There are thousands of courses you can buy that will tell you how to make money online. But there is only one method – sell something to someone.
That’s it – that’s the ‘secret’ to making money online.
And once you know the ‘secret,’ it’s just a matter of deciding what you’re going to sell and who you’re going to sell it to.
The easiest way to do that? If you already know the basics of marketing, then probably the easiest method is to turn off your Internet connection and just get busy.
Because building your online business while buying every IM program that comes along is a lot like trying to get across town when you’ve got a hundred people telling you different ways to get there.
“You gotta have the right shoes or you’re not gonna make it – buy these.”
“You better buy our raincoat, it could rain and then you’d be in trouble”
“Dude, use my method and you can avoid the ugly side of town.”
“Take my shuttle bus and it will get you there faster.”
“Go talk to my friend Joe and he’ll fix you right up, only $9.99.”
“You better buy my car because otherwise it will take you forever to get there and besides, it will pay for itself.”
“Forget the car, take my limo and we’ll do the driving for you.”
“Limos are too slow and cumbersome, buy our jet plane. You’re guaranteed to get there fast.”
“That is way too complicated, just ride our camel, he already knows the way.”
“Look, that destination is over-saturated and it’s too late to go there. Here’s where you should go instead, and don’t worry – this way works for everyone.”
And so forth.
Pretty soon you’re so confused you don’t know what to do. Meanwhile, the gal who chose her path and ignored the rest has already arrived at her destination. She’s sipping pina coladas and wondering why everyone says it’s so hard to get to where she is. And she’s looking for you… only you’re not there yet.
Get the point? Choose a method, get busy and stay focused until you get there. The rest will take care of itself.
Long story short – people buy based on the benefits, and then they justify their decision based on the features. That’s why you need both to sell.
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No one buys a lawn mower because it has a big engine – he buys it because he can cut his lawn in half the time and spend twice as much time golfing. He buys it because he can cut even the tallest grass without stalling out and making himself look like an idiot for not cutting his grass sooner. And he buys it because something this big and powerful can only make him look bigger and more powerful to his neighbors and his wife (or so he hopes).
But when he’s bragging about his new mower to their next door neighbor, he’s talking about how much horsepower that baby has, how it’s made out of the same metal as the space shuttle, and how a team of 4 inspectors go over the entire mower three times before it leaves the factory.
These features are his justification, and they’re nearly as important as the original benefits that made him buy in the first place. They’re the reason he can justify the thousand dollar purchase to himself and to his wife, and justify why he doesn’t return it for something smaller and cheaper they can actually afford.
Now let’s put this whole features and benefits thing on steroids…
Features are useful, but by themselves they won’t sell a thing. Benefits are terrific, and by themselves they will sell stuff. But without the features, you’ll get a lot of buyer’s remorse and refunds.
BUT… if you add EMOTION to the equation, you put your entire selling process on steroids. That’s because while people think in terms of logic (or to be more accurate, they believe they are thinking in terms of logic) it’s their emotions that weigh in most when it’s time to make a decision.
Emotion SELLS.
Thus, the more you can tap into your prospects’ emotional wants, the more they will respond to your offers.
And the best way to get at their emotions is to go all the way. Don’t stop with just the obvious stuff, dig deeper.
Let’s use an example: You’re selling a weight loss product. You could say, “Take this pill, lose weight.” Losing the weight is the direct benefit of taking the pills. But that’s what everyone in the marketplace is saying. Plus, you’re not tapping into your prospect’s emotions, are you?
Instead, dig deeper and find the indirect benefits. What happens when they lose weight?
They have more energy
Stamina increases
Higher self esteem
More confidence
Better dates with sexier people
More outgoing and social
Looks better
Feels better
Stronger
Better able to take on life’s challenges
Less jealous of others (now they’re jealous of YOU)
Happier
Healthier
Live longer
And so forth.
NOW you’re tapping into the REAL emotions behind losing weight.
Take it one step further, and put them directly into the picture. Don’t tell them they’ll have more confidence. Instead, ask him to imagine what it will be like when his confidence is so high, he can walk into a room of beautiful women and ask the most gorgeous one on a date, and she’ll say YES.
Or ask her what it will feel like when every eye in the room turns towards her – knowing all the men want her, and all the women wish they were her.
You may have noticed that Internet marketing goes through phases where everyone seems to be jumping on the same bandwagon. That wagon might be the latest, greatest social network. It might be paid newsletters or membership sites or video marketing or…
You get the point. There are times when it seems everyone is coming out with a new product that does basically the same thing as the previous dozen products, and they’re all competing against each other for customers.
This is when you can be a copycat or smart cookie. Let’s say the newest, greatest thing is $10 a month paid newsletters. (Yes, I know that was a number of years ago, but this is just an example.)
The copy cats observe that courses on how to write and sell little newsletters for small prices to lots of people are selling like hotcakes. And because they’re copycats, they create their own courses and jump into the selling fray. The competition gets stiffer and stiffer and soon underhanded techniques are being used, prices are being slashed, and everything is downhill from there.
Just like the copycats, the smart cookies watch to see what’s happening in the market. But instead of jumping in like everyone else, they sit back and ask, “What do these people need that I can provide?”
In the case of the paid mini-newsletters, there are now tons of customers who bought or are about to buy the newsletter courses who are going to need:
Membership software
A list of profitable topics
A list of places to find their prospects
Content for their newsletters
Sales copy for their sales letters and sales videos
Etc.
And this is what the smart cookie does. She doesn’t try to compete with the dozens of people selling the “how to” courses on mini-newsletters. Instead, she looks to see how she can complement what everyone else is doing.
In this manner every customer of ANY product teaching how to run these newsletters becomes her target prospect. She’s not competing with the course sellers. In fact, she’s often working hand in hand to provide their customers with exactly what they want and need to make their new businesses work.
The customers are happy. The people selling the courses are happy. And she’s rolling in the dough because she took a step back from the fray and asked, “What can I do to complement this trend, rather than compete in it?”
Next time you notice a trend, don’t compete. Instead, find ways to help both the sellers and the customers of this trend, and watch your bank account grow as you fulfill customer’s needs and desires.
If you’re selling big ticket items, you’re leaving a tremendous amount of money on the table if you’re not sending your prospects something in the mail. Think about it – anyone and everyone can send an email, but how many sellers reach out via the postal mail to give their prospects something tangible they can hold in their hands?
Better still, “snail” mail can’t be deleted at the click of a button. And if you make it enticing enough, physical mail gets read and acted upon.
So what should you send to your prospects? According to Dave Dee, you should send a packet of info that includes the following:
– A checklist. For example, if you’re selling a service then you would send a checklist entitled: 7 things you should look for when hiring a _____. This way YOU set the buying criteria and you tell the prospect what to look for.
Now here’s the trick – at least ONE of those 7 things must be something that ONLY YOU do. Maybe you provide a service no one else provides, or you do it in a way like no other. Or perhaps your guarantee is unparalleled. Or you offer a free bonus service that everyone else charges for. Or perhaps you have qualifications or proven results that no one else has.
Whatever it is, it has to be something that only you have, so that when they go to compare you to others, no one else measures up to you.
– Include a newsletter of your own. It should be 2 pages long, customer oriented and include:
Bullet point tips – these could come from your website or your book – no need to write new ones
1 article which could again come from your website or your book
1 cartoon (get someone on Fiverr to create this)
1 big mistake that people make and how you correct it
Your picture
– A micro sales letter that sells them on the next step in the sales process, whatever that might be. If it’s making a small order, making a phone call, visiting your website – whatever it might be, you want to move them along in the sales process.
If they don’t respond to this package, Dave Dee follows up with these 3 sequential mailings.
First, he sends a gourmet cookie and a letter in a box. He uses a box so the cookie doesn’t get crushed. His letter begins, “As you can see, I’ve included a cookie. Why have I done this? I wanted to catch your attention. As you can see this is a gourmet cookie. It’s different, just like not all (Your profession, service or product) are created equal…” And then he reiterates his offer. This engages all of their senses and who doesn’t love cookies? Is anyone going to throw this in the trash without at least reading it? Highly unlikely. Are they going to remember it (and you) in the days to come? You bet.
Next he sends a fortune telling fish. It’s simply a little plastic fish that moves in your prospect’s hand. You can find these on novelty sites. Depending on the movement of the fish, it tells you something. The chart that goes with it says if it moves up, it means the prospect is going to call you. If it moves to the left, he’s going to hire you today. If it moves right, he’s going to buy your product, and so forth. No matter how fish moves, it’s a similar call to action
The third mailing is an Aspirin with another letter. This letter starts off with, “Do you still have this problem? We can make your headache go away…”
And if Dave still doesn’t get the response or sale he’s looking for, he then follows up with a year of monthly newsletters.
It sounds like a lot to put together, but once you have the system in place you never have to deal with it again. The newsletter can be timeless, so you can continue to run the same 12 issues. And the sales letters stay the same for as long as you’re selling the same product or service.
Your follow up system doesn’t need to be this elaborate, but one good point to take away is this – acting differently from everyone else and being more creative will get you noticed and it will get you business.
Carl was brand new to his niche. He had no authority, credibility or following. He knew no one. Yet within weeks he had sales, clients and JV partners. How did he do it?
By being just a little bit sneaky, yet still 100% ethical and above board.
Carl knew he needed an incentive to get people to join his list. He also knew he needed something to immediately build his credibility online, so people would trust him and buy from him.
What he wanted was something like an online calling card that would educate, entertain and subliminally sell both himself and his forthcoming products and services.
So he decided to do something that might sound a bit strange – he interviewed himself.
That’s right. He wrote down a list of questions from his niche that he knew he could answer really, really well.
Then he recorded his answers to the questions. And while recording, he streamlined the questions, deleted one that didn’t work and added two more that he thought of.
Then he found someone on Fiverr who had a voice that could easily pass for a newscaster or radio personality, and hired him to read the questions he’d written onto an mp3.
And finally he hired someone else on Fiverr to put the recorded questions together with his recorded answers, along with 5 seconds of professional fade-in music at the beginning and 20 seconds at the end.
Now he had his interview. And anyone listening to it would think he was most definitely an authority with a great deal of expertise. Plus he sounded a little bit like a celebrity, which didn’t hurt either.
Carl used this interview to build his list. He also sent the interview to potential JV partners and prospective clients, as well as podcasters. As a result, he received numerous invitations to be interviewed, to do guest posting and to do joint ventures.
And because he sounded like a true authority, his list opened his emails and clicked his links, too.
Please note: Carl never misrepresented himself. He never claimed the interview came from TV or radio. Had someone asked, he would have told them he hired someone to interview him. But interestingly enough, no one but his wife ever asked.
That’s another perk of being viewed as an authority in your niche – prospects already view you as the expert, so you don’t need to prove yourself. Instead, you can focus your time on where it belongs – helping your customers solve their problems.
With these tips you can get more accomplished and grow your online business faster without spending a fortune.
Mind you – some may seem too simple. But years of trial and error have taught me that these methods flat out work at bringing about extraordinary results.
1. Have a Plan – So many new online marketers simply start working on something without knowing where they’re going or what they hope to achieve (other than making money.) I think this is why Internet Marketers tend to hop from one thing to the next and have trouble settling down. But if you simply take the time to write out your plan of action (what you’re going to do and how you’ll do it) in a step-by-step fashion, then you’ll have a guide that you can follow. It will save you so much time and money in the long run, and make things that much easier as well.
2. Narrow Your Niche – One of the biggest mistakes is trying to make everyone your customer. By targeting a niche, it makes it easier for you to find your customers and easier for them to say yes to your offers. One example I like to use is the IM niche itself. If you’re marketing to ALL online marketers, you’ve got a HUGE niche with a lot of competition. But if you focus on teaching chiropractors how to market their businesses online, you’ve now got a tightly focused niche. Rule of thumb: The more focused the niche, the more you can charge for your products and services. Paradoxically your click through and conversion rates will be higher as well; thus you can earn more with fewer customers.
3. Fine Tune Your Slogan – Sure, you’ve picked a great name for your business (I hope) but what about your slogan? This is the sentence or sentence fragment found on your header, and it’s also what you tell people when they ask what you do. It needs to be short, clear and compelling. “Teaching Chiropractors how to optimize their online efforts resulting in a more diversified clientele and enhanced revenue” is NOT a good slogan. “Helping Chiropractors get more clients through simple marketing methods” is much better. It’s clear, it’s direct, the benefit is unmistakable, and it’s how people naturally speak.
4. Reach Out – Find the movers and shakers in your niche and reach out to them. Blog about them, buy their products, get on their mailing lists, and yes, email them. The more people you know in your niche, the better. You can ask them questions, become their affiliate, and eventually ask them to promote your products, but only when you’ve built the relationship.
5. Network at Live Events – Sometimes working online isolates us so much, we forget that there are real live PEOPLE out there who want to meet us. That’s why it’s good to go to as many live events as you can afford, not just for the training that might be offered, but for the networking opportunities. Take a stack of your cards and try to meet as many people as possible. Get their cards, or write down their info if they don’t have a card. One note: Do not try to sell anybody on anything at these events. Your job here is to make contacts – setting up JV’s and such comes later when they know, like and trust you.
6. Follow-up – You know all those business cards you collected at the event? Follow up with each one within seven days to continue building the relationship. Follow up by phone or email, or both. Remind them of your conversation and pick up where you left off.
7. Use Both Sides Of Your Business Card – You’re at events, handing them out anyway – why not use BOTH sides of the card? On the second side you can add a testimonial, a link to a free report, and invitation for a free consultation, etc.
8. Crank Up Your Signature – Use your email signature to promote your business. Name and contact info are a great start, but you need more. For example, add a link to your webpage with an offer for an excellent freebie. And use the offer in your signature line on forums, too, where it’s allowed.
9. Billboard Your Vehicle – If appropriate to your business, get inexpensive vinyl signs for your vehicle’s doors and rear to bring in new customers. Or if it’s in your budget, spring for the full coverage auto graphics that are so eye-catching, like ones you find at adsonwheels.com
10. Focus On The List – Really this should be titled: Become Obsessive About Building Your List With The Highest Quality (Best Targeted) Prospects Possible. Your first priority in list building should be QUALITY, not quantity. That said, don’t miss a chance to add to your list if the prospects are a good fit for your business.
11. Work Your List – Send them great info on a very frequent basis (3 to 5 times per week) so that you become the “go-to expert” in their eyes. Once they know you and trust what you say, you can recommend anything and get a great conversion, so be sure to only recommend the very best products that they will truly benefit from.
12. Create Fun Promotions Around Silly Holidays – While most every business is trying to leverage major holidays into sales and events, you can stand totally apart from the crowd (and avoid the competition on the big holidays) by focusing on the lesser known holidays. For example, Opposite Day, National Hugging Day and Do a Grouch a Favor Day. First, you need to find the holidays… Google something like, “strange holidays” or “weird holidays” or even “crazy holidays.” and you’ll find plenty of options to choose from.
Now choose a holiday that’s coming up soon, and think of how you can design a simple, eye-catching promotion around it. It doesn’t have to be anything too creative. For example, on Opposite Day you could send your list a product that they only pay for after they receive it and if they like it. That would certainly stir up some attention, and if you promote it in advance it could also grow your mailing list.
13. Hold Contests – You might give away your new digital product or anything else your prospects might like, in exchange for whatever you choose. It could be a new sign up to your mailing list, a suggestion for a new product, the answer to a trivia question (not found on the Internet), etc. If your prize is big enough and awesome enough, ask your readers to forward your contest to others in exchange for extra entries, and it could go viral, providing you with hundreds or even thousands of new prospects. And certainly it will help you with getting your name out there as well.
14. Volunteer Your Services – If you provide a service such as building websites or writing sales copy, volunteer to do it for a non-profit and grab yourself some great publicity in the process.
15. Stage a Launch – New product? New website? New service? Create a launch to turn it into a real event that gets people talking.
16. Take a Stand – If you want customers to feel strongly about you and your products, you need to take a strong stand that they can relate to. Most marketers are afraid to take a stand because they’re trying to appeal to everyone. The problem is, when you appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. Guaranteed no matter what your niche might be, there are positions and opinions that you hold that you can share with your readers.
Taking a stand will bond you to the readers who agree. Those who don’t agree will also want to take a position, and in so doing they also bring attention to you. Think Rush Limbaugh – his fans are devoted and his enemies provide him with tons of free publicity. However, you always want to remain 100% professional – do not name call or denigrate others under any circumstance because it will only hurt you if you do.
17. Make Podcasts and Videos – Microphones and video cameras are cheap, and the payback can be huge. By dispensing great info via voice or video, you’re creating Internet ‘ambassadors’ that can bring you new prospects from places you never expected. BONUS: Someone who joins your list after listening to your podcast or watching your video is far more likely to open and read your emails in the future.
18. Build an Alliance With Non-Competitors – Look for non-competitors who service the same niche you do. Make contact and see about promoting each others products to your own lists, thereby expanding both your sales and your list of new customers and prospects.
19. Build an Alliance With Your Competitors – This works especially well in service niches because successful people have more business than they handle. Plus one competitor might specialize in a certain size or type of project that you prefer not to handle and vice versa. When you collaborate with your competitors, you can sometimes surprisingly double your business with very little effort.
20. Add Value – Whether you’re offering an affiliate product, your own product or just giving info away to build your list, add value. In the case of an affiliate offer, give away something that enhances the original product. In the case of your own product, give away the first chapter or two as a sample. And if you’re simply giving something away to build your list or as an added benefit to your readers, give them additional resources where they can get even more great information or the tools they need to implement your strategies.
21. Use Testimonials – Not just testimonials for the specific product you’re promoting, but also testimonials for yourself, your business, and even your methods. For example, you might use the left or right column of all your sales pages and web pages for testimonials from happy customers of all your products. And inside of your sales letters, place testimonials from people who back up what you say, such as experts who’ve done research that corroborate what you’re telling people in your sales message.
22. Ask for Referrals – This is one you want to be consistent on. Ask your readers to pass along your emails (make sure there is a link to your sign-up page) ask followers to retweet your messages, and ask fans to “like” your pages and messages. Next, put a referral program in place that rewards your customers for referring new, paying customers. And lastly, simply make it a policy to consistently ask and remind, in a very friendly, gently manner. Remember to always show your immense appreciation for those customers who do refer new business your way.
23. Do Teleseminars or Webinars – Teleseminars and webinars are excellent ways to connect with your customers and build your lists. You might do Q and A sessions or present a certain topic. Be sure to give lots of information, and save any product pitches for the very end. If you’re doing the webinar for a joint venture partner’s list, be respectful of the opportunity and make your partner look great for having invited you to speak to their people. You’ll build tremendous rapport with your listeners, and if you’ve presented them with great info, they won’t mind a little product pitch at the end.
24. Send Out A Newsletter On A Regular Basis – You might have a list and you might send them offers – but do you send them real news and stuff they can use? If not, you might want to start. By sending them great tips they can use, they will be more likely to open and read your future emails, thus increasing your conversion rates on the offers you do send.
25. Take Your Best Shot – A professional photograph of yourself is something you can use everywhere – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your websites, article directories, business directories, etc. Build recognition by using the same great photo and it will pay off.
26. Blog – If you don’t have a blog yet, start one. Yes, even if you have a website, you should still have a blog because it allows you better connect with your community and create a personal connection. And btw, Google tends to love blogs, so if you set it up correctly you may also find you get some free traffic from your blog efforts.
27. Use Keywords – If you want to get found and ranked by Google, you need to use the keywords that people are looking for and that you have a chance of getting ranked on. It’s not always an easy balance, but investing in a good keyword tool and tutorial can help.
28. Bookmark It – Social bookmarking is a good way to help others find your best articles and blogposts. Join sites such as del.icio.us, reddit, digg and mix, and then bookmark your best stuff as well as other people’s best articles, pins and blog posts.
29. Do Press Releases – Do you have some real news to report? By all means do a press release and publish it on top press release websites.
30. Post in Forums – This comes with one caveat: Monitor the time you spend on forums or it can eat up your entire day. Spending 30 minutes a day posting on the best forums in your niche is a great way to increase your visibility. Add a link to your website in your signature and info about your business in your profile. This way when other forum members find your posts helpful, they’ll have somewhere to go to sign up for your list or just get more information about your business.
31. Capitalize on Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn are great places to find people in your niche, to network and to build your own list. An entire library can be written about using Social Media in your business, so I’m simply adding this one in as a reminder.
As you can see, there are a multitude of ways to promote your business without spending a fortune. An open mind and a little creativity go a long way towards reaching out towards others, thereby getting the business to come to you.
If you market to Internet marketers, you might consider the following: 60-80% of your prospects are currently going through or have just gone through a major life change.
Maybe they were downsized, fired or retired. Maybe something at their job changed and now they want out. Maybe they’re going through a divorce or mid-life crisis. Maybe they have money problems or the opposite – They’ve come into money and want to invest it into an online business.
People who are suddenly looking for ways to make money online have experienced a major shift in their life. They’re probably unhappy with the way things are. They’re looking for guidance on how to make a change. Many of them want money FAST – as in yesterday. They want solutions now. They want to push a button and have it done for them. And if that’s not possible, they want to be told EXACTLY what to do to make it happen.
You can use this information to better communicate with your prospects, to let them know you know what they’re going through, and to show them that it can indeed be done.
And you CAN offer them “push button” solutions, too. The legitimate kind. As an example; “We’ll set up your WordPress site, create your first product in 3 different formats, build your squeeze page, write your autoresponder series and so forth, all for “x” amount of money.” That is truly a push button solution, because they push the “buy now” button and you do everything for them.
Of course, it will be too expensive for many, so you can also offer a downgrade, like this: “Too expensive? Then we can teach you how to do it yourself.” By offering two dramatically different price points, you can appeal to both the people who can afford the real push button method, and those who will have to invest their own work to make it happen. In fact, by wording your offer this way you will often get more sales. Your second option will look so low in price compared to the first option, they will find it difficult to say no.
Another great way to market to new Internet Marketers is to offer micro-continuity products that anyone can afford. For example, instead of charging $100 for your product, charge $9.99 a month. Then give them the option of receiving the entire course now for $89 more. Most will opt for the monthly charge, and a percentage will go for the $89 option because they don’t want to wait.
Once they’ve signed up as members, market other affordable products to them inside your members’ area. Plus, make an offer of a big ticket coaching program where you work with people personally.
You might use the Pareto principle when marketing to the Internet Marketing Community. 20% of your prospects are knowledgeable and perhaps even making money online. The other 80% are new, don’t know a great deal and haven’t yet made their first Dollar, Euro, Pound, Yen, Franc or Rand.
Which brings up my last point – unless you specifically target one geographical area, your market is GLOBAL. Yet the needs are very much the same. People who lose their job in China or Switzerland or Brazil or The United States all have the same concerns and fears – “How do I pay the bills and provide for my family now? What if I can’t? What if I fail to land on my feet?”
It’s scary for them, and what they want most of all is someone to take them by the hand, alleviate their fear and show them the way out of the dark and into the light.
The need for money is universal. Your target market is in distress, and they’re desperately hoping you can provide the very real and legitimate guidance that will see them through their financial crisis. Do so, and you will never want for business or income yourself.
Even the smallest changes can sometimes result in the biggest increases to your conversion rate. Take the headline split test, for example. Headlines A, B and C are tested against each other. Headline A converts at 1%, Headline C converts at 2.5%, and Headline B converts at 4.9%. Hmmm, which one should you pick? The choice is obvious, you go with Headline B.
But what if you hadn’t split tested? You would never have known. Just imagine: You write a terrific headline, which happens to be Headline A. It looks like a sure winner, so you don’t bother to test. And sure enough, it converts at a respectable 1%.
BUT, if you had tested, you would have chosen Headline B. And for every 100 people who hit your site, you would have made 3.9 more sales. If your product sells for $47, that’s another $183.30 you would have earned for every 100 visitors. But you didn’t test, and so you didn’t know, and so you lost thousands of dollars. Ouch.
Testing might seem like an irritation, but there are few things that can pay off as handsomely as a simple split-test.
That’s why I’ve made a list of things you might want to test in your next sales letter or even in your next email. I’ve left out the common things like headlines, pre-headlines, sub-headlines and calls to action. You already know about those. But have you thought about testing these?
Various bonuses tested against each other and against no bonus
Person next door tone versus formal business tone
Header versus no header
Placement and look of testimonials
Adding more images, arrows, underlining, etc.
Adding/changing the text underneath the images
For low priced items – Placing the price at the top (beginning) versus at the bottom (end)
A soft sell versus a hard sell approach
Adding more call to actions throughout
The design of the page itself
Wording directed to your best customer versus more generic copy
Changing the color scheme
Changing the color or text on the order button
Variations on your product image(s)
Variations on your product image size
Variations on your product image location(s)
Renaming your product
Focusing on benefits versus focusing on the pain of no solution
Placing bullets closer to the beginning versus further into the page
Focusing on one major benefit versus a laundry list of benefits
Having all copy or video on one page, versus using steps with a progress indicator
A trial offer versus asking for the entire sale up front
Sales – a percentage off versus a dollar amount off
Coupons versus sales
And perhaps the most interesting of all: Using dark emotions like jealousy or revenge to get the sale [“You know that snobby woman at your child’s school who thinks she’s so terrific? Right now she is praying you NEVER get this program, because if you do you’ll lose that weight and look ten times better than her. Imagine how envious she’ll be then!”] Heh heh.
Mind you, this list is to get you thinking and moving in the right direction. There’s no way you’re going to test all of these things unless you’re a compulsive profit-seeking entrepreneur who can’t rest until you’ve got the most finely tuned sales presentation in the history of the world.
For the rest of us, pick and choose what you test. If you haven’t already, start with the basics like your headlines and calls to action. Then choose something from this list and see if you can’t boost your conversion rate even higher.
To stay motivated, do the math to find out how much more you will earn on every 1,000 visitors for every tenth of a point you increase your conversions. Write this number down and post it where you’ll see it. Then every week, or every day if you’ve got the traffic, test something new. There’s no easier or faster way to give yourself raise after raise than continually split testing.
You’ve probably heard that commenting on other people’s blogs is a good thing to do. But do you know why it’s so important?
Yes, it can get you traffic. People see your blog comment, like it, and click on your name to go to your website. But that’s not the biggest reason to comment on blogs.
Leaving blog comments might also give you backlinks, which could potentially increase your standing in the natural search results. But again, this isn’t the biggest reason to leave comments on other people’s blog posts.
Leaving blog comments also gets you seen by others in your niche. Leave enough great comments and people might start to remember you and your brand.
But again, that’s not the biggest benefit to leaving well-thought-out, interesting blog comments.
The biggest benefit? Whether you realize it or not, consistent blog commenting builds relationships with other bloggers.
Think about it – you go to Joe’s blog once a week and leave a well-thought out comment on Joe’s latest post. Joe keeps noticing you, and pretty soon the two of you are building a relationship that can eventually lead to:
Guest posts
Product endorsements
Joint ventures
Introductions to other movers in your niche
And so forth…
Here’s how to be effective at blog commenting:
Post on blogs in your particular nicheRead the entire post thoroughly before commenting
Share your specific thoughts and opinions
Don’t be general or vague. “Nice post” doesn’t cut it
Use a great avatar – a photo of your smiling face is usually best
Use your real name, not “Mary6504”
Never be rude and never be mean
Be genuine and thought-provoking – Add value to the conversation
Use Google Alerts to be alerted to new posts so you can be one of the first to comment – more readers will see your comment this way
Subscribe to RSS feeds and to email lists of your favorite bloggers – again, this helps to alert you when someone makes a new post
If you’re not the first to leave a blog comment, then scan the other comments to make sure you’re not repeating a thought or comment
Use personal stories where applicable
Quote the post itself in your comment – for example, “When you said ____ it gave me a great idea”
It’s okay to disagree if you do it in a way that totally respects the blogger’s opinions and thoughts
Ask questions of the blog owner. This will get you more engagement and shows you’re interested in their opinion – very effective for relationship building.
Always double proofread your comment for spelling and punctuation before submitting
And remember to be patient – you don’t develop a relationship with a blogger over one blog comment. Continue to come back and comment on new posts and you will gradually build real relationships with these bloggers.
Here’s an experiment for you to try. If you don’t already, get a year’s worth of issues of any one magazine. If possible, make it a business magazine such as Entrepreneur. Now go through each issue of the magazine and see which full page and half page ads repeat month after month, and which ads are only there for one month before they disappear.
Notice the difference between the two types of ads. The ones that appear once and never appear again tend to be feature based and devoid of emotion. The ones that appear month after month are benefit and emotion based.
Why is that? Because ads that run month after month are working. Those that run once and never run again aren’t working. And ads that only highlight features without benefits or emotions do not work.
Now then, there are hundreds of different emotions and you can’t hit every one of them in your ad. So which are the very best to target? According to author Robert Imbriale, you can’t go wrong when you include as many of these 5 motivators as possible into your sales process:
Fear. Fear of missing out, fear of making a mistake, fear of loss, fear of failure – all of these things can work in your favor to get the sale. Show your prospect what will happen to them if they don’t buy your product. A life can completely change and take an entirely different course simply by making the right decision at the right time. Let them know how your product can make that difference, and then show them how awful it would be if they didn’t take that next step.
Every market has a set of fears that is shared by a large percentage of your prospects. If you have the solutions to those fears, or even to just one of those fears, you simply need to tap into the fear and use it to market your product.
For example, use news stories to tie your product in as the solution to a fear. You might use the story of a man who once had everything, got laid off and is now homeless. “Don’t let this be you. Buy our course on how to start your own business today and never worry about your future again.”
Love. Are you surprised? Real, genuine social contact is at an all-time low. Most people don’t even know who their neighbors are. Families are no longer living close to each other. Television and the Internet have become a poor substitute for human contact.
More than ever people need a sense of connection, and you can provide that connection in a myriad of ways. Have a video blog (vlog) where you speak directly to your audience. Host calls and interviews. Create a community around each product, through a Facebook page or forum. Do live calls where people can ask you questions. Become the expert in your niche that your prospects feel they KNOW, and you will get their business.
Example phrases to use:
Join us
Meet people just like you
Be a part of
Connect with others
Want to take it even further? You’ve heard it a million times – sex sells – and it does. Incorporate a sexy message into your marketing and sales will go up.
Words to use:
Join us
Meet people just like you
Be a part of
Connect with others
Free Things and Hot Sales. This one needs very little explanation – everyone loves to get a great deal. So for example, if you can offer your latest product on sale with an older product thrown in for free, you’re probably going to make a lot of sales.
Give something away to build your list. Give something else away to get referrals. Give away tidbits of good info. But don’t give away the store. Offer special deals that are time limited – if they snooze, they lose. Your customers will learn to buy quickly or miss out – a good way to combine hot sales with the #1 motivator above – fear.
And one of the most potent of all freebies – the free (or nearly free) trial. Let them try your $197 product for just $10, and then 3 easy payments of $67. Or your monthly membership for just $1, and then $39.99 a month starting in 30 days. Yes, you’ll get cancellations, but you’ll also get a great many sales, too, as more people get to experience your product and decide they want to keep it.
Easy Money. You’d think this powerful motivator couldn’t be applied to every business, but if you try, it’s nearly always possible. For example, if you’re selling a dating book for guys, you might talk about how much more confidence they’ll have when they’re able to date beautiful women – confidence that will greatly enhance all aspects of their lives, including their ability to make money, get a promotion, etc.
If you’re selling an organic gardening guide, you might mention that with their greatly increased yields they’ll have tons of produce to sell beyond what they need for themselves. And of course organic produce is in high demand, so it’s a money maker. If you’re selling a weight loss product, you might talk about how much more energy and confidence they’ll have, leading to more productivity and better opportunities, and so forth.
Be their fairy godmother and make wishes come true. Everyone has dreams. Everyone wants something. Show your prospects – better yet, prove to them that you can grant their wish when they purchase your product, and you’ve got the sale.
Don’t believe it? Think of the one thing you want more than anything else. Now imagine I can prove to you that you can have that very thing, and the way to get it is to simply purchase and use my product. What’s it worth to you to make your dream come true? Probably just about every cent you have.
Here’s your task: Find a way to incorporate four or all five of these motivators into your next sales piece, and watch your response soar!
