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Great article from Marlon
By admin | February 27, 2010
The turtles and I have long been fan’s of Marlon Sanders. I own quite a few of his products and have recommended them strongly. This article was in his weekly newsletter and I wanted to make sure that you saw it so it is reprinted here with permission.
The lesson is very important and will help you avoid information overload.
How to Evaluate ANY Money Getting System — And Save A Small Fortune In Time and Money, Plus Get Better Results Faster
By Marlon Sanders
Every week a new barrage of email promotions likely hit your inbox.
A few are good.
The others I’m not so sure about.
How do YOU see through the hype and get to the truth, so you know WHAT do do, and what NOT to do?
You’re probably on a limited budget with limited time and resources to spend on you Internet marketing activities. How do you be a wise steward of what you DO have?
In other words, how can you get the maximum payoff with limited time?
First, get to the CORE of the model asap
Any “money getting” system, to use Frank Kern’s wonderful term, works on the basis of a few models.
When you GET offers in your email box, you have to ASK yourself, “What’s the core model?” Then you have to apply rational thinking TO that model to think about it.
1. The “Product Launch” Models
You’ll see screen caps of massive numbers that make your head swim.
Sometimes these figures come in fast. Like 5 or 10 MILLION dollars in 30 days, or faster.
Realize that these are extremely complex models based on herding cats. The cats are the joint venture partners who all email the same offer during a 1 day to 2 week time span.
Getting these joint ventures involves highly sophisticated personal relationships for the most part.
Fact is, if people mail for your launch, most will expect a reciprocal mailing. And you’ll be obligated whether or not you believe in the product.
There are also issues with your merchant account getting frozen due to the unusual influx of funds. Refunds can run up to 30%.
This isn’t a method for the shy or timid.
Now, you CAN run a product launch model without those drawbacks. But if you do, your income won’t remotely resemble the gigantic numbers thrown out in the examples.
First, let me say that the way Jeff Walker teaches the Product Launch Model is NOT the way it’s often done, used or taught by others.
I know Jeff and think very highly of him and his methods. I’m talking here about a more general model of product launches that has evolved and isn’t necessarily advocated by any ONE person.
I’m NOT targeting an individual with these comments. I’m just talking about the overall model. Frank Kern? Cool guy. Very talented and funny too. NOT talking about Frank or Mass Control.
I’m JUST talking about a model that is a general consensus or a standard method of operation that has evolved.
Consider these drawbacks:
a. Product launches can absorb 3-6 months of your time.
So what APPEARS to be overnight money actually took 3-6 MONTHS.
b. You’ll lose ANOTHER 3-6 months doing all the reciprocal emails you owe people.
c. Merchant account issues
d. Refund issues
e. Sales issues
You have one shot to get the product to sell. If you screwed up your sales letter, you’re a dead duck.
More people flop at this than succeed. But a number DO succeed. I’m NOT against the model as long as you understand the GAME you’re playing and you aren’t all glossy eyed over the big numbers without knowing what goes into it.
I’ve seen some very good marketers work HARD to get others to promote a launch for them and end up with paltry results. I’ve also seen a few unknowns crush it with the right offer at the right time.
High risk. High potential reward.
2. Affiliate models
In these models, you don’t create a product. You sell OTHER people’s products. Just think:
* No customer service * No product fulfillment * No complaints * No hassles
Sounds awesome right?
A lot of beginners get started as affiliates and that’s as it should be. No problem with that. You’re learning the ropes.
But you DO need to consider the following:
a. Most of the affiliate checks that are sizeable I see are based on getting top Google ranking for the product name about a week before the launch.
This means you need to get good at beating out others for the SAME product names and you need to to do it in a short time span.
Just understand what Game you’re playing.
Still, if you ARE going to play the affiliate Game, this is one of the best ways to play it. You leach off of product launches and your traffic comes from people
searching for the product name.The downside is a lot of other affiliates play the same Game and you’re competing against others who are really good at this. By the same token, if you promote a product launch that fails to generate buzz, no one searches the product name or the author’s name and you don’t make diddly squat.
b. Some big affiliate success stories are based on the list A lot of times, it comes back to good ol’ basic evergreen marketing, the kind of stuff I teach.
The person created special reports, got people onto their email list, built the list OVER TIME and then just did a big bonus offer for a new product launch.
You’ll see people pull in $30,000 to $50,000 by promoting a big, juicy bonus bundle to their list for a product launch offer. BUT that person usually has their OWN products and a great reputation and relationship with their list.
Otherwise, the bonus products have no value.
What I’m saying is, what APPEARS to be an affiliate marketing model is really NOT. It’s a product creation and promotion model where a list was built THEN used to promote a product launch via a special bonus offer.
Here’s the CRUX of the issue:
Where will the TRAFFIC come from?
If YOU are the affiliate someone else is paying you a commission in exchange for YOUR traffic. So where are you going to get the traffic and how?
Usually the traffic comes from organic seo, which involves a lot of article writing, web 2.0 sites, backlink creation and so forth.
c. You CAN build an evergreen affiliate business
1.) In niches, you can build a list off of a pay-per-click campaign. John Barker from Adwords Blackbook fame is a master of this.
2.) You CAN build a list without your own product via giveaways, ad swaps and other methods.
Then you use the list to promote special offers to.
d. TRICKS of the Game — A LOT of times those giant numbers on screen caps were produced promoting an offer of questionable value like ringtones or an offer with recurring billing that is buried.
If the letter doesn’t say WHAT was promoted, it’s probably because it was an extremely broad product that involved buried recurring billing.
That means you aren’t likely to replicate the success.
3. Paid Advertising Models
Some of the most dramatic success stories are based on paid advertising models.
These often involve a high level of skill NOT duplicable by the novice or even intermediate marketer.
The BEGINNING media buys can be $10,000+. This fact is conveniently left OUT of the sales letter.
4. List Building Models
The model that comes closest to my model is the list building model.
Theses people advocate building big lists or small, responsive ones. It’s hard to argue with that.
My only caution on these is that a lot of the list building methods taught are dubious and don’t work.
Your BEST list building comes from creating your own products and getting people who ALREADY have lists to promote them via email to their lists. And yes, there might be some reciprocity involved.
But you can LIMIT this to products and people you believe in and know are quality.
4. The Evergreen Model
I advocate what I call “The Evergreen Model” because it has been working for 1,000+ years. You create products and sell them via a network of sales people. In this case, affiliates and joint venture partners.
The drawback is getting affiliates isn’t “push button easy” or crap like that. But it IS doable with attention and focus.
a. You don’t have to join a coaching program to figure it out
There ARE details involved, most of which I explain in low cost products.
b. It relies on a dose of creativity
You need to have a bit of an eye for a topic that will sell well.
c. You build a relationship with your list
Since the products you sell are created by you, your customers develop a relationship WITH YOU, not another marketer.
d. You build over time
A lot of advertising-based models don’t build lists that grow over time. So a year from now you’re no better off today.
I like growing an evergreen business where you develop a list.
============ Conclusion ============
a. Stop chasing rabbits
KNOW what marketing model you’re following and don’t chase a new marketing model each week.
b. Get good at ONE model
c. Realize no model is perfect
There IS no perfect model. And if the model sounds perfect, someone is leaving something out. Every model has an aspect that is less than desirable.
If youre eyes are glazing over because you’re so excited about a model, you’ve likely bought into hype and a smooth pitch.
d. Consistency of effort is key
The key is to know your model, focus on it over time and improve it.
=======================================================
Marlon Sanders helps people with hopes and dreams figure
out how to turn those into reality by selling stuff on
the Internet. Check out Marlon’s The Writer’s Secret
Hope you enjoyed this and will apply this to the various items you see this week.
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Disclaimer: Some of the links mentioned within this post or posts it may lead to are my affiliate links and in such case I will get compensated for recommending those products. However, I will never recommend something that I don’t personally believe in and I welcome your questions and feedback.
Topics: lessons | 3 Comments »
March 1st, 2010 at 10:53 am
Another great article from Marlon, and as always all spot-on! Thanks for sharing it Mike – those turtles have great taste!
Doug Champigny´s last blog ..4-Week Ultra-High-Intensity Internet Marketing Coaching Review
March 1st, 2010 at 7:07 pm
and Marlon is great writer! I can understand why the turtles are a fan of him…
Fred Lotgering´s last blog ..Target Followers, not “Big Follow” Strategy