PLRspecials
Posted by Derrick | July 21, 2008
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I have 2 great PLR ebooks on sale at PLRspecials.com this week. The first is a guide to getting traffic from Stumble Upon. The other one is called Massive Blog Traffic, and it lists 24 ways to get more traffic to your blog - just what I need!
Take a look - http://plrspecials.com
Topics: Products | 2 Comments »
WordPress2.6 Released
Posted by Derrick | July 17, 2008
I’ve just updated this blog to WordPress 2.6, and I’ll be going through all my niche blogs as well. WordPress 2.6 introduces much better plug-in management. You can now delete unused plugins from within the WordPress admin panel, and you can select and activate multiple plugins at once. The last feature is probably the main reason I upgraded.
Although the Automatic Upgrade plugin makes it really quick and easy to update your installation, it would always de-activate all my plugins and not reactivate them again. Manually reactivating plugins over a slow Internet connection is tedious - I get sidetracked while waiting for the page to refresh, so it takes me 10 times longer than it should.
There are a bunch of other minor issues that have been changed or improved in WordPress 2.6 - you can read about them at Technosailor’s blog
Topics: Blogs, General | 7 Comments »
Is Brian Campbell Breaking The Rules?
Posted by Derrick | June 29, 2008
Brian Campbell has created a new group on Facebook called P.R.I.S.M. - The Secret Social Media Alliance. You can read about it here: www.socialmediamarketingsystem.com/prism.html
That’s basically a sales letter aimed at getting people to join his group. Brian uses some startling images in that letter:
“There’s an elusive group of marketing elite secretly pooling their resources to collaborate against you by intentionally devouring all the resources worth untold fortunes that you’ll never see.
They are many, you are only one.
They know the secrets, you hope to get lucky.
They control the social network, you react to it.
They are the lense through which opportunities pass.
They work effortlessly, while you constantly struggle.
You are powerless against them.
They exist, although you resist the truth.
They can’t be matched, you’re powerless to compete with them for any resources they want to control online.
Their secrets are so amazingly powerful, they aren’t leaked out and taught anywhere else.”
My friend Ian Chapman has written a detailed analysis of Brian’s copy on his blog. He explains one of the reasons why Brian’s sales copy is so effective - the amplification of pain.
Another reason that springs to mind is what Joe Sugarman calls ‘The Desire to Belong’. Brian carefully constructs the image of a shadowy group of conspirators who influence social networks. He then holds out the possibility of joining that select group, but making it clear that only “a select few people who have what it takes” will be invited. Other psychological triggers which come into play are curiosity, scarcity, exclusivity and sense of urgency.
One of Ian’s readers seemed to think that Ian was being critical of Brian’s marketing techniques - she writes: “Here here! I read Brian’s post and immediately forwarded a copy to the powers that be at Facebook. This is definitely against the guidelines he agreed to when he created an account!”
Knowing Ian, I can assure you that what he writes is not intended to criticize Brian - he’s simply recognizing a master at work, and explaining why Brian’s sales copy is so powerful.
What do you think? Is Brian being too aggressive? Are you also being left out of the “same few”? See what the fuss is all about here: www.socialmediamarketingsystem.com/prism.html
Topics: Copywriting, Social Media | 4 Comments »
Intern Program
Posted by Derrick | June 27, 2008
My intern program is now live. If you want to learn how to run an Internet business by doing the actual activities that are necessary, take a look at http://onlinebusinessintern.com
The intern program concentrates on procedures which generate traffic. You’ll learn how to write and submit articles, how to set up a Squidoo lens, how to set up blogs on Blogger.com and WordPress.com, how to use social bookmarking and other Web 2.0 resources to drive traffic.
It’s a 4-week intern program, and it’s completely free. It will require a time commitment of 1 - 2 hours a day (or you can accumulate a week’s worth of tasks and do them on your day off). If you’re interested in learning by helping me build my business, you’ll find more information at http://onlinebusinessintern.com
If you want to find out more about online business intern programs in general, I’ve created a Squidoo lens which you may find interesting: http://www.squidoo.com/internprogram
Topics: Online Business | 3 Comments »
How To Create An Online Business
Posted by Derrick | June 24, 2008
There are many ways to create an online business. Here are five key strategies that could help you to succeed.
Key #1: Choose the Right Market Idea
It’s expensive and time-consuming to create a new market. It’s also unnecessary. You should be searching out markets that already exist – product categories that people are already buying. Find a hungry crowd with money to spend, and you’re half-way there.
One of the indicators of a thriving market is plenty of competition. If you find a market where others are already making money, you can be sure that there are plenty of buyers. A good indication of this is the number of Adwords ads that appear on the Google search results page for your broad market keyword.
Here’s an example: type ‘comedy’ into Google. When I tried it, I got 304,000,000 results, and no Adwords ads. I tried ‘comedy dvd’ and found 8,280,000 pages, and something like 170 Adwords ads.
For ‘golf’ I got 560,000,000 results, and 8 ads. For ‘golf shoes’ I found 3,940,000 web pages, and over 300 Adwords ads.
Once you’ve chosen a market, you’re going to need to find a way to stand out – to be remarkable. Seth Godin calls this a ‘Purple Cow’. How do you do that? You could offer something no-one else offers, appear on the first page of the Google results, build a fanatical band of followers.
Key #2: Prolific product development
You need to develop ‘multiple streams of income’. It is better to have 10 products with monthly sales of $1000 each than to have one product with $10,000 of sales.
It’s useful to have inexpensive products in the $10 - $20 price range, which allow you to convert visitors to buyers. But you probably won’t get rich selling $10 products. You’ll need to have a range of offers, perhaps including $50 products, $100 products and $500 products. That way people can buy from you when their circumstances allow.
Technology makes it easy and quick to create information products. You don’t need to write a 300-page ebook. People are pushed for time, and a lengthy volume is not what they need. Shorter is almost always better. If you can’t cover the topic in one ebook, that’s good. Split it up into Volume 1, Volume 2 and so on.
You can create a simple video product almost in real time with screen capture software. Just show your viwers what you do, step-by-step, and explain it along the way. You can create software tutorials, Powerpoint presentations and product demos this way.
Other ways to create products quickly and cheaply include using voice recognition software to create ebooks and reports, interviews with people who know more than you, teleseminars and webinars.
If you want to create a product about something that you can’t do on a computer, like fly-fishing or real estate investing, use an inexpensive camcorder and shoot your own videos. As long as the information you present is fresh and different, customers won’t mind the imperfections. In fact they may prefer your less polished, down-to-earth approach.
Key #3: High Conversion Websites
You need to build websites that convert visitors to buyers. The way to do this has always been by creating web copy that sells. Every copywriter will tell you that the ONLY way to make sure that the copy sells is by testing.
But these days you can consider adding video to your page. Video lets you explain things in more detail, while building a relationship with your visitor.
Here are some ways to hone your copywriting skills:
1.Find sales letters that work – the sales letters for the top products in the Clickbank Marketplace, for instance. Or anything by John Carlton, Gary Halbert or Michel Fortin. Write them out long-hand, or type them into your wordprocessor. Or if you’re in a rush, read them aloud. The act of writing the words yourself helps you to understand the nuances and techniques used by top copywriters.
2.Find the hook in your offer. What is it that will grab peoples’ attention and pique their curiosity? Look at the tabloid newspapers and magazines like Cosmopolitan - “QUIZ: Are You Destined For Success?” “167 Ways To Have A Sizzling Summer”. See how the copy uses short, powerful phrases to create images in your mind and trigger your curiosity.
3.Write like you talk. There’s no need to get all high-falutin’ when you’re writing copy. Just explain things as if you were chatting to a friend.
4.The only truly accurate way to find out if your copy works is by testing. Again, technology makes this easy. You can even do multivariate testing, where all the elements of your sales page are tested simultaneously, for free using Google Optimizer.
Key # 4: Generate Targeted Buying Traffic
The number of visitors to your website is not nearly as important as the number of buyers. Here are three ways to get targeted traffic:
- Produce content. Blogging, article submissions and videos are all effective ways to share your original content with your audience.
- Paid advertising, such as Pay Per Click and ezine solo ads.
- Affiliates – You can leverage Clickbank’s huge affiliate network, or build your own network of affiliates. Whichever way you do it, affiliates need to be trained, equipped and motivated.
Key # 5 Create Systems That Do The Work For You
You’ve probably heard the cliché about “working ON your business, not IN your business”. Real businesses are profitable systems that can be run by anyone. You want to stand outside the business, looking in, checking that the processes are running smoothly, making sure that every task is performed consistently.
Big businesses like Macdonalds realize the importance of systems. Every task that needs to be done within the business is documented in such a way that anyone can do it.
Imagine building a team, without ever having to deal with the hassles of employees. Since Tim Ferriss wrote “The 4-Hour Work Week”, outsourcing companies have sprung up all over the place. Your team could be made up of people from all over the world, performing tasks that you define. You may not even have to pay them.
Your team can be trained with written procedures and videos, and their work managed by checklists. You can have team members whose job it is to check up on other team members. You need to end up with a system which runs with virtually no input from you.
Terry Dean has an excellent product which will teach you how to build a successful Internet business. He calls it the Internet Lifestyle Retirement System.
Topics: Online Business | 2 Comments »
Blog Marketing: Establishing Expertise
Posted by Derrick | June 12, 2008
If you are attempting to build an audience as an expert in your niche it is important that your blog posts show off your expertise.
Some people attempt to paint themselves as an expert by telling everyone what an expert they are. Unfortunately this approach–even when it is true–tends to create the opposite impression.
Here are some tips to help you make an “expert” impression:
- Talk Like an Expert without Apology
Sometimes even when we are an expert we feign false humility. We pretend we aren’t as accomplished as we are.
Go ahead and speak with authority. Others will see the difference between your absolutes and imposters’ weaknesses.
- Teach Others How to Do Something in Your Niche
This is one of the best ways to show your expertise. Don’t just do it, teach it. Let others learn from your expertise.
- Expose Little Know Tips, Tricks and Experiences
Often the difference between someone who has real expertise and one who has none is the detail they provide. When you provide real details of what your readers will experience as they follow your direction you build your credibility. Your “little tips” and anecdotes will establish you as a real expert.
- Admit Your Lack of Expertise When You Don’t Have It
One characteristics of true experts is their willingness to admit when they lack expertise. I can teach you hundreds of ways to make money online, but I know absolutely nothing about making money on eBay. If someone asks me about eBay I just admit I have no clue. It’s not something I’ve done before and I’m secure enough in my expertise that I can admit that without any embarrassment or fear.
- Never Attack or Be Defensive
This is a tough one at times–even for someone with real expertise. If you are online long enough you will see someone doing something that makes your blood boil. You will want to attack them. Or even worse, someone will attack you.
In almost all (if not all) of these cases your best course of action is to ignore it. When you attack someone else you hurt, not help, your credibility in the minds of many of your readers. When you get defensive, you often look weak.
If you do have to make a statement, use something neutral. One I like is: “I’ll let my track record speak for itself.” You appear strong and make your accuser appear weak.
Whether you are an expert in trading stocks or in knitting, following these tips will help you to project that image online.
This article is a guest post by Aaron Abber of FullTiltBlogging.com. I am a part of Aaron’s mentoring program where he is teaching me and others how to make money blogging. Go visit the site now and grab his free report “How to Retire on 200 Visitors a Day”.
Topics: Blogs, Online Business | 3 Comments »
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