Last time I talked about how consistent the turtles are in re-arranging the tank no matter how often I reset it to my liking. In talking with a friend about that blog post, Joel Osborne, he brought up something I totally missed but was very true. Oh he has a great blog you should check out – Internet Marketing Blog.

His point was that quite often we try to sell things that our customers don’t want. I’ve been trying to sell the turtles on the fact that my way is the way the tank should look. You can see by the picture how well that is working or rather how well it is not.

They don’t want to buy my arrangement and have made it quite clear to me. Now as the tank is mine and they are only the tenants we will continue to have this argument over and over. Trying to do that with your customers is another story.

Very simply if you aren’t offering something they want you won’t make sales. PERIOD. End of story. That means no money for you.

Doesn’t matter how good the product is. Doesn’t matter how much your audience needs it. You can’t sell what they don’t want.

This is one of the reasons that I find it very important to start as an affiliate. Why create a product until you have an idea of what your customer wants not needs.

If you have done the research and found a profitable niche then start the process on the affiliate side. Follow what Marlon Sanders teaches in Promo Dashboard and build your system step by step.

• Research what they want
• Create an ethical bribe to build a list
• Send traffic to get subscribers from a variety of sources
• Sell them affiliate products through your follow up

Do that first (and Promo Dashboard will walk you through all of those steps in bite sized chunks) and then you will see what they want and can find the missing pieces in that niche that they will buy.

This allows you to be sure before you put the time and effort in that you have a product your customers want.

Do that and you won’t end up in a losing battle like I have with the turtles over the tank. Instead you will have a profitable product.

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, Joel Osborne, Marlon Sanders, Promo Dashboard, want vs need

The turtles are nothing if not consistent. The picture to the left was taken first thing this morning and the gravel is dug out AGAIN. Sunday is there normal clean up day so I reset the pieces to MY liking, level the gravel and swap out some of the water. Makes it look just the way I LIKE.

They always have a different idea and are quite consistent at changing it back to what THEY LIKE asap. Now this can be aggravating at me as The Turtle Dad but give them credit they are always going to take the action to get it the way THEY LIKE.

Your marketing takes the same kind of consistent behavior. Unfortunately we don’t always do that.

Does this sound familiar?

Day one you did your blog post, created a Squidoo lens and submitted an article. Day two though you answer email, visit the forums and thats it.

Day 3 something comes up at home (life does have an habit of interfering) and nothing gets done. Day 4 you missed so much that you just deal with email. And it continues.

You need to consistently do the things that will push your business forward EACH day.

The Authority Site will give you the blueprint to get traffic rolling but it takes consistent effort. There are numerous other plans including Marlon Sanders Promo Dashboard if you want to market various affiliate products that will do the same IF you take consistent action and don’t let the outside interfere.

The turtles consistently change the tank back to what THEY LIKE no matter how often I interfere. If you did the same with your business it WILL grow much faster and the success you are looking for will finally arrive.

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: Authority Site 2.0, consistency, consistent effort, Promo Dashboard, work plan

Today I read a great article that reminded me of the turtles from Marlon Sanders. See the turtles become very focused when they want to move something as I have mentioned before. That is key and the following article from Marlon is a great review of two concepts.

Focus and perseverance.

Here’s Marlon

Are you gonna stay ON track or get off track?

(Why you gotta know what your model is and how it’ll cost you enormous amounts of wasted time, money and energy if you don’t)

Save this article for reference and use it as a reminder

By Marlon Sanders

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Are you gonna stay ON track or get off track?

Every week or every several weeks it seems like there is a new product launch promoted by all the usual suspects.

Nothing wrong with that.

A lot of these products bring fine value to the table.

They all show screen caps of huge amounts of dough brought in during relatively short time spans. The implication being that if they can do THAT, the smaller amount of money you need must be a piece of cake.

That’s all well and good.

But before you spend your $1,000 or $2,000, there are a few things you need to consider:

1. What will happen to the validity of the method once everyone jumps on the bandwagon?

This is a valid concern. Products that contain seo or ppc tricks are likely to NOT work after Google hammers down on ‘em, as Google seems to love to do.

Anytime anyone figures out how to beat others in getting an advantage with Google, and widely promotes it, it seems to break down. The BEST approach with Google is to seek out Evergreen strategies and things that aren’t widely promoted.

I see quite a few methods promoted where the promoter knows darned well that after the product launch, it’ll fall apart. PPC and SEO software programs or strategies are particularly vulnerable.

2. Is this method really valid for your normal marketer?

So let’s say John Doe made 1 million dollars in a second. All well and good. But how valid is the method for YOU?

For example, let’s say the money was made in a huge product launch in a niche. That’s fine. But do YOU possess the credibility to go into a niche and do the same thing?

The argument can be made you don’t need similar credibility. But is it true?

Or let’s say the person is killing it on Google PPC. But then you later find out they’re a super duper whiz with spreadsheets and have better attention to detail than an accountant.

Is THIS really gonna be your cup of tea?

If you’re good with numbers, go for it.

But if you aren’t, you might think twice. There’s more than one way to skin a cat as the old saying goes.

3. Is the product ALL strategy or are the actual technical details covered?

If you can handle the technical details on your own, then this isn’t a big ordeal. But what I see a lot is people buy products that are all strategy and they aren’t given the tools to actually implement them.

So for example, they may be told to create PDF’s, audio and video and distribute them to affiliates for promotions.

But there are no instructions on how to set up the affiliate program, create the pdf’s, audio and video.

So at the end of the day, you’re all EXCITED but NOT empowered to DO anything. To actually implement it. Sure, it sounded good. But where are the step-by-step instructions?

4. Does this method REALLY fit with your overall model or plan?

One of the things beginners and even intermediate marketers seem to have a problem with is choosing and sticking with ONE game plan.

You can sell affiliate products.

Or you can promote CPA offers.

Or you can create and sell your OWN products.

But you gotta pick one model and stick with it. Some would question that. But I just don’t think a person, especially someone relatively new to the business can do more than one of these effectively.

You use different methods to promote affiliate programs than you do CPA lead offers. And it’s a different learning curve for creating and selling your own products.

What often happens is you’re on one game plan. But then everybody and their dog promotes a new, more exciting method that sounds like a lot EASIER dough. So then you jump ship.

Until the NEXT easier method comes along.

Understand that the NUMBER of people promoting an offer has nothing to do with its actual value.

It has to do with how skilled a networker the person is and what their relationships are. That is, which cliche are they in?

Are they in the Cali cliche? The UK cliche? You know, there are different groups of marketers who all stick together and promote each others offers, even if they don’t feel it’s the best match to their philosophy or for their list.

Nothing wrong with this.

But you as an astute consumer should know what you’re looking at.

5. Can you sort out the different models?

There are a few basic approaches to the online Game:

a. Creating and selling your own info products
b. Selling on ebay
c. Promoting dropship products through seo
d. Promoting Clickbank products through ppc
e. Promoting CPA offers via ppc or paid advertising
f. Pure seo plays
g. Selling plr or reprint rights products
h. Joint venture marketing
i. Product launch plays (part of a)

When offers come out, you need to figure out FIRST which bucket it belongs in. And ask yourself if that’s the bucket you’re working on or specializing in.

Just because a chorus of angels (Internet marketers?) all swear a product they’ve never even seen yet is great doesn’t make it the cat’s meow. It might be.

Could be.

But your own examination and scrutiny is warranted.

If you’re doing PPC marketing and it’s an seo play, then pass.

If it’s a joint venture method that requires you to have your own products and you’re doing affiliate marketing stuff, then pass.

See, you gotta know what PLAY you’re running.

You can’t run one play and in the middle of it go, “Oh, wait. This sounds better. No wait! This grass is greener.”

One week marketers are all screaming…

PPC to Clickbank! It rocks. Buy this. So that is one model.

The next week it’s, “No wait. My bad. Product launches rock. Do that instead!”

Next week it’s, “Affiliate marketing rules! Forget what I said the last two weeks! Affiliate marketing is what it’s ALL about.”

This week it’s CPA marketing, “OMG — CPA marketing. It’s the greatest. Go over to my friends site because in 6 weeks when I do MY launch, I want him to reciprocate a mailing.”

The Game and the Dance of product launches, reciprocal emails and back scratching goes on and on.

Not that it’s wrong or bad. Hey, it’s business. And there’s nothing wrong with it. I promote on occasion for a few of my friends. Let’s be honest here.

But here’s the PROBLEM I got with it. A big problem. You, as the consumer, are often left scratching your head which way to go.

Now, in my business I teach people how to create and sell their own info products. That’s dominantly what I do.

And the reasons for that are many. I believe it’s the best long term, evergreen strategy, although it certainly isn’t the only one.

But I think of a massive product launch that was made based on getting top seo positioning and drop shipping products. Next thing you know Google had changed the rules!

And all of a sudden the chorus was pay-per-click marketing! So part or all of that learning curve you went through on the seo was WASTED and now it’s a NEW learning curve of PPC!

Which is good for the marketer because it keeps you buying info products and attending seminars and buying coaching programs.

But is it good for YOU the consumer?

Product launches are ALL based on something new and exciting. Because people easily get disenchanted with the work it takes to create and sell their own products.

Or the work it takes to really do ANY method, frankly.

There is no way to make a lot of dough that doesn’t require a brain or effort.

ANY method you use has some sort of Achilles heel. Something you won’t like about it. And you can do well with about ANY method.

I just like things where you go through the learning curve once, or as few learning curves as possible and they last.

Not that you’ll ever completely avoid learning curves.

What is your MODEL?

That’s the question here.

And are you going to STICK to your model when the going gets a little tough?

Or are you going to jump ship the greener grass on the other side of the road?

Think twice before you do.

That’s all I’m saying.

Because realize that marketers have a vested interest in selling you the greener grass on the other side of the road that spawns new learning curves, seminars and coaching programs.

Nothing wrong with that at all.

But you, as an educated consumer, should know what the Game is and how to play it for YOUR advantage, not the marketers.

Marlon Sanders

———————————————————–
For step-by-step help in stuffing your marketing funnel chock full and overflowing, check it out NOW!

Promo Dashboard

Understand that I like and use Marlon as a mentor. What I like is the no bull style and hope you take the article to heart.

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: focus, Marlon Sanders, perseverance, Promo Dashboard