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Category: Entrepreneurial

Having to do with entrepreneurs and the actions, methods, spirit, area, schedule, tips, techniques, activities, and other methodologies related to entrepreneurs.

  • Three Solid Ways to Start a Sales Letter


    This post is an authorized reprint of a COPYWRITER’S ROUNDTABLE article published and sent to me on July 3, 2012. Copywriter’s Roundtable is owned and managed by John Forde. The article’s author is a colleague of John Forde and fellow copywriter, Jason Strachen who has done a masterful in job delivering such a powerful piece.

    On this eve of our nation’s independence, what could be a better celebration than a discourse on honing your own entrepreneurial skills, strategies and business acumen? It is my opinion that the Sales Letter is singly THE most important tool a Web Marketing Entrepreneur can have in his/her toolkit; And a superbly composed sales letter puts you heads and shoulders above your competition. So here we go!

    Introduction

    Copywriters and article writers are often pre-occupied with the best ways to start an article or sales letter, so it’s not uncommon for questions lke, ‘what’s the perfect opening line?’ to recur frequently. While the answer is not “Call me Ishmael”, and the opening thought is hardly, “Was your Dad a baker? ‘Cause you’ve got a nice set of buns”, the true answer to such a question is, there isn’t one. At least not one that’s perfect for every situation.

    There are some, however, that work a lot more reliably than others. And we’re fortunate to have copywriter Jason Strachan show us three of the best ways to start a sales letter. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this free lesson in sales letter writing, titled…

    THREE SUREFIRE WAYS TO START ANY SALES LETTER

    by Jason Strachan

    So…

    Why is the start of the direct mail letter so important? Here is the answer in a nutshell: Because when reading begins your target customer will be glaring point-blank into the loaded barrel of your promotion. You are NEVER going to get such a great chance to get her interest again.

    So what are you waiting for? When you start your letter or email, or video, go ahead and fire the most powerful, single most seductive message you possibly can! Because the cold truth is, as corny as it may sound, if you don’t get her (or him) at hello’ you wont get her at all.

    NAVAN Global, the REAL SEAL!

    Now In this article I’ve selected my 3 most tried and tested letter openings that I’ve used with a lot of success in my career. You could call them my ‘old faithfuls.’ Because if my life was on the line, and I was in a position where I had to write a letter that worked, or I’d be executed by firing squad, I would use one of these three openings, every time. So here’s the first one…

    First favorite

    If you’re like me – i.e. If you’re like me, you spend way too much time in front of your computer…

    Now there are two distinct reasons why I like this opening. First: because it is an approach that works for practically ANY market place. And second: because it establishes immediate rapport.

    The whole tone of “If you’re like me” immediately conjures up the feeling of a trusted friend wrapping her arm around your shoulder to give you a bit of counsel. And it causes your prospect to just drop her guard a little, while she starts to read what you have to say.

    Now even though a LOT of marketers have discovered how powerful this opening is and have started using it a lot. It’s STILL very effective in the marketplace today. Just as long as its expressed with sincerity. So in other words, don’t attempt to write an “If you’re like me” opening if you’re actually nothing like your customer.

    *TIP: Remember what David Ogilvy famously said: ‘The customer is NOT a moron – she’s your wife’

    Second favorite

    Ask a provocative question
    –     Okay, here’s where we step into some dangerous territory…

    You see, a lot of people who attempt to write sales copy understand how to write a question. It’s the qualifier ‘provocative’, that they do not seem to get a handle on. However if you get it right, it works like a charm!

    First let me show you how most marketing agencies mess it up.

    The way they get it wrong is by opening the letter with a question that has no relevance to your prospect, so they dismiss it straight away. For example: If I open a letter with, ‘Do you know the name of the ancient Greek God of sunshine?’

    Your response will likely be: A) Are you nuts?’ B) ‘Who cares?” or worse C) Something’s wrong with you, and If I did know the ancient Greek God of sunshine there’d be something wrong with ME.”

    A provocative question is a question that really triggers some type of dominant emotion inside your target customers. Here are some examples…

    (more…)

  • Do You Need A Business Plan to Sell eBooks Online?


    Is selling ebooks a business?

    In order to address the question of whether or not a business plan is needed in order to sell ebooks online, we must first determine if ebook sales can be considered a business, an entrepreneurship or just something you do on the side to make a few extra bucks for your nights out with the boys/girls.

    Another point we should touch on is the interchangeable uses of business and entrepreneurship. There is very little difference between the two terms based on the usage of each term. Since every entrepreneur is technically a small business person and entrepreneurship is simply the act of being an entrepreneur, then it follows that a small business can at any time be referred to as an entrepreneurship and vice versa.

    How to define success

    That having been said, it is an accepted principle that every small business is launched with the goal – or objective, if you like – of achieving certain levels of monetary success, notwithstanding the service it provides to the local community. Entrepreneurs want to succeed at their particular crafts and therefore should have a clear idea of what it takes to succeed. Most successful business owners will tell you however, that whatever that idea is, it must be in written form.

    Success online depends on having a plan, or more specifically a business plan. Very often, aspiring Web entrepreneurs contact a designer with a burning passion to have a new website designed, built and launched. FAST! But success takes more than waking up bug-eyed in the wee hours of the morning with the brainstorm of the century. You need to outline and complete a real business plan and make adjustments before the official launch.

    The think-it-through phase

    Mentioned earlier was and if it is to be a serious endeavor then it has to be considered an online eBook business, in which case the aspiring entrepreneur will have to provide enough information to satisfy the requirements of a business plan writer or to fill in the blanks of a pre-printed BP form. Thinking through the questions and answers is a vital step towards developing a good business plan. For example:

    • Do you have a company?
    • Do you have a logo for your company?
    • If no logo, what color scheme do you like?
    • How many products (eBooks) will you offer?
    • Are they all written and ready to go?
    • Do you have cover art for your books?
    • What system of e-commerce do you intend to use?
    • Will you offer just pdf or exe formats, or both?
    • Do you have the domain, plus registration and hosting?
    • Do you have a projected launch date scheduled?
    • How many affiliate products do you have to offer?
    • Etc.

    Defining what you do, your market, and how you intend to be different are vital considerations for starting your online ebook business. You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

    For an eBook online business, the competition is fierce and filled with some shady characters. When you begin the process of planning before jumping in, consider your image first and then answer “How will I establish credibility in the early going?”. Weave this into your business plan and you should do well. Don’t act before thinking or you may be perceived as just another online marketeer.

    In summary

    Your image comes first – It is recommended that you have a stunning set of graphics for your corporate image to make a favorable first impression. Hire a pro if it’s in your budget.

    Credibility is a close second – Although it does take time to build a solid reputation in your marketplace, you can help yourself in this area by soliciting opinions from trusted people to give honest feedback about first impression and how credible they think you are.

    And of course your Plan must guide your operating activities – If you can’t hire a financial/accounting pro to write your business plan, I’m sure there are Outlines or templates for creating a business plan available free online. Get one. Use it. Be flexible, and change as you go.

    A final word

    I know that many startup online entrepreneurs neglect creating a business plan. Selling eBooks online without physical inventory except bits and bytes seems so easy that you will be tempted to just dive in to a ebook sales opportunity with both feet and not give the plan a second thought. But keep this thought in mind: Your chances for success will improve tremendously with a real business plan.

    Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

  • A Key Stat For Web Entrepreneurship Is The Conversion Rate


    Is the Conversion Rate (CR) really the key stat for a website? It is when you are paying for clicks. The conversion rate is a similar stat to ROI (return On Investment) though not exactly the same, since one (ROI) stat has to do with money in your pocket after advertising expenses and the other (CR) focuses more on the efficiency with which you convert clicks to sales.

    We can safely conclude therefore, that when you pay for clicks, the conversion rate is really the only measure that counts in determining theme and message. The thing about conversion rates, though, is they can change quite dramatically with things like the website design, sales copy, products on the front page, range of products, product descriptions, guarantees, pricing, ease of payment and such things. In short there are many things you can do to get conversions up.

    One of the unique features of any Web business is that you can make a change, measure the result and if it doesn’t work, you can change it back. You’re constantly trying new things to see if it affects your figures. There is a danger that you can change too many things too quickly in which case you might find it difficult to gauge the results of different factors. Sand if you’re going to be tweaking and testing make sure to not do it during busy seasons like the Christmas holidays.

    You can experiment with pricing over a 30 day period. If you’re not getting any clicks, you should reduce your initial price and compare the results. If this does not increase your conversion rate then pricing may not be the problem. Or you may want to compare your hottest product with one that is not so hot by using the exact sales page and message. If sales fall on the hot product then you know the sales page, the message or both must be changed.

    You can also experiment with your sales copy by making your “money back guarantee” more prominent. This way when people visit your site, credibility would not be the thing that they become concerned about. You can also put the address at the page top so that people know you are easy to physically track down, and put the Visa and Mastercard symbols near the top for legitamacy. These are all areas you can tweak in order to affect conversion rates.

    There is a feature in both AdWords and Overture which, once you have inserted a piece of html code into your payment page, it will allow you to track conversion rates by keyword. You’ll need to build enough data for the tracking to make sense, but it allows you to cut out keywords which don’t convert well.

    Having said all that, if your product or service is inferior or somehow does not fill a need in your marketplace (something in demand?), there’s probably nothing you can do to improve sales except replacing the product/service. Most sales pages are effective and some are extraordinary (almost works of art…painting a picture with words?), but none of them can perform a magical feat to sell something that is unsellable.

    You shouldn’t have a problem with finding a good-to-excellent product to sell, if this is indeed the problem, because there are so many available product sources. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just search for a few of the eCommerce merchants with affiliate programs already in place and you can get started immediately. Whatever your approach to business on the Web, I hope you find the following tidbits helpful:

    • Work with relatively unknown niche products (excluding the book business)
    • Your product/service should be a familiar item in the Internet community (you don’t want to have to create a whole new market by yourself)
    • You must have keywords that people are searching for that can apply to your product/service, but which are not shared with other products (for example “gift baskets” and “oil paintings” are good “gifts” would probably not work)
    • Do a search on Google for the product. If less than 5 advertisers come up on the right hand side, then chances are you can get reasonably priced traffic.
    • Try to avoid a support apparatus to get it working. Things that need technical support are often too problematic. You need a product that is easy to use so that you can sell it and forget it.
    • Make it a habit not to hold or carry stock, especially if you’re working from home which many Web marketers do. At least until you have strong sales and good demand.
    • A final point that you shouldn’t have to wait and learn from your own experience. Try to work with a $50+ margin per product. The cost of attracting customers for paintings or massage chairs is not much higher than the cost of getting customers for gift baskets, although the conversion rates may indeed be lower. It is easier to reach break-even with bigger ticket items.
    • It also helps if your affiliate product is one that you have bought yourself and got interested in and passionate about.

    A primary business tool on hold

    Based on these criteria I have opted to promote and market electronic goods at Amazon.com, Marketing of a revolutionary creation system and classified advertising at AdlandPro, among others. One of the constants found in the marketing of anything on the Web is the need to tweak and test and update on an ongoing basis if you are paying for advertising because ultimately, your conversion rates lets you know exactly where you stand.

    Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

  • Affiliate And Super Affiliate – What’s The Difference?

    Affiliate success: Obsession?!

    Have you ever wondered about the difference(s) between an affiliate and a “super affiliate”? Super affiliate has been – and still is for the most part – the buzzword for entrepreneurs who are both ambitious and successful at affiliate marketing.

    There are wild claims on the Web about affiliate marketing: Make Millions Overnight! Never Work Again! Etc. Unfortunately, these claims are usually false for this reason: To go from being a plain affiliate to super affiliate takes a lot of work. In short, you need to be an affiliate of commitment, grit and determination – almost obsession.

    The vast majority of affiliate marketing websites on the Web are run by entrepreneurs who have no great interest in turning a huge profit. For example, you’ll find thousands of blogs where people put up a few Amazon listings and/or Google links on the off chance that a passing browser will click on them.

    To be a super affiliate

    A serious affiliate marketer who aspires to super affiliate marketer status might say, “that’s all well and good, but this is no way to make a dent in the affiliate marketing game”. To be a super affiliate, you need to treat affiliate marketing as a job or business (entrepreneurship), not just something that you do on the side to put a couple of bucks in your pocket.

    There is a misconception that affiliate marketing is not a real business. After all, the affiliate is not putting out a product. This is patently false, because although an affiliate marketer is not manufacturing a product, s/he is still offering the product up for sale.

    An affiliate marketer still needs to be in charge of search engine optimization, custom content, , financial management, and everything else that goes into running a successful Web business. As with any business, an affiliate marketing plan is only as strong as the amount of work you put into it.

    A super affiliate will is able to turn as hefty a profit as a standard business – several sales a day on a number of different fronts. Remember, successful affiliate marketers don’t necessarily stop at one site.

    A good marketing strategy

    Super affiliates set up a variety of with a good web address, quality web design, and lucrative affiliate marketing opportunities. Additionally, once you start selling at an accelerated rate, some affiliate programs will promote you from regular affiliate to super affiliate. If you start sending sales and traffic to a business, they will reward you with better terms.

    This isn’t an easy proposition, but it is possible. Make sure that an affiliate program has a corresponding super affiliate program in place – better terms for more sales. Even if they don’t, an affiliate with good terms up front can really pay off if you’re able to make several sales a month. Affiliate programs with great terms are also referred to as super affiliates in some cases. Find these and you know you’ll have a good marketing strategy in place at the start.

    For more information visit the Super affiliate Marketing Strategies website.

     

    Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

  • Starting Your Own Entrepreneurship – Passion, Grit, Vision

    Definition and characteristics

    Give it all you got

    In one of my recent posts the question of entrepreneurship was discussed from a standpoint of definition; and although the definition may differ slightly from person to person, entrepreneurship is about a set of principles and values that are seldom found in other areas of life. The way an individual approaches his/her own livelihood and the support of family and lifestyle provides the answer to whether or not that individual is an entrepreneur capable of operating an entrepreneurship.

    Entrepreneurship is the process of creating or seizing an opportunity, and pursuing it regardless of the resources currently in one’s control. According to Wikipedia entrepreneurship is defined as “the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as ‘one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods’. This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity”.
    Dictionary.com defines entrepreneur as “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk”.

    Must you be the rebel–mouthy and opinionated? Do you like the thrill of change, always eager for the next new venture? Is your idea of security to never be the victim of a corporation’s downsizing or reengineering? Are you a fiercely independent risk-taker who can comfortably handle the uncertainty of being responsible for your own paycheck? Do you have to possess these characteristics to be an entrepreneur?

    Answering “yes” to these questions (except the last one) can put you firmly at the helm of your own entrepreneurship; But the answer to that last question need not be yes for you to qualify to run your own entrepreneurship because you can be, for example, less “mouthy and opinionated” and still be a successful entrepreneur, live a happy, rich life and be in control of your life and career.

    Bare essentials & the research

    If you start your entrepreneurship on the Web, you could begin operatiing with as little as $100 in seed money and your experience in your position at your current job and/or past experience. It is reasonable to assume that you’re putting in the required hours, if not more, at your current job, so you may have to work part-time from your home computer for a period of time before your business gains enough momentum that you could quit your day job. And obviously you can continue to work from home until your business income reaches levels of success that affords you some time to relax or do what other successful people do.

    All this can be done if you have the passion, commitment and intuitive vision for running your own entrepreneurship. But somewhere along your road to successful entrepreneurship, you’re going to need a secret formula or USP (Unique Sales Proposal). Yes you need a passion for the thrill and independence of being an entrepreneur, but you also must have the commitment to follow through on that passion. Here’s are a few ideas which you can use as your success formula to help you get on your way.

    First you have to know where you’re going, so research your chosen industry. Identify types of businesses that match your passionate vision and aptitude. Explore areas that show growth potential and, using your experience and insight, look for a need not presently being filled.

    Find a successful company similar to the one you envision owning, and study how it started and how it grew. Learn as much as possible about the entrepreneur behind it. Devour books and publications related to your business concept. Talk to other entrepreneurs to discover their best practices.

    Vision and action

    As an entrepreneur-in-training, you’ll need to build basic and advanced leadership skills. A successful entrepreneur is a bold visionary, seeing what others cannot and willing to follow that vision despite naysayers. Many entrepreneurs never finished college, but that hasn’t stopped them from owning large companies like Dell Computer and small companies like neighborhood restaurants and consulting firms. They relied heavily on their visions, not on MBA programs.

    Entrepreneurs handle ambiguity with ease. They get a thrill out of leading the way into unfamiliar territory and thumb their noses at failure. Fearless pacesetters, they are usually mystified to find they’re weak at operations and management.

    That’s okay. Other people can manage for you, but you must be the guiding force that inspires your managers and staff to follow your vision. You’ll shoulder responsibility and hold yourself personally accountable for the outcome. As a leader you have to focus on the big picture and trust others to focus on the details. People who do it all are self-employed but not entrepreneurial.

    You must also be an actor. You act and get things done by delegating, subcontracting and leveraging other people’s talents. You’re innovative and unwaveringly determined, willing to put in fast-moving 16-hour days to reap the rewards of independence, creative freedom and unlimited financial gain.

    Learn to be a marketing genius. Everything is marketing, from the way you say “good morning” to the contacts you make. You sell ideas, products and services to potential purchasers by getting inside their minds and creatively communicating benefits.

    Above all you must grow your enterprise and make a profit. People who say, “I love it so much I’d do it for free,” are not entrepreneurs–they’re volunteers. Most entrepreneurs are willing to start small and grow slowly, but they fully expect to make money. There is nothing noble about being poor or failing financially.

    The Strategy

    When you know where you’re going and have the courage to act, the only thing missing is the strategy for getting you there – but this is no small thing. Jumping into business without a strategic plan is like jumping in the ocean without knowing how to swim. To create the strategic plan, envision your enterprise exactly as you want it to be. Then write down your goals and objectives for achieving that vision. For each goal, create a strategy and a target date for achieving it.

    Assess your strengths. You already possess knowledge, skills and experience your enterprise will draw on. List all your strengths that apply to your enterprise. Then appraise your challenges. They might involve market penetration, profitability, expertise, competition or location. Challenges change as your enterprise changes. How will your challenges impact your goals?

    Act the part

    Finally, act like a CEO. Create an income and spending plan. Know where your money is going, question every expenditure and keep the cash flow positive. That means taking in more money than you pay out, plain and simple. Make a budget and stick to it. A CEO gets things done through delegation, so create a framework of people who can help you achieve your entrepreneurial vision. Even if you work solo, you can benefit from a myriad of talented consultants, vendors and subcontractors.

    If you stick to it and don’t quit on your dream, you’ll look back years from when you started with that small investment and a vision fro your own entrepreneurship, and you’ll probably smile. But whether the smile comes or not you’ll feel a burst of pride within you. That comes as a result of all your hard work, long hours and sheer determination that was necessary to make it happen. You might utter these words: “I did it”!


     

    Digital & Electronic Products – Unbeatable in Quality and Price!

  • Entrepreneurs Can Tap Into Unlimited Income Potential


    Would you believe me if I told you that, as an entrepreneur, you have an unlimited income potential? And that, as your own boss, you could decide when you’ve made enough money. Would you believe that your entrepreneurship could make money for you around the clock, even as you sleep, with no effort at all? You’ve probably heard the term, “put it on autopilot” or “set it and forget it” Well that’s similar to what you can do when approached correctly.

    Don’t get me wrong, the initial time and effort required to set it up properly will be a lot; But after you get it up and running, the maintenance is minimal. The only time it’ll require more effort on your part, is when you want to increase your income, and even that will get progressively easier each time.

    Ask yourself this question, what hss been – and still is – the fastest growing market over the past decade? If you answered the information industry, you answered right. It’s a $233 Billion industry, as verified by the US Census Bureau as of 1-25-2012. We’re currently living in the Information Age and information is exactly what everyone is looking for. This sounds great so far, but it even gets better.

    Musicians and authors are some of the wealthiest people around ($83 Billion). Why is that? They create low cost assets. Well what is that? An asset is something that you own which puts money in your pocket. For example, think of your favorite musician. How long does it take for him/her to make an album? A couple months at most? Well that album makes money for them for many years, possibly decades. The same goes for books. Information products can be created within a matter of days or weeks.

    The great thing about the Web is that you can automate the entire process! After you’ve finished typing product you save it to your computer and upload it to your website. You can create a website for $10-$20 a month and it does all the selling for you. After you receive the payment your customer instantly gets access to the product that is saved in a secret location on the web. You have no inventory to deal with.

    This may sound overly simplified, but it is true and those who have been able to do it are reaping enormous benefits from their businesses and entrepreneurships. The simple truth is this: When you stop working for your money and let your assets work for you, the process of automating your business or entrepreneurship will have begun.