Archive | March, 2022

What about HUGE Niches and MASSIVE Profits?

There is a ton of marketing advice online about niching things down until you get to a small, fanatical group of people who will buy anything and everything in that niche.

And this is great advice – I offer it myself and follow it all the time.

But… you know how I like to be contrary. Sort of like, if everyone is selling stock, I’m buying. If they’re buying, I’m selling.

And if they’re niching things down to the ridiculous, I try going after HUGE niches that have a TON of people in them.

For example… How many people like to eat good food? Or see movies? Or drive cars? LOTS of people.

So I got to thinking… What if you made an offer that appealed to a ton of people?

For example, how to take vacations for free.

This isn’t anything sketchy – it really is possible to take free vacations. In fact, there are several different methods of doing it.

So I advertise this free offer: “How to take vacations for free.”

And then I bill myself to my new subscribers (using a pen name) as the guy that will hook them up with really great free stuff, like the free vacations info.

In fact, if they liked that one, they will LOVE what I have coming up, so watch your email…

…you get the idea.

Then I send them free offers.

For example, a free report or video on how to get all the dates they want.

They opt-in to a new list to get that report or video, and now I have a targeted list of people who want dating info.

Or I offer a freebie on how to save tons of money on groceries, or how to make more money, or how to lose weight, or whatever.

Generally every offer I make is going to be directly tied into an affiliate product such as a ClickBank product.

They get the free report or video, and at the end of it I make a soft sell for the ClickBank product.

I also offer a free bonus if they buy the product. All they have to do is email me their ClickBank receipt, and I send the bonus. This way I can also separate my buyers from my prospects.

As I get these segmented lists, I continue to send them free offers that lead to paid offers.

And I make bank, all because I start out attracting as many people as possible and then segmented them down by interest.

Now then, you might be wondering how this is better than simply targeting a small niche in the first place.

Frankly, I don’t know if it’s better, but it is different and it does work. And it allows me to build several lists simultaneously from the same main traffic source.

One person can be on several of my segmented lists, after all. For example, they’re interested in vacations, dating and dieting – three different lists, three opportunities to sell them products.

Using this method, it’s very easy to build a large list quickly. And if I want to immediately profit, I offer a one-time offer after they get the initial freebie.

The real payoff is when I start segmenting into smaller, more targeted lists. And of course it’s nice to have (for example) 10 lists in 10 different niches, because now I have 10 different profit centers, all coming from the same initial source.

The key is to bill yourself as the go-to person for great free stuff, and then be that person. When you offer a free video or report or whatever, it’s got to be chock full of dynamite info they can use immediately.

Tell them what to do, for example, but not how to do it. The “how to” is in the paid product.

Or tell them the difficult method to accomplish something, and then offer the easy method as a paid product.

And you don’t have to create any products yourself – just use the ones on ClickBank. But you might be creating short free reports or videos, which of course you can always outsource.

One last shortcut: A lot of affiliate offers will start out with a free report or video. Make a deal with the product owner to get that report or video in the hands of your readers yourself. That way you’re using their freebie to segment your list, and the affiliate product owner is still making sales.

There might be a life lesson in this – when others are all doing the same thing, think about how you might do the opposite. Sometimes it can really pay off in a big way.

A friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous has agreed to tell you one of his money-making methods. And while he might be leaving some minor details out, I think there is more than enough here to set you on a very similar path if you choose.

This is what he told me…

“Here’s an example of how I made over $17,600 in five days by investing $297 and a few hours of my time.

Okay, I didn’t really invest my time – I actually paid a freelancer to do the work for me. But this is something you can easily do yourself if you’re willing to put in a little time.

I found some dynamite high-quality PLR on free traffic generation. It was good stuff, and even contained some things I didn’t know.

It included a massive manual, several written bonuses and a sales page.

And at this price point, I knew that there wouldn’t be a ton of competition, either.

Frankly, I would have gladly paid a freelancer $1,000 to write this exact same material for me, but in this case it was a simple matter of plunking down the $297 and having it in hand.

I discarded the sales page because I didn’t want anyone to know this wasn’t my own original stuff.

Then I had my freelancer go through the written material and put more personality into it, so it sounds like it’s coming from me. He already knows my style so this was easy for him and just took a few hours.

Next, he broke it up into 24 PDFs. Each PDF detailed one or two free traffic methods.

Basically, we were building a course on how to generate free, targeted traffic. And who doesn’t need that?

Finally, I wrote a new sales letter for it in my own style.

And I offered two options – they could either make 3 payments of $47 a month, and receive 2 pdfs each week, or…

…they could pay $137 up front and get everything at once, plus email support for six weeks.

Really, I thought the $137 was a no-brainer, since it was cheaper and included email support and they didn’t have to wait to get the entire course.

Then I sent the offer out to my list, and in 5 days I made over $17,600.

As to the email support, I hired someone to handle that for me. And I paid them after the money started rolling in so I wasn’t out of pocket on that, either.

Nice, right?

But I wasn’t done yet.

I then made a new offer for $47 a month for 3 months, or $97 one time and everything up front, but NO email support this time.

And I let affiliates take a crack at selling it.

I made over $10,000 from that as well, after affiliate commissions were paid.

Okay, frankly I made a good bit more than $10,000, but I’m not going to say just how much because sometimes it feels like bragging, you know what I mean?

And here’s the kicker – I’ve done very similar things several times over the past 18 months.

The numbers are always different, but what never changes is I make a good bit of money with very little work.

I mean VERY LITTLE WORK.

I outsource just about anything that needs to be done except the sales copy because I like doing that myself.

And when I let affiliates sell it, I get a whole new list of buyers, too.”

As you can see, he does quite well with this method. And most impressive of all is how little time he invests into each product.

Some things to consider:

If you don’t have a list, then you’ll need to advertise to make sales or build your list. Even if you want affiliates to promote, you’ll need to get some initial sales yourself to prove that it does indeed sell.

You’ll have to hunt around for great quality PLR. It’s not easy to find, and when you do find it, it generally costs a good deal more than the usual ten bucks or so. But as you can see, if you use it then it’s an excellent investment.

The first time you do this, I suggest you make any changes yourself unless you can afford to hire a professional to do it.

One thing he didn’t mention was the product name – you’ll want to change it to make it sound unique to you.

And I suggest adding your own introduction to the material as well, again to make it your own.

One last thing – there’s no reason why you can’t place some strategic affiliates links in the material. For example, if your course encourages the use of an autoresponder, then give an affiliate link to the service you recommend, and so forth.

And one crazy idea for the road… what if you did all of this, but then you gave away 75% or more of your commissions to affiliates?

If you’re fairly new to marketing, then paying high commissions is an excellent way to attract new affiliates.

You’ll get more of them on board, you’ll sell more products, you’ll build your list of buyers faster, and these same affiliates will be far more interested in promoting your future courses if they already had success promoting your first one.

Just a thought…

What’s the easiest way to make money online, without having to create a product or a sales page? Affiliate marketing, of course. 🙂

So, why is it that most affiliate marketers never make nearly what they could make? Anyone has the potential to make HUGE money in affiliate marketing, yet 90% or more of affiliates make a pittance (I’ll wager the number is closer to 98%, in fact.)

Think about this: If you earn an average of $50 on each sale in a sales funnel you promote, and you make 6 sales, you’ve made $300. Sounds good, right?

But guaranteed, there is someone else who made 600 sales and walked away with $30,000.

Why did they make 600 sales when you made just 6?

There are reasons why a handful of affiliate marketers do amazingly well, and everyone else barely makes a profit.

And marketers who understand this will always have a tremendous advantage over marketers who don’t.

1: Build a Relationship

I know you’ve heard it before, but are you doing it? People buy people, not products.

If you want them to open your email and click your link, or visit your Facebook Group and click a link, you’ve got to have a RELATIONSHIP with your people.

This is so simple to do, yet few marketers take the time.

Start with a blog post that is all about you, and then send new opt-ins to the post so they can get to know you. Make the post silly, funny and most of all REAL. Talk about the stupid stuff you’ve done, the mistakes you’ve made, where you live and so forth.

Do you have a strange hobby or unusual taste in food? Include that. Do you have 17 pets? Talk about them. Do you work until 3 in the morning and sleep until noon? Mention that.

Reveal the real you. Not the details people don’t want, but the ones that amuse and interest. You’re looking to make a real connection, not give a resume.

And above all else, don’t make your life seem like a series of magnificent accomplishments. No one is going to relate to someone who turns everything they touch into gold.

But they are going to relate to the time you bought Bitcoin when it was worthless and sold it just before it took off, or the time you thought you could fly and jumped off your uncle’s barn into the manure pile.

And don’t stop with your ‘about me’ page, either. Use this relationship building in your lead magnet, your emails, your other blog posts and so forth.

Always inject a little bit about yourself. Not so much that you bore people, of course, or make everything seem about you. But just enough to keep it real.

Think about relating an event to a friend. Aren’t you going to give your own perceptions of what happened, as well as tell about how you got out of your car and stepped in the mud puddle just before your big presentation?

Use this same method of personal, one-on-one friend communication with your readers as well.

Post on your blog as often as possible, and we’re talking every day or two. Encourage your list to subscribe to Feedburner or the equivalent so they know when you add a new post.

Your readers will realize you’re a real person who isn’t out to pitch them a new product every 5 minutes. And they’ll gladly read your sales emails much more readily when they know there is a real live human being who is sending them these messages.

2: Use Your Own Voice

How many emails do you receive that say something along the lines of, “Buy this product – this product is the greatest product ever – you will be sorry if you miss this – so rush right over and buy it now.”

Yeah. Same old stuff, over and over again.

There is a marketer (or maybe several, but I’m thinking of one in particular) who sells MASSIVE quantities of this exact type of emails as a swipe file to new marketers.

Like a brand-new marketer couldn’t write their own 25 word email that basically says, “GO BUY THIS NOW!”

People are TIRED of getting these emails. You’re tired of getting these emails. I’m tired of getting these emails.

Same phrases, same message, same B.S.

If you’re not going to stand apart from the crowd, then you’re going to have to share the same crumbs they’re getting.

Instead, take 30 minutes and write your own promotional email in your own voice.

Forget hype. Be sincere. Be honest. “Hey, this product isn’t for everyone. I don’t even know if it’s for you. But if you have this problem, then maybe this is your solution. Check it out and decide if it’s right for you, because I know it’s worked like crazy for some people. And it’s on sale right now, too.”

I’ve written emails where I basically tell people not to buy something unless they really really want it or need it. “Don’t buy this if you already know how to do xyz.” “Don’t buy this if you’re not going to be doing this type of marketing.” This is only for people who want (fill in the blank.) It’s like I’m trying to talk them out of it, which paradoxically often results in more sales, not fewer.

But the point isn’t tricking them into buying; it’s to be honest. Because you know what? That latest, greatest product you’re promoting ISN’T what everyone on your list needs. Some of them, sure. The rest of them, no.

Do you have any idea how refreshing it is to open an email that says, “Here’s a new product, thought you might want to know, but please don’t buy it if you’re not going to use it.”

The first time I got an email like that, I bought the product without even reading the sales letter. True story. I was just so happy that someone wasn’t ramming a sale down my throat, that I jumped at the chance to buy it.

Weird but true.

My point is, be you. Be honest. Talk to your readers as though they are your best friends and you don’t want to lose your best friends by acting like a carnival barker who is here today and pulled up stakes (vanished) tomorrow with their money.

3: Email a LOT

This is the one where people like to argue with me, and I understand that.

You’ve heard over and over again that you shouldn’t email too often, or you’ll upset your subscribers, right?

After all, every time you email, there is the potential that a subscriber will hit the unsubscribe button.

Do you know what the potential is when you DON’T email? Nothing. No opens, no clicks, no sales… not even any relationship building.

Do you want people to open and read your emails? Then send out those emails EVERY DAY.

Here’s why:

First, almost no one will see every email you send out. Let’s say you’ve got a sale on one of your products. Don’t you think your readers might like to know about it? But if they miss the one and only email you send that lets them know, then they’ve missed out on the discount and you LOST a sale.

Second, send emails at different times. I opened someone’s email just yesterday, decided I was VERY interested in the new membership he was selling, clicked the link and discovered it was no longer available.

What happened? This particular marketer only sends out emails at 1:00 a.m. my time, so I don’t even see most of his emails in the avalanche of mail I get before I wake up.

Third, if you’re sending email once a week or once a month, your readers are forgetting who the heck you are. And when you finally do send an email, they think it’s spam.

Fourth, if you mail more often, you will make more money. Don’t take my word on this, just do it for one month. Send out one email per day, every day, for 30 days. Put a promotion in each one. See if you haven’t made more – a LOT more – money during that time period than during the previous month.

And by the way, I’m not saying JUST send out a promotion in each email. Make sure you have some content in there as well, even if it’s just an amusing anecdote.

4: Think of affiliate marketing as a BUSINESS

This isn’t a hobby, nor is it an add-on for an additional income stream.

Even if you go on vacation, be prepared to send out an email every day. Schedule them in advance or write them on vacation. Either way, affiliate marketing to your list is a business that you can’t just jump into when you need cash and forget about the rest of the time.

You don’t have many support issues, since the product owners handle this. You don’t have to worry about creating products, sales pages and so forth. You don’t have to drive traffic, unless it’s to build your list bigger.

With so much you don’t have to do, there’s no reason not to focus your time and energy into building relationships with your list and promoting to them every single day.

Affiliate marketing can be some of the easiest money you’ve ever made, if you put in the time and effort to make it a real business.