Creating Wealth at the Cutting Edge
Issue #2063
- WEALTHY: 4 growing trends in the information industry (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: The scary link between a refreshing beverage and malfunctioning cells (Jon Herring)
- WISE: Ted Levitt on innovation
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Feedback Friday: What our readers think about competition in business
- The difference between being a freelancer and being an entrepreneur
- It’s Good to Know… about an effort to protect the world’s food resources (Charlie Byrne)
- Add "appurtenance" to your vocabulary
Looking For a Rat-Race “Escape Plan”?
Q: How do you know when gas prices have spiraled totally out of control?
A: When gas station owners start boycotting their own businesses!
With the national “regular” average price topping $3.25 a gallon, A.P. reports some owners are closing down shop in protest to their own suppliers.
Meanwhile, millions of U.S.A. commuters are paying through the nose just to get to work and back. And paying, and paying…
Sick of spending upwards of $40 to fill the tank? Tired of life passing you by from behind the steering wheel?
Maybe it’s time to think about your “Plan B”.
Maybe it’s time to vow you’re getting out of the rat race, and you’re going to do something about it RIGHT NOW.
Interested? Well here’s your personal Rat Race “Express Escape Plan”.
- Charlie Byrne
"Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement, and progress."
Ted Levitt
Creating Wealth at the Cutting Edge of the Information Revolution
By Michael Masterson
The April tragedy at Virginia Tech raised many issues about the role technology plays in communication. One example: The school’s student newspaper identified 12 of the dead students before the national media had the names. They were able to do it because their reporters were smart enough to scan the "walls" on Facebook, the popular social networking site, for memorials to victims on student websites.
We lament the two-hour gap that occurred between the first round of killings at Virginia Tech and the warning sent out to students by the administration. Still, getting a cautionary message like that out to so many students so quickly could only have happened in the last five years. And had the administration been capable of utilizing text messaging - a fairly recent phenomenon - they could have gotten the message out that much faster.
As The Wall Street Journal pointed out in a recent article, automated Internet-based services have changed the way we broadcast messages. People no longer need to be listening to radio, watching TV, near a home phone, or even logged on to e-mail to get important information.
"We’ve never had a culture that was more accessible to being informed," Gerard Braud, a communications consultant, told the paper.
Having access to more and more information means there is a growing need to have that information sorted and culled and then explained and/or interpreted.
I spoke to David Cross, Senior Internet Consultant to Agora Inc. (ETR’s parent company), and Alexis Siemon, ETR’s Search Engine Marketing Specialist, about the biggest trends in information technology. Here are some of the innovations they suggested we keep an eye on:
- The Television/Internet Connection
Joost.com, founded by Niklas Zennstrøm and Janus Friis (of Skype fame), combines television and the Internet. Viewers will be able to watch broadcast-quality TV shows online, with all the flexibility of the Internet - chat and instant messaging capabilities, hundreds of searchable shows, and no programming schedules. Not only will Joost offer a "new way to watch TV," it will give advertisers a chance to reach a global audience.
- Searchable Sound
As audio and video are becoming more and more ubiquitous on the Web, the ability to create indexed content from sound is getting closer. We’ve already seen early examples of indexing podcasts. Podzinger.com, for instance, is a service that allows visitors to search podcasts by keywords.
- Search-Engine Specialization
Google, Yahoo, MSN, et al help millions of users sift through massive amounts of online information to find what they’re looking for. And these major search engines are always looking for ways to help people improve the likelihood that their searches will result in meaningful results. One innovation that’s not far away is user search "stores" (like Amazon’s "people who searched for ‘pen’ also searched for ‘paper’" function).
- Contextual Advertising
As the Internet and television become more intertwined, we are likely to start seeing ads targeted to viewers’ personal preferences. Two technologies to watch are Apple’s new TV and Comcast (with a set-top box that is essentially a networked computer with an IP address).
It is already technically possible for two people watching the same program to receive different advertising or product-placement images on their screens. Your cable provider knows what shows you watch - and if they combine this information with, for example, your supermarket purchase history (from your "loyalty" card), you would get to see an ad for your favorite brand of beer, while I would see one for my favorite red wine.
Likewise, the proliferation of PDAs and Web-ready cellphones and the growing availability of wireless Internet could make it possible for local businesses to advertise to people walking or driving past their doors. And as digital billboards become integrated with wireless technology, we will see (rather like the newspapers in Harry Potter’s world) real-time news and advertising updates as we walk down the street.
With all these options (and more) becoming available, the information industry is a much more complicated creature than it was just a few years ago. And those complications offer up plenty of opportunities for you to profit.
Think of the information industry as a spectrum. At one end, you have simple data - raw numbers and plain facts. As you move along, you have information with added value: news reports, for example, which, by nature are selective. Farther along, you have opinion-based information: Fox News programs, ACL newsletters, etc. Still farther along, you have how-to publications: information products that show new enthusiasts how things are properly done. And then, at the far end of the spectrum, you have advisory publications - publications like ETR that turn data and news and opinion into actionable advice.
It is at that far end of the information spectrum where the greatest opportunities lie. And people who understand that - and are familiar with the Internet’s communication capabilities and technological possibilities - can become pretty wealthy pretty fast.
Given so much new technology, the challenge is to figure out how to use it.
Today’s Internet is providing us with more channels - roadways or paths - of human interaction. These channels do not, in themselves, bring business or profits. What they give us are new ways to reach our customers. (The reason direct marketing through the Internet is so profitable is because it harnesses the true power of many of these channels.)
The Internet has not changed what motivates people to buy from you. But it has made it easier for you to put your message in front of them… easier for them to say "yes" to your offer… and faster for you to deliver your products to them.
But you still need to have products that people will buy.
The key benefits the Internet has brought to information publishing are low cost and ease of customer communication.
In the old days, for example, because of the cost of postage, Agora Inc. and its affiliates contacted subscribers to their investment advisory newsletters an average of only 24 times a year. Today, because of e-mail, the number of those contacts has been bumped up to 1,000. Companywide, Agora sends out more than a billion e-mails to prospective and existing customers each year.
That increased customer contact translates into more back-end sales… which is where you make most of your money. You draw in customers with a free or low-cost front-end product, and then you sell them a range of variously priced back-end products.
Information products lend themselves especially well to this approach. When people learn that they can trust your advice (through a free e-newsletter, for example), they are eager to buy more from you. Some will buy all you have.
Let’s say you’ve written a book on a subject you’ve developed expertise in. From that book, you create a special report that highlights the best that book has to offer. You sell that report on the Internet for $10, $50, $100… or even give it away. The price doesn’t matter, because the purpose of the report is to draw in customers - to capture names that you will contact via e-mail to sell back-end products.
This is where you’ll want to have mastered all the new communication technology that’s becoming available. The more avenues you have for reaching customers, the better.
As new customers respond to your report offer, you give them more stuff for free. You offer them an e-zine, occasional updates, or more reports. And you communicate with them as often as possible.
Once you’ve developed a strong line of communication with customers, you can start selling them more information products based on your original book. Create more-expensive back-end products, such as webinars, teleconferences, live seminars, and "thinly sliced" reports that expand on single key ideas from the book. Eventually, each one of those ideas can even develop into its own programs.
The profit margins from sales like these are huge, because the Internet makes the cost of contacting customers - as well as the production, storage, and delivery of information products - so low.
[Ed. Note: Take advantage of the vast array of communication methods available to you, and learn how you can turn your passion, background, or expertise into a profitable, Internet-based, information-publishing business at ETR’s upcoming 5 Days in July Internet Conference.
You can walk in with nothing - no product, no marketing skills, no technical know-how - and walk out with your own online business. If you even think you might be interested in this opportunity, you must sign-up for the Five Days in July Conference today.]
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Cirrhosis of the Liver From a "Harmless" Soft Drink?
By Jon Herring
You can file this article under "another reason to avoid processed foods.
"In ETR #1682, I explained that when the chemical preservative sodium benzoate mixes with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), benzene forms as a byproduct. Benzene is an aggressive carcinogen, even in minute amounts. That’s why I strongly recommend avoiding fruit-flavored soft drinks, which are often made with both sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid.
But now there is news that sodium benzoate itself could be responsible for DNA damage. Peter Piper, an English professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at Sheffield University, has been studying this common preservative for the past seven years. When he tested the impact of the substance on living yeast cells, he was alarmed to find that the benzoate was damaging the "power station" of all cells, the mitochondria.
Speaking to The Independent, Piper said, "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: They knock it out altogether."
Damage the energy production capacity of a cell, and the cell will begin to malfunction in a serious way. Piper suggests that a number of conditions, including Parkinson’s, cirrhosis of the liver, and accelerated aging, can be linked to this type of damage.
The bottom line is this. We really don’t know what many of the "harmless" artificial ingredients and chemical preservatives in our food will do to us. In most cases, the long-term effects are unknown. So, as always, stick to whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible. And think twice - make that three times - about buying soft drinks that contain sodium benzoate.
Feedback Friday: "A Business Lesson Every Entrepreneur Should Learn"
Is competition in business to be avoided at all costs? Or does competition actually help your business grow? Michael tackled this topic in his recent article, "A Business Lesson Every Entrepreneur Should Learn." We got tons of reader responses to this piece. Here is what a few people had to say…
"This was one of the best and most realistic articles I have read in quite some time. I wonder, sometimes, just how different the business world (and, indeed, the world in general) would be if more people who call themselves business men and women understood the realities as outlined in that article? Thanks much!"
- Marc R. Williams
Lapine, AL
"Michael Masterson’s article contained a statement that leapt off the screen at me: ‘Weak people like controlled situations that protect weaknesses.’
"This succinctly explains so much about how many of us relate to the world… not only in the realm of business, but in politics, religion, you name it. Great in-depth article!"
- Tom F Green
Dewey, AZ
"Well, Michael’s done it again. Using his superb analysis of GM/SAI’s business relationship as a framework, he clearly illustrated how competition is a good thing. Obviously, this is critical information for anybody, whether they sell products or have a service as the product. Quality rules. And that’s only fair.
"Incidentally, I would still like to see Michael Masterson write fiction. I know that is something he has dabbled in, but his writing style is evolving so beautifully, I can only imagine he is capable of creating something worth reading. Heck, a thinly veiled autobiography in a fictional style would be kick-ass, and also assist in eradicating some of the anti-wealth literature out there.
"It’s so nice to see such a decent person also be successful and wealthy. It’s time for the myth to change.
"Oh, by the way, could you guess that I think of Michael Masterson as a role model?"
- Angelina Huard
Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
[Ed. Note: How has reading ETR helped you - maybe even changed your life? Send your comments to ReaderFeedback@gmail.com. Include your name and hometown… and we may print your e-mail in a future issue.]
Worth Quoting: Seth Godin on Being an Entrepreneur
"The first thing people considering starting a business should do is ask themselves - honestly - whether they’re building a freelance venture or an entrepreneurial venture. A freelancer gets paid to work. An entrepreneur makes money while she sleeps.
"There’s nothing wrong with freelancing - with creating something interesting on a bespoke basis. It’s like having a job, but you’re the boss. But you have to recognize that at the beginning and build the business accordingly. You shouldn’t raise money, you should keep costs low, and so on. An entrepreneur, in contrast, raises money and hires people to do the work so that she can focus on growth."
(Source: the BusinessWeek website)
It’s Good to Know: An Effort to Protect the World’s Food Resources
By Charlie Byrne
In case of worldwide disaster - a nuclear attack or asteroid collision, for instance - there will be a place to help the survivors to pick up the pieces of civilization. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located on a very remote island within the Arctic Circle, will be storing seeds from millions of varieties of plants used for food by humans. The highly secure vault is currently under construction, and will soon be accepting seeds from other seed banks and governments representing indigenous crops.
No word yet as to whether they’ve signed up Noah to run the joint.
How a “Dumb Blonde Moment” Led to a Secret Golden Backdoor That Earned Me $3,012 in Only 48 Hours… I Tripped Over This by Mistake!
I thought I was following the DVD down to a tee. But I guess I was having another “blonde” moment.
I did the exact opposite… Hey, what did I know? Oops!
Then it happened: $3,012.00 in 48 hours doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.
Read on to learn how you can have your own “blonde” moment.
Word to the Wise: Appurtenance
An "appurtenance" (uh-PUR-tn-uns) - from the Latin for "to belong to" - is an accessory, something added to a more important thing.
Example (as used by Barbara Ehrenreich in Blood Rites ): "The inauguration of presidents, the coronation of monarchs, the celebration of national holidays - these events require everywhere the presence of the soldier as a ‘ceremonial appurtenance.’"
[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