The Guru Hub

Posts Tagged ‘Internet Marketing’

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Everyone wants to build their business fast. One of the ways to accomplish this is to build relationships with other marketers who are successful. This can be very lucrative and involves nothing more than networking and building relationships so both of you profit.

Networking successfully and establishing Joint Venture (JV) partners can really boost your Internet Marketing business rapidly depending on who you network with. The most successful marketers leverage their relationships wisely and have moved in front of many other marketers to get where they are today. As we have discussed before, if a technique is successful, duplicate it. No sense reinventing the wheel, just follow their lead and you’ll see why the technique has worked for others.

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Can Make You Stand Out

Most people in the internet marketing business have heard the advice “a good ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ (USP) for your customers is a must”. But few follow this same advice when looking for JV partners. A good USP will make you stand out from the crowd when you are seeking a joint venture partner. The most sought-after JV partners receive requests on a daily basis. You’ll want to strategize to stand out from all the others who are vying for their attention.

The best way to accomplish this is to think about how your offer is different from the other offers out there. Research some of the other offers and position yourself opposite what you see out there, or fill a gap that is not being addressed. The best way to do this is to subdivide and specialize. This way you can offer that person’s customers something that no one has before? Make sure that you have truly thought this out before making contact. Positioning is everything so make sure you have done your research. For more information on market and product positioning visit The Secret Classroom and watch the Marlon Sanders segment. It is the best I have seen on positioning.

Know Your Potential JV Partner/ Marketer

Many marketers just focus on sending as many JV requests out as possible hoping that through the grace of God someone will say yes and email for them. This is the wrong approach and a big turn off. Any successful marketer is going to toss you aside like a piece of junk mail if you do this.

A well seasoned marketer can spot this a mile away. If you’re asking someone to promote to their list, you’ll get much better results if you get a bit of background information on them and incorporate it into your pitch. At least then they will know that you did some research on them and might get their attention, if not earn their respect for your effort. Whatever you do, don’t send a group mailing or a form letter to the JV partners you are courting, they can spot that “dead horse” a mile away.

Take a look at the websites they run and opt in for their newsletter. What kinds of offers do they normally promote? Knowing this key fact is important so you can determine if your offer may be something that would interest their target market. Get on as many lists as possible and see who sends what to who and when. Believe me, when there is a big product launch you will get tons of mail. I save each in their own folder so I can reference them when I need too. If not right away then save their contact info for another time, but at least you’ve got it.

The Unique Selling Proposition

Now that you’ve done your homework and have decided who to send your JV requests to, it is time to carefully compose your request.

Make sure you get to the point. Don’t kick around and waist your time and theirs. Just like any sales letter, the first paragraph needs to REACH OUT AND GRAB THEIR ATTENTION! Hey, yea….I’m talking to you. (OK, maybe a bit overboard but you get my point J) More often than not these marketers are extremely busy and time is money. Eliminate the fluff and cut to the chase. Be cordial, but stick to the task at hand. And p.l.e.a.s.e. make sure to read and reread your email before sending. Even if you have had dealings with this particular marketer before, keep your letter at a very professional tone. This is business and we are talking big money, maybe even life changing, if you land the right partner

Create a Calendar and Find an Empty Spot

Just like retail sales, always scope out the spot for your product before approaching the manager. If you’re looking for JV partners for a launch, the timing can make things a bit more difficult. So, create a calendar and write down what they promote over the next several months while you are creating your product. Every time you receive an email, note the product, the category, the market, and anything else that is noteworthy. This will all help you prepare for when the big day arrives to mail your proposal.

More than likely you have spent a lot of time preparing your offer and getting it ready to go. It can be very stressful to attempt to get those last minute details together in time for your launch. Inquiring about potential JV partners should not be one of the last minute details. This should be lined up well in advance because of the commitments of the potential JV partner. Remember, if they are worth pursuing then chances are they are very busy so your product will have to fit in well in advance.

Be sure to respect the schedules of your potential partners. Many of them plan their promotions out months in advance. So, giving them advanced notice will help you get a much better response. If your product is close to being ready but not yet completed, you still may want to put out JV requests. They may request that you contact them again at a later date, but at least you have made the first connection with them.

I guess before we wrap things up we should discuss rejection (oh no! not the “R” word). Every marketer worth their salt has been through plenty of rejection so get used to it. Think of it this way. The more you get rejected the closer you are getting to becoming successful. Bear in mind that you might be faced with rejection even if you do everything “right.” It’s not your fault.

Even the best of the best go through rejection so take it in stride. Sometimes marketers are just plain busy, don’t promote others’ products very often, or have another reason why they can’t promote you. Don’t let this discourage, just keep on searching until you find the right JV partner. He or she is out there to assist you on your journey to internet marketing success just keep kicking down doors until you find the right one.

Advertising your product or service will be (or is) your largest expense if you are a small business trying to generate sales online. Google has been the destination for advertising dollars for quite some time now due to the enormous amount of traffic they produce. It looks as though the paradigm is about to shift to a company called Facebook. I highlight the opportunity for businesses in my book Secrets to Mega Marketing on Facebook.

I am sure by now you are familiar with Facebook (if not, click here to visit my Facebook page). It is one of the fastest growing social media sights with over 400 million active users. They have built a community that is inclusive of just about everyone. The reason I say this is because MySpace used to be the place but the crowd was so young that it pushed many people away (me included). I didn’t care for all the garbage that was on there and it certainly was not my scene. I figured, if I felt that way then I’ll bet that many people 30-55 years old probably felt that way and this has proved to be true.

But getting back to Facebook. For whatever reason “everyone” feels safe on Facebook. From teens to grandmothers, it doesn’t matter, they are all on Facebook and networking like crazy. The social experience has remained civil, at least for now, and the dialog is fun and informative. And get this….50% of all users log in each day! This is about a perfect storm for you as an advertiser.

So we know the “eyes” are there, why advertise with Facebook over Google. Well, I don’t know that you want to cut Google out totally, but lets go over a few points. First off, Google is very difficult to deal with. They are not user friendly and they are not there to help you get started. If you are new to internet marketing you better have all you ducks in a row prior to spending your money with Google. As a matter of fact, they will not hesitate to ban your account and without notice and without any reason given.

I know this first hand because it happened to me. I was spending $500 to $600 per month with them and last December noticed that I wasn’t getting any clicks. My ads were still approved but no traffic (impressions) were coming to my ads. So I sent Google an email asking why I was not getting any traffic to my ads and they responded with a clip and paste response saying that I had violated some editorial rules and that I would never be permitted to advertise with them again.

Banned for life! No “warning”. No….”this doesn’t look right can you please adjust it”…nothing… just “you are banned for life”. Why was I banned for life? What did I do that was so terrible. I was experimenting with sending people to a “lead capture” page prior to gaining access to my site. This is a page where people enter their email and then are sent to the sales page. I figured, for the cost of the click I should at least get their email so I could market to them.

I thought this was acceptable and I found out the hard way that it was not. Talk about arrogant, I don’t wish Google ill will but let’s just say that I am not sad that Facebook is now giving them a run for their money!

This is not the first post you will see from someone who was banned by Google and it won’t be the last. Many hard working entrepreneurs were banned and now there is a big movement to capture the opportunity on Facebook. I have been advertising on Facebook for about a year now and have seen very good click through rates (CTR). This doesn’t surprise me due to the high amount of targeting that you can activate if you choose to. I will leave that for another post but you can really get granular with your advertising and it can pay off in a huge way.

Will Facebook overtake Google as The Place to Advertise? I sure hope so!

Are  you just getting started in the internet marketing business? The most difficult step is the one you are thinking about making right now, getting started.

You see, there are many people who would love to have a thriving internet business and so they read, investigate, read some more, buy some e books, maybe some training videos, and never get started.

Can I tell you a personal story? When I created my first e book and someone actually BOUGHT it from me….I was hooked! Even though I had to issue a refund because the person felt it wasn’t worth the price. It didn’t matter. Want to know why? Because I knew I could sell SOMETHING online and make a profit.

As a matter of fact, the refund and feedback was invaluable because it made me go back and make the product better. It confirmed in my mind that there was a market out there wanting the information, I just had to come up with the right information at the right price. And I did.

Imagine for a moment if I would have waited until I thought everything was perfect. I would still be working on the original draft and would never had made my first sale. And without the first sale I probably would have quit or lost interest.

If you are looking to create a product, e book or information product, dont delay…get on it now. Open a word document, create an outline, and start typing. Set a goal to have something out inside a week or ten days at most. Don’t try and write “War and Peace” the first time out, make it a 15 page e book on something simple and get it on the web to see if it will sell. The first sale that comes in will give you the juice you need to keep going.

Start fast, don’t worry if it is perfect at first. Give it your best shot and get it out there. You will be surprised what your first taste of success will do for you.

Do you think this will help you? Please leave your opinion below. I would love to here it.

Internet marketing innovations have been moving at lightning speed and 2010 should no different. With all the money on the table it is no wonder that it is a mad dash to see who can reap the rewards the soonest.

So, how many silver bullets have you chased lately (pun intended) and how many have proved to supply you the edge that you seek? My guess is the answer is “very few”. Why? Because most people, regardless of what they purchase, do not go out and just do it. They wait to perfect a product or develop this or that and never get started.

Still struggling for a New Years resolution? Here is one for you…..take action now! It doesn’t matter what you are looking to do, sell an ebook, software, affiliate promotion, physical product….. it really doesn’t matter what area you play the people who are successful take action.

The ironic thing about this is the best test is to get your product into the hands of the consumer. They will tell you, in no uncertain terms, whether your product or service is up to snuff or not.

I recall my first ebook. I was a nervous wreck getting ready to put out my first product but made up my mind that I was going to put it out as soon as possible and let the market be my guide. Well…they guided me…through several revisions until I got it write and now I have a good selling product that is market tested.

The key was listening to the market and making adjustments to fit their needs. They will tell you whether your product is good or bad and if it was worth the price you were asking. If you can handle the honest, hard core truth then get your product out there and let the market be your guide and judge. It could be the best move you’ve ever made.

After a long process on how to market The Guru Hub I have decided to make the base of the site free to everyone. This means if you are just starting out in internet marketing and need some help you can get it here for free. I have produced many “how to” video’s and will continue to create more video’s and articles.

Let’s take for instance that you want to learn how to purchase a domain name, or set up a hosting account, I have free video’s right here to show you how. Post a comment in our forum on what you would like to see and I will try ot create a video for you.