I just couldn’t let this one go…

Here’s the story:

About a year or so ago I decided to take Playboy up on an excellent offer and subscribe to their magazine.

I mean, hey, I’m a red-blooded American boy.  Besides, the stories are good, right?

Ok, so the year passes and my subscription comes to an end.

But well before that - and as expected - I was frequently offered various renewal options.

I simply chose to ignore them, having decided that I really didn’t need any more distractions in my already way-under-productive-for-my-abilities life. (<;

Note: At this point I suppose I should mention that I normally subscribe to magazines by sending a check, rather than giving them my credit card info.  That way, they can’t automatically charge me if I missed some small print or didn’t uncheck a box, etc. when the renewal comes due.

So, yesterday I get a collection notice in the mail!

From Playboy - via Sunrise Credit Services.

Strange, I don’t remember entering into a continuing business agreement with Playboy (beyond the 1st year’s subscription), so why are they saying I’m "on the hook" to them for more money?

It’s a bit comical, because the collection notice starts out with:

When you receive a collection notice…

1.  Don’t get angry
2.  Communicate with us
3.  Let us help

These folks obviously know their business, because the FIRST thing I did when I saw the notice and what it was for is get EXTREMELY ANGRY!

The nerve of Playboy coming after me, potentially damaging my excellent credit rating for a debt I didn’t owe on a commitment I didn’t make.

Honestly, I always honor my commitments and obligations, so this was a real shocker to me.

So, after I settled down from NOT following rule 1, I went for rule 2 and gave them (Sunrise Credit Services) a call.

I got through to a customer service rep relatively quickly and after briefly explaining my plight, she cancelled the action against me and presumably, Playboy’s attempts to bully me into continuing with them.

I asked her if this would have any impact on my credit rating and she said "no" without a moment’s hesitation.

In fact, the whole process was so easy and she seemed as if she performed this type of transaction hundreds of times a day, the realization of what had just happened hit me - hard!

This so-called collection agency is really just an extension of Playboy’s marketing arm.  

Think about it, how many people do you think would have simply paid the bill - they provided THREE ways to do it on the collection notice - thinking that they really were obligated to pay it?

I’d bet the percentage is staggering. 

And the recurring funds into Playboy’s coffers reflects it very well, you can be sure.

All because of: 

A. Ignorance - people forgot what their original commitment was, and
B. Fear - people don’t want to be sued, especially by a giant like Playboy, or suffer a reduction on their credit score

Man, if that’s not predatory, I don’t know what is.

And I’m not a lawyer, but there’s got to be something going on here that, if not breaking the law, is either bending it to its extremes, using some obscure loophole, or both.

It’s got to be harrassment at the very least, right?

Here’s another example of predatory marketing, while I’m on the subject.

Have you seen the new Plavix commercial?  You know, the one where the hospital gurney is following this guy around, while the narrator is saying that if you’ve had a clot before, you have a blah, blah chance of dying from the next one or some such BS?

Listen, that is an IN YOUR FACE, OVERT threat to your life - if you don’t take their damned artificial, synthetic chemical, designed only to treat, NEVER to cure.

They are essentially saying you are a walking dead man/woman if you don’t take their pill. 

And the government - AMA, FDA, FTC - just let them continue to threaten and monger fear in the populace.

What’s wrong with this picture?  How can they get away with this?  Can you say greed?

But don’t get me started on Big Pharma - this isn’t the right blog…

Ok, so there’s your cautionary tale for the month.

Take home points:

1.  If you subscribe to anything - daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually - record the details.  Subscribe date, payment info, renewal info, etc.  Keep a central file, Excel spreadsheet, etc. of all of your subscriptions, online and off.

2.  Take extra time to read all of the small print.  Especially regarding your exact monetary commitment, the renewal process and re-billing options.

3.  Consider using a check for most offline subscriptions.  That way, you can’t be re-billed without your consent.

I’d love to hear some examples of predatory practices you’ve seen or experienced - both online and off.

Hopefully this will help some people avoid the stress and hassle this caused for me.

Be well,

Russ
 

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Terry is one of the early guys on the net who helped pave the way for much of what internet marketing has become today.

I guess he had kind of semi-retired from the business, which is why I hadn’t heard anything about him in a long while.  

But recently, another old timer made a recommendation about a product by Terry and I decided to check it out.

It’s called his Internet Lifestyle Retirement System.

Talk about being blown away!  Wow.

DVD after DVD of personally delivered content, painstakingly laid out in step-by-step, Camtasia screen capture or camcorder recorded videos.

And CDs loaded with tutorial videos specifically made for me to use to train my outsourced staff on specific tasks that support my business!

This course is without a doubt one of the top 5 best info product purchases I’ve made in all of my time online.

Absolutely incredible value - which is why it’s my Product of the Month!

I could go on and on, but this isn’t a product review article or pitch, it’s my lead-in to an article by Terry Dean himself.

Check this out and see if you agree with me - you don’t have to buy a product from him to realize that Terry knows his stuff - and he’s willing to share…

10 Internet Marketing Rules to Live By

Here are 10 simple Internet Marketing Rules to Live by.  Print them.  Post them to your desk.  Use them everyday.
 
1. Invest Small When Starting Anything New.
Always invest small when starting out. It’s possible any ad you run may lose money.  Always keep your risks and investment small whenever you’re starting a new type of advertising.  Even if you had that top level copywriter write your ad, not everything they write will be a home run.  It may need a few changes to produce the results you want.  The market you’re advertising to may not be perfect.  There is no such thing as a “Sure Thing.”

2. Test Everything.
Only one expert is right, and it’s not me. It’s your own personal test results. Test headlines. Test the length of your ad copy. Test audio and video on your sales page. Test a squeeze page before visitors get to the sales site. Constantly run 2 ads on Adwords for every ad group. Test a “try before you buy” offer. Test telephone follow-up. Quit blindly following gurus and test everything!

3. Be Unique.
Don’t ever be a me-too business. Take a look at everyone in your marketplace. What is different about you from them? Here’s a quick exercise. Write down all the benefits someone gets from your product or service. Now cross off all the benefits they can also get from other people’s products and services. What’s left? If nothing is left, you may need to rethink or modify what you offer to provide something unique in your marketplace.

4. Target Your Ads Only to Buyers.
You’ve chosen your niche, but do you write your ads to all your visitors. No. You will never achieve a 100% buying rate. Much more common is 1%…and 10% is extremely high (possible at times with strong follow-up). This means at least 90% of your website visitors are NOT your target audience even though they came to your site. You’re not writing to them. It doesn’t matter if those people like what you write at all. You’re writing only to the BUYERS…that 1 to 10% of your unique visitors who will take action.

5. Develop a Backend From the Beginning.
You should already have a basic idea or outline for your next offer before your first one is done. If your first product is an ebook or CD, what will you offer next? You may start your backend by offering joint venture deals and affiliate offers from others. The money is any business comes from repeat purchases and backend sales. In fact, I’d never want to be in any business where I HAD to make money from one product. It destroys your marketing ability. If your competitor can break even or even lose money on their advertising, how can you compete if you have to make a living off the same offer?

6. Your Network Determines Your Net Worth.
First heard that expression from Mark Victor Hansen. Strategic Alliances, social networking, referrals, viral marketing, etc. are the key to building your business online.  Going it alone is a recipe for failure. In most businesses, affiliates make up 50% to 75% of sales. Incoming links from other sites is the key to search engine optimization. Find ways to serve the other top players in your niche. Network. Mastermind. Grow together…even with competitors.

7. Don’t Restrict Your Business to Internet Only.
You’re not an Internet business. You’re an Internet based business. Develop your business model with both Internet and offline strategies. Follow-up on customer by phone. Here’s a quick tip - call people who just purchased from you to thank them for their order and also offer them something else at a discount price right now (I’ve seen people increase profits by 40% from that alone). Send direct mail to your customers. Rent a targeted mailing list and send postcards to drive people to sign-up for your list.  Use offline publicity and networking to generate leads.

8. Build your Relationship with Your Lists.
Yes, I said “lists,” not “list.” Concentrate on educating your list members…both with good content and about your products/services. Use online follow-up methods such as email and be willing to use direct mail. Send thank you cards to JV partners and customers. Run a teleconference where you meet with your customers or prospects.  Create a blog. Put a face on your company and let them get to know you as a person.

9. Focus on Your Gifts.
Focus your time and attention on what you’re best at. There’s dozens of ways to market your site. Concentrate on the ones that most fit with your style and skillset. If you hate writing, then don’t use writing as your primary advertising method. Or hire out the writing. Figure out what skills you have…and focus on those. Outsource the rest to others. If you try to force yourself to be just like “Guru #1,” it’s simply going to be an exercise in frustration. You’re unique. Build a unique business suited to you.

10. Plan for the Long Haul.
I’m sure you’ve been told about instant riches overnight. Quit trying for that. And quit trying to jump on the “new thing.” Pick a business and work on it. Yes, I said work…that dirty four letter word so many people hate. Things might no go right when you first start. You might have to modify a few elements of your presentation. You might have to change your product. To be successful in this business requires you have a backbone and stick to it even when things don’t go your way! Develop at least a one year plan with daily actions to push you to success. You’ll make modifications along the way, but at least you have a basic roadmap of where you’re going.

by Terry Dean
April 25, 2007
Visit Terry’s Blog:
www.terrydean.org

See what I mean?  Some really good stuff from one of the "pioneers" in our industry.  

Terry has given me permission to publish more of his articles, so I’m going to do just that.  Expect to see a few more in the near future.

He has a great teaching style.  I don’t tend to get bored with his stuff like I do with other folks.  It probably has something to do with the fact that he’s actually done (and IS DOING) what he teaches.  That’s always a biggy with me, how about you?

Anyway, take this information (with Terry’s and my compliments), USE IT - and prosper!

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And as the use of video increases, so does the number of new and innovative special effects features.

Things that weren’t economically possible a few months ago are now stepping up to the forefront of modern video marketing technologies.

Transparent video is one of those.

You know, those little video people that stroll out onto your computer screen at some websites you’ve visited.

Very cool stuff that previously only folks with deep pockets could afford.

Josh Anderson is a whiz at Transparent video.  He has a course on how to do it.  What’s more, he’s a really good teacher - and of course, he uses videos to teach you.

Anyway, he recently came out with a masterful follow-up to his previous products.

It’s a product called Trigger Players that allows you to control multiple html fields within the page the video is on.

In other words, like the demo on the page shows (no opt-in required), you can have a video play on your page, while having it “trigger” other effects on the page, like making an opt-in box appear, change lines or whole blocks of text, or whatever you can think of.

The possibilities for how to use Trigger Players are endless and make video even more engaging than ever.

Seems like a great tool to use for lead capture, squeeze and sales pages, just for starters.

Josh has a great reputation online - like for overdelivering.  He’s thrown in some great bonuses.  They alone are worth more than the basic product.

I recommend you at least check out the effects on his site.

**************************************

The second video tool does something I didn’t think was possible.

It allows you to put clickable buttons IN your video!

Not a redirect after the video stops or a link below for someone to click on, but clickable links right there on the video.

It’s called Video DirectPay Marketing software.  I managed to get it for a steal, but haven’t used it yet.

I also got a discounted (temporary) backdoor link for you, where the price is as low as you’re going to see it.

It’s designed to allow one button to take visitors to a payment page and the other to a page of your choice (like a printed salesletter).

I imagine you could get the links to go where you want them to.

I see something like Video DirectPay Marketing replacing the standard long copy salesletter.  At least augmenting it.

Of course, you’ll have to check the terms of use of any public video sites you plan to upload these videos to.

This is so new to me, I don’t really know if I’ve ever seen a video anywhere that had clickable links in the video itself.  You?

It’s still early, maybe you’d like to be one of the first to snag this?

Like with the other tool, there are loads of possibilities for this.

Feel free to share some of your ideas for creative ways to use these tools!

Russ

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I know, I’ve been away for awhile…

But not intentionally.  I was locked out of my own blog for several weeks.

And rather than hire someone to figure out the problem, I was determined to do it on my own.  This isn’t my only Wordpress blog, after all.  And I don’t have a “team” to handle things like this.

Soon, perhaps.  But for now, it’s either me or one of the local outsource sites like elance.com.

Chances are, it’s me.  At least for small issues like this.

So, after lots of searching around the Wordpress.org support section, punctuated by frequent distractions and detours, I upgraded (via FTP, I couldn’t get into the admin) to version 2.5.1.

But this time I compared my original htaccess file to the existing one and saw a lot of extra stuff on the existing one.

By simply replacing that file, all’s good to go again. Whew!

Sure wish I knew how that file got weird stuff written on it…

Not that scripts don’t have glitches and good hackers can get into pretty much everything.

I just want to know if it was one of those or something else.

Good thing it’s only happened once.  Let’s hope it’s the last time, too!

Russ

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This model is almost universally being viewed by the IM community as "shady" at best.

What model?

The technical name is a "forced continuity" program.

Here’s how it works:

You enter the marketer’s sales funnel through a low priced product or inexpensive trial.

When you get to the sales page, you are paying for the product or trial, BUT, there is also some additional information there you must be aware of - the continuity piece.

So, what’s the continuity piece?

It’s the part where you are also agreeing to a monthly subscription - usually to their printed newsletter, sent by postal mail.

Various marketer’s newsletters include CDs or DVDs and the monthly fees range from $9.99 to $97.00 and up.

In this recent case, it was Matt Bacak’s launch of his new "retirement" product.  

He’s offering access to the recordings of his famous, tried and true internet marketing seminar for $1 dollar.

People paid $5,500 to attend the seminar in person, so having access to all of the material is clearly worth one measly buck.

And in the wonderful word of marketing, that’s called a "loss leader".

Meaning, he’s willing to take a big loss up front, knowing full well that the majority of people unconsciously follow the law of reciprocity.

And what a powerful law it is…

In other words, he knows that a significant percentage of people who access his seminar, and who receive his newsletter (the 1st one is gratis) will stay subscribed at $29.97 a month - for at least one month.

I’m sure the content is great, but the main reason why many people will stay subscribed for at least one billing cycle is to reciprocate Matt’s generosity.  

After all, they just got access to a $5,500 seminar in it’s entirety for a measly buck.  So how is an additional $29.97 going to kill them?  They are still waay ahead of the game…

And that, my friend, is where the real money is made!

Joel Comm did almost the same thing as Matt just a few days later. 

Only his loss leader is his recently updated Adsense Secrets ebook - previously sold for $97.00 - now a mere $9.95.

And Joel’s newsletter is also $29.97, with the first month free.

Now, a lot of people got upset about Matt’s sales model.  

Originally, I guess it was not readily apparent that the buyer was also commiting to a monthly subscription of $29.97.

And some got peeved with Joel’s setup as well.

Since then, both Matt and Joel have changed their sales and payment pages to better reflect the ENTIRE commitment of the buyer.  

In fact, Joel went one step further by adding the newsletter subscription as an optional add-on line item on the payment page.  Way to respond to market feedback, Joel!

I reviewed both offers.  And I saw the built-in forced continuity program in both of them without any trouble.

I bought Joel’s ebook, Adsense Secrets V4 and will wait to see whether his newsletter delivers the value he says it does.  If I don’t want to continue with it, I can easily cancel before I am billed.

I will probably buy Matt’s package as well.  I can’t imagine not being able to extract my dollar’s worth from the info.  Same goes with his newsletter, too.  

I will say I’ve been burned by a forced continuity program before.  A couple of months ago, in fact.

Not because I didn’t know what I was getting into, but because I was not able to contact the marketer to cancel before I was billed.

In fact, of the tens of thousands of dollars I’ve spent online over the years, this was the single worst experience I’ve ever had.

The marketer is Nick Marks and I will NEVER do business with him again.  I recommend you avoid doing business with him, too.

Initially, I subscribed to his program through his loss leader of a free Rapid Business Growth DVD and printed newsletter.  

But after receiving the material and reviewing it, I quickly realized it was of poor quality and I didn’t want to continue with the subscription.

I spent weeks trying to contact him to cancel - both through the emails he provided for that purpose as well as through his helpdesk.

I actually had to Google him to find his helpdesk and when I finally found it, it was broken - and stayed that way for about two weeks.

When they finally fixed it, I requested my subscription be canceled and a refund be issued.  But all I got was the cancellation.  I ended getting billed twice at $48.00 before I finally extricated myself from his organization.

Fortunately, I have an outstanding bank that was kind enough to credit my account with the two charges (under the heading of "fraud").  I sure hope they went after his payment processor to get their funds back, though.

So yes, forced continuity programs CAN be a nightmare.  But most aren’t.

And the fact that some senior internet marketers were upset with these techniques puzzled me quite a bit.

I mean, Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham, Harv Eker and Joe Vitale have such programs, so what’s the big deal?  

In fact, pretty much all of the biggest of the big names in marketing do.

Why the heck not?  1,000 people times $29.95 a month.  You do the math.

I guess it’s all about ethics.  It’s HOW the offer is presented and whether or not there is any fine print or not.

But let’s face it, if we fail to read the entire sales agreement, who’s fault is it?

Bottom line, this type of system is perfectly acceptable, proven over time, used by the who’s who of marketing and is extremely profitable.

And if we as marketers are planning to use such a model, we must be especially vigilant to ensure our potential customers know exactly what they are paying for and exactly what ELSE they are getting themselves into!

Further, we should NEVER rope someone into a forced continuity program and then make it near impossible for them to change their mind and cancel.  

That’s more like a hostage situation ( I call it financial rape) and is a sure way to have your business crash and burn - fast.  Did you catch that, Mr. Marks?

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If you’re not familiar with the show, let me give you a quick rundown of what it’s all about.

Basically, Extreme Home Makeover provides a new house for a deserving family every week.  

Most of the families have some sort of desperate need like a family member with health concerns, a house that’s falling apart and/or serious financial issues.  

And most of the families have some sort of community involvement and/or charitable activity that they are heavily involved in.

In a one hour show, the cast and crew meets the family, gets a tour of their house, gets the family packed up and sent on vacation, destroys their house, and builds them a brand-new and fully decked-out "home" from the ground up.

The demolition phase is a big deal, particularly the way they demolish some of the houses with heavy equipment or explosives or whatever other creative means they can come up with.

So what does all that have to do with internet marketing?

Well, one of the things Extreme Home Makeover does brilliantly is something that Mark Joyner is famous for talking about.  In fact, he may have coined the phrase.

What phrase?  

Integration Marketing.

And what does that mean?  

Essentially, it means subtly and/or indirectly including some image or mention of a product, while not necessarily calling attention to it directly.

In the case of Extreme Home Makeover, they use Integration Marketing by showing the multiple different brands of building materials, equipment and companies that donate their services or products in the construction of each week’s house.

If you’ve ever seen the show, by the end of it you’ve seen probably 50 different brands or names or logos of the companies that represent the products and services that went into building the house.

From the motor coach used to transport the cast to the manufacturer of the roofing materials, it seems that every single contributor to each house gets some sort of brief exposure.  

But the great thing about it is that you don’t feel like you’re being marketed to.  You don’t feel like you’re looking at an advertisement.

Instead, you actually start to feel a little bit of loyalty towards these companies.  

After all, they’re donating their products or services and making some family’s dreams come true, so they’re putting themselves in the position of "the good guys".

And as far as marketing goes, it would be hard to get more smart than that.

One of the largest sponsors of the show has been Sears.  On many shows they donate all of the appliances for the entire house and quite often much of the furniture and other household sundries.

I can imagine how many thousands of dollars worth of products they’ve given to these families over the years of airing the show.

And during that time, I’ve developed a great respect for Sears.  Now it looks like CVS Pharmacy is taking over the position of the major sponsor.

And I imagine their revenues are going to increase the same way that Sears’ did, when the viewer loyalty towards this company begins to increase as a result of their generosity.

Some may argue that it’s a huge tax deduction for these companies, and that may be true.  But nevertheless, this public display of generosity will undoubtedly affect their bottom line in a positive way for a long time to come.

If you haven’t watched the show, I encourage you to.  Not only is it very touching, it is an excellent example of how to use positive emotions to advertise effectively - even subconsciously.

And while you’re at it, why not practice noticing all the different ways Integration Marketing is used in the various forms of advertising you’re exposed to every day.

And why not try to apply some of those techniques to your own marketing?  It’s about as low pressure as advertising gets, yet the results are amazing.

Not only will your customers appreciate it, but so will your pocketbook.

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• I Completed The Simpleology Blogging Course (1)
• Mark Joyner Has Done It Again (0)

During that call, Ross was put on the firing line about his financial statements by one of the attendees.

Well, the very next day I received an e-mail from the partner of another very successful marketer - Mike Filsaime - stating that Mike’s finances were not always as good as they are today.

The message went on to say that Mike had filed for bankruptcy only five short years ago.

I have to say that I was somewhat surprised by that information.

You see, I’ve been a customer and follower of Mike Filsaime for several years now.  In fact, he was the first master marketer that I chose to use as my example.

But to think that just five years ago he was bankrupt and now he makes probably mid-six figures per month is a bit mind-boggling.

Now, this disclosure was part of a marketing campaign to sell access to his new teaching course on internet marketing.

But it got me to thinking about just how many other very successful people I’ve been exposed to over the years, who had been bankrupt themselves not too many years prior.

Was it that they were just bad financial managers?  Or maybe they just had made some bad decisions or took some risky gambles?

Whatever it was that took them down to the depths of their financial woes, something else was to be attributed to their current millionaire status.

So what are the characteristics or traits that allowed these super successful individuals to be financially bankrupt at one point in time, and multimillionaires not too long after?

There are probably several, but two jump out at me.

The first is simply learning from your mistakes.

If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we fall into one of the definitions of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.

The second characteristic is valuable beyond price.  What is it?

Persistence!

The one characteristic that all these super successful individuals who were once dirt poor have in common is persistence.

Once again I am compelled to call on a quote from the past that sums up persistence better than any other I’ve seen:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
– Calvin Coolidge (30th U.S. President)

And so, with statistics of 95% or more of new businesses failing within the first five years, it’s easy to see that persistence is the one characteristic of infinite value for all entrepreneurs.

Most people love an underdog.  We seem to really enjoy seeing the struggles and eventual successes of other people.  It makes us feel like we can do it too.  It makes us feel better about our mistakes, as well.

And as far as choosing an example goes, I think we all would prefer to choose someone who has struggled to the top of the mountain, rather than someone who was dropped there by helicopter.

I think it’s unfortunate that the majority of “make money on the internet” types of products show the massive earnings of the marketer selling the product, but don’t show the years of struggles that they had to go through before they got to those levels of earnings.

That’s why I appreciate the successful marketers who share their past struggles with me.  It makes them more genuine and human to me and enables me to make certain allowances for their shortcomings.

It also gives me hope that if I persist, I too will succeed to the level of effort and persistence that I apply to my business.

How about you?

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• Internet Marketing Masters And Their Finances - Part 1 (0)

You see, Ross is unique as a successful online marketer in that he has weekly open-line teleseminar calls where his subscribers and customers can call and talk to him in person.

Only last night was different, because one of his so-called subscribers got on the line and started asking rather challenging questions of Ross. 

Calling him out, as it were.

The caller wanted to know Ross’ exact earnings based on the claims he had made in various teleconferences or seminars or on his website sales letters.

And not just that, he was challenging him on the fact that he had made differing claims from one source of media to another.

Fortunately, Ross kept a pretty cool head during this interrogation, and told the caller to basically look at his sales letters and then he can see his proof of earnings there.

He also said that if the guy was a coaching client he may be more inclined to disclose his full earnings, due to the large cost of one-on-one coaching.  

But for a free teleconference, neither Ross nor many of his loyal supporters on the line saw any reason for him to go into any great detail about his penny by penny earnings.

I have to say, it was a most uncomfortable call for most of us in attendance. 

Especially Ross, I’m sure.  

And after the 10 minutes or so that the caller and Ross debated, the discussion continued along those same lines - even after the caller hung up - for about another 30 minutes.

In fact, after the guy hung up, Ross then proceeded to reveal to the rest of us some of the details of his long haul in internet marketing from day one to the present. 

He also disclosed some of his trials and tribulations - and that his income had not always been steady and predictable.

So, if the caller’s intention was to disrupt the call (as many of us thought it was), he succeeded big time. 

But he also got Ross to open up in a way he might not have otherwise.  Really, pretty enlightening.

While it wasn’t the most educational or teaching-oriented call that I’ve ever listened to,  I have to say that there were a couple of distinct lessons that I learned from it.

Lesson One -

Anyone who dares to stick their head up above the crowd is bound to catch a tomato or two once in a while.

In this case we’re talking about someone who has had a good deal of success on the internet being challenged to prove the earnings he has claimed through various means in the past.

I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."  
  –  Theodore Roosevelt (26th U.S. President)

Several of the attendees thought that the caller was very hateful and was trying to exact some sort of revenge on Ross.  

And that may be so, but his questions were also quite valid…

Which brings me to…

Lesson Two -

Whenever you use financial social proof in ANY format, be it live at a seminar, on a tele-seminar or in print somewhere like on a webpage, make sure you’re consistent with the numbers you use.

And don’t you dare exaggerate!  It’s better to understate and then overdeliver, than vice versa, you know?

Personally, I’m NOT a big fan of how some of the master marketers use their financial statements to prove that their product can earn you money.  

Because quite frankly, their earnings have no bearing whatsoever on what I might earn. The appeal is to the reader’s greed gland and not a more realistic view of what a novice might expect to earn with the product.

So, while it was the most bizarre internet marketing call I’ve ever listened in on (and participated in), I still managed to extract a couple of valuable lessons from it.

In Part 2 of this article I expound a bit on the topic of Internet Marketing Masters And Their Finances.
 

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• Internet Marketing Masters And Their Finances - Part 2 (2)
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Russ here.  Welcome to another issue of the "Conquer The Net" ezine.

This issue includes…

 1) "A Quick Adwords Overview"
 2) "Marketing Freebie"
 3) "60-Second Marketing Tip"
 4) "Featured Article: Testing Your Way to Success!"
 5) "Your PC Security Tip" - NEW feature this issue!
 6) "Offline Marketing Strategies"
 7) "Tell Me What You Think!"
 8) "That’s A Wrap"

Remember, this and all other posts on this blog are available through the RSS reader of your choice.  Why subscribe to my RSS feed?  Because you may prefer receiving the posts in preview form via a well-formatted email.  Then you can easily decide whether or not you want to click through to the blog to read specific posts in their entirety.  Big efficiency builder…

Ok, now down to business.

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      >>>>> A Quick Adwords Overview <<<<<
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Google Adwords is, at time of writing, the most popular pay-per-click advertising program on the internet.  Including Adwords in your marketing strategy has many advantages, some of which are obvious and others are not.

First - your ad is displayed immediately, which means you get instant exposure for your product.

If you waited for your site to be listed in the search engines it could take months, and then you could be listed in position 682 on page 68, which of course would mean no one would even know your site existed.

With Adwords there is no waiting. Basically you can begin driving visitors to your site and making sales in as little as five minutes.

Second - your audience is highly targeted to your market.

With Adwords you are in complete control of exactly who gets to see your ads and who doesn’t through the keyword search terms you use in your campaign.  You can choose to make your keyword phrases as tight or as broad as you want.

Naturally the more targeted you make your keywords the less traffic you will receive, but by doing this you know that your visitors will be laser targeted potential customers who are willing to fork out a few bucks to get what they want.

Third - Adwords allows you to run several campaigns simultaneously, so you can test the results and experiment on-the-fly to constantly improve the quality of your ads or sales copy to increase sales.

Testing is the one of the cornerstones of creating online success.  The more you can test, track and tweak every element of your business, the more successful you will be.

With Adwords you can even track the "conversion rate," or the actual number of sales generated by your ad.  This is precision marketing.

Now all these advantages are great, but if you’re promoting an affiliate product, there is one single element of your marketing strategy that you MUST implement to get the maximum benefit from your campaign…

If you’re sending your visitors to an affiliate website, make sure that your Adwords link takes your visitors to YOUR optin page first.  This way you can first convince them to signup to your list BEFORE you send them to an external page.

Listen, you’ve done the hard work finding the right keywords.  You’ve worked hard to set up your campaign.  You’ve paid good money to grab their interest…

…so why on Earth would you simply send them to someone else’s page where that person can get their contact details so they can sell them a backend product at a later stage?

You get absolutely no benefit in doing this.  So if you do nothing else, at the very minimum you must at least try to get them to on your list.

If you can get their details prior to forwarding them to an affiliate site, then if they don’t make a purchase you’ve still got a chance to make additional contact with them at a later stage to convince them to make a sale.

Whether or not you choose to use Adwords in your business strategy is up to you, but using this as part of your overall marketing can significantly improve your exposure… and your profits.  So it’s worth considering.

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      >>>>> Marketing Freebie <<<<<
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You’ll like this one…

Have you heard of Simon Hodgkinson and Jeremy Gislason?

They are the two masterminds behind several extremely successful membership sites, including Marketing Main Events I, II and III, SureFireWealth, Membership Millionaire, eListSecrets and the new MemberSpeed.

As a Marketing Main Event owner, I am authorized to allow free access for my subscribers to one of the sites I received through my membership.

So, here you go. Just click on this blue text link and get your gift:   Learn To Earn Online Gift

There’s lots to learn, even in this free, $67 value membership.  I hope you’ll go there, sign-up and absorb the information provided.

Enjoy!

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      >>>>> 60 Second Marketing Tip <<<<<
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As you may already know, following up with your potential customers is the key to creating a solid online business.

And one the most effective ways of doing this is with a multi-part autoresponder (AR) series.

The problem is that not everyone is gifted with writing skills so they find it difficult to create a 7-10 part series.  Well if this describes you, then I’ve got good news for you… you don’t have to!

All you need do is contact six other website owners and ask them to contribute one unique article each about your chosen topic.  Allow them to each add their own resource box at the bottom of their article and then combine these with your own article to create a unique AR series.

Naturally you would allow all the website owners to send this AR series to their own lists and when this happens you have a captive audience much larger than your own list.

So not only are you building credibility by providing quality content, you are also getting additional exposure from the promotions of the other website owners.

This is an excellent strategy to build your list and to gain credibility without any extra work on your part.

This is not limited to autoresponder series.  Several books that I know of have used such a technique.  

Two in particular are "The E-Code" (softback) by Joe Vitale and Jo Han Mok, which includes writings from 33 collaborators; and the recently released "20 Ways To Make 100 Dollars a Day" (ebook) by Willie Crawford and 18 of his fellow Inner Circle members.

Use your imagination and think win-win and there’s virtually no limits to what you can do with shared expertise and a healthy sense of collaboration.

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      >>>>>>>> Featured Article <<<<<<<<
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Testing Your Way to Success!

I’ll say this once, and once only.  It is imperative that you continually track and test all aspects of your online business, including your ad or sales copy.  Failure to do this results in loss of potential profits!

In order to create the most effective ad copy for your business you need to experiment with whatever it is you are testing.

For example, if you are testing and tracking your sales copy you should start by changing and testing different versions of the headline, or tweaking the design or altering the layout of the page.  And most importantly, you need to be tracking your advertising.

The only way you can measure the results of your testing is to track all your changes, so naturally you should be implementing ways you can do this, such as using tracking software or something similar.  More on this in a minute…

Ok, now that you know the importance of testing and tracking, let’s look at how you can do this.

Changing the Copy…

As already mentioned above, the most important part of any ad or sales copy is the heading or headline.  So the first thing you should test is the headline.

Try using different key words in your headline.  Just changing a single word can have a significant effect on the response rate.  Use different emotional trigger words to see which combination is most effective.

It really is as simple as testing different versions to find the most effective wording.  You may be surprised at how a small change can sometimes have a major impact on your results.

You could even add a video or audio to your site to see if this increases results.  With video and audio becoming so popular this is a no-brainer and you definitely be testing this to see if it works on your site.

Tweaking the Design…

Studies have proven that simple things such as the type of font you use on your pages can influence the decisions of readers.  So knowing this you need to test even the smallest of details such as using different font styles, font sizes and font colors.

Emphasize important words and phrases by placing them in italics, or making them bold, or sparingly using underlining or highlighting important phrases.  Add a border, a different border color and/or a different border style.

Here’s a big tip that most people are unaware of… header images can reduce your profits!

That’s right.  Tests that have been conducted with and without header images using the exact same sales copy, the exact same design, the exact same product.  Nothing else was changed, yet on most occasions the page without the header outperformed the page with the header.

Your own results may prove different, and maybe the product you’re promoting is better suited to having a header image.  But until you test, you will never know.  It just may be that you are leaving profits on the table without even knowing it.

Try different combinations of all these things to find out which combination works best.

Altering the layout…

Rearrange the components of your page to see if it affects the response rate.  Add a short testimonial or two to see if that has any effect.  Try adding more than one order link.  You could even test different navigation links to see if this makes a difference.

Here’s one that you may never have thought of…

If you have a squeeze page (also known as a portal, gateway, opt-in or lead capture page) - which you should have - try adding more than one subscription box on the page.

Our tests have proven that strategically adding a box above the fold of the page, as well as at the bottom of the page, significantly increased opt-in rates.

Test this on your own pages and you may just be surprised with your results.

Tracking Your Advertising…

It is of utmost importance that you track the response rate for any adverting, without exception.  As a successful online marketer you need to know where you get the biggest bang-for-your-buck.

Once you find a source that gives you good results, it’s just a matter of repeating and improving the whole process.  But unless you know what results you are achieving, this is not possible.

In order to maximize your profits you need to know what works and what doesn’t.  You need to know what components of your ad copy works and which don’t.  You need to know where your traffic is coming from.

You may get traffic from an ezine ad, from a forum post and from a banner ad.  One of these sources may bring you a significant amount of traffic, but if you’re not tracking them how will you know which of these you need to focus on so that you can repeat the process?

The bottom line is that you can only find this out by testing and tracking.  And as only about 1% of your competitors are testing and tracking their online business, you will have the edge over the other 99% of marketers.

Oh, and here’s the good news.  You don’t have to shell out the big bucks to get the tools you need to test and track.  Our online friend, Google, has generously provided everything you need to be miles ahead of the average guy or gal trying to "make it" on the web.

Just get an account (if you don’t already have one) and head to their "Webmaster Tools" section.  

There, they have two kinds of testing available - simple split or A-B testing, and Taguchi or multivariate testing.  A-B testing is best for junior marketers/webmasters and Taguchi testing is probably more applicable to seasoned marketers.

Either version is easy to use, with plenty of tutorial help available.  So don’t get spooked by technology you haven’t used before.  At one time or another, EVERYONE was new to this stuff!

And while you’re there, get yourself into their "Analytics" section and get the tracking code you can paste into the code of the webpages you want to monitor or track.

Shortly afterwards, you’ll have access to your own website’s stats and then you’ll KNOW where your traffic is coming from, etc.

In short order, you’ll be testing and tracking like the Big Dogs without being a propeller head or paying a single dime of your hard-earned…

Go forth and conquer!

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     >>>>> Your PC Security Tip <<<<<
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This is a NEW feature beginning with this issue.  One of your fellow subscribers to "Conquer The Net", Syd Tash, has generously volunteered to contribute these tips for your education and safety.  Thanks Syd!  Ok, so here’s your first tip:

Always practice safe surfing!  Here is a little checklist to help keep you safe online.  Print it out and stick it on the wall beside your computer.  I assume you have an anti-virus program, a firewall and anti-spyware programs, at least.
 
Daily:
1.  As soon as you turn on your computer for the day, and before you start surfing the Internet, update your anti-virus program, or check that it updates itself automatically.
 
2.  When you have finished surfing for the day, or after installing new software, run one of your anti-spyware programs.
 
3.  Carefully and fully read every End User License Agreement (EULA).  If you see something like “The vendor/publisher may install third party software” hit the delete button (hard!) or cancel the download.  Or at least run all your security scans after installation.
 
Weekly:
1.  Once a week, update your anti-spyware programs, as well as Windows.  If you have kids who surf the Net and play games online, do it more often.
 
2.  Watch for updates to your firewall.  These are infrequent, so check your email, or check in the firewall program to see if it is up to date.
 
Get a custom HOSTS file.  Read what it is and does, and get one, here:  http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm  It’s free.
 
And finally, don’t open spam email or unexpected attachments, avoid phishing scams and public computers, try not to download anything from the web, back up important files, do not ignore warnings and alerts from your security programs and above all, use common sense on the web.  Whew!
 
Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of “How to Protect Your Computer Online, A Complete Guide”.   He has been keeping surfers safe since the last century.  Find more popular free Daily Tips & information on Syd’s blog:  => http://www.MyPCProtectionBlog.com

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    >>>>> Off-Line Marketing Strategies <<<<<
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How to Write an Effective Printed Newsletter!

Printed newsletters are a really easy way to contact your prospective and current customers.  They can even increase your sales while reducing advertising costs.  A printed newsletter also has a much higher perceived value and is more likely to be passed around to prospective customers.

Research shows newsletters get four times the readership of adverts or brochures, and customers are seven times more likely to buy from you than an average member of the public.

A good newsletter can improve name recognition and brand awareness, establish your authority in your field and differentiate your business from the competition.

Make the layout of your newsletter inviting.  If it contains long-winded paragraphs it may seem hard work to read.  Break up the copy with plenty of space and keep articles short.

Use intriguing titles or ones that suggest the article provides quick and easy shortcuts. Also use photographs or images on the cover to draw people’s attention.

Choose your articles carefully so that each one promotes the correct image of your business.  Decide whether the article is to reflect your expertise, customer care or some other aspect of your business.

If you are not sure which areas are important and of interest to your customers slip a survey into your newsletter and ask your readers what it is they want to know.  Let’s face it, they’re the one’s most qualified to tell you what it is they need to know.

Get a balance between generic articles that would be of interest to your wider client base and those specifically about your products and services.  But don’t forget to check that the views expressed in articles are unlikely to offend your customer base.

Try to keep copy simple and as jargon free as possible.  Use short sentences.  Involve the reader by asking questions.  How could your business benefit from this advice?

A profile of a customer can show how your product or service is used, the results that it can produce, why someone would purchase from you, and what they are planning to do in the future with your assistance.  If they are prestigious clients the article will give a positive reflection of your business as well as providing them with some useful and free PR.

It has been proven that off-line marketing has a higher success rate than that its online equivalent.  Yes, cost can be higher than traditional online marketing and this is why many people do not use this strategy.  But if you can afford the extra expense, it is not unusual to have a high conversion rate, so the extra costs may be justified.

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      >>>>> Tell Me What You Think <<<<<
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This is your chance to speak out.

Comment on articles I’ve run in Conquer The Net, give me your thoughts on changes or your ad testing results or questions relating to your business, etc.

In other words, just talk to me about what you think I need to do to improve the ezine.

Also, if you’d like to guest-write an article, please let me know.  Fresh new content is always welcome and who knows, you might get noticed by more people that way…

Be sure to include your website address too, because if I use your comments in a future issue of the ezine, I’ll thank you by posting your address so that you can get additional free traffic to your site!

Simply click on the About Me link and a form will open that you can use to privately contact me.

Of course, if you don’t need privacy, you can also post your comments and questions right here on the blog, right below this issue.

Be sure to include your website address too, because your comment post could very well drive traffic to your site, too.

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    >>>>> That’s a Wrap for this Issue <<<<<
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Be sure to stop by frequently and also consider subscribing to my RSS feed (big orange button) so that you can keep up to date on all the latest happenings.

Especially since email delivery rates are so unpredictable…

Be well,

Russ Guthrie
Gu3 Virtual Marketing
Publisher, "Conquer The Net" ezine
http://russguthrie.com

Recommend "Conquer The Net" ezine to your friends.  Subscription requests should be sent to:

http://russguthrie.com/HelpsYou/ConquerTheNet

PS:  You may be wondering what happened to the "Writing Tips".  I haven’t discontinued them.  Whenever I see trends, I’ll let you know.  Honestly though, I could write a book on proper English usage, based on all the things I see.  But wait, lots of people already wrote books like that… (d;)
 

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The holidays kinda got in the way of me posting a follow-up message about the blogging course Mark Joyner is offering for free.

But yesterday I went through the entire course and I want to let you know what I thought of it.

First of all, it’s actually one of the "elective" modules within the Simpleology site.  

Hopefully you’re familiar with Simpleology.  If not, you’re probably very new to the IM world.

And that’s perfectly alright if you are.  Welcome. 

Since I brought it up, here’s a quick overview of what Simpleology is.

It’s essentially a series of courses that teach you how to get what you want out of life.  All areas of your life - simply.  And that’s the basis of it all - simplicity.

In fact, the first module, Simpleology 101 (which is completely FREE, by the way) is entitled: "The Simple Science Of Getting What You Want". 

It’s a set of tools that teach you how to manage yourself better.

The better you manage yourself, the more productive you’ll be. 

It may look like a time management course on the surface, but let’s face it, NO ONE CAN MANAGE TIME!

So, it’s a SELF management course and well worth your time.

The next two modules - Simpleology 102 and Simpleology 103 - deal with the Simple Science of Money and the Simple Science of Personal Energy.  They come with a price tag, but are not unreasonably priced for the life-changing material you receive.

Anyway, I highly recommend you take the free Simpleology 101 course.

Now on to the Simpleology Blogging Course review:

•   It’s a series of 16 videos (the 1st is an intro) coupled with brief review quizzes that help to "set" the material in your mind.

•   Each video is short - the longest one is six minutes and twelve seconds long.  The majority are less than five minutes.

•    I watched all the videos and took all the quizzes in about an hour.

•   The videos are narrated by Mark Joyner himself and are full of descriptive cartoon figures that help the material be visually interpreted/recognized and sink in.

•  The course is perfect for new to intermediate level bloggers, but I believe experienced bloggers will also find a few valuable tidbits as well.  And if you’ve been blogging for a while, this course will at least be a good refresher and possibly a reminder of some of the things you should be doing, but aren’t.

•  It covers everything from what a blog is and why they are so powerful, to choosing a theme, how to write posts, monitization techniques, how to drive traffic, etc.

•  It also includes downloadable PDFs  - the Blogging Virtuosity ebook and Memory Joggers as well as bonus interviews with some serious bloggers like:  Jason Cain, Joel Comm, Lynn Terry and Priya Shah.

•  Additional bonus PDFs include: "How To Create Interesting Titles", "How To Overcome Writer’s Block" and "Which Blog Software Is Right For You?".

•  It doesn’t teach you about configuration or plugins and the like, since this is a generic blogging course and there are a bunch of blogging platforms out there.

•  Finally, the entire course is included on downloadable MP3 audio files you can upload to your MP3 player and take with you.

All in all, a killer course and mess of bonuses for nothing but a blog post.

To summarize:  If you have a blog and don’t know every thing there is to know about blogging (I doubt anyone does), this free course will be of value to you.   

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