There are a number of hot topics and common questions being asked in the top internet marketing forums right now. Instead of answering each of these people individually, I thought I’d write this post to share my responses and insights on these subjects with you and other aspiring internet marketing professionals.
Q. What’s the best tip you can give to do better in business and in life?
A. You’re going to be surprised by the answer: Journal. That’s right, keep a journal and write in it everyday. Write down your ideas, what you learn, what you want to implement in your business, your goals, your thoughts… everything. Just write it down. This will allow you to do the following:
- Work through issues, emotions, hurts and so forth that might be holding you back
- Clarify your goals
- Remember what you’re learned so you can use it
- Solidify your ideas
- Get all of this stuff out of your head so you can think more clearly
Sure, it may sound new age and just a little bit woo-woo if you’ve never done it, but try journaling every day for one month and then decide – I think you’ll begin to see a difference in your life and in your business.
And by the way, your journal is one place that neatness does not count. Feel free to make it as messy and as fun as you like – it’s your journal.
Q. I have a list of buyers and need to make some serious cash fast. I don’t have time to create a product – what should I do?
A. Offer a status experience that comes with bragging rights and personalized attention – something created just for a few of your best customers. For example, offer a 3 or 4 figure-a-month coaching program custom tailored to their individual needs in which you spend one-on-one time with each person. They’re not only getting results – they’re getting your personal time and attention. They’re getting status.
It’s a lot like getting a backstage pass at a concert to spend time with the band – it’s an experience they can long remember and brag about. And in the case of coaching, it can produce real results for them as well. Plus, you can set it all up in one day – all you need is the sales page and a series of emails to send to your list to get started.
Q. I’m worried that I don’t know everything I need to know to successfully start and run my business. How do I learn these things?
A. By starting. It might be a comfort to you to know that Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google and many, many other success stories were started by people who were figuring it all out as they went. They didn’t have all the answers before they started, and in fact they still don’t.
In hindsight, these entrepreneurs and in fact MOST entrepreneurs don’t know what they’re doing in it’s entirety, but they do know the value in starting. Because once you start, you’ll discover which questions are the important ones you need to get answered. And you’ll also find that some of the details you were obsessing about don’t even matter. It’s only by undertaking the journey that you will discover the opportunities and roadblocks in your path. And as you come across each one, you can decide then and there what to do about it.
Q. What’s a good method for getting a quick cash influx if I’m an affiliate marketer?
A. Obviously promoting a product that pays out immediately is a good idea, especially if you’re promoting it to your list. But if this isn’t enough, you can always send traffic directly to a high converting offer.
In other words, instead of sending traffic to your squeeze page (which hopefully, you’re already doing) you can divert that traffic straight to an offer to make more immediate money. You won’t get the leads, but you will make more immediate sales.
Only do this until you’ve got the cash you need and then return to sending traffic to your squeeze page first so you can capture and nurture the leads.
Q. How do I get my subject lines to stand out from the hundreds of other emails my prospects are receiving?
A. Believe it or not, the answer is Wingdings. Remember those little symbols?
Arrows, stars, mailboxes, smiley faces – Wingdings 1, 2 and 3 were the hit of the 90’s and largely forgotten in recent years. Until now. Because now you can put them in subject lines to make them pop out at your readers.
Of course this isn’t a magic bullet – you still want to have a great subject line. But the addition of a Wingding (also known now as Emoji’s) can’t hurt, and in fact it increased the open rate in every test run by Portent. Here are the results:
