The Most Powerful Marketing Strategy Ever
- WEALTHY: JV 101 (Rich Schefren)
- HEALTHY: A new use for the seeds that came with your Chia Pet (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: James Cash Penney on partnerships
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to get rid of all that spam (David Cross)
- One area where your staff should have more authority (Jason Holland)
- It’s Good to Know… about co-opetition
- Add "salubrious" to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
Prosper Amidst the Economic Meltdown
Lehman Brothers gone bankrupt… Merrill Lynch taken over… and AIG, the world’s largest insurance company, forced into restructuring.
The financial news has gone from bad to very bad… and horrible may be yet to come.
"It’s clear we’re one step away from a financial meltdown," says Nouriel Roubini, chairman of the consulting firm RGE Monitor.
Since you can’t depend on the government… you can’t depend on your employer… and you sure as heck can’t depend on the banks and Wall Street…
Who CAN you depend on? Who MUST you depend on?
YOURSELF!
Gaze into any crystal ball and you’ll see only two classes of people whose future looks bright: Billionaires and Self-reliant entrepreneurs.
We can’t make you a billionaire (not right away, at least)… but we CAN make you a thriving entrepreneur… maybe even a multi-millionaire.
That’s exactly what happened to one Early to Rise reader, Buck Rizvi.
He spent 20 years toiling away in corporate America. Today, just 36 months after "getting out", he’s the proud owner of a highly profitable $3 million/year info-marketing business… that he could sell for 5 times that amount.
Buck Rizvi did it… and so too can YOU.
Take control of YOUR future by following in Buck’s footsteps and becoming an info-marketing superstar (regardless of what happens to the economy).
Here’s the full plan…
"I will have no man work for me who has not the capacity to become a partner."
James Cash Penney
The Most Powerful Marketing Strategy Ever
Lots of people ask me what the secret to my success is. And there’s really no "one thing" that made it all happen. It’s more of a combination of things.
But there is one strategy that’s played a MAJOR part in my success… one that’s consistently put millions of dollars in my pocket with very little effort.
I’m talking about the joint venture.
But let’s back up a little so I can say a few words about the Internet…
Besides providing us with countless sources of entertainment and information (some credible, some less so), the Internet has given entrepreneurs unlimited opportunity. Much of this opportunity is based on the power of the Internet to forge business relationships - relationships that are highly profitable because of synergy between the partners.
What, you ask, is synergy?
The word comes from the Greek "sunergia" - the interaction of two or more cooperative agents or forces in a way that makes their combined effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. A synonym for synergy, at least in the realm of Internet business, could be "joint venture."
I work with hundreds of Internet-based entrepreneurs, and they often ask me about the best way to effectively grow their businesses. My response is always the same: Joint ventures (JVs) are simply the best way not only to grow a business, but to make lots of money in the process.
Joint ventures also allow you to do more for your prospects and customers, because you are offering them the combined brilliance of the JV partners. This exponentially increases the value of the product purchased… at what often feels like a remarkably low price.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
A joint venture is a business relationship - hopefully, a mutually advantageous one - between two (or more) parties. It is not a merger, a general partnership, or an ongoing business agreement. It’s not you buying someone else’s company or them buying yours. It’s not an equity sharing or equity position in anybody’s company. It’s not a private placement.
It is a single-purpose, shared business activity that can create massive profits…
- Without a lot of expenditure on your part
- Without a lot of tooling up in terms of equipment, staff, or facilities
- Without taking all the risk/work on your own shoulders
Simply put, joint ventures are:
- the fastest way to make a fortune
- the easiest way to make a fortune
- the safest low-risk way to make a fortune
- the best way to create and leverage business relationships that will make you a fortune
A joint venture is, by its very nature, short-term. You can try one out for a trial period of a few weeks or months. A new joint venture can then be refined from this initial effort. Any arrangement you make with your JV partner proceeds only if it works to the advantage of both parties. If it doesn’t, you terminate the relationship.
Most Internet marketers function through such joint ventures. However, not all of them are as profitable as originally hoped. This is often because sufficient due diligence had not been done by the prospective JV partners, and the "match" was not - to use an old adage - made in heaven.
Even when the partnership has merit, failure often stems from inefficient, ineffective communication between the parties. To be truly successful, any joint venture you take on should be carefully thought out, and the parameters should be spelled out in a signed contract. The plan of action needs to be monitored, as does the income generated.
You usually find suitable JV partners by establishing rapport with other businesspeople you come across while conducting your own business - even those in different industries. At some point, an opportunity arises to combine forces.
Keep in mind that workable deals take time to mature and finalize. So, to give yourself the best chance of arriving at a truly rewarding alliance, it’s a good idea to enter into more than one joint venture with more than one partner.
Keep in mind, too, that most joint ventures are unique, and the best ones will be the result of applying your own imagination and creativity to form the best win/win situation for you and your partner.
As I tell my clients, the success of your joint ventures will be limited by only two things: your own creativity and your own sense of what’s possible. Make sure your joint ventures are profitable for all involved, meet legal guidelines, and operate in an ethical manner - and the sky is the limit!
[Ed. Note: You may know zip... zilch... zero about setting up a joint venture - and that's where Internet guru Rich Schefren comes in. He has put together a crash course in the Rich Schefren model for setting up winning JV partnerships. Learn how to create profit windfalls and skyrocket your online business right here.
Rich will be appearing at ETR's 2008 Info Marketing Bootcamp this November. And he'll be revealing a proven strategy that can help you make at least $100,000 in 2009. But he's not the only one who's spilling his guts about ways that you can profit. 11 other money-making masters accepted our Internet Ultimatum... (continue reading here.)]
It Should Be a Crime to Be So LAZY and Still Make This Much MONEY!
I’ve never in my life heard of a lazier way you could make a ton of dough online this quickly. But, turns out it is entirely possible. You can be up and running in under a week. Then the fun begins… Before long, you could be looking at 24/7 cash flow… with no income limit on what you might make.
This opportunity is fully guaranteed and risk-free. Please check out all the details on how to start making money this month by simply clicking here.
Dear ETR: "How do you get rid of excess spam?"
"I get tons of unsolicited e-mail, often the same message from many (20-25) people. Most of these are sex-related, with NO unsubscribe link. There are also lots of other e-mails that are not similar, but mostly sex-related (although there are a few about real estate, vitamins, software, and anything else you can think of). I get between 200 and 400 a day, which makes it difficult to conduct my business. It also makes it easy to overlook a legit e-mail that needs attention.
"I killed that e-mail address for over a year. When I reinstated it, it was only about a month before the junk e-mail began again. What do you recommend?"
Ginger L.
Dear Ginger,
This is a common problem for small businesses, usually triggered when you post your e-mail address on your website. That makes your e-mail address easy pickings for spammers’ harvesting programs. Here are three ways you can nip the spam problem in the bud:
1. Some website hosts allow you to do spam filtering. For instance, I note you host your website with Dreamhost. You can switch on spam filtering within your control panel.
2. You may also wish to disable your domain’s "catchall" e-mail address. The "catchall" address allows spammers to e-mail anyaddress@yourdomain.com, and it will go through. Use only e-mail addresses you actually need, and specify their use - such as yourname@yourdomain.com, info@yourdomain.com, sales@yourdomain.com, etc. You can disallow any others by refusing mail to those addresses. Tech support at your website-hosting company will advise you how.
3. Keep your website hosting with Dreamhost, but consider moving the e-mail portion of your business to an external e-mail provider - say, Google’s hosted e-mail program. This is free, gives you 6GB of space per e-mail account, and has excellent spam filtering that should all but negate the problems you are experiencing. You can use your existing domain name and e-mail addresses, and Dreamhost recently made it very easy to make the switch. (It’s within your control panel under "e-mail settings.")
And for everyone - small-business owner or not - "whitelist" or add to your address book any senders from whom you DO wish to receive e-mail (such as ETR), so their e-mail is not erroneously labeled as "spam." If you aren’t familiar with whitelisting, check out ETR’s "whitelist us" page. You’ll find instructions there on how to ensure you get e-mails from people you know and trust.
- David Cross
[Ed. Note: Spam is irritating. But it's a problem you can solve. Fortunately, many of life's little inconveniences have easy - though often unknown - solutions. Sidestepping a speeding ticket... getting out of jury duty... rehabbing poor credit. Learn how to do it all - and more - right here.
Got a question? Send it to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]
Can Your Employees Make Things Right for Unhappy Customers?
On a recent trip to Chicago, our hotel suite was a mess.
The door between the living/kitchen area and bedroom was missing. The curtain didn’t cover the entire window, making it impossible to escape from the glaring mid-afternoon sun. And, as if that wasn’t enough, there was a raucous bachelor party going on next door - in the middle of the day.
Under the circumstances, we couldn’t imagine putting our two-year-old down for a nap. So we called the front desk. They apologized and switched our room. They even sent a maintenance guy to our new room to make sure everything was in order.
I know, I know. You’ve heard it all before. What the hotel did was standard practice. But what the maintenance guy did before he left was an example of excellent customer service.
He promised us two free movies (at $10 a pop) for our trouble. We figured the front desk would give us a hard time about this during check out. But, sure enough, all we had to do was mention "Ron," and the charges were removed immediately.
The hotel’s management had given a lowly maintenance guy (and presumably other employees) the authority to dish out "comps" without checking in with a higher-up. They trusted their employees to take care of customer complaints appropriately.
What’s the lesson here? Giving your employees the authority to appease dissatisfied customers - within limits, of course - is a smart way to handle complaints quickly and with minimum fuss.
[Ed. Note: Customer service is one thing you need to think long and hard about when you begin a business. One thing you DON'T have to think twice about is getting that business started. Learn how to do it - and make $1.2 million or more in 2009 - at ETR's 2008 Info Marketing Bootcamp.]
Salba: Tiny Seed, Big Benefit
Should you be concerned about diabetes? Consider this: 23.6 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. And a whopping 57 million Americans have pre-diabetes. So, yes, you should be concerned. And one way you can keep yourself healthy is by adding salba to your grocery list.
Salba (Salvia hispanica), better known as chia, is a member of the mint family. Most people think of this herb only in connection with the Chia Pet, a novelty gift item that’s been on the market since the ’80s. But now it’s getting recognition as a sugar-balancing superfood.
A recent study published in Diabetes Care gave 20 diabetics either 37 grams/day of salba seeds or wheat bran for 12 weeks while maintaining their current diabetes protocols. At the end of the study, the participants eating salba saw a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure, as well as a reduction in dangerous C-reactive protein - two risk factors that increase the odds of developing cardiovascular disease, especially for those with diabetes.
In addition to salba’s high fiber content, it is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, a good source of calcium, low-carb, and naturally gluten-free.
Use salba just as you would flaxseed - grind and add to baked goods and yogurt, or sprinkle whole over salads and stir into soups for a healthy "pop" of powerful nutrients.
[Ed. Note: Long before pharamaceutical companies started trying to make a buck, Mother Nature was serving up her own medications. Salba is just one natural food that can help you feel better. For more on the foods you should be eating to be healthier and live longer, sign up for ETR's natural health e-letter. Get your free subscription here.
And for an all-natural dessert that tastes devilishly delicious, try nutrition expert Kelley Herring's special chocolate cake. Find out how you can get a slice right here.]
It’s Good to Know: About Co-Opetition
The New York Post and New York’s Daily News - longtime rivals for subscribers in the same general area - blast one another every chance they get. But now, to cut costs, they are working together behind the scenes - consolidating parts of their businesses that do not affect editorial content (including distribution, printing, and back-office operations).
It’s called co-opetition - something you’ve read about before in these pages.
DHL and UPS are working on a similar collaboration. To maximize both of their profits, UPS will carry German-based DHL’s express-mail packages within the U.S. - and between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico - for a fee of up to $1 billion per year. The proposed 10-year deal takes advantage of the excess capacity UPS has in its American air-freight network, and saves DHL a significant amount of money on gas and overhead.
(Source: The Economist)
== Highly Recommended ==
How to Make Fast Profits From Your Own Internet Import Company for Just 48 Cents a Day – Starting in Less Than 24 Hours
Right now, corporate America is getting filthy rich off of you. And they do it every time you shell out money for almost any item – large or small. These profits come from the massive mark-ups on imports from places like China, where a widget may cost a buck or two, but sells for $19.95.
But now the tables have turned on the corporations - thanks to the Internet and our global economy. And you can be the one reaping windfall profits from the import business. Best part: You can easily run the entire business online, with no employees, no previous experience or knowledge, and with as little as $50 in start-up costs.
All you need to do is simply follow a proven, step-by-step plan that is handed to you with this turnkey system. Just a few hours of “work” (if you want to call it that) is all it takes to set your business up. Then, the whole thing runs on autopilot, freeing you to live life however you wish.
OK, so let’s get going - learn how you can get started right now!
Word to the Wise: Salubrious
Something that’s "salubrious" (suh-LOO-bree-us) - from the Latin - is favorable to health or well-being.
Example (as used by Ron Carlson in a New York Times review of Fine Just the Way It Is by Annie Proulx)): "We’re used to seeing the people in Proulx’s stories deep in their hardscrabble lives, eking out their survival in company that often turns out to be wildly insalubrious."
[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.]
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Hi Rich,
The marketing strategy you have explaines was great.
How do i apply same concept to my business? in a situation whereby you have some competitors around you and you are just thinking about a strategy that would realy lift your organisation up to gain an edge over them. would you do?