Issue #2540
- WEALTHY: Keeping your head above water AND increasing profits (Rich Schefren)
- HEALTHY: The double-edged sword of a popular surgery (Jonny Bowden)
- WISE: Warren Buffett on price vs. value
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to price your business book (Bob Bly)
- Chocolate pie and not-so-secret “Secret Santa” gifts (Sarah Snoots)
- It’s Fun to Know… who put matzoh in my stocking?
- Add “heterodox” to your vocabulary
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You Really CAN Have It All!
These days, everyone’s an expert. Naysayers and bad news bearers alike tell us to “Stop dreaming! Keep your feet on the ground, get your head out of the clouds!” They say we must “realize that life is serious and you can’t have everything!”
Well, don’t believe it – not for a minute!
I run a $25,000,000 company, have three happy kids, and travel the world! I help generate millions in monthly revenue… Just ask me if it can be done – and I’ll tell you:
ABSOLUTELY!
What does it take? Get clear about what you’re committed to and talk to the right people – the kind of people who can support you to make it happen.
Stop putting it off. Learn how to get clear and make your dreams a reality, TODAY!
Feeling the Pinch – and How to Pinch Back
So are you feeling the pinch these days?
When the economy slides like it has over the last year or so, the knee-jerk reaction is to tighten the belt. Business owners look at the bottom line, see what’s not absolutely necessary, and get rid of it.
But I suggest you look BEYOND the bottom line. Because downturns like we’re experiencing are just that – downturns. Which means the logical next step is what?
That’s right – an UP-turn.
So if you can brave the storm and stay focused on the future of your business instead of the immediate, then you’ll be perfectly positioned when the pendulum starts to swing the other way.
Which means while everyone else is scrambling to get back in the game, you’ll already be miles ahead of your competition. Why? Because you didn’t panic when times got tough – you just worked smarter.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
We’ve made some difficult decisions at Strategic Profits over the past few months. And those decisions – no matter how tough – were engineered with one goal in mind: to make our company more profitable both today AND tomorrow. And it’s working. We’re on our way to a record-breaking year, and 2009 looks even bigger and brighter.
So how can you keep your head above water while still finding ways to increase profits and grow your business?
Never – EVER – skimp on investing in your business development. Focus on the areas where you may be weakest and search for learning opportunities to help improve those skills.
Is it traffic generation? Product creation? Branding and promotion? These are crucial elements in your journey to become successful. And now’s the perfect time to dive in and get educated about them.
Though it may seem like a new coaching program or business-building system will be detrimental to the bottom line, you’ll actually be making huge strides toward GROWING it. Soon, you’ll find yourself stronger and more confident in those areas. And when the UP-turn happens (it will happen, trust me), you’ll be perfectly positioned to maximize your efforts and experience tremendous profit growth.
[Ed. Note: The best way to position yourself for the inevitable UP-turn? Join ETR's Internet Money Club. This program offers personal coaching that will walk you, step by step, through everything it takes to start and grow your own Internet business. Learn the details here.
Rich Schefren, known in marketing circles as "The Guru's Guru," is an online business exploder whose clients rake in more than $500 million every year - piling up more than $1 billion in sales every two years. Visit his blog to learn how to streamline your business while skyrocketing profits.]
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
Warren Buffett
Give Your Self-Published Book the “Loose-Leaf Test”
By Bob Bly
How do you ensure that the information products you sell online give fair value to your customers? One way is to follow Internet marketing guru Fred Gleeck’s “10 times” rule. Fred says that the information products you sell should be worth at least 10 times the price you charge for them.
Alex Mandossian and I were discussing this in a recent ETR teleseminar – and looking for a way to determine whether a particular product and price point meet Gleeck’s criterion. The solution we came up with is something I call the “loose-leaf test.”
Here’s how it works…
Traditional nonfiction paperback books (around 200 pages long) typically sell for $10 to $20.
To determine whether your e-book is worth 10 times that amount – Gleeck’s “10 times” rule – print out the book manuscript on 8.5 by 11-inch sheets of paper. Now, three-hole-punch those pages… put them in a three-ring binder… and maybe even add tabbed dividers to separate the sections or chapters.
Information products in three-ring binders are typically dense in content… and consequently command much higher prices than bookstore books. It’s not unusual for these “loose-leaf services” to cost $100 to $200 or more per copy. (One loose-leaf service for executives on how to write and give speeches, American Speaker, sold for $297.)
Does your $20 e-book contain enough valuable, in-depth content that you could reprint the thing in a three-ring binder and sell it for $200 to customers who would feel they got fair value for their investment… and not ask for a refund?
If it does, you can rest assured that the content you deliver in your book is indeed worth at least 10 times more than the $20 you intend to charge for it.
However, if you think customers who would pay $200 for a loose-leaf version of your book (remember: same content, just different packaging) would feel gypped and ask for their money back, then your book doesn’t follow Gleeck’s “10 times” rule.
I increasingly see nonfiction business books that are thin and light. They present just one or two new ideas, often in a book of 150 pages or less.
If people buy such a book in a bookstore, they probably won’t complain. Expectations for trade books are modest. If it’s a good read, they’ll be satisfied enough.
But your customers perceive that information products published and sold online contain more specific and highly specialized content than “bookstore books.” So if you are an Internet information marketer, you have to deliver far more value to your customers for their money.
Gleeck’s “10 times” rule – and the Bly/Mandossian “loose leaf test” – help you ensure that you’ll do just that.
I have discovered that if the customer thinks an information product is worth the $20 he paid but no more than that, he still may be dissatisfied and want a refund.
One customer, JB, recently asked for a refund on one of my e-books. He wrote: “Your e-book was certainly worth the $19 you charged me, but no more than that. So please send my money back.”
At first, I thought, “How odd!” JB said the product was worth what he paid for it. So his desire for a refund made no sense to me.
But in Internet information marketing, we make big promises in our copy to grab the reader’s attention and make a sale. (In a bookstore, by comparison, the only “selling” is usually done by the book and its cover.) JB apparently felt that the book did not live up to the copy on my landing page, and was disappointed on that basis.
The solution, of course, is to charge less (not very desirable), write weak copy (also not a good idea), or, preferably, make the product stronger. Add content until the product meets the Gleeck/Bly/Mandossian test – and delivers content not just worth what you charged for it, but worth 10 TIMES what you charged for it.
When you sell an item worth $200 for $20, customer satisfaction will soar and refunds will be minimal to nonexistent.
As a famous marketer once stated: “It is our goal not to give the customer her money’s worth, but to give her MORE than her money’s worth!”
Or, more specifically, at least 10 times her money’s worth.
[Ed. Note: Info-publishing is one of the easiest and most potentially lucrative businesses you can go into. But if you don't know where to start when it comes to creating your own info-publishing business, don't worry. ETR is here to help. As a member of our elite Internet Money Club, our team of experts will walk you, step by step, through everything from setting up a website to creating your products to writing sales copy, and much more. Get the details here.
To learn more marketing secrets from freelance copywriter and marketing expert Bob Bly, sign up for his free e-zine, the Direct Response Letter. Do so today and get $116 in bonuses.]
He Might Be a Very Successful Investor, But You’ll Never See Him on CNN!
The Wall Street financial jackals extract their “take” from investors just like you. They perpetuate the myth, “Buy into good companies and hold on for the long term.” Sure, sometimes these stocks go up, but they also go down. In the meantime, these greedy insiders make money either way. They can do it because they’re playing with a whole different set of rules.
One Wall Street Insider has jumped ship and started on his own path to profits. And he’s ready to give you all of his insider secrets so you too can make money no matter what the market does.
Of course, he wants to keep making these cash withdrawals himself… so he can only share these secrets with a limited number of folks. If you want to stop being one of the sheep and join him at the table of success with all of those blueblood financial elitists, please read the following report.
Gastric-Bypass Patients Need Nutritional Supplements
If you’re contemplating gastric-bypass surgery – or you’ve already had it – you’d be wise to bone up on your nutritional supplements.
A recent review of the literature on bariatric surgery found that of all the surgical procedures used to reduce weight, gastric bypass resulted in the most serious post-surgical nutritional deficiencies. The micronutrients most commonly found to be deficient were: vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, thiamine (vitamin B1), folic acid, iron, zinc, and magnesium. The authors of the review concluded that nutritional supplementation is absolutely necessary for every gastric-bypass patient.
Gastric bypass is the most popular weight-loss surgery in America. But it is a double-edged sword. While it can reduce some of the risks associated with obesity, it also presents a whole new set of health challenges. And it is hardly without side effects or complications, including blood clots, leaking, hernia, and a fairly high rate of death (1 per 200-300 surgeries). It’s not a decision that should be made lightly.
Since you’d have to eat very differently after the surgery, why not try eating that way before you make the commitment to go under the knife? Reduce calories, trim your nutritional budget of all “non-essentials” (like processed carbs, sugar, soda, and junk foods), and fill your plate with protein and vegetables. You might be surprised at the results!
And if you do have the surgery – or you’ve already had it – make sure you’re supplementing with vitamins and omega-3 fats… and that every calorie you consume gives you the most nutritional bang for the buck.
[Ed. Note: Natural methods - including eating more fruits and veggies and supplementing with vitamins - can have a powerful effect on your health... and your weight. For more natural ways to feel better and live longer, check out nutrition expert Jonny Bowden's book The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth.
Surgery may be the answer if you are morbidly obese. But you can lose weight on your own by eating right and exercising. For ideas about which foods you should be eating and which foods to avoid - and recipes for delicious, healthy meals - sign up for ETR's natural health newsletter.]
10 Little Things I Love About the Holidays!
By Sarah Snoots
1. Flying to DC and stepping off the plane to feel the cold air rush through me.
2. Waking up on Christmas morning, having coffee, and watching A Christmas Story while curled up in a blanket next to Grandma’s antique wood-burning stove.
3. Watching others open up presents.
4. The smell of snow (if it decides to snow that year).
5. Attending our yearly “Cookie Party,” which consists of 30 girls drinking, eating, and exchanging gifts.
6. My grandma’s homemade chocolate pie.
7. Spending a night with my three best girlfriends in DC – having dinner, going to see the Christmas tree by the White House, and then exchanging our not-so-secret “Secret Santa” presents.
8. Leftover ham sandwiches.
9. Sitting at Christmas dinner, watching my grandpa sneak food to the dogs (thinking no one can see him).
10. Listening to the radio and hearing the same Christmas songs over and over until New Year’s is over.
[Ed. Note: What do you like best about the holidays? Let us know right here.]
It’s Fun to Know: Who Put Matzoh in My Stocking?
One of the best parts of Christmas is the music. The songs you hear at this time of year that instantly recall your childhood and make you all sentimental and mushy.
You might be surprised to learn, however, that some of the most popular Christmas songs were written by those who didn’t celebrate this holiday. We can thank Jewish songwriters for such classics as “White Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow,” and “Silver Bells.”
== Highly Recommended ==
Building Wealth Online Is Just Like Riding a Bike
Remember the first time you tried to ride a bike? You’d spent your life missing out until then.
But once you got on that bicycle… you felt a special moment when suddenly, the magic happened. You were free! Since then, you’ve never “unlearned” that knowledge. Doing it again is easy… automatic… instinctive.
That’s how it feels once your first Internet income stream is up and running. The magic hits you… the next one is even easier… the rest are almost automatic.
One man I know turned $10 into over $500,000 this way. Let me show you how you could get a similar Internet income stream started for almost nothing.
- Charlie Byrne
ETR Associate Publisher
Word to the Wise: Heterodox
“Heterodox” (HET-uh-ruh-doks) – from the Greek for “of another opinion” – is another way of saying “unorthodox,” contrary to or differing from some acknowledged standard.
Example (as used by Jon Speelman in the Independent): “Moreover, heterodox behaviour – in the form of eccentric chess moves – was even encouraged, if it led to good results.”
[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.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
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- Give Your Self-Published Book the “Loose-Leaf Test” – How do you ensure that the information products you sell online give fair value to your customers? O…
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TOP TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT CHRISTMAS
1. Hershey kisses
2. Eggnog
3. Memories of Christmas with my parents, brother, and sisters in the house on the hill
4. Anticipation and joy in a child’s eyes
5. Reconnecting with lifelong friends
6. Browsing through family photo albums
7. Focusing on the divine gift of love and peace
8. Breaking the normal professional routine
9. Knowing that we’ll get additional daylight daily
10. Giving to the family’s favorite charities
What I love about Christmas?
Watching my nine grandchildren tear open those fantastic Christmas presents with eagerness and the great joy on their faces when they find each and every thing except one, perhaps, that they had longed for, for the past month!! And of course, my own joy, at still being alive at my age, to participate in this marvelous year end renewal. Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night!!
What I love about Christmas.
The thought of Christ loving me, enough to die for me to have a better life.
The laughter of my grandchildren when they see their gifts.
The memories of past Christmas’s,,the good ones that enhanced my life and the bad ones that lead me to the better ones.
Sitting at night curled up in my favorite chair sipping on hot tea and listening to Christmas carols.
The cooking aromas of a meal that the whole family will enjoy together.
The family stories we tell on each other as we enjoy the time together.
The peace of mind remembering the true reason for the holiday season.
This will be the first time in sixteen years that I will have friends, all my children (4) and grand children (8) with me to celebrate our faith and give thanks for all we have. It is going to be a joy filled day.
HAVING AN EARLY MORNING BREAKFAST WITH MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS.