They home-school their children and have a goat share where they sell shares of a goat in exchange for a certain amount of goat milk each month. They do this to get around a law prohibiting the sale of unpasturized milk.

My sister tells me with grim seriousness “Oh you don’t understand…Obama is a bad bad man…he’s not who you think he is. He’s not a Christian.”

Wow, seriously? Now I know what you might be thinking. My sister and her family are uneducated people from the back woods - Deliverance types - but that isn’t the case. The reason they moved to Ohio is so my sister’s husband could complete his PHD degree in applied mathematics. He works on defense stuff for the government.

Can you see what’s happening here. Their world view (as is all of ours) is shaped by their basic needs for survival. It’s easy to see in my sister and her family because their views are so strong.

Their family’s perceptions, are of course, influenced by the worldview of the people with whom they surround themselves. They just happened to land in a part of Ohio that was a perfect incubator for strengthening the views they already had.

Mike is finishing his PHD at the Air Force Institute of Technology. We can assume he is surrounded by other defense minded people.

Ohio is also one of those states particularly hard hit by the economy so naturally, there is also the tendency to blame government.

There are a number of other homeschoolers and farmers nearby.

See how this works. These are just simple (animal) human behaviors to meet our basic needs.

For instance, Ann and Mike have five children. We could make the case that their radical worldview makes them more attractive towards one another and therefore satisfies our basic human need to procreate.

We can also look at their Obama/government sentiments as a fight or flight response to perceived threats. They’ve witnessed many neighbors (other animals in the herd) lose their jobs (livelihood and ability to provide food - survival) and are of course influenced by this.

Their radical Catholicism can also be seen as a response to perceived threats. Perhaps in this case it boils down ultimately to fear of the unknown. And…since you can’t run from death your only alternative is to fight back with the way to eternal life.

Their radical beliefs also ally them with others in their herd which is another basic human/animal need. We need to be connected to others for many reasons protection, esteem, validation, etc… This radical belief system unites them against common enemies ie. Obama, the Devil, Non Believers, Sinners, Foreigners etc…

Yup…even the goat share boils down to these basic needs. Other people in their herd are doing it - shouldn’t they? We see this over and over again. Look at gangs, political groups, “The Joneses.”

Remember when you would get in trouble growing up and say something like “well mom…Tommy and Jimmy were doing it too” and your mother would say something like “well if Tommy and Jimmy jumped off a cliff would you follow them too.” Of course you said no. But the reality is that if we are surrounded by people doing certain actions we are likely to do them too. You can disagree all you want but the science says you will.

So what am I getting at here? Bringing it back to sales and marketing. It’s all about persuasion. What have we just been doing? Looking at the demographic and psychographic profile of one possible market. Yes, even my sister and her family buy things. Foods mostly and lots of that Trader Joes Gluten free stuff.

Anyhow, persuading your target market or customers to buy your products or vote for your candidate or do whatever it is you want them to do comes from understanding basic instincts and the emotions that trigger them.

How do we do this? Perception - emotion. Seriously, things aren’t about reality there about perception.  Few people live in the present. We are thinking about the past and the future. We persuade by awakening past regrets, future threats, or painting pictures of how rosy the future looks with our product.

Finally, in order to do this we need to be consistent and persistent.

Now, go ahead and do what everyone else does and don’t leave a comment.

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I’ve witnessed this truth many times among friends, family and myself.  We fail to do the right thing and our lives suffer. Failing to do the right thing doesn’t always mean doing glaringly wrong things like cheating on your spouse, committing fraud, or not paying your taxes.

Failing to do the right thing could be something as simple as missing that morning run, or failing to discipline yourself to study and improve your financial literacy, or failing to pickup the phone and make that cold call.

Success on the other hand comes from disciplining ourselves to do the right thing even when it’s inconvenient. It’s fine if we don’t do things we should. We’re all human and no one is perfect. But…our success is proportional to the things we do right and the good choices we make.

I made the decision to stop drinking a few months back. I used to drink a tumbler of whisky each night. I didn’t feel like it was a huge issue and it never caused problems with my relationships or the law.I just came to a point I felt my life would be more rewarding without being drunk every night.

I have since learned, my decision to stop drinking was a good decision. Already I have noticed a healthy change in other behaviors and my thought process. I am more connected with my surroundings and I like it.

Doing the right thing and being disciplined comes easier to some than others. A lot of it depends on how we were raised. But acknowledging you have a weakness in the area of self discipline is one of the first steps to taking action.

Anyhow, I’ll get off my preachy little soapbox now and come back to earth. But I urge you to ask yourself that question today in all that you do and the choices you make. “Am I doing the right thing?” If not, stop and redirect and put forth a little effort into doing the right thing and after a while you’ll be living the life you want. Step out of your comfort zone and do the right thing.

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An interesting book came out a few years back by a guy named Andrew Keen called the Cult of the Amateur “How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture.” While I didn’t agree with everything in Keen’s biting critique of what he considered the “Cult of the Amateur,” I found the book thought provoking.

Ever read forums? I sometimes read marketing and copywriting related forums. Often I can see Keen’s ideas played out -  amateurs distributing information second or third hand without stopping to consider the validity of the information. It’s like that game where you stand in a circle and tell someone a story and by the time the story comes full circle it’s another story. We’re all guilty of taking things for granted to some extent simply because we can’t check everything.  But one of the things I notice in the forums and in my work is the “Cult of the Guru.”

I notice this because I deal with clients who have bought info products and are listening to gurus and taking their word without ever questioning whether what the guru is saying is applicable to the individuals particular market, situation, etc…

From a sales or marketing perspective of course there are principles of influence and persuasion that are universal such as social proof, the ability sight, sound, and smell to paint images in our minds, reciprocity,  like-with-like, etc… On the level of strategy and tactics is where blanket application of the gurus needs to be rethought.

Last week I attended a marketing meeting. Towards the end of the meeting the host mentioned he’d been influenced by Cory Rudl, Dan Kennedy, and others and asked if we would like to go around the room and share our mentors. As we went around the room one of the attendees named his mentors as observation and common sense.  Wow…what a revelation right? In the “Cult of the Guru” world who is this maverick to rely on observation and common sense? Phooey!

Brilliant really. I have my mentors, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel impacted by the ideas of  Dan Kennedy, Tim Ferriss, Peter Montoya, and others. But, I have witnessed tactics from various marketing guru’s fail in practical application and witnessed success with things that seemed illogical or counter intuitive.

The problem isn’t always the tactics, rather it is believing the tactic can work applied the same way to all markets. And, while most guru’s encourage people to think for themselves and experiment, people don’t always. It’s like religion. It works great until people follow blindly.

I get overwhelmed with new information and swept up with the sea of ideas that surround me. I’m guilty of learning the hard way not to apply certain tactics without thinking them through too. This post is to acknowledge that in myself as much as it is to remind you of the same thing.

Sometimes the information we need to grow our business comes from the inside. We find it when we stop assuming others have the answers to our million dollar questions…when we take a deep breath and instead of looking for an answer just take the next most logical step.

I am curious to hear your thoughts.  You know…I’ve heard many a guru mention the value of commenting on blogs. Why not give it a try eh?

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In my former life as creative director we would always start with the defining project document known as the “Creative Brief.”

This document also known as a “Design Brief” , “Project Brief” , or “Marketing Brief” is crucial. It is the bare minimum requirement for any creative project and will always come in handy.

Here’s why a creative brief is important. The brief outlines the communications strategy and should be used as a beacon to direct company wide communications doctrine and critical to your brand.

Some of you might be thinking well…I’m in direct marketing and branding isn’t important. Okay, fine…you might be able to do wham-bam-thank-you-mam sales and pull in a bunch of cash but if you want a sustainable business you will build a brand. You’re building one anyway whether you know it or not.

I was watching Celebrity Fit Club last night and one of the therapists said something that made a lot of sense. She asked one of the overweight women where she was. “Are you in there? If you are you better come on out or people are going to make you up.”

That’ totally true. If you aren’t there with a strong brand identity people are going to make you up. This is why you need the brief. The brief is you or your company’s identity. It’s your brand story and promise.

I’ll give you another example of how doing things without one can really screw things up. A few years back when the Acai Berry trend started. A company I was working for was in a rush to get the product out. We we’re one of the first to market the Acai Berry Cleanse pills.

In that effort to get things to market so quick the company’s owner decided to bypass the creative brief. Because their was no brief, there was really no plan either. There was no mission to accomplish or identity to protect. The only goal was to sell lots and make money.

Business suffered because of it. Yes of course, the product sold very well at first and the money coming in was ridiculous. But that was because it was new and those were the early days of forced continuity. Unsuspecting consumers were taking “Free Trial” offers  which later converted to $80 monthly charges for the product.

Chargeback rates were through the roof. The comapany was playing cat and mouse with Oprah’s legal team and generally speaking things wen’t down hill just as fast as they blew-up and the company collapsed.

The point is…there was no communications strategy and no defining document. Nothing to guide employees or the public with regards to what the company was about.

So…What’s in a creative brief? Well, everybody does them differently, but generally speaking here are 10 things I’ve found useful in nailing-down an effective communications strategy.

1. Background and overview. In essence, where is your business now and what opportunities are the poised to act on with an effective communications strategy?
2. Who are your primary, secondary, and possibly tertiary targets. In other words who’s going to benefit from your product/service?
3. What is the single biggest problem your products/services solve?
4. What are your business objectives (they’re not 50 different things either. Keep this list short 1-3)
5. Demographic assumptions based on research (Get the “SRDS Lifestyle Market Analysis Book”).
6. Psychographic analysis. I find this very useful. Get into your prospect’s head. Check the forums, get on the phone, go out in talk to your target customer to find out who they are and get an idea of how they think.
7. What is your single minded message. I’ll use the old Domino’s Pizza message “Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less or it’s free.” What is the one message you want to communicate?
8. What are your competative advantages…ie, first, best, or different?
9. “Why They Buy,” brand concepts. In other words what is your unique spin.
10. What is your story. A good story is huge. It can define a whole company. You’ve got to have a story even if you have to make one up. Think about the children’s character Barney, or Southpark, the Muppets. Other good stories are Burt’s Bees skin care products, Sam Adams beer, Trader Joe’s Markets.

There are a few other things I like to see in  a brief. First though, before I get into them keep in mind a brief should be just that. Don’t run on forever. Keeping things brief will allow you to narrow in on the most crucial elements.

A couple of other elements you might want to include are:

• Characteristics of your company (based on the values in your story).
• Words and images that describe your brand.
• Symbolism and colors related to your message.
• Words, images, and symbolism that go against your brand. This allows you to unite your tribe against a common enemy.
• Perception and tone guidelines

Okay, now…go out and write your story. Before you go though, let me ask you…what’s your favorite brand story or brand character? I am curious what you’ll come up with.

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Much of it depends on the website. Take this site for instance. It’s like pulling teeth to get any of you readers to do anything. Why am I saying that? I’ll tell you.

About three or four posts ago I had a challenge (which is still open here) where I was giving away $30 dollar prizes for anyone who simply replied to a post with three ideas on bringing in new business and one $100 prize for the winner. Do you think anyone replied? Nope, not one. I could have increased response with something like the Wordpress plugin “Comment Love,” but I haven’t had much time.

So, why didn’t anyone comment. I know the answers to the question and I’ll tell you here. They’re part of the solution to getting more response from your website.

In this case it boils down to two things:

1. Traffic (this site really doesn’t get a huge amount of visitors…yet. But then I don’t market it like I should.)
2. Social proof - this is the biggie. I’ll be honest. If I would have shilled the comments I would have increased response to the challenge. Why? Because most people are followers. They need social proof. They need someone to take the path/action/comment before them. That’s just how we’re wired.

Social proof is a universal tool for increasing response. It doesn’t matter what type of site you have or product you sell, the more social proof the better.

That said there are other fairly universal components that will increase response on a website regardless of its orientation. By that I mean it doesn’t matter if it’s a sales site, or an artist/architect/scultptor portfolio site, or a site offering free exams etc…whatever.

These conditions for response are not just my opinions. I have witness confirmation of these during tests when I was creative director of a multi-million dollar direct response company. They’ve also been proven time and time again by studies like those conducted by Marketing Sherpa for their various special reports.

Okay…let’s get on with it already. Here are 10 ways to get more response from your website.

1. Traffic - you know the saying, “there’s something for everyone.” That’s true, if in the unlikely event you get a high enough volume of traffic, even with a crappy site your response will likely increase.
2. Guarantees are always good. My experience with companies has been that most of the time guarantees are rarely called in. If they are, the value they produce usually exceeds any costs associated with them.
3. Credibility - in a sea of competitors people are looking for credibility. In absence of direct referrals the one of the ways to do this is with social proof. Here’s a damn good example from… of all companies… an IT Security outfit called Redspin. Read through the Redspin page. It is loaded with so many social proof elements you can’t help walking away thinking there might be something to them. Bottom line, more social proof, higher response. Think Oprah, EF Hutton, blah, blah.
4. Put your phone number large at the top right of every page. One of the things we found sometimes helps is to put a face next to the number. The face draws the eye toward the number and gives the site a human touch. Avoid over commercial looking faces. Go with something average and honest looking.
5. Contact form on every page. The whole goal of the site is to have people contact you.
6. Ethical bribes, such as special reports or something along those lines you can exchange for contact information and then follow up later. Another option is to incentivize your contact form. Such as “fill out the form now and get 20% off your first order,” or something along those lines.
7. Analytics - Wow…seriously…if you have any kind of commercial website and you aren’t using analytics you’re just foolish. Google Analytics are free and can tell you so much about what your visitors want. Here’s an example.I was discussing this with a photographer who was having a hard time finding the value in analytics. I told her simply. You can see which of your portfolio pages are getting the most views. You can see which pages are keeping people’s attentions the longest. Then…you can go out and take more photos like those. Why? Because people are telling you with their actions what they want.
8. Testing - Here’s another no-brainer. Especially if your doing media buys or any kind of paid advertising. Even if it costs you a little extra cash to make another version of your page/site think about it. If you are spending tens of thousands or more on media buys a difference of 1% conversion/response can mean a huge difference in return on investment (ROI). What are you testing? Headlines, subheads, copy, graphics etc…
9. Copywriting - You’ve got to sell the sizzle. I’ll go back to the IT security example. I was working on a project the other day and looked at about a dozen IT security sites. Most of them were generic. To me it looked like they all offered about the same thing. They lacked concept and good copy.Wow…let me just say the copy was dry, dry, dry…instead of picking up the phone I wanted to pickup my pillow and head off for a nap. But then I came across that Redspin Site, which really stood out from the pack.  Compared with the others they knew how to sell the sizzle. I began thinking and…tadah! I found my concept.IT Rockstars - The target market was IT directors. Come on, these guys are the unsung heroes of companies many times. Casting them in the same light as rockstars should get there attention better than something like…”At XYZ corp we are committed to helping you blah..blah…blah.”

   Anyhow, like I said above copy can boost response and should be tested.

10. The bottom line in boosting response is this, present your product, service, etc…in the best light possible and appropriate for your audience. Don’t give them anything less than they expect from your site. If you want people to respond make it as easy as possible for them and give them incentives to do so.

Well, there you have it. Ten ways to bump response on your website. I know you guys need social proof and I’m not about to shill these comments. But, I’m going to put it out there anyway. What is the single most effective tactic you’ve found in boosting response on your site?

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I was someone who struggled with math growing-up. I liked math and wanted to do well  but had horrible test anxiety. My college math experience was so bad. One day I went to my instructor and plead with him to pass me through my final math class. I had already taken the class and dropped it two or three times.  I was doing okay on the homework but I was bombing the tests. Much to my terror my pleading didn’t work. My instructor told me the worst thing possible. “Hmm…Well…let’s say you fail one or two times, sooner or later you should be able to pass…probably by next summer,” he said.

That was the most discouraging news ever. If I had problems with math before, I had more after that conversation. I believed I was a doomed looser who would never get anywhere in life. I could forget about being an engineer, actuary, economist, etc… Luckily, I learned that there even mathematically challenged can lead happy successful lives.

I’ve found that when it comes to being effective in business the ability to communicate well in person and in print can be an equally great asset.  When it comes to marketing for sure, the ability to enter a conversation already going on in a prospects mind is invaluable.

In fact, the more I involved i’ve become with sales and marketing over the years the greater my need for good plain English communication. I am not talking about college English-paper type of writing. I am talking about simple direct communication that for the most part avoids being overly wordy or profoundly complicated. Good storytelling too - I think - connects with readers in a special way.  At the risk of sounding cliché, everyone loves a good story.

Few days pass when I don’t have something I need to write.  Today I have been writing newsletters, tomorrow I could be writing a sales letter, proposal, or ebook chapter. Whatever the case there is one thing I can’t afford to have, and that is…writer’s block.

A writing instructor in grad school once told me there is no such thing as writer’s block for professional writers. People who have experienced writer’s block would probably disagree. I’ll let you speculate on which truth applies to you. I can tell you however, 5 things that help me avoid writer’s block. These are in no particular order of importance.

1. Discipline - I try to write something every day.
2. Preparedness - carry a notepad around with you and whenever you think of a topic that interests you write it down. Whenever you are feeling that you have nothing to write refer to the ideas in your notepad for inspiration.
3. Try any of these openers to get started:

• Do a top 5, 10, 15 etc… list
• Review something
• Ask a question
• Describe a problem and offer a solution
• Start with a quotation

4. Write a letter to someone describing 5 things you’ve done since you talked to them last.
5. Everyone eats - Write at least 3 short paragraphs describing with some detail a meal you recently ate.

Finally, have fun and keep things light.  Don’t be to serious about yourself or your writing. Remember, if you can talk you can write.

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1. Get more customers
2. Increase the per sale profit margin
3. Increase the purchase frequency of existing customers

Getting new customers is always a challenge. Increasing profit margins can be done any number of ways with upsells, point of purchase displays, extended warranties, coupons, discounts, etc…

Increasing the purchase frequency is something can be handled with frequent mailings of new and exciting offerings, scheduling followup services in advance, memberships, cross promotions etc…

But how do you get new customers? Here are five ideas to add a few more people to your tribe.

1. One of the easiest ways to get new customers in the door is give something away for free. I know we’ve all opted in to someone’s list at one time or another for a free report, newsletter, etc…or tried a new restaurant because we got a buy-one-get-one-free coupon, or signed up for a free trial of some software. Giving things away just plain works.
2. Recruit a “Hype-Man” like Flavor-Flav. Don’t want to go with Flav? Here’s another idea. Do a launch. Build hype for a new product, tell your existing customers and ask them to spread the word. Offer coupons and prizes for referring people and…
3. Recruit affiliates - get other people to promote your product there are many applications available to setup and manage affiliate programs. One open source application available for this is Elitius. There are also a number of shopping carts that have affiliate management features built in including:
   • 1ShoppingCart
   • Mal’s Ecommerce
   • Ultracart
   • E-Junkie
   • Clickbank (digital products only).
4. Be a joiner. Join groups and attend (or sponsor)seminars and other events where your target market go. If you don’t feel like a joiner, send one of your staff or hire someone to represent you at these events.
5. Get the whole family involved. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen did this brilliantly with the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series of books which includes nearly 100 books for every member of the family. They even have Chicken Soup books for twins. These guys are a great case study in effective marketing.

Here’s a challenge. I challenge you to add three ways you’ve brought new customers to you’re business. All those who take this challenge and comment will be given a FREE digital version of my book “No Bull Internet Marketing.” The winner of this challenge will get the FREE full version of my Online Profit Matrix course (a $100 value).  So go ahead and post your comments now.

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I am used to testing ads online, but it’s been a while since doing much offline advertising. Today however as I was mulling over what to write about a situation arose. I noticed my supply of business cards was getting low and I am getting ready to launch an offline campaign and thought it would be good to get some more.

Instead of going with the ones I used last time I decided to split test my new cards. I came up with a couple of different offers and layouts and will alternate them in the stacks.

To be honest, i don’t know why I never thought of split testing my business cards but it’s foolish not to. If we are going to run ads online, in print, radio, or TV we run tests. So…why not test your business cards too?

Also, I always put an offer on my advertisements. If I am paying money for ads I want my ads to be enticing. A business card is an ad just like any other. Why waste the space by just putting your name or business name? Most people don’t care anyway.  Give them some incentive to keep your card. You never know when someone will take you up on that 20% off coupon or free report offer.

We always talk about delivering value, so why not try and deliver a little value the next time you hand out your business card?

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Now I get that these laws are meant to protect consumers from unwittingly being duped by fake reviews and bogus weight loss stories. Shameless opportunists are fucking things up for everyone.

Check these new rules sent over from Mastercard:

Billing Practices

1. Terms Disclosure

a. The terms of billing must be clearly disclosed on the website.

1. 1. • • The terms must be appended adjacent to the “call-to-action” or “submit” button confirming the order. This price must be within 100 pixels in numbers between the top and bottom edges of the “call-to-action” or “submit” order button
        • The terms must be in a minimum of 12-point easy to read font.
        • There must be no visually distracting graphics from the display of the terms.
   2. Verbiage must plainly state the enrollment into the membership without distraction.
      • • Acceptable disclosure: “By Clicking “Order” you agree to be enrolled in the _____ day trial for ______, and after the trial expires, you agree that your card will be charged $____ per month until you cancel.”
        • Pre-checked boxes as terms and conditions must never be used. The consumer cannot proceed with order without checking this box.
   3. The price point for the product(s) sold must be within reasonable “fair market value.”
   4. Any trial period must be a minimum of 10 days.
   5. Billing cycles must not bill the customer the “core” price point twice in a 30-day span.
      • • Example of an acceptable billing cycle. Day-1 Customer signs up for a 14-day trial and is charged the initial S&H. Day -15 customer is billed for the initial trial shipment. Day-45 customer is billed for the second month shipment of the product.
   6. False guarantees about full money back or full satisfaction are prohibited unless the offer provides a full refund on all merchandise, including but not limited to shipping and handling.
   7. Double Validation – The consumer must accept terms & conditions with pricing twice during order submission. For example, once on the initial landing page and again when checking out and submitting their credit card information. Additionally, the confirmation order page must also disclose that they have agreed to these Terms & Conditions and authorized the charge on their credit card.
2. Up sell Policies:
   1. Up-sells or Cross-sells are prohibited

Advertising Practices

1. Marketing
   1. Marketing of a product as “Free”, “Risk-Free” or stating that the product(s) marketed doesn’t cost anything is prohibited if customers will be paying at the end of a trial for the product or entered into a membership program that has recurring billing.
   2. Images of celebrities are prohibited from use without express legal written consent of the entity being published.
   3. By law, product claims must be truthful and not misleading. Claims made must substantiated by the formulas used in the product(s) marketed and the clinical research conducted to support it.
      • • Claims prohibited from use include: “Flushes Pounds”, “Flushes Toxins”, “Builds Muscle”
        • Additional examples of phrases prohibited from use include:
          • Stating a product will cause permanent weight loss.
          • Stating a product will cause substantial weight loss no matter what or how much the consumer eats.
          • Stating a product will make you lose a specific amount of weight in a specific amount of time.
          • Causes weight loss or muscle growth in specific body parts.
          • Can substitute a full income job.
          • Can earn you money with little to no effort at all.
          • Can earn you a specified amount of money in a specified amount of time.
          • Will instantly earn money with no investment or effort.
          • Will give you access to “free money.”
          • Is endorsed or at all associated with Obama or the government.
          • Will secure a job for you at another company or at the product’s company.
          • Has been successfully used by an unrealistic amount of people.
          • Stating a product will earn you hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
          • Stating a product will instantly earn you money with no effort or investment.

· Blogs used, as a promotion means must be honest and accurate of the endorsee in compliance with FTC guidelines. Otherwise, clearly and conspicuously shown as an advertisement or that the story is fictional in the event the blog is fake.

· News Sites used as a promotion means must follow FTC guidelines and clearly and conspicuously alert the consumer that it is an advertorial.

· The use of a false sense of urgency is prohibited unless the customer’s ability to order is genuinely taken away.

· Countdown clocks and tickers or offer expires today is prohibited.

· Qualifications for trials should follow pre-determined rules that disqualify customers who don’t meet such parameters including but not limited to: Age, Weight, Height, and Location.

1. Endorsements/Testimonials
   1. Any endorsement/testimonials relaying the experience of a user must reflect the true and honest opinions of the endorsee.
   2. Endorsements/testimonials provided must provide a clear picture of what users of the product will generally achieve, if the advertiser does not have substantiation for that claim, then the advertiser must clearly disclose what the generally expected results would be, and have substantiation for those claims.

Customer Support Practices

1. Customer Support
   1. Merchants must provide customers with multiple outlets for cancellation.
      • • Phone
        • Email
        • Mail
   2. Customer support must operate within reasonable hours in the region the product was sold.
   3. Customer support must have hold times less than 120 seconds.
   4. After hour voice greetings should be recognizable by the consumer.
   5. Customer support should be easily accessible.
   6. Customer support must follow the Refund/Cancelation Policy as disclosed on the website.

Fulfillment Practices

1. Fulfillment Services

1. Products ordered must be executed for fulfillment in a timely manner. As a general rule, product must be shipped within 48 hrs (business days) from the date ordered.
2. A customer service number must be clearly included in the invoice sheet or confirmation email.
3. Cancelation/refund policy must be included with product on shipment.
4. Delivery confirmation with tracking is recommended.
5. Merchants should strive to provide a product that provides tremendous value perception to the consumer.

These remind me of back when I used to work with car dealers doing auto ads. Every week it was the same story. Rush to get the ads approved by deadline. Part of the reason was everything had to go through co-op. Co-op’s job was to nit-pick the hell out of every ad and make sure it met every rule the auto manufacturers attorneys had penned for their marketing.

The cost of getting dinged on a co-op ad - as much as $30K.  On the other hand however if the advertiser passed co-op every time the manufacturer would also supplement some of the dealer’s advertising costs.

Internet direct marketers just get the dinged part of the deal.  Likely nobody is going to supplement our advertising costs for following the above rules.

I understand how this all came about. And, I believe that people should strive to create products that add real value to people’s lives. Still, the buyer must assume some responsibility for his or her actions.

I have witnessed that even when all or nearly all of the requirements above are made people will still chargeback and try and push the responsibility back onto the merchant.

This is an interesting debate. I mean shouldn’t buyers be accountable for their actions too?

As advertisers and marketers, words are all we really have. Markets are crowded and competitive and as little guys direct marketers and solopreneurs need to make their words count. Sometimes that means speaking to peoples hopes, fears, dreams etc…

On one level I very much understand all the heightened regulation on the other it upsets me that consumers blame merchants for their behavior.

Who’s trying to get over on who? Is it possible that most people who signup for free trials do so never intending to purchase the product to begin with? They’re trying to get something for nothing.

A lot of direct response capitalizes on  “magic bullet,” solutions at least as far as the copy goes. That’s because people are looking to make tons of money or lose weight etc… without any work.

The same thing happens in mainstream big box marketing too. A mop does a fine job of cleaning floors. But when you see that Swifter gliding across your floor it makes cleaning look so effortless.

What do you think about these regulations? There is really a lot of food thought here.

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Anyhow, a couple of things.

First, remember in part one I said that I was trying to find affordable video hosting. I have over a hundred videos and they take up about 8 gigs of space. I purchased a couple of years of Godaddy Grid Hosting but recently discovered an even better solution. Amazon’s S3 service offers incredibly low cost storage and transfer costs and is very reliable. Even many large data centers backup their data with S3.  Go here for a screencast video on setting up video hosting with Amazon S3.

Next, In this process of discovery I signed up for some membership plugin email lists. One of those, Wishlist Member sent me a link to a good coaching call with Robert Plank and Lance Tamashiro (creators of multiple membership sites) discussing how they setup membership sites.

They covered some interesting ground and got me thinking more about fixed term membership sites. It’s possible that attrition rates will be lower with fixed term sites because people can see an end in site and may be more likely to stay on through the entire term.

Here are some of the other topics covered in the call:

• How they launch a membership site in 1 day
• Why “fixed term” memberships are better
• How and why to use “challenges”
• Why you need to change your thinking about membership sites.

So…without further adieu here is the audio for your listening pleasure. The call isn’t very long either, Probably only 15 or 20 minutes.

Click Here to Listen to the Robert Plank - Lance Tamashiro Coaching Call

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