JANUARY 2010
Greetings & Salutations:
Again this month, I am going to publish a few more of the
questions I have been asked ... along with my answers, of course:
Q: If your kid was
starting their own online business - what is the most crucial
piece of advice you could give them to help ensure their success?
A: Don't be ashamed
of who you are. Use your "real" name in all your
activities. Don't resort to hiding behind pseudonyms or
dummy email addresses.
Be who you are. Let your potential customers
know who you are. Share with them. It is better to
give them something they need than to withhold it because you
don't get "paid" for helping them.
Admit your faults and shortcomings ... even I have 1 or 2
... I think ;-).
By being "just you" ... not something or someone
you are NOT ... you will gain the respect of your potential customers.
Q:
What's the biggest mistake you see made right now by online marketers?
A: No followup.
Unfortunately, most online marketers offer their product
one-time to their customers ... then they move on to the next
product.
As I learned over 30 years ago, when I offer a
product to 1,000 people and 20 of them buy it, there are still
980 people that didn't buy. -- The reason they didn't buy
could be because of time or money constraints ... they were doing
something else and didn't have the time to look at my offer
- or - they didn't have the spendable cash at the
moment.
In the direct mail business, some of them will put the mailing
aside and respond later ... when they have the time
or money.
On the Internet, those 980 people simply delete the offer;
or save it where they will never see it again.
When I asked a well known "guru" why
he didn't remail an offer he had sent me, he said, "Why.
They've already seen it and didn't buy."
In the marketing game, you must keep your message in
front of your customers. Let them know it is still
available. -- You never know when their circumstances might change
and your product will become something they really need.
Q:
If you had to do it all over again, what's the first product
you would market on the internet and why?
A: There is NO way
I can answer that question.
When I established my website ... September 1999 ... it was
in response to inquiries from my paper & ink readers; "Where
can I buy your stuff online?" -- By January, 2000, the website
had covered all of its costs and was in the profit column.
If I were starting over today, I would very simply respond
to the needs or wants of my potential customers. -- The product
itself is irrelevant except for the demand.
Q: Based on your
opinion and experience, what are the three main elements of writing
a salesletter headline for an online infoproduct?
A: Don't know three
... only one.
Write the headline; any headline. Read it. Then,
ask yourself, "Who cares?"
If you don't care and you don't know anyone
who cares ... the headline is worthless.
Your headline must address an issue that your potential customers
"care" about. -- THEN ...
Beyond your headline, the first paragraph must entice the
reader to read the rest of your message.
How many times have you seen a headline about something
you cared about - but - the first paragraph changed the subject?
Q: How would you
go about sniffing out a hot niche market for your next blockbuster
infoproduct?
A:
Sorry, I've never gone looking for a niche.
By being observant, you can see what people want or need.
If they need it, or want it, respond with what they need
or want.
I let the niches come to me.
Q:
With the nature of the internet changing constantly, where do
you see the future of online marketing headed? (ie: What
will be the next big marketing trend?)
A: Don't know.
Don't care.
I never try to foresee the future. I just roll with
the punches.
As the markets change ... change with them.
What sells today may not sell tomorrow - but - what sold yesterday
might be a big seller today.
Watch; listen to; and respond to customers. They'll
tell you which direction they are going ... go with
them.
Q:
Do you have any tips to share with those wanting to create their
own information products?
A:
There are countless books, booklets, manuals and courses on the
subject of "creating information products" -
but - I have never "created" an information product.
I think I just heard someone say, "Well, then.
Who wrote your information products."
Whoa! I didn't say I didn't write the reports, I said
I didn't "create" them. -- My life experience "created"
the reports, I just wrote it down for posterity.
As a matter of fact, "I" am one
of the people who have read and reread my reports, over &
over & over. -- Anytime I am involved in
a business project, I actually refer back to my own writings
to remember how to do the things I have done before. -- My personal
"idea books" have countless "how to" instructions
for thousands of business transactions ... just for my own use.
When you "create" an information product, you start
with whole clothe, then fill in the blanks with information you
have gleaned from others ... some who have actually done
what you are writing about but, more often, countless others
who, like you, have only researched the subject.
Then people wonder why there is so much crappola ... regurgitated
over & over ... in the information field.
If you really want to write a viable information
product, search your own experiences. Don't "create"
it ... just write down what you have
done to share it with future generations so they can either emulate
what you have done, or keep from making the same mistakes you
made.
Then again, if you don't have any personal experiences that
can "create" an information product for you, spend
your time finding viable "real life" information products
written by someone who has done it and sell those products
... either as a drop ship dealer or an affiliate.
Q: Looking at the
enormous body of knowledge on Direct Mail, has anyone looked
at what some of the pioneers teach and translated it to Internet
Marketing?
A:
As one of those "pioneers" ... a legend in my own mind
... it took me a long time to finally translate my mailorder
methods to Internet marketing.
Until mid-2003, I only sold my products to my customer
list. Then, I was approached to sell an information product
directly related to my products to my customers ... as
an affiliate. -- It worked so well, I found other related products
and services ... reviewed them, tested them ... then offered
ONLY the ones that contained "real" value to
my customers.
Within about 3 months, I was making a few extra thousand per
week in affiliate commissions.
That's when the whole picture came into focus. -- It was
nothing more than an adaptation of what I had been teaching in
my Mailorder course only using email instead of postal mail.
I learned that "real" Internet marketing is
ONLY mailorder online. -- So, I wrote it down to share with future
generations.
Another information product "created" by my
life experiences.
Q:
Do you believe that there is a place for direct mail in internet
marketing?
A: Yes, yes, yes ... Those
who fail to study and understand direct mail marketing methods
are doomed to failure as Internet marketers. -- See my Special
Offer at:
Can you stump the old master? --
Betcha can't!
Over the past 50 years (man and boy), I have made bundles
of money in direct selling, service contracting, wholesale merchandising,
entertainment (I was a professional Trumpet player, vocalist
& Radio Announcer), freight forwarding, import/export, retail
merchandising, warehousing, real estate, electronics manufacturing,
finder's fees, closeout merchandising, financial brokerage, business
consulting, steel fabrication, gold and coal mining, offshore
banking, mailorder, writing, and publishing. -- That being the
case ...
No matter what business you're in ... whether you're just
starting, well on your way, or at the top of the heap ... I've
probably been where you are, done what you are doing. -- So ...
Anytime you have a question about 'how' to do something in
your business - or - if you have any comments about anything
I've said in issues of this e-Letter; or if you want to add your
2 cents worth ... just "ask" me or "tell"
me.
Send your Questions, Comments or 2 Cents Worth
to ...
with "Question" - "Comment"
- or, "2 Cents Worth" in the SUBJECT.
If I, personally, don't have an answer to any question you
may ask, I will contact some of the professionals in your field
of endeavor (I will probably know one or more personally) to
get the real 'skinny' for you.
Note: If you want to ask a question anonymously
just tell me so when you send in the question. -- Nobody but
you and I will know who asked the question.
Copyright - 20010, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.