Got questions? Good! I’ve got answers. Or at least answers that work well for me……(they may not do the same for you, so you are encouraged to put them to the TEST, and not take my word for it)
The good news? I am revisiting my Crash Cash Creation Question series of posts and problem solving strategies, and if you enjoyed the ones I wrote a year ago or more…I think you’ll enjoy these too.
What are they and WHO are they written for?
Basically, they are the recurring questions, conundrums, confusions and content creation crisis’s that seem to afflict and affect those of you who read my blog and ASK questions, or more commonly, clients who I’m working with NOW one on one….and the hurdles we need to high step to get them BACK on the right track and make it happen in a hurry
NOTE: I am a FIRM believer that the very BEST (and usually ONLY) way to make MAJOR marketing mojo magic and momentum in YOUR business is to work with a mentor one one one.
(And that would be ME..:-) I DO have an embarrasment of offers and opportunities for those of you who NEED one one one help for EVERY budget, so stay tuned for MORE….or simply contact me above to find out the details.
And for some of you reading this, what I can do for you from a marketing mentorship standpoint will change your life with blinding speed, and YOUR needs are my primary focus.
BUT…I also understand that for most of you, that’s not likely to happen, or you aren’t ready yet, or are just browsing and trying to find your way. So being a man of impeccably high character, intention, and integrity, along with a nuerotic need for constant attention and approval from strangers I’ll never meet, I’d like to share these with you with the hope that it serves you well in one way or another, as you fight your way up the totem pole of progress and success in your own business.
Let’s get started with a common question about article marketing and link building, and my approach below
Q: What is the best way to build links to my articles? HOW important is it to do in the first place? Will my article rank without any link building at all?
A: OVERALL, it really depends on the niche.
In most niches, on a desirable 3 word keyword phrase, if you are just getting started and writing articles, you really DON’T have to do any active link building to get first page rankings on that article straight out of the gate.
WHY?
Because the whole idea of using the ‘PAGERANK PIGGBACK’ strategy is to borrow the existing trust that these directories get, and leverage that in your favor very quickly.
If you have to build a whole bunch of links to the article to make that happen, if you think about it, it sort of diminishes the appeal of the approach overall!
The beauty of article marketing is that it levels the playing field for newbies, new sites and smart and savvy marketers who DONT’ want to spend a ton of time effort and energy on SEO, and link building is certainly SEO from another mother.
Q: So are you saying that link building is NOT recommended for getting my articles to perform better in the search engines?
A: Sort of….yes….but ONLY of course when submitting to the article directories. (link building to your BLOG articles is obviously critical…and a completely different ethos entirely) So to be honest, contrary to many other article marketing ‘GURUS’ who recommend building links to your articles, I don’t recommend that you do.
Why?
Because time is money and life is short. And let’s face it, I’ve MET some of the people who are reading this blog, and trust me, you aren’t getting any younger.
And because for the most part, i think your time is better suited writing a second article, or even MORE importantly, optimizing and testing resource box conversions in that niche.
Said more succinctly (and seriously) than the above?
Link building to article directories is an excessive exercise in effort that may actually have diminishing returns on the energy, input and INCOME that you spend to bump that article up a position or two in the search engines, and I’m not a huge fan of the process – or the people – that recommend you do it. (although to be honest with you, i’m not a huge fan of people in general, so that may not be surprsing here either)
Remember, your ULTIMATE goal has to be to streamline the process by which you OWN those ‘EYEBALLS’ and not the article directory. OPTIMZING your resource box accomplishes that much more powerfully than optimizing the article’s search engine positioning itself – and especially when you are just beginning, or not yet succeeding at this stuff in a way that allows you to invest in automating, our outsourcing your business. (and that’s where I’d rather see you focus)
Does this make sense to you?
LET’s look at a pretty simple example that I’ve used before and think illustrates this point:
If your article has 1000 article views in the 3RDth or 4th position for your targeted 3 word phrase , and are getting a 7% click through rate you are getting 70 visitors to your landing page. If you work DILLEGENTLY at link building to that article – and bump it up to the first position and it gets another 500 views you are getting 105 visitors.
BUT if you take that 1000 views and double the conversion rate to 14% (very reasonable) you are actually improving the amount of traffic that MATTERS to 140 visitors, and that sort of boost SCALES very powerfully, especially if you are making many submissions and are planning on being hyper active in the niche overall.
(i.e. – it’s either where you "live" work wise….or you plan on scaling at a larger and more comprehensive affiliate marketing campaign)
Of course I would NEVER be happy with 14%….and neither should you. SO if you keep optimizing and can bump that to 20%, which is the baseline click through rate i recommend striving for, you are going to TRIPLE the traffic to your site, service or offer, without building one extra link to the article itself.
And the good news is, it’s actually MUCH easier to do than link building is, and it actually tells you FAR more about what moves people to action in your niche (what they click on) than boring link building to an article directory ever will)
Again – it’s about optimizing your time, energy, effort and income. PRIORITIZING the actions that yield the greatest return on that investment.
Q: Is this ALWAYS the rule? You NEVER build links to the articles themselves?
A: NO, it’s NOT the rule. In some niches I DO….and have a very simple, yet somewhat sophisticated strategy that I use for building backlinks to BLOGS – that I BORROW – for the purpose of not only link building to the articles themselves, but for simultaneously borrowing my article content to build natural rankings for blogs and properties i already own in the niche.
(note: if you understood that paragraph – you are FAR smarter than I am – because I wrote it and re-read it 3 times and I’m still not sure it makes sense)
When do I do this?
BIG markets with tons of volume that I know ezine articles won’t rank for on a 2 word phrase out of the gate, that may have MILLIONS of searches, AND simultaneously, where i want to re-purpose my OWN articles and content on my existing blogs in a white hat way that benefits BOTH sides of the street.
WHAT DO I DO?
- I will write a LONG article (800 words or more….and this is the ONLY time I’LL do this) that targets a highly desirable TWO WORD keyword phrase (weight loss for example…..or save money, or something that is going to be hyper competitive)
- I will submit that article to EzineArticles.Com
- I will then use a small network of automated sites I’ve created for this niche and CLIP the content from my article
- Each blog is on a different IP address
- Each blog clips a different piece of the article (which is why you want to make it long) and has a unique opening paragraph as well
- I use FLOCK (the free browser) to clip, remotely post and format the links back to the article on my network of blogs
- Depending on whether Judge Judy is running re-runs that week, or what’s in my netflix delivery for the day, if I have the time, I’ll then bookmark the blog posts that have the clipped content, AND link back to the actual article on the directory itself
- I will also of course, socialize the article itself, which drives UP the readership, amps UP the popularity and if I’m lucky…..ultimately makes the article sticky on the directory itself….. which sounds kind of obscene and unpleasant, but is actually quite nice when it happens.
The net result? I’ll have a series of blogs that have unique content in a very desirable niche, AND I’VE got 5 blogs on different unique IP’S that link back to one long article, which often not ONLY leads the article itself, in a hyper competitive niche to the first page….surprisingly…at least for a little while, you’ll ALSO find one of the automated blogs will get a BIG buck boost to boot!
Often I’ll get questions on here about how we’ve managed to get so many views in some of the niches I’ve used here as examples in the past, and to be honest with you, that’s really a critical piece of the puzzle.
(ESPECIALLY in the niches with 1 million plus views – it’s not the ONLY reason, but it does play a part)
Plus, MORE importantly in the long run, the BLOGS that I own invariably benefit in major league ways, and that’s the stuff that’s MOST important overall.
(because you never want to predicate your business around something that’s COMPLETELY out of your control…and for better or for worse, the article directories are NOT something we can control)
But mas o menos, your blogs are in fact ASSETS you can control…..AND use, leverage, build, borrow from, sell, or otherwise advantage in your favor)
The End
I’ve got a lot more of these coming, so if you find this kind of Q and A helpful, keep your eyes on your inbox over the coming days and weeks for more fantastic fun, frolic and frivolity from my heart to yours.
In this short(ish) post……, I’m going to dispel one of the MAJOR marketing myths that keeps MANY people in the perpetual poorhouse…and in MY view, one of the chief obstacles that keeps many people NOT BELIEVING they can truly succeed marketing themselves ONLINE…..or off.
The idea that you’ve got to have LOTS of free stuff to give away……to make money.
Or to attract attention, build rapport or offer genuine value you’ve got to trip all over yourself to be cheaper, more accessible and offer MORE stuff for LESS money than your nearest niche neighbor.
Or – that selling LOW priced products is a good way of getting people into your “funnel”…and by simply pricing your stuff LOW enough…….you are opening up a universe of potential buyers that would NOT be available to you if you charge what you really BELIEVE you are worth.
That the law of large numbers is the KEY to success….and that a large list ONLY emanates from the philosophy of FREE.
LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION……….
What’s the difference between a $100 an hour lawyer….and a $400 dollar an hour lawyer?
I guess it depends on who you ask……..and SOME would take exception to this, but I’m going to tell you what it’s NOT, right now:
- It’s NOT a 400% better understanding of the law.
- It’s NOT a 4X better Grade Point Average in Law School…..or a 400% better Bar Exam to Boot.
- It’s not a 400% better closing argument, either. (because $400 an hour lawyers TEND to Settle..:-)
- Or a 400% better looking receptionist. Or Hugo Boss suit.
It’s CONFIDENCE.
And courage. And the HONEST hubris that says I’m worth more.
And MOST importantly MARKETING mojo.
And PROPER positioning.
And a CRYSTAL clear picture of who his (or her) prospects are…….with a price point (and bank account) to match.
Let me give you an example……about the FALLACY of free (and the paradox of price)
A while back I ran a very special promotion on my blog…..where, on my “THANK YOU” page after signing up, I had a “free” coaching offer.
What WAS It?
If you signed up for Lunar Pages hosting, using the link provided…..I was offering a free assessment or critique, via email only, of anything you would want me to assess, or evaluate, or look at – landing pages, blog strategy……the time was yours.
Many of you reading this right now probably remember it….as I don’t offer that sort of stuff too often.
Why did I do it?
Honestly?
I can churn those out very quickly…….and the hosting offer was a really good deal for my subscribers….AND, the affiliate company was paying me an exceptional rate, through CJ – DOUBLE in commission, what the cost was to YOU for signing up.
(the hosting might have been 60 for the year or something….and my commission, if I remember correctly, was 120 or thereabouts)
Well……guess what?
I ASSUMED (which we all know is a dangerous dance) that I would be FLOODED with emails.
After all……for a 60 dollar investment in HOSTING, you would be getting, from my vantage point, an elite level overview of your strategy, your system, your blog, your copy, or whatever it was that people were going to ask for.
A WIN/WIN across the board, right?
WRONG!!
Or at least…..it wasn’t a win for me..:-)
Why?
Because almost NO ONE signed up!
Yes, I got a few right away from my regular readers……..but after those folks, who obviously had a bit better of a handle on the kind of value I “may” be able to provide…….NEW subscribers, in seeing that offer on the THANK YOU page, pretty much ignored it completely.
Want to know the FUGLY Truth?
After the initial “rush” from my regular readers…I went like a WEEK….without a sign up.
And IRONICALLY…..this is the EXACT time that many of YOU started to check out my stuff, as a few well known IM’rs (like John G/Jennifer/PotPie Girl and other friends or partners) started to graciously, and without my soliciting it….recommend their readers sign up for my stuff, or check out a particular post, or whatever it was at the time.
So on top of my ordinary list building efforts……I was getting twice, or THRICE the amount of daily opt ins’ with new people from outside my universe coming into the fold.
Which added MORE insult to injury….as I simply couldn’t understand why people weren’t BOWED over by the value in the proposition..:-)
So one day…..I decided to make a little change…..JUST for shits and giggles.
I changed the Thank You page to my ordinary coaching and copy writing rates -which were posted at $1500 per day for a full day copy critique…..and what I called a “maniac marketing make over”
I had a whole sales page up for that…with all sorts of flattering testimonials, comments made by other people, other bloggers, marketers, copy writers……..even older off line clients whose copy I had written in what seemed like a previous life….all endeavoring to evangelize my marketing mojo to mythical, magical and ultimately exaggerated and embellished proportions..:-)
(but hey….who was I to argue..;-)
So immediately….after opt in in……THAT was the page that people started to see instead.
Want to know what happened.
No one bought.
At all.
Not a new shiny dime went through my poor Paypal pay me now button made ESPECIALLY for this premium priced offer………..BUT, this time I wasn’t’ expecting them to.
Because they had JUST opted in….and didn’t know me from Adam.
But you want to know what DID happen IMMEDIATELY?
The page “stickiness” tripled.
People started READING the page….and reading the copy….and hanging around for a long while to see what could possibly be worth $1500 per day on this very strange dude’s site they had never heard of before……BUT with the somewhat eccentric, odd and unusual approach to self aggrandizement and writing online copy.
So that was a GOOD thing, right…..curiosity may have killed the cat, but in my experience, it’s also the very FIRST step in getting ready to count your cash as well.
Then……..within 24 hours, (sometimes sooner) I would send THOSE people to the very same lunar pages hosting offer everyone else opting in ignored.
Want to know what happened?
I think you can probably guess.
The sign up percentage went THROUGH the roof.
Nothing else had changed.
But CONTRAST kicked in. And the appearance of incredible value. And scarcity. And the IMPULSE to seize opportunity.
And all of a sudden….without any real extra information, just positioned a bit differently because I said I’m WORTH $1500 A DAY….and you can get me for signing up for a $60 dollar service you MAY just need anyway…..that was the match that stoked the ferocious fire of I’ve gotta to have you…..NOW.
From ZERO to hero without changing ANYTHING at all……other than a simple shift in show and tell.
Very similar to buying my first pair of black roller skating skates in 8th grade specifically for couples skate with Penny Kramer, the girl of my dreams at the age of 13.
(NOTE: I ended up turning away MOST people who inquired from this point forward….and as many of you probably saw – X’d out the entire offer – simply because it would have taken up too much time)
Interestingly, by the way………later in life, I turned Penny down too.
But that’s an other story for another time.
So back to the copy………what did we learn?
What people see FIRST….is often very, very instructive as to what they’ll do next.
Positioning is powerful. And you CAN (and should) control your own.
And FREE is often a fallacious strategy for imparting the authentic value of what you had to offer.
My older sister, who before becoming a full time Mom was a pretty successful reality TV producer AND someone who watched WAY too much Oprah…used to ALWAYS say “You give people PERMISSION in how they are going to treat you. ”
And it’s true.
In real life, we train people – through how we see OURSELVES……in how they will invariably see us, and then act accordingly.
Its’ the very same thing here.
We DICTATE to other people what we’re worth.
Rarely do they need to decide on their own.
You can control it – you can own it – and if you’re SMARTER than me, you’ll make it count for FAR more than your competition who is begging for bucks and slowly starving his (or her) offers dry out of fear of looking foolish. Or too confident. Or too expensive. All unfounded fears that WILL leave you under-paid and making yourself SMALLER than you were intended to become.
Not convinced?
Let me give a more recent example…..
I sent out a broadcast last month, in late April……..that said, mas or menos, I’m going to be releasing some PAID IM related products – courses, ebooks, et al, in the near future.
Many of you may recall reading it, as I asked those who were interested to join a secondary, “sub-list” if you wanted to learn more.
I had a NUMBER of un subscribes after this….which I expected….and attributed more to the fact that I hadn’t mailed portions of this list in a while, and they weren’t the people who were regular readers, or a good match for my marketing methods, anyway.
But a few that I didn’t expect opted out as well….and this stung…and surprised me.
Several people wrote me somewhat “scathing” emails about the fact that I would release PREMIUM products, after giving away so much stuff for FREE over the years.
Several of these people were long time commenter’s on my blog….and always quick to compliment, praise and celebrate my content.
Some of these people I felt a true “KINSHIP” with….as I recognized their names, and their comments from several years worth of posts.
Yet……..at the mention that I would CHARGE for something going forward…….several of these eggheads decided not only to opt OUT, but to let me know how a fee based offer would denigrate all of the good will I had earned with them thus far.
Guess what?
GOOD RIDDANCE!!
Because the moment people demand FREE.…….and expect FREE….and will not TOLERATE anything that is NOT FREE…..is the moment you have a business model that’s DOOMED to fail.
(not to mention subscribers, readers and “friends” who have no genuine interest in YOUR wellbeing……but rather, ONLY what you can offer them, instead. You don’t need to be Oprah, or my big sis – to realize that AIN’T a healthy, 2 way relationship that you want to nurture)
Which brings us BACK to the PARADOX of price.
I go into this in FAR more detail with my coaching clients…….but the gist of it is here.
People tend to erroneously believe that if you charge more, you’ll sell LESS.
It’s really not true.
There are an EQUAL number of willing buyers for a $97 dollar product in YOUR niche, as there are for a $27 product…..PERIOD.
But if you position yourself as the purveyor of 27 dollar products……you’ll have a hellatious time selling stuff for $97.
The key is, to identify the RIGHT prospects for your price point BEFORE you begin acquiring your names, building your list and creating your product funnel.
Like everything else in life…..you do this by asking the RIGHT questions first.
What is your income goal per month? 3,000? 5,000?
Begin with the end in mind.
How do you REVERSE ENGINEER that number BACK down to a grass roots level of simple sales?
How many 27 dollar ebooks do you have to sell to make $5,000 this month?
A little less than 200, right?
That AIN’T gonna be easy in most markets, especially if you are just getting started.
But how many $97 dollar products do you need to sell to make that same 5 large?
Only about 50, right?
That feels MUCH more manageable….and NOT a whole lot different from an effort, exercise or input standpoint as the $27 dollar product you created initially.
(remember….it doesn’t have to be 4 times better, it simply needs to be POSITIONED properly, and geared to a much more specific audience)
BUT WAIT………If you could be really, REALLY audacious….bold, and brazen about the whole enchilada, how many $197 e-courses would you have to sell to make that very same $5,000?
Only about 25, right?
That’s NOT going to be too tough….especially if you structure your offer in such a way as it emanates SUCH intense value that at a price so low….it feels like a steal.
What if you went off the deep end completely?
What if you went ZANY, zooted, balls to the wall nut job all over yourself and decided to codify your content in such a way…that your basic $27 ebook was re-framed, re-positioned and re-created it in such a way that it now is a $497 product you are PROUD to attach your name, your reputation and your livelihood to with GLEE?
How many of THOSE would you need to sell to make that very same 5,000.
Only about 10.
And the ONLY thing that stops you from doing just that is the BELIEF that you can’t.
That you don’t have the content….or the contribution……or the creativity to make it happen.
I’m telling you that you do.
And that if you have the chutzpah to create a 27 dollar ebook……you ALSO have the cojones to create a 497 power packed product that will sell EQUALLY as well.
(but of course….you need to START by attracting a much different audience…and re framing your “funnel” in such a way as to position yourself as WORTHY that of which you ask..:-)
That’s the paradox of price……..
You CAN charge more than your competition…..and make MORE money, selling LESS, while contributing FAR more and enjoying yourself in ways you NEVER will while selling yourself SHORT in the shallow end of the pool.
Your homework assignment?
Start asking yourself better questions.
Am I offering great value?
If not….why not?
Am I charging what I’m TRULY worth?
If not….why not?
Are other people charging…and GETTING far more than I for similar offers? If so…….why? What are THEY doing different than I?
Identify the HOLES in your product pricing model…and start with what you believe you are worth.
(this is often the biggest enemy of achievement….and if I can overcome getting picked last in kickball for 2 years running in 3rd and 4th grade to develop a healthy dose of self worth, value and esteem a few decades later…….so TOO can you!)
As always…….if you’ve enjoyed the above, take ACTION on what you’ve read!
Ready to Parlay Your Purpose & PASSION into Perpetual Piles of Profit in 12 Weeks or Less…..100% GUARANTEED!**
**If you are SERIOUS About Becoming UBER Successful Doing GOOD while doing What You LOVE, I Truly Look FORWARD to Working With You. 2010 IS Going to be Your BEST Year Ever…..and I Want to Help Make it Happen!
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That was a pretty long title, don’t you think?
It’s fitting though…..because this is a pretty long post..:-)
Check it out….as I cover a BET, a win and the behind the scenes marketing "magic" that made it all happen in a hurry. (no more excuses……this really DOES work wonderfully well)
ian on 
Mary on 
