Author Archive
Business building: What’s your plan?
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been very busy in the consolidation phase of my online business recently, and I wanted to write a post showing what I’ve been doing and how I’ve been doing it.
Lots of marketers will talk you through the launch phase of a product – but how do you build on that to turn it into a business that will generate an ongoing income which, let’s face it, is what we all really need?
Auto Cash Funnel Clickbank Earnings
The launch bit
It doesn’t seem that long ago that I launched Auto Cash Funnel with Chris Freville, my first big Clickbank launch with full JV support (see My product launch exposed!)
It was December 2010 in fact … and that product has now grossed over $350k to date and continues to make sales.
Now a lot of people I speak to are surprised to hear that.
They think that after a launch, a product stops selling, dead in its tracks.
Well, that’s not the case and it’s why I 100% advocate aspiring to be a product creator in your business.
You might not be ready for it yet .. but if you keep working at it steadily, you will be.
Auto Cash Funnel has continued to generate a daily income since after the launch … the numbers have clearly reduced since the initial frenzy of December 2010/January 2011, but only this week we had just short of a $600 day just from sales of that product.
So, Useful Tip 1 is: Create products, they give you solid equity in your business and mean that you can instantly start to earn not only a launch-based income, but also a residual income.
All that work becomes an asset for you.
I have hundreds of affiliate marketers sending traffic to Auto Cash Funnel … they have done the SEO work for me.
Don’t get me wrong, affiliate marketing is an essential part of any Internet Marketer’s toolkit – I use it every day.
But aspire to be the product creator, that’s where the long term, solid income is.
Which way next?
The post-launch bit
Okay, so here’s the problem with the product launch model.
It takes a massive amount of time, commitment and energy.
It’s very stressful, you rely entirely on the support of JV partners, and although you make a lot of money in a short time, it doesn’t build you a business.
So Useful Tip 2 is: Just because you earned some money, it doesn’t mean that you have a business.
I know a lot of people will say ‘What? $600 in a day 8 months after a launch?’ … and believe me, I struggled to make that in a month not so long ago.
But that figure is an exception, rather than the rule, and I ain’t going to be retiring on that!
So, after Auto Cash Funnel I was determined to put some business ‘eggs’ into a solid proposition for a long term business … something which didn’t rely on the ‘boom and bust’ of a Clickbank launch.
A different approach
That’s when I started work on Fast Fan Pages, my new software aimed at the growing and lucrative Facebook market.
I decided that I wanted to create a product that was as well regarded in the marketplace as Easy Video Player, OptimizePress and Chris Farell’s Membership site … you only ever read good things about those services, never any moans, groans, cries of ‘scam’ … and definitely no high refunds.
That’s the place I want to be … and with Fast Fan Pages I have been adamant that it will not be sold as a conventional IM product … no promises of fast riches, effortless income or automated millions!
Check out the marketing, you won’t see an income shot or earnings promise anywhere.
And frankly, if I had marketed it as a conventional IM product, I’d have made a pile of money from it – and a corresponding pile of refunds no doubt 
But this is my long distance product, the one I’m going to build slowly, based on reputation and service.
Frankly, I don’t want you to use it if you don’t need it or don’t understand it – you’ll only refund anyway and damage my standing with Clickbank.
So I give a massive amount away for free – there’s no way you should be paying for that product then refunding with the free access I’ve given … the aim is to ensure that buyers make a fully informed purchase decision, the opposite of a blind sale or hard sell.
Around my Fast Fan Pages project I can build a community focus, use it to deliver the coaching that I love doing and move into offline and small business marketing as well … put my eggs into some different baskets.
I’m also doing lots of work with my local newspaper to deliver coaching and information to local offline businesses now.
Oh, and based on what we learned from the soft launch of Fast Fan Pages, we created an entirely new software called Instant iFrames which aims to generate massive, organic traffic from Facebook.
That’s me building in less dependence on JV support which although invaluable, and always appreciated, can be variable and is always dependent on reciprocity … and that it turn can damage your list, because you’re not free to send the emails you want to and may ‘force’ you to send emails that you’d rather not send.
So here’s Useful Tip 3: Aim to build an excellent reputation and a long lasting, sustainable business model.
Don’t just think short term ,though it’s hard not to do that when you’re just trying to get those crucial first dollars in.
As soon as you can, build in and deliver long term strategies.
And by long term I mean a couple of years, not months – my projections around Fast Fan Pages are built around the likely lifespan of Facebook and anticipated growth curve … I expect it to peak (for business) then begin to decline.
If it peaks for longer, then all the better
Get yourself some help!
Get help!
I’ve spent a lot of time working with Patrick, who codes Fast Fan Pages – since New Year 2011 in fact – and we built, developed, tested and tweaked it up to the soft launch in May 2011.
Every time I use this product I feel personally proud of what we have achieved … and you should see my list of new plans and features for the future!
Incidentally, I hooked up with Patrick via Elance – I got lucky, found a great guy and we enjoy working together.
But Useful Tip 4 is: You don’t have to do this all yourself!
I can’t code software, wouldn’t know where to start.
So I found someone who could – and he turns my crazy ideas into something workable, plus adds some great ideas of his own.
Get help to assist you in your areas of weakness … it will move you forward, faster.
Now Fast Fan Pages is up-and-running and I can devote a couple of days each week to growing it and supporting it.
It’s not like Auto Cash Funnel, we had a small launch to get it started, get some paying customers in there and allow us to work through the teething problems.
But this keeps adding customers, not losing them … this will not go crazy then tail off, this one will grow and develop.
And I’m very happy I got that in place early, even though the temptation was to rush at a second money-spinning launch.
More of the same
So now I’m back to doing the things I love doing, and growing my business in the directions that I want it to go.
I held a Giveaway – my first in over a year – because my friend David Walker and I had talked about teaming up for one ages ago and I was really keen to make it happen.
We added over 1300 subscribers to our lists in 1-2 weeks … these events work ladies and gentlemen, please do not disregard them!
I enjoyed it so much and, depending on my commitments, I’ll be back!
So Useful Tip 5 is: Do what you know works for you, what you’re good at and what you enjoy.
I’m also working on a live coaching program with my one-time mentor, now I guess part time business partner, Chris Freville.
I’ve done a lot of work with Chris over the past year, starting with his Internet Marketing Empire launch, moving on to Stealth Profit Machines, creating content for Passive Portals and now we decided to team up once again.
Great JV Giveaways
I’ve wanted to do a live coaching program for ages, so this is a great opportunity to get that going.
Will I be doing product launch again?
Yes … but later!
This little lot will keep me busy until end November 2011, then I’m going to enjoy the fruits of my labours and take the family to Spain again for a month over Christmas – there have to be some advantages to spending so many hours locked in my office working
Which brings me to Useful Tip 6: Don’t ever be foolish enough to believe that this can be done without hard work – it can’t!
But it’s a wonderful way to make money and the freedom it gives you is priceless … so long as you have your laptop and a connection, you can work wherever you are in the world.
By the way, my final Useful Tip 7? Get a mentor!
Work with somebody who’s got a proven record of success at at least the level above you you and learn from them how they do it.
My mentors to date have been Chris Freville and now, Daniel Wagner and James Watson.
I’m part of Daniel and James’ Mastermind Group – as I was with Chris’s before that – but with Daniel and James I specifically wanted to focus on long term, business building … from Chris I learned everything I know about successful product launches.
So grab yourself a mentor … it doesn’t really matter who you pick, but make sure you trust them, respect them and like them first and make sure they’re the right person to take you where you want to be next.
Now it's your turn. I want to know what you think. Comment below with a quick response...
How To Write The Perfect Email …
Posted by: | Comments
… as determined by my own subscribers in a recent survey.
Like many internet marketers no doubt, it concerns me that you can have so many subscribers on an emailing list, but yet so few of them every open the emails that you send.
Does that mean that they’re not interested in what you’re saying, are you sending them the wrong material or is it just a consequence of us all getting too many emails in our inboxes?
So I sent a survey to subscribers on my mailing list who hadn’t opened one of my emails for a month or more …
Don’t they know what they’re missing?
Here are the results from that survey, and I’m sure there’s some really useful information in here for anybody who uses email marketing.
Q: What annoys you most about receiving emails?
I receive too many emails 28%
I receive too many sales offers 32%
I just don’t have time to read them all 27%
I don’t like the style they’re written in 4%
There’s never any useful information in them 9%
Q: What would you like to receive in my emails?
Links to your latest blog posts 14%
Links to free gifts with or without opt-ins 10%
Links to instant access free gifts (ie no opt-in) 17%
Useful tips and information in the actual email body 33%
Some paid for offers, but only the best please 26%
Q: When you are offered a paid for product, how
would you prefer me to select this?
Only products that you would buy yourself 35%
Only from marketers who you know personally 11.5%
I don’t care … send them all, I’ll make my own decisions 4%
A mix of the best Clickbank and non-Clickbank offers 12%
I don’t want to receive any paid for offers 3.5%
Only products which you personally recommend 34%
So, according to my subscribers, the perfect email will contain the following ingredients:
# Only products which I personally recommend
# Only products that I would buy myself
# Useful tips and info in the email body
# Some paid for offers, but only the best
# Not too many emails
To be honest with you, that’s all fair enough really.
But for those newbie marketers who are reading this, a bit of insight.
When you do a product launch you generally reciprocate support from marketers who helped you to promote your product.
This is a nice thing for them to do and a polite thing for you to do … but sometimes it means you lose control over the quality of what you’re promoting.
It’s a tricky one … and I suspect the only answer is for all marketers to produce only high quality products … that would make reciprocity an easier thing entirely
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Finally, a look at some of the comments I received from subscribers.
I’m holding nothing back here, and the comments I’ve selected are the ones which give useful pointers or constructive advice … things we can all use!
I would say providing good content that actually helps point newbies in the right direction and by offering products or services you would or are using in your business.I can count on one hand how many emails I actually look forward to getting from certain marketers and there in newsletter format and offer great content and links to products relevant to the article and products that are useful. Sneaky subject lines or ones that are in-congruent are misleading and deceptive. I like the subject line of this email for instance and if I can help you by providing the information you need than it’s a win win for both of us.
Since I have purchased and returned many programs lately I’m just not opening many emails to avoid being SOLD and then finding it is NOT as represented too many times … I would like to know UP FRONT what the highest cost I will need to pay out to be in profit. AND if the sales copy says ‘this is all I need(whatever ‘this’ is)’ then I don’t want an upsell after I pay for the program! I would like to see the thing do what it says it will do and LATER be presented with what might help increase my sales after it is delivering sales(of course I must do my due diligence). Presently I don’t know WHY I have to keep getting new programs to add from program owners when supposedly the one I just bought is ” ALL I SHOULD EVER NEED” … Also and I’m not saying YOU have done this, I HATE the bad and off color slangy language being used by numerous marketers and I will not keep or buy a program that is offensive like that so I appreciate that all is kept respectful in the sales copy and program videos/literature.
Im just starting out using the internet so there is a lot that I don’t know aboutbut Im bombarded with lots and lots of offers and this can get info overloadso sometimes Im not sure what is a good thing or not,but would like to team up with a person who can show me the way to build a business .
It’s nothing personal, I don’t have a problem with your emails. It’s just that, generally, I get so much rubbish vs. useful information through my inbox, it is very hard to deal with it all.I ‘unsubcribe’ from all lists where the promotions exceed the information.I personally feel that in a lot of cases we get bombarded with “offers” – often almost immediately we have bought/looked at the marketer’s own product.I hate upsells or OTOs and would rather pay a higher price for an all inclusive product at the point of sale. (I also know that’s not the marketing model as taught by most IMers!)Paul, we are bombarded with emails from so many lists that I spam list 80-90% of them now (too much effort to unsubscribe). Give us an email that tells us what you are linking us to rather than just a link. I would recommend a two prong approachwith 1 email (say weekly) something for newbies -Call it newbie friendly for example and something for the more established marketer -Call it Succes Builder for established marketers. (same email broken into two parts) It would take a little more time to set up initially but once done you would have an email that caters for both. This would be your “I love you customer” email with useful links and the second email would be product specific.
More info for newbies, as to the best places to go to get things set up on a minimal budget!
Email titles that clearly state in the title whether its info or a sales offer only (I know this may affect your click through/open rate). Also clearly state at the start of the email what the email is about and how advanced a strategy it is and then maybe link to the bulk of the info on your blog or as a PDF download.
Hi Paul, I don’t remember what you have been sending me but I can tell you what I like and don’t like. I hate when I get mail where someone is pulling tricks probably taught by gurus such as download this, or per your request, or support, or you just made a sale, or stuff like that. I also hate to get every clickbank product offer known to man. I really hate those pop ups that won’t let you leave a website too. I think only one that offers a discount is not too bad. I love simple honesty! I am signed up to too many lists, but at least I see the bad stuff people are doing out there and I know that I won’t be doing it! I am sure your not doing that or I would have unsubscribed already.
More online advice for the New starting Internet Marketers who suffering a huge information overload and not seem to find what we need like:
- How to do good research (a dicected example would realy help),
- Keyword research and how to apply,
- traffic sources and how to use them.
- How to setup your business (ltd, plc) and when do you do this, best moment to do and it would help if this is related in my case to a UK based IM marketer
The e-mails I open first are from, in order:
1. People whose products I have bought and found to be valuable.
2. People I know from forums who are generous with help and support.
3. People who provide good content mixed in with offers, and don’t ever try to sucker me into “magic button” or “secret loophole” approaches. If a marketer finds the actual product behind a tacky over-the-top sales page to be useful and a good value, he’d better tell me so in his e-mail instead of sending me blind to a page like the “stripper secret software” from a few weeks ago.Oh, and about the coaching question: I checked the “donate button” option, but what I’d really like to see is a kind of “partnership coaching” option: help me reach an achievement goal (not necessarily just an income goal, it could be number of pages that have made a sale or something similar) and I’ll gladly “tithe” an agreed-upon percentage of profit along the way. I don’t know if that approach would turn out to be profitable for the coach, but it’s something I haven’t seen before: could be worth a try.
I don’t like personal addressing ie Hi XXXX?
I don’t like long emails
I like the title of the email to descibe the content.
So there you have it … just a small selection from the varied comments I received, but lots of fascinating food for thought there for any marketer, whatever stage of internet marketing they’re at.
Please leave your own thoughts, comments and experiences below …
Why I’m Quitting Giveaways (But Suggest You Don’t!)
Posted by: | CommentsThat’s it, it’s over, the end of a wonderful relationship!
I’m talking about Giveaway events.
I discovered them well over a year ago, and we’ve enjoyed a wonderful time together ever since.
But now I’m ditching them!
Why?
Because it’s time for my business to move on, and that means repositioning myself in the marketplace.
I do much, much more than Giveaways in my business and I personally need to move on so that I become associated with other areas of Internet marketing which will form the longer term foundations of my business.
But let me be very clear, although the relationship is ending, we’ve had a wonderful time together.
# When I was stuck – absolutely stuck – on just 25 subscribers using all the usual methods (blog posts, article marketing and so on) Giveaways rapidly accelerated me to 100, 200 and beyond.
# When I realised the power of Giveaways I held my own events … these sent my subscribers into the 1000s and my income into 4 figures.
# From that base, I moved my business into 5 figures from growing my list, marketing to them, and driving traffic through my blog and other offers.
# Through JV partnerships and connections formed through this work, I went on to pour all my experience of Giveaways into my Auto Cash Funnel product and that has now given me a 6 figure income.
Phew!
I owe it all to Giveaways.
I love these events, and it’s a sad day leaving them behind.
But my professional background is broadcasting, I have massive online experience over nearly ten years now (I was surprised to learn that it’s that long myself!) and now it’s time to move my business in the long term direction I always intended.
Webinars will be an integral part of what I do in future.
A lot of my subscribers will have joined me in my coaching webinars in the past, and now my Auto Cash Funnel launch is completed, I will be returning to them.
My next product launch will be in social media – something completely different – and many of my own subscribers are already helping me to beta test my next launch.
Don’t ever be put off by people who say that Giveaways are ‘old news’ or ‘not as busy as they used to be’.
There will always be newbies in Giveaways and they will always be an excellent place to start and grow a list.
But you also need to know when to leave them.
I recommend that you do that when your list is at 1000 subscribers … I have stayed longer because I had the technical abilities to create my own events and grow my list massively.
I also stayed longer to see through my Auto Cash Funnel launch.
But today I handed over my Giveaway listings website to my good friend Adrienne Lee.
I met Adrienne in Giveaways, we ‘clicked’ immediately, and I will be forever grateful to Adrienne for her help in webinars and in creating my own Auto Cash Funnel product.
Like me Adrienne loves Giveaways and is now holding her own events, so I know that my listings site is in excellent hands and she will continue to provide an excellent service to contributors and members alike.
And now I am going to focus on my next software launch, working with my coder to bring a really powerful service to potentially thousands of new customers.
I have a hot product on my hands … I know it’s hot because I just spent the last 4 days at an entire weekend devoted to Facebook Marketing.
I also intend to throw myself back into webinars … I met up with my mentor Steven Essa at this weekend’s conference so the timing couldn’t be better.
I hope that soon, if you’ve just started your own list building, you will be writing your own blog post just like this.
I’m convinced that Giveaways are the best way to build a list when you have nothing.
They’re a great way to start … quite simply, they work!
And I will be forever grateful to them for getting my own online career going when I had almost given up trying to build a list and make money online.
What about you? What do you think?
My Biggest Internet Marketing Mistake (And Why I Nearly Quit)
Posted by: | CommentsHappy New Year!
I really hope that this is the year you experience your own online breakthrough and that I can help you to achieve your goals.
There are no sales in this post, just a confession which I hope will help you in your own online business.
Exactly one year ago I made the biggest mistake in my own online career.
I had worked hard to build my subscriber list to over 1000 in Giveaways.
And I had a special offer planned to send to my subscribers which I thought was going to be my big breakthrough.
But I messed up BIG TIME!
I had decided to send out 4 versions of my killer email as a split test.
But I got it wrong and sent 4 different emails about the same product to each and every one of my subscribers.
I didn’t even realise until I had gone to bed that night … and it suddenly dawned on me what I had done.
Not only had I messed up my big opportunity, I had spammed all those hard won subscribers and probably messed up my entire online career.
Or that’s what I thought at the time!
I didn’t know how to deal with the mess, but I leapt out of bed and decided that total honesty is always the best policy.
I wrote to my subscribers apologizing for sending them 4 emails and reassuring them that it was an accident on my part
I contacted AWeber and told them that I might be getting some spam complaints on my account, but that it was the result of an accident.
I contacted the provider of the product I was promoting, apologizing if I had brought their product into disrepute and warning them of possible spam complaints.
And I went back to bed feeling terrible.
I thought my Internet marketing career was over!
I woke up the next day almost too nervous to open my emails.
But what I got was an amazing surprise.
I had received the most ‘reply’ emails from subscribers that I have ever had before or since.
Each one congratulated me on my email of apology, saying how refreshing it was to have someone take the time and trouble to do that.
AWeber thanked me for letting them know what was going on and reassured me that it was fine as I had explained what had happened.
The service that I was promoting had got back to me to thanked me for getting in contact and to say it was fine and they’d monitor any complaints.
And you know what?
I’d made what I thought was the biggest mistake of my online career, but it had only served to improve my reputation because of the way I had dealt with it.
I learned a lot from that incident, and I want to pass it on to you as we begin a new year of Internet Marketing in 2011:
1) It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes, it only matters how you deal with them
2) Honesty and openess is always the best course of action
3) You can always retrieve something that has gone wrong, and you will always learn something postive from things that didn’t work out
So, as we enter a brand new year, please go forward with enthusiasm and ambition, but don’t beat yourself up if you get things wrong, or make mistakes.
Dust yourself down, do what you can to put things right, and carry on as you were, equipped with new knowledge.
I honestly nearly threw in the towel exactly a year ago today.
I felt terrible, like I’d wasted everything I had worked for up to that point.
But it worked out fine.
And in the past month I exceeded my wildest expectations and launched a 6-figure, Clickbank Top 5 product.
I’m so pleased now that I didn’t ‘call it a day’ this time last year.
And you will feel exactly the same way if you keep working through the obstacles that you will inevitably encounter in 2011 … along with just as many ‘highs’ of course, as your subscriber list builds, you begin to drive more traffic, forge excellent JV partnerships and generate a better online income.
Keep going – it’s really worth it!
Leave me a comment below to share your thoughts with me.
My product launch exposed!
Posted by: | CommentsPhew!
I just closed the doors on my joint product launch with Chris Freville begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting after 2 weeks of frenetic activity.
And what a launch it was!
We reached position 5 in Clickbank’s E-business & E-marketing (that’s what counts for Internet Marketers) and we went to 6 figures within the first week … and it’s still rising! (Yes, you still make sales even when you’re closed)
Here are 5 things I want to share with you about the product launch, because they will help you massively in your own internet marketing.
They will give you insights and information that you could only get once you’ve done this for yourself.
I’ve included tips and techniques that will be useful to you whatever size of launch you’re aiming for.
Remember, although it’s very nice, not every launch has to gross 6 figures … the most important think is that you just get started, because everything else flows from there
Product Launch Tip 1: Upsells Exposed
Many customers hate upsells … with a passion!
We received many helpdesk rants from customers saying how much they detest upsells and exit splashes.
Yet these complaints are from the same people who are trying to make money online.
And my blunt advice to people who hate upsells and exit splash pages?
Get used to it, or prepare to leave massive sums of money of the table.
I’m not going to give precise figures for the Auto Cash Funnel launch, only JV partners and coaching clients get that information but let me break it down by percentages for you:
Front end = 49% of total income
Upsell 1 = 29% of total income
Upsell 2 = 18% of total income
Coaching option = 4% of total income (but monthly, recurring remember)
So upsells – however unpopular – account for over 50% of total sales.
If you’re really serious about making money online, I wonder how you feel about upsells now you’ve seen that breakdown of figures
Product Launch Tip 2: Helpdesk Issues Exposed
I’m really lucky, I teamed up with my coaching mentor Chris Freville for the launch of Auto Cash Funnel and as a veteran of many Clickbank launches, he has a support desk team in place.
I have my own support desk which I have been able to handle on my own until now, but am I glad we had Chris’s team available for this launch!
I’d had an insight into what a really busy helpdesk is like because I helped Chris out during his Stealth Profit Machines launch earlier in the year.
The volume of interactions on the helpdesk is very high during a launch and is made up of all sorts of queries … complaints, compliments, refund requests, lost download page links … you name it, you’ll have a helpdesk support ticket about it.
I very quickly modified many elements of our sales process based on feedback during pre-launch … so where I hadn’t been clear enough about something or if an instruction was not as clear as I thought, I fixed as many of those as possible before the main launch.
But there’s nothing quite like having hundreds of people moving through your coaching product, and if you missed a vital instruction, you’ll soon find out about it
Chris was absolutely right before we launched … I thought I’d just be able to help out on the helpdesk, but in actual fact, my efforts were best placed elsewhere, on fixing ‘big picture’ problems and refining the process as any problems became evident.
In fact I’ve only just surfaced now – a week after closing the doors – it’s that busy!
Another thing I wasn’t aware of was just how unpleasant some people can be.
You get the rudest emails from people … and this is before they’ve even given you the opportunity to help them.
I guess it just shows how much distrust there is around online purchases – many people think it’s all a scam.
If you’re one of those people who writes rude or offensive emails, a tip for you … it never, ever gives you any advantage in an email exchange, and frankly just slows down the resolution of your problem.
The best thing you can do if you have any kind of problem is:
a) raise a ticket with the support desk … that link is always clear in Clickbank launches
b) explain clearly and politely what the problem is, give as much detail as possible, including links and screen grabs if you know how do it
c) always include your receipt details for all products purchased
d) be assured that if it’s a Clickbank product, your money is safe and you will get a refund if that’s what you want. In Clickbank launches, Clickbank handles the money, the marketers get none of it for several days and a large amount is always held back for refunds.
So, in summary, my helpdesk advice is … get one and ship in staff or friends to run it for you, be prepared to be busy … and develop a thick skin!
Product Launch Tip 3: JVs Are Your Number 1 Asset
When I first started running my own Giveaway events, the thing that surprised me most was the power of having JV partners.
I started running my own events to make money, drive huge traffic and build my list fast … and it did all of those things.
But the big surprise for me was the wonderful relationships that it helped me to forge with other marketers – some bigger than me, some smaller – but all wonderful, productive and mutually beneficial partnerships which continue to flourish today.
It’s those partners who support you in a launch and help to drive massive traffic to your offers.
It’s why I recommend politeness and courtesy in all your online dealings … the person you’re ranting at today, might be the person you want to do business with tomorrow. Be nice!
I’ll let you into a secret … one of my most beneficial online partnerships began with me seeking a refund for a product I’d purchased and was unhappy with.
I won’t tell you the name of the marketer … but let me assure you, I’m so pleased I followed my own advice now
Chris and I rewarded our JVs with 60% commissions and some massive prizes and reciprocal mailings and we’re already planning our mailing schedule to make sure that we swiftly honour our commitments.
Our JVs rewarded us with massive support, and without them there would have been no 6-figure, Clickbank number 5 launch.
One of the biggest thrills for me was seeing massive marketers whom I admire immensely, supporting my launch … Ewen Chia, Dave Guindon, Lee McIntyre among many, many others.
These are all people whose products I have bought and rated, and it has been a great honour having them support my own launch with Chris.
So nurture, support and value your JV partners … and never forget how important they are to your own success in your scramble to make money online.
Product Launch Tip 4: It’s Hard Work!
It’s absolutely true that when you have your breakthrough online you will make money ‘on autopilot’ and if you’ve ever held down a day job, or lived on a salary, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of finally being able to make money on the internet.
But let me be very clear, it takes a lot of hard work and if you don’t have the stomach for that, best call it a day now.
Is it worth it?
You bet it is!
It’s an amazing feeling for me to be able to be writing this blog post in Spain, on Christmas Day, with my kids laughing their heads off as they play with their new Wii, and with sunshine and beautiful blue skies outside.
I am maintaining my online business using a laptop and 3G dongle whilst having the adventure of a lifetime with my family … and that’s what internet marketing is all about for me …freedom and choice.
But don’t for one minute assume that this just dropped in my lap … my personal online journey began 8 years or so ago, and in that time I have taken massive financial risks and sacrificed a lot of family time.
That’s why I’m in Spain with my family at the moment … it’s a ‘thank you’ for their support and patience.
It’s the same with my mentor Chris too … wow, he works hard, and he’s made hundreds of thousands of pounds online in the past few years.
And he worked hard to get where he is today too … but it gives him and his family a wonderful freedom that you can’t get in a day job.
So, if you’re still struggling online, keep at it, understand that it takes hard work for everybody … but that you’re not wasting your time, that everybody has to do it, that is really is worth it and that persistence is the best attribute you could have.
And yes, Auto Cash Funnel really is the best way to do it in my opinion … it’s how I did it and it really does work … just remember that essential ingredient – persistence.
Product Launch Tip 5: Don’t Forget Your Download Pages!
Something that became very apparent to me whilst active in Giveaways was the value of putting free offers on your download pages.
It drives massive traffic for you and the trick for you is to place high converting ‘free’ offers in the path of that traffic.
But my jaw dropped when I saw the the level of sales generated by the JV offers on our Auto Cash Funnel download pages, especially the offer that was positioned right at the top of the page.
That downloads page is a piece of premium real estate, reserve it only for your most valued JVs … and whatever you do, never leave it empty of additional offers.
And as a headstart for a top converting affiliate progam, make sure that you sign up here and get some of Lee McIntyre’s offers in your sales funnel, you will not regret it
Product launches – what’s in it for me?
There are many product launches going on every week and the marketplace is now very crowded with them.
I’ve heard of many marketers who actually lost money on product launches in 2010 and there’s a lesson in that for all of us.
My personal feeling is that the membership model is more sustainable long term, and that a strategy of perpetual mini-launches which lead to continuity are the best option … you get all of the benefits, over a longer period, with less personal risk.
And those benefits can be considerable … you can build a massive, active list very fast (5 figures for Auto Cash Funnel alone in just 2 weeks!), generate equity in your own product and a residual online income, build amazing JV partnerships (a year ago I received Ewen Chia’s book for Christmas, this year he was my top leaderboard JV partner), make money (of course!) and learn … a lot … as I have just done.
And the learning never stops remember … I’m about to move my own business onto the next phase with a much quieter product launch later in the year and a move to small group coaching and membership sites.
At each stage I will need to learn new things along the way, forge new partnerships, take advice from people who are further along the line than me, but the learning never stops.
Wherever you are in your own internet marketing career, I hope that you will gain some useful tips from this post and I’d welcome your comments and input below.
What are your thoughts on the subject?
