Facebook has now attracted those smarmy, get rich quick folks. It’s getting quite gross, but whenever something is hot, there will be some who will jump on the bandwagon to make a quick buck.
As I look at all these tall claims of making thousands on Facebook in just 6 hours, it seems too good to be true. Typically it is, however, the claim isn’t untrue.
In the 5 years that I’ve been writing my own sales copy and reading others, I now understand what these “claims” really mean. Here are some examples to illustrate my point.
More on What the Hype In Sales Letters Really Mean
My target market is such a picky bunch. Over the past 6 months, I’ve introduced several products to my list. I’ve joint ventured with a few people and offered what I thought would be successful products to them.
Some products have done well and some have not. I have come to realize that my target market no longer wants general social media advice. They want specific strategies, click-by-click tutorials and the exact blueprint to make their business a success.
And I’m listening. Here are the things I will start doing:
- I will only joint venture with those who offer specific strategies. So, how to get traffic using social media is too general for my picky people, but how to stuff your list using Twitter is a better topic.
- I will only promote events to my target market where I know a specific strategy is being taught. Things like Entrepreneurial Success (no clue if this is an actual event) or Sales Mastery (not sure if this is a real event) are way too general.
So, if you’d like to joint venture with me, be forewarned. You have to offer a very specific strategy using a specific tool for me to be interested. I’m the gatekeeper for my very picky target market and they’re keeping me on my toes. They see me as an expert and not a generalist, so I have to live up to this expectation.
Love you guys!
One of the biggest complaints I hear from people who are blogging and podcasting is the lack of traffic.
If this is you, I’m inviting you to join me on Wednesday May 14 at 2pm EDT for a one hour teleclass with 2 of my favorite marketing gals - Michele PW, Your $Ka-Ching! Marketing Strategist, and Mary Pat Kavanagh, Queen of Connections.
Michele and MaryPat will share with you the Insider Secrets of Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking to Get Thousands of Warm, Hungry Visitors to Your Website.
Should be a fun call. Click here to register your spot. Even if you can’t make the live call, still register as you’ll get the recording of call so you can play on your computer or download to your portable media player.
Over the weekend, I spent an afternoon with my sister’s godchildren. These 3 girls are well mannered, well behaved and just lovely to be with. My friends, who are the parents, have done an excellent job raising these 3 girls.
The youngest, Hannah, is just over a year old. She’s inquisitive, active and cute as a button. She taught me alot about how to change my language for my target market.
Since she’s so young, using big, complicated words would elicit looks of confusion. So, I changed my language just a bit to make my message enjoyable for her.
The point is not to dumb down your language. Your target market isn’t stupid. Instead, change it so you connect with your target market. The video below will illustrate my point even further (my sister is behind the camera).
There’s an interesting controversy happening in the world of internet marketing regarding continuity programs.
I got wind of it via Michel Fortin’s blog. Lynn Terry goes into more detail. Apparently, there’s a product that was recently launched that didn’t make it clear that your credit card would be rebilled every month.
Quite a number of people who are pissed off. They thought they were buying a $9.95 ebook. What they got was a credit card bill for 3 times that amount, billed every few days. This is known as hidden continuity and you can read Michel’s blog for more on this.
Ouch!
The internet marketers involved have since updated their sales pages to ensure that people understand that there’s a continuity component to the product they’re buying. They have done an excellent job of visiting various blogs to offer their apologies in the comments area.
More on Hidden Continuity is a Lousy Sales Tactic
I’ve been invited to speak at a multi day virtual event called Six Figure Marketing Secrets. It’s hosted by Iris Benrubi, a success coach and lifelong entrepreneur.
I’ll be speaking at 1pm EST on April 23, 2008 on How to Use Podcasting & Social Media to Double Your List in 90 Days. Not only will I be speaking at this virtual event, but so too will Jan Janzen and Andy O’Bryan, two people I’ve met and really like.
The Marketing Secrets teleseminar series is normally $197, but I asked Iris to let me offer you a gift. She relented. So, if you use my VIP coupon, you will get $100 off the seminar price. Just use MS423 in the coupon box to save over 50% off the price of admission.
Visit the Six Figure Marketing Secrets website to register your spot.
I’m leading a 3 hour workshop at the National Association of Broadcasters annual conference and I’ll be focusing on low cost online marketing tools. Here’s the deets:
Creative (Online) Promotion for Businesses of All Sizes
April 15, 2008 • 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Convention Center N259
Trying to break through the clutter and be heard? Learn successful techniques to promote your business to prospective customers. Many of these techniques work with little or no budget. Get your marketing plan recharged and attract new clients.
If you’ve got an example of someone who has used an online tool to promote their business, do share. I have a few case studies, but I’m always looking for more.
Two days ago, I had no clue who Peter Shankman was. I read a post on Dina’s blog about a new website called helpareporter.com.
I signed up on Monday and discovered that a guy named Peter Shankman created this website after his Facebook group grew too large for Facebook to handle (don’t get me started about Facebook).
So, using a term that Andy has on his blog, I now have a professional crush on Peter Shankman. When you sign up for helpareporter.com (and you will, right?), you’ll see what I mean.
So far, Peter sends about 2 emails a day that contain queries from journalists who need to interview people for an article they’re writing. There have been some really niche requests, such as:
- From a parenting magazine - “Looking for an expert to give advice on how parents explain airport security to young children”
- From a national publication - “Need to interview someone who’s been a victim of medical id theft”
- From a fund report - “Looking to interview someone that works with hedge funds to discuss preferential redemption rights” (what the?)
Not only do you get to scan the different queries that come via email, but you get a dose of Peter’s humour. Peter is hella funny. Quirky, funny and witty. It comes through in his emails and on his blog.
So, if you are looking for ways to increase your visibility, sign up at helpareporter.com. Peter’s quirkiness is just a bonus.
Last year, Apple came out with the iPhone in the United States. I enviously watched my colleagues at the New Media Expo last September using their cool iPhones. I’m in the market for a new cellphone and I want to purchase the iPhone.
Then, Oprah mentions the Flip Camera on her show. And Patsi Krakoff, one half of The Blog Squad, demos how simple it is to use the Flip Camera. So, instead of getting a webcam, I now want to buy this device.
Yet, despite the fact that I want to purchase both the iPhone and the Flip Camera, would you believe that neither of them are available for sale in this country?
Worst yet, both Apple and Pure Digital (the company who manufactures the Flip Camera) are not legally allowed to ship either device internationally. It would appear that Pure Digital is aiming to provide the Flip Camera for sale in Canada for the holiday season later this year. Apple? Who knows. The story of why the iPhone isn’t in Canada changes depending on who is reporting it.
Canada sucks. Or, maybe it’s Apple and Pure Digital that suck. It doesn’t really matter who. What matters is that I’m just one of many who really want to buy these products, yet I’m being penalized based on my country of residence.
And it doesn’t appear that either company is in a hurry to satisfy the demand here in Canada. That’s lousy customer service. Or, brilliant marketing tactics.
I love music. All different kinds. The only music I can’t tolerate at all is Country or Heavy Metal. Well, except Kenny Rogers “You got to know when to hold ‘em.” Other than those 2 musical forms, everything is fair game.
So, one night, the TV was on. Don’t remember what I was watching, but that’s not the point. I jumped up during commercials to grab something to drink when a song sent me rushing back to my TV. It was the most haunting, yet lovely piano piece I had ever heard.
Here’s the video:
More on The Haunting (Yet Clever) Use of Music In Online Marketing
