Making Money With a Small, Responsive List
Archives: Daily Issues
- WEALTHY: Earn what you want to earn (Jason Holland)
- HEALTHY: Are you too old for resistance training? (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Mark Twain on competition
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to make small as profitable as big (Brian T. Edmondson)
- Fees, schmees! (Lori Allen)
- It’s Fun to Know… about Janus words (Suzanne Richardson)
- Add “surly” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
A Who’s Who of World-Class Marketing Experts
You are hereby invited to join Early to Rise in Delray Beach, Florida this November for our Information Marketing Bootcamp: “The Internet Ultimatum: Zero to $1.2 Million In 12 Months Flat”.
The premise is simple: Come with (or even without!) a specific idea for launching your own start-up business… or exploding you existing business… and you’ll leave with all the information you need for building that business into a raging river of cash through the power of Information Marketing.
And specifically, you’ll leave with at least a dozen ideas for taking your new or existing business to an extra $1.2 million or more over the next twelve months… and then to $10 million and beyond.
We’ve got a who’s who of world-class Internet Marketing experts lined up for you, including Yanik Silver… Howie Jacobson… Rich Schefren… Bob Bly… Buck Rizvi… Alex Mandossian… and many, many more.
Check out the full lineup here.
You Determine Your Income
Do you think you’re making enough money? About half of American employees believe they are underpaid, according to a recent survey done by Salary.com. Yet the same survey found that only 22 percent really were underpaid as compared to industry standards.
Although your salary may be “fair” in terms of the national average for others doing similar jobs, I’m guessing it’s still not as high as you would like. Fortunately, you can boost your earnings by taking a few simple steps.
Step one is to convince your boss that you deserve a big, fat raise. And the way to do that is by turning yourself into an invaluable worker.
Consider this section from Michael Masterson’s hit book Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting Out:
- An ordinary worker works the way most workers do.
- An extraordinary worker does substantially more than the average worker.
- An invaluable worker makes such a significant contribution to the company that losing him or her would be considered a major financial misfortune.
How do you become an invaluable worker?
Start by developing a skill that directly affects your company’s bottom line: sales, marketing, product development, or profit management. And while you’re working on mastering that skill, prove yourself to be an exemplary employee. That means coming in early and staying late. Asking to take on extra duties, responsibilities, and projects. And generally exhibiting a can-do attitude. Your boss is sure to appreciate your efforts – and will reward you in your pay envelope.
So, if you want to make more money, that’s the first step.
The second step is to start your own business. And the smart way to do it is with Michael Masterson’s “chicken entrepreneurship” approach. In other words, instead of quitting your job, get a second stream of income going in your spare time. If your business idea is a hit, you can enjoy a double salary or quit your nine-to-five and become a 24/7 entrepreneur. If your business idea is a miss, you’ve still got your steady job to fall back on.
[Ed. Note: The easiest way to become a chicken entrepreneur is to start an Internet business in a field you know. In fact, you could be making between $100,000 and $1.2 million in one year with your own online business. Learn how here.]
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Mark Twain
Making Money With a Small, Responsive List
If you’ve been online for any amount of time, you’ve probably come across the phrase “The money is in the list.” This, of course, refers to the database of names, e-mail addresses, and other information you may collect from customers and prospective customers. Building a list is the core principle behind the Early to Rise / Agora Model of Internet Marketing.
All other things being equal, the bigger your list, the more money you will make. That’s great news for marketers and list owners who have thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
But what if you are just getting started and don’t have a big list? Can you still make money with a small list?
The answer to that question is a resounding yes.
In fact, I personally experienced this when I first started marketing online. In one month, I was able to generate over $15,000 in sales with a list of only about 1,200 subscribers. And I built another small list (about 5,000 subscribers) that was able to generate six figures yearly.
You see, there is another key factor that determines how much money you can make with a list, other than its size. And that is the responsiveness of the list. Usually, in Internet marketing, responsiveness refers to how many people are opening your e-mails, clicking on your links, and taking action on what you want them to do (subscribing to your newsletter, for example, or making a purchase). The more people who do these things, the more “responsive” your list is.
Many things factor into building a responsive list – but one of best ways to increase its responsiveness is by developing a personal relationship with your subscribers.
The easier you make it for them to know, like, and trust you, the more likely they will be to open your e-mails, click on your links, and purchase the products you are selling or recommending.
So, in today’s digital world, how, exactly, do you develop a relationship with the people on your list?
Here are three specific things you can start doing right away to help create a bond with the users on the other end of your websites and e-mails and, thus, increase the responsiveness (and profitability) of your list.
• First, get personal.
Whenever you are writing copy for your website or an e-mail that you’ll be sending to your list, write it as if you were having a conversation with your reader, face to face. And look for ways to incorporate your personal story and your own personality into the copy.
I make my websites and e-letters personal by keeping my readers updated on where I am and what I’m doing. I also share information about my background (such as the fact that I’m a Penn State grad – Go Lions!), as well as my opinions on current news and events.
A good format is to start your e-mails with a quick personal update, then go into your content or sales message. And the “About” page on your website is a great place to share personal background information.
(Keep in mind that Early to Rise started out as a personal e-letter from Michael Masterson to a few of his colleagues.)
• Second, put a face to the name.
Be sure to have at least one photo of yourself on your website. Your readers want to know that there is a real person at the other end. See how Early to Rise does this with their Meet the Experts page. http://www.earlytorise.com/meet-the-experts/
Another good example is the way Alex Green uses a photo of himself with his two kids on his Spiritual Wealth website and at the bottom of each issue of his newsletter. A really effective “personal touch.”
• Third, use video.
Having video on your website is one of the best ways to connect with visitors (other than meeting them in person and shaking their hands). Soon enough, online video will be the rule, not the exception – because it’s not as expensive or as difficult as it used to be.
One tool to try is the Flip – an inexpensive camera you can use to record video and upload it to your website with the click of a button. You can see an example of how I use video, as well as the two other tactics discussed above, on my personal blog.
All three of these simple strategies can help you and your website stand out in a cold and crowded digital world. By taking advantage of them, you’ll quickly discover that while it’s true that “the money is in the list,” there is more money in your relationship with the people on that list.
[Ed. Note: As Internet marketing expert Brian Edmondson says, it IS possible to make serious money online, even if your e-mail list is still small. Brian - who is also Director of ETR's Internet Money Club will be speaking at ETR's 2008 Information Marketing Bootcamp this November. And he's not the only one. 11 other money-making experts have agreed to our "Internet Ultimatum." Learn how you could be making $1.2 million by the end of 2009 right here.]
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Why Gas Prices and Airline Fees Shouldn’t Stop You From Traveling
By Lori Allen
High gas prices and rising airline fees may be keeping you closer to home than you’d like to be… but they shouldn’t.
Sure, it’s easy to complain about the extra $15-$20 many airlines are tacking on for “premium” seats and checked bags. But don’t let that turn you off. Because, really, when you put things in perspective, flying is still a bargain. And the experiences you’re rewarded with when you hop on a plane and visit an exciting city are priceless.
It’s even easier to be up in arms about the price of gas. But when I compare what it cost me to drive from D.C. to South Carolina last year to what it will cost me this year, I’m looking at a $17 bump. And I’d be a fool to let that keep me home. I spend more than that on a bottle of wine.
Meanwhile, if you look around, you’ll find that hotels, travel websites, and rental car agencies are making it even easier for you to ignore those increases by putting a nice marketing spin on them in a bid to keep your business.
For example, Expedia.com now offers a free $25-$75 gas card when you book your hotel stay through them. And most Loews and Kimpton hotels have introduced a “baggage buy-back rebate program,” which reimburses guests for their checked-baggage fees.
Those are just two examples. You’ll find more if you Google “free gas card hotel” and “checked-bag rebate.”
[Ed. Note: Truth is, high gas prices and checked-bag fees may be troublesome for some, but not for people who have a "Get Paid to Travel" plan. To find out more about how to defray some of your travel costs, sign up to receive The Right Way to Travel free e-letter.
When you reach a certain income level, small price increases just don't matter. Learn how you can make between $100,000 and $1.2 million in 2009 right here.]
How to Save Your Muscle & Your Metabolism
It’s a scary statistic. You could lose several pounds of muscle per decade after age 30… and more if you diet. As a result of that muscle loss, your metabolism slows down, your risk of falls and injury increases – and do I even have to mention the dramatic decline in the appearance of your beach body?
All of that can be avoided.
According to a study in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, adding strength training to a low-calorie diet plan can help reduce muscle loss as you age.
The subjects in this 6-month study included 30 obese men and women with an average age of 70. They were divided into two groups. One group followed a low-calorie diet. The other group followed the same diet, but also performed progressively difficult resistance-training exercises.
The results were shocking. Both groups lost over 14.9 pounds of fat. However, the exercise group lost only 4 pounds of fat-free mass (which includes muscle), while the diet group lost 7.7 pounds of fat-free mass. And although the exercise group did lose some muscle, they still increased their strength by 17-43 percent, an essential defense against potentially deadly falls.
[Ed. Note: Resistance training is a good way to build muscle and increase your strength at any age. Discover new exercises with fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training for Fat Loss program.
And be sure to share your weight-loss and fitness techniques... and get some motivation in the process... on ETR's SpeakOut Forum. Join the conversation right here.]
Its Fun to Know: Janus Words
Its an understatement to say that the English language is complicated. And in an e-mail to ETRs usage expert, Don Hauptman, Charlie Byrne raised one of our languages most prickly problems: words with contradictory meanings.
“Saturday evening, I was grilling my wifes favorite dish, cedar plank salmon, when I decided it would look nice with a fresh parsley garnish,” Charlie wrote to Don. “And thats when I realized what an odd word garnish is. When you garnish a prepared dish, you are ADDING something to it. But when the IRS or the court garnishes your wages, they are TAKING SOMETHING AWAY.
“Strange, eh?”
Dons response to Charlie put a name to this phenomenon. “There is an entire category of these seemingly contradictory words,” he said. “Theyre called Janus words or contronyms.”
Some other examples of Janus words:
- cleave (to stick together – or to cut apart)
- sanction (to endorse – or a punitive action)
- temper (to soften or mollify – or to strengthen, as with a metal)
- handicap (an advantage, as in golf – or a disadvantage)
- lease (to borrow or hire – or to lend or rent out)
[Ed. Note: You probably use Janus words every day. Share your favorite example in our comments section here.]
== Highly Recommended ==
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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: Surly
“Surly” – from the Middle English for “lordly” – means ill-humored; sullen and gruff.
Example (as used by John LHeureux in Having Everything): “Maggie drank a little too much and got surly and made snide comments during the final toast.”
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
suzanne,
Why ‘Janus,’ what did he/she do, or is this an acronym?
Was that an actual person?
Janus word, I believe, is named for an ancient Roman god.
According to my copy of Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Janus was “the god of light who opened the sky at daybreak and closed it at sunset, in time he came to preside over all beginnings and endings, all entrances and exits. He is often represented as having two faces, one in front and one behind, one to see into the future and one to see into the past.”
Since Janus represented two contradictory things at the same time, his name lends itself well to words that have opposite meanings.
I’ve also heard Janus words referred to as “contranyms,” “autoantonyms,” and “antilogies.”
“garnishes” as to wages shoulde be ‘garnishees” it’s a French word, which is why the e on garnishe is silent, but the action has a double e …
Some of my pet hates are the use of “on” …(on) up the road/mountain etc … where else would you be but ON the road/nountain if your going up it? This situation occurs far too often with US authors in particular …
Another is the use of “slack” … since when is rain or fog under tension? They have density, so ease or lift. Only items under tension can “slacken” or otherwise loosen …
And since when does a hill et al have a “back” side? They may have backs, but sides?
Shall I keep going?
Contronyms – how about blunt (dull – to the point), bolt (to fasten – to run away), clip (fasten together – cut out.
As for pet peeves, one of mine (I have many) is the use of ‘of’ when it it not needed, as in: he jumped off of the chair (of is redundent here); outside of the US – of is only needed when outside is used as an adjective as in ‘he painted the outside of the house’ in the US case, outside is a preposition and does not take of.
How about “custom”? The custom of a culture is universal while a custom hot rod is unique.