My best Internet strategy in 12 months of trying to make mo money

[Qigong15]

Hello everyone,

Background:
I've been absent for a while as a result of working on this strategy. Now that it has born fruit I wanted to share it with you.

It's really simple, you probably already know of it, I sure did. But it wasn't until I experienced for myself the power of this strategy that I got completely hooked on it.

What's one of the biggest problems once you've set up a new website selling a product?

Traffic, or getting enough people to visit your site so you can start making sales.

I remember when I built my first website and sat back thinking, 'That's all the hard work done, now get ready to count the money!!' - LOL.

In the past I've used blog posts and web 2.0 materials like facebook, twitter and posterous to generate free traffic to my money site and about a month ago I reached the 100 visitors a day mark. But this has taken a LOT of hard work. I mean there's only so much you can write about some subjects.

Plus I was only bringing in about £300 a month, nice, but not enough to live on and support my family =)

The Strategy:
About 6 weeks ago I started to make a real effort to form relationships with other people in my niche who already had 'a big list'.

First by asking them questions, and second by trying to be as helpful to them as possible.

Well, as I direct result of that work, I logged onto my site on 15th March to find that my Micro Continuity site had jumped from 7 members to 179! Over a 5 day period this has climbed to 293 new members.

All as a direct result of 1 'big list' owner notifying his members as to my site.

Fine print:

• The offer to his list was a $4.95 two trial of my 22 week home study course (material delivered online)
• This week I get to see how many people 'stick' after the trial. They will then pay $27 a month, for 5 months. Or until they unsubscribe.
• I set up this as a clickbank recurring product. Mr big list gets 75% of each sale. I get the rest after clickbank takes its cut (so about $6 - yeah, I'm not that excited about it either).

Lessons:

• If you do something like this, you better have good customer service skills and be prepared to be busy. I was swamped with people who screwed up their registration or experienced other problems.
• A major regret I have is that I get such a small amount of each sale. I have realised that in order to benefit more from this next time I need to have more 'back end' products available to sell. Or, increase the price point of the product.
• I have been amazed at how many people have bought the other products I sell, as a direct result of trying out the $4.95 trial. As mentioned in the point above, just wish I had more to offer them! So before you set up these relationships, make sure you've got your 'back end' in order.
• I have found it's a lot less work finding potential partners and building a relationship with them, than it is creating lots of unique, quality, free information to drive traffic. I made more money in 5 days from this venture than I did in the previous 4 months. And I can't wait to see what the stick rate is for this project!

Bottom Line:
If you're having difficulty with traffic, try finding someone in your niche who has a big list and form a relationship with them. I have found LinkedIn a great tool for this as the big players are easily approachable (through the groups they've joined) and, in my experience happy to answer questions.

Hope some of that is useful to someone. It's hard to beat that feeling of logging into your account and seeing that sales have gone through the roof:smx9:

Bye for now

Marcus

 

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[LightHouse]

Awesome post, i think there are quite a few members on here getting to a point of selling digital/video products. your experience can help them. Would love to hear the progression and the stick rate when you finally see it.

 

[Qigong15]

Will do LightHouse,

This Tuesday is the first big result as that's when the first group that signed up will be billed, unless they unsubscribe first.

In order to avoid angry customers complaining they have been billed and that it's come as a shock to them. I've set up Aweber to send them out a reminder that their '$4.95 Two Week Trial - Ends Soon' - and spelled out what they need to do should they wish to unsubscribe.

I'm a believer in transparency, hopefully it will cut down on the hassle factor.

I'll come back when I've some data to share.

Bye for now

Marcus

 

[Gymjunkie]

More info on LinkedIn please...

 

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[valuegiver]

These guys are doing the wrong thing the right way (or maybe the right thing, the wrong way):

Easy Cash!? Google Beats ‘Google Money’ Scammers, Is Awarded $1.6 Million

 

[Qigong15]

@Gymjunkie - I found out who the major players were in my niche by using google. I put in my keywords clicked on all the google adwords, clicked on the top 10 organic search results and looked at who kept coming up.

Then I tried to find e-mail address for them. And then I tried to contact them and see if they would be interested in 'pimping' my stuff.

Needless to say the results were non existent.

By accident, whilst looking at the various groups on LinkedIn that were relevant to my niche, I saw that two of the 'major players' (MP's) I'd noticed were active in one of the groups. I joined the group and added useful, quality comment and information to the group.

Then I experienced a real 'hater' problem via e-mail that threw me completely off my game. Without thinking about it too much, I wrote an e-mail via LinkedIn to one of the MP's asking how he dealt with them. As a result of that e-mail a relationship grew.

I have found LinkedIn to be a really good way of joining relevant groups to my niche, then adding quality information and comments and as a result being on the radar of the MP's and potential MP's in my niche. There's quite a lot of professionals on LinkedIn, but this might not be the case for all niches. You won't know until you check it out.

The biggest learning from this is that it is great if you can appear on someone's radar by being helpful, by providing good content. They are then a million more times likely to respond to contact from you, than if you just contact them cold.

I know, this is super obvious, but it wasn't to me until recently *Doh!*

Bye for now

Marcus

 

[Qigong15]

@valuegiver - interesting. I've learned a number of painful and expensive lessons when it comes to making money from the Internet. My most painful one cost me $8500 and nearly took me to bankruptcy (I maxed out my credit cards to pay for it - what an idiot). That was for 'Internet Coaching' I got seduced by the Return On Investment possibility.

I mean if I was willing to invest that much in my online Internet Marketing education, just think how much it would be worth, just think how much more money I would make with that education. Yeah, well the reality was I made $3500 in 12 months (the length of the coaching) so I'm down $5K - Ouch.

Then I found Ed Dales 'The 30 Challenge' - for free! I nearly stuck my head through my Imac when I saw the quality of the material there. And I had paid $8500 for coaching from some other outfit that was pretty disappointing.

The big lesson from that experience was to have an accountability partner. Let me explain.

Because I knew my 'coach' was going to call me on Monday at 6pm - I got stuff done. If in the previous call I'd agreed that I was going to do my keyword research by next week. It got done. Because if it wasn't done I felt like a douche bag!

I already knew of this lesson, but didn't know it well enough. You see I wrote a book a few years back - a proper one with 150 pages and a cover and all that - remember books =)

Well the only way this got written was by having an accountability partner. Each week we spoke on the phone for just 5 to 10 minutes. It wasn't a social call. It was a call to check that I'd done what I said I was going to do and then to check that she'd done what she said she was going to do.

If we had, great, pat on the back then 'What are you going to commit to doing by next week?' - end of call.

If we hadn't then a verbal a$$ kicking was dished out and a re-commitment made for the following week - end of call.

P.S. I paid $3500 for mentorship on writing a book (the accountability partner was a part of the course). The course was okay, the content was okay, but if I'd just bought Dan Poynters - Writing non fiction (about 9 bucks) and had my accountability partner I could have saved about $3490 big ones! And still have got my book written.

I share this here because I have wasted a lot of cash on training and mentoring. I still believe that having a mentor is a great idea, but personally I have found that a good book (digital or otherwise) and a good accountability partner is worth much more and usually costs much less - but that's just my experience.

MJ's The Millionaire Fastlane is a classic example. I learned a million times more about business and making money from that book than I did from that 'Wealth Mastery' seminar I paid a bucket of cash for.

Wow - look at me, got a bit carried away and entered 'Rant' mode there. Sorry for that. But if you can avoid making the same costly mistakes I made then it's worth it. Well, not really, but it makes me feel better =)

Bye for now

Marcus

 

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[ChrisRempel]

A major regret I have is that I get such a small amount of each sale. I have realised that in order to benefit more from this next time I need to have more 'back end' products available to sell. Or, increase the price point of the product.

A hint for next-time...

Just front-load your capital by offering a "discount" for a set term.

If your membership is $29 a month, then right after they join the trial, offer them a one-time chance to lock in an ANNUAL membership of just $199 for a year (use a one-time-offer script).

Most members will fall off in a few months time anyway.

This way you are front-loading revenue and spiking your numbers right off the bat.

-Chris

 

[Qigong15]

@Chris - thanks for that. Hadn't considered it. Is there a particular one time offer script you'd recommend?

----------------

Mr Big List sent out details of my $4.95 two week trial out to his list of 30K on Tuesday 19th, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (the list is in different segments).

On 19th 86 people signed up. And today 74 people have been rebilled = 84% stick rate for day one. Can't wait to see how days 2, 3 and 4 pan out.

If we assume (yeah, dangerous I know) an 84% stick rate of the 293 people who signed up for the trial, that's 251.

I get an average of $6 per rebill = $1 506 per month. Research tells me that an average stick rate for a continuity program is 3 months, so that's 1506 X 3 = $4 518, as for months 4 and 5, we'll see.

Compare this with Mr Big List:

He gets $20 per rebill = 20 X 251 = $5 020 per month, for 3 months = $15 060, months 4 and 5 who knows.

The customer service has been of the rails.

I have learned that when you write instructions for people on how to unsubscribe (I notify them twice that this is a continuity program) you need to write them so simply that your dog could understand them.

Trust me, it's not nice being called a scam artist, or being told you should be ashamed of yourself - just because they were unable to follow instructions *Ouch*.

This has been a great learning experience for me.

1) I know that the product I've created is brilliant and people want it (there's been a lot of good feedback).
2) I need to build up my back end.
3) I need a OTO script (thanks Chris)
4) It'd be great to have an Umpa Lumpa doing my customer service.
5) I want a big list that I can promote offers to.

Bye for now

Marcus

 

[ChrisRempel]

I want a big list that I can promote offers to.

Doesn't need to be big

I just reached capacity with our recurring service (details on my blog, TheLazyMarketer.com/blog) yesterday (about 760 members total) in one day from a list that is deceptively small. It launched on the 29th, and it's already capped.

Only maybe 5% of the members were from JV promotions/affiliates.

It is all about what you do with your list.

-Chris

 

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[ChrisRempel]

Also if you use a script like Amember.com or Membership Software - Easy Member Pro (my preference) it has a built in OTO functionality, etc.

Cheers

-Chris

 

[TK1]

I haven't even read the post, because of the thread title focusing on "making mo money ASAP"

 

[andviv]

Wow, this is a great thread. Rep++ for a couple of posters here, there is a wealth of information and a real case study for all interested on this topic.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

I haven't even read the post, because of the thread title focusing on "making mo money ASAP"

I don't even really understand your post, but this thread is gold.

You've obviously heard of 'Don't judge a book by its cover'... well, 'Don't judge a thread by its title'.

 

[Qigong15]

@Chris - you're right, it's not the size it's what you do with it =) I'll be checking your blog out right after I've finished 'live' chatting with hostgator to find out why none of my websites are accessible =(

@TK1 - fair point. I remember getting to the end of MJ's book and wondering how many people were put off by the title. Because I personally believe it is the best book ever written about how to become wealthy. I guess no title is going to please everyone. I can't remember who, but someone once said something along the lines of: "tell them what they need to hear to get them in the door, then tell them what they really need to hear".

@Andviv and @Ryan - thanks for your kind words.

Well, the vast majority of stats should be in by tomorrow afternoon. My initial calculation of an 84% stick rate based on the day one figures (this 'launch' was done over a 5 day period) would appear to have been a little optimistic =)

I'll be back once I've got the final count.

bye for now and have a great weekend.

Marcus

 

[UncommonWay]

MJ's The Millionaire Fastlane is a classic example. I learned a million times more about business and making money from that book than I did from that 'Wealth Mastery' seminar I paid a bucket of cash for.

Marcus,

I remember being cash-strapped and thinking the only way out of my hole was to go to a "Wealth Mastery" seminar. Thank goodness I didn't have the money to waste on it, because I think it was about $7,000.

I did later fall for a $3,000 "make money on eBay" course/membership that promised to wholesale me stuff that I could sell on eBay for a huge profit. As always, Scam + Sucker = Money Down The Drain.

 

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[CEBenz]

I fell for the Russ Whitney scam personally. It was a hell of an education learned muy rapido (pdq). But I don't think i'd trade it for anything, because it was a valuable lesson and has enabled me to spot the BS about a mile a away. And I also have a first hand knowledge of what goes on at those events. I even had to secure a loan against my truck from that.

This is an excellent thread!!!

Speed ++ for everyone 'til I hit my limit.

 

[Qigong15]

@UncommonWay - Scam + Sucker = Money down the drain - excellent love it, it's so true and I've been one of the biggest suckers of them all.

@CEBenz - I'm with you, some of the most powerful lessons I've learned have hit me hard in the wallet. Hard enough for me to finally learn them!

Quick update on the stats for this post:

1% - Number of people who took up the 2 Week $4.95 trial
79% - Number of people who made the first $27 payment
94% - Number of people who made the 2nd $27 payment

These figures so far are close to what I expected, based on research for continuity programs. That research also says that most people stick around for 3 months. So I'm really looking forward to see what happens after month 3.

My thinking is that with this being a fixed length continuity program and with it being in a small, targeted niche then retention/stick rates will be longer.

But as always, time will tell.

Oh, and as a result of this experience with Mr Big List, my traffic shot through the roof and brought what I'm doing to the attention of an even bigger list holder - 300, 000! Can't wait to see how these discussion go =)

If I was starting again, I'd have built my Qigong Secrets Home Study course and focused more on building relationships with affiliates and 'Big List' holders and less time on writing 170+ blog posts and trying to play the Web2.0 traffic game.

Of course, trying to get on the radar of these big list holders is easier said than done...

Bye for now

Marcus

 

[Brander]

Good to have Chris on this thread. He's by my experience one of the few marketing guys that actually puts some real meat in his information products. Don't necessarily agree with some of the promotions, but he does have to cater to a certain "immediate gratification" mentality market, so it makes sense.

 

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[fedor]

Good work Marcus.

We regularly look to give 100% commission on the front end. It tends to help with our front end lead flow, and we have OTO's and upsells in place.

The first sale you make to a customer is usually the most expensive. When you factor in merchant costs and other fees, we actually lose a bit on the front end.

For rockstar affiliates we consider giving 200% commission, assuming it backs out for us.

So don't worry about taking so little on the front, you won't get rich selling $27 packages. It's what happens after that counts. Multiple 1 click upsells are always good as well.

In fact, what you may consider doing is this:

Cheap front end offer at 100% commission >> OTO for your $1 trial to continuity (50% comm) >> upsell to other product >> upsell again.

That's similar to what we have in place for one product, and are building for another.

Also, one other thing to consider.... right now your continuity is $27, and you assume your stick rate is 4-5 months correct? Often, increasing the price to $67 or $97 might knock your retention down a bit but overall visitor value is increased.

Just a thought, but of course requires testing. Biggest thing as you're seeing now is to have front end lead flow, as it allows you to test so many things. And, unless you know how to buy traffic effectively, JV traffic is otherwise the fastest.

Treat your buyers list well, and you'll see EPC's you couldn't imagine.

 

[Qigong15]

@Fedor - Thanks for that, there's some interesting food for thought there. Thanks for taking the time to share, much appreciated.

Definitely have to look at the OTO side of things, as I don't usually do one of those due to pain (read lack of experience) of setting them up.

Bye for now

Marcus