- WEALTHY: 5 ways to maximize your Internet marketing efforts (Terry Brock)
- HEALTHY: "Shrink-proof" yourself in minutes a day (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Sanford I. Weill on the American Dream
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 4 tips on making PowerPoint presentations (Michael Masterson)
- Fun facts for boring moments
- Add "ken" to your vocabulary
You Can Import Goods From Overseas For Pennies On the Dollar!
It may have been hard in the past for small entrepreneurs to import cheap products from countries like China, but things have drastically changed.
For example, In 1986, total trade between the United States and China was $7.9 billion. By 2005, this total has reached over $170 billion, making China the United States’ third largest trading partner.
You can’t believe how easy this is. With the right information, you just find products that cost a couple of dollars each and sell them for 1000%+ mark-ups by the thousands with your own Internet sites.
Please click here to read this urgent report.
- Patrick Coffey
"I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family."
Sanford I. Weill
Build Your Business by Building Your Contact List
By Terry Brock
As you may already know, reading ETR can be an indispensable part of your business-growth process. It certainly has been for me. And with what I learned at ETR’s Info-Marketing Bootcamp, I’m going to help my business continue to grow.
Out of all the good information presented during the Bootcamp, what really paid for the conference for me was the panel discussion with marketing experts Andrew Palmer, Sandy Franks, and John Phillips.
One point they stressed was the importance of measuring your company’s "vital signs." That includes metrics like dollars per e-mail name on your contact list; the number of qualified, active visitors to your website; the number of conversions (when visitors become paying customers); and the number of visitors who leave your site without buying (and where they go when they do).
They also stressed the importance of maintaining regular, personal contact with the buyers and potential buyers on your list. You want your website to be the resource they look to – not only for products but also for information on ways to help fulfill their needs and solve problems they may have. So you want to provide them with more than just another e-mail ad.
Here’s some of what I learned from them that can help you do that:
1. Get the Names of Customers and Cherish Them
Build a database of meaningful, actionable information about your customers. You don’t want only their names and addresses. You want to know what they like and don’t like. When did they first visit your site? When did they sign up? What products, if any, have they purchased?
Make it your personal mission to get to know more and more about your customers and their preferences. That way, you can start to tailor your e-mail messages to their needs. The more relevant information you have about them, the more you’ll be able fulfill their needs.
Another way to create more meaningful communication with your customers is to observe their interests. What kind of information did they originally request from you? If you have a product or service that is closely related to that original request, let them know about it. They are very likely to respond favorably and order it.
Today’s e-mail programs allow you to create smaller segments within a larger e-mail list based on a customer’s interests, either expressed ("Send me information on this") or implied (by the type of information they click on at your website or in your e-mails). You can, for example, segment out customers who are interested in Chilean wine vs. those interested in sparkling wine from California. Then you can direct specific promotions to each group.
Increasing the level of personalization and customization in your communications with your customers enhances the value you provide to them and builds loyalty … which, in turn, strengthens your contact list.
2. Provide Unique, Compelling Content in Your E-Mail Messages
The e-mail magazine you send to your customers should answer questions, solve problems, and provide them with helpful information they can’t easily find elsewhere.
Use your creativity to make the information more interesting – maybe by providing some of it via audio and video. You can do much more with video than you ever could with mere words on a page. For example, you can show how your products work and let customers see new uses for them.
Since I offer professional speaking services, using audio and video is a natural way for me to reach potential customers. It also creates a strong bond with potential buyers and shows them that they are dealing with a real person.
There are always new technologies available – but just because they’re new doesn’t mean they are relevant to your customers. So examine the mix of options available to you and test various ways to get your message across. ETR, for example, uses mainly e-mail, Web, and print and gets great results. Find the combination that works best for you, and continue to explore new possibilities as technological changes make options more affordable and easier to deliver. (But before you utilize a new technology, make sure the majority of your customers will be able to access those messages. Read David Cross’s article on this subject in ETR #1896 "Are You Too Fast for Your Customers?")
Remember that your customers and potential customers don’t just need more information. With the Internet, we all have WAY too much information already. What they need and want is solid, practical, timely, profit-making advice from respected, expert sources. Pay the price by becoming an expert yourself. Build your customer list with people who want the information you can uniquely contribute.
3. Bring in People Who Want to Be There
Not only is it illegal (under the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act of 2003) to send your e-mails to people who don’t want them, it doesn’t make any marketing sense. If they’re not interested in what you’re offering, don’t send it in the first place.
Keep building your list with people who want to be there by providing information that’s relevant to your target market. And make it easy for those who don’t want to be there to unsubscribe (opt out of receiving your messages).
The right people (potential buyers) will be attracted to your site and your business. Focus on providing them with quality service and value.
4. Focus on Buyers
Not everyone is going to like what you have to offer. That’s not a problem. There are plenty who will. Your job as an entrepreneur is to focus on those who are willing to give you their hard-earned money in exchange for your products and services. It is to your benefit to filter out those who are not good customers for you.
One of the beauties of doing business on the Internet is that you can market to large groups of people and, at the same time, learn who your smaller, motivated customers are within that larger list.. You can then concentrate your efforts on those who have demonstrated the willingness to purchase from you.
5. Measure Your Responses
Marketing decisions no longer have to be made by "gut feelings." As with standard direct mail, response to the information you send out via e-mail is measurable. Use tools like Google Analytics to track how much of what you’re sending is (likely) being read.
Think of your market as a bucket of water with a hole in it. Depending on the size of the hole in the bottom of that bucket, you will have to keep adding a certain amount of new water (new customers) to keep on growing your customer list.. Provide both new and old customers with relevant, timely content in your e-mail messages and the leak will become practically nonexistent … and the capacity of your bucket will keep on growing.
[Ed. Note: Terry Brock has a background in speaking, journalism, radio, "techno-gadgetry," and marketing. This article was adapted from a column he wrote for the BizJournals e-zine. Check out his website.
Interested in ETR’s top 10 ways to build your Email list? Want to know how one guy sold $450,000 worth of product in 3 days (using toilet paper!)? If so, order a copy of ETR's Info Marketing Bootcamp DVD Library so you can easily start "The Best Business In The World" from your living room or office.]
Listen In At No Charge
All too often, real estate investors find incredible deals, only to be frustrated with financing them. That’s especially true for investors looking at larger deals such as commercial property or apartment complexes. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
Alan Cowgill has perfected 16 methods for attracting wealthy individuals anxious to loan him all the money he needs and more to do every residential and commercial deal he finds. Listen in to a private teleseminar with Alan – at no charge – as he reveals his personal methods for raising unlimited cash, with no qualifying and investor-friendly terms.
Take a moment to reserve your complimentary spot now. It is easy to sign up, simply provide your email address, but space is limited, so don’t delay.
Justin Ford
Editor, Main Street Millionaire
How to Use – Not Abuse – PowerPoint
By Michael Masterson
"PowerPoint allows presenters to pretend they’re giving a presentation, but its cognitive style profoundly corrupts serious communications." That’s the opinion of Edward Tufte, "the pre-eminent designer of visual information," according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a 28-page tirade against PowerPoint abuses, Tufte argues that "thought and analysis are sacrificed for convenience to the speaker, hurting both the content and the audience."
There are about 30 million PowerPoint presentations given every day around the world, the WSJ estimates. Yet most of them are dreadful. Here are some sensible ways to make yours worth the time people have to invest in watching them.
- Keep your text to facts, figures, charts, and essential phrases. Paragraphs of copy are too difficult to scan and totally unnecessary.
- Don’t read the slides. A speaker who reads the slides is much worse than a speaker who reads from a prepared text.
- The oral presentation that accompanies PowerPoint should include all the big ideas, stories, anecdotes, jokes, etc. Slides should be used to either (a) quickly and/or dramatically convey information that can’t be communicated orally or (b) project something that you want the audience to write down.
- Be sparse with graphics. A good speech is a direct-response activity. As with any direct-response presentation, text trumps graphics. Never allow any graphic that makes it difficult to scan the text.
Reader Feedback: "I read you faithfully and wanted to express my appreciation."
"Thank you for a refreshing and much needed inspirational message to begin this wonderful New Year! I read you faithfully and wanted to express my appreciation for the time and energies put into your messages. Thanks for continued encouragement."
- T. Meyer
Omaha, NE
S-t-r-e-t-c-h Out Your Life
By Al Sears, MD
The thought of shrinking and developing a stooped posture as you get older is scary. Not only is it physically unattractive, it can shorten your life. In fact, British researchers found that men who shrink in height by about an inch or more over 20 years are more likely to die earlier. They also have a greater risk of heart disease.
To help prevent – or even reverse – this condition, here’s an easy stretch to try right now:
Step One: Start on your hands and knees. Support yourself with your hands on the floor and inhale deeply. Your body should sag from the shoulders while you keep your arms straight and your toes pointing forward. Gently arch your head back as you look up at the ceiling and exhale.
Step Two: Now, without moving your hands or feet, breathe in deeply as you push your buttocks toward the ceiling and lower your head, flexing at the hip. Keeping your arms straight, try to form your body into an upside-down V.
Step Three: Slowly let your body relax back into the original position in Step One. Allow your body to sag, keeping your arms straight, as you arch your head back and exhale.
Repeat the stretch about a dozen times.
Do this every morning and, in just two weeks, your energy, posture, and flexibility will be noticeably better.
[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
Just for Fun: "Who Knew?"
Next time there’s a lull in the conversation, blurt out one of these fun facts:
- Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador.
- The Beach Boys toyed with the idea of calling themselves the Pendletons, thinking they might get free T-shirts from the clothing manufacturer.
- Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans) picked his stage name in honor of his idol, Fats Domino.
- Whistler selected his most famous model, his mother, when the model he intended to paint didn’t show up for the appointment.
- The White House was originally grey. It was whitewashed to cover fire damage caused by the British in the War of 1812.
- While his wife spent long hours doing the actual posing, the model for the Statue of Liberty was Charlotte Bartholdi, mother of Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor who designed it.
- Sunglasses date back to 15th century China, where they were worn by judges to conceal their expressions while presiding over court.
- Director Wes Craven named Freddy Krueger after a kid who bullied him in school.
(Source: Who Knew? by David Hoffman)
Start Making Money Today
Interested in getting a nice little side-business going on the Internet? Or maybe even from your living-room table?
But you don’t have too much money, you don’t have too much time, and you’re not exactly Bill Gates when it comes to technology. Sound familiar?
A lot of people are in the same boat. The good news is that ETR has heard you. And now we’ve done something about it…
We’ve asked our colleague Marc Charles to be on the lookout for profit opportunities that can be run from a kitchen table, your desktop or out on the road.
Criteria? They’ve got to be inexpensive, easy to start, and still have great income potential, but without a lot of red tape.
They say when you’re first getting your feet wet with a side-business, the most important dollar to make is the first one. Well, Marc is an expert at taking beginning entrepreneurs and showing you how to make that first buck. He knows, because he’s done it dozens of times for himself, his family and his friends.
If you’ve been dreaming about starting your own business … now you can get started for about the price of 2 lattes.
And get this – you could be making money literally just hours from now. Imagine the feeling of finally getting a side business launched -TODAY!
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Ken
"Ken" – from the Old English for "to declare/make known" – is perception, understanding, or knowledge.
Example (as used by Stephen Budiansky in If a Lion Could Talk): "So we are predisposed – if not preprogrammed – to accept tales of animals who display human motives, understanding, reason, and intentions. It takes a far greater imagination to conceive the possibility that a dog’s mental life may assume a form that is simply beyond our ken."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
Similar Articles:
- Dear ETR: "No rented list can pass the permission test." – "I believe ETR’s response to the question about e-mail list brokers was misguided. Yes, on…
- A Free Way to Build Your E-Mail List – As an Internet marketer, your most important possession is your e-mail list – people who have given …
- How to Confuse an Internet Marketer With Just 2 Words – Here’s an easy way to octuple your revenues: Collect your customers’ e-mail AND mailing addresses. Y…
- The Value in the Email List – Two jewelers have stores next door to each other. At night, Jeweler #1 locks his jewelry in his safe…
- How to Build an Instant Business – If you read the advice of many “small-business experts,” you’ll be told that you should expect to wa…
- Making Money With a Small, Responsive List – If you’ve been online for any amount of time, you’ve probably come across the phrase “The money is i…
- How Building Business Relationships will Build Your Business – One of my biggest business assets has been the "big-name" relationships I’ve created…