Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Giving Away the Farm
I recently inventoried my site and all the content I have created over the past seven years and found a surprising wealth of content I could use for both free giveaways and paid products.
I've given away plenty of free giveaways. Where I could have done better is in thinking through how I was going to leverage them.
Any time you create a free giveaway, you should have in mind specifically how to leverage it. More and more as I create content nowadays, I look beyond the specific content I am creating to see how I can later repurpose it either for free giveaways or paid content of a larger scope.
I strive to keep in mind how to make things both benefit the recipient and reimburse me for my efforts -- an exchange of value.
When I first ventured online with my business nearly five years ago, I did so with determination to give away more things for free than anyone else did. I would offer businesses free hosting, free domain names, free website assessments, free this, free that, free everything.
I planned to offer everything for free with the hope that somewhere down the line, somehow, someone would pay me to do something for them. But I didn't really know what that something would be.
I figured, "Well, I have a well-rounded background in Internet marketing. I can do just about anything they need done." Aside from a huge flaw in trying to market too broadly, I still had no plan about how I would make my living off of giving away everything I had for free.
As it stands right now, I get plenty of comments from people who visit my site about how much valuable information I give away for free. That's fine. I'm glad to have that reputation.
Reputation, however, doesn't buy groceries. To stay in business, you need more than just having people think well of you.
It's better to have them think well of you because you provide them with something better than they can get for free. It's better even if they have to exchange some money at a rate that they still feel is a bargain for what they got in return.
It's easy to give things away and hope for the best. The true value of free giveaways is in planning out how you will leverage them.
Jeff
I recently inventoried my site and all the content I have created over the past seven years and found a surprising wealth of content I could use for both free giveaways and paid products.
I've given away plenty of free giveaways. Where I could have done better is in thinking through how I was going to leverage them.
Any time you create a free giveaway, you should have in mind specifically how to leverage it. More and more as I create content nowadays, I look beyond the specific content I am creating to see how I can later repurpose it either for free giveaways or paid content of a larger scope.
I strive to keep in mind how to make things both benefit the recipient and reimburse me for my efforts -- an exchange of value.
When I first ventured online with my business nearly five years ago, I did so with determination to give away more things for free than anyone else did. I would offer businesses free hosting, free domain names, free website assessments, free this, free that, free everything.
I planned to offer everything for free with the hope that somewhere down the line, somehow, someone would pay me to do something for them. But I didn't really know what that something would be.
I figured, "Well, I have a well-rounded background in Internet marketing. I can do just about anything they need done." Aside from a huge flaw in trying to market too broadly, I still had no plan about how I would make my living off of giving away everything I had for free.
As it stands right now, I get plenty of comments from people who visit my site about how much valuable information I give away for free. That's fine. I'm glad to have that reputation.
Reputation, however, doesn't buy groceries. To stay in business, you need more than just having people think well of you.
It's better to have them think well of you because you provide them with something better than they can get for free. It's better even if they have to exchange some money at a rate that they still feel is a bargain for what they got in return.
It's easy to give things away and hope for the best. The true value of free giveaways is in planning out how you will leverage them.
Jeff
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Can What You Know Right Now Make You Money Immediately?
I have a quick question for you today...
Do you know how to use what you already know about internet marketing to bring in cash right now?
I'm talking... immediately!
If you're anything like me, you've learned all kinds of things about AdSense, PPC, blogging, affiliate marketing, and all the other money making strategies that are out there.
But how many of them bring in instant, guaranteed income?
Not a one, last I checked.
That's why I'm excited about an exciting program from my friend Jaime Mintun, who has a truly remarkable story.
You can read her public letter right here.
My two second version of her story is that Jaime was homeless and broke after a good opportunity went bad... but she used her internet marketing knowledge (the same things we've all known about for ages) to come up with $5,000 cash in less than 30 days.
What's truly remarkable is that she then went on to make $10,000 per month after that! But she did it in a way that other Internet marketers hadn't really thought about...
Want to know her secret?
Jaime became in internet marketing consultant.
Before you say "that's not for me," realize that she just started calling herself a consultant because she knew more about Internet marketing than most people.
Could you say that about yourself?
I'm willing to bet you could!
In a private beta test of her new program, Jaime had dozens of people making more than $3,000 (even up to $10,000) per month... in their very first month!
This is NOT just another info product, or a lame teleseminar series... this is a program where Jaime actually takes you through the steps to earn six figures (or more) with Internet marketing knowledge you already have and has people lined up to pay you for that knowledge.
Are you ready to do more with all of your knowledge and skills? Would you like guaranteed income for the work that you put into Internet marketing?
If so, take a good look at what Jaime has to offer.
To your success!
Jeff
PS- Jaime is one of the most connected people I know... which is one reason why she has managed to get new clients for so many people... but it also means that a lot of people are going to hear about this program FAST! Make sure you check it out right now.
I have a quick question for you today...
Do you know how to use what you already know about internet marketing to bring in cash right now?
I'm talking... immediately!
If you're anything like me, you've learned all kinds of things about AdSense, PPC, blogging, affiliate marketing, and all the other money making strategies that are out there.
But how many of them bring in instant, guaranteed income?
Not a one, last I checked.
That's why I'm excited about an exciting program from my friend Jaime Mintun, who has a truly remarkable story.
You can read her public letter right here.
My two second version of her story is that Jaime was homeless and broke after a good opportunity went bad... but she used her internet marketing knowledge (the same things we've all known about for ages) to come up with $5,000 cash in less than 30 days.
What's truly remarkable is that she then went on to make $10,000 per month after that! But she did it in a way that other Internet marketers hadn't really thought about...
Want to know her secret?
Jaime became in internet marketing consultant.
Before you say "that's not for me," realize that she just started calling herself a consultant because she knew more about Internet marketing than most people.
Could you say that about yourself?
I'm willing to bet you could!
In a private beta test of her new program, Jaime had dozens of people making more than $3,000 (even up to $10,000) per month... in their very first month!
This is NOT just another info product, or a lame teleseminar series... this is a program where Jaime actually takes you through the steps to earn six figures (or more) with Internet marketing knowledge you already have and has people lined up to pay you for that knowledge.
Are you ready to do more with all of your knowledge and skills? Would you like guaranteed income for the work that you put into Internet marketing?
If so, take a good look at what Jaime has to offer.
To your success!
Jeff
PS- Jaime is one of the most connected people I know... which is one reason why she has managed to get new clients for so many people... but it also means that a lot of people are going to hear about this program FAST! Make sure you check it out right now.
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Saturday, May 26, 2007
Two New Reviews on the Site
I just posted two new reviews on some pretty comprehensive Internet marketing resources on my site. They are:
Jeff
I just posted two new reviews on some pretty comprehensive Internet marketing resources on my site. They are:
- Jim Edwards' "The Net Reporter" Internet marketing strategies site
- Jim Cockrum's "My Silent Team" strategies site for both eBay and website selling
Jeff
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Sunday, April 01, 2007
Jeff's Unfortunate Brush With Sanjaya Fever - Part II
Yesterday, I revealed the marketing lesson that American Idol contestant Sanjaya was unknowingly teaching.
What is that lesson? He chose to stand out from other contestants instead of blending in. The results have been dramatic with him developing a loyal fan base that keeps him on the show while more talented singers are voted off.
But I told you that that's not the only marketing lesson his presence provides. There's an equally valuable lesson you can learn from the way the American Idol producers exploit his dare-to-be-different persona.
The producers recognize that great marketing truth that controversy can sell, too.
From what I've read (which is really all I care to know about American Idol), Sanjaya is a mediocre singer who has managed to keep in the running because of the unconventional persona he displays.
AI purists decry his continued presence . But a solid block of preteen girls who see him as the ultimate heartthrob manage to give him enough votes to keep him alive week after week.
So what do the producers do? A week ago, they focused for an inordinate amount of time on an 11-year-old audience member as she cried her way through watching Sanjaya sing.
Word has it that the girl in question cried through just about every song that night. She simply was happy to be there and had her waterworks in overdrive the entire night.
But when did the producers focus the camera on her? That's right. Only when Sanjaya sang.
But the results were predictable.
The next day, AI purists were outraged. They accused the producers of stacking the results. They used it as proof that preteen girls were turning the show into a contest to pick the next hot poster boy for lovesick preteenies. They blamed Sanjaya for global warming. Well, they didn't go quite that far.
But their outrage generated a lot of press. Enough press that even a couldn't-care-less-about-AI curmudgeon like me ended up reading about it. My curiosity eventually got the best of me because I ran into the controversy everywhere I looked.
No, they didn't pique my interest in it enough to get me to watch. But I'm sure this pseudo-controversy will add lots of curious non-AI watchers to the next shows to see what everybody's talking about.
What interests me, though, is the excellent example this represents of how controversy can generate attention for your business.
I don't know if AI producers plotted this controversy from the start and I don't care. But once it started, they have nurtured it carefully to keep it growing. And they have reaped massive benefits from it in the form of free publicity.
You don't always want to steer clear of controversy in your business. A carefully managed controversy can bring you plenty of free—and valuable—attention.
Jeff
P.S. I hope to make this my last blog on either American Idol or Sanjaya. But I'm not promising anything. If they do something marketers can learn from, I'll let you know.
But make sure you keep checking back for marketing lessons that come from all sorts of odd angles you never hear anywhere else.
And if you haven't already done so, check out my newsletter on marketing tips and tools. I'll give you $250 worth of bonuses for signing up for my free newsletter.
Why so much? There's a marketing lesson in why I do that, too. Check the newsletter signup page to find out what that lesson is.
Yesterday, I revealed the marketing lesson that American Idol contestant Sanjaya was unknowingly teaching.
What is that lesson? He chose to stand out from other contestants instead of blending in. The results have been dramatic with him developing a loyal fan base that keeps him on the show while more talented singers are voted off.
But I told you that that's not the only marketing lesson his presence provides. There's an equally valuable lesson you can learn from the way the American Idol producers exploit his dare-to-be-different persona.
The producers recognize that great marketing truth that controversy can sell, too.
From what I've read (which is really all I care to know about American Idol), Sanjaya is a mediocre singer who has managed to keep in the running because of the unconventional persona he displays.
AI purists decry his continued presence . But a solid block of preteen girls who see him as the ultimate heartthrob manage to give him enough votes to keep him alive week after week.
So what do the producers do? A week ago, they focused for an inordinate amount of time on an 11-year-old audience member as she cried her way through watching Sanjaya sing.
Word has it that the girl in question cried through just about every song that night. She simply was happy to be there and had her waterworks in overdrive the entire night.
But when did the producers focus the camera on her? That's right. Only when Sanjaya sang.
But the results were predictable.
The next day, AI purists were outraged. They accused the producers of stacking the results. They used it as proof that preteen girls were turning the show into a contest to pick the next hot poster boy for lovesick preteenies. They blamed Sanjaya for global warming. Well, they didn't go quite that far.
But their outrage generated a lot of press. Enough press that even a couldn't-care-less-about-AI curmudgeon like me ended up reading about it. My curiosity eventually got the best of me because I ran into the controversy everywhere I looked.
No, they didn't pique my interest in it enough to get me to watch. But I'm sure this pseudo-controversy will add lots of curious non-AI watchers to the next shows to see what everybody's talking about.
What interests me, though, is the excellent example this represents of how controversy can generate attention for your business.
I don't know if AI producers plotted this controversy from the start and I don't care. But once it started, they have nurtured it carefully to keep it growing. And they have reaped massive benefits from it in the form of free publicity.
You don't always want to steer clear of controversy in your business. A carefully managed controversy can bring you plenty of free—and valuable—attention.
Jeff
P.S. I hope to make this my last blog on either American Idol or Sanjaya. But I'm not promising anything. If they do something marketers can learn from, I'll let you know.
But make sure you keep checking back for marketing lessons that come from all sorts of odd angles you never hear anywhere else.
And if you haven't already done so, check out my newsletter on marketing tips and tools. I'll give you $250 worth of bonuses for signing up for my free newsletter.
Why so much? There's a marketing lesson in why I do that, too. Check the newsletter signup page to find out what that lesson is.
ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS:
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Saturday, January 27, 2007
One Stop Web Support Newsletter #48 On the Way
The latest issue of One Stop Web Support Newsletter is scheduled to arrive Sunday, January 28, 2007.This newsletter contains:
Jeff
The latest issue of One Stop Web Support Newsletter is scheduled to arrive Sunday, January 28, 2007.This newsletter contains:
- Seven Steps to Starting a Successful Small Business Online -- Step 3 -- Finding the Best Way to Connect Your Customers' Problems With Your Solutions
- Personal recommendations -
Worldwide Brands OneSource Product Directory
A Part-Time Plan for Massive Success Using eBay and the Internet - Special guest corner - thoughts from top marketers
Sell What Sells -- Not What's Cool
By Chris Malta and Robin Cowie - Success quote by A.J. Kitt
Jeff
Labels: dropshipping, newsletter, online business, successful business, Worldwide Brands
Saturday, January 13, 2007
One Stop Web Support Newsletter #47 On the Way
The latest issue of One Stop Web Support Newsletter is scheduled to arrive Sunday, January 14, 2007.
This newsletter contains:
If you haven't signed up for my newsletter, you can do so at www.onestopwebsupport.com/newsletter-signup.htm. And I'll make it worth your while if you do. I'll give you $250 worth of free gifts for signing up!
Jeff
The latest issue of One Stop Web Support Newsletter is scheduled to arrive Sunday, January 14, 2007.
This newsletter contains:
- Seven Steps to Starting a Successful Small Business Online -- Step 2 -- Identifying the Problems Your Customers Are Trying to Solve
- Personal recommendations -
Website Business -- SiteBuildIt! Free Video Action Guide
Auction Business -- Auction Yen - Special guest corner:
"Knowledge is Power -- Using eBay Market Research"
By Chris Malta and Robin Cowrie - Success quote by Thomas Edison
If you haven't signed up for my newsletter, you can do so at www.onestopwebsupport.com/newsletter-signup.htm. And I'll make it worth your while if you do. I'll give you $250 worth of free gifts for signing up!
Jeff
Labels: Auction Yen, newsletter, online business, SiteBuildIt, start business, successful business
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