Entries Tagged 'Money' ↓

I’m watching Jay Abraham’s presentation at the ‘Billion Dollar Weekend’ seminar in Beijing from earlier this year.

Of all people I’ve studied business growth and development from, the one who has made the biggest difference to me is Jay Abraham. I own many of his high priced coaching material, and every single one has made a big multiple back to my business in increased profits.

One of the most profound bits of information Jay has shared with his students is something he calls the ‘Strategy of Pre-Eminence’. It’s a philosophy of doing business that stems from an overwhelming concern for a client’s welfare and best interests.

Over the years, I have heard, read and watched Jay present variations on the ‘Strategy of Pre-Eminence’ at various events and courses - and every single time, one new insight seems to jump out and hit me in the eye!

Yesterday was no different.

For the first time, I realized that not only does the ‘Strategy of Pre-Eminence’ mandate that you NOT sell your clients useless or ineffective stuff - it also directs that you DO sell them EVERYTHING that they require… and not merely cater to their whim and fancy!

Here’s an example.

Suppose you know 6 glasses of water a day is what a person needs to stay healthy and well. If a client walks into your store and asks for 2 glassfuls of water, it is your DUTY to try and sell them on the idea of drinking 6 glasses daily - because you KNOW that is in THEIR best interest!

That realization sparked off flashbulbs in my head. I had been faithfully upholding my responsibility of not directing my clients towards junk products or ‘fad of the day’ stuff that would take away their focus on reaching their stated goals.

But I had not been as enthusiastic or proactive about this other dimension of the ‘Strategy of Pre-Eminence’… giving them ALL that they NEED, not just what they WANT!

Can I force-feed them this stuff? Arm-twist them into buying it all? Manipulate them into it using mind-control tactics?

Maybe, but that would defeat the purpose, violate the ethic of the ‘Strategy of Pre-Eminence’ - because that strategy is a classic example of principle-centric business building and management.

So what’s the key?

Sell them what they want - and sneak in what they need.

It’s going to be my new mantra.

Or more likely, one of many new mantras - because I’m only on Disc #1 of a 12 DVD pack! Methinks the ‘Billion Dollar Seminar’ is going to set my brain on fire!

Want some more Jay Abraham insights for free?

I’m thinking about publishing a new ezine to share some of the lessons I’ve learned from Jay with an online marketing audience, laced and spiced with my own interpretations and twists to applying the broad-based concepts to an online infopreneur business.

If there’s enough interest, I’ll do this more regularly - it all depends upon how many sign up, and then, how many keep reading and respond to the questions and challenges I’ll throw at the end of each issue.

Sign up here if you like the idea - Dr.Mani on Jay Abraham Newsletter

New here? Please pick up your three FREE gifts - click here. Hope you like them. And drop by often!

Yet they are in a conspiracy!

It’s a conspiracy with far-reaching potential for change.

No longer will hapless innocents fall prey to the rapacious ravages
of a horde of ruthless blood-suckers!

Have I piqued your curiosity?

Now read about the conspiracy - and how you can avoid becoming a victim.

Download the Expose - click here (PDF file, 0.57 MB)

I’m a Jay Abraham protege. One of the most powerful methods to increase profits that Jay teaches is ‘continuity selling’.

• If you trim borders and trees, you could set up an arrangement with clients to work on their garden every month - and bill them for it automatically.
• If you’re a hair-dresser, offer customers a special discount if they’ll commit to having a haircut every month or 3 weeks.
• If you’re a carpet-cleaner, tell your clients you’ll come to their home every 6 weeks and clean their carpets - and charge their card automatically.

All these are value-added services to your clients - because you are offering them MORE of what they already purchased from you.

Conveniently, so they won’t have to remember to call you each time.

At a discount, to reward them for their loyalty.

Yes, continuity selling can explode your business profitability.

It can also ruin your reputation, cast doubts on your integrity and brand you as a snake-oil salesperson if you do it in a sneaky, secretive or hidden fashion.

It may even put you behind bars!

A few days back, I bought a $9.95 ebook called Adsense Secrets. It was well worth the price and more. I even told my list about it. Because it was a good deal.

Today, I found out through Twitter that there’s a ‘forced continuity’ rebilling phase to the offer. I was surprised - because I completely missed it.

So I went back to the sales page and re-read it again carefully - and found the details where it was tucked into a short sentence in FAST ACTION BONUS #3.

It was no doubt deliberately positioned to be overlooked by all but the careful readers… nested quietly in between the bright red “FREE”s.And then, it is reiterated on the order page (though I’m quite sure it wasn’t there when I ordered, I could be wrong). However, it is now - this is how it looks:

So it appears that if I DO NOT like a report that’s thrown in as a FREE BONUS to the product I’m buying, I will have to “call and let you know” that I do NOT want to be rebilled for a continuing subscription!

And on the email receipt I received after ordering, there is NO MENTION AT ALL about the rebilling monthly subscription!

See how SERIOUSLY this is different from the kind of continuity Jay Abraham advocates - and how using such tactics can cast doubts and aspersions on the entire powerful strategy of ‘continuity selling’.

Ethically and correctly done, it is an EXTENSION of a service already purchased - and that adds convenience, value and benefit to the buyer.

Done wrong and sneakily, it is an IMPOSITION on a buyer, who is forced into a re-billing situation to get a product/bonus s/he NEVER WANTED in the first place!

When I make a buying decision on a $9.95 product, that is ALL I am making. NOT a buying decision on a $29.95 per month re-billing subscription!

Why not make it an UPSELL?

It was oh-so-simple to make an offer like that AFTER the sale - as a second offer, which a buyer could then consider independently, on its own merit.

But that means some buyers will NOT take up that offer… and for that slight increase in sales, the marketer in question was willing to take a chance.

Well, I don’t like it. At all. I’ve written to Joel to tell him that.

And I’m apologizing to everyone who was led to this offer through my posts or emails about it.

I did not know. And that is NOT an excuse. I apologize for a mistake. I will try my best not to let it happen again.

If you have already bought through this offer, and like me, if you were unaware of the forced continuity rebilling arrangement, and are NOT interested in the “Top 1% Report”, please cancel your subscription.

And for those who are thinking about using such an approach in your marketing, I refer you to a post I recently read on Tony Blake’s forum - “Illegal Forced Continuity Programs”

Here’s what the FTC has to say about continuity programs - Facts for Consumers: Continuity Plans

And keep this in mind. Even if you are ‘legal’, you can still be ’sneaky’ or ‘deceptive’ about your practices.

If that’s what you want, it’s your business. I highly recommend following not just the letter of the law, but also the spirit of it, with regard to ‘forced continuity’.

UPDATE:

I’ve received a few messages by email and on forums. So I wanted to clarify something.

This is NOT a personal attack on Joel Comm.

Joel is my friend. He is also someone I admire and respect, NOT because of his marketing skills or extensive contact database, but because of his HUMANITY.

Just 3 days back, I wrote him this email about his support for a young man facing a deadly condition called ‘Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy‘ (DMD).

“Joel,

Thanks for turning the spotlight on DMD.

It’s a disease that hits particularly close to home.

… (personal bits edited out) …

Sorry if this was too saddening, I hesitated a lot before
writing it - but wanted you to know just how deeply I
(and doubtless many others) appreciate what you’re
doing to help little Petey.

God bless you, Joel, for what you do.

All success
Dr.Mani”

Joel Comm is also one of the strong supporters of my work with CHD.

This post was made to showcase a less than stellar implementation of what is a really powerful strategy that has potential to boost your profits if done right.

Joel wrote this morning to say:

“Just wanted you to know that we finally got the “bundle” working in the shopping cart and the newsletter is a line item.”

So obviously he is taking steps to make it more clear to buyers that there is a ‘forced continuity’ component to the order - by adding it right on the order form.

That’s one more reason I can condemn the way this tactic was implemented - and still admire the man!

Amid the cluster of gurus proclaiming that you should “follow the money”, I’m in the minority who suggest first finding your PASSION.

There’s a reason for this. It works. And it makes ‘work’ more fun.

But the real power of being passionate comes from the magic that it weaves upon anyone who comes into contact with you.

I’ll explain this better with a real case study - from my online experience yesterday.

It took me from being a stranger, to a student, and then a client, an affiliate and an evangelist - all within ONE HOUR!

Meet Mari Smith

Yesterday afternoon, she was a stranger who had contacted me via Facebook.

Her note of introduction mentioned the name of a mutual friend whom I trust a lot. So I explored what Mari was doing.

Interestingly enough, it was related to what I was researching - How To Use Facebook.

As I clicked on links leading me to more and more material created by Mari Smith, one thing stood out clearly like a beacon.

Mari was PASSIONATE about Facebook. Using it. Teaching others how to use it.

Why Facebook?

See her blog and you’ll feel it too…

The first post I read was “I Heart my Facebook and Twitter Communities!” and it had this bit that grabbed my attention and created a bond with Mari.

“…just by being out there and being yourself, bringing joy, adding value, uplifting people’s spirits with no “agenda” - people will remember you and want to connect with you.

Even if you’re not a natural-born Connector, there are certain steps you can take to maintain terrific visibility and exposure. And, authentically commenting, congratulating, and acknowledging others is certainly one of those steps.

We must keep in mind–regards online social networks, in particular - it’s relationships first, business second. This is my mantra!”

Facebook Fortunes

It’s obvious Mari really ‘gets’ Facebook and social media marketing/networking. Her Facebook profile reveals she has close to 2,000 ‘Friends’ and is very active on it. Her Twitter profile is just as interesting.

So I chose to study her Facebook approach - and discovered the free course, Facebook Fortunes - How To Grow Your Network And Your Net Worth on Facebook!”

The content is worth paying for - but Mari’s giving it away for free.

“Facebook for Professionals”

And there’s a method to her ‘madness’ because that free content, combined with her passionate style of teaching students how to use Facebook, make it an absolutely simple decision to get her ‘advanced’ course, “Facebook for Professionals”.

So, within 30 minutes of first hearing about Mari Smith, I was sending her money to learn from her.

Is she the only Facebook ‘expert’ around? Absolutely not. But she is a PASSIONATE expert - and that makes a huge difference when it comes to learning!

PodClass

The course is delivered through a service called PodClass - and that’s worth a blog post in and of itself. Check it out - there’s a ton of features for anyone looking to teach a course online.

Anyway… I’m in the members’ area, viewing the first 3 videos - and learning a LOT about Facebook and using it effectively to further my goals, and using it strategically to avoid the typical wasteful (even if temporarily entertaining) visits down rabbit-holes, when it suddenly struck me that this information was GOLDEN for my clients who themselves use Facebook.

From Customer To Affiliate - And More!

So quickly I drafted out an email to invite them to check out “Facebook for Professionals”.

Within an hour, I had gone from being a complete stranger, to a student, then a customer, and now an affiliate for Mari Smith’s Facebook program - and even more.

I was an admiring evangelist of this passionate teacher of Facebook ’secrets’ - and telling my list of over 3,000 people about her, telling my Twitter following of over 500 people about her, sending private messages on forums to people I knew would find this material helpful, and now blogging about it here!

Why?

Was it for the money I’d get as an affiliate for spreading the word? Here’s the thing. The course is priced very modestly at $197.00 when it launches on April 7th.

But when I joined, it was at the pre-launch introductory offer of $47.

By waiting 24 hours, I could have QUADRUPLED my affiliate referral fee. But I told my list right away - because I was caught up in the passion and the talent of this Facebook coach (to be fair, Mari is more than just a ‘Facebook coach’, she’s a social media marketing coach!)

Passion + Talent = Success

That’s how raw passion and talent work. You get even curious strangers caught up in the magic. Turn them into passionate supporters of your work. Get word of mouth buzz going and growing that you CANNOT buy at any price.

I have tapped into such a tidal wave of energy in the work I am really passionate about - helping sick little children with heart birth defects, and helping struggling home business owners find success online.

Yes, the money is nice.

Mari posted on Twitter that 85 orders have come in already while she puts the finishing touches on her 100+ page manual for the “Facebook for Professionals” course.

But that, in a sense, matters little when your work is fired by PASSION.

And also, the passion that you bring to the table sets you apart from any competition.

Mari says on her blog: “I do not believe in competition. Especially for the solopreneur. There’s only one YOU. No one can “compete” to be you.”

I agree. Your passion and dedication to the niche you are involved in can itself serve as your differentiator, your unique selling point, your brand identity.

I’ve made it a cornerstone of mine.

Finally, passion fuels the fire. Keeps you going. For as long as it takes.

In a report I shared some years ago, and which has been downloaded and read by over FIVE THOUSAND people, I share the story of how it took me 8 long years before any meaningful success was achieved.

How Long Does Success Take? - Read it, click here to download

Without passion, those 8 years might have been torture.

Because of passion, they were inspiring, educational and entertaining years.

Find your passion.

Reach your success.

I’m teasing my list about a ‘Google Domination’ program that’s due out on Saturday Friday called the “Authority Site Process“.

One of my readers wrote to say this:

“I am more inclined to believe that if Google wants you there it should be their decision to place you where they select rather than beating the odds to out do them. It may be Old fashioned but to me, honesty is still the best practice.”

The implication, clearly, is that trying to get to the top of Google (or any other search engine) is DISHONEST.

In other words, search engine optimization (SEO) is dishonest.

I don’t think so.

But more compelling is the argument often made that SEO is UNETHICAL.

That’s a more intricately delicate accusation, one not so easily brushed off.

And I enjoy ethical conundrums, especially because of my medical background. Medical ethics is very dogmatic and needs to be due to the nature of issues that require handling. Business ethics, I’ve found, tend to be a lot more loose, individually interpreted, and fuzzy in many instances.

Like the issue of SEO being ethical.

Driven by a profit motive, businesses that practice SEO almost always tend towards the view that any kind of SEO is just a business tool that gives them an advantage, and therefore ethical.

I have thought about it long and hard in the past, and have a viewpoint. See if you agree - or tell me why you don’t.

Ethical Theory - a primer

As far as ethics governs the ‘rightness’ or ‘wrongness’ of an action, there are two schools of thought:

Deontologic Ethics can be distilled down to ‘doing your duty’ or ‘following the rules’ - and that alone determines if an action is right or wrong, NOT the consequences of the action.

Teleological Ethics can be described simply as ‘the ends justify the means’. In other words, whether an action is right or wrong is defined by the good or evil generated by it.

Every Day Examples - case studies

This theory is abstract enough that some readers may miss the point I’m about to make. So I’ll use some daily life examples to make it come alive more graphically and in easy to understand terms.

A soldier on military duty attacks a village. He is acting on the command of his officer. Unfortunately, many innocent civilians in the village are killed in the attack.

The soldier’s action is still ethical. He is obeying a command. Following rules. The consequences of his action do NOT determine the ethicality of it.

It makes sense for deontological ethics to apply in some circumstances such as soldiers on the battlefield. It would be inappropriate for someone under those circumstances to be permitted individual choice as to whether or not to follow orders.

Now take the other example of a man pointing a gun at another one - who is attacking him with a knife!

If the man shoots and kills his attacker, he would not be charged with murder, but only justifiable homicide - because he was saving his own life. The consequences of his action make them ethical.

The same ethical theory would apply to a law officer who shoots down a terrorist about to detonate a bomb in a crowded public place. Taking a life, one of the most serious ‘crimes’, in such circumstances becomes an ethical act.

One of the phrases I coined - and love to use when I get a chance - is this:

“The difference between a surgeon’s scalpel and a murderer’s knife is one of INTENTION.”

A surgeon can ethically perform actions which would put anyone else in jail - because the ‘greater good’ of his patient makes the action ethical.

The Ethics of SEO

But what has this got to do with search engine optimization?

Google (and other search engines) lay down rules.

Playing within these rules, a webmaster can ‘optimize’ a site to rank high on the directory or search engine results pages (SERPs).

This approach is called ‘White Hat SEO’.

It is manipulative. It tries to give a webmaster an advantage over competitors. It does this within the rules.

By deontological theory, white hat SEO is ethical.

Most people accept this and agree with it. But there’s another brand of SEO called ‘grey’ or ‘black’ hat SEO - and that raises furious debate whenever the question of ethics is introduced into a discussion.

Can Black Hat Be Ethical?

Every black hat is not the same!

My good friend, philosopher and guide, Paul Myers, wears a black hat. It is pointy, too. He is among the most honest, straightforward and ethical people I know from my decade of working on Internet marketing. (You can sign up to his newsletter, Talkbiz News - click here)

No, Paul Myers is NOT a black hat SEO guy. He only wears a black hat.

But there are folks who use blackhat SEO to gain an advantage in terms of high ranking on search engines, by violating the norms and breaking rules these engines have laid down for fair play.

By deontological ethics, that is unethical.

But what if… let’s take a hypothetical case study.

This guy has discovered a way to prevent cancer. It works. Many thousand people can benefit from the information. He puts it up on a website - and then runs into a problem.

The top 10 (or more) spots on search engines are occupied by websites that employ blackhat SEO to protect their rankings. There is absolutely no way to beat them out - without using blackhat SEO techniques, fighting fire with fire.

What should this webmaster do?

Using blackhat SEO is unethical, by deontology. But by failing to get the life-saving information out to thousands of people who are looking for it, the refusal to use blackhat SEO techniques is ITSELF unethical by teleology - because the consequences of such a choice lead to the death of those people!

What a dilemma to face.

It certainly is possible to make a strong argument for blackhat SEO being ethical in this situation. In fact, if I was feeling particularly argumentative, I might even go so far as to say REFUSING to use blackhat SEO in such a situation is UNETHICAL!

But…

What do YOU think?

I leave that for you to debate with me. Let’s have a spirited discussion about the Ethics of Search Engine Optimization.

And in case you were wondering, there is absolutely NOTHING close to blackhat SEO in my new “Authority Site Process“ program that launches on Saturday. Friday.

I’ve had many beta-testers put the program through the paces, and it has been possible to uniformly replicate and duplicate the results I myself experience at will from following the process.

If you’re interested in hearing about it when I launch, you can either keep up with this blog - or opt-in to my mailing list - click here

But in any case, do chime in on the debate about whether search engine optimization is ethical - or not. Leave a comment and let the sparks fly!

Image credit http://www.sxc.hu

Email marketing uses technology, but involves humans.

The smallest email list has 2 people - the publisher who sends email, and the subscriber who receives it.

Both are humans. And have one overwhelming question:

“What’s In It For ME?”

The key to success in email marketing is finding an answer that keeps both sides happy. Let’s talk about doing just that

A Bit of Perspective

I started with email marketing in 1996. That’s 12 years ago. Have sent easily in excess of 5 million emails over the period. And made many serious mistakes, learned many hard lessons, studied many great masters.

All this just to say I’m no novice or nut-case who is spewing out his fancies and fantasies about how email marketing should be in an ideal world, or my own brand of ‘effective email marketing’.

Some years back, I put out a free report called ‘4 Dimensional Internet Marketing’. In it, I distilled down the vast range of money-making avenues on the Internet into ONLY THREE models that cover everything.

Yes, at its core, Internet marketing is simple.

And so is email marketing.

Yes, Email Marketing Is Simple

Even here, there are no more than 3 core models of email marketing:

* content publishing
* direct response
* lead generation

Everything else is detail. I’ll explain each model a little.

In the content publishing model, an email marketer strives to build a list and cultivate a relationship with it through publishing useful or interesting or entertaining content by email. Revenue models are indirect, and come from advertising, branding or from a related business the email marketer runs.

In the direct response model, an email marketer’s primary goal is to get a subscriber to take action. Click. Read. Buy. Donate. Visit. Call. Write. Whatever. And the actions are rewarded by a monetary or other advantage.

In the lead generation model, the email marketer’s role is mainly as a list builder. By placing opt-in forms in the path of targeted traffic, a list is built which is monetized by selling, sharing, renting or leasing the ‘leads’.

Not surprisingly, the style of email marketing that works for each model is different.

The Responsivity - Relationship Continuum

Image credit http://www.sxc.hu

There are two areas on which many experienced email marketers are often at debate or disagreement…

* responsiveness of audiences

* relationship with them

It will become clear that it is not an ‘either/or’ situation, but instead a continuum, with different models of email marketing needing unique approaches when you realize that:

Lead generation does NOT need responsiveness OR relationship building. The ’subscribers’ are merely ‘leads’ to be passed on.

Direct response email marketing needs responsiveness to be effective, and a relationship with subscribers is secondary.

Content publishing, because it depends on indirect revenue systems, needs relationships mainly to sustain readership and to maintain list size.

Of course, these 3 models are seldom clearly demarcated and defined in practice, with considerable overlap being the norm. And that mix governs how far along the relationship-responsiveness continuum each email marketer wants (or needs) to travel.

The Spectrum Explained

Image credit http://www.sxc.hu

If all I’ve said so far sounds abstract and theoretical, let me share some typical case studies that may make things clearer.

Email marketer A has a content publishing style of email marketing. He sends out one issue after another, each loaded with content that keeps his audience engaged, involved - and subscribed.

Whenever he runs paid ads, they are kept distinct from editorial content. Yet subscribers, who have a relationship with the publisher, respond to the ads often enough to justify the price advertisers pay him to run those ads. A win-win situation.

Variations on this theme may be…

• a ‘pure content’ ezine publisher who never runs an ad - but instead builds up a brand or gains mindshare for his business, generating revenues from this subtle ‘back-end’ sales system.
• a publisher who runs content issues separately from a solo-ad mailing for which advertisers pay premium pricing.
• a publisher who weaves pre-selling affiliate promotions into ‘content’ itself.

Email marketer B belongs to the direct response school. She loads up an autoresponder sequence with a series of emails, each one promoting a related affiliate program or product/service she sells.

Every click on a link inside an email takes a subscriber to a sales page - and the only options are to buy or not buy.

When enough people buy, the model is validated. The profits are used to generate enough new subscribers to counter the attrition rate when worn-out subscribers, tired of repetitive sales pitches, ask to be unsubscribed.

Of course, a direct response email marketer may be more subtle and less ‘in your face’ with this approach, and may

• give away a free report, ebook or multi-part course that pre-sells a subscriber on a program, product or service which is then offered for sale.
• invite a subscriber to visit a website - and only there monetize that visit through ad clicks, direct sales, or other methods.
• mix and match content with sales promotions to keep audience engagement higher and responsiveness better.

Email marketer C is a lead generator. He concentrates entirely on the opt-in process, with very little effort or thought being devoted to the after-care of an opt-in subscriber.

The focus is on getting as many opt-in forms as possible out there in front of targeted traffic, making a compelling-enough invitation to sign up to a list, and then finding buyers who want those leads and are willing to pay for it.

With all this background knowledge, it’s time to look at some misunderstood or overlooked elements of email marketing that are relevant in 2008 and beyond… and see how to weave best practices into our chosen models of email marketing to achieve massive success in what many perceive as a failing medium of online communication.

Cost - “But isn’t it free to send email?”

Image credit http://www.sxc.hu

This is the most obvious, frequently asked and (to an e-publisher) very exasperating question.

Because, honestly, the answer is “Yes”.

But that “Yes” is qualified differently for practitioners of each model.

A lead generator doesn’t really care about what happens AFTER the opt-in, because it’s somebody else’s problem. A content publisher also agrees, because having a bigger list means more revenue.

But a direct response email marketer objects strongly to having unresponsive subscribers - because to him, there is indeed a ‘cost’ involved.

How?

In my email marketing course, ‘Ezine ANTI Marketing’, in one section I got into the economics of list management. Here’s an excerpt from that content:

Let’s say you have 2 choices:

• build a LARGE list of 200,000 subscribers using conventional marketing
• build a SMALL list of 2000 customers using Ezine ANTI Marketing

Let’s also assume that on average, it ‘costs’ you 1.5 minutes per year to handle each subscribers’ needs, and that each customer earns you $100 a year.

Your LARGE list will get you a response rate of 1% (2000 responders). If you can get even 5% to become customers, you’ll have 100 buyers out of this list.

You earn (100 * $100) = $10,000

Your SMALL list, on the other hand, will get you a much higher response rate of 4% (80 responders). With the same conversion ratio, you’ll have 3.2 customers.

You earn (3.2 * $100) = $320

Now I can see you scratching your head, puzzled. Surely making $10,000 is better than $320.

Bear with me for just a moment longer…

Let’s look at the ‘other side’ of the equation – the amount of time you’ll have to spend ’servicing’ your lists.

Your LARGE list will ‘cost’ you (200,000 * 1.5) = 300,000 minutes (or 5,000 hours)

Your SMALL list will ‘cost’ you (2,000 * 1.5) = 3,000 minutes (or 50 hours)

Your earning per hour of time you work will be:

Large list: $10,000 / 5000 = $2.00 per hour

Small list: $320 / 50 = $6.40 per hour

That’s right…

You earn 3 TIMES as much for your time with a small list than you can with a large list!

And a huge list involves considerable resources like time and money to maintain. When analyzed from that angle, it’s obvious that smaller, targeted lists are more profitable!

Now, this course is 4 years old. And a shift in the email marketing scene (as well as legislation like CAN-SPAM) has made it ever more important to ensure not only ‘permission’ but ‘desire’ on the part of your subscriber to receive your emails.

What do I mean?

Just this.

Increasingly, even some legitimate opt-in subscribers are inclined to hit the ‘This is SPAM’ button to delete your emails, not because they think it is spam, but because THEY THINK it is easier than to follow your unsubscribe process.

And to complicate this further, many email service providers and ISPs are looking at another metric - subscriber interest in receiving your emails.

Worse, if they aren’t already doing it, they just might end up penalizing email marketers who send out a large proportion of emails that remain unopened or automatically ‘junked’.

What this means is when a significant part of your audience does not keep on showing that they are eagerly looking forward to hearing from you, their apathy might end up in a blanket punishment of your ezine/email messages… and that will keep them out of the hands of even the segment of your list that still wants to hear from you!

That is a Bad Thing!

And chances of this happening are greater with a larger list, which by necessity is less targeted and more ‘general’ than with smaller, intensely focused ‘niche’ lists.

So, yes, for a direct response email marketer, there IS a cost attached to sending free emails!

And then, there’s another bugbear…

The Entitlement Mentality

Image credit http://www.sxc.hu

An email marketer thinks:

“They are so lucky to be on MY list!”

And a subscriber thinks:

“They are so lucky to have ME on their list”

So both start posturing in a way that spells doom for email marketing.

Like any association or relationship, when one side feels entitled to something the other side does not consider an integral part of the deal, one or both are going to be hurt, feel offended, or lose out.

Neither attitude is right.

Email marketing and being on a free email list is essentially a two-way deal.

As an email marketer, you give something of value to a subscriber so they will trust you, like you, do business with you, follow your instructions and in other ways act in a manner that you derive an advantage from.

As a subscriber, you receive something useful, interesting or helpful - and hopefully that instills in you a sense of reciprocity or thankfulness that guides you to begin trusting and following the email marketer.

Both sides get a benefit. And in proportion to the benefit, they act in the future.

As long as a benefit is perceived and received, the association continues. When it is lost, there is attrition or apathy - a subscriber either cancels or just becomes inactive.

And unless an expectation is explicitly voiced and mutually agreed upon at the time of opting-in, that is the only equation that the ‘relationship’ is to be based upon.

It’s All a Question of Mindset

Image credit http://www.sxc.hu

This post was prompted by a discussion about email marketing, and one of the participants, Wendy of http://www.PersonalDevelopmentPLR.com wrote:

“I never sign up to a list thinking “how can I support this person’s business,” but the opposite is also true; I never sign up thinking, “I refuse to buy something from this person, I’ll just take what I can get for free.”

And experienced e-publisher Nick Usborne of http://www.excessvoice.com says:

“Our subscribers owe us nothing. As publishers we are very fortunate to have their attention and should strive to earn that attention with every email and newsletter we send out.”

Interesting, isn’t it?

Not all subscribers will feel the way Wendy does.

And not all publishers will agree with the viewpoint Nick proposes.

Yet, the important thing is that you can keep your list open exclusively to (or segment it by) people with a certain mindset.

If you are a generous, giving, value-providing publisher, you do NOT want a greedy, grasping subscriber with an entitlement mentality.

And if you are an open-minded, fair and receptive subscriber who is willing to evaluate a publisher’s skills, expertise and judgement, so that you’ll be open to recommendations and even advertising or selling on their part, you do NOT want to be on a list run by a publisher who ravishes and raids her subscribers as if they were one, big, collective loose-stringed wallet!

A nicely adjusted subscriber-publisher relationship is mutually enjoyable, profitable, and most important - FUN!

So how can you work towards creating ‘email marketing nirvana’?

Squeeze page verbiage

Image credit http://www.sxc.hu

A squeeze page, or name capture page, or subscribe page is one where a subscriber adds him/herself to a mailing list by typing in name, email address and maybe some other details into a web form and clicking a button.

The design and structure of a compelling ’squeeze page’ is a matter of design, technical and marketing skill. Testing on many levels is involved until a page with great conversion is found.

But one often ignored element of the opt-in process is the words used to define expectations of a new subscriber.

Often, it is a desperate grab for a contact address - making wild promises to secure it. And a hapless subscriber who joins the list quite naturally gasps when first hit with a deluge of marketing messages - and reacts appropriately.

The clueless email marketer then wonders why response is so dismal - and often tries to fix it by getting even more desperate, urgent and intrusive in the marketing approach.

What if…

• we begin with mutual respect, for both subscriber and publisher?
• we start with a plan to provide value - both ways?
• we choose to be honest, upfront and explicit in the approach?
• we live up to the promise - ethically and faithfully?
• we put value higher than profits, people ahead of technology?

It just might reinvent email marketing, and make it as effective, efficient and enjoyable as it once was.

But then, I’ve always been called a dreamer!

Hope you learned something about email marketing from this post. If you did, please share your biggest take-away by leaving a comment - and help spread the word by telling a friend about it.

Today’s the big launch.

The list of affiliates offering killer bonuses for PLF 2.0 just got longer.

See them here: Product Launch Formula 2.0 Bonuses - At a Glance!

For weeks I’ve been teasing you and my other readers with
notes about Product Launch Formula, snippets from videos
Jeff Walker has been releasing, and encouragement to just
study the process for a Master’s level training on how to
launch a product.

But that’s NOT enough.

So I’m stretching myself for you - and am going to create a
short (or rather, long) article about product launches.

I’m calling it the ‘Poor Man’s PLF’ - and it’s FREE.

If you like it, I want you to do 2 things in return.

#1 - Leave a comment here telling me what exactly you
liked about it.

#2 - Read the next post to this one and click on
the links to a few of my Squidoo lenses - and then
rate them by clicking on the picture of a row of
stars near the top of the page.

Ok, so let’s get on with the

Poor Man’s Product Launch Formula

Executive Summary:

This is for the VERY busy marketer who has just a few
minutes to spare -

The quickest, easiest way to launch a product and
ramp up sales is to…

* identify what your audience wants badly
* create a fantastic product that fills that need
* tease them about its arrival - for a long time
* build a list of curious, eager & excited prospects
* ramp up excitement
* get partners to join in and promote for you
* craft killer copy - test & tweak it till it rocks
* provide ’social proof’
* launch with a bang

Got it?

Now, go away - and let the students with more time get
their teeth into the meat of this process!

How To Plan Your Product Launch

The BIGGEST mistake beginners make is to assume the product
launch process begins a few weeks (or months) before the
actual launch.

Truth is, it begins often YEARS earlier - because it involves
people and relationships first, and products/marketing only
later.

If you (or your business) has a brand, reputation and image
that breeds trust and respect, you’ll have infinitely more
success in a product launch than if you were going at it
from a standing start.

John Reese made a million dollar day possible because of
YEARS of trust and relationships building up to a climax
on that day.

Jeff Walker’s PLF 2.0 roll-out that you’re witnessing is the
product of associations and reputation developed over an
equally long and intense period.

So get started right now. Meet people who matter to your
success, who are ‘names’ in your niche. One way to do it
is network at a seminar. Like the Bali Rendezvous this
June, where 200 Internet marketers and infopreneurs will
rub shoulders and relax over drinks on the “Island of Gods”

Or if you cannot get out to live events, do the next best
thing and network like crazy ONLINE. Visit forums and
discussion groups, and hang out with the crowd. Share
opinions, ideas and extend help to members. Chat via
email, private messaging or Skype - or just pick up the
phone and talk with folks.

There is NO WAY to short-circuit this process. It takes
time to develop, foster and nurture relationships. And
these connections pay off richly when you have a product
launch to co-ordinate.

Now, on with the process itself.

Find What Your Market WANTS

Don’t guess. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Don’t try and
twist your buyers’ arms the way you want them to behave.

Just figure out what people desperately want, are already
buying, will willingly spend money on.

There are many ways to do it. I go into detail about the
process in my paid program, but here’s a quick outline of
some ideas:

* visit forums and see what topics are HOT, what problems
many people in the niche are facing

* look on marketplaces like eBay or Clickbank to see which
products are selling nicely

* study bookstores and magazine racks to see what type of
things most fascinate prospects in your niche

* ask people in your niche through a survey and analyze
their responses

Create a Product That FILLS This Need

Study your competition. See what other products and
services they offer prospects. Buy them if necessary, to
see what’s in them, how they are selling, what they do
after the sale… and analyze every bit of data you
gather.

Then, create your own product or service - with your
own unique twist - and make it BETTER. There are many
ways to do this.

* make it bigger or more complete or versatile
* make it cheaper or offer wider choice
* create it in multiple formats, languages, regions
* customize it for individuals or make it exclusive
* throw in bonuses, guarantees and mentoring

It isn’t always easy to create excellent products.
But the payoff happens when you approach partners to
help you promote them. Quality partners will NOT
promote shoddy or useless stuff. The ONLY way to
rope in enough partners and affiliates is to make
sure your product and sales process WORK.

Start Building EXCITEMENT

A successful launch needs to be fuelled by momentum.
So start building excitement as early as you can.

Anticipation for what’s in store is a powerful force
to harness as a marketer. And a blog is one of the
best vehicles online to start building buzz.

Post a few notes on your blog MONTHS before launch.

Hint at what’s in store. Use some hype and mystery,
but do it tastefully. Bait your curiosity hook. Be
secretive and ‘accidentally’ drop nuggets to keep
your audience eager and upbeat about what’s coming.

Get Interested Prospects To RAISE THEIR HANDS

A crucial part of the launch process is to get folks
interested in your product launch to identify
themselves - and give you a way to contact them
with more information about your launch.

It’s a principle called COMMITMENT - when you’ve
expressed an interest in something, it’s harder to
back down later when it comes closer to the time
to pull out your wallet and buy!

Keep The Buzz Going - And GROWING

As a product launch co-ordinator, you cannot let
the buzz die down or get softer. Each tid-bit that
you let out into the marketplace must be carefully
pre-planned and timed for maximum impact.

By judiciously tying in such news to current events,
or other stuff that’s already got your audience’s
mindshare, you can grow and expand your buzz to
fever-pitch… just before launch.

How to create buzz?

* Sneak peeks and case studies by folks who have
had early previews of what you’re creating

* Spy photos of the package and ads

* Snippets of video or audio related to the product

* Interviews with people involved

* Special reports, trial software, freebie samples

All of these will get people in your market niche
excited and talking. Markets are conversations.
Your role, as a marketer, is to START conversations -
not control them (or try to)

Find and Recruit PARTNERS

You don’t always have to do this. I’ve had very
successful and profitable launches with no partners
or just a few.

But if you can get some reliable partners on board,
and enthusiastically promoting your launch, it can
take your whole effort to a new level. Just look at
how Jeff Walker’s launch has me writing this LONG
2,000 word article as a part of the promotion of
Product Launch Formula 2.0

Best of all, it costs you NOTHING - until you’ve
made a sale. Free advertising… you’ve got to
LOVE it!

Now, the thing about recruiting partners is that it
is NOT easy… unless you have one MAGIC ingredient.

What’s that?

A product that sells - and an offer that puts cash
into your partners’ bank accounts, the more the BETTER.

If you launch a product that will bring your affiliates
$5 per referral, and your competitor can guarantee only
$2, then guess who is going to win the loyalty of more
affiliates?

Jeff’s Product Launch Formula 2.0 program will pay
affiliates almost ONE THOUSAND dollars per sale in
referral commissions. That means, if I can make ONE
sale from 1,000 referrals, it still averages $1 per
referral!

But partners won’t be swayed by cash bounties alone.
Many affiliates revel in the EXCITEMENT and DRAMA.

So turn your affiliate recruiting process into a
little CIRCUS. Make it an event. Add a contest.
Go further and run mini-contests for different
stages.

Publish a separate blog and mailing list for your
partners alone. Keep them updated on the progress
of your launch. Remember - excited and enthused
affiliates will bring in more sales.

Craft a Killer Sales Process

No matter what you’re selling, you’d better have a
sales process that converts a fair share of
prospects into buyers - or else you’ll drive
away partners and lose a ton of credibility.

Test and tweak your sales process using traffic you
generate from organic search results or that you
pay for (or do private pre-launch JVs). Find a
combination that works well and hits your target
numbers for conversion rate, revenue per visitor
and other important metrics affiliates will find
most relevant and that will help make their
decision to promote for you a no-brainer!

Provide SOCIAL PROOF

There are many ways to prove to a skeptic crowd
that you’re the real deal.

One way is to display testimonials from buyers
or testers.

Another is to publish case studies detailing
successful use of your product or service.

A nice idea is to invite prospective buyers to
leave comments on your blog, indicating how
they plan to use your product once you launch
it.

That not only gives them a chance to start
feeling OWNERSHIP of the product, but also tells
other visitors to the blog that there are so
many others considering buying it… a double
wallop of social proof!

Oh, and you can make it fun and exciting by throwing
in a contest where you offer one (or more) winners
a free copy of your product when it comes out!

LAUNCH DAY…

It may be big, busy and bustling.

Or it may be quiet, calm and satisfying.

I’ve done both styles - and much prefer the second.
But hey, Jeff Walker probably LOVES the first kind,
so to each his own!

On the big day, you get to revel in the results of
weeks of hard work. And while big cash influxes are
a reward, there are so many more intangibles that
give you great satisfaction and fulfillment.

That’s something you CANNOT experience just from
observing someone else’s launch… you NEED your
own.

So go out and get busy. I’ve given you an outline.
If you can afford to buy it, get Product Launch
Formula 2.0 when it comes out on March 27th.

If it’s right for you, order through my affiliate
link and you get my bonus - where I’ll help and
guide you through the steps to implementing Jeff’s
plan.

If you don’t have the cash to invest right now,
DO NOT WORRY. I’ve had 7 or 8 great launches
without ever having studied Product Launch Formula
methods.

Indeed, this entire article is written from my own
experience and learning BEFORE getting PLF!

And here’s another ‘Poor Man’s Tip’ - shell out
$12.50 and order a fantastic book (printed out on
paper, NOT the digital kind) called:

“INFLUENCE - The Psychology of Persuasion”

It’s written by a researcher named Robert Cialdini.

Get it and read it AT LEAST 3 times. Then, if you
want, come back and read this article - while
thinking about ways to use the powerful principles
Cialdini teaches.

But remember…

Reading Alone Won’t Fatten Your Bank Account!

You’ve got to take these lessons and act on them.
Go for it - and I wish you great success with your
own product launch in the near future.

That’s it, folks. The ‘Poor Man’s Product Launch
Formula’.

Did you like it?

If you did, I request you to do 2 things in return.

#1 - Leave a comment here telling me what exactly you
liked about it.

#2 - Read the next post to this one and click on
the links to a few of my Squidoo lenses - and then
rate them by clicking on the picture of a row of
stars near the top of the page.

Thank you - oh, and please tell a friend if you think this
post will help.

Some weeks back, I built a network of Squidoo lenses on a topic that’s shortly about to get VOLCANIC HOT!

Yes, Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula 2 is set to release on March 27th.

It’s a high-ticket product, with a price of around $2,000 - and pays out a rich affiliate bounty of close to one thousand dollars.

With that in mind, what do you think is the value of this Squidoo lens network? There are 10 lenses in it. You can click on each link to take a look at how it is.

Notice especially the nature and quality of content on each - these are NOT junk or spam lenses, even though I’ve created multiple sites for the same product (each one is targeting a different keyword, though).

Oh, and when you click to visit the lenses, please also do me a favor and click on the stars to rate each lens, and if you want to benefit from a link back to your site, you could also post a message on the Guestbook! Thanks)

http://www.squidoo.com/plf2-review

http://best.productlaunchformula2bonus.ever.com/

http://www.squidoo.com/plf2review

http://www.squidoo.com/productlaunchformula-review

http://www.squidoo.com/productlaunchformula2reviews

http://www.squidoo.com/product-launch-formula-2-0

http://www.squidoo.com/productlaunchformula-reviews

http://www.squidoo.com/plf2

http://www.squidoo.com/productlaunchformula2-0

http://www.squidoo.com/p-l-f-2

Initially, with a short-term focus, I put this network up for sale - at just $997 for the bundle. This was when the lenses were ranking high on Google for keywords that cost $2 or more on Adwords PPC bids.

Then, after noticing how they were sustained in their ranking for a week, I quickly pulled down that insane offer - and am retaining the network for a different purpose!

So, what do you think it is worth?

On March 31st, after Product Launch Formula 2 is out, and I’ve tracked down my results from the promotions that mainly involve this Squidoo lens network, I’ll post my results. And if you’re the closest in your guess, I might gift one of these lenses to you! So go on, leave a comment.

If you want to learn more about building similar Squidoo lens networks, I explain the process in my “Advanced Squidoo Profit Secrets” guide which you can pick up (along with my basic Squidoo course as a free bonus!)

Now, here’s another tweak to this that can add even higher value to your Squidoo lens network - creating related resources on other popular services!

One example - Hub Pages. See these hubs that layer on and integrate with my Squidoo lens network:

http://hubpages.com/hub/ProductLaunchFormula2Bonus

http://hubpages.com/hub/Product-Launch-Formula-2-Reviews

http://hubpages.com/hub/Product-Launch-Formula-2

There’s a lot more that you could do to add value to a portfolio of resources you create, either for your own use, or to flip to buyers. Do you have any thoughts and opinions on this topic? Please share them by leaving a comment below.

Oh, and I also posted my “Most HONEST Product Launch Formula 2.0 Bonus Offer” on this page - take a look!

I just put up a web page explaining my own Product Launch Formula 2 Bonus - take a look at this ‘Most HONEST Product Launch Formula 2 Bonus’ offer

Dr.Mani’s Product Launch Formula 2 Bonus - CLICK HERE for details