Happy Groundhog Day

Studies show that it costs from four to TEN TIMES MORE to create a new client than it does to keep an existing client.  Yet one look at most marketing plans quickly reveals that companies spend most of their time, money and effort to make new customers!

The key to long term profits is in the repeat, or “backend”sales we make to existing clients. No money need be spent to find, capture and convince these people because they already like and trust us!

And when people like and trust you the odds of them buying on your recommendation are much higher than if they don’t know you.

Simple really. We buy from those we trust.

But how do we cause clients to buy from us again and again without falling into the “new launch of the week” syndrome where we are always pitching for them to buy? How can we use the Internet to build relationship and deepen trust?

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10 Headline Blueprints That Work Like Crazy

If you are interested in driving traffic to your website, or are into list building or affiliate marketing, then you probably know the importance of a great headline.

It’s often been said that the ability to write great headlines is the most important skill in all of copywriting. That might be true.

After all, unless you have a great headline your selling message won’t get read.

This applies to solo ads, classified ads, sales letters, blog posts, social media marketing … basically anytime you communicate with the public.

In the email marketing and solo advertising business we often talk about the “hierarchy” of a great email ad. That’s just a fancy way to say that any email ad, especially a solo ad, must have three key elements in order to be effective. And by effective, I mean profitable.

1. A subject line (or headline) that causes the email to get opened
2. An offer the reader wants
3. A call to action that gets the reader to click now

If your ad has those three things you will likely do very well indeed. If you get one of them wrong you risk losing profits.

But here’s the problem for most people … how do you write a highly effective headline or email subject line? [Read more...]

The Truth About Traffic

Rather read than watch videos?

 

The full transcript is below the video & available for download.

 

 

Click the words “Truth about traffic transcript” on the next line to read or download – Right click to Save. Left click to read online.

Truth about traffic transcript

Transcript of video

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The #1 Marketing Mistake

 

What Does Successful Marketing Look Like?

One of the problems with working on the Internet is that most of us do it in isolation.

Instead of the usual give-and-take of office conversation, we have email, a decidedly one-sided way to communicate. Or forums, where the opinions can be quite loud but not necessarily based on actual experience.

Instead of the usual boss judging our progress and letting us know how we are performing (often in no uncertain terms) we are on our own – accountable only to ourselves. Which is good and bad at the same time.

No boss looking over your shoulder is a good thing. Having no one to ask questions of when you need help is not. I think this is one reason why my consulting offer at the Directory of Ezines has been so popular.

While working on your own in an Internet business can be incredibly rewarding, it can be lonely and frustrating as well.

One of the big frustrations is NOT knowing what success looks like. [Read more...]

Will 2012 Boom or Bust?

 

As we enter a new year we are almost all thinking the same thing; will we see the economy turn around in 2012 or will we suffer through yet another year of turmoil?

More to the point, we are all asking this question — will 2012 be a boom year or a bust for me?

People are hurting today, and being hurt. You might be one of them.

Today, perhaps more than ever before, people need to make money online. And yet, ironically, there are more liars and thieves online today than ever before. Not so ironic really when you consider that con men and charlatans have always preyed on those most in need.

The question today is this – is there something you can do to make 2012 a boom year and not a bust year for you and your family? I believe there is, and have devoted both time and resources to changing my own business plan to help you get that done. [Read more...]

Ten Ways To Write Headlines That DEMAND Attention!

How to write winning headlines!

Do you know why some websites or blogs bring in buckets of cash while others don’t make a dime?

Ever wonder why some ads fizzle while others create a selling frenzy?

One BIG reason could be the headline.

When selling things on the Internet you have about three seconds to make your point or lose your visitor.

Click… BANG… they’re gone forever!

If your headlines are under-performing then it IS costing you sales. No doubt about it.

  • You need a great headline.
  • You want a great headline.
  • You’d love to have a great headline.

But how do you create a GREAT headline if you’re not a professional copywriter?

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Three Keys To Succeeding This Year

When it comes to succeeding online – whether that means starting your own online business, earning money as an affiliate, or something more, there is a world of confusion about what really works.

  • Create a content-rich site, some say. But that’s easier said than done.
  • Publish an ezine, say others. But what would you have to say?
  • Become a super affiliate we often hear. Again… HOW?

In the years I’ve been online I have been blessed to be able to learn what I needed to know to succeed. Sometimes I learned from others examples. Sometimes I learned from watching others succeed.

And sometimes I learned from painful (and costly) trial and error. Based on all of that, I’d like to share with you three keys that I believe can help you succeed this year, and beyond.

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Is a 42% click through rate good?

I find this fascinating. I just checked my Aweber stats for the first email I sent out about Follow Up Selling Systems reopening and was very surprised (and thankful) to find that we had a 42% click through rate.

Here’s what I mean by click through in case you don’t know that term. To me, click through rate is best measured when you divide the number of people who click the link in your email by the number of people who open your email.

Of the emails I sent that day (I sent to a sub list of 39,000) only 3267 were opened. I was a bit disappointed as that is only a 8.2% open rate, which is quite low for my lists.

My mistake because I sent the thing on a Friday night, and people have better things to do than read email from me on a Friday night! At least I hope they do! :-)

But here was the redeeming part.

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Get Your Focus Back!

As of this writing I’ve been honored to speak one-on-one with over 2400 Directory of Ezines Lifetime members. I’ve been taking these calls for 2 1/2 years and it’s been fun to help real people achieve their goals.

During these calls members have been free to ask me any question and they have asked many questions.

But there is one question I asked every one of them, and their answers surprised me.

My question to them — “What is your #1 challenge to succeeding online?”

While I received a variety of answers, the #1 answer by far is this … “I’m suffering from information overload! I bought the courses and products and still don’t know what to do next!

It’s understandable really. There is SO much information out there. From free information on blogs and in articles to courses ranging from $27 to $7500 (or more) there is no lack of information.

So why isn’t everyone succeeding online?

While there are almost certainly many reasons why people are generally not achieving their goals online, I believe a big factor (maybe the #1 factor) is this …

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Internet Marketing: Are You Pushing or Pulling?

Marketing StrategyOnline marketing can be confusing to say the least!

Nothing we do in our real lives prepares us to work online, and terms like “autoresponder” or “solo ad” or “CPM”  are foreign at best.

To add to the confusion and information overload there are countless “gurus” handing out conflicting advice. It’s enough to make your head spin!

Let me help simplify things a bit.

There are really only two methods of marketing online. [Read more...]

How to Promote An Over-Promoted Product — Part 3

buy advertisingIt’s time to wrap up our series How to Promote an Over-Promoted Product with a look at how to stay safe when you buy advertising. I hope you have enjoyed what you have read so far. Thank you so much for your kind comments. It means a lot.

In Part 1 I shared five principles that help me promote any product, no matter how many other people are promoting it too.

In Part 2 I shared my simple formula for writing powerful ad copy so the ads you write will get the clicks you want.

Now that you know what to avoid, and how to write a super-powerful ad, it’s time to buy advertising!

But when you buy advertising online there can be danger. This is your hard earned money we are talking about and it needs to be spent wisely … and carefully.

That’s exactly why we are wrapping up with How To Stay Safe When You Buy Advertising.

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How to Promote an Over-Promoted Product – Part 1

Have you noticed how so many ads, especially ads for today’s hottest programs, all sound the same?

“Earn $500 a day!”
“No selling! No phone calls!”
“Fire your boss!”
“Newbie friendly!”
“Never pay for leads again!”
“Just click three times!”

Sometimes it feels like everyone is promoting the same thing at the same time, doesn’t it?

And that begs a very important question …

Can anyone really make any money promoting a system or product that is so over-promoted?

More importantly …

Can YOU really make any money promoting a system that is so over-promoted?

My answer is … YES YOU CAN!

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