You already know how important content is for communicating your message, getting traffic and making sales. But you might be overlooking a few things that make your content truly great…
Write for your readers, NOT for the search engines. Sometimes we get so caught up in optimizing our content for SEO that we forget we’re really writing for our readers and not Google. Create content that is useful for people, that helps them, educates them and entertains them. Make SEO your second priority in writing your content, not your first. Otherwise your traffic isn’t going to get past your second paragraph before they’re closing your site and moving on to someone else’s.
Write for your readers, NOT for a certain platform. Today all we hear about is social media and everyone wants to know what to put on Facebook, or what to Tweet and so forth to make money. Again, this is the wrong approach and if taken it will cost you. Instead, identify what your users want, and THEN consider which platforms are best for delivering your content. It’s not about Facebook, YouTube, your blog and etc., it’s about giving people what they want.
Don’t be a control freak. It’s easy to fall into the mindset that all of your content must be published on your website so you can stay in control of it, but that thinking will only limit the number of people you reach. Instead, build your content to travel so that it can be downloaded, embedded or shared – thus capturing many more eyeballs and driving those eyeballs back to your site. Think of your content as ambassadors traveling the world to tell others about you, and sending those people to your site. The more your content travels, the more people it will reach, and the more traffic it can then send back to you.
Be fruitful. Are you writing one article or one blogpost a week? Try stepping it up to one a day, or even more. Release as much great content as you can, and don’t get stuck in one rigid rut, either. Develop a range of different content and see what garners both the most eyeballs and the most response. Pay attention to user feedback – they’ll tell you what’s working, what they love, and what they want more of.
Be open. So you planned a series of videos on topic A, and during the second video you mentioned topic B, and people went nuts asking for more information. What to do? Simple – give them what they want. You can finish your series later if you like, but right now you’ve struck gold and you need to mine it for all it’s worth. Give them great content on Topic B, interview an expert or two on that topic, offer them affiliate products on that topic, and so forth. Sometimes we hit pay dirt when we least expect it, and the most foolish thing you can do is NOT jump on it immediately. Money loves speed, and customers love to have their desires satisfied NOW.
Don’t create your content and run. When you make a blog post, go back and ANSWER the replies you get. When you Tweet, stay on Twitter to respond to the responses you get, and so forth. Your follow-up interaction says as much about you as your content, and if you do it right, it says that you’re not just looking to make a fast buck and you DO care about your readers. Which is not only the classy thing to do – it’s also the most profitable in the end.
There are many resources available to enable people to make money on a part-time basis, online as well as offline, and many of those can be done while working from home.
While some positions may require specialized training, most can be performed with little or none. For example, the field of data entry is open as many companies are outsourcing the inputting of information to outside companies.
Most of the data input opportunities are available to be worked at home from your own computer. A similar field is in transcription services, medical as well as legal, among others, where clients will submit via email or file transfer digital sound recordings and you transcribe them into a text document. This field is continuing to grow. Despite the ability to digitally record and maintain files, there’s still a need to have written documentation.
Another method of earning part time cash is through online auctions. You can make some money by cleaning out your basement and garage and putting them up for sale in an online auction and if someone wants your stuff, you can make money off what might normally be trash. Many times you can make more than having a garage sale if you list your items for sale professionally on sites like eBay.
That said, if you are looking to make a steady income from online auctions there are some online drop shipping companies with whom you can connect to list items from them into your auction sites. If the item sells, you pay your price for that item and the company ships the merchandise to the customer.
There are also some sites offering paid surveys that can be filled out online at home at your convenience. You will be notified of available surveys and how much it pays to fill them out. You then pick and choose which ones you want to do. There are also sites looking for people to write short advertising copy for internet ads, along with articles and ebooks as well. Some experience may be required, but for those accepted in this part-time, work-from-home position, it can provide a substantial income.
Many search providers are always looking for researchers to develop and provide content for internet search sites. While having basic knowledge of a subject is helpful, a little time on research can provide you with enough knowledge to be considered an expert on some information search sites. Additionally, some people are willing to pay for expert advice on niche subjects. If you maintain a web log you may try to provide expert advice on specific areas in which you are almost an expert, looking up any information you don’t know and slowly becoming a real expert.
These are only a few of the legitimate ways that you can start earning money part-time. Invest some research and due diligence into some of these different opportunities on your favorite search engine and you will soon find many possibilities for you to explore and begin developing a real, honest and sustainable income from home.
With a computer and high speed Internet access, the potential for the home worker to make money online is virtually limitless. When it comes to finding the right home based business opportunity, there are several things to consider. Here are the top five:
1. Are You a Salesperson?
Some people have a natural talent for sales, while others couldn’t sell water to someone stranded in the desert. For the home based worker who has the ability to sell, network marketing may be the perfect home based business. Network marketing typically involves selling products in one or more niche markets, as well as selling the opportunity. Also known as multi-level marketing, network marketing pays commissions based on a percentage of your sales and on the sales of your “downline,” or those you have recruited to sell the product. Each opportunity has its own commission plan, and many pay bonuses on top of commissions.
2. Are You Experienced?
If you have years of experience being a home worker, you probably have a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, if you’re new to being an entrepreneur, you probably need training. Look for a company that offers the tools and training you need in order to succeed. The type of training you receive can encompass everything from weekly conference calls or webinars (Internet-based seminars), to one-on-one coaching from your upline, to training manuals and other written materials.
3. Are You Internet Savvy?
If you know your way around the Internet and know something about setting up and hosting websites, the possibilities are endless. You can create your own websites, for example, and start generating affiliate revenue and Google AdSense revenue.
If you haven’t the foggiest idea of how to set up and host a website, be sure to find a company you can partner with who will do the heavy lifting. There are many Internet-based opportunities for the home based worker from companies that provide what are called “replicated sites.” They’ll design and host your websites for you, so that all you have to do is work on marketing in order to drive traffic to your site.
4. How Much do You Want to Work?
Before selecting a home based business opportunity, honestly assess how much you want to work. If a stay-at-home mom needs extra money, she may only want to work two or three hours a day. If someone wants to quit the rat race and work full time as a home worker, it will normally require a greater investment of time and possibly money to grow your business and level of income to that level. Sometimes a single home based business will provide all of the revenue a person needs, while other times you have to embark on several opportunities to diversify and multiply your revenue streams.
5. How Hands-On do You Want to Be?
Some home based business opportunities require that you be actively involved on a day-to-day basis, either in order fulfillment and customer service or in marketing your websites or businesses. Other opportunities are more passive in nature, in that you have to spend a lot of time initially, but they become self-perpetuating. If you’re a home worker who enjoys being an ongoing active participant, choose an opportunity that requires you to interact with other people. If you prefer to be hands-off, select a business that will basically run itself.
As you can see, there are several factors to consider when exploring opportunities to work from home and make money online. That said, there is an abundance of legitimate ways to earn if you are a truly serious home worker.
Have you been building email lists for more than six months?
Then you’ve got some ‘dead’ subscribers on your list.
They’re not opening your emails.
They’re not paying attention to you.
Frankly, they don’t even remember who you are.
So now you’ve got two choices…
…either remove them from your autoresponder…
…or win them back.
I don’t advocate removing subscribers until you’ve done everything in your power to get them back in your fold, opening your emails and hopefully buying your offers.
After all, getting subscribers isn’t all that easy. It takes either work, money or both. So why not put a little effort into winning those subscribers back?
Done correctly, it can pay off BIG time.
First, we’re going to start off by re-engaging them.
If that doesn’t work, we’ll try winning them back.
And finally when they act on one of our emails, we’ll send them a welcome back email.
Let’s get started:
Your Re-Engagement Email Series
You decide when to initiate this series – after they haven’t opened an email from you in 30 days? 60? 90? 180? It’s up to you. For the purposes of our example, we’ll use 30 days.
Re-Engagement Email #1
This email is subtle and doesn’t harp on the fact that they haven’t opened an email from you in over 30 days.
And we’ll place something in the P.S. to encourage their re-engagement.
Subject Line: Knock, knock… [Hello… are you there?]
Did you know it’s been awhile since you opened or clicked on one of my emails?
I thought I’d better check in on you because you’ve sadly missed some really cool stuff in the last 30 days.
It’s okay, I made you a list of what’s been happening…
Check it out:
[Insert your bulleted list of blog posts, videos and so forth from the past 30 days. Make it ENTICING, with bullets that raise plenty of curiosity.]
I know how busy you are. It’s hard to stay on top of things, but you subscribed to this newsletter to get the latest news and updates on…
[Insert known benefits, desired end results, etc.]
…so you will please forgive me if I give you the occasional “poke” just to make sure you haven’t somehow slipped through the cracks. 🙂
I don’t want to leave anyone behind, especially you.
Talk soon,
[NAME]
P.S. I know that [problem, challenge, etc.] is something you and I struggle with, so as an added gift I thought you’d like to see my favorite [problem, challenge, etc.] resources of all time: [LINK TO RESOURCES]
I think you’ll find #4 especially surprising – I know it did [benefit] for me.
What’s going on in this email?
You’re letting them know they are MISSING OUT. Then you go on to use some really enticing bullets that make them think, “Holy crap, I’ve missed some good stuff!”
You can add links to each item in your bullets, or add a single link to your blog, or… It’s up to you.
The goal here is to show them that they need to OPEN your emails or they will be missing out.
In the P.S., we’re giving them another reason to click (freebie time!) and we’re enticing them even further with that last sentence. Raise enough curiosity and they HAVE to click it.
[NOTE: I like to send the above email TWICE to those who did not open it the first time. Send it the first time, wait 12 to 48 hours (your choice) and then send it again to everyone who didn’t open it the first time.]
[Second NOTE: This brings up a good point… if you’re not sending out emails a second time to people who didn’t open your email the first time, you are, in my opinion, BLOWING IT. People are busy. They don’t see the email the first time, or they don’t have time right then to look at it. 12 hours later, 24 hours later, that email is so far down in their inbox that they don’t even see it anymore. So go ahead, send an email a second time if they don’t open it the first time. This tip alone can substantially increase your income – bank on it.]
Re-Engagement Email #2
Send this one about 2 days after the previous email but only if they didn’t open the previous email.
Subject Line: Wait… Did I goof?…
It’s me again and I gotta know…
…is this your best email address?
It’s been over 30 days since you’ve opened or clicked on a link in one of my emails, and I’m starting to think that you’ve moved on…
Or I’ve got the wrong address…
Or maybe I goofed up…
I’ve created a BUNCH of awesomeness for you over the last month.
In fact, I’ve been thinking about you nearly every day, and how you want to [insert reason they’re on list]
And I’ve been gathering the latest news, tips, breaking announcements, etc., for you, and now I feel bad…
Because you haven’t seen any of it.
Either this isn’t your best email address, in which case, please take a second to update your contact info to the best and most current address…
…you know, the one you actually check every day. 🙂
[LINK TO UPDATE CONTACT RECORD PAGE]
Or you’ve simply been too busy to notice what’s happened in the last 30 days…
[List of enticing bullets with links]
Talk soon,
[NAME]
P.S. Do me a favor… please?
Just click on at least one of these links above to show me you’re alive and that you still want to [insert goal]
Thanks!
What’s going on in this email?
Guilt. Lots of guilt, because we are thinking about them and their problem and we’ve done all this work to help them and they aren’t even opening our emails! 😉
Re-Engagement Email #3
Send this one about 2 days after the previous email but only if they didn’t open the previous email.
Subject Line: Are you….. stuck?
There are lots of things in this [industry/business/world] that can get us stuck…
So what has you stuck?
Tell me here:
[LINK TO SURVEY]
…so I know that I’m delivering the right kind of content to you.
Seriously, it’ll take less than 30 seconds and it will truly help me to help you.
It’s literally just one question (one!)…
…and if you help me out, I’ll reward you with something cool on the other side.
So cool. So ULTRA COOL but I can’t tell you what it is, because it is ONLY for people smart enough to click the link and answer the question.
People like you.
Here’s that link again:
[LINK TO SURVEY]
Thanks in advance,
[NAME]
What’s going on in this email?
We’ve switched from guilt to a survey to encourage interaction. Don’t get stressed about what question you’re going to ask.
What’s important here is they engage, so please ask them something fun or interesting or both. Keep it short and simple and easy.
On the thank you page following the survey, you can give them a product discount (make it a SIGNIFICANT DISCOUNT) or anything else you like.
I like to give them a choice of 3-5 free reports. They are all on different topics, they all have great headlines, and the subscriber can only choose ONE.
This shows me what else they’re interested in, and puts them on a new mailing list for that topic.
Re-Engagement Email #4
Send this one about 2 days after the previous email but only if they didn’t open the previous email.
Subject line: I need your help…please
I’m burning the midnight oil to produce a new series for you, but I want to make sure I’m covering the topics that YOU are most interested in.
Will you go here and let me know if I’m on the right track?
[LINK TO SURVEY]
If you do, you’ll not only help shape the content I send you each week… I’ll also have a little “thank you gift” waiting for you on the other side.
I’m hoping you will do it now while it’s fresh on your mind.
[LINK TO SURVEY]
It’ll take less than 30 seconds (literally!!) and I will be forever grateful.
Thanks much,
[NAME]
What’s going on in this email?
This is the second email in the survey campaign. As you can see it’s essentially the same offer, just positioned more as an “I need help” message than the first email.
<<<<<>>>>>
All subscribers that haven’t clicked on a link through your entire Re-Engagement Series should be placed in the following Win-Back email series.
<<<<<>>>>>
Your Win-Back Email Series
At this point the re-engagement series has ended, so if your subscriber still hasn’t responded, then it’s time to turn up the heat.
This first email offers a “mystery gift” if they click on the link. You could also tell them what the gift is, if it’s perceived as being highly valuable and sought after.
Your “gift” can be anything… a video… a special report… a product… anything your prospect will see as valuable.
[NOTE: At this point you don’t want to simply offer a discount or a free trial offer, because it’s not seen as highly valuable. There should be no strings attached to the gift you’re offering, or it will lose its power.]
Also, you’ll want to setup a special page where you will deliver this gift. Don’t send them to some random download page, it’s not personal enough.
You want to acknowledge the fact that they took this step. Show them appreciation for re-engaging with you after being “gone” for so long.
When they arrive on the “free gift” page, make them feel loved and appreciated, like they were truly missed.
It might sound cheesy but it really works.
NOTE: In the emails below, wherever it says “Click this link” or “click the link”, those words should be clickable.
Win-Back Email #1
Send this email about 3 days after the previous email (but only if they didn’t open the previous email.)
Subject Line: Whoops! …Was it something I said?
There’s just no easy way to say this…
…so I’m going to just come right out with it…
I miss your smiling face, and I loved it when you clicked “open” on my emails.
But that hasn’t happened in a while, and I want you back…
So here’s what I’m willing to do…
If you click on the link below:
This one –> LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE …
I’ll give you a mystery gift worth [INSERT RETAIL VALUE OF GIFT].
More importantly, by clicking on this link you’ll be telling me that you’re still alive and interested in receiving juicy news and hot tips from me. 🙂
And just so you’re aware, I have setup my email system to automatically remove you if I don’t see any activity from your email account in the next few days.
I know that sounds a little harsh, but I just don’t want to send breaking [niche] news out to folks who aren’t reading or getting value from it.
So again… CLICK THIS LINK: LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE
Not only will you have a cool gift waiting for you on the other side…
…you’ll also reactivate your subscription.
That means even more great stuff will be coming to you in the weeks and months to come.
See you on the other side,
[NAME]
Win-Back Email #2
Send one day after previous email – we’re picking up the pace.
Remember, the gift can be a mystery or you can specify what it is. I’ve found that if it’s a truly high value gift, then telling them gets a better response than saying “mystery gift.” But of course, your results could vary. (Hint: That means you might want to test it 😊)
Subject Line: Re: Claiming your “mystery gift”…
Did you get the email I sent yesterday about your “mystery gift?”
[LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE]
Here’s the deal…
It’s been A WHILE since you’ve clicked on any of my emails (those are real tears, by the way.)
Because I want to see if the email address I have for you is still a valid email address, I’m attempting something a bit odd…
…Bribery.
I’m offering you something extremely valuable for literally just clicking on this link:
[LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE]
That’s it…just click the link!
If this is still an active email address (and you’re still interested in [niche]) then I have every hope that you will click the link.
If you’re no longer interested, just keep doing nothing and I’ll sadly send your gift to someone else.
But I hope that’s not the case…
…because I kind of like having you around. 😊
So let’s stay together…
…just click this link: CLICK HERE –> [LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE]
And I’ll happily see you on the other side.
(I’m the one holding the great big gift wrapped package with your name on it!)
All the best,
[NAME]
Win-Back Email #3
Send 1 Day After Previous Mail
This is more of the same, but note how we’re starting to countdown to unsubscribe in the P.S.
Subject Line: Am I still welcome in your inbox?
I’ve noticed you haven’t opened any of my emails in a while. This makes me wonder… Am I bothering you? Are you not getting the value you expected? Or are you receiving too few messages? Or maybe too many?
Whatever it is, I hope you still want to hear from me… If you want to keep receiving these updates, you need to click the link below:
LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE
It will lead you to a special mystery gift. No purchase, registration or anything like that required. I hope you click it. 😊
All the best,
[NAME]
P.S. If your account doesn’t register a click in the next 48 hours, I’m going to go ahead and unsubscribe you from this list.
It’s not that I don’t want you here, but it’s been almost 6 weeks since you’ve shown any interest in the emails I’m sending you.
Sooo…. The ball is in your court – click the link and I’ll happily see you on the other side.
LINK
Win-Back Email #4
Send 1 Days After Previous Mail
We’re still offering the mystery bonus, but it’s no longer the emphasis of the email. At this point it’s all about “click or unsubscribe”.
Subject Line: oh-oh… Should we unsubscribe you?
I don’t want to keep bothering you with emails, but I don’t want to completely cut you off, either…
CLICK THIS LINK to let me know you want to keep hearing from me… …or click the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom
No hard feelings, either way…I know that interests can change over time.
The last thing I want to do, though, is be another gal cluttering up your inbox, so if you don’t click on this link:
LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE …I’ll assume you are no longer interested in hearing from me and remove you from our list.
(Selfishly, I hope you click the link.)
Talk soon,
[NAME]
P.S. I almost forgot… If you do click the link you’ll find something pretty cool waiting for you on the other side. Just sayin’ 😊
Win-Back Email #5
Send 1 Day After Previous Mail
This is the final email in this win-back series.
Subject Line: Is this goodbye?
Unfortunately, today is the day…
I need you to confirm that you still want to receive emails from me by clicking this link: LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE
…or you will be removed from our mailing list in 24 hours.
(Sorry if that comes off sounding harsh, but I really only want to mail people who actually want to hear from me.)
Originally you subscribed to my newsletter because you wanted [insert known benefits and desired end results], but if that’s no longer the case I understand.
Interests change… Priorities change… People change…
If your interests and priorities have changed, no hard feelings.
Just unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email and I won’t bug you anymore.
But if you are still interested in [insert known benefits and desired end results] and I simply slipped through the cracks somehow, you need to TAKE ACTION TODAY.
It’s simple… Just CLICK HERE and your subscription will automatically be re-activated.
(There may also be a little gift waiting for you on the other side, but you’ll have to click to see what it is.) 😊
Talk soon (hopefully),
[NAME]
Welcome Back Email
Send this mail when someone is re-engaged or won back.
Subject Line: Welcome back!
Thank you for updating your information…I’m thrilled to have you as an active member again! Here’s a link to some of the content you missed while you were on your “hiatus”:
[Insert bulleted list of most popular blog posts, reports, videos, infographics, etc from the past 30 days…]
…and here’s a “mystery gift” I want you to have to further welcome you back into the fold:
LINK TO MYSTERY GIFT PAGE
Finally, since email is less than perfect, make sure you’re also following us on Facebook and Twitter just to be sure you never miss out again:
LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGE LINK TO TWITTER PAGE
Again, it’s good to have you back. 🙂
Talk soon,
[NAME]
A couple of last points about this series…
MODIFY it to suit your needs.
Your emails should reflect you, and your personality and that of your company and products, so don’t be afraid to modify these as you see fit.
We used 30 days as an example, but you can use this series anytime you like. Personally, I use a similar series after 60 days of someone not opening my emails.
Despite what some marketers will tell you, there are no hard and fast rules of how to word an email. I’ve given you a good start here, but again you should make these uniquely yours.
Or just copy and paste and fill in the blanks – that should work, too.
One last thing – if you win back just 1,000 subscribers a year with this series, and just 5% of those go on to make purchases totaling $100 each, that’s $5,000 a year.
Not bad for copying and pasting a handful of emails into your autoresponder.
1,000 prospects come to your site or sales page. 1% of them buy a $50 product. You’ve made $500.
You invest 2 days trying a few different ways to increase your conversions, and 3 are successful. You only increased your conversions by 1%, yet you’ve doubled your income, selling 2% of the prospects who come to your sales page.
Now for every 1,000 prospects, you make $1,000.
And you send 1,000 prospects a day, meaning…
Well, I’ll let you play with the numbers. The point is, even a 1% bump in conversions can mean a significant pay raise for you.
Yet so many marketers never bother to do any of the things I’m about to suggest.
Why? I suppose it’s one of those things they’ll “get around to” but they never do.
So here’s what I recommend: If you don’t want to do any of the following, then OUTSOURCE it.
Let’s get started on boosting your conversions:
1: Create a compelling and clear value proposition.
Your value proposition can be the #1 element that determines if people will bother to read more on your page.
And it’s also the main thing you need to test.
The less known your company is, the better your value proposition needs to be.
In a nutshell, your value proposition clearly states:
How your product solves the customers’ problem or improves their situation (relevancy)
Delivers specific benefits (quantified value)
Tell why they should buy from you instead of your competition (unique differentiation).
2: Do A/B testing
You create two alternative versions of your page, each with a different headline / color scheme / call to action, etc.
You do a split test to see which one works better. When you find out what converts better, then you test something else.
Generally you only want to test one element at a time – otherwise, it just gets confusing.
The more elements you test, the higher you can boost your conversions.
Things to test: Headline, page layout and navigation, the offer itself, using different media (such as a video) and even a radical change if you think you might want to start over.
You can use Google Optimize if you’re looking for a free A/B tester, or Optimizely if you want more options.
3: Set up a Proper Sales Funnel
Sometimes your conversions are taking a hit because you’re asking for the signup or the sale too soon in the process.
If people are still in ‘browsing’ mode, they might not be psychologically ready to subscribe or buy.
The general rule is, the more expensive or complicated the product is, the more time people need before they are ready to commit.
If you’re looking to improve conversions on a squeeze page that only asks for their email address, your focus should be on improving the reason why they would want to sign up. Making your offer more compelling – something that will immediately spark their desire – should do it.
But if you’re selling a product, it’s possible that you need to do more to build trust, develop a relationship and prove your expertise.
Remember, the longer and deeper the relationship with the prospect, the more likely they are to buy from you.
4: Address Objections before They Arise
No matter what you’re selling or how much you’re selling it for, there will be objections.
If I tried to sell $100 bills for $1, there would be objections (and you know what they are.)
Of course, since you can’t hear prospects speak their objections, you’ve got to know in advance what can kill your sale so you can make what you might call, ‘preemptive strikes’ on the objections.
Make a list of all the possible concerns your prospects might have.
And then address each one of those in your presentation / webpage / sales funnel.
5: Build Trust
People won’t buy from you if they have no need for your product, if they have no money to buy your product, if they’re not in a hurry, and if they don’t trust you.
There’s not a lot you can do about the first 2 items on that list.
You can create urgency by limiting the number of products to be sold or the duration of your sale.
But trust is a big factor you can definitely use to increase conversions.
So what makes people trust your website?
Several things:
You’ve got citations and testimonials clearly visible.
You’re endorsed by well-known people in your niche.
You’ve got a physical address and maybe even a photo of your office.
If you or your business has relevant credentials, you’ve got them displayed.
You’ve got clear, easy to find contact information that includes a phone number.
Your site looks professional – not something a kid whipped up on his Intel 486 in the 1990’s.
Your site contains plenty of useful information.
You update your site’s content often. If your latest blogpost is from 2016, you’ve got a problem.
You show restraint with hype, blinking banners (please don’t!) ads, popups and such.
You have zero or nearly zero errors (when it comes to trustworthiness, one error is forgivable, two aren’t.)
6: Stop Trying to Sound Smart
If I were to give you a value proposition that reads like this…
“Revenue-focused sales automation and marketing effectiveness solutions unleash collaboration throughout the revenue cycle,”
…would you have a clue what I was talking about?
Because I sure don’t. It’s not useful to the person reading it, unless your goal is to chase them off of your page. Then I suspect it’s highly effective.
Don’t use fancy or complicated language – instead, write the way people speak.
Just remember, clarity is key. If they don’t understand exactly what you’re saying, they’re not going to convert.
7: Remove Distraction
Your goal is to get people to focus solely on the action you want them to take and nothing else.
Take a look at your page for anything that might divert the visitor away from what you want them to do.
Minimize distraction, unnecessary product options, links and extraneous information.
Get rid of sidebars and big headers if they’re not helping your prospect take the desired action.
Remove irrelevant images, or replace them with images that help you make the sale.
And ask yourself if there is anything else you can remove that is not contributing to the conversion.
Increasing your conversion rate isn’t hard, but it does take effort…
Effort that will be well-rewarded in increased sales and revenues long after you’re done making the necessary changes.
I received an email the other day from someone who asked, “It’s so hard to get influencers to take notice of what I’m doing – got any tips?” Yes.
First, change your thinking. Online influencers have a constant need for interesting content to share with their readers.
Create the right content, send it to influencers and I guarantee some of them will take notice and send you traffic.
Here are 9 tips to make that happen:
1: Build Relationships with Influencers – This is the old school method, and frankly also the best method of all.
Rather than trying to find a ‘back door’ route to their audience, you might take the long-term approach of building a relationship.
You can start by supporting the influencer in what they’re currently doing by mentioning them on social media and your blog.
Do round-ups, where you send an interview question to several different influencers and then include them all in a featured post.
Quote them in your blog posts – this is hugely flattering and will get you noticed, especially when you call their attention to it.
Support them and their brand, and you’re well on your way to building a two-way relationship in which they reciprocate and mention you to their audience as well.
2: Actually MEET Them at an Event – Again, this is an old school method that works really, really well.
If you think about it – who are you more likely to support: The stranger who sends you a few emails, or the person you had lunch with at your last conference?
This is the number one reason to attend networking events and look for influencers that you can help, and that can potentially help you.
Always approach them with the attitude of what YOU can do for them and not the other way around.
I say this because 95% of people who approach them at these events are asking for favors.
So, when you offer to HELP them, they will be relieved to have finally encountered a true professional and not someone who is just out to use them.
3: Provide Free Samples – First, you find the industry influencers in your target market.
Next, you reach out and offer them a free product in exchange for their review.
In the beginning, target mid-level influencers. They don’t get approached as often and will likely be more willing to try your product and write a review for you.
And make sure your influencers are following the FTC guidelines for disclosing they received a free product in exchange for their review.
4: Give Free Products to the Influencer’s Audience – Once your influencer shares their review, they can host a product giveaway on their post.
How this works is up to you and your influencer. It could be a contest where people have to enter, such as joining your list, publicizing your contest on social media or submitting a reason why they should get the product for free.
The influencer can be responsible for picking winners and you send out the free products.
Personally, I like to simply ask for their email address to enter the contest, and then I give them the option of sharing the contest on social media to gain themselves several more entries.
This builds my list and makes the influencer happy, especially if I’m giving away several prizes to their readers.
5: Publish Unique Research – According to Sumo, only 20% of visitors will read your entire article.
Worse yet, the average visitor will only read 25% of an article.
Ouch.
Which is why you’ve got to stand apart from the crowd. What’s trending or new in your industry? Can you create a study or poll around it?
You might take polls on social media or your email list, creating unique content for your readers. This will make influencers take notice and possibly even create a viral effect of getting mentioned by others.
6: Niche it Down and Go Deep – Anyone can post about broad topics like, “How to be a better gardener.”
But “How to Grow Miniature Roses indoors in Northern Climates” will stand apart from all the other info in your niche because of its specificity.
Find ways to go beyond the basics and create several pieces of content that cover different angles in depth.
7: Be the Devil’s Advocate – Somewhere inside your niche or industry are controversial topics. This is your chance to find unique perspectives that no one else has covered before.
Tips on how to do this without alienating your core audience:
Write from an angle that resonates with your readers
Back up what you say with data
Write in the tone of, “Have you thought about this…” rather than, “This is how it is, period.”
Be open to different views while standing by your own. In other words, believe in what you’re saying and be prepared to defend your stance without acting like a jerk.
8: Sponsor a Post – Some blogs will accept a ‘paid-for’ post that’s written either by you or the influencer herself.
You might do a walk-through of your product, showcasing the value to the audience.
A great way to do this is to explain how to do something step-by-step, and then offer your product as the easy, ‘done-for-you’ solution.
9: Be a Blog Sponsor – Some influencers also accept sponsorships for their website.
You can negotiate what this covers, but it could be a sidebar ad, mentions on specific pages, or even mentions on social media and through email.
As a sponsor you have an easy ‘in’ to talk to the influencer about additional ways your products or website might be featured, as well as potentially doing joint ventures.
No matter which methods you choose, consistent action is key.
Not every blog owner you contact will be open to your proposals, but when you…
contact enough of them
remain consistent in your efforts
always think in terms of what you can do for the influencer first
You can take an awful lot of those “how to market online” courses and sometimes still not learn the truly groundbreaking stuff.
I’m talking about the seemingly unimportant things that turn out to be so important, it’s like a scene in one of those adventure movies:
The hero fights through obstacle after obstacle to get to this secret cave that hasn’t been entered in a century.
He pries open the heavy door, sweeps away several inches of cobwebs, and by the light of his torch he sees something shiny. He picks it up… it’s a gold coin! Nice, but not that earth-shattering, right? It’s just one coin…
Taking a step forward, he sees a small chest. Opening it, he sees a couple hundred gold coins. Yeah! This is pretty cool.
But then he catches just a glimmer of something deeper in the cave. Opening the door wider to let light in, he sees more gold. And priceless statues. And gemstones. And… the treasures go back as far as the eye can see.
Holy cow. That one gold coin turned out to be the beginning of more wealth than the GDP of most countries.
Well that’s how I feel about what I’m going to teach you here. To the uninitiated eye, these three lessons might seem small, like a single coin.
And they might almost appear trivial. But I promise you, if you follow this advice, your online income can become almost limitless.
And by the way, some people have paid literally thousands of dollars to discover what I’m about to show you:
Marketing Lesson #1: Make an irresistible offer
You’ve heard the term irresistible offer before, but what does it mean?
First, it’s an offer that’s better than anything your competition has.
Second, it’s so good that it’s truly hard to pass up.
For example, if I were to sell you a brand new car for $1,000, that’s an irresistible offer.
Most marketers have trouble getting their marketing to convert because they’re offering the same stuff as everyone else. Yes, they try to make it sexy, but it isn’t.
You can dress a pig up in a lovely, low-cut evening gown, or even a tiny bikini and high heels. But it’s still a pig.
(Not trying to pick on pigs here, btw – I think they’re kinda cute and definitely smart.)
You can have weak marketing and a great offer and make it work.
But great marketing will never compensate for a weak offer.
If you don’t have the right offer, then it doesn’t matter how great the copy is, what the headline is, who is promoting it and so forth.
If you want to make sales, you’ve got to have an absolutely superior, irresistible offer that the prospect simply cannot turn down.
And you’ve got to back the offer up with a product that delivers, too. I’ve seen offers that blew me away, but once I got into the product, I realized it was 80% hype and 20% substance.
As you might have guessed, I asked for a refund – as did close to 50% of their purchasers.
So make them an offer they cannot refuse, and then deliver on every promise you make.
Do this and you cannot help but make a fortune.
Marketing Lesson #2: You’ve got to have a big marketing idea.
Just having a bigger promise or using a hyped headline isn’t going to work anymore.
If you’re going to be seen and heard by your prospects, you’ve got to cut right through all the shouting online and present something brand new.
Think of it this way: A regular marketing idea is doing what’s already been done, except maybe it’s 10% bigger or 10% better.
That used to work, but these days it just blends with everything else.
But a big marketing idea is something new, something revolutionary. It could be an entirely new approach, a new way of looking at something or a new way of doing something.
Take cars for example. A regular marketing idea is to make a car 10% more gas efficient, or 10% sleeker/bigger/smaller/curvier/boxier etc.
If you think about it, most of the cars today just sort of blend. They look a lot alike, work a lot alike… it’s always been like that.
Then there’s Tesla. Put a Tesla side by side with any other car, and you’ll notice a difference. Talk about how a Tesla runs, and it’s revolutionary.
Don’t let your idea be the latest model of Ford or Chevy.
Make it a Tesla.
Give your prospects a feeling of discovery, of something completely new that gives them an AHA! Moment.
Offer them hope that this is finally THE solution they have been searching for.
It’s powerful, indeed.
Marketing Lesson #3: Customer acquisition is simply about good math.
I know you keep hearing about free traffic. But free traffic isn’t free; it costs you time and work. And more time. And more work.
If you want to make serious money, then you’ve got to learn some math and be willing to invest some money to make that money.
Online marketing in the six and seven figure range is all about buying new customers – not hoping they eventually find you on their own.
Buying new customers is how you grow big and fast.
Think of customer acquisition as an investment.
You’re investing in the acquisition of assets — customers.
And to do this wisely… like the best marketers in the world… you need to know some numbers.
For example, one of the absolute most valuable marketing numbers for you to understand and use is the Maximum Allowable Acquisition Cost (MAAC).
MAAC tells you the most you can pay to get a new customer.
And to know your MAAC, you also need to know the lifetime value of your customer. Which in the beginning is hard, so do this instead – know the 3 month value of your customers.
How much do they spend with you in 3 months? Whatever that number is, you need to spend less than that to get a new customer.
Most entrepreneurs and marketers don’t know their MAAC or their customer’s lifetime value.
Of if they do know the numbers, they don’t use them to determine their traffic generation budgets.
But if you want to earn six or seven figures a year, you’ve got to know and USE this stuff.
Once you know these numbers, you’ve got to focus on increasing the value of your customer, so you can increase your MAAC, so you can get more customers.
Very few average entrepreneurs and marketers understand this, but now you do.
So, did I just hand you three gold coins?
Or a vast and unending treasure trove?
That’s up to you and what you do with this information.
What I’m about to say might sound contradictory at first.
And you might think I’m nuts. But stick with me…
…I want you to not only accept, but embrace your weaknesses.
That’s right – I’m not about to blow air up your skirt and tell you that if only you stick with it and persevere, you can learn how to do everything your online business needs you to do.
Hate website building? Stick with it and you’ll get good at it.
Don’t have a clue about SEO? Take a bunch of courses and eventually you’ll be a master at it.
Does writing make your skin crawl? Spend 4 hours a day, every day writing, and in a year or two you’ll be good enough to get by.
Nope. All of that is lousy advice given to new marketers by seasoned pros and amateurs alike.
And it’s nonsense.
If you hate cooking, should you really spend the next year of your life in the kitchen? I don’t think so.
If you’re a lousy mechanic who hates working on cars, do you really want to learn what every part under that hood does, and how to maintain and replace each one? Not on your life.
Yet we tell new marketers that if they don’t like building websites and don’t want to learn how to do it, they should just do it anyway.
And in fact they should learn every single aspect of their business, because once they do, then they can make tons of money.
And I’m here to tell you it’s poppycock.
You are really, truly good at maybe 2 or 3 things.
4 things tops.
5 if you’re a direct descendant of Leonardo DaVinci.
But that’s it.
Everything else? You don’t have the knack or the inclination.
And guess what? That’s OKAY. In fact, that’s GREAT.
Because one of the very first steps to going from online millionaire wannabe to actual online millionaire is to embrace what you are good at AND what you’re lousy at.
Here’s what happens when you think you have to do everything in your business – you procrastinate.
You don’t really want to learn how to write a squeeze page and lead magnet, so you procrastinate.
You don’t really want to work on your website building skills, so you put it off.
You don’t really want to do social media, so you set it aside for later.
A ‘later’ which, by the way, almost never comes.
But I can tell you for a FACT that the day you begin to become super successful online is the exact same day that you decide you are ONLY going to focus on what you’re good at, and you’re going to delegate everything else to somebody else.
Are you an amazing coach who is clueless about anything technical? Then delegate your website to someone else.
Do you love building sites and flipping them, but you hate writing the content? Outsource the content.
You get the idea.
When you hire someone else to take care of all the things you don’t like doing, you free yourself to focus on two things – what you’re truly good at, and working on your business instead of in your business.
Still skeptical?
Here’s a list of benefits to outsourcing everything you don’t like doing or you’re not good at performing:
Benefit #1: You can make fast progress because you’re no longer being held back by the things you don’t want to do.
Benefit #2: Your income skyrockets because of benefit #1.
Benefit #3: You’re happier. MUCH happier, because you’re not doing all the things you hate doing.
Benefit #4: You now have the benefit of other people’s work, which means you can scale much faster and easier than if you were still working alone.
Benefit #5: You have much more free time because again, you’re not having to do all those things you don’t like doing.
Benefit #6: Because you have more free time, you can take a step back and really see what direction you want to go in next.
Benefit #7: You can spend more time working on your business rather than slaving away in your business.
Benefit #8: You can take advantage of spur of the moment opportunities, because you have a team that can quickly mobilize and do what you need.
Benefit #9: You are now working and acting like a person of wealth. There is a reason wealthy people delegate like crazy – it makes them money on a much larger scale.
Benefit #10: You’ve got an entirely new mindset. You’ll have to experience this to fully understand it, but I can tell you that it’s the difference between being a foot soldier on the ground, versus having a bird’s eye view of your business, your market and your future.
“But that’s going to cost a lot of money to outsource all the things I need.”
If I offered you $7 for every dollar you gave me, how much would you give?
All you have, right?
Outsourcing works the same way. You are paying these workers, but in return you are making multiples of what you’ve paid.
I can’t emphasize this enough – if you are really, truly, absolutely serious about making six or seven figures online, then you need to start outsourcing everything you’re not good at or don’t like to do.
Do you remember the television series, “The Odd Couple?” You might have seen reruns of it on one of those channels that broadcasts old shows from the 60’s and 70’s.
The Odd Couple, starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, was a smash hit and one of the most beloved shows of all time. But its creator and executive producer, Garry Marshall, was young and terrified:
At the time, I was pretty new to television and I went to work every day of the first season scared to death. I desperately wanted to do a good job.
Unfortunately, I didn’t even know what a ‘good job’ looked like. One thing I did know was that people were looking to me for answers and I had to be ready with them. I had to make a decision right or wrong.
And time and again he did make those decisions.
You might be new to online marketing, and you might be terrified of making a wrong decision. That’s okay.
Any decision is better than no decision. Any action is better than no action. After all, you can’t learn from mistakes you never get a chance to make. You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket, and you can’t get rich online if you don’t DO something.
Just learn to make decisions and carry those decisions out, and you’ll be fine.
A little terror is a good thing – it keeps you on your toes.
Last month my friend moved into a new place. Little did she know that the window frames were covered in mold – something she’s deathly allergic to.
Within days she goes from vibrant young woman to bedridden sick person with sinus pain so bad she wanted to cut her own head off. (Sorry, that’s a bit graphic – her words, not mine.)
At first she had no clue what the problem was, but once she realized it was a mold issue, she grabbed her laptop and started desperately searching for answers.
It took her several days to find out exactly how to get rid of the mold, as well as what she should be doing for herself to get better.
Now then… wouldn’t it have been great for her if there was an instant download information product she could have purchased to help her with her dilemma? That’s what she thought, too…
…so as soon as she was better and had taken care of the mold and herself, she started putting together all of the information she learned into an info product to sell.
Talk about turning bad into good.
Thanks to her bout with mold, she now has a new residual income source.
So tell me… what problem have you faced this month?
And how did you solve it?
Because there is a very good chance that you, too, have the makings for an instant info product people would pay good money for.
And if you don’t have a problem that needs solving, I guarantee one of your friends do. Ask them. Ask everyone what they need, what they want, and what problem is driving them crazy.
Then invest a day or two in research and putting an info product together. Then get it online.
Never stop looking for opportunities, because they are literally all around you every minute of the day. When you find them, prioritize, and take action on your inspiration!
