How to Profit From Idea Thieves
Archives: Daily Issues
- WEALTHY: What winter can do for your investments (Charles Delvalle)
- HEALTHY: 3 foods to avoid at your local sushi bar (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Christopher Paolini on protecting yourself
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to stave off pirates (Bob Bly)
- The motivating power of your bathroom mirror (Bob Cox)
- It’s Fun to Know… about the connection between coral reefs and diamonds
- Add “cri de coeur” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
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Weather Can Make a Difference in Your Portfolio
When it comes to the stock market, one of the biggest drivers (or takers) of wealth is, surprisingly, the weather.
You see, demand spikes for certain commodities rely on what the weather is doing. If the summer is excruciatingly hot, for example, you’ll see electricity use rise as people crank up their air conditioners. As demand moves higher, utility companies are rewarded with more revenue.
A cold winter, too, causes demand spikes in commodities. And according to The Farmers’ Almanac (which has been right about 80 percent of the time), the coming winter is expected to be one of the coldest on record.
As the winter weather forces homeowners to bundle up and buy more natural gas to heat their homes, you can expect natural gas prices to move higher. And as those prices move higher, homeowners will have less money to spend on everything else, including holiday gifts.
One of the best ways to play this situation is to buy shares of Chesapeake Energy (CHK), which moves higher with the price of natural gas. Also, steer clear of buying retailers like Target (TGT) until spring.
[Ed. Note: Changes in the weather may reveal opportunities for you to profit. But there are other patterns you can follow that could put you on the path to more wealth than you can imagine. Get the details here.]
“You must be willing to protect yourself and what you cherish, no matter what the cost.”
Christopher Paolini
How to Profit From “Idea Thieves”
By Bob Bly
A common concern among would-be information marketers is illegal copying. Because their products are downloadable and easy for their customers to share, many think that will be the downfall of their business.
The reality is, only a tiny and insignificant fraction of your customers will even attempt to rip you off by copying and distributing your info products without paying for the right to do so. The incidence of this type of fraud is so rare that you can just shrug it off as a small cost of doing business.
However, there are steps you can take to reduce the pirating of your content to near-zero – and even make money from the few copies that do get pirated.
Let me explain…
There are all kinds of high-tech systems and devices for foiling would-be bootleggers of content – from music and movies to software and information products. But, eventually, all of them are defeated by hackers.
A better way to prevent your customers from illegally copying your e-books, audio CDs, and DVDs is to ask yourself what motivates them to steal your content in the first place.
Answer: Aside from the Internet making it easy to duplicate and distribute digital content, the main reason a customer will illegally copy an information product they have bought has to do with its price and value.
By that, I mean that customers are less motivated to pirate content that is (a) reasonably priced and (b) gives a fair value for its cost.
For instance, if your 50-page e-book on starting a small business is only $29, your customers – if they like it – will simply recommend it to their friends. “You should buy it here,” they’ll say, pointing others to your website.
However, had you priced the same e-book at $299, your customers might feel that it was too expensive. So after they print out your e-book for themselves, they’ll pass on the PDF to a few friends – illegally, of course.
Even when the price is high, you can still reduce illegal copying by providing great value for the money.
Say that 50-page e-book contains dozens of forms needed to start a business… forms a lawyer might charge thousands of dollars to create or review. In that case, $299 would be a reasonable price to pay. The customer would feel he is getting a fair value, and, therefore, would not want to rip you off.
On the other hand, if your 50-page e-book is nothing but general advice about small businesses, $299 would be excessive. In this instance, the customer might think you are ripping him off. And he might choose to get back at you by freely – and, yes, illegally – sharing the e-book with many other people.
So, really, the best way to prevent customers from illegally copying and sharing your content is to create information products that are reasonably priced – and give the buyer more than his money’s worth.
To further discourage bootleggers, my e-books now carry this warning on the title page:
——————————————————————————————————-
This is NOT a free e-book!
Purchase of this e-book entitles the buyer to keep one copy on his or her computer and to print out one copy only.
Printing out more than one copy – or distributing it electronically – is prohibited by international and U.S.A. copyright laws and treaties, and would subject the purchaser to penalties of up to $100,000 PER COPY distributed.
——————————————————————————————————
Don’t be too much of a hard case enforcing this policy. If a customer calls and wants to print an extra copy for his business partner, brother, or friend, let him.
The main reason to put the warning on the e-book is not to frustrate the buyer who wants to print out a few extra copies. I say let him. The warning is designed to discourage unscrupulous online operators from taking your e-book and selling it – or giving it away – to their own customers.
An even better idea is to make sure you profit from your information products, even if pirated copies do make the rounds.
How do you do this?
In every one of your information products, include plenty of links to the micro-sites for your other products. That way, the more your e-book is passed around, the more clicks you can expect to get on those links – and the more additional sales you can expect to make.
One more idea…
My colleague FG puts a boxed notice in his e-books. It says that the reader can go to a special URL and claim a valuable FREE bonus gift. The catch: He has to be a registered owner of the e-book to do it.
FG says that people are so intrigued by the free bonus that those who already have a pirated copy of his e-book will go online and buy it – just to qualify for the free bonus.
[Ed. Note: Copywriting master and experienced info-marketer Bob Bly is coming out of his self-imposed retirement from public speaking to appear at ETR's 2008 Info-Marketing Bootcamp. He - along with 11 other business-building and marketing experts - will reveal a proven technique that can help you make at least $100,000 in 2009. Learn the details here.
For expert insights into the world of direct marketing, be sure to sign up for Bob's free monthly newsletter, The Direct Response Letter. Do so today and get over $100 in free bonuses.]
Are You OK With (Smaller) Online Profits That Automatically Flow Into Your Bank Account Every Month?
Seems like everyone’s going for broke and trying to earn a million their first year online. In the meantime, a handful of people are happy as clams with automatic income streams – usually a few thousand dollars – fattening up their bank accounts each month.
Of course, you can set up as many of these income streams you want. So if it’s more money you are after, then go for it! Best part: It only takes about an hour to set up and it’s easy to do. And then imagine yourself sitting back and watching the money roll in.
Sounds too easy, I know. But perhaps everyone is busy trying to make a killing online… and so they’ve overlooked this fast and easy way to make very nice (but not ridiculous) amounts of money. Why not take a peek today and see if this is right for you?
Dear ETR: “How do you get yourself to take action?”
“How do you get yourself to take action when you just don’t feel like it – even though you know that taking action will probably lead to a positive result?”
Kirk D.
Great question, Kirk! My approach is to talk to myself in the mirror.
No, I am not kidding. Looking into the mirror and having a serious discussion with yourself is beneficial for two reasons:
1. You acknowledge the one person who can solve this problem: YOU – the person in the mirror.
2. Once you start talking to your reflection about what you want to achieve, you will be more likely to remember who is going to benefit from a successful outcome: YOU – the person in the mirror.
It always motivates me.
When the time has come to take action – even if I don’t feel like doing it – I psych myself up by looking in the mirror and saying, “Bob – it’s show time. Just go out there and give it your best.”
I have set a simple standard for myself. I judge my efforts by the enthusiasm I can bring to projects, meetings, and phone calls that I’m not looking forward to. And once I have completed one of those difficult tasks, I reward myself with lunch at my favorite restaurant, a new golf shirt, or an evening out at the movies.
And the next time I look into my friend, the mirror, I say “Mirror, mirror on the wall… you and I are going to accomplish our goals after all!
- Bob Cox
[Ed. Note: Psyching yourself up by talking to yourself in the mirror is a simple way to get motivated. Goal-setting expert Bob Cox can help you achieve practically any goal with dozens of equally easy-to-implement techniques. And none of them takes more than 5 minutes a day to master. Learn more here.
Have a question for an ETR expert? Write to us at AskETR@ETRFeedback.com and we may answer your question in an upcoming issue of ETR.]
Hidden Health Dangers in Your Sushi
Sushi has some wonderful health benefits. But there are some common sushi ingredients with fishy side effects. Here are three of them to stay away from…
• Sushi Health Danger #1: Escolar. Don’t be lured by the innocuous sounding “butterfish” or “white tuna” on the menu. Escolar has been banned in Japan since 1977 and is also banned in Italy. Why? This delicious snake mackerel cannot metabolize the wax esters naturally found in its diet. While this poses no problem for the fish, it can cause very unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms in humans (called “keriorrhea”) that rival the nasty effects of olestra.
• Sushi Health Danger #2: Eel. Steer clear of the barbecued eel. I’ve warned you before about the dangers of consuming farmed fish. And eel is almost always farmed. What’s more, it is primarily farmed in China. (Taiwan is the world’s leading eel producer.) And in China, toxic nitrofuran – a powerful carcinogen – and many other drugs and pesticides are used to reduce the spread of disease in stagnating, overcrowded, murky pens. Not too appetizing, is it?
• Sushi Health Danger #3: Soy Sauce. You may think soy sauce is safe, but some brands can trigger a painful reaction in people with gluten intolerance. To enjoy your soy without the gluten, look for tamari – soy sauce made only from soybeans. Also, because soybeans are one of the most genetically modified crops on the planet, always choose organic. San-J is an excellent brand of organic tamari.
[Ed. Note: Part of staying healthy is knowing which foods to eat - and which ones to avoid. Making good food choices can help you live a long and healthy life. Find more simple ideas about how to feel better and live longer here.
And talk about a healthy food that tastes fantastic... nutrition expert Kelley Herring has developed a chocolate cake so rich and delicious that you won't believe it's good for you. Get your own slice here.]
It’s Fun to Know: The Connection Between Coral Reefs and Diamonds
What do coral reefs and diamonds have in common? They are both being used as… memorials.
You can now have a synthetic diamond created from a loved one’s remains (their hair or their ashes). The process takes three weeks to three months, and the diamond can be mounted in a piece of jewelry or kept loose and displayed. The pioneering Swiss company Algordanza (which means “remembrance”) produces about 60 of these diamonds a month, and does 40 percent of its business in Japan. LifeGem (in the U.S.) and Phoenix Diamond (in England) offer similar services.
Another unorthodox way to remember a loved one is with a reef memorial. An underwater tomb created by Great Burial Reef – which becomes part of a sustainable coral reef system – might be especially appropriate for someone who loved the ocean.
(Source: Reuters, greatburialreef.com)
== Highly Recommended ==
How the Global Economy + the Internet = a Richer YOU
When “they” said the global economy changed things, they weren’t kidding. It’s easier than ever to make money – potentially A LOT of money – in this new online business that harnesses the full power of the Internet.
Right now, for a small investment (as little as $50), you can purchase in-demand products for pennies on the dollar. Next step? Sell to eager consumers for as much as 1,000% – 4,000% higher, which is exactly what the consumers are already accustomed to paying!
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Word to the Wise: Cri de Coeur
A “cri de coeur” (KREE duh KUR) – French for “cry of the heart” – is an anguished cry of distress or indignation.
Example (as used by Joyce Carol Oates in The New York Times): “The tersely titled Prep is not a brilliantly corrosive adolescent cri de coeur like J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye… .”
Who says that the Farmer’s Almanac has been right 80% of the time and what is the definition of right? Do they adjust for natural gas consuming regions vs. the heating oil consuming regions? It has been a “hot summer”, but in the areas where hydro is a big producer. Finally, natural gas production is up 8% year to date vs. a 9 year average of being flat. How cold does cold have to be before it brings down inventory to get nat gas — spot down 40% plus since July – to a level where prices start moving up again?