January 2, 2006
Welcome to the next every once-in-awhile "Hot Sheet" and
very first one for '07.
Lots of big things planned for this year - you'll hear
about them soon. For now, I decided my New Year's gift to
you would be an issue with nothing but brand new content!
Yep, triple-sized content this time and absolutely zero
ads!
Actually the only exceptions are a few 'help wanted' ads to
be part of the SurefireMarketing.com team. ;)
If you're ready -- let's start...
================================================
Here are the 3 jam-packed articles:
- Using Events and Theme-Driven Marketing
- How to Use Two Simple Words to Immediately Get More Money
Out of Every Customer
- Standing Out from the Sea of Competitors Online
- Help Wanted Positions
* Affiliate Manager
* Ad buyer
* Copywriter
* Sponsorship sales for Underground seminar
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Hot Sheeter Article #1:
Using Events and Theme-Driven Marketing
By Yanik Silver
Since this is the start of a new profitable year together -
let's work on your marketing calendar for the whole year.
You see, nearly an event/holiday/celebration/milestone is
an excuse for a promotion. And if you're not doing that
you're missing the boat. So let's fix that…
First things first is I suggest getting a quick calendar
together of what kind of promotions you'd like to run
throughout the year. This doesn't need to be anything fancy
- but take a look at holidays and "milestone" events
throughout the year.
Here are just a few ideas:
Jan: New Year's - Ideas:
- "New Years - New You/New Start"
- "Get rid of Last year's inventory"
Feb: Valentine's Day - Ideas:
- "Give yourself the ____ you'll love"
- "We love you and want to do something special for you"
March: St. Patrick's Day - Idea:
- "Make Your Friends Green With Envy with ______"
- "Your lucky day"
April: April Fools Day - Idea:
- "These discounts are so low my accountant thought this was an April's fools day joke"
May: Mother's Day - Idea:
- "Mother always said you should _________"
April: Tax Day - Idea:
"I need your help to pay for my taxes" (Don't laugh this
was a true promotion my friend, Jeff Walker, used very
successfully!)
June: Father's Day/Graduation - Idea:
- "Graduate to a new _____"
July: 4th of July - Ideas:
- "Watch Fireworks explode when you ______"
- "Celebrate your independence from _________"
October: Halloween - Idea:
- "Give yourself a treat this month" (Side note: Halloween
is a HUGE holiday and one of the best ones to run a
promotion for.)
November: Election Day - Idea:
-"Elect a new _____"
November: Thanksgiving - Idea:
- "Thank you to our best customers"
Dec: Holidays - Idea:
- "Happy holidays - winter sale"
- "Ho ho ho - Can't beat the fat man so we're having a
sale"
But even better than these regular holidays are creating
"anytime" promotions. As Dan Kennedy says the #1 sin in
marketing is being boring. Online it's harder than ever to
try and breakthrough the clutter.
And one way to do this is to take an event and really make
it fun and entertaining for your customers/prospects.
The "Any-Reason-Is-Good-Reason-For-a-Sale" Sale
Using reason-why copy (like I just mentioned) is the
perfect way to create an event for yourself anytime things
are slow, you've hit a milestone in your business (or
personal life) or because you need to get rid of inventory,
etc. There are tons of ways of doing this that I've seen
successfully applied.
A couple off the top of my head are:
"Scratch & Dent" sale...
"Fire/Flood sale"...
"Need to pay my taxes sales"...
"Birthday or Anniversary sale"...
"My server crashed" sale...
"It's raining out"...
(I'm serious there's a local Taco place I love that will send
out an email anytime it rains, since their foot traffic goes
down, offering free chips and queso. Smart!)
"Boss is away sale", etc. etc...
I've very successfully done a "scratch and dent" sale just
like Robert Collier mentioned in his "Robert Collier Letter
Book" - but then last year I decided to do something a
little different since others were going a 'scratch &
dent' sale too. It was the "Save Yanik's Marriage Sale"
with the whole premise being Missy, my wife, was really
annoyed at me for the basement being so overloaded with
boxes. Truthfully, she WAS really mad and made a big stink
about it - but I embellished the story a bit.
After that sale did its job Missy really got into the
excitement of clearing out the basement and she suggested
another sale for our Wedding anniversary (Sept 16th). This
one only did about ¼ of the results from the previous one
but it was money created out of thin air. I think it was
just too soon for another sale so closely on the heels of
the previous one. The scratch & dent sale is a pretty
simple model to use and if you incorporate a real reason
why it'll work today just like it did 50+ years ago for
Robert Collier (and before that).
Another sale I've had a lot of success with is a milestone
type sale.
I just did one when my first child, Zak, being born. That
promotion nearly tripled my expectations for what it would
bring in (it made $4.60+ for every visitor who came). And
more importantly people connected with me as a real person
- you should have seen the dozens and dozens of
congratulations notes. It was really cool.
There are a couple big points I really want to make sure
you get from this:
#1 - Make your marketing fun and have people wonder what is
this guy/gal up to next? Fact is, most of your prospects
and customers probably lead fairly normal and mundane
lives. If you can give them something to get excited about
or even live a little bit through what you do - you'll have
'hooked' them in.
#2 - This is critical! Don't make your theme or "fun" idea
take away from the sales message. Big advertisers do this
all the time and waste all their money. They try to use
humor or something clever in their advertising but have no
salesmanship. The fun or theme aspect of your promotion
cannot stand on its own without the fundamentals of direct
response (i.e. compelling offer, deadline, headlines,
benefits, etc). Bottom line - don't confuse this with being
cute or clever and not actually selling. There is a big,
BIG difference.
#3 - "Reason Why" copy works perfectly for most of the
events or themes you create. As you know most retailers
will use some sort of event (i.e. Presidents Day) for a
sale. Well that's a pretty weak reason why but most people
will accept just about any excuse for a special deal.
However, when you combine it with real meaningful reason
why copy it works even better even if the reason is a bit
contrived. Telling people the reason why you are doing
something is one of the most powerful influencers of human
behavior.
I hope this gives you some ammo to start thinking up your
own promotions for the year and breaking out of the 'ho-
hum' mold of other marketers.
Copyright Yanik Silver
--
Note: If you'd like to reprint this article you have
permission to do so as long as the copyright information
and the resource box below remains with the article
--
Resource box:
======================================================
Just 33-years old, Yanik Silver is recognized as the
leading expert on creating automatic, moneymaking web
sites...and he still doesn't know how to put up his own
website.
He is the author, co-author or publisher of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, which can be
found at www.SurefireMarketing.com
-------------------------------------------------
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Hot Sheeter Article #2:
How to Use Two Simple Words to Immediately Get More Money
Out of Every Customer
By Yanik Silver
I'm going to share with you a technique that is extremely
powerful yet almost totally overlooked (or used improperly).
It's simply...
Saying "Thank you".
I bet you might be thinking "saying thank you to our
customers for their business is not any big secret. What
are you trying to pull here?"
Ah...just hold your horses and I think you'll see how
wonderful this technique can be.
Most people will make some kind of thank you gesture to
their clients - but it doesn't translate into tangible
bottom-line results. So I'm going to show you how you can
get double-duty out of saying 'thanks'.
Many people will send out some kind of silly pen or post-it
note with their name on it as a 'thank you' gift to their
customers every year. And they think that'll keep their
name in front of people. Sorry. Unless you have a strategic
use for those products - it's usually not worth it to send
them out. Remember, we are only concerned with direct
actions. The stuff that results in dollars being directly
deposited into our accounts.
So with that said, let me show what I'm talking about. This
is such a simple example. Really anyone could have done
this.
A few years ago I completed a group of teleseminars called
"Web Copy Secrets Mastery Series". The people who listened
to this series live each paid $397 to be on the calls. I
thought that would make them good prospects for some of our
other higher-end Internet marketing training programs. Okay
easy enough. Now, believe it or not, a customer is a better
prospect for another product right after they buy something
than if you wait weeks or months later to contact them. I
know that probably goes against common sense - but it's
true.
So the sooner you can contact a customer to thank them (and
offer them something else) the better.
I took the 65 people who initially signed up for Web Copy
Secrets teleseminar and sent them a very simple postcard
after the sessions were over. When I say simple, I really
mean it. I was simply playing with a service called
"Amazing Mail" (amazingmail.com) that sends out color
postcards for you to anyone you want. It costs about a buck
each. (Of course that's higher than what it costs you to
send out by yourself if you had them printed up locally -
but the big benefit is you can do it with just the click of
a mouse - and you can do only 1 postcard if you want.)
It was very cool. It took me about 10 minutes to get these
postcards out. And I simply picked one of their pre-done
"thank you" messages. The one I used was a nice colorful
ocean scene that said "Thanks" across the top.
And then on the back I wrote:
------
Thanks so much for being part of the recently completed
"Web Copy Secrets" Mastery course. I really hope you got a
lot out of it.
In fact, I learned a lot just by moderating and
interviewing all of our wonderful guests! :)
Now as a special thank you, I wanted to give you a
discount on a terrific new product we've recently
released, called "Yanik Silver's Internet Marketing
ecrets Exposed". It's a 3-volume video set from my
presentation at the sold-out, $4,995.00/per person,
'Internet Marketing Lab' in Washington, DC.
Here's the special link for your $50.00 savings: -->
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Best, Yanik
------
I mean could it be any simpler?
I don't think so. So it cost me about $65 and we made 3
sales for $750. Figuring my cost of product, fulfillment
and the initial postcard cost - I made about $625. That's
over 1,000% ROI on my money. Not bad for something that
took me 10 minutes and it was only a test.
So let's see if we can't create a little template any
business can use on a postcard. Thank You Postcard For
Nearly Any Type of Business
* * *
Thanks so much for {your recent purchase, taking part in,
having your gutters cleaned, etc. - name of item, service,
etc.}. I really hope you {got the benefit your product
service provides}.
Now as a special thank you, I wanted to give you a discount
on a terrific new product/service we've recently released,
called {name of product or service and just a sentence or 2
about it}.
Here's how you can get your $xxx savings:
{Give instructions on how to get the deal - website
address, call a specific number, etc. What action do they
need to do?}
* * *
Really this is super simple. Here are the 5 easy steps to
get going on this:
1. Go right now and gather up the names of your best
customers who just bought one of your products or services
that would be a good candidate for something else.
2. Put them into a simple spreadsheet file with their names
and addresses.
3. Think about what kind of preferential deal you can give
them.
4. Logon to amazingmail.com and sign up for an account.
5. Send them a simple postcard using the template.
This really works so well because of a couple fundamental
reasons.
First, people love to feel special. So that means you
cannot simply make the preferential deal to everyone. Like
our $50 off the video set - this was not for everyone. It
was only for the people that got the postcard and a few
select partners we're letting offer this deal. Also, people
want to be acknowledged. Do you know the #1 reason most
customers switch over to the competition? It's because of
perceived indifference on the part of the current vendor.
So by 'thanking' your customer you're showing them you
really do care about their business.
Next, the psychological trigger of reciprocation takes
place. By giving people a preferential deal (that's for
real) they want to reciprocate by buying.
Plus, this also works because of solid a direct marketing
principle which says: "A buyer is a buyer is a buyer".
Copyright Yanik Silver
--
Note: If you'd like to reprint this article you have
permission to do so as long as the copyright information
and the resource box below remains with the article
--
Resource box:
======================================================
Just 33-years old, Yanik Silver is recognized as the
leading expert on creating automatic, moneymaking web
sites...and he still doesn't know how to put up his own
website.
He is the author, co-author or publisher of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, which can be
found at www.SurefireMarketing.com
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Hot Sheeter Article #3:
Standing Out from the Sea of 'Me-Too' Competitors Online
By Yanik Silver
Nearly everyone I talk to wants to know the big "secret" to
success online. They want the next Internet marketing
tactic, strategy or quick fix. But that's usually not the
critical factor…
I've found tremendous success by putting a 'spin' on
successful models. In fact, I find it better to work with 2
or 3 successful models and pull them together. If your
product/service is simply a "me-too" there is no point in
being in the marketplace. You have to bring some point of
differentiation to the table. (And it definitely cannot be
just price.)
When I created Instant Sales Letters in 2000 - there were
all kinds of other sales letter templates books (real ones)
out there and there were copywriting courses but there was
nothing that really let you 'cut and paste' to create the
letter easily. I'm a firm believer in giving people the
"fish" anytime I can. What I mean is people would rather be
handed the fish than taught how to fish. The closer you can
get to the 'magic pill' the better your sales will be if
the offer is believable.
Another example is my own Apprentice program (Yes, well
before Trump!). There were a whole lot of mentor or protégé
programs floating around but once again I decided if I was
going to do something - I'd do it differently. I wanted to
keep the numbers small and personal (instead of just making
a mass telecoaching program like some other people who
promise individual attention). I really wanted to have a
big impact on the Apprentices I accepted and get people to
take action or to new levels if they were already
successful. (In fact, I won a $100 gentleman's bet with Dan
Kennedy because I got the majority of my group to make a
profit.)
The big twist was I'd give Apprentices one of my ideas out
of my idea journal, they'd be allowed to promote (if
appropriate) to my list and my affiliate list. And we'd
jointly share in the profits with them keeping 78% and me
getting 12% of the gross sales. This program was so good it
was overbooked almost right away.
And the final example from my own business is my
"Underground Online Seminar(tm)"
http://www.UndergroundOnlineSeminar.com.
Don't you think there are more than enough Internet
seminars going on all over the place? Some good. Some not
so good. It's real tough to create a stir in the Internet
space unless you have something different. Which is exactly
why I didn't want to do another 'same-ole' Internet
seminar.
My big hook (which was true) is I bring in "Underground"
and unknown speakers who were really making it in the real
world online. It wasn't the same usual suspects you'd see
at other events. I took it all the way with making the
promotions 'spy' themed to stand out. Sure, some people
emailed us and said it was silly. But a lot more people got
into it because it was different. It really worked! The
first two Underground Online Seminar was extremely
successful and completely sold-out weeks before the event
took place.
So your job is to stand out and give people a reason
(hopefully) a big one to buy from you. One logical way of
doing this is something I taught my Apprentices. It's to
make a spreadsheet of what every competitor is offering and
how they are positioned in the marketplace. Look for their
offers, their headline, their pricing, their guarantee,
their USP, etc and then decide where you can leverage a
differentiation point.
This gives you a more precise way of looking for "gaps" in
your competitors marketing. And the bigger the gap or the
more you really show people how your offer is different
than the better you'll do.
It's too easy to be another 'me-too'. Why would a customer
buy from you? Frankly, there aren't too many niches where
nobody is selling anything in there and you can be the only
one. In most cases you're going to find competitors (and
that's a good thing because it proves the marketplace
spends money).
Here is a quick summary thoughts on how to be different and
unique:
1. Be first in the marketplace.
Easier said than done today but still very possible if you
niche. Obviously you can't be the first site to sell
flowers online but if you are BestTropicals.com, you were
the first to sell Hawaiian flowers exclusively. You can cut
up the marketplace and become the first at something.
2. Take existing success models/products and combine
together. This is one of my favorites because you're
profiting from multiple successful and proven sources.
3. Take an existing successful product/service and add a
twist to it. My apprentice program is a good example of
that.
4. Give it a new name. I've done this many times with
products I've licensed that have seen better days.
5. Change the location.
If you see a successful business model in one place it can
typically be transferred to another location, format, etc.
Good example of this is Steve Pankhurst who developed
www.friendsreunited.co.uk. He saw a site in the US doing
very well able to track down friends, etc. (probably
Classmates.com) and he couldn't believe they hadn't
expanded it to the UK or beyond. Since it's launch in 1999,
Friends Reunited has become one of the most popular
websites on the net, attracting over 10 million members.
And finally the big idea is not think every great idea or
website has already been created or done. That's the
attitude of losers! Today, you've got even more opportunity
because the Internet is an established commerce model and
more and more people are getting comfortable making
purchases online. It truly is the best time in the world to
start or grow your online business!
Copyright Yanik Silver
--
Note: If you'd like to reprint this article you have
permission to do so as long as the copyright information
and the resource box below remains with the article
--
Resource box:
======================================================
Just 33-years old, Yanik Silver is recognized as the
leading expert on creating automatic, moneymaking web
sites...and he still doesn't know how to put up his own
website.
He is the author, co-author or publisher of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, which can be
found at www.SurefireMarketing.com
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
Hot Sheeter #4: Help Wanted:
I'm looking for a few select individuals to join our team
this year.
I have several positions open. Very important - if you are
interested DO NOT send in a resume. Send in a 1-page sales
letter on why you are the perfect person for the position.
Send it to surefireadmin @ surefiremarketing.com with the
subject line "help wanted" and the name of the position.
Please realize, I expect to get a tremendous response so I
apologize in advance that we cannot get back to each
person. We will contact you if interested in setting up a
phone interview.
There is no corporate office so you'll have the flexibility
of working out of your own home or office for any position.
* *
Position #1: Affiliate Manager
This position is for someone to work with our network of
42,231 affiliates.
Duties include coordinating affiliate promotions &
contests. Working with up-and-coming affiliates to develop
and share proven best practices. Helping affiliates create
more permanent content on their sites (i.e. autoresponders,
thank you pages, articles, etc). Recruiting new partners,
testing creative and collaborating on affiliate content
creation. Pay is performance based with no cap.
* *
Position #2: Ad Buyer/Media specialist
This position involves locating advertising space for our
existing and upcoming products. (ezines, text, banners,
email, etc).
Duties include negotiation of ad buys, coordinating with
creative and tracking ad performance. (Working with PPC and
CPA networks is optional but useful.) Pay is performance
based with no cap.
* *
Position #3: Copywriter
This position for a rising copywriter who wants to work
hand-in-hand with me to hone their copywriting to the A+
level. I'm looking for someone who can take my sales pieces
and create additional ads (ezines, banners, offline space
ads, etc). Plus, create supporting materials for offline
and online promotions (ie. Lift notes, order forms, follow-
up emails, etc) You will also have the chance to work on
brand new copy for new products in development. You must
quick and dependable. Please provide your fee schedule.
*For this position please also include a link to your
sample writing*
* *
Position #4: Sponsorship Sales
If you've done event sponsorship programs and sales before
this should be a field day for the right person.
The Underground Online Seminar(tm) in March 07 will bring
in about 350-400 Internet entrepreneurs
(www.UndergroundOnlineSeminar.com/go2). This is our third
year putting on the event and we've never had sponsorship
opportunities available. Currently, there is only one big
event per year but there may be additional opportunities
for future "Underground" events.
Tasks include:
- Creating initial sponsorship packages.
- Targeting and contacting e-commerce companies who are
interested in reaching this lucrative segment.
- Creating sales material and proposals.
- Building sustainable long-term relationships with sponsors.
I don't care if you are a high school drop out or have 15
years experience we're looking for a superstar who is self-
motivated, has excellent communication skills (verbal and
written), an entrepreneurial approach and is results-driven
without being babysat.
Earnings potential is based on your results. You'll earn a
high percentage of any sponsorships brought in.
* *
Well that does it for this issue of Yanik's Hot Sheet.
Thanks for reading!
I wish you and yours a very healthy and prosperous 2007!
All the best,
Yanik Silver.
SurefireMarketing.com
P.S. If you are already doing well online but think you
can be doing better - be on the lookout for a major announcement
on Thursday for how you can make a quantum leap in your business.
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