Landing Pages
Forget for a minute things like click through rates, ad placement and keyword phrases.
Those things are important for one reason and one reason only: to get people from point A (Google) to point B (your sales process).
SIDE NOTE: It really helps to get questions from you, because I just do what I do and sometimes I’m too focused on the “wow” material to recognize some readers need things I “just do”.
OK, so we’re talking about what REALLY matters to a marketer and that is conversion. If you don’t convert, you make no money.
There’s buyer traffic, shopper traffic and info seeker traffic when it comes to people doing Google searches. And I’ve added a fourth type of traffic to this list, but it doesn’t apply to Google so I’ll leave that to another post. This is the type of “BIG” traffic you hear people talking about, but making it work isn’t as easy as some would have you believe.
...
Now, I STRONGLY believe that you should ALWAYS be focused on building lists. And, you can go about list building with all of the above. At the least, with a list, you should be able to double your conversion rates with a decent follow-up effort. Plus, if they don’t go for this offer then there other plenty of other offers to be made – or you can leverage those lists for joint ventures, etc.
X
Have a question you want an answer to? Leave a comment. If you don’t want your comment made public, that’s cool - I’ll answer it without posting your details.
Three Killer Copy Tips
There is probably NOTHING more important to your online business than copy.
Few people want to learn it. Fewer want to pay to get it done high quality.
How important is copy?
You can sell millions of dollars worth of nothing. I’m told that’s how Gary Halbert ended up in jail.
Here are three quick tips (including a couple of new “ah-ha” discoveries I’m using that are working great).
...
Don’t see the complete post? It’s for my members only. Register with Black Books Blog and become a member today.
copy writingBlack Books Blog Changes
Based on the number of people who’ve registered for this blog in the last 24 hours, my guess is you’re probably wondering what’s going on here.
“X, what’s the deal?”
I’ve promised a couple of projects this year that just aren’t getting done like I want them to - plus I’ve found a new love in blogs. Now that I “get” Wordpress, I want to do more with it.
There are things I’m happy to share with the public in an open access blog. There are other things that I think have a value to them and instead of delaying the release of that material until I have enough good material to put out a book (I currently have 4 books in various stages, plus a membership site) I’ve decided to start posting more often, with even higher quality content here.
At this point, it’s just an experiment and that’s why I’m only asking $17 per month to give you complete access to the blog. I assure you that I will be posting more often and the content will be what you’d expect for paid material from X.
I’ve set the bar low enough for you that there isn’t any real risk. And for me, I’ve set the bar a little higher so I have a compelling reason to share more ideas, more often here.
Maybe you’d prefer to spend your $67 per month on Google Nemesis where you’ll read second-hand, hacked up versions of what I’ve written about in the past. Or maybe, you’d prefer to get it fresh from the source.
By the way, $17 per month will only be available for a limited time - I fully intend to provide more value than that. But let’s prove it first. NOTE: If you join for $17 per month NOW, you will only pay $17 per month for as long as I do this.
To become a member, you just need to register with my blog and then make your payment through PayPal, which you’ll be prompted to do when you login. Simple as that.
All the best to you - X
Google Slap
Google has taken the turn.
The “100 PHDs in white lab coats” have been replaced by cheap, outsourced ESL labor.
I have no problem with ESLers - I do have a problem with them making decisions for my business based on a clear lack of understanding of MY business and their attempts to interpret Google’s rules. Don’t tell me “Google Slap” will improve my ROI - people click on my ads and always have. People take the actions I want them to take at my site. I have tracked and tested this for years and I do what I do because it is PROVEN TO WORK.
In short, X is feeling the pain of being Google slapped after years of running my business the way I want to run it and Google should mind it’s own damn business.
While Google KNOWS NOTHING about actually selling a tangible good online - just scraping other people’s content and selling ads on it - they think they know what’s best for my ROI. You know what Google? You might know algorithms, but you don’t know crap about my ROI - I wouldn’t do what I do if my ROI wasn’t great.
Since Google is and has been an important source of traffic I have to adapt to what the system will give me, just like everyone else. Failure to do so is stupid. What this means in my case is something inevitably devious - a way to work the system. And you better believe I’m ready to work their system and give them the finger - nobody beats X when it matters. That includes Google.
What have I changed about my approach (that I’m willing to share now - and unfortunately I can’t share much anymore without some wannabe “Rockstar” or tag-along X ripping it off and putting it in “their” ebook. Just wait and watch after I unleash my next offer - there will be a ton of new copycat products soon to follow. To be honest with you, this has pissed me off to the extent that I was going to leave this niche until John Hostler reminded me “This niche really needs some people who care about producing good value for the customer.” I agree.)First, Google does like blogs. I have been converting all of my sites over to blogs anyway and the same basic setup I use has gone from poor quality scores to great quality scores.
The lesson? Just like in the days when I was heavy into page generator sites, you want to make “things” appear to be something other than what they are. To be somewhat more clear, when I did page generator sites the scraped content was the first thing read by the spiders but what the human eye saw was a relevant and targeted article on a page that looked great (most of these sites ARE STILL ranked and ranked well). The human eye really didn’t NOTICE the scraped content on the page - it wasn’t the focal point of the page.
NOTE: Once a domain has been slapped it’s all but dead with Google. Build your new campaign on a new domain name.
Second, my theory is that Google is pushing advertisers towards the content network. Traffic to the search engine is finite and they’ve probably grown the majority of what they can - traffic to the rest of the Internet has far greater potential. So far it seems anything goes on the content network and I’m making that traffic work just as well as Adwords search network did a year or two back. In other words, with the right approach it works great.
If you want to hear more about what I’m up to and what’s working for me, plan on attending the Internet Marketing Super Conference June 19-22 in Las Vegas. I’ll also share one of my recent “Smack me in the side of the head” revelations about where the BEST affiliate programs to promote can be found. I can’t believe I didn’t realize this years ago but it’s the one thing every super-producing affiliate campaign I’ve ever run over a long period of time has in common.
Struggling? Become An Affiliate Manager
I’m not sure why more people don’t take this advice - maybe it’s sooo simple people don’t see the genius in it.
If you want a shortcut to success in IM, become an affiliate manager in a niche of interest.
Why?
You’ll get paid to see who makes money and how they do it.
It’s the greatest education you can ever hope to get.
In this case, you’ve found someone who you KNOW is producing results.
Rip them off directly and the evil edged sword of bad karma will decapitate you with a ruthlessness you never imagined.
Take it and make it your own and you’ve just been given the keys to the kingdom.
Am I Outraged!!!? …
Here’s an excerpt from an email I just received
from Allan Gardyne.
> =============================================
> 1. Beware of this sneaky new affiliate tactic
> =============================================
>
> Occasionally we receive some nasty smelling submissions to our
> affiliate directory.
>
> Here’s one I want to warn you about…
>
> It’s called Affiliate List Controller.
>
> The salesletter recommends a deliberately deceptive tactic.
>
> Affiliate List Controller is software that creates a pop-up which
> appears on top of ANY website you care to choose.
>
> free ringtones for verizon wireless cell phone free alltel music ringtones free ringtones maker download cell free phone ringtones verizon wireless ringtones software free cingular mp3 ringtones free motorola ringtones tracfone free samsung ringtones?????? cingular free mp3 ringtones cell free phone ringtones verizon wireless 24 tv show ringtones ericsson polyphonic ringtones sony virgin mobile phone ringtones hot new ringtones free metro pcs phone ringtones sony ericsson ringtones download free midi ringtones download free tracfone ringtones cell phone ringtones new ringtones Here’s how it works…
>
> Let’s say you’re an affiliate vendor and I’m an affiliate
> directing potential customers to YourSite.com. I can now make a
> pop-up appear on top of YourSite.com asking people to sign up to
> MY newsletter.
>
> Some affiliates place a squeeze page between their links and a
> vendor’s site. That’s OK. It’s a legitimate way of building a
> targeted list. There’s normally nothing deceptive about it.
>
> This is quite different. Sneaky.
>
> Here’s the salesletter…
>
> http://imxfiles.com/alb
>
> (That’s an affiliate link for X - not Allan)
>
> I hope you’re as outraged as I am.
My reply to Allan . . .
========
Allan -
re: Sneaky affiliate tactic.
Yes, but isn’t that site STILL GETTING FREE
TRAFFIC? Would you:
A. Prefer that I send traffic to your site
but build a list in the process of doing it.
B. Prefer I not send traffic to your site
at all.
I think we both know the affiliate marketing
game well enough to know that in most cases
the merchant is the real winner - especially
if they have any kind of a back end. And I
should build THEIR list too? Shame on us
affiliates for getting smarter.
This sounds like you’ve been spending too
much time with Rosalind Gardner, who’s pious
on the surface but I’ve caught her pulling
some of the sneakiest shit I’ve ever seen.
All the best to you - X
PS - Always enjoy your information - thanks for
a great newsletter.
================================================
Tell me what you think about this - I want to hear your comments.
================================================
The Affiliate Black Book
I’ve written a ton of material that could end up in the Affiliate Black Book - now the challenge is to whittle it down.
Tentatively here’s a peek inside:
1. Dirty Little Secrets for Using OPP as Your Front End
2. The Unappointed Affiliate Manager
3. The Appointed Affiliate Manager
4. How to Have Affiliates Send You Traffic Even When You Have No Product
5. The Sneaky Ad***** Trick
6. Top-Secret Tricks and Little-Known Tools
Basically, the point of this book is how to take advantage of affiliate marketing beyond just making a few bucks here and there on commissions.
If that’s the only thing you’re using affiliate marketing for then you’re really missing the big picture (at least that I see).
I’m also working on a membership site project with a mega-geek programmer from Microsoft. I mean “mega-geek” in the nicest way.
I’m motivated to get both of these projects out by June 1 . . .
X
It’s Not What You Sell . . .
It’s not what you’re selling - it’s how you make people feel.
You’re not selling ebooks, audios, videos, or gadgets.
You’re selling feelings.
Ain’t That America
A highly successful Internet marketer I know - and you
may too - has recently been hung out to dry by a government
authority.
They’ve taken everything from him, then put him in
jail on $500,000 bail. Essentially, he has no way
of defending himself with all assets frozen.
Ain’t that America. Gee - I wonder if the government will be
refunding taxes paid on that money.
If this doesn’t scare the hell out you, it should.
I don’t know the minute details, but here are some
things I’ve gleaned and you may want to keep them in
mind.
1. He was selling products of the “natural cures”
nature. His appearance was very “medical” from the
names of his products, the images used on his site,
references to “medical researcher” and more.
First off, any time you’re “taking business” from the
multi-BILLION dollar health-care industry (talk about
a SHAM) you’re asking for trouble.
Any time you promise to “treat, diagnose or cure” any
medical ailment you’re stepping on the toes of the
special interest groups representing doctors, insurance,
companies and the drug companies.
In New Jersey, they call organizations like this the
mafia.
Be very careful when dancing on this turf.
2. Internet marketers have this “wild west” mentality
that we don’t really live by the same rules everyone
else does.
Well, we do.
You can’t make up testimonials. You can’t make
inaccurate claims. You can’t avoid covering your ass
legally. If there isn’t enough money in it to do
things right, look for something where the money is
there to do things right.
3. Here’s what concerns me most - and again, I only
have partial facts but here’s what I see.
This marketer was running ads - paying for ads - through
Google that were running on About.com. You know that
About.com was making a huge income from people clicking
these ads on their site.
Yet some heinous know-it-all About.com guide named Mary
Shomon took it upon hereself to declare this marketer a
fraud (who qualified her to call anyone a fraud, that’s
unclear).
It’s my guess, this is where the problems started.
So he’s paying for ads that produce income for About.com,
and I believe About.com pays Mary Shomon a percentage
of that revenue - and I’m wondering if anyone on that
end of the deal is returning that money?
You can probably bet the answer is NO.
I suggest boycotting About.com.
Or, if you want to play their game then it’s pretty
smart to identify a high-traffic area of About.com and
big traffic sites like it and run ads Adwords 180
style.
But be careful.
X
Internet Marketing Wealth Alliances
I need a break from dealing with “the assholes of the world” to talk about something new.
It’s easy to get caught in the latest hyped up methods of the moment and lose site of the big picture. X is no exception to this.
While meeting with a partner of mine who has tons of direct marketing experience but little online, he asked me a question you and I should be asking ourselves everyday:
“How do we get traffic that’s going to add the most to our bottom-line fastest?”
Let me shock you with the answer - it’s not pay per click. Pay per click is great for a constant stream of traffic and if you get in front of the right landslide you CAN get a lot of traffic fast.
You can also lose your ass.
No the best answer to that question is simple: joint ventures and affiliates.
The concept of “wealth alliances” takes this an additional step. The way I see most people operate is a “one and done” with JV partners. And if someone actually reciprocates a favor, that’s remarkably unique. I learned a long time ago there are VERY few people in the IM niche who’s word means ANYTHING.
And, maybe I’ve just stayed in the IM niche too long.
What I’m talking about with “wealth alliances” is simple. You get six complementary businesses - with complementary offers together - and you take turns promoting each other. Each business is promoted by every other twice per year.
Like I said, the idea is simple . . . and it’s more than an idea.
I’ve had the unique opportunity to work with 2 businesses selling essentially the same product.
Business one embraced the idea of “wealth alliances” and enjoyed explosive growth. In a couple short years, with this strategy accounting for about HALF of all income, this business built a multi-million dollar income and a list of approximately 150,000 subscribers. All of the businesses involved benefited similarly.
Business two’s owner took the attitude of “my product is the only solution anyone needs” and refused to do JVs of any sort. While I respect his integrity, it came at the expense of his business. Today, his business continues to struggle online and he has an accumulated list of about 20,000 (NOTE: the 150,000 subscriber count of business one was while I worked with them five years ago - that list is probably much larger now - the latter list of 20,000 is a current count).
Most businesses have this primary concern: “If I promote other people, then I’m going to lose my customers to them”.
No, not so fast. This is why you have two lists - one of prospects and one of buyers.
Prospects are people who are on your list but they haven’t bought; this are like dates that have no future. They’re an asset you’ve paid to acquire and while the two of you may not be a “love match”, there might be a “love match” with one of your JV partners (this concept could never get through the head of business owner two).
By the way, I detail this whole approach in Money Map X - it costs eight bucks.
What’s involved with forming a wealth alliance?
- Find, then contact five businesses that appear to be a match. You want to look for high quality partners (assuming you offer high quality goods yourself). Contact them and communicate the vision.
- In niches outside IM, you’ll find list owners don’t care about commissions - they want a reciprocal mailing. Smart marketers recognize the value of new leads mean more than one-time commissions. Be prepared to negotiate. If your list is smaller, offer a higher-than-normal commission to get the ball rolling.On the topic of list size, don’t judge a list by it’s size. Judge it by how it’s been built, who’s on it and how it’s been managed. I’d rather have a partner with a high-quality list of 8000 than a partner who regularly beats the hell out of list of 500,000 freebie seekers.
- Ask your new partner(s) if they can recommend another business or two to join you. Finding someone with an existing “in” makes the process easier.
- Create a calendar where everyone is scheduled a full year out so you can track who’s mailing who and when. It’s vitally important that these commitments take precedence over anything else that comes along - failure to do so will cause issues FAST. Also, there are better times of the year for some types of businesses to promote - keep this in mind so the schedule comes out fair on the whole. Most people probably don’t want your “just before Thanksgiving and Christmas” slot, but with this setup someone is mailing for them every month and it all evens out.
Marketing is simple - if not always easy.
It breaks down to three things I know you’ve heard many times, but it’s easy to overlook -
I want to sell:
- More stuff
- To more people
- More often
This takes care of the “to more people” part of the marketing success equation.
X
PS - I’m looking for some new JV partners in the niches of SLEEP, MEDITATION, STRESS RELIEF, AND PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS (this is pretty wide open). If you’ve got a high quality product, a respectable list and the desire to get involved in one of my wealth alliances then leave me a comment (I won’t post it) or send an email to sales<at>adwordsblackbook<dot>com
PSS - If you haven’t checked out Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula Videos, I recommend you do - this all fits.
joint venture marketing strategy wealth alliance
