Secrets to profit with information products discussion board
The secrets to profit with information products discussion board
The secrets of how you can start up and run your own homebased, profitable information products business - by creating your own information products, publishing on demand and selfpublishing both off-line and online.
By Klaus Dahl
Please, no blatant ads!
(But you are welcome to write your website-URL at the bottom of your message)
Yes, you're right, we all have bills to pay! I just don't want anyone to think that the reason I am recommending a book or course is because I get paid for it.
As you'll notice, if you read the reviews on my website, most of them are pretty positive.
The reason is simply that I wanted to pick out the best and most helpful books and courses first.
Then, later on, I might also review some of less helpful books and courses. But right now, I just want to focus on the better books and courses. I think the readers of the reviews will find them more helpful that way.
Thanks again for your kind words, Troy!
Sincerely,
Klaus
Read our critical reviews of books, tapes, courses on Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, product development and information marketing:
Charles Prosper is a student of mail-order guru Melvin Powers.
He began from scratch, trying to build a balloon-business.
And boy, did he succeed!
From standing on the street corners, barely being able to sell enough to make a living for his family, he has today earned hundreds of thousands, well probably millions through his balloon business.
But it didn't start out that way, more than twenty years ago.
Charles had lost his job, and he had to find another way of making his living.
He had chosen the balloon business, but the competition was hard, and it wasn't easy to sell balloons these days.
Sometimes he was chased off the street corners by the police.
So it wasn't particularly easy being a balloon salesman then.
But gradually Charles found the way to be enormously successful in the balloon business. He also began to do a lot of balloon decorating, which can be very profitable.
If you would like to know how Charles Prosper did it, you can read his book "How To Become A Balloon Artist And Make Up To $100,000 A Year", which is part of his course, "Prosper Balloon Business Start-Up Kit!"
Charles Prosper is selling his course, several reports and a lot of other stuff on his website.
I would strongly recommend you to take a look at it. I think Charles is doing a very good job on the Internet.
Today Charles Prosper is actually a university professor in balloon decorating. And he is considered to be one of the founders of the modern balloon decorating business.
He has also been featured on television numerous times.
Charles Prosper is yet another good example, that it's really possible to successfully sell almost anything on the Internet. Not just the typical information on how to make money.
Actually I think Charles has a much easier time selling his balloon course and other material, than most of the marketers who try to sell the typical money-making information!
You see, Charles has almost no competition.
Just make a search on the big search engines for "balloons" or "balloon decorating", and I can almost assure you that you'll find Charles Prosper ranking on the top 20 list anytime.
Why?
Because he has studied search engine tactics a lot?
Maybe! But I doubt it!
Instead I think the reason is that Charles has choosen a niche market.
This means that he doesn't have an awful lot of competitors.
Consequently he has become the king of the balloon business niche.
I would strongly advice you to do likewise!
If you would like to read much more about Charles Prosper, you can go to his website:
I have many more stories that I'll share with you in the future.
Most of the stories, I've found in these two ways:
1) I've surfed a LOT on the Internet, searching for all kinds of websites on Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, Information Marketing, Self-publishing, Publishing-on-demand, business-opportunities, money-making, Internet- and computer-technology etc.
Of course a lot of these website overlap each other. Consequently they have a lot of links to other interesting and helpful sites.
For instance, I think the first discussion board I did ever on the Internet, was Melvin Power's discussion board. I had read some of the books published by Melvin, and when I made a search on him on one of the search engines, I found his website - and his discussion board.
On Melvin Power's website and discussion board I found some references and posts by someone called Charles Prosper.
I also read about Charles Prosper's balloon-business. And honestly, I thought that was a rather weird business. "Who can earn money on balloons?" I thought then.
But as I read on and found other books and courses on the balloon business, too, I understood that Charles Prosper had found a very, very profitable business.
That's the way I found Charles Prosper's website.
2)The second way I find the different websites, is by using the search engines.
I simply make a search for whatever I'm interested in.
Usually I use Alta-Vista or DogPile. But I also use other search engines.
Besides, I've found the directory Yahoo to be very helpful.
Let me give you a little tip here! If you want to find a lot of helpful websites on a certain topic, you can use Yahoo to your profit. Just make a search for a website you already know on that topic. Then if you find that website on Yahoo, go to the top of the page with the search results. There you'll find a link to the category under which the website you've found, is listed. Click on that link and you'll find a lot of other websites on the same topic.
By the way, it was by using a search engine (I think it was Alta-Vista), that I found Mike McMillan's website.
I just made a search for "self-publishing course", and then I found Mike's site.
Of course there's other ways of finding websites, in addition to the two ways I describe above. For instance I've found a lot of interesting websites in newsletters, ezines, books, e-mails from friends on the web, etc. etc. And I use all of these ways too.
But if you use the two ways I mention above, you'll certainly be able to find a lot of helpful sites.
Regards,
Klaus
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
I am sorry, but I don't have Mark's Swiss Army software package!
But I have two other products by Mark Joyner, namely his course "1001 Killer Internet Marketing Tactics" and his free e-book, "Search Engine Tactics".
And I think these products are of high quality.
Besides, I have heard other marketers praise Mark's software products.
So even though I don't have Mark Joyner's Swiss Army software package, I have a strong feeling that you won't go wrong by investing in this software.
You know, if you really gain trust in a certain marketer, and get the impression that this marketer is a man or woman of integrity, you expect this person to deliver quality in other areas too.
I am sorry that I can't help you more than this, Mike. But I hope that you can use comments anyway!
Maybe someone else on this board has a personal experience with Mark's Swiss Army software package. If so please be so kind and share your experience with us!
Regards,
Klaus Dahl
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
I am just looking at getting started with something on the internet. I do not have a product to market or anything as of yet, but I would like to get started with something soon. Which course is best to start? Matt Gagnon, Corey Rudl, others? I appreciate any input. Thanks
I agree with Jimmy, Ken Evoy's book is a good place to start - even though it's very voluminous (about 800 pages).
But as Jimmy says, it's inexpensive, and you'll get a lot of insider information through Ken's book.
I am just in the middle of reading Ken Evoy's and Monique Harris' new course MAKE YOUR KNOWLEDGE SELL. Because I haven't read through the whole course yet, I'll wait with giving a review of this course.
I am going to write a review of this course as soon as I have read through the course.
But it seems to be a very, very good and thorough course. But if you know Ken Evoy and Monique Harris it won't surprise you. These two marketers are known for their quality information.
Monique Harris is also very keen on giving her customers an extreme good service. And it just means a lot if you ask me!
But I would certainly also recommend Matt Gagnon's course "Million Dollar Manual". It's very thorough and detailed. You'll find so much invaluable information here.
Besides (just as Monique Harris) Matt gives - in my experience - an almost unparalleled service.
I've only got this kind of extreme good service from a few marketers online. So stick with these marketers who practice what they preach!
By the way, I am going to write a review of Matt's course shortly. You can find the review on my website, as soon as it's finished.
Corey Rudl's course is also very, very good. Corey Rudl's course is maybe the bestselling of the courses on Internet Marketing. And it really is good. Corey has got some strong competition lately, but his course is still a good choice.
There's another EXTREMELY good course out there, that I would STRONGLY recommend! It's Terry Dean's course "Instant Internet Cashflow System". If you like to, you can read my review of this course by going to the following website: http://www.klausdahl.com/TDean3.html
This course is relative inexpensive ($99 so far as I remember), and it covers so much helpful stuff in a very easy and understandable way.
Finally, there's a new, very interesting book by Ted Ciuba. The title of the book is: "Mail and Grow Rich - How to Get Rich in "Mail Order" in the Information Age".
I am going to publish a review of this book in just a few days, so I won't reveal too much here.
Let me just say this:
I don't think I've every met a marketer that's a more enthusiastic spokesman for marketing and selling information on the Internet than Ted Ciuba.
According to himself, Ted has earned a fortune by using his techniques. And his book is an introduction to his strategies and techniques.
I think you should complement the book with other books and courses on Internet Marketing, but his book will certainly give you some "blood on the tooth".
Again John, remember that most courses complement each other. You won't find everything in any one course out there.
But all of the courses I've mentioned above, are good.
You won't go wrong by investing in one of these courses, John!
By the way, John, do you have a special project in mind? If so, I think some of the other marketers would love to hear about your ideas!
Sincerely,
Klaus Dahl
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
Read our critical reviews of books, tapes, courses on Direct Marketing,
Internet Marketing, product development and information marketing:
Marketing to the business opportunity market may be the hardest market of all to reach. Not that it can't be done.
Obviously, it can.
I'm not saying that it shouldn't be attempted either. Every field of endeavor is competitive. I'm convinced that there's always room for "one more."
What I'm thinking about is this, if the marketing techniques that most INFOPRENUERS use to reach "wanna-be" INFOPRENUERS were used to reach other markets, the results might be phenominal!
I know that people DESIRE to become rich the easy way. They want to find a secret that will enable them to make large amounts of money with little effort. If you can convince someone that your "secrets" can do just that, you'll make money selling GET RICH QUICK information.
In reality, though, most seasoned Infoprenuers admit that selling information isn't easy. Don Massey admits so in his book; How To Make Money With Homemade Booklets.
The Internet has made it much easier, however. Either way, a lot goes into advertising, writing convincing sales letters, packaging your information, sending press releases, calling editors, following up leads, etc.
I recently read Mike McMillan's book, BIG MONEY WITH LITTLE BOOKLETS.
As I read the book it suddenly occured to me, Mike was using the "INFOPRENUER BAIT" on the educational market and they were [AND ARE] eating it up!
Sure, he wrote a book on making money selling information like everyone else, but when you see the list of books he's sold you'll realize - it's just gravy on the potatos!
If you look at the history of TV inforpreneurs you'll realize that them jump from one product to the next. One minute they're selling Multi-Level Marketing vitamins, the next, real estate or distressed merchandise.
It's the same basic pitch but it works with every product.
In short, they're selling the dream. For some it works, for others it doesn't. When the feeding frenzy dies, in comes the next product.
If you can sell WITH WORDS, you can sell anything.
How convincing can you be on paper? How exciting can you be on paper? How inspiring can you be on paper? How motivating can you be on paper?
I really believe that this is what separates the "big shots" from the "little shots."
Like a popular novel, it's not always the story itself, but the man who's telling it that makes it a hit.
Plug the formula into any market and with a little patience and persistance, you should have yourself a winner . . .
Jimmy, would you (and why) recommend "BIG MONEY WITH LITTLE BOOKLETS"?
by
Jimmy,
As an info. producer/publisher, I too collect many of the worthwhile courses out there.
I own Don Massey's stuff as you also mentioned.
I was just wondering what you might feel the advantage of owning Mike McMillan's book. (Actually the cost is "nothing", I'm wondering about his gold package and if the reports are worth the additional fee.)
Your 2 cents and comments are appreciated... and by anyone for that matter.
To answer your question, Mike covers a lot of "nitty-gritty" information that you just don't find in a lot of courses.
For instance, he covers STEP-BY-STEP how to sell your info products to catalog companies. They [the catalog companies] do all of the marketing, advertising, etc.
You sell them your books [by the case, sometimes] and they do the rest. Instead of dealing with many individuals, you can deal with a FEW companies.
The discount is $40 to 50% for the catalog company.
He even covers "how-to" approach the potential company and what to say in your letter. His method of teaching is highly organized and extremely detailed.
He leaves just about nothing to chance. He even talks about how to design the covers of your manuals, how to get them printed, how many to print, what to say to the printer, etc.
Not only that, but the man has written so many books it'll make your head spin!
Just so you know, Mike McMillan seems to know very little about Internet Marketing. His web site is nothing to brag about. If it wasn't for Klaus Dahl's recommendation, I wouldn't have ordered the course.
While some of the information is "common-place" as far as info-products go, much or most of it is fresh and adaptable to ANY subject matter.
I always tell myself that my "last" info-product will be my LAST info-product. Then, I wind up turning around and buying another one!
Maybe some of us should create INFO-HAULICS ANONYMOUS. That way, the next time you want to buy an expensive course, you can call someone up and say, "Help, I'm falling for another direct mail pitch!"
To sum it up, I wouldn't hesitate to order his course.
Mike is NOT an expert at info-prenuering online.
It was a a hassle, I agree. His web site does not look very professional. It's loaded with typos and repeated sentences.
I wouldn't be in a hurry to order his book BIG MONEY WITH LITTLE WEBSITES [I think that was the title].
Maybe BIG MONEY WITH LOUSEY WEBSITES . . .
Hey, I bet you there are people out there making money with web sites that look awful. If the product is appealing enough, people would probably look beyond the appearance of the site.
I took Klaus' recommedation. And he was right. The course is very good.
A check might be the easier way to go with Mike's site. I had a lot of time on my hands when I ordered. I read the instructions several times before I felt comfortable that I was ordering properly.
Let us know how you like the course after you get it and read it!
Do you have ezine articles available for free reprint on your website?
by
Hi, Klaus & everyone!
I am compiling an ebook that lists places online to find free website content and articles available for free reprint (with proper credit, of course). If you have a website where your articles are available for free reprint, I would love to list you as a source. I would of course, provide a link to your site and instructions on use of your articles. I'm looking for articles on a variety of topics, not only Internet marketing and website promotion.
If you'd like to be included, or know of someone who would, please EMAIL me with the following information:
* Website name
* Email address
* Author's name (Main author or site owner) and/or "Various" if others' articles posted
* Direct URL to articles page (NOT main page)
* Categories of articles (i.e., business, marketing, etc.)
This could provide you with some free exposure since I will be promoting the ebook very heavily. Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks and God bless...
This story is part of the success-stories I share with you, my friends, on this board.
Most of these stories have in common that the direct marketers they feature has successfully self-published, marketed and sold information products on all OTHER kinds of subjects than how to earn money. Some of them have published books on money-making too. But primarily they have sold products on all other kinds of subjects.
Sometimes you’ll hear the objection that you can only succeed selling information on how to make money.
These success-stories clearly show that this objection is wrong!
Today I have chosen to tell you about a marvelous woman who has really succeeded selling her self-published books.
The woman I am talking about is Margie Garrison.
Margie Garrison had arthritis for more than forty years.
She had to take an almost endless list of pills and huge doses of drugs just to keep the pain from getting so strong that she couldn’t function.
She was told by the doctors that nothing could be done for her. They said her case was so serious that she was sentenced to a life as a cripple.
Margie says: “At the age of twenty-nine, a doctor informed me that I would be in a wheel chair with-in five years.”
But Margie refused to let the arthritis win over her!
She searched and searched for a cure in every direction. She followed every medical advice the doctors gave her. She read everything she could on how to get well through natural means.
Then one day she met two nutritional counselors, Jack Goldstein and Felor K. Jourdikian. Felor K. Jourdikian is the founder and director of Ortho-Molecular Nutrition Institute in Detroit, and Jack Goldstein is the author of the book “Triumph Over Disease Thru Fasting".
Felor and Jack showed Margie the old natural method of FASTING.
Yes, fasting!
You know skipping food, either just for a few hours or up to forty days.
Why shouldn’t Margie try fasting, too? She had already tried so many other so called “cures”, that yet another attempt couldn’t hurt.
Do you know what happened?
Yes, you guessed it!
In five months Margie was cured and pain free!
She had been ill for forty years and was fifty-five years old. But now she was cured!
Wow!
Margie just had to tell other people how she was cured of ahtritis.
So in 1981 Margie wrote and self-published her first book “I Cured My Arthritis You Can Too”.
Margie was helped by master marketer Bob Serling when she began marketing her new book.
Can you imagine, she sold 225,000 copies of this self-published book – many of them through mail-order and the Internet?!
Pretty nice, don’t you think?!
“I Cured My Arthritis You Can Too” costs $18.50. If Margie has earned just ten dollars on each book, she has made a $2,250,000. I don’t know if that’s the actual amount Margie did earn from this book. But it illustrates how profitable her book must have been.
Some years later Margie wrote her second book, “Lost 120 Pounds You Can Too”. This book has sold 10,000 copies!
Margie’s third book is on self-publishing, and has the title “How To Write, Publish and Sell Your First Book”.
If you want to read more about Margie Garrison, you can go to the following website:
The first of these websites used to be Margie Garrison’s official website, but when I tried to download the site, I got a failure-message. So I don’t know for sure if it’s still up and running.
At the second site you can still find and order Margie’s two books on arthritis and weight-loss.
My dear friends, I hope you found this story interesting!
I will soon bring you some more inspiring stories about successful direct marketers.
Sincerely,
Klaus
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
An excellent site thank you everyone for some insights into the information business.I am interested in the testing component of information selling and would appreciate any advice on the procedure for testing onfo products .A step by step outline would be very helpful .Thank you .
Rick
There is so much to write that a whole book could easily be written about that subject. Actually I have plans about writing such
a book sometime in the future.
WHAT TO TEST
There is many, many ways of testing. And there is many things to test.
For instance you can test:
*your headlines (in salesletters, ads, e- mails etc.)
*your order forms
*the body copy of your salesletters
*the fonts of your salesletters
*the price of your products
*your offer
*your way of marketing
Just to mention a few! There is many other factors you can test.
JUST TEST ONE THING AT THE TIME
When you test something, it's of the utmost importance that you only test one variable at the time. For instance you may change
the headline in one of your salesletters to see how much it will affect the number of orders you get from your salesletter. If you
change both the headline and your orderform at the same time, you won't know for sure if it's the headline or the order-form
that affected the number of orders you get from that letter.
So don't test more than one variable at the time!
A/B SPLIT TESTS
Rick, let me just mention one way of testing, that's very used by the more clever Internet marketers - namely SPLIT TESTS.
This kind of test is also called A/B Split.
EXAMPLE: A PRICE TEST
Let's say you want to test the price of a new product.
You decide to write a sales-letter for the new product and send that sales-letter to your customer database with an e-mail!
When you use this way of testing, you split up the number of people you're addressing, in two equal halfs.
Then you make two totally identical e-mail messages - EXCEPT for the price for the product.
In the first e-mail you decide to price the product at $59.
In the second e-mail you decide to price the product at $69.
Now you make two order-forms on your website - one for each e-mail. Consequently, on the first order-form your product is
priced at $59, and on the second order-form, your product is priced at $69. The first e-mail has a link to the first order-form,
and the second has a link to the second order-form.
Then you send the first e-mail to the first half of your customer database. And the second e-mail to the second half.
Then you keep an open with the number of orders you get from each order-form. Besides you calculate the total amount of
dollars you earn from each mailing.
You also have to remember that even if you earn more money from the $69 salesletter, you may get fewer orders totally.
Because if you get fewer orders totally from the $69 (even though earn more totally), you will get fewer customers to sell your
back-end product to.
Rick, this is just a short description of one way of testing. There are several other ways of testing. For instance you can use
autoresponders to make tests.
I hope you found this helpful, Rick!
Sincerely,
Klaus
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing plus a lot of helpful FREE articles!
Just heard about this last night and I blasted it right out to my mailing list. I'm guessing this nifty little tool will be one of the most talked about new products since the creation of affiliate programs.
Here's a copy of the letter I sent out to the subscribers of my e-zine:
Subject: I had to let you know about this...TODAY!
I had to let you know about an incredible new marketing tool that has just come to my attention and I couldn't wait till next weeks newsletter.
The Internet has made it possible to "track" exactly where you are getting the the most bang for your buck...or rather, what works in a marketing campaign and what doesn't.
Even if you are just thinking about getting started with an on-line venture or moving your off-line business on-line, please take a look at
this nifty new tool that "tracks" the data you need to fine tune your marketing efforts.
Take a look at ROIbot and let me know what you think. This thing is will save us all time, money, headaches and help us know exactly where to focus our energies.
***TheClub4u News and Promotional Tips***
Bringing you the tools, ideas, and articles to help you maximize your on-line presence,
your e-zine publishing and your promotional efforts. http://Club4uNews.listbot.com/
Well, it works. Someone read my previous post, visited Roibot, signed up for the free version.
How do I know?
First I got a quicky e-mail from ROIbot that someone had signed up from my referal. Then, I checked my Roibot account to see my stats and there was the refering link listed from that particular action that showed me the exact URL where the lead had come from and that lead me right back to this board.
Not only that, someone signed up for my newsletter from another link I am testing with Roibot. I know where that came from too. Too cool.
I've been looking for an easy way to track my efforts. This is just so cool. Did I say that already? Maybe I'm too easily amused. <g>
Nancy Hansen
***TheClub4u News and Promotional Tips***
Bringing you the tools, ideas, and articles to
help you maximize your on-line presence, your
e-zine publishing and your promotional efforts. http://Club4uNews.listbot.com/
How to get a free testing tool - the Ultimate link tracker!
by
Hi Rick,
You may not be aware that you can get a free testing tool, the Ultimate link tracker. This is a script which you can install on your web site, which will let you track what people click on.
This is very useful if you write your own ads for affiliate programs, so you can tell which ads are working, and which ones don't!
You can get the Ultimate link tracker for free.... Here's how. First, you have to sign up as an affiliate for Make Your Site Sell. (Signing up is free, and you don't have to buy anything.)
To sign up, click here. Then, click on the "5 Pillar Affiliate Program". There, you'll find out about the Ultimate Link Tracker.
Hope you enjoy it! I just installed it on my own web site... (the link above goes through my own ultimate link tracker, in case you were wondering....)
It's very powerful, and the best thing is it's also free (if you sign up, which costs nothing). You don't have to sell the product to join the affiliate program....
I'd like to share my info product idea and if you have some time to provide feedback I'd appreciate it. I'm a newbie to the area so this would be my first product although I do have a fair bit of experience in the IT and web development area etc.
My Market....People who want start an IT career but have no idea how to go about it. These might be young pepople, students etc as well as mature people who want to change careers. The important thing is that these people have little to no IT experience...they may be just people who enjoy using their computer for work or home...but now want to earn an income from it as their career. They are probably people who see constantly from the media that IT is booming and offers good wages, conditions etc and want to get a slice of the pie.
Product....An e-book/manual which may be titled " How to start a profitable IT career without any experience " or " How I tripled my income to $100,000 in 12 months by starting an IT career from scratch " something like that !
The product would answer questions like :
How do I start...its such a huge area.
What types of jobs are available
There are so many areas how do I choose ?
Do I have to leave my current job to start
Is it expensive ? etc
I would like to take a step by step approach and provide information, advice, links, secrets, shortcuts etc. Indeed I wish such a book was available when I was first starting out.
I have interviewed a number(6) people who want to enter the IT arena and have a list of over 80 unique questions they would like answered.
Market Research.
I have done numerous searches on the web for existing material and while there are hundreds of sites providing assistance for IT staff to find work..I have found no other site which is providing information to my market niche on ho to START in the industry. All these sites are only interested in you once you have the skills.
Back end products.
I've identified five back end products I could research and write based on the choice the consumer may take from my first e-book.
For instance my manual would define the 8 major career paths in IT, programming, networking,hardware etc. Each of the areas would have in depth info on the type of career, wages, resources, employing companies etc.
From my first book if the consumer chooses to start in the programming arena...I could then have a backend product called.." How to start your programming career..interviews with 10 succesful programmers and how they would start again" I could have 8 back end products...one for each of main themes presented in the fist e-book.
I want to make sure I over deliver in whatever I do and make the material something I would be proud of and happy to sell to my next door neighbour.
So there it is in a unformed nutshell...be gentle but honest.
It sounds like you have a pretty good product idea. As long as the advertising copy makes the IT career sound "within reach" of the average person, it should sell well.
I think "over delivery" is a key. Marlon Sander's style of advertising copy would be a good starting point as a model for your new product.
His website is at www.higherresponse.com. He also has another website at www.yourownproducts.com.
You really need to include interviews with Personnel directors at various companies about these positions. While we who work in the IT business can tell you how we'd do it if we were doing it all over again, that doesn't address what the real-time companies are hiring. What they're hiring now is not what they were hiring when I got my job.
Waaayyyy back when I got in (20 years ago), they were hiring folks with as little as 2 years' experience. This changed after a bit to "hiring anything that can tell a Personal Computer from a Politically Correct Statement." After being burned on the "I have a PC at home and taught myself to program" glut of programmers, many companies are VERY picky about what sort of experience and education they'll hire.
Including "current standards", of course, gives you the excuse to do a new edition each year... and adds to your marketability the idea that the information is fresh. This makes it lots more valuable.
Thanks mel...your absoloutly right...I've intended to include a whole section on the current employment environment with as you say "current standards". Areas I am going to cover include interviews with employment agencies, current skills needs, minimum "real" requirements, well thought of training courses, how the agency process works etc. I plan on having components of my manual ( such as current pay rates) written in seperate files and loaded as linked objects so that I can easily update the material. I recognise that due to the enormous rate of change in the IT field that the material will need to be regularly updated.
Although can I add the point that my material is aimed at the novice who wants enough information to answer for themselves two key questions..
Do I want to enter the IT industry...and if Yes...How and where do I start the journey. I'm hoping my backend products will then provide very specific information on how to start a career in a specific area such as " programming" etc.
Am I going in the right direction or do you foresee some deep and muddy potholes ahead ?
"I have done numerous searches on the web for existing material and while there are hundreds of sites providing assistance for IT staff to find work..I have found no other site which is providing information to my market niche on ho to START in the industry. All these sites are only interested in you once you have the skills."
Could this mean there is no market for your product idea?
What other research have you done to see if a market already exists?
Oftentimes marketers create with the intent of either finding the market or creating one-a difficult and expensive task and model.
The best model I have seen thus far on the Net is that of Bill Myers who buyilds his products based market needs. I.E. The market already exists and is a hungry, easy to reach, targeted market.
To see whether or not there is a market for your product idea e-mail me and I will email you back with some instructions as to how to locate, if there exists, your market before you risk time, money, and effort developing your product.
Thanks for your feedback....you raise a number of good points...I certainly don't want to waste my time if a hungry market isn't already available.
The question seems to be...Is there an existing hungry market for my material. My market research shows no other online site providing this information, there are however a number of hard copy book s available on the topic.
Because somebody is not already meeting the needs of a defined market..does that mean the market does not exist ? I don't know ! I agree it would be very arrogant to assume that nobody has identified this market before me.
How can I test my potential market further ?
I will email you as you suggest but I wonder if the general readers of this forum might be interested in the same info.
About finding a hungry market first (a LONG message!)
by
Dear Greg,
Thank you very much for sharing your interesting product idea with us!
Both Jimmy, Mel and Taylor have given you some good advice.
FIND THE MARKET FIRST
Taylor is totally correct, it’s imperative to FIND THE MARKET FIRST – if you want to make things as easy for you as possible.
If you don’t find the market first, you’ll just make it much harder for yourself to succeed. It’ll usually take more time to find a real winner, and it’ll cost you much more money.
So you need to find a HUNGRY market.
How do you find such a hungry market?
WAYS TO FIND THE MARKET FIRST
There are several ways to find the market first. Let me describe a few.
WHO ELSE IS DOING IT?
One way is to look a the marketplace and see if anybody else is already doing what you would like to do. If you notice the same ads and salesletters being repeated over and over for a long time, it CAN be an indication that there is an active market for that particular product. But you always have to TEST the market first if you want to be sure.
This is a good and proven way to go. And this is what Bill Myers is constantly doing, as Taylor says.
FIRST MARKETER IN A NICHE MARKET
But when we’re talking about niche markets it’s not always possible to find other marketers doing precisely what you are planning to do. Maybe you’re the first person to seriously considering marketing that particular product.
For instance the famous direct marketer Jeff Paul – to my best knowledge - hadn’t much competition in his niche (financial planning) when he first created a course on marketing for financial planners.
And so far as I remember Bill Myers was the first to publish a newsletter on catching all kinds of tv-signals when he started out.
In this case - where we’re talking about niche markets - you should always make some TESTS before you move ahead and begin to create a major product. I can’t repeat this often enough!
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE MARKET?
If you know that niche market really well, you usually know what problems, wishes and longings that market has. And then you also usually have an idea what kind of information your market is willing to pay for.
That’s one reason it’s a good idea to create your products for a market you know well. There are other important reason, too, but this reason alone, shows why it’s usually much better to create your products for a market you really know well.
ANY MAGAZINES, EZINES ETC?
Another indication that there is a market for your product, is if any magazines and ezines are published on your subject.
Again, if we’re talking about niche markets, you may be the first marketer to see a potential market for your product.
An example of this is Sonya Myers (Bill Myers’ wife) who couldn’t find any magazines dealing with how women can use guns. There was a lot of magazines about men and guns. But she just couldn’t find any magazines on women and guns.
Consequently she decided to publish a newsletter, which she called – yes you guessed it – “Women And Guns”. And it did only cost Sonya about $300 to launch and market the first edition of her newsletter.
This newsletter soon became so popular that it became a magazine.
Sonya had stumbled on a real winner – even though she didn’t have any competitors at first.
But remember again, that it’s usually much easier to find the market first, and THEN – only then – create the product they want to buy.
ASK THE PEOPLE IN THE MARKETPLACE
Another way to find the market (for your particular product) first, is to do what Ben Suarez is always doing whenever he tries to find a good, new product. You know, Ben Suarez is one of today’s most successful direct marketers. The rumor says that he is a billionaire several times over. So obviously he must do something right.
What Ben is doing, is that he picks about 12 potential products. These 12 products are grouped in three or four categories. Then Ben’s staff calls some people who’re chosen at random. They politely ask these people which of these products they would like to get for free, if they could. And they promise these people that they will get a free copy of the product that get most votes (and consequently is created), if they happen to vote for that product.
I’ve myself used this method when I was trying to find a good subject on which to create a book (on danish). I just found about 30-40 random people in the phonebook and called these people. I found the product most of the people would prefer to get. And what really surprised me was that the product that got most votes was another product that I had expected.
That’s another way to go.
BECOME AWARE TO THE MARKET
One extremely important way to find the market (for your particular product) first, is to become aware of what’s going on in the marketplace.
And due to the Internet, this is very easy.
Take a close look at all the discussion boards where people discuss the subject you’re planning to create a product on.
But whatever you choose to do, Greg, make some TESTS FIRST!
So the question is…
HOW DO YOU MAKE A TEST PRODUCT?
There are many ways to make a test product.
For instance you can create an audio-tape.
Just sit down in a quiet place with a cassette-recorder and talk about your subject into the microphone. Of course you need to know what you’re going to say. But if you do this, you’ll then have a quick product you can test-sell to the potential market.
If you find it difficult to just sit down a talk into that microphone, you can have a friend interviewing you.
You can also write a short report (5-10 pages).
Just remember, always to give your potential customers value for their money – even though it’s just a test product.
DID YOU FIND THE MARKET, THEN?
When we’re talking about the importance of finding the market first, it’s also extremely important to find out if your market CAN ACTUALLY AFFORD TO BUY YOUR PRODUCT.
One thing is if they WANT to buy your product.
It’s a totally different question, if they’re ACTUALLY ABLE TO BUY YOUR PRODUCT.
And I think this is an important question to ask yourself, Greg – AND your market – before you move ahead a try to create that product. Particularly when we’re talking about young people, many of which are still students or are just finished with school.
If they can’t afford your product, you don’t have a good chance to being able to sell your product.
Again, you need to really get an insider knowledge of your market. You need to be aware of what’s happening in the market.
Ask yourself: “What do these people already buy now? Do they buy products that cost about the same as the product I want to create?”
If they don’t, you would do wise to think twice before you go ahead and try to create that product.
TAKE THAT FIRST STEP!
Finally, I would like to say that it’s extremely important to take that first step and start creating your product – as soon as you’ve found your market.
I remember that master marketer Terry Dean once said something helpful: “Go out there and make some mistakes!”
You see, one of the worst enemies we have a product developers is PROCRASTINATION. You know, a lot of people talk and talk about creating information products. The problem is that they never actually take that first step and begin creating their product.
One important reason for this is that we often are so afraid of making mistakes.
And if you take a look at all the many self-help books that try to teach you how to succeed in life, you’ll notice that most of them is actually trying to show people the solution to procrastination.
Why?
The answer, again, is that procrastination is so widespread!
Most people know what it means to procrastinate.
The solution, I think, is to look fear right in it’s eyes and say to it: “Okay, you may make me tremble by fear. But I will do it anyway. No matter what I feel, I am going to do it anyway.”
Don’t wait until your feelings of fear has disappeared!
Just move ahead even though you still feel the fear!
If you try to eliminate your fear before you move ahead, you may never get started, Greg.
But if you look the fear right into it’s eyes and move ahead anyway, you’ll win over the fear.
So JUST DO IT! as the Nike says.
But of course you should always try to give yourself less reason to fear, by TESTING everything first.
TEST, TEST, TEST – as the experts say!
CONGRATULATIONS!
So congratulations with getting this idea! This idea is the first step towards accomplishing your goal. And as they say in China: “A trip of thousand miles begin with the first step.”
This is the case in Direct Marketing and the information business too!
If you take a look around on the Internet, you’ll constantly see that a lot of marketers just sell the same stuff as everybody else. They never seems to get any further. They never create their own information products. They just resell the products created by others.
Anybody have info on the Mike Enlow " Inner Circle" site ?
by Greg Krauser
Hi,
Just a short note from a newbie.
First congratualtions on a great discussion board....I've spent the last month researching "Internet Marketing" and have so far investigated and bookmarked over 87 sites. I find myself continually coming back to your group because it seems to be very unbiased and not just pushing one point of view.
Anyway....has anybody got any information on the quality of the course that Mike Enlow is selling..."The inner circle", his advertising material is excellent but the cost is fairly considerable at $495...especially when you convert it to Aussie dollars ( $780).
Also I've got one other query. After a fair bit of thought I've come up with an idea for an information product...I'd like to get some advice from the many experienced campaigners out there but is it good protocol ( or wise) to discuss product ideas in a public forum. I certainly don't want to offend anyone but I am a little bit concerned about security ( just a throw back to my many years in a very competitive corporate market where paranoia was king !)
Thank you very much for your kind words about this board!
I am glad to hear that you've found it helpful!
Concerning your question, if is it’s “good protocol (or wise) to discuss product ideas in a public forum”, I would say YES.
Of course it’s totally up to you if you will risk your competition to spy on you.
But actually I don’t think it’s much of a problem.
I’ve read many, many posts on different marketers, who have shared their ideas on new projects with other people. Some product developers and marketers have even offered their products for free for a very limited time, in order to let other marketers review and evaluate their products. And I think they’ve both got some good feedback and some free marketing by doing this.
Of course you’ll always have to make sure that you don’t post blatant ads for your new products! Other marketers will quickly sense if your post is just a disguised salesletter. And believe me, they’ll often punish you immediately! Besides I always delete blatant (and disguised) ads and salesletters immediately.
But again, Greg, please feel welcome to share your new product ideas with other marketers on this board! You may get some invaluable suggestions and comments in return.
Concerning Mike Enlow's Inner Circle, I would just like to say this:
First of all, I am reselling subscriptions to Mike Enlow's Inner Circle, so I am a little bit biased here.
I just want to be completely honest with you!
At the same time you don’t need to subscribe to Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle through me – even if you choose to be a member of this inner circle. I don’t want to let you think that the reason I am recommending a product or a service, is that I have an economic interest in it.
Okay Greg, so now you know this, please read on to hear my evaluation of Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle. I’ll try to be as honest with you as possible.
The reason I personally became a member of Mike's Inner Circle, was that Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle seemed to offer much, much more invaluable information than any other web-based (secret site) inner circle I have read about.
There is of course many other good web-based inner circles and secret sites (for example the inner circle/secret site by Allen Says, called the Warrior Secret Site, http://www.profitsecrets.com).
But I must say that I was very, very impressed when I became a member of Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle and began to surf around on his site. You just can’t imagine how much top quality information he gives away.
You get a real inside look at some of the most important marketing secrets. Besides you get a lot of advice on how to both set up your website and to market it. And the website is constantly being updated with new important and helpful information. For instance the administrator of the website, Tim Gross, is soon going to publish a step-by-step guide to starting your own e-business, for the members of Mike’s Inner Circle.
So Mike Enlow is certainly not exaggerating in his salesletter! At least not in my opinion!
And I am positively surprised whenever I find a marketer that delivers MORE than he or she has promised in his or her salesletter.
But you see, delivering MORE than what the customer expects is an integrative part of Mike Enlow’s marketing concepts. And that’s something a lot of other marketers could learn from him: If you want to not only GET customers, but also want to KEEP them, then you should constantly OVER-DELIVER. And in this connection Mike again and again refers to the biblical concept: “Give, and you will receive!” “Treat others as you would yourself like to be treated!” (The socalled “Golden Rule”). “As you sow, you will reap!”
Even if you don’t agree with Mike’s fundamental view of life, you can certainly learn a lot from his basic marketing philosophy. And what I like, is the fact that Mike not only TALKS about over-delivering, but also actually PRACTISES this way of GIVING and OVERDELIVERING to his customers before he expects to RECEIVE.
Okay, I’ve talked about this indispensable and fundamental marketing philosophy before, and I don’t intend to elaborate on it here again. But I think you understand, Greg, that I really rate Mike Enlow high.
Of course this doesn’t necessarily mean that I agree with him on everything or endorse everything he does.
Before I myself became a member to Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle, I had read some of his free articles, and I were really impressed by how detailed and helpful his information was. Nothing like the low-quality articles and reports you find all over the Internet.
Besides I got Mike’s free ezine, and Mike Enlow‘s ezine is definitely one of the best ezines I’ve ever subscribed to. In his ezine you get more quality information than most other ezines.
Besides I had for several years been aware of the fact that Mike Enlow is one of the most successful Internet and direct marketers ever.
I were very interested in Mike’s Joint Venture concepts which has literally earned him millions.
Consequently I finally decided to sign up as a member of Mike. To be honest I were somewhat hesitant before signing up as a member of this Inner Circle. After all $495 seems like a lot of money to spend, when you consider how many other enticing offers that competes on getting your money.
But then, when I got my password and thus got access to Mike’s Inner Circle, I almost got a shock - even though I expected a lot.
Here on this Inner Circle I found so much information that I could hardly believe it!
There was hours and hours of video-files and trancsripcts, thousands of pages of the best guarded marketing secrets, report after report, several whole books, step-by-step guidance on how to market your products both on and off the Internet, live Screen Cam instructions to setting up your own website etc. etc.
What really took me by surprise was that I here found many of the seminars that did cost up to $15,000 per seminar. Seminars that I would have really loved to attend. Now I had the chance to participate in my own living room for a fraction of the original cost.
And the speakers on these seminars were people like Gary Halbert, Dan S. Kennedy, Bill Myers, Paul Hartunian, Alan and Brad Antin - and of course Mike Enlow himself. But there was dozens of other extremely marketers on these seminars.
You know some of the world’s absolute top direct marketers!
Most of these people are – to my best knowledge – millionaires many times over. Gary Halbert, for instance, is by many marketers considered to be the foremost still living marketing expert. Not only has he earned millions and millions himself, but he has been the primary inspiration source and mentor for a lot of today’s foremost marketers. For instance he is the one who helped billionaire Ben Suarez to get started in his mail-order business.
You know, if you were going to buy the transcripts or the videotapes from just one of seminars, you would usually have to pay between $200 and $800 per seminar. But now I found them here – as a member of Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle.
Again, Greg, I would like to be totally honest with you and remind you that I am a reseller of Mike Enlow’s material. And whenever someone has a financial interest in something, you always have good reason to be a little bit cautious - though I definitely don’t want to cheat you in any way!
I just want to give you my honest evaluation of the many different products and services you can read about on the Internet.
Maybe you’ve become convinced by my unusually strong recommendation of Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle, and you want to become a member yourself. But as I said, I don’t want you to think that the reason I am recommending Mike’s Inner Circle because I am a reseller of it!
So please don’t feel pressured in any way to become a member through me! Then you can just go to Mike’s personal website (http://www.enlow.com) and sign up as a member there. And I won’t get a dime for my recommendation!
I just want to be sure that you don’t think I recommend a certain book, tape, course or inner circle because I have some financial interest in the product or service. I try to be as honest and straightforward in my evaluations and reviews as possible.
If on the other hand you decide to support me and sign up as a member to Mike’s website through me, I will of course be grateful. After all I am in this for business, too. So then please just go to my website and click on the banner at the bottom of the homepage (http://www.klausdahl.com). But again, please don’t feel pressured in any way!
Whatever you do, I would strongly recommend this Inner Circle if you want to get some real insider marketing secrets!
Greg, I hope you found this short evaluation of Mike Enlow’s Inner Circle helpful!
Sincerely,
Klaus Dahl
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
Phone: +45 86742120
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
Your review of Mike Enlow's site was excellent and very much appreciated....I'm impressed that he has created such a good impression with you. I guess I'll save up my pennies for a few weeks and buy a membership...through you.
I'm going to post a new message with my idea to see if I can get some feedback...thanks for the advice.
I saw your post about the Inner Circle and by now I would hope you have invested in the site, especially when he offers to you a 12 month guarantee( so how could you lose?). I get mad sometimes going to the Inner Circle because their is so much information I just cannot absorb it all. And every week their seems to be something new on the site. This is the first marketing site to offer to you actual video seminars of the marketing experts such Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy and others.
Monique also has a very good course on selling information online. If you subscribe to her newsletter, you will also as a bonus get an electronic version of "The Infopreneur Informer".
Again, I am NOT affiliated with this product in any way! I just want to help you if possible!
I hope you'll find this helpful!
Warm regards,
Klaus
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
Success-story #1: Self-publisher Mike McMillan - http://www.mcmillanbooks.com
by
Dear friends,
Some days ago I promised you to tell you some stories about direct marketers who has successfully self-published, marketed and sold information products on all other kinds of subjects than how to earn money.
The first success-story I have chosen to tell you, is about Mike McMillan.
By the way, before I tell you more about Mike McMillan, I would like to assure you that I have absolutely no financial interest in the products sold by him. I just tell you this story in order to inspire you.
Often you get the impression that it’s everybody in this business who is earning money, is earning his or her money by selling information on how to earn money.
If you go to Mike's website, you'll see that he has written one book on selfpublishing. BUT he has also written more than fourty (yes 40!) books on different other subjects. Most of these fifty books are on chemistry and teaching.
Think about it, my friend! How often haven’t you head it said: The only way you can really earn money in selfpublishing, is by publishing information on how to get rich.
Mike Mcmillan is a proof that this accusation is wrong!
You can earn money on other kinds of information, than on information that directly teaches you how to make money.
For many years Mike worked as a chemistry teacher. Actually he really liked his job, he says. But gradually he got tired of all the limitations he encountered again and again in the system of public education. Mike was one of the most popular teachers on the school where he worked. He always found some funny ways to make his lectures more interesting. Instead of just giving his students the dry facts and then make a few compulsory experiments, he came up with some very, very intriguing experiments that really excited the students. Suddenly some smoke disappeared an unexpected place in the classroom. And then Mike made a big fire-ball explode between his hands.
To go to his lectures, was almost like going to a magic show.
No wonder he got a lot of students!
Actually Mike had so many students coming to his lectures that his workload became just became bigger and bigger. You see, all these students wanted to let Mike be read through and correct their papers.
But did Mike get better paid for having more students?
No, he didn’t!
Because the only way to get better paid in the system of public education was to get into the school administration. And Mike certainly didn’t want to become just another office-worker.
Consequently Mike began to thinking about other possibilities.
In 1982 Mike gave a little talk to some of his teacher colleagues. In this talk he showed his colleagues some of the tricks he used to liven up his lectures.
After this little 40 minute talk, some of Mikes colleagues asked him if he had written a book about his methods.
Mike hadn’t!
But this became the start to his publishing empire!
Mike wrote down some of the funny experiments and tricks he had used so successfully in his lectures. The booklet only had 12 pages, and the title was: “52 Ways To Liven Up The Chemistry Classroom”.
Soon Mike wrote another little booklet. Actually you it should rather be called a folio, because it had only four (yes 4) pages. This little book contained some artwork Mike had used successfully in his teaching.
Mike sold his first book “52 Ways To Liven Up The Chemistry Classroom” for $9.99, and the four page booklet for $16.95.
Did he sell any copies of his booklets?
You better believe it!
At first he just sold the booklets to the teachers that attended his lecture. Then he went on and sold his booklets to teachers all over the country.
Mike literally sold thousands and thousands of his booklets.
Later on he enlarged his first book “52 Ways To Liven Up The Chemistry Classroom”. And consequently he were able to charge more for the book. But the sales only grew.
Then in 1989 Mike went to the principal of his school and quit his $40,000 a year job.
Today Mike is working fulltime from home, writing books and booklets on something that really interests him. And he is selling his many books to schools all over United States.
And when we’re talking about what subject is selling, you may find it interesting to hear that Mike has himself researched, written, published and sold a book on quicksand.
Can you believe it?
Mike is selling a self-published book on QUICKSAND!
Who would ever believe that you could sell a book on such a strange subject by mail-order?
But the fact is that Mike has successfully done so.
And the reason he did so is not that he is a university scholar on the subject, who has for years been recognized as the leading expert on the subject.
No!
The only reason Mike has written this book on quicksand, is that he had always wondered what quicksand actually is. You know, sometimes on Hollywood films you see people being sucked down in quicksand, and there seems to be something very mystifying about quicksand.
So Mike decided to research the subject. Soon he found that very little is written for the public about quicksand.
So after he had been doing some more research and read through some technical papers, he decided to write a little book on the subject.
Mike has also written a book about MALT (like the malt you used in malted milk and in brewing beer).
Not exactly the kind of book you would imagine to be a successful self-published book, don’t you agree?
But Mike McMillan has definitely proved that it’s possible to successfully sell information on just about ANY subject you can imagine – provided you know how.
But how do you do it, then?
Fortunately Mike has told us precisely how he has done it successfully for years himself.
In his book BIG MONEY WRITING LITTLE BOOKS (actually part of a whole course with tapes) shows step-by-step how he finds a good subject to write on, how he writes his books, how he produces them, how he writes impelling and irresistible copy, how he delivers and ships his books and much, much more. And when I say that Mike tells you his way of self-publishing “step-by-step” I REALLY MEAN STEP-BY-STEP.
I have almost never read a book about information development and marketing that is so SPECIFIC and DETAILED in it’s explanations.
Again, I would like to emphasize that I don’t get a dime for this strong recommendation. I just felt happy to read a book that is so good.
By the way, if you want to know more about Mike, you can go to his website: http://www.mcmillanbooks.com
Now, didn’t you find this story inspiring?
At least I’ve been inspired by Mike McMillan!
And I hope you’ll be inspired, too!
Sincerely,
Klaus Dahl
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
Phone: +45 86742120
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
I ordered Mike's course about 4 days ago. I'm looking forward to receiving it.
Another person who is doing very well selling information is Angela Adair-Hoy. Her website sells ebooks that are written by a variety of people [http://www.booklocker.com]
She sells ebooks for writers who are trying to syndicate their articles, etc.
She also writes about self-publishing ebooks. Her books are very cheap [about $8.95 US] They're not long either. She's against long ebooks.
Her believes an ebook should be no longer than 100 pages because you have to read it on the monitor - or having to print out the pages.
Anyone who desires to sell information will naturally buy books, ebooks, reports, etc. on the subject.
It's such a fascinating subject it becomes very tempting to forget about the reason you desired to sell information to begin with! I know a pastor who wanted to create books and manuals to help people with life’s problems. Instead, he got so sidetracked on with the concept of selling information, he decided to write a book on “selling information” instead of his original topic.
I doubt that he’s the only person that’s happened to either! I think to last in the business for the long haul you have to write about a subject that you are passionate about and really BELIEVE IN. It may be harder to find customer’s writing about certain subjects than others, but in the end . . . I think it will be a much more rewarding experience writing about something you love.
Not that you can’t write about “How-To Sell Information.” But that can’t be the main focus if you originally started out to write about your life’s work and pursuits.
As for myself, I’ve been debating about what to write about for the last year and a half. I’ve spent more time reading about what to do when you have something to write about than actually writing! It’s been tremendous, though, reading all of the “how-to” packages out there.
I’m looking forward to your upcoming reviews on people who are making money writing about topics other than “How To Make Money, etc.”
Hopefully, they will inspire the rest of us to get going!
Finding a subject to create information products on
by
Hi Jimmy,
Yes, I totally agree with you:
IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED IN THE LONG RUN, IT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT YOU CREATE INFORMATION PRODUCTS ON SOMETHING THAT REALLY INTERESTS YOU.
It's necessary to have "your heart with you" in the project!
If you just go out there and try to create a product on something that seems popular at the moment, chances are that you'll fail miserable in the long run.
A lot of direct marketers will tell you (usually in their salesletters) that if you market information products on the Internet, you'll get an easy life.
And they're partly correct!
But to be totally honest, there are difficulties in the information business, too.
Of course there are!
In these difficult times you'll have to keep motivated despite all the hindrances and setbacks you'll encounter.
If the only motivation for marketing information is cold cash, I can almost assure you that you'll run into some major personal problems. You have a very hard time trying to keep your motivation high.
That's why you should always ask yourself this question before you go start up your business:
IF I HAD ALL THE MONEY I COULD EVER DREAM OF, AND CONSEQUENTLY NEVER NEEDED TO GIVE MONEY ANOTHER THOUGHT, WOULD I THEN STILL CREATE INFORMATION PRODUCTS ON THAT SAME SUBEJCT?
If you have to give a NEGATIVE answer to this question, I would strongly advice you to give it a second thought before you go on and throw your money, energy and time into this business.
Does it sound strange that I advice you to ask yourself this question?
Many people would automatically say: "Of course I wouldn't create any information products at all, if I didn't ever need to give money another thought! I would just go to the best beaches in the world and enjoy life to the fullest!"
There is so much to say to this! But just take a look at the people who have been really, really successful in their information businesses! You'll notice that they almost always continue to create, market and sell their information products. Sometimes they "retire" early. But usually they are soon back on the stage.
For instance, take a look at Ben Suarez, Mike Enlow, Jay Abraham, Dan S. Kennedy, Robert G. Allen and Bill Myers!
All of these people - to my best knowledge - has literally earned fortunes through their businesses. Anyway they just keep on creating products and market their businesses.
Why?
Because they don't just do it for the money!
They have a real, genuine interest in their businesses and in subjects they create information products on.
So I totally agree with you, Jimme, that's it's paramount that you have a strong interest in whatever you decide to create your information products on.
At the same time it's vitally important to FIND THE MARKET FIRST - at least if you're interested in selling as many of your products as possible!
It's much easier to find a group of hungry people who are willing to spend their money on a product or service, and then go out and create/offer precisely that product or service, than to go the other way around.
Most self-publishers continuely make this mistake! They want to start their own business. Consequently they jump out in the middle of nowhere and try to write a big, big book on something they imagine would sell successfully.
But unfortunately they often end up with a garage full of books that nobody wants to buy, and a bank account that's thousands of dollars more poor than before they began their self-publishing project.
Of course there can be times where you're burning so much for a certain information product that you are willing to take upon you the burden to CREATE or ENLARGE the market for that particular product.
One example of this may be the person who wants to spread a religious, idealistic or ecological message. These persons may have such a strong conviction about their products that they are willing to spread their message - even though they know that they may even loose money on their project. If you feel that way about a certain project, you have my high respect. I have some projects I feel that way about, myself.
But if you just want to sell as MANY copies of your information products as possible it's usually much wiser to find a hungry market first, and then - only then - go out and create your product.
But doesn't this conflict with what I've just written, That you need to have a strong interest in what you're creating information products on?
Not necessarily!
The way to go is to BOTH find your interest AND to find a hungry market.
First, take out a paper and make a list of all the hungry markets you know.
Second, write down all of your interests.
Then compare these two lists and find all the areas that are overlapping.
Finally you pick out one of these subjects and markets!
Sincerely,
Klaus
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
It looks like Jerry Buchanan's numbers are all disconnected without any forwarding information available.
I tried looking up his company, too. The name doesn't appear in the list of state corporations.
Maybe he passed away? I hope not, but if so . . . it may be that his publishing business has been dispanded. If so, I wonder if anyone bought the rights to publish his materials?
Thank you for the information, Klaus.
I've read Don Massey's book [about 2 years ago]. His book is excellent!
I think it would be great if Don updating the book to include e-book marketing and online delivery.
Recently, I read a comment made by successful information marketer. He said, "You can make a nice living 're-writing' a book about any given subject."
He went on to point out the fact of how many books exist on using a single software product. Take Word 2000 for example.
There are dozens of books, manuals, etc. that have been written on how to use the product.
Some are technical, some are visual, some are short and concise. The point he made was this: there are people who will understand a subject better "in your words" than they will in someone elses.
With that in mind, it wouldn't be very difficult to create an info product on the fly.
If you take an info product that already exists, and recreate it with the "what he/she SHOULD HAVE SAID was ..." approach, you may actually create a superior product in HALF THE TIME.
In fact, I wouldn't doubt it if half the books I've already read weren't written by authors using that technique.
You're right, Jimmy, most of the books written today are fundamentally just rewritings of books that were written a long time ago!
In this connection, please allow me to share a few thoughts on how to create a SUPERIOR product!
Of course there are some new facets today that couldn't be included in the older books.
For instance the Internet has changed a lot.
But even then many of of the information is often fundamentally the same.
The technical aspects, the words and the style may be of course be different.
But when all comes to all, you find out that the Internet is after all just another way to communicate.
Sure, the means we use to communicate may be different.
But in the final end we must never forget that in order to communicate, you need people - before or later.
And that's precisely what so many marketers forget on the Internet!
They are so impressed by all the many technical possibilities there is on the Internet.
BUT they forget that the Internet is primarily about people.
And even though we like to flatter ourselves and believe otherwise, we human beings don't change that much after all.
That's why you'll see the same old classics being revived again and again - even on the Internet.
For instance Jay Abraham, maybe the world's most famous direct marketer, admits to having read Claude C. Hopkin's book "My Life In Advertising/Scientific Advertising" dozens of times.
Another clever marketer and super copywriter, Joe Vitale, constantly digs into the old books on copywriting.
And so does master copywriter Carl Galletti.
Dan S. Kennedy constantly points new entrepreneurs and direct marketers back to the old classics by John Kennedy, Claude C. Hopkins etc.
Why does successful modern marketers go back the old classics again and again?
The answer is that these people knew something about human nature!
The knew what motivates a human being to take action and make an investment in something.
And these same old truths is still valid.
And if you notice carefully, you'll constantly see - and that certainly goes for the Internet, too- that the marketers who are doing really well, are the marketers who knows human nature best.
Claude C. Hopkins learnt about human nature by going from door to door as a salesman.
I have done the same myself. And I can tell you, you'll really learn something about what makes people make that choice to take up their wallet and give you their money in exchange for a product or service.
Okay then, a lot of modern marketing stuff is just rewritings of the old time-tested marketing books - that is, if their information is any good!
But why do people then continually buy new information?
There are several answers to this question!
One important answer is that people are LAZY!
Yes, LAZY!
I don't want to offend anyone, but that's right what I just said.
See, most people could just go a few steps and find all the information they needed by going to their local library.
There they would find answer after answer to their questions. And if they would like to, they could create a lifetime of information products by rewriting this information.
Another important reason so many people invest in rewritings of old information, is closely related to the first reason I just mentioned:
They want to have the information APPLIED to precisely their situation!
As I said, many of the outer circumstances are different today that earlier - even though human nature is fundamentally the same.
And in this situation many people want to get precise, step-by-step guidance on how to apply the fundamental principles to today.
They want to get information that's adjusted to precisely their situation in today's modern society.
And this is where laziness comes in again. Most people want other people to figure things out for them!
They have a feeing that "there is nothing new under the sun", but the hope on some kind of miracle that'll solve all of their problems and answer all of their questions.
All of this comes downs to the fact that most people want things DONE FOR THEM! They want someone to take them by their hand and show them how to go the way, how to avoid any stumblestones, holes etc.
"But", you may ask, "even though this is interesting, what has it to do with creating information products?"
Oh, a LOT!
It has a LOT to do with creating information products that people want to buy.
If you can show people exactly how to do something they would really like to do, or if you can give them the answer to an urgent question, then, yes then you know what kind of information they may want to give your their money for.
It's just to go out there and make that product!
"But isn't it difficult to make a quality product?" someone ask.
Here comes the beauty of this business! You see, if you just remember that most information products are rewritings of other products, it's fairly easy to make your own product. Just rewrite what other people have written before you.
Here comes a STRONG warning, though! DON'T, DON'T EVER PLAGIAZE another marketer's products!
I can't emphasize this strong enough.
When I recommend to rewrite what is already said by others, I mean that you can take the IDEAS and leading THOUGHTS you find in the information products created by others (NOT the exact words). Then you can REFORMULATE these IDEAS and THOUGHTS in YOUR OWN WORDS. Besides it's important to give your product it's own personality. Add to it your own stories, experiences and views.
You see that's actually how most information products are created today!
Very, very seldom will you see a book, tape or course that's totally unique in it's approach to a subject.
Of course it happens once in a while. But by far the most information products are more or less rewritings (also called copycats) of other information products.
But here comes the most important question:
"If most products fundamentally are rewritings of other products, how would I ever have a chance in making my product standing out as unique?"
The solution is to find and read the best and most popular information on your subject.
Then subtract the best advice and points from these sources.
Next combine and REWRITE IN YOUR OWN WORDS all these subtractions into one information product.
Finally find out what is missing from the final product!
Ask yourself and other people what is missing from your product. Then add precisely those missing pieces!
If you've followed this simple procedure, you'll now know not only how to get the inspiration and the ideas for your information product. You'll know how to make your product standing out as superior among the different information products on the subject you've choosen to write or speak on.
I hope these important principles may have inspired some of you, my friends!
Sincerely,
Klaus
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
You can earn money on selling information that's not on the subject, How to earn money!
by
Do you sometimes wonder if the only kind of information it's possible to earn money on, is information that teaches you to earn money?
This kind of information works as a kind of network-marketing, multilevel marketing, chain letters and pyramide systems (or whatever you call the different ways of using the fundamental same way of doing business): Person A gets a lot of people (personified by person B) to give you their money. Person B (and all the other people in this group) in turn get a lot of other people to give them money. And person B (and the whole second group) again give a percentage of his or her income to person A.
The main two difference between earning money by pyramiding and chain letters, and earning money by selling information on how to earn money, is:
1) That in networking you're so to say always only one link in a long, long chain. And you have to pay a cetain percentage of everything you earn, to the links before you in the chain. This is not necessary the case when you try to sell information on how to get rich - even though some of the resell-programs bear some resemblance to the pyramding way of earning money.
And 2) that in many pyramiding and chain-letter systems, you don't actually need at product. And even if you sell a product to each new link in the chain, it's often only an excuse for making the chain longer and get more money from the ever growing chain. When people try to sell information on earning money, they often have a real product.
Now please wait a minute before you get too angry at me!
Of course I know that a lot of multilevel marketing programs aren't like what I've just described! There are some programs out there that seems to be really good.
I am of course not talking about these systems!
Besides, I think it's totally okay to tell other people how to earn money! A lot of marketers out there are doing a pretty good job.
What I don't like, is when someone tells you that you can earn an awful lot of money, and the ONLY product they've ever been able to sell is precisely their hyped information about how to make money. They've never got any practical experience from selling other kinds of products.
Of course I don't mean that you have to a millionaire before you can tell other people how to make money.
I just think that the person who sells a course on how to earn money, ought to be able to show that his or her system works on other products than just getting-rich-quick-products.
So the question is, Is it possible to earn money on other kinds of information than information on how to earn money?
My answer is: SURE!
You just often don't hear about these people.
Why not?
One important reason is that they're busy making money by selling their information that's on all other different subjects than earning money.
I have often been asked the question if it's really possible to earn money on other kinds of information than getting-rich-quick-information. And I remember that I earlier in my career did ask myself the same question.
Consequently, in the nearest future I am going to tell you the stories about some very successful direct marketers who have earned their money on selling information on all kinds of subjects.
Some of these marketers have also published books, tapes, courses and/or secret sites on how to earn money.
But they all have one factor in common: They have proved that it's possible to earn money on other kinds of information than just getting-rich-quick information.
So hang on as I am going to show you some examples on how some people have successfully earned a lot of money by creating, publishing and selling information on their hobbies, their work, their interests etc.
I think you'll be just as inspired by these stories as I have been!
By the way, This weekend I am going to London. So please show me a little bit of patience if you write me an e-mail tomorrow or in the weekend. I will answer you as soon as I possibly can!
By the way, I am soon going to publish two reviews on two books by Harmony Major and Robert Boduch. So take a look on the Direct Marketing Review website during the next two weeks!
Until we talk again, I wish you the very best!
Sincerely,
Klaus
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
Phone: +45 86742120
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
I'm surpised this discussion board doesn't get more posts
by
I'm not sure how I happened on this discussion board, but I added it to my bookmarks when I first found it.
I'm surprised that the board doesn't get more posts. I see this as a delightful, untapped resource available for all of us involved in developing and promoting information based products.
What would help to generate more traffic to the board? Any suggestions?
Thank you very much for your post and for your kind words!
I am so happy to hear that you really like this board!
And I agree that it would have been nice to see more people here.
Part of the reason, more people don't visit this board, is that I haven't marketed the board more than I have.
The reason that I haven't been marketing the board enough, is that I have been so busy preparing and launching my website.
But now, as my website is launched, I am going to spend much more time marketing the board!
When you're going to market a discussion board, you have to create what I call a "Marketing Circle". A Marketing Circle is the relationship that is between several different items/medias that market each other - and who jointly is marketing the product(s) or service that is common for all of these items/medias.
I have three such items/medias:
1) My website
2) My ezine
3) My discussion board
These is NOT ONLY marketing themselves (and the products/services accompanied with them), but they are ALSO marketing each other.
For instance, the people going to my website may see the link to the discussion board.
Then they visit the discussion board.
On the discussion board they read about my free ezine.
Then they decide to subscribe to my ezine.
And in the ezine they read about some of the articles on my website. Then they go to the website once again.
That way I am creating a MARKETING CIRCLE!
I you take a look on the most successful direct marketers, you'll notice that they constantly use the MARKETING CIRCLE.
Why?
Because the MARKETING CIRCLE is one of the KEYS to succeeding as a marketer!
I am going to use the same way of marketing, and I really think that we will soon see the results on this board. It'll take a little time. But the results will come!
In the meantime, I would of course be very happy if you and all the other visitors on this board would tell your friends in business about this board!
Thank you very much again, Nancy, for your kind post!
I wish you much success!
Sincerely,
Klaus
Active Direct Marketing Center
Skaering Hedevej 52
8250 Egaa
DENMARK
Phone: +45 86742120
Visit our website and read critical reviews of books on Direct Marketing!
I Liked Ken Silvers e-book alot.
That does't mean it's put money in my pocket.
It hasn't. Because I haven't put his great ideas
into action...YET. No budget.
Evoy's book which was excellent.
Those *Thousands of Reports* deals are garbage.
I think counting two lines on a page as *A Report* is misleading and a rip off. Especialy when it's old junk. I will direct some time soon to 1st putting up a web site,2nd include two or three affiliate products, 3rd I have ebook idea I've already started on related to retail store market.
A very useful book in sales was a Sandler training book titled *You Can't Teach A Kid to Ride A Bike At A Seminar*. It has definetly put money in my pocket and NLP studies as well.
Melvin Powers Course [which includes "How To Get Rich In Mail Order & Making Money With Classified Ads] was great.
Not only did the course give good information, the writing style was so friendly and movitvational . . . you felt like you couldn't help but succeed as you read it.
Tied for 1st is Jeffrey Lant's: How To Make A Whole Lot More Than 1,000,000 Writing, Commissioning, Publishing And Selling How-To Information
Lant's book has more information on the subject than any other I've ever seen [over 500 pages and the type is small!]
His writing style [and personality] is a bit obnoxious at times. That can be a drawback. But as far as the information goes, he really delivers.
Jimmy Krug
P.S. Melvin Powers is one of the few "Infoprenuers" who REGULARLY makes money selling products "besides" those teaching people How-To make money selling information.
You hafta love a book that over delivers and is under priced
by
Ken Envoy's book, "Make Your Site Sell" certainly gives you your money's worth! For under $18 American dollars you get over 800 pages of useful, pertinent information. Written in a light, easy to understand manner, the book is chuck full of great ideas. It is fast becoming my favorite source for marketing ideas and information.
I suggest you visit the MYSS site at http://www.sitesell.com/topchoice.html
and put him to the test...Does he know how to make a site sell? I believe he does.
You can also download a free trial offer to get a feel for his style and easy to follow suggestions.
The one person who influenced me the most was Joe Cossman. His book, "How I Made $1,000,000 In Mail Order" is a great step by step here's how you do it text book for anyone wanting to start their own business. I also purchased his audio tapes which were also quite good. Anyhoo, this is the guy who got me off the mark and caused me to take action toward starting my own business. I still use his techniques to this day. Mr. Cossman has a web site at; www.cossman.com
Another guy is Mark Nolan. I purchased his book, "Instant Cash-Flow" which deals with free press probably 6 years ago and it can still be found on my desk since I refer to it often. If anyone is looking to promote their business/products by using free press, they need this book! Period. . . There's alot out there regarding this subject but Mark, in his conversational style of writing makes it very easy to understand. The examples he gives in the book are also very inspirational. He also has a newsletter which is very good. And there it is, my 2¢ worth!
Gary
P.S. By the way, I'm also pleased to see your board activity pick up. Keep up the good work, Klaus!
On this website you'll find reviews of some of the most popular books, tapes, courses and secret sites.
How often don't you wonder if this or that book, tape, course or secret site will be worth investing in.
Will it give you the helpful advice and guidance you need?
Now you can read a critical review of some of these books, tapes, courses and secret sites.
Please be assured that I've tried to be as fair AND critical as possible! I have written these reviews with YOU in mind.
BTW, I don't have any direct interest in any of the books I've reviewed.
This doesn't mean that I will never - once in the future - sell some of the best books, tapes and courses as an affiliate.
But as I said, I'll promise you that I've tried to do my best to be as fair and critical as possible. I don't want to loose my integrity just to earn a few bucks.
And - just to repeat - I don't have any economical interest in any of these books at the present. I am not an reseller of any of the books that I've reviewed on the present edition of the website.
I still remember surfing the Internet in order to find precisely that book or that course that I hoped would give me the answers and show me the way towards success.
And from all the e-mails and posts by many other new entrepreneurs, I know that I have certainly not been alone in my eager search.
Now I just hope that you'll find some help on my website.
At the same time I hope you'll take the time to e-mail me and tell me how I can make the website better - and serve you better.
So please let me hear from you, if you have any ideas or comments!
If you would like to see a book, tape, course, secret site or inner circle reviewed here, please be so kind and e-mail me.
Matt Gagnon's course is actually his front-end for his back-end product, a larger and more expensive course.
I plan to review Matt Gagnon's front-end course shortly.
Let me just say this, Matt Gagnon obviously seems to know his stuff. What I would have wished, though, is that he would have given much more details of his system. Maybe he does so in his back-end course.
I disagree with Matt on a few of his points. Especially his recommendations of using spam.
But, as I said above, at the same time he really seems to have a solid grab on some important techniques. I would just wish that he had elaborated somewhat more on these points.
I will write Matt and ask him if it will be possible to get a review-copy of his back-end course. If he accepts, I'll also write a review of this larger course as soon as possible.
I was curious about Matt's Course myself.
There's only one reason I didn't buy it. I didn't think is information sounded "unique" enough to warrant the investment.
There are so many courses available on the infoprenuering subject . . . you really need a unique or different angle.
Matt's site did seem very personable, though. Especially when he talks about how the info-giants make their money while offering [many times] a minimal amount of substance.
One the subject of front and back end products; I think it's a great idea as long as the front end product is reasonably priced.
If I spend $29 USA on a course and I recieve something that seems SOLELY designed to sell a higher end $150 & up course, I'm not too happy.
The front end course may not offer great details, but it should provide decent content.
Many do not.
Likewise, if I spend $100 or more for an info product, I hate to receive something that resembles poor photocopies.
Sorry to ramble!
Jimmy K.
P.S. I very much enjoyed Ken Silver's E-Book Secrets.
Concerning Matt's course, please understand that I didn't say that his course is bad. Actually I think he gives some very, very good advice - even though I disagree with him on a few points.
What I missed in his first manual (his front-end product) is more details of his important marketing methods.
But I sense that he gives a lot more details in his larger course.
But please read my future review of his courses on my website!
Concerning Ken Silver's course: Yes, it's VERY, VERY good in my opinion!
I'm searching to get involved with affiliate programs, looking for products and services that are quite in demand, useful, could appeal to either a niche or broad market. If you are using the program now, do you like its ease of use, are you able to check up on leads, and do you trust the company to keep good accounting of your sales without skimming from you?
Are you using products now that make a big bifference in your leisure or business life that you'd recommend others to use? Please let me know, my email is Advocates@angelfire.com, thanks.
First of all I want to apologize for not answering your question right away!
I 've been rather busy for the last days. I hope you understand!
In my opinion there is several good affiliate programs out there.
But rather than just recommending a lot of affiliate or reseller programs, I would first of all like to give you a few guidelines for choosing a good affiliate program.
Sad to say, many owners of affiliate programs treat their affiliates downright badly. But actually they would do wise to really take care of their resellers.
Think about it!
Their resellers are often taking upon themselves an enormous task. Because it’s usually much more difficult to sell another person’s or company’s product than your own.
It’s often takes A LOT of effective marketing to make a sale as a reseller!
HERE IS SOME QUESTIONS YOU WILL DO WISE TO ASK YOURSELF WHENEVER YOU CONSIDER JOINING AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM:
* Does the product I am going to sell, really interest me?
* Am I willing to spend a lot of time marketing this product or service?
* How much do I get paid?
* How often do I get paid?
* Do I get paid prompt?
* Do I have any guarantee that I get paid at all?
* What is their reputation? What do other present and (maybe also) former resellers say about them?
* Do the owners of the affiliate program have an efficient tracking mechanism?
* Do they me updated on any changes in their program?
* Is the number of people who can join affiliate program unlimited? (If it is, it can mean heavy competition for you).
* Do I need to buy the product first, before you can become an affiliate?
* Is the product I am going to sell, a top quality product?
* Does the affiliate owner provide me with good marketing material (banners, salesletter, classified ads etc.)
Besides, there are SOME WEBSITES THAT HAVE SPECIALIZED IN CRITICALLY REVIEWING AND EVALUATING THE MANY DIFFERENT AFFILIATE PROGRAMS.
By the way, most of these affiliate programs are recommended by Allan Gardyne, too!
Many of these programs are on different aspects of Internet Marketing. But there is of course many other kinds of programs.
When all comes to all, it's up to you to choose the kind of program you prefer. And I would strongly recommend that you only sign up for a program that you have a genuine interest in.
Finally, I would advice you to RATHER TRY CREATING AND SELL YOUR OWN PRODUCTS! Your chance of making a nice profit selling your own products is MUCH HIGHER than if you sell other people’s products.
Why earn a 50 percent profit on selling other people’s product when you can earn an 80, 90 or even 95 percent or higher profit by selling your own products?
Does this mean that you should never resell other people’s products or services?
NOT AT ALL!
Actually one of the real secrets of succeeding in Direct Marketing – offline and online – is to use Joint
Ventures.
But you shouldn’t rely TOO MUCH on affiliate programs! At least not as long as don’t have a solid database of good and loyal customers.
Instead you would do wise to first of all create your own products. And THEN, you can sell other peoples products to the buyers of your own products.
You can also use affiliate programs in the start of your career – until you’ve created your own products. But be careful not to use so much time marketing affiliate programs that you won’t have the time to create your own products.
IF you choose to sell affiliate programs, the right way to go, is to MAKE YOUR OWN SALESMATERIAL.
Don’t just use the material offered by the owner of the affiliate program.
Instead be UNIQUE!
Write your own salesletter or personal recommendation!
Write a small report or record an audio-tape (that corresponds with the product or service in the affiliate program) and enclose this as a bonus gift together with the product or the service in the affiliate program.
Which, in your opinion, if you could buy only one course, was more "worth the money"?
1. Marlon Sanders' Higher Response
2. Terry Dean's Instant Cashflow System
I am planning to start selling online an infoproduct I created, so I am most interested in information selling, ad copywriting, and an easy, clear-cut method of marketing products.
Congratulations with your forthcoming business! I wish you much success!
You ask whether you should buy Marlon Sanders' or Terry Dean's course.
Actually it's a difficult question to answer.
You see, both of these courses are terrific! They give some very, very good and helpful advice. So my best advice is, Buy them BOTH if you can afford it in any way.
They are that good!
You write that you're "most interested in information selling, ad copywriting, and an easy, clear-cut method of marketing products".
Both of these courses cover how to produce your own information products in minimum time. Terry Dean suggest more ways to make your own information product. And I really likes his information. His course is just one of the very best courses out there - in my opinion. Marlon Sanders describes in detail, step-by-step how to use one, very easy way to create almost instant information products, even if you feel you can't write. So he focuses on one of the very best ways to get your own information product in almost no time. And even though you may already have created your own information product, you can certainly benefit enormously from his method, when you try to create some back-end product in minimum time.
When it comes to ad copywriting, I would go for Marlon's course. Terry Dean is certainly a very good copywriter, and he has written a very good course on copywriting, but so far as I remember, he doesn't include this material in this Cash Flow course. Besides, Marlon Sanders is one of the very, very best copywriters in the world today. At least that's my opinion. And I share this opinion with a lot of other people. And I am sure you'll agree with me, when you read his salesletter for his higher response-course. Marlon shows you step-by-step how you can write you own extremely successful salesletters. And he shows you step-by-step which components to include in a killing salesletter. You really get an education here. So in this case, I would go for Marlon Sanders.
When it comes to finding "an easy, clear-cut method of marketing products", both of these courses gives you some of the inner secrets of marketing.
Again, it's very difficult to tell you which one of these courses is the best on precisely this subject.
Marlon Sanders gives you some invaluable information on how to market you product. And you certainly can't go wrong if you use his methods.
Terry Dean goes into some details in showing you how to market you product on the Internet. He shows you how to use target e-mail marketing to an opt-in list. He shows you how to create your own highly successful ezine that can bring in thousands of dollars. He shows you how you can yourself create a banner and launch a banner campaign that's much, much more successful that most of the banner ads you see everywhere on the net. He shows you how to get your website to rank high on the search engines. And you'll find much, much more helpful material in his course. Again, his information is something of the best on the net today - in my opinion.
So you see, Helen, it's actually a difficult question to answer. Each of these courses contain so much helpful information that my best advice to you would be to buy them both.
As you may have noticed earlier, I am a reseller for Terry Dean's course.
The reason I am a reseller of Terry's course, is that I like his course so much. I simply think his course is one of the very best on the net today. You get so much information in his course that you could pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars looking in vain for many other places.
And of course I also have an interest in selling so many copies of his course as possible.
At the same time, the most important thing for me is to be totally honest with you and help you as much as I can.
And if I should recommend you one of these two courses - taken in consideration precisely your situation and your wishes - I think I would recommend you to buy Marlon's course.
Again, both of these courses are simply terrific, but in precisely your situation, I think Marlon's course applies best.
BUT if you really want to succeed, I would very, very strongly recommend you to buy Terry's course, too! You'll just learn so much from this course on how to successfully creating and selling your own information products on the Internet.
As I told you, I am myself a reseller of Terry's course. And if you would like to buy his course, you can just click on the link below.
If you click on this link, a certain percentage of the price of the course will go to me. But of course you will not pay more the course, if you buy it through clicking on my link.
It's very important to me, that you don't feel pressured in ANY way to order this course. I totally understand if you would like to wait.
And if you don't want to let part of the money go to me, you can just delete the last numbers (ic/a313z/index.html) in the link.
Again, I would like to say that I really wish you the very best, Helen! And I would be delighted to hear more about your business in the future!
Stuck for a product idea that's proven to make you money? Here's help..
by
It's tough knowing what will sell and who will buy these days with all of the confusing information going around.
What's more, it's tough to come up with something you can create that will sell to people! How will your products and offers stand out from the rest of the crowd?
There is a survey being conducted that can help, and you can be a part of it! It will show results to the question of what the internet marketing market is looking for. This can help you by telling you what people need regarding web marketing.
Profits are made by selling things which fulfill a group of people's needs. That's a basic principle for any business.
So if you're into web marketing, and looking to get a business up and running, this survey will help you. Especially if you're stuck for a product idea.
If you've ordered and read a bunch of marketing courses, but don't want to create another course that just copies everyone elses, then you'll surely benefit from the survey results. They will show you what unique twist you can put on your information that will sell.
How do you know they will sell?
That's the point of the survey. After I've gotten 50-70 submissions, I will email the results to all those who filled it out.
You need to come and fill this survey out now if you're stuck for an idea and need to know what's going to sell. Skip making mistakes and go with something you know will work!
Need help switching from "service" business to "product" oriented
by
Hi, all!
I need some help and I think you are the people who can provide it.
Some of you know me and you know that I've built a fairly successful online business (not getting filthy rich, but dirty enough to be at it full-time for about a year and paying my share of living expenses since I quit my "real" job). My business has actually taken a growth spurt in the last few weeks, that's what has brought on this posting.
Because mine is a service business (writing and editorial services), although I'm making good money and business is good, I'm working my butt off. It takes all the time I have to stay even with the workload. There's little time for marketing and promotion, let alone updates to my website. My business coach wants me to build another website and, even though I think she's right, I can't find the time to do it. I KNOW that I have to switch to a product oriented business. But how?
I've tried affiliate programs but have only made money with two in all my time online and will continue to promote them on the side, but I need some THING to sell that ties into my website. A book (preferably my own). A writing course (preferably my own). A video tape series (preferably my own). An audiotape series (preferably my own)... you get the picture.
It makes sense that my product(s) be related to writing/editing because that's the theme of my website. It also makes sense that I produce my own product since that would obviously provide the greatest profit. And since I've been wanting to do that for a long time anyway, it would fit perfectly with my business, build my credibility, etc. so, again, it makes perfect sense.
Problem is... how do I find the time to do it??
At this point, I can't afford to contract work out... I'm at that "can't afford to hire someone, but MUST hire someone" stage of business. If I DON'T hire someone to help, I can't write a book, if I DO hire someone, I can't afford to live! It's a catch-22!
I know others have faced these same problems. That's why I'm crying out for help here!
HELP!!!
Maybe I need some time management pointers. Maybe I do need to contract some work out or -- Heaven forbid! -- even turn down some jobs. I don't *know* what I need, except that I need help.
Re: Need help switching from "service" business to "product" oriented
by
Hi Darlene,
Thank you for your post!
I am happy to hear that you're doing well.
At the same time I understand I think I understand your problem!
First of all, there is so much that could be said in your situation.
For instance, I would strongly recommend you to read the book, "The E-Myth" (Gerber), if you don't already have it. This book gives some very good advice about running a small business without being totally worn out. I think you'll like it if you don't already know it.
Secondly, I would advice you to read one of the following courses/books:
Don Bice: "How To Create An Information Product In 3 Hours - That Customers Want To Buy"
Bob Serling: "How To Make $250.000 A Year (Or More) Creating And Selling 'Instant' Information Products"
Marlon Sanders's higher response course
Terry Dean: "Instant Cash Flow System"
All of these courses/books shows you how you can create your own quality information products in minimum time.
So my advice is to invest in one or more of these courses, if you don't already own them.
I hope this helps, Darlene!
And I hope we'll hear from you again on this board.
Yours sincerely,
Klaus
Click on the link below to read about Terry Dean's excellent course on how to create you own highly profitable information products in minimum time and make a killing. This course has my highest recommendations!
Thank you for your input... I have read the E-Myth and LOVE it... it's a fantastic book. I have been focusing it more on my services really, and hadn't thought it of in connection with products (books, especially). I'm going to check into some of the other courses you mention here and see what we can work up. Thanks, again, for your thoughts!
Kopi Witter Searchin' Fer Graffic Artiste', No More Stick People Fer Me!
by
I'm a copywriter in Los Angeles area searching for a graphic artist fluent in persuasive imaging for advertising, ranging from newspaper display advs and layout, brochures, to slick publication advs with image subtexts.
Familiarity with restaurant menus and collateral material a plus.
If you are this person or know of such a person in my area please contact me to frolick in this playground of prosperous promotions.
(877)208-8708 ext 810
Should you buy both of Ken Silver's books on information marketing?
by
Hello Jimmy,
You ask if you Ken Silver's two books on information marketing cover the same stuff.
In part they do. Some of the information contained in Ken's first book is also included in his second.
But ONLY a PARTof it.
His first book particularly focuses on how you can create how-to manuals. Step-by-step Ken goes through the process of how you can create your own how-to manuals and sell them - both online and offline.
His second book contains so much material that is not included in his first book.
Especially he focuses much, much more on the details of how to create and (and especially) MARKET e-books.
After all, even though you create the best book in the world, it won't earn you a dollar, if nobody knows about it.
And in the strongly competitive e-book scene today, you'll have to really know the inside tips on how to effectively market your books.
So - considering the relatively low price - I would definitely recommend that you buy both of Ken's books.
You'll get more, proven and helpful information in Ken's books than you'll get in many of the more expensive books, cd-roms and courses.
Please understand that I don't get even a dime for recommending Ken's material. I just want to give you some good advice.
My name is Mario T. Strong, President and Founder of Marketing Success and Technology. We're an Internet consulting firm in Atlanta, Georgia. I currently utilize this same type of forum to offer free advertising and generate entreprenueral discussion.
I would like to invite your presence and insight to our online directory. You appear to have a true grasp of online promotions and sales. My company concentrates primarily on Web Design. However, we market several products to our online visitors. Any assistance or addition to our forum is welcomed.
I personally look forward to your remarks. Keep up the good work!
I'm trying to find the ultimate html compiler and ebook maker. So far, what I found can do the following:
a) Display web pages regardless of what browser you have
b) Demo version opens only a few times, and each time only for X minutes
c) Easily sell on it the web; password is automatically given to credit card users; free e-mail addresses are rejected (to minimize fraud)
d) Edit-copy and print options can be disabled
Can anyone out there help me find the ebook maker that allows me to do the above *and* allow the reader to advance from page to page using PGDN/PGUP instead of the mouse?
I'd like to answer you question. Actually there
is no e-book creator that can do *all* you are
asking for, however I can talk about what E-ditor Pro CAN do (concerning your question of course).
a) All e-book compilers are programed with delphi, so all of them have to use Microsoft's explorer rendering engine. But maybe technology is developing right at this very moment and will solve this dilema (*subtle hint here, please ignore ;) *)
b) E-ditor Pro can create shareware e-books and you can specify to it the number of days it will remain open for (starting from the day the e-book is open by the first time).
c) Literally hundreds of online marketers are using this method you are asking about. They create their e-books with E-ditor Pro and then just set up a selling webpage where the password is sold to them and automatically processed. With E-ditor Pro you can do this *inside* you very own e-book. =)
d) I believe content security is one of the most important matters for net-marketers and that is why E-ditor Pro allows you to do exactly this: disable the copy/pasting of text and images, disabling the printing of the e-book or both!.
And there's a lot more...
If you want more information about E-ditor Pro, please go to:
http://www.e-ditorial.com
Best regards.
Miguel Alvarez (The Editor!)
mailto:editor@e-ditorial.com
Not all ebook software has to have IE4.0 or above. E-Book HTML Compiler Pro uses the default browser to go to the net. That can be any browser. It uses no browser if not going to the net.
It can completly encrypt the html code which I'm told Editor Pro does not do. This is important so that no one can copy your data.
It has superior Protection schems built in, including Shareware Options in the Plus version and will have many new options (including many of your requests) in the next major upgrade.
You can find out about it at:
http://new-projects.com/booksoft/
As you can see from the posts above, you've already got some fine answers from the people behind E-ditor and E-Book HTML Compiler Pro.
I thought you might like to hear an answer from the people behind Web-Compiler and Neo-Book, too.!
So I asked them your questions, and got the following answers:
WEB-COMPILER:
"<< Can anyone out there help me find the ebook maker that allows me to do the above *and* allow the reader to advance from page to page using PGDN/PGUP instead of the mouse? >>
You can't normally do that in WebCompiler, because of course the page may be longer than a screen so people would probably want it to have it's normal effect.
However, you might be able to do it with JavaScript I suppose."
NEO-BOOK:
"a) Display web pages regardless of what browser you have
Provided that the user has some type of browser software installed (like
Netscape or IE), NeoBook can display a web page or html file using its
InternetLink command. For example:
InternetLink "C:\HomePage\awards.html"
InternetLink "http://www.neosoftware.com"
b) Demo version opens only a few times, and each time only for X minutes
You could probably use NeoBook's scripting language to do something like
this, but an easier method is to use a third party product called Armadillo.
This add-on allows you to limit the number of uses, and use passwords or
codes to unlock the program after a purchase.
c) Easily sell on it the web; password is automatically given to credit card
users; free e-mail addresses are rejected (to minimize fraud)
You would need to sign up with an online service (like digital river, etc.)
to process orders and credit cards over the net.
d) Edit-copy and print options can be disabled
NeoBook can prevent copy, paste and print for objects displayed within
NeoBook, but cannot control these functions for other programs like web
browsers.
>Can anyone out there help me find the ebook maker that allows me to do the
above *and* allow the >reader to advance from page to page using PGDN/PGUP
instead of the mouse?
NeoBook allows the PGUP and PGDN keys to be used to navigate through a
publication."
Please, This board doesn't accept direct advertising...
by
Dear visitors on this board,
I want you all to know how happy I am for your visits to this board. And this message is not strictly for those among us who just wants to meet other friends in marketing and share ideas and views.
But sometimes some people visit this board, and they just don't understand that this board DON'T ACCEPT advertising!
I am sorry that it's necessary to write this message!
Of course you are welcome to include a SHORT signature (max five lines) at the bottom of your message.
And of course you are welcome to make a link to your website, ezine or whatever - PROVIDED, of course, that your link doesn't point to something of an unethical nature, such as pornography, racism etc.
But PLEASE don't post ads on this board!
I have to delete ads again and again. And it is a somewhat annoying to do so.
I know that for most of you, my dear friends, you would never try to breaks these common sense rules.
Most of you are here to share your ideas and points of view with your friends in marketing and product development.
So please don't feel I am talking to you.
This message is only aimed at those people who violates these rules and annoys everybody else by posting pure ads on this and other boards.
But to all of you who would never try to post direct ads on this board, I would just say that I am very grateful for each time you visit our board.
And I am sure you agree with me that you come here for meeting your marketing friends, not for reading some scam ad.
Here is more on how to find a good subject for your info products
by
More on finding a good subject to create your info products on
More on how
to find a saleable subject on which to create info products
Yesterday I wrote an answer to Helen. She asked on which subject she
should create her information products.
As you will see – if you read the posts – Helen has found two broad
subjects (computers and Internet marketing) that she can write about. Her
working background is computers, and she has a strong interest in Internet
marketing.
The reason I didn’t discuss other potential subjects that Helen can
write about, is that both of these subjects use to be profitable subjects
to write about – provided you find the right angle, of course.
And - as I also wrote in my post - it’s usually much easier to create
a product on a subject which you already have some solid knowledge about.
Besides, it’s important that you are interested in your subject. After
all it takes some effort of you to create info products, even though you
can surely cut down the time it takes, if you do it the smart way.
But what I didn’t address in my post, is the question of how you can
find a subject to write on if you can.
Generally speaking it is always wise to follow the following rule:
Find the market FIRST! And be sure that the is both WILLING and ABLE
to buy your products!
A common mistake you’ll see again and again, is that many new infopreneurs
take a long time to create a product. And then they try to sell that product.
But very often they just don’t seem to be able to sell the product.
Nobody wants to buy it!
The new infopreneur just don’t understand it. He or she is so sure that
this is really a product that people need. It could help them so much.
And the sad thing is that this project has been so time-consuming, and
maybe also rather expensive.
The conclusion is, Don’t you ever try to sell people something that
you think they NEED.
Instead try to sell them something they WANT.
Actually people do need very few things here in life.
For instance we need to eat and drink regularly.
But strictly speaking, you don’t NEED to a better car, a new house,
some new furniture etc. We are just so used to think that we can’t live
without these things. But a lot of people on earth live without these things.
It may not be the most comfortable life, but you can certainly live without
these things, if necessary.
Anyway, you’ll often hear people say that they need a lot of luxury
things in order to survive. And if you meet someone who says that he or
she “just needs to buy this beautiful car”, what he or she actually means,
is that he or she very strongly WANTS to have that car.
Do you see my point?
If you try to sell people information they really WANT TO BUY, you will
have an easy time finding a subject to write on, provided, of course, that
you are able to write on precisely that subject.
So if you want to earn money in the information business, always first
find a group of people who that WANTS TO BUY WHAT YOU CAN PROVIDE.
Do you see how much easier your life will be, if you first find a market
that is willing and able to buy the kind of information you can sell them?
I assure you that this is one of the most important factors in succeeding
in the information business!
“But how do I find such a market”, you may ask.
There are several different ways to find the people who wants to buy
your future products. Here are two ways to do it:
1) FIND OUT WHAT ALREADY SELLS!
This is rather easy – both online (on the Internet) and offline (in
the “real” world).
If you see a certain product that is being advertised again and again,
it’s reasonable to conclude that there is a market for it. After all it
usually takes some money to advertise a product, even on the Internet.
So if you notice several info products on the same subject, and these
products are sold over a long period of time, it’s usually safe to move
forward and TEST this category of products.
You can do this in several ways:
A) You can either create a short report or a tape and try to sell that.
B) You can also sell a product created by someone else.
2) FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO BUY
There are also several ways to do that.
On the Internet you can regularly visit discussion boards, newsgroups,
Amazon.com etc.
And when you are there, closely observe what people wants to buy or
are in fact already buying. The smart thing is that there is no guesswork
here. You will know precisely what people wants to buy if you really hold
your eyes open.
So this will show you a lot of subjects to write on.
Then find pick out a subject (among the subjects you’ve found) that
you are really interested in. The more the better.
Next step is to go forward and create your product or have someone else
create your product.
Which way you want to take is up to you!
But I would strongly advice you to always TEST the saleability of every
new subject. Only take small steps forward to reduce the risk of failure
– especially if you have a rather tight budget.
At the same time I would really like to encourage you to not giving
up too fast. Many products have appeared to be a non-saleable at first.
But then later on, as the product itself or the marketing process has been
slightly changed, the product suddenly sold like crazy.
Only constant TESTING can show you which products will succeed, and
which will not.
The important thing is: Don’t ever fall so much in love with your product
that you are not willing to drop it and move on to testing other products.
Of course I am here talking about products you are selling for profit!
If you have a more idealistic product, things might be totally different.
Then you may sell – or give away – your product even though you don’t seem
to be able to find a large market for your product. But then you don’t
do it in order to profit from your product.
I recently enrolled at JobSwarm.com, and I thought that you might want to take a look at them as well. They are building a marketplace for freelancers and assist them in finding opportunities that match their expertise all over the world. Check them out at http://www.JobSwarm.com/61830816 - the best thing is that you not only make money for your own projects, but can also derive substantial income from referring your fellow freelancers.
I included some more information about them below.
Best, Tom
JobSwarm.com - Your Freelance Marketplace
Freelancing?
As a freelancer on JobSwarm you can cherry pick the projects you want to work on based on your skill set and experience. If you want to break into a new field you can build up experience and expertise by undercutting more experienced freelancers and as you collect projects under your belt increase your rate as your expertise goes up. Any service that you can perform remotely and the results of which can be delivered over the Internet can be contracted for on JobSwarm. This includes for example programming, graphics design, marketing and translation services.
"Establish the FreeAgent Paradigm" - JobSwarm needs your help!
You can help to make this marketplace a success by notifying your associates and friends in your industry. By helping us reach your friends and associates we can build this marketplace together and create a whole new way of doing freelance business nationwide. More than half of JobSwarm revenues will be paid to its members who refer other freelancers and companies to JobSwarm. This is called the JS Associates Programm.
"Make Money while sleeping" - The JobSwarm Associates Program
The company charges a 5% commission on transactions (btw. with a 100% no questions asked money back guarantee if a deal does turn sour). If you join us in building this marketplace by referring your associate you become a JobSwarm AssociateTM. An example: Referrring five friends or associates, who each in turn refer five friends, etc., can result in a monthly check for about $2,100, assuming an average of one $500 transaction per freelancer per month. For more Program Details go to http://www.JobSwarm.com/61830816
JobSwarm is in this business for the long haul. The company has raised a substantial amount of venture capital to sustain operations and assembled an all star team with a combined 20 years of professional Internet experience to make this marketplace a strong resource for both freelancers and companies worldwide.
Please take a minute to register now at the website below and win a Qualcomm pdq cellphone:
http://www.JobSwarm.com/61830816
I am in the process of creating a WebBrowser (Using Visual Basic 6
programming language) which will allow you to surf to all your favorite
marketing boards. I plan to give this browser away free of charge. I have
my own favorite list of boards that I frequent, but I don't know all the
boards that you visit. Would you email me your list of URL's of your
favorite marketing forums. If you do I'll notify you personally by email
when it is ready to be downloaded. Remember, this browser will be free of
charge and will become a valuable tool in your marketing efforts.
Email your favorite marketing board URL's to a001@swpinfo.com
I've been following the discussions on this board for some time and it seems like one of the best places to get fast,
TRULY helpful personalized answers.
I have been a "dabbler" (so to speak) of Internet marketing for about a year now. After many "false" starts and
resulting "failures" (not really FAILURES because now I know what not to do next time), I am ready to start out on my
own infoproduct.
I realized that selling your own infoproduct is the best way to do business on the Internet, and I really would like to
create my own.
Having decided to do so, I researched up on creating your own infoproducts until basically the information I was
reading started to look alike.
What are my interests and passions? Computers and internet marketing.
As part of my current job, I find and purchase computers (mostly over the Internet) for the lowest prices.
And ever since I heard the words "infopreneuring and internet marketing", I fell in love with the concept of selling your
products solely via the Web.
I tried creating an ebook on the first topic (computers) and I seriously considered basing my web site on that idea, but
I'm not real crazy with the idea of always endlessly updating my site everyday, following the change of computer
technology, prices, etc. It just seems too much web site maintenance and I wouldn't have enough time for marketing
or whatever's left over from my life. I mean, I like computers, but not that much.
Now, the second idea is much closer to my "passion". I can spend all day on the Internet reading and researching
about infopreneurs and internet marketing without being tired! And this is definitely something I would seriously
consider basing my entire web site on.
I was thinking of creating like a directory source of all the places that deal with creating infoproducts and ecommerce
on the Internet, with suggested buys for which I would be a reseller.
But I would really love to have my own product -
without giving out rehashed information.
I suppose I could do both, but I need a unique angle and a niche market. I guess I'm too close to the "trees" to see
clearly.
I hope you can advise me on this - I'm really burning to start doing SOMETHING, and this indecision is making me
crazy! But I want to start out right and plan enough so that I won't repeat my past mistakes of starting something and
then stopping in the middle because I wasn't happy with the results.
How you can find THE BEST SUBJECT to create your information product on
by
Chosing the right subject
Hello Helen,
Thank you for your good question!
And thank you very much for your kind words about this forum!
The forum is still relatively new, but as I surf on the Internet, it’s
my clear impression that more and more people are looking upon the information
business as the ideal kind of business. So I really think that there is
a strong interest for this and similar boards (by Anthony Blake, Ken Silver,
Bill Myers etc.).
After all there is so many advantages in the information business.
As you say, Helen, information products has a lot of advantages over
many other products.
Information products…
? are relatively easy to produce
? are inexpensive to create, produce, copy distribute
? often don’t demand other creation tools than writing tools (preferable
computer) and your brain
? don’t demand a lot of place to stock
? are easy and inexpensive to ship or deliver by the Internet (web-site
or e-mail)
? can be copied again and again from one original master copy
? are often in high demand
? can easily be updated
Just to mention a few advantages of the information business.
But at the same time a lot of people often ask, how they can find a
suitable subject to create their first information product on.
So you are certainly not alone in asking the questions you ask in your
post.
And now to my answer to your question, Helen!
Where should you start? Which subject should you create your info product
on?
I totally understand that you are rather tired of your working background,
Finding and purchasing computers for the lowest prices. Many people dislike
their working background.
At the same I will have to be totally honest with you and advice you
to create your product on precisely that subject, if in any way you can
motivate yourself to do so. At least give it another try!
The reason is that it’s usually much easier to create information products
on something you know. At least this is the case if you choose to create
your own info products.
And the funny thing is, that when you succeed in creating and selling
these products, you’ll often find out how much you actually love this subject.
As you may know, Jeff Paul is one of today’s most successful direct
marketers. His working background was the financial planning background.
But after having tried for some time to sell books on this business, he
was so tired of the whole business, that he would rather sell information
products on almost everything else than the financial planning business.
He was looking for all kinds of other subjects to write on. But then he
met Dan S. Kennedy, one of the top marketers in the world today. And much
to Jeff’s annoyance, Dan strongly advised Jeff to stick to his financial
planning background. And after having followed Dan’s advice, Jeff succeeded
beyond his wildest expectations.
And you know what?
Today Jeff just loves the financial planning business!
I have often asked myself: Why does so many selfpublishers and infopreneurs
choose to create information products for the socalled “money opportunity
market”, when there are so many other markets?
I think one reason is that it sometimes seems like a very easy market
to profit from.
Besides many new infopreneurs got introduced to the information business
by reading a book written by a marketer who has earned his or her money
by writing books on how to make money. So what is more natural than thinking
that this may be the ideal market.
As master Internet-marketer, Jonathan Mizel, says, The competition in
the ”money opportunity market” is much stronger than many other markets.
So why create information products for this market when you can profit
from so many other markets?
Actually Jonathan points to computers as one of the best subjects to
create information products on. So does Bill Myers, one of today’s most
influent and successful direct marketers.
The competition in the ”money opportunity market” is so strong, because
so many people feel attracted to this seemingly easy market to profit from.
They often get this impression because people that sells information
on how to earn money by Direct Marketing usually in their ads and salesletters
tell their readers about how much money it’s possible to earn. And often
these people openly tells their potential customers how much money they
earn themselves. So when a newbie in the information business reads about
a direct marketer who tells his or her readers about how much money he
or she earns, it’s very understandable that the newbie feels attracted
to the ”money opportunity market”.
Of course it’s totally okay to create info products for the ”money opportunity
market”. But then should also prepare yourself for some rather tough competition!
The reason I personally is targeting the Internet marketing niche and
the self-publishing/information business niche, is that this is where I
have my working background and my interest.
But there is so many other markets out there. And as I told in an earlier
message on this board, I’ve also created information products for other
markets (the health market, the weight loss market, the psychology market
and the Christian “market”). The reason is that the subjects of these markets
really interest me.
So, often it’s a very good advice to stick to your working background,
even though it’s totally different from the ”money opportunity market”.
But if you just can’t motivate yourself to make an info product on finding
and purchasing computers for the lowest prices, I would certainly advice
you to create an product on a subject you’re really passionate about.
One of the most important things when you start as an infopreneur, is
precisely to create information products you really feel passionate about.
After all, why should you create information products about something
that you hate if you can making a nice living by concentrating on your
interests?
But, Helen, if you choose to write a report on buying (and maybe also
selling) a used computer, you could call it something like this:
“The Inner Secrets of Getting Computers Dirt Cheap”,
or: “How to Get a Quality Computer for Next to Nothing”
or: “How You Can Spare 50% Or More On Your Next Computer”
or: “What to Look for Next Time You Buy a Computer - If You Don’t Want
to Loose Money”
You could also choose to call the report something like this:
“How I Easily Earn $xxx Every Month on Selling Used Computers – And
You Can Too!”
or: “How I Easily Earn a Nice Profit Every Month on Selling Used Computers
– And You Can Too!”
or: “Would You Like To Know How You Can Start Tomorrow in Selling Used
Computers?”
or: “Would You Like To Know How You Can Start Tomorrow in Profiting
on Used Computers?”
or: “The Little Known Secrets on How You Can Profit on Used Computers
– Just As I Do”
These are just a few suggestions! There are many other titles and headlines
you can use.
Helen, you’ll notice that all of these titles touches on how much money
you can spare or earn from used computers.
This is not accidently!
Even if you choose not to create an information product for the “Money
opportunity market” (as is the case in the first section of headlines above),
this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to connect your subject with a
strong motivator, as for instance money.
Making such a connection will often be the factor that makes your headline
or title really catch the interest of your potential customers.
The most important thing in finding the best headline and title for
your product, is to TEST every headline and approach. (By the way, Remember
only to test one variable factor at a time! If you don’t, you will never
know for sure what factor that makes you earn or loose money.) Maybe your
potential customers aren’t so much interested information on how to buy
cheap computers. Maybe they would rather prefer to learn how they themselves
can sell computers and earn a nice profit by doing so.
And because of your background in the computer industry, you are in
a unique position – both in your salesletters and your presentation of
your book - to point to your (successful?) background in this business.
In other words, you can really position yourself as an expert on this subject.
You talk about all the trouble of creating a website that endlessly
needs to be updated, following the change of computer technology, prices,
etc.
Yes, I totally understand that this may be a rather heavy burden of
work!
On the other hand you could also look at it from the other side and
see all the advantages of the necessity of such an updating!
The need to constantly update this information will force many people
to constantly return to your website to see the latest updates.
You could also create your own ezine (with paid ads) and inform your
visitors and customers of any recent updates. If you choose to do so, you
could choose to only quote part of the updates in your ezine. If you customers
would like to read the rest, they will have to visit your website. And
that’s where they will always see 1) a link to your salesletter for your
infoproduct, and 2) banner ads that you get paid a nice profit for.
The need to constantly update this information also means that you can
regularly update and revise your infoproduct, and sell the latest edition
to your loyal customers.
Finally I would like to say this, Helen:
Of course you shouldn’t feel pressured in any way to create you products
on finding and purchasing computers for the lowest prices. The only reason
I am advising you to give it a second thought, is that I want to help your
start in this business being as easy as possible.
Time and time again I have noticed that the popularity and success of this board heavily depends on the thought and quality you put in your detailed answers.
Once again, a warm thank you! :-)
I will give another try at the computer topic. Strangely enough, every time I sit down to brainstorm about topics dealing with information publishing, internet marketing, etc., I end up unconsciously jotting down little tidbits and ideas that have to do with purchasing computers!
And it was so infuriating!
I guess though, it's time to stop and start listening when your subconscious ego starts screaming in your face about the path you have to take... ;-)
But I really, REALLY don't want to start attempting to be a "mini, wannabe ZDNet or Computer Shopper.com" because frankly, it's not the upcoming latest technology or the hot computer industry news that interest me at all. Just simple computer buying.
Would a site that focuses on just tips on buying computers and making your computer buying experience enjoyable, etc. - while steering away from the typical "computer hardware reviews" site - be a compelling site worth visiting?
I wish there was a way to test the "marketability" of this kind of topic...
Anyways, as always, I thoroughly enjoy your answers and sage advice, Klaus. And please do, do tell me when your site will be officially up... I can't wait to bookmark it already! :-)
Sincerely,
Helen
P.S. Another thought that just occurred to me - combine a hot topic and your thoroughness, wealth of knowledge, and personal attention to your visitors - anyone who could emulate such qualities would already have a instant success web site from the start! (IMHO) I hope I can do the same service for my own as welll.
Yes, I agree with you, Give the computer-subject a try!
And yes, look at it from a different angle than all the others! Remember, you customers ask: "Why should I buy from Helen, instead of all the others?" And if you are able to answer: "Because you will not find what I offer here anywhere else", you will have a strong UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION.
But TEST, TEST, TEST it! Again and again!
And by the way, Helen, who says you can't move on - in the future - to the Internet marketing business.
You see, if you first have a solid success with your info products on buying computers, you can afterwards point to your success with this project.
You will see this all the time! An infopreneur has had some success with an info product on something else than money opportunites and marketing.
But then, afterwards, they point to their success with their first product, and says something like: "Look I really did it! I did create a successful product on xxx! I did earn $xxx on that product! Would you like to know how I did it? Then buy my new product!"
Remember, there is nothing that succeeds like success!
I am glad you found my post helpful, Helen! And heartily welcome back!
I would really like to write my own "how-to" information product, but need guidance.
What, in your opinion, would be the best book that would teach me in detail how to come up with a good topic and basically "walk me" through the writing process, step by step?
I'm a basically decent writer, but I've never ventured into writing books or even manuals before.
I don't need that much information on marketing, publishing or promoting - I have enough info on that. But what I need is something that goes into particularly deep detail in the creating and writing process of "how-to" informational products.
I've had several suggestions, such as:
"How to make a whole lot more than $1,000,000 writing, commissioning, publishing and selling "how to" information" by Jeffrey Lant, and
"The Self-Publishing Manual; How to Write, Print & Sell Your Own Book" by Dan Poynter
Among the two, which one would you choose to be the best resource for WRITING a book? My funds are very limited, and I can only buy one.
Or if you have another suggestion, I would love to hear it.
Hi Helen, Here are the best books on infopreneuring, in my opinion!
by
Hi Helen, Here are the best books on infopreneuring, in my opinion
Both of the books you mention are excellent! And you can learn a lot
through these books. They cover all the details of how you can self-publish
your own reports or books.
So yes, Helen, these books are certainly very, very good and helpful.
I did personally learn a lot through both of these books.
When it comes to an affordable book that will tell you in detail how
to come up with a good topic and "walk you" through the writing process,
step by step, I would either recommend Jeffrey Lants or one of the following
titles:
Don Massey: "How to start and operate a profitable homemade booklet
business - How to make $50.000 a year or more in your home-based information-by-mail
business" (Massey Publications - http://www.masseypub.com/
).
Tom E. Mudry: ”The Four Steps – A Step-By-Step Guide To Developing or
Acuiring Your Own Product To Sell in Your Own Home-Based-Business!” (I
bought my copy through Paul Galloway - http://www.palis.com/
). This book is particular helpful on how you can write a superior product
when selling it in a highly competitive climate.
Ken Silver: ”How To Create & Sell Your Own Profitable eBooks On
The Web… Using Free & Nearly-free Programs” (http://kensilver.com/
)
My recommendation for an overall treatment on how to write a how-to
manual is Don Massey’s book.
This book, Helen, is just marvellous in my opinion.
Don Massey is not only a very kind and helpful person, but he is also
a very honest marketer. He doesn’t hide anything from you. And all the
way through his book you sense that here is a man that has walked and still
walks the way every day.
What I really like about Don’s book (beside the price) is his down-to-earth
step-by-step explanations of how you can create your own reports and books.
His chapter on how to become an expert on a subject is worth the whole
price of his book. I also found his treatment of how to find a saleable
subject very, very helpful.
The only drawback in Massey’s book is that it primarily is aimed for
the offline market – not for the Internet. Anyway, most of the fundamental
techniques of how to really create a quality product applies both offline
and online.
But if you want to know something about how to publish an electronic
book on the Internet, I think you should buy Ken Silver’s book. At only
$29 it’s a steal. And Ken Silver covers much of the same material that
Don does.
By the way, remember to pyramid your profits – especially if your start-up
investment is rather small!
That is, even though your first profit are rather small, continually
reinvest this profit in your marketing. In other words, if you earn only
$50 on your first ads or promotion, reinvest these $50 into more or larger
ads.
At the same time you have to be very careful in your testing of your
product and your ads. Allways only take small steps forward and test every
move.
Of course you will always have to take some risks, but if you carefully
test everything first, you will minimize your economical risks, and maximize
your profits.
By the way, "How to make a whole lot more than $1,000,000 writing, commissioning,
publishing and selling "how to" information" by Jeffrey Lant, and "The
Self-Publishing Manual; How to Write, Print & Sell Your Own Book" by
Dan Poynter primarily describes how to self-publish paperback books.
Dr. Lant has a very good chapter on producing reports, but primarily
his book describes all the different aspects of how you can write and publish
paperbacks.
And the problem with paperbacks is that they usually are rather expensive
and timeconsuming to produce.
So Helen, if you are just getting started in the information business,
and if your start-up capital is rather limited, I wouldn’t normally start
with publishing a paperback. Instead I would try to create one or more
reports or an audio-tape. You could also create both a report and an audio-tape
and then combine these two.
You could also make an e-book or an ezine. You can also consider using
audio-tapes instead of the written word. And one of the advantages of using
tapes instead of the written word, is that they are much faster to produce.
Consequently you can also test your products and your advertising campaign
much faster than if you are writing long reports or whole books.
Besides, you can transcribe your tapes into reports or whole books.
Often you will be able to hire a student to transcribe your tapes without
spending a fortune. Just go ahead and ask them!
If you want to go this way, you should read one, or better both, of
these two books:
Don Bice: ”How To Create An Information Product In 3 Hours Or Less...
That Customers Want To Buy” (I got my copy through Anthony Blake - http://www.ablake.com/catalog/,
for $97.
Marlon Sanders: ”How to Create Your Own Product in 2 Hours” (I think
Marlon is still selling this amazing book. You can write him at this e-mail
address: marlon@optinmarketing.com ). By the way, Marlon has some other
material that is just FANTASTIC! Check it out at his website: http://www.higherresponse.com/!
If, later on, you can afford to purchase one of the more expensive courses
on the information business, I would strongly recommend this book:
Bob Serling: ”How To Make $250,000 A Year (Or More) Creating & Selling
"Instant" Information Products” (can also be bought through Anthony Blake
- http://www.ablake.com/catalog/.
I don’t remember how much Tony charges for this book (actually a whole
course), but it’s rather expensive. Anyway it’s worth every penny).
But Helen, don’t worry if you can’t afford to buy any of these more
expensive courses and books. Basically, if you buy Don Massey’s or Ken
Silver’s book, I think you will be well prepared to write and publish your
own how-to information product.
Remember never to complicate things. It’s so easy to make everything
more complicated than it needs to be. For instance you can study and study
books, but if you don’t take that first step, you will never get started,
no matter how much theory you know.
There are so many infopreneurs that constantly strive to make socalled
”professional” looking information products.
But the consequence is that it usually takes a long, long time for them
to make their products, and besides, the costs of producing their products
is so high that they’ll lose a lot of money if their product doesn’t sell.
Helen, remember, when people are buying how-to information, it’s usually
the INFORMATION they buy, and not so much the physical product. Of couse,
though, it’s important to package your information so that it will have
a high perceived value in the eyes of your customers.
In this system Terry Dean tells you how to develop your own information
products in only a few hours and market them dirt cheap on the Internet.
I want to be totally honest with you, though! I am a reseller of this
course. So I am a bit biased on this course!
Anyway, as I really like this fantastic course, I would be wrong not
to include it in my recommendations. But always be a little bit careful
when someone recommends something that he or she has an economic interest
in.
I hope you understand, Helen!
But in my honest opinion this course is very, very good!
By the way, reselling (also called ”affiliate programs”) is also a possibility
for you. Especially if your start-up capital is rather limited, you might
choose to become a reseller of another product.
Don’t think that you will become rich by doing so!
Normally you will do wise to create and sell your own products. But
until then, you could sell the products created by other people.
Helen, I hope this will help you!
But if you have more questions, you are very welcome to ask them on
the board!
I would like some honest opinions on this, please.
by
Hello, and here it is...
I would like to start an affiliate program that allows anyone who would like to, join for free.
Their task, find FREE eBooks, email the author, and if the author lists his or her eBook with my site (also free) using the affiliate coded link, the affiliate will receive one point towards a free eBook compilation.
I have no money to offer as a reward, so I thought offering an eBook Compilation of the affiliate's
pre-made html pages would do just as well. I'm thinking I'll start the reward number at TEN, if it goes well, maybe move it up slowly to save my sanity.
What do you guys truly think? Good idea or lost cause? Is it always about the money?
I would like at lest a couple opinions on this as to make an unbiased decision. Just ask yourself,
"Would I honestly hunt down ten eBooks if I didn't have $200 for the software programs or designers?"
I await your brain power.
To your success,
Chayden Bates
Ideaman & Webmaster
http://www.the-ebook-directory.com
mailto:webmaster@the-ebook-directory.com
It sounds very interesting, and really wish all the best for you!
To be totally honest with you, I don't think that it's realistic to
expect that people are going to first find FREE eBooks, then email the
author, and try to get the author to list his or her eBook with your site
using the affiliate coded link.
Don't misunderstand me in any way, Chayden! I would really like to tell
you that this sounds like a splendid idea.
But at the same time I would do you a big disservice if I told you just
to go ahead when the idea seems really unrealistic to me.
The reason is that I think that it just seems like too much trouble
for the affiliate.
If you would offer to compile a book for your affiliate after having
received two or three e-books, then it might have been more realistic,
in my opinion.
But Chayden, after all my opinion doesn't count very much!
Because the very best thing you could do, is to give it a try.
Make a little test!
Then carefully observe what the results are.
Don't use too much time or money on the test! Make it short and effective!
But again, Chayden, I severely doubt that it will work. Of course I
can be wrong! I just want to spare you a lot of trouble!
Instead of doing it the way you are mentioning, why don't you track
the e-books yourself?
There are other website with lots of e-books, but you could give it
a unique twist.
If you find this unique twist, you may be able to drive a lot of traffic
to your site, provided you do your marketing correctly.
Then you may either be able to sell ads.
Or you may be able to sell your own products. Then you can find affiliates
for your products.
You could also resell other quality books, untill you have your own
products finished.
How To Utilize The Power Of "Direct Response Give-A-Way eBook Marketing (tm)" To Drive Massive Traffic To Your Web Site!
by Chayden Bates
eBooks, or electronic books are self-contained, fully interactive "executable" HTML files that may be distributed via the Internet, CD-ROM or floppy disk. More simply, they're Web Pages you can hand out.
Just like a Web site, your eBook is fully interactive with the Internet and it's capabilities. It may consist of links, graphics, forms, javascripts and the such, but as a Doctor of Direct Response I highly recommend you think "simple" when you consider utilizing "Direct Response Give-A-Way eBook Marketing (tm)".
Your mission with a task such as this is to stay
content oriented, save all the fancy stuff for your "Purchasable eBook".
So how does "Direct Response Give-A-Way eBook
Marketing (tm)" work?
It's relatively simple. As an expert in your field of business your head is full of ideas, thoughts, theories, evidence and proof of how to do what you do so well.
Of this information take the most powerful idea
(single thought) and translate it into a special report or even better, a full length book that is directly related to your specific niche on the Web.
Whether it be about how to publish your own eBook or how to whip up an excellent batch of grandma's secret herbal stew, you must keep your ideas focused for the purpose of demonstrating your expertise in your area of business. - (Take note. This is an important point.)
Now then, technical stuff aside, after you've written a worth while report, making sure to check for and correcting all spelling and grammatical errors, you will need to gather each page you wish to present in your eBook, create links back to your site on every page (top and bottom), and compile the lot of them with your book on disk software.
Try Before You Buy. eBook Demo Software.
http://www.the-ebook-directory.com/software.htm
Congratulations! You have just transformed a simple idea into a major marketing weapon. You are now set to make your eBook work for you and your bottom line.
Think of it as a never ending string of satisfied
customers telling everyone they see about you and your Web site. On the Web, that's a lot of people!
***************
A QUICK NOTE
***************
Your eBook's title is very important to its over all success as the title reveals the true nature of your eBook. Exactly like your business' name and your advertising headlines, your eBook's title must be specific, delivering the biggest benefit to the reader.
Don't call your eBook "The Online Marketing Guided" if it has to do with places to market your site, call it "210 Places To Successfully Advertise Your Site With Maximum Response". People are starving for detail, give it to them!
**************
END OF NOTE
**************
**************
ADDED NOTE
**************
Instead of focusing your eBook as a marketing weapon, consider writing eBooks and gathering advertising sponsors to generate a healthy income. Simply head to our eBoard http://www.the-ebook-directory.com/wwwboard/index.html and post a thread asking for support.
List your prices and accumulate your response. Again, if your eBook is info packed and considered valuable content, you can't lose.
**************
END OF NOTE
**************
As with anything else you offer, you must now announce and advertise the "stuff" out of your FREE eBook with FREE and complete redistribute rights. Headlines such as "ANNOUNCING A FREE eBOOK ABOUT "YOUR TOPIC". DOWNLOAD NOW!" have proven to work best.
With "Direct Response Give-A-Way eBook Marketing (tm)" you need not "pay" for advertising. If your eBook is well written, informative and provides the reader with valuable information and content, then your main concern is simply to get the ball rolling.
I suggest utilizing...
THE EBOOK DIRECTORY
This is an obvious choice.
http://www.the-ebook-directory.com/
MESSAGE BOARDS
Announce your FREE eBook as such on every message
board directly relating to your eBook's topic. For example, if your eBook is about how to advertise your Web site successfully through the use of ezine classifieds then you would more than likely take your announcement to an online marketing form. It is there that you will reach your target market.
Within your post you would simply deliver a short, to the point explanation of the FREE eBook's contents and a smudgin' of the redistribute rights. If people are interested they WILL download your eBook. It's that simple.
SIG FILES
Create a sig file that announces your FREE eBook and included it with every email message you send or reply to. Faster than you may think, people will be downloading your eBook.
DIRECT RESPONSE EMAIL
As you sweep through the Web in search of new and
usable information or simply to further your business' bottom line, look for sites that have something to do with your eBook's topic. Once you locate such a site, find the Webmaster's email address and not only explain that you have a FREE eBook that they may have interest in reading or distributing on their site, but upload the file directly to the message so that they need not mess
around with finding your "Wonderful New eBook".
As with all your direct response marketing and
advertising techniques, keeping it simple and to the point is the best, easiest and most effective method of announcing offers known to (wo)man!
"The Explosion!"
As you will still want to advertise your FREE eBook on your site and the occasional post, sig file or direct response email campaign, you will find that by giving full redistribute rights to your eBook will allow it to multiply itself to unthinkable proportions.
If your eBook is informative, content driven and has a referring link back to your site on every page, people who enjoy what you've written will either tell a friend or redistribute it on their own site as a free gift or content. In any case, your mission is successful and your new "Direct Response Give-A-Way eBook Marketing (tm)" campaign will draw a very targeted group of interested people from all across the Web.
Here's an example of what could happen...
10 people download your eBook. Those 10 people enjoy what they've read, set it up on their site and each generate 10 more downloads. That's a total of 100 downloads. So far so good. That's 100 people reading, seeing, thinking about you and your business.
Now, those 100 each do the same as those before them and, "Oh my gosh!", they each generate 10 more downloads of your now more than popular eBook. The total is up to 1000 downloads. That's a pretty good start! No, no. That's an excellent start!
Ah, but there's more. Those 1000 sites each generate 10 more downloads to equal 10,000, and that 10,000 generates 10 more downloads for a total of 100,000, then that 100,000 group generates 10 more downloads for a grand total of 1,000,000 eBooks in circulation.
That's amazing! And that's just one eBook! Just think if you had several.
If that had a link to your site on the top and bottom of every page you'd more than likely generate more than half that number as traffic to your site! That's IF it's info packed and informatively valuable to the read, but then
it must be if that many people downloaded it, either that or it had a heck of a great title.
In any case you did with an eBook what no other form of marketing could do, and it was all FREE to incorporate, besides the one time cost of the eBook software or compiling service.
In short, you've utilized a very powerful marketing tool that establishes you as a writer/expert in your field of business, your web site as the place to be for your category of business and for your generosity in reveling
this information for free. Your eBook is a weapon, use it wisely!
Hi Robert! Really nice to hear from you! Yes, Direct Marketing is...
by
Hi Robert!
Really nice to hear from you!
I am so sorry that I have been very quiet on my board lately! I really apologize to all of the many nice people who have taken the time to visit it from time to time!
So thank you very much, Robert, for this opportunity to tell a little bit about how I am doing.
And you're right, Robert, I have been VERY busy in a project. The project is a manual on weightloss I am selling here in Denmark.
I am still in the initial tests, but the project has really been going well.
I have used classified ads for the testing, and in this connection I have really benefited from your excellent book on successful classified advertising, Robert!
I think this is one of the really beautiful sides of Direct Marketing, that you are able to test so to say every step you're taking towards success.
And, in my opinion, one of the very best ways of testing a new product is to use classified ads.
Classified ads are cheap, and usually they target the potential buyers of your product better than the larger display ads.
This is of course not to say that display ads are bad.
Not at all!
But when people read your classified ad, they usually do so because they are actively searching through the category where you've placed your classified ad. So these people have already shown an interest in the kind of product you're selling - provided you've placed the ad in the right category.
But all of this of course belongs to the A-B-C for you, Robert. You have given a really excellent step-by-step description of how to benefit from classified ads, where to place them, how to write them etc., etc.
And for the last months I have begun the test process. In this process I am testing the media, the ad (especially the headline and contact information), the price etc.
I soon found out that I had to change the product somewhat. So now I am in the middle of changing the product.
Some marketers claim that you can do well by marketing a bad product.
But I think that's deadly wrong!
If you are going to have a lot of satisfied customers that want to buy more from you, you have to create a superior product.
And by superior product I mean a product that more than satisfies your customers.
That's why you constantly have to listen to your customers, which I am also trying to do. Only by being aware of what your customers want to buy from you, do you know what kind of product you should create if you want to be successful.
Of course I well know that all of this is very wellknown facts to you, Robert, but I suppose that someone out there might be interested in reading about how I try to manage my business.
The weightloos theme is one of the classic subjects for many infopreneurs to write on. The reason is that this subject always is on so many peoples mind. And not only that. They are also willing to spend money on buying helpful material on this subject.
To be honest with you, I have never had a serious weight problem. I have, though, felt the first signs of having passed thirty. At least I gained about 20 pounds after having gone into the 30's. I having never been very heavy, though, so it's no serious problem. But I could really see that I needed to take care of this problem. Especially after my friends began to comment my weightgain.
Consequently I sought for ways to loose these pounds again.
Since then I have bought almost every book I could find on this subject, and finally I found some very interesting information that has really helped me.
And after having scanned the market, I clearly saw that there is a market for helpful information on weightloss and slimming.
So I sat down and wrote a book on weightloss. Besides I recorded some audiotapes on the same subject.
Then I began selling this little course through classified ads.
And until now - even though the project is still in it's youth - the reponse to the course has been very, very good. Much better than I expected!
By the way, I have used voice reponse for receiving the leads from the ad. It has worked very well.
As I said I have decided to make some revisions on the manual, but I am soon going to actively sell it again.
There are so many details that it would take a much, much longer message to go through it all. But this is a short description of what I am presently doing on this project.
Besides, I have been very, very busy creating a large website.
This website will be on Direct Marketing, selfpublishing etc. And I will soon tell you more about that project.
But what about you, Robert? How are you doing? Is your book on classified advertising still doing well?
Do you have any new interesting projects?
It would be very interesting if you would tell us a little bit about how you are doing, Robert!
It’s great to hear that your weight loss project is going so well! I knew you were destined to succeed with this venture due to your willingness to voraciously study and apply the principles of direct marketing as outlined in the numerous programs you’ve invested in.
As famous motivational speaker Tony Robbins says, most people who purchase information products don’t even crack the cover! They barely look at them—let alone use them for profit. But you’re demonstrating what can be done when you put these concepts into practice. More power to you, Klaus!
I wish you much continued success.
Thanks also Klaus, for your kind comments regarding my booklet, Classified Magic. And yes, it’s still selling well, (yesterday I had 7sales of this book alone) despite my lack of promotion due to my involvement in various other projects. There’s nothing as gratifying as hearing from customers who have benefited from my work!
My latest project is an almost 200 page manual on headline writing called, Great Headlines Instantly! It takes this vital component of advertising and promotions (headlines) and gives readers the tools they need to generate powerful, attention-grabbing headlines whenever they want. I hope to launch this within a few days. For further details, please see my temporary site at: www.angelfire.com/on2/yourbiz
And of course I’ve been working with numerous clients to develop their marketing materials. Like you, I’ve been very busy too.
I’m really looking forward to your new site and to see this board become active again. You have lots to share and your sincerity is something that shines through for all to see.
Thank you for your kind words, Robert, and for sharing your new exciting project with us
by
Thank you for your kind words, Robert, and for sharing your new exciting project with us!
I am happy to hear that your book on classified advertising is doing so good! It certainly deserves it! To repeat myself, I found it very, very helpful. It summarizes so to say everything there is to say about successful classified advertising.
Of course I also wish you success with your new course!
If this course is as good as you classified ads book, I will certainly make a room for the copy I would like to order!
Thank you again, Robert, for sharing your inspiring story with us!
I am very happy that you are willing to hear my opinion, even though I am sure I can’t tell you much you don’t already know. So far as I know, you know this business in and out, Robert.
But maybe someone else will find my comments helpful!
Offering the buyers of your manual on classified advertising a special discount on your new course, seems like a really good idea.
It’s always a must to work with the customers you already have. Usually the most expensive cost in marketing is getting a new customer. It’s much, much easier to sell more (back-end products) to a satisfied customer than to try selling your product to a totally new customer.
So I defintely think that it’s wise to try selliing more to your existing customers. And as I personally know that your book on successful classified advertising is a really quality product, I am sure that you have really earned yourself respect and credibility among the buyers of your classified ads book.
As I said, Robert, I am sure you already know what to do.
But what I personally would have done in this situation is to TALK with my former customers.
Really TALK!
And most importantly, LISTEN!
There are so few marketers and small business owners who take the time to TALK AND LISTEN with their customers and get the feel of what they want. So everything gets so impersonal. But if you take the time to talk with and listen to your customers, you will soon learn what problems they have, what they would like to do better, what they dream about, what they are missing etc., etc. – provided, of course, that you ask them the right questions, and in the right way.
Of course you don’t need to do it directly, face to face, even though that would be fine, if possible. But I would suggest that you e-mail them and ask them what they would like to know more about in connection with classified advertising.
Then I would combine this information with what I already know – through testing, frequent questions from customers etc. - about my customers.
Often you will see that two or three subjects, that your customers want to know more about, keeps coming up.
When I had found out what my customers really want, I would do two things:
1) I would create a product that gives some real quality information about precisely the subject that they want to hear more about
2) I would create an update to my product (in this case your classified-ad book). This follow-up product should address another subject than the other new product I have just mentioned above. A good example of what this product could be would be a booklet specifically on how to write and profit from classified ads ON THE INTERNET.
Then I would send out an e-mail to my customer database (who had bought your original classified ad book) and send them the update (for instance the book on electronic classified ads - see point 2) above) FOR FREE.
By doing this you get your customers attention, plus you make them feel grateful for your kindness in sending such free information to them.
So by doing this you will cause your customers to listen to what you have to say about your new book.
I wouldn’t include any kind of ads or other kinds of distracting information in this update, EXCEPT, of course, an INFOPACKED salesletter on your new book (on how to write supereffective and orderpulling headlines). All the way through the salesletter the almost magical and secret, littleknown psychological connection between the right combination of words in headlines and a boom of sales. I think it would be vitally important to heavily emphasize this connection between the headline and a sales. In other words: Emphasize the ULTIMATE BENEFIT of buying your new course and learning to write the kind of headlines that only the top experts know about. The kind of headlines that makes the whole difference between success and failure.
Besides I would offer them to get your second report (see point 1) above. This is the report that you created after having asked your customers what they really would like to hear more about) as a bonus for buying your new book on headlines – PROVIDED, of course, that they act NOW. Because you have taken the time to really listen to what your customers want, you know what turns them on. You know what they are really hungry after.
If they want something else than a report (consulting, tape, software, yes maybe even a seminar – remember the backend products you can sell at a seminar) you might of course see if you can provide exactly that kind of offer as a bonus for buying your new book).
You could also emphasize the importance of headlines in many other areas than salesletters and ads.
For instance, just the right, psychological targeted headline will draw potential customers to free articles you write for other websites and ezines. The right headline will mean that it is YOUR post on the message board that get first read. And of course you will write another headline (for your website or ezine) at the bottom of your post, a headline that will have the potential to draw hundreds of new customers to your website.
If I had an ezine I could also have sent out the special offer to my Opt-In e-mail list. Of course the people on your Opt-In e-mail list may not all be buyers of your first product, but anyway they usually are a much more targeted audience than people in general.
By doing it this way you really help your customers. You give them something they want, and you get their business in return.
Besides, I would like to emphasize the crucial importance of getting many, many testimonials for your book. Remember all the testimonials in the salesletters by Bob Serling, Mark Nolan, Jeff Paul etc.?
Whenever I read about a new exciting product, I always go to testimonials to see what they say. I must admit that honest sounding, good and strong testimonials make a very strong impression on me. I read the ad or salesletter for the product because I find the headline interesting, but then, after having been drawn to the ad or salesletter, it is the testimonials that really affects me.
There are many ways of getting testimonials. One is to contact the first customers and ask them for testimonials. Another way is to quote testimonials for your earlier products.
If the product is totally new and you haven’t sold any yet, you can do this:
Make a testgroup!
Ask a few (5-10) people – BOTH other experienced marketers and recognized experts AND potential users of your new product – to read through your book and give you a totally honest evaluation of the product.
Send them the book (by e-mail as an attached file) for free! It will be too expensive to send the book in a printed edition when you can do it almost for free and much faster by e-mail.
The electronic version of this book doesn't need to be anything fancy. You can just send the book in a ASCII-format.
If you just ask them to give you their honest evaluation of your product, they may tend to be too kind on you and only give you some positive feedback.
So instead ask them this kind of questions, which makes it easier for the reviewers to be totally honest with you:
What could be better in this book?
What is very good?
What don’t you understand?
What could be more clear?
What do you miss in this book?
What it your overall evaluation?
The answers to the last question (”What it your overall evaluation?”) may be the words that you can use as testimonials in your salesletter.
What if you get any negative evaluations and you think this evaluation is correct?
Rejoice!
Because then you know how you can make your customers more satisfied. And it’s much better to correct any mistakes and shortcomings now than getting a lot of refunds later on.
So don’t ever take it personal. Instead be grateful that it’s possible to test your product before delivering it to the broad public.
In order to avoid waiting and waiting for they evaluation you could offer to send them the two reports mentioned above (under point 1) and 2) above) AS SOON as they send you their evaluation.
You know many people tend to procrastinate. But if you give them the two free reports when they send you their evaluation, you will usually get their comments much faster.
Who should you send the book to?
You could try to send it to people like Don Bice, Anthony Blake, Carl Galletti, Brian Keith Voiles, Marlon Sanders, just to mention a few. All of these people are active in Direct Marketing on the net. Of course I will have to say that I haven't asked these people if they would like to review your book, but being the kind persons they are, I think they would be happy to review your book. And if you get a positive testimonial from these people you have some very good sales-argument. Besides, most of these people are often active on the different discussion boards on marketing, and if you are lucky they might mention your product once in a while.
Of course this is also a kind of networking with other marketers. And this networking can be extremely valuable.
All of this may sound as though you should only help people in order to receive their money. But that’s certainly not my intention.
If you really and honestly help other people, I think you will ofter experience that you will be rewarded in return. But don’t let money be your only motivator. Instead develop the kind of relationsships and friendships where the deeper and more lasting values are most important. If you have read Kenneth Varga’s marvellous book, ”How To Get Customers To Call, Buy & Beg for MORE!” It’s just a fantastic book. I bought my copy through Carl Galletti. But you could also buy it through that master marketer, Anthony Blake, or through Amazon.com.
Of course there are so many other things to say on this subject, and I could just continue and continue. For instance on the importance of making it extremely easy to order your course, delivering an electronic version as fast as possible (even if your customers get the book in a printed edition), sending follow-up e-mails immediately after receiving their order, getting the whole process automated, sending free updates soon after each order (which also tends to dramatically lower refunds), making an ezine on the subject, arranging Joint Ventures, arranging seminars, creating backend products, making a secret website for customers only on headlines etc., etc. But that will have to wait until another time.
I hope you found this helpful, my friends!
I am fully aware, though, that you, Robert, know all of this stuff pretty well. Anyway, someone else might find this helpful.
WOW! What a response Klaus! Everyone Should Read it!
by
Hi Klaus...
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. This
is sound advice for any entrepreneur.
I have to admit that lately my follow-up work with customers hasn't been carried out to the extent it should. I've had lots of things on the go, and this vitally-important work has been relegated to the sidelines in recent months. Your post acted as a good wake-up call.
Being armed with such valuable feedback as your questions are likely to elicit can be worth its weight in gold to the astute entrepreneur.
Personally, I'd be very interested in hearing your answers (in regards to my classifieds book) to the questions you suggested.
What could be better in this book?
What is very good?
What don’t you understand?
What could be more clear?
What do you miss in this book?
What it your overall evaluation?
What other things do you feel would help you get the results you want?
Klaus I sincerely appreciate the many comments you made already and your very thorough messages on yoru board. I'm looking forward to the launch of your new web site.
My answers to the questions every product developer should ask him- or herself
by
Dear Robert,
Thank you very much for your kind words!
It's a pleasure for me if I can help you in any way!
And now for my answers to the questions!
QUESTION:
What could be better in this book?
ANSWER:
First of all, let me say this: You book is just so good that I really
don't have any really serious critic to come with.
So to be totally honest, I don't think there is much you can improve
in your book! It's that good!
When I have said several times that it's a really, really good book,
I didn't do so just to receive some kinds words from you in return. Of
course I am happy whenever I can make other people happy - especially my
friends of course. But I just want to emphasize that I were totally honest
in my evaluation of your book, Robert. So I don't have some really serious
critic. No way!
Of course, though, if I am going to be very critical, there are always
a few things that could be even better. Nothing is perfect in this world.
You don't need to, either! At least not in the business world. Because
in the business world it's partly the customers that are the measure for
what you should do. I say partly because I think the most important measure
is the ethical. But of course you know all of this so well, Robert! I don't
want to sound like I am wiser than you. Absolutly not!
What you could improve, though, if you would like to, is:
1) The cover. The information that's inside the covers is always the
most important. But that doesn't mean that the cover is unimportant. You
see, when you open the envelope or box with your book, the first thing
you see is a book with a grey cover (that's at least the case with the
edition I got). As you know, some people don't ever actually read the books
they receive. They just decide upon their first impression whether they
are going to keep the book, or not!
Besides, this first impression can sometime mean the difference between
a very satisfied customer, and a more lukewarm customer.
It's nothing serious, but you may be able to avoid getting a few refunds
if you change that.
2) A little comment on the content of your book. So far as I remember,
you don't write anything about the importance of pyramiding the income
of your ads. Or am I wrong! If so, please just forget about it.
But if you don't cover this subject, maybe you could write a little
bit about that.
3) Besides, you could write something (a report) about writing and placing
classified ads on the Internet.
I have now mentioned a few aspect of your excellent book which could
be even better.
But fundamentally I think your book is as good as it can be. And don't
think that I don't dare to say it, if I didn't really think so.
QUESTION: What is very good?
ANSWER:
1) Your book is so DETAILED in it's STEP-BY-STEP DESCRIPTIONS!
You take your readers by their hand and shows them step-by-step not
only how to write a successful classified ad, but also how to successfully
runninga classified advertising campaign.
You cover so to say everything there is to say about successful classified
advertising.
This way of giving your readers detailed, step-by-step descriptions
is something I miss in many Direct Marketing books. But certainly not in
yours!
2) Your book is PERSONAL.
And this is - in my opinion - a very important point. There are so many
books and courses out there, that just presents some brutal facts. And
you don't ever feel that there is a live person behind these facts. I feel
it's very important, that you constantly feel that the author is sitting
there just beside you in a good chair and patiently taking you through
each step. And that's precisely what you are doing, You become a coach
for your readers.
Two other authors that really masters this way of writing, are Don Massey
and Tom E. Mudry. But generally speaking, I feel that there are few authors
that master this way of personal communication with their readers. But
you certainly do, Robert!
3) It's wellwritten and very easy to understand.
QUESTION: What don’t you understand?
ANSWER:
A short answer: NOTHING!
I can't imagine what anyone could possibly misunderstand.
QUESTION: What could be more clear?
ANSWER: I feel that everything is very clear.
In this connection I would like to say that I found it very helpful
that you sometimes repeat your points - but in different words. And then
you sum everything up on the last pages of your book. So it's very difficult
to misunderstand anything.
QUESTION: What do you miss in this book?
ANSWER:
If I am correct about the point, I mentioned earlier (about pyramiding
your profits), you could maybe include a little bit about that.
BUT - if I am correct - this is only a minor point.
If you do cover this point, please forgive my bad memory. The content
of the book stands very clear in my memory, I just don't remember if you
cover precisely this point.
Besides, you could maybe write something about classified advertising
on the net (for instance in ezines and on the different classified ad sites).
I didn't feel, though, that I really missed anything on these subjects,
when I read the book! In retrospect I just think that you could maybe write
a little bit about these two subjects, if you want to make your book near
perfect.
QUESTION: What it your overall evaluation?
ANSWER:
On a scale from 1-10: 10++
QUESTION: What other things do you feel would help you get the results
you want?
ANSWER:
Maybe this question is a little bit unclear! But what I meant by it,
is: What other kinds of PRODUCTS, do you feel would help you get the results
you want?
As I've clearly said above, I really didn't miss anything in your course,
Robert!
But if I should suggest something, I would suggest that you make your
book part of a greater SYSTEM! This system can include your new book, some
audiotapes, Real-Player, videotape(s), (smaller) reports ("How you dirtcheap
can test whether your classified ads on the Internet sells", "How to write
ads that jumps into the eyes of the readers of ezines", "How I earn $xxx
each week with my voicemail and small, cheap classified ads", "How to make
your add stand out on the yellow pages", "A guaranteed way of making you
ad stand out on ezines", "You can start earning money with small cheap
classified ads (on the Internet, in ezines etc.)", etc., etc.), seminars,
a CD-rom with templates etc. for classified advertising (maybe you could
use Bill Myers' InfoBoss for this), teleconsulting classes, e-mail consulting
(I am aware that you already do consulting. I just thought that you could
maybe enlarge your consulting business), an ezine on the secrets of successful,
orderpulling advertising, discussion board etc.
These are of course just a few ideas that come to my mind as I am sitting
here.
I hope you can benefit from my answers, Robert! But please be totally
honest if you disagree on something! I can bear it!
The answers you provided are far more detailed than I ever expected! So thank you very much for taking the time to offer your suggestions and comments.
Your ideas for improvements to future editions are excellent. When I do revise my book, I'll certainly take each of these into consideration.
If I can ever return the favour, please say so. I'd be delighted to do it.
Yes, I am still here! As I told, I have just been extremely busy launching a totally new project here in Denmark.
I have written a book on successful weightloss. Besides I have recorded two tapes on how to loose weight and a third tape on how to easily have a flat stomach.
The project is still relatively new, but until now it has been even more successful than I suspected. So I am a happy man right now!
How are you doing right now, Gary? It would be interesting if you would please share some of your current projects with us!
As you and some of the other visitors of this board has noticed, I haven't written any messages on the board for some days.
The reason is that I have been so busy launching a new information product here in Denmark.
I hope that you will all bear with me!
I will soon be very active again on this board.
Personally, I feel a little bit sad when I hear or read about small businesses that is taken over by large companies.
May be the reason for this is that I personally run a small business. I have seen the beauty of running a small business. So naturally I prefer small businesses.
For instance, just the other day my family and I were out sailing in a small boat at one of the beautiful seas here in Denmark.
The sun was shining so beautiful, and my family and I were dining on the sea while enjoying the fantastic beautiful landscape. The birds were singing and everything was blooming in the sunshine.
At the same time I could receive orders from my customers who left their names and adresses of my voice mail.
If I had been the owner of a large company, this would have been next to impossible - although they are some exceptions to this.
For many businesses the owners to have a very hard time figuring out how to find time with their families. And that goes even for many small businesses.
But the beauty of running an information business is that it is possible to create automatic systems that so to say runs your business for you.
This is possible because when you create information products you can copy and copy the original product again and again.
So that's one of the many reasons, I feel that a small business is the ideal business.
Of course the big companies are also necessary. but I'm happy that I am able to run a small business.
So I really love the small businesses!
And I think it is very good for society to have a lot of small businesses.
So that's why I think it is a little bit sad when I hear about small businesses be taken over by big companies.
But it would be very interesting to hear the commands of other visitors on this board.
Thank you again for you message, Andy! And heartily welcome back again!
It happens everyday. I think you must be referring to small business that
has decided to go public and sell too many of their voting shares. I also
feel that Klaus is speaking of a smaller business than you were.
I don't know if one needs to feel sorry every time one hears of this happening.
I wrote a report titled "How
to Place a Value On Your Business," and while doing the research discovered
that many businesses are simply created on the idea of selling them for
a profit. Whether it is selling everything to another owner or selling
public shares, it can be a great profit maker for the owner(s). Just look
at what Amazon did. They were losing money on book sales but actually grossed
a good sized profit by selling shares and taking the company public.
Seen from a pure economical point of view, the most profitable thing you can do with a small business is often to sell it.
One great example of this is T. Harv Eker, who many of you may know from his videotapes and courses.
T. Harv Eker builded up several fitness stores in Canada, and he did it all from the ground, and for very little money.
Then he sold his fitness chain to a larger company - and did earn about $1.6 million!
So if you have a small business and want to earn some quick money, you might seriously consider selling your business.
BUT, when I said that I feel a little bit sad when I hear about small businesses that are sold to larger companies, I were talking from a more emotional point of view.
From a more emotional point of view, I often feel it's a little bit sad when a small business is sold to a larger company - especially when the larger company afterwards destroys the whole business because it doesn't care for the customers of the small business etc.
Very often, though, you will see how the entrepreneur who has sold a small business goes on and creates a new business. And very often the customers will go to this new small business - provided, of course, that the new business can serve the wants of the customers.
One example of this is the famous Gerardo Joffe, author of the book "How you can make at least $1 million (but probably much more) in the mail-order business".
Gerardo sold his first company "Haverhill's", which he too build from scratch. And this deal earned him $1 million.
In his book (p. 368ff) Gerardo tells how he at first continued to work in Haverhill's, even after he sold it. But he soon realized that the goals of the company (Time Inc.) who bought Haverhill's, were different from his own (p. 368).
Consequently he quit his job in his former company, Haverhill's, and started up another company, called "Henniker's":
"I am now in my third year of the building of Henniker's. ... I am well on my way to building Henniker's just exactly as I built Haverhill's. I firmly expect to sell it within the next two or three years for at least $1 million. But perhaps I'll hold on a little longer this time and do a little better than I did the first time around with Time Inc." (p. 369).
So, to repeat, from a pure econimical point of view, the most wise thing you can do, is often to sell your company after some years.
But from a more emotional point of view, I still think it is a little bit sad to see, how many small businesses are bought by larger companies. And often - maybe we should say usually - the larger companies doesn't show the same care for the old, faithful customers, that the builder of the business did.
And I have talked with several formers owners of small business, who have become rich from selling their businesses. But very often they are in pain because they feel that their former business and their former customers are being ill treated.
At the same time I have also seen several examples of entrepreneurs who have sold their small businesses, and been very happy to do so.
One example here is Bill Myers who has sold many of his best "money-machines" (for examples several of his newsletters) to other companies.
So yes, I agree with you Steve, but I also think that you would always to well to carefully consider whether you really want to give up the control of what might be your lifetime-work just in order to earn some more money.
Some time ago I talked with a very, very wellknown entrepreneur who is now in his nineties. And he told me that he really regretted that he had sold his lifetime-business to a man who seems to have totally destroyed it.
So, the conclusion - as always - may be: Think before you act! But don't think too long!
Please go to (www.anewlife.org) and particularly
to the links for "books" and then for "booklets".
This is a wonderful example of how books can
sell on line. I bought some of these booklets
before they were on line. They are worth more
than the asking price! I don't work for them
but thought you might want to see some books
and booklets which are sold in the metaphysical
field.
Klaus... Here's Your Ticket To $4,000 Per Day In On-Line Sales!
by
Hello Klaus...
I was thinking about you this morning. All those nice things you say about certain products and people.
You've probably thought of this already but... here it is anyway.
There are many authors (myself included) who have benefitted from your public endorsements on the marketing boards.
You seem to have purchased a ton of products from a wide variety of sources. What that says to me is that you've gained a valuable edge-- one that could generate a steady additional income for you.
Klaus, you now know what works and what doesn't. You're in a terrific position to help thousands of people who want to succeed in this business.
So... why not contact those authors whose products you liked, and become a distributor of only those. You'd have a unique site. You could offer valuable feedback to prospects and customers. Where else can they get this kind of inside information on such a multitude of products?
With many, you could become a distributor or associate without any cost. Buy wholesale or have them drop-ship for you.
There was a post a couple of weeks ago on Bill Myer's board about a company selling a specific, narrow range of books from a website. They are currently generating sales of $4,000 per day! Not a bad revenue stream. You could do even better, Klaus, with items that generate higher profits, like many of those you recommend.
It's certainly a very, very good idea you're giving me!
Yes you're right, Robert, I have already thought a lot of this!
As you say, I have bought a ton of literature, audio-tapes and videotapes.
And combined with my practical experiences, I think I would be able to help some people in this business - just like you do so well, Robert!
So I think it is a very, very good idea!
At the same time it's very important to me that people understand that when I recommend something, I am not biased because I want to sell some products.
I certainly don't recommend every book, tape or course I've bought.
Unfortunately I have bought a lot of material, that I would never dream of recommending.
But sometimes I find some excellent material -- like for instance your book on how to prosper with classified ads -- and then I would certainly recommend that.
I know I've recommended a lot of books etc. And each time I've done it, it has always been with the intention of helping some people who might be in the same situation as I were when I did start out in this business.
Anyway, I have seriously considered doing something like you are suggesting. I just want to be sure that people understand that I am not biased when I recommend a certain book, tape or course.
I am now soon finished with my website. And I will try to see if it would be possible to do as you suggest.
It's a very interesting example you give (the couple who is generation sales of $4.000 a day). And this shows that there is so many ways to have a profitable website.
I am sitting here in front of my computer, and the rest of my family is sleeping sound.
But I just wanted to write a few of the thoughts I have hosted during the last weeks.
I hope they will stimulate your thoughts - AND make your business much more fruitful.
Haven't you sometimes asked yourself:
"Is it getting too crowded in here?"
"Is there still a room for me and me and my product?"
"Isn't there too much competition in this business?"
Maybe you've sometimes asked yourself these questions!
And you're wondering if that's really the case.
In my opinion the answer is NO!
It ISN'T too crowded in here.
There is certainly a lot of marketers that lay in sharp competition with each other. And there is many websites that offer almost identical products for sale.
BUT, the answer is that the market regulates itself.
The customers just aren't as stupid as some marketers seem to think. And if your potential and exsisting customers don't like the way a certain person is doing business, they will usually go to the competitor whom they like.
So that's how important it is to really have respect for your customers.
I have often visited a website that offers all kinds of products. But when I tried to return half a year later, I just got a failure message. The website no longer exists. The business is shut down.
And the funny thing is, that some other marketers don't suffer because of all that competition. Their websites run month after month, and have been doing so for some years now. Some examples of this is the marketers I mentioned in one of my earlier posts on this board.
These marketers not only survive their competitors, but they actually seem to get stronger.
Haven't you noticed that?
But why is it so, do you ask!
The reason is, what is usually called: USP - UNIVERSAL SELLING POSITION!!!
Bob Serling, in my opinion one of the greatest infopreneurs and direct marketers, calls it: ESSENTIAL SELLING ADVANTAGE (ESA).
But no matter what you call it, this is one of the most important factors that determine whether you will succeed or not.
But what is UNIVERSAL SELLING POSITION (USP) or ESSENTIAL SELLING ADVANTAGE (ESA)?
To make a long story short, USP is that factor or aspect which makes precisely your business unique.
It can be your product, your service etc.
But whatever it is, it is something that differentiates you and your business as unique. It makes you and your business stand out as something different than your competitors.
This can't be stressed enough!
Your USP is simply one of the most important assets of your business!
So ask youself these searching questions:
Is there anything unique about my business?
Are my products just copies of all the other products on the same subject? Do they offer something more? Something better? Are these easier to use? Do they meet my customers wants much better than my competitors?
Is my service unique? Is it faster, better, kinder than my competitors?
Do your business convey a much more personal impression than your competitors?
So I am sure you agree with me that your USP is of vital importance.
But how do you find your USP?
The answer is: Know your customers!
The better you know your customers, the better equiped you are to know what your USP should be.
What good does it do to have something unique about your business, if this unique thing doesn't fall in the taste of your customers? What good does it do to offer a cheaper price, if what your customers really want is a more quality? What good does it do to offer a faster service, if what your customers really want is a better service?
Besides, I would say that it's important that you know your competitors. Buy some of their products! Visit their websites! And ask yourself: "What do they really do well?" "What could be better?" And: "How can I avoid their mistakes, and do what they're doing well even better?"
The more careful you are in picking out just the best USP, the better your chances are of distancing your competitors.
You would tend to think that it just is so evident that you've got to have a strong USP, that every business places a great emphasis on it.
But unfortunately the facts clearly shows that this is very often not the case. Often you get a terrible service when you call a company. For instance, I did order a book through a large company about a year and a half ago. I did pay for the book. I got a confirmation of my order. But did I ever receive the book? Nope! Did I call them? Certainly, many times! Did I ever get through to a living person? Never! Did I sent them e-mails? Sure! Did I ever get an answer in return? You've guessed it: No, I didn't!
Compare this to the service of men like Rick Hanson, Marlon Sanders, Paul Galloway and Anthony Blake. They always offer excellent service. You can always talk with them in person. And they are willing to give you the help you need. These persons stand out in the marketplace! Of course there is a lot of other direct marketers that offer excellent service, too. The names I've just mentioned are just examples.
But to return to our earlier discussion, these marketers have found a very, very strong USP. And they are exemples to follow.
So ask yourself once again: "What are my USP?"
If you don't have any, you would do wise to find OR create that detail in your business that makes you stand out in the crowd.
If you really do, I promise you that you will have the very best chance of succeeding in your business.
This looks like another addition to my forum favorites folder
by
Klaus,
You have done a relly good job with this forum. I think that you and Ken Silver and Steve Mclellan have proven that you can use someone elses forum space and drive a nice little bit of traffic to it. Good job.
I think you are correct in saying that some people on the other boards might be intrigued enough to visit the boards by Ken Silver, Steve Mclellan and me.
And that's only natural.
After all that's the way a niche functions. It's "members" flow around from place to place in the niche.
At the same time, I want to clearly emphasize that it's certainly never been my intention to "steal" the visiters from some of the other boards.
Of course I know that you understand that, Marc! I just want to underlive this, so that no one is in doubt.
Thank you very much again, Marc, for your kind words!
It's a pleasure to have you here, visiting this board.
Please return soon again! There is soon going to be a lot more interesting stuff here.
It's great to see you've set up a fine discussion board here! Good work!
I'll be sure to stop in and add it to my regular
stop-overs around the net.
I also appreciate all the feedback you've been
offering about other various books, courses, and manuals that you've purchased. It's always nice to know what others think before ordering.
Thank you very much, Robert! By the way would you mind sharing your story with us, too?
by
Thank you very much, Robert!
It's very kind of you!
By the way, Robert, would you mind sharing your story with us, too?
As you can see, I did ask Gary Reed and Rick Hansson if they would share their stories about how they got started as infopreneurs.
I know that these two marketers have a lot of experience. And it's often very inpspiring to hear the stories of how other people got started with something.
So if you don't mind, Robert, I am sure the visiters on this board would love to hear your story, too.
Since you were wondering, Klaus... here’s how I got started. Back in 1990, which seems like a century ago now, I began by marketing other information products. Basically, what I did was set up my own catalog of books and tapes which I acquired through many different publishing houses.
It was very easy to get set-up as a book dealer, at least at that time it was... and I was able to buy small quantities at wholesale prices.
As I began looking for ways to grow my little enterprise, I became fascinated by marketing in general and realized the importance marketing played to the success of a business. In fact, I came to realize that marketing is everything!
Much like you did, Klaus, I got my hands on a lot of different information products. Some were very valuable gems of information and others weren’t worth much at all.
It was actually the weaker products that inspired my to start creating my own. I just knew I could do something better and set out to do so. Now... I’m hooked on self-publishing and information marketing more than ever! Orders still come in for work that I did years ago. What a great biz! It’s an excellent addition to virtually any business. I’d suggest it to anyone.
I appreciate hearing these stories as a
newbie to internet marketing. I wonder if
you have any ideas where this field might
go in the future or where you would like
to see it go.
Personally, I think small and medium size
businesses need this knowledge desperately
for their on line and off line marketing.
I read an article recently in a Business
magazine about how businesses need to study
the customer service model of competitors
like amazon.com; more importantly though, I
think every business will need a chief
information officer highly skilled in internet
marketing!
The challenge would be is to get them to
the internet marketing boards to learn more.
One approach would be to market niches in the
business world and design booklets and books
tapes etc which cater only towards their field.
I haven't seen much of this specific approach.
What do you think?
Have you seen any internet marketing books
particularly focused towards small and
medium size business niche?
Here is an example: Several small businesses
are on line selling aromotherapy or herbal
cures. So, an internet marketer decides they
will take the knowledge from their internet
marketing and apply it only towards this
particular market. The web site would just be
focused towards them; maybe pictures and stories
about herbs; an e/zine which tells them only
the best message boards on herbs..invite guest
to participate on the boards who deal with herbs.
The internet marketing books would only adress
the herbal business...
Hopefully this is clearer; I could go on and
on but it might be too much.
gail, Here are a few of my recommendations on internet marketing books
by
gail, Here are some of my recommendations on internet marketing books:
Mark Lengies: "Internet Marketing Secrets" (<www.lengies.com>)
Robert Imbriale: "Internet Marketing Secrets - The Keys to creating Real Wealth With the Internet" (E-mail: probizcoach@juno.com)
Jim Daniels: "Insider Internet Marketing" (<www.bizweb2000.com>)
Marlon Sanders: "How to Avoid the Nine Most Common Mistakes in Turning Your WebSite Into an Order-Taking Machine" (plus his many other excellent products (<http://www.higherresponse.com/>)
Jay Conrad Levinson & Charles Rubin: "Guerilla Marketing on the Internet - The Complete Guide to Making Money On-Line" (<www.amazone.com>)
Joe Vitale: "Cyber Writing" (<http://www.mrfire.com/> or: <www.amazone.com>)
And...
the courses by Jonathan Mizel, Declan Dunn, Corey Rudl,
and -- if you want to learn more about getting free publicity both offline and online -- Jeff Gardner's course on how to get free publicity (<http://www.wealthworldplus.com/> or: <http://www.free-publicity.com/products.htm>)
These books and courses are of course only a few examples of the useful material on internet marketing out there.
But I think you will find them very helpful1
Remember though, that you always have to draw your own conclusions. Never just assume that one author is ALWAYS right just because he or she has a "big name".
BUT, I think that the BEST way to learn more about successful web marketing is to observe what other successful web marketers are doing.
AND to go out and make your own experiences by testing each new step.
How I got started in the information business. I would have to say it all started when I bought a set of tapes by E. Joseph Cossman in about 1973.
He's the guy that make it all look easy enough for the average guy (like me) to find a product and get it out into the marketplace.
The first product I came out with was something called a "Porta-Handle". This was an easy carrying device for bulky items. Through Mr. Cossman's teachings I was able to come up with a brochure for my product. Then I went to work marketing it through free publicity. This product was written up in quite a number of magazines which lead to sales and inquiries from distributors and a couple of mail order companies that carried my product.
I then came out with a small booklet on how to market a product using the steps I had taken with my product, "Porta-Handle". So I'd have to say this was my first step into the "information marketing" field.
Then after subscribing to Bill Myers N/L, "The Video Marketing Letter" I got into making and selling my own "Guerilla Videos". The first videos I produced were on how to recharge toner cartridges for laser printers and small copiers about 12 years ago. I have since added additional videos such as; Invention Marketing, Fax Machine Repair, Cleaning Office Equipment For Profit, How to Produce Your Own Special Interest Videos, Money From Home, etc., all from personal experience. Anyway, that's my story in a nutshell. Hope I didn't ramble on too much :-)
Thank you very much, Gary, for an inspiring description of how you got started
by
Thank you very much, Gary, for an inspiring description of how you got started.
Your story clearly shows that it is possible for the average man or woman to get started in the information business.
Isn't it just amazing that there is a business that offers almost everybody the chance of building up a totally new and exciting lifestyle?
Of course it can also be a tough at times.
But I remember that Bill Myers in one of his newsletters wrote that the toughest part for him was to get started.
There are so many people out there who dreams about changing their lifestyle. But it never becomes more than a dream.
But a story like yours, Gary, shows that is really is possible for almost anyone with a normal intelligence to do well in this business.
I think that one of the best motivators for beginning in information creation and marketing, is simply to listen to and read the personal stories of other people.
I hope a lot of people reads your story and get motivated to take that first step.
Thank you for a very inspiring and exciting story, Gary!
Sincerely,
Klaus
PS! Joe Cossman's book was also one of the first books I got. It's a great book. If you want to get his book, you can order it online through www.amazon.com. By the way, when I recommend this book, I don't get a dime from my recommendation. I just do it in order to help anybody who can use some good advice.
Thank you very much, Gary! By the way, you certainly belong to my list over master marketers
by
Thank you very much Gary,
I am sorry I forgot to include you on the list in my answer to gail (above in an earlier thread - see: <http://www.netbabbler.com/message/?forumid=16731&messageid=921593059>).
But you certainly belong to the direct marketing masters. I have been very grateful for your informative and helpful videos.
It's an honor to have you visiting my board, Gary! Heartily welcome back!
I have visited so many boards on developing
manuals,booklets,tapes,associate programs and
the lists go on and on. I have questions: which
programs are the best,are some more suited
for different stages of your business career?
If you had to recommend one to motivate a
newbie which would it be?
Would you develop the booklet idea first then
buy one of the courses? Do you believe any
booklet,manual can make you a decent living or
just the ones about "how to make money doing
...."; Its funny everyone is selling variations
on the same theme of how to make money doing
....Why?
My budget for this right now is about 100.00
; given that which program(s) would you buy ?
Thanking you for your time and message board..
P.S: I think some message boards might be better
if they had a FAQ section..(just my .02)
Here is my advice (prepare yourself for a long message :-)
by
Dear gail,
Thank you for your message!
It's difficult to recommend just one book or one course. There are so many and they overlap each other.
One relative cheap book I strongly recommend is Don Massey's "How To Start And Operate A Profitable Homemade Booklet Business - How to Make $50.000 a Year or More in Year Home-based information-by-Mail Business". As far as I remember his book costs $29.95. And you can find Don Massey's website at <http://www.masseypub.com/>.
Another very good book is Marlon Sanders' book on creating information products in only two to five hours. The title is "How you can create your own products in two to five hours." Go to Marlon's website <http://www.higherresponse.com/>. I think Marlon's book cost about $30, too. Marlon's book is very helpful and motivating.
If you would like to learn more about how to create instant information products, you should also read Don Bice's book "How to Create An Information Product In 3 Hours... That Customers Want To Buy!". It costs about $100 dollars, and you can get it through Anthony Blake: <http://www.ablake.com/>. Anthony (Tony) is a great guy, and he gives a good service. Besides, if you buy Don's book, Tony will include another interesting book also written by Don Bice: "The Lazy Man's Way To Create A Book Or Manual - The Maximum Speed, Minimum Effort Technique For Non-Writers".
Ken Silver has also written a very helpful book (actually a course) called "How To Write & Sell Your Own Home-Made Information Manual" You can find his course by going to his web-site: <http://www.ksilver.com/>. His manual costs $67. Ken gives some very helpful advices on how you can create and market your own manual step-by-step.
Do you know Jeffrey Lant? He has written a very detailed book on how you can create you own information products. Lant differs from the other direct marketers mentioned above, in that he primarily tells you how you can create either reports or softcover books. He doesn't discuss how you can create print-on-demand books (consisting of for instance simple three binders or spiralbound books). And if you want to start out with creating softcover books, you will usually have to invest some more money in your projects than if you go the print-on-demand way. Anyway, Dr. Lant's book is full of detailed, step-by-step descriptions of how you can create and market your own information products.
Finally there is a very good book which you unfortunately can't buy online. It is "Writer's Utopia Formula Report" which is written by Jerry Buchanan. This book is a very good introduction to writing simple reports. But you can still get the book directly from Jerry. His address and phonenumber is: Towers Club, Post Office Box 2038, Vancouver, Washington 98668, U.S.A.
You can buy any one of the books mentioned above. But if you only have $100, you could for instance buy Don Massey's "How To Start And Operate A Profitable Homemade Booklet Business - How to Make $50.000 a Year or More in Year Home-based information-by-Mail Business", "How you can create your own products in two to five hours" by Marlon Sanders and "Writer's Utopia Formula Report" by Jerry Buchanan. If you buy these three books I think it will be total about $100. But I would certainly recommend that you buy the other books as soon as you can. If you buy the three books I recommend, I would also advice you to buy Don Bice's book "How to Create An Information Product In 3 Hours... That Customers Want To Buy!". Don's book is very helpful in getting started to create instant information products.
Gail, you ask whether I would develop the booklet idea first and then buy one of the courses or go the opporsite way around.
IF you don't know very much about how to create information products, it is certainly my recommendation that you begin with reading a really good book or whole course on how to create information products. You can begin reading one or more of the books mentioned above.
At the same time, though, it is extremely important to remember, that you learn best BY DOING. There are some people who would like to start in the information business who reads book after book, course after course. You can always find these people on the seminars. But the problem is that they just never get started. They never begin creating and marketing their first product. All their knowledge is pure theory. Don't let this happen to you. Instead, take that hour each day out of your calender. Get seated before the computer. Or take that phonecall. Get your feets wet.
But all the time you will do wise to set aside some time each day to learn more about the business. The reason for this is, that it would just be plain foolish to try to invent the warm water again. Think about it! Out there on the marketplace are some people who has gone all the way before you. They have made every conceivable mistake. They have lost thousands, yes often hundreds of thousands, of dollars while trying to find the way to success in this business. They have often stumbled their way to success. And many of these people have written down all of their experiences and costly earned wisdom. And it is all their for you to learn from. To follow. To copy - BUT OF COURSE NOT PLAGIARIZE.
So you should do both. You should combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience.
Next, you ask: Do you believe any booklet,manual can make you a decent living or just the ones about "how to make money doing...."; Its funny everyone is selling variations on the same theme of how to make money doing
....Why?
My answer to your first question is: YES, it is definitely possible to make a decent living by selling booklet and manuals on other subjects than: "How to make money doing..."
I agree with you that you could sometimes get the IMPESSION that the only subject on which you could successfully sell information, is: "How to make money doing..."
But actually it is only an impression. Luckily so!
If the only subject you could make a decent living on, is by selling booklet and manuals on "How to make money doing...", then Direct Marketing would just be another form of disguised Multi Level Marketing (MLM). Then one person would write a book on "How to make money doing...". He or she would then sell this book to another person. This buyer would then read the first persons book on "How to make money doing..." and would himself or herself write a book on "How to make money doing...". A third person would buy this book, and would also write a book on "How to make money doing...". And we could continue along the same line.
I am not here to condemn MLM.
I am just saying that the information business would then be another form of MLM. But it would be so in disguise. Because if the only subject on which you could successfully sell information, is: "How to make money doing...", then it would be totally misleading just to tell other people that you can write and market you own report, manual, booklet, book etc. and make a decent living on that business. Because, that would be a half-truth. Then the authors of books on how to create and market information products should actually always tell their eager followers that the only subject on which you could successfully sell information, is: "How to make money doing...".
So it is certainly possible to create products on other subject that "How to make money doing...".
Here are some people who has create products that isn't directly on the subject "How to make money doing...":
JERRY BUCHANAN - Wrote a little folio on how to "Eliminate Moles, Gophers quickly, easily, inexpensively" (priced at $2.00, which is of course more now).
BUD WECKESSER - Wrote the bestseller "101 Ways to Fix a Hamburger" and sold hundreds of thousands. He also wrote a book on beermaking that sold extremely well..
MARK NOLAN - Has recently co-authored a book on the health and beauty secrets on the famous. I talked with Mark some days ago, and his book is doing really well.
FRANK W. CAWOOD - Has written many bestsellers on how to have a better health
DON MASSEY - Has written a book on how to buy the best car. Don has earned really well on this book.
COREY RUDL - Has also written a bestselling book on "Car-secrets". His book has sold really, really well, and Corey earns hundreds of thousands on this book each year.
BEN SUAREZ - Many, many subjects
PETER MCWILLIAMS - Has written selfpublished bestsellers on all kinds of subjects. Some of his books has been sold by the millions.
And I could easily, easily continue.
On the other hand it is totally correct that a lot of people have made good money writing about "How to make money doing...". And in my opinion it is totally legitimate to do so - PROVIDED you have a product that has a high quality and is based on a high ethical principle.
But if it is quite possible to write books on all kinds of subject, why do you then see so many books on "How to make money doing...", you ask.
I think there are two answers to this question.
First, as I just said the subject, "How to make money doing...", often is a really strong subject. That's simply because most people would really like to earn more money. And a lot of people have noticed that. Consequently they hope to be able to write a tiny report on that subject, and earn a million bucks on it. But usually these people don't earn anything near that. Anyway, because there are so many people that tries to write that kind of reports, you see them almost everywhere.
Second, there is also many honest marketers that are experts on this subject. They know this business, and they can really help you on the way. In my opinion some of these people are:
Anthony Blake, Bill Myers, Rick Hansson, Paul Galloway, Bob Serling, Ron Ruiz, Mark Nolan, Gordon Alexander, Don Bice, Dave Bancroft, Jeff Gardner, Marlon Sanders, Don Massey, Ken Silver, Paul Hartunian, Brian Keith Voiles, Jeff Paul, Dan S. Kennedy, Jeffrey Lant, Melvin Powers, Mark Lengies, Dr. Nunley, Jim Daniels, Gary Halbert, Ben Suarez, Ted Nicholas, Julian Simon, William Cohen, E. Joseph Cossman, Joe Vitale, Corey Rudl, Declan Dunn, Gerado Joffe, Ed Simpson, Russ von Hoelscher, Dan Poynter, Brooks Owen, Jonathan Mizel, Gordon Burgett, Tom E. Mudry, Tom E. Mudry, Dean F. V. DuVall, Jerry Buchanan, Owen Bates and Neal Michaels, Joe Barnes, George W. Haylings, Kenneth J. Varga, Robert Imbriale, , Ernest (Bud) Weckesser, Ed Simpson, Eileen & T.J. Rohleder, Tom & Marilyn Ross...
Just to mention a few!
I have read much of the material by each one of these marketers. I am not just mentioning a lot of names to impress you.
I just want to give you some guidelines toward the best direction for you to go.
Of course all of these marketers don't always agree on everything. And I won't recommend every detail of the teaching and practise of each of these marketers. Anyway, I would say that these marketers deliver usually deliver as promised. So go and learn from them!
But my point is, that if you are searching for help on how to create successful information products, you will of course meet a lot of direct marketers who has generously given out of their knowledge on this subject. And of course many of these marketers have made a nice profit on their material on how to create information products. So if you seek help to get started in this business and see a lot of material on how you can get started, your concentration will of course get focused on material that learns you how to write reports, manuals, books, booklets, record audio-tapes and videotapes, create software etc. But it certainly doesn't mean that you can't make money on other subjects. Just look around - both online and offline - and you will see marketer after marketer, who has earned a huge amount of money by publishing and marketing material on how-to, self-help, physical health, psychological health, happiness, hobbies, sport, gardening, crafts etc. etc.
A few sentences ago I said that it is a must to have a product that has a high quality and is based on a high ethical principle. But what is a product with a high standard and quality?
It is a product that you are sure is can deliver what you've promised in your salesmaterial. It is a product that really shows your readers and listeners how to do what you've promised them, step-by-step.
But this is certainly not always the case.
I've read almost countless books that promises to teach you how you can reach the stars. But when the post came to my door and delivered the package, and I had opened the box with the material, I got disappointed seing how superficial the information in that book or course was.
So be sure that you don't promise people that they can do something, without having a solid basis for your claims.
If you do make exaggerated claims, you might possibly get some sales. But you shouldn't hope to much to be able to get any second and third sales.
So, yes, you can sell information on all kinds of subjects. But not all subject are equally profitable to write on.
How do you know, then, which subjects to write on?
Start with what you know and is interested on. But at the same always keep an eye on the size of your market and whether you are able to easily reach the market. At the same time it is important to have a very intimate knowledge about what the wants of your market is. Always try to sell the product that your market wants to buy - provided, of course, you are able to create it, and provided that product would meet your ethical standards.
Dear gail, this message got a little bit longer than I did plan. And of course I won't give such a long answer to every question on this board. But I hope you are still with me and that you will find some help here.
Yes your message has been the longest answer
I have ever receivd but it has been far the
best answers I have ever receivd.
After reading the message I feel inspired
and motivated to get started ordering books
which you recommended and to start researching
my subject.
I appreciate your time and generous nature;
and please keep me posted should you or if you
are selling anything, because I will certainly
buy from you.
Your answers validated a lot of things I
intuitively felt and so I sense you really
know this business.
Trust me, if more business people were like
you they would be very rich. You have to give
before you receive and isn't receiving but
another form of giving.
I wish you much success with this board and
when I am out surfing I will refer people to
this board for advice.
Let me know when you get a website up; or
do you have one up I haven't found?
You are just great ! thanks so much; If you
ever need this as a testimonial for a website
or board you are more than welcome. Sincerely
Gail; I'll keep you posted on my success!
Thank you very much for your extremely kind words, gail! My web-site will very soon be up!
by
Thank you very much for your extremely kind words, gail! It's very kind of you!
I really enjoyed writing the messages. And if they can help you, I will be very happy. After all, the greatest joy in this business, is actually to receive such a kind reply as your.
I totally agree with you, gail: Give freely and you will receive so much back.
Unfortunately, I don't have a web-site up yet. But it will be up very soon be up! And I will of course give a link to the web-site at the top of this discussion board.
Here is my advice (prepare yourself for a long message :-)
by
Dear gail,
Thank you for your message!
It's difficult to recommend just one book or one course. There are so many and they overlap each other.
One relative cheap book I strongly recommend is Don Massey's "How To Start And Operate A Profitable Homemade Booklet Business - How to Make $50.000 a Year or More in Year Home-based information-by-Mail Business". As far as I remember his book costs $29.95. And you can find Don Massey's website at <http://www.masseypub.com/>.
Another very good book is Marlon Sanders' book on creating information products in only two to five hours. The title is "How you can create your own products in two to five hours." Go to Marlon's website <http://www.higherresponse.com/>. I think Marlon's book cost about $30, too. Marlon's book is very helpful and motivating.
If you would like to learn more about how to create instant information products, you should also read Don Bice's book "How to Create An Information Product In 3 Hours... That Customers Want To Buy!". It costs about $100 dollars, and you can get it through Anthony Blake: <http://www.ablake.com/>. Anthony (Tony) is a great guy, and he gives a good service. Besides, if you buy Don's book, Tony will include another interesting book also written by Don Bice: "The Lazy Man's Way To Create A Book Or Manual - The Maximum Speed, Minimum Effort Technique For Non-Writers".
Ken Silver has also written a very helpful book (actually a course) called "How To Write & Sell Your Own Home-Made Information Manual" You can find his course by going to his web-site: <http://www.ksilver.com/>. His manual costs $67. Ken gives some very helpful advices on how you can create and market your own manual step-by-step.
Do you know Jeffrey Lant? He has written a very detailed book on how you can create you own information products. Lant differs from the other direct marketers mentioned above, in that he primarily tells you how you can create either reports or softcover books. He doesn't discuss how you can create print-on-demand books (consisting of for instance simple three binders or spiralbound books). And if you want to start out with creating softcover books, you will usually have to invest some more money in your projects than if you go the print-on-demand way. Anyway, Dr. Lant's book is full of detailed, step-by-step descriptions of how you can create and market your own information products.
Finally there is a very good book which you unfortunately can't buy online. It is "Writer's Utopia Formula Report" which is written by Jerry Buchanan. This book is a very good introduction to writing simple reports. But you can still get the book directly from Jerry. His address and phonenumber is: Towers Club, Post Office Box 2038, Vancouver, Washington 98668, U.S.A.
You can buy any one of the books mentioned above. But if you only have $100, you could for instance buy Don Massey's "How To Start And Operate A Profitable Homemade Booklet Business - How to Make $50.000 a Year or More in Year Home-based information-by-Mail Business", "How you can create your own products in two to five hours" by Marlon Sanders and "Writer's Utopia Formula Report" by Jerry Buchanan. If you buy these three books I think it will be total about $100. But I would certainly recommend that you buy the other books as soon as you can. If you buy the three books I recommend, I would also advice you to buy Don Bice's book "How to Create An Information Product In 3 Hours... That Customers Want To Buy!". Don's book is very helpful in getting started to create instant information products.
Gail, you ask whether I would develop the booklet idea first and then buy one of the courses or go the opporsite way around.
IF you don't know very much about how to create information products, it is certainly my recommendation that you begin with reading a really good book or whole course on how to create information products. You can begin reading one or more of the books mentioned above.
At the same time, though, it is extremely important to remember, that you learn best BY DOING. There are some people who would like to start in the information business who reads book after book, course after course. You can always find these people on the seminars. But the problem is that they just never get started. They never begin creating and marketing their first product. All their knowledge is pure theory. Don't let this happen to you. Instead, take that hour each day out of your calender. Get seated before the computer. Or take that phonecall. Get your feets wet.
But all the time you will do wise to set aside some time each day to learn more about the business. The reason for this is, that it would just be plain foolish to try to invent the warm water again. Think about it! Out there on the marketplace are some people who has gone all the way before you. They have made every conceivable mistake. They have lost thousands, yes often hundreds of thousands, of dollars while trying to find the way to success in this business. They have often stumbled their way to success. And many of these people have written down all of their experiences and costly earned wisdom. And it is all their for you to learn from. To follow. To copy - BUT OF COURSE NOT PLAGIARIZE.
So you should do both. You should combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience.
Next, you ask: Do you believe any booklet,manual can make you a decent living or just the ones about "how to make money doing...."; Its funny everyone is selling variations on the same theme of how to make money doing
....Why?
My answer to your first question is: YES, it is definitely possible to make a decent living by selling booklet and manuals on other subjects than: "How to make money doing..."
I agree with you that you could sometimes get the IMPESSION that the only subject on which you could successfully sell information, is: "How to make money doing..."
But actually it is only an impression. Luckily so!
If the only subject you could make a decent living on, is by selling booklet and manuals on "How to make money doing...", then Direct Marketing would just be another form of disguised Multi Level Marketing (MLM). Then one person would write a book on "How to make money doing...". He or she would then sell this book to another person. This buyer would then read the first persons book on "How to make money doing..." and would himself or herself write a book on "How to make money doing...". A third person would buy this book, and would also write a book on "How to make money doing...". And we could continue along the same line.
I am not here to condemn MLM.
I am just saying that the information business would then be another form of MLM. But it would be so in disguise. Because if the only subject on which you could successfully sell information, is: "How to make money doing...", then it would be totally misleading just to tell other people that you can write and market you own report, manual, booklet, book etc. and make a decent living on that business. Because, that would be a half-truth. Then the authors of books on how to create and market information products should actually always tell their eager followers that the only subject on which you could successfully sell information, is: "How to make money doing...".
So it is certainly possible to create products on other subject that "How to make money doing...".
Here are some people who has create products that isn't directly on the subject "How to make money doing...":
JERRY BUCHANAN - Wrote a little folio on how to "Eliminate Moles, Gophers quickly, easily, inexpensively" (priced at $2.00, which is of course more now).
BUD WECKESSER - Wrote the bestseller "101 Ways to Fix a Hamburger" and sold hundreds of thousands. He also wrote a book on beermaking that sold extremely well..
MARK NOLAN - Has recently co-authored a book on the health and beauty secrets on the famous. I talked with Mark some days ago, and his book is doing really well.
FRANK W. CAWOOD - Has written many bestsellers on how to have a better health
DON MASSEY - Has written a book on how to buy the best car. Don has earned really well on this book.
COREY RUDL - Has also written a bestselling book on "Car-secrets". His book has sold really, really well, and Corey earns hundreds of thousands on this book each year.
BEN SUAREZ - Many, many subjects
PETER MCWILLIAMS - Has written selfpublished bestsellers on all kinds of subjects. Some of his books has been sold by the millions.
And I could easily, easily continue.
On the other hand it is totally correct that a lot of people have made good money writing about "How to make money doing...". And in my opinion it is totally legitimate to do so - PROVIDED you have a product that has a high quality and is based on a high ethical principle.
But if it is quite possible to write books on all kinds of subject, why do you then see so many books on "How to make money doing...", you ask.
I think there are two answers to this question.
First, as I just said the subject, "How to make money doing...", often is a really strong subject. That's simply because most people would really like to earn more money. And a lot of people have noticed that. Consequently they hope to be able to write a tiny report on that subject, and earn a million bucks on it. But usually these people don't earn anything near that. Anyway, because there are so many people that tries to write that kind of reports, you see them almost everywhere.
Second, there is also many honest marketers that are experts on this subject. They know this business, and they can really help you on the way. In my opinion some of these people are:
Anthony Blake, Bill Myers, Rick Hansson, Paul Galloway, Bob Serling, Ron Ruiz, Mark Nolan, Gordon Alexander, Don Bice, Dave Bancroft, Jeff Gardner, Marlon Sanders, Don Massey, Ken Silver, Paul Hartunian, Brian Keith Voiles, Jeff Paul, Dan S. Kennedy, Jeffrey Lant, Melvin Powers, Mark Lengies, Dr. Nunley, Jim Daniels, Gary Halbert, Ben Suarez, Ted Nicholas, Julian Simon, William Cohen, E. Joseph Cossman, Joe Vitale, Corey Rudl, Declan Dunn, Gerado Joffe, Ed Simpson, Russ von Hoelscher, Dan Poynter, Brooks Owen, Jonathan Mizel, Gordon Burgett, Tom E. Mudry, Tom E. Mudry, Dean F. V. DuVall, Jerry Buchanan, Owen Bates and Neal Michaels, Joe Barnes, George W. Haylings, Kenneth J. Varga, Robert Imbriale, , Ernest (Bud) Weckesser, Ed Simpson, Eileen & T.J. Rohleder, Tom & Marilyn Ross...
Just to mention a few!
I have read much of the material by each one of these marketers. I am not just mentioning a lot of names to impress you.
I just want to give you some guidelines toward the best direction for you to go.
Of course all of these marketers don't always agree on everything. And I won't recommend every detail of the teaching and practise of each of these marketers. Anyway, I would say that these marketers deliver usually deliver as promised. So go and learn from them!
But my point is, that if you are searching for help on how to create successful information products, you will of course meet a lot of direct marketers who has generously given out of their knowledge on this subject. And of course many of these marketers have made a nice profit on their material on how to create information products. So if you seek help to get started in this business and see a lot of material on how you can get started, your concentration will of course get focused on material that learns you how to write reports, manuals, books, booklets, record audio-tapes and videotapes, create software etc. But it certainly doesn't mean that you can't make money on other subjects. Just look around - both online and offline - and you will see marketer after marketer, who has earned a huge amount of money by publishing and marketing material on how-to, self-help, physical health, psychological health, happiness, hobbies, sport, gardening, crafts etc. etc.
A few sentences ago I said that it is a must to have a product that has a high quality and is based on a high ethical principle. But what is a product with a high standard and quality?
It is a product that you are sure is can deliver what you've promised in your salesmaterial. It is a product that really shows your readers and listeners how to do what you've promised them, step-by-step.
But this is certainly not always the case.
I've read almost countless books that promises to teach you how you can reach the stars. But when the post came to my door and delivered the package, and I had opened the box with the material, I got disappointed seing how superficial the information in that book or course was.
So be sure that you don't promise people that they can do something, without having a solid basis for your claims.
If you do make exaggerated claims, you might possibly get some sales. But you shouldn't hope to much to be able to get any second and third sales.
So, yes, you can sell information on all kinds of subjects. But not all subject are equally profitable to write on.
How do you know, then, which subjects to write on?
Start with what you know and is interested on. But at the same always keep an eye on the size of your market and whether you are able to easily reach the market. At the same time it is important to have a very intimate knowledge about what the wants of your market is. Always try to sell the product that your market wants to buy - provided, of course, you are able to create it, and provided that product would meet your ethical standards.
Dear gail, this message got a little bit longer than I did plan. And of course I won't give such a long answer to every question on this board. But I hope you are still with me and that you will find some help here.
I have read some of the books you mentioned
Ben Suarez's, Melvin Powers, Jerry Buchanan
and lots of self help books including Peter
McWilliams.
So you see your message to me is right on
track; I will however order some of the ones
you mentioned from the net. I have always been
interested in reading all these books, but I
was glad you told me not to be one of the
readers on the side line and not a "doer".
You read me very well. I've been waiting
to hear this message. You were sent to me at
just the right time. Synchronicity..I luv it!
thanks again;=)
Thank you gail! And some thought on the expenses of starting up
by
I am glad to hear that, gail!
Yes, you're totally right: Don't just read and read books.
Go out and take that first step!
Go to the library and find the books and articles that's already written on your subject!
Place that first ad!
Send out that press-release!
Send that article!
Write that report!
Etc.
And the fantastic thing about this business is that you can take the first step without investing a huge amount of money.
Don't get me wrong, though!
It will cost you SOME money to start up the business.
I am sure you have read what some people say: That it's possible to start you own information business for $50.
And in principle they are right. It is really possible to start on an extremely low budget. But if you start up with, let's say only
$50, it's usually going to take much longer before you're going to reap a nice profit.
For instance, I read about an unemployed man who had so to say nothing. He wanted to start up an information business. So he wrote a report (I think he borrowed a machine to write the report on). He just couldn't afford to place ads in magazines. So instead he choose to go from door to door all day distributing an inexpensive salesletter. Then he got a few orders. He took the small profit from these orders and invested it into a small ad. Gradually he enlarged the ad and placed more ads in other magazines, until he finally made a nice profit. So in principle it's certainly possible.
But usually it's necessary to start with a little bit more money.
On the other hand it's actually a DISADVANTAGE to start up with TOO MUCH MONEY.
Does that sound strange?
Well, actually the reason is quite simple!
If you start up with a huge amount money, it's very, very tempting to lean and rely on the money, instead of the quality of your
product, your marketing, your service etc.
So it's very important to make it as easy as possible for yourself to succeed.
For example, don't go out there (if you can't afford it) and buy some new, expensive software just because you think it'll make
your product more fancy and your administration easier.
You can do that later!
Don't invest in expensive office equipment!
You can do that later!
Don't invest in getting you book printed as an expensive softcover book!
You can do that later if you'd like to!
Make things as easy as possible.
As Jeff Paul says: "Your products just need to be GOOD ENOUGH! They don't need to be more that good enough!"
Finally, remember that it's vitally important to PYRAMID your profits.
If you earn, let's say, $50 or $100 on your first product (and that may or may notbe very realistic), then invest these money
back in your MARKETING.
Buy a little bit larger ad in the same media that already has shown to be profitable.
What you are saying makes sense; I am very
impressed with businesses start ups like Ben& Jerry's,Wendys,Esprit,Paul Hawkins garden stores
etc..I wish the media would do a better job
of highlighting business start ups which in-
volved more "labor and creativity" than money.
It seems small business owners who love what
they do and can balance their own involvement
in the business with the commonsense to know
when to "pour" money into it,seem to do better.
For that reason, I was very impressed with
Melvin Powers' mail order book,because he kept
the price low due to using such creative ways
to get his ideas and market.
I know myself I am flexible and will buy a
book which has detailed,specific knowledge than
one which has a slick cover and graphics which
take up too much space. I think Jerry Buchanan
does a fine job in integrating graphics and
knowledge in his materials.
Have you seen or read any of the books and
booklets by Vernon Howard? If not do a search
on the web. His booklets have always been
reasonably price and chocked full of info and
common sense concerning metaphysical topics.
Sorry to ramble; but I love this subject; I
dedicated an hour today mapping out a guideline
for my info booklet. If you have not seen the
mind mapping procedure to designing information
check out the following site.(www.teamwork.demon.co.uk/mind_maps/mind_
basic.html) Let me know what you think; this
info might serve useful in your website. Are
you at liberty to discuss what will be in your
website at this point?Will you have an e/zine?
Looking forward to your insights; I'm going to
take advantage of this free advice until this
board gets more people. I can hear them coming
on the freeway;=).
Small businesses, Melvin Powers, Jerry Buchanan, mind maps, freebies and my website
by
Hi gail,
Please forgive my delayed answer to your post!
I've been away for some days, speaking on a seminar.
Yes, gail, I think you're totally correct: One of the good things about running a small is that you can do it with your heart. You can do what you love to do. And you have a quite different flexibility than the large companies that takes a long time to make even a minor change. Besides you will often see that the employees and the workers in the large companies often has a very low degree of motivation. Consequently you will often get a very bad service from the large compagnies.
But as a small business owner you have the chance to make things totally different. ON the other hand I won't try to hide and conceal the fact that having a small business can also have some setbacks.
As a smallbiz owner you're often totally on your own. You can't rely on other people. If you get ill, nobody takes over. And then there is all the administration and paperwork. And finally many smallbiz owners have to work long, hard hours - especially in the beginning. You usually have to carry a large inventory. And you constantly have to keep up the production of your products. Usually this means that you have to invest in big, expensive machines which have to be running all the time in order earn a profit. In other words, You constantly have to produce the products you are selling. And you never know for sure if you've produced too many products or not.
But what's so fantastic about THE INFORMATION BUSINESS is that several - but not all - of these setbacks don't need to worry you.
For instance you don't need to have a large inventory of your products!
You can have one or a few copies of your information product on your shelf. And when you sell this (or these) copy (or copies), you'll just go to the local copy-store and have some new copies made.
And this is just one advantage information products have over almost every other kind of products.
Of course not everyone can be in the information business. We certainly also need other kinds of businesses. We need "hard products", too. After all, our information products are often on how you can better use "hard products" (for instance computers) to reach the goals you have in life.
But anyway, the information business is an ideal business in my opinion.
I also agree with you on Melvin Powers, gail!
He has written and published some really good books on mail order, self publishing and copywriting.
His own book "How To Get Rich In Mail Order", which has sold very, very well, is a classic in the field. It was one of the first books I read on the subject. And it did really motivate me to go ahead.
He has also written two other very interesting books: "Making Money With Classified Ads" and "How to Self-Publish Your Book & Have the Fun & Excitement of Being a Best-Selling Author - An expert's step-by-step guide to marketing your book successfully".
His books are very helpful, and they clearly shows how Melvin Powers create his books and market them.
According to his book "How To Get Rich in Mail Order" (p. 120) and "How to Self-Publish Your book & Have the Fun & Excitement of Being a Best-Selling Author" (chapter four, p. 23-27), Melvin Powers has a very interesting way of testing his new bookprojects.
You know, gail, the beauty of Direct Marketing Response is that you're able to TEST almost every new move you take. By doing that, you can know what of the results of a project is likely going to be - already BEFORE you take each new major step in that project.
The way Melvin Powers tests the saleability of new books, is this. He find a book on a similar subject, but published by another publisher. Then he places ads (often classified or small display ads) in a targeted magazine.
If he doesn't get an orders, it has caused no harm at all. He hasen't invested much money in the project.
But if he gets any orders from his ad he simply sends the customer a copy of the book published by the other publisher. By testing any new book-project this way, Melvin can very quickly find out, if any future book-project is likely to become a success or not. And he doesn't need to set aside all the time it can take to create a new report or book in order to test a book-project. And when it comes to testing, the time-factor is often very important. You need to get the test-results very quickly, in order to find the ideal way to ahead.
So this way of testing is actually rather brilliant.
Melvin Powers has also published the famous classic on write successful ads: "How to Write A Good Advetisement - A Short Course in Copywriting" by Victor O. Schwab.
This book only costs $20 (so far as I remember). So this book is a real "steal" for the money.
Jerry Buchanan is certainly a great guy. After having talked with him several times, bought several of his products and been a subscriber to his fine newsletter, I can testify that he is one of the real experts on this business. He did start out really small, and since then he has sold thousands and thousands of products. And yes, I also think his book "Writer's Utopia Formula Report" is very, very helpful. Not all of the information in the book is up-to-date in this cyber-age. But the principles are certainly still valid. And I did learn a lot from his book.
As you say, he does a fine job of integrating graphics and information in his book. The interesting thing is, that Jerry says that his refunds almost fell to zero after he placed more graphics in his book. That's certainly important to remember when you create your information product.
I am sorry but I don't think I've heard of Vernon Howard before. But I'll try to make a search for him on the web.
Thank you for your reference to the Mind Map website. It looks very interesting. I've often used this technique (I first read about it many years in the books by Tony Buzan). And it is very helpful when you're going to create information products.
Actually I think that a detailed outline of the information product is your most valuable asset when you create information products. The reason is that you can use your outline again and again, both when you create reports, articles, a book, a course, audiotapes, videostapes etc. And you can make all these different kinds of information products on the SAME subject - namely the subject described on your outline.
So a good and detailed outline is extremely important.
And one of the most helpful tools in making the outline is a mindmap.
So thank you very much for your refence, gail!
Concerning the question if I am going to have my own a website and e-zine, my answer is YES!
I am almost finished with the creating of my website, and I am also going to have a free e-zine.
And I really think that you will like the website, as I've tried to place so many interesting informations on the the site, that a lot of people will find some tips they'll find helpful and be able to profit from. But only the reponses from satisfied visiters will be able to affirm that. So only time will show!
But the website will very soon be finished!
And I will of course place a link on this board to the site.
