Issue #2266
- WEALTHY: Are you taking advantage of trends that could build your business? (Rich Schefren)
- HEALTHY: Good health habits start in the womb (Dr. Jonny Bowden)
- WISE: Winston Churchill on success and failure
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Issue #2266
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Issue #2265
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Issue #2264
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Issue #2263
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"What is the fastest way to make money on the Internet?" I’ve been asked that question more than once by aspiring entrepreneurs.
There are thousands of ways to make money on the Internet. You can do it in a few minutes by selling stuff on eBay, Amazon, or thousands of other sites. But a lot of entrepreneurs want to know how to do it with a Web-based business. One that generates monthly income. So I’m going to show you one of the fastest ways to make money with a Web-based business – and it may surprise you.
In 1996, I built my first Web-based business. I sold it three months later for a small wad of cash. Granted, my puny business was not a billion-dollar venture like Facebook, YouTube, or HotMail. But it was profitable the first month it went live. And 12 years later, I’m still building, buying, and selling Web-based businesses – and having a blast doing it.
The problem with building a profitable Web-based business from the ground up is that it’s not always fast. Granted, it’s fairly simple to set one up – especially for information products, memberships, or continuity-type programs – but it usually takes a while to make it profitable.
An example of a "membership" site would be one that charges a monthly or annual fee to access information, a publication subscription, or a buying club (like SamsClub.com).
A "continuity" website would be one that offers products or services on a continuing basis (like a flowers-of-the-month service).
It takes some time to build a site around a proven product, let alone an unproven one. On top of that, the site needs to be tested so it "flows" (walks prospects through the sale process) as easily for you as it does for your customers. And you have to develop a landing page or sales letter that actually closes a sale – without any human interaction.
But… you can buy a Web-based business that is already making money! I’ve done it myself.
Three years ago, I acquired a small, unknown website from a struggling company for one of my clients. It featured software reviews and recommendations. It also included an opt-in subscriber list that the owners used to send monthly updates. Today, the site receives more than 100,000 page views each month, and the opt-in subscriber list has grown by more than 900 percent. In other words, the value of that Web-based business has increased significantly.
It’s never been easier to acquire a profitable Web-based business. Over the last 12 months or so, a lot of people have become strapped for cash. Real estate foreclosures, bankruptcies, and defaults are at 30-year highs (by some estimates). This situation has affected some Internet savvy Web-based business owners and entrepreneurs too. And they’re interested in selling their businesses for cold, hard cash.
But money troubles aren’t the only reason Internet business owners are selling. Some simply want to reduce the number of sites they have and downsize. Others build Web-based businesses purely with the intent to sell them. Kevin Ham, for example, an entrepreneur in Vancouver, owns more than 300,000 domain names. In a recent interview, he said he’s building businesses around some of the domains and plans to sell them this year and next.
When the economy turns south, the end result is thousands – in some cases, tens of thousands – of profitable Web-based businesses on the market. Sometimes you can pick up these gems at a deep discount.
You can find Web-based businesses for sale through conventional means, like business brokers, in the business-opportunity listings of large newspapers like The New York Times, or through a network of friends and collogues.
But there’s an even better way…
I’ll tell you about it in a minute. But first, keep in mind that though Web-based businesses have many advantages over brick-and-mortar businesses, you’ll still need to perform some due diligence if you’re planning to buy one. That would include looking at the business’s cash flow and expenses, the viability of its products, and the goodwill it’s generated (i.e., what people are saying about the company/products on blogs and forums).
Keep in mind, too, that the Web-based business under consideration may be specializing in a product that is outdated or no longer competitive. For example, the site may be selling an e-book of search engine optimization tricks and tactics. And though it enjoyed spectacular sales over the past several years, the competition is now squeezing it out of the market by offering better products at lower prices.
If it turns out that the business is selling a dying product, it is possible to improve it and revive the business – but only if the "essence" of the product is still viable. Let’s say the product is an e-book about making money with Google AdSense. Though the sales and market share for the product may have deteriorated, the concept still works. With a little tweaking and a better marketing strategy, you should be able to bring it back to life.
Now, let me tell you about the best place to find a Web-based business for sale: the Internet. There are hundreds of websites that feature potentially profitable Web-based businesses (and domains) where you can start your research.
Here is a list of the top 11:
How much does a Web-based business cost?
You can purchase a Web-based business that offers a single information product for as little as $1,000. You can also purchase multi-faceted Web-based businesses that offer numerous products, services, and opt-in subscriber and customer lists for $500,000. In my experience, there is an abundance of Web businesses for sale in the $10,000-$20,000 range.
The greatest advantage to acquiring an active Web-based business is the immediate cash flow. Most profitable Web-based businesses will not require a lot of setup or training either. What’s more, a profitable Web-based business will typically have all of the "bugs" and technical problems worked out.
Once you have a successful Web-based business, you can apply the same "formula" that made it successful to test new products, services, and markets. But don’t mess with success. In other words, don’t try to add a product or service to the successful website. Launch another site instead. I have seen many entrepreneurs mess with a profitable formula and drive their Web-based businesses into the ground.
You can also "broker" Web-based business sales for extra income. For example, you can buy and sell Web-based businesses (and/or domain names) quite easily on most of the sites I listed above. When you become a Web-based business (or domain) broker, you don’t even have to run or manage an online business.
Purchasing a profitable Web-based business is one of the fastest ways to make money on the Internet. Start researching the market today – and get ready to launch your Web-based business empire in 2008!
[Ed. Note: If you’re looking to start a business but just can’t come up with the right idea, consider subscribing to Marc Charles’ weekly Profit Center Dispatch service. Marc’s reports tell you how to get started and who to market to. He also includes insider tips to accelerate your success.]
Issue #2262
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The two black men, clean-cut and well-spoken, casually stroll down an upscale
Mostly-white yuppies step into and out of restaurants and clubs on this busy Saturday night. Well-dressed 30-somethings stroll about, window shopping.
Now, one white couple comes from the opposite direction, walking toward the black men. The camera zooms in, showing the white woman suddenly clutching her bag and the arm of her male companion just a little bit tighter as they approach and then pass the black men. The camera pans to the men.
"Look around!" says one of the men to the other. "You couldn’t find a whiter, safer, or better lit part of this city. But this white woman sees two black guys, who look like UCLA students, strolling down the sidewalk and her reaction is blind fear. I mean, look at us! Are we dressed like gangbangers? Do we look threatening? No. Fact, if anybody should be scared, it’s us: the only two black faces surrounded by a sea of over-caffeinated white people, patrolled by the trigger-happy LAPD."
You may recognize this scene. It is at the beginning of the 2005 Academy Award-winning film Crash.
And it was at this exact point that I recall thinking, "Oh brother, here we go. Looks like I’d better get ready for a politically correct
I had it all figured out. I knew where it was heading, and I was ready to tune it all out.
But that’s when something very interesting happened. Back to the black men talking…
"So, why aren’t we scared?" asks the first man.
And now, the big surprise when the other one replies…
"Because we have guns?"
And then the two men run into the street and violently carjack the white couple’s BMW SUV, throwing them to the ground and screeching away. Wow! I didn’t expect that! NOW, Crash most definitely had my attention. Not because I was glad to see the black men fall into stereotype, but because I’d been perfectly set up to anticipate just the opposite.
In films and books, it’s sometimes known as a “ deus ex machina”… You may think of it simply as a plot twist… But in copywriting, it’s defying what Michael Masterson has termed the “Categorical Imperative”.
When readers start knowing where the copy is going… when they can predict the next step in your story… they tend to dismiss it – tune it out, just as I was about to do with Crash . They might still be reading, but really, you’ve lost them.
You see, the mind tends to simplify its work by slipping incoming ideas into pre-existing slots ("categories") it has already created. It does this so it can shift its attention to something else (anything else). And it will do this with promotional information as well as other experiences.
In order to circumvent this tendency of the mind, strong writing – and, in particular, good sales promotions – must avoid a straight-line, logical approach.
Instead, use "indirection." Approach the reader in a way, or from a place, he doesn’t expect. And then, keep changing things up. The overall effect is to keep the reader from anticipating where the promotion is going and keep his mind from wandering.
In his engaging new book Proust Was a Neuroscientist, Rhodes Scholar Jonah Lehrer explains how Russian composer Igor Stravinsky used what I’ll call the musical equivalent of indirection to overcome the Categorical Imperative of his listeners.
It began in 1913 with Stravinsky’s audaciously shocking ballet music, "The Rite of Spring" ("Le Sacre du Printemps"). Instead of lulling his audience to sleep with predictable chords and rhythms, Stravinsky constantly changed time signatures and added unpredictable and off-beat accents.
Traditionalists at first rejected " Rite" as a dissonant disaster, but most soon realized the genius behind it. American composer Aaron Copland has since characterized "The Rite of Spring" as the foremost orchestral achievement of the 20th century. It was further popularized through Walt Disney’s Fantasia.
With his background of having worked in the lab of Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel, Lehrer explains how the brain actually generates dopamine – the "pleasure" neurotransmitter – when presented with interesting, new information. Usually, dopamine release is triggered during enjoyable experiences, such as eating and having sex. It also gets "fooled" into being released with drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, and amphetamines. But Lehrer points out that not only enjoyable experiences but also new experiences and new stimuli trigger dopamine release. [Full disclosure: I too worked in Kandel’s
"Stravinsky forces us to generate patterns from the music itself, and not from our preconceived notions of what the music should be like," writes Lehrer. "By abandoning the conventions of the past, he leaves us with no pattern but that which we find inside his own music."
"Stravinsky’s greatest fear was dying the slow death of predictability. He wanted every one of his notes to vibrate with surprise, to keep the audience on edge."
So, how can you use "Stravinsky’s Secret" to make your writing as fresh and compelling as "The Rite of Spring"?
The best way to defy the brain’s Categorical Imperative is with indirection. Go back to your copy and mark any areas that are boring, obvious, or predictable. More likely than not, here’s what has happened: You’ve fallen prey to writing clichés.
Michael Masterson explains it in AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting:
"When a prospective customer reads your copy, you want to get him excited about your product or service. You want to say something fresh and tantalizing to engage him. But when you use clichés, something else happens to your prospect. A little switch inside turns him off. He says to himself, ‘I know this already… I don’t need to give it any more attention.’"
Just like I was thinking at the beginning of Crash . Just like Stravinsky’s audience was probably thinking when they heard the opening notes of " Rite ."
In your writing, the solution to the Categorical Imperative is to drill down, examine what you really wanted to say, and then say it in a fresh, new way or from a new angle.
What you want to do is direct the prospect’s thought process in such a way that he’s uncertain where he’s being led.
In AWAI’s copywriting program, which catapulted my own career, Michael Masterson gives six ideas you can use for indirection:
1. Paint an image in your reader’s mind that shows him all the benefits he can enjoy.
Example: "You look out your window, past your gardener, who is busily pruning the lemon, cherry, and fig trees…" From Bill Bonner’s famous promotion for International Living. Bill is evoking certain thoughts and feelings in the reader in order to gain his attention. He doesn’t want to initially admit that he’s selling a newsletter.
2. Ask the reader a question or make a statement that challenges him on a subject related to your product or service.
Example: "This invitation isn’t for deadbeats, rip-off artists, or ‘gentlemen’ who hate to get their hands dirty." From Popular Mechanics’ promotion of the Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia. Here, the copywriter wants to align himself with the emotions of his target audience before he lets them know he’s selling an encyclopedia.
3. Raise a threat or warning that begs for a solution (provided by your product or service).
Example: "Your wealth is in imminent danger." From a Swiss Money Strategies insert. This gets the reader’s attention by evoking a whole range of fears. He can’t quite know from the headline what it is the copywriter is selling. Something financial, but what?
4. Make a surprising or alarming prediction that leads to your big promise.
Example: "A bank run like no other will hit every major bank on earth in 1999. A worldwide panic is now inevitable…" This prediction of catastrophe forces the prospect to read on to learn what the solution might be.
5. Share a new piece of information, which will benefit the reader.
Example: "This may be the most startling health news you have ever heard…" In order to know if it is the "most startling" (a pretty bold claim), the prospect has to read on.
6. Debunk a myth with evidence that demands the reader’s attention.
Example: "Conventional wisdom: You can’t push an insurance company when it comes to collecting money. Wrong ! Here are two proven ways to get your check within days." By contradicting what most people think is true, the copywriter forces the reader to listen to his "proof."
"When you use indirection," Michael explains, "your copy will be infused with life. Your words will be fresh and thought-provoking. And your reader will keep turning the pages.
"Remember, as a copywriter, you’ve always got to keep your reader from getting ahead of you. If he can anticipate what you’re going to say, he’ll assume he knows what’s coming – and you’ll lose him."
So whatever you want to call it – indirection… the plot twist… or even "Stravinsky’s Secret" – approach your reader in a way he doesn’t expect. You’ll then start triggering that dopamine release Jonah Lehrer writes about – literally making reading your copy "a pleasure"!
Result? Your sales letter gets read throughout, response rates skyrocket, and so will your sales and royalties.
[Ed. Note: Charlie Byrne is ETR’s Editorial and Creative Director. Drop Charlie a line at charlie@ETRFeedback.com if you’re interested in getting his occasional off-the-record “insider” emails on advanced copywriting techniques, or if you have any comments on this article.]
Are you a garlic lover? If so, your stinky indulgences may be a boon to your weight-loss efforts.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Hypertension explored the relationship between allicin – a powerful phytonutrient in garlic – and weight gain. Researchers fed all of the subjects a diet high in fructose to boost insulin levels, blood pressure, and triglycerides. The study group was then divided into three subgroups. The control group ate a fructose-enriched diet, and two experimental groups ate the fructose-enriched diet plus allicin.
At the end of the five-week study, the researchers found that the control group (which consumed the fructose-enriched diet alone) continued to gain weight. The groups consuming allicin did not.
Chop, press, and crush your way to a healthier body and a trimmer tummy. Because allicin is destroyed by heat, you’ll want to enjoy fresh garlic to get the slimming benefits.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
Issue #2261
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Issue #2260
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Current treatments for Parkinson’s disease, like most pharmaceuticals, are associated with serious side effects. But researchers at State Key Laboratory of Brain & Cognitive Science in Beijing have found a safe and promising alternative: green tea.
In a new study published in Biological Psychiatry , researchers investigated the effects of green tea polyphenols in an animal model. They found that polyphenols help to protect the dopamine-producing brain cells that are lost as a result of Parkinson’s disease.
Enjoy the brain-saving benefits of green tea every day. Look for organic green tea, which is higher in powerful phytonutrients and grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
Since January marks the start of a profitable new year for your business, let’s work on your marketing calendar for the next 12 months. You see, nearly any event / holiday / celebration / milestone is an excuse for a promotion. And if you’re not taking advantage of that, you’re missing the boat.
Here are just a few ideas:
February: Valentine’s Day
March: St. Patrick’s Day
April: April Fools’ Day
April: Tax Day
May: Mother’s Day
June: Father’s Day
June: Graduation
July: 4th of July
August: Dog Days of Summer
September: Labor Day
October: Halloween
November: Election Day
November: Thanksgiving
December: Winter Holidays
January: New Year
But even better is to create unexpected "anytime" promotions. As Dan Kennedy says, the number one sin in marketing is being boring. And online, it’s harder than ever to break through the clutter. One way to grab attention is to make up an "event" and really make it fun for your customers/prospects.
I’m talking about the "Any-Reason-Is-a-Good-Reason-for-a-Sale" sale.
This is the perfect way to pump up sales when things are slow, when you’ve hit a milestone in your business, or just because you need to get rid of inventory. There are tons of ways of doing this. A couple off the top of my head:
And on and on…
You can also use this approach to sell personal items in classified ads or through the Internet.
For example, when my wife and I bought a new house, some items were slightly damaged in the move. I put out a simple "Scratch & Dent" sale e-mail explaining the situation to my subscribers, and we sold everything in just a few days. Then, last year, I tried something a little different: the "Save Yanik’s Marriage Sale." The premise was that Missy, my wife, was really annoyed at me because our basement was overloaded with boxes. (Truthfully, she WAS mad – and made a big stink about it – but I embellished the story a bit.) It was another big success.
I’ve also done well with "personal milestone" sales for my business. I just did one when my first child, Zak, was born. That promotion nearly tripled my expectations. (It made $4.60+ for every visitor to my website.) More important, customers connected with me as a real person. You should have seen the dozens and dozens of "Congratulations!" notes. It was really cool.
There are a few big points I want to make sure you get from all this:
#1: Make your marketing fun.
Make people wonder, "What is this guy/gal going to be up to next?" Fact is, most of your prospects and customers probably lead fairly normal and mundane lives. If you can give them something to get excited about or allow them to live a little bit through what you do – you’ll have "hooked" them.
#2: Don’t let your theme or "fun" idea take away from the sales message.
This is critical! Big advertisers do this all the time, and waste their money. They try to use humor or something clever in their advertising… but ignore salesmanship. The fun or theme aspect of your promotion cannot stand on its own without well-written marketing copy. Bottom line: Don’t confuse being cute or clever with selling. There is a big, BIG difference.
#3: "Reason why" copy works perfectly for most of the events or themes you’ll create.
Most people will accept just about any excuse – even one as weak as a Presidents’ Day sale – for a special deal. However, if you combine the theme of your sale with real, meaningful "reason why" copy, you’ll make more sales… even if the reason is a bit contrived. Telling people the reason why you are doing something is one of the most powerful influencers of human behavior.
I hope this gives you some ammo to start thinking up your own promotions for the coming year and breaking out of the "ho-hum" mold of other marketers.
[Ed. Note: Yanik Silver , an expert on creating money-making websites, reveals one of the most profitable "hidden" Internet income opportunities around in the Secrets of Easy Internet Money series. And make sure you check out his new book, Moonlighting on the Internet: 5 World-Class Experts Reveal Proven Ways to Make an Extra Paycheck Online Each Month.]
Issue #2259
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Issue #2258
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It’s been established that exercise can enhance your mood. But does being in a good mood increase the likelihood that you’ll exercise in the first place?
Researchers at Bowling Green University designed a study to answer that question. Thirty-six obese participants in a behavioral weight-loss program recorded their morning, evening, and pre- and post-exercise moods. They also recorded the type, duration, and intensity of their exercise. The findings were clear. People who recorded better moods in the morning were more likely to exercise that day.
If you find yourself feeling positive in the morning, grab the opportunity to exercise right then. It’ll make you feel better for the rest of the day. And while you’re at it, up the intensity – even if just for 15 seconds every couple of minutes. The researchers found that those who exercised more frequently and at greater intensity had the greatest increases in mood. The highest mood ratings came from those participants who exercised the longest and at the highest intensities.
[Ed. Note: Dr. Jonny Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health. He’s the author of the new book The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth . For more information, go to www.jonnybowden.com. To read more of his articles on healthy living in ETR’s natural health e-letter, click here.]
Issue #2257
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Issue #2256
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I just finished a book my friend Rich Schefren recommended: Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking by Andy Sernovitz. And what I learned from this book can help you tackle the fastest-growing type of marketing.
Now I did not fall in love with this book. It has some flaws. But I applaud how it shows why customer service and marketing must go hand and hand. And how it explains that deceptive marketing is a very bad policy and that listening and talking to your customers are the best practices you can follow.
We have all heard of B-to-C (business-to-consumer) marketing. And we have all heard of B-to-B (business-to-business) marketing. We have even (more recently) heard of C-to-C (consumer-to-consumer) marketing. But what Word of Mouth Marketing explores is the new world of B-to-C-to-C marketing – business-to-consumer-to-consumer! It’s all about the second hop, the third hop, the fourth hop, and so on.
You may be thinking, "Word of mouth isn’t a new concept. It’s been going on forever. So what’s the big deal?"
What’s new is that word of mouth has evolved from anecdotal to actionable, from something that "just happens" to something you can influence. In fact, because we now have the tools and knowledge to work with it, word of mouth marketing has become the fastest-growing form of marketing.
Word of mouth is about authentic consumer conversation. That means marketers join in a conversation with their customers, participating in it but never manipulating, faking, or degrading its fundamental honesty in any way.
Mr. Sernovitz simplistically explains that there are five T’s to word of mouth marketing:
1. Talkers: Finding people who will talk about you
Talkers are any group of people who have enthusiasm and the connections to relay your message. Talkers are regular people, your best customers.
Recently, I attended a seminar in Atlanta – along with about 2,500 other people. Jim, the very first person I met, asked me what I did. When I told him I run an affiliate company for Agora, he said, "Oh, I know them. The only publication I read is Early to Rise." We spoke at length about how ETR has helped him grow his business, how he has told friends and industry colleagues about ETR, and how many of those folks are now ETR fans.
Jim is a great example of a talker for ETR.
You just don’t find talkers… you cultivate them. People talk about you for two reasons: They either had a very good experience with your company or they had a very bad experience. Either way, by responding to their comments you can turn them into big marketers for your company. Here’s how to do it:
For example, while visiting my husband’s family in Long Island last summer, I saw a man on the beach with an Early to Rise hat on. I was so excited, I went over to him and introduced myself. Noticing the confusion on his face, I said, "I run ETR… as in the hat you have on." Well, he told me it was his buddy’s hat, and he just liked the color.
I apologized for bothering him, and went back to building sandcastles with my kid. An hour later, a different man came up to me and told me it was his hat… and that he has been reading ETR for years.
"Steve" and I talked for a while about his Internet business. And when I got back to the office, I asked Sharika Kellogg (ETR’s Customer Service Manager) to look up his address – and I sent him a personal note and a new hat. I’m pretty sure Steve is now a talker.
2. Topics: Giving people a reason to talk
All word of mouth starts with creating a message that spreads. In other words, with a good, clear idea that’s easy to repeat.
Whenever we hire a new team member, we stress Michael Masterson’s Ready, Fire, Aim philosophy. We write about Ready, Fire, Aim in ETR and speak about it at the events we sponsor, so all of our customers can benefit from it. And, in fact, last April, when we were reviewing videos of the attendees who were coming to Michael Masterson’s business-building retreat, video after video showed them repeating this mantra.
The reason Ready, Fire, Aim works is because it is short and sweet. It was developed around a single idea that is easy to repeat. And it’s a concept that not only resonates with entrepreneurs but has been proven to work time after time.
Good topics are organic. They are based on the exceptional qualities that make your products stand out. They flow naturally from the products’ attributes, without needing to be pushed by marketing.
3. Tools: Helping the message spread faster and further
Non info-publishing, info-marketing companies have been doing this for years. Dining establishments spread the word by handing out 2 for 1 coupons. Cosmetics companies give away free samples. Apartment complexes offer one month’s free rent. Phone companies give you a $50 credit for referring a friend. And so on.
But with the Internet, it has never been faster, easier, or cheaper. Just think about it. How many times have you read something online and forwarded it to not just one or two friends, colleagues, or relatives but five or 10? And that’s without any marketing push. If you have a "Forward to a Friend" or "Tell a Friend" button at the bottom of your e-mailed publication, you’re adding exponential marketing power to it.
At Early to Rise , we are big fans of forums and message boards. We have the Speak Out forum for all of our subscribers. And immediately after an ETR event (like our fall Bootcamp or our July Internet marketing conference), we post an attendees-only password-protected forum. This encourages likeminded people to share ideas, problems, and solutions. Plus, it allows us to "listen in on" and participate in their conversations.
We love to find out what our customers are saying, because it helps us better understand their needs. If you ask me, any company that believes in their products and employees will have forums. Forums not only facilitate communication, they increase accountability.
ETR gets an "A" for forum usage. But, right now, we get a "C" for "Forward to a Friend."
I’d been asking our corporate Web guys for a "Forward to a Friend" tool for months. Like everything else, it’s had to go on a long list of things we want. But I finally got so fed up with waiting, I asked some internal team members to test the "Forward to a Friend" option (without our corporate Web guys) on our sister publication, Total Health Breakthroughs. As a result, you can expect to see this feature in ETR soon.
4. Taking Part: Joining the conversation
Once you have reached out to real people and encouraged them to talk, there is no turning back. You must join the conversation. You must reply to e-mails, accept comments on your blog, participate in the discussion board, answer the phone.
Joining the conversation is even more powerful when it is public. For years, we have been publishing readers’ comments and questions in ETR. We understand that if one of our readers is struggling and takes the time to ask for help, we need to (1) acknowledge that and (2) share our advice with others who may be in the same situation.
Again, if your customers are complimenting you, thank them. If customers are saying negative things, find out why and fix the problem.
There is no better focus group than your customers. Yes, you will get crazies every once in a while – and you may need to hire outside resources to communicate with them on your company’s behalf. But, at the same time, you are earning the respect and recommendations of your customers and building long-term lasting relationships with them… as long as you are helpful, truthful, thankful, and nice.
5. Tracking: Measuring and understanding what people are saying
Because of the popularity of blogs and online communities, people are writing down nearly every thought they have about your company. And because these B-to-C-to-C conversations are written down, they are easy to find and easy to track. You can find every comment about you and your company moments after it is written. And monitoring that online communication allows you to understand what your customers really think about you, your marketing, and your products.
There are wonderful online tools – such as Google Alert and Technorati – that can help you monitor your word of mouth. They are at your fingertips, and they are instant and free.
Start right now. Don’t make any marketing decisions without considering the potential for word of mouth. Ad agencies, media executives, and reporters no longer control the message. Real consumers with real communication power have added their voices to the mix. And their voices are drowning out traditional media. A single consumer voice, in the end, has a huge impact on your company’s future.
Word of mouth will become more and more important to our business at ETR as the Internet continues to expand. But I am still a firm believer in the importance of direct-response marketing. The best thing you can do for your company is to successfully incorporate multiple methods into your overall marketing strategy. You’ll maximize your efforts, build your customer base, and reap the profits.
[Ed. Note: You can meet all your marketing objectives - and achieve all your personal, social, financial, and business goals - with the help of ETR's Total Success Achievement Program. Learn more by clicking here.]
Issue #2255
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One of my biggest business assets has been the "big-name" relationships I’ve created and nurtured over the years. In fact, I consider this to be so important that I’ve created a business-building strategy around it.
Here’s how I did it…
About four years ago, I decided I wanted to do a joint venture with Jack Canfield. So I started building a foundation for that relationship. One of the first things I did was buy a domain name – AskJackCanfield.com – to give me a way to approach Jack to do teleseminars. (I’ll explain this in more detail in a few minutes.)
Fast-forward four years. In that time, I had done a few teleseminars with Jack. Meanwhile, the movie The Secret, which includes extensive interviews with Jack, had just come out. And that gave me an idea.
I went to Jack’s estate in
Let’s say you’re one of those people who would like access to Jack Canfield. You just go to AskJackCanfield.com. This is a one-page website with a space for people to submit questions. Jack Canfield answers those questions during a free teleseminar the first Wednesday of every month. (I pose the questions to Jack myself.)
Even though the teleseminars aren’t directly making money for Jack and me, they are still good for us. They’re great for me, because I’m interviewing Jack and getting exposure. They’re good for Jack, because the questions people submit are generating more fodder, more information for his future books. Plus, each call can be repurposed into products we can sell.
For instance, we record each teleseminar and have someone transcribe it. Jack uses the transcripts to put together little "simple truths" books. These little books are about 50 pages each and have a CD inside – and there are 12 of them throughout the year. You get to hear Jack, who is fun to listen to, and you get to read him, as well.
Let’s go back to what happens when you go to AskJackCanfield.com. You ask your question. Then you are immediately redirected to a new page on the website – the Intermediary Paid Page (IPP). The IPP is between the page where you ask your question and the "Thank You" page, which has the call-in number for the teleseminar.
On the IPP page, you see me pointing down to a big, juicy $10 button that says something like this: "Look, we have four times as many people who have registered for the call as we can handle, and that is the absolute truth. But if you can’t get in, that’s okay… because you can listen to this call for life for $10."
But there’s more. If you decide not to pay $10 to get unlimited access to a recording of the teleseminar (a downloadable version), you have to click on a little tiny button that says "No thanks." You see, people don’t like to say "no." But we’re forcing them to say "no" if they want to get the call-in information without paying. So we get people who pay $10 for unlimited access to the teleseminar… just because it’s psychologically easier for them to say "yes."
Let’s say we get 4,000 people to attend the teleseminar, and 1,000 people to pay the $10. Not bad. $10,000 for a 70-minute session.
How much of that $10,000 do I get? Zero.
Why? Because this is my opportunity to pay Jack Canfield for promoting my products to the people on his customer list. Remember, my goal was to get Jack Canfield to be one of my joint-venture partners. So, four years ago, I started to plant the seeds of such a relationship – with the domain name, the free teleseminars, the $10 charge for unlimited access to the teleseminars. And now I can give him a big reason – the $10,000 – to be my partner.
If you were Jack Canfield, wouldn’t you be thinking, "Hey, this is a relationship I can’t afford to miss out on?"
But that $10,000 isn’t the only thing I do to make sure Jack wants to have a relationship with me. He can keep track of all the money he’s making from customers who come to him via his partnership with me.
For one thing, Jack can start selling back-end products he’s created based on ideas he’s gotten from the questions people ask. And he can repurpose the teleseminars into other products (like I mentioned above). He sells those products through a special link that he gives out during the teleseminars. And when teleseminar attendees use that link to buy Jack’s products, he knows where the orders came from. He can say, "Hey, I just made $5,000 in back-end sales. And $4,500 of those sales came from customers who attended the Alex Mandossian teleseminar."
Plus, the morning after each teleseminar we send a "Wow" e-mail to the people who did not buy the $10 unlimited access offer, and we give them another chance. ("Wow, what a call. If you decided you didn’t want unlimited access to it for $10 then, now is your chance.") Then, six days later, we send out a "Last Chance" e-mail. ("This is your last chance to get unlimited lifetime access to the teleseminar for $10.")
You can use a similar step-by-step strategy to show a "celebrity" that you want a joint-venture relationship with just how valuable you can be to him. Then, once you’ve proven you can make him money, you can ask your celebrity to market your products to his list. It’s likely that his list is much bigger than yours – which means it has the potential to make you a boatload of clams. For instance, Jack has become one of my super-affiliates for my Teleseminar Secrets and has sold many of my training programs to his list.
This is a "free-to-fee" strategy. And it takes guts, because you won’t be making money right away. You need to be able to hold out for the big payoff down the road.
Think of yourself as a stalk of bamboo. When bamboo is first planted, you don’t see anything above the ground for three years. After three years underground, a bamboo shoot germinates. Then, from the moment it sees sunlight, it’s full-grown in 60 days.
That’s what happens with this strategy. You’re planting little seeds along the way, building the relationship, building your value. And then, bam! You’ve created a strong bond with someone who can help you earn money for life.
[Alex Mandossian, CEO of Heritage House Publishing Inc., has generated over $233 million in sales and profits for his clients and partners since 1991. To learn more about Alex’s teleseminar marketing strategies please click here.]
Issue #2254
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I’m willing to bet that one goal you have for this year is to become wealthier than you are right now. If you’ve been paying attention to Michael Masterson’s advice, you know that means starting your own business – which, says Michael, is " one of the best (or possibly the best) ways of growing wealthy."
Well, what’s stopping you?
Starting your own business may sound like an overwhelming task – but, like every worthwhile goal, it can be broken down into manageable parts. In fact, I’m going to show you how to do it in three simple steps.
The important thing is to take action. Instead of just dreaming about starting your own business, do it! Don’t worry about the details, just come up with a sensible overall plan and get your business off the ground. You can go back and fine-tune it later. As Michael says, "Ready, Fire, Aim."
I have helped start dozens of small businesses. And all of them were the result of combining Michael’s Ready, Fire, Aim philosophy with my own three-step approach.
Here’s how it works…
Step 1. Identify something that people want and will pay for.
One of the most common stumbling blocks for aspiring entrepreneurs is deciding on a product or service to market. The primary consideration is to choose something that people will buy. And the easiest way to do that is to go with something that other people are already selling successfully.
Ideally, that will be something you love and/or know a lot about. For instance, if you’re an accountant, you could create and sell programs about how people can prepare their taxes, how they can make a household budget, and how they can find hidden tax deductions. Or, if you’ve always loved animals, you could sell pet toys, treats, and accessories.
If you have trouble coming up with a likely product or service based on your own interests and/or expertise, choose a relatively simple service that’s in high demand. A house cleaning service, for example, or bookkeeping, lawn mowing, resume writing, or house painting. The possibilities are almost endless.
Step 2. Find a way to supply it.
This step just requires a bit of business common sense. If you’re selling a service, you would either supply the service yourself or hire someone else to do it (or help you). If, for example, you’ve decided to go into the moving business, you don’t have to be capable of handling furniture yourself. Simply hire a few people who can do heavy lifting and either buy or rent a truck.
If you’re selling a product, you would ideally seek out suppliers that can provide you with merchandise at a low enough price for you to be able to make a profit. But that usually means buying in volume – which may not work for you when you’re just starting out. Let’s say you’d like to sell bookshelves. In this case, it might make more sense for you to get your business going by buying the lumber and building the shelves yourself (or hiring someone to build them for you).
Step 3. Sell it to the people who want it.
I’m a big believer in direct marketing for small start-up businesses. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to get your marketing message to prospective customers via e-mail, regular mail, ads in local papers, or even flyers distributed door to door.
Let’s say you want to start a housekeeping service. You’d identify a few affluent neighborhoods where the homeowners could, presumably, afford maids. Then you’d target them with either flyers or small mailers.
Or suppose you want to start a business where you take people on charter fishing boat trips. You’ll be marketing primarily to tourists, so you’d work on getting yourself listed in local tourist guides and maybe advertise on a few bus benches in your city’s hotel district. If you decide to go after locals too, you could contact local fishing clubs and see if you can rent their membership lists to do a mailing. You might also make a deal with local bait shops to distribute your flyers.
Obviously, starting and running a successful business requires time, energy, and effort. Still, when you break down the process, it’s just three simple steps:
If you really want to run your own business, it’s time to take action. Just think – by this time next year, you could be living your dream.
Issue #2253
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With the market struggling over the past few months, you might be wondering whether to lower your stock holdings. You can keep an eye on two things that can save your portfolio. Both are moving averages on the S&P 500.
The first one is the 20-month moving average, which measures the average closing price for the past 20 months and then plots it as a line on a chart. Should the S&P close below the 20-month moving average this month, it would be a bad sign for the market. In 2000, the S&P closed below the 20-month in November and then proceeded to drop another 40 percent. Had you lowered your equity holdings in November when the 20-month was broken, you would have saved yourself a lot of pain.
The second one is the 100-week moving average. If you are feeling skittish about the market and the economy, keep an eye on this. It could be a heads up for what happens with the 20-month moving average. (Because the readings on the 100-week can be calculated weekly rather than monthly, you will get a bearish reading earlier than you would by waiting until the end of the month.)
Should you see the S&P close below either of these moving averages, you will want to lighten up on your stock holdings and increase your fixed-income holdings. Right now, the S&P is below the 20-month and above the 100-week.
Quit smoking. Lose weight. Read more. Work harder. Get organized. Spend more time with family and friends.
Every January, we make the same promises. By March, most of them are out the window.
"A resolution," somebody once said, "is a thing that goes in one year and out the other."
What if, this year, one resolution could improve every aspect of your life?
Yet, to make this one promise stick, you need to do no extra work, command no extra discipline, and make no extra sacrifices. In fact, following through on this one pledge is actually easier than NOT doing it.
What is it?
Two words. But before I explain, let me give you the set-up. It starts 15 years ago, just six months into my copywriting career.
I was an understudy to one of the best copywriters in the country, Bill Bonner. Already, I had a handful of very successful sales letters under my belt. And we were just sitting down to talk job review and salary.
Now copywriting is about selling. And, I have to admit, at this point I had some mixed feelings about what that meant.
It was only natural.
Lots of people are under the impression that selling is about fooling people. Says the stereotype, it’s all about tricking the customer into wanting something he never wanted before. Or doing something he never really wanted to do.
Was that accurate? I genuinely wasn’t experienced enough to be sure. But being young, I also sometimes mistook cynicism for the cloak of the wise. And during this conversation with Bill, that’s how I dealt with my doubts.
"Of course," I told him, "you know I don’t really believe in all this stuff."
This "stuff," by the way, was what I was supposed to sell. Bill looked taken aback. "Wait a minute," he said, "You’ve got to believe in it… otherwise how can you write about it? You can’t sell what you don’t believe in."
He was right. It was simple. Yet it felt like a revelation. With every copywriting project that followed, that was my guideline.
If I couldn’t buy the product’s proposition, I either wouldn’t agree to write for it… or I would work with the product manager to reshape the product until I could.
Sometimes I’d get in deep on a hopeless case and have to extract myself. But for the most part, it’s a strategy that’s worked out well. And I’ve heard plenty of other top copywriters say the same.
Sell the products that are so good they sell themselves. Those are the ones you can believe in. And that’s the key to a successful career in sales and marketing. Yet, even in something so simple there’s something else that’s profound.
I read a book a few years ago by Joe Vitale. It was called The Seven Lost Secrets of Success, and shared the life story of advertising legend Bruce Barton.
Maybe you’ve heard of Barton. He’s most famous as the second ‘B’ in "Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn" or BBDO, one of the most famous ad agencies of the 20th century.
He’s also the creator of "Betty Crocker," named General Motors and General Electric, and helped build Ford Motors, Carnegie Steel, plus a few dozen more of
Here’s the funny thing. Barton never imagined he’d wind up in the ad industry. He originally wanted to be a novelist. Then a journalist. For a while there, he was a magazine editor. But his partners would later say Barton was born for advertising.
Why?
Not because he could successfully bamboozle customers into buying. But for the opposite reason. Here’s Barton himself, spilling out his personal philosophy back in 1925:
"Do not venture into the sunlight unless you are willing first to put your house in order… no dyspeptic can write convincingly of the joys of mince meat. No woman-hater can write convincingly of love… unless you have a real respect for people, a real affection for people, a real belief that you are equipped to serve them, and that by your growth and prosperity they will likewise grow and prosper, unless you have this deep-down conviction, gentleman, do not attempt advertising. For somehow it will return to plague you."
And then once more, writing in that same year:
"I believe the public has a sixth sense of detecting insincerity. We run a tremendous risk if we try to make other people believe in something we don’t believe in. Somehow our sin will find us out… the advertisements which persuade people to act are written by men who have an abiding respect for the intelligence of their readers, and a deep sincerity regarding the merits of the goods they have to sell."
Translation: "Be genuine."
That was Barton’s secret. It’s also the secret I suggest you and I carry into the coming year. By the way, that doesn’t just apply to your business decisions.
Being genuine means being honest with yourself too. Especially when it comes to focusing on your objectives and setting the goals you’ll target over a lifetime.
Ask yourself, did you buy that exercise bike as a tool to finally better your health… or did you really buy it as a towel rack that says "I care about exercise" even if you don’t?
Are you saying you’ll quit smoking because you know you should? And because it’s robbing you of cash, health, and future time with your family? Or just because it’s what your friends want to hear?
Is this really the year you’re going to get organized, get serious, and get to work building the career you care about, the skill you wanted, and the life you desire… or are these just more superficial ornaments to jot down on your "to-do" list to make yourself feel better?
Be honest. Be sincere. Be genuine.
With yourself and with everybody else, as often and as much as you can. Nothing else you’ll resolve to do could make a bigger difference.
[Ed Note: John Forde, a published writer and a direct-mail copywriter since 1992, is the editor of the free weekly e-zine, The Copywriter’s Roundtable
You can meet all your marketing goals - and achieve all your personal, social, financial, and business dreams - with the help of ETR’s Total Success Achievement Program. Learn more by clicking here.]
Issue #2252
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New research indicates that pterostilbene – which is found in blueberries – shows promise for the prevention of colon cancer.
Researchers at Rutgers and the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) teamed up to investigate pterostilbene’s cancer-fighting effects. In the study, rats were given azoxymethane – a compound that causes colon cancer. Half of the animals were then given a balanced daily diet, while the rest were given the same diet supplemented with pterostilbene.
At the end of the eight-week study period, the rats that were given the supplement showed 57 percent fewer pre-cancerous lesions in their colons than those in the control group.
Make delicious, antioxidant-rich blueberries a mainstay in your diet. A great way to keep them on hand is to buy them frozen. Then just thaw and enjoy!
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR’s free natural health e-letter.]
Issue #2250
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Hey, I’m just like you. I get easily distracted. In fact, maybe more so than the average procrastinator.
Every detail, every idea, every other person’s problems… they beckon me down paths that open up other paths that lead to more paths that… you get the idea. And before you know it, I’ve very busily gotten nothing done. Yet when I actually get rolling, the opposite happens. I hate to stop. And those days are my best days, hands down. Not only do I make more income (by multiples), but I discover all over again why I love my career as a copywriter.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Writing when you’re rolling is a breeze, even a pleasure. But getting going, that’s a whole other kind of challenge.
You might already be familiar with the trick used by legendary and prolific copywriter Eugene Schwartz. Gene kept a kitchen timer on his desk. When he sat down, he’d punch in 33 minutes and 33 seconds. Then he’d write. When the timer went off, he would take a very short break and then do it again. Unless he was writing too fast, at that point, to pay attention to the timer anymore.
Well, here’s a more modern version, courtesy of Merlin Mann over at the 43folders.com website. He calls it the "(10+2)*5" plan.
The idea still centers around a timer. Only this time, you give 10 minutes to the first thing on your prioritized to-do list. At the ding, you break for two minutes. (The break is mandatory.) Then you do it again and again, for at least one hour.
You’ll be amazed, says Mann, at the progress you’ll make. I’ll bet he’s right. Mann suggests you should move on to each task on your to-do list after each break, not feeling compelled to finish them one by one. But I’m not sure that matters.
Still, any way you add it up, you’re moving forward. And that’s a heck of a lot better than standing still, isn’t it?
[Ed Note: John Forde, a published writer and a direct-mail copywriter since 1992, is the editor of the free weekly e-zine, The Copywriter’s Roundtable.]
Issue #2250
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