Now that I have a bit more free time on my hands, each week I am doing a bit more to give back on various forums. I personally am spending more time on the Warrior Forum because there are a few people their who really no their stuff, but that's another story.
The reason why I mention the Warrior Forum bit is because if you are a noob you need to get in the habit of using various sources of information - BASED ON YOUR OWN OPINION AND NOT WHAT SOMEONE ELSE SAYS....
There are idiots on Warrior Forum who talk about WF, just like their are idiots here who talk about it over there.
The point is your only allegiance should be to:
-the monthly direct deposits you get each week
-industry experts who provide you with sound advice that consistently produces great results for you
-your own testing and experience....
So let's get started, shall we?
First of all, one thing people don't seem to be aware of is that there is a BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN:
A) ONLINE MARKETING
B) ONLINE SALES
You NEED to know the difference.
Online marketing (like traditional marketing) is the process of generating demand, interest and viewed most fundamentally, QUALIFIED LEADS FOR A PRODUCT SELLER.
Online sales is the process that occurs when a product seller turns a lead into a buyer.
There are 6 Major Steps in a Sales process:
1) Prospecting
2) Initial Contact (and why you are only "making money online" vs. "building a real business" you can sell for delicious multiples down the line if you are not CAPTURING emails or other contact information)
3) Sales Presentation
4) Handling Objections
5) Closing the Sales/Final Negotiation
6) FOLLOW UP (where most businesses make their money. That is why companies PAY AFFILIATES IN THE FIRST PLACE...because they realize the bulk of lifetime customer value happens AFTER THE FIRST SALE OR WHEN THE LEAD IS GENERATED)
To maximize your profits online, you need to understand there are only (3) variables that will effect your success or failure:
a) Traffic
b) the Product
c) your Conversions
Stated differently:
(Traffic) + (Product/Service) + (Conversion) = Profits/$$
One of the great errors I see (and truth be told I made it myself until only a while ago), is that most people focus on the TWO FACTORS THAT MATTER THE LEAST:
-Traffic
-Product
You see, when it comes to traffic and products, you can
build traffic (ex. seo)
buy traffic (ex. ppc, media buys, ezine ads, etc)
or
you could BORROW TRAFFIC (this has the highest ROI, and the lowest start up costs and can be scaled almost instantly, and is the fastest).
Now I won't go into the traffic borrowing bit (ex. coregistration, JV offers with high traffic partners, etc) but just assume that traffic is not your problem....
When it comes to an offer, you can borrow an offer as in an affiliate offer, build your own (ex. product) or buy your own product (as in get someone else to develop a product on a per-hire basis that you sell).
You see, the average internet sales page converts at 1-5%.
However, even a mediocre squeeze page can convert at 30%.
But the results get more striking. The average FOLLOW UP or UPSELL converts at 40%!
Do you understand the power of this?
This is why you go to McDonald's and they say "would you like a large fry for xyz more"
or you go to the movies and buy a medium popcorn and they say "would you like a large one for just abc more"....
Most people try to GENERATE MORE PROFIT BY MASS TRAFFIC GENERATION!
This is alot of work!
Everyday chasing unique visitor, after unique visitor.
It is 10x easier to turn a unique visitor ---> to a lead/prospect/subscriber
and a
And it is 10x easier to turn a lead/prospect/subscriber ---> into a Sale.
While of course for the most part we all want more traffic, the reality of the situation is that
a) you have far more control over conversions than you do traffic (which is constrained by what others do)
b) With a few adjustments you can increase your conversions by 100, 200, 500, 800%.
A FEW ADJUSTMENTS!
If you have a site that is getting 1000 visitors a day, how much work would it take to get to 10,000 visitors a day?
However, if you have an offer that is converting at 1%, do you know that you can do a few simple things and get that offer to convert at 10%?
Think about it for a second....
a) No more maxing out your credit card
b) no more chasing backlinks
c) no more fussing over this page element or that page element (because even a mediocre lead generation/squeeze page can convert at 30%)
Does this mean that you shouldn't use PPC or SEO or any other traffic generation for you business?
NO!
What this DOES MEAN is that now you see the difference between
a) Marketing (or generating demand through mass traffic generation)
and
b) Sales (CONVERTING prospects into REPEAT BUYERS)
Which reminds me, have you seen the GREATEST SQUEEZE PAGE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD?!
It's Facebook.com
Noticed the difference between Facebook and other social networking sites.
From STEP ONE, THEY ARE WORKING ON TURNING
Prospects ----> into Buyers
THIS IS SALES!
Want to know how?
The first step of the sales process is "prospecting" or qualifying leads.
This simply means finding out about a person to see if they have the interest or ability to pay.
When you log onto Facebook.com you are asked:
a) Name (of course this is needed for database marketing where they personalize every piece of correspondense to you with th {firstname_fix} tag. According to some research by Getresponse.com personalization can increase sales conversions by 100%}
b) Birthday which gives Age (we all know that certain products/services are targeted towards certain demographics like teenagers, 25-34, etc)
c) Sex/Gender (further prospecting/profiling of sales leads)
Anyway, I could go on and on here but I won't. I'm going to throw out some names of people who knoow 1000% more than I do on some of these issues and alot of these people you have probably never heard before.
Yet they have businesses that have been online for 10+ years - and they are businesses that are worth 8 figures. I would really suggest checking out some of the free blog posts or products fo these guys.
Alot of these guys sell products in the $497 to $1997 and they are often worth 2x that....
The problem is you need to know what to do with them or else you will lose your money.
Please notice that:
a) I have not included any affiliate links because i'm not pimping anything
b) Other than entertaining myself here, I am doing this as a form of practice because I'm working on some non IM related projects for which press interviews are necessary and a person has to practice the process of engaging the reader (this is my "payoff")
Here are are some "names" or sources:
1) Charlie Page
2) Robert Puddy
3) Jimmy D Brown
4) Mark Ling
5) Virtually on Sales by Brian Tracy
6) Michelle Berquist (check out her book or guest podcast "How to Build a Million Dollar Database"....you can google it)
7) Frank Kern. Yes he is loved and hated. But he one of the guys behind the IM campaign that recently launched Tony Robbinson's new NBC show, so if you don't study the methodology of this guy you aren't thinking too clearly....
To sum everything up I say this:
a) If you are doing Affiliate Marketing, you need to understand the economics behind why companies pay you in the first place. When you do this you'll realize the veracity of what I've written here
b) You need to start capturing the contact information of every single unique visitor who gets in front of your web properties....
Why?
Because it is so much easier to turn a visitor ---> into a prospect
and a
Prospect ---> Into a sale
If you haven't collected any contact information:
a) you won't be able do any repeat sales
b) the kind of high conversions that occur where you are getting 10, 30, 40, even 50% of people you come in contact with to buy, ONLY HAPPENS THROUGH FOLLOW UP.
Did you know that something like 80% of a sale Happens after the 7-15% exposure that a consumer has?
Wouldn't it be great if you busted your ass for say 6 months or a year then you freed yourself from being a TRAFFIC SLAVE?
What do I mean by that?
I mean you could go from "wanting" to "needing" traffic.
What this means is that in the absence of more and more traffic to your site, you could generate more sales by SELLING MORE TO YOUR PRE-EXISTING CONTACT BASE, vs. UNIQUE BUYERS.
And this works whether or not your sell your own product, do cpa offers or an affiliate on a cost per sale basis.
I hope you get the monumental importance of what I'm saying here.
The bad news is that probably 95% of the people who read this will say "hey that makes alot of sense" then continue on with business as usual....
The good news is you could be one of the 1-5% who does something as simple as :
a) getting a reasonable email marketing service like the dozens out there - just ask someone on here who's an affiliate and use their link
b) set up say a 7 email autoresponder series to warm up your list ahead of time and develop a relationship with them (out of sight=out of mind. Imagine if you called a girl you met at a club or bar or whatever 3 months after you met and said "hey wanna go out?" She's be like wtf is up with this kook? However, if you guys had 7 days of really good phone conversation when you first met, even if you didn't contact her until a few weeks or months later, chances are she'd remember you favorably. The same with your optins. Don't make the mistake of just capturing emails then "getting to it later" when it comes to the follow up sequence).
To make that easier just write something like "7 Tips to [Niche" or "7 Secrets to [Niche]"
If you get too lazy just go to ezinearticles and grab some articles there.
I hope this helps some people and good luck.
The reason why I mention the Warrior Forum bit is because if you are a noob you need to get in the habit of using various sources of information - BASED ON YOUR OWN OPINION AND NOT WHAT SOMEONE ELSE SAYS....
There are idiots on Warrior Forum who talk about WF, just like their are idiots here who talk about it over there.
The point is your only allegiance should be to:
-the monthly direct deposits you get each week
-industry experts who provide you with sound advice that consistently produces great results for you
-your own testing and experience....
So let's get started, shall we?
First of all, one thing people don't seem to be aware of is that there is a BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN:
A) ONLINE MARKETING
B) ONLINE SALES
You NEED to know the difference.
Online marketing (like traditional marketing) is the process of generating demand, interest and viewed most fundamentally, QUALIFIED LEADS FOR A PRODUCT SELLER.
Online sales is the process that occurs when a product seller turns a lead into a buyer.
There are 6 Major Steps in a Sales process:
1) Prospecting
2) Initial Contact (and why you are only "making money online" vs. "building a real business" you can sell for delicious multiples down the line if you are not CAPTURING emails or other contact information)
3) Sales Presentation
4) Handling Objections
5) Closing the Sales/Final Negotiation
6) FOLLOW UP (where most businesses make their money. That is why companies PAY AFFILIATES IN THE FIRST PLACE...because they realize the bulk of lifetime customer value happens AFTER THE FIRST SALE OR WHEN THE LEAD IS GENERATED)
To maximize your profits online, you need to understand there are only (3) variables that will effect your success or failure:
a) Traffic
b) the Product
c) your Conversions
Stated differently:
(Traffic) + (Product/Service) + (Conversion) = Profits/$$
One of the great errors I see (and truth be told I made it myself until only a while ago), is that most people focus on the TWO FACTORS THAT MATTER THE LEAST:
-Traffic
-Product
You see, when it comes to traffic and products, you can
build traffic (ex. seo)
buy traffic (ex. ppc, media buys, ezine ads, etc)
or
you could BORROW TRAFFIC (this has the highest ROI, and the lowest start up costs and can be scaled almost instantly, and is the fastest).
Now I won't go into the traffic borrowing bit (ex. coregistration, JV offers with high traffic partners, etc) but just assume that traffic is not your problem....
When it comes to an offer, you can borrow an offer as in an affiliate offer, build your own (ex. product) or buy your own product (as in get someone else to develop a product on a per-hire basis that you sell).
You see, the average internet sales page converts at 1-5%.
However, even a mediocre squeeze page can convert at 30%.
But the results get more striking. The average FOLLOW UP or UPSELL converts at 40%!
Do you understand the power of this?
This is why you go to McDonald's and they say "would you like a large fry for xyz more"
or you go to the movies and buy a medium popcorn and they say "would you like a large one for just abc more"....
Most people try to GENERATE MORE PROFIT BY MASS TRAFFIC GENERATION!
This is alot of work!
Everyday chasing unique visitor, after unique visitor.
It is 10x easier to turn a unique visitor ---> to a lead/prospect/subscriber
and a
And it is 10x easier to turn a lead/prospect/subscriber ---> into a Sale.
While of course for the most part we all want more traffic, the reality of the situation is that
a) you have far more control over conversions than you do traffic (which is constrained by what others do)
b) With a few adjustments you can increase your conversions by 100, 200, 500, 800%.
A FEW ADJUSTMENTS!
If you have a site that is getting 1000 visitors a day, how much work would it take to get to 10,000 visitors a day?
However, if you have an offer that is converting at 1%, do you know that you can do a few simple things and get that offer to convert at 10%?
Think about it for a second....
a) No more maxing out your credit card
b) no more chasing backlinks
c) no more fussing over this page element or that page element (because even a mediocre lead generation/squeeze page can convert at 30%)
Does this mean that you shouldn't use PPC or SEO or any other traffic generation for you business?
NO!
What this DOES MEAN is that now you see the difference between
a) Marketing (or generating demand through mass traffic generation)
and
b) Sales (CONVERTING prospects into REPEAT BUYERS)
Which reminds me, have you seen the GREATEST SQUEEZE PAGE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD?!
It's Facebook.com
Noticed the difference between Facebook and other social networking sites.
From STEP ONE, THEY ARE WORKING ON TURNING
Prospects ----> into Buyers
THIS IS SALES!
Want to know how?
The first step of the sales process is "prospecting" or qualifying leads.
This simply means finding out about a person to see if they have the interest or ability to pay.
When you log onto Facebook.com you are asked:
a) Name (of course this is needed for database marketing where they personalize every piece of correspondense to you with th {firstname_fix} tag. According to some research by Getresponse.com personalization can increase sales conversions by 100%}
b) Birthday which gives Age (we all know that certain products/services are targeted towards certain demographics like teenagers, 25-34, etc)
c) Sex/Gender (further prospecting/profiling of sales leads)
Anyway, I could go on and on here but I won't. I'm going to throw out some names of people who knoow 1000% more than I do on some of these issues and alot of these people you have probably never heard before.
Yet they have businesses that have been online for 10+ years - and they are businesses that are worth 8 figures. I would really suggest checking out some of the free blog posts or products fo these guys.
Alot of these guys sell products in the $497 to $1997 and they are often worth 2x that....
The problem is you need to know what to do with them or else you will lose your money.
Please notice that:
a) I have not included any affiliate links because i'm not pimping anything
b) Other than entertaining myself here, I am doing this as a form of practice because I'm working on some non IM related projects for which press interviews are necessary and a person has to practice the process of engaging the reader (this is my "payoff")
Here are are some "names" or sources:
1) Charlie Page
2) Robert Puddy
3) Jimmy D Brown
4) Mark Ling
5) Virtually on Sales by Brian Tracy
6) Michelle Berquist (check out her book or guest podcast "How to Build a Million Dollar Database"....you can google it)
7) Frank Kern. Yes he is loved and hated. But he one of the guys behind the IM campaign that recently launched Tony Robbinson's new NBC show, so if you don't study the methodology of this guy you aren't thinking too clearly....
To sum everything up I say this:
a) If you are doing Affiliate Marketing, you need to understand the economics behind why companies pay you in the first place. When you do this you'll realize the veracity of what I've written here
b) You need to start capturing the contact information of every single unique visitor who gets in front of your web properties....
Why?
Because it is so much easier to turn a visitor ---> into a prospect
and a
Prospect ---> Into a sale
If you haven't collected any contact information:
a) you won't be able do any repeat sales
b) the kind of high conversions that occur where you are getting 10, 30, 40, even 50% of people you come in contact with to buy, ONLY HAPPENS THROUGH FOLLOW UP.
Did you know that something like 80% of a sale Happens after the 7-15% exposure that a consumer has?
Wouldn't it be great if you busted your ass for say 6 months or a year then you freed yourself from being a TRAFFIC SLAVE?
What do I mean by that?
I mean you could go from "wanting" to "needing" traffic.
What this means is that in the absence of more and more traffic to your site, you could generate more sales by SELLING MORE TO YOUR PRE-EXISTING CONTACT BASE, vs. UNIQUE BUYERS.
And this works whether or not your sell your own product, do cpa offers or an affiliate on a cost per sale basis.
I hope you get the monumental importance of what I'm saying here.
The bad news is that probably 95% of the people who read this will say "hey that makes alot of sense" then continue on with business as usual....
The good news is you could be one of the 1-5% who does something as simple as :
a) getting a reasonable email marketing service like the dozens out there - just ask someone on here who's an affiliate and use their link
b) set up say a 7 email autoresponder series to warm up your list ahead of time and develop a relationship with them (out of sight=out of mind. Imagine if you called a girl you met at a club or bar or whatever 3 months after you met and said "hey wanna go out?" She's be like wtf is up with this kook? However, if you guys had 7 days of really good phone conversation when you first met, even if you didn't contact her until a few weeks or months later, chances are she'd remember you favorably. The same with your optins. Don't make the mistake of just capturing emails then "getting to it later" when it comes to the follow up sequence).
To make that easier just write something like "7 Tips to [Niche" or "7 Secrets to [Niche]"
If you get too lazy just go to ezinearticles and grab some articles there.
I hope this helps some people and good luck.
