Internet Marketing Tips - Make Money Online with Eric Holmlund

LESSON #59: Introduction to List Building

March 8, 2010 – 1:20 am

I hope you’ve been enjoying this lesson series, and I hope you’ve followed all the action steps so far, because today we’re getting into what I consider to be the “heart and soul” of internet marketing.

We’re talking about… list building!

(Watch this video…)

Main points:

“The money is in the list.”

Yes it’s also in the relationship with the list, it’s in the quality of the list, and all the other stuff that some marketers say. And you don’t NEED a list to make money online (there are other business models)…

BUT, it is true that the money is in the list for the type of business that we’re building.

A list is comprised of real people (not just numbers), and should be treated as such.

Types of marketing contact lists…

- Mail
- Telephone
- Fax
- Mobile phones/SMS
- Social media
- (New types of lists will evolve as new methods of communication sprout)
- ANY combination of the above

Email marketing is what we will focus on for this business, because…

1) It’s an effective way to capture and manage leads online.
2) It creates web traffic on demand. (See video for explanation of priority of traffic vs. list)
3) It’s here to stay. (In spite of rumors!)
4) It has a low startup cost, and is very cost effective.

How to get an email list…

1) Buy it
2) Build it (recommended)

Some basic requirements of an email marketing platform…

-Receiving your opt-ins from your website
-Sending broadcast emails
-Creating autoresponder sequences
-Managing email campaigns
-Handling subscription management
-Making sure your email gets delivered

Two options:
- Hosted on your own site
- A specialized email host

Hosting your list on your own website is NOT recommended by me, for two reasons…

1) Spam compliance
2) Deliverability

Some email marketing service providers…

- Aweber
- GetResponse
- Infusionsoft
- iContact
- VerticalResponse
- Constant Contact
- Topica

My personal recommendation: Aweber Communications (who I’ve used since 2005)

Additional resource to learn more about list building:

Click here for the List Building Pack

Action steps:

1) Memorize this phrase: “The money is in the list”.

2) Sign up for an email marketing service provider, such as AWeber.

In the next lesson we’re going to set up a list… step by step!

As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.

Have a great day!

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LESSON #58: Supporting Your Customers

February 28, 2010 – 9:31 pm

Throughout this lesson series we’ve been looking at how to develop an information product and sell it online.

But it seems it wouldn’t be right for me to go through this entire lesson series teaching how to sell stuff online, if I didn’t also take the time to talk about supporting your customers.

(Watch this video…)

Main points:

Customer Service - providing service to your customers before, during, and after the sale.

Why is it important to support your customers?

1) It’s the right thing to do.
2) It’s good for your business. (Fewer refunds, more repeat business, referrals, etc.)

Some frequent areas of support for information products:

- Presales questions
- Download problems
- Opening/reading the files
- Product-specific questions (How to use it, etc.)
- Refund requests
- Billing cancellation (for recurring billing products)

Ways of communicating with customers…

Telephone (including VOIP, Skype)

-the old-school standard.
-putting a phone number on your sales page can help your conversion rate.
-it could help your business, but you DON’T have to provide phone support. (I don’t)
-if you offer personal coaching/consulting… phone is expected.
-if you do offer phone support; outsource it or hire staff ASAP.
-If you don’t offer phone support, make sure your other method(s) of support are accessible and reliable.

Fax

-should be viewed only as a supplement to your support.

Chat/IM

-Live chat is a great solution for anyone who has an outsourced support staff.
-Hosted chat solution is better suited than a standard IM.

Free solutions:
Help Center Live www.helpcenterlive.com
Crafty Syntax Live Help at www.craftysyntax.com
GotLiveChat at www.gotlivechat.com

Paid solutions:
PHP Live! Support www.phplivesupport.com
AliveChat www.websitealive.com
LIVECHAT www.livechatinc.com

Social media (ie. Twitter)

-Good because it focuses on building relationships with customers.
-Supplemental only… won’t work for all support.
-Use with caution; it can be a huge time suck (I don’t use it for support).

Forum/Blog

-Ideal when the support is beneficial to many customers.
-Good for peer-to-peer support.

Email

-Standard communication medium of the internet.
-See lesson #26
-Not easily scalable.

Helpdesk

-Support ticket system works well.
-Better than plain email because it…

+Keeps track of the conversation
+Keeps track of the customer’s history
+Avoids email delivery issues
+Is easily scalable
+Can easily be outsourced

Free solutions:
osTicket www.osticket.com
PHP Support Tickets www.phpsupporttickets.com

Helpdesks that I personally recommend:
Perldesk www.ericstips.com/perldesk (This is what I use)
Kayako www.kayako.com

Some support tips based on my experience…

- When it comes to disgruntled customers… kill ‘em with kindness!
- Once in a while, you may need to fire a customer.
- (See video for my tip about threats, bullies, and blackmailers)
- Use bonuses and/or your other products to reduce refunds. (see video for example)
- Automate your support by using templates and macros. (Resource: Push Button Marketer with Macro Marketer software)
- Outsource it ASAP!

Action steps:

1) Decide what method(s) of contact you’re going to offer to your customers, and implement it on your website.

2) Think about how you can use automation tools and outsourcing to support your customers as your business grows.

In the next lesson we’re going to start talking about one of my favorite marketing topics… list building!

As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.

Have a great day!

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LESSON #57: Testing to Improve Your Marketing

February 12, 2010 – 12:50 am

In the previous lessons we’ve been building up to the point of having your product online and ready to sell. Maybe you’re already selling something online, or maybe you’re still working on it. Either way…

You need to know how to integrate testing into your marketing, otherwise you’re not “really” marketing…

(Watch this video…)

Main points:

Split Testing (aka A/B Testing) - a method testing used in marketing, wherein a baseline control sample is compared to another sample containing one different variable.

Multivariate Testing - testing multiple variables at the same time.

In your marketing… if you can test something, you should.

A few of the many things that you should be testing…

- Sales copy
- Landing pages
- Email marketing
- Paid advertisements

Things to test on your sales letter:

ALL 17 of the elements described in lesson #51.

My Priorities:

- Headline
- Deck Copy
- Opening Paragraph
(Everything “above the fold”!)

If visitors are not staying on the page and engaging with your sales letter, then the rest of the page is pointless. That’s why I prioritize testing above the fold.

- Colors. They affect people on a subconscious level, and can really affect your conversion rate.

(See video for my recommendations regarding color testing)

- Video. We all know video is vitally important these days. Test it!

-The Offer

Awhile back, Mike Filsaime did an interview with copywriting legend Gary Halbert, who is now passed away. Gary said that the most important thing to test is “the offer”, and based on my experience I agree with him.

They broke down the offer into four areas that should be tested…

1) What they get
2) How they get it
3) What they pay
4) How they pay for it

Tools for testing…

1) Google Website Optimizer (A great free tool)
2) Affiliate Prophet (What I personally use)

Some of the reasons I prefer Affiliate Prophet include…

-It’s self-hosted (on my own site, instead of google)
-Real time (never a delay in stats)
-The AIDA feature (predicts conversions)

(See video for my demonstration of Affiliate Prophet)

Click Here to Visit Affiliate Prophet…

Action steps:

1) Choose a split testing tool.

2) Create some split tests and start testing. (Or be ready to test as soon as you launch your product)

Don’t make the mistake I made for many years. Choose to think like a marketer, and don’t skip this step!

In the next lesson we’re going to talk about supporting your customers.

As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.

Have a great day!

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LESSON #56: Using Downsells to Grab More Sales

January 11, 2010 – 2:25 pm

In the previous lesson we talked about upsells and One Time Offers. If you’re not using upsells, then you’re leaving money on the table.

Today we’re going to talk about downselling…

(Watch this video…)

Main points:

Downselling is relatively unknown compared to upselling, but it’s based on timeless sales strategies.

Downsell = presenting your prospect with something less expensive.

(See video for several examples of downselling)

The bottom line is, downselling results in more sales.

Downsells are implemented many different ways online, including…

- Email marketing
- On-site product positioning
- Exit Pops/Chats
- Shopping cart abandonment prevention
- One Time Offers

2nd OTO’s are a very effective method of downselling.

-Often results in closing 15-50% of the prospects who turn down the first OTO.

(See video for details)

Using multiple drop-downs IS an effective way to close more sales. However, you must gauge it in light of your long-term relationship-building strategy. Also bear in mind the law of diminishing returns as you implement additional lower-priced downsells.

Action steps:

1) Determine whether one or more downsells can be integrated into your business.

2) If you decide to use a downsell, implement it.

In the next lesson we’re going to talk about testing your sales copy.

As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.

Have a great day!

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LESSON #55: Upsells and One Time Offers

January 3, 2010 – 12:15 pm

In the previous lessons we’ve been working our way up to the point that you should now have something that you can sell online.

But whether you’re already selling something or if you’re still getting ready to launch your first product, you really need to think about how you can increase your profits with upsells and one-time offers.

(Watch this video…)

Main points:

Depending on how you look at it, an upsell or a One Time Offer is either an extension of your front end offer, or the beginning of your back end.

The back end is where many businesses make the majority of their profit.

By using upsells and one time offers, I generally increase the profit of any particular sale by anywhere from 20% to 200%.

Upsell: asking your customer to upgrade their purchase to a bigger purchase, or to make an additional purchase.

(See video for examples; McDonald’s, Best Buy, furniture, car rentals, etc.)

Upselling is everywhere. Sometimes it is done in an unethical way, but if done right there’s nothing wrong with it.

*Upsells should be beneficial to your customer.

Cross-selling: You try to sell something ELSE to your customer that they might be interested in.

(See video for several examples of ONLINE cross-selling and upselling)

If possible, upsell your customer into a continuity program!

OTO: a One Time Offer is presented only once to a customer or prospect.

(See video for examples of several offline and online OTO’s)

The best OTO’s are often the ones that make the customer feel like they’re missing out on something if they don’t buy it.

You can turn any sales letter into an OTO (See video).

Why OTO’s work so well:

1) The customer is in a buying mood.
2) URGENCY!

(See video for demonstration of how to set up OTO’s)

Methods of protecting OTO pages so that users can only see them one time…

1) Use a website script with this function, such as Butterfly Marketing - mentioned in lesson #32.
2) Have it custom coded by a programmer.
3) Create a “cookie” script if you know PHP.
4) Use a prewritten script such as this one which tracks both cookies and IP address.

Recommended Resources:

Free OTO Protection Script

Instant One Time Offers

Action steps:

1) Figure out an upsell or a One Time Offer (or both) to incorporate into your sales process.

2) Implement it.

Believe it or not, you may want to boost your profits even more by creating a downsell… or a 2nd OTO. I’ll explain those strategies in the next lesson.

As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.

Have a great day!

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