Boost Internet Profit (part-3)
List Building
The cornerstone of effective Internet marketing is the development of the email list. This is how you will be able to achieve high customer retention and high lifetime value.
What most marketers overlook is timing. Email address acquisition AFTER the sale is too late, because it requires the customer to pass through the pay wall and current sales funnel. Therefore, your list will only be comprised of paying customers.
But what about the ‘tire-kickers’? And those potential customers who are either curious or simply shopping?
You don’t to miss out on ANYONE who expresses an interest in your niche. Think of it as an opportunity to introduce yourself, provide VALUE and demonstrate your AUTHORITY.
From this perspective, you must always list-build first. If you learn one thing from this entire blueprint, it should be this. As you will see, your list is your business. Outside the world of Internet marketing, this same phenomenon can be seen in commercial sales and marketing.
Have you ever seen the same people, perhaps you are included in this group, at your local Starbucks? You know, the same ones who make it a daily habit to stop for their favorite drink? This group is part of the millions of people on the Starbucks ‘list’. It’s that sector of current and potential customers that are most likely to purchase from Starbucks in the very near future.
The technical term for this concept is called MARKET REACH. I teach Internet marketing students how to best employ this tool. On the Internet, where you don’t have a physical store, your email list is basically the same thing as that group of Starbucks enthusiasts.
With this in mind, let’s examine my primary list building strategy:
Build email list PRIOR to sending traffic to the sales page.
Provide VALUE in exchange for the email address (this is generally an information product such as an e-E-book or video course). We will discuss this ‘freebie’ next.
Create a free SQUEEZE PAGE to give away the product and capture emails (You may also use an Opt-In box on a website or a BLOG).
Run traffic to the squeeze page or blog.
Locate affiliate products to promote according to your pre-determined FUNNEL.
I will be discussing the funnel later in this blueprint. But first, we need to cover sequences and an overview of the tools just mentioned so you know exactly what to do.
The Follow-up Sequence
Sequences are the series of emails with which you will correspond with your new potential customer via email once they have joined your list. This sounds complicated but it’s not. There are software tools that can help you automate the process.
Keep in mind, that from the very beginning, you want to provide VALUE and demonstrate AUTHORITY. There are two areas of focus:
Content
Frequency
Content is just that – exactly what you are trying to introduce or discuss. Frequency is all about how often you email list members.
The best strategy is to systematically bundle free value and promotions for either your affiliate links or your own products. I will demonstrate how to do this shortly. For now, just consider the importance of list building and the follow-up sequence as your primary focus.
Once you do this everything else falls in line. Let’s look at the tools you’ll require.
Tools
To facilitate your list building initiative you’ll need an autoresponder service to first collect email addresses and then blast your follow-up sequences.
The ticket is that all of this is automation. Time-based email scheduling will enable you to engage each new list member with your follow-up sequence beginning on the very first day they join the list.
This is incredibly powerful as you can imagine. My favorite autoresponder service is Aweber.
Once your email autoresponder is in place, you’ll require either squeeze pages or an opt-in box to collect the email addresses.
Here’s an example of a basic squeeze page...
Free Video; Discover How You CanTest Drive The System That Took MeFrom Eero To $9,000+A Day!
Enter Your Email Address For Free Instent Access....
Enter your best Email Addresclick Here To Watch The Video Now
Your information 100% secure
You’ll also want to consider employing an opt-in box on a website or blog. Most autoresponder services have tools for building and customizing squeeze pages and opt-in boxes. This further simplifies the process.
I’ll cover some more detail about list building when I discuss blogging later in the e-book. This has been a good introduction to the concepts of list building and follow-up sequences as well as the tools required to facilitate these strategies.
Let’s review the benefits of this strategy:
You build strong LIFETIME VALUE across your enterprise. This is the possibility of repeat customers because you have earned their trust.
You create exceptional VALUE. Delivering timely, pertinent information to your Audience (filling a need) is something your list subscribers will not be able to find elsewhere.
You achieve solid CUSTOMER RETENTION rates.
You build a rock-solid long term business…by first building the LIST
I’ve made as much as $75,000 in just a few days with targeted email marketing. The secret is found in the promotion of higher priced products further down the sales funnel. You’ll be learning the best way accomplish this objective later in this blueprint.
Why You Need A BLOG
In this chapter, I’ll discuss one of the most important tools available to successfully create the powerful long-term Internet business you’ve been learning about in this blueprint.
That tool is the Blog.
Why you Need A Blog
YouTube Traffic List-Building
Facebook Blog Mailing
Authority Traffic List
Think of a blog as your home-base on the Internet. It is a powerful communication portal connecting you to the world. It is a place where you can connect with customers, potential customers and students. It is a destination that allows you to introduce your business and establish authority.
The blog enables you integrate social networking, traffic generating tools, and most importantly, it allows you to build your list.
It’s always employing the proper mix of content, marketing and monetization to create authority. When you build an authority blog and combine this with a large email list, you have a viable business entity that can be further monetized and sold.
What most marketers don’t understand is that a blog must have a specific layout and theme that makes it a viable commercial entity. Therefore, how the blog is initially setup and structured is very important to your success.
As if there aren’t enough pitfalls for most aspiring Internet marketers, the learning curve for successful blogging is sufficiently steep that many newbies and professionals alike
are deterred from blogging and miss out on a huge opportunity to create a high-traffic business.
An authority-style blog layout will enable you to effectively build a list with an ‘opt-in’ box to collect email address and further introduce customers and potential customers (leads) to your business and top portion of your sales funnel.
A properly-established blog requires the following:
Web hosting
Domain name
For hosting, I recommend Bluehost because it is one of the most affordable and reliable services available. They also give you a free domain name when you sign up. Bluehost also includes a 1-Click WordPress install, so you can easily install your blogging platform in only a few minutes.
Here’s a great video on how to start a profitable blog:
I suggest watching the entire video and completing each step on your own blog as you follow along in the video. That way you can have your blog set up correctly within a few hours, so you can start posting content and getting free traffic.
Now that you are familiar with the tools of list building and the blog, let’s examine how you can effectively build a rock-solid relationship with the new members recently acquired on your list.
Step 2: Building A Relationship
Let’s take a look at another fundamental business truth:
People Like to do business Withthose they Know and Trust.
Higher conversion rates on offers to your existing audience (list) are proven. Conversion rates through advertisements to ‘cold’ prospects will always underperform in comparison.
This is why it is imperative that you establish a quality relationship with your audience.
The easiest solution is to provide a high-demand freebie first as a lead magnet to attract new prospects to your list. Once there, you will continue to offer freebies – inter-mixed with offers and promotions as a way to create value and build the relationship.
A freebie will enable you to:
(1) Introduce your expertise to your audience.
(2) Promote offers to your audience.
A great tactic for number 2 above is to use a ‘blending’ technique which positions promotional offers inside free value-driven content. You will be able to engage your audience with ways to address their pain-points while offering solutions with products and services that make you money.
Following are examples of freebies that I have used over the years with solid success:
Articles or blog posts. Articles can include just about any style or concept such as ‘how-to’, overviews, tips, tactics, strategies or anything else of interest to your audience. This is why it is important to know your audience, especially their pain-points. Articles are a great way to engage your audience and deliver honest value.
Reports. Reports are similar to articles but offer more structure and are greater in length. Focus on one specific problem or issue with each report. Prospects who absorb this content and find it use are very likely to become customers. For example, you might write a nutrition report that tells dieters exactly what to eat to slim down and start feeling better.
Toolkits. This freebie makes it easy for your prospects to take action on the information they’ve been learning about. For example, a business start-up toolkit might include template for fliers or mailings, sales forms or invoices.
Webinars. Your audience will place a high value on live events. This makes webinars an attractive freebie. The added benefit is that webinar recordings can be used as marketing tools. If you cannot manage a webinar on your own or lack sufficient content, you may explore partnering with an affiliate. More on this later.
Case studies. This tactic provides information or details a plan about how to achieve a specific result. Because of the added benefit of social proof and inspiration, case studies are a proven tool to help promote a specific offer. For example, you can provide a case study showing how a marketer increased traffic using one specific strategy.
Email courses. I know several marketers who specialize in autoresponder email courses. The benefits of multi-part training segments as a freebie is that you do not have to create all the content before you can deliver value to your audience. Furthermore, over time you will be training your list subscribers to anticipate your value. Try this example: a 10-part e-course called “The 10 Secrets for Quickly Tripling Your Internet Traffic”, sent via autoresponder on a schedule of 1-2 segments per week.
Cheat sheets. I use cheat sheets all the time to condense a more complex task down to a manageable procedure. Usually just one page, cheat sheets are downloadable, printable PDFs that provide exceptional value. They are also evergreen and may be included with other offers or as additional content in your autoresponder.
Newsletters. Probably one of the best tactics for interacting with your audience, newsletters can be sent on a weekly basis. Content can vary from training segments to human interest to industry news and product reviews, or anything that allows you to connect with your tribe. Autoresponders such as Aweber enable you to create great looking html templates so your newsletter appears professional and hip.
Interviews. One of the best ways to build social proof and inspire your audience is the interview. Interview success stories are a phenomenal way to connect with people, build your brand, and encourage your audience to take action. Interviews combine social proof with value – a powerful 1-2 punch.
In order to make the most of the freebie, you will need to know a few things first before you decide which strategies to use and how to structure your campaigns.
8 Proven Steps to Maximizing Your Freebies
#1: High-Quality Content
Without a doubt your freebies must be high-quality. Try to focus on one specific issue or problem with a method, strategy or advice that gets results. Keep it short and to the point.
Some of the best content is that which is simple yet effective. Consider the “Try this one easy thing” approach.
#2: Make It Useful
Your freebie must be something that your audience is craving. This is why market research is paramount. You must know who you are dealing with so you can properly engage them and improve their circumstance.
The best way to do this is a combination of market research and surveys. We’ve discussed this before but autoresponders are a great way to include surveys which will you sniff our audience demand. Then you can create valuable content for both freebies and paid promotions.
Never forget the axiom about filling a need. If you can help something look better, feel better or make more money, you will be a friend for life. More on this later when we discuss the product funnel in detail.
#3: Make It Personal
You will notice that most well-known industry experts or marketers put a face with the content. By this I mean that you allow your audience to get to know you – what you look like as well as personal details that allow them to connect with you on a more intimate level.
The importance of this bond cannot be overstated. Adding personal details such as tidbits about your everyday life, preferences and goals can go a long way to building the bond.
Putting a face on your brand is one of the best ways to build it. List subscribers will come to recognize you and look for your value-added content.
#4: Empathize
No one likes to be ‘sold’ anything. High pressure sales gimmicks and over-the-top offers will not build the bond you are seeking for long-term success. Your audience needs to know that you understand their pain points.
Let your audience know that you are aware of how they are feeling or where they are on a specific journey. Perhaps you have been there yourself. Empathy is the ultimate connector. When your list sees you as ‘one of us’, your honest credibility will skyrocket.
#5: Social Proof
Although these tips are not in any specific order, social proof is probably the most important tool in your arsenal. It also makes perfect use of the freebie.
Testimonials from your audience are one of the best ways to build your brand and expand your influence. The Internet is filled with bogus offers, extreme promotions and unbelievable stories. Honest review and testimonials will set you apart and give you much needed credibility.
Testimonials and reviews should be specific and include detail about how someone was able to benefit or achieve a certain goal.
#6: Case Studies
Use case studies to as a method for building credibility and maximizing social proof.
Recently, I conducted several case studies for traffic-generating software using a small group of clients who had recently purchased the product.
This focus group provided specific details about how their businesses improved during the 2-week testing phase after they implemented the software. These results were then published in a newsletter.
If you do not conduct your own case studies, you might try publishing existing case studies in your industry or niche. It is one of the best ways to maximize the freebie.
#7: Engagement
The importance of proper engagement with your audience is crucial to your success. You must always answer questions and respond to comments promptly.
Be certain to add value with invested answers and sincere empathy. This is a great opportunity to teach, direct and encourage your audience.
If one of your list members is the catalyst for an interview, training segment or newsletter topic, be certain to include their name in the process. This builds loyalty and makes you accessible.
I work with one marketer who uses this tactic all the time. He does a weekly Q&A (question and answer) segment in a newsletter where he personally responds to a subscriber’s question. What a powerful tool! It builds credibility and social proof at the same time.
Be certain to factor engagement into your business. Allow for a certain amount of time each week to respond to questions and comments. Some of the most successful marketers and content providers I know have a policy that no question goes unanswered.
One of the most demoralizing things you can do to a member of your audience is ignore them. You would be surprised at how often this happens with Internet businesses.
Marketers are so busy marketing that they forget the most important thing of all – the needs of their audience.
#8: Maintain a 3:1 Ratio of Freebie to Promotion
It has been proven that high unsubscribe rates comes from two things: over-promotion and excessive email frequency.
You will have to balance the amount of your interaction as well as a ratio of free content to paid promotions.
If the only time your audience hears from you is when you have a new promotion or some other product for them to purchase, they will tire quickly and begin to suspect your business. This is not how you build trust.
Try this: for every 1 promotion that you send to your list, be sure to include 3 freebies. These should flow naturally from week to week and may include a survey, article, video or any of the other value-added content I mentioned.
Your autoresponder sequence should have a natural flow. People do not mind purchasing products and services that help them solve a problem or fill a need. This will occur naturally as you interweave free valuable content with offers.
Now that we have studied how to maximize the relationship with our list, let’s move on the most exciting part: building a sales machine which benefits from all the work we have done to provide value.
Step 3: Creating A Sales Machine
Now we come to the part you have been anticipating: monetizing your business. We want to take the shortest path to turning the list and a good relationship with our audience into six-figure revenue.
The best way to do this is by creating your own products or partnering with content creators who fill a key, in-demand niche.
This way you control the quality of the information you produce in addition to controlling the list and how you engage with your audience.
What you will be doing is building a ‘funnel’ that includes are variety of products at various price points to engage your audience at wherever they are most likely to commit financially.
The process begins with the freebie and graduates successively through a series of higher and higher-priced products.
As your audience continues to get to know and trust you more, they will commit to purchasing these products.
At any one time, you will have a group of devoted followers who truly respond to your content. This group is worth gold. In a coming chapter I will show you exactly how this funnel works.
For now, check out five examples of how easy it can be to achieve your financial goal of 6-figure income:
As you will see in the next chapter, the process can be simple. The best part is that you can start right now and very quickly build a successful Internet business.
Example 1: Create a $27 a month membership site. You need 310 active members to earn $100,440 per year.
Example 2: Sell a $77 video training info product. You need 4 sales per day to make $112,420 per year.
Example 3: Provide a $197 “done for you” service. You need 10 sales per week to make $102,440 per year.
Example 4: Create a $997 webinar. You need 17 sales per webinar (6 webinars a year) to make $101,694 per year.
Example 5: Set up a $4,997 private 12-week coaching program. You need 21 sales to make $104,937 per year.
As you will see in the next chapter, the process can be simple. The best part is that you can start right now and very quickly build a successful Internet business
I will show you exactly how to take consistent, month-by-month steps to improve conversions, get more and more traffic, and add products to your funnel.
Some of my students have used the exact same funnel you are about to learn to build million-dollar Internet businesses.
They didn’t have any special skills or expertise. Neither did I when I got started. Literally anyone can do this… even YOU.
So, I hope you’re excited and ready to take action!
Let’s learn all everything we need to know about a funnel…
The Sales Funnel
Many new Internet marketers make the mistake of focusing on a specific product or promotion at the expense of the long term big picture. Even experienced entrepreneurs make a similar error.
You have to begin to think about your business as an enterprise. Depending on your niche, what are all the various types of products and services you can present to both your current and prospective customers. Think value.
Your subscriber has joined your list because they are looking to solve a problem or fill some need. Successful Internet marketers know how to effectively meet demand either by innovation or coupling the customer with an existing effective product or service via affiliate promotions.
I’m always reminded of a quote I heard from a seven-figure marketer early in my career:
“IF YOU CAN TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO FEEL BETTER, LOOK YOUNGER, BE THINNER OR GET RICH, THE WORLD WILL BEAT A PATH TO YOUR DOOR.”
Taking this concept one step further, let’s consider a concept called MARKET REACH. Think of ‘reach’ as the universe of potential clients or customers for your particular niche, product or service.
You want to make the most of this demographic by delivering value across a broad spectrum of engagement depending on how great the problem or need is for the customer or potential customer. You achieve this goal through your enterprise funnel.
In this part we’ll expand on the concept of the funnel I mentioned earlier in Articles.
Examine the following conntent :
SALES FUNNEL MODEL
STAERT HERE
Free Report
$17 E-book
$67 Video Traning
$27/Month Service
$997 Webinar Training
$4,997 12 Week Coaching
The sales funnel model works in any niche market. Notice how the funnel addresses the concerns of the market interested in a specific type of product with a wide variety of solutions (in terms or price and extent), depending on how great the demand for a solution may be for any given customer. This is KEY!
This funnel, the proper sequence of widget products and service, accomplishes several tasks:
It introduces your concept or idea of the widget FREE of charge – this will enable you to build your LIST.
Keeps start-up costs low – you grow your funnel as your business grows.
Next, as customers and potential customers become more acquainted with your business and perceive its value, the funnel will help build your BRAND.
Your business will benefit from ‘Social Proof’ generated not only by your customers who have experience value, but also from your own branded success.
Next, as customers move through the funnel, benefiting from the more advanced widget solutions provide, the funnel builds high lifetime value.
The Hyper-Responsive List Group
As your business expands, whether you are promoting your own products or affiliate products and services, there will be a select group of customers who will become your raving fans and love what you have to offer.
This group will purchase virtually everything you promote because you have earned their trust by providing sincere value. This same group will make it ways through the funnel to either additional, higher-priced products or higher-priced widget products in the same niche.
This is called the ‘Hyper-Responsive’ List group. These customers create high lifetime value because they will purchase products and services at the bottom of the funnel.
SALES FUNNEL MODEL
STAERT HERE
Free Report
$17 E-book
$67 Video Traning
$27/Month Service
$997 Webinar Training
$4,997 12 Week Coaching
This is where most marketers make the mistake of only promoting cheaper, niche-introductory products. Remember, credibility and a brand must be built. Trust must be earned.
USE THE FREE REPORT AND LESS EXPENSIVE PRODUCTS AT THE TOP OF THE FUNNEL TO INTRODUCE YOUR EXPERTISE, CREATE VALUE AND BUILD YOUR LIST!
This way, you don’t have to work so hard to acquire new customers and increase your monthly sales totals. The flow will occur automatically.
Remember that the funnel is scalable to virtually any business model, whether you are creating your own information products or promoting affiliate products and services.
With this in mind, take a look at 3 proven ways to increase your business…
1. Get more customers. There are two ways to do this. The first way is to get more targeted traffic. The second way is to track and test all your campaigns and landing pages, so that you’re converting more of your browsers to buyers.
2. Get more customers to spend more per sale. In other words, increase your profit per transaction. You can do this by offering upsells, cross-sells and one-time offers on your order form. This will also occur naturally as customers work their way through your expanding funnel.
3. Get more customers to spend more per sale more often. One of the keys to the big profits in your business is how often you can get your existing customers to buy from you repeatedly. That’s why it’s so important to keep adding products to your funnel, so you that you have larger products and services to offer your hyper-responsive list group.
Now let’s condense everything into one easy, actionable plan you can start implementing TODAY!
Are You Willing To Choose YOU?
Believe it or not, you now possess everything you need to know to build a wildly successful Internet business. Perhaps some of the details are fuzzy, but that is OK. The point is that from the perspective of structure, you know exactly what to do:
(1) Build an Audience…
(2) Create a rock-solid relationship with that Audience…
(3) Build and expand a round-the-clock sales machine with a sales funnel.
Take the process step by step, day after day, building your business like a brick layer builds a massive wall.
You can imagine your 6-figure business at its completion, but do not be overwhelmed by the process it will take to get there.
I am going to give you a specific starting point – right now. You can start today to build the business of your dreams.
Do this…
One list + one source of traffic + one freebie or targeted offer
Use the tools mentioned earlier in the e-book. If you take this first step you will have a list provider so you can begin to collect email addresses for your future funnel.
Each day, every month, take one step closer to completing your funnel. This could be a new product, finding a new source of traffic to add to your list, or even adding a new freebie to your autoresponder to create more value and build your relationship and brand.
The choice to begin TODAY is a choice for you. Will you do it? Or will you make an excuse to put off your Internet business for another time?
If you begin today you will be amazed at the progress you have made in three months, six months or even a year.
Your focus on list building will drive your business as you find out how to fill the needs of your audience. You will learn their pain points and what products and services will improve their lives, improve their health or help make them more money.
They will love you for it, and in return you will profit handsomely.
This is the sure way. This is the process of creating value.
It remains the most powerful strategy I have ever seen. I can tell you it works. I have done it. I’m doing it right now and I’m teaching others how to live their dreams.
If you apply everything you’ve learned in this e-book and use the tools I’ve provided, you will achieve great success on the Internet. You now have a proven SYSTEM.
There is no need to struggle any more with trial-and-error or hit-and-miss Internet marketing opportunities.
It is time to choose you for all the reasons I’ve suggested in this e-book. It’s about defining success on your own terms, carving your own path and creating a lifestyle for you and those you care about just like I did.
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