Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Improving Your Lead Capture

Good morning, folks, and I do hope things are looking up for you
wherever you may be. Fall has arrived in Tulsa: it's a brisk 60
degrees and sunny, and I do think leaves are beginning to change
color here and there. It's a pretty season and reminds us that
change is afoot.

How are you changing?

The one thing you can be sure of is change. It's all around us
and we inevitably change as a result. It's almost impossible not
to. Last week, I co-facilitated a round table discussion about
"What Keeps You Up At Night?" for SpiritBank. My table had people
from all walks of life ranging in age from late 50's/early 60's
to people in their late 30's/early 40's. Some were experienced
professionals and several were folks looking to start or grow a
new business started as a result of job transition.

Some were concerned with how to get a web site up and running
while others were more concerned about riding out the economy.
Other round tables discussed cash management, thinking out of the
box, marketing and sales. Across the board people were concerned
with handling and managing change, not just in the world around
them but also within the world inside their business.

Over the next few weeks, I would like to encourage you to
implement some changes in your marketing. Some of these changes
will challenge you technically while others will challenge your
mind. If you work with me, I believe you will see fruit from your
labors. You'll learn something, I assure you.

So let's get started, shall we? Let's start to implement some
changes.

The first thing I want you to consider is how you are capturing
leads from your web site. I had a client a few years ago who
spent $50K to get 250,000 unique visitors to their web site. I
cautioned them not to spend the money because their site was not
ready, but they did it anyway. They were very proud of the
results of their Google AdWords campaign. They did get 250,000
unique visitors.

But because they did not have a simple lead capture form in
place, they could not tell who these visitors were nor could
they contact them again in the future. That was $50K down the
drain.

What's your lead capture method? It amazes me how many sites do
not offer a newsletter subscription. All you need is a simple
form to capture the first name and email address of your
visitors. If you do not have this in place today, then your first
challenge is to add this to your web site.

Most HTML editors will provide a facility to create these simple
forms. The challenge then becomes how to manage a mailing list.
When someone subscribes to you through your web form, you must
send them a follow-up email asking them to confirm their
subscription. This is called double opt-in and it is part of the
Federal CAN-SPAM compliance act. While this can be done manually
it is best handled electronically using a third-party
autoresponder service. I recommend GetResponse for ease of use,
features and pricing:

http://www.getresponse.com/index/35884

Once you create an account, it is a simple matter to use their
wizard to generate the appropriate HTML code which you can copy
and paste into your web page.

Now adding the subscription button is only half the battle here.

You need to follow-up with your subscribers on a regular basis
with them. I am amazed by how many people who do have lead
capture mechanisms in place don't bother to stay in touch with
their subscribers. This defeats the purpose of capturing lead
information. You need to stay in touch at least on a weekly or
bi-weekly basis to maintain top-of-mind awareness.

Once again, you can email your list using Microsoft Outlook by
sending the email to yourself and then putting all of your
subscriber email addresses in the bcc: field. That will prevent
your subscribers from seeing the other subscriber email
addresses.

While this works, it is not practical. Promotional email should
arrive personalized. That is to say the subject line should start
with the subscriber's first name such as "Steven, An
Update from Steven Schneiderman." Doing so will increase your
email open rate. Additionally, the email should start with "Dear
Steven". And throughout the email, the text should be
personalized wherever it makes sense to do so. This helps build a
closer relationship with your subscribers.

Does this work? Absolutely. Over the years, I can't count the
number of times a subscriber has responded to an automated email
as if I had taken the time to write especially to them and them
alone. It also generates a steady stream of leads for me that
eventually turn into real business.

Once again, I recommend an autoresponder service be used for the
purpose of maintaining contact with your mailing list. Doing so
allows you to personalize emails on-the-fly and to manage
subscribe and unsubscribe requests in a completely automated,
hands-off fashion. The money you spend on an autoresponder
service will save you time and make you money in the long run, I
assure you.

There are some down sides to using an autoresponder service. If
you have an established list, you will need to import it into the
autoresponder service. Every legitimate autoresponder service
will insist on grooming your list and sending out a confirmation
email to your subscribers. This may seem like overkill since they
are already an active list; however, autoresponder services must
do this to maintain CAN SPAM compliance.

If you prefer to maintain your list on your own, but still want
a tool to help you deliver personalized emails in an automated
fashion there is another solution called GroupMail:

http://www.emailmarketingassistance.com/groupmail.htm


If you prefer to explore your autoresponder options, another
popular service is aWeber:

http://www.aweber.com/?26776


And if you do secure an aWeber account, I recommend you also get
this series of video tutorials that walk you through setting up
your account:

http://www.emailmarketingassistance.com/aweberunleashed.htm

For a corporate site that is selling products or services, it is
perfectly OK to have the lead capture form on the home page or in
a left or right column below the site navigation buttons. Just
make sure to offer a compelling reason to subscribe to your
newsletter. People will not subscribe out of the good graces of
their hearts unless your company, products or services are so
incredible that they just have to learn more. As a rule, you need
to offer them something of value -- a free report, a free
analysis, something that will encourage them to subscribe.

For a mini site focused on the immediate sale of a single
product, usually an ebook or digital software product, it is not
a good idea to add a subscribe form to your sales page. For one
thing, it encourages people to subscribe and abandon the site, so
in the long run while you may grow your list, you lose more sales.
For a mini site, you need to use a different tactic.

You need a squeeze page.

A squeeze page is a page that comes before the actual sales
letter or mini site. It's sole purpose is to build interest and
suspense through a very short, compelling pitch, and offers more
information if the visitor will subscribe. You might promise a
special report or other unadvertised bonus for subscribing. If
building a squeeze page seems challenging, I recommend this
product:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/utilities/squeezepagegenerator.htm

After they subscribe through the squeeze page, they are
immediately sent to the sales page. Now even if they do not buy
from you on their first visit, they have qualified themselves as
being a good prospect because they have subscribed. And since you
have captured their contact information first, you may now plug
them into your autoresponder and start sending them a sequence of
pre-written communications on a scheduled basis. This will
improve your sales conversions, too.

Many people are moving away from using text only on their
squeeze pages. To be more compelling, they are using audio and
video messages. If you want to de-mystify the creation of a video
squeeze page then I recommend you look at this:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/premiumvideosqueezepages.htm

And the easiest way to create and implement a pre-recorded video
on your web site is to use this tool:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/videowebwizard.htm


You simply import the video, choose your settings for your
player and then cut and paste some code and upload a few files.
Very easy to use, even for a novice.

OK, I fear I have challenged you enough today. Please re-read
this email and make some notes. Challenge yourself to visit each
of the products I have suggested and choose one to implement to
make your lead capture better than it is today. I urge you to
look over your site carefully to see how your lead capture
process can be improved and streamlined.

And don't forget. I am available by the hour to answer your
questions and mentor you through the process of change. If your
budget can not presently accommodate my services on a full-time
basis, reserve one hour of my time and we'll review as much as we
can within an hour. We'll look at your site and divide and
conquer until we get it to where it needs to be. Email me at
info@schneiderman.net.

Until next time,

Steven

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Cool Tools and Hope for the Future!

Good afternoon from T-Town. Steve Schneiderman here with a
weekend update about some cool tools I think you should know
about, but before I tell you about them, I wanted to share a
strange but funny story that took place around 1981 ...

I was hanging out in my apartment with two college buddies, Tony
and Caroline. This was back when I still lived in New York and
was teaching English as a Second Language at Queens College. The
three of us were horsing around with a Yahama keyboard my Mom had
recently purchased for my birthday, and suddenly Tony starts
breaking into a rhythm and blues tune only he starts singing
about "Going to Tulsa, Oklahome". None of us had ever been there
before, and this was more than 10 years before I would even
contemplate relocating to Tulsa. Really strange the way life
works, eh? Now I am coming up on my 51st birthday on October 3rd,
and almost 16 years since that fateful day when I moved from NY
to OK.

OK, on to the cool tools of the week:

Xara Extreme is an amazing fast and powerful graphics design
tool that is relatively low-cost compared to other tools of its
caliber. If you are an illustrator or designer you will love the
speed at which it renders 3D graphics on the least powerful of
computers. You don't need to spend a lot of money on high-end
software or lots of extra memory for your existing PC. Xara
Extreme is a very cool tool as is everything Xara makes. To see
samples and learn how to download a demo, please use this link:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/xaraextreme.htm

My Invoices & Estimates, Version 10.0 was recently released
and it is one of the best solutions for a consultant or small
business that wants to track their consulting hours or product
sales, track payments against those hours, generate
professional-looking invoices and estimates, and run revenue
reports of all types. I've been using this tool for close to a
decade and recommend the newest version. It's also dirt cheap.
Read more about it here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/business/myinvoicesandestimates10.htm

Lastly, if you run a small store, especially a game store or
liquor store, then Wolf Track Point of Sale Software may be just
what you need to streamline your business. It has an incredible
list of powerful features, but remains one of the easiest and
well-supported POS systems available on the Net. Starting at only
$20.00/month, you can also use Wolf Track at flea markets and
kiosks to accept credit card payments. It runs on Windows PCs and
will work with low-end keyboard/credit card scanners. Just add a
receipt printer and you are in business. Learn more about it
here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/business/wolftrack.htm

My thanks to those of you who took the time on Wednesday to
write to me about what keeps you up at night. I received several
well-thought out and very honest emails. Essentially, we are all
facing similar concerns during these troubled economic times.
Feelings range from regrets about decision or lack of decisions
made in the past to trying to figure out how to make it online.
I'll delve into these fears and concerns deeper beginning next
week.

Until then, remember that more now than ever before, we need to
be looking out for each other and be kind to each other. We need
to be supportive of each other and also remember that we're all
going through THIS together. Most of all, have hope. Without
that, we have nothing at all, my friends.

All my best,

Steven

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Tired of Trying it on Your Own Yet?

Good afternoon, folks. I hope you are enjoying your first day of
Fall. I recently discovered I have high-blood pressure. Ah, the
joy of turning 51. So in addition to new blood pressure meds, I
am also walking in the mornings. Today was a lovely morning --
nice and cool. I miss walking.

Back when I worked in New York City, I would walk at lunch time.
I am a devout people watcher and enjoyed studying different
people under different circumstances. Unfortunately, Tulsa does
not have sidewalks except for the downtown area where my office
is located. But out south where I live we simply have property up
to the curb and then the street. There aren't a lot of people to
watch at 7:30 am. With the exception of the odd neighbor (and
some of them are pretty odd) and a landscaping or sanitation
truck, there's no one around. Peaceful but a little creepy some
times.

I'm just walking briskly right now, trying to get my heart rate
up gradually, break a little sweat. In a few weeks, once my body
has gotten acclimated to exercise once again, I'll start to walk
a bit faster and then sprint every few blocks to really get the
old heart pumping. Hopefully, within a few months, I'll feel
better, my pressure will go down to normal, and I'll have more
stamina. But I realize it is a gradual process requiring an
investment on my part. Most of all, it will require time.

You can't expect overnight results from walking or running. If
you do, you could hurt yourself and be sadly disappointed. So why
then do people look to the Internet to make a living and
expect to become wealthy overnight? I suppose that's why so many
people are so disgusted with the Internet. They spent money on
courses and ebooks and tools, built their first web site, hung
their shingle out if you will, and got nothing for their time and
money in return.

But unlike physical exercise which can begin to show some impact
within the first few weeks, most people do not experience
positive results in their online marketing efforts. I know. I
receive many emails each week from disgruntled people asking me
what they are doing wrong, and by the way, can I fix their
problems for a nominal fee.

Years ago, I'm talking ten years, everyone was clamoring to buy
ebooks and courses from Corey Rudl, Armand Morin, and Marlon
Sanders. Those were the names you heard most. Today, it feels
like there are more Internet gurus than there are newbies. All of
these gurus sending out their latest "Buy Me!" email message to
the same lists. And then their affiliates kick in, and before
your know it, your email box is full of a dozen or more similar
emails all promoting the same offer, promising the same thing.

Now don't get me wrong. I have purchased a lot of these products
myself, and in some cases, have been given a copy to review. I
own the original Corey Rudl course and the multiple binders still
sit on the shelves in my home office. Right alongside the binders
from Marlon Sanders and others. I have read them. I learned a lot
and a lot of it was common sense. I also made some money through
promoting the best of these though I don't spend a lot of time
promoting them anymore. In fact, long-term subscribers know I
don't tend to follow the herd with tons of affiliate promotions.
I'd rather mentor you all through my own newsletter and work
selectively with those of you who can afford to do so like ...

I have a fitness client who asked me to write his sales letter,
his email series, and a press release. As a result of the press
release, he caught the attention of AOL Health and was invited to
become a member of their team. He started getting more traffic to
his site and sales began to take off.

I have a manufacturing client who asked me to write a press
release to promote his new company. The release got picked up by a
national trade journal and he also received over 800 unique
visitors to his site. He started to develop credibility and new
relationships which are helping his company grow.

I have a software development client who asked me to study their
product, redesign their site, write their sales letter and email
series, and guide them in their sales and marketing efforts. They
averaged 10 new clients over a six-month period before we met,
and now they are picking up 1-2 new clients each week, and we're
still implementing additional marketing tools.

Are you tired of trying it on your own yet?

Why not let me mentor you through the process? It doesn't
require a massive investment. We can communicate via email or
phone once or twice a week. You assemble your questions and I'll
answer them. I will direct you and keep you from going astray. I
will guide you towards assuming a more profitable position.

Of course, if you need more hands-on assistance, I can do that
if your budget can accommodate my fees. But we can start off with
an hour here, an hour there. I promise you will get your money's
worth.

Now here's the thing. There are only so many hours in a day.
Most of my time is spent working with larger clients on more
complex projects. I will clear 10 hours in my current weekly
schedule. That can accommodate ten new people or two new people,
depending upon how many hours they want of my time.

Are you ready to invest an hour with me? I will visit your site
and report back to you about my findings. We will talk for an
hour. I might be able to get you over the hump -- remove some
obstacles -- point you in the right direction -- prevent you from
going off-course -- stop you from making some major mistakes.

Let me ease the disappointment and frustration you have been
experiencing in your online marketing efforts.

Email me at info@schneiderman.net and include "Mentor Me,
Steve!" in the subject line. First come, first served.

Until next time,


Steven Schneiderman

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Is the Internet Paved with Gold?

Good Sunday to my friends. We went camping with the Boy Scouts
yesterday and had a blast watching the kids run around and fish
and play for 10 hours until they collapsed. Must be nice not to
have a care in the world, eh? Ah, if only we could do that every
day.

Since my last email, many people expressed interest in helping
out our son, Christian, with his Boy Scout fund-raising efforts.
Well, we've registered Christian with the Trails End Boy Scout
Popcorn web site, and you can actually order popcorn and candy or
simply make a donation to the military. Your choice. Here's the
link:

http://www.trails-end.com/estore/scouts/email_referral.jsp?id=2896569

As always, we appreciate your support of little boys raising
money here at home and our "Big Boys" overseas keeping us all
safe and secure.

Hey, what about those ACORN sting videos? Can you believe it?
Amazing.

I'll tell what else is also amazing, and that's how people
believe the Internet is paved with gold and how everyone feels
entitled to their piece of it.

Granted, it is easier to test market a product or service online
that it is to do in a brick and mortar world, but if it was that
easy to do, then we would all be millionaires and unemployment
would be a thing of the past.

The truth is it is not that easy to launch a product or service
online. There is much to know before you get started, and that
usually starts with performing some competitive analysis. One of
the best free tools for this is PPC Web Spy. This little tool
lets you peek behind who else is bidding on the same Google AdWord
keywords as you. Here's a quick review:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/utilities/ppcwebspy.htm

Once you get the lay of the land and understand who else is
trying to sell a similar product or service you can begin to work
on developing your features, advantages and benefits (F-A-B).

Then you can start working on your sales pitch. You need to come
up with a brand look and feel for your site -- a logo, a web
site, etc. Then you need to integrate an autoresponder to build
your mailing list, and then you need an email series to send to
them to them coming back to your site until they buy.

Let's assume you have the next great idea. What makes you think
that you can design a killer site and sales copy? I know, I know.
There are tools out there to help you, but if you have never done
it before, why would you assume you have what it takes to be
successful beyond having the kernel of the great idea itself?

I don't mean to burst dreams, bubbles, aspirations, but based
upon my 25 years of experience, there are brilliant idea people
and brilliant implementers, and usually they are two very
different types of people. It's the difference between being a
brain surgeon vs. trying to operate on someone's brain with no
experience. The patient is going to die, and if you don't believe
me, then your rose colored glasses may be in the way.

I meet a lot of people online who are trying to make a go of it.
While they may have created a unique software tool or written a
topical ebook, most haven't a clue what they are doing when it
comes to developing an online presence. I have watched many a
brilliant product creator develop the ugliest, most poorly
written web site in the world, and then they wonder why they are
not selling anything!

You want to do it yourself? OK, at least use the right tools:

Use Xara Web Site Designer to design your mini site:
http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/xarawebdesigner.htm

Use eCover Software Pro to create a decent product shot:
http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/ecoversoftwarepro.htm

Use Follow-up Email Creator Pro to create an email series:
http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/business/followupemailcreatorpro.htm

Use GetResponse to manage your mailing list and send out your
email series:
http://www.cooltoolawards.com/services/getresponse.htm

That's probably a $200.00 investment total but it would be money
very well spent, assuming you have legitimate design and writing
skills.

But I warn you, it's not as easy as you think it is. Sometimes
it is far easier to come up with the great idea than it is to
sell it.

That's where someone with my 25 years of experience comes into
play. I can give you a turnkey solution: mini site design
including web page template - header - footer - buy button, a
series of great product shots, a compelling sales letter and a
compelling email series of ten messages. I can integrate it all
with GetResponse and either Clickbank or PayPal, and I can test
it and stage the site on my server or your web host. Totally
hands off solution for you, starting at around $2,000.00 PLUS I
will include either a review of your software product on
CoolToolAwards.com (which gets 2,000,000 unique visitors a year)
or publish your ebook on Ebookomatic.com. I'll even throw in a
press release and distribute it online for you and create a
squeeze page for you gather leads!

Here are some sample mini sites we're currently developing and
getting ready to launch:

Find Your Angel Investor
http://www.findyourangelinvestor.com

Raise Fit Kids
http://www.raisefitkids.com/final%20site/

MDFatLoss
http://www.mdfatloss.com/members/mdfatloss/adminpages/MDFatLossSales

That's a lot of work, but will try to work within your budget. I
realize times are tough right now. But shouldn't you have a shot at
your dream?

Let me help you. Give me a shout at info@schneiderman.net or
call me on my cell at 918-810-5233.

All my best,

Steven

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

High Impact Emails

Howdy readers. Hope life is treating you well wherever you may be.

Today's message brings a short and sweet recommendation for you -- raise the level of your email communications. Now for long-time subscribers, you know how much I push the need for a good autoresponder and autoresponder series, and yes, I blatantly promote my copywriting services for this purpose, too.

However, today I want to focus on the design of your emails -- the graphical presentation -- what your recipient receives when they open your email communications. Are they staring at plain text or rich text with HTML and full-color layout and designs? Which do you assume gets opened more, plain text or HTML? Buzzer, please. The answer is HTML. Rich email messages with colors and photos and neat layouts get read more and convert more than plain text.

So how do you accomplish this if you are technically and designed challenge? I have the secret right here:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/highimpactemail.htm

Read my review now. You'll be happy you did.

All my best,

Steve

Monday, September 14, 2009

Wants vs. Needs

It's late and I really should be preparing for bed, so I am
ready to rise with my kids in the morning and get them ready for
school. Today I had the good fortune of watching my kids serve in
church as ushers and greeters, and they had their pictures taken
in action for our monthly church publication. Later, I drove my
son around the neighborhood in the rain so he could go door to
door to sell popcorn as a fundraiser for his Boy Scout troop.

As I watched my son in action -- he is only ten -- I smiled. He
has learned very well how to warm people up with a smile, to
speak about the benefits of his products, to make suggestions and
ask questions, to guide the prospect and qualify them, and then
hand them a pen and ask for the sale, "Which one would you
prefer, this one or this one?" Then he asks if they would like
more than one, and begins his upsell for the military donation.
Then he finishes with a "Thank you. The Boy Scouts appreciate
your support and so do our soldiers." Then he shakes their hands,
smiles and moves on.

He was picking up $65.00 orders left and right. A few years ago
he sold over $2000.00 worth of popcorn in the matter of a few
days, more than anyone else in his troop. While it's true my wife
and I solicit some orders through our jobs, the bulk comes from
Christian's salesmanship.

In a few months, it will be his older sister's turn. Alex knows
how to flash a smile and go for quantity orders. Girl Scouts have
it tougher since you have to sell a lot of boxes at around
$4.00/each to equal one tin of popcorn that sells for $50.00. But
she has done well in the past, too, often leading her troop or
coming in darn close to the top. She has her regular customers,
some corporate who will buy dozens of boxes. The kids do well,
and even though I have coached them, they are naturals.

As I watched my son today, I thanked God for giving me good,
healthy kids. Smart kids who stay out of trouble, wake up happy,
go to sleep happy, do well in school and serve their community. I
am blessed beyond belief. If I were to lose everything and have
to start all over again -- always a possibility in this day and
age -- I would still count myself a very blessed man.

But what I like here is that my kids have mastered the art of
the sale at an early age. This is an invaluable skill set. I meet
a lot of people who have good ideas for products or services they
want to sell online, but they do not understand the art of the
sale and will likely never make the first sale.

I also meet a lot of people who have great ideas for products or
services, but great ideas do not a business make. While it is
easy to set-up shop online and test market things, it is rare
that someone wakes up with an idea, launches a site and makes a
million overnight. It is very rare indeed. In this respect,
having a great idea and wanting to build a viable, sustainable
business around it is tied to understanding the differences
between wants and needs.

A pastor in church today reminded us of this difference and how
in the Bible it says God will provide everything you need. What
do you need? For most people, the essentials includes food,
shelter, clothing and perhaps transportation to do work. These
are the basics.

Wants are totally different. They are the things which we are
tempted to buy to quell something inside of us which tells us we
need it, when in truth we merely want it. For example, do we need
a Rolex watch or a Lexus? No, we don't. We may want it, but we
don't need it.

So when you decide to launch an online business, you better ask
yourself do people want my product or do they need it? Chances
are unless it involves food, shelter or clothing, people don't
need it at all. In fact, they may not even think they want it. So
your job is to use sales techniques to make them think they need
it, and then present your product as the solution they have been
waiting for.

If you don't understand the art of the sale the way my kids do,
then you may not be able to sell your ebook, your software, your
audio or video or your monthly subscription service for your
membership site. Unless you work with someone who does understand
the art of the sale.

During a recent update of my Case Studies, I laughed as I
reviewed some of the projects I have written about. Both as a
ghost writer for John Hostler and for my own clients, I have
written as a gay man selling an ebook about how to pick up men, I
have written numerous sales letters for health supplements and
diets and exercise programs, I have written about software
packages and ebooks about marketing and investing, and so much
more. The list goes on and on. Sales letters, squeeze pages,
press release, email series, direct mail campaigns, you name it.

Do you want my help or do you need my help?

Email me at info@schneiderman.net.

Good night, my friends. Stay well and be blessed,

Steven

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Hope all is well on your side of the keyboard and that my
U.S.-based subscribers had a peaceful Labor Day weekend. We spent
the time bicycle-riding and roller-blading and BBQing with
friends and family. Very nice time indeed.

All sorts of emails coming in with a variety of questions, but
most deal with how to make money online. I see a lot of people
getting involved with membership sites that charge you a fee and
then tell you to promote the same site to your friends and family
to earn "generous" commissions. Here's the thing with these types
of businesses: sooner or later you run out of friends and family,
and frequently you piss them off. I don't know anyone who has
made a dime this way so be careful.

Many others want to make millions with affiliate marketing or
reseller products. I've covered that ground in recent newsletters
and won't repeat my experience and advice here. You can always
visit my marketing blog to see past newsletters here:

http://marketingcowboy.blogspot.com/

I do think it takes some level of experience and investment to
make money with affiliate marketing. I am lucky in that I got
started early on with some very good products and services that
generate some fairly consistent income. Most folks who write to
me keep asking for an "insider" tip, and want to know if I can
tell them about something that's below the radar but is going to
become real hot soon. Here's one I think that has a lot of
potential. Watch the video by clicking on the link below:

Web Site Communicator
http://www.websitecommunicator.com/members/spidy/how-it-works.php

There's no doubt about it, though, if you want to make money
online you should figure out a way to monetize your experience,
knowledge and gifts. For instance, for me I've written a series
of ebooks about different topics where I am subject matter
expert: sales automation, ebook publishing, ebook cover design,
software and ebook product creation, forum marketing, search
engine optimization and review sites, etc. I've also created
online services to help others publish their ebooks and gain
visibility and an audience for their work. These products and
services bring in recurring monthly income for me with little to
no promotion or energy. That's true passive revenue.

Now the challenge with creating an info-product (ebook) is that
you have to do some competitive research to see what else is
already out there. Failure to do so may mean you've waste a lot
of time and money creating something for a niche that is already
saturated with products. Try to be original. Look to your own
life experience, education, hobbies and unique perspectives.

The next step is to create that product. I have taken months to
create some products and others I have done literally in a single
day. Many of you will be tempted to rush it, but I advise you to
invest your time wisely and create the best product possible. It
will pay you back in dividends.

Now once you have your product, you need a professionally
designed mini site with sharp, eye-catching graphics and a good
sales letter. Ideally, you should start with a squeeze page which
qualifies visitors, captures their first name and email address
and then provides them with some sort of digital download gift --
for an ebook it could be the first chapter in PDF format -- for
software it could be a free trial edition. In either case, you
can increase your capture rate by using an incentive that will
appeal to the audience you are trying to sell to. I also advise
you use a video welcome that shows you, your product and compels
them to subscribe to your list. After they submit their contact
info, you need to send them to your sales page which should be
well-written, compelling and also use video or audio.

Once you capture their info, you need to get them to confirm
their opt-in to your list and then start sending them a "drip"
campaign -- a series of emails that provides helpful information
and always pushes them back to your sales letter page. This
series should be sent out every week or so for at least 10-20
weeks. Eventually, they will either buy or unsubscribe. You can
also do occasional email blasts to this growing list about
related products and services which you can promote via an
affiliate link. This can create back end revenue.

Now if you have a product but are clueless about how to create
the mini site, write the sales letter, write the email series and
create product graphics, then you should reach out to me. As we
near the last quarter of the year, I am gradually filling up my
calendar. The fourth quarter (October - December) is the best
time to pitch products, so I urge you to email me at
info@schneiderman.net as soon as you can to start discussing your
specific needs.

In the weeks ahead I will send you links for some new projects I
have been involved which include an ebook on finding angel
investors and another which is a health and fitness program for
children and their parents. I designed the mini sites, wrote the
sales letters, the email series, created all the product graphics
and also helped set them up online and integrate the
autoresponders and ecommerce systems. Totally turnkey launch in a
box.

Until next time,

Steven

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Beware the Domain Scammer ...

Fresh from a quick sushi lunch with my wife, I want to share the
musings of the day which include a reasonably good attempt from a
scammer to grab some quick cash from me, a new tool guaranteed to
make your marketing graphics more compelling, and a call for
Q4/09 projects.

First, no one was happier than I when I received an early
morning email from a gentleman named Mark Allen who was offering
to purchase my domain www.forummarketingmanager.com. All he
required was to see a recent domain name appraisal from either
SEDO.com or MACEZ.com. Honestly, I read it fast, and seeing an
opportunity for some quick cash, I replied.

Then while I was waiting for a response I started looking over
the email inquiry more carefully. The first thing I noticed was
the use of a GMAIL email address. If Mark Allen exists and
represents a legitimate company or domain brokerage, then his
email address should have reflected a company name. Strike one.

Then I started reading the email slowly, and noticed several
lapses in English. As a former college writing instructor I
immediately realized the writer of this email was not a native
speaker. He made grammatical errors more common in third-world
and mid-eastern countries. So Mark Allen wasn't from the U.S. or
the U.K. Strike two.

Finally, I entered the phrase "mark allen buys domain broker"
into Google and immediately came up with a scam warning here:

http://domainnamewire.com/

If you scroll down that page, you'll find this ass makes money
by approaching domain owners with a potential offer to purchase
their domain, but only if they can provide a recent appraisal
from one of two companies. Since most people have no sense of the
value of their domain name, a percentage might click on the links
to SEDO.com or MACEZ.com Mark Allen has conveniently included in
the email. I'm thinking he meant to include his affiliate links
so he could make a dime on the appraisal fee and never purchase
my domains. Strike three, you're out!

So guess what? If you are interested in purchasing any of my
domains or outright purchasing the exclusive rights to any of my
ebook or software products, you may look them over here:

http://www.milliondollarsites.com

I will entertain any and all serious offers. With 100 domains
to manage, I can't keep up with consulting and all of these
domains. Some of them get very respectable traffic.
CoolToolAwards.com ranks 150,000 on Alexa steadily (has been as
high as 42,000) and gets about 2,000,000 unique visitors a year.
My reviews on that site typically go to #1 or page 1 position on
the major search engines within three days about 60-70% of the
time. Substitute your affiliate links for mine and you could have
a nice passive income.

Other sites get a few hundred thousand unique visitors a year --
there's about a dozen that do this -- so if you have been seeking
traffic for a related site, then you could secure one of my
domains and redirect my traffic to your existing domain. Lots of
options. Take a look.

I am entertained by scammers. Older subscribers may remember I
own www.NigerianCopywritingSecrets.com and I have started an
ebook or two examining the strengths and weaknesses of scammer
emails. Someday I'll finish this project and sell it. I have
actually responded to many of these scam letters referring them
to other relatives and military personnel who write to me from
Nigeria about all of this money and gold that has been left to me
by rich uncles. It's quite funny to watch them try to keep the
dialogue going.

Anyway, there's a new tool in town that is guaranteed to make
your graphics leap off the page:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/software/multimedia/killerabstractbackgrounds2.htm

Check it out. This is the second edition of Killer Abstract
Backgrounds and it is as good as the first edition and also
priced low. You definitely get your money's worth.

Subscribers are asking me if you can really make a living with
reseller rights for ebooks and software. The answer is probably
not, but I do it because it is like getting tools I need for
free. Let me explain. If I see an ebook or tool that I need (not
want), I buy it with reseller rights and if it is as good as they
say, I will do a low-key promotion to my subscribers. If only one
copy gets sold, I get my money back. On average I probably sell a
few copies of a few products each month. Even though it doesn't
make me rich, they probably generate $100 /month which is $1200
/year. As long as the reseller product is a quality product and
does not require support, this makes it very passive income. I
can use that $1200 /year to cover the costs of car maintenance
from my recent family trip to D.C.

Do you see how this works? Unless you have lots of marketing
experience, a solid cultivated mailing list, and a site that
pulls visitors in, chances are you won't make A LOT of money with
reseller rights products or through affiliate commissions.

But you can generate passive revenue with little effort and I'm
sure there isn't a person out there who can't use another $1200
/year. Times are tough and every little bit counts. If you've
been displaced or forced to take a job at a lower income level
but need more money, then affiliate or reseller marketing is a
natural way to augment and recover lost income.

So how do you grow a list? Well, one of the best ways I've seen
is by promoting this free service:

http://www.cooltoolawards.com/services/easyvideoproducer.htm


In all honesty this was one of those things I signed up for and
forgot about. However, every day I receive emails stating new
people have signed up under me and they are automatically added
to my list. Then I just login to my free account, and once a week
I blast a copy of my newsletter to this additional list. It's
well over 120 subscribers and it's only been a few weeks. Free
service. Free list. Hands-off marketing. Open door to communicate
with the list. Gotta be stupid not to sign up for this one.

OK, last thing I want to hit this week is Q4 projects. Look at
your business and honestly ask yourself if everything is going
the way you envisioned it would go. Chances are business is off.
The economy has hurt everyone. I feel it, too.

Now if you have some time and money -- and how much will depend
upon what needs to be improved -- give me a shout and let's talk.
The introductory call costs you nothing and gives me a chance to
get to know you and your business more intimately. I can assist
you with web design, sales letters, email series, press releases,
graphics design and general marketing mentoring.

If nothing else comes of this call, that's fine. We got to know
each other better. But I'm betting that we can find a way to work
together, even with budget limitations. So if you are ready to
take the next step, drop me an email at info@schneiderman.net
today. First come, first served.

Until next time,


Steven

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Ripped Off Again!

Good morning, friends, and thank you for subscribing to my
newsletter. This morning I am going to go on a rant about
something. There is a lesson or two to be learned for sure, so
listen carefully.

Several years ago, someone purchased a reseller product from one
of my sites. I forget the product, but it wasn't mine. It was a
piece of software I purchased with reseller rights. I offered the
buyer a full refund or a trade for another similarly priced product.

The buyer wanted to trade for a more expensive product of my own
and I declined to do so. I felt I was within my rights to make a
counter offer at a similar value or give him his money back. I
forget the lurid details, but the guy got so mad at me that he
told me he was going to pirate my product, Price Spinner, and
sell it himself with reseller rights to his 5000 subscribers of
his own list. He did it, and ever since there are dozens of
people illegally selling my product and pocketing 100% of the
revenue. The loss represents thousands of dollars and many wasted
hours trying to shut down all the sites selling my product without
my permission.

Today I learned of a French web site that is selling Price
Spinner. The whole site is in French including the video. My
developer and I are amazed. So many people selling the product
and we're not making a dime from it.

This isn't the first time this has happened. I mentioned not
long ago that I found my ebooks, Make Your Ebook Sell, and
Publishing with EbookoMatic available for sale on Amazon.com
under their Kindle section. Here, too, I am amazed by the gall of
some people to repurpose content across platforms for which they
have no right to do so. Publishing with EbookoMatic states on the
cover page that it is a free ebook, but that has not prevented
someone from trying to sell if to for $1.00 on the Amazon web
site. Make Your Ebook Sell is sold with reseller rights but the
copyright notice on the cover page also states the content may
not be published on another platform -- only as a PDF.

And Amazon has been of zero help. While they have someone
overseeing potential copyright infringement, they do not do their
job very well. I have found many other reseller titles repurposed
for the Kindle platform, and if there is a good intellectual
attorney out there, I think there is a great class suit waiting
to be won pretty easily.

At the end of the day, it is very easy to rip off someone's
product or intellectual property. Ebooks and software can be
purchased and then resold behind your back and you may never even
know it. Luckily, the young man in France understood that he had
done something wrong and he shut his site immediately under
threat of an international lawsuit. Also, he has put me back in
the hunt for pirates. He sent me a link to the site he purchased
my product from illegally. I'll deal with that guy next.

But it's time consuming and ultimately is a waste of time.

So why would you create a product of your own knowing full well
that you could and most likely will get ripped off by someone at
some time? If you do it right, you will make a few thousand
dollars on the initial sale of a new ebook or software tool with
reseller rights. But it fades fast as the super affiliates and
super resellers market your product to large lists. Soon the market
is saturated.

The real reason you create a product with reseller rights is to
build a mailing list. The first page of my PDF ebooks always
reminds people to register their copy for future updates and
bonuses. There is a link to my original site and when they
register for updates and bonuses, my list grows my another well
qualified name. To this day, while I do not sell any copies of
Make Your Ebook Sell directly, I receive a few new registered
emails each week. The single product has probably added 500
names to my list and the product cost me next to nothing to
create. A domain name and a mini site design. Everything else I
did myself. Nowadays, I would design my own site, so my only cost
is the domain name. $14.99 for a 500+ list of qualified repeat
buyers is a very good investment. I have paid $147 to run a
one-time ad in another marketer's newsletter and it generated
only a few dozen click-throughs, one sale, and only a few dozen
names added to my list. That's why I think creating your own
product with reseller rights is a great way to build your own
mailing lists. Don't be short-sighted. Think long-term growth of
your own mailing lists and repeat buyers and back end sales.

Until next time,

Steven