Posts tagged with expert

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March 1, 2010

Think online, go offline

You’ve bought a couple of training courses, read some articles here and there and are subscriber of one or two email lists? Well, I have good news for you. I hereby declare you an local marketing expert.

Expert… me…? Yes, and this is why: Expertise is a relative measure, and you know a ton more about online marketing than 97% of the small business owners in your town. So here are some ideas to start with:

1. Offer local business to list them in Google local for let’s say $50 a piece. That will take you 30 minutes the first couple of times you do it, but by third or so, less than 15 minutes.

2. Set a squeeze page and autoresponder for them… let’s say, $100 a piece. The traffic whould come from their current advertising. They just need to forward a url to you and that will provide them a new way to measure the response rate of their current marketing budget.

3. Setup a Facebook fan page for $100 a piece. This is great for the hospitality and services industry. You can combine this with other discounts, freebies or current promotions, or make something special for the Facebook fans.

4. Make some video content (you know, the flip cam you bought “for business” and haven’t used) and charge them $75 per video uploaded to the “very own” Youtube channel. Video testimonials are great for a Youtube channel, viewers care for what the product or service can do for them, not how many years your customer has been in business.

Any route you choose to take will require the same basic elements:

1. Professional looking forms to collect the customers information.

2. Business cards. Include the words online (or internet), marketing and consultant, advisor. Something along those lines.

3. A small 3 to 5 minutes presentation of the service you are offering. Don’t overuse techincal jargon. Just outline the features and explain the benefits.

Getting customers

The best source is the either the local newspaper or the phone book. Look for businesses that have a website listed and visit the website before contacting the customer. Write down a few improvement tips to share during the conversation.

You can also start with people you already know and ask them for referals. This is the best way to go if the idea of “cold calling” freezes you.

Here is a good rule of thumb when it comes to contacting potential customers: The first contact should be always over the phone. If you try to contact them via email, you will just be “another” marketer, not the local expert.

If face to face deals are not your thing -and many people go to online marketing for this exact same reason-, you can always partner with someone to close the sale for you… you know, the social butterfly type. Remeber, the more people make money on the process, the bigger your business will get.

You get the idea… you are way ahead of the local business owner. Set goals, make a plan and… Take action!

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October 28, 2009

3 Quick And Easy Ways To Build A Profitable Opt In List

You finally realize that you need a good opt-in list. After reading countless articles and sought expert advices and have read many success stories of people creating a small fortune with opt-in lists you finally decide to have one of your own. Then it happens, you think you have known everything there is to know about opt-in lists and have followed their advices to the T and you still weren’t able to make a profit.

In fact, you may be losing money. You maybe hiring writers to help you out, or there are some expenses incurred, even if you have a big list, but only a very small percentage actually buys from you, your still losing profit. Youíll realize that after a few months when you see your statistics and sales figures.

So what could have gone wrong? Why have others succeeded where you have failed? The most common mistake is that you dived straight right in. You chose a topic where you think could be quite popular and would earn you money. This just not the case. Just because you wrote people from the list doesnít mean they are going to buy instantly.

Here I will offer more advice, for those who have started an opt-in list and have failed, you can rejuvenate your failed venture. For those who are starting, here are three quick and easy ways to build a profitable opt-in list.


  1. Get your customers to trust you and your products first. Just launching your opt-in list would not make you an expert and a believable seller. Put many articles first before you start an opt-in list. Write about the topic you know and have started and used for your site. Try to put forums first to gain knowledge about your customers about their wants and needs and target those wants and needs.

    Join forums from other sites as well. Provide expert advices and recommendations. When you feel that people trust you already, you will be able to start your own opt-in list. You can build a base as well with other forum users. You can ask them to join your list. Friends are always good customers. Put up a link to your site so that they may be able to see what you’re business is all about.

    The certain truth is, the money will only come in when the consumers and subscribers believe and trust in you. They want a product or service that could be a good exchange for their money. People are not going to buy something out of your recommendation if they don’t know you.

  2. Find a product or service that people want and need. Although it may not be your forte, if you provide a service and product that you have researched and learned about well, you can carry it on forward. Invest your time, effort and money that you could sell as well as the buyers or subscribers of your opt-in list can use.

    While it is true that it is best to sell something that you have interest in, there are not many people who have the same interest as you if you decide to sell something that is not entirely popular or profitable. Do your research well and you would see the profits come in. Also provide your subscribers with promotional material that they could actually use and spread around.

  3. Make friends with other opt-in list users. This is basically beneficial especially if it is someone who has already launched a successful opt-in list. These are people that have the experience in this venture and experience is still the best teacher. While there are many articles available for you in the internet to use, there is nothing like getting a first hand account from someone you trust.

    Experienced opt-in list users will be able to tell you what to do and what not to do because they have gone through it. While different situations occur for different people, the general concept can still be very helpful. There are many things to avoid and these people will be able to tell you which ones.

    Building a profitable opt-in list don’t just happen overnight. There are many preparations and effort to do. Opt-in lists are built from scratch, as your list grows, you should also maintain the quality of your list. Keep it organized and manageable. Get or hire help if need be, just make sure that your subscribers are happy and satisfied and they will be willing to buy from you.


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October 27, 2009

Using Product Recommendations To Increase Your Bottom Line

In affiliate marketing, there are many ways in which you can increase your earnings and maintain the account that you have worked so hard for already. Most of the techniques and tactics can be learned easily. No need to go anywhere and any further. They are available online, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

One of the more important ways of increasing affiliate marketing bottom line and sale is through the use of product recommendations. Many marketers know that this is one of the most effective ways in promoting a certain product.


If the customers or visitors trust you enough, then they will definitely trust your recommendations. Be very careful in using this approach, though. If you start promoting everything by recommendation, your credibility will actually wear thin. This is seen especially when recommendations are seemingly exaggerated and without much merit.


Do not be afraid to mention things that you do not like about a given product or service. Rather than lose any points for you, this will make your recommendation more realistic and will tend to increase your credibility.


Furthermore, if your visitors are really interested in what you are offering, they will be more than delighted to learn what is good about the product, what is not so good, and how the product will benefit them.


When you are recommending a certain product, there are some things to remember on how to make it work effectively and for your advantage.


Sound like the true and leading expert in your field.


Remember this simple equation: Price resistance diminishes in direct proportion to trust. If your visitors feel and believe that you are an expert in your niche, they are more inclined to making that purchase. On the other hand, if you are not exuding any confidence and self-assurance in endorsing your products, they will probably feel that same way and will go in search of another product or service which is more believable.


How do you establish this aura of expertise? By offering unique and new solutions they would not get anywhere else. Show proof that what you are promoting works as promised. Display prominent testimonials and endorsements from respected and known personalities, in related fields of course.


Avoid hype at all costs. It is better to sound low key and confident, than to scream and seek attention. Besides, you would not want to sound unprofessional and have that thinking stick to your potential customers and clients, now would you? Best to appear cool and self-assured at the same time.


And remember; prospects are not stupid. They are actually turning to experts and may already know the things that you know. If you back up your claims with hard facts and data, they would gladly put down hundreds, or even thousands worth of money to your promotions. But if you donít, they are smart enough to try and look at your competitors and what they are offering.


While recommending a product, it is also important that you give out promotional freebies. People are already familiar with the concept of offering freebies to promoting your won products. But very few people do this to promote affiliate products. Try to offer freebies that can promote or even have some information about your products or services.
Before you add recommendations to you product, it is given that you should try and test the product and support. Do not run the risk of promoting junk products and services. Just think how long it took you to build credibility and trust among your visitors. All that will take to destroy it is one big mistake on your part.


If possible, have recommendations of products that you have 100% confidence in. Test the product support before you begin to ensure that the people you are referring it to would not be left high and dry when a problem suddenly arouse.


Have a look at your affiliate market and look at the strategies you are using. You may not be focusing on the recommendations that your products need to have. You plan of action is sometimes not the only thing that is making your program works.


Try product recommendation and be among those few who have proven its worth.

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