How I Got My Start…And YOU Can Too!
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 | Posted by Michael Rasmussen
Hey Guys,
Some times it seems like forever ago that I got my start in Internet marketing and other times it seems like just yesterday.
I can remember feeling like a fish out of water, struggling to find ANYTHING that would work for me. So if you’re feeling that way right now, I get it!
That’s why I want to tell you about my story, it’s more than a trip down memory lane for me. It’s about what I want you to get out of it. These are some fantastic lessons I had to learn without any guidance. If you’ll pay attention, you can apply these same lessons right away and take a huge shortcut.
I made a ton of mistakes along the way, but I also did one smart thing that I strongly suggest you to do.
I became good at something *FIRST*
before I broke into the Internet marketing niche.
The Internet is full of folks competing to be a “guru” of some kind, but when you dig deeper, you often find that they haven’t really done anything at all to take claim on that title! Sure, they had a big product launch, but so what? They’re not really “experts” at anything they’re talking about. Maybe they just got lucky.
I wanted to take a different path, so I dug into something I could see was a big opportunity–niche marketing. It’s actually still my passion, and the backbone of my business.
Back in 2003, most people weren’t paying much attention to ClickBank as a great tool to make a pile of income from niche marketing. So I was able to make a huge splash when I showed real proof of making over $60,000 a month by selling different digital ebooks on niche topics at ClickBank. There was only ONE other guy that I knew of at the time, who was making that kind of income on ClickBank (and could really back it up). His name was Stephen Pierce.
But actually DOING it gave me something to talk about. It made it a lot easier for people to take me seriously, because I was actually doing what I was telling them to do.
In a nutshell, my path was this:
* Do something to sell a product
* Document my lessons learned, and my success
* Leverage that success to build a list, develop relationships and sell more products in the IM niche
That’s what I did. But what can YOU do? I recommend a two-part plan.
The first part of the plan is to create your own product. The second part of the plan is to leverage that effort to grow your business into one that gives you solid, growing income as an affiliate marketer and maybe even as a proven IM player. That plan allows you to build some credibility for yourself, and make money at the same time.
Your first task is to find a niche where you can create an information product that’s likely to sell. Focus on niches that you know something about, or at least ones that you find interesting. Once you find a good target, it’s time to create your product.
You can find private label rights (PLR) material if you don’t think you’re a good writer. Or you can research the topic on article sites like EzineArticles and come up with material that covers the same points in your own words.
Your goal is to create a relatively short ebook that people in your niche will likely want to buy. It doesn’t have to be long. Something like 25-35 pages can work fine. Here’s what you need to keep in mind for your product:
1) It has to provide some helpful information that most people either can’t find on their own, or don’t want to go to the trouble of finding on their own.
2) It has to look good and sound enticing. Spend a little bit of money ($50-200) to get nice graphics for it, because that will boost the perceived value a ton.
3) It needs a unique angle, and one that offers unique value. There’s SO much PLR material out there that many people in a niche think they’ve “seen it all”. You have to make your offer stand out.
4) It should be inexpensive. You can charge $7 for it if you want. You can charge more if your niche is currently buying products that cost more and you think yours is just as good. The point is to charge a price that’s likely to get you buyers, not to focus on making huge profits right at the beginning.
5) You’ll need a very short free offer to build your email list. This could be a small report of 3-5 pages that sort of teases your product without giving away all the secrets.
Then you’ll need a simple website to sell the product. I call it a minisite. It’s a sales page hooked up to a payment processor (like ClickBank), and a page to deliver your product. Today I have dozens of minisites in all different niches and they bring me a nice passive income. They’re not very hard to set up at all.
My MiniSite Profits Exposed course can help you do that, or you can do it yourself (really, it’s not hard). Once you have your product and your site, it’s time to put the offer in front of people. That’s easier than you might think. You can:
* Write articles to target keywords in your niche
* Post in niche forums to tell people about your product (if they have a place where advertising is okay)
* Put up a free lens at Squidoo to target some keywords
* Create a short video using Jing and post it at YouTube
And the list goes on. All of those are absolutely free, by the way.
Send people to your site, offer them your product, and tell them they can have the free item you created if they don’t want to buy right now (or even if they do). You’ll build your list that way, and set yourself up for future success.
That’s the first part of your plan. Honestly, if you’ve never done it, it’ll feel like a lot of work. The upside is that you’ll be building a business that gives you credibility over time.
The second part of your plan is to leverage that stuff to build a long-term business that replaces your current income (and more).
Remember, you’ll be growing a list of subscribers, and you’ll also be building a list of buyers.
Once you have a list, growing your business gets MUCH easier. It’s a true asset that you can monetize.
Once you have a list, even a small one, then you can start targeting other products in your niche as an affiliate.
Search Google for complementary products (not direct competitors) and start promoting them to your list. That will do three things for you:
1) It will make you some money as your list buys things. It really doesn’t take much to add up. If you promote a $50 product and get a $25 commission, every four sales (which isn’t a crazy big number) is $100 income. Do that each week and you’re making $400 a month!
2) It will help you identify hot-selling products. You’ll know exactly what your target market wants to buy without having to invest any of your own money. Next time you choose a product to promote (or decide to create your own), you’ll be more likely to choose a winner.
3) It will help you build JV relationships. These will give you a big advantage when you launch your next niche product because your partners will naturally feel obligated to reciprocate. That’s where your income can really grow.
If you’ve never done this before, it might sound a little scary. That’s normal. Anything new can be intimidating. But you have to start somewhere.
You can definitely start as an affiliate marketer, with no product of your own. Many people have done that. But to be honest, even though it sounds easier, I think it’s harder. Having your own product, even if it’s a small and simple one, is a huge advantage.
Doing it that way also gives you a platform for breaking into Internet marketing like I did because…
You’ll have a *REAL* story to tell, not just a “lucky break”
with a big launch that didn’t last. You’ll also have a genuine
history with experience to draw upon.
THAT CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
And I’m not the only one who did that. Lots of my fellow colleagues who are now quite successful got their start by developing proven skills in some aspect of online marketing before they dove into the Internet Marketing niche.
I’ve given you a simple plan to follow. It’s not complicated. I bet you’ve even heard parts of this before. But it’s how I got my start, so I can say from experience that it WORKS!
Okay, that’s all now. If you have questions, please feel free to leave a reply below! I’ll stick around answer as many as I can, in the time I have.
Thanks for reading.
All the best,
Michael Rasmussen
CEO, BulletProof Marketing, Inc.
About the Author
Michael Rasmussen is a successful Internet Marketing Consultant and author of many top-selling eBooks. Michael has been marketing online since the early days and he knows what it takes to make money and succeed online. Stop by his Web site and subscribe to his Free monthly newsletter full strategies and techniques for successful web site promotions that can help YOU! Go to http://www.MichaelRasmussen.com
Welcome to the Bulletproof Marketing Blog. In here, you'll find the kind of high quality content that most marketers would greedily charge hundreds of dollars for. These tips, tricks, and tactics are some of my best material, and I'm more than happy to give it to you for free.
From Michael
Hi Michael…
I just want to say thanks for the reminders you give those of us out in the trenches. Sometimes it’s easy to get into a head spin about what to do next, and it’s really nice to have someone like you out there, helping us re-focus our objectives, and keeping us on target.
Thanks for your help,
Michael.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Georgia
Thank you for your story and I want to congratulate you on all your accomplishments. I’ll be there in 6 mos.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Tony
Not just hype…I find that the most difficult thing is being unable tosee the forest for the trees…so much hype the real opportunity is not visible…thanks for the help in decluttering offers.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Joseph M Krush
Hi, all, I am an MLM Internet marketer, and have a question for Michael, MLM-ers and would-be MLM-ers. Is it the $300 buy-in that turns people off MLM? I think so, and for that reason I have dreamed up an affiliate arrangement of 50/50 for anybody who does not want any startup costs. They use my website and ads and autoresponder, and my materials (articles, posts, video, blogs, etc.), so none of these things (that I have already done) cost them anything. The 50% for them is infinite, because it applies to all income from the downline. Is that type of affiliate arrangement something that would appeal to YOU?
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Taco
Great piece of content. Good sound advice. Now I know for sure to get my own product. Need to start working on that.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From dean
Great Post,
I have bought all your stuff “Get more buyers” rocks man.
I am good at building wordpress blogs that have killer on page SEO, and I can gereally get top 5 for mediem competitive key words with little if any backlinks.
Sounds like a great idea for a $7.00 ebook huh? You have inspiered me thanks.
P.S. dude in general I trust your recomendations but you have to stop promoteing Ewin Chia. his stuff is Crap.
P.P.S. Hey send me something that I can give as a bonous when I luanch my word press SEO book, for being a loyal costomer both to your stuff and your affiliate recomendations. Coo?
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Greg McKenzie
Hi Michael,
Some really sound advice there…
I totally agree with you about everyone and their dog seems to be a self appointed Guru these days!
Building that list can seem frustrating at times but by building your list you really are creating a true asset.
Good article! Thanks for sharing.
Greg
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Richard
Thank you for the informative post! I look forward to reading more. What is the average cost of devloping a new product of your own?
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From thomas wooldridge
good post. I’m glad you proved my theory about some of these guru. 9 out of 10 times the product was almost identical as another.
I have been doing internet marketing for nearly 10 years. surprisingly I had no clue about the internet marketing niche and only really knew about it about a year ago. it never hit me that people would actually pay lot of money on information that you can easily find for free.
So the last 5 months I’ve been documenting everything I know so I can provide some actual case studies and proof of what I’ve been doing for the last ten years.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Bhavesh
Thanks for great information.
Bhavesh.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Glen Persson
Hey Michael,
Thanks for that post, it actually confirmed something I have been thinking about for a couple of years.
‘Get something people want or need first, and make it something that is valuable and usefull.
We just combined a new social network along with a bullion opportunity and within a few short days it is starting to show promise!
And that’s after exploring hundreds of systems for over eight years - year after year of trying to make things a go, buying this and that off the so-called gurus like you mentioned. And most of the time it was just rehashed PLR!
Go figure
Folks should really pay attention to your words, re: “It Could Save You YEARS”
Your mails through-out those times have kept me going - believing and never giving up.
…just wanted to say thanks :
Regards,
Glen
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Valenti
Thanks Michael! Great post, useful information about getting started. Your information always seem to make my day better! Keep it up!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Lou B.
Absolutely agree! The conventional advice is to start with affiliate marketing, and while that does work if done right, you are at the total mercy of the product’s owner. I lost a lot of work from promoting products & CPA offers that got discontinued. Looking back I should have spent at least some effort on product creating from the start.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Nsubuga Baker
Thanks for sharing such great info.Last year I purchased(Affiliate Launch Blueprint)in October 2009.Actually the Qn was Hello Mr Michael Rasumussen,
I watched all the 6 modules of the affiliate launch blue print course.Am called Sadrach Baker,I live in Uganda,East Africa,I want to join the affiliate marketing world.But there is something I wanted to know,am new to this world of making money through product launches.
What should I have in place to begin promoting,after having learnt all those very powerful concepts.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Kenneth
Hi Michael!
Loved the post, it was something that I could relate to for a long time I’ve stuggled just to even get started. I was without direction, I finally realized that you can’t go into this half cocked.
You need a plan following honest people like yourself who have been through it was my course of action. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for keeping it real
Kenneth
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Richard Mortimer
Hey Michael,
Brilliant post, thanks so much for that! I really benefited from reading it. Also, I totally identify with it. Its kinda like my own experience (the bad bit)…!
But, you are dead right. You need the ‘credibility’, especially in the IM niche!
Look forward to the next gem!
Richard
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From John
Thanks. Very helpful…
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Amjed
Excellent content. Its nearly been a year since I started. I have my own product now, a Hypnosis e-book which is priced at 18 dollars. My stumbling block has been getting any traffic let a lone targeted traffic.
I have a lot off knowledge in the health area and this is the niche I hope to develop together with self improvement. I look forward to your’re next post.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Abdul Rehman Mayet
Hi Michael :O)
Thanks for the advise Michael.
I really appreciate it.
You are right everyone is selling stuff that arrives in your inbox and you feel you have to read each email.
My thoughts are to unsubscribe from every list except those like yourself that genuinely want you to succeed rather than just see you as a someone on their list.
I’m on Alex Jefferys coaching program and have just recently set up my blog.
As you can see it’s really basic ;O)
Thanks for all your helpful advice Michael.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Steve
Great information and I will put your link on my blog site as well.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Cy
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your post. It is informative, thorough, useful, and helpful to anyone who reads it. The content could be an ebook on its own merits.
You have covered all of the essential components of starting an online business, and have outlined a sound step-by-step strategy. You practice what you preach. That is what makes you one of the top marketers and a super affiliate.
We appreciate wisdom you provide to your readers and your genuine desire to help others. We look forward to hearing about your future ventures.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Rudolph Wilson
Thanks Mike for giving some of us a second win, most of us have to realize that every little bit helps.
It pays to read and you have something to read.
Sometimes you just need to be refreshed.
Thanks Again
Rudolph
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Dan
Many thanks Michael for revealing how you climbed the ladder of success in Internet marketing, and how your readers can achieve the same too - you have given us a simple blueprint to follow in making money online.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Brent Coppieters
Hey Michael,
I appreciated your post. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone who has never made a dime online wants to create a product teaching others how to make money online. Drives me crazy.
Your step by step process that you outline is right on.
We should all be following this model.
Thanks again-
Brent
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From akitmane
I like to hear from you michael, I’ve all your courses and I whish to see more from you!
please edit as soon your “my product” page and add all your training program and I’ll be ready to claim everyone if i don’t have in my PC!
you’re the best because you give q quality content not as all super affiliate!
have a nice day - kitmane Amine
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Lesley
Great post…I love simple step by step information!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Everyone!
Michael here. I’m going to be checking in today and tomorrow to answer questions related to this blog post…or on any other topic you want to ask about.
I’ll be here for a couple hours today starting at about noon Eastern, and then again starting at about 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Then tomorrow I’ll drop in for about 1.5 hours in the morning sometime, and again for 1.5 hours in the afternoon before 4:00 p.m.
I obviously can’t respond to every post. Instead, I’ll focus on ones where I think the answer to a question or a comment on something is likely to help lots of readers.
Let’s make it a lively discussion!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Dean,
You said:
“Sounds like a great idea for a $7.00 ebook huh?”
Sure! Why not? Getting traffic is a constant need for anybody with an Internet business, so your skills have real value. Put that material in a simple ebook product and you’ll be set.
That’s the thing most people miss here…they think they have to be the world’s foremost expert on something. Nope! You just need some real experience that other people don’t have.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Richard,
You asked:
“What is the average cost of devloping a new product of your own?”
Gosh, that’s really impossible to say. Every product is different.
What I CAN say with confidence is that it might cost you very little. If you can write reasonably well, you can create your own ebook. Buy some nice mini-site graphics (including an ecover) for $50-200 and you can probably be done.
Now, if you want to hire people to do everything for you, you can easily pay thousands for ghostwriters, copywriters, website designers, etc. But there’s no reason you have to do that. Keep it simple and you might just get away with paying next to nothing.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Thomas Wooldridge,
You said:
“So the last 5 months I’ve been documenting everything I know so I can provide some actual case studies and proof of what I’ve been doing for the last ten years.”
That’s EXACTLY the right way to do it.
Yes, people will pay for information they can find for free. There’s nothing wrong with charging for it either. Why? Because you’re providing value over and above the information by saving people the trouble of hunting it down. Time is money.
Besides, they actually can’t find this stuff for free, because you’re filtering it through your own experience…which they can’t find online until you put it there
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Lou B.,
You said:
“The conventional advice is to start with affiliate marketing, and while that does work if done right, you are at the total mercy of the product’s owner.”
True…but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
What you’re describing might be the not-smart way to start with affiliate marketing. I don’t know your exact experience, but many people neglect to build a list when they start, which does indeed put them at the mercy of the product owner.
If you build a list, though, you’re building an asset that survives even after Joe Blow takes down the ebook product you were promoting.
That said, I still think it’s smarter to start by creating your own product, even a simple one. Then tack affiliate marketing onto it and compound your income.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Richard Mortimer,
You said:
“But, you are dead right. You need the ‘credibility’, especially in the IM niche!”
Yes, Richard, that’s an extremely important point.
Think of it this way…if somebody says he’s an expert at house painting, but he’s never painted a house in his life, and only read books about it, is he worth paying? No way! Same thing in the IM niche. Unless somebody’s proven he knows what he’s talking about–even if it’s a small beginning–it’s probably best to move on.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Sean Breslin
Good Post Michael, I liked the way you laid that out, doing what you say… in a effective sales process is where the magic is! Good sales copy, Do you agree?
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Amjed,
You said:
“My stumbling block has been getting any traffic let a lone targeted traffic.”
Hey, everybody seems to struggle with that. I mentioned a few in the blog post. Here’s a brief overview with some more info for some of the ones I mentioned before:
1) Post articles to sites like GoArticles and EzineArticles. Link to your site in your Author Box.
2) Google in your niche and find people withe complementary products. Approach them about doing an ezine ad swap with you, or helping you with a promotion in exchange for something else you can do for them (if you don’t have a list yet).
3) Consider doing a press release, if you think your product is unique enough.
Those are just a few.
There’s nothing wrong with targeting the hypnosis niche, but it’s VERY competitive. Since you have other experience, it might be smart to try targeting another niche for a while to see if you get better results there.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Sean Breslin,
You asked:
“…a[n] effective sales process is where the magic is! Good sales copy, Do you agree?”
Yes, I sure do. An effective sales process is the key to making any online business work. But it’s not all sales copy.
When people are just getting started, I recommend keeping things simple:
1) Create a basic ebook product (or a different kind of simple product, like a set of screen capture videos).
2) Create a “teaser” front-end offer to entice people to join your list even if they don’t buy your product.
3) Set up a simple website to make your free offer and to sell your product. That could mean a squeeze page and a sales page, or just a sales page with your free offer somewhere on it.
That’s it. There’s no need to have to super-duper mega-launch stuff you see out there. That’s not bad, but it’s not necessary when you’re just starting. Keep it simple, work on it until you’re seeing profit or you prove you won’t, then move on.
If you do it this way, you’ll stack up a “success portfolio” you can build on.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Hayne
Very exciting blog post thank you for writing it I just additional your site to my bookmarks and will check back later
By the way this really is actually a tiny off topic but I truly like your sites layout.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Carmen Dorshimer
Thank You, Michael. Just getting started seems overwhelming sometimes. The need for a “plan” is absolutely necessary. Without one you will fail. With one you are able to track, eliminate the bad, improve the good, and keep making upward movement.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From crespo
Thanks for sharing your awesome story in internet marketing world. You are the top internet marketer!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Alcides Amaro
Good stuff Michael as always keep up the good work
Regards
Alcides Amaro
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Frank
Excellent advice, I really do appreciate the concern for my making it in my business. Just wanted to ask where I could put my squeeze page I made for free? If not, that is ok! It was a little confusing putting it together at first, but not to bad after all. The ftp and html was the booger! Thanks Frank.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Andrew Stark
Hi Michael
Like many people I end up over complicating the process and end up spinning my wheels. This is a great little article that has all the basics - you could almost turn this into a $7 report and get many happy customers.
Andrew
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Roshan Ahmed
Hi Michael,
I totally agree with the ‘unique’ thing. Anyone can show us hundreds of product in the market under a specific niche. But we won’t be willing to buy many of them even if the price is really affordable because we don’t feel that it’s unique. In my opinion sellers should give a short introduction to the book (or whatever he is selling) which is capable of convincing the customers that he/she has something informative to share. Also it would be better if the seller provide links to the testimonials on other blogs or websites rather than putting it on his pages alone.
As you’ve said the product must not contain the information available all over the web for free. This will create a bad image about the product and it will reflect on our future sales.
Nice reading your post!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Mathew Salsbury
You’ve got some really nice tips on promoting products. And I liked the term ‘MiniSite’. I haven’t tried most of the things you’ve listed there, but I’m sure that I will try them in future (because they’re cool
). Anyway one of the things I’ve tried even before is ‘Write articles to target keywords in your niche’. It’s really a good way of promoting the products. Especially there are lots of article directories which rocks search engines and which gets millions of hits per day! I would recommend Ezinearticles because it is the best out there.
There were lot of great points in this post. And what we beginners want is secrets and tips like these from experienced marketers.
Great work!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Darryl D.
When it comes to selling stuff online. The first thing that really matters is selecting the niche. As mentioned in the post, we must select the topic we’re interested in rather than selecting some other niche since we think that is the most discussed stuff online. The problem with selecting topics we don’t like is that we’ll run out of content pretty soon. Yeah, I’ve experienced it personally! Also we won’t be able to enjoy writing ebooks in the niche we’re not very familiar with.
I think you’ve covered all that has to be covered in this single post. And I believe with information on this post alone we can have our product sold!!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Lenore Claborn
If we’re serious about selling stuff online we have to be serious with every thing related to it. I’ve seen thousands of websites in it’s old fashion with extra giant colored texts and testimonials which looks like fake. Those kind of graphics and stuff will make lots of users run away from the website. In my opinion the website must be clean. It must be well aligned and it must not contain any fake testimonials. It’s web 2.0 and people likes glossy icons, buttons and graphics and I think Michael is absolutely right about spending some $50-200 for graphics. There are hundreds of Freelance sites which can get your graphic jobs done for this rate.
Lenore Claborn
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Jane
Great post, Michael! Thanks for sharing this useful information. I’ve tried the $7 product concept you mentioned and it works great for building a list of buyers. It’s a great way to get buyers into your sales funnel!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Neil
My tip to boost your sales is to get your product reviewed by some popular people of the same niche. If you can get your product reviewed on their blogs or even in their Tweets, it can create a very good impression about your product and importantly, it will boost your sales.
Anyway, there are complications. First of all you have to find the right person, everyone is busy out there and it will be very difficult to get your things reviewed by them. Also I’ve seen some popular internet marketers reviewing products on their blog for money, so sometimes this may cost you some bucks. But if you’re product is worthy, you can try this technique and I’m sure that you’ll find results.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Ted Croke
The ultimate equation to the success, as we know it, is:
Great content + Excellent promotion= Success
And we can learn how to practically apply these techniques from the experience of successful marketers. You’ve made $60,000 from clickbank years back and now I guess you have much experience in this field (and this post is a solid proof for that fact).
Waiting for more from this blog!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Pavan
People must be very careful while determining the price of the product. Lesser the product price the chance of getting them sold becomes high. It doesn’t mean that we have to sell our 100 page ebook with unique and original content just for $1. But first we must determine the value of the book considering it’s features.
There are thousands of products in every niche out there and so to sell your stuff, you should stand out the crowd and I think many tips in this post will help you to do so.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Linneman
We have to adopt new ways of promotion. And YouTube video promotion is a very great way of promotion. It will be hard to get indexed on the first page of Google in popular keywords. But it is much easier to get to the top of the video results (and sometimes the video results are shown in organic web search itself).
YouTube is the giant out there and you can use a free screencast software like Jing for recording videos if you want. Also try to upload videos in HD, otherwise your video will lose clarity!
You can use other video services like Vimeo, DailyMotion, Revver etc. as well.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Samatha O.
Hi Michael,
Read your post and I would give it 5 star rating! Checked your ‘real proof’ and it was really big (at least for me). Also had a look at your MiniSite profits exposed ( http://www.minisiteprofitsexposed.com/ ) link and there are some real content there. And I recommend it to other reader who haven’t checked it since it is completely free.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Vinayak
I love short ebooks. There are bunch of advantages for a short ebook.
1.) There won’t be much talking. Author directly enter to the subject
2.) Comparatively lower price: Short ebooks are definitely cheaper than bigger ones!!
3.) Can read it easily: I don’t like reading much about something and big articles tends me to skip portions of it. But we can read a short ebook within the time we finish the coffee.
So I would recommend to write short ebook and sell them for a fair price.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Clinton
There are lot of websites which review products like ebooks.And you’ve got to get good reviews about your product on those sites. I’ll make some Google search about a book before we buy and that’s what we all do. So the seller has to make sure that his customers has got nice opinion about the product. Else there will be many reviews and opinions about the product we’re trying to sell which will affect our sales. It’s just not about the money, we have to make sure that people are happy that the paid us for what we gave them.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Jessie Mata
Hi Michael,
This is a really awesome post. You’ve made all your points clear in a neat and simple manner so that beginners can easily understand what you are actually talking about. Yeah, I’m a beginner in internet marketing and I am not able to follow many of the blogs, anyway I understood this one very well. Also I had a look at the MiniSite course, it looks good I think I’ll sign up there. I can see that you’re blog is not fully launched yet. I hope it will launch soon!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Kelly Goliday
Wow! So you ‘Document your own success and lessons learned’. That’s an impressive habit. I never thought of documenting what I’ve learned. I guess it would be a great reference in future and also we can tell other how we did things as well. I’m sure that I will try to do this in future. I guess it would be like a diary. I will keep it online so that I can backup it and chances of losing are less. Great post, Keep it up!
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Tyrone
Your promotion tips are really awesome. And what I want is to do better promotion. My writings are out of internet marketing or business niche and so I’m not well aware of these promotion things and now I a, aware of it because my products are not getting expected sales.
Anyway, this post gave me things I have to do in a nut shell. Thanks for sharing the lessons you’ve learned
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Hiram “Mayor” Evans
Thank you for sharing your testimonial regarding your start. I am trying to put together the pieces so that I can start my internet marketing program. There is so much to put in place. Just choosing a website name as it might relate to my niche, and then setting up a blog or a artilce site, that too is a matter of, “trying to get it in the right order”. Later, I am sure after looking back, it will become effortless as is with shewing gum.
I enjoyed your piece, and thank you for being so truthful.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Carmen Dorshimer,
You said:
“The need for a ‘plan’ is absolutely necessary. Without one you will fail. With one you are able to track, eliminate the bad, improve the good, and keep making upward movement.”
That’s exactly right, with one small twist. You need a SIMPLE plan you can act on right away, track progress against easily and…here’s the really important part…finish!
Nothing helps you succeed like taking tiny steps and building a track record of success. Nothing frustrates as trying to do too much and then “failing” because the step you tried to take is too big.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Frank,
You asked:
“Just wanted to ask where I could put my squeeze page I made for free?”
Actually, I think this is a mistake. Don’t put your squeeze page anywhere free. Invest a tiny amount of money in a domain (about $9) and a hosting account ($7/month) and put up your own site that you control completely. If you do that, you’ll be building your foundation for the future.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Andrew Stark,
You said:
“This is a great little article that has all the basics - you could almost turn this into a $7 report and get many happy customers.”
Now, EVERYONE else reading this…look at what Andrew said. Do you see it? It’s the content secret right there.
Andrew read some helpful content, and he saw a $7 report. Exactly! That’s all you have to do.
I get emails all the time where people tell me they can’t think of what to put in their product. Don’t make it too hard. Here’s a simple plan:
1) Read several articles on your topic.
2) Summarize the five main points in your own words.
3) Write a five-page “report” about those main points, one point per page.
4) Slap a $7 price on it and sell it.
Yes, it can be that easy. Remember, most people spend more than $7 to buy a single movie ticket.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Beverley
Michael, I’ve been toying around the edges, learning from lots of sources, and I thank you for your clear, concise writing. I think the time has come for me to start creating my e-book and moving forward from just blogging to making my blog work for me. It’s so hard to work a full job and make time to build an alternative income source, but your words have encouraged me to invest a little more time in this field. So, thanks.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Liza Ader
Keeping touch with experienced people and having them in your contacts is a great way to learn new tips and tricks. I often contact some professional bloggers myself and they’ll provide some useful information which can be used for our success. There are a lot of tricks to promote a product, but the thing is that everyone is using those tricks and we need to find some unique and unshared tricks and I guess regular contacts with successful persons will get us some new strategies for promoting our product.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Roshan Ahmed,
You said:
“I totally agree with the ‘unique’ thing. Anyone can show us hundreds of product in the market under a specific niche. But we won’t be willing to buy many of them even if the price is really affordable because we don’t feel that it’s unique.”
This is true, but as with most things, you can take it too far.
Lots of people just getting started make a mistake. They assume that their information isn’t good enough. Funny thing is, they assume that even when it’s PLENTY good enough.
Uniqueness is a must, but perfection isn’t. Neither is “undiscovered” or “groundbreaking” or any other extreme adjective you can come up with. You don’t need the greatest thing ever written. You just need something with a unique twist that makes it your own.
For example, there’s plenty of information out there about Squidoo. But what if you figured out a neat way to use Squidoo and article marketing together to get even more traffic? That’s your unique twist.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Fernando
Yeah, affiliate marketing with our own products is much more beneficial than doing it with others’. Actually, when we’re creating a product and sell them we’re involved in the complete process. We can do affiliate marketing outside our product for extra income. But I do agree with fact, that we can only tell our experiences and stories much more effectively if we have our own product.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Alcides Amaro
I just check your blog again and came across writing something and then sell it for $7.00 comment, boy that simple?
I will give it a try and see what happens
Thanks again
Alcides Amaro
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Mathew Salsbury,
You said:
“I would recommend Ezinearticles because it is the best out there.”
I’d have to agree with that, but they’re not the only game in town. Here are two others you might want to look into:
1) GoToArticles.com - They’re getting excellent traffic, and it’s easy to post an article there.
2) ArticlesBase.com - I read an article a couple weeks ago where I guy said his ArticlesBase article actually ranked above his EzineArticles one for a given keyword.
So don’t assume EzineArticles is your only option.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Lonnie
The best way to promote your products is to promote it on your blog. Because search engines like Google loves blogs over websites since blogs are updated more often than websites. So you may run a banner on your blog to your own product. So that people coming from Google to your blog will come to find your product. In this case quality of your blog will also have a role in making sales.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Darryl D.,
You said:
“we must select the topic we’re interested in rather than selecting some other niche since we think that is the most discussed stuff online.”
That’s not bad advice, but don’t limit yourself too much. I agree that being interested in a topic is nice, because it’ll be easier to come up with content. But you know what? You’ll probably find you can be interested in LOTS of things for long enough to create at least one product or one fixed term membership site about it.
That can open up lots of income opportunities, even if you’re not initially passionate about, say, vegetable gardening (or whatever).
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Matthew F.
Hi Michael,
I like your post and it is very informative. Now I’m reading your reply comments because it also contains some great information. Just watched your video http://www.michaelrasmussen.com/video/killer-emails/ and signed up with your Minisite Profits Exposed course. Hope that I’ll explore more and more great content from you.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Lenore Claborn,
You said:
“In my opinion the website must be clean. It must be well aligned and it must not contain any fake testimonials. It’s web 2.0 and people likes glossy icons, buttons and graphics and I think Michael is absolutely right about spending some $50-200 for graphics. There are hundreds of Freelance sites which can get your graphic jobs done for this rate.”
A couple very important points here:
1) NEVER, EVER use fake testimonials. Not only can that get you in legal trouble, but it also will destroy your reputation in a Hollywood minute. Get real ones, or don’t use any.
2) A “clean” site is good, but don’t assume all sites have to look the same. As Lenore said, there are lots of freelancers who can make mini-site graphics for you (and they’ll know what that means). They won’t necessarily look like “Web 2.0″ sites, but they’ll look very clean, very professional, very enticing.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Carmella
Definitely, the starting period is the most difficult period of affiliate marketing. It is like being lost in a crowd where people talks too much about stuff that we are not able to follow. But once we’re in the game it’s not as hard as the beginning. And guides like these would help the beginners to start their journey confidently.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Jane,
You said:
“I’ve tried the $7 product concept you mentioned and it works great for building a list of buyers. It’s a great way to get buyers into your sales funnel!”
I hope people pay close attention to what Jane said. In the post I mentioned having a low price point for your first product. The point of that is to get sales and build your list of proven buyers.
Don’t worry about making a killing on the so-called front end, although sometimes you will. What counts is getting buyers onto your list.
Now, once you do that, it’s smart to know what you’ll offer them next! That’s the “funnel” Jane mentioned. You could offer them a follow-up product of your own that costs a bit more (maybe $27), or an affiliate product at the same or higher price point.
You don’t have to have the next decade planned out, but having a couple steps planned is great. If you can’t do that initially, don’t let that stop you. But if you can, by all means do it.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Neil,
You said:
“My tip to boost your sales is to get your product reviewed by some popular people of the same niche.”
That’s not a bad tip, but be careful with it. I suggest NOT paying anyone to review your product, unless it’s a common thing in your niche. And if you do that, the new FTC regulations say you MUST tell your prospects that you paid for the review.
If you can find some folks to review your product for free, you still have to tell your prospects that you gave the person a free copy to comment on, but it sometimes looks less suspicious.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Marylou
Reading more and more content from the experienced persons can save a lot of our time and money. So we should read them carefully and find the mistakes they’ve made and things that made them success. As Michael said here it is a great ‘Shortcut’ to one’s success.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Tia Mcnelly
Guess I’ve got to travel a long distance to get to your success. You’ve made some really good money with this. I do make some money and all I can do with them is to pay my bills. Well it’s not that bad anyway, but producing new content is a very difficult task since it need many research works. So I am planning to publish my books as series so that the sales with the part 1 well motivate me to write the part 2.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Freda G.
I was thinking of promoting our products on forums like DigitalPoint. Forums and discussion boards are the best ways to promote our products since from there we can get lots of targeted (or interested) people so that there are high chances for making some sales.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Pavan,
You said:
“People must be very careful while determining the price of the product. Lesser the product price the chance of getting them sold becomes high.”
True, but don’t assume a low price point is always the right answer. I’ve sold products for $7, $97, $197 and prices in between. Here’s what really matters…
Your price must represent a “deal” when compared to the perceived value. And it ought to still look like a deal after somebody buys your product and knows the real value
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Vinayak,
You said:
“I love short ebooks. There are bunch of advantages for a short ebook…”
The advantages you list are spot on. I hope everybody notes them.
It’s amazing how many people assume a “cheap” ebook doesn’t offer value. Believe me, that’s a bias that exists for lots of people who have tried to break into the IM niche, but it’s NOT the way most prospects in other niches think!
Most prospects immediately see the advantages you talked about. Thanks for pointing those out.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Sheline
Take care that you do not limit yourself. Many authors limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From George Nieves
Hi Michael,
Thanks for sharing your story with us. I’m sure it will be an inspiration for many.
Best regards,
George Nieves
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Pausleal
nice post. thanks.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Nando
Hi Michael,
I’m from Brazil and I am starting now in internet marketing. There are a few products and entrepreneurs here, and it almost eliminates the part where you guide to promote affiliate products
My main question is: What is the attitude to go into a land as empty as mine? The ideal would be to seriously tackle the niches and take as much space as possible (so aggressive - style “gold rush”) and then proceed to Internet Marketing or do the two things together (no hurry)?
The question part of a beginner in Internet Marketing in a country without many references to follow … How would you do to start (or advise anyone to do), in a situation like this?
As I have little experience, I can have a great opportunity at hand or simply a gigantic task that can take years to bear fruit. What do you think?
Thanks for the post! This information did come at a good time.
Nando
PS. I have little knowledge of English, sorry for any mistake.
• Author's Site • June 3rd, 2010
From Mark Ling
Hey Michael, I didn’t realize you’ve been around since back then too. I’ve been selling with Clickbank since 2000 (and with other networks since 1999). I only knew of you as an IM marketer, good to know where you got your start in the niches, do you still do a lot of niche work?
Great post all the best,
Mark Ling
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Rhonda Tardif
Hi Michael:
You’re info is al
ways great! I’m working on a proofreading website. I’m think of creating a booklet of some grammar and punctuation rules to give away. I think that would interest people, although I’m really advertising my proofreading. I get stuck though when I try to think of related follow-up products.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Rhonda
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Eruwan Gerry
Hi Michael,
I just want to say thank you for your great advice and guidance in this article.
The steps you’ve shared makes the whole internet marketing business process seems so much easier to understand.
Thanks again.
Eruwan Gerry
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Judy DeMico
I am still totally confused about creating mini-websites and have spent and spent and spent and still cannot make any money in anyway.
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Nando,
You said:
“As I have little experience, I can have a great opportunity at hand or simply a gigantic task that can take years to bear fruit. What do you think?”
I recommend starting by creating your own product. Simple as that. It doesn’t matter that you don’t have lots of local contacts. The Internet is a BIG place. As long as you can get paid online, your income can come from anywhere.
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Rhonda Tardif,
You said:
“I’m really advertising my proofreading. I get stuck though when I try to think of related follow-up products. Any suggestions?”
How about a proofreading service? You can charge by the job, but the length of the work you’re proofreading, or even by the hour.
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Judy DeMico,
You said:
“I am still totally confused about creating mini-websites and have spent and spent and spent and still cannot make any money in anyway.”
Don’t get discouraged. Pick up a free copy of MiniSite Profits Exposed and apply what’s in there. I bet you’ll like the results.
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Michael Rasmussen
Hi Everyone,
I have to turn my attention to other things now, but I’ve really enjoyed the discussion and your questions.
Remember, a simple plan you can apply and see through to the end usually beats a complicated plan with lots of “potential” you never end up seeing.
Apply what I said in the original post, and send me your success stories.
Until next time, all the best.
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From pravash Chandra Mridha
I like to do on line job. I am a retired pereson and I can sparer lot of time , please let me know the procedure and gine me the flow chart so that I can start the work in rightful way without commiting any mistake
Thanks
• Author's Site • June 4th, 2010
From Azeem
Michael,
I needed the inspiration today after a couple months of internet marketing mishaps.I’m a complete newbe at this and a senior citizen,while most people my age are thinking about retiring i’m starting a new life and getting a good wake up call.Thank you for giving me some good down to the ground advice.I’ll stay tune in and see where it leads.
Respectfully:
Azeem Bilal
• Author's Site • June 6th, 2010
From Ming Jong Tey - Inbox Cash Techniques
Great stuff Michael,
This piece of content is certainly helpful! Business is about helping others to get what they want and then you will get what you want!
Cheers,
Ming Jong
• Author's Site • June 7th, 2010