Aug

31

Use Your Blog to Create Profitable Information Products

Filed Under Online Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Information Products, Blogging, eBooks, Information Marketing, Internet Business | 3 Comments

Here are some quick ideas for creating a profitable information product from your very own blog…

1.  Expand one fruitful post into a much larger piece.
Look for posts that you could easily expand into chapters or subtopics.  Perhaps it’s a post you’d love to write more about but felt limited by the blogging medium.  Here, you’re putting passion ahead of testing and viability, but that’s not always a bad thing.  Remember, you’re just looking for something fruitful to get the wheels turning.

2.  Use a post-series and add supplementary materials for added value.
I can think of a number of great series out there in the blogosphere that have really contributed to my life and, frankly, I probably would have paid for the information.  Unfortunately, once material is available for your readers, it’s a bit hard to justify simply collecting all the posts into one easy-to-download ebook for a price.  But… you might be able to take that series and “repackage” it along with some other additional “exclusive” material. 

3.  Rank your posts by popularity and create a related product.
Figure out what your readers really like.  Then, use that post as a starting point for your brainstorming process.  Connect this idea with #1 above for extra punch.

4.  Work on a joint venture product or co-author an ebook with regular commentators.
This idea makes the most of the “social” or “networking” benefit of being a blogger.  You might find another avid info marketer out there who wants to team up under your lead.  Or, you may find a handful of folks who’d willingly contribute to the work for a kickback – link to their site, royalty, etc.  Two minds are always better than one.  Three or nine are awesome!

5.  Review natural search hits to uncover profitable keywords.
Are you using HitTail?  Well, you really should be by now.  Whatever your method, figure out how people are getting to your site and create a pool of keywords for generating ideas.  Sometimes the audience has a way with words, if you know what I mean. 

These are not fail-proof plans for creating an information product – just helpful starting points or hubs for creating something truly great. 

If you’re a blogger and you enjoy writing and communicating with a hungry market, then information products may be a shoe-in for you. 

On the other hand, you may just uncover lots of new ideas for future blog posts.  Either way, it’s all right there at your feet.  Have fun!

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Aug

3

Internet Marketing Resource: MarketingExperiments.com

Filed Under Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Web/Tech, Internet Business, Internet Marketing | Leave a Comment

Looking to “discover what really works” in your online marketing tests? You need look in just one important place: MarketingExperiments.com

I stumbled upon this awesome resource for through a number of rather random, but highly reliable, references.

The team behind “Marketing Experiments” is highly professional and immensely committed to finding, again, “what really works” in online marketing campaigns. They even offer several Internet Marketing Certification courses via their site.

Here’s a few of their informative articles I recommend for just a quick taste:

90-Day PPC Plan Tested
Landing Pages Tested

Also, check out some of the great audio content. (Lots of great stuff!)

Everything from A/B Split Tests to Email Marketing Tests – these guys (and gals) have done it all!

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May

10

The Top 4 Internet Business Models

Filed Under Online Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Online Business Ideas, Information Marketing, Internet Business | 5 Comments

Are you maximizing the online potential for your business?This is just the question I asked myself during a “business brainstorm” session over a cup of breakfast tea yesterday morning.

That train of thought got me thinking about how I could best categorize the different types of “Internet Business” possible. You might also think of this listing in terms of income streams.

This is by no means exhaustive, but captures the essential methods to make money online.

To illustrate how one person could make use of all four areas, I’ll use “Bookseller Bob” as our case study. Mr. Bookseller owns a small but growing bookstore in his hometown and is thinking seriously about taking his business live on the web.

Each area begins with a “You” statement to sum-up the basic form of doing business – perhaps something like what I might say to Bob as his Internet Business Consultant.

1. Offline-Online Hybrid Marketing
“You can use the Web to enhance your offline marketing systems.”

Technically, we all fall into this category. As the late, great Gary Halbert often insisted, the Web is a “delivery system” and nothing else. While that is debatable, I think Halbert’s point is worth taking.

The offline-online hybrid takes Halbert’s advice very seriously and applies the most conservative approach to using the web.

For our case study, Bookseller Bob would begin very simply by putting up a primitive website with basic information about his store and his products. He might also include an opt-in form to collect email addresses and ramp up his email marketing campaign.

2. Affiliate Marketing
“You can create content to promote other people’s products.”

Now that Bookseller Bob is running a website, he might also consider adding a blog for his musings about books, book business, and other topics of interest.

Of course, one approach is to use the blog as a means of promoting his website and thus his bookstore. Or, Bob could monetize the blog to generate some extra cash from Google Adsense or other affiliate programs.

3. Single Product Marketing
“You can promote primarily one or a few products that “live” on the web, but can also be ordered by phone or mail.”

With a great landing-site and a thriving blog under his belt, Bob is becoming quickly convinced of the true marketing power of the web.

A lot of his readers and friends are even beginning to ask questions about his business model. Like any smart entrepreneur, Bob decides to diversify even further and thus pursues his next project: creating an information product.

Info products fit nicely into virtually any business model, but Bob is especially suited for this - he loves to write and knows how to convey information well for others.

Bob comes up with a working title, “Bootstrap Bookshop Marketing,” and starts working immediately on composition and layout. He then buys www.bootstrapbookshop.com, hires a sales-page copywriter, and arranges for credit card processing.

4. Wholesale or Drop Ship Middleman
“You can market other people’s physical products and use drop shipping or wholesale purchasing methods.”

Bob is still on a quest to maximize his web marketing system and is now thinking about increasing his product sales.

He learns about the simplicity of drop-shipping and begins making plans to open up a Yahoo or other merchant store on his website. Instead of only selling his physical inventory, Bob makes arrangements with a wholesale book distributor to drop ship and make light wholesale purchases for his online customers.

While this case study offers a seamless progression through these business growth stages in web marketing, it is by no means a step-by-step guide. Think of each example as a possibility and then position your business accordingly.

That said, if Bob’s process can help you navigate towards higher process, go for it!

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Apr

25

Find the Top Keywords for Your Next Information Product or Website

Filed Under Copywriting, Affiliate Marketing, Information Products, Blogging, Information Marketing | Leave a Comment


Here’s a classic keyword tool for your information marketing success:

Overture Keyword Selector

Many of you may already know about and use this keyword generator, but I’m often surprised by how many still don’t.

If you’re not thinking in terms of “top keywords” for your projects, you may be missing the boat in a big way.

Try out Overture and start enhancing your blogging, web development, and information products today!

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Sep

20

How to Upsell Your Customers and Clients

Filed Under Marketing Strategy, Online Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Information Products, Online Business Ideas | 18 Comments


In business, making a sale is the ultimate aim. That’s why we do business in the first place – to provide a product or service in exchange for some form of revenue.

Most entrepreneurs and business owners spend lots of time working to attract customers or clients. Without buyers, our businesses would not exist. It all boils down to the back-scratching exchange that benefits both parties.

While it is definitely important to get new customers in the door (or on the website) and make a sale, it’s just as important to get more business from the customers already hanging around.

What is an Upsell?
Think of a restaurant. Once customers are seated and ready to begin their meal, a sales transaction begins. The typical diner will spend an average amount during their stay. The restaurant owner certainly can congratulate herself on winning the customer’s business. It takes a lot of effort to get the customer to the table in the first place.

But the selling process does not end here. The restaurateur’s goal is to “upsell” the existing client. More expensive drinks? Side dishes? Entrée add-ons? Dessert? So on and so forth.

Virtually all business models can adopt the upsell approach to increase sales and keep marketing costs low. Here’s the basic formula behind this concept:

The First Sale
Revenue Earned Per Customer = $100
Marketing Costs Per Customer = $25
Net Earnings = $75

Once you gain the customer’s trust and respect, your upsell marketing costs drop significantly. Upselling may even lead to even greater revenue than generated during the initial sale.

How to Get Started – Ideas for Internet Entrepreneurs
For internet entrepreneurs, upselling is especially important. With millions of websites and products available online, retaining a customer’s business can make or break internet entrepreneurs. What follows is a range of options for getting repeat business on your website. These options are based on my experience in online business, but could apply to brick-and-mortar businesses as well.

  • Keep your customer’s attention.

Even if you’re selling a great product, your customers want to know that you’re thinking of them. Newsletters, promotional announcements, product updates, holiday/birthday messages, etc. Customers want to feel important; they want to feel worthy of your attention. Try to make these attention-grabbing newsletters personal and warm.

For creating autoresponse messages and newsletter programs, I highly recommend AWeber. It’s never too late to get started with email updates and announcements. Just be sure you’re effectively collecting email addresses before or after the sale.

  • Appeal to the big spender.

If you’re selling a product, you’ve likely priced the item to make the most profit from the greatest possible number of consumers. This is a logical strategy. But once the product is sold, many of your customers will still have more spending potential untapped by that initial sale.

Here’s an example from my own business. My home business startup ebook costs $24.95, including its accompanying bonus package. That book includes all of the essential information a new business owner could want for getting started and finding success. Many readers will be perfectly happy with that material alone. But for those who want to take their business to the next level, I offer business consultation for $100 per session. The product upgrade is intended for the business owner who sees the value in the upgrade. Their $100 investment might help create thousands of dollars more in revenue during the life of their business.

  • Personalize an existing product.

Customers will pay an average price for a typical product or service. The marketplace has countless everyday products available at a range of prices. Entrepreneurs who want to upsell the customers ready to buy can easily do so by offering a personal touch.

  • Offer smart upgrades.

Think of the last time you bought a new car. Just when you thought the decision-making process was finished, there you were: sitting in the finance office, listening reluctantly to a sales pitche designed to squeeze every last dollar out of your pocket.

In your own business, there are likely some upgrades you could add to the product sales page. These upgrade offers should be so related to the product itself that the customer feels compelled to buy.

***

Upselling should not be an underhanded business tactic. In the end, the upsell should benefit both the entrepreneur and the customer. Repeat customers are much happier returning to a familiar business than taking their chances in untested waters.

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