Work Yourself Up!

Size Does Matter

When it comes to your mailing list, size does matter.

Can you imagine what it's like to have a mailing list of 30,000 (or more) people who are interested in your product? This guy has a 12-step system for building your mailing list and he's selling it for under $10. 

I think it's definitely worth taking a look. A huge mailing list is definitely an asset to your business.

More info...

Marketing's Dirty Little Secret

One of the dirty little secrets in marketing is to find a product that isn't being exploited to its potential, rewrite the sales material, and start getting the word out...

Do you know Dr. Mike?  He's a physician who QUIT his medical practice to do marketing online fulltime.  Isn't that amazing?

Mike uses this little trick to 100% eliminate new product creation.  No more ghostwriting, no more graphic design, no more production of anything... And he has NO customer service!!  None!

Look at what he's doing now...

Again, to summarize...  Mike goes out and finds a good (but under-performing) product via Clickbank, rewrites the sales material, and makes as much as 70% of the selling price. 

I want to be clear that anybody can do this, but the problem for most is that you'd have to pay a good copywriter to do the sales material.  And as you know, a good copywriter costs a ton...maybe $5000 for a letter (on the low end).

This is why I'm mentioning Dr. Mike...

Mike will get you hooked on 5-7 of these PER MONTH for only $47 though.  How cool is that?

Get more info...

Customer Loyalty and Amazon.com

A few months ago, Amazon.com started a new service called "Amazon Prime."  For $80/year, you get free two-day shipping or the option to have something the next day for $3.99.

For the last few years, Amazon has had free shipping for orders over $25, so I didn't think it was a great option for me.  I order from Amazon all the time and I don't mind waiting an extra day to receive something.  Like most people, it takes me a while to get to things...

But because I order so much from them, I had the option of trying the Amazon Prime service free for three months.  Like a lot of free offers, if I don't cancel, they extend the subscription and bill me.

The free trial ends today and I've decided to continue the service at full price.

I don't know if Amazon is losing money on shipping things via two-day UPS or not, but I do know that I've actually increased purchases with them since getting on Amazon Prime.  There is no better way to get books, CDs, and other products quickly and easily.

Why would I go anywhere else?

And not only do I buy stuff for myself from Amazon, I've also bought a lot of gifts for friends and business associates.  I see something I think somebody would like, order it, and let them know to watch for a guy in the brown van to show up in a couple of days.  It's been great for both personal and business relationships.

I'm not posting this to encourage you to get on Amazon Prime.  I do want you to think what you can offer your customers to encourage repeat and frequent business though.  It doesn't take much.

Easy Podcast Content

As you know, I love podcasting!  It's a really easy way to build a mailing list and will develop a relationship with your customers in a way that email and standard web pages can't.

But how do you go about getting into podcasting?

First of all, you're going to need content.  If you're just starting, or simply want a quick and easy way to set up your podcast, I highly recommend looking at Niche Audio Articles.  Each month, you'll get you everything you need to do four bi-weekly podcast for an entire year!

Right now, you can get in for only $15.

And what if you have no idea what podcasting is or why it's important to your business?  I've set up something just for you...and it's 100% free.  www.HowtoStartaPodcast.com

How to Be an Online Guru

Bob Baker, author of Guerrilla Music Marketing (among other things), just posted something on his blog called Three Simple Marketing Words.  Read it.

By the way, the three words are "Recognize Your Uniqueness."  So true...

There is definitely something to be said for "copying what works."  But it's my opinion that you'll do a lot better with it if you can add your own twist to things...

Do we really need another heavy metal band?  Not really.

But what about a heavy metal band with a parrot for a singer?  That's a lot more interesting...

Have a friend who is brilliant at online marketing.  But he doesn't look like everybody else and was worried about fitting into the "old boys network."

I think this is a good thing.  Do we really need another fat white guy in a suit talking about online marketing?

I'm not going to name names, but there are maybe 3-4 "Internet Gurus" who don't look like everybody else and don't speak like everybody else (although I think they play the game more conservatively than they need to), but somehow ended up among the top people.  How?  It's not a just a fluke...it's because they stand out and people in the audience who also "stand out" can releate to them.  And this brings in money, which is all the "old boys" care about.

Seth Godin has a book called Purple Cow, which I think illustrates this concept perfectly... 

How often do you notice cows on the side of the road?  Not often.  Why?  There are thousands of them.

But you'd notice a purple cow, wouldn't you?

So make yourself a purple cow.

A note to fat white guys wearing suits...  You can still be a purple cow, you'll just have to do it with exceptional products and services, which you should be doing anyway. :)

Ok Go...Again

One more for you...

Ok Go Treadmill Parody

One of the best ways to get attention on YouTube is to parody a video which is already popular.  And that's exactly what these radio DJs did...

See the original video.

More on Domain Names

As I mentioned last week, one of the best things that you can do for web traffic and increasing conversion on ad campaigns is to have a compelling domain name.  You'll also increase word-of-mouth in a big way, since people love to spread witty humor.

How many "seduction" sites have you seen online?  Tons...  And if you're in this market, there are dozens of packages you can license so you won't have to go through the headache of creating a product yourself.

This stuff is easy to put up and will usually make your investment back without a ton of work, even if you just put it out "as-is."  There are a lot of lonely men in the world, so if you can get traffic, it's pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel.  But when you change up a few things, just to do a little more than everybody else selling the package, it's not hard to make 2-3x as much money...if not more.

I picked up licensing an "online dating" product maybe a year or two ago.  Just wanted to fool around with it and try out some new things because the market is very competitive and I like a challenge.

You can change up the copy, which is a good idea.  But there are some markets so competitive that there is a "Law of Diminished Return" that kicks in when you spend too much time with them.  As I've mentioned before, I'm in the music business and don't really have the desire to be an "online dating" guru...I simply wanted to throw up a "quick and dirty" site that would bring in a little money each month.

I don't remember exactly what i did to this package, but the two main things I did...

1. Change up the headline.

2. Give it a compelling domain name.

This is easy to do and will set you apart from everybody else selling the same product.  And if you can relate the domain and the headline to each other, similar to what I did with this blog, so much the better.

The site... HeMustBeRich.com

You've heard that saying before, right? 

I do a lot of sites like this...something that doesn't take itself too seriously.  And if you've ever seen the "seduction" market, you'll know that most of them do.

When they zig, you zag.  Another lesson for you...

How to Start a Podcast

Other than styling and marketing, which I'll get at a later date, there are two elements to setting up a podcast...

1. Technical Stuff -  If you want to know more about this, I've set up a free site at www.howtostartapodcast.com which you may find helpful.

2. Content - You've got to have material, right? 

Here are some ideas...

Niche Audio Articles - This is a membership site which will supply you with content which you can add to your podcast.  Licensing content is what almost all radio shows do.  Those morning DJs you love so much don't write all their jokes...they get "content providers" to supply them with "News of the Weird" and other segments to fill their 3-4 hours of airtime each day.

So check out Niche Audio Articles and be like the pros. :)

Another option, which is what I do for my show, is to use "Other People's Information" as content.  In short, do an interview.

QuickContentCreation.com has a "question template" that I use, as well as other helpful information, which makes doing an interview easy!

What's Hot - Watch the Smut Peddlers

Before I get into this, know that I plan for this to be an "all ages" blog.  I'm in the music business and have heard, seen, or done it all, but I think marketing is something that everybody can benefit from and I don't want to turn somebody away with something which could have possibly been said in a less offensive way.  I think using profanity, vulgar statements, or trying to offend somebody just for the sake of it is stupid.

With that said, I'm not going to step over certain subjects which I think are important.  One of those is the marketing of adult-oriented sites. 

Why did the VCR take off?  Porn.

Why do we have streaming video?  Porn.

How long did the Video iPod exist before some guy was selling adult content for it?  Seconds?

Let's not get into the morality of pornography here... I simply want you to realize that this market drives new technology.  So if you want to see what "general" sites will be doing in a few months or even years, watch the porn market.

As with most industries, the adult/pornography has its own trade publications.  The best for you, as an online marketer, is AVN Online.  It's not like looking at Hustler or Juggs, but some of the content on the site may be disturbing to you, so if you're sensitive to this kind of thing, please be aware of this before you click. :)