Blog

  • Crafting The Perfect Biz Opp Landing Page

    Creating High-Converting Business Opportunity Landing Page Copy:

    1. Know Your Audience

    • Profile: Know who you’re targeting. What are their needs, desires, and pain points? Think of a good avatar inside of Biz Opp. Speak to their exact problems and you’ll attract better leads.
    • Tone: Adjust your messaging to resonate with this audience. Are they professionals? Millennials? Retirees? Decide on their specifics and use those specifics to speak their language. It will pull in the good ones and repel the others.
    • Experiences: Think of what they see every day. The things that irritate them. The things they find helpful. Focus more on the good then the bad, but help them see that you feel their pain. Empathy wins trust.

    2. Clear & Compelling Headline

    • Focus: Your headline should capture the essence of your offer in just a few words. Big promises that you can prove will always outperform weak promises that aren’t appealing. If you don’t know what to do, try our Headline Generator post for ideas.
    • Benefits: Emphasize what they stand to gain. “Unlock”, “Discover”, and “Transform” are powerful verbs that suggest action and benefit. Power words help people visualize what you’re saying and pull out stronger emotions.
    • Proof: When trying to convince, use whatever proof you can to help them see that what you have is real. Especially in the Business Opportunity Market where skepticism is at its highest.

    3. Key Selling Points

    • Limit to 3: Three key points often suffice and are easy to remember. If you make things too complicated, you’ll lose your visitors attention and they’ll leave without signing up.
    • Specificity: Be as specific as possible. “5,125 satisfied partners” is better than “many satisfied partners”. It’s also wise to let people know that your offer isn’t brand new with zero other members.

    4. Testimonials or Social Proof

    • Authenticity: Use genuine testimonials. If starting out, using whatever your base company is using in their sales materials. When you can, gather testimonials of your own to set yourself apart.
    • Relevance: Ensure that the testimonial speaks directly to your audience’s needs or concerns. They’re going to want to see talk about income, product quality, how easy it is to recruit, and what kind of returns others are seeing.

    5. Strong Call to Action (CTA)

    • Verb: Use a strong action verb. Instead of “Submit”, try “Join”, “Discover”, “Start”, etc. Try to look different from others wherever you can. This is one of those locations where you can use unique text in a button and get someone to click it. If they click the submit button, your page did its job perfectly.
    • Visibility: Your CTA, especially if it’s a form or button, should stand out. Contrasting colors are a big deal. Color theory is worth looking at, but the most important part is that your page is visually appealing while drawing attention to the areas that matter most. Like your CTA button.

    6. Reassure & Build Trust

    • Confidentiality: Assure users that their data is safe. Most autoresponders guarantee that sort of thing, so it’s Ok to use claims like “Spam free – always” to make people feel good about working with you.
    • Value: Let them know they will receive quality content. Keep in mind, “Buy My Shit” 3 times a day, every day isn’t quality. If you help someone, the odds of them signing up with you go way up. Interview other successful members of your company. Share what’s working for you, so your referrals can win with you.
    • Legitimacy: A simple footer with links to terms, privacy policies, or contact info can lend credibility. This will also help if you ever choose to drive traffic with paid advertising. While we don’t require that sort of thing at T4Me, Facebook and Google do.

    7. Keep It Short and Sweet

    • One Screen Rule: As much as possible, the core content should fit in one screen to reduce scrolling. Forcing people to scroll can cost you leads, so get to the point. If your page has to be longer, include everything you can in the first screen. This should include a form. Then, you can add extra detail for those that are looking for it.
    • Clarity: Avoid jargon and complex language. Keep it simple and easy to understand. While most of your audience has graduated high school, some haven’t. Some haven’t read a book since they last had to for school. If you want to test your copy for grade level, try the Hemingway App.

    8. A/B Testing

    • Experiment: Test different versions of your landing page to see what works best. It’s not always easy to setup, but if you want to pay for traffic you really need to test. Any page builder should give you the ability to test things. Start with your headline, then try different layouts, colors, and button text to see what converts best. Pay attention to who buys, too. More leads only matter if they make you more money.
    • Update: Once you have data, optimize your copy based on the highest-performing version. Check your tests weekly. You’re generally going to want 1,000 visitors before you make any changes, but sometimes you get instant results that show a big difference. If you know something isn’t working, you can always pull the plug early.

    Bonus Tip: Inspiration is everywhere! Look at competitors, related industries, or even entirely different niches. Sometimes, a fresh perspective or a novel approach from another industry can be the spark you need to attract the people you need.

     

    Remember, your landing page is the first impression users will get of your offer, so make it count. With the right messaging, structure, and smart optimization, you can effectively convert visitors into subscribers or customers.

  • Entrepreneurial Book Review – Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

    • Book Information:
      • Title: Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
      • Author: Tim Ferriss
      • Publication Date: 2016
      • Genre: Self-Help, Business, Personal Development
      • Number of Pages: 736

    Summary:
    “Tools of Titans” is a compilation of tactics and advice from some of the most successful people in the world, all of whom have been interviewed by Ferriss on his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. The book is divided into three sections: Health, Wealth, and Wisdom, providing an array of insights across various aspects of life and work.

    Key Takeaways:
    The book doesn’t follow a strict narrative but is a collection of tips, including:

          • Methods to increase productivity and improve health.
          • Techniques for goal-setting and decision-making.
          • Approaches to developing resilience and managing stress.
          • Strategies for investing and creating wealth.

    Strengths:

    The book’s major strength lies in the diversity of its content and contributors. It offers a myriad of perspectives and advice, catering to a wide range of interests. The structure of the book allows readers to pick it up and read sections randomly, depending on what they’re interested in at the moment.

    Weaknesses:
    Due to its format, “Tools of Titans” may feel disjointed to some readers. The wide range of advice can also feel overwhelming or irrelevant, depending on the reader’s personal needs and interests.

    • “What might you do to accomplish your 10-year goals in the next 6 months if you had a gun against your head?”
    • “The question you should be asking isn’t, ‘What do I want?’ or ‘What are my goals?’ but ‘What would excite me?’”

    Relevance to us:
    The wealth of advice from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders provides an invaluable resource for those starting or working on their own businesses. The wide range of topics ensures that readers will find advice applicable to their unique entrepreneurial journey.

    Recommendation:

    “Tools of Titans” is recommended for anyone looking for practical and diverse advice on health, wealth, and wisdom. While its format might not appeal to everyone, those who appreciate a variety of perspectives will find it a valuable resource.  I personally grab it whenever I want ideas on how to improve some random facet of my life.  It’s helped with my diet, my sleep, and my recovery from workouts.

  • Socially Viable Offers

    Click here to log in and see our new offer for Facebook traffic.

    Hey there. In this video, we are going to deconstruct a socially viable offer because I just made one that did about $3,000 in sales. A little less than that, to be perfectly honest, but. I don’t know where no emails whatsoever just posted to social media and the offer absolutely took off. So considering we now have Facebook traffic, you can buy from traffic. For me, you’ll find a link to do that in the blog post, under the transcript of this video. So let’s dive right in. 

    If you were watching this on my YouTube channel, you will want to go to the traffic for me blog, you can find a link to it in the description. So. 

    I’m going to read this, and then I’m going to talk to you about why the copy worked. Then I will talk to you about why the offer worked, and then we will talk about how I handled it. In case you should have a similar offer yourself. So. Forgive the positioning of my webcam brand new computer. And I don’t have the. 

    Tripod for it yet. So it’s just sitting on [00:01:00] my desk. I’m looking right at you while we are looking at the recording of my screen. So. 

    When I stopped teaching SEO, I vowed to never think about it again yet. I kept ranking really well and getting free traffic from Google. blog post I just pick up a few weeks ago, ranks on page one for AI, for biz up out of 10 million results. As you can imagine, that’s a competitive term right now. 

    My research takes five minutes or less. My on-page stuff takes less than that. My attention getting processed was also under five minutes. I didn’t even do the stuff that would drive strong links to the page. This is what it looks like to make SEO easy, no scientific degree required. I’ve decided to share my accidental SEO formulas. It is possible to get organic traffic without losing yourself to code link building and shady tricks. This is the first in a series of new training I’ll be doing, and I’ll be putting the launch prices at 10 to 20% of what I should. 

    Why. I’ve always done it. That way for the first run of any training, I dream up. This one is a hundred bucks, should be over a thousand. [00:02:00] I’ll have the full offer written up shortly, but if you already know you want in drop me a message, I’ll give you a special bonus. So. What did I do with this? So, number one, I told the story. It was engaging. I used wording that. 

    Kept people paying attention. Then. I talked about him notoriously difficult process. When it comes to online marketing, SEO is tough. And I offered to simplify it drastically. In doing so. The hands just went up like crazy. You can see, I have 120 comments. Three people shared it. And a 50 plus people liked the post. There are a ton of comments and most of it was people asking for the information because I didn’t just give it to them. That was part of the process, getting people to interact with this. I can Uh, Insights on it. I did run a small ad for, I think, 25 bucks just because. Eight engagements for 25 bucks. Really? Isn’t that much. I keep looking up thinking Maya. [00:03:00] Webcam is up there. So. 2200 impressions. Post reach was 1746. Engagement was almost 25%. And that’s massive. Absolutely huge. So this is garbage. 

    For, I think I spent $30 just to see if it would help. Considering there were, I believe 27 sales at a hundred dollars each. I’ll take it. So one of the things that I did to keep this rolling was if there had been no activity in a while I posted an update in the thread, Once I had the copy. 

    Which really was just an eight minute video with a transcript of the video underneath it. I started posting that in the comments as well for the people that were smart enough to look at my replies, to other comments and click the link there I had. 50 plus people messaged me privately for the link, which of course I gave them and gave them what information I could. 

    This took off way more than I expected. I figured I’d get five to 10 [00:04:00] people and be very happy for my first training back in the game in many years. And this thing took off Old friends that I normally would’ve given my program too, but I realized not long ago with the help of my lovely wife, that my friend should be buying my stuff. Just like I would, there is, I would never ask for a discount. 

    So. 

    Now what is a socially viable offer? Let’s break that down. This is a drastic discount. Yes, it’s the first time releasing it, but that drastic discount is a really, really big deal. You must be able to take 50 to 75% off of the price of an offer like this to make it socially viable. If you don’t have that control, then you must stack on bonuses to make the offer superior, to increase the value of the offer. 

    So you can make it socially viable. This offer was so good that people were sharing it. People were happily commenting and interacting. If the offer is not good. You might as well be standing in a forest by yourself talking about it. No, one’s going to [00:05:00] comment. No, one’s going to like, and it’s not going to be seen by the people who need it most. 

    So to ensure that people see it, you have to tell a great story. You have to make a killer offer, offering something that is causing people pain today and offering to solve it. The last time I had an offer that was this successful. It was an affiliate promotion for a contest software that was 75% off. It was like a $40 price tag on a $200 software. 

    So it went viral like this. I made thousands of dollars because I was helping people and telling them about the offer. By telling them to go buy something. They saw value in that because the discount was so large and the product was so good. My reputation makes all the difference here, which is another reason to build up your audience on social media. 

    So. Viable offer is massively discounted. Valuable. And solves a present pain or problem for the people that are hearing about it. And. It should be something at least slightly unique [00:06:00] or special. If it’s uniquely valuable, that works. So. Last, but not least. How did I keep this going? This is really simple. So what happened was whenever someone commented. 

    I replied. That tells the algorithm that you are. Talking. With the people that are interacting with your post, that then boosts the visibility of the post. Then when it little while. Date to bring it was timelines. I’m on Facebook, a professional profile poster treatment. I can get organically. Best thing I can do is, but then Facebook sees me and help me get. So those comments. Comments, and it would keep this post has been since it’s been almost a week. And by best post defender revenue, about 2,700. I’m thrilled with this. 

  • Entrepreneurial Book Review – the War of Art by Steven Pressfield

    • Book Information:

      • Title: The War of Art

      • Author: Steven Pressfield

      • Publication Date: 2002

      • Genre: Self-help, Creativity, Psychology

      • Number of Pages: 190

    • Summary:

    • “The War of Art” is a deep exploration of the internal struggles we face when pursuing creativity, known as ‘Resistance’. Pressfield characterizes this Resistance as the destructive force that keeps people from pursuing their passions and unleashing their creative potential.

    • Key Takeaways:

    • The main points from the book include:

      • Understanding Resistance: Pressfield explains the concept of Resistance, a universal force that opposes creativity and change.

      • Overcoming Resistance: The book provides strategies to combat this force and to maintain a regular creative practice, such as turning pro and loving what you do.

      • Beyond Resistance: In the final part, Pressfield discusses a higher realm called ‘the Muse’, which rewards the artist who overcomes Resistance.

    • Strengths:

    • “The War of Art” is a powerful and inspiring book that uses clear, direct language to articulate its points. It effectively tackles the psychological barriers that inhibit creativity and provides practical strategies to overcome them.

    • Weaknesses:

    • While the book is a source of motivation, some readers might find the book’s structure repetitive or its approach overly metaphysical, particularly in the final part of the book.

    • Relevance to Beginning Entrepreneurs:

    • This book is especially when we try to conquer Resistance, whether it be in launching a business, creating a new offer, or innovating in our field. The strategies to overcome Resistance can be used to tackle any roadblocks in our entrepreneurial journey.

    • Quotations:

      • “The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”

      • “Resistance is always lying and always full of shit.”

    Recommendation:

    “The War of Art” is highly recommended for anybody like us. It is an illuminating guide that motivates us to conquer our fears, embrace their passions, and unlock their creative potential.

  • 5 Things To Add To Your List Building Formula

    Value

    When we’re playing the Biz Opp game, it’s really easy to fall into a cycle of endless hype and pitching.  How’s that working if that’s what you do?  

    Generally, people want value.  There are a bunch of ways to give value, including pitching.  Here are some ways to increase the value in your email follow-up:

    1.  Stories – It’s a simple truth that we’re all on love with stories.  Whether you make them up or they’re from your life, tell more stories.  It increases engagement and improves the experience of your subscribers.
    2. Help – Whatever you’re selling, you should be helping your list get better at the things you want them to buy.  In Biz Opp or MLM specifically, help them get wins that lead them to needing more of your products.  If you sold weight loss supplements, give away exercise routines.  If you sell marketing stuff, help them with conversion boosts.  Get it?
    3. Entertain – Make them laugh.  Make them smile.  Why?  This makes them like you.  If they like you, the odds of them buying stuff, go way up.

    Nobody has to stay subscribed to your list.  If you want to keep them, bring valuable things into their inbox.  The more they look forward to your emails, the more they’ll open them.  When your subscribers open your emails, you reach more of your subscribers.  With list building, engagement is the difference between making 5 figures and 6 figures +.

    Consumption

    Why don’t you hear about this more?  We’re weird and care about. people?  We understand that the more you succeed, the more you buy our traffic?

    This works like magic.  If you give them something free, reinforce their consumption of that free thing.  Send an email or two highlighting pieces of the PDF or video.  Send another with a testimonial from a reader.  Send a third that talks about what they’ll be able to do once they do the thing you teach them.

    This applies even more to your paid products.  Send them guides on how to apply their new info or use their new product.  Recipes, Frameworks, Templates, Infographics, and any other type of helpful content will have them felling like you really care.  This is the easiest way to stand out in the age of AI and automation.

    This does a bunch of good things, but most importantly it creates a feeling of reciprocity with your reader.  They’ll feel like they owe you and want to make you happy.  Buying. your stuff is the standard way they’ll try to help you out for helping them.

    Connection

    The more you connect with your audience, the easier it is to reach them.

    You should consider suggesting they join you on the sites where you have active social profiles.  Every location where they can hear what you’ve gotta say increases the odds they do whatever you want them to do.  If you share personal info, it will increase the bond you build with them, too.

    One of the easiest ways to connect with your list is to do live video and answer their questions. This shows them that you know what you’re doing.  If they trust you, they’re more likely to buy from you.

    Ask them to reply to your emails.  It increases deliverability and makes them love you.  When you get an email from a subscriber that is positive (you should have gotten ugly ones by now, don’t reply), reply and talk to them.  This encourages them to reply more often.

    Content

    I’m not talking about the value we discussed above.  I’m talking about Content Marketing.

    This is different from what you do when you buy traffic.  Buying traffic is wonderful because you control how much you get by how much you spend.  That control is valuable in any business.

    What content does is it provides you traffic at little or no cost.  You invest time and it gets you traffic.  This traffic continues for as long as your content is discoverable.  Basically forever.

    To find the content you should be building, do basic Google searches for what your offers do.  Find what content is ranking.  Look through the first 2 or 3 pages.  When you find topics that repeat (at least once), copy them down.  Next, arrange all of those topics an a way that makes sense.  Finally, reproduce the content you found and add your own perspective to it.  You must rewrite every word (rewriting is research, copying and pasting is plagiarism).  

    Do this for any major topics you find.  Where you put this content can vary greatly, but you’ll want to follow this simple order to reach as much of your prospects as possible:

    1.  Your websites
    2. Platforms you have a following on.
    3. New platforms your people are using.
    4. Friends that have access to your audience (with their permission).
    5. Websites that rank well in Google.

    People

    Leverage is something we should all be searching for.  The greatest leverage we could find is to connect with others that already have an audience made up of people that need what we’ve got.

    The fastest growth for your list lies in these people.

    Search Google, FB, and any other social sites you often use to find people who could help you.  Spend a few minutes reviewing their social profiles.  See what they’re interested in.  You want at least 2 or 3 ideas of what they’re into.

    While it’s Ok to have ambition and choose a few big name people, you want to mostly find people a level or two ahead of where you’re at right now.  This is because you have things of value for those people, where the big names will be harder to please.

    You may be able to connect with these people in direct messages or via email, but the guaranteed way to get to them is to find something that connects to what they like and send it to them.  If they’re resistant to giving you their address, instead buy them a gift card for the item you wanted to send and send them the gift card instead.

    This will give you a window to get to know them better.  Instead of pitching them on helping you, attempt to get to know them better.  Friends will help you any time you ask.  If they don’t know you, it’s unlikely they’ll be willing to do much for you.  

    Once you’re friends, you can discuss doing joint offers, promoting each other (with affiliate tracking or without), and finding ways to connect your audiences and grow your businesses through cooperation.  

  • How To Use AI For Biz Opp And MLM

    When it comes to sharing your business opportunity or network marketing company, you need every advantage you can find.  If you’re not using AI to gain leverage over your competitors, you’re missing the most incredible innovations we’ve seen online in years.

    The question is this:  Should you be using AI in your side hustle or business?

    The answer is:  Absolutely.

    AI gives us an unfair advantage IF we use it the right way.

    For instance, if you’re struggling with writer’s block, you can tell Chatgpt to generate 10 content ideas that resonate with your audience and solve their pain points. 

    Need a unique image for your website or social media posts? Dall-E or Nightcafe can create one for you – just describe what you’re looking for and let their AI do the rest.  They’re free to create and free to use.

    Here are some smart things you can do with AI:

    The Magic Of AI Conversations 

    The magic in Chatgpt isn’t the first prompt. It’s the 15th!

    There is magic in teaching the AI what you want it to know, which is not something I’ve seen “AI experts” mention.  

    Maybe it’s in their expensive courses?    

    Use your first few prompts to train the AI.

    Then, start guiding it into providing you with what you’re looking for.  

    AI Content Creation

    Here are some things you can use ChatGPT, Bing, or Google Bard to create for you:

    Model a competitor’s content.  Find a popular post that helps your audience and provide the URL to ChatGPT.  Use this prompt:  “Using this URL, what can we add to make this post more helpful?”.  Then, “Based upon your suggested changes, produce a superior version of the article at URL”.  Finally, edit the post to add any extra value and your voice to it.  Then, you can post it.

    Write better social posts.  Pick your favorite maverick from any market.  It could be anyone you’d like to emulate.  Ask ChatGPT to “Give me a social post in the voice of MAVERICK’S NAME on the topic of WHAT YOU DO”.  If you like it, use it.  If not, ask for it to refine the post and change it to your voice (by providing your social account URL).  Now, ask for 20 of them.

    Customer Support: Business owners can use ChatGPT as a customer support tool on their website or social media platforms. ChatGPT can answer frequently asked questions about the business, products, or services, and help customers with any issues they may have. This can save time and effort for business owners and their support teams while improving the customer experience.

    Market Research: ChatGPT can be used by business owners to conduct market research. They can use ChatGPT to ask customers about their preferences, opinions, and feedback on their products or services. This can help businesses to improve their offerings and make informed decisions about their marketing strategies.

    Personalized Marketing: Business owners can use ChatGPT to personalize their marketing messages to customers. Based on the information provided by the customer, ChatGPT can recommend relevant products or services and provide personalized recommendations. This can help businesses to increase their conversion rates and improve customer loyalty.

    AI Image Creation

    I’ve built thousands of images using AI.  Just not the way most have done it. I accidentally cheated.

    If the AI gets your image wrong, it’s because of what you fed it.  I recommend using Nightcafe (the free version should be enough for most people) to learn how to prompt AI. In the mobile version, it shows you the adjustment prompts it uses to produce specific looks.  Pay attention to those and use them to learn what to ask for.

    If you want a hyper-specific design, use Dall-E instead.  You can either do that inside of Nightcafe or at the Open AI website.  The most realistic designs come from Midjourney.

    This 7-minute video takes you through some of my creations and my suggestions to learn AI image creation. 

    AI Mistakes

    While AI is a huge time saver if used the right way, there are a lot of wrong ways to use it.

    The first thing is to understand that the internet is filled with incorrect information and bad takes.  The more it grows, the more this also grows.  If you don’t understand a topic, don’t use AI to create content for you.  You must know the subject well enough to know when it gets it wrong.  This lawyer is a perfect example of this problem.

    You have to be able to see the difference between plagiarism and research.  If you copy someone else’s work (or ChatGPT does that for you) without crediting them, that’s illegal.  If you copy someone’s work and rewrite it in your own voice while adding new information, that’s research.  Knowing the difference between the two can save you millions in legal expenses and lost lawsuits.

    While there are new AI applications launching daily, buying every new product will only waste your money.  If the product doesn’t solve an active problem for you, don’t buy it.  In these early days, most claims are going to be a bit overblown.  Expect to be let down a bit with most products.  Don’t waste all of your spare money on products you won’t use or ones that are bound to fail you entirely.

    Crazy AI Tricks

    AI is going to keep helping us do crazy things.  Here are some of the coolest applications of AI that I’ve seen so far:

    Someone just used Chatgpt to give endless dialog options to NPC characters in the video game Skyrim.

    AutoGPT is a script that uses the ChatGPT API to do full tasks completely on its own.  Here’s a link to it.

    Creative writing: Developers have used the OpenAI API to generate creative writing pieces such as poetry, short stories, and even entire books. Some have even used the API to write music or generate original artwork.

    Chatbots and virtual assistants: The OpenAI API has been used to create chatbots and virtual assistants that can engage in natural language conversations with users. These chatbots can help customers with product recommendations, customer support, or general inquiries.

    Language translation: The OpenAI API has been used to translate text from one language to another in real-time. This can be useful for businesses operating in multiple countries or for individuals communicating with people who speak a different language.

    Gaming: Developers have used the OpenAI API to build intelligent agents for gaming applications. These agents can learn from gameplay data and adapt their strategies to become more effective over time.

    AI video creation is here and improving every day.  Take a look at RunwayML.

    The best part about this guide is that AI created more than half of it. 

     

     

  • The Truth About Traffic – 5 Things You Need To Know

    Every Internet Marketer I’ve ever spoken to would be thrilled if they got more traffic.  It seems to be the most perplexing part of internet business.

    The part I find funny is that some of the greatest marketing minds I’ve ever met are doing it wrong.

    Sure, they make plenty of money.  However, they’ve set their business up to be knocked down in a brief moment.

    I’ve been studying traffic for more than a decade and the 5 truths I’m going to share with you today are going to be enough to set you apart from nearly every competitor in your market.

    All you have to do is listen and apply what you learn from them.

    It’s Not About You

    Unless you’re an info marketing guru, nobody cares about your expensive car.  They don’t want to hear about your extravagant life either.

    Who is this “they” I’m referring to?

    Your prospects.

    They don’t care about you.  They care about them.

    What can you do for them?

    Do you actually care about how much difference your product will make in their lives?

    Are you going to help them if something bad happens after they buy?

    Most importantly:  Does your product help solve the problem it promises to solve?

    Get that right and your customers will tell anyone they know how awesome you are.

    The Wrong Target Will Never Buy

    You’ve got a killer product and a shiny new website that sells it.

    Hundreds of hours invested have produced something you’re proud of and excited to sell.

    You hit go, send, and start a set of ads expecting sales notices.

    Yet, they never come.

    What happened?

    The truth is that the quality of your product only matters if you show it to the right people.

    Your targeting is everything when it comes to traffic.

    If your offer isn’t selling either it’s not as good as you thought or you’re showing it to the wrong people.

    Competition Isn’t Always Good

    You see all of this experts killing it in a market where you have a little knowledge and you believe you can do better.

    You enter the marketplace with a “1,001 Ways To ______” guide and expect the sales to start flowing.

    Instead of your success, you get to watch your offer blow by like dust in the wind.

    Why?

    A generic offer is good for almost nobody unless you already have a huge audience that’s generic enough to want it.

    How is this fixable?

    Change the product name to be specific to an exact type of person in an exact situation.

    Targeting parents?  Change it to parents of twins or diabetic kids or children with developmental disabilities.

    Targeting weight loss?  Adjust it to obese enough to need surgery or postpartum mothers or aging men.

    Targeting business opportunity seekers?  Switch it to people that don’t want to work 50 hours a week or someone that has previously bought a franchise or a person that wants to leave their job.

    With as much information as there is available online, you have to be unique.  Once you get your primary target figured out and get your offer selling, make minor adjustments to your product and put it in front of a new subset of the big audience you want a piece of.

    When It’s Working, Spread It Around

    You’ve chosen a primary traffic source and sales are coming in nicely, better than you expected.

    You grow and scale your budget to coincide with the increased sales you’ve got and are seeing a nice spike in your income.

    What next?  You can’t pull anything more from this source.

    You take whatever assets you’ve produced to make that traffic work so well and you take it to a competitor.

    If you can get an ad to convert on Facebook, you can easily get it to work on Google or some other network.

    If you’re generating social traffic on Facebook, you can take the process that works there and adjust it to work on Instagram, Twitter, or any other social network.  The group may not be as big, but your prospects are there.

    If you’ve gained a couple of top rankings on Google, take the steps necessary to rank on Bing, too.  Target new keywords.  Repeat your process to rank all over the place.

    If you want to win in your market, the more places you can get traffic from the better it will be for your business.

     

    Tomorrow’s Success Is Never A Guarantee

    If you put 100% of your focus on SEO, you’re relying on Google™ operating the same way tomorrow as it does today.  They could pull a switch and change everything tomorrow with no warning.

    If you put 100% of your focus on Facebook™, they could double your ad costs tomorrow.  They could shut down your account for breaking some weird policy you didn’t know exists.  They could do anything they want and there is nothing you can do about it.

    That’s why you have to have multiple traffic sources, even if they’re all similar.

    The single worst thing that can happen to a business is for their sole traffic source to dry up or be otherwise unavailable.  Without their traffic, you have no sales.

    I know these statements are a bit harsh, but the truth is that ignoring any of these is setting your business up to fail at any point in time.  Be better than that.  Do what it takes to create a business that thrives and does more than just survive.

  • Easy Mode Ad Testing – How To Know What’s Working

    I used to think of Advertising as gambling, but Advertising doesn’t have to be all risk if you think about and handle it the right way.

    The key is to think of your initial ads as a process of data collection.  Once you have enough data, it’s really hard to fail.

    Yet, gathering data only helps if you know what that data means and how to use it.  While testing is important, you have to do it right and know what the data is trying to show you.

    To have your tests be viable, you need to only be testing one thing at a time.  If you’re testing more than one thing, it’s very difficult to tell what’s going wrong and why it’s happening.

    Before we dive in, keep in mind that testing doesn’t always require a huge budget.  If a network demands a large budget, test one one that doesn’t to get your ad and landing page working before you move onto one of the networks that requires a budget bigger than you’re comfortable spending.

    What happens when your ad isn’t working

    The main problem with this part is that your budget and your offer play a huge part in how easy it will be to make it work.

    If you have a product that nets you $1,000 profit for every sale, obviously you can spend way more than an offer that nets you $20 per sale.

    Even if your product is expensive, you still don’t want to waste money.  If you’re spending $500 to make %1,000, that’s OK, but wouldn’t it be better to spend $100 to make $1,000?

    When an ad isn’t working, a few things will be happening:

    1. Your cost per click (CPC) will be higher than it should be.
    2. Your click through rate (CTR) will be lower than it should be.

    What to adjust (in order of problem probability):

    1. Your target audience (unless audience is from traffic or an email list)
    2. Your ad/email text
    3. Your images

    The acceptable range for “working” will vary, but it should be fairly obvious.  You have to make more per click than you spend.

    To figure out if your ad is working while you’re not making sales, take your earnings per click (EPC) from other sources (affiliates, organic traffic) and see whether your CPC is less than your standard EPC.  If it is, your ad is working.

    If you’re making a profit, your ad is definitely working.

    What happens when your landing page isn’t working

    Your clicks are flowing nicely and you’re happy with where your costs are.  Yet, nobody is signing up (or buying).

    You need two things in place to optimize a landing page:

    1. Analytics
    2. The ability to split test

    For Analytics, Google is fine.  If you’re using WordPress, there are plenty of plugins that can get you the data you need.

    For split testing, you can either use a plugin, script, or click tracking software to get it working.

    What it looks like when your landing page isn’t working:

    1. Your bounce rate is super high (70 – 90% leave within a few seconds)
    2. Your opt-in rate is under 10% or your sales rate is under 1%.

    While your best bet is to start split testing aspects of your page, your offer may need to change entirely.

    Split testing will take longer, but it’s risky to change everything when the offer isn’t working.  It still may not work.

    The primary reason to split test is because your results will improve over time as the traffic tells you what they want.

    What happens when your offer isn’t working.

    Your list is growing and your ad is performing, but nobody is buying.

    When this happens either your offer isn’t a match to your list or your copy is too weak and isn’t performing.

    The first step is to take a look at comparable offers in your market, especially if you know they’re selling well.

    To be sure they’re selling, check the affiliate network they use.  It will give you all of the data you’d need to be able to determine whether they’re making sales.

    If they’re making sales, take a close look at the structure of their sales page.  What have they included?  What pain points are they focused on?  What are they doing that you aren’t?

    Do an edit on your sales copy and attempt to structure it similarly to your competitors.  Don’t outright steal their copy, use theirs to guide the direction you take your own.

    This is also a good time to start split testing variations of your page to see what boosts your conversion rate.  Here are some things to test:

    1. Headline
    2. Graphics
    3. Text colors
    4. Buttons
    5. Price (One payment of $97 Vs. 3 payments of $37)
    6. Bonuses
    7. Offer (What they’re buying)

    Obviously, changing the offer should be the final thing you do.  It’s far more difficult to do than any of the other options.

    Wish it was easier?

    You can remove all of the ad testing by buying your traffic from us…  🙂

  • What You Can Learn About Your Business From Video Game Streamers

    Did you know that there is an emerging business model where people play video games all day long and get paid for it?  I’ve been a gamer most of my life and often find that I’ve spent over an hour a day watching other people play the games I enjoy.  From how active their channels are, I’m not the only one.

    Obviously, I found myself analyzing what they do.  How do they make their money?  What are they doing that the rest of us should be doing in our own businesses?

    Here is a list of the major points I’ve figured out:

    Community Is Everything

    Even if you have no interest in video games, it’s worth watching a popular streamer for an hour just to see how they interact with their audience.

    Some of the conversations are flat out ridiculous, but it’s obvious that these gamers are having a great time.

    They show respect to everyone that shows it to them.

    In fact, they’re brutal if a “troll” ever starts picking fights or being rude.  Even better, their audience appreciates when they burn a rude newcomer.

    It’s community at it’s best and it would be good for any business to embrace the way these people do things.

    One Path To Multiple Income Streams

    One of the things I respect most about Streamers is that they have their hustle down.  Completely.

    They know exactly what their communities are willing to buy and they have zero hesitation when it comes to using it to their advantage.

    Here is how they do it:

    Subscribers – If you visit a streamer’s page and enjoy hanging out there, the best thing you can do is subscribe to their channel.  It costs between $4.99 and $24.99 on Twitch and you gain access to exclusive emotes you can use while in their chat.

    Obviously, the smart ones don’t ask you to subscribe.  It’s a simple way to show you enjoy what they do.

    Donations – Most Streamers accept donations via Paypal.  Again, most won’t ask for them.  It’s another way to show you enjoy their stream.

    Patreon – Most male streamers don’t have these, it seems that Patreon is mostly used by Streamers that also do Cosplay.  Cosplay is where a person uses outfits and makeup to impersonate a character from movies or popular games.  

    A lot of the Patreon users I’ve seen use slightly dirty images (not fully naked, but in lingerie) and give special packages and filled with pictures, polaroids, and other items.

    Subscription levels vary and go from $1 to $100 per month.

    SponsorshipsA Streamer is simply an Influencer in different clothing.  Some of them have tens of thousands of viewers every day.  It only makes sense that brands that appeal to gamers are throwing money and merchandise at Streamers to get them talking about their products.

    While it’s not always the case, many times this results in an affiliate relationship where the Streamer gets paid a percentage for every customer they refer.  Other times, the company will send free gear to the Streamer in exchange for them talking about the brand.

    Whether they’re paid in money or products, it’s a very smart way to get something extra for doing fun work.

    Merchandising – I wasn’t surprised when I saw the first Teespring campaign attached to a Streamer.  I was surprised when I saw them progress to full blown merchandise stores in a matter of a few months.

    They do the same things we do.  They have graphic designers build their logos and take funny comments that resonate with their communities and turn it into shirts, mugs, and other items.

    While that may not apply to your business, it’s a great lesson on taking advantage of every imaginable monetization possibility.

    Begging Is Ugly

    Once upon a time, there was a video game Streamer that had a small audience of a few hundred people.  They were obviously sad and the people watching asked what was wrong.

    The Streamer, near tears at this point, started spewing out every imaginable problem and started begging for money.

    Outside of a few fiercely loyal viewers, most people instantly left.  I don’t know if the streamer got any money by begging, but it was an ugly moment and not something most people wanted to be a part of.

    The lesson here is this:  Earn your money.  Don’t beg for it.  Even if things get rough, do the work and get paid for the work you do. 

    Working With Buddies Is Fun

    The best example of the power of their communities is when these Streamers play together.  They get to add new members to their community and the list of paying subscribers grows automatically.

    When it comes to the rest of us, it’s a great lesson in fun.  I can personally get lost in the details of my business and have times where getting something done is tough. What would it be like to divide up the work with a buddy and share whatever profit you were able to produce?

    While I’d love to play video games all day and get paid for it, I do love what I do.

    Yet, these Streamers have their businesses well laid out and have figured out how to play all day long and get paid to do it.

    You have to respect their hustle.

  • 2 Drastic But Simple Steps You Can Take To Guarantee A Better Year

    Every new year, we take a look at our previous year with the unsatisfied tone of a grumpy old man.  Frustration over what we could have achieved is a standard with nearly all entrepreneurs.

    Then, we site down and write down things that we can do to improve our results for the coming year.  Some of those things will stick, but normally we end up going back to our old habits.

    If you’re ready to get off the hamster wheel of craziness we fall into, the things listed in this post can help you make changes more permanent.

    SOP

    SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedures.  What you want to build here is the operating manual for your business.  It works similar to an operating manual for software or a computer.  The idea is to document all of the process you use in your business every day with the goal of making it easy to follow and perform any of the processes you add.

    Building it is simple.  Pick a quiet day during work and write down exactly what you do.  Every step.  Make it as detailed as you can.  Design it to be easy for someone that has no idea how to do what you do to pick up and start working.

    Organize each process in order of priority.

    Add things like standard customer service replies and email templates for common customer interactions.

    Put together some idea generators and research data.  Add it to the SOP.

    Add every imaginable thing that makes doing what you do easier.

    This is helpful for you because you get to organize the stuff you do repeatedly.  If it’s organized, it’s just “rinse, wash, repeat” over and over again.

    The major benefit is that you can hand this to an employee down the line and they should be able to replicate whatever results you would have been able to produce.

    Work Smarter

    I’m not sure if your experience is similar, but my social media accounts are filled with the “hustle and grind” type.  They’re bragging about things like not sleeping or eating, spending extended periods of time away from their families, and the silly amount of things they’re able to accomplish.

    I don’t know about you, but I have no intention of ignoring my family or going without sleep.  However, I do have to get work done.

    Instead of working 24 hours a day, I had to learn how to maximize my work time and get more done.  When I did it, I reduced the amount of stress I’m under and still got every important task completed.

    Here are the things I changed to be able to work less:

    1. Shut down anything that could interrupt what you’re working on.  Throw your phone on silent and close browser tabs with any social media.
    2. Stop over-analyzing everything.  Never edit until your work is finished.
    3. Organize work tasks by priority.  Do the most important things first.  If you don’t know what the most important thing is, organize them by their ability to produce money quickly.
    4. Follow your SOP and ensure you follow every step.  This prevents the need to come back and fix something later.
    5. Except when it’s unavoidable, work on one project until it’s done.  You may be awesome at multitasking, but you’re not getting as much done as you should.
    6. Focus on your products.  It seems to be a standard in the internet marketing and business opportunity spaces to launch and dump a product.  It’s the silliest thing ever.  If you can sell a product using affiliates, you can sell it to other traffic, too.
    7. Reward yourself, but don’t be crazy about it.  Getting a task completed is something you should reward yourself for.  However, that doesn’t mean you should take the rest of the day off.  Get back to work!
    8. Walk away when you get stuck.  If you can’t seem to get any work done, take a break.  Go for a walk.  Listen to some music.  Find a guided meditation on YouTube.  Do whatever works for you, but the break may be enough to get past your barrier.
    9. Move.  I’ve found that a 15 minute workout (I haven’t worked out in years – until recently) helps me focus and puts me in a place where everything work related is easier.
    10. Network.  Find others that do what you do and talk to them about problems you face.  If you don’t know how to get past it, they might.

    These 2 simple things will change your future.  Give them a shot and watch as your results improve.