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Sherry Gordon
--TOP WEB BUSINESS/SUCCESS BUILDERS--
Once again welcome... -- This is Day Five of six of the e-seminar
you requested...
--In the first four 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--)
9.Testing your results for the greatest profit potential
10. Thinking creatively, experimenting, and being ready to flex
and innovate
And of The Notable Extras...
1.Joining affiliate programs
2.Your own e-zine
--TODAY, we'll be charging ahead with the next four items of
The Notable Extras...
3.An auto-responder course
4.E-books
5.Starting your own affiliate program
6.Submitting to pay-per-click search engines
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3.AN AUTO-RESPONDER COURSE -- to establish a
relationship with your visitors, and for repeated, leisurely
chances to sell/pre-sell
An auto-responder allows you to send -sequential- e-mail
messages...This is an essential tool for those who do any
sort of follow-up marketing.(This harkens back to "Automating
everything in sight!")Many people use the more powerful type
of auto-responder software to automate the bulk of their e-mail
customer service inquiries. ...What a fabulous time-saver it
can be!
As with e-zines, auto-responder -courses- are excellent ways to
"soft" sell...To "brand" a product into the minds of the
reader, perhaps several times, in a gentle manner.
They're also a very convenient way for people to absorb
information, since the e-mail messages can be read at leisure
offline.
And if you put such a course together...You're an author!
I'd like to tell you about two auto-responder courses that are
outstanding examples of the genre.I highly recommend that you
take them--and study them!...
I've already told you about the "Affiliate Masters" course, by
Ken Evoy (blank e-mail to:mailto:tamsgranite@sitesell.net).I
could recommend it for a number of good reasons, for its
content--but now let's focus on technique.
This course gives -tons- of excellent in-depth information... for
free.It's -impressive-... and that's good advertising (branding)
for Ken and SiteSell.It supports several of Ken's SiteSell
products, and his "5 Pillar Affiliate Program" itself.And
because he has an active cadre of affiliates promoting his
products, the e-course supports -their- efforts by giving them
something of value to give away for free to their website
visitors.(Or whoever--I've been speaking as though affiliate
programs are website-related simply because this e-seminar is
about webmarketing. ...But some people do promote affiliate
programs to good effect offline.)
Ken also really knows how to write for the e-world, so studying
his style is a good idea too.Even if you've already perused
this course at some time in the past, you'll likely gain from a
second look, from this new perspective.
On to number two...Professional writer and writing teacher
Steve Manning's "Write A Book Fast Newsletter"--which you can
sign up for via the sales site...
http://www.clickbank.com/marketplace/?r=alliesunme&s=1&i=10&t=ClickBank_Marketplace.
First of all, Steve specifically uses this e-course as a means of
reassuring and "luring" people who -don't- buy right away on his
sales site.His product--a truly revolutionary tutorial package
that -guarantees- that you will be able to write a book (fiction
or non-fiction) in 14 days or less--is on the costly side...His
e-course backs up his sales site in showing people why it's also
a great deal!
I was blown away by his course--it's interactive!With -him-...
he's really there, responding personally to messages you send
him--unheard of!And highly effective, as you might imagine.
While you might think, "No way am I going to be that devoted to
the cause!" (nor I, as you see), I really encourage you to go
through the whole series of Steve's messages (there are about a
dozen)...To study the psychology behind them and the succession
of them (as well as to benefit from the writing tips). ...Really
interesting stuff therein.
Steve's course also is in support of an affiliate program.In
other words, he's written it -because of- his affiliates. ...He
-knows- that it takes most people a number of times of "rubbing
up against" a higher ticket item before they buy.His affiliates
will benefit from -the increased conversion rate- of lookers to
buyers, because of this auto-responder course.(Something to
keep in mind if -you- set up an affiliate program.)
Besides, next up is e-books, and Steve really can show you how to
write, -fast-!(Guaranteed.He also shows you how to get an
agent and get published in the paper book world.He'll even
personally edit your finished product as part of the deal... !
Guy may be a little crazy with benevolence--but there's no doubt
that he's a pro.)
GetResponse.com is about the easiest auto-responder service to
use--it happens all online, from -their- servers.There are free
versions and not-free versions (i.e., for a monthly fee)...Find
out about them at:http://www.getresponse.com/?36333
If you think you'll have multiple auto-responders--for instance,
for one or more courses and/or for other e-mail applications--
think in terms of getting your own software...
I've done quite a bit of research on the options, and I feel that
Postmaster is the best bet.(You may have heard of Mailloop,
which has been around for a few years...It's good--but
Postmaster tops it, in features, ease of use, and reported
customer service issues, -and- it costs $100 less!)Postmaster
manages any number of auto-responders, filters contact
information from your e-mail and any web forms directed to your
site, and handles deletes and undeliverables.It also
automatically backs up your database and handles your e-mail, if
you wish.(It even includes a contact manager and appointment
scheduler!)
This is software that resides on -your- computer.The possible
downside to going with this over a monthly online service is that
your computer must be on 24 hours a day to run your auto-
responders.And, of course, you have to pay up front--but only
once!See the very informative site (and try it risk-free) at:
http://post-master.net/rs/autoresponder/
(Oh, and if you do an auto-responder course?...Let me save you
a little trouble:Don't use numbers and bullets in your word
processing program, expecting them to transfer to your notepad!)
----------
4.E-BOOKS -- free (viral marketing) and/or sold
E-books are big these days...One of those great ideas that's
really taking hold.They're convenient, cheap as all get out to
produce, easy to distribute, and excellent for branding.
Plus, if they're free, they're very likely to be passed on--if
not so much from person to person, from site to site.(That's
the "viral" part, in case you were wondering--i.e.,
"communicable"!)A free e-book download written by someone else
is of value to many webmasters...
---As a bonus report to clinch a sale
---As an enticement to sign up for an e-zine
---As a tool to help out a sub-affiliate team
---As clarification of your affiliate product that they're
selling
For you too!To those advantages, add others -you- can make use
of as a webmaster, and perhaps merchant...
---A convenient way to gather together your articles for
download
---Your catalog
---Details about your products, or how to benefit from them
---Your own report on the affiliate products you sell, written
from an angle specific to your niche market
---A way to gather downloaders' e-mail addresses (e.g., if
they're prompted to "register" the book)
---And of course, a way to make money if you sell the e-book
---...Perhaps using it as the basis for an affiliate program
Plus, being an author of -anything- can work greatly to your
advantage.Especially being an author of a "book".Consider:
There are a -great- many experts out there... who we know
nothing of, because they haven't written a book.Write a book,
and you're an -acknowledged- expert.
Don't think you have a book in you?I'll bet Monique Harris can
convince you that you do! ...And that you're perfectly capable
of getting it out, since she could.She'll show you how (with
support from Ken Evoy) in the excellent e-book, "Make Your
Knowledge Sell!":http://myks.sitesell.com/granite.html
MYKS' subtitle is "How to sell your brain on the Net"--so there's
a whole lot more to it than how to identify and get out what's in
your brain.(There -is- very useful stuff in there, too--your
brain, I mean.)Get a taste of what the whole package is all
about via the free "InfoProduct Masters" e-course...Send a
blank e-mail message to:mailto:timsgranite@sitesell.net
Here are some ideas to hearten those who think they can't write
at all...
---Interview other people instead
---Have someone interview -you-
---Interview yourself!
---Record yourself telling someone what you know--then transcribe
it (or get someone else to transcribe it)
Really, this is open to anyone, one way or another...Get those
creative juices flowing!
(And of course, Steve Manning--remember him from the last
section?--can make any extensive writing project go much more
smoothly... http://www.clickbank.com/marketplace/?r=alliesunme&s=1&i=10&t=ClickBank_Marketplace .)
----------
5.STARTING YOUR OWN AFFILIATE PROGRAM --
branding (and selling) like crazy
As we've alluded to in previous sections, having your -own-
affiliate program can be a powerful means of building your
business.It's a largely self-perpetuating income-generating
machine--especially if you make it two-tier...And allow the
affiliates -you- recruit to recruit others.
See "The Affiliate Marketing Primer"
(http://www.AffiliatePrimer.com) for the basics on starting a
program...But what do you have that you could start it
-around-??
How about that e-book discussed above?Many successful programs
have been built around one or more e-books that are useful to a
broad range of people...Particularly to webmasters--but an
e-book can be attractive to -anyone- who's computer-literate.
(I've seen them on many disparate, non-webmastery subjects.)
Other programs, as you may have noticed, recompense webmasters
for website-traffic-building clicks or leads.Some affiliate
merchants provide services, some sell products--courses,
software, equipment, toys, food... you name it.(Hey, I've even
seen one that sells English peer titles!)
Can't come up with something of your own? ...What about joint
venturing with someone who does have something unique to offer
but hasn't thought about doing this herself?
When you come up with your great idea...Or if you -have- your
own affiliate program now but it hasn't really gotten off the
ground...I recommend that you take advantage of an exceptional
e-book by Neil Durrant (of the very handy "Affiliate Announce"
service) called The Practical Guide to Creating and Managing a
Profitable Affiliate Program.
It goes into all the details about how best to set up an
affiliate program, recruit and train affiliates, handle tracking
and payments, publicize it, and to whom.Find out more about
Neil's excellent book at
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com/u/affiliat/t.asp?id=1075&p=
practicalguide[you'll need to copy this entire URL and enter
it into your browser by hand, I'm afraid].The entire table of
contents is online at Neil's site, and you can also download
sample chapters there for free.
As an educational aside, Neil started with a service (Affiliate
Announce--where he hand-submits new affiliate programs to 40
affiliate program directories:
http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com/u/affiliat/t.asp?id=1075) as
his affiliate program.As his expertise grew, he added in an
-enhanced- service (consultation with affiliate program managers,
ensuring that their submissions are approached optimally).Then
he added in the training book I talked about.
His is a two-tier program, so he has the potential of gaining
participants via the efforts of other people.He naturally
"announces" his program to many affiliate directories himself.
He also sends news releases about his offerings to affiliate
marketing-related e-zines (that's where I first heard about him).
And like Steve Manning and Ken Evoy, he supports his business and
his affiliates with supplemental ongoing-branding efforts--auto-
responder mini-courses.
..Which is just to illustrate what a single person can do,
without a great deal of trouble.
For those thinking of being affiliate merchants, perhaps the best
advice is just...Get it going--and let it grow.
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6.SUBMITTING TO PAY-PER-CLICK SEARCH ENGINES --
the best bang for the buck
The "regular" (for-free) search engines are becoming ever more
difficult to get good rankings in--or -any- rankings, in some
cases...The pay-per-clicks, though, are definitely on the
upswing.
Many webmasters know not to bother much with submitting to the
myriad of little SEs that abound on the net...Those submit-to-
the-multitudes programs can be problematical in sending
-unwanted- traffic to both your website and, particularly, to
your e-mailbox. ...Also in re-submitting to engines that don't
-like- to be re-submitted to.
Several of the major SEs and directories have instituted fairly
high-priced (for the bootstrapper) fees for expedited service--or
for any attention being paid to your site at all.(And they
don't even guarantee a listing!)
You may know all this--and if so, you may also know about pay-
per-click search engines.(In fact, some of those major SEs are
jumping on this bandwagon too.)...Regardless, I want to
highlight this "notable extra", because it's at once a versatile
and an extremely effective way of business building for many
folks.
FIRST, THE BASICS...
If you pay -only- when someone clicks through to your site,
that's an exceptionally frugal form of paid advertising.The
most effective advertising is the most "targeted"...
And what could be more targeted than an individual seeing your
"ad" (i.e., pay-per-click SE results listing--title, description,
and URL) and choosing to look into your site?That's comparable
to the affiliate merchant's great deal in affiliate marketing,
where he pays -only- when someone self-selects by clicking on an
affiliate link.
..Sure beats billboards, doesn't it?--and just about every other
kind of advertising, the stuff that's just blasted to a generic
audience.Or a somewhat targeted audience.Or even a -very-
targeted audience...Because that -still- doesn't guarantee that
the target will decide to click!
So...With costs starting at half a cent (for most PPC engines,
one cent; for biggie GoTo.com now, it's five cents minimum), this
is -cheap-!!You justhave to make sure you do two things:
---Make your title and description -strongly- indicate what your
page/site is about...So you only pay for people with a real
interest in your material.
---Find some likely keywords (the more the better!).
ABOUT FINDING KEYWORDS TO USE...
If you want to save money, don't bother bidding on the super-
expensive (i.e., most popular) keywords.Look for creative
synonyms--words and phrases that people are -also- using to find
that information...Just not so many people as use the most
popular ones.
If you use the "Site Build It!" webhosting service
(http://buildit.sitesell.com/granite.html), you'll have access to
the wonderful SBI Manager software that will generate lists of
keywords for you, and show you how popular they are.
If you're on your own, that's okay--it just takes time.I
suggest you go to the "JimTools" site and use the keyword
resources there...See http://www.jimtools.com, and select
"Keyword" at the top of the page.
Here's what you do...
---Brainstorm/research up as vast a list of -appropriate-
keywords as you can.
---Select a pay-per-click SE to open an account with.(See
http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com for brief reviews of
them all--there are scads!Some are used far more than others;
some require far more money than others to open an account.)
---Check your list of words against the listings in that pay-
per-click...And see where yours would fall in the ranking if
you paid the minimum amount--see which amount, or whether, you'd
like to bid.(Or just bid the minimum on all of them and -then-
see if you'd like to increase any of them for a better ranking.)
---Then bid! ...Which means devising your titles and descriptions.
(Some PPCs let you use different titles/descriptions for -each-
keyword--and some don't.The good thing about doing so is that
you tend to get better results if you use the -exact- keyword/
phrase in both.)
You can do this to draw traffic to your website, as I mentioned...
It can be to your home page, or to -any- page on your site.
..Even your e-zine sign-up page.Whatever you think would work
best for that potential customer!
In fact, if you're signed up with an affiliate program whose
website would be good at selling to your targeted websurfers
without your intervention (pre-selling)...You could just use
your affiliate-coded URL to -their- site in the PPC listing.
(That's a great way to promote an affiliate program that -isn't-
related to your website!)
When I do this (or when I draw someone to a page on my site that
pre-sells one specific affiliate program), I usually don't bother
to compete with other obvious affiliates of that program...
(Unless my "take" on it would attract a clearly different sort of
searcher.)I just move on to another keyword... and there are
always other ones.
(Once you -know- that your site/page/link sells like crazy,
-then- you can consider bidding a lot for the popular keywords.)
Keywords a-plenty--if you use your thesaurus, do some research,
and think like your site visitors!You can also look at some of
your competitors' sites (and their meta keyword tags?) to see if
any further synonyms come to mind.
Only, to be nice, -don't- click on their PPC listings...It'll
cost them for your search, and you're probably -not- a potential
customer.Most of the PPCs list the URL (though some don't)--just
plug that into your browser.
..It's a good idea to get sensitized to what the bottom line is!
..It's not free advertising--just extremely economical.
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That'll do it for today's session.In the last day of the
seminar, we'll look at the last four Notable Extras...
7.Having a back-end product/s to follow up with
8.Marketing to other countries
9.Being open to offline marketing avenues of all kinds
10. Joint venturing with others, both online and off
See you then!
Sherry Gordon
www.AffiliatePrimer.com
www.ThinkJointVenture.com
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