Firepole Marketing

Calling Bullshit on the Lie Your Prospects Tell You

Danny — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:45:12 +0000

Yep, it’s true. Your prospects are lying to you.

Maybe it’s just a few of them, and maybe it’s a lot – but the lie is there.

They say it, and it stops your sale dead in its tracks, because you believe it, and because you don’t want to push, don’t want to pry, and don’t want to be indelicate.

But it’s not right – not for them, and not for you.

Because they aren’t just lying to you – they’re lying to themselves, too…

The Big Lie That Your Prospects Tell

The big lie comes in a lot of different variations.

“It’s not in the budget.”

“I’m not in a position to do it right now.”

“I don’t have the money.”

“It’s really too expensive for me.”

But it always boils down to four little words: “I can’t afford it.”

To which I politely say… bullshit!

At least 99% of the time..

Why It’s a Lie 99% of the Time

First of all, let me concede that there are two situations in which “I can’t afford it” is the truth:

Super-high ticket items being sold to normal people… we’re talking yachts, mansions, private jets, and submarines. This situation is beyond the scope of this post (sorry, but if you’re selling yachts, mansions or submarines, you’ll have to check back next time).
Anything being sold to someone who’s flat-out broke… meaning that there’s no money in their pockets or bank accounts, and their credit cards are maxed out. This is rare, but sometimes real, and my heart goes out to you if that’s your situation (and I recognize that some people are, which is one of the reasons why I made Engagement from Scratch! available as a free download).

Most people don’t fall into either of these two categories, though. They may not be rolling in the dough, but to say that can’t afford what you’re selling just isn’t true – if they really wanted to, they could buy it.

In all of those cases, when you hear the words “I can’t afford it”, it really means one of two things:

Truth #1: I Can’t Afford It = I Don’t Trust You

You’ve painted a picture of the beautiful outcome that your offer will create for anyone who buys it, and it really does sound wonderful… except that they aren’t buying – both literally and figuratively!

This hurts to hear, and most people don’t want to say it… which is why they say that they can’t afford it, instead. It’s a white lie that is meant to protect your feelings, and they say it with the best of intentions.

But underneath those good intentions lies the sad truth that they don’t believe you can deliver on the promises that you’ve made. They don’t trust you.

So what can you do? Plenty! You can…

Demonstrate your expertise by offering lots of free, valuable advice.
Give them good reasons to trust you.
Teach them things that are useful and valuable to them.
Back-up your offer with an ironclad guarantee.

Do you get the idea? It’s not that they aren’t interested, they’re just scared. So show them that they’re in good hands, and the fear will melt away.

But more often than not, the problem is much, much worse. They trust you, but they just don’t want what you’re selling…

Truth #2: I Can’t Afford It = I Don’t Want It

It’s not that they don’t have the money at all, it’s just that they don’t have the money for you.

The rosy, beautiful, idealized picture that you painted doesn’t actually look rosy, beautiful or ideal to the person you’re talking to.

It’s that simple.

And why don’t they want it? It could be one of two reasons:

You’re talking to the wrong person. It’s the wrong target audience, the wrong need, or the wrong timing. You’re selling something that people just don’t want. If that’s the case, you have a problem, and you need to go back to the drawing board of getting to know your target audience.
They’re afraid. Maybe they’re afraid of success, and maybe they’re afraid of failure. Maybe they’re sabotaging themselves, and maybe they’re afraid to hold themselves accountable.

I’m sure you know why I’m talking about this…

Yep, you guessed it, it’s about “Marketing That Works”

As you probably know, our “Marketing That Works” training program is currently accepting new students. And as you probably already know, it’s a great program; you can see the details in this video, but in a nutshell, here’s what you get:

A full framework for building a thriving and profitable business
Five core modules and 26 lessons (six months of training)
The pre-loaded bonus MP3 player
Full instructor access and support (as much as you need – seriously)
A 1-on-1 “Borrow My Brain” phone strategy session with me ($250 value)

And why do you want all of this? Because it will lead to a thriving business with more prospects, more customers, more revenues and more profits.

That’s our promise to you, and we back it up with our iron-clad “extra $1,000/month” guarantee – if you don’t add $1,000/month to your bottom line within six months, we’ll give you your money back. In other words, we’re guaranteeing you a minimum of an extra $12,000/year.

And on top of all that, the first two weeks are a free trial.

So we’ve painted a beautiful picture, and we’ve given you every reason that we can think of to make it easy for you to trust us.

There’s really only one question left…

Do you want a thriving, profitable business, or don’t you?

It’s really that simple. We’re offering you the chance to have the business success that you say you want, and we don’t just say that you’ll get it – we guarantee it.

So do you want it?

You can tell us whatever you want, and that’s fine. Tell us you don’t have the money, or the time, or whatever.

But be honest with yourself.

Do you want a thriving, profitable business?

Do you want more leads, more customers, stable income, and the knowledge that you’re building a lifestyle and legacy that you can depend on?

Well, do you?

If the answer is “no”, or “not right now”, then that’s cool. We’ll still be around, and we’ll keep on serving up fun, interesting, entertaining, and valuable content for your education and enjoyment.

But if the answer is “yes”, then we’re waiting to show you how to make it happen.

So take a deep breath, and then take the plunge.

We’ll see you on the other side.

Danny Iny (@DannyIny), a.k.a. the “Freddy Krueger of Blogging”, teaches marketing that works at Firepole Marketing. Together with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark and Mitch Joel, he wrote the book on building engaged audiences from scratch (available on Amazon, or as a free download).

Getting Rid of Customers That YOU DON’T WANT!

Danny — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:15:03 +0000

Important Note: Our “Marketing That Works” training program is currently accepting new students, and will continue to do so until Tuesday, February 28, or when 50 spots are filled – whatever happens sooner. If you’re at all interested in improving your business results and taking advantage of our “extra $1,000/month guarantee”, you should check out the Getting Naked With Your Customers video that we published a few days ago. Okay, now let’s get to our post…

You want sales, right?

So does every other business, and so do we.

And when you want sales, it’s easy to fall into the trap of casting your net as wide as you can, closing every deal that you can close, and signing on the dotted line with anyone willing to put their signature next to yours.

But it’s a mistake. It may lead to more sales, but it’s actually bad for business.

Here’s why…

“A” Customers, “B” Customers, and “C” Customers

Every business has three kinds of customers: “A” Customers, “B” Customers, and “C” Customers.

“A” Customers are the ones that you love. Their needs perfectly fit your offer, their temperament perfectly fits your personality, and the ultimate satisfaction that they experience perfectly fits the experience that you want to create. These are the customers who are happy to pay top-dollar for what you’re selling, because to them, it’s absolutely worth it. They’re the customers who often turn into evangelists, and sometimes turn into friends.

“B” Customers are an okay fit. You can solve their problem, and they’ll be satisfied with the price, but they won’t be overjoyed. You’ll get the job done, and that’ll be that. There’s nothing wrong with that, and you can built a good business on “B” Customers.

“C” Customers are the ones to watch out for. They’re the ones that nickel and dime you on price, think they’re doing you a favor by letting you work with them, aren’t responsive when you need them to be, and meddle to the point that you couldn’t do a good job no matter how hard you tried. They’re the customers who complain, the ones who take up waaaaay too much of your time, and the ones that – more than likely – are costing you more money than they’re making you.

Obviously, the smart business move is get as many “A” Customers as you can, and fire the “C” Customers as fast as your contracts will let you. You certainly don’t want to be bringing new “C” Customers on-board!

And that’s the trouble with a “sell at all costs” business mentality – it brings in more than its fair share of “C” Customers.

Who Are Your “A” Customers? Who Are Your “C” Customers?

To say that you want more “A” Customers – and that you should get rid of your “C” Customers – is easy, but first you have to figure out who they are!

(And yes, you’ve probably got a pretty good intuitive sense of which customers you love and which customers annoy the crap out of you, but it’s really worthwhile to do this exercise, because the results are often surprising!)

So here’s what you do, in easy, step-by-step format:

Make a list of your customers.
Go through your records, and figure out how much revenue each customer brings in the door.
Add a column for how much money each customer is costing you. If you’re doing activity-based costing you can get exact numbers (ask your accountant, or email us if you want details), but otherwise just guesstimate.
Add another column for how much time you spend on the customer.
Do some quick math with Excel: [(revenues) - (expenses)] / (time spent) = effective hourly rate (see the screenshot below).

This alone will give you a good sense of how valuable different customers are to your business, but there are a few more steps that you can take that really supercharge the process:

Add another column, rating each customer on a scale of 1 to 10 for how much you like working with them (10 = love them, 1 = hate them).
Add a final column multiplying the effective hourly rate by the enjoyment factor rating, to see how much overall value customers are bringing to the table (see the screenshot below).

It’s a quick and dirty calculation, but it’ll give you a good sense of whether there are some customers that you should be dumping.

Now, it’s important to remember that these profiles will look different for every business. For example…

Our “C” Customers (The Students That We DON’T Want)

Over the past year, we’ve identified three kinds of students that are definitely our “C” Customers. If any of these descriptions sounds like you, then I’m sorry, but our training program probably isn’t right for you:

“Show Me How To Get Rich Quick” – These people jump from training program to training program, looking for the magic formula that will make them rich quickly, easily, and without requiring a lot of work or a lot of effort.
“Teach Me Marketing So I Can Sell Marketing” – These people have drunk the Kool-Aid about how they can setup an internet marketing business, so they want someone to teach them how to make money online by teaching other people how to make money online.
“I’m Flat Broke, But Here’s My Credit Card” – My heart goes out to these people. They’re flat broke, their credit cards are maxed out, and they’re bleeding money out of their businesses.

There’s one simple reason why these three profiles aren’t right for our program…

Real Results Means Real Work

Our training program comes with an iron-clad guarantee: we guarantee that you will add $1,000 to your monthly bottom-line within six months, or we will refund your money.

I’ve also got another guarantee for you: if you don’t take any of the actions that we teach in the program, I guarantee that you will not see any results!

Sounds pretty straight-forward, right?

The thing is that, for different reasons, the three “C” Customer profiles above don’t do the work.

With the “get rich quick” crowd and the “internet marketing pyramid scheme” crowd, it’s because they’re usually lazy, have unreasonable “overnight success” expectations, and often can’t even focus long enough to get through a lesson before running off to their next get rich quick offer. If that’s you, then move on – we aren’t interested in your business.

With the “flat broke” crowd, it’s because it’s just hard to keep from looking from immediate results when your needs are super-immediate. If that’s you, then don’t despair – take advantage of the wealth of free information that is available on this site, to get things squared financially. If you’re willing to work hard and follow our advice (and we do offer a lot of it for free, for example in our free “Get More Cash” video course, and in my free book Engagement from Scratch!), then I’m pretty sure that you will be ready to sign up for our training program next time around.

I’m sure of that because if you take our free information and do the work, then there’s a good chance that you could be one of our “A” Customers a little further down the line…

Our “A” Customers (And Why We Love Them)

Our “A” students run the gamut of businesses, from solo professionals and consultants to businesses with a room full of employees, doing business online and offline, selling everything from products, to services, to everything in between.

This may sound as though I’m saying that anyone can be an “A” student in our program, but that isn’t true. Here’s what they all have in common:

They’re all passionate about their businesses
They’re all creating real value for their customers
They’re all good at what they do
They’re all willing and eager to roll up their sleeves and do the work that we teach them how to do

We love these students because they help us to help them – they do the work, they engage with us, send us questions, and let us help them when they get stuck. They see great results, and they evangelize us wherever we go. It’s a virtuous circle, and we love it!

If that sounds like you, then you should really think about signing up for our “Marketing That Works” training program…

Could You Be An “A” Student In Our Program?

If you want more leads, more customers, more revenues, and more profits… then we have a place for you. And we want you to join us.

If you long to have a successful, profitable business with as many customers and dollars in your bank account as you want, creating a better life for yourself and your family, then we want to help you make it happen.

And if you’re like us and FEEL in your bones that you are an entrepreneur and you just have to make your business work, then it’s very important to us that you go and enroll right now.

The people that we train see results – period. We guarantee it.

The “Marketing That Works” Training Program is the training program that we WISHED we had when we first started.

It’s a step-by-step program on how to successfully market your business (filled with insights, case studies, examples, worksheets, ongoing support, and bonus materials).

It’s a premium level of education that leads to real business results – which is the only thing that really matters.

If you’re ready to do this – If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and seeing no results with your marketing, and you’re ready for more and better paying customers to start walking in the door, then Marketing That Works is for you.

Marketing That Works is *your* program.

If you decide it’s not for you in the first two weeks, then you can cancel, and never be billed. At all. We’re absorbing 100% of the risk.

So please – join us. Because you’ve waited too long to do this.

Getting Naked With Your Customers (VIDEO)

Danny — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:15:57 +0000

Hello, and welcome to the fourth and final instalment of “Dating, Relationships, and Naked Marketing”, which I’m calling “Getting Naked With Your Customers”.

Like I said last time, this video won’t include a lot of hype. I said that I wanted to give you the straight facts about our “Marketing That Works” training program, so that you can decide whether or not it’s right for you.

But first, let me tell you a quick story, about how this all started…

So… are you interested in “Marketing That Works”?

Enrollment is now open, and will stay that way until Tuesday, February 28, or when we fill 50 spots – whatever happens sooner.

We could tell you all about the program, but really the best thing for you to do is take 5 minutes and watch our overview video.

In a nutshell, the program runs 26 weeks, and will teach you everything that you need to know about marketing in order to turn your business into a rousing success. The program is super-solid, and both Peter and myself are as available to our students as they need us to be.

We don’t just say that the program is solid, we guarantee it: you will add $1,000/month to your bottom line within 6 months, or we will refund your tuition.

Plus, the first two weeks are free, so you can try it out and cancel if you don’t like it. There’s really nothing to lose, tons of bonuses to gain (including a free bonus program on a pre-loaded MP3 player, an exclusive “Borrow-My-Brain” 1-on-1 strategy session with me, and a whole lot more).

So think about it. And if you think we can help you, try it out.

There’s nothing to lose, and everything to gain – but only if you take action before February 28!

Enchanting, Engaging Relationships (VIDEO)

Danny — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:15:49 +0000

It’s time for the third instalment of “Dating, Relationships, and Naked Marketing”.

In this video, “Enchanting, Engaging Relationships”, I’m going to show you how to take the ATTRACTION that I taught you how to create in the last video, and turn it into an intense and engaging relationship.

I’m also going to pull back the curtain and show you a real live case study of how this works, with a real live launch that I ran just last month. I’ll show you what I did, how it worked, WHY it worked, and what the foundation for it all really was.

I’ll also show you what I did that generated a bit of controversy…

(Did you miss the last video? Click here to watch it now!)

Join the “Marketing That Works” training program!

Our “Marketing That Works” training program is now accepting new students, but it’s closing on February 28th, or when we fill 50 spots – whatever happens sooner. Click on the button below if you want to learn more about the program:

The Pick-up Artist and the Internet Marketer (VIDEO)

Danny — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:15:46 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day, and welcome to the second instalment of “Dating, Relationships, and Naked Marketing”.

In this video, “The Pick-up Artist and the Internet Marketer”, I’m going to show you the fastest and most effective way that I know to BUILD INTENSE AND POWERFUL ATTRACTION – the kind that will make your prospects and customers as eager as they ever could be to take their relationship with you to the next level:

Join the “Marketing That Works” training program!

What did you think of the video? Do you have questions about instant and powerful attraction?

Dating, Relationships, and Naked #Marketing (VIDEO)

Danny — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:15:43 +0000

I know it’s Sunday, but I just couldn’t wait to share this with you, so here goes…

Today we’re kicking off our “Dating, Relationships, and Naked Marketing” video series. It’s a bit different from the stuff that we usually do around here, and I really hope that you’ll like it (it’s only a few minutes long)…

Join the “Marketing That Works” training program!

So… what do you think?

Rock On, @CashMachineGal! (and 3 Lessons Learned…)

Danny — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:15:45 +0000

I’m going to share some lessons that I learned from the Marketing That Works Ideas contest that we ran in January. But first, a bit of fanfare…

We asked 20 marketers for their #1 innovative idea, and here’s what they said:

Make new friends, give referrals, and be a real person.
Supercharge your marketing with ideas like open source, split-path testing, and queuing theory.
Tune up your calls to action, or write an entire book.
Make the most of technologies liked Twitter, Foursquare, and AdWords retargeting.
Go old-school, with chocolates and birthday cards.

These are just some of the innovative “marketing that works” ideas that were submitted in our contest (you can see the whole list here).

And honestly, there were some spectacular entries – three of which generated so much conversation that they made it onto our list of most popular posts!

We sent the top five finalists to our subscribers (you!), and asked you to pick the winner…

Congratulations, Cassie! Way to go!

Cassie Hicks, @CashMachineGal

When the votes were tallied, there was a clear winner: Cassie Hicks, ladies and gentlemen!

[applause, applause, applause]

Cassie won with a post about her “Up, Close and Personal” Marketing Strategy (if you haven’t read it yet, then go read it!).

And what does Cassie win?

She gets $250 in cold, hard cash (well, digitally, via PayPal)
She gets to be showcased to all of you (or rather, you get to hear about her!)
She gets incredible personal satisfaction

Way to go, Cassie, we’re so proud of you!

For all those of you who want to learn more about Cassie and the wonderful things that she’s doing, check her out at Women’s Way to Wealth, where she discusses strategies and tips for creating Home Based Internet Businesses. Or you can just follow @CashMachineGal on Twitter!

Now I’ll get to the lessons I learned in just a moment, but first, I want to say thank you…

Thank you very, very much…

This contest was a phenomenal success; I got dozens of emails from people thanking us for putting it together, and traffic numbers were through the roof.

It wouldn’t have been nearly this good, though, without the hard work of a lot of great people:

Topping the list, of course, are our amazing contestants. You all did a great job, and we’re thrilled by how high you all set the bar for content on this site. Thank you!
My friend Karol, who designed the beautiful t-shirts that we sent out to our contestants. You can see more of his work at I Hate (Lame) T-Shirts blog, where you can get a new t-shirt design every week (no talking, just some t-shirts).
My friend Jason Fonceca at Ryze, who designed the awesome “My Marketing Works” finalist badge that our finalists used to proclaim their excellence to the world.
And last but certainly not least, we are incredibly grateful to you, our readers. Firepole Marketing is first and foremost about the community of entrepreneurs, business owners and marketers that engage with us on a daily basis. Thank you!

Okay, now, let’s get to the lessons…

3 Lessons that I Learned from the Contest

At Firepole Marketing, we try to see everything as a learning experience. That’s part of the reason why we try so many different things, and why we tend to do the second time around so much better than the first.

So without further ado, here’s what I learned from this experience:

Momentum doesn’t just happen. Even with contestants as engaged and gung-ho as ours, momentum doesn’t just happen. Like any event, you need to have a build-up, and you need to keep engaging along the way to maintain the momentum. I probably could have done a better job of doing that past the first week of the contest.
Keeping it fair isn’t easy. This month’s contest was probably the most rigidly committed month in the history of our editorial calendar, and having a new entrant every single day left very little room for error. We didn’t do a perfect job, and the SOPA strike really threw us a curve ball (thank you Lain and Sherice for being so understanding). Not sure what to do about that next time around, but I’ve still got some time to figure it out…
Next time, try gamification. As happy as I was with the traffic and engagement numbers, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if we had stepped it up a notch with the game mechanics – what if we let people vote every day? What if we had a leaderboard? What if we sent contestants special emails when they passed different points thresholds? I don’t know, but maybe next time we’ll get to find out…

All in all, I am absolutely thrilled with the contest, and with everything that it represents for us here at Firepole Marketing. Thank you so much for being a part of it!

Now, over to you. What did you think of the contest? What did you learn? Please leave a comment and let us know…

37 Free Video Answers to Your Business and Marketing Questions (and how I split my lip!)

Danny — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:15:26 +0000

Do you have questions about your business?

Questions about choosing your niche, making money, launches, marketing, sales, traffic, or social media?

If you do, then you’re not alone.

A few weeks ago, I put out an offer of free 1-on-1 help to my subscribers. It’s been a good year, and I wanted to give something back to the people that made it so great.

Well, over 230 people raised their hand, and long story short, I ended up making 37 free videos for you…

Here’s how this all started…

When so many people said they wanted help, I realized that I couldn’t get on the phone with all of them – there just weren’t that many hours in the day (or month!).

So I setup two options – a reduced price for a consulting session, for the people who really needed it, and a video answer to any question, for free. A lot of people bought consulting sessions. I’ve been on the phone with a lot of you already, and I’m enjoying every minute.

A lot of people sent in questions, too. I read all of them, boiled them down to their essence, and consolidated the questions when two people had asked the same thing.

When all was said and done, there were 37 distinct questions for me to answer. So I cleared my schedule on Sunday, and planned to spend the day making videos.

The idea of making 37 different videos in the same day felt a little daunting, so I put on my new favorite shirt, from Joel Runyon’s Impossible HQ, with the word “impossible” crossed out for motivation, and buckled down to do it.

In just a moment, I’ll share all 37 videos (no opt-in, no download, no nothing). But first, I have some cool news to share, and a small favor to ask…

Help Me Win the Small Business Book Awards

The cool news is that Engagement from Scratch! has been nominated for the 2012 Small Business Book Awards, in the Social Media category. Yay!

I don’t know who nominated us, but I’m really grateful and flattered that they did!

Now I need some help to win.

The winners are chosen based on number of votes, and each person can vote once per day until the contest closes in about two weeks.

It only takes a second – would you mind voting for us?

Click here to vote for Engagement from Scratch! (pretty please)

And if you really, really like me, would you check back to vote daily until the end of next week?

Okay, that’s it, end of favor. Let’s get to the videos!

Entrepreneurship, Business Models, and Getting Started

1. Business model for beginners? “I’m just getting started as an entrepreneur, but I have a lot of energy and I want to create something really successful. I want something that will pick up momentum pretty quickly – what’s the best business model for me to pursue? A membership site? A course? An eBook? Something else?” (Asked by Andres)

2. How viable is affiliate marketing on a blog? “How viable is a regularly updated bog or website with links to sell products through affiliate marketing? Is it easy or difficult to setup?” (Asked by Andy)

3. How can I create and sell an engaged community? “I’m setting up a paid subscription email list through my blog. I’ve seen others do this, and I’ve noticed that the best ones build up a small pool of very engaged readers, which leads to a great environment to create new ideas and get feedback. How can I create that sort of dynamic, and how could I market it?” (Asked by Dave)

4. How can I make some money with this? “I’d like to know how you got your six figure business off the ground and how long it took to begin making some money. I have a number of websites and blogs, and after six months, I haven’t made anything at all!” (Asked by Glynne)

5. How can I grow this ‘buy and sell’ business model? “I’m starting a classified site targeting the Venezuelan market, and I’m not sure how I should be marketing it. Facebook advertising? Flyers? I don’t really know where to start. I need hundreds of people involved and posting their products or services… how should I do this?” (Asked by Kenedy)

6. How would you launch something from scratch? “If you were just starting out again, launching your first product (a free eBook with an expanded version on ClickBank), how would you launch it? Also, would you use a sub-domain or a stand-alone domain?” (Asked by Troy)

7. What can I do with all these domains? “I own many URLs related to my niche, only one of which houses my blog. I’m realizing now how much work it is to get even one site properly setup… is there anything I can do with all the others?” (Asked by Hugh)

8. Does it have to be dot com? “Am I seriously limiting the potential audience of my site by having a .co.uk address instead of a .com address? Do people in the States see .co.uk in their Google search results if they don’t specifically ask for them?” (Asked by Hugh)

Finding, Choosing, and Defining a Niche

9. Should we be marketing online? “We are a sound installation company that primarily targets churches. We’ve tried direct mail, and we’re thinking about local search marketing, but we’re not really sure where to start. Should we be focusing on building an online presence? How do I sell the idea to my boss?” (Asked by Marie)

10. My readers and my original goals don’t match! “I started a blog to support my local real-estate business, but I’m finding that most of my traffic isn’t local, and it’s building a reputation outside of my own community. How should I balance the opportunity to grow a larger audience with the need to be true to the original intent, which was to be a local resource?” (Asked by Derek)

11. How narrow should my niche really be? “The market that I’m targeting is very broad (like entrepreneurs, or small business owners) – do I need to narrow it down? I’m capable of servicing everyone in my market – won’t I lose out on clients if I target only a smaller sub-set?” (Asked by Toby, Cassie and Alexa)

12. What if I’m not exceptionally skilled or passionate about any particular area? “I’m not sure how to choose a niche; I love the kind of work that I do, but I don’t have a particular expertise in any specific area, and I’m not particularly passionate about one area versus another. I’m sure I could become an expert if I worked at it, but I’m not right now – how do I choose where to focus?” (Asked by Gabryyl and Stephen Lee)

13. What if I have a lot of different interests? “Is it okay to have a site that touches on all of my many interests, or should I have separate sites for each?” (Asked by Belinda)

14. What if my niche doesn’t want to buy? “I chose my niche because of my commitment to serving it, and my passion and expertise for the offering. The trouble is that the content and offering aren’t hot; the audience doesn’t have pain, urgency, or irrational passion, they aren’t pro-actively looking for a solution, and they have a lot of perceived options. Even though I was using effective keywords, I wasn’t generating enough traffic and ‘hot’ offers to be profitable. What do you think?” (Asked by Fred)

The Shoulds, Cans, and Hows of Charging Money

15. Should I sell something? “My blog has a small but growing following (about 100 unique visitors per week now), and I haven’t done anything to monetize yet. Should I start? Is it too soon? I haven’t done anything commercial yet, and I don’t want to hit people with a bunch of ads – what should I do?” (Asked by Tim)

16. Can I sell something? “My blog is about showcasing free products – can I still sell something?” (Asked by Martin)

17. How much should I charge? “How do I find a price that is high enough to be profitable, but low enough not to scare customers away? Is it trial and error? Is there a way for me to figure this out? How do you set prices when you’re just getting started?” (Asked by Jan)

18. Starting at the top? “Can I sell a high-end, expensive product, if I don’t have a sales funnel of more inexpensive products in place? Do I need cheaper products to build the relationship and create customer confidence first?” (Asked by Rachel)

19. How do I convert awesomeness into money? “I launched my new brand on New Year’s Eve, and things have been great so far; people are visiting my site, engaging, and loving what they’re getting. I’ve also began to receive recognition from big names in my industry. Everything is going great, except that there’s no money yet. How can I communicate my value, call people to action, and have a growing audience of people eagerly pay me what I’m worth for what I’m passionate about?” (Asked by Jason)

Launches, Marketing and Sales

20. How do I find my market? “How can I reach people who are involved in business and marketing, but also feel strongly about personal development?” (Asked by Aviva)

21. Copy and screenshots, or live video? “Should I write copy and show screenshots and testimonials, or should I do a live video demo of the product?” (Asked by Kenley)

22. How should I launch my new eBook? “I’m launching an eBook. Other than guest posting and getting reviews, what are some strategies that I could use to get the word out about it?” (Asked by Paul)

23. Should I market with press releases? “Are press releases still a viable way of marketing an event or a launch? If yes, which services would you recommend?” (Asked by Damon)

24. How to find contributors? “How did you get everyone to contribute to Engagement from Scratch!? How did you approach them, and how did you make it win-win for them? I see the win for you, but since you didn’t have a following at the time, I’m not sure what the win for them would have been. Also, how did you manage the copyright and profit sharing issues – did you have everyone sign something?” (Asked by Sean)

25. How to find sponsors? “I’m looking for sponsors for a teaching tour that my wife and I are going to be doing. I’m hoping that they will extend some sort of discount or benefit to workshop attendees, in exchange for helping to get the word out. How can I make it win-win, and how can I approach people that I don’t already have relationships with?” (Asked by Sean)

26. Should I offer previews? “Before I create my content, should I have a landing page that mentions what the content will be, and ask people who sign up for suggestions?” (Asked by Steve)

Traffic Strategies and Blog Promotion

27. Launch publishing schedules? “What was your publishing schedule for the month that you busted out your blog? I would like as many steps as you can share: writing, doing JVs, partnering, reading, outsourcing… I have several very good products that I’m trying to put together, and want to make sure that I get the message out correctly.” (Asked by Tim)

28. My content is better, but my traffic is worse – what gives?! “I feel like my content is a lot better than what I see on some of the big sites in my niche, but they have a ton of traffic, and I don’t. What am I doing wrong?” (Asked by Mira)

29. Big sites? Small sites? Social media? “I’m setting up a site that sells gadget to the European and Eastern European markets. Should we focus our marketing on big websites, really specific and small websites, or social media?” (Asked by Oswin)

30. What if my audience isn’t on social media? “I’m launching a new business and site, and the market that I’m targeting (managers, consultants, account managers, etc.) doesn’t really do social media, with the possible exception of LinkedIn. What do I do? How can I get traffic to my new site? Also, should I keep it invitation-only to start, or open it up to the public from the beginning?” (Asked by Norbert)

31. How do I get readers if I’m not trying to make money? “Are there different or specific strategies for bloggers who want more readers but aren’t trying to get a business going, or make any money with their blog? For example, if they’re blogging for a cause that they care about?” (Asked by Elizabeth)

32. Pop-Under or CPV? “What’s the difference, or which one is better – using a visitor booster agency that sends targeted pop-under traffic to your site, or a CPV agency that uses pop-under advertisement?” (Asked by Sha)

33. Where can I get the traffic that I need? “I’ve spent the past year building a product that I want to sell for $497. The product is great, but the problem is that I’ve got no traffic, no list, and no JV partners. I don’t want to do a lot of social networking or blogging, because I don’t think I’ll find the right people that way, and everything that I want to share is already being shared either in my free report, or in the paid training that I’m offering. So where can I get the traffic?” (Asked by Joel)

Social Media, Commenting, and Engagement

34. Which social media platform should I use? “I want to build an engaged audience, in preparation for selling a book that I am writing about a niche subject. I’m a little stuck on social media – I’m learning Twitter, I’m not crazy about Facebook, and Google+ is just too much for me right now. I want to make the best use of my time – where should I focus?” (Asked by Katie)

35. How do I get people to comment and engage? “How do I get people to comment and discuss on my blog? How can I get them to join in the conversation and share their ideas?” (Asked by Argee)

36. How to build a responsive list? “Other than guest blogging, what tactics should I pursue to build a responsive list? What would be most effective?” (Asked by Cheryl)

37. What if my subject area is a hard sell? “How do I find my audience if I don’t have a lot of time to spend, and my topic isn’t particularly popular or easy to sell (I’m asking people to both expand their worldview into some new and far-out topics, and asking them to do some work along the way)?” (Asked by Birdie)

Lessons Learned: No Magic Bullets, and Avoiding Training Injuries!

When I first put the offer out for free help, I wasn’t sure how many people would be interested, and I had no idea how it was going to work.

Now that it’s all said and done, here are some lessons that I’ve learned from the experience:

People want magic bullets. A lot of the questions, in some way, shape, or form, were asking about the “formula” or “blueprint” or “system” that makes it all work, and the truth is that there is no one formula, blueprint, or system. Business and marketing are both complex, and the best way to see your work is as a series of hypothesis tests (“I think this will work, now let’s find out, and refine my thinking based on the results…”).
I don’t like live video. Yes, I said it. I find live video stressful, and tiring. If I ever do something like this again, I’ll definitely try to give myself more time, and space the videos out over a couple of weeks, because this was BRUTAL.
Be more careful with training breaks. You may have noticed that somewhere around the 23rd question, I appear in the videos with a swollen lower lip. The reason for that is that my wife and I took a break from recording, spent a few minutes doing some martial arts practice to get the blood flowing. This culminated in a practice judo throw, after which my wife lost her balance, and dove head-first into my face. She was unscathed, but my lip was a casualty of the training experience. Not a big deal in most cases, but on the one day that I was filming…

All in all, this is one of the most labor-intensive blog posts that I’ve ever written. I hope you liked it!

4 Ways to Get Back Up After Miserable Business Failure Knocks You Out Cold

Danny — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:15:37 +0000

Have you ever felt like you would never, ever, ever succeed?

Sure, you get the occasional pat on the back from your boss, or a colleague congratulates you for a job well done, but have you ever tried failing so bad that you thought no one could do worse?

Your retail store isn’t selling as much as you would want. You only get 20 people in the entire world to buy your new book. In fact, you’ve been working so hard day and night, churning out great content every time, but you’ve recently noticed that no one is actually reading your blog. And that’s when you feel it.

You feel that you’ve become a failure.

You didn’t do well way back in school, and now things are coming full circle. Everything that you’ve done for your business is going wrong.

You’re afraid to look at your family and friends in the eye, and admit that you’re a loser.

When people think of entrepreneurs, business owners and the like, they instinctively think of people driving a BMW, living in a cozy mansion with a perfect family and a couple of German Shepherd Dogs.

Then they look at you, and all they see is a failure. How do you get back up after that?

Wile E. Coyote’s Obsession

If you remember the old Looney Toons character that often spends every waking hour of his days chasing down a speeding Road Runner, you’ll know who I’m talking about.

The coyote endlessly hunts down the Road Runner using every means possible, often resorting to wild contraptions from a mail-order company called Acme Corporation. The problem is, he fails every single time. In fact, he fails so miserably that you sometimes feel sorry for the poor guy.

Every entrepreneur experiences ups and downs. At the beginning of their journey, they feel it hit them the strongest.

You’ll notice that you’re endlessly writing great content, even going to lengths as to research your topic for hours and hours. But then at the end of every day you’ll notice that no one really comments on your blog. You have some traffic, but they only spend a few minutes on your site.

When you’re running a business, you don’t always get the results that you were expecting. No matter how much effort your put into your business, you’re bound to face reality that people just might not like your product.

But if we could learn something from watching The Coyote’s seemingly endless obsession with catching the Road Runner, it’s to always get back up on your feet and try again.

How to get back up after failing miserably

Failure is part of the journey. What we can do is just to adapt to what’s just happened, and move on.

But moving on isn’t always about quitting. If you truly believe in your purpose, then you’ll fight for it. You’ll fight to survive.

Sounds easy, huh? It’s definitely not, I tell you. But if you want to get back up and fight for your brand, here’s what you can do.

1. Stomach it. The Coyote doesn’t whine, cry or give up. He realizes his failure, decides to get back to work, orders another contraption from Acme, and give it another try.

When you encounter a problem, be it a failed product launch, low traffic to your website, running out of ideas to market your business or not making enough sales, the first step to get back on track is to realize your failure, stomach it and trudge forward. Giving up will lead you nowhere.

2. Keep your goals in mind. Even after several attempts that only end up in failure, the Coyote doesn’t forget what he’s supposed to do, which is to catch that infernal Road Runner.

What are your goals with your business?
Are you planning to sell a revolutionary product or a service?
Do you want to get heard so you could finally get your career as a fitness coach started?
How much does this really mean to you?
Is there a market for what you’re doing?

Whatever your goals may be, always get your head in the game. It’s a tough journey, but the adventure is worth it. The rewards are just the bonus.

3. Split-testing and Research. The coyote never uses the same contraption twice. Once he realizes that the device doesn’t work, and only backfires at him and causing him pain (which doesn’t exist in cartoons), he orders a new device and tries to get it to work.

This is where actual research comes into play. What do your customers say about your product? Do they think that you’re offering them mediocre service? Finding out which works (and which doesn’t work) for your business is the key to finding success in the future.

Here are some things that you can do that don’t involve split-test software:

Take some time to call people personally and ask them for opinions about your product, or your business as a whole.
If you have a mailing list, you can use that to ask for their opinions. Everyone uses email.
Surveys have been around since forever, but it’s still one of the best ways to find out what people think.
Use sock puppet accounts to ask for honest feedback on social media and forums (actually did this on an old forum where I was one of the administrators).

4. Be open to new ideas. When you find that a certain strategy worked, even though you don’t like the method, try and use that. Don’t be stubborn.

Video marketing is getting bigger. This is another great way to attract people, specifically those who prefer not to read huge blocks of text (like this post, hah). It’s relatively easy, and there are a lot of free recording tools out there, like Jing. Chris Brogan, Danny Iny and Jon Morrow love using videos. Videos are easily shared and consumed. The easier it is for people to get your content, people will come back for more.
Feeling a little camera shy? You can try podcasts or radio shows. People get to hear your sexy voice, and they don’t need to see your bad haircut. It’s also easy to share and consume compared to text. Copyblogger has their radio show, and so does Farnoosh Brock of Prolific Living.
Provide something extra for people who opt to do business with you. Some opt for discounts on their services, others do referral bonuses or free ebooks/reports.
Get into social media. A lot of people will say social media is a waste of time, but there are also others who say it’s crucial for business. Either way, social media can be a great tool to communicate with people who are just “on the fence” when it comes to buying from you.

Don’t settle for doing what you are comfortable with, but doing what’s interesting and helpful for your target customers.

Bonus tip: Ask for help. One thing that the Coyote never did, despite failing miserably dozens of times, was that he never asked anyone for help. He didn’t use his own cunning and speed to try and catch the Road Runner because he knew his target was just too fast. So he sought refuge in using contraptions that he believed would one day help him get his prey. But he was never successful (except for one time, but the Road Runner was too big for him to eat).

When you’re having trouble with your business, whether it be lack of traffic to your site, not getting enough sales, or getting hate mail from dissatisfied customers, you can always try to reach out and ask for help from other people who have experience in running a business. They’re always willing to help out someone in need, especially if you’re determined enough.

Blogs on Marketing - There are a lot of them on the Internet. Firepole Marketing is one of them. I’m pretty sure Danny has at least 30 things he can tell you.
Local businesses - It’s difficult to get tips from the big businesses. The smaller ones that are going strong is where you need to go. Ask the owner(s) how they started, what they had to do to get people to buy from them, how they handled bad publicity, and just about anything that pops in your head.

It’s hard to run a business alone. Networking, marketing, community and knowing the right people are the keys to success. But if what comes your way is failure, you need to learn how to get back up and start fighting for your place in the world.

Josh Sarz is a Freelance Writer, Blogger and the founder of Sagoyism.com, which talks about Epic Content Marketing, Storytelling and World Domination. He also likes punk rock and metal, among other things. Read more of his crazy, creative ramblings like the 3 Main Acts of a Blog Post.

It’s February Already? Best of the Web!

Danny — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:15:18 +0000

Was January as good for you as it was for us?

On our end, we’ve had a month of record-breaking traffic, thanks to the amazing contestants in our “Marketing That Works” Ideas Contest, who totally rocked!

I also quietly launched a new training program about writing (you’ll be hearing more about that in March), and I’ve been working hard to create a ton of videos for you, that we’ll start sharing as soon as next week!

Not to mention that our training program is opening up to new students again soon, and we’ve got some great excitement planned around that, too.

But we aren’t the only ones who’ve been busy. The blogosphere is buzzing, and here are some of our favorite posts from the last month:

Confessions, Epiphanies and Calls to Action

There seems to have been a trend of “big ideas” blog posts this month – maybe it’s the inspiration that comes with the excitement of kicking off of a new year?

Whatever it is, these are the posts that shocked, amazed or really impressed us:

Publishing’s Big Bad Game of Chicken (Tribal Author)
You Are Probably Dead Already (Adventure Sauce)
Most Blogger’s Deep, Dark, Dirty Secret – And I’m Calling Bull! (Freelance Writing Blog)
Closing the Gap Between Your Potential and your Peak (Marlee Ward)
The World’s Best Gold Digger (Apps Blogger)
Why Blogging is Not a Viable Business Model (Branding Personality)
The Most Important Post You Will Ever Read (Steve Scott Site)

Strategies, Ideas, and News

We’re always on the lookout for the latest, coolest, and best taught strategies, fun and interesting ideas, and just plain old news (the stuff that’s important today, and history tomorrow). Here’s the best of it:

Is Guest Posting Worth It? (Persuasive Article Marketing)
How I put my Adventurous Goals on Autopilot (Annie Andre)
Everything About the Facebook IPO (Buzzing Up)
How to Really Create a Popular Blog From Scratch (Traffic Generation Cafe)
How to Launch a T-Shirt Line (Joel Runyon)
Paying Attention to Your Customers (A very simple way to increase your cash and make people feel awesome) (I Bring the Fun)
Why Hire a Designer (Logan Gattis)
Most Emails Stink as a Sales Tool. Here’s Why (The Sales Lion)
Creating a Referral Network (Right Mix Marketing)
How a Blog Post Written in 1 Hour Generated a Million Dollar (Apps Blogger)
How Would you Improve this Minty Fresh Website (Crazy Egg)

By the Numbers

There’s nothing like a list post to inspire you to get going on your blog, or marketing activities. These are some of our favorites from the last month.

5 Essential Qualities of Growing Your Blog Quickly in a Crowded Niche (Kikolani)
The Two Most Important Types of Information Products (MarketingShow.com)
8 Empowering Social Media Networking Tips (Fetch Profits)
eBook: The Essential Exposition of Expertise (Word and Mouth)
How to Get More Consulting Work Without Doing Sales, Jedi Mind Tricks and Magic Elves (StartMyConsultingBusiness.com)
22 Quick Actions to Avoid Unemployment Forever (Pocket Changed)

Musings, Ideas, Thoughts, and Perspectives

I’m always thrilled to read something that makes me think, and the internet is full of bloggers who are happy to provide it, many of whom I’m proud to call friends:

Apparently I’m a Business Troll, and I’m Damn Proud! (Freelance Writing Blog)
5 Reasons Blogging Might Not be Right for You (Corbett Barr)
Why Blog Contests Are More About Relationship and Not Traffic (Ryan Hanley)
If You’re Not Attracting the Right Audience, Then You Won’t Attract the Desired Results (Hustler’s Notebook)

Interviews

Writing 80+ guest posts and publishing a book has drawn a fair amount of attention – actually, since Engagement from Scratch! was published, I’ve averaged about 2 interviews per day.

It’s been exhausting, but also exhilarating, and I couldn’t be happier to do it. Here are some of my favorites:

I’m Engaged! My Interview With Danny Iny (Freelance Writing Blog)
Interview with Danny Iny (MeFrog.com)
Interview with Danny Iny (Point Blank SEO)
Freedom Cipher Episode 4: Meet Danny Iny (Aisha DaCosta)
Interview with Danny Iny, Freelance Marketer (Freelance Switch)
A Radical Approach to Launching an eBook: Interview with Danny Iny (Write to Done)

Kind Mentions

Thank you to every blogger who took a moment to mention us in a post this month – it means the world to Megan, Peter and me.

3 Cubicle Renegades to Watch in 2012 (Pocket Changed)
Give and Take, The Secret – Do you Trust in the Power of Giving (Bill Amesse)
Danny Iny is a Liar (Affect Selling)
Do You Have a Facebook Fan Page? (Adrienne Smith)
Online Marketing Secrets From Denise Wakeman and Danny Iny (Woman’s Way To Wealth)
Guest Posting Like A God (Or Goddess!): 3 Experts Show You How It’s Really Done (Sparring Mind)
Danny Iny: Guest Blogger (Ramblings of a WAHM)

More Mentions of Engagement from Scratch!

I couldn’t be happier with the reception of Engagement from Scratch!

Downloads are still happening at a brisk pace, and to-date the book has been read, shared, and enjoyed by close to 5,000 people!

Here are some of the mentions of the book over the last little while:

26 Must Reads: My Best Marketing Reading List (The Word Chef)
Review of Engagement From Scratch (Small Biz Trends)
Engaging with Danny Iny and Friends (Sticky Communication)
Birds on the Blog Book Club – Engagement From Scratch (Birds on the Blog)
Engagement From Scratch – Compiled by Danny Iny (Grow Map)

…and a couple of guest posts, too!

This year I’m going to be slowing down on the guest posting, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t occasionally contribute to some of my favorite blogs. This month, I had the privilege of writing something for two of my regular haunts:

A Blog Marketing Plan THAT WORKS For 2012 (E-Junkie.info)
872 Subscribers in 24 Hours?! (Problogger)

We’ve listed a lot of great content here, but if you think we’ve missed out on anything important, please let us know in the comments!