Thursday, October 18, 2007

Product branding versus Direct (call to action) marketing

Product branding versus Direct (call to action) marketing

Company image is a big deal. Thousands of small businesses have not looked twice at how the public perceives their company, yet big companies spend millions of dollars per year on public relations. Customers mean sales, the better your image, the more trust that is created, the more sales are made. Focusing on your PR can be much more beneficial than just the short term publicity.

Small businesses have to do pretty much everything themselves, from marketing, to putting through sales, leaving most business owners thinking, that they do not have the knowledge or the time to deal with their own public relations(PR). But PR is more than fundraisers and charity spots. PR deals with advertising; focuses on promotion, marketing and following up clients. Small business owners are already working on their own public image without knowing it, and usually following the lines of big business, use one of two areas vital areas of marketing, branding or direct marketing.

So what is right for you, branding or direct marketing? If you have ever listened to your local radio, you will almost always hear direct marketing, with hundreds of businesses telling you to come in and buy their product right now. Very few use branding. Branding is advertising your brand or product without a call to action or sales talk; you will often see this with new products launched by large corporations. Branding together with distribution is a very popular tactic in industries such as the beverage industry. A client's trust means a lot, but you will not get it by telling them what do to all the time. Many small businesses never become large businesses because all the advertising produced is direct marketing to their targeted audience.

Of course, in special cases, it is appropriate to use direct marketing without any branding, for example, selling and e-book or a program online. Using a single page sales letter in this case is completely appropriate, because branding would not significantly influence sales. That is, unless you wrote another e-book, or another program. Then branding may be appropriate.

Corporations and big companies use branding to launch new products and subsidiary companies. You will often see new products advertisements on TV, without them telling you where to get them, how much they are or sometimes even what they are. This is a great example of branding, the approach is creating trust around the businesses name, logo and if applicable, slogan.

We come back to the question, what is right for your business? Branding is for companies or businesses that are just starting out and what to create awareness of their service. Direct marketing will create sales. Depending on your marketing and promotion strategy (PPC, pay per click strategy for online businesses) you may choose either one. If creating sales, then gives you the money for branding, you might want to try that, but if you have got a little bit of capital, branding first will create trust for your direct marketing campaign, making more sales than without branding. The marketing strategy you choose will determine what the best is for your company.



About the Author
Tony Schirmer is the owner of Keyworks: PPC advertising resource , a resource for advertisers and pay per click marketers. Providing free PPC advertising tactics, strategies, and Ad guidelines to boost conversion rates and click through rates.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Creative People - How to Handle A Bad Client

A client with a creative business called me one day and asked the following question. It's a question I get asked frequently, so rather than write an entire article, I decided just to tell you exactly what I told her.

Kirstin -- Do you have a graceful exit strategy for those situations when you are face-to- face and realize that, for whatever reason, you do NOT want to work with this prospect? Let's say, for example, that you qualified the prospect and then when you meet, you discover that you don't have good chemistry, or you sense a red flag. -- Margery, Phoenix MD

Margery -- Great question. Once you realize they aren't a good match, simply tell them that you don't think you are the perfect person for their specific needs and recommend them to one or two other people whom you think they would jibe with better.�

This lets you out of the relationship, without burning bridges. In fact, I've done this and gotten referrals from the client whom I referred to others. Generally, people are so impressed that you don't take them on under the wrong circumstances that they think even more highly of you.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Can you really make money on the Internet?

It's probably one of the most frequently asked questions on those forums dedicated to online business and internet marketing. Can you really make money on the internet? The simple answer is yes you could make money online!

The Internet is not only for finding information about obscure or not so obscure things and chatting in the endless chat rooms that exist to cater for every type of person. It can also be an excellent place to create a second or in some instances even a primary income.

That's great but how do I do it? Well that's probably the second most frequently asked question about running an online or home based business and follows quite naturally from the first!

There is a plethora of ways in which you could earn online. The following are just a few of the opportunities available as well as some useful tips to help you maximize your earning potential in each one of them.

You could earn money as an affiliate.

An affiliate is like a middleman for a merchant and the customer. Essentially the affiliate find the customers and sells, or more accurately "pre-sells" them the affiliate's products. In many ways this pre-selling is easier than actually selling the goods.

As an affiliate your online business is about capturing the potential customer's interest and leading them to the affiliate merchant's site. If a sale is then made, you will receive an agreed commission that can be as high as 95% of the actual price of the product sold.

Sounds like an interesting way of running your own online business without incurring all the costs normally associated with having your own products doesn't it? Potentially you could enroll in as many affiliate programmes as you felt able to manage or promote and earn income from all of them!

You could earn money for your online business as an information product creator.

The essence of the internet is information and every day millions of people come online looking for information. If you have a level of knowledge in an area that you think others would be interested in you could write an eBook or a special report. Then you could market it for profit.

You could also earn from this field even if you don't actually "create" anything. If you don't have the time or the knowledge to come up with your own product, you could always hire the services of a ghostwriter to write for you.

A word of warning through, make sure that the ghostwriter you engage is trustworthy and more importantly, has excellent writing skills. Remember that it will be your name on the eBook and that of your online business!

You could earn as a resale rights marketer.

This is an option for your online business if you don't want to be involved in creating, or having someone else create your own information products. You could simply buy the resale rights of existing ones and take care of the marketing. In so doing, every product that is sold brings in profits for your online business for you to keep.

You could earn from public domain information.

Works before 1923, and to a certain extent, those before 1978, are deemed to be in the public domain or free to use. This means that you could republish them or alter them if you wish, for profit. The means by which this can be done are very varied. Republish classic literature as electronic books. Compile timeless poems into comprehensive collections. Print masterpieces and sell them as posters. And you don't have to pay their creators and royalty fees!

A word of caution though! You must ensure that the products are in the public domain and free to use. These are just a few of the many ways in which you could earn money by running an online business. There are other means of course, like paid to surf and paid to read programs, however, nothing beats the assurance of an actual business that the above are a few examples of.

Set up your own online home based business and you have the opportunity to take charge of your own fate. Your earning potential will depend on how much time and effort you will be able or willing to invest in your chosen venture. So yes you could make money on the internet and your online home based business could be a success!

About the author: Paul Duxbury owns a number of successful online businesses and has recently launched a site aimed at helping those who have their own online business. This can be found at http://www.web-success.co.uk

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Get Outsiders on Your Side

Get Outsiders on Your Side

Especially good advice for business, non-profit and association managers whose job success depends in large part on the behaviors of their key external audiences.

I refer to behaviors like inquiries on the increase, new waves of specialized employment applications, more and more followup purchases, new levels of membership queries, a substantial boost in capital donations, or more frequent component specifications by engineering firms.

If you are such a manager, you almost assuredly need help in achieving your unit?s operating objectives. Which is why it?s nice to hear that the public relations team assigned to your operation is responsible for providing a large portion of that help.

Two things need to happen to make that a reality. One, it requires more than your oversight. You must stay involved with your public relations folks at every major decision point.

And two, the entire effort must be based on more than a casual debate about which communications tactics should be used.

What is needed is your commitment to a fundamental premise that is the foundation on which your entire public relations effort will be based. A premise like this: People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

With that established, we can get to work on the blueprint that will help persuade those important members of your key target audiences to your way of thinking. What you hope for then, is follow on stakeholder actions that result in your success as a business, non-profit or association manager.

Before taking any action steps, you need to know how members of your key target audiences perceive you. So, first, you and your PR team need to list those important outside audiences whose behaviors affect your unit the most. Then prioritize them so we can use the audience in first place on that list as our target audience for this article.

Instead of spending considerable money on professional survey work, you and your team can interact with members of your target audience and pose a number of questions designed to draw out any perception problems. ?Do you know anything about us? Have you had any contacts with our people? Were they satisfactory? Do you have any problems with our services, products or people??

As you interact with audience members, watch closely for evasive or hesitant responses to your questions. And be equally watchful for negative misconceptions, rumors, exaggerations, inaccuracies or untruths.

These data are grist for your mill, i.e., the information you need to establish a public relations goal that corrects the offending opinion/perception. Such a goal might look like these: spike that rumor, clarify that misconception, or correct that inaccuracy.

Now, you need a pathway leading to your public relations goal, and that means you must pick a strategy showing you how to get there. Luckily, there are just three strategies in matters of opinion and perception: create perception where there isn?t any, change existing perception, or reinforce it. Just be certain that the strategy you select is a logical fit with the public relations goal you just established.

Now, what you say to members of your target audience must clearly address the offending perception gently but firmly. Your message must be believable, compelling and, at the same time, explain why the current perception is not merely untrue, but unfair. It is no easy job to alter what people believe, which is why writing such a message demands persuasive writing ability.

To maintain the credibility of the message, you may wish to piggy-back it on another announcement or presentation rather than using the higher-profile press release format.

Happily, when it comes to delivering your message to members of your target audience, you have multiple choices for your communications tactics. Everything from newsletters, bulletins and alerts, special events and speeches to print and broadcast interviews, press releases, consumer/member briefings and many more. Just be sure the tactics your use can demonstrate that they reach people similar to those who make up your target audience.

Before long, you, your PR team, and others in your unit will want to see some progress. Best (and most frugal) way to determine that is to return to perception monitoring in the field and ask members of your key target audience the same questions used in the earlier session.

Only this time, you?ll be on alert for indications that the offending perceptions are changing as you planned, along with predictable follow on behaviors.

By the way, things can always move faster by adding other communications tactics, and using them on a more frequent basis.

Yes, for managers whose job success depends to a large degree on the behaviors of their key external audiences, a public relations problem-solving sequence like this one IS especially good advice!

Multiple Streams of Income

So often we, as online business owners, fall victim to the hype surrounding the latest buzzword or idea. It?s a truly pitiful state of Internet affairs when we can?t distinguish sound truth from blurred theory. So what is the truth surrounding one of the most talked about Internet catch phrases, "multiple streams of income"?

In all actuality, the idea of multiple streams of income is not a new concept. Those who have been successful in business (in life for that matter) have long understood that you simply aren?t acting wisely if you place all your trust in one wealth-generating company, idea, or tool. Those in offline business refer to "multiple streams of income" as "diversification."

Take a look at the stock market for a moment. This is a prime example of diversification or "multiple streams of income" (MSI). For as long as it has been in existence, the stock market has thrived on diversification. Stockbrokers encourage (almost insist) that you keep your funds split between multiple companies. Why? Because if one company goes under, you?ll have additional sources of revenue through the dividends of other companies.

How about business purchasing? Professionals in business procurement will advise you to line up and use several vendors for the same products/services. Why? Again, to protect yourself should one or more of your vendors close their doors at the same time. If this happens, and you have other vendors lined up and ready to go, you won?t lose any time in getting the supplies you need to continue conducting your business.

These same proven tactics apply to MSI online. Just as you wouldn?t want to invest all of your savings with one retirement fund company, you wouldn?t want to derive all your income from one source. Just the opposite. You?ll want to ensure you have revenue coming in from as many different sources as possible.

MSI is a solid business principle that should be at the very foundation of your company. Whether you sell others? products through affiliate programs or have a service-based business that you operate yourself, find multiple streams of income to back up your primary stream.

Don?t know where to look? Try these!

1. Add affiliate products to your site (or start a new site and offer them there).

2. Produce your own ebook, software product, or automated service that can be created once and sold over and over with little effort on your part.

3. Find others to partner with. Bring a combination of your products/services to market and give yourself twice as much income for half as much work.

The Same or Different?

Should you aim for adding MSI that are similar to your current offerings or different? There are pros and cons to each. You?ll need to examine both sides of the story and make that decision for yourself.

While products/services that are similar can be added to your current marketing plan more quickly, those that are different allow your company to expand and reach more target groups. Similar products/services integrate easily into your current business strategy, but different products/services help you achieve more security. The "correct" decision is one you can make according to your situation.

Regardless of whether you decide to go with products or services that are similar or diverse, affiliate or your own, give some serious thought to shoring up your finances through multiple streams of income. When you do, you can be rest assured knowing your future is secure.

About the author: Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com

FREE Report: Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful) Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your Business Into A Tower of Profits! ==>> http://madmarketer.com/diane

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

How to Turn Your Team into High Performers

One of the biggest challenges many of my clients face is having the right people. Prior to coaching I'd often hear: "if only I could find the right people my business would much more profitable" "I'd have less stress" "I spend more time managing my people than getting the work done" and more. Gary's Story Gary who runs a plumbing business has 5 staff. He was always complaining that they were lazy, didn't use their initiative and would take advantage of him. We had Gary fill in our Productivity and Leadership Profile which is part of our Masterful Manager's Program. This 360 degree process allows each team member to anonymously answer questions about how they see Gary in many areas including his leadership abilities, communication, organisation etc. The process also allows Gary to answer the same questions on how he sees himself. It turned out that Gary thought he was a good boss because he was easy to get along with. However the feedback from his team showed that he wasn't a good leader. The guys needed clear direction...someone to follow. They required a system, guidelines to work within and regular follow-up. They never had a team meeting to discuss what was working well and how to improve things. The only time a meeting was called was when there was a customer complaint. The Solutions Before I share these tips with you, be aware that it is extremely important to hire the right type of people for your business in the first place. Many employers have the 'hire and hope' mentality. After the person has been hired the employer hopes they work out. 1. Regular Performance and Incentive Reviews Measure your team's achievements on a regular basis. Formally appraise the performance of each individual twice a year. Salary increases, bonuses and incentives should be based on these performance reviews.

2. Weekly Team Meetings Learn how to run an effective meeting and have these weekly with your team. Have a set time each week. Ensure the agenda allows for their input. See How to Have Successful Meetings.

3. Personal and Professional Development Invest regularly in their development, both technical and non-technical skills. The new-found knowledge can be extremely valuable to your business. By learning and developing your people, they will also be more motivated.

4. Develop Your Own Leadership Skills Turn yourself into a Masterful Manager. There are many skills required to be an effective manager ...delegation, organisation and communication etc.

5. Participating in specific programs such as our Masterful Manager's Intensive Coaching Program will turn you into a powerful leader that gets results and maintains a happy, productive and high performing team.

They never had a team meeting to discuss what was working well and how to improve things. The only time a meeting was called was when there was a customer complaint. All of these challenges soon disappeared when Gary continually implemented the following solutions. The Final Word Looking after the people in your business is vital to ensure its ongoing success...whatever 'success' means to you. A happy, skilled and motivated team if managed effectively will have a huge impact on your productivity and profits.

To continue doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. So if you want to achieve different results, take action today!

Preparing For Your Success

Preparing For Your Success Hi

When is the best time to prepare for your success in life?

What's that you say? " I have to actually have to prepare for it? Doesn't success just happen?"

No. It doesn't. If you want to improve your life you have to take the action.

An article by Jim Rohn who is a well-known motivational speaker said:

"Here's the great challenge of life. You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are.

I have found that income seldom will exceed your own personal development. Once in a while income takes a lucky jump, but unless you grow out to where it is, it will go back to where you are.

Somebody once said if you take all the money in the world and divided it among everyone equally, it would soon be back in the same pockets.

However, you can have more because you can become more. Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got.

In order to have more, you have to become more."

Are You Prepared To Take A Risk? Doing things you haven't done before can be risky, however if you don't take any risks you will live a very unfulfilling life.

My Friend Mike Mike has worked 12 years for a large corporation. Very secure, lots of perks and he received a reasonable income. He had a job for life.

The only drawback, after a few years - it was boring. He was miserable. He was wasting his life away. The organisation was big enough that he could transfer to different positions within the company - which he did do so. However, the culture of the company was the same wherever he transferred to. The environment wasn't stimulating and Mike found he was not stretching himself. He was existing and not living. He was too comfortable.

Mike was a reader of self-help books and also attended numerous personal development courses, so he knew he could enhance his life dramatically if he would just make a decision and take action.

The Company Package Mike finally took the plunge last year and left. He ended up becoming a partner in his friend's restaurant.

With no experience in this field he embarked on a huge learning curve.

He went from a boring yet very cushy 9.00 - 5.00 p.m. job with a regular income to working 9.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. seven days a week with barely any income. However, Mike was on fire. He was excited. He was living life (or so he thought). That was 10 months ago.

I caught up with him this week and he told me he is selling his share of the partnership. He realised that there was more to running a business of your own than working for someone else. The pressure on him had taken it's toll. He had been getting heart palpitations and couldn't sleep. The stress of it all was too much.

The Moral To The Story Mike had leapt out of his comfort zone and took a risk. Although in this instance, he found out it was too big a price to pay, he wouldn't have known whether or not this was going to work out until he tried it. Of course he had done all his due diligence beforehand, however that's still no guarantee that he had made the right decision.

What Mike has learned from his experience, is that there is a world of opportunity out there and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But you'll never know unless you give it a go.

He's still excited about the possibilities for his future and is grateful that he had the guts to take action.

The Final Word If you want to become more or do more with your life this year, what investment are you prepared to make in your own self?

What resources, courses, support do you need so that you can be excited about getting out of bed in the morning?

Are you healthy enough to jump out of bed in the morning? Are you healthy enough to cope with your life?

If you want to change then make sure you take action today!

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Easy Money

Is it possible to make easy money? I have seen truckloads of pure hype about this subject out there. Still, most people ask themselves these questions probably on a daily basis: Could there be a reliable way to make money easier than how I am doing it? Could there be a way for me to quit my job and enjoy life as I deserve?

Well, the answer is YES and NO. Many times the opportunities are in front of us and we can't see them. Other times we choose with our decisions what we get. Everyone is different though. What may seem easy to you, may seem very hard to others. In my opinion there are certain professions or jobs, which require little effort and can help you earn a lot of money comfortably.

How can you define if you are making money easily? How can you tell your friends that your job is easy or hard? That's up to you! As I told you already everyone has a brain and everyone judges things differently. Bellow I enumerate the qualities that a business or job may have in order for me to categorize it as easy money.

1. You can do it from anywhere in the world.

2. You don't have to deal with people ‘face to face' or via a telephone.

3. You don't need to purchase anything to start.

4. You work only three hours per day or less.

5. Your clients come to you. You don't have to seek them.

6. You are doing something moral and ethical. People feel happy with you.

7. You are helping others succeed.

8. You can make a lot of money (thousands of dollars per week).

9. Other people do all the selling for you. You only pay them a small commission for each sale they generate.

10. You don't have to work every day. You choose your own schedule.

11. You don't have to organize merchandise within a room.

12. You don't have to physically deliver the products to your clients.

13. Other people could create the products and services for you, so you don't have to do that either.

14. Other people take care of your marketing campaign for free, so you don't have to pay them.

15. You don't have to rent real estate for business related purposes.

16. Since the beginning your duties are just to make sure that everything is running smoothly.

17. You can start with almost no money at all.

Now, do you agree with me that such a business could make you easy money? The problem is most people don't believe that such a business could really exist. Let me tell you that they are far from the truth. Remember that everything is easier on the Internet. There is no reason to make it complex. Starting your own online business is one of the best decisions you could make in your life!

Monday, June 4, 2007

How A "Common Sense" Approach

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My friend, this is not theory.

This is not opinion.

And it sure ain't magic.

It's a simple, common-sense approach of looking at how we make money online - an approach anyone can learn, and use. Anyone. Not just big names like Bob Proctor.

Heck, I advised a Scottish bloke by the name of Ron Thomson back in January 15th for one hour, and he understood instantly. And guess what?



But don't say I didn't warn you.

What you're about to learn may be so simple and powerful, it may cause you to feel CHEATED, discouraged, and even HURT... especially if you've spent thousands of dollars buying internet marketing advice and education...

And the scary bit is... it could be something you've been IGNORING COMPLETELY. In this case, you should pay even more attention.

Do any of these sentences describe you?

I've worked my butt off, but my website isn't making me enough money.

I'm kinda new... but I want to do it right from day ONE

I want to grow my business, but no fads and hype please... I want solid, tested business advice

If you said YES to any of the above, you need to read every word of this report, and learn the approach known as "Chain Reaction Marketing "

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This research behind "Chain Reaction Marketing " was developed by MindValley Labs and our in-house research team consisting of

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My name is Vishen Lakhiani, the co-founder of MindValley Labs. I'll be your guide today.

So what is this approach? Does it have a name?

As I explain this approach to you, some of you may recognize this under different names throughout history, academia, economics, and math, such as the "Multiplier Effect" or the "Domino Effect" or "Kai-Zen" .

These names don't matter.

What's important are the RESULTS, and we have proven it with our string of money-making achievements.

We've seen our clients and partners use this approach, instantly differentiating themselves from 95% of their competition.

The key to this approach is recognizing the power of small tweaks.
Small tweaks are NOT big ideas, or huge fads. They do not take weeks of study to master. They are accessible to you, easy to implement, and easy to measure.

Do you know how much money can these small tweaks really make you?

Imagine ONE small tweak (small = tweaks which result in small, 12% improvements) applied in each of these items

the amount of traffic you get
the number of leads you capture
the trust and relationships established
the attractiveness of your offer
the sales closing process
how fast you can go through this cycle


Note: These small 12% increases happen 6 times, causing a chain reaction, impacting the bottom line at...

12% X 12% X 12% X 12% X 12% X 12%
= 97% increase!
You effectively DOUBLE your business in 6 small tweaks!

Focusing on making 6 small tweaks is good news for you because:

You can increase your profits without large investments
Small tweaks are easy to make
Small changes are easy to measure so you can track your improvement
In this holistic approach, you isolate your business processes, make SMALL TWEAKS to create HUGE CHAIN REACTIONS.

And MindValley Labs has nailed how to CAUSE chain reactions. It understands

Your business is a series of steps, a full process which puts money in your pocket.
How to use the power of small tweaks to cause chain reactions which accelerate and automate this process.
Would you like to know which small tweaks to make, RIGHT NOW, to double your business?

First, you have to LOOK INSIDE your business, find the missing links, then you can identify which screws to tighten.

STEP 1: The 6 Chains of Chain Reaction Marketing
Use this mental image and exercise, as a guide, and compare it to your current business.



Getting Traffic
What are you doing to attract people to visit your website?
Search Engine Optimization? Pay Per Click Advertising? Article Promotion? Getting people to tell others about you?



THINK: What can you do to get 12% more traffic to your website?

Capturing Leads
What are you doing to keep in touch with your site visitors?
Persuading people to sign up? Subscribe? Register or opt-in to your mailing list? Leave a comment?



THINK: What can you do to capture 12% more visitors into leads?

Building Relationships
When visitors to your websites become your friends, or look at you as a mentor or trusted advisor, they will buy from you, and in many cases, even sell for you!

What are you doing to get your leads to look forward to hearing from you?
What are you giving your members, subscribers and users, who may not buy from you right now, but may buy from you tomorrow? Do you use Email Marketing? Articles? Blogs? Membership Sites? YouTube Videos?



THINK: What can you do to get 12% more leads to adore you?

Closing Sales
Now that you've got their attention, get the sale!

What are you doing to create intense desire for your product / service? Optimize your copy? Repackage your product? Bundle a high end version? Throw in which bonus? Once people want your product, how can you increase the chances they'll pay you?



THINK: What can you do to get 12% more sales?

Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value
When you close a sale, the relationship has just begun...

What are you doing to get people to buy more from you?
Now that you've earned their trust, and you know what they're into, what kind of upsells, cross-sells, and future sales can you plan?



THINK: What can you do to increase post-purchase sales by 12%?

Business Automation
TYPE THREE Entrepreneurs have their businesses on auto-pilot!

What are you doing to lower what it costs you in TIME to run the business? Lower the costs? Increase effeciency?
Can you speed up the sales process? Bringing money in faster = more money, and more time for your hobbies. Can you outsource some tasks? Use new tools? The smallest things done right now, can save you time and effort later.



THINK: What can you do to lower your costs, or increase the speed of your sales cycle by 12%?

Important Note:

Under each event, what are the possible changes you can make? Once you have some ideas, the tweaks you should prioritize are those which

Have been tested by others to work
Don't require too much time and money to make
Easy to measure
Remember, if you make 6 small, good tweaks, you would have doubled your business, because 12% increase 6 times over is a 97% increase!

STEP 3 - Test and measure the tweaks
You need to know which tweaks worked, and which tweaks didn't. You MUST track your improvements. Failure to do so will leave you stabbing in the dark, hurting yourself by making bad modifications to your business...

What software to can you use to track these improvements?

How do you put this task on autopilot?

It's easy when you have the right tools, but that deserves a discussion of its own. For today, focus on which Modules and tweaks can cause a chain reaction.

Get 7 Chain Reaction Marketing Tactics from MindValley.
Just Fill in the Form Below and You'll Receive 7 Tactics You Can Immediately Use To Boost Your Site Conversion

Your First Name :
Your Email :

CONCLUSION - Is It Really That Easy?
Chain Reaction Marketing is all about small changes towards big impact. All you need is 6 small tweaks to double your business.

But is it really THAT easy?

We have found, depending on how much experience, free time, or technical know-how you have, it is not that easy for everyone.

You may have trouble

Organizing your business into a series of events
Knowing the specific tweaks to implement, and how to do so
Setting up testing and measurement
The good news is, the 3 items above are easy to learn. And it's worth it.

You will be able to double your profits again and again with continuous tweaking and improvement
You will never need to ask "What do I do next?"
You will be running a REAL, sustainable, reliable income stream, not some temporary promotion campaign.
Want to see immediate results on YOUR business?

What if... I gave you all this:

SITE MAKEOVER
Get Us On The Phone With You!


STEP 1: The MindValley Labs Team will take a detailed look into your website

STEP 2: Me or Mike will get ON THE PHONE with you, and walk you through what you need to do, based on YOUR website, and YOUR situation!

In this session we can diagnose and fix elements of Your Site that could be Costing You Thousands in Sales. We're the experts, and we'll look at YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION, and give you a whole hour PERSONAL advice catered to your needs.

VALUE: $1,495 Audio Library Of
LIVE Site Makeovers
Learn from other people's mistakes! Priceless, practical tips!
New audios added monthly.


Access our entire audio library of case studies of actual Site Makeovers. We've worked with a wide range of clients across all industries, and they have given us permission to share their learnings with you. Listen to experts solve REAL website problems in real time!

We update new audios monthly - guaranteed. Last month alone 7 new audios were uploaded.

VALUE: $1,095
FULL ONLINE COURSE
Master Every Chain of Chain Reaction Marketing in 36 X 45 Minute Modules. Always Updated.
Fresh Content Added Monthly!
For CONTINUOUS RESULTS... The full online course is the FASTEST way to see results.

Are you a beginner? An advanced user? Each of the 36 modules can be consumed independently, immediately giving you tweaks and tactics to cause chain reactions in your profits.

Each Module takes 30 to 45 minutes to consume.
WATCH Instructional Videos supplementing the modules.
See how specific chain reaction tweaks are done...


Fast-Action TO-DOs (Action Step Instructions)
Stuff you can do immediately to see results!


REAL, detailed Case Studies
Examples taken from the best internet marketers
Recommended / tested / reviewed / discounted products


This structured course is EASY to apply and straight to the point.
Each Module is Valued at $147

36 Modules = $147 x 36 = $5292 ClickMuse
Split Testing Service
The #1 Chain Reaction Marketing Accelerator


Discover which tweaks work... with the private ClickMuse Split Tester!
NO INSTALL - We will take care of it.
It's a powerful, private, web-based, split-testing software we use on ALL our projects.
Easy to use across all your websites
$149 x 12 months = $1788Bonus! The Popular AdWords Winning System v6
The FAST-TRACK to getting traffic with Google AdWords...

Just imagine… you took a system which has already PROVEN itself to DOMINATE MARKETS, which DOESN’T REQUIRE MUCH TIME OR MONEY to operate.



That’s what taking OUR VERY OWN Winning AdWords System V6 for a test drive is like. It’s a winning system, based on a 5 year history of testing, tweaking, and successful application… simplified for easy application, and automated with simple, powerful tools.

The system has optimized over 78,458 ads till date.
The system will get sky-high click throughs at rock bottom bids, GUARANTEED.
The system REPLICATED SUCCESS across several of the most competitive market niches.
Value of AdWords Winning System v6 = $1186
This includes the AdWords Optimizer!



AdWords Optimizer will tell you which of your ads needs optimizing, and when!
NO INSTALL. NO DOWNLOAD. We will take care of it.
Save time, put your AdWords campaigns on auto-pilot
Yours - to help you cause a CHAIN REACTION...

Value of AdWords Optimizer = $29 x 12 months = $348


Today's Promotion?
Personal, targeted instruction... me or Mike will get on the phone with you = $1,495
More practical advice in action.... An Audio Library of Live Site Makeovers = $1,095
Details and instructions on what to do next... Full 36 module Chain Reaction Marketing Course, and all future updates = $5,292
Power tools to accelerate results.... ClickMuse Split Testing Service One Year = 1,788
All the traffic you need for your website... AdWords Winning System v6 + v7 = $1,186
A time saving tool, to free up your time... AdWords Optimzer Tool = $348
These are tools and products which are already selling on the market, valued at a total of $11,204... yours RIGHT NOW - for only $497... you get over $10,000 worth of training for FREE!

REMEMBER: This includes a private SITE MAKEOVER with me today. We believe in coaching - no other internet marketing expert will get on the phone with you - but you have my brain for ONE HOUR, helping you fix up your website for growth - my typical client sees 200-400% growth one month after my SITE MAKEOVER.

You'll have to agree this is THE MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENT you can make.

Our Dual Guarantee
Return on Investment Guarantee:
You have 90 days to test the course. If this product does not pay for itself by 500% within 90 days of purchase, just return it to us for a full refund.

Best in Field Guarantee:
Furthermore...we GUARANTEE that you will not find a better course on internet entrepreneurship. If you do, simply return this course to us within 90 days for a full refund.

Interested? Learn More »
What Will You Learn? How Will This Help You?
Testimonial from eBay's Senior Manager of Corporate Strategy
"An excellent product for anyone selling online. If you want to learn how to make money online, then don't miss this guide! It's loaded with excellent tips and advice."

~ Will Martin-Gill,
Senior Manager of Corporate Strategy, eBay Inc

Just a TASTE of the Chain Reaction Training Will Give You
The 9 Steps to make the difference between running a $5000/month site and a $50,000/month site (Detailed in Module 1)
Avoid leaving money on the table! Identify the RIGHT PRICE for your product. (Module 3)
Add Bonus Offers which cost you nothing to deliver and produce. (proven 17% boosts in sales for our clients).
The "Crazy" Tweak that Boosted Sales by 96%. You may be afraid to try this....but it's worked for us THREE times. (Takes 7 hours of work, but it's worth it!)
Don't change your copy! Use simple Formatting Tips that can Boost Your Sales by up to 20%
"You Can Literally Get a Positive ROI Within Days of Applying These Tips"
"The insights revealed in this guide will blow you away. You can literally get a positive return on investment within days of applying the tips and tricks revealed in the MindValley Way."

~ Quincy Carroll, Founder, iPlayMusic.com

You'll also get PROVEN ANSWERS to these questions...
Do UGLY websites sell better?
Should I use short copy or long copy?
What are the 6 factors of influence every sales copy MUST have?
What the 5% of QUIET internet marketers gurus know, that everyone else doesn't?
What are the Magic Triggers to Get Your Emails Offers Read and Acted Upon?
What are "Edge Filters"? (We used this to Boost Sales by 40% through our newletters)
"Quality Way Up at the Top"
"Dear Vishen & Mike: Your intelligence and competence stand beautifully above the mind-numbing amounts of misinformation and prattle on the internet. As Webmaster, I brought a website from 94,000 to 1.3 million hits in 12 months. Be that as it may, I think MindValley's quality is way up at the top - outstanding! I wish you all the best. I know you will achieve it. "

~ David Abramson, New York City

You'll Be Given Specific Instructions to Make the right MINI-TWEAKS
Tweak your Sign-Up Forms (Boosts 20-40%)
Tweak to TRANSFORM your Confirmation Email into a sales generator.
40% of the Emails you Send may be Getting Blocked - EMAIL Tweaks you HAVE to make NOW.
Find Out Which Are The KILLER Tweaks To Make In These Areas
Headlines and headline testing
Landing pages
Using multimedia
Ethical pop-ups
Image placement (We'll show you how Placing a Simple image on our Site Boosted Sign-Ups by 20% Instantly.)
Font colors and styles
Testimonials
Checkout process
Shopping carts
Customer support system
Upselling and Cross-selling
"The Best Course of its Type"
"I bought your course a week or so ago and although I haven't finished reading it, realize that it is far and away the best course of its type I have ever come across. And I've come across quite a few over the last few years. Many congratulations! Clearly you guys really do know what you are talking about, and more importantly know how to take a complicated subject and explain it in clear simple steps. "

~ Anthony Howard, JackpotMarketing.com
"Required Reading..."
"The MindValley Way should be required reading for everyone that is thinking about growing or building their small ecommerce business."

~ Henry Vogel, Chief Revenue Officer, Quigo.com

You'll get Expert Pay-Per-Click Advertising Tweaks

Mike charges $5,000 for AdWords consulting, and here, you'll have his written word, showing you the right tweaks to get super-qualified traffic with Google AdWords
Rapid, accurate keyword finding - the intelligent approach (Module 16)
Writing Ads Are Different - Tweaks you need (Module 17)
What is The Money Loop and the Death Loop?
What many of your competitors don't use: Yahoo! Search Marketing (Module 20)
"On a Scale of 1-10, It's an 11"
"Once in a great while on the internet, you come across a resource so special and helpful, you wonder how you ever got on without it. For me, MindValley Labs is that resource. On a scale of 1-10, it's an 11.

Not only do Vishen & Mike show you the mechanics of how to structure Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads and web-pages that work. They go way, way beyond, to give you the actual content - the words and phrases - that deliver proven winners. What's more, they give you real-life examples, showing their advice in action. To prove it all, MindValley hands you the actual test data and you see the results with your own eyes. In over 10 years on the internet, I've found nothing like them. There's no better resource for PPC advertising or web-business in general, than MindValley Labs. I wonder how I ever survived without them."

~ Roger Hall, Adwords Certified Professional, BetterClix.com

And if you're ready for bigger tweaks....

HYPER GROWTH - Modules 30-36 will contain the following...
Free Traffic with Advanced Content Marketing
A Viral Marketing Technique that Will Boost Sign-Ups by Up to 40% (free software code provided).
How to Use Online Communities to Drive Sales, Gather Feedback and Create Buzz.
The Comprehensive Guide to Using Ebay to Further Drive Your Sales - Insider Information from a Former eBay Senior Manager.
How to Boost Your Productivity - the faster you put the business to work - the faster you see money come in
"Should be the First Guide You Read"
"Written by industry professionals who have shaped technologies that thousands of companies use successfully to sell online. MindValley has used these strategies to grow their own online businesses year after year and have been profitable since year one. This should be THE FIRST ecommerce guide you read!"

~ Vic Sithasanan, Technology Director,
Leading Online and Interactive Marketing Agency in Asia Pacific
"I Love It....I Can Put Your Data to Work Instantly and it Always Works!"
"I am an internet marketer from Florida am I work mostly with SEM and social media initiatives in my company...I must say, you are, by far, one of my most valuable resources.

There is no bloated marketing speak, no confusing tech acronyms, and no trend hopping to be found anywhere in your online presence...and I love it. I can put your data to use instantly and it ALWAYS works.

I just wanted to say thank you for taking the road less traveled. You don't bad talk other firms or trends. You don't give me age old advice that I have read a thousand times. You don't make me sign up for useless offers. All you do is WORK and make everything I do work better."

~ Bruce A. Prokopets, Paid Media/Business Development Manager, Webcapades, Inc.

Interested? Learn More »
Each of the 36 Modules contains up to 10 immediate tweaks you can make.



Remember, if you apply 6 small tweaks causing 12% improvements each, your chain reaction means

12% X 12% X 12% X 12% X 12% X 12%
= 97% increase.
Once you have these 36 Modules worth of powerful, tested tweaks, and the power tools in hand, what if you apply more than 6 tweaks???

(Eg. When you execute 15 of the right tweaks, you get a 447% increase in sales)

( Total increase = Previous sales * ( 1.12 Number of Tweaks ) -1 )

Action is More Important than Knowledge
You see the Key to Success in is Not Gained By Reading and Learning Everything in Existence

As a small business, your most important resources is your time Don't waste it pursuing ideas or Modules that will not create significant revenue jumps.

Instead Focus on the Things that Matter Most!

"You guys are definitely one of the brightest stars around"
" I have read your free info and, as an experienced direct marketing professional, I must congratulate you. I have read & subscribed to a multitude of so called 'internet marketing gurus' over the past 3 years - most are of little use, some of moderate use, and occasionally a 'star' emerges. You guys are definitely one of the brightest stars around & right up there with the best."

~ Colin Parker, Web Marketing Consultant,
United Kingdom
"A Must Read..."
"This is a must for entrepreneurs and small businesses to make your venture successful in today's highly competitive and ever changing online world. It includes endless number of tried and tested Modules that big companies pay thousands of dollars to implement."

~ Vardaan Vashisht, Former Vice President of Technology at Beyond Interactive Inc.
"This Course Was a Savior"
"When I started building my internet business, the number of options and strategies I could pursue were overwhelming. The advice in this course was a savior - it clearly laid out what was important to focus on and what to forget about. The succinct and to the point language was a breath of fresh air compared to some of the long-winded, over-hyped guides I've seen out there. It gave me the perfect roadmap for building a successful online business with just the right amount of in-depth knowledge I needed for each Module. I can't even imagine how many hours in wasted development time this course saved me. "

~ Joe Fletcher,
Founder, CustomerPassion.com

We want to be clear. If you want to be ASSURED of results. Chain Reaction Marketing is THE MOST RELIABLE approach.
Our Dual Guarantee
Return on Investment Guarantee:
You have 90 days to test the course. If this product does not pay for itself by 500% within 90 days of purchase, just return it to us for a full refund.

Best in Field Guarantee:
Furthermore...we GUARANTEE that you will not find a better course on internet entrepreneurship. If you do, simply return this course to us within 90 days for a full refund.


Author Credentials
Michael P. Reining
* Former Head of New Venture Strategy for eBay and Strategic Advisor to Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay.

* Responsible for leading eBay's acquisition of Skype for $4.2 Billion

* Founder of 2 Highly Successful Ecommerce Startups.

* Credited with pushing eBay into the classifieds market with it's launch of Kajiji.com (it's largest expansion in 10 years) and it's 25% buy into Craigslist.org.

* Former Ecommerce Consultant for the Boston Consulting Group and a Stanford MBA.

Vishen M. Lakhiani
* Former Director of Sales for a rapidly growing Silicon Valley company.

* Former developer for Microsoft

* Quit to Start Home Based Business at the age of 27 and 1.5 years later was earning $250,000 a year working from his bedroom.

* Author of 2 books, background in Computer Engineering.

"Will Repay my Investment Many Times Over"
"The guys at Mind Valley are a guiding light in an otherwise very cloudy arena, they give no nonsense, no waffle information with a clarity that I have never experienced before. The website critique was pure inspiration, I came away with a host of useable, practical ideas for my website that I know will repay my investment many times over. "

~ Russel Howard, UK, Web Optimization Consultant
SITE MAKEOVER
Which Other Internet Marketer Will Get On The Phone With You For ONE HOUR??


In this session we can diagnose and fix elements of Your Site that could be Costing You Thousands in Sales.

We're the experts, and we'll look at YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION, and give you a whole hour PERSONAL advice catered to your needs.

VALUE: $1,495

Here's a video testimonial how a budding internet entrepreneur felt about the Site Makeover



Let's Wrap this Up
Complete instructions for applying Chain Reaction Marketing to your profits

Personal, targeted instruction... me or Mike will get on the phone with you = $1,495
More practical advice in action.... An Audio Library of Live Site Makeovers = $1,095
Details and instructions on what to do next... Full 36 module Chain Reaction Marketing Course, and all future updates = $5,292
Power tools to accelerate results.... ClickMuse Split Testing Service One Year = 1,788
All the traffic you need for your website... AdWords Winning System v6 + v7 = $1,186
A time saving tool, to free up your time... AdWords Optimzer Tool = $348
These are tools and products which are already selling on the market, valued at a total of $11,204... yours RIGHT NOW - for only $497... you get over $10,000 worth of training for FREE!

REMEMBER: This includes a private SITE MAKEOVER with me today. We believe in coaching - no other internet marketing expert will get on the phone with you - but you have my brain for ONE HOUR, helping you fix up your website for growth - my typical client sees 200-400% growth one month after my SITE MAKEOVER.

Interested? Learn More »
Like Having Two Experts On Call
"Buying this guide is like having two ecommerce experts giving you hands on advice to boost your sales and profits. The tips and tricks revealed here are invaluable."

~ Jonathan W. Opdyke,
CEO, TravelHook

Ready to GET STARTED...?
Learn More »
What the Ecommerce Experts Are Saying About This Course
"Rare to See..."
"It's rare to see quite so much good, well-organized information collected in one place...if you're putting together an online business, or have one running already, the step-by-step format and case studies will help you see how to apply everything in the e-book directly to your business."

~ Terry Wells, www.SeoChat.com
"In a Class of It's Own..."
"Much advice offered by experts on web marketing is theoretical and difficult for a newcomer to apply. By contrast, the MindValley Way is almost completely applied information. With only a rudimentary knowledge of Internet technologies, a reader will be able to apply and test much of the tactics offered."

"Though every tactic presented here is worth absorbing carefully, the two areas of pay-per-click campaign management and sales copy writing are worth the price of the book when looked at as a business investment...This resource is in a class of its own due to the breadth of time-tested advice it provides."

~ Harvey Ramer, www.DesignDelineations.com
"The Type of Guide I Would Refer to Often..."
"Reading 40 Ecommerce Tactics has done what I was hoping it would. It has me thinking about trying new things. Actionable advice is provided so readers know just what to do and when to do it. It's not a glossy, You too can be a millionaire in 3 days, publication. Rather, I found it to be educational, reader friendly and the type of guide I could refer to often."

~ Kim Krause, www.Cre8pc.com
"Difficult to Write a Review that Does it Full Justice..."
"There's so much in the MindValley Way to Ecommerce Success that it's difficult to write a review that does this course full justice - I was asked to review it and I did and find it a very worthwhile course that I�d recommend to anyone wanting success in Ecommerce."

~ Marshall Sponder, www.WebMetricsGuru.com
"The Only Resource Someone Would Need to Jump, Successfully, into Ecommerce"
"The guide is complete enough, that I would be comfortable saying that it is the only resource someone would need to jump, successfully, into ecommerce...The guide completely avoids filler content, and although long, doesn�t contain any unnecessary information. The reason that the guide is long, is that it is thorough, and there is simply that much important information.

"This is a great guide for anyone in the ecommerce field. I�m not being paid to write this. I have no affiliation with Mind Valley in any way. I highly recommend this guide as a jump-start to making a well planned, successful website. In truth, this guide probably could have saved me a solid year of research time, if I had it when I entered into ecommerce."

~ Jamie Estep, www.MerchantAccountBlog.com
"One-Stop Resource for Anyone Wanting to Get More Sales.."
"One of the interesting aspects of the book is that you can use the advice given immediately after or during reading it. The MindValley Way is filled with tips you can implement immediately to see instant improvements in conversion. That's why it is suitable for the beginner as well. In fact, the book should be recommended to the beginner.

The amazing thing - and it is the real gem of the book - is that all guidelines have been tested before they were recommended. You get to see not only the examples of efficient ad text, but also the real numbers of how the improvements affected the ad efficiency.

If you are really into squeezing everything from your website to get more sales, than the book is for you. It is a one-stop resource for anyone, wanting to get more sales with easy steps."

~ Yuri Filimonov, www.ImproveTheWeb.com

PS - As you can read above, many bloggers are already calling this the Best in it's Class. In fact, We GUARANTEE it is. Take it for a test drive. If you don't agree it's the Best Resource For Your Website Profits,- Return it to Us for a Full Refund anytime within 90 days.
Interested? Learn More »


Order the Book About MindValley Ecommerce Blog Privacy Policy Contact Us
Join Our Affiliate Program and Earn 50% of Every Sale - Click Here

Copyright 2006 MindValley LC

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Test Your Direct Response Marketing Using two Steps











Test Your Direct Response Marketing Using two Steps

By Abe Cherian - Copyright © 2005





Of all the mistakes a small business owner can make,

possibly none will cost more than failing to test one

aspect against another. In order words, testing one price

against another. One headline against another. One ad

against another.





There is an "A-B" test. That's the common terminology for

testing your offer, headlines, pricing, ads, or services.

We create two different ads, an A and a B, two different

headlines, and two different mailings to determine which

obtains the greater response or sales or referrals.





The key to an A-B test is to set it up so you can quantify

and measure it properly and track those results with the

goal to zero in on the one or two choices that are

Preferable over the others.





Then you roll out a new untested product or marketing

strategy in this manner, and by mailing to a small test

area, say 500-1,000, you can save yourself in the event of

a failure untold thousands of dollars.





Most of the time you can conduct multiple A-B tests

simultaneously on the same product, ad, headline, price,

etc. before selecting the final strategy. I recommend if

your product or service is conducive to this type of

approach, in other words, creating a modest direct mail

campaign for conducting the A-B test to do it.





Direct mail is the method of choice because it can be put

together relatively quickly and inexpensively.





The prospects to whom you direct your mailing to in a

one-step approach will either respond or not respond with a

purchase or inquiry. No intermediate steps, calls or

visits. That way it involves a fairly standard set of steps

or procedures to take.





Your two other major goals should be in using A-B tests to

verify what people will actually buy and determine whether

you are able to reach these individuals with the marketing

campaign that you intend to launch so that they will buy

from you.





You must be able to think of the purpose of an A -B test as

a way to uncover the best and most profitable mix of

products, services, price incentives and guarantees that

will encourage your prospects to buy.





A word of caution: many organizations try to determine this

information by sending out surveys. Sometimes this works

and sometimes it doesn't. There are statistics that show

that people rate the Bible as the highest read book and the

National Inquirer as the least read. When you look at

purchase statistics, they show that more people read the

Inquirer in one week than all other books or pamphlets.





You don't necessarily want to determine. who will buy

things just by a survey. You want them to vote with their

dollars.














About The Author:


Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media,
a company that helps online businesses find new prospects and clients, who are anxious to grow

their business fast, and without spending a fortune

in marketing and automation.

http://www.multiplestreammktg.com



Web's #1 site to find "free resources to Plan, Build,

Market, and Maintain your website":

http://www.multiplestreammktg.com/resources.html







A Practical Method To selling Customers What They Want











A Practical Method To selling Customers What They Want

By Abe Cherian - Copyright © 2005





Almost all of the marketing and referrals we see is based

on a numbers list of what you think prospective customers

should care about. This is probably why no one responds.

Just in case you can't figure out why the numbers game

creates no curiosity, and therefore no response in most

cases, is due to poor ads and not targeting your market.



Thinking about how you promote your business is the first

and foremost objective you should be doing. You must get

rid of the illusion that your products, services, or

company, or self, are so good that people will be compelled

to read about them. The fact of the matter is that no one

cares.



It is still a mystery to why we are all trained to believe

that, because we think we have such wonderful ideas, and

the "best company," and so forth, that everyone is

concerned. Anyone who has tried to impress someone with

bragging knows that is one of the fastest ways to turn

people off.



Try walking up to a complete total stranger and start the

conversation with, "Hi. I just wanted you to know that my

company has the best track record over the last three

centuries, and that we offer more services than anyone

else. As a matter of fact, I have been in the business for

three decades, and have won every award my company has How

about pulling your checkbook out, and writing me a check

for this product".



After the person brushed you off, you might have wondered

what went wrong. Is that the kind of phrase that gets

people to buy? Could it really be that no one wants your

company's products or services? Is it possible that your

interrupting someone with your pitch was unwelcome? Can't

this person see how important it is to have a proper

representative? What other company could possibly help

people as much as I can?



Not hardly. It might just be your fault. You see, there

isn't any law that states that people must think about you,

and they won't until they are ready to. So why does

everyone send mail, or make calls, or send emails, or run

ads that assume prospective customers have been waiting for

your pitch? Because that's what you have been taught to

believe. For example, have you ever sent out postcards for

your product or service that said something like this

exterminator said:



(Dear Resident, Owning a home is a mixed blessing. It's

probably your greatest asset... and your greatest expense.

As an experienced exterminator, I can help protect your

home's valuable wood and foundations with professional

exterminator treatments. With my services, you'll feel more

comfortable living in the house you own...)



These types of marketing pieces are not affective. Here's

why. Because you are assuming that your prospective

customers care. Because you are assuming they think like

you. Because you are saying nothing different. Because you

are bragging about yourself without displaying any empathy.

Because you are not attracting attention. Because you are

stimulating zero curiosity or interest. Because you are

trying to convince people of something they don't believe.



If you are interested in getting responses, you might want

to try to understand what it is that your prospective

customers do think about. Try to get a real handle on what

they feel and what they want.












About The Author:


Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media,
a company that helps online businesses find new prospects and clients, who are anxious to grow

their business fast, and without spending a fortune

in marketing and automation.

http://www.multiplestreammktg.com



Web's #1 site to find "free resources to Plan, Build,

Market, and Maintain your website":

http://www.multiplestreammktg.com/resources.html







Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Nine Things to Consider When Starting Your Internet Business

Nine Things to Consider When Starting Your Internet Business
How 3 People Selling Similar Products Online can Have Dramatically Different Levels of Success
We see this happen all the time. In one of the most recent examples, two people, Sheryl and Marge started similar Internet businesses. A few years later - Sheryl is making $500 a month - Marge us pulling in $30,000 a month.

What did they do differently?

It wasn't marketing, advertising expenditure, SEO or any of the obvious answers. What Marge did to out-earn Sheryl by a factor of 60 was simply deciding to present her product in a unique way.

In this lesson, I'll show you 9 such unique 'touchs' you can add to your product to really make it fly. This isn't about rocket science - it's about being creative.

Let's take a look at 3 ways of selling an online product. The basic way, the better way, and what we call the brilliant way. These three examples will help you understand what you could fix about the way you present your product.

The Basic Way
As an active user of online dating sites, Sheryl notices that many men struggle to write a decent introduction and profile to post on a dating site. As a consequence, they get hardly any responses from prospective dates.

Sensing an opportunity to start an internet business, Sheryl writes a 50 page ebook targeted to men on how to market themselves better in the dating market. Because Sheryl does not have any previous knowledge on how to start an internet business. She prices the book at $6 and sells it on Amazon.com. She makes $2.70 per sale as the distributing site, Amazon.com, takes 55%.

Selling 100 copies a month, she makes only $270 a month.

Later Sheryl also decides to advertise the book herself on Google and Yahoo!. To afford pay per click advertising rates in the busy online dating market she has to increase the price of her book to $15.

At the higher price, Sheryl now sells only 50 copies a month but by selling them on her own and not on Amazon.com she now makes $750 a month. Nice?

Perhaps - but after paying her advertising bills on Google and Yahoo!, she earns an income of only around $500 a month.

This is good...but far from great. Sheryl could have been a lot more innovative.

Let's take a look at Marge's story, which is what we call the better way.

The Better Way
Marge also wants to set up her own online business. Marge writes a book on dating, just like Sheryl, but because she has done some research on how to start an internet business, she knows that selling it online will not bring her much more than $500 a month.

So she tries something different. She decides to give away the contents of her book for free online.

Marge sets up a website dedicated to dating tips. The 50 page book is broken into sections and she designs the site according to search engine optimization rules so she gets a steady stream of traffic from Google, Yahoo!, bloggers and fellow site owners who link to her site.

How does she make money? By giving away her book for free she now has traffic coming to her site. Better yet - this traffic is highly targeted and consists of people looking for dating tips and advice.

Marge makes money by reviewing and recommending various dating sites to her audience. Since the online dating industry is ultra-competitive, many websites will pay Marge affiliate fees between $10 and $50 for every customer she sends to them.

By offering free advice, her audience comes to trust her and to appreciate her honest reviews. She in turn makes money every time a visitor signs up for a site she reviews.

Does this system actually work? Well, we know one site that is successfully replicating this model. That site is Sage-Hearts.com. In an interview with SecretsofSuccess.com, the owner of Sage-Hearts.com, Rosalind Gardner, revealed that she's making over $30,000 a month just from affiliate fees. Pretty darn sweet!



Screenshot of www.Sage-Hearts.com

But why stop at $30,000. A bit more thinking can you help develop an even bigger strategy. Let's see how a group of guitar-enthusiast turned their hobby into a solid business.

The Brilliant Way
In the summer of 2003, a very passionate and professionally trained guitar player named Quincy approached us with an idea that he had. Quincy's idea was to help people learn to play their favorite songs on an acoustic guitar in a fun, simple, and intuitive way.

Quincy told us that he had never seen any product online that made learning to play guitar fun and easy. He said, ?Every guitar instruction book and DVD on the market is not teaching people how to start playing their favorite songs, they all focus on music theories and boring practice lessons!? He asked us to help him put his product on the online market based upon our experience on how to start an internet business

Quincy definitely had the passion and enthusiasm. He convinced us that it was easy to create professional looking books and DVDs at home, and that he could come up with the single best book and DVD bundle for beginning guitar players. Because we were intrigued and loved the passion that Quincy had for his idea, we told him we would go into business with him if he could deliver a killer product.

When we did some research on the potential market we were stunned by the results! There were literally hundreds of thousands of people searching online for how to play guitar! That's when we decided to help launch iPlayMusic.

Next we needed to figure out how to market the product that we initially wanted to sell for $19.95. We decided to market our product in two ways. One, we got the book and DVD listed on Amazon.com, and two, we hired a web design company to build us a fancy site so we could sell directly to traffic that came from Google.

After three labor-intensive months, we had a great product, and a very polished website. We thought the rest would be easy!

But we were wrong.

First, Amazon.com delivered a slow trickle of sales that did not add up to more than a few hundred dollars per month. Not exactly the exciting and thriving business that we had imagined. Second, our professionally designed website was not converting. We were buying lots of traffic from Google but the traffic was not converting into sales. People were simply not buying our beginner guitar books and DVDs.

Because of these disappointing results we decided to go back to the drawing board. From the few hundred customers that had purchased our lessons, we knew that they LOVED our product! They could not stop raving about it.

So we decided to completely change our approach. We realized that if our beginner book and DVD was so successful, why not give some of it away for free? As a small business, it is very hard to get people to trust us and buy from us. However, it is far easier to give them something for free, earn their trust and then convert them into paying customers later. Plus, giving away some of our lessons would cost us next to nothing since ebooks and videos could be formatted into easy downloads.

We added free demos and created a free online course that customers received over two week span. We also made our instructional videos available through iTunes, which got us a lot of publicity.

We then went back to creating more content and started working on the next volume of lessons to help beginning guitar players take it to the next level! In addition to expanding our instructional "Learn to Play Guitar? lessons we also created detailed how-to videos teaching people how to play some popular guitar songs.

Lastly, we came up with the idea to create a "Beginner Guitar Bundle" that combined our lessons with an acoustic guitar. Since we don't make guitars, we contacted a leading guitar manufacturer and struck a deal where we were able to source guitars at over 65% less than retail price.

We now had a $129 product with a profit margin of over $65 per order.

This time, all the changes we made worked and iPlayMusic soon reached sales of over $1,000 per day. We haven't looked back since.



Screenshot of www.iPlayMusic.com

So as you can see - there are 3 very different ways how to start an internet business and market an informational product online. The last thing you want to do is follow the crowd and sell your product on Amazon.com.

Although Amazon.com is the easy way out, it's not very effective and you won't make the money you're hoping for.

We identified 8 qualities that make a product a potential hot seller. Here are the 8 qualities and a comparison of how the 3 different business models we described in this lesson stack up.

Factor Dating eBook Sage-Hearts.com iPlayMusic.com
Easy to Store/Deliver x x x
Low Startup Cost x x x
Easily Automated x x x
Attractive Price Point x x
Upselling Potential x
Free Trials/Downloads x
Can be Resold x x
Creator is Passionate x x

Total Score 3 6 8

You can use this checklist to rapidly identify if your product is worth selling online and if so, to refine your business model to make it more viable. If you are in the process of starting your own internet business, use this checklist as a guideline.

You're at the end of this Free Lesson. For advanced tactics and next steps Try the Full Course

Here's What You'll Learn in the Complete Course
The 8 Qualities of a Hot Product and How to Build them into Your Offer
The Cheapest, Quickest Way to Easily Test Market Your Product - You Must Do This Before You Waste Time and Money trying to Sell Something that Customer's May Not Desire
How to Create Traffic to Your Site - ALL the Top Traffic Sources + What Traffic Myths to Avoid
How to Build Your Site RIGHT and Make it Easier to Tweak, Update and Grow - Avoid the Mistakes Other Webmasters Make

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

How To Develop an Online Business Using Practical Thoughts.

Starting a business to operate on the internet alone can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be daunting. Many resources are available to assist you, but information overload can cause paralysis and keep you from moving forward.

Keeping it simple is often the best way of maintaining the momentum necessary to get your business started. Every year, several thousand people develop an interest in "going into business." Many of these people have an idea, a product or a service they hope to promote into an income producing business which they can operate from their own homes. If you are one of these people, here are some practical thoughts to consider before hanging out the "Open-for-Business" sign on the web.

Whether you're selling products and services or providing resources and downloads, you need eye-catching content for your Website. You might run a wonderful advertising campaign; develop viral marketing tools and attractive affiliate programs. But unless your Website is rich in content, the traffic that results from your efforts will only be transient. Content that is useful, valuable, informative, educational or just plain entertaining can attract and retain an audience better than anything else. Admittedly, designing a web site can be a complex task, Site aesthetics are important and image and design are probably the first things to register in consumer awareness, but content is the most important part of the online merchandising and sales process.

Write powerful and instructive sales letters by letting it all flow out. Write down everything that enters your mind as you are writing your sales letter. You can edit it later. If you just sit and start writing everything you know about your product or service and how it will benefit your customer, you will be amazed at how much information floods your mind. Write it ALL down. Then read through it - you'll be able to add a lot more detail to many of the points. Edit it after you have exhausted all of your ideas.

Establish a marketing method and a advertising campaign. While it’s agreed that the best e-commerce site in the world is worthless if no one can find it, but, too often, e-commerce start-ups either rely on search engines alone or use shotgun marketing, simply by advertising everywhere, to everyone, in the hope that a fraction of a percent of those who see the ads will respond. Promotion on the Internet has many methods, is complex, yet as with more traditional advertising requires that you understand where and how you will spend your marketing budget and what results are to be expected, as with any marketing campaign.

Create your own newsletter and start building your database. To be successful with a newsletter, you have to specialize. Your best bet will be with new information on a subject not already covered by an established newsletter. Regardless of the frustrations involved in launching your own newsletter, never forget this truth: There are people from all walks of life, in all parts of the world, many of them with no writing ability whatsoever, who are making incredible profits with a simple newsletter. Plan your newsletter before launching it. Know the basic premise for its being, your editorial position, the layout, art work, type styles, subscription price, distribution methods, and every other detail necessary to make it look, sound and feel like the end result you have envisioned.

In Conclusion- all successful businesses offer their customers something of value, but that's not enough. Customers constantly evaluate what they get against what they pay, and their criteria for making repeat purchases are very simple. They want everything: better, faster and cheaper! Even if you're clever enough to build a perfect business the first time and your product or service is ideal for your customers, your position will eventually erode because the marketplace is not static.

Your product or service may be unique, but it's not as though someone blew the whistle and stopped innovation. Sooner or later, and very soon if you're noticeably successful, other businesses will copy you. If they can provide a similar product or service better, faster or cheaper, they're going to surpass you.

Never forget that as a business owner you'll be in a constant race against an ever-improving marketplace and no matter where you are in the hunt, making improvements is a daily necessity.


About The Author:
Andy Cooper is the owner and operator of a successful online business. Andy has over 15 years in corporate business operations which include savvy marketing skills, customer service and Professional networking abilities. http://www.marketersemporium.com

Five Steps To Successful Web Marketing And Sales Process











ARTICLE:

Five Steps To Successful Web Marketing And Sales Process


by Abe Cherian


The basic principles used successfully
by brick and mortar storefronts in moving your potential clients
through a successful sales process is also the most effective way on
the web.

But how?


You do this by following the
five step process in your marketing strategy by attracting potential
clients, building trust, helping them choose the right product,
presenting the product, and then closing the sale.


Step One- Marketing /
prospecting:


Prospecting is the delivery of
qualified visitors to your website. It can be achieved by many forms,
such as, search engine marketing, pay-per-clicks, and e-mail
advertising that draw people to your site.


Once they are there, it's your
responsibility to show them how your product can fill the void in the
marketplace and what sets your product apart from the rest. Deliver
your 'Unique Selling Proposition', USP.


Step two- Building trust:


Just like in a brick and mortar
business where you greet a person when they walk in the door or
physically help them find what they are looking for, you can build
trust by doing similar things on your website by the elements that
surround the design and development of your website.


Your visitor is unconsciously
judging your credibility by asking themselves the following questions:



  1. Does the website have the
    feel and look of a legitimate company?

  2. Is it easy to find the
    company contact information?

  3. How is the copy on the site?

  4. How fast does it download,
    and are there any broken links?

  5. Is there a privacy policy
    posted on the site?

  6. Is it easy to navigate?


Step three- Help the buyer:


If you have done your
prospecting right, the visitors coming to your website are hoping to
find a solution to their problem. The solution can be a product or a
service. Internet marketing studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors are
ready to buy. They are only looking for a vendor who they find more
helpful.


Ask yourself these
questions?



  1. Are you helping your visitors
    to identify and find the solution to their problem?

  2. Are you guiding them to find
    the solution by easy to find information, and navigation?


Step four- Present the
product:


Before you present your product,
make sure that you have already helped the buyer by identifying with
their needs in the previous stage. When you present your product or
service to your visitor be sure to keep their attention and their
interest by motivating them to continue with the sale.


Step five- Successfully close
the sale:


Look at each of the products
that you offer and ask yourself these questions:



  1. Are you assuring them by
    giving guarantees?

  2. Does your description answer
    all their questions?

  3. Are you giving them feed back
    and testimonials from your clients?

  4. Do you take credit cards, if
    so which ones?

  5. What happens after they
    purchase?


Take the guess work out of the
purchase process.


If you court your visitors by
the five steps above, you'll see better conversions, and increased
profits.












Resource Box:

Abe Cherian is the owner of Multiple Stream Media and
publisher of weeklytips.com newsletter, where you will find
hundreds of Internet business building tips. Visit www.weeklytips.com
to read more tips like this one.







Sunday, May 13, 2007

Web Marketing Tip - One-Step Marketing, A Costly Mistake.

One-step marketing is the most common marketing strategy used by webmasters online.

You send an advertisement by email, or a flyer, and expect people to immediately purchase your product or service. This strategy totally disregards the 'psychological buying sequence of consumers' - and is regarded as the least effective way to market online.

To increase conversion rates, you must develop a sales process which involves multiple contacts with your prospects. An example for this type of multiple step marketing would be:

Step One: A way to capture qualified leads
Step Two: A way to follow up with these leads
Step Three: A way to introduce other related products to your clients and potential clients.

A good place where you can setup your marketing process would be www.imediatools.com.