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Sherry Gordon
--TOP WEB BUSINESS/SUCCESS BUILDERS--
Welcome back... -- This is Day Four of six of the e-seminar you
requested...
--In the first three days, we covered, of The Progression...
1.Starting with a populous, in-need, and willing-to-pay niche
market that isn’t saturated by other webmarketers (and that you
can enjoy)
2.A powerful, "hands-off" website
(--1--)
3.Great website set-up and copywriting
4.Well-targeted keywords
(--2--)
5.Getting links in to your site
6.Automating everything in sight
7.Adding in some (more and more?) of The Notable Extras
8.Focusing - economizing - persevering - and intensifying
(--3--)
--TODAY, we'll be going into the last two items of The
Progression...
9.Testing your results for the greatest profit potential
10. Thinking creatively, experimenting, and being ready to flex
and innovate
And the first two of The Notable Extras...
1.Joining affiliate programs
2.Your own e-zine
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9.TESTING YOUR RESULTS FOR THE GREATEST PROFIT
POTENTIAL
Testing can be a bother, certainly (unless you get fascinated
with it!).It takes time.And maybe, if you -are- accruing some
money that you're happy with, you won't want to bother.
But the fact is that the -most- successful people do track their
results...And test them against the results of other likely
permutations of what they're doing.They constantly seek what's
-optimum-.
And those are the people whose businesses keep growing.In other
words, if you want to be -more- successful, testing is in order.
Besides...You're probably going to get curious!
So what do you do?The simple answer is:Try two versions of
something--and keep the one with the best results.Then try that
and -another- promising-looking idea, and compare again.That's
it!(Oh, and remember to keep a backup copy of the original!)
This can mean trying one thing for a week or a month, then trying
another.(You want to test each thing long enough to capture a
goodly number of "reactions" to it--page views, clicks, orders,
whatever).
Or you can set up two similar-but-different pages, let's say,
that you send people to.For instance, if you place an ad in an
e-zine, the editor might be willing to send half his subscribers
a version with your page URL one way, and the other half with a
second page URL.Or you can test with an ad in one edition, then
the other ad in the next one.
Here's another way to do "split-run testing", as we've just been
talking about (i.e., scientific experimentation), if your webhost
is Unix-based and allows you to run cgi scripts...Software that
allows you to -alternate- two different webpages (while still
allowing the SEs to read them).It's called the "Scientific Web
Marketing System", and it's not expensive--
http://profitinfo.com/cgi-bin/v4.cgi?PI525.For serious
marketers, it might be well worth the bother.
-What- can you test?Oh gosh... just about anything -might- be
having an effect on how people react to your site, or your
e-zine, et al.
Here's a short list of ideas:
---Search engine ranking factors (meta tags, descriptions,
titles, headline tags, keyword repetition in the text, etc.)
---Visual elements (colors, fonts, animated vs. static, white
space, frames or not, positioning on page, graphics, etc.)
---Textual elements (headlines, copywriting language and style,
wording for hyperlinks, affiliate link introduction verbiage,
sigfiles, etc.)
---Other "psychology stuff" (copywriting, testimonials, music?,
price, guarantee, time limitations, bonuses, ads, etc.)
Yeah, it could be fun!
Services like "Site Build It!"
(http://buildit.sitesell.com/granite.html), with great built-in
statistics, are really useful for many kinds of tracking and
testing.
SiteSell's "5 Pillar Affiliate Program" also offers the excellent
free "Ultimate Link Tracker" software--which costs $47 elsewhere,
and which shows you the results of your ads and affiliate links.
See details on the 5P Program at
http://www.sitesell.com/granite.html.(And a few individual
affiliate programs allow for specific-link tracking.)
You can test offline too, of course--direct marketing experts do
this all the time.They code their ads so as to differentiate
the results.This is generally much more expensive, though, than
testing online, where it's so simple a matter to make a change to
a page.And e-zines have a far shorter ad-insertion-to-
publication timeframe than print magazines do.(And, as I
intimated, can far more easily do "split runs" to test ads--not
that all editors would be willing.)
However you go about it, testing gives you a sharper edge with
which to cut through the competition.
The bottom line, though, is...Even if you don't -have-
competitors, you still need to figure out how to attract
customers/viewers.Testing helps you figure out the -best- way.
Because you, the Gurus, and I don't know what's best in your
case...But your customers and site visitors will show you, if
you let them.
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10. THINKING CREATIVELY, EXPERIMENTING, AND
BEING READY TO FLEX AND INNOVATE
Here we circle around back to the beginning, in a way...Because
of course you have to think creatively to come up with a great
website idea!
That was very analytical, too. ...You were matching up your own
inclinations and talents with the penchants of prospective
customers--and then the incidence of other marketers also
targeting that group of folks.
Hmm, I guess we could say that creativity and strategic thinking
go very well together as business partners!
To be creative, all you really have to do is look around with
blinders off.New bits of information and juxtapositions of
ideas are coming at you all the time...You can decide to
filter them out--or let them simmer in your mind.Can't cook
anything new up without ingredients, you know.
Same ingredients--rearranged?In a different context?In
different amounts, maybe. ...Or adding in new ones.
Experimenting.(That's what testing is about, after all.)
Thinking ahead.Important for most businesses--but especially on
the web.Because you know how much the web changes!
So don't hide -too- much from the deluge of webmarketing
information that abounds on the internet...
E-zines, websites, and discussion forums certainly can take up a
lot of time--and you've got to protect yourself from overload.
But select a few that you really resonate with--and that seem to
be forward-looking.You'll glean hints of new trends, and clues
as to which are washing away.
Particularly if you're involved in affiliate marketing or other
types of joint ventures with other businesses, flexing could be a
life-saver. ...If one of your partners goes belly up, you should
be ready to carry on.-Your- business should stand apart on its
own merits.
(That's one reason -not- to rely on affiliate-related mini-sites
as your sole business endeavor. ...Unless, of course, you have a
number of them!)
But being flexible is important in general...If you're in the
habit of thinking ahead, your business won't petrify and be left
behind in a dwindling eddy.You'll also catch some of those
waves on the swell and be positioned to benefit more than others.
And you'll have fun!
Mingle with those who are forward-thinking like you...They'll
make the best joint venture partners and idea-generators.
Being ready to flex will protect you from rocks and waterfalls
upstream.Innovation, coupled with strategic thinking, will (to
morph the watery metaphor) keep you leap-frogging ahead instead
of falling behind.
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Really, successful webmarketing seems to me to be a mix of the
right attitudes as well as the right choices and skills.
It's very useful to remember this incontrovertible fact:
Everybody who's successful in webmarketing today started out
somewhere!Their businesses didn't grow overnight--they -evolved-
into success.Some faster than others... but some pushed harder
than others, I betcha.(I.e., they intensified.)Others waited
more patiently?
In any case, the thing I left out of The Progression, you're
doing...Getting a little smarter all the time.
Put it to good use!
Next, we'll start delving into more of those choices... The
Notable Extras.
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THE NOTABLE EXTRAS (in no particular order):
First, a word about the items in this list (and what -isn't-
here)...
Some people do make money doing other things.For instance,
heading up your own discussion forum can be a useful -marketing-
tool, as well as a means of drawing people to your website...
You can place ads in an e-mail digest that goes out to
subscribers who don't even -participate- in the discussions.
The reason that isn't in my "top ten" list is that moderating
a discussion forum takes a lot of time, daily time.And I
don't favor UNmoderated discussions. ...But if you've got the
time and the stomach for it, by all means consider giving it a
try!
These are the routes I feel are the most effective for the
frugal webmarketer (i.e., where residual effects come from a
judicial use of one's time and money)...
1.JOINING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS -- and going for the
easiest money
Whether you sell something yourself or not, affiliate programs
(associate programs, referral programs, etc.) can be an excellent
way to support or supplement a web business.
But to make a significant amount of money with them, you have to
choose--and use--them wisely.I'll refer you back to "The
Affiliate Marketing Primer" (http://www.AffiliatePrimer.com) for
the details.But in essence...
To achieve the greatest success, seek at least a -core- of
affiliate programs that:
---Pay high commissions (which includes having the potential for
repeat sales, and perhaps two-tier commissions).
---You can promote effectively to a wide audience (and this goes
back to the common sense of having a website that will be
attractive to the optimal type of buyer/clicker).
In other words, promote some of the golden opportunities...Even
if you also play around with apt but lesser-paying programs.
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2.YOUR OWN E-ZINE -- to establish a relationship
with your visitors, for repeated chances to sell/pre-sell, and to
build your reputation and reach
The best reason to have an e-zine is the same best reason to set
up an auto-responder course, or have a print newsletter, or a
newspaper column...To get your message -comfortably- in front
of a targeted audience, -often-.
Why?Because advertisers (and market researchers) both offline
and online have proven that it takes -most- people -several-
exposures to an idea before they get around to buying something.
-Several- exposures.
That means that those folks who buy directly from your site
represent only a fraction of the total number of people who
-might- be persuaded to buy from you! ...If only you jollied them
along a little more--gave them more time to come around to
feeling good about making a purchase from you.
Of course, -some- of those people who buy from you -have- seen
your ad or your affiliate program's links before.But it seems
that most people who -don't- buy from you aren't going to come
back for a second chance on their own.
If you woo them with an e-zine, though, not only will you have
many chances to encourage them to do what your goal for them
is...
---Your demonstrated expertise will be persuasive in itself.
---Not to mention that you'll be providing them with valuable
information, for which they'll be grateful.(Well, -most- people
are grateful.)
---And some of your subscribers will even tell other people about
your e-zine, so that some people will come to your site "through
the back door"...
---And eventually click/buy.
Here's the real kicker:Many webmarketers have found that they
make much more from their e-zine-prompted sales/affiliate link
clicks than they do from their website.So perhaps it's that
most people subscribe to your -e-zine- through the back door!
The other good reason to get up an e-zine is that its growing
subscriber base, and your growing reputation, will put you in the
position of being able to draw advertisers and joint venture
partners.(See more about joint venturing in #10.)
You don't have to overwhelm yourself by doing a weekly (or daily,
God forbid!) publication; nor does it have to be terribly long.
(In fact, most people don't appreciate the long ones as much as
the shorter ones--too much e-mail overload.)
It doesn't even have to be regular.I only send out website
updates, irregularly.Considering e-mail overload, I prefer to
-get- that type, too, rather than be subjected to "filler" in a
weekly e-zine just because there wasn't a whole lot to report.
Just keep in touch.
Here's a great instruction manual for how to go about planning
and implementing an e-zine of your own...Dr. Mani's "E-zine
Launch", a step-by-step e-book (also an excellent example of
e-book design!--see #4):
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?JETTA/doctormani.Dr. Mani is a
great strategic thinker and will help you start your e-zine
"smart".
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That'll be it for now.In the next-to-last day of the seminar,
we'll look at the next four items in The Notable Extras list...
3.An auto-responder course
4.E-books
5.Starting your own affiliate program
6.Submitting to pay-per-click search engines
See you then!
Sherry Gordon
www.AffiliatePrimer.com
www.ThinkJointVenture.com
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