Let’s be honest, cold calling sucks. I’d be surprised if:

1. You enjoy doing it and
2. You don’t mind getting calls from complete strangers trying to sell you stuff.

Secondly, these aren’t really sales tactics. Market research and lead generation are marketing related processes. These happen (or are supposed to happen) long before trying to make a sale.

So why would Entrepreneur.com publish an article about ‘sales tactics’ with this advice? Simple… because there are still people who believe in the quick sale. Here’s what I mean:

• Find prospects (ie. Buy Leads)
• Send out mass mailings or start cold calling
• Write a script (draft a sales letter)
• Pretend they care (turn a cold lead into a warm lead)
• Sell, sell, sell
• Close the sale
• Rinse and repeat.

Can This Work?

Of course it can; and it does. But here’s the problem. The moment you make the sale using pushy sales tactics, you’ve left the customer with a sour experience.

You’ll be lucky if they buy from you again. You’ll get the same result every time you don’t make a sale. Doing business this way isn’t sustainable, especially if you’re a solo entrepreneur.

Write this down: The money is in repeat business. If you can sell more products to the same customer base, you won’t need to keep finding new customers to stay in the green.

But if you want to make sure they’ll be happy to buy from you again, don’t piss them off the first time around; and I’m here to show you how to do that.

Here are 5 non-evil sales tactics that still work today.

Use Stories They Can Relate to

When you’re trying to get people to buy something from you, you need to make you message stick. Using stories in your marketing materials and sales letters will do just that.

This isn’t breaking news. You’ve heard it all before, but most of the marketing I see revolves around facts and features. “Our software will do this and that…”

Think stories. Educate your prospects through your own experiences and the experiences of others.

Offer a Guarantee (Stand By Your Product)

Most people are afraid of using this highly effective and battle proven sales tactic. Why? Because they’re afraid of their customers actually using it.

Can you see how ridiculous that sounds? Offering a guarantee shouldn’t bring fear, it should boost your confidence. I offer a 30 day “No questions asked” money-back guarantee on all of my products because I know the quality and value I’m delivering.

… I’ll let you in on a little secret. I have yet to refund a single order. Offering a guarantee lets your customers know that you stand by your product 100%. So do it..

Pre-Qualify your Prospects

You can’t sell steak to a vegetarian. You know that. I know that. We often hear stories about the greatest salespeople in the world who can sell ice to Eskimos, but why bother?

If you’re selling ice, Eskimos are not your ideal customers. Your job as a blogger/entrepreneur/marketer is to find the people who already want what you have to offer.

If you sell steak, find steak lovers. If you sell fitness advice, find people who want to get in shape. But don’t stop there. Get them to raise their hands. Have them join an email list. Create sub lists of people with specific problems.

That’s how you pre-qualify. Don’t try to sell everyone everything you have.

Offer Proof (or Social Proof)

Proof is a powerful sales tactic. Whether you’re selling information products or consulting services you can benefit from the use of success stories (testimonials)

If one of your customers has had success with an idea, strategy, plan, guide, advice, plugin, widget, software or service you offer then you need to let others know.

Potential customers will be more inclined to invest in your offer when they learn about the success others have had with it. The success can be your own. Whatever proof you have, use it.

Create Urgency (Limited Time or Supply)

There are two ways to create urgency. One way is to limit the supply of products you have in stock. If you’re selling physical items and you only have 300 of them, then the scarcity element is already done for you.

However, this can backfire on you if you’re selling digital information. Creating urgency by limiting the number of downloads is not the best idea. When it comes to digital downloads, I recommend limiting the amount of time people have to get a discount.

Urgency works great and there’s so much to say about it. I’ll continue in my next post titled: How to use Scarcity without Feeling Dirty.

In the meantime, check out my new favorite plugin: Scarcity Samurai. I’ll be reviewing it shortly, but let me just say that it’s amazing and I’ve seen incredible results from using it in the past month or so.

More on that next time.. talk soon.

In that post I talked about 6 things your readers wish you knew about them. Today we’re taking it one step further.

If you’re reading this, then some part of you wants to get paid for your work.

The fact is, you’re spending time and money to have more time and money – and you deserve to get paid what you’re worth for helping people solve their problems.

But, as I’m sure you know, selling isn’t a walk in the park; especially when you’re trying to sell to someone you’ve never met. (over the internet)

This week is all about online sales and how to effectively use marketing and sales tactics to get more people to take out their wallets and give you money.

…starting with the 6 things your customers wish you knew about them.

“I like a simple checkout process”

Have you ever heard of up-sell hell? It’s when a customer is taken through a ridiculous amount of up-sells before receiving the product they decided to buy.

I’ve used up-sells in the past and encourage you to use them, but use them moderately. Your customer will begin to get annoyed after the second up-sell, so I don’t recommend having more than two.

Imagine ordering at McDonald’s and being asked these series of questions,

• Would you like fries with that?
• How about 2 apple pies for a dollar?
• Care to try our new McWrap?
• It’s only a few more bucks…

“Don’t tell me I’m a valued customer. Show me!”

The phrase “Valued Customer” means very little to most people. Most companies just use it to replace a person’s name in mass mailings; mailings that go out to all customers (valued and not).

I recommend showing people that you value their business, as oppose to just telling them. Create a returning customer program that gives discounts to those who come back to buy from you again.

You can also send out additional bonuses and customer exclusive goodies to make your people feel special about being one of your customers.

“I rather get great service than fast service”

When we go to Wendy’s we don’t expect to wait more than 5 minutes to get our order. It’s a fast food place, so its their job to provide fast service.

But something changes when they get your order wrong, doesn’t it? Something inside you wishes they take their time and get it right. The same goes for online sales. Would you want to pay $37 for an ebook that looks like it was put together in a few hours?

Of course not. We not only pay for great information and results, but we also pay for quality products and services. The point is to take your time creating your offerings and even your blog posts. Your customers will love you for it.

“I like that you’re accessible”

There are two schools of thought when it comes to accessibility and I’d like to know your thoughts on this. Some people believe that being too accessible hurts your brand (and personal) value. Others believe that being accessible can only help you grow.

For example, Oprah has one of the highest valued personal brands in the world. I think you’ll agree that her value is driven largely by her inaccessibility. If it was easy to get her attention (and endorsement), the brand value would diminish.

Then you have a guy like Gary Vee. He has built a multi-million dollar empire being extremely accessible. He answers hundreds of emails, tweets and FB messages every single day.

Where do I stand? I think you need a little of both. What do you think?

“You can only fool me once…”

Everything ain’t free. People get that. We pay for the things we really want and enjoy the process of buying.  It’s important to understand that your customers won’t mind giving you money in exchange for real value.

When you don’t provide the value your customers expect, that’s when things can get ugly. Not only will you get a ton of refund requests, but you’ll also lose a ton of potential customers.

Nowadays you don’t just piss off that one person, you piss of their relatives, friends, neighbors and anyone who they interact with on social media.

People have a voice and if you take advantage of them, you can be sure they’ll tell a few people about their horrible experience.

“I can tell you what I want to buy. Just listen!”

Listening to your potential customers is probably the most underused and underestimated sales strategy .. and I get it. We’re sitting in front of our computer monitors most of the time. That human interaction isn’t there.

We can’t see, smell, or hear our market. But we can do something even more powerful. Eavesdrop. That’s not a typo. You can join the intimate conversations your people are having online.

They tweet about their problems. They share things that excite them. They comment on blog posts with personal stories that you can learn so much from. They probably email you directly.

Doing all of this can give you great insight on what it is that your customers need help with and want to buy next. Take note on the words they use. You’ll be surprised as to how much information you can gather.

What’s next.. ?

The next post in this online sales series is all about timeless sales strategies. I’ll share with you a few tactics that still work today and how to use them effectively.

Sign up to the Inbound Marketing course to see one of these tactics being used right now.. :0)

Whether it’s Penguin, Panda, Ostrich or Dinosaur (lol), they continue to move towards one simple idea…

… the internet’s best content should be at the forefront and everything else should come after.

Now with Google authorship and Author rank underway, it proves that authority is still the name of the game.

But it’s not the same authority that was talked about in the early 2000′s. Domain age and back-links are only part of the equation.

Your authority is also determined by your reach. How far your content spreads. How well it’s received and how long you’ve been talking about the same topic (and related topics).

Today we take a look at authority, and how to get more of it. If you’re a Breaking Bad fan, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this post.

Build Your Rep

Walter White started out as a nobody in the drug business, and he knew it. He understood that in order to play with the big boys he had to make big moves.

So, Walter blew up Tuco’s headquarters with fulminated Mercury after learning that Jesse got robbed by the drug lord. This single act built Walter White’s reputation as a seriously crazy drug dealer who won’t get pushed around.

How does this relate to you? Simple. Go hard or go home. If you’re thinking about becoming an authority blogger in your market, then a few decent posts here and there won’t cut it.

You need to make big, bold moves. Collaborate with other writers, bloggers, and content producers on new projects. Go on a guest blogging spree. Do something different and stand out.

Don’t Settle for a Mediocrity

Blue Sky is perfection. This is the street name for the notoriously potent and 99.1% chemically pure crystal methamphetamine that Walter White and Jesse Pinkman manufacture. On several ocasssions, Walter threw out pounds and pounds of meth because it wasn’t pure enough.

He’s obsessed with the chemistry behind his product and will go to great lengths to get it perfect. As content producers it’s our job to make sure the stuff we’re putting out into the world is top notch. Mediocre content won’t take you very far.

It’s easy to create list posts and round up posts. It’s easy to write a short 300 word article once a week. But what good would that do? Will that bring in the traffic, leads and buyers you want?

Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

Walter White was always afraid of taking risks. He lived a normal life, had a nice family and a decent paying job as a high school chemistry teacher. However, this all changed after learning he had cancer. Walter started doing things that he was too afraid to do before.

… cooking meth, blowing up cars and killing people, just to name a few. Although I don’t suggest you do any of that, Walter did say that he felt more alive now than when he was cancer-free. I strongly believe that getting out of your comfort zone will always get you great results.

If you’re afraid of getting in front of the camera, get over it and start posting videos on YouTube. If you’re not comfortable recording audio, leave your insecurities at the door and start podcasting. That’s how you’ll grow.

Focus on What You Do Best

Walter’s business partner is Jesse Pinkman. When they first became partners Walter made is very clear that he will NOT be doing any selling. That was Jesse’s job. Walter wanted to focus solely on the cooking of the meth. This reduced the risk of getting caught.

He also knew this was one of Jesse’s strengths. Jesse had a little street cred and knew a few people that could ‘move’ the drug for him.

The takeaway is this: You don’t have to do it all yourself. If web and graphic design is not your strong point, then focus on the writing and hire someone to design your site for you.

If you want to sell software (plugins and themes), don’t waste your time figuring out how to code. Partner up with someone that knows programming and go from there.

Share your thoughts…

What else can you do to build authority in your marketplace? Leave your comments below. See you there.. :0)

I’m purposefully making it short and sweet because I want you to stop reading and start doing.

Here’s the point I want to get across: You Know More Than Enough About Marketing to Dominate any market.

Not only are you smart and well-informed, but you know exactly what to do to get people to follow you and buy from you.

• You’ve read the blogs and ebooks on how to create effective web design to convert visitors into leads.

• You’ve listened to the podcasts and watched videos about how to effectively market your idea and share it with the world.

• You know how this online business thing works, and you know how to find out what people want, package it and sell it to them.

Your job is to use this information to build a following in any topic you choose.

But that’s where a lot of people mess up. The excitement of learning all these cool marketing ideas tends to get in the way of the true lesson.

The goal isn’t to become the next social media expert (whatever that means); the goal is to learn what works and apply it to your business.

Okay.. Let’s Be Real

There are waaaayy too many people talking about Twitter marketing with less than 5,000 Twitter followers.

There are waaaay too many people claiming to be traffic experts that get virtually no traffic to their blogs.

And there are waaay too many people showing others how to sell stuff online when they haven’t made a dime themselves.

In the end, you’re going to do whatever you want to do, but these are the facts. Results come easier when you’re not targeting the social media and marketing crowd.

Everything you’ve learned is enough to help you dominate the fitness, self-development, dating and any other market you want.

You just have to apply what’s in your brain. But don’t apply it to another social media site… apply it to something you truly care about. Market something that makes you happy.

Build something that you would work on even if you weren’t getting paid. … and if you’re already building a business outside the social/marketing space then don’t try to reinvent the wheel.

There’s enough information on my Start Here Page to keep you real busy.

Why I’m Telling You This…

… well, because I want you to succeed.

No. That doesn’t mean there’s no money in the business and marketing space… of course there is. I’m not getting rid of Inbound Pro and you shouldn’t scrap your business related blog if it’s getting results. But here’s the thing…

Whenever I get into a new market, I immediately see results from applying the ideas I talk about on this blog. For example, about a month ago I started a fitness website and already have 127 people signed up to an email list.

Those subscribers are opening my emails at a rate of 60 to 70%. I don’t even get that engagement from my inbound marketing crowd. (you should open my emails more often.. lol)

I started another site about 2 weeks ago and already had to say ‘NO’ to over $2,100 worth of business because we weren’t ready to offer the service yet.

This is what happens when you apply what you already know about marketing – and trust me when I say, if you’re reading this blog, you definitely know enough.

With the barriers to entry almost non-existent, building an online business is not only possible, but easier than ever.

…and it’ll only get easier with all the new technology and services that are being made available.

However, this isn’t all sunshine and roses. The easier it gets to build an audience and grow a digital empire, the more competition there will be.

Make sense, right? … and then there’s the maturity of the market. People are way more internet savvy now-a-days, which means we have to get smarter about how we market.

Some ideas that worked back then, will not work today. In this post I’ll be sharing 5 of those marketing ideas with you, so you won’t have to work harder to get great results.

Here we go:

“Build a huge list” Won’t Work

There was a time where the numbers mattered. Those days are long gone. If you focus on getting anyone and everyone on your email list, you won’t be able to market to them effectively.

Effective marketing is honing in on the problem your audience wants to solve. You can’t do this if your list has 10 different types of people with 10 totally different problems.

What works today? “Build a targeted list“ 

This works and will always work. Targeting a group of people will allow you to market to them directly, without having to think about what their frustrations are, or how you can help them.

“Get lots of page views” Won’t Work

Lots of page views is not our goal. We’re not building an advertising business, so lots of page views do us no good. When you focus on page views alone, you forget what you’re really here to do, which is helping people solve their problems.

Remember what the late Zig Ziglar said, “You can get everything you want if you help enough people get what they want”

What works today? “Focus on conversions“

Converting your visitors into subscribers (leads) is where your focus should be – not page views. This is how you create an avenue where you can continuously market to your audience over and over.

“Get a ton of links” Won’t Work

Remember the days before Panda and Penguin? Google did a good thing with those updates because now you actually have to write awesome content in order to rank well in the search results.

Getting lots of back links really fast will raise a red flag in Google’s eyes and you might get penalized. It’s tempting to go buy a cheap service that offers 5,000 back links to your blog with promises of more search engine traffic, but don’t do it.

What works today? “Let links grow naturally”

If your content is worthy, people will see it, share it, and link back to it naturally. This is why Google sends me close to 10,000 visitors a month. Do your keyword research, optimize your articles and share it with the world.

Let the rest happen..

“Sell, Sell, Sell” Won’t Work

Some people are still getting away with this awful idea. Here’s the process:

Promise something awesome > get people on an email list > leads to a sales page > sell, sell, sell > until the person buys or unsubscribes from the list.

This is not a good way to do business. This process leads to customers feeling a sense of “buyer’s remorse” and very few will end up buying again …which means you’ll always be looking for the next customer.

What works today? Build relationships. They’ll buy when they’re ready

Not everyone will buy right away and that’s totally fine. You just have to be there when they’re ready to take the next step. How? Simple. Make yourself accessible. Get them on an email list and keep communicating with them over time.

“Going at it Alone” Can Work

If you’ve gone through my Inbound Marketing course you know that the best way to get traffic to your website (or blog) is to leverage OPA (other people’s audiences). Going at it alone will wear you out.

There are bloggers with hundreds and thousands of followers that would be willing to collaborate on a project with you. All you have to do is ask and take action.

What works today? Collaborations are awesome

Check out my IM course for 3 ways you can collaborate with other bloggers. These have worked for me and I’m sure you’ll find them useful. (the course is free by the way)

What other marketing ideas don’t work anymore?

See you in the comments..

What do you need to do in order to keep your visitors coming back over and over again?

Every effort you make has an impact on how your visitors feel about your blog. From the blog design to your content, and everything in between, your blog must spark interest, and keep it.

Elements of Blogs People Love

Here are some really great tips for creating a blog people love to visit over and over again.

Home Page

The home page of your blog is extremely essential to your success. Also called your landing page, it’s essentially the welcome page for your blog visitors.

Your blog’s home page needs to include all of the tools and information your readers need to be enticed in and compelled to stay. The look of your home page needs to be crisp and clean.

If it looks incomplete or confusing, you will drive your visitors away. Be sure your design is inviting, easy to understand and navigate.

Related page: Effective Blog Design: What Makes Your Audience Click?

About Me Page

Never overlook the importance of your blog’s “About Me” page. This web page is essential for helping you establish just who you are to your audience.

It’s also a great way to help your readers get an understanding of what your blog’s niche is all about. It’s simply not enough to list your contact information. This is impersonal, and it doesn’t help you sell your blog or yourself.

Creating an About Me page that showcases your industry experience establishes you as an industry leader. People love reading blog posts created by experts who know what they’re talking about.

Related post: The Psychology of Blogging: 6 Things Your Readers Wish You Knew

Blog Categories

Every blog should have categories. When you begin creating blog categories, think like a blog visitor, not a blog owner. Very broad categories won’t help when visitors need to narrow the amount of choices within your blog.

However, if they’re too specific, you may accidentally offer too many choices, confusing your readers. Each category should give readers a good idea of the types of blog posts it contains. Every post needs to be relevant to its blog category.

Note from Hector: While I don’t display blog categories on my blog, I do use content landing pages – which is essentially the a more optimized version of a category page.

I talk more about this inside: 7 Simple Action Steps To Build An Unshakable Blog Foundation

Blogroll

What is a blogroll? It’s a simple list of links to other blogs you love. Usually featured in the blog sidebar, your blogroll can also be broken up into categories.

This makes it easy for you to link to other related blogs, and can be a way to help increase your blogs audience.

Blog Sidebar

When creating your blog, you have the option of adding one or more sidebars. There are so many interesting items you can add to your sidebar to create a more interactive experience for your visitors.

These items can be used to help monetize and market your blog. Here are the top 10 sidebar items people expect to see somewhere on your blog:

1. Short bio or link to “About Me” page
2. Your picture
3. Contact information
4. Your blogroll
5. Category lists
6. Links to archived posts, separated by dates
7. Links to recent posts
8. Links to recent comments
9. Links to your most popular posts

Start Blogging Today

The most important component of a blog is the content itself. What you say and how you choose to say it determines the blog’s tone, which should be appropriate for your blog’s topic.

Make sure your blog posts are personable. This makes it inviting to visitors, who will enjoy interacting with you through blog comments.

A personable blog also encourages visitors to link back to your blog from other relevant sites and content. For more information about creating killer blog posts, visit The Blog Builders today.

Yes, limiting beliefs.

You see.. when we’re first getting started, we have all this excitement, drive and a strong belief that this will actually work and that we’ll be successful.

But as time goes on,  the excitement dies down, the motivation begins to drop and then we hit a wall.

You realize what it really takes to start seeing success and the amount of work involved to make it happen – and you start coming up with “reasons” as to why this isn’t gonna work for YOU.

One thing I want you to get from this post is that these “reasons” you come up with are nothing more than insecurities and limiting beliefs. Well.. you can get rid of these beliefs and I’m gonna show you how – one by one..

Let’s go..

These 7 Limiting Beliefs Are Robbing You…

I’m not successful because…

#1. I’m not a techie

Ohhh man… I love this one..

I’m gonna be completely honest with you, anyone that tells you that you don’t need to know any technical stuff to do internet marketing or build an ONLINE business is probably trying to sell you something.

OR.. they had a nice budget to start with when they got started, and so they OUTSOURCED every technical detail about the business. (which is almost everything)

None of us were born knowing how to walk, but we learned didn’t we? when I got started..

• I didn’t know HTML,
• or how to upload videos,
• or how to create a blog,
• or how to social bookmark stuff,
• or how to install a member management script
• or how to use FTP software,

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! – but there’s one thing I did know.

I knew that building an ONLINE business required me to learn certain skill sets that I didn’t currently have, and so I learned them.

Through practice, trial and error.

The only way to eliminate this limiting belief is to accept the fact that you need to learn new skill sets and yes… become somewhat of a techie -  I know.. I know.. it sucks, but I know you can master this internet stuff if you put your mind to it..

Next..

#2. I don’t have a big budget

This one is simple – you don’t need one. I wrote a post way back about how you can start an internet business with less than $29.95.

In that post I tell you how all you need is a domain name, hosting plan and an autoresponder. Anything else is extra.

Let’s continue – I’m not successful because…..

#3. I don’t have a list

We all know that the reason the big name gurus make all that money with product launches is because they have thousands upon thousands of people on their email lists.

Using the excuse “I don’t have a list..” stops you from ever working to get one. You need to start asking yourself, “How can I get a list?” instead of “why don’t I have a list?”

Asking the RIGHT questions will get you to start thinking about finding the RIGHT answers and moving forward in your business.

So, don’t let this limiting belief stop you from working towards building your own list of people who know, like and trust you.

If you wanna see how Popup Domination is helped me build my list, check out this post. And if you need to learn how to convert more visitors into subscribers, get the 8-part marketing course.

Next… I’m not successful because:

#4. I’m not KNOWN in the market

That’s almost like saying, Successful People are Successful because they’re Successful. – Sounds funny, right?

That’s because it is, but most people think this way.

The act of getting known in your market must be deliberate, it doesn’t just happen overnight. This is done by bloggging, guest posting and other inbound marketing strategies. It will take some time and it will take some work, but you’ll begin to “get known” in your market.

But, you knew that already.

#5. I don’t know what to write about

Creating content is tough. It takes time. It takes brain power and it takes real work.

But as I’m writing this post I’m realizing that creating content is only tough when you don’t have enough to say on a particular topic.

The idea for this post came to me while I was shopping on 34th street today, so I took out my iPhone and took some notes about some limiting beliefs that I know I’ve had to get rid of during my journey.

Then all I had to do is get home and start writing. The point is, the idea could’ve been anything. But because I’ve learned, experimented, succeeded and failed at certain areas during my online journey, I have enough to say on those topics.

Whatever market or niche you’re in, you need to start (or continue) learning, experimenting and sharing those lessons you learn and your experiences with your audience.

Once you have a good reader base, you can simply ask people what they want to learn more about, so you can start addressing those topics.

#6. I have to write too much, and I don’t like to write

Well, you don’t really have to. Writing is only one form of content creation.

There is also video, and podcasting. If those are better for you to share your message with your audience, then by all means go for it.

Create videos and post them on YouTube. Record audios and start a podcast on iTunes. These are great ways to get yourself and your brand out there in the marketplace and also great content to share on your blog.

A downside to using just video or audio is that getting search engine traffic will be really hard since the search engines bots read the text on your site and can’t figure out what you audios and videos are about.

But you could always just add a description to the post. :0)

#7. I don’t know where to get started

Well that one’s easy – start by getting the 8-Part Marketing Course. Inside you’ll learn how to effectively market your blog, how to drive free targeted traffic, and convert visitors into subscribers.

And it’s free, so there’s no excuse.

On To You…

What limiting beliefs have you had to get rid of in order to get where you are today?

Please share your thoughts and experience with us below, & please share this post on twitter and facebook – it takes 4 seconds - thanks.

Talk soon,
Hector

You know.. things like:

• success habits
• traits successful bloggers have
• what it takes to build a popular blog

I want to take a different approach. Instead of talking about you, I want to talk about your reader.

… because ultimately, that’s who’ll determine the success of your site. Not you or your secret ninja marketing tactics.

Not your brand new keyword research tool or an amazing wordpress plugin you’ve just bought. The success of your site lies in the hands of the people who read it.

… and, of course, in your ability to meet their needs. So, let’s jump right in. Here’s are 6 things your readers wish you knew.

“I like knowing whose blog I’m reading”

Even though you’re typing on a keyboard and publishing your content on a machine with zero emotion, you shouldn’t run your blog like a lifeless robot.

Simple things like adding your name, adding an ‘About Me’ page or a picture of you in the sidebar will let your readers know who you are.

Up until recently, I didn’t have a picture of me on the sidebar. I figured a picture on my about page was enough.

But I’ve gotten emails from a few people who suggested I added a bit more personality to the site. Now you can see my face as soon as you get to the site. (I want you to know I’m human.. and you can talk to me)

That’s how we connect in real life, isn’t it?

“I like when you talk directly to me”

The word “YOU” is mighty powerful and you should use it often. I use it in every single post I write because I want YOU to know that these posts are written specifically for YOU, and with you in mind.

I don’t say “Hey guys and gals.. “ even though I know thousands will read this. Why? because you’re not sitting in a room with thousands of people hovering around the computer screen.

… are you? of course not… but if you are – You’re all very strange people. 

But if you’re like most people, you’re probably reading this by yourself; on your laptop, mac or PC, or on your iPad or smartphone. So why would I address you as a group? It doesn’t make sense to me.

“Quick email responses mean a whole lot”

Have you ever sent an email to someone and gotten a reply in less than 5 minutes? If you have, you know that feeling. The first thought is usually, “wow, that was quick”.

The second thought is, “this person is awesome… she/he really cares”. I have all my emails forwarded to my iPhone, and although I can’t get through all them in this fashion, I try my best to reply as fast as I can.

I want everyone that emails me to get that feeling. I want everyone to know that I’m here to help. If there’s anything you can do to increase the speed of email responses, (or tweets, or comments) then do it.

Your audience will love you for it.

“I really like surprises and goodies”

Some of my most popular posts have had some type of downloadable file; either an Mp3 file, a PDF report or an infographic you can save to your computer.

These may seem simple and insignificant when you consider everything it takes to build a large audience, but they really do make a difference. Very few bloggers take the time and effort to go the extra mile for their readers.

If a worksheet will help them get clarity, why not add one? If a checklist can help your readers get organized, why not create one?

Think about that..

“I don’t like confusing websites”

The easier it is for your visitors to get around your site, the happier they’ll be. Having too much ‘going on’ can confuse your readers and get them to leave your site without ‘looking around’?

So, how can you improve website usability? Here are 3 ways:

• Remove clutter.
• Use proper menu titles in your top or side navigation.
• Avoid color overload. Red. Blue. Green. Purple. and black probably don’t go well together. (..but that’s just me)

“… I’ll start to forget you exist”

If you fail to consistently put out great content, your readers will begin to forget about you. This is why it’s important to have an editorial calendar, and follow a proven content marketing strategy.

There’s an overwhelming amount of information on the internet and attention has become extremely scarce. Your job is to not only attract attention from your target audience, but also keep it.

Consistency is the key. Keep up the flow of content and your audience will stick by you til the end. I mean, why wouldn’t they? You’re awesome!

On to you..

Now that we’ve discussed the psychology of blogging, what are some other things we should keep in mind? Tell us what changes you’ll be making to your site, now that you’ve seen it from your readers’ perspective.

Speak you mind. Talk soon.

I’ll prove it in this post. When you’re done reading this article, you’ll be allowed to officially *slap* anyone with the “I’m on a tight budget” excuse.

We live in a great time. Never before could we start a business, or a movement, and have our voices heard all around the world.

That keyboard you’re typing on, and that mouse under the palm of your hand can help you amplify your message, grow an audience and make a difference in people’s lives.

But first, let’s talk goals…

… because there’s no reason for me to list a whole bunch of “things you need” if we don’t determine what we’re gonna do with them. Agreed?

Great!

Our Simple Start Up Goals

• Goal #1: Start a content based site (a wordpress blog) that attracts prospects and positions you as an authority on a topic. For a list of blog topics, read this post.

• Goal #2: Generate leads using both your blog and landing pages to build a targeted list of prospects.

• Goal #3: Spend time where your audience spends their time. If that’s Twitter, go find them there. If they hang out on forums, start posting there.

Build a community on Google+ or Facebook and give your people a space where they can mingle and chat. Don’t rely on tricks and tactics to build your following on these social networks.

You’ll fail without strategy.

Please note: These are simple start up goals. There are other things you’ll need later on, I just want to get you started. Now, lets move on to the next step which is actually accomplishing them.

In order to achieve these goals, (which will get you on the right track to building a long-term business) we need some tools. This is where I prove to you why “not-having-enough money” is a poor excuse for most people.

Not all… just most.

The Tools You Need (Your $30 Budget)

Domain & Hosting

You can get a hosting account with Bluehost.com and get a Free domain when you sign up. It’s only $4.95/month and the service is amazing. I use Bluehost Pro, and love it!

Email Management Service

I use Aweber. They’re great, reliable and inexpensive. You can start for just $1. Regular plans start at $20 bucks a month, so you can get started building your list of targeted prospects.

WordPress + Theme + Plugins = Free

There are thousands of wordpress themes you can download and install for free (here are 13). If you’re wondering how to install WordPress, check out this post.

Of course, there are a lot of paid themes and plugins, too… but you don’t need them if you’re just starting out.

Technological Skill Set

This will cost you time. You can’t pay anyone to give you the skills you need, only experience teaches you this. I didn’t know how to do any of this when I got started.

If I had screenshots of my landing pages and graphics, I would show you – but trust me.. they were horrendous.

• YouTube Account = Free
• Social Media Accounts = Free
• Will + Determination = Free

..and that’s it. Did I Prove My Point?

With less than $30 you can start building something that has the potential to pay you forever. Start by listing your goals, then look for the tools you need to accomplish those goals.

It’s THAT simple.

I hope this article helped you get clarity as to what you need to do to get started. For the intermediate & advanced readers please pass this along, I really want to see our community grow, and I think this information can benefit them.

P.S. don’t forget to sign up for the inbound marketing course

Let me explain.

I don’t build backlinks from other sites, and I definitely don’t waste my time worrying about keyword density. There are more important things I could be doing to grow my blog…

… like writing content for you and creating courses for my upcoming premium library. (I’ll tell you more about that in a few weeks)

Recently, however, I’ve been doing more in depth keyword research. I didn’t bother doing it in the past and that was a big mistake. I know now that keyword research should be a part of that 20%.

Today, I want to show you how to use Market Samurai to find profitable long-tail keywords that could not only increase traffic, but also sales.

But first, why Long-Tail Keywords?

Long-tail keywords are phrases with 3 or more words that are uncommon or infrequently searched for. The first reason why we want to target these phrases is simply because they’re easier to rank for. They generally have a low number of searches, which usually means they have very low competition.

While it’s true that ranking for popular keywords will send you a lot more traffic, targeting low competition (long-tail) keywords won’t take you as much time and the results can really add up.

The 2nd reason we want to target these keywords is because they often have more qualified searchers. For example, someone searching for “weight loss program for women” is much more qualified than someone just searching “weight loss”.

In other words, long tail keywords convert at a much higher rate than high traffic keywords. Here’s a screenshot of the results you can get from ranking on the 1st page of Google for a profitable long-tail keyword.

To protect myself from competitors I won’t share the post or the phrases I’m ranking for, but this one article I wrote a few months back is responsible for $1,016.34 in additional income.

The phrase is 6 words long and sends me about 17 to 26 visitors a day. The best part is I don’t have to do any extra work. (talk about passive income)

So now that we know how important it is to find these keywords… let’s get to work:

Get the Software. For Free

To begin, download Market Samurai and install it. You can actually use the software for free (the full version with all its features) for 7 days.

Once you open the program, you’ll be prompted to ‘Create a New Project’ or ‘Open a Recent Project’.

I’m assuming this is the first time you’re using M.S, so click on ‘New Project’.

Step 2. Enter a Keyword

The next step is to enter the keyword you’d like to analyze. Don’t worry about keyword competition at this point. Go ahead and enter a popular keyword, the software will do its magic later on – you’ll see.

For this example, I’m going to be using the keyword phrase “Get a Date” to show you how this works.

The ‘title’ and ‘file’ fields will be automatically filled in by Market Samurai. When you’ve entered the keyword, click ‘Create’.

Step 3. Generate Related Keywords

This is an important step. When you create your project, you’ll see a screen with 8 different options. Click on ‘Keyword Research’ to begin generating related phrases.

Before you click on ‘Generate Keywords’ be sure to change the phrase length to 3 words minimum and 10 words max. This will ensure that you generate long-tail keywords, which is what we’re trying to rank for.

Still with me? Great… let’s continue.

Step 3.5 – The Keyword List

This is the list I get when I click generate keywords. Keep in mind that you have to be signed in to your Google account in order for the software to “fetch the keywords” along with their search counts.

The screenshot below shows 556 active phrases that are between 3 and 10 words long, and are related to “Get a Date”.

.. you’ll also notice there are a few phrases that aren’t related to the DATING niche. I’ll show you what to do with these in the next step.

Step 4. Add & Remove Keywords

Positive keywords are the words you want the software to show, while the negative keywords are those you want it to remove.

In the screenshot below I added words like ‘get’, ‘date’, and ‘dating’ to the positive keywords field, and I added ‘free’, ‘site’, ‘time’, ‘script’, ‘year‘, and ‘months’ to the negative keywords field.

Taking the time to do this step will save you from sorting through unrelated keywords later. Once you’re done cleaning up the keyword list, click update and then press Keyword Analysis.

This is what you’ll see next:

You’ll see a short list of keywords with a few numbers. Let me explain what these numbers mean.

SEOT: The maximum potential daily clicks that a #1 ranked site for this keyword term could potentially get.

PBR: The percentage of phrase-match searches out of broad-match searches for this keyword. Low values indicate there are other word orderings which are being searched for more.

Step 5. Bring Back Lost Keywords

You’ll notice this new list is significantly smaller than the previous list. This is because Market Samurai filters your list using their “Golden Rules”. This is the default setting.

What we want is the Long Tail Filtering process, which will give us a list of keywords that have very low competition with a decent amount of daily searches.

Here’s how you change the filtering process:

Step 6. Analyze your Keyword List

Once you’ve changed the filter to ‘Long Tail’, press Analyze Keywords to begin checking the SEO competition. By default, you’ll get keywords with less than 30,000 competing pages, which is perfect for us. These are the phrases we need to target.

… the ones that are easy to dominate. (you can see the number of competing pages under the SEOC column)

Step 7. Perform SEO Competition Analysis

As you can see from the screenshot above, the phrase “Getting Ready for a Date” has 20,800 competing pages … and the #1 ranked site for that keyword can potentially get 33 daily visits.

Now, 33 visits may not seem like a ton of traffic, but remember, I’m getting less than 30 visits per day to that one post and it has already earned me $1,016.34.

These small searches can add up to thousands in the long run. Just keep that in mind.

Moving on.. when you find a great keyword, simply click on the KEY Icon to open up a new tab. (see screenshot above)

> Select SEO competition >> then click ‘Generate Results‘ and you’ll get the table below:

This is where Market Samurai shines.

This tables shows you the top ten pages ranking on the 1st page of Google for this specific keyword phrase. (in my case “Getting ready for a Date”)

Generally what you’d want to see is a bunch of green and less red. Green means that the competition on the first page of Google won’t be that hard to beat. Red on the other hand, is just the opposite.

6 Key Columns you want to pay attention to:

1. PR (Pagerank): If you see pages with PR 0, 1, or 2 then this is a good sign. It means non authoritative sites are ranking and you have a better chance of beating them.

2. BLP (Page Backlinks): These are the number of links pointing back to this particular page from other sites. Again, the less backlinks the better.

3. Title: This column tells you whether or not this page contains the keyword in the Title Tag <title>

4. URL: This column tells you whether or not this page contains the keyword in the URL

5. Description: This column tells you whether or not this page contains the keyword in the description <meta>

6. Header: This column tells you whether or not this page contains the keyword in the header tags <h1> <h2> <h3>

From what I see in this table, I can already tell this phrase is easy to rank for. Only 1 out of the top ten has the keyword in the Title Tag, and only one mentions it in the description.

All this green means we’re good to go. If I had a dating blog, I would write a post in a heartbeat.

Let’s Wrap This Up…

Now you know how to find profitable long-tail keywords using Market Samurai. Before I let you go, please note: this process is not about finding a niche for your site. You would need to do more research and find keywords that bring in more than just a few visits/day.

This is for people who already have blogs and want to start targeting the long-tail phrases to take advantage of the opportunity on the first page of Google.

Remember, this is 2013. There’s no such thing as the perfect keyword. There will always be competition, you just have to be smart and find your way around that.

… and this is a good place to start.

Download Market Samurai here and try it out for free for 7 days.

Created a content marketing strategy. Written epic content.

You’ve guest posted to drive traffic.

Built a decent following on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest.

Created an awesome lead magnet to entice visitors to sign up, but somehow people aren’t joining your list.

If you’ve literally tried everything, there might be something else going on with your site. Something so simple it hurts me to even say it:

People Don’t Know Where (or How) to Sign Up

Usability is one of the most important elements of website design. … but when it comes to wordpress, most people seem to forget that. Maybe it’s because it’s so easy to add a bunch of stuff to it.

All the widgets, plugins, ads, and other stuff in your sidebar distract and confuse your visitors, which can decrease site conversion.

Today I want to show you 6 wordpress themes that make building your email list ‘brain-dead’ simple. They all follow 2 important rules:

1. They make it super obvious where to sign up

2. And they clear all the clutter that distract visitors

 All 6 of these wordpress themes were designed by none other than Studiopress. I use them because they not only make your website look stunningly beautiful, they also understand how design affects conversions.

They know it only takes a few seconds for a visitor to decide whether or not they want to stick around and browse your site.

Here they are:

The first 3 themes make it easy for your visitors to sign up. The very first thing they’ll see when first land on your blog will be a sign up form.

This opt-in form is non-obtrusive, nicely designed, and is above the fold. Take a look at the demos.

Balance Theme

• Theme Demo
• Grab this theme

Generate Theme

• Theme Demo
• Grab this theme

Streamline Theme

• Theme Demo
• Grab this theme

What About Landing Pages?

The following 3 themes have an awesome feature that I absolutely love. These themes come with a landing page template. We all know how important landing pages are, but they’re not the easiest things to create using wordpress.

Well, with these themes you no longer have to mess around with code (CSS or whatever) to figure out how to remove:

• the header
• the sidebar
• the footer
• and other external links

These are 100% distraction-free pages that look great and boost conversions. Check out the demos below:

Decor Landing Page

• Landing Page Demo
• Grab this theme

Mindstream Landing Page

• Landing Page Demo
• Grab this thene

Quattro Landing Page

• Landing Page Demo
• Grab this theme

Q: What Theme are you using and Why?

You don’t have to switch over to Studiopress to get the benefits of high conversions. There are other themes and frameworks that do the same. Plus, you can always customize your site to optimize for conversions.

But if you aren’t getting enough subscribers, you might wanna look into redesigning.

…  if you’re happy with your results, let us know what framework/wordpress theme you’re using right now. See you in the comments.. 

I accepted this guest post because I feel the transition from the “make money online hype” to the real business world is an important one we need to make.

By the way, not everyone we might consider a guru is sleazy.

A “guru” by definition is a person with specialized knowledge or expertise. However, we often attribute negative connotations to this term. Keep that in mind while reading this post.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Take it away Alden.. 

I’ve been blogging for over a year now.

I’ve written over 60 guest posts, and gathered 4,000 subscribers. I felt like I was on the right track until I had several wake-up calls.

With an email list like that, I thought I had it made. I thought I was going to start earning good money by simply recommending a bunch of affiliate products to them.

Wake Up Call #1:

I didn’t  make earn a full-time income. Heck, I only made a few hundred dollars per month.

Wake Up Call #2:

My open rate and click through rates were incredibly low … and to make it worse, I didn’t even know why.

MAJOR Wake Up Call #3:

I asked Danny Iny of FirePole Marketing what I was doing wrong and he replied,

“Alden, it isn’t as simple as that. Doing business online requires more than just implementing one method. What you’re trying to do is a scheme

And that hit me like a truck.

Me? Schemes? It sounded like I was aiming to be one of those sleazy “gurus”, gaming the system and looking for loopholes to earn a quick buck.

I knew I was more than that. I had a passion for writing and I’m very driven to achieve my dream of making good money online. Plus I’m a nice guy. I’d never think of doing any form of unethical work.

That’s when I realized how I blinded I was.

You may be blindsiding yourself.

This is something I feel a lot of newbies fall prey to.

The internet is misunderstood to be the easy solution to making money quickly. A lot of people (including me) start off like that, thinking it’s their way out of a tough life; their gateway to their dreams.

With so much information online, there’re always different perspectives and more often than not (thanks to eye-catching headlines) we get drawn in easily and start to believe them

e.g. How these easy Twitter tips can make you instant profits NOW.

So let this be my new perspective to you.

No matter how good your intentions are or how driven you are to keep learning, you still might be doing it wrong. Like me back then, you may be conducting your business or blog like some sleazy marketer without even knowing it.

It’s time to forget about shortcuts, tactics and instant profits. You’ll need to go back to business fundamentals, content-marketing style.

Here are a few things to keep in mind…

1. Forget About Shortcuts..

Only a sleazy “guru wannabe” wants shortcuts, but they don’t exist in any kind of business. Drive it out of your head that the internet makes everything easy for you, including making money.

Sure, you’re conducting your work online with literally the clicks of your mouse and typing up words on screen, but that’s the end of the supposed ease.

From here on out, it’s about taking massive determined action. You have to put in the effort and hard work.

2. You Can’t Escape Hard Work

So get to it.

The idea behind creating useful and epic content is to attract an audience and add value over the long term to build trust.

Now, that may not sound very appealing, as it doesn’t promise instant rewards. But are you going to avoid doing the meaningful work just because you can’t see results right away?

That’s what I did. I wasted my first 8 months of blogging feeling lost and writing about random stuff. I bought some ebooks from sleazy marketers and learned that their promises of making good money were empty.

3. Tactics Are Only The Icing on the Cake

Tactics are easy to apply. They can make a difference in your businesses, sometimes even turning the tide of a product launch in your favor.

It’s easy to think that’s all you need to grow your business. But if you apply tactics alone, they aren’t going to work. Even if it does work, it’s most likely a one-off thing and not sustainable to you and your business.

You need provide the cake still, that’s your foundation. You need a strong foundation in your business, wherein you provide useful and epic content that helps solve a problem or a pain.

Then, you can use tactics to get the message out there. If you’re just using tactics, you’re no different from a sleazy guru marketer trying to work through loopholes or relying on pure luck.

4. Do Your Own Testing

There are unethical marketers out there who learn about a bunch of concepts and tactics so they can continuously take advantage of them.

… it’s only a matter of time until you see newbies basically copying their “system”, no matter how unethical it may be.

I suggest you continuously test and find out what truly what works for your business. Be willing to take risks and discover how your business can evolve.

As your business grows, so will you.

Pretty soon, after going beyond learning, you’ll create your own system that works. …and who knows, maybe you’ll be the one helping, teaching and inspiring others the right way to market and grow.

Business isn’t just about the money.

“The journey is the reward”. That’s something a true business owner would say.

A sleazy guru only has his eyes on the prize, and would do anything to get it. Morals aren’t an issue.

The internet and blogs are tools that help you grow your business and help others. They aren’t instant cash machines. I know that now.

If you want success, take action, work hard, and don’t give up. That’s how you create a sustainable business, and a great future.

Just for Inbound Pro readers

I’ve put together a kit for you. It’s my all new Revive Your Life kit that can help you live life on your own terms. Head over to Alden Tan, drop in your email and I’ll send the kit over to you.

• Gain the confidence to do what you love
• Ignite your passion
• Learn to stop caring about what others think

The kit is brand new and I want you to be one of the first few to get it here free. Thanks for checking it out.

This list will give you lots of ideas and (hopefully) help you make a decision.

Not only will I list the 16 types of digital products you can sell, but I’m also going to show you real-world examples of these products.

… across different markets.

… along with their price range. I’m sure you’ll find it useful.

(and watch out.. some of these are affiliate links, you might end up buying something and helping me out with a few extra bucks) … lol

Information Based Products

1. Content Membership Sites:

A content membership site is a website that requires members to pay to get in, and continued payment is required (monthly or whatever) to have access.

This type of site should contain permanent content and ongoing content creation. The permanent content gives members something to do once they get inside, while the ongoing content keeps them paying every month.

• Example: Burn the Fat Inner Circle
• Price Range: $9.99/month to $300/month

2. Ebooks & Kindle Books:

Ebooks are still a great way to get paid from your blogging efforts. Kindle books fall into this category as well. Ebooks are a great way to package your knowledge to help your customers solve a particular problem.

Many bloggers try selling an ebook first to test the market. They’re not as difficult to put together as a full blown video training course, so it’s less “risky.”

• Example: 13 Sneaky Design Tricks
• Price Range: $2.99 to $97

3. Audio Program:

I love recording audio products. The only reason I don’t do more of them is because I’m lazy. But audio products are super simple to create. You can easily put together a $20 program in a weekend.

All you need is a recording software like Adobe Audition, a USB condenser microphone, and a problem your readers want to solve. Record 3 or 4 audio sessions giving away the solution to this problem and package it nicely.

• Example: Tony Robbins Power Talk (just picture an all digital version)
• Price Range: $20 to $299

4. Video Training Course:

Video training programs are a bit harder to create. They require more time, energy and lots of patience. Today’s technology allows us to create great videos with much more ease, but the challenge is still in editing and producing a high quality product.

You can use screen capture software where you’re talking over a powerpoint presentation. You can record live action videos or you can do both. It’s totally up to you.

• Example: Video Traffic Academy
• Price Range: $47 to $500

5. Multimedia Program:

This is basically a combination of all the other types of courses. A multimedia program should consist of audio sessions, downloadable PDF worksheets, reports, checklists, and video content.

Some of the programs I’ve seen also offer access to a private community of members where why can interact with each other and ask questions. This type of program takes the most work, by far … but you can also charge more money. (depending on your market of course)

• Example: Teaching Sells
• Price Range: $297 to $2000 (or more)

6. Email Newsletter:

This is exactly what is sounds like. People pay to get emails from you. Now, before you start saying, “that ain’t possible” .. (I mean, it does sound too simple to be true). I can assure you, this is an actual business model you can create.

Chris Brogan did this with his Blog Topics program. You pay a one time payment of $97 and he sends you writing advice and blog topics for 43 weeks or so .. Via Email!.

• Example: Chris Brogan’s Blog Topics
• Price Range: Varies on length of your newsletter

Web Services

If you’re a coder then we should talk. Lol – Seriously, I wish I had the brain power to figure out the whole programming game, but I don’t. If you can create software programs that help people do something better or faster, then why are you reading this post?

Go code something and make money!

Here’s a list of the different software programs and services you can create..

7. WordPress Plugins:

• Example: Popup Domination
• Price Range: $27 to $200

8. WordPress Themes:

• Example: Eleven40 Theme (that’s the theme I use)
• Price Range: $10 to $97

9. Web-Based Service:

• Example: Aweber
• Price Range: $20/month to $499/month

10. Open Source Scripts:

• Example: iScripts
• Price Range: $12 to $900

11. Desktop Apps:

• Example: Adobe Audition
  
• Price Range: $20 to $300

12. iPhone Apps:

• Example: Angry Birds
  
• Price Range: $0.99 to $300

Other Things You Can Sell

13. Web Graphics:

Are you a Photoshop master? Do you have an eye for design? Your audience might need your help creating icons, backgrounds, buttons and banners. You can create these graphics using your Photoshop skills and sell it as a bundle pack on your blog.

• Example: Coffee Cup
• Price Range: $5 to $20 (these are bundle prices)

14. Turnkey Websites:

Maybe your design skills go much further than just web graphics. If you can put together website for your audience and offer them at a really good price, you can probably make decent money doing that.

The only downside to using this type of business model is that, although you’re selling a digital product, you’re trading time for money. Every time you want to make more money, you’ll have to create a new website for a new client.

• Example: Template Monster Turnkey Websites
• Price Range: $100 to $3,500

15. Images & Photos:

Photographers please stand up! If you’re good with the camera and take some awesome pictures, you can set up an account on iStockPhoto and sell your masterpieces there.

You can use your blog to attract an audience and send them over to your iStockPhoto portfolio to shop around for great pictures.

• Example: iStockPhoto Store
• Price Range: $0.99 to $20

16.Digital Music & Sounds:

The same goes for music producers, artists and musicians. Your blog can be the main hub that drives people to wherever your music, sounds or digital albums are being sold. This can be iTunes, Amazon or TuneCore.

• Example: Eminem’s Store is marketed by his Blog
• Price: $0.99 to $19.99

What did I miss?

I’m sure there are more digital products you can market and sell from your site, but I can’t think of them right now.. If you know of any that I didn’t mention, share it with us in the comments.

It’ll help make this resource a lot more valuable for everyone.

If you already have a product and need help with the marketing side of things, grab the Inbound Marketing course.. it’s free and it’ll give you the 10,000 foot view of how to attract, convert and sell more stuff.

The information in this post can help you not look like a complete jerk in front of your audience.

I’ll explain what I mean in a second… 

Here’s the back story:

I was sitting on my computer, working hard on a new project (I’m lying, I was procrastinating, checking email) and one subject line caught my attention.

It said:

“Ideas for the Perfect Outfit” 

… from none other than Louis Vuitton. So, I did what any other content marketer would do – Got Super Excited!

Why? .. because when big giant companies like Coke, Home Depot and even LV start using content to attract and convert more people into customers, it reinforces what we’ve been talking about for years.

… that Content Marketing works!

So my initial thoughts were:

• Yes.. LV get it!
• Yes.. Content is the future!
• Yes.. when I open this email I’m going to see ideas to create the perfect outfit LV style.

But I was Disappointed

By the title of this post you may have guessed that what I saw in that email was not what I was expecting.

Let me show you their “ideas”:

No actual content.

Not one idea.

Nothing but a big image that leads to their collection of accessories. The old “bait and switch”. This email proves to me that LV just doesn’t get it yet.

Now, you might be thinking..

“But they’re LV… They can do that”

But for how long?

How long can they continue to send out emails to their newsletter subscribers with misleading subject lines and no content inside.

How far will they get doing email marketing this way (what we know to be the wrong way)?

I have no freaking idea.

But I do have an idea of how to build relationships with email subscribers. I do have an idea of how content marketing works. I do have an idea of where the online advertising model is headed due to banner blindness.

Maybe it works for them, but it certainly left me with a bad impression.

Lessons From This Crappy Email:

A few things..

• First of all, don’t do this unless you want to piss people off. People are smart. Their bullshit detectors are on-point and they’ll call you out if you try to pull a fast one.

• Adding value and actually helping people will go a long way. It may not lead to a sale right away, but would you try to propose on the first date? Of course not..

• Use images in your emails.. this big picture LV added to the email actually made me click. It’s something you might want to test and see how it works. (just don’t forget the content)

• Lastly, CARE about your audience enough to put in the effort. Right now I’m feeling LV doesn’t care much. I would’ve been happy with one outfit idea from them, but I didn’t even get that.

What do you think?

… does this email look OK to you? Would you have felt the same way? I really wanna know what you think.. leave it in the comments.

.. I know I am.. 

Below is a list of the 7 best blogging tools that will do just that.

Here’s what they are:

Drop Box

This is a free service that lets you bring your photos, documents, and videos anywhere and share them easily. You’ll never have to email yourself a file again! Watch their YouTube video to learn more.

I freaking love Drop Box. I use it all the time. There’s no need for USB’s anymore.

Whenever I need a file on another computer, my laptop, iPad or iPhone, I just drag it to my Drop Box folder and access it wherever I want.

If you haven’t been using Drop Box, you don’t know what you’re missing. Plus, it’s free! Download it here.. 

Evernote

Looking for an app that does almost everything to make you more productive and stress free? Evernote is the application for you. You can save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see.

You can access it anywhere.. it’s compatible with almost every mobile device out there and you can find stuff you’ve saved fast by using the search feature.

Evernote is more than a To-Do list.. it’s like having an extra brain to hold the things you don’t want to forget.

Weird analogy?… yea, but you get the point.

All Top

I use All Top to get caught up on what’s going on in my industry. I use this awesome site to spy on my “competitors”, and try to figure out what I can add to what’s being said about a particular topic.

Stealing topics isn’t a bad idea either… that’s why all they’re talking about now is that Carnival cruise ship in the evening news.

I’ll address this idea of stealing and creativity in a future post, because I think it’s an important one to cover.

… even if it’s been covered thousands of times before..

Focus Booster

This simple desktop app makes me super duper productive. I set the timer for 25 minutes and start writing, or designing, or doing whatever I need to do to grow my blog.

When the 25 minutes are up, I take a 5 minute break. (the break is actually built into the application itself). I use this time to take my mind of the task at hand so I can get back at it with super clear focus.

If you download any of the tools I mention in this post, let it be this one.

… plus it’s free!

Stock.XCHNG

Need to find high quality images for your blog posts, but don’t want to spend $3 on a simple picture.. this is the site for you. You can type in any keyword, select the image you want, fill out a form asking for permission to use the image and you’re done.

This site is filled with fancy images that you just can’t find on Google Image search. Give it a try, you might like what you find.

FileZilla

My go-to software when things go haywire with my websites. I can upload and download scripts, images and documents. I can edit files that corrupt my site. I can do all sorts of stuff.

There are several other FTP programs (CuteFTP and SmartFTP to name a few) but I like FileZilla. =)

Awesome Screenshot

This web application allows you to capture screenshots straight from the web and even add annotations. You can circle stuff.. underline.. highlight.. cross out.. put stuff in rectangles and a bunch of other things.

It’s a Chrome extension, but it’s also available for the Firefox and Safari browsers. Sorry Internet Explorer users.. why are you using IE anyway? =)

FocusWriter

I use this desktop app occasionally. There are times where I get distracted very easily and need to block everything out and get some writing done.

This is mostly when I’m working on a big post, a special report, or an autoresponder sequence.

Focus Writer opens up beautifully and creates a blank screen for you to write. No icons. No Youtube. No Twitter. No Aweber stats. Nothing. Just you, your keyboard and Focus Writer.

It’s awesome.

What Other Tools Make Blogging Easier For You?

Share them below…

Here’s the back-story: Since the inception of this blog, there’s one thing that I’ve seen people struggle with the most.

… people from different parts of the world, and in totally different markets .. have this one thing in common.

Their blogs aren’t converting very well, and that’s a big issue. 

We all want to constantly be turning visitors into email subscribers and prospects into customers. That sort of stuff is what puts money in your bank account.

So, as I was reading all these emails, I kept thinking, ”why are people struggling?”

I mean, there’s a lot of information out there about creating blogs that convert. There are sites dedicated to conversion itself … and that’s when it hit me.

There’s an underlying problem that other bloggers aren’t addressing.

… which brings me back to my first point:

Most Bloggers are Blind.

• They can see, but they have no clear vision of where their website is going.
• They publish content, but that content doesn’t have a clear purpose.
• They want an audience, but they have no idea who they’re writing for.

Finally, they want to build an authority blog …but they can’t clearly articulate why people should visit, stick around and take action.

Read that again…

Most Bloggers Can’t Clearly Articulte Why People Should Visit, Stick Around & Take Action

This is why they struggle and eventually fail.

I call this Blogging Blindness and you should probably try to avoid this. The idea is simple. If you don’t know why you’re writing and who you’re writing for, then there’s no point in trying to build an audience in the first place.

(when I say writing.. I’m also referring to creating audio and video content.. we can’t just forget about Youtube, ya know?)

I’ve seen blogs write about traveling one week and social media the next. I’ve come across personal development blogs that sell marketing ebooks.

Can you see the discrepancy?

So How Can You Avoid This?

Well… the very first step is accepting the fact that your traffic and conversion problems won’t get fixed by a secret tactic or strategy.

… just wanted to get that outta the way..

The second step is figuring out what your goals are, as well as figuring out what your ideal customer wants to achieve.

If you’re blogging blindly, hoping that somehow your content gets found and shared, then you’re going to be waiting for a long time.

Successful blogs aren’t successful by accident… they become successful on purpose.

They purposefully target a specific group of people, who all share a specific problem (or problems). … And not only do they share a similar problem, but they actively search the internet for a solution to that problem.

Successful bloggers purposefully avoid talking about 101 different things because they understand the principles behind effective positioning. You won’t get anywhere trying to be everything to everyone.

Focus on becoming an expert at one or two things and build your site around that.

The Bottom Line

Once you know:

1. Your blog’s purpose
2. Who you’re writing for
3. What problems you’re trying to solve
4. Why they should stick around and take action

… then you can start creating content that attracts more of those people. Who is that person? Why do they need your stuff?

Figuring that out is the difference between being spinning your wheels and becoming a successful blogger. Thoughts..?

It feels just like any other morning. You get up, grab a cup of coffee .. maybe a muffin.. and then walk over to your computer.

As you double click on your favorite browser, you get a weird feeling in your gut.

You think… “something’s not right..”

You quickly type in your website URL and try to log into your wordpress dashboard:

www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin

… but you see nothing. You try refreshing the page.. and still nothing. You can’t access your site. All you see are error messages. That feeling in your gut is amplified and an overwhelming feeling of loss starts to creep in.

Years of hard work … blood, sweat and tears. LOST!

What could’ve happened? Many different things can cause your site to crash, that’s why you should always have a backup of your wordpress site.

But if you’re not convinced yet, here are 4 more reasons designed to scared the hell outta you and get you to act.

1. You’re responsible.. Not your hosting company

That’s right! Your hosting company may offer website backup but there’s nothing more secure than doing your own.

Hosting companies usually backup databases in order to cover there asses in case a server crashes, but not all of them will backup your content, comments, images.. etc.

Plus, if you update your website regularly, they probably won’t have the most up-to-date version in their backup.

2. Avoid disaster – Viruses and Hackers do exist

Your website can catch a virus or even worse, you can get hacked. If any of these happen, having a backup of your site will save you a ton of time when everything gets sorted out.

If you’re using cPanel, you can scan your website for viruses right now. Just log in, scroll down and look for the “Virus Scan” button and click it. =)

3. WordPress Plugins can crash your site

It doesn’t take a hacker to crash your site, you can actually crash it yourself.

The WordPress community does a pretty good job of keeping this open-source software we use clean and problem free. But the interaction between multiple plugins on your site can cause issues.

I’ve had my site crash in the past due to plugins – finding which one is the culprit is no fun at all. I wasn’t worried though.. wanna know why?

‘Cuz I had a recent backup of all my stuff.

4. Get back on your feet quickly

Another reason you might want to backup your site is to avoid down time. If you’re getting a ton of visitors and subscribers on a daily basis, being down means you get none of that.

No traffic = No Leads = No Cash. Is that scary enough for you?

What I Recommend You Do:

Get the Backup Buddy plugin.

Yes, it’s a paid plugin but it’s the best investment you’ll make as far as securing your website and all your hard work.

It’s the one I’ve always used. They make backing up wordpress a breeze. One-click and you’re done. ..and you can download the files directly to your computer.

I keep my backups in a separate hard drive just to be safe.

Plus, restoring it couldn’t be easier. Yes, there are other plugins that can create backups, but Backup Buddy’s import script makes the importing process dead simple.

Anyhoo…

Do you have horror stories? Has your site ever crashed? Leave it in the comments.. and tell us how you handled it.

Unfortunately, in this world of internet marketing we have our share of low-lifes and scammers,

… people who make a living selling dreams and not delivering any real value or results.

Their Philosophy: Market the silver bullet >> get desperate buyers >> give them rehashed information >> and somehow that gets them the dream home.

PROBLEM: This rehashed info. is often outdated and not based on real-world examples. RESULT: hundreds and thousands of people, wasting their time, doing “work” that either…

• doesn’t work anymore, or
• never did work in the first place.

And it pisses me off.

Now that I got that out of my system, let’s talk about …

Activity vs. Progress

Before we get into that, here’s how Google defines the two:

Activity: Busy or vigorous action or movement.
Synonyms: action – work – operation

Progress: Forward or onward movement toward a destination.
Synonyms: advancement – development

The key phrase here is “Toward a Destination”. This destination can be failure … but let’s assume we all want to move towards success.

deal? … good, I can see you nodding =)

What makes activity so different from progress is that you can, in fact, be very very busy and still be getting no results. This might be happening to you right now.. and misinformation may be to blame.

Progress is working on the right things … the things that get you closer to your goals. And if we made a list of the things that help you do that, I’m sure spending hours on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn wouldn’t make the cut.

… neither would working on your web design for days trying to get it perfect before launch, or going on a backlink building spree.

How To Make Real Progress …

Of course, we all have different goals.

That goes without saying.. even though I just said it.

… but if you’re a writer or content producer, our goals are somewhat similar and I suggest you focus on these:

> Progress is in creating … creating content, courses, and value – remember you can create anything you want by writing. So start writing!

> Progress is in converting … your blog is a lead generation machine. Use the right words to get people to subscribe.

> Progress is in making offers … create the perfect buying scenario by targeting a group of people you can help with your skills & knowledge.

> Progress is in Content Marketing … you can, in fact, dominate your market using words.

On to you…

What are you spending most of your time doing? Are you making progress or are you just keeping yourself busy?

Leave it in the comments..

Because …

10. The online writer will dominate in 2013.

9. Writers build authority with words ..

8. … and we’re programmed to follow leaders.

7. It’s the best way to sell stuff online.

6. You’ll feel great about solving problems and helping people.

5. The competition will become irrelevant.

4. Traffic, leads and sales will begin to ‘magically’ appear.

3. According to Google, quality matters.

2. Your inbox will get emails like this:

Hector. I’m not a blogger, I don’t even write English perfectly, but with your motivation, your posts, your system,  I just open my mind to new things and precepts. Actually what I do now really is your fault, my first dollar is thanks to you.

1. and finally, because the online content you create will do all the work for you, while you sit back and watch an episode of Breaking Bad.

… there are many more reasons to become a damn good writer. Bottom line is, you need to do it and I’m here to help.

Words help us command attention.

No. Sorry.. scratch that.

The right words said to the right people help us command attention..

… and lots of it.

By the way, if you were wondering how epic content translates into actual sales, then this is the post for you. (keep reading)

Question: How have we been communicating over the past 2 weeks? …there’s only one answer.

WORDS! – plain and simple.

Words are powerful tools and anyone with a computer and an internet connection can use them to attract hundreds and thousands of people online.

If there’s one thing I want you to get out of this post is this:

Words Have Power, Therefore The Writer Has Power. 

Read that again … as many times as you need to, until it sticks to your brain like flies on fly paper.

Educate to Dominate

That big bright sexy box sitting in the middle of our living rooms has taught us that selling is bad.

We’ve been programmed to think selling is filled with hype and sleazy tactics … when in fact, it’s something we do every day.

… and we’re pretty damn good at it, too.

Selling online is no different than negotiating with your co-workers about who’s taking vacation first. It’s no different than convincing your brother to help you mount your brand new flat screen TV.

… and no different than convincing the wife to let you chill with the guys this Saturday night.

In order for us to persuade people, we need to get them to see the world through our point of view. So, here’s what you do… educate them. Tell them your ideas and help them understand why your plan makes more sense.

The late Zig Ziglar once said … “you can get everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want”

So having people’s best interest in mind is a must – there’s no going around that. If you don’t, then that’s when sales can get sleazy and hypey.

The “3-Piece-Combo”

Getting people to trust you is a big part of this epic writing thing. It’s one of the top components you should be focusing on as a blogger and entrepreneur.

1. Writing Great Content

2. Generating Leads

3. Building Relationships <- there is it…

4. Making Offers

But trust will only get you so far. If you want to make sales, then you need to first understand your market. What does your audience need help solving? What are their fears and frustrations?

… you’ve heard this all before.

And it doesn’t stop there. Your offer needs to meet the 3 points of this combo:

The Perfect Buying Scenario: “When The Right Words are said to the Right Person at the Right Time“

This is the time where they’re more likely to pull out their credit card and buy from you. Here’s a perfect example of the perfect buying scenario.

Action!

Matt just got his heart broken. He’s devastated because Lisa left him. She said she didn’t see the relationship going anywhere and didn’t want to waste each other’s time.

If I had an ebook on “How To Get Your Ex Back” … NOW would be the best time to get Matt to make a purchase, right? .. but why? Because he needs to solve the problem now – not later.

He can’t wait until she finds a new boyfriend. He knows she’ll start dating soon. Matt needs the information in my ebook to get her back.

So my job would be to find as many Matts as possible. How? … I think you know the answer to that question.

Content Marketing. That’s how!

Want to read the other parts of the series? Here they are:

• 7 of the Smartest Things Ever Said About Writing
• 3 Most Common Blogging Problems and Their Solutions
• A Cheat Sheet for Becoming a Better Writer …without cheating
• Top Bloggers Share Their Epic Writing TIps