stores and distribute handouts promoting the event. Not every partner company did this, but several did.

• At the event we had a drawing to collect more emails: We had each partner company contribute prizes and then we had visitors register at the event to win. Each registrant was then added to my client’s email database allowing them to follow up and promote future sales.

The Results

When you walked in that day and saw all of the cool outdoor living stuff, and smelled the various meats and veggies on the grill it was hard to resist the desire to create a new haven in your backyard equipped with grill, furniture, and maybe a new deck with a hot tub on it.

We had steady traffic all afternoon long, we added a big bowl full of sign ups to the email list, the partner companies got to know each other (for future JV partnering), and appointments and sales were made with new customers. Overall the day was a success for my client.

It was especially impressive when you consider that they spent about the same as they would normally spend on one local network television commercial. This day was only a success because we used a combination of online and offline media. If we had gotten lazy and only used printed flyers, the event would have been a flop.

Creating Buzz With Contests

Using online and offline marketing to promote a contest can generate incredible results. My partner in one of my business ventures, Chris Brewer, was recently the Executive Vice President of Marketing for Incredible Pizza Company (featured on last year’s Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies). IPC has 13 huge restaurants in seven states that resemble mini in-door theme parks and serve buffet-style pizza. Each restaurant features 1950’s style décor and music, huge game rooms – some with laser tag, indoor go-cart tracks and mini golf.

IPC’s target audience is moms with young children. Here’s a great contest promotion that combined online and offline media to get mother’s talking, laughing, and visiting the restaurants.

Kids Say the Most “Incredible” Things

Parents love nothing more than to share stories about the funny things their kids say and do. So Chris launched a contest for parents and grandparents to submit “incredible” things their kids have said at the IPC website. Weekly winners would be awarded a $100 gift certificate to IPC, plus experience the pride of having their kid’s saying featured as a winner on the website. They only featured this contest at six of the 13 stores, but here’s how they made it a big success:

• Email to all subscribers in the 6 participating markets: They sent multiple emails to current subscribers encouraging them to make an entry and to invite friends and family to do the same.

• Landing page on the Incredible Pizza website: The landing page collected pertinent information on the parent and child along with the “incredible” saying. All entries were then added to the Incredible Pizza email list.

• Big push on facebook: They promoted the contest with links to the landing page on their Facebook fan page. This created quite a buzz of activity on their Facebook page, and drove in new fans.

• In-store promotion: The contest was promoted via employee buttons and on table top displays. Weekly winners were also posted on bulletin boards.

• Online voting: Each week the IPC staff would pick a few of the best sayings and display them on their website so parents and grandparents could vote for their favorites.

• T-shirts for the winners: To reward the winners and create some ongoing exposure, they created t-shirts with the winning saying for all of the weekly winners to proudly wear.

The Results

Over the six weeks of the contest, they collected over 3,000 entries, providing a nice bump to their email subscriber list. Their email list is a critical part of their marketing as they send out weekly specials and surveys to their list. Each entry received a $10 gift card which created a nice flow of traffic to the restaurants. This created great upsell opportunities because nobody spends just $10 at Incredible Pizza when they bring their family. During the contest, their already popular fan page grew by 30 percent. The event created a huge buzz among mom’s groups and drove huge traffic to the IPC Website.

Marketing legend, Dan Kennedy always says that one is the loneliest number in marketing. He is absolutely right. Add some power to your next marketing campaign by strategically combining media. Hopefully you can create your own little geyser of traffic.

It seems that almost every day there is a new, more powerful way to target and find our customers online. First it was mass email, then it was Google letting us target our customers based on the keywords they were searching for. Now it’s Facebook letting us target people based on what they are talking about at any given time.

But at DotCom Secrets, we recently started using a tool that has given us the ability to take our existing subscriber and customer lists and find out some amazing things about the individuals on them. It also gives us the ability to target the best people who are on our lists!

You can see the tool at FlowTown.com. The concept is very simple. You upload an email, or your entire email list, and it will go to all of the major social networks and find those people. It will then give you the ability to see a picture of who the people are on your list and what they are talking about on the social networks.

Flowtown will then go and spider your lists to find out who the major influencers are. They will show you which of those people have others following them, and how many followers they have. Imagine if you knew the top three percent most influential people on your list – how you could treat those people differently – what types of relationships could you start up if you contacted them directly.

Now Flowtown will allow you to hook a little script onto your optin forms and when people optin, it will notify you immediately when people of influence have joined your list.

Let me explain to you why this is so exciting for me and my company. We have hundreds of thousands of people on our lists. We have tens of thousands of affiliates and also tens of thousands of customers. A few months back (before using Flowtown) I was at a seminar and I met someone who was actually a billionaire. I was very excited when I met him, but what shocked me was how excited he was to meet me.

He told me he was on my list and that he had bought a few of my products. He then went on to show me quite a few other projects that he was working on that related to me and my skill sets that we are currently working together on.

What makes me laugh is he said he had called my office, but couldn’t get through my gatekeepers. This guy had been on my lists for years and I was just finding out who he was. Just imagine if I had received the notification that someone like him had joined my list, and I had connected with him then. We now monitor who is on our lists, and who has joined our lists – and it greatly helps us find JV partners as well as work closer with our top clients.

Recently we started testing a source that has been a lot of fun and given us some viral growth. The website is called Fiverr.com, and everyday people from around the world post little projects they are willing to do for $5. I first heard about it from a friend who was posting funny projects for extra cash. When I started to look at the projects, I saw some huge advertising potential. Here are a few of the projects that were listed on the site at the time of me writing this article:

• I will walk around Sydney wearing a Spiderman suit and advertise your website all day for $5

• I will write a review about any web based subject matter and place a link to it on my blog for $5

• I will dance to an entire song of your choice in a hot dog costume for $5

• I will write anything appropriate on my forehead and wear it to public school all day for $5

• I will advertise your site on my PR4 website for $5

• I will do a 15 second commercial for your business for $5

• I will give your product to a random tourist in NYC for $5

• I will tweet about your product or service to over 120k followers, 5 times a day for 4 weeks for $5

• I will write 20 comments on your blog for $5

And the list goes on and on and on…

Now, what I’ve found is that most of these tasks in and of themselves aren’t going to get you a lot of traffic, but I like buying the really strange ones (like the Spiderman guy in Sydney) and make sure they get a picture or video of them doing it, and then use it for viral marketing.

You can post it on your blog and use it for link bait – you can write a press release, email it out to your subscribers and more. This shiny object has been fun and is generating a lot of buzz and traffic for our businesses!

Print advertising can be risky, and magazine advertising is one of the more intimidating methods of print advertising. It can be expensive, have long lead times, and the competition will often steal your ideas in a matter of months. Magazine advertising is very different from direct mail (last month’s topic), so you’ll need to know a few important rules to get the best results.

If you are testing a product, it is usually better to test it using direct mail for a few reasons. Direct mail is relatively inexpensive when compared to magazine advertising.

Also, you will get your response much faster from direct mail because you don’t have to wait the three months prior to publication. This means you aren’t tying up your money for three to four months before you get a return. Finally, you can target people, particularly hotline (new subscribers), much easier with direct mail than general magazine advertising.

But while direct mail has these advantages, it is often easier to use magazine advertising simply because you don’t have to deal with the single most important and sensitive variable with direct mail – the list. If you get a bad list, it will destroy your response rates; in fact you could mail and not get a single response. Where, if you simply run an ad in a magazine, you’re bound to get a few orders… you just need to get more orders to cover the marketing expense.

A few rules for using magazine advertising:

• Always Negotiate: One of the best parts about magazine advertising is that you can negotiate your price. In fact, you should negotiate your price.  Only amateurs and complete idiots pay the price listed on the magazine’s rate sheet. If you know what to ask for you can usually get around 40 to 50 percent off the rate sheet. There are a few ways to get far more than that (90 to 98 percent off), but we’ll get to those later.

• Stay away from new publications: (a new pub is one that has been around for less than one year). The reason for this is because they don’t have the paid circ to sustain themselves. Magazines have a huge failure rate in the first few years. Almost every first year pub fails to become a second year pub. So, stay away from new ones.

• Use general interest magazines: There is one possible exception to this, that’s if it’s a specialized publication as compared to a general interest. But even here it’s important to make sure you have a proven ad… then tell the magazine you are terrified to advertise with them, so you want a free run. If it does well, you will commit to a 12 month run, if not you can walk.

• Put your ads in established publications: You know these because you have heard of them, you have probably even read them.

It’s important you understand there are quite a few variables that will impact the success or failure of your magazine ad. These are in no particular order, and some will affect certain ads or industries more than others.

Cost of Magazine Ads

Print advertising is calculated on a CPM basis (CPM is cost per thousand – M is the Roman numeral for 1,000).  In other words, you are paying $X for every thousand readers. So if you have a CPM of 20, and the paid circulation is 1 million, you would expect to pay $20,000 for the ad. Keep in mind, that would be the rate sheet, which you would never pay, unless you like being taken advantage of.

Audited Circulation

We talked about this when buying a list, and that it’s important to only buy lists that have been audited.  The same thing applies when running an ad in magazines. Don’t fall for “readership.” Readership is a lie at best, and a total scam at worst. This is based on some hypothetical situation where they ran a survey and found that for every magazine printed, five people read it. So the readership number they give you is three to eight times higher than the actual paid circulation number, which means they try to charge you a higher price. Don’t get stuck in that trap. Readership is completely made up. Ignore it, because it won’t do you any good. Only talk CPM based on paid circulation.

Also, stay away from controlled circulation publications and trade magazines. These are magazines you have to qualify to receive, but if you qualify, they are free or are only for people in the trade. I have a huge stack of these on my desk… all completely unread. The bottom line is, if you don’t pay for something, you tend not to value it. If you don’t value it, you’re certainly not going to spend your time looking through it. So, avoid controlled circulation.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

Here is where things get interesting. You want to make sure that there is a good mix, around 50/50. This will do a couple things for you. First off, if you have a high subscriber ratio, that means that most of your results will come in the beginning of the month, and may not cover your ad costs. This means you will have ad burn out much faster. If you have a high newsstand ratio, you may not have sufficient circulation to sustain your ad costs. That said, if one of the two is going to be higher, it’s much better that it is newsstand.

Think about it… the guy who walked to the newsstand picked up the magazine and forked over cash for it (a lot more than the subscriber paid) did a lot more to get the magazine than the subscriber. That’s the type of customer you want. The 50/50 ratio is ideal because you get an initial thrust with the subscriber base, but then some additional smoothing from the newsstand buyers.

Frequency

There is a lot of variability in how often a publication comes out. You have weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, annually, and odd variations in between. As a general rule, you should stay away from anything other than monthly and bi-monthly publications, as with the others your results will come in too quickly or too slowly. Your focus is on getting an ROI as quickly as possible.

RHP and Upfront

Think about almost every book you’ve ever read.  Where does it start? On the right hand page of course.  People favor the right hand side of a book, magazine or even a website. We have a natural bias toward that side.  As a result, unless you are getting a screaming deal to be on the left hand page, you should always insist upon an ad on the right. If the publication wants to charge you more for it, go elsewhere.

We are busier than ever before. There are more distractions fighting for our attention, which means that we often don’t finish what we start. The most often read chapter of any book is the first one… it takes a special book (and reader) to get all the way to the end.  The same thing applies to magazines. Most people start them, but rarely do they finish. So it would make sense you would want to be in the first half of the magazine rather than the last half.

Size Matters (to a Degree)

Some of the smaller ads, where they are more affordable, are more affordable for a reason… they tend not to pull as well. A half-page ad has almost the same stopping power as a full page, but then things quickly diminish after that. If you cannot afford at least a half page ad, you should look to advertise in a smaller publication, where you can get at least a half page.

Don’t do spreads. Spreads get skipped because they look like two full pages of advertisements (which they are).  Spreads cost twice as much as a full page ad, but don’t pull twice as well.  Whatever you do, get it to one page, even if you have to shrink the font to 8pt.  People will read it.

Negotiating

Only amateurs and idiots pay rate sheet. You should look at a rate sheet and know right off the bat you can save at least 30 to 50 percent. The reps expect that you will try to negotiate. But you have a bit of an unfair advantage… today, more than ever, magazines and their sales reps are not willing to walk away from money. So, as long as you are reasonable, you should be able to get close to 50 percent off. Here are a few quick, sure fire ways to get rates slashed:

• In-house agency Say these little words, and you’ll get a 15 percent reduction. That’s the fee that magazines pass onto the agency that’s helping you place the ad.

• Direct response advertiser Direct response ads are tracked, so they know you will know exactly what their publication did for you. Also, they want to see a high ROI, so you’ll continue to come back. So, right off the bat, this will cut your costs another 20 to 25 percent.

• Pre-pay Tell them you will pay in advance. This will shave off another three percent.

• 12-time rate Magazines will give you a hefty discount if you commit to 12 months… if it fails to perform, you usually don’t have to run the other 11 times. If it does perform, you don’t have to re-negotiate every time.

Pub Setting

The most effective, most read advertisements don’t look like ads, they look like the publication. You will want to “rip-off” the general look and feel of the publication to incorporate into your advertisement.  Also, just so you don’t get a nasty advertisement label slapped on the top of your ad, when you use the pub setting, make sure to have your designer put advertorial or special advertorial on the top or bottom of the page in reverse type. You want to add this before you send it to the publication, or they will do it for you and it won’t look right.

Why go to the trouble of using the pub-setting? Because people are five times more likely to read your ad if you do. So, this means you are going to have to design a new ad for each new publication? Yup. But five times more eyes on your ad is worth the price.

Color vs Black and White

Most people would much rather look at color.  Magazines know this, so they charge you more for it.  The increased cost is not worth it. A color ad will not out pull a black and white ad enough to justify the price premium.

Remember, you are not in the business of creating pretty ads; you are in the business of getting the highest ROI possible. If you get sidetracked with color and other things, you are not going to experience the results you could have. Only use black and white… even if they give you color for free, you should be very careful how you use it.

Failure is Private, Success is Public

If your ad fails, you won’t run it again, at least not in the same publication. However, if it works, you’ll run it again and again. This is where you get into trouble. The more you run an ad, the more your competition will see it. The more they see it, the more they will rip you off. Just be aware that this is going to happen.

Those are the main ideas from my own experience and from the “12 Month Millionaire.” I know that’s a lot to digest. But there are three main thoughts I hope you have taken from this month’s topic:

Only amateurs and idiots pay rate card  It is better to walk away from a magazine and get a great deal elsewhere and be somewhat less targeted than to focus on the targeting and lose all the cost savings. In other words, everything works at the right price (CPM).

Everything is negotiable… If you don’t negotiate, you have already lost. Your ad must be paid for one way or the other. Every cent you pay in advertising has to be paid for with sales. The more your ad costs, the more sales you have to make to cover it. Be sure to negotiate the price down, or you’ll have to pull twice as much to cover it.

You are in the ROI business, not the pretty ad business. Use what works and avoid useless premiums.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

There was a time when “media” controlled the conversation – what was said on TV, published in books, the movies we watched and the music we listened to. Amazon has recently launched a new service that puts the ability to create and publish anything into our hands.

They have a new service called “Create Space” where you follow three simple steps:

• Step 1 Create your work (this could be a book, music or a movie).

• Step 2 Setup a title – upload your book, music or audio and design the cover – they will even give you a free ISBN number!

• Step 3 Start selling physical copies (print on demand) of your products! Everything you create is distributed on Amazon.com or even on the kindle!

Now, if you asked me a few months ago how powerful this was, I probably would have overlooked it.  But recently Rosalind Gardner (publisher of the Super Affiliate Handbook) was at a mastermind meeting we were hosting, and she asked who in the group put their ebooks on Amazon. Not a single person raised their hand. She laughed and said, “How do you think I’ve kept my ebook a best seller all these years? People find it on amazon – they buy the hard back, and that’s how a huge percentage of my customers find me originally.”  That is when the lightbulb went off in my head. Amazon is the 15th most visited website in the world and we could have hundreds of products on it literally overnight!

So, recently we decided to start using the Create Space platform to publish almost everything we do.  Let me show you what we’re doing and hopefully it will get the wheels in your head turning.

• I am getting every teleseminar I do transcribed and uploaded as a physical (and kindle) book on Create Space!

• I am making each of those interviews an audio CD that people can buy on Amazon.

• Every webinar is being turned into a DVD that we can distribute through these networks.

• Any ebook or article is being turned into a new book that people can find on Amazon!

How many interviews, webinars or ebooks have you created in the past? What are you doing with them?  Each of these can instantly become a lead generator on one of the most visited websites in the world! And the best part – it’s 100 percent free!

As you start your own coaching business, please be aware of the three hidden coaching profit killers! Make sure you look into each of these so you stay profitable every year you’re in business as a rich coach:

Giving Away Billable Coaching Time

That’s right, you don’t have to give away valuable, billable coaching time to those who show interest in your coaching services. Instead of losing money by working for free, direct prospective clients to one of these four “informing-options” to see if they are even worth coaching one-on-one in the first place: send them a free ezine, ebook, ecourse or ereport…, give away a sample audio or video recorded coaching session…, have them buy one of your products…, or enroll them into a group coaching class, or workshop.

Not Having Products AND Group Coaching!

Think about it… if you don’t have any product to sell as a coach, you’re losing out on a ton of money. Also, if you don’t coach in group settings like seminars, workshops, webinars and tele-seminars, there too you’re losing a ton of money. So, make sure you take what you know and duplicate yourself in the form of several products. In addition to creating products, start coaching in group formats so you can earn more money for coaching a large number of people at once, rather than exclusively coaching one-on-one.

Not Hiring An Assistant Or Delegating Work

So many broke coaches fall into this trap time and time again. When you don’t hire others to help you with your business, you’re actually losing money. How so? Simply because you’re not able to focus on the projects that really bring in the big money like:

Creating Products If you don’t have time to create multiple products, let alone your first, how do you expect to get rich as a coach?

Group Coaching If you’re still coaching one-on-one and you’re not working on one or more programs that allow you to coach in group formats, again, how can you expect to get rich? You can’t!

Vacationing If you don’t relax often enough, you’ll burn out, causing your business to deteriorate in quality, service and focus. In the end, this is not good for your bottom line.

Your Homework

Find ways to lead free information seekers and potential clients towards buying a product from you, enrolling into a free ecourse (or subscribing to your ezine) or taking a class from you before giving away valuable, billable coaching time.

Create any number of information products (in all formats) duplicating what you know so you can sell them for extra income! Then, take what you know and create group-coaching programs where you teach many at once, instead of “one-on-one.”

Find an assistant and/or start delegating simple tasks to others, so you can free your time to make more money!

Have You Ever stopped to notice just how quickly we consume information these days? Let me give you an example. The other night after I put my daughter to bed, I sat on the couch flipping through a book about wall treatments while my husband searched for deals on laptops. A few minutes later, we were reading a classic novel together, after which we turned the tv on and learned how to make the ultimate lemon souffle. Five minutes after the show was over, we were in bed, each contentedly reading our own books. The amazing thing was that we consumed all this information in just over an hour – and I didn’t even notice we were doing it! It’s simply become a routine part of our lifestyle.

Never before in history has so much information been available to the average person. But with the rise in information has come a monumental demand for simplicity that is not being met. This demand is what inspired this month’s quick and easy product idea. People have a lot to choose from when it comes to information, but not a lot of time to consume it. It’s like being offered a feast with thousands of varieties of foods but only ten minutes to dig in! Consumers have to be choosy out of necessity.

Creating a simple checklist that breaks a complicated process into step-by-step pieces is a great way to give your target market the information they want in a format that they can consume on their schedule. The best part is, checklists are fast and easy to create!

Find a Process

Step 1 The first thing you need to do is find a process you can simplify. The best way to do this is through some basic market research. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading the articles on pages four and eight of this issue by Russell Brunson and Michael Plaisance. They both offer great insights into finding profitable markets and show you how to lower your risk before you begin creating products.

Don’t forget to look at what other info products are already available. Follow up on your research with an ASK campaign to build an initial list and confirm your findings.

Simplify the Process

Step 2 The next step to creating a checklist is to strip down the process you want to explain to the bare bones. This step should only take a few minutes so don’t worry about adding a lot of detail for now.

Write your steps like you would an outline for an article or presentation – keeping it as brief and to-the-point as possible.

Choose a Format

Step 3 Think about your target market and how they will want to consume your information. Do you want to write a book? Record an audio? Create video clips? Or do you want to keep it simple with a short eReport? Here are some ideas:

• Record an audio interview with an expert. Give them your checklist so they can explain each step in detail from start to finish.

• Create a series of five minute video clips that show how to complete each step of your checklist. Jing (www.JingProject.com) is a free screencapture software you can use to make your recordings.

• Create an eReport out of your checklist that you can use as an ethical bribe on your squeeze page.

• Be creative. In the past, one of the top lead generators at DotCom Secrets for our high-end coaching packages has been our “Action Checklists.” This giveaway included six sheets of cardstock printed with our step-by-step plan for launching a successful business and an audio CD that explained how to use them. It was a simple product to put together, but it had high perceived value because of how much information it contained in an easily-digestible format. Which just goes to show – you can make a lot of money by keeping things simple.

Fill In The Blanks

Step 4 Take your simplified checklist and begin expanding upon each step one-by-one. You can keep the content as simple or detailed as you feel the topic requires. If you don’t want to handle the bulk of the content creation, this is a great place to step out of the picture and hand the process off to an outsourced worker.

Prepare for Sale

Step 4 Depending on the format you chose in step three, package your product in digital or physical format.

Go to PrimoPDF.com to get free software that will turn your files into PDFs if you are creating an eReport or book.

This sales letter template has been used by many of our students to write awesome sales letters without any experience at all. Just take into consideration what’s in the brackets as they are intended to give you guidance regarding what to put in the sales letter. What makes this template work is that it contains the secret structure of any winning sales letter or sales presentation. It starts off with a headline, gets people to read the intro, and throughout the copy they read the value builder, close and P.S.’s. Almost all winning sales letters contain this formula and it’s just a matter of using what’s here to write your best sales letter.

One Special Consideration:

It is vital that you take the boilerplate sections in the letter and rewrite them in your own words. This is critical as this magazine is going out to all of our subscribers and there could be a lot of duplication. It would only take you a second to rewrite every single section as long as the message in each sentence matches the original.

It is also advisable to write a novel headline. The boilerplate headline included in the template is the bare minimum to get by. If you really want your sales letter to boost your sales then you need to create a novel headline. I recommend writing 25 headlines before choosing the one you want to use, as you’ll discover you’re just getting “warmed up” when you start writing your fifth or sixth headline. The headline is the most important aspect of this letter and you need to have a good one to get people’s attention.

Adjusting This Template for Video

If you intend to create a video sales letter, all you would need to use is this template and create your PowerPoint slides or on-camera presentation around the final product.  A video sales letter template will contain the same elements of a print sales letter, but in video form. So if you’ve been watching Russell’s promotions and notice he’s been using a lot of video sales letters lately (and you want to give it a shot yourself) then you can still use this template for your video sales letter script.

I hope you get a lot out of this template. This is the first time I’ve revealed it to everyone outside of our high-priced coaching students. I know that many people thought it was helpful and I hope it helps you get a high response for your next sales letter.

The Sales Letter Template…

Attention [Insert Target Audience]: Stop Putting Up With [Annoying Task or Problem] Forever!!!

“Discover How You Can Quickly And Easily Get [Big Benefit] Guaranteed To [Insert Outcome They Want] Without [Insert Annoying Problem]!”

Dear Frustrated [insert target audience name],

If you’ve ever wanted to [insert benefit] without hassling with the [insert problem] then this will be the most important message you’ll ever read.

Because I am going to show you how to [insert outcome they want] that’ll allow you [insert benefit]. You’ll be able to [insert outcome they want] without having to deal with [common problems your customers face when trying to solve this problem].

But before I do that, let me tell you a story of how I was able to overcome [insert annoying problem]…

[Here is where you tell the most emotional rendition of the problem you are trying to solve or the “desire” you are trying to fulfill. You want to make sure the story is no more than 250 words or so. Any longer and you’ll start to talk about yourself more… and your sales letter must talk to the customer! If this isn’t a personal story, you can use a case study of someone else who’s gone through the same thing. But you must have a story!!! People love stories and you’ll get immediate attention if you have one!!!]

After Experiencing [Insert Problem]

I Decided To Do Something About It!!!

[Here is where you talk about how your life was better when the problem was solved. Really lay on the benefits here. You don’t introduce the product yet… you’re just hitting the prospect with benefits and getting them to imagine what it would be like to have the problem solved!!!]

So after I was able to [overcome problem and get a solution] I decided…

Why Not Make The Ability To

[Solve Problem] Available To Everyone!!!

So I decided to combine all the hours I spent researching [insert problem] into a single solution that’ll make [insert problem they’re trying to solve] a piece of cake.

You’ll get all the techniques that’ll allow you to [insert problem they’re trying to solve] when you invest in:

[Name Of Info Product]

[Name of Info Product] will enable anyone to [insert problem they’re trying to solve] without having to [insert common problems people face when working with said problem].

You’ll get [insert what they get… include # of pages, length of DVDs. Insert as much detail as possible since your prospect cannot see or touch your product!]. All of this was created from [insert length of time, amount of effort it took to create the product. This boosts value of your product!].

You see, I am very proud of [product]. Because after you use [product] you’ll be able to [insert big benefit]. You’ll also be able to [insert more benefits]. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

But don’t take my word for it, here’s what customers from all over the country are saying about [insert product name].

[Insert Testimonials]

Which Of These Powerful Secrets

Could You Use To [Insert Benefit]?

[Insert 8 to 10 bullet points]

…And a whole lot more!

Okay, So What’s The Cost For

[Insert Problem They’ll Be Eliminating] Forever!!

You see, there are many people who spend [insert exorbitant cost] trying to [insert problem to be solved]. Not to mention the countless hours of time wasted banging your head against the wall.

Plus you can buy other products that range between [insert cost] and [insert cost] but end up frustrated at the end.

Believe me, I used to be there! But I’m not going to charge you anywhere near that amount for [insert product name]. You can get everything you need to [solve problem] and [insert benefits] for a low price of [insert price of product].

You see, [$] is a drop in the bucket compared to the money you’re going to waste on ineffective [whatever they’re doing that’s not solving the problem]. You probably spend that much on [insert frivolous purchases — like Starbucks lattes, magazines, DVD rentals, etc.] that are gone in an instant.

Why not invest that money to [insert benefit] instead?

Believe me, I wish I had [insert product name] when I was [insert situation you were going through in story above]. It would have saved me hours of frustrating trial and error so I could [insert benefit].

So what’s the catch? Why am I practically giving this resource away?

Well it’s really quite simple. I want to give everyone, including you, the ability to [insert problem to be solved]. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to [insert benefit] without it!

In fact, to shamelessly bribe you even further, here are:

[#] FREE Bonuses Worth [$] If You Take

Action Right NOW!

FREE Bonus Gift #1: [Explain bonus and give value]

FREE Bonus Gift #2: [Explain bonus and give value]

FREE Bonus Gift #3: [Explain bonus and give value]

That’s right! I’ll give you these [#] bonuses worth [$] when you take action today and invest in [product]. This is a limited time offer I can take down at any second—so take action today!

But I Know You’re Skeptical About [Insert Big Benefit] In As Short Amount Of Time Possible!

That’s okay… I’ve been there! Before undergoing [insert the pain you described in your story] I felt the same way.

That’s why I’m offering the following 100% Risk Free Guarantee: I personally guarantee that if you don’t (insert benefit or problem to be solved) in (insert guarantee length) then let me know and I’ll issue a prompt and courteous refund. No questions asked — no hassles!

I feel this is as fair as I could be!

That means you can try out [product] at my risk. See if it works for you or not. And if it doesn’t produce, I honestly want you to ask for your money back!!

But I’m sure you’ll be able to [solve problem and insert benefit] in no time. I wouldn’t have spent the time and effort creating [insert product name] and writing this letter to you if I didn’t think it would [insert benefit]!

You Really Can’t Afford NOT

To Invest In [Product]!

Right now, you have two choices:

You can either [insert problems they’re having and pain that it’s causing them].

Or you can take action today, right now, by investing in [product]. And start [insert benefits and how their lives are going to be better after using this product]. The choice is yours.

Imagine [insert detailed, colorful description of how their lives are going to be better and how their pain is going to disappear after they use your product].

You can start [solving this problem] instantly when you take action and order [product].

So order today, right now, while it’s still hot on your mind. And be prepared to [big benefit they want]!

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

P.S. One more thing, it’s important: I reserve the right to raise the price of [product] based on demand. Plus, the [#] bonuses worth [$] may be taken off and sold individually. So invest in [product] while this offer is still up!

P.P.S. Imagine being able to [insert big benefit they want and how their life will be better]. [Product] was created to enable you to [solve problem and get the big benefit] as fast as possible. The best part is you’re backed by my [insert guarantee]. So order today!

Google will allow you to utilize all of its services for easy integration. Once they are all installed, you can gather your information from one feature and import it to the others. By integrating their services into your online business, you can allow for easy transfer of files, project management, Google docs sharing, email capability, Google legendary data tracking services once you install Google Analytics, and even more!

Turning Traffic Into Cash

This can help you save time and money, as well as make more informed choices for your marketing campaign. Time is money, and the less time you spend with different tools that will not talk to each other – the better. Take advantage of all Google has to offer by using their apps on your hosting account.

Google Analytics will allow you to take your marketing to another level. It will help you discover who sends you the most traffic so you can look at other sites similar to it, or forge a stronger relationship with your referrer. You can also find out which keywords can get the most traffic to your site and expand upon them and improve your conversions by split testing landing pages.

Start Gathering Data

• Step 1 Go and get a Google Analytics account created by going to Google.com/analytics. Get the code installed on your site by either adding a file to your hosting or adding meta code to your page. Once you verify that the site is yours, it will start to gather data about your visitors.

Track Trends

• Step 2 After a couple of weeks, you can start seeing trends in how your visitors arrive to your site, what brought them there, how traffic reacted to an email blast, the most popular page on your site, and much more!

Multiply What’s Already Working

• Step 3 Think outside of the box when interpreting the data from Analytics. If you see a site that refers a lot of people to your site, find a way to media buy or advertise on their site even more. Especially if the traffic coming from the site converts!

Get Your Links Right

• Step 4 Reduce costs of redundant services such as paid email space or harder to integrate calendars by installing Google Apps on your hosting. I love using the Many Moon Project Management tool to help keep tasks on target.

Have a Plan to Cash In

• Step 5 Use Google Docs to share files with your outsourcers. I use Google Docs to store all of my documents after I get them. If I am ever on the road and need a document right now, I can get it from my smart phone, or any computer that allows me to sign in to Google.

One of the most important factors in the success or failure of your website is your ability to tell prospects what’s in it for them. This requires compelling and well thought out copy that gets visitors to pull out their wallets and make a purchase. If your copy isn’t converting or you need a refresher course in sales writing, use these strategies to help give your site a boost in sales:

Your Site’s Star Headliner

Does the headline on your website grab people by the lapels and tell them that they’ve got to read what’s down below? An attention grabbing headline is hands down the most important part of any good copy.

Make sure that your headline tells your potential and existing customers why your product is going to benefit them specifically. Don’t allow your headlines to focus on what it is that you do. Make sure that your headlines tell your readers what they will get out of using your company. For example, don’t simply tell people that you are a “Bass Fishing” shop. Let them know that your business is going to provide faster service, the most knowledgeable employees, cheaper prices, or anything else than sets you apart from the competition.

Call to Action

The easiest and most complete way to make sure that you have a good call to action is to make sure that there are complete instructions on your page that tell your readers exactly step-by-step what they need to do for that page to accomplish its purpose. Never assume that just because you have an opt-in box with a blank spot for a first name and e-mail address that people will know what to do. Never assume that because you have a “Buy Now” button on your page that people are going to know you want them to make a purchase. Tell your readers exactly what they need to do, or you will find out that you will be leaving a lot of potential customers hanging out with no way to spend money with you.

Sales Video Success

Videos are the current “hot” item with websites. However the biggest mistake with videos is that too many people are using them to replace the written word. You very rarely want to replace your written content with a video, and you never want to use video as a replacement when you are marketing to new clients. Usually the only time that video by itself works is when you have a following and people already know and trust you. The best thing to do with a video is to allow it to complement your text.

A video forces your visitors to go through your page at a predetermined speed. For some people that will be too fast, for others it will be too slow. You might have an accent that is hard to understand. It’s not easy to quickly rewind a video to the exact spot you want. The written word alleviates all of these issues. Make sure also that your videos have keywords in the title and tags. A well optimized video can bring in as much SEO traffic as a long content rich article can.

Another thing that you can do to extend the life of your videos (this same tactic can apply to mp3s and articles) is to make sure that you don’t use specific date references unless you absolutely have to. If you say “in recent years” in place of 2010 you will allow the video to be used as long as it’s still converting.

What’s In It For Me?

Most people don’t want hear about your history, or what you have accomplished, until you have shown (or at least talked about) what the benefits to them are going to be if they use your services. The content on your site needs to be customer focused. In other words there should be more “you’s” than “I’s.”

Many people make the mistake of going after small niches that have very little competition accompanied by miniscule search results. The theory behind this is that since competition will be less, it will be easier to dominate and capture the market. While this may be true, it doesn’t escape the fact that there might not be a lot of potential for growth in smaller markets.

Go Big or Go Home

For this reason I suggest you go into large markets that have many players, products and mucho potential!  If you think about what type of infomercials are running late at night, you’ll have a good idea of what a good market looks like.

These infomercials really fall into three categories:

• Looking better: Get rid of acne, reduce wrinkles…

• Making money: Learn to flip houses like a pro!

• Health and Fitness: All the fitness equipment you see being sold… Come on no one else bought Buns of Steel?!

The big shift comes when you realize that low competition can still be had in a large market, but instead of looking at the market, looking at the keywords within that market. You can go after the obvious keywords which will no doubt yield tons of searches, but they equally have loads of competition.

So today I’ll be showing you how to go after keywords referred to as “Low Hanging Fruit” or LHF. These keywords are in the “sweet spot” and are ripe for pickin’! These keywords have the right combination of searches versus competition. Oftentimes by picking the right keywords, you’ll start to see your site on page one within just a few weeks. Picking the right keywords is the foundation to all traffic. And doing proper keyword research is the next thing after picking your market.

Law of Supply and Demand

If you can, remember back to high school or maybe even college when you learned about an economic principle called Supply and Demand. This principle can also be used in finding keywords. In terms of picking keywords, supply amounts to the “number of competitors for a given phrase.” Demand amounts to the “number of searches a given keyword has.”

It is your job to find keywords that are out of balance and use them to your advantage. You are looking for keywords that are searched often but do not have much competition. You absolutely need the balance of supply and demand to favor demand! So how do you do this?

There are a handful of tools out in the market that can help you pinpoint these LHF keywords with very accurate results.This method requires you to work in two distinct processes:

• Building a massive list (typically 10,000 to 30,000 keywords).
• Filtering that list to about five to 10 keywords.
• Watch closely while I show you exactly how I find the best keywords to go after.

Step 1: Finding a Root Keyword

Assuming you already have a good market picked out, the first place to start is the Free Google Keyword Tool. I will type in the very first keyword that comes to my mind for the market. For example, if I was promoting a car insurance offer, I would type in “car insurance” because that is what popped into my head first. However what comes to your mind first is often times not the best keyword to use. In this case, I was able to see that “auto insurance” actually gets a lot more searches per month. So I will use “auto insurance” as my root keyword.

Step 2: Gathering Seed Keywords

Next, I search for my root keyword in Google. I will go down the list of organic search results and look at each of their source codes. I am looking for Meta Keywords that the website owners put in their site. Many times this is a great way to “peek” into the mind of the market and build a good seed keyword list. Website owners will often put keywords into the “meta keyword” tags that are very targeted to the market, which means it could be a goldmine to you.
> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

Once you have collected the Meta Keywords from the top 10 listings in Google, and “de-duped,” you have a clean list of great seed keywords.

Step 3: Compile a Base Keyword List

Next, insert each of these seed keywords one by one into Google’s Keyword Tool.  You should end up with up to 100 related keyword variations per keyword. Export these keywords into an Excel CSV file and repeat the process. (Google’s old keyword tool let you keep adding to one big list and then export it to a .TXT file, Google now makes us jump through a few more hoops to get our list).

When looking at the results remember to look at how relevant the keywords are to the original seed keyword. This should be the only criteria at this point. Pay no attention to search results. If you see a non relevant keyword, do not check it. Once you have finished, compile all the keywords into one big list and “de-dupe.” (If you feel you need more keywords, you can always “recycle” keywords from the list back into the Keyword tool).

Now you have a very good base keyword list. Repeat this process for variations on the seed keyword, for example “auto insurance” or “vehicle insurance.” Your goal is to obtain 10,000 or more relevant keywords using this method. This will ensure that you have plenty of opportunity to find the LHF that is so valuable. In some markets this might not be possible, just try to get as many as you can.

If you don’t want to spend all day obtaining keywords manually… why not automate the process?  A very good site to help you do this is Keyword Spy.  It allows you to “spy” on PPC competitors and swipe all their keywords. Depending on the market, it is entirely possible to download 10,000 keywords in one hour. This is another reason it helps to play in big markets!

Now that you have this massive keyword list, you need to filter down the results using a program called Market Samurai to get your final keyword list (between five to 10 keywords).

Input your keywords in 300 to 500 word increments into the Market Samurai. (CAUTION: If you have a very large list, it may take up to a full day to filter your list – but it is worth it!)

The filters should be set to:

• SEOT: 75
• SEOC: 100,000
• PBR: 20
• SEOV: 100

What these filters will do for you is amazing. You’ll end up with only the “sweet spot” LHF keywords where you’ll get at least 75 clicks a day if you are in the first position of Google, a maximum of 100,000 competing pages and the keyword is valuable enough that people are bidding on it in PPC.

Market Samurai will filter about 95 percent of your keywords out leaving you with only the best keywords.  By targeting these LHF, your blog can start to rank on page one of Google for dozens of keywords with little to no competition. This is the key to breaking into a large market and still being able to compete.

It is now important that you determine what your “true” competition really is. We’re about to find out how strong the competitors on the first page of Google are.  In reality these are the only sites that you need to worry about. Once again we’ll be using Market Samurai to give you a detailed view of the keywords that you can easily rank for.

In the SEO Competition tab, you’ll have to input each of your keywords that made it through the filtering stage one by one. Keep all filters checked and press “Analyze Keywords.”

What will come back is a matrix of the top 10 URLs for that keyword. The boxes are color coded green, orange or red. You are looking for lots of green which means opportunity. The key columns you’ll want to see lots of green in are:

• PR (Page Rank)
• BLP (Backlinks to Page)
• BLD (Backlinks to the entire Domain)
• DA (Domain Age)

Although there are many factors to consider, these four are the most important. If you see a lot of green in these columns then it’s probably a great LHF keyword! Remember that keyword research takes practice and can take time to do it properly. But in the long run, it is worth the few hours spent doing good quality keyword research.

Keywords are the foundation of all traffic online, be it paid traffic or organic traffic. Follow these steps and in no time you’ll be on your way to dominating untouched keywords in your market!
> Click Here to Read Part 1 of This Article

Within a period of a few years, iVan Budimir literally turned his world upside down. After serving in the military of former Yugoslavia, he immigrated to Canada and soon after, took up hang gliding despite a deepset fear of heights. What was initially meant to be a challenging hobby turned into the dream job of a lifetime. Instead of clocking in and sitting in a cubicle every day for eight hours, Budimir got paid to teach others the thrill of flight.
But despite all the perks, Budimir knew that true freedom wouldn’t come without a price.

That meant walking away from a dream job and his office with one amazing view for the chance to pursue a bigger dream. His success was not immediate though. After creating two businesses and seeing them fail, Budimir has a new message: be careful who you choose to go skydiving with.

We asked iVan to share his story and where he is at right now on his most recent venture, iVanBudimir.com, a resource to help network marketers increase their business with online marketing. Here are some highlights from our interview:

Q: Can you tell us a little about your background and how you ended up in Canada?

A: I was born and raised in former Yugoslavia. I was the last generation of kids growing up under the regime which was about to get a heavy dose of political laxative. Unfortunately my former commie friends didn’t share my sense of humor, and as I was breaking out in pimples, the country was breaking out in civil war.

My options were simple – stay, get drafted and fight in a war I didn’t believe in, or leave for greener pastures (in my case red and white, with a maple leaf in the middle). On my website I joke about catching the first ‘bicycle to Canada,’ but the real scoop was that I actually did end up spending a year in the military. That was the only way for me to get the papers needed to leave the country legally.

I was 20 years old in 1995 when I landed both feet in maple syrup in the middle of sweltering Vancouver August with a pack of clothes and a pair of skis. I guess I thought I’d need those in Canada.

Q: Have you taken any lessons with you from those years that have helped fuel you to where you are today?

A: I did, but I never even realized it until recently.Looking back at hang gliding instructing years, I realized I was connecting with people on a very deep level when I would guide them through unique, new and fun experiences. Back then it was things like flying alongside bald eagles, catching a first thermal (a column of hot rising air) and soaring for the first time, or reading the subtle signs of where the next thermal was.

When these skills ‘click’ for the first time, and you’re right there flying tandem with your student – it’s a bond that makes crazy glue look like axle grease.

In business, it’s very much the same. I didn’t know it at the time, but when I failed my first two businesses, it was because I was selling, not helping. I couldn’t connect with people if my life depended on it. I simply sucked at creating relationships because I was focused on the money.

Q: You have a unique credo that’s sure to have a story behind it: “Never go tandem when skydiving with a guy whose chute never failed to open.” Can you tell us where that comes from?

A: It’s a cool story actually, and it was a turning point in my business that changed everything. Some months ago I had an interview with Darren Weeks (not sure how well he’s known in the United States, but in Canada he’s somewhat of a Robert Kiyosaki).

Needless to say, I was deadly nervous to do an interview with him – it’s not often one gets to interview a guy who is bringing in nine figures in revenue, so I had been preparing for days.

Anyway, as we got onto the topic of failure in business, Darren started telling me about all the failures he had to go through. I asked him what made the big change. He said he started hanging out with people who had gone through the same turmoil and learned from their failures.

I think that intuitively I understood that concept, but in that very moment it finally gelled. There I was – for years I took advice from folks who had instant success, folks who lucked out with Goldilocks types of businesses, folks who told me it’s easy, and that it’s just a matter of time before my business suddenly turned around. And here was Darren, telling me the exact opposite – it’s hard work, blood, sweat and tears. So pick your mentors carefully.

As I realized his story was just like mine, all the apprehension about the interview was suddenly gone, and I understood what I needed to do. Get a mentor who has experienced failure. I remember even telling him I’d never again trust someone who turns everything they touch to gold. I’d much rather go skydiving with someone whose chute failed to open in the past.

Shortly after that I was listening to Russell talk about his lowest point. The day he found himself flat broke, lost in a new city, pushing a bicycle with a broken pedal, and I knew I chose wisely.

Q: What is your motivation for continuing to build your current business, and start other new ventures at the same time?

A: Shortly after I left the country my dad lost the house where we used to spend many summers on the coast. It has been my dream to get the house back while he was still alive, but the day he died I couldn’t even afford the plane ticket to go to his funeral. Getting that house back and giving it to my family that still lives there is at the center of my vision board. Aw, geez, you got me all sappy with that question.

I really want to help other folks get everything I always wanted. Some folks might say that’s cheesy, but I admit to having personal reasons for that – I miss the feeling I used to get coaching someone through their first flight. I want to be part of other people’s experience as they reach their goals. Seeing someone realizing their dream, be it through flight or financial freedom is what it’s all about.

List brokers and managers know that without their list, you’re pretty much using a phone book. So the good ones will want to keep you around for a long time. That’s not to say there aren’t people who simply want to take you for everything you have and risk the long-term relationship by selling you bad data. Again… spread your risk by using multiple lists and potentially multiple list brokers.

One of the biggest things you need to keep an eye out for is data with overstated numbers. These are in circulation claims, which is why you will always get audited numbers. A lot of your decision to use a list will be based on its sustainability… in other words how many people are they adding to their hotline each month. Do not get caught up in the trap of reported numbers or worse yet the crazy lie of “readership.” Focus only on the audited numbers of paid subscribers.

In the world of selling data, there are many people who will sell to anyone, and pretend that they’re selling data that is perfectly matched to what you are looking for. You just need to be aware that if they can slip in a few bad records… you’ll never know. Bad data is a risk you have to be aware of, because it can erode your profits if left unchecked.

Almost everyone has data that is not current or has other flaws. Just accept that no one is going to give you perfect data. But be aware that some will give you less perfect data than others. A great indication of whether data is worth anything comes from the test v continue descriptor. A test is how many people have tried mailing to a list, a “continue” is how many are still doing it after the test. Keep in mind that this, along with all other data, isn’t necessarily accurate. But it is a good indication if others have had more or less success with the data.

It’s About Who and What You Know

When it comes to list rentals, stick with companies and magazines you know. If you have seen it on a news stand, or if you have heard of it, you’re already ahead of the game. Be cautious of anyone you haven’t heard of. As always, do research on the company or magazine before you buy data.

Also, you may have the ideal list, but the candidates need more refining. That’s where selects come into play.  In the 12 Month Millionaire, Vincent talks about sending to subscribers of Fredrick’s of Hollywood. Where that might have been a good target for him, he elected to only send to males on that list. That’s an example of a select. You can further refine your list by selects… just be careful to not take too many, or you can end up with a list so small it’s not worth mailing. Also, each select costs more money. So in the initial stages, it’s a good idea to use only one or two selects at the most.

Know Your Numbers

The next thing you need to know is something called RFM. This is an analysis you can run on your own database to exponentially increase your marketing efforts, but it’s also good to have this information on any list you buy.

• R stands for recency This is how recently people on the list have purchased. The more recent, the more valuable the information. Because people who buy something from a particular niche are more likely to buy something else. They’ve demonstrated they are actively seeking and spending money to find a solution to their problem, whereas others have only suggested they are interested in finding one. This is an extremely sensitive variable. The closer to purchase the better off you are. If you wait 12 months the opportunity is almost always gone.

• F is for frequency This is how often someone has purchased.  You are looking for multi-buyers. You want to see a number greater than 1… the bigger the better.

• M is for monetization This is how much people have spent. It’s not the most important variable, but it will give you an indication if your price is too high. If someone has spent $500, your $50 product isn’t a huge leap for them.  The same can’t be said of the opposite.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how direct mail can work it’s important to outline the process you will likely want to follow. As I mentioned, you want to start off identifying the list.  It all starts with the list. In practically every case, the list is easily the most important variable in the entire direct mail equation. After you have identified the list, you can move on to identify the list’s hot buttons and their primary motivation so you can select a product to market to them.

After all of that, you then need to move on to writing the sales letter and begin building the purchase process (for example… are you going to have a membership club, what is your price, what are your costs… etc.).  Once this has been established, you’re ready to call a list broker. Tell the broker exactly which lists you’re looking to test and why. Your broker can then help match similar lists to your key demographics.

I’ll continue the process in the next article when I go over using magazines to advertise your product.

Direct mail is not something you want to use to reach out to a mass market. With direct mail, you will leverage someone else’s hard work to target an already defined and interested market (this is often a newspaper, magazine, or a buyer list). By renting a list, you take all the effort someone else has applied to targeting, refining, and building a relationship with their list, and leverage it for your own marketing campaigns.

There are several places where you can rent lists (just as a quick aside, you typically don’t buy lists, you rent them). You can rent them for single or multiple uses.  It’s not a good idea to rent a list and then try to mail it more often than what you have paid for. List managers seed the list to know who is mailing and how often so be very careful not to mail more times than you have paid for. If you do, you’ll get hit with some pretty hefty fees and quickly discover no one will rent to you.

How to Find a List That is Ripe for Your Message

There are two main ways to rent lists.

• You can go it alone: This basically means you head to the library to flip through the SRDS, or you can buy your own copy (it’s about $800… so not something you want to start off doing).  Then, once you have identified the list, you contact the list manager and negotiate the test.

• You can use a broker: This is essentially outsourcing your search to a company like Macro-Mark or RMI Direct Marketing. This option has some drawbacks… but on the upside, you’ll be dealing with someone who has a better grasp of the industry, has a history and relationship with some of the list managers, and has a decent idea (far from perfect) of how a list will respond to an offer. The best part is it doesn’t cost you anything to use a list broker – they get paid from the list manager.

The Types of Lists

There are also three main types of lists to choose from:

• Buyer: The buyer list is pretty obvious; these are people who bought from the company or magazine. You can use different qualifying variables (known as selects) to identify who the most recent buyers are. Without a doubt, buyers are the best mailing lists to rent.

• Subscriber Lists: With this list you have one main advantage over buyer lists. While this list is still somewhat qualified, the best part is there are a lot more of them. Still, they are not as powerful when it comes to response rates… and a lot of list managers can try to muddy the waters by including “sweepstakes sold subscribers” into the list. But because there are so many of them, this type of list is where most direct response success stories come from. The reality is, you only want the people who have actually paid to receive the publication (you want the direct mail sold select). And, you only want to talk to people who have actually paid.

• Compiled Lists: These lists come from data gathered by giant information clearinghouses like Trans-Union, Equifax, and other similar companies.

Normally I do not recommend people use these lists. Response rates are typically very low, and it’s harder to properly target and craft a compelling offer for them… sure they might fit the demographic profile you have created, but they don’t meet the most important criteria of desire and interest.

Fit the Product to the List

If you have just started using direct mail, it’s a good idea to begin by identifying the list and their potential hot buttons, and then finding a product that fits with what you are looking for (high margin, low cost, low shipping, and consumable/back end) and cures their biggest problems. Eventually, once you feel you have enough direct mail experience, you can reverse the equation, where you have a product and then find a list that potentially matches.

There are several things you’ll need to do to ensure the pages on your site are optimized for the search engines. If you miss any of these four elements, you could be giving up free, targeted traffic:

Better Backlinking

Backlinks make it easier for search engines to find and index the pages on your site simply because every time you create a backlink you are also putting additional “bread crumbs” on the internet that will point back to your site. A good website needs to focus on getting more links from other people’s blogs, article directories, forums, and social bookmarking sites. All of these places make it easy to create backlinks and increase the visibility of the site for both humans and search engines.

Blogging for Traffic

A blog gives business owners an opportunity to begin interacting with their visitors while creating an avenue for getting ranked for long-tail keywords. Any website that you want to drive traffic to needs to have a blog, even if it’s for no other purpose than to add fresh content on a regular basis.

WordPress blogs are easy to install and have plug-ins that will allow content to be automatically posted. It is an easy way to keep a site from becoming static without having to put in a lot of continual energy. WordPress can do almost all of the on-page optimization automatically. The only thing it doesn’t do right out-of-the-box is good permalinking. Look for long-tail keywords and use them as the titles and main topics of your posts.

Making the Most of Meta Information

This is probably the simplest element of a good website that is commonly either forgotten or ignored. There are definitely other ways that you can get search engines to notice your page and help out with SEO, but none of them are as easy as putting meta information into the code of your website.

Each page should be centered around eight to 15 keywords or keyword phrases. If you start using more than 15 keywords, your site could be construed as spamming. Limiting the number of broad keywords used and instead focusing on long-tail keywords will yield targeted traffic more quickly, and allow you to rank for those keywords sooner as well.

Outgoing Link Love

Many people are afraid to take advantage of this tactic because they don’t want to give their customers easy access to potential competitors. However, if you are not linking to other sites (especially authority sites), then you are missing out on an important SEO element.

Outgoing links provide value to your site. There is no way that you can write about every topic in your niche. Take advantage of the fact that other people have created content that could be beneficial to your customers. Especially look for authority sites that aren’t selling things – .gov and .edu sites are great places to look for this kind of help. If search engines notice that you not only have links coming into your site, but also that your site has numerous links pointing out, you will be able to build your credibility in their eyes and increase your page ranking.

I hear a lot of people talking about how to find hot markets that you can sell products to, but very few people talk about how to filter those markets to make sure that you have the best chance at success before you get started.

First, I want to tell you about a cool software program I created for our “Underachiever Formula” coaching students that I am giving you access to as well. It will help you to find markets and apply the filters I’m going to show you in this article.

You can access this software 100 percent free here.

Hunting for Hot Markets

When I prepare to get into a new market, there are a few things I look for before I’m willing to jump in:

• It contains a large number of people
• These people are irrationally passionate about it
• They have disposable income
• They have their own jargon
• They have their own magazines
• They may hold their own conferences and events
• They have their own celebrities

What you are looking for is a market that has its own subculture or its own tribes. Seth Godin wrote an awesome book called “Tribes” that not only talks about all of these subcultures, but how to become a leader of your own tribe. It’s a fascinating book for anyone trying to dominate a market.

So, where do you find these markets? Here are the six places I normally look:

• Magazines (Magazines.com) It is a great sign if there is a magazine on the topic.

• Bookstores (Amazon.com) Make sure there are others writing about the topic – you never want to be a trailblazer.

• Digital Marketplaces (Clickbank.com and PayDotCom.com) Often  you can get deeper into a subculture by looking at their digital products because there are often more of them due to the lower barrier of entry for a digital publisher

• Talking To Passionate People Passionate people are the types of people who run tribes and spend time in those circles. Listen to them (even if you think they sound crazy) because there is a lot of money in the things that passionate people are talking about.

• Listening to people’s problems My first few products were created because I was in forums listening to people’s problems. My products were solutions to their problems.

• Watching TV While some shows may seem weird, what you see is based on a lot of research. Go to some of the channels you wouldn’t normally watch and see why advertisers are paying millions of dollars to show their ads during those shows.

Now that you have seen how I find my markets, I’m sure that you have a few ideas running through your head. If not, go back to the six places I just covered and start searching. Something will jump out at you soon enough.

Filtering Your Markets

The next step is to put a few filters on the markets you found to make sure people are willing to buy. One thing that is critical to remember is that just because you think something is a good idea does not mean it will be successful. Be sure to run any idea or niche through these filters.

Here are the two market filter questions:

• Question 1 Is there a large target market for information relating to this area? The easiest way to find out how large the target market is, is to use the software I gave you to see how many people are actively searching each month for those keywords. It will also let you see if there are similar magazines, books and digital products.

• Question 2 Are members of this market willing and able to pay for information?

To answer this question, there are five subquestions that must be answered. If you can answer yes to these five, then there is a great chance that the market you chose is going to be a winner!

• Question 2A Does a typical member of your market have a credit card? Often times I hear people who are excited about the idea of a niche they can get into because there are “so many people” in that space. For example I had a friend who saw a huge market he wanted to go into relating to video games. He spent a fortune trying to launch his product in this niche. What he found out was that the kids who were playing this video game (while there were a lot of them) did not have credit cards – and it’s hard to sell your mom on why you need to buy an ebook that will help you play your video game better.

• Question 2B Does a typical member of your target market have disposable income? A lot of times you’ll find a market that is passionate and willing to buy, but they just aren’t able to buy.  For example I know someone who made an info product for people who had just gone through bankruptcy. While most of these people really wanted his product, their disposable income was gone and they couldn’t afford to buy what he was selling at any price.

• Question 2C Can you find a direct competitor?  Despite what logic would tell you, having some competition is actually a great thing. Everytime someone comes to me with an idea and says, “I thought it was a good idea, but then I saw two other people doing it,” I tell them great! As I mentioned earlier, you never want to be a trail blazer. If there is competition, that means people are buying what you want to sell and that is always a good sign.

• Question 2D Can you find four other products that are being sold to your target market? For this I’m not talking about your competition, but other products sold to your market. So if you want to sell a golf ebook, what other products are being sold to those same buyers? Golf shoes, videos, etc…

• Question 2E How much money are advertisers paying? In the software I mentioned you can see how much money advertisers are paying in any market you search for. The more money others are willing to spend, the more likely there is money in the market.

That is the exact process I go through to get each of the niches and ideas I want to create. I’ve also created a worksheet for you that you can fill out and use when you go through this process with your ideas.

The easiest way to create a list online is to build a squeeze page where you can collect leads as they visit your website. These leads are then sent further down the sales funnel. Fortunately, squeeze pages don’t have to be long but they do have to pack enough selling power to convince visitors to opt-in. A good squeeze page includes five critical elements:

• A Headline: This is the most important aspect of the squeeze page. In fact, a headline is the most important aspect of any marketing piece! The goal of the headline is to catch the prospect’s attention and urge them to read on.

• Enticing Bullets: A good squeeze page will have several (about four to six) “blind” bullets that tease an informational tidbit and pique the prospect’s curiosity.

• Call to Action: This is simply a line that directs what you want the customer to do. Do you want them to enter their name and email address to opt-in? Then tell them! Customers have to be led – you cannot assume they will “figure it out” themselves.

• Obvious Optin Form: This is where the customer enters their information. This should be clear on the webpage. Surprisingly, some pages make it as hard as possible for customers to enter their information when they’ve already decided to heed the call to action.

• Irresistible Giveaway: You can do this several ways. You can offer to send your prospect a special report, audio, or video when they opt-in to your site. Or you can have them enter their name and address for a free DVD. People are becoming more protective of their email addresses so you have to be as creative as possible with your giveaways.

Squeeze Page Headlines

The headline literally has to pick up your prospect and shake the money out of their wallets!

You need to think about what your prospect wants and needs. You also have to consider the distractions they are likely experiencing at the moment they come to your page. Only then will you be able to create a headline that’ll cut through all that clutter right to your target market!

Generally, squeeze page headlines are shorter than their sales page counterparts. They also have common themes many marketers have used over and over again. The best headlines:

• Invoke Curiosity: People are always curious. Everyone has fought the urge to pick up the National Enquirer in the grocery store because they wanted to know what Britney Spears’ latest breakdown was all about. It is the enticing-curiosity driven headlines that get customers interested enough to want to pick up magazines.

• Have a Unique Hook: A good “hook” is a story that draws prospects into the copy. People love stories and if it is compelling enough, they will want to read more!

• Contain Closely Guarded Secrets: One of the most powerful human psychological triggers is the need to discover things no one else is privy to. In the same vein, people are inherently paranoid that others are keeping information from them. That’s why “secrets” is such a powerful word in copy. And that’s why headlines that hint at “secrets” are huge attention getters!

The following are a few headlines that utilize the above three characteristics:

• Headline 1 “You’re About To Discover A Revolutionary Technology That’s About To Change The Way You Make Money Online…”  (Michel Fortin’s www.ContextCash.com)

• Headline 2 “Discover The Controversial Book That Was So Powerful It Made Me Miss Almost 90% Of My Caribbean Cruise (Because I Couldn’t Put It Down)” (www.12MonthInternetMillionaire.com)

• Headline 3 “You’re About To Learn Secrets That Most Men Will Never Know About Women…” (David D’Angelo’s DoubleYourDating.com)

As an aside, don’t forget to put quotes around your headline! Marketing genius Ted Nicholas discovered that putting quotes around a headline makes the text more “alive” and creates the feeling that the sentence is actually speaking out loud to the customer.

Long vs. Short Copy

In general, the more you sell, the more you need to tell. If you’re selling a $97 product, you’ll need more copy than if you are selling a $17 ebook. Likewise, if you’re asking a prospect to enter their name, email address, mailing address, and phone number, you’re going to need more copy.

Killer Squeeze Page Bullets

You should add four to six bullets to your squeeze page. “Blind” bullets pique the prospect’s curiosity. They are “blind” because the secret isn’t revealed. If you are a golfer and read the following bullet, you would want to discover the secret to a powerful downstroke!

Blind Bullet The one mistake even pro golfers make that kills the power in their downstroke… and how to use a simple, easy “adjustment” that will instantly increase your power by 200 percent or more! (Imagine consistently hitting 300 yard drives, and nailing greens from 150 yards out with a nine iron)!

Having four to six of these bullets will build desire in the prospect if they’re laser targeted to touch their hot buttons. That’s why it’s critical to research your target customer and the market!

The last element of a profitable squeeze page is a call to action. Thankfully, for squeeze pages, it is easy. Just tell your customer what to do!

An example of a call to action is the following: “So enter your name and primary email address to get instant access to my free report ‘How to Lose Weight’ and discover how you can shed up to 3 pounds this week!’”

The Key Is In The Follow-Up

Using these techniques, you can quickly build a squeeze page that will entice visitors to give you their name and email address. As your list grows, don’t forget to follow-up. It is a good idea to communicate with your list regularly so you are at the forefront of their minds. If you continually take care of your list, it will take care of you.

Flickr is a social photo sharing site. What does that mean? It is simply a website where you can share your scrapbooks, vacations or fondest memories with people all across the world. It is a photo sharing site mixed with a social foundation. If a picture says a thousand words then consider Flickr as your visual blog.

On Flickr, You can find other photography enthusiasts who love what you love about photography or certain events, which I will discuss in more detail later.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Flickr is the best way to get your photos noticed on a large level. Posting them on your blog or other social networks can only do so much. But Flickr is the photographer’s meow.

There is a way to pay for the pro version of Flickr and then you own the rights to your photos and can sell them professionally. However, because of the beauty of social networks, this option is not necessary. The more traffic you drive to any one site helps you out immensely. Flickr is no different.

Before You Start

Step 1 Go to Flickr.com and click “Create an Account.” Follow the prompts and in no time you will be able to start uploading photos. Flickr is owned by Yahoo, so if you have an existing Yahoo account you will be prompted to use it when you sign up. This will make set up easier. If you do not have a Yahoo account that’s fine, it will just take a little longer. Once your account is set up, get started by uploading all the pictures and videos you want!

Sneaky little trick There is an app on Flickr called the “Little Uploader App.” When it is activated you can right click an image and send it directly to Flickr, allowing you to bypass all the uploading options.

Tag, You’re It!

Step 2 Tagging is one of the essentials to keyword optimization and traffic generation. When tagging a photo, use words that will entice your viewer and explain the intentions of your photo. Once you have uploaded a photo you will be taken to a screen like the one shown below. Enter the tags that you want. Once you have added all the tags then you can move on to the next step.

Sneaky little trick: If there is something in the picture that is hard to see or needs further explanation you can add a note. A note appears when a viewer scrolls their cursor over an image. However be sure notes are short, clear and do not overlap.

Creating a Set (Album)

Step 3 A set is Flickr’s version of a photo album. This is the place where you can organize your photos. For example, if you go on vacation to California, you can make a California set. That set will contain all pictures from that specific event. Communities, which I will discuss later on, allow you to share sets.

Sneaky little trick Flickr has the amazing function to Geotag your images. What this means is that you can pin-point your pictures to the exact location that they were taken. Now you don’t have to explain where the British Virgin Islands are in your post – you can just Geotag it and it will automatically show people where the picture was taken. This is great to show progression or the location of an event. Mappr is also a great app. With this, all of your pictures show up on a map! Go to Mappr.com and www.ProgrammableWeb.com/api/mappr for more information.

Collect Your Sets

Step 4 Collections offer a great way to organize your sets. For example, let’s say you went to a three day conference. You could have a set of “Day 1” with pictures from the first day and one for each following day of the conference. Then you could make a collection with the title of the conference. Collections are a great way to show progression of an event or a product.

Get Social

Step 5 One of the tab options at the top of your account is “groups.” Click that and a screen like this will show up:

Once you see this screen you can create your own group. When creating a group, think about interests, not products or things that only you and people you know would be interested in (i.e. family photos). For example, if you enjoy watching the sun set, you can create a group for images of beautiful sunsets. More than likely there are other people on Flickr who share your passion for sunsets as well, so search for a group and modify it. If you find there is already a group for sunset photos, then create your own for sunsets in the Northwest. This makes it yours but pin-points your audience. Flickr communities are a great way to network and share.

From Here

Step 6 So you have your account set up, you are interested in a couple groups and have maybe even created your own. So where do you go from here?

link your accounts together. Tell people in all other networks, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and more, to check out your latest collection.

Post your pictures in other sites such as Your Minis, Tumblr, Delicious, Digg and other aggregator sites. These sites will give you instant traffic if your material is picked up. If you have a picture that is humorous, Digg is a great way to get it noticed. It only takes about four people telling all their friends and sharing it to make something viral.

Then go take more awesome pictures and grow!

Sneaky little trick If you find that you love photography and Flickr is your favorite network I would suggest getting a pro account. It is roughly $2 a month and then the pictures you take belong to you and you can sell the rights to them. This is just one way to upgrade something that’s already awesome. To upgrade, look for the “Your Account” link at the bottom of your screen. On the next screen, click the “Upgrade to a Pro Account” link and there you go!

How would you like to legally “hijack” high PageRank from authority sites and watch as your site receives an immediate boost in search engine rankings for almost any term (even highly competitive ones!)? It’s a well known fact that obtaining backlinks from sites with high PageRank (PR) will increase your search engine rankings as well as boost your own site’s PR. In this installment of 21 Minute Traffic we’re going to explore Angela’s Backlinks and Paul’s Backlinks to find out why they work so well and how you can use them to your own benefit for a ridiculously low cost.

Each month, these services provide packets that show you exactly where to find sites with a high “domain level” PR and how to set up a link. You then register an account on these sites, create a profile and drop your backlink (with your keyword as the anchor-text) in the bio area. The high PR from the site is directed back to your own site, helping to establish it as an authority site in your niche as well as increasing your search engine rankings.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Each month’s packet contains PDFs that give you a step-by-step “idiot proof” diagram on how to set up each site. By using these packets each and every month you can watch your site continue to rise in the search engines. As soon as you start seeing your site on the first page of Google you’ll begin seeing an increase in organic traffic.

Traffic alone will not make you rich. How you monetize this traffic is up to you. It is important that you’re implementing an effective monetization strategy on your site (like building your list with a squeeze page, Adsense or affiliate offers). I highly suggest that you use this free traffic to build a targeted list to sell to.

Grab Your Ammo

Step 1 Visit Angela and Paul’s sites and order as many monthly packages as you can afford (they’re super inexpensive so it’s crazy not to buy as many as you can get).

Get Organized

Step 2 Create a new Gmail account (http://mail.google.com/mail). You’ll need this to verify the registration for the websites you’ll be registering for. After you create a Gmail account, create a Google Docs Spreadsheet (http://docs.google.com) to keep track of all your work.

Follow the Steps

Step 3 Thoroughly go through the PDFs, following each and every step. Make sure to keep track of these in your spreadsheet. You’ll want to make sure to keep track of the following information (a screenshot showing how to set this up in your Google Docs Spreadsheet has been provided below):

• Monthly Pack
• URL
• Username/password
• Email Account Used During Registration
• Profile URL
• Time To Return
• Comments

Some of the sites will require you to come back in a week or two to complete the registration. Note that on the spreadsheet as well as the day you should come back. You will want to Social Bookmark the Profile URLs and/or create RSS feeds and distribute these feeds to RSS directories. Check your newly created Gmail account to verify registration for each site.

Get Your Links Right

Step 4 Be aware of which format you must use to create hyperlinks (BBcode, HTML, etc.) for each site. Use the code shown on page 18 as a guide when creating your links. Note that Angela backlinks are in a .txt file included in each pack.

Have a Plan to Cash In

Step 5 Make sure to have an effective monetization strategy for your site as it starts to rank. No matter what the primary monetization method is, it’s important to always build a list. This means posting an optin form and using an ethical bribe to convince the user to give up their name and email address.

Outsource It

Step 6 When you become proficient in setting up Angela and Paul’s Backlinks (usually one month’s pack is enough to know what you are doing), create a short Jing Video showing how to do it and then outsource the work so you can do more effective things with your time.

Put It On Autopilot

Step 7 (Optional) There is an automated way to setup Angela’s Backlinks and that is by using a program called Brute Force Linking Loophole. This program will complete the process for you. However it’s still important to keep track of the data in a spreadsheet.

For the past year, I have been able to work from a home office while taking care of my one-year-old daughter. At times it can be difficult, but at the end of the day the rewards are rich. It’s amazing to be able to join in a dance party with my daughter, or snuggle with her as she falls asleep – then get right back to work. I also love being able to improve myself as I push the bounds of what I think is possible in my professional life.

One of the rewards of what I do is that I constantly get to meet other people who are using the education they get from DotCom Secrets University to build their own dream lifestyles. Many of these people have become skilled in managing their time effectively while working from a home office. These individuals have learned how to take the limited time and resources they have to achieve the goals they’ve set for themselves.

Making Your Home Office Work for You

While the benefits of a home office abound, it also presents some unique challenges. With a home office, you don’t necessarily clock in at eight and out at five. You also might have a variety of other things vying for your attention like kids, pets, roommates, friends and neighbors. And with no one to report to but yourself, it can be easier to procrastinate on your hardest tasks. Since you are your own boss, you have to keep yourself motivated despite these challenges. Follow these simple steps to set up your own home office and maximize your time as you build a thriving online empire:

Be Firm About Your Work Schedule: Other people may not understand that even though you work from home and set your own schedule, you can’t stop what you’re doing at any given time to be part of other activities. When these situations arise, politely tell the person that you have set aside a certain amount of time for work and ask if you can reschedule with them. If you give the impression that you take your work schedule seriously, others will naturally do the same.

Set Daily Goals for Yourself: Every morning before you start working, make a list of the things you need to get done. It’s also a good idea to keep a running list of extra tasks you can work on in those rare moments when you have some time to spare. This will help keep you focused and give you a way to measure how much you have accomplished. Plus, at the end of the day, it feels good to be able to physically mark off the tasks you’ve completed.

Set a Start and End Time for Yourself: It’s easy to start working from the moment you wake up until just before you turn in for the night when your commute is just a short walk down the hall. But working every waking moment will quickly leave you feeling drained. Create a schedule and try to stay as consistent as possible. Soon, it will become part of your routine and increase your resolve to continue working when other distractions arise.

Eliminate Distractions: If you were working for someone else, you wouldn’t check emails, make personal phone calls, or go shopping during work hours. That shouldn’t change just because you’re working for yourself. Set a schedule and don’t allow distractions to get the better of you. The hours you set aside for work should be solely for working. You’ll get much more done and be able to enjoy more free time later to do all the other things you want.

Find an Office Away From Your Home Office: As an at-home entrepreneur, it’s not always possible to work 100 percent free from distractions. Make sure you have a backup plan and someone you can call on for support when you feel overwhelmed. If you have kids at home, it’s a good idea to find a place you can go when you need to work for a few hours without interruption. That could mean sending the kids to grandma’s for a day, leasing office space away from the home or setting up play dates with other parents where you exchange babysitting.

Remember Your “Why”: Maintaining motivation when there’s no one there to give you a pat on the back for a job well done can be one of the most challenging aspects of working from home. On days when your energy is waning, give yourself a reminder by creating a vision board and posting it in a place where it’s visible from your desk. A vision board is a collage of images and phrases that inspire you and remind you of the reasons why you started your own business in the first place. It could be pictures that remind you of family fun time, the beach, your dream home… anything that speaks to your heart and reignites your passion.

Join Up With Allies: If you’re someone who thrives off of working with others, it can be a challenge to go solo. Get involved with groups of like-minded people in your local community so you can network and feed off of each other’s creativity. You can search for groups on Meetup.com or join in local volunteer efforts.

The Rewards of Working From Home

Once you get into the habit of doing these things, your home office can be a huge blessing. Here are just some of the benefits you will enjoy as you become master of your own time working from home:

Being There for Your Family: If you’re a parent, or plan to be soon, imagine being there every day to watch your kids grow up. As a work-from-home entrepreneur, you’ll be there to guide and teach them when they need you the most.

An Office Anywhere: The home office doesn’t have to be located in your home. If you have a laptop and a cell phone, it can travel with you to the backyard, the beach or the car while waiting to pick the kids up from soccer practice. This flexibility can help you maximize otherwise “dead time” and allows you to enjoy a refreshing change of scenery from time to time.

Traffic Free Commute: Having no commute can add an extra hour or more to your day. People who take a half hour commute each way, five days a week, end up burning 10 full days each year sitting in traffic! And many people commute two or three hours a day. The sad fact is, this is the reality for most people working in the corporate world. But as an internet entrepreneur taking full advantage of a work from home lifestyle, your commute can be a quick 30 second walk down the hall.

Time to Focus: Most people who work in a traditional office lose valuable time each day with “got-a-minute meetings” and chatty co-workers. With a home office, you can set your schedule to work for you and get more done in less time as you learn to minimize distractions.

Financial Perks: Depending on where you live, there are a variety of financial benefits to setting up shop in the spare bedroom. You’ll save on gas, eating out, avoid wear and tear to your car and may even be eligible for some extra tax breaks.

Unlimited Vacation Time: As your own boss, you don’t have to worry about keeping track of vacation days and sick leave. As long as you have a laptop, a phone and an internet connection, you can work anywhere.

Unlimited Income Potential: With the flexibility to work when and where you want, your income can be a direct reflection of how much you put into your business. There’s no waiting around for pay raises or bonuses – just you and your motivation to succeed.

So love your home office and the freedom it gives you! Remember that some days will be more productive than others, but as you set goals for yourself and tangibly track your progress, you’ll be able to make your home office work for you.

It’s one thing to have copy that merely says, “Buy this gadget now!” but it’s another thing to use certain “sneaky” devices that nudge people toward a purchase decision. These emotional triggers that urge people to buy are elements I always use in my copy when I write a sales letter for Russell.

This article will include several emotional triggers I use every time I write a sales letter. Don’t worry, these are all ethical – they just allow you to gently “nudge” your buyer toward a purchase through your copy. This also assumes you’re selling something that brings value to your customer, and not some kind of scammer just trying to get money from people. Ready? Here we go!

Trigger 1: Proof of Value

This is an extremely useful trigger you’ll want to use in your copy over and over again. Let me share a story with you that illustrates this: I am an avid runner. I like to run eight to 10 miles three or four days a week. I’m not an Olympic hopeful or anything like that, but I like to run in road races and have even finished a Marathon.

One of the things I struggle with in running is my time. I feel like I have plenty of endurance but speed is what I lack. Any competitive runner will tell you that in order to race well you need to have both speed and endurance. That’s why any good training program will mix in long endurance runs with speed interval training on the track.

If someone created a DVD entitled, “How To Run a Three-Hour Marathon by Training Only Three Times a Week,” I would buy it because running three times a week is all the time I can devote to running. And in case you’re not familiar with the sport, people who are able to run sub-three hour marathons run much more often than that.

So let’s say this DVD costed $97. To me this would be a lot of money because I’m used to buying DVD movies for $10 to $20.

However, if you told me that after watching this DVD, I’d be able to run a sub-three hour marathon and qualify for the prestigious Boston Marathon, I would plunk down my $97 in a heartbeat. And if you told me that no other training method would give me those results, I’d be further sold.

Further, if you told me the price was only the cost of a monthly electricity bill or a month’s worth of Starbucks, then this would further overcome my price objection.

Do you see where I’m going with this? By reframing the cost of the product around justification for the price, you’re building value around the product in your customer’s mind. You’re not just saying, “The DVD is $97… Click Here To Order!” You’re justifying the price by building value. This is also called “reframing the price.”

This is something I put in every sales letter and you should too. Never tell your customers the price of your offering in a vacuum — always reframe and justify the price in your copy. This is something people always think about when they see the price and you need to be prepared to resolve those objections.

Trigger 2: Establish Authority

Customers love to do business with people who have become established authorities in their industries. That’s why you need to use this emotional trigger in your copy and all your promotions.

This is something many marketers don’t do effectively. You can talk the big talk, but if you don’t establish authority in your copy and your marketing, people may question your knowledge on the subject — and they may not buy from you.

Above you can see a screenshot of the home page for DotComSecrets.com. When people go here they know that Russell is an authority on internet marketing. Here’s how visitors can tell:

Media Exposure: There are “As Seen On…” icons from the networks and magazines Russell has appeared in. Russell has been invited to several news stations to tell his story, so he truly was on these networks. The funny thing about people and this culture is if someone has written a book or appeared on TV, they are considered an authority.

• On a side note: One of the dirty little secrets about our culture is that many books in our bookstores and libraries written by “experts” are horribly written… and just because you’re on TV doesn’t mean you’re an expert.

However, our culture values people who have either appeared on TV, written a book, or are constantly in the public eye. That’s why people fawn over celebrities. Not to put down these people, but a small warning to do your own research into the authority of an individual before you buy from them.

Expert by Association: There’s a video with Russell talking with Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins is considered a household name in the self-improvement industry, and the video of Russell shaking Tony’s hand and interviewing him indicates that he has achieved “expert” status in his field to warrant the opportunity to hang with Tony Robbins.

These elements weren’t put on the front page of our website by accident — we made sure these things were front and center (and “above the fold”) on the DotCom Secrets website so people would instantly associate Russell with authority status. Then they could take it from there and do their own research.

Trigger 3: Feeling of Involvement

One of the things that urges people to buy is a feeling of involvement. You’re more than likely to buy a TV from Wal-Mart if you play with the controls than you are if you don’t touch the set at all.

However, in direct response marketing, you’re selling your product or service where the customer cannot pick it up and try it out. That’s why you need to be as descriptive as possible so they can imagine picking it up and touching it!

That’s one way to get the customer more involved. Another way is to include an “involvement device” in the copy. For example, if you’re selling a weight loss product, you can simply ask a question above the fold that says, “Do you suffer from the following (check all that apply)” and have several symptoms with a check box people can click on.

These check boxes don’t do anything when clicked on, but they allow customers to be more involved in the selling process. It’s like having a customer switch channels on the TV before they buy, or take a new car for a test drive for a weekend before purchase.

In fact, just having people enter their name and email address before they see a sales page can raise conversions. Armand Morin reported in his recent course, “Internet Marketing Explained” that his conversions were higher when visitors passed through a squeeze page than when they were taken to a sales page alone.

There are several reasons for this, but one of them is the simple action of entering an email address meant they would take bigger (and more expensive) actions on the sales page. That’s why we always send traffic to our best selling course, Micro-Continuity, through the squeeze page shown below first:

These are just some of the many emotional triggers you can ethically exploit in your copy and all of your marketing. It’s amazing the power of sales copy when it contains four to five of these emotional triggers in the same copy! So make sure you put these to good use the next time you write your next promotion. I will be revealing more emotional triggers in future issues so stay tuned!

This is another service that I wasn’t sure how to  exploit when I first saw it, but within a few minutes we were using its power to drive traffic to our websites!  But before I show you how to use this site, I want to tell you the background story on why it’s called the “mechanical turk”.

The mechanical turk was a fake chess playing machine someone made in the 18th century. The box was supposed to be like a computer that could beat humans at chess. The box toured around and beat some of the best chess players of the time. Years later they found out that it was just a hoax and actually had a small Turk inside of the box who was really good at chess.

Recently, Amazon launched a new service (called the mechanical turk) that allows you to hire people from around the world for micro-projects and pay anywhere from $.01 to a few bucks each. I’ve heard stories of people who have used this service for a lot of different things. I heard that one person wanted to show his wife how much he loved her, so he put an offer of $.10 to text his wife that he loved her, and within a few hours she was receiving hundreds of text messages from around the world.

So, how do you think you could use a service like this to make more money…? We’re currently using it in a lot of ways in our company. I don’t want to spoil the creative ideas that you may be having (because there are an unlimited number of ways to use this service), but here are a few ideas that might get your creative juices flowing:

• Backlinking: We all know that backlinking is one of the most tedious tasks in the world, but if you are only paying $.05 to each person who gives you a link, and you can get 2,000 people to do that quickly for you – just image the diversity and quantity of links you can get in record time.

• Get unique content written: Take your articles and instead of using a spinner (which rarely turns out good articles) break them down into paragraphs. Then have 30 people re-write each paragraph. So, if you have an article with 10 paragraphs, you would create one project with 300 HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks). In theory you’d have 300 people each re-write one paragraph. Now, you have 30 variations of paragraph one, 30 of paragraph two, and so on. You can now mix and match that article and make hundreds of variations of new articles all from one article!

• Researching or pulling data for you: If you have a list of people – or the type of people you’d like to contact – you can setup a project and get people to find the data for you. For example, if you’d like the contact information for all of the people on the first five pages of Google for the keyword “make money online” (or the first five pages for 10, 20 or 100 different keywords) you could easily get others to get that information for you and it would cost you less than a nice dinner for two.

The possibilities are literally endless. I’ve seen people using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to build their Twitter and Facebook followings. I’ve seen people use it to get backlinks, create social media pages, research data and more. It gives you the ability to tap into a virtual workforce of thousands of people where you only pay them pennies for a micro-project.

Recently I came across something that, at first seemed like a cool service but not something that could really make me a lot more money. The service (which I’m sure you’ve heard of) is called Google Voice. It used to be a service that was by invitation only, but recently it was opened up to everyone!

If you don’t have an account yet, get one ASAP… But if you already have an account, let me show you a few ways that we’ve tweaked it. Now it is not just a cool tool, but a diamond in the rough that has made our process of generating content, articles and money 10 times faster than ever before!

So before I show you the strategy, let me share with you the background story. One of my close friends was bragging to me about his new Google Voice account, and the fact that I didn’t have one. He then told me to call him so I could see it in action.

I called and left a message. After I hung up, a few seconds later, he got a text message from me with part of the message transcribed. I thought that was pretty cool, but didn’t think much more about it at the time.

A few minutes later he got an email, and he forwarded it to me as well. What I saw was literally a game changer for me. It was my entire message transcribed!

That’s when the whistles went off in my head. I then called him back and this time I picked a keyword that we have been focusing on in our SEO efforts. When the voice mail picked up, I simply asked a question (with that keyword in the question) and then I answered it (again… using that keyword two or three more times).

Now, Google voice only allows messages that are up to three minutes long. If you talk longer, then it hangs up on you. But… what happened next was amazing.

In about five minutes, my friend got an email that had my entire message transcribed. I counted the words from my two minute, 28 second message, and there were about 550 words with perfect keyword density.  A perfect article that I normally pay my article writers $10 for, and I was able to get it done off the top of my head, in less than three minutes flat!

I then took a list of 10 other keywords we were focusing on. Within 30 minutes I had 10 articles that were perfectly written and ready for us to start using to drive traffic! Ever since we discovered this, we have been using it to create mass content for blog posts and articles in all of the niches we have a presence in.

Often what I’ll do now, is on my way to work, I’ll take my list of 10 keywords in the car with me, and instead of just listening to the radio, I’ll use my cell phone to leave myself 10 messages. By the time I get to the office, I’ve got 10 new articles that are ready to make me some money!

This is one very powerful tool that is saving us thousands of dollars each month on article writers and giving us the ability to pump out 10 times the content!

I have heard that question many times as people seek to find the secret behind the success of the big network marketers. Now, I want you to pay close attention because what I have found through multiple studies is that there are two key and quite frankly obvious components each and every successful network marketer has.

The other day, Russell Brunson introduced me to a video Tony Robbins compiled a while ago for his 50th birthday. It was filled with quotes from Muhammad Ali, the Rocky Balboa movie, Nelson Mandela, quotes from Tony himself, and other great inspirational leaders. It really moved me and helped me re-realize that it is me who is responsible for my destiny. It is me who is the master of my life, my wealth, and my happiness.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first person to tell you that connecting with people you trust, look up to and respect is vitally important on your journey to becoming a successful network marketer, but it is ultimately you who makes it happen – you who brings it all together. You can go watch the video online by going to: www.DotComSecrets.com/howgreatiam.html. I confess I watch it nearly every day to really get me pumped.

No matter how rich I am, I can’t transfer my wealth building skills to you unless you understand this first key principle: you are an agent unto yourself. That being said, I can’t wait for you to show me just how great you are!

Why Do So Few Make It?

C.R. Koerber, a great thinker and philosopher of our time, said, “Prosperity is the consequence of choice. One must choose whether to be free and responsible for his or her actions or whether to be a victim of environment, circumstance, or some other external factor. America’s Declaration of Independence proclaims all men and women have been ‘endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.’ Along with these rights has been bestowed an inherent responsibility. This responsibility is co-equal with the ability to choose and to act. One must choose to be prosperous.”

If you’re going to be great, it is you who has to do what it takes. Now you may be pining for more detail on exactly what steps to take. Well, here’s the good news – that trail is already blazed and if you look around you’ll know exactly what it takes to walk it. What’s interesting to me is our human reluctance to ‘do what works’ and our innate desire to reinvent the wheel. I see it every day in my personal downline as well as in others. You all know what I’m talking about.

Nearly every network marketing company out there has a tried and proven method of building the business. And guess what, it works. It may not be the sexiest plan and you may even think that you can make a better one. But here’s the ugly truth – those who follow the outlined marketing models are those who win. And those who fritter away their days outlining and testing out new marketing methods are those who get passed right up. While they are still planning their battle strategies, the humble distributors with nothing but the guts to follow the plan zoom right past them to join the wealthy few who make it.

So this is the first question and the first key answer: Why do so few make it rich in network marketing? Because there are few who have the guts to put their head down and just keep moving forward on the already emblazoned path until they reach the great heights promised. It is then and only then that you should ever allow yourself to look back and modify the plan.

“Well, I’ve already tried that,” you say, “and it just didn’t work for me…” It’s so easy to try something for a few days or even a few weeks and then make a rash decision that it doesn’t work. The only true answer to someone like that is not that the system doesn’t work but that they don’t. Let me tell you something you already know – Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are multi-millionaires. If you want the success, and you want it bad enough, then commit to me right now that you will follow the plan with exactness and without fail for six months straight each and every day.

Note: If you are a God fearing man like me and would like to have Him on your side as you build your business, you are allowed to take your Sabbath day off but no more.

The Second Question

Now comes the second question I asked: “What differentiates between the people who have the ‘guts’ and those who don’t. How can one earn said ‘guts?’” What I have found is that it has everything to do with your reason – your why.

Let’s do a little exercise together. I want you to imagine with me that you are earning a high five figure income right now in your network marketing business. I want you to focus on that, hold it in the front of your awareness. Focus on it until it becomes real. Think about it – what are you doing with an income and lifestyle like that? I mean it, really think about it and daydream with me. What comes to your mind? What is it that your soul really longs for down deep…

• To be free from the shackled burden of debt?
• To travel to the exotic corners of this beautiful earth?
• To be able to spend your life with your family instead of with your office desk?
• To drive that car you’ve only dreamed about?
• To own a beautiful mansion with enough rooms to house an entire family reunion?
• To be able to watch your babies grow up and be a full part of their lives instead of just a passing shadow?

You decide and then emblazon that image – that why – on your heart and don’t let it go. That image is your strongest asset and your best safeguard. There will be times as you build this business that it will get hard – maybe even harder than you anticipated and it will be that image that will get you through.

When you are nervous, scared, frustrated, or just tired push through because of that why. For a moment, fast forward and feel what it is like to have achieved that. Now, remember what that feels like and keep that feeling with you. That is your foundation, your ‘guts’ that will get you through to the top. When you feel frustration or pain, hold on to this and keep moving forward.

The Simple Path

That’s it – it’s that simple. Now I’ll tell you a couple of things I am certain of. First, I am completely confident that if you daily and consistently do the plan as outlined by your company you will achieve the five figure income you envision. Second, there is no such thing as “getting rich quick and easy.” It’s just a plain fact. Don’t believe me? Look around. How many people do you know who are chasing after that pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. The fact is, it isn’t there. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ll be the first to tell you that becoming a millionaire is within your reach I just want you to understand that it’s not easy.

I don’t mean that it can’t be simple. In fact that’s what network marketing companies do best is outline the simplest path from beginning to wealth (because it’s in their best interest for you to get as many people into your business as possible and succeed).

What I do mean is that you will have to fight emotional battles in your head. You will have to fight back the dragons of complacency and doubt.

You will have to have an insatiable drive for the goal. Even when you don’t have the energy or willpower you will have to go through the motions for the day and do your outlined plan. You will have to take complete responsibility for your own successes and failures, learn from what you do wrong and keep moving forward.

It’s that simple.

After spending six years studying architecture in college, Aaron J. Perry took his degree and found a good job, or at least what looked like one on paper. It wasn’t long before he found himself fully entrenched in a career that demanded 65+ work hours per week and left him hungry for a life outside the office.

After eight years of this, the Australian native made the life-changing decision to jump off the corporate ladder forever. That meant building a new income and life from scratch.

With a new, less demanding job that gave him more time freedom, he decided to revisit a lifelong dream that had been put on the back burner for years – becoming a martial arts instructor. Alongside a few friends, Perry opened a martial arts school and began designing a curriculum that included one-of-a-kind games to help kids have fun in class and stay focused. These games were such a hit, that before he knew it, Perry and his friends were getting such positive word-of-mouth advertising about their school that they had to start a waiting list.

Soon, he realized that other martial arts instructors could benefit from his unique curriculum. That’s when he created his first product and opened MartialGames4Kids.com. Today, he is enjoying the freedom to travel and spend time with his wife, Wynn, while growing his businesses.

When we contacted Perry, he was headed to the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia for the birthday vacation of a lifetime. He graciously agreed to share his story of how he built his first website, and what he’s doing today to make it so successful. His insights into starting and growing an online business offer powerful strategies for anyone who wants to do the same:

Q: What was your original career in the architecture field like?

A: I don’t regret my past but it seems crazy looking back. At 24-years-old I was working in an office with 75 staff and I was opening and closing the office most days of the week and worked nearly every weekend.  Averaging 65+ hours a week, I had my music collection and dinnerware in the office because I lived there more than my apartment. I was in that particular office for three years then one Christmas holiday when the office was shut I realized I’d been so focused on work that I’d lost touch with all of my friends. It was a wake-up call to realize I had no life outside the office. The real kick in the face was being laid off with two hours notice when the market turned quiet.

Q: What finally made you decide to leave the architecture field?

A: I’d always planned to have my own business, but after eight years in different architectural firms I decided that it wasn’t the industry for me to sink my teeth into. I looked at the people above me and most of them were either divorced or on their second or third marriages. Most were still doing long hours in the office and worrying about landing the next contract for a building to keep the business running and cover their overheads. It just wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted for me.

Q: Where did you go after that? What role did martial arts play in getting your life back on the track you wanted to be on?

A: I took a job as an architectural rep promoting building products to architects which was easy given my background but this role helped convince me that marketing and sales was something I loved doing. All of a sudden I was only working 40 hours a week and had a great new bunch of friends. Once I had my nights and weekends free I started training Martial Arts again and got myself back in shape.

A year later I met an American Martial Artist named Jeff Speakman and started learning American Kenpo.  This man and my new friends have had an incredible influence on the life I now have.

Q: When did you open a martial arts school?

A: A group of us started a Kenpo Karate school in 2004. There have been some great changes over the years and it is now a Jeff Speakman Kenpo 5.0 school.  My role has changed focus recently to concentrate on Internet Marketing, building an Australian MMA brand and working with young fighters who want to break into the UFC.

Q: At first, what did you do to market your classes and what was the response?

A: The initial advertising was a mixture of traditional methods: leaflet drops, demonstrations, local newspaper articles and some community radio spots.  The response was minimal. It was working but it was a lot of time, effort and dollars. We soon learned the most effective lead generator was unintentional word-of-mouth from the new students.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

A: When we realized that most new students were attracted to the school because of the word-of-mouth advertising from a friend we focused more on just teaching great classes and letting the students be our free advertising. One of the reasons our classes were so popular was the Martial Arts Games we were creating to help teach the kids. The kids were having a great time in class but the parents were also commenting that we provided more serious content in every lesson than other MA Schools and the kids were learning to really defend themselves very quickly. Everybody was happy and it created a buzz about the school.

Because the games were having such a great impact on the kids I started focusing on creating new games to keep things fresh month after month as the kids skills increased. I soon had a good collection of martial games and decided to put them into a manual for other instructors to use in their lessons.

Q: What was the biggest hurdle you faced in building MartialGames4Kids.com and how did you overcome it?

A: Haha, the biggest hurdle was me! With my design background I want to have total control over how everything looks. That means I had to learn to do everything myself, the writing, design layout, building the website, writing the sales copy, learning to generate traffic, anything and everything…

I wrote the first version of Martial Games for Kids in 2005 but sales and growth were a frustrating struggle because I insisted on doing everything, which was a long slow process. When I received a call from DotCom Secrets the timing was perfect. Turning MartialGames4Kids.com into an online business was starting to happen but it had taken years to just break even. I was frustrated as I knew what I wanted to achieve and I could finally admit that I didn’t know how to get it to the next level. Just like learning Martial Arts I needed an instructor/coach to improve, to show me the right steps.

Q: How long have you been marketing to other martial arts instructors and what’s been your biggest success so far?

A: I had been marketing with Google ads on and off for a few years but my efforts were unfocused and hence my results were average. Once I started getting coaching from Michael Taggart at DotCom Secrets, he opened my eyes to all the different ways I could market my business (videos, articles, web 2.0). I had already built a list of interested instructors but I had never really kept in touch with them. Just emailing my list with updates and insights reignited interest in the games for teaching kids martial arts.

Q: What has been the most effective way for you to drive traffic to your site?

A: So far banner ads have shown the best results.  Initially I ran banner ads on CPC, then checked the analytics to see where they were being shown and the click through rates. Then I selected the best websites and contacted them directly to place permanent banners on their sites. One website was costing $.89 per click through Google but now I have rotating banners on there for $40 per month which more than pay for themselves in the first week. Repeating this process is one of my main focuses right now.

Q: Do you have any advice for other marketers who are just starting to try paid traffic methods like media buying on how to make their investment work for the long term?

A: Yes, just keep experimenting in small doses and track everything until you find a method that shows positive results. When you find the media that works for your niche focus on it and get it humming. Then you can start looking for additional methods to add for continued growth. A combination of paid traffic (instant) and free SEO traffic (long term) is best. Diversify your traffic generation for long term security.

Q: What do you love most about the entrepreneurial lifestyle you’ve created for yourself?

A: A lot of things… waking up and checking my Clickbank account and other affiliate accounts just to put a smile on my face. But the real pleasure is developing new products that I know Martial Artists around the world are using to help teach young kids.  Knowing that I can provide a great secure lifestyle for my family while helping others reach their goals at the same time.  I’m building a business that I believe in and can be proud of.

Q: What’s coming up next for you and your martial arts businesses?

A: One of my biggest goals is to help one million kids reach their own Black Belt goal and then continue their training for life. I’m currently working on a new program for young students which will be launched this year, the aim is to help them develop their physical and mental strength and become great martial artists and future leaders in their communities.

I’m also building up my own MMA Brand of clothing and training gear here in Australia and my goal is to help sponsor some talented young Aussie MMA Fighters to travel to America and train at Xtreme Couture, eventually helping them reach their goal of fighting in the UFC in 2011.

I’m also looking forward to buying some property in Hawaii and making that our home away from home in the near future.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

This is a tool that we used to use in the past and forgot about for awhile. Recently, we started using it again for some of our campaigns and have been pleasantly surprised.

StumbleUpon is a network of over 10 million users. These users install a toolbar, and they have the ability to give a thumbs up or down to any website they are on. They can then click on the “StumbleUpon” button and it will find them more new sites that are similar to what they already like.

While the majority of the websites inside SU are free sites, you can also buy advertising inside of their network. When you do advertise with SU, make sure that you are not advertising your normal websites (squeeze or sales pages) or users will normally vote you down and you’ll stop getting traffic fast. Remember that you want to show them things that they want to view, and use that as a hook to pull them into your sales process.

So far, we have been having success with funny or motivational videos that people watch and share – we then have ads around it pushing to our products or an optin box to get their contact information.

Just remember that if people vote your content down within StumbleUpon, you won’t be seen, so make sure you give them awesome stuff, and then others will see it!

A few months ago my wife and I had just gotten the kids to bed, and she remembered that we needed some milk from the grocery store. I headed down to pick up the milk when something red caught my eye. Right outside the entrance to the grocery store were brightly colored red kiosks. These vending machines were filled with DVDs, and there was a lineup of people both renting and returning movies. I was curious, and did what anyone would do… I got in line to check it out.

I was able to scroll through multiple screens of movies that were stocked in this vending machine. I was excited to find out that it would only cost $1 a day for a DVD rental and there were no “late fees.” I rented my DVD and then retrieved my milk from the store and headed home. I was so excited to tell my wife about what I had discovered. I saved a lot of time by being able to get a DVD and milk in one location.

This Redbox company was truly amazing. As I did more research online, I found out that there were several Redboxes within a few miles of my home. I could even rent a DVD from one box and return it at any other box in the country. Talk about convenience.

Through some research, I found out that Redbox was a joint venture between McDonald’s and Coinstar.  This would explain why I initially saw these machines outside most of the McDonald’s that I drove by.  According to Wikipedia, Redbox was founded in 2003 and as of December 2009 was estimated to have over 22,000 locations in the United States. In 2007, each kiosk was estimated to bring in almost $40,000 a year in sales. The grocery store closest to my house has three kiosks on their property.

All You Need is One to Say Yes

I was blown away as I started to think about what process Redbox had used to grow into such an amazing business with kiosks in so many locations. All they needed to get started was for one business to say yes. Let me explain.

McDonald’s of course is one of the biggest brands in the whole world. They serve over 47 million customers a day. Redbox initially had their kiosks exclusively in McDonald’s, but as business started to grow, so did their locations. They were able to take their knowledge of the business and start approaching other “high traffic” locations and ask if they would like to have a Redbox on their premises. They just needed one business to say yes.

It would have been an easy sale. Redbox representatives could show how much money other locations were making and all that they needed was some space either inside or outside of the store, power, and a phone jack. They made it very easy for stores to say yes.

They then went to the next business. I am sure they started having businesses approach them asking to have a Redbox at their location.

Be Like Redbox

We should all be just like Redbox. No, I don’t mean we should get into the DVD rental business, but we should follow what they did. Here are some ideas on how you can do this in your online business:

Gain Credibility: Your product should be unique to the marketplace. If you have an information course teaching listbuilding, what makes your course and program unique? What sets your program apart from all the other listbuilding programs? This usually comes down to credibility. McDonald’s is a trusted business.  They have the credibility because of their obsession to test everything. If they roll out a new hamburger to all of their locations you better believe that they have done the market testing to back up that decision.

What can you do, or what have you done to gain credibility? Do you have screenshots of your bank account or other merchant accounts showing sales that can be attributed to using your product or system? Do you have examples of others using your system who have found the same success? What makes you so special? It’s important to really look at yourself. Why would someone buy from you?

These questions are vital as you prepare to talk to potential joint venture partners. Initially, the representatives for Redbox were probably asked a lot of questions. I am sure they had already anticipated most of those questions and had prepared adequate answers and proof to back up their claims.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

High Traffic Channels: Like Redbox, when you are looking for potential JV partners, it’s important to find high traffic locations. Look for reputable JV partners who are getting a ton of traffic to their sites. A good way to tell if they are getting traffic is to look at their “Alexa” ranking. You can download the Alexa toolbar at: http://alexa.com. When you go to a website, look for the Alexa ranking in your toolbar. The lower the number the more traffic they are getting. For example: if you go to: http://google.com you will see a #1. According to Alexa, Google is the highest visited site on the internet.

You should also find sites and blogs where companies are paying to advertise their products or services on their site. You can approach the potential JV partners and see if they would like to promote your product or service.

Complementary Products: As you make a list of potential JV partners, instead of contacting individuals who have competing products, look for JV partners who have complementary products.

For example, we started publishing the monthly newsletter you are reading now over three years ago. We happen to think this newsletter is pretty darn good. In fact, we feel that it’s the best in our industry. I get frustrated when people contact me, asking us to promote their physical newsletter. It isn’t anything bad about them, but we have to turn them down. How can we in good conscience promote an offer for another newletter and tell our subscribers to go and invest in it when we want people to continue receiving our newsletter? It won’t work, and will be very confusing to our customers.

However, when someone contacts me and asks for us to promote their new software that will help our customers set up their website faster, that is a better fit. A software product could complement the education that we are already providing our students. Education plus specific software are complementary.

Make things easy: Make it super easy for JV partners to promote your product or service. I am sure when Redbox approached different businesses to allow them to put a kiosk on their property they offered to take care of the electrical requirements and made arrangements to get the machine set up. They appreciated the business owner’s willingness to participate, and wanted to make things as easy for them as possible.

When you have JV partners say yes to help promote for you, make it easy. Create affiliate accounts for them if you need to and get them their affiliate link and sample email copy or banners. The harder they have to work to promote for you the less likely it will be to happen. They are busy, and if they have to search for their affiliate link it may not happen.

Thick Skin: The last point I want to make is to not be discouraged if people say no. This is going to happen to you. Grow some thick skin, and keep going. Your offer is not going to be the best deal for everyone that you contact, and that’s okay.

If after you contact several people and they all say no, then you might need to look at your offer, or the way you are presenting it. When someone says no or that they aren’t really interested, you can be respectful and ask what specifically caused them to say no. You may need to try and resolve some concerns that they have, and invite them again.

Internet Marketer of the Year

A few years ago a lot of internet marketers were hosting teleseminars. Some really successful marketers made a ton of money hosting a teleseminar series by having guests teach something to their customers over the phone, and then selling their program or service.  The customers were happy because they could learn and buy good products without leaving the comfort of their home or office. The product owners and teleseminar host were happy as well because they would then split the money from the sales and not have to travel or deal with the expense of hosting an actual conference in a hotel.

Russell had an idea to follow the same model as a teleseminar, but use the webinar platform that was just beginning to gain popularity. This idea was brilliant. We quickly made a list of our “dream team” of internet marketers that we were going to contact to participate.

Initially, as we started contacting partners we had some people say no. They were busy and didn’t have the time. I started feeling like it may not work. Russell then said something very profound. He said, “We just need someone huge to say yes.”

At the time, Russell had been in contact with Bill Glazer about a few things. One day Russell asked him if he could help us get Dan Kennedy to participate.  Russell knew that if Dan would say yes, then we could fill up our schedule very quickly.

Well that’s exactly what happened.  Everyone wanted their name to be associated with Dan Kennedy’s. The JV page we created had our list of potential partners shown with their pictures darkened. As soon as someone said yes, we then lit up their picture. As I continued contacting people, my strategy went to just trying to get people to look at the JV page with me over the phone.  The instant they saw what we were doing they wanted in. We filled up our schedule, and had customers and JV partners very happy. It was a win/win/win.

I know that you can do this in your business. Instead of thinking about how the joint venture will be good for you, think about how it will benefit them. What’s in it for them? Refuse to accept no, and push forward. You will soon experience the sweet taste of JV success.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

This article is going to be a little different than my past articles. Like most business owners, you are probably interested and curious about the newly announced Facebook privacy settings and the impact they will have on your social media marketing.

This article will cover a little history about Facebook as well as their new open graph system and privacy settings. I’ll also talk about what the new privacy settings mean to you as a business owner and how they will change as we progress into the future.

Facebook offers powerful benefits to business owners. It is a way to communicate with niche markets on a global scale. The new open graph system makes it even easier for marketers to target the exact audience they want. If you are not using Facebook to drive traffic, you are missing out on conversations about your niche, product and company that your competitors are capitalizing on. Social networking is not going anywhere, so it is better to be on the cutting edge than be left behind.

The Original Facebook

CEO Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook while at Harvard. He originally began Facebook as a way to keep in touch with other Ivy league students. It then progressed into a way to find old classmates and stay connected. Facebook was around the same time that Myspace was becoming overwhelmingly popular. It became apparent to Zuckerberg that people want to be social on the web. This idea is what fueled Facebook and the changes they have made since.

Facebook is now taking over the web and making it a social experience. Between the open graph system and the ‘Like’ button being allowed as a plug-in on other sites (I will discuss the implications of both these features later), Facebook is changing the web as we know it. As of today, the majority of the privacy settings announced in April have been implemented.

So what does this mean for the future? Well, it is going to change aggregation and the web as a whole. Web 2.0 is more social and open. The thing to be cautious about is that on the other end of everything being social and open is Zuckerberg and Facebook. Facebook will be monopolizing on information gathered through its users.

The ‘Like’ Button

The ‘Like’ button has become second nature to most. When we come across a ‘Like’ button on a site that we like, there is rarely a thought given to pressing it. However, what does you ‘Liking’ something mean to Facebook, or the web as a whole? Surprisingly a lot! When you say that you like a hockey team, book, food, movie or hobby, you are marketing yourself to businesses. When you like something it shows up on your wall for all of your friends to see.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but consider the people who want to know your interests most – marketers who promote goods that are compatible with your demographic profile. Through the ‘Like’ button, Facebook is creating the most personal, targeted database ever. It is personal because you are creating it by voting for what you like. Statistics show that of Facebook’s 400 million active users, each individual ‘Likes’ an average of 60 pages. That is an insane amount of profitable information!

When the ‘Like’ button became available to any and all websites it seemed like a no-brainer to most companies. It was free promotions for them and a way to pinpoint their audience. So from a business point of view, this is a great idea. Why not use it?

But on a personal level, we are basically giving ourselves away to advertisements and sales opportunities. How do you know if you are affected? Have you noticed the Facebook ads on the right side of your screen becoming ironically personal? For instance, I recently changed the status on my Facebook account to “in a relationship.” Ever since then I have been served ads for wedding planners and engagement rings. This is one of the implications of an open graph system.

To an individual, the open graph system may seem scary. But to a business, it is a powerful marketing tool. Not only can you learn who is interested in your niche but who they are friends with and who else has the same common interest. For example, let’s say you have a knitting product. You can look up anyone who talks about knitting on Facebook and then go and be friends with them and have access to them and all their friends who knit as well. Facebook does all the research and leg work for you.

On the bottom left is a screen shot of the fan page insights for DotCom Secrets. If you create a fan page you automatically have access to all the insights of anyone who is a fan of your page, i.e. your interested customers.

The insights break down the types and volumes of interactions, gender of users, age range of users and more. This is invaluable data for entrepreneurs. This is what Facebook can offer.

Facebook: The Company to Watch

There are three reasons why Facebook is the company to watch.

They are the largest social network. They at least double the number of users their competitors have. Facebook has just surpassed 400 million active users. These are not people who get a page and walk away, they are using and interacting usually on a daily basis.

People wonder about Facebook’s most liked adversary Google. But there is one thing that Facebook has that Google doesn’t and I don’t think they ever will. Facebook knows people, Google knows computers and technology. Google buzz was Google’s way of becoming social; it proved to not be nearly as liked as Facebook.

The last reason Facebook is the company to watch is their open graph system on a social platform. All the information we provide through Facebook and its plug-ins is now going into their database. If you read over the policy and agreements set by Facebook when you set up an account, they basically spell out that anything you post they own and can use or not use as they please. Therefore, in an extreme case, if they do not like what you represent or what you say they could shut you and any affiliation to Facebook you have down. This is an extreme case but that is the power they have.

Where to Go From Here

With all of the exciting changes that Facebook is making comes caution and responsibility. Although this is a great advancement for businesses, be careful what and where you post. Other than that there is a brave new social web out there that we should learn how to maneuver.

Resources and References

Below I have left a few websites that may help you further understand the new policy and changes.

The Effects of Privacy Changes: This article and interview explains the changes Facebook is making to their privacy settings and what it means to an individual.

Short Video: Zuckerburger explaining Facebook’s new privacy settings on YouTube.

The Open Graph Protocol Explained: This is the open graph protocol which explains what exactly an open graph is. (It should be noted that this site is very technical and is hard to understand. However, this is the exact open graph policy that Zuckerberg used when creating Facebook’s open graph system).

Facebook Statistics

This is where the rubber meets the road. You do not email people from your own email account. What you do is sign up for an autoresponder that does two things:

• Allows you to automatically send out emails at specified intervals (1 day, 3 days, etc.) after people sign up.
• Allows you to broadcast to your entire list all at once.

People ask us what is the best and we think it’s a little bit of both. Reason being is you want your autoresponder sequence to be timed out after they opt into your squeeze page. This is where you’re going to get your repeat sales. And if you’re promoting someone else’s product or just want to email your list letting them know about a sale, you’ll want to use the broadcast function.

We feel like Aweber.com is the best autoresponder for beginners. It is easy to use and a lot of big-name marketers use Aweber. This is a brief tutorial on how to set up your first list:

Create Your First List

Step 1: The first thing you need to do is sign up for Aweber. There is a 30-day trial and then it costs $19 per month for the first 500 leads. When you create your account and login you’ll click on the “My Lists” button. Once you do that, you’ll click on the green “Create a New List” link to get started.

Set Confirmed Opt-in

Step 2: This is extremely important. After you create your list you’ll be taken to the List Settings tab where you’ll get to name your list and set basic information. This part is pretty self-explanatory. However, you’ll want to click on the “Confirmed Opt-In” tab so you can set this to ON or OFF.

This is where you can decide to have either a single or double opt-in list. Single opt-in means when people opt-in they’re automatically on your list – no questions asked. However,  double opt-in leads are required to confirm their opt-in by clicking on a link in an email that’s sent immediately after they opt-in… thus confirming their subscription.

Whether to turn this ON or OFF is almost like having a debate on religion or politics – there are two sides to the story and people will never agree. We recommend turning this OFF so that you can build your list quicker – since 60 percent on average never confirm their email address. If you do your own research and decide that leaving this on is good for you that’s fine – you are not wrong.

Start Loading Up Your Emails

Step 3: Once you set your confirmed opt-in to ON or OFF, it’s time to start loading emails into your autoresponder sequence. Just click on the messages tab at the top to start adding follow-up messages. You’ll be taken to a simple form where you can start including your email messages and what days you want to send them out.

Create Your Web Form

Step 4: After you load up your emails, it’s now time to create the Web Form you’re going to place on your site to start collecting leads. The good news is Aweber has progressed with the different types of graphics you can use on your form. Before they used to just supply the HTML code and nothing else.

Once you create your form, all you need to do is cut and paste your code into your web page. From then on Aweber will take care of everything. Their deliverability is the best in the industry. Although when your list gets larger (in the 100,000 range) Aweber gets a little expensive.

In this article I am going to talk about how to set up an effective email marketing campaign. This is the lifeblood of any online business and it’s important you do it correctly. I am going to show you some email marketing basics along with how to set up your email marketing campaign in Aweber.com – our recommended autoresponder. But before I do this, let me reveal what I call the “3 Rules of Email Marketing.” These are rules I consistently see our coaching students and seminar attendees violate. If you do not violate these rules your email campaign can be a success. Let’s get on with it.

Rule #1: If At First You Don’t Succeed

The key is in the follow-up. This is extremely important. I am going to illustrate this by telling you a story. About two years ago we decided to spend $5,000 on an email blast. We basically bought an email list that was supposed to go out to over one million email addresses. We wanted to promote one of our lead generators and were hoping we would get our investment back.

The email campaign was a bomb. We only got $1,000 back and we thought the campaign failed – at least on the surface. But what was amazing was that we started to get sales about 10 to 20 days after the email blast.

How is this possible? We had people go through a squeeze page where we collected their names and email addresses. Then we followed up with them through a daily autoresponder email campaign that lasted 15 days. We ended up making our investment back and then some. And it was all through the email campaign.

This illustrates a very important marketing axiom: prospects need to be exposed to your message an average of seven times before they will buy. Most people who do not focus on listbuilding do not take that extra step to  build a list and follow up via email. They are losing out on customers and sales because they have no way of following up with their prospects.

That’s why having an email marketing campaign is extremely important. We recommend following up with your prospects at least three times via autoresponder.  We’ll get into autoresponders in a second – basically this is the “software” you’re going to use to send out your emails automatically.

Rule 2: Have a Great Subject Line

This is very important. It’s akin to having a good headline on a sales letter – a compelling subject line is what’s going to get people to open your email. The best subject lines have the following in common:

• Personalization: It is possible to merge each prospect’s first name into the subject line of the email. This almost always boosts response.  Wouldn’t you rather open an email that said, “Hey Kevin” instead of “Hey There?”

• A Specific Number: Using a specific number in your subject line also boosts your email open rate. For example, “37 percent” or “only 23 left!” are good attention getters.

• Tell a “Secret”: I always tell people when they’re starting out that the best subject line or headline goes like this, “Discover 7 Secrets Most people Will NEVER Know About Fixing Computers.” This works because people love secrets… and are inherently paranoid that other people have knowledge they don’t have. This is a huge curiosity builder and a variation of this concept would be great for a subject line in your emails.

In short, don’t be like most marketers by thoughtlessly adding a subject line and calling it a day. Make sure you put a lot of thought into your subject line. Remember your audience: they get bombarded with emails every day (I have over 13,000 unopened emails in my personal inbox since I only open those with intriguing subject lines).

Rule 3: Keep It Simple

I might get a lot of flak for this, but I am not a big fan of long emails. If you’re on Russell’s list you’ll notice his emails are very short and to the point. There are several reasons for this:

• They Keep People’s Attention: People online have attention-deficit disorder. If they see a long email the chances they’ll read the whole thing will go down. Sure, if the subject line is compelling enough it could get read, but for the most part shorter emails are better.

• Better Deliverability: It decreases the email’s chances of getting filtered out by the spam filters. The longer the email, the greater the chances it will never hit the inbox of the prospect.

At DotCom Secrets, we use something called the “List to Blog” effect. Basically, if we want to send an email to a prospect that will involve a longer pitch, we direct them to our blog. This is where all the content will be located. This allows us to send shorter emails and evades spam filters. Plus people get to interact on the blog – adding the element of community.

The Lifeblood of Your Online Business

Email marketing is the lifeblood of an online business. The ability to follow up effectively with your customers on a regular basis is critical. One of the most important things you can do right now is get on the email lists of other people in your niche to see how they market. You’ll get more insights into your competition and ideas on how to write your own emails. Consider it to be your “swipe file” of emails you can refer to when you’re writing your own.

Another thing I recommend is creating a list of subject lines that made you open the email. If they made you open the email, then chances are they’ll do the same for other people. Just create a simple text file where you can cut and paste compelling subject lines.

Entire books have been written on email marketing and some people have full-time jobs where they deal with email deliverability. However this article should get you started on the most important marketing activity in your business.

There is no doubt that good design plays an important role in your customer’s buying decision, but you also need to plan your site with the search engines in mind. The following are four key areas of design and navigation that you should focus on first when creating a website:

Navigation

Do people get lost on your site? Do your visitors know how to navigate from one page to another? Do you have too many links, making it hard to know which ones they should click on? Can people get back to your home page easily? There are too many competing websites out there. If your site creates confusion in the minds of your visitors they aren’t going to stay on it very long.

The purpose of your site is not to solve all of your clients’ problems on a single page. Make sure that each page has a clear purpose, and that it is easy to navigate to the next step in your sales funnel.

Colors and Fonts

Making a website easy on your visitors’ eyes in a way that emphasizes the important concepts and terms that you want them to focus on can help increase your sales. It can be fun to experiment with colors and fonts, but make sure not to go overboard. Your site should use a simple, understated color palette with a few colors that complement each other. In addition to that idea, avoid using more than three typefaces throughout your site.

Graphics

If you are placing tags and creating titles with keywords in your graphics, then your graphics can not only help you make your site look better to human eyes, but you can also make your site look better in the eyes of the search engines as well. Search engines can’t read your graphics. They can read the taglines, and titles that you can insert into the code of the graphics, but they can’t read the graphics themselves.

Remember to use this fact to your advantage. For example, search engines are giving lower rankings to pages that have the word “free” on them. If you have a graphic that says something about a “free giveaway,” then you could simply put some taglines behind that graphic that contain keywords, and never mention anything about “free.” Humans see the “free report” graphic and it catches their attention, and the keywords in the taglines help you get ranked in the search engines. This creates a powerful win-win situation for you.

Sitemap

If you want to make your site user friendly to search engines, as well as make the navigation simple for your users then a site map is one of the easiest ways to accomplish that feat. By creating a site map, you are in essence organizing a webpage that includes links to every page on your website. This process makes it easier for a search engine spider to quickly crawl through your site and naturally index every page. A site map should be created using HTML as well as an .XML file submitted to Google using Google Webmaster Tools (www.Google.com/webmaster/tools/). Doing this will result in higher relevancy scores through free and paid search campaigns.

In the last 60 days, we have started 14 new online success businesses in 11 niches. Each of these niches has a project manager who works for me and earns a percentage of what those businesses make. Here is a list of the niches these new businesses are in so that you can get an idea of some of the areas we’re going after (and maybe give you an idea if you don’t have a niche you’re in yet): forex, relationships, diet, speed reading, hypnosis, addiction recovery, cold sore/herpes/shingles cures, conspiracy theories, fitness, network marketing and stocks.

I was creating a checklist of the process I am having my project managers go through with these businesses, and I thought it would be valuable for you to see it as well. Model this in your business and you’ll see success.

Step 1: Brand It

The first thing you need to do is find a brand that you can get a .com domain name for. I think it’s very important to find an overall brand (not a product name) that you can put multiple products in. A few examples of ‘brand’ names that I have include DotComSecrets.com, ForexNuke.com, BodyEvolution.com and SimpleChangesHypnosis.com. They are each a domain name that also contains the overall brand for the niche.

Step 2: Get a WordPress Fusion Site Designed

You can get your site created and installed from www.wp-fusion.com. This will give you the site design for your brand, a blog in WordPress, and the ability to create your squeeze and sales pages within the theme.

Step 3: Get Your Autoresponder Setup

I recommend using either Aweber.com or iContact.com. Create your first list, and get it setup in your wp-fusion site. The first goal is to start creating a list, so it’s important to get your autoresponder setup right away. You don’t need to have messages yet, just put in the first message and say something like, “Hi, thanks for joining my list. I’ll be sending you some cool stuff on this topic very soon. While you wait, go check out this cool product (and put your affiliate link for a complementary product).”

Step 4: Start Your SEO Clock

You need to start posting something to your blog as soon as you can. The first thing I would do is go to ClickBank.com and find four or five products that are related, buy a copy of them, and then write a review on each. Post your reviews on your website as your first few blog posts. Feel free to add emails in your autoresponder series pointing to the product reviews on your blog.

Make your product reviews good. Don’t tell people that everything is great – just share your opinions, good and bad. You can write or make a video, it doesn’t matter much, just get some content on your blog. Use the product name and author name in the blog title for SEO purposes.

Step 5: Do Your JV Research

This is crucial to getting this business making money fast! Go find everyone who is actively selling a product in this niche. Make a list of their names, websites, products, shipping addresses and any other vital information you can find. It’s important to build a relationship with them now (not later when you need them). The best thing is to see how you can serve them now (and the best way to serve any product owner is to sell their product)!

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

Step 6: Keep Actively Posting to Your Blog

You need to be blogging at least three to five times per week. Post your product reviews, tips, resources, parts of your interviews, anything to start adding content to your site.

Step 7: Product Planning

Now it’s time to start planning what your first product will be. Unfortunately, the most important part of your product is the title. I spend a lot of time trying to find the right title and the right angle. I want to make sure that the product I’m creating is going to serve the market in a way that isn’t currently being served. In this step I’m looking for two things: what is the title, and what is the overall hook and angle? As soon as I have those, I can move on to the next step.

Step 8: Choose A Content Format

Now that you know the title, and the hook, how are you going to package it? Will it be an ebook? A membership site? A micro-continuity site? An interview series? A software product? My main goal with the first product is to make sure it’s something that we can sell digitally while we test out the market.

Step 9: Create An Outline

After you know how you are going to package your product, the next goal is to create the “outline.” When you build any product you need to create an outline. I like to look at the outline as chapter or module titles and give each title or chapter a name (for example: “How to…”). This outline is a huge key in the product development process and gives you the core to the “system” that you will be teaching.

Step 10: Fill In The Blanks

Now it’s time to fill in the outline. If it’s an ebook, then you need to start writing the content for each chapter. If you’re doing a membership site, it could be audios or videos teaching each module. If it’s an interview series, then it could be finding an expert on each of the major topics and interviewing them.

Step 11: Point Out The Benefits

As you create the content for each section – make bulleted lists of the benefits of what you talk about in each module. The more specific the bullet points, the better. You will need them a lot in the future.

Step 12: Start Gathering

After the product is created it’s time to gather data. Here are the things you need to have before you can start on the sales process:

• All of the bullets from each module
• The headlines, subheadlines and bullets from all of the competitors in your niche
• Industry statistics or numbers that can help confirm what you’re teaching
• A list of known controversies in your niche
• Links to the major online forums
• Lists of the common problems people are talking about on the forums

Give away the product to 20 people and try to get their testimonials and feedback

Step 13: Pull Out The Camera

Use the resources listed above to craft your sales video. I wish I had space in this article to go over how to craft a sales video. The best way is to look at other successful sales videos that you can model yours after. You can see some of ours at LocalMarketingMyth.com and MicroContinuity.com.

Step 14: Sell The Opt-In

Create a squeeze page that sells why someone should give you their name and email address to get your sales video.  You can see two of our squeeze pages at the same links listed in step 13.

Step 15: Assemble Your Squeeze Page

Now it’s time to hook everything together. You need to put your autoresponder on your squeeze page. When visitors optin, it should take them to your sales video.  After they watch the sales video, it should give them a link to your order form. You will need to use ClickBank.com or some other shopping cart that will create your order form. After they buy, they should be sent to a thank you page to get all of your content.

Step 16: Drive Traffic

Now that you have all of the pieces together, it should be time to start promoting and selling your new product! The first thing to do is to send an email to the list that you’ve been building. The next steps would be to start contacting the joint venture partners you’ve been building relationships with. Then start writing more blog posts related to your product, pushing people to buy the product from you. You can then look into other paid traffic sources.

Taking Action

So that is the basic process. I know that I wasn’t able to go into great detail on every step, but I hope that this serves as a checklist for the order you should go through to be successful online. It’s the same process we’re doing over and over again in our business and it works!

> Click Here to Read Part 1 of This Article

The most important decision to make about starting your coaching program is deciding on your niche, your area of focus. Clients typically hire a coach because they have a specific problem that they need help with, and they believe you can help them. These problems range from being overweight and unhealthy, to starting or running a business, to overcoming a fear of scuba diving, and everything in between.

These problems are what define the specific niches within the coaching industry. When you first start your own coaching program, don’t fall into the trap of helping (and marketing to) everyone. It’s not healthy as a coach to believe you can help all ages, male and female, and every background you can imagine; or coach people on everything from losing weight, to dating after a divorce, to starting a business or trading in the future’s market, while helping clients learn how to overcome their fear of flying.

It is much easier to market and enroll new clients into your coaching program when you specialize in a specific area of interest or field of expertise. When you find your niche, your coaching will become more productive, and as a result, you will generate more happy clients – which most often leads to more business!

Think of it this way. If you generalize about that which you coach about, and you do not specify your expertise, then your potential clients will have a hard time deciding if you are the one who can help them find a solution to their specific problem.

For example, if you call yourself a “Life Coach,” what does that mean specifically and what topics are you an expert in? Business? Relationships? Investments? Corporate training? Health? Weight loss? Marketing? Technology? Entertainment? Publicity? eCommerce? Sales? Get specific!

Only when you drill down to the specific niche topic on which you truly are an expert, will finding clients be that much more of a breeze! Imagine if you said you were a “Life Coach.” Can you imagine what people would say in response to that? “Gee, that sounds great… Good luck with that!” Compared to a specific niche you specialized in… “Wow, I know five people who could use your expertise!”

If you aren’t convinced yet, then look at the following benefits for establishing your specific niche:

• Eliminate the discomfort of trying to explain coaching. Speak directly to your target market about their wants and challenges. They are already interested because your services are geared to them.

• Build visibility and credibility faster through referrals. Think about it, when you are successfully helping a client with a specific problem, chances are, they know other people with the same problem, and will happily refer your coaching services to others they know.

• When you have a niche, it is much easier to make every “marketing minute” count by funneling prospective clients into a series of leveraged marketing efforts. For example, a targeted website which offers a subscription to a bi-weekly eZine, that also advertises a free product, eReport or eCourse, which in turn gives prospective clients some of your information, ultimately leading them to paid products and group coaching programs if they like what they see and want more (of you).

Suppose, you are a health and weight loss coach and you meet a prospective client at a networking event. Tell them, “You know, I have an ezine that I send out twice a month with advice on how to get healthy and in shape. Would you be interested in getting those emails?” Then, send them to a website that advertises this ezine, and allows them to join.

The bi-weekly ezine keeps you in their inbox, and minds, and the free, valuable information you provide in them builds credibility. From there you can offer them many different kinds of products and coaching. From ebooks and physical books, to audio programs and teleseminars, group coaching, one on one coaching, and even live seminars.

Since you captured their email address they will remain in your database and continue to buy from you for as long as they like. Now isn’t that better than just handing them a business card?

• Command higher fees. People value what you have to offer if you charge them more. Niche coaches cost more than generalized life coaches. You have training, skills and expertise to offer your clients. Set your fees accordingly. Don’t be afraid! You’re worth it!

• Develop expertise more quickly. Get recognized and make yourself available for those who will want you to speak publicly, be on panels and write articles. They advertise for you.

• Build a sustained pipeline of prospective clients who are interested in the same thing. By being more specific, you will drastically reduce your marketing time. You won’t be wasting time marketing to those not interested or qualified to be your clients.

• Distinguish yourself from thousands of other coaches out there, most of whom don’t consistently target market.

Example Coaching Niches
Executive/Corporate Coach: Work with senior executives and business managers on improving communication and rapport, as well as balance between work and personal life.
Relationship Coach: This is probably the number one emotional pain people are experiencing today. The divorce rate is high, causing split families, and there are more single men and women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s then any other time period in history.

• Wellness Coach: For people seeking a lifestyle fix rather than a meal plan or workout regimen. Wellness coaches focus on the whole shebang – stress, time management, diet and fitness – to encourage personalized, sustainable, healthy behaviors.

• Leadership Coach: Clients who are complacent, bored, and unclear about next steps invest in a Leadership Coach to challenge them to their next focus.

• Wealth Coach: Debt, credit, retirement, budgeting, investing, mortgage, taxes, wealth building, etc.

• Small Business Coach: Sales, team-building, leadership, management, corporate, executive, vision, etc. Most small business owners already value coaching, and seek out small business coaches to help them grow.

• Career Coach: Focus is on career changes, freelancing, cover letter and resume writing, interview skills, etc. Forbes rated career coaching as one of the top 75 businesses to own in 2009.

• Style/Image Coach: We live in a very image obsessed culture. Whether you like it or not, people judge the way you look. The way you look can make or break an interview, a negotiation, a sale, or date! If you like shopping, talking to people about their wardrobe, hair and skin care, then it’s a no brainer – you are a Style Coach.

• Sales Coach: If you have had either a job in sales, or even if you just love helping sales people make more money, you can easily learn how to become a sales coach.

• Marketing Coach: Everyone wants to play online, but most don’t know the game. A Marketing Coach helps people drive more traffic to their websites, or they might specialize in helping people with their networking skills to better get clients via offline marketing.

In this article I’m going to talk about how to build value in your prospect’s eyes so you can easily justify the price you’re charging them. It’s an advanced copywriting strategy I always include in Russell’s sales letters and videos… and I’m going to share how to do it here.

First things first, what exactly is a value builder? Let me tell you a quick story to illustrate what I’m talking about. When I was younger I used to play a lot of golf. That is, before I went to grad school and didn’t have enough time or money to continue. I hit the golf course a handful of times each year, but definitely not the frequency I used to due to time constraints.

One day, I was in a pro shop and came across a video that claimed I could hit longer drives in only three practice swings. I thought it was a bunch of bull since I always believed you’d have to practice a lot on the tee and play tons of rounds to get better. However, I thought it would be beneficial since all golfers want to add an extra 20 yards to their drive.

Then I saw the price of the DVD. It was $97. I underwent a little sticker-shock since I was used to buying movie DVDs from Walmart for $5 to $15. I had never spent that much money on a single DVD and wasn’t sure if I was going to pull the trigger on this one.

But after thinking about it and reading the back cover blurb, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could lengthen my drive by 20 yards in only three practice swings?” Basically I could watch the DVD and possibly start playing better golf right away. My buddies would wonder if I took some steroids and would gawk at my golf ball as it rifled down the fairway… yards past theirs.

In my mind, all these benefits made learning what was on the DVD worth the $97 price tag. I ended up buying the video and it did, indeed, lengthen my drive by a slight adjustment in my stance and swing.

What I Did To Justify This Purchase

Basically what I did to myself that allowed me to justify paying a steep cost for a DVD was “reframed” its cost in my head. Sure $97 was pretty expensive. But in the context of the potential benefit I would get (hitting longer drives and lower scores), the $97 was a drop in the bucket. I was willing to trade that money to get the advertised benefits. And the only way I was able to do that was by building the value of the DVD in my head.

This is what every person does before they buy anything. They weigh in the cost of a product and decide if they want to part with their money to obtain the promised benefits. If in their mind it’s not worth it, they don’t buy. Simple as that.

But when it comes to copy, there is a way you can build the value in a prospect’s mind so they’ll buy your product. I’m going to show you how.

Anatomy of a Value Builder

The first thing you need to do is think of different ways people can obtain the ultimate benefit your product gives them… but are vastly different and more time consuming or expensive than your product. For example, if you’re selling a weight loss ebook, you would think of other ways to lose weight that don’t seem as appealing as yours.

Before I bought the golf video, I thought about the alternatives to getting that extra 20 yards into my drive. Those included more time on the driving range and spending hundreds on lessons with a golf pro. All of these could run into the thousands of dollars. Whereas the $97 DVD claimed it could give me the same benefits in less time. It was a literal no-brainer to me since I knew what it was like to hack away on the driving range and take bad advice from a golf pro.

Spending thousands of dollars versus spending just $97 on a DVD – it was an easy decision for me. And that’s how you need to position your value-builder in your copy. You need to show the customer that what they are paying you is peanuts compared to other options.

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Example of a Value Builder

Here’s an actual value builder I used for a client that illustrates what I described above:

So, what’s the catch…? How much is this weekly video coaching going to cost me? Here’s the deal: there are businesses out there that simply don’t “get it” and waste thousands of dollars and go through years of trial and error before they accidentally stumble upon these “follow-up” secrets. In fact I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s probably worth more than any tuition to any major university. I know that sounds a little over-the-top, but considering you could make your investment back over and over again… it could eclipse the cost of any major institution of learning. But I’m not going to have you pay that much. In fact, you may be amazed that I’m giving access to the 5-Week Video Coaching Clinics for only $150 or two monthly payments of $75. That’s equivalent to a month’s worth of Starbucks coffee, DVD rentals, and magazine subscriptions… things that do nothing to increase your business. Why not use that money to catapult your sales and get a leg up on your competition? So there’s really no question about whether or not this course will make you money. These strategies I’ve assembled over the years just work too well, and the investment I’m requiring is so insanely low that it’s impossible not to make a positive return on your investment. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the price is irrelevant!

This is the “value builder” portion of the letter I wrote for a client selling a membership site that teaches people how to follow up with clients. One of the things I like to do is talk about the trial and error and reams of books they would have to read in order to get the same secrets.

Most people value their time and money so this is extremely effective. The key is to tell the prospect, never assume they will figure it out for themselves. You have to be in control of what the prospect thinks… and the best way to do this is to be as descriptive as possible. Tell them what’s in it for them and how they are missing out if they don’t buy now.

Another interesting trick I like to use in the value builder section is to compare the price to everyday expenses, like Starbucks coffee (a common comparison) DVD rentals, and magazine subscriptions. Pretty much anything that seems like a frivolous purchase and does not help the prospect achieve the benefits advertised in the letter. It makes the prospect think, “Hmmm I already spend $300 a month on Starbucks Mochas… I could perhaps quit Starbucks and learn how to get better at golf!”

Finally, I make sure I tell the prospect that the benefits they will get from using the product could make the price irrelevant. In the example, I say that they could easily make multiple times their money back than they paid for the membership. That really builds value – especially if you’re selling a “make money” product.

All of this essentially wraps the price of the product around realistic justifications for the cost. If you were to introduce price by itself, you would leave it up to the prospect to sort it out on their own… and more than likely they will talk themselves out of the purchase. Whereas when you tell the prospect why the price is a great value compared to the alternatives, the chances of them buying goes up.

Other Value Builder Do’s And Don’ts

DO introduce the price of your product in this section. You never want to introduce price by itself… the key is to wrap the price around the effective value builder so it “reframes” the price and makes it more affordable.

DON’T call out other products and services by name when doing your value builder. For example don’t say, “You could waste thousands of dollars on David Leadbetter DVDs or you can get mine and only pay $45.” You could receive a cease and desist letter. Just be as general as possible… it’s just as effective.

DO introduce the value-builder with a subhead. I usually use a subhead like this before introducing the value builder and price: “So what is it worth to you to (insert ultimate benefit people are going to get).”

DON’T introduce bonuses into your value builder. Only concentrate on the main product. An effective way to introduce bonuses is after the value-builder and price. So you’ve essentially introduced the price and justified the value.. and now you’re going to bowl them over with bonuses on top of that. The value just keeps building up… so make sure you introduce bonuses after the value builder.

The value builder is one of the most important sections of your sales letter. Never introduce price in your letter without framing it in a proper value builder. It can really boost conversions since you’re “reframing” the price in the prospect’s mind so it’s a no-brainer to purchase. So make sure you include an effective value builder on your next sales letter.

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During a recent family vacation, I found myself literally compelled to put a puzzle together. It’s a tradition. So, as I am too frequently reminded, we simply must do it. And in the words of the great philosopher Tevye, “You may ask, ‘How did this tradition get started?’ I’ll tell you. I don’t know. But it’s a tradition.”

As per our “tradition,” we attacked this puzzle with the same assembly strategy we have used for years: we found all the edge pieces and built the border, we grouped the pieces of like color or similar pattern, and then we assigned quadrants we each would be laboring in; after which some had even gone to the extent of repeating the entire abovementioned process for their own little section of the puzzle (yeah… we’re tons of fun). Anyway, we got to the end and we were missing a piece. Hours had been invested in the process. We had (or so we assumed) everything we needed, but the outcome was not as expected.

Fast forward to several weeks later, I found myself calling a friend whose number I had just programmed into my phone. Instead of reaching him, I kept reaching a Greek deli (it ended up working out well for all parties as I needed a place to have lunch with my friend – lemons into lemonade, but I digress). It seems in my haste to program my friend’s number into my phone, I had inverted two numbers. I had all the right numbers, but the order was wrong. I had performed the necessary function, my phone had dialed ten digits, but because the sequence was off the result was wrong.

The reality is, as with dialing a phone number or assembling a puzzle the number and order of the pieces matter. In other words, if you’re missing something the result will not be complete. Although you have all the right stuff, if you do it out of order, it doesn’t mean it will still work. With a puzzle, it will take a lot longer if you approach it haphazardly or drive you insane if you are missing a piece (which we later found in case you were wondering, and disaster was diverted). With a phone number, if you dial out of sequence you’ll end up talking with someone entirely different than you had planned, which can be its own little adventure, but the outcome is still contrary to what was originally predicted.

With websites, it’s really not too different. The presence and order of the essential pieces matter in the long and short term success of a site. Let’s take two competitors, www.Netflix.com and www.Blockbuster.com, and discuss why one is winning the marketing war, leaving the other to languish to the point they are left watching their business model start to implode. These two sites have many of the same essential elements, but one is considerably outperforming the other. The story of who is the winner or loser is told in their websites (and site marketing efforts). But spending time, money and effort to drive traffic to a broken site is an exercise in frustration and futility.

A Side-by-Side Comparison

Let’s quickly compare and contrast these two websites. Both are nice looking sites, but one is the clear winner. Netflix has decided to focus their entire web effort (marketing, site design, etc.) on one simple activity: to get people to sign up for a trial. Netflix knows they don’t make money from people surfing around their site clicking on images. It is not their goal to show off flashy design work. They want you to do one thing per page… and that’s it. If you look at their landing page, they have a value proposition, a call to action, and really only one choice you have to make that page (log in or sign up). When you visit Netflix.com, there is no confusion over what you are expected to do, what you get for your efforts, and some fairly compelling reasons why you should do it.

When Blockbuster.com is juxtaposed with Netflix.com, you can see Blockbuster’s site suffers from a distinct lack of focus. You’re left wondering if they actually want you to do something or just click on images of movie posters and take surveys. Coincidentally, Netflix also offers images of movie posters and descriptions for you to click on, but those are buried behind the login/free trial page.

In theory, Blockbuster should be winning this battle; they have a longer-established brand and a distribution advantage. They offer practically everything you can get from Netflix, plus they have physical locations where you can trade in movies you received via the mail. With the advantages of brand and distribution, it should be a slam dunk for them. But they waited too long, competed too poorly, and now they’re losing the war.

The First Two Essentials

This leads us to two of the five things your site should have that Netflix does and Blockbuster does not: clear purpose and a conspicuous call to action.  Now, obviously these are not the only differences in how these businesses operate. However, the existence of a clear and actionable purpose and call to action (or lack thereof) are an obvious expression of the overall business philosophy used by both companies.

It can be argued that one of these companies knows which business they are in (the business to acquire customers). To see how these philosophies translate to business success or failure, you need look no further than the comparative stock charts for both of these companies (in case you were wondering, Netflix is the blue line, which appears to be on a hockey-stick trend that would make even Al Gore smile).

Creating a Clear Path of Action

This type of problem isn’t confined to Blockbuster.  Once every month we bring some of the best marketing minds in our company together to analyze and critique the websites of a handful of our top clients. Almost every one suffers from the same disease that is affecting Blockbuster – there is no clear focus on what people should do and why they should do it. Not to belabor the point, most people are simply trying to get their websites to be, and their visitors to consider, too many things, in which case they will end up doing nothing at all.

There’s a marketing adage that goes something to the effect of, “A confused mind always says, ‘no.’” The same applies to visitors to your site. If someone doesn’t know what to do when they arrive at your site, they will eventually become frustrated and leave, likely to never return again. To add serious insult to injury, the visitors who bail on your site, will probably end up on one of your competitor’s sites who will tell them what to do, leaving your competitor with the sale and you watching on the sidelines, wondering about what might have been (as evidenced with the above stock chart).

Adding an Opt-in Box

Okay… now let’s move on (we’ve whipped that poor, deceased horse enough). Our next puzzle piece is an opt-in. If you notice both of the above sites had an opt-in box, one just happened to be marketing it, giving reasons to fill it in, and actually getting people to do it a whole lot better than the other. It will always astound me that people go to all the trouble to create a website and absorb all the expense to market it, and then leave prospects to make a buy/no-buy decision right there, resulting in 97 to 99+ percent leaving the site, never to return. They have ended the conversation forever.

Having an opt-in box can give you the ability to keep the conversation going. Granted, you must give your visitors a compelling reason to surrender a real email address (we all have at least one junk email address, let’s just admit it… so the content must be enticing enough to motivate someone to give you unfettered access to them). By having an opt-in, along with a compelling reason to fill it in, you can get anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of your visitors to give you legitimate contact information.

Opt-In Box Essentials

Now, there are a few quick guidelines with reference to your opt-in box:

• Put it in the upper right hand portion of your site. Sure, you can try to put it in another place, it won’t work as well, but hey… it’s your site.
• Make it clear and obvious that you are trying to get them to opt in (think Netflix, not Blockbuster).
• Make sure it is the primary, if not only, action your visitors can take.
• Help people make micro-commitments. Don’t ask for a huge laundry list of information, first name and email will get you most of what you need. If you want more information, put it on the second page or in later communication.
• Make the offer compelling enough that people will actually part with their primary contact information. It’s not fun in the junk folder or the junk email account. It’s an email hell you cannot escape from.

Now go put these into practice.

Omgili allows you to utilize the power of subjective information. Once you search for your target keyword, the results returned are from forums, blogs, newsgroups, mailing lists, answer groups and more! These are differentiated by topics, titles, replies and the dates of the discussions. With this tool, you will have the ability to analyze the hotspots where people discussing your target keyword are hanging out online. This is very desirable since this is your target market participating in an active conversation. What better time to make a sale?

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Once you have found a result you would like to explore, follow the links by clicking them directly. It will take you to the exact discussion you want to insert yourself into. Do not just walk in and proclaim yourself or your product as the answer to all of their problems/prayers/questions/needs. If you do that, you will most likely be banned from the site, or at the very least, heckled mercilessly for self promotion.

This technique requires the same finesse as when you promote via any other social media type site. You will want to do this one of two ways, the first being you “pretending to recommend” the product as a third party. You may be able to get away with this tactic (it IS possible), but you are not being completely honest and that may possibly come back to bite you later.

The second, and most recommended method, is to enter the conversation as an authority of some type. Be helpful, contribute to the conversation, and if you must promote your product, do so modestly and with permission. The link in your signature or post should reflect something relevant to the conversation, such as your product. This works very well in forums. As you build up “posts” on the forum, you build your credibility. With that credibility comes traffic to your site, people clicking your signature link and buying your product or service.

Cash In On Keywords

Step 1: Use Google External Keyword Tool, Market Samurai, or another tool of your choice to come up with a keyword list. You can focus on long tail keywords, but if you use general keywords you can typically find more results and traffic.

Type in the keyword and look for sites that are relevant to your product or service.

Cash In On Keywords

Step 2: Select the site by clicking on the discussions bubble next to the site, then click on the results that pop up on the right side of the screen. These secondary results are the exact conversations people are having regarding the corresponding discussion results.

Join the Conversation

Step 3: Join the conversation by contributing or by recommending a product. Again, I recommend that you position yourself as an authority for your product, and answer questions and be helpful. This goes a long way to building credibility and pre-selling your product in the customer’s mind (without directly selling them in the blog/forum post).

Make the Sale

Step 4: Offer them free guides, checklists, and ebooks to help them see your authority value. This also gets them to your site to opt in. Once they opt-in, deliver the download item via autoresponder, thus getting them into your list. Market to them in emails with more good content, direct sales, or whatever you want to sell them. Make the sale and cash your check!

Linkedin is a social networking site for business professionals. What LinkedIn lacks in homepage sex appeal it gains in monetization opportunities. Lewis Howes called LinkedIn, “The red-headed step-child of Social Media.” There are so many people on LinkedIn who are looking to expand their businesses and dive into opportunities to work with others. It is the grown up serious version of social media. People who are on LinkedIn are there to expand and increase their business.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

The unique thing about LinkedIn that many people do not know is that most members are serious about enhancing their businesses by creating connections with other professionals. The average household income of a member on LinkedIn is $109,000 a year. The people who are on LinkedIn are decision-making business professionals. They are willing to spend money to make money and help others do the same. This makes it a great place to quickly form partnerships that can pay off for years.

Getting Started

Step 1 To start go to www.LinkedIn.com and fill out the box that says “Join LinkedIn Today.” Once you submit this form your account is ready to be completed. Be honest when filling out each field. Starting out with a profile that is not fully truthful is a slippery slope.

Also be sure to fill out each box to its entirety. LinkedIn has a great measurement bar that shows you how complete your profile is. The reason why LinkedIn focuses so heavily on making a profile complete is because if a profile is only partially filled in, it lowers credibility and connection opportunities. LinkedIn wants to make sure you are fully utilizing all the potential they have to offer. By not fully completing the profile, you promote laziness when another business professional who may want to work with you comes to your page and sees that it is not complete. The image below is a picture of what the bar looks like when your profile is not complete. Once the profile is complete the bar will be green and indicate that you can start making connections.

Making Friends

Step 2 LinkedIn has something that none of the other social networks do. It offers the capability to not only import but export your list in and out of the network. This means all the contacts you gain using LinkedIn can be exported into your email list. This is great for building your list and adding contacts to your networks. There are four good ways to go about building your list through LinkedIn:

Import your email list into Linkedin This will be one of the prompts offered when setting up your account. It should ask you if you would like to add your email contacts to your network. Answer “yes” and add only the contacts with the blue LinkedIn symbol next to them. This indicates that they are already on LinkedIn.

Look up businesses that you know are on Linkedin Many professionals have LinkedIn accounts. Look up some businesses you know are on LinkedIn or have worked with in the past and invite them to join your network.

Find similar businesses It is good to look up businesses within your niche because first, they may be your competitors and it is good to keep an eye on what other similar businesses are doing and second, you can see what groups they are involved in, what forums they attend and automatically you know where all the professionals in your niche are.

Use Your Other Social Media Accounts Lastly, inviting people from other networks to join your LinkedIn network is a sure-fire way to get people to join. However, let me caution that until your profile is complete and 100 percent ready, it is not a good idea to encourage people to join your network. Wait until your profile is fully functional and ready, and then start inviting people.

Creating an Interactive Summary

Step 3 When creating an account, the more interesting the account is the more likely people will be interested in it. With that said, creating an interactive account can speak volumes about your profile. Here are three tips to making your summary sexy:

Add a website When making your summary make sure to include websites. This makes your summary more interesting and more than just something to read. By adding a website you are giving people the option to become more interactive with you.

Customize your websites By making your websites one of a kind it makes the experience more memorable.

Create a Call to Action In addition to customizing your website and making the name unique, try to incorporate a call to action in the title of your site. A call to action is basically something you want your connections to do. An example of this is having either the name of your site be “MakingMoneyOnline.com” or saying, “This site teaches you how to make money online.” This gives the connection reading your summary something to act on, opposed to just something to read.

Combining Accounts

Step 4 As with other social networks, the more visible you are on social media sites, the more connections you will have. When making your LinkedIn account let people know on Facebook and Twitter that you are joining LinkedIn. (A little tip is if you ask people for suggestions on how to use LinkedIn you’re guaranteed to get responses. People love to help others by giving advice or opinions). The other cool option about LinkedIn is the ability to add applications to your profile. Below is where you can find the option to add your summary and applications.

As you can see this page has added the WordPress application. I suggest using WordPress for blogs. I also suggest that you link your blog to your profile, as well as your Twitter account and if you have events such as webinars, add them to the application. All of these applications will make your profile look more superior and be catching to the eye, which is ultimately the goal – catch people’s attention and engage with them to form a connection.

Reciprocal Recommending

Step 5 LinkedIn is like an interactive resume on steroids. One of the great features that LinkedIn also has is the ability to recommend people. This is a great way to strengthen the connection you have. If you work with someone within your network you can recommend them. This strengthens your connection and most likely they will recommend you back. This is a way to gain credibility within your network or niche.

Staying Current

Step 6 Events have become a great way to let the world know when you are doing webinars, or going to conferences, posting new blogs, or launching new products. LinkedIn has an event application that you can add. Your events will post on your profile and update as time goes by. The other nice thing about the event calendar is as people reply or RSVP to the event you will be able to see who else is attending and so will everyone in your network. The trick is to post a thank you on their page after they RSVP so they will hopefully bring more people to the event.

Joining and Starting Groups

Step 7 Groups are a great feature of LinkedIn. Groups provide a forum for your product, niche or company. By joining groups, you can add value to that topic by adding your expertise and then start groups to engage people in conversation about your niche or business. Managing groups is a great way also to start the conversation and then let others take it over for you. People who buy your products or like your company instantly become spokespeople within those groups.

All in all, if you are serious about your business and ready to connect with other serious people, LinkedIn is the place to be. It is not as showy as Facebook but if you are looking to make deals, LinkedIn is full of decision-makers. Go get yourself a LinkedIn account and start making connections!

A few years ago I was at a seminar in Napa California called “SANG.” It stands for Speaker Author Networking Group. I had a chance to meet some amazing authors, TV celebrities and just really cool people, but there was one guy whose story left a profound impact on me.

I don’t remember his name now, but I do remember a pad of paper that he gave me, and on the front cover it said “Got Goals?” When I saw it, I knew it was a play off of the “Got Milk?” commercials I’ve seen for years.  I didn’t think much about it until everyone started to introduce themselves.

He got up and told his story about how he trademarked the words “Got Goals,” and then went on to license the phrase to other companies. He licensed it to soccer companies, to students, for t-shirts, books and more. He also created a training series based around those two simple words. But the most amazing part about his story was the fact that he had made over $1 million dollars that year alone by licensing those two words to other people!

A few years later I bought a course on licensing by Bob Serling, and then this year I bought one by Yanik Silver. Even though the concept has fascinated me for years, I’ve yet to really do anything with it until recently. And if you ask anyone in my office, they will confirm that since I got my first taste, I’ve been addicted, and I think that you will be too. As you’re about to see, I really think it’s the ultimate shortcut!

So this is the basic formula for finding and making a ton of money with licensing deals.

Step 1: Find A Product

Find a product or service that is currently selling well, or was selling well, but for some reason it seems like no one is promoting it anymore, or you think the product has potential, but no one is promoting it.

Let me tell you a few cool stories about products that I’ve found that I’m licensing now. I may have to be vague about some of the products or people because I can’t disclose all of the parts of our agreement, but I hope that these stories will help get the wheels in your head turning.

Story 1

I met someone who was selling a product on ClickBank and making a small killing with it. He was actually averaging over $8,000 per day in sales through PPC in the content networks, but then literally overnight Google “slapped” his landing page and his site went from $8,000 a day, to $0 overnight. Because he had been focusing on just one traffic source, the site had stopped making sales and he was focusing on a new product. I saw this as a perfect licensing opportunity. It already had a great product, a killer sales letter that was converting, the only problem was that it got kicked out of Google… (more on this later).

Story 2

I was at a seminar recently and met an amazing guy named Howie Berg. Howie holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest reader in the world. Not only is he one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met, he’s also very humble. If you haven’t seen him reading yet, be sure to search YouTube to see the video clip of him on Fox news when he read a 1,500 page senate bill in under an hour!

Now, Howie had an infomercial in 1992 that made over $65 million dollars, and I saw a huge opportunity for licensing.

Story 3

I was doing some niche research and finding a few markets that I wanted to be in. I didn’t have a product or any desire to create one, so I went looking for someone who already had a product I could license. I searched on Google for a few hours looking for as many products as I could on these topics, and I eventually found a few that I really liked. They looked like great products, some already had ecovers designed, others had great sales letters already done, but I could tell that they probably weren’t making a lot of money yet, so I contacted the product owners and asked them about licensing.

Okay, I hope that those three stories helped you to get some ideas about where you can find licensing deals. I promise you that there are millions of them out there… Just start looking…

Step 2: Find Your Angle

The reason I see that most people who try licensing fail is because they don’t bring anything special to the table. You need to focus on where you will be bringing value to the relationship. If you go to a product owner who is successful in PPC, and you tell them that you want to license their product and sell it through PPC, he’s going to tell you to become his affiliate. There is no advantage for them to give you their product. You need to find out what your angle is that will make your offer different to them.

So if they are great at PPC, maybe you can license it and sell it through joint ventures. Or if you find someone whose product is selling great offline through direct mail or TV, you could offer to help them sell it online. I can’t tell you how many deals I’ve gotten by buying a copy of “small business opportunity” magazine at the grocery store, contacting the product owner and asking them if I can sell their products online. And I’ve also done deals the other way where I contact online marketers and ask them if I can sell their products through direct mail.

In story number one, I switched the media they were selling (PPC in the content network) and told them I was going to focus on affiliates and SEO. I was also going to translate the product into Spanish, German and French. Do you see the two different angles I was able to bring to that deal?

In story number two, I was able to help Howie take his products from infomercials and seminars to the internet, and story three, I was able to help them sell their amazing products online because they weren’t able to on their own.

What is interesting is that most great product developers can create amazing products, sales letters and more, but often they struggle at marketing them or they don’t want to do things outside of what they are currently focusing on. By bringing your area of expertise to the equation, it literally opens an unlimited number of possibilities.

So what area of expertise do you bring to the table?  If you don’t have one yet, another easy way to short cut the process is to team up with someone who does.  Find an SEO or PPC expert, or someone who is great at joint ventures and partner up with them. Tell them that you will bring them killer products that they can promote and you’ll split the profits.

Step 3: Close the Deal

So you’ve got a great product in mind, you know your angle and how you’re going to be able to add value to the relationship, the last question is how do you structure the deal?

Unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer here. We’ve setup deals in dozens of different ways, and so can you. But let me give you a few guidelines.

In story one, the product owner didn’t want to do any type of long term maintenance for the site, help in content creation or anything. He just wanted me to take the site, make a bunch of money, and send him a percentage of the profits. This was an easy deal to setup. We just had to negotiate to figure out what we were both comfortable with, and we were off to the races.

One thing to note in this and any deal is that we usually take out all production, shipping and marketing costs before we pay ourselves or the person we are licensing the product from. So for example, if we made $1,000 in sales, but we had to pay 50 percent to affiliates and 10 percent to fulfill the product, then the remaining 40 percent is where we would pay out the percentages.

I’m sure a lot of you are wondering what percentages we pay people. Again, this depends on every situation. Sometimes we pay a lump sum up front, and no percentage, other times it’s a smaller fee of five to 10 percent. Normally we do a lot of deals where we pay around 20 percent, but I like to try to incentivize the product developer to help give us content, articles and  continue to create products. In these situations I’m willing to pay up to 25 percent if they are actively involved in that part of the content creation process.

The key to any good licensing deal that I’ve found is to make sure that everyone feels like they are getting a great deal. If they are, you’ll create a powerful, long term relationship that will be profitable for everyone and a lot of fun.

So, what are you waiting for…? Don’t create something from scratch, go out there and find the product of your dreams that is already finished and waiting for you to turn it into gold!

There are certain factors involved when positioning yourself for success, many of which are no different than those you would consider when seeking employment. It’s important to ask yourself:

• Do I want to be a part of this culture?
• Do I like the products or services this company brings to the market?
• Do I trust this company to stick around for the long run?
• Am I willing to become my own best customer?

If your answers to these questions are all a resounding yes then let’s move on to the mechanics of the business.

Network marketing is simple when you boil it down. There are, in fact, only two key components that are vital to your success: recruiting new distributors and then teaching them to do the same. That being said, the livelihood of any network marketer is directly related first, to the quality and second, the quantity of their leads.

Leads can come from many sources, both online and off. Some are more effective than others and all are progressively easier the stronger your belief in the company is. Some sources of leads, along with their benefits and drawbacks, are as follows:

Your Personal Network

You can contact people you already know who might be interested in the product or opportunity:

• Pro: 90 percent of all people in a typical network marketing company come from this source, the process can be duplicated, requires no technology and the right approach brings less severe rejection compared to other lead generation methods.

• Con: If you have the wrong approach or try to strong-arm people you could end up with awkward situations and hurt feelings.

A List Broker

You can purchase generic opportunity seeking leads from lead providers:

• Pro: The ‘finding’ work is done for you and gives you an emotional distance from any rejection.

• Con: Purchasing leads is costly and sifting through the 50 “no’s” to get the one “yes” is both taxing and time consuming. Few of the people in your downline will duplicate your efforts, and it takes a specific type of salesperson to be successful at calling cold leads.

Traditional Print Media

Ad space can be purchased in traditional print  media like newspaper or magazine classifieds:

• Pro: Print advertising can reach a large audience and may feel less confrontational than the previous two sources.

• Con: In most cases the ad will reach the wrong target audience. You will likely get people calling who are seeking employment and are not interested in a side-business until they have a primary income.

An Online Sales Funnel

You can build an internet sales funnel with landing pages, sales letters, and optin forms:

• Pro: This can be an effective way of finding new people who are excited about what you offer.

• Con: Creating a squeeze and sales page requires programming skills (or costly outsourcing) and cannot be duplicated. It also requires expensive traffic generation advertising and extensive search engine optimization, which has a high level of complexity.

Local Events and Meetings

Consistently seeking out and meeting new people in your local area through events, shows, community service, groups, networking meetings, and in everyday life can help you build your personal network:

• Pro: Networking like this builds your business as well as your general network and sphere of influence (positively impacting all facets of your life), can be readily duplicated, can be fulfilling and enjoyable especially for extroverted personalities.

• Con: It requires time and effort, a positive attitude and relationship building.

Online Classifieds

You can post ads on free online classified sites like Craigslist.com and Kijiji.ca:

• Pro: If you have the right wording and post diligently, you can generate leads.

• Con: If your post looks at all like an MLM ad it will likely be flagged and removed. This method requires frequent posting with each new post having at least slightly different wording (or it will be tagged as a duplicate and removed). There is also no saying what type of people you will attract.

Social Media

In addition to all these sources of leads there is another that is being successfully utilized to generate leads for network marketing businesses and I highly suggest adding it to your arsenal. Social media websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter can be powerful networking tools to expand your downline.

Facebook is my personal favorite because it’s simple, friendly, and easy to build a following using groups. Your goal is to start groups where you can meet new people, build a quick relationship with them and when the timing is right, introduce them to your company.

There are three specific group types you could start. The first type would be a group about a niche or a specific theme that could be tied back into your product or opportunity. Depending on the network marketing company you are with, this could be anything from a group about home based entrepreneurs, specific health concerns, weight loss, greeting cards, homecare, etc. The second type would be a group with the purpose of reconnecting you with people from your past (maybe a college, high school or even junior high re-connect group would fit in this category). The third type would be a group centered around an interest or hobby of yours.

Once you have created the group, proceed to invite all of your facebook connections. Some will join and some won’t. The hope is that those who join will also invite their friends and so forth. Keep in mind that the group needs to provide some sort of value for this viral growth to happen. Value can be found in starting discussions on the wall about topics of relevance, sharing insights, sending inspiring or useful messages on a regular basis, or making connections with people you otherwise wouldn’t be able to find.

You can also join and take an active role in groups that already exist (instead of starting them yourself) but the disadvantage is that you are not the leader and therefore not allowed to message the entire group as a whole.

Enter relationship building – the old adage that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care still holds true in social media marketing. Take some time and get to know these people by messaging back and forth. Get to know what they are up to, what makes them tick, find a problem that you can remedy and then provide the solution. For example, if they start complaining about the economy it’s a perfect open door to talk about how you have a side income stream that’s helping buffer the negative effects of the economy. It will be a natural addition to the conversation directed to an attentive audience.

Math is the tool we use to measure business success or failure. Peter Drucker, the father of modern business thought, is known for the adage, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” The measure of a business is the simple addition of revenue and subtraction of expenses. What is left over tells you if you have done a good job or if you need to improve. This equation can (and should) be done by campaign, by employee, by division, and for the entire company.

Some would certainly prefer if business were all about colors, logos and happy feelings (aka “branding”). If you are someone who has that mentality, and would rather not trouble yourself with the accountability of mathematics, please feel free to move on to a different article. Or perhaps now that it’s a bit warmer you can go enjoy all the happy things in life like chasing butterflies or flying kites…

You Are In Business For…

When it comes right down to it, you are in business for one reason: money. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am well aware of the fact that I have spent the better part of this article series explaining how important it is to keep your customer’s needs and experiences your first priority and to not let money be your primary motivation. And then from all appearances, with one simple sentence I change everything.

You cannot legally print more money. So unless you are the government, you must balance your books; you cannot run a deficit. It’s an unfortunate reality of life. Therefore, the purpose of your business, whether you are for-profit or non-profit, is, ironically, profit. It’s what you do with that profit that matters.

If you own a non-profit, that profit doesn’t necessarily carry the same implications it does for a for-profit company, but you are going through the action of being in business to do something (raise money for kids in Africa, breast cancer awareness, the local food bank, etc.). It is critical that in your business, like its for-profit cousins, revenues must be greater than expenses (aka “profit”).

Regardless of your status (for- or non-profit), in terms of the long-term sustainability of your business, you cannot let profit be your primary motivation.  Where customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty, and referrals are certainly the lifeblood of your company, profit (or the lack thereof) is the blood pressure. If the blood pressure is too high, or too low, you’re headed in the wrong direction.

That said, now that we have established the importance of revenues exceeding expenses (profit); let’s discuss the primary ways to increase profitability. Jay Abraham talks about three ways to grow a business:

• Increase the number of customers,
• Increase your price, and
• Increase usage and rate of purchase.

In reality there is a fourth way to increase profit – that is to reduce costs, or as one of my mentors always put it, “addition by subtraction.”

Increase the number of customers

The actions encapsulated in this topic are what most would consider “marketing.” Throughout this article series, I have outlined various ways to attract new customers, decrease customer attrition rates, and create happy, loyal customers. So, for the sake of brevity, I’ll assume the topic has been adequately covered, and move on.

Increase Your Price

Price says a lot.  Price is marketing without marketing. Just a few numbers preceded with a dollar sign communicates to the world what you think and your prospects should think about your products. Do you price high and go for an exclusive message, or price low and try to attract budget-minded customers? Or do you avoid distinguishing yourself at either end of the pole and try to exist somewhere in the middle?

There have been volumes written about pricing theory, but to quote another mentor, “If you cannot afford to be the cheapest in a marketplace, there is no economic advantage to being the second cheapest.” In other words, there will always be someone who can out-cheap you. “Cheap” is not a sustainable competitive advantage. Also, in most cases, the price the premium brand commands is anywhere from two to 2,000 times (or more) higher than the bargain brand; which means, the manufacturer of the premium brand has to sell fewer products to have just as much revenue.

The irony is that although it may cost more to produce a premium product, the costs do not necessarily increase proportionally as selling-price increases, meaning there is a higher profit margin, and therefore more profit.

Increase usage and rate of purchase Several years ago the dental industry came out with a radical announcement: brushing your teeth twice a day and visiting your dentist only once a year was no longer acceptable. The new recommendation was to brush three times per day and visit your dentist twice a year… a 50 percent increase in brushing and a 100 percent increase in dental visits… it’s no wonder dentists smile. That one recommendation increased toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, floss, and gum sales, not to mention the increase in office visits.

The important thing with this method is to make sure there is a rational benefit for the increased usage rate.  With the dental example, it was to prevent cavities and the corresponding drilling… that was enough to motivate most people to start brushing more. I’ll bet you it was an apple grower who came up with the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Decrease Your Costs

There are many ways to reduce costs. Some of the more popular are slashing overhead, cutting employees and reducing marketing. The somewhat less popular method I have seen executed brilliantly is what is known as a “Silent Price Hike.” The snack food industry is particularly adept at using this method.

The first thing is to get the market familiar with a certain size. Then, reduce the size, but come out with a “bonus size,” which is nothing more than a repackaged original size. Then, when the promotion has ended, you have a smaller size which costs less to produce. Some manufacturers have gone on to spell out how this change was actually a benefit to the customer in the form of fewer calories per serving and more servings per container. This is how a cookie manufacturer was able to decrease manufacturing costs, increase the number of servings per container and cut out 1/3 of the fat per serving. For example, instead of having 30 cookies per container, there were now 24 plus they changed the recommended serving size from three cookies down to two. This means that instead of 10 servings per container there were now 12. The store owners don’t mind because this allows them to fit more products on the shelf.

You can also see this scenario play out in the popular 100 calorie serving packs, that ounce per ounce cost you more than the normal package made especially for those with some restraint. So, through the right marketing message, the manufacturer’s desire to increase profits strangely appears as though it creates a win-win-win scenario for everyone.

Using Your Profits Wisely

The real trick is you don’t have to use just one of these strategies. In fact, you shouldn’t. You should try to use as many as possible. These are guaranteed ways to increase profit.

Now that I’ve covered how to increase your profits, it’s important to have a quick discussion on what you should do with that profit. Surely some of it should go to you – you’ve done all the work after all. But you should also keep some to reinvest inside the company.  Far too often more than a few small business owners fail to recognize how important it is to keep money in the company (retained earnings, plow-back, etc.). They believe that the sales will just keep coming in and that they can fuel next month’s expenses with next month’s income. But what happens when sales drop, or expenses spike unexpectedly? Not only can this money help you fuel future marketing efforts, it can provide a shelter for you if things get rough (and things do get rough).

Normally it’s a good idea to keep enough on hand to cover three to six months of fixed expenses. You will likely want to have this semi-liquid if not liquid.  Ironically enough, this is one marketing guy who will tell you to talk to, and coordinate this with, your finance guy.

Written by Brent Coppieters, Affiliate Manager for DotComSecrets.com

The other day my 4-year-old son Carter asked me about the tv shows that I used to watch when I was his age. We only had three channels when I was growing up, so my selection wasn’t that great. I went to YouTube and searched 1980s cartoons. Wow, did that bring back a flood of memories! “Thunder Cats,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Transformers,” “Inspector Gadget,” “He-Man” and “G.I. Joe.” Why don’t they make shows like these anymore? I remember at the end of “G.I. Joe” they would do short public service announcements where G.I. Joe would intervene and help the kids. He would always say, “…and knowing is half the battle.”

It seems simple but it’s true. First we need to know, and then we need to do.
In the United States, we just finished filing our taxes. Some people ended up overpaying during the year and received a refund. Others didn’t pay enough and must send the government more money. Knowledge truly is power as those who know and understand the ins and outs of taxes usually benefit in the end with paying less – or at least they don’t get stuck writing a check at the end of the year.

As online business owners, it’s important to know some basics when it comes to taxes and affiliates. The information in this article is based on a business that is running out of the United States. I am not an attorney or tax accountant. The information here is merely based off of the systems I use in running the affiliate program for DotCom Secrets.

Keeping the Right Information on Hand

As a business owner who pays commissions to affiliates you need to be sure that you get your affiliates to fill out either a W9 or W8 form. These forms are important as they verify that your affiliates are real people.

A business owner who has an affiliate program is able to “write-off” the commissions that they pay to their affiliates. For example, if I sell an ebook for $50 and pay my affiliates a 50 percent commission, then I get to keep $25 and my affiliate gets $25. On my taxes it will essentially show that I made $50, but show $25 going out. This prevents me from being taxed on the whole amount.

It is your responsibility as the product owner to have a current W9 or W8 on file for each affiliate. This will help cover you in case you are ever audited by your government tax team. In the United States, the IRS can walk into any home or business and ask to see their records. Audits help them verify that you have the correct information about your affiliates and the way you conduct your business.

Tracking and Organizing Affiliate Information

A few months ago, Russell and I were at an affiliate appreciation event at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a good opportunity to meet with other successful internet marketers and affiliates in person. We work closely together, but only see each other every few years. Most internet marketers communicate via phone, email and instant messenger. It’s nice when you have been working with someone virtually to put a face to their voice.

The event was hosted by a well known internet marketer and friend of ours, Mike Filsaime. He told how the IRS paid him a special visit at his office a few years ago. They wanted to perform an audit to verify the information he submitted on his taxes. Unfortunately he didn’t do well, as he couldn’t provide all the paperwork they requested. They talked about how he claimed to have paid affiliate commissions, but he didn’t have W8 and W9 forms on file for every affiliate who earned more than $600. These forms are important as they provide you with the necessary information to send out 1099 forms). Mike mentioned that he had their email address and contact information in case the IRS wanted to talk with them.

Mike was able to find a few, but didn’t have them for the majority of affiliates he paid. This was not a good time. The IRS agents informed him that it was his duty to have that information, and that they had no way to verify that he actually paid all of these affiliates. Mike was then told he needed to pay taxes on income he received and could not “write off” the commissions for anyone he didn’t have the proper tax form on file for. He said he had to pay over $1 million to the IRS. What would you do if the IRS came to your home or office for an audit? Would you have everything you needed?

Mike pleaded with us in Las Vegas to not let the same thing happen to us. As a result of this experience he developed a new software program called PayPeopleOnline.com. This software helps business owners and affiliate managers keep track of all their tax paperwork when paying commissions. I am not yet using the service, but hope to soon. I am still tracking it the “old fashioned way.” No matter how you track and verify that you have all the paperwork, just start doing it today. Don’t put it off for another day, month or year.

Using a Simple Three-Step System

Whether you choose to use Mike’s PayPeopleOnline.com or not, it is absolutely important to get the tax forms from your affiliates. In the past, we have waited until the end of the year to make sure that we have the proper forms on file. This is a huge pain as December isn’t the best month to get stuff like this from anyone. Having this paperwork doesn’t mean that you won’t run into any problems, but sure helps.

Another issue that I have run into is fraud. Affiliates who are doing things they shouldn’t will not send you their information. And if they do, and the information is not correct, you are at least protected. If you were audited, and the information the affiliate gave you was incorrect, they are the one in trouble, not you. I believe the term is “due diligence.” You need to make sure that you at least make the effort to get the information.

Remember that “knowing is half the battle.” Mike opened my eyes to the seriousness of getting this information. Sometimes the idea of pleading ignorance is not an option. You can’t say, “Well, I didn’t know about it, so I don’t have to do it.” The IRS expects you to know and follow the tax rules.

After our time in Las Vegas and hearing Mikes’ story I knew what I had to do. Russell and I decided that we needed a system in place so that we never have to worry about going through what happened to Mike. I have broken it down into a few easy-to-follow steps:

Choose one of the following:

Require any new affiliate to submit their W8 or W9 prior to being able to promote.
Provide a downloadable PDF in your affiliate center so that it’s easy for affiliates to fill out the form and email or fax it back.

You can include links to the forms in your first welcome email after affiliates register.

Do not pay any commissions until you have the forms in your hands!!! Make sure you have this in your affiliate terms and conditions. This gives you some leverage in case you have not got their forms. Continue to follow up with affiliates until they submit their information.

Ensure that you have multiple copies of W8 and W9 information. I have a physical copy that was emailed or faxed to us organized in a book that is locked in a file cabinet. I also have an Excel spreadsheet with the information available. The spreadsheet makes it easy for our accounting department to get the information they need in order to send physical checks as well as 1099 forms at the end of the year.

This is a simple process, yet is important for your business. An audit by the government is sure to not be fun, no matter the outcome. Be smart about how you are running your affiliate program. It will pay off in ways that you can’t imagine. If you are wondering, just contact my friend Mike Filsaime. And like my pal G.I. Joe used to say, “Knowing is half the battle.”

In Boston, not long after the American Revolution, two brothers got together at the dinner table and tried to figure out if there was anything on their family farm they could sell. They had two things in abundance, both of which were of little use to them – rocks and ice.

They decided they couldn’t sell rocks. Instead, one of the brothers, Frederick Tudor, had an idea that was nothing short of radical for the time. He decided to start cutting ice blocks from the farm so he could ship them to warmer parts of the world.

Once he figured out how to keep the ice from melting on a boat ride to the Caribbean, his only problem was keeping up with demand. In fact, with his ice farm, Tudor became one of the wealthiest men in early American history, employing tens of thousands of people and earning him the name of the “Ice King.”

Using Your Resources Wisely

While this is a simple story that happened over 200 years ago, it has powerful lessons for anyone who has ever struggled to come up with a winning product idea. What I find interesting is that Tudor didn’t try to invent an amazing new device or build a business empire from scratch. He looked at what he already had and built his wealth on that.

Like Tudor, the entrepreneurs who will always win are the ones who are aware of the resources available to them and devise a plan of how they can use them to achieve their goal. If there is something they need that is not readily available, they use what they do have to get it. This is especially true when it comes to product creation.

Becoming “Content King” in Your Niche

When creating products, it’s easy to start with the “perfect” finished result in mind. When the realization comes that what’s being aimed for is unachievable with the resources that are readily available, many people throw their hands in the air and give up.

What often holds many of our students back from finishing their own products are things like better video equipment, better speaking skills, or the ability to write, design, edit, hire outsourcers or purchase expensive tools. In reality, these things are nice, but not necessary to create products that sell. The lesson that can be applied from Tudor’s story here is that often the most profitable and fulfilling opportunity is the one closest to home.

As an information marketer, there are many places you can look to find content, tools and inspiration that will aid you in creating your next winning product. In this article, I want to share a few of the most simple, yet powerful places, that are often overlooked.

In Your Own Head Your first best resource is yourself and the knowledge you already have. Don’t discount your own knowledge. Chances are that you are an expert in something that someone else wants to know about. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are people often asking me for help with?
• What do I often get complemented on?
• Is there something I do for free for friends and family that they say they would pay for?
• What topics do I love to talk about? Could I carry on a meaningful conversation?
• What are my favorite hobbies? What do I wish I could spend the majority of my time doing?

It’s interesting how Tudor turned something commonplace into a luxury item. Boston has no short supply of ice in the winter, and it’s likely that his was not the only family farm that had it in abundance. While most farmers saw the cold and ice as a roadblock, because it meant they couldn’t work for the winter, Tudor was the first to recognize that it could provide value to others. Remember, even if what you do comes easy to you or doesn’t seem like a big deal, there are likely many people who would love to sit down with you and learn all your secrets.

> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article

From Your Personal Network: One of my all-time favorite DCS success stories is Xan and Jenn Spencer, winners of the DotCom Secrets $100 Million Challenge. They wanted to launch a product, but didn’t have any niche that stuck out to them. Instead of giving up, they talked to a friend from church who they knew made beautiful hair bows and worked with her to create a product.

One month after they launched they earned over $2,000 and soon after their monthly income grew to over $16,000 while only spending a few hours a week maintaining their traffic and taking care of customers! Xan was able to retire from his corporate job and the couple took an 86 day tour of the United States in the Corvette they won (if you want to hear their whole story, go online to university.dotcomsecrets.com and watch their interview with Russell).

If you have a friend or family member who has a unique talent, don’t hesitate to ask them to work with you on a product. They’ll likely be flattered you asked and love to help! You can also call up industry experts and ask them for interviews. Most people will do interviews for free because it gives them good publicity and boosts their credibility.

In Your Existing Products: Recycling content from your current products is one of the fastest and easiest ways to create a whole new offer. By recycling, I mean taking content from your existing information products and repackaging it into a new format. Here are a few ideas on how you can do this:

• Turn each chapter of an ebook into a new weekly module for your Micro-Continuity course.
• Turn a seminar presentation into a book by having transcripts created (a great place to get this done is VerbalInk.com).
• Take articles you write for your newsletter and turn them into traffic generating content for your blog. If you have a paid newsletter, you can just use the first 100 words as teasers and direct readers to subscribe to access the full article.
• Strip the audio out of a video product and give  the MP3 away as a bonus with their purchase to add value.

The cool part about this is that everybody learns differently. So by offering the same content in different formats you will be able to help your customers consume the information better than they would had you simply given them a one-size-fits-all option. Don’t waste anything! If you invest your time into creating content, make sure you get the most out of it by recycling it.

In PLR Products: Most internet marketers have private label rights (PLR) products taking up space on their hard drives, but few ever try to sell them the right way. The biggest key to having success with PLR products is creating a unique angle that will differentiate you from all the other resellers who just throw up the included sales letter and graphics and call it good. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Start With the Sales Process in Mind: Most people find a PLR product first and then try to market it. Ideally, you should do your market research and have a sales plan mapped out before selecting a product.

• Develop a Unique Selling Proposition: Since marketing PLR products often means you are competing against other sellers, make sure your offer is unique.

• Make Sure the Product Calls Out to Your Target Audience: People pay for content that is tailored to their specific situation. Reniching PLR products is a great way to make them unique to you and add more value for your customer.

• Make Sure the Terms of Service Allow you the Flexibility you Need: Because licensing rules vary from product to product, always read the terms of service carefully and make sure they give you the wiggle room you need to make it profitable.

You may also want to make some simple edits to your PLR product, like rebranding it with your name and website, changing current affiliate links to your own, adding a disclaimer, or changing the content or graphics.

PLR products are a great, inexpensive resource and because they are already made, you can literally have a ready-to-sell product in minutes from now.

In Affiliate Products: Even easier to start marketing than PLR products are affiliate products. Plus, you can literally make money without spending a dime!

When you choose an affiliate product to promote, make sure it is something you would buy yourself. It’s also a good idea to create some type of bonus offer for people who purchase through your affiliate link. It may just be the tipping point that gets people to buy.

Trading Talents: If you have an idea for a product, but don’t have some or all of the skills necessary to create it yourself, all is not lost. You can find someone who knows how to accomplish what you want and offer to provide a service to them in return.

For example, a couple weeks ago I met with a landscaper friend who is working on a few new business ventures to talk about some options for graphic design. I love design and jumped at the chance to help her. In return, she agreed to take a look at my yard and give it some much needed help. Since I would much rather design than do yardwork, and she already has the tools to landscape, it was a great deal for both of us.

You can find people to swap tasks with in forums, networking at workshops or seminars, or by simply talking to someone you know who could help you. In general, people will be flattered when you ask them for help and as long as you provide them with an equivalent service, the partnership can be mutually beneficial.

Staking Your Claim

The product you sell does not have to be the next miracle breakthrough invention. It just has to solve a problem – however simple it may be. Get started using the resources you have around you. The good news is, every day, technology makes it even easier to find and use the resources you need. So even if you don’t have any experience marketing or money to invest in product development,  you can still stake your claim in the lucrative market for information.

> Click Here to Read Part 1 of This Article

How YouTube Works

Youtube is a video sharing site that allows you to post videos where people can rate them and leave comments. As a business owner, you can use it to tell a story about your product and capture the attention of your target audience. YouTube also contains its own aggregator and because of it’s popularity, videos you post have a better chance of going viral than other video sharing sites. In today’s culture people want information in the fastest most entertaining fashion – ultimately making video your best option.

Turning Traffic Into Cash

Youtube is a great way to send targeted traffic to your site. How many times do people hear about infomercial products and buy them? Not much. How many times do people see infomercial products and buy them? A lot. YouTube is your interactive infomercial, your interactive story, your interactive television show. It is your way to show people your product or story. If you use it correctly, the passion you convey through your video will make viewers want to experience your product and be a part of your story.

Create Compelling Content

Step 1: What part of your product or story is most compelling to your fans? Once you come up with what exactly makes your business so compelling, brainstorm three or four main points to focus on and develop during your video. Next write a sexy, flashy, passionate title to hook people’s interest.

Tip: Any video or message you put out should include a call to action. Give viewers something to do. For example, “See the rest of this video on our website,” or “For more information, go to…” Always have a call to action.

Lights, Camera, Action

Step 2: A common misconception about filming is that it needs to be professional quality in order for your video to be credible. That is not the case. The quality is not that important. However, here are some simple tips on lighting, sound and camera choice:

When choosing a camera, pick one that includes an editing system. This will make your videos much easier to produce and put out. A recommended camera is the Flipcam HD Mino. This is a great camera and has an easy internal editing system. It costs about $149.

When choosing lighting people often think that having a lot of light is better. In reality, unless you know the properties of how light works with your camera, a good rule to follow is softer is better. Also, outdoor and natural light is better than indoor light. The scenery outside will also give your video more depth and life opposed to a boring background.

Sound is one of the most important parts of video. If the sound is poor quality your message will not be received. So make sure above all that your sound is clear.

Create Your Channel

Step 3: When driving traffic through social media sites, the goal is to keep them congruent with one another. If someone was to stumble across your video it should be easy for them to find you in other networks.

To post a video, go to www.YouTube.com and click “upload.” You will be taken to a page that will ask if you want to subscribe. Click that and enter your information. Find other channels you like and comment on their videos. This will build your visibility within the network. Also, use other social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to promote your videos. We will be talking more about specific tactics to promote your videos later.

Join YouTube Groups

Step 4: Connecting through YouTube groups is a great way to build your list and your network, especially if your business is within a certain niche. YouTube groups are a place where you can find similar videos and rate them. Every time you comment or rate a video a link shows up on your home page. This will promote that you are active within your account and network.

You can also start your own group. For example, if you are in the cooking niche, you could make a group called “Meals in 10 Minutes.” You could then invite people to come and share their videos of their own 10 minute meals. Once people start posting their videos you can urge them to share with people in their networks as well as you sharing your videos within your network. This will generate new leads that may not have been available before. This is a way groups can help narrow down your audience and increase traffic.

Use YouTube Insights

Step 5: YouTube insights are going to be irreplaceable when you start getting traffic to your video. To see your insights, sign in and click on “My Account.” Once you get there your videos should be lined up.

Click on “Insight.” You will be taken to a screen similar to the one shown below. This breaks down who is watching your videos, where they are watching them from and what parts of the video are the most interesting. They will also tell you who your audience is and where they are coming from. There is so much more within these insights. Feel free to play around with them. In the example below, Russell may have never known that he had such a high response in India. This could be important to his marketing strategies.

YouTube Essentials

Step 6: The following are four tips and tricks to driving traffic through YouTube that you cannot live without:

Post videos as replies When you do this it makes you more personable to your customers. They feel as if they are getting to know you as a person and in turn trusting you more. If you have FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) you can make video replies to those questions to make your business more interactive for your customers.

Embed your videos into other networks Put them in your blog or on your other networks to bump up your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) results. This will make your video easier to search.

Trickle your videos into different networks When you film a video cut it up into one to two minute segments. This will make it easier for your customers to watch because it is not so long in length but also you can leave them with cliff hangers. For example, if the title of the video is “Ten Tips to Making More Money” cut them up into two tip segments. Then put two tips on Facebook and two on Twitter and say, “to see the other eight tips go to my website.” Then once they get there have them enter their email to get the other tips and you will build your list in no time.

Tailgate Tag-Lines: When you use this tip, be careful not to tailgate too much. But if you find a video that is popular on YouTube and is relevant to your niche, make your headline similar. This will ensure that when people go to see that video they could see yours in related searches.