Now that I’ve got your attention …

If you’ve been on my list awhile you probably know I have been a long-time admirer of Christina Hills, the Website Creation Expert. I’ve bought her products, attended her workshop and interviewed her for the Cat Chats several times.

Christina was a conscious entrepreneur before we started using the term. She’s always avoided talking about making lots of money or living a glamorous life. She just delivers (and over-delivers) trustworthy, useful information in a professional style.

So I was delighted when Christina just announced her first live event in San Diego, starting September 29th. She’s promised to talk about the things she’s never shared before – how she developed the Website Creation Workshop and built up to 6-figure launches without hype or hard selling.

Here are just a few things you will learn when you attend this event (and knowing Christine, I am confident this is just the tip of the iceberg):

- How you can use your own expertise (things you know so well you don’t think about them) to create lucrative income streams

- How to build a community of loyal fans who will connect and stay connected as you grow your business (even if you are just starting with no list or even a website)

- How to motivate successful business owners to promote your program through joint ventures (a tactic she’s used herself with huge success)

- How to raise your Google page ranking with a few simple WordPress tactics (without hiring an expensive SEO expert)

- How to build profitable relationships online and offline (with special guest Mari Smith)

- How to use YouTube to get instant credibility at no cost (with special guest Paul Colligan)

I’m actually checking my schedules and pet sitters to see if I can get there from Philadelphia.

If you are west of the Mississippi, this could be a no-brainer. The price is right (and the Early Bird Discount is even better). The event promises to be friendly and intimate – not one of those weekends where you’re jammed into a tiny chair listening to a pitchfest. And you’ll get actionable content, not fluff, hype or empty promises. (I don’t think Christina knows how to do fluff, hype or empty promises.)

If you’d like to sign up (there’s a deadline for the Early Bird Discount and hotel room rates) just click here.

To make your decision even more of a no-brainer, when you buy through my link, I will offer you a 45-minute consultation during the month of October. You will have many ideas after this conference and we can talk about how to translate your ideas into action, quickly and effectively. My next workshop starts Thursday – http://budurl.com/youraboutpage

And you know I’m a believer: With a workshop of my own starting Thursday,   I’m actively promoting this event at this time. http://budurl.com/sdhills

Suzanne Evans sent a tough message to her mailing list today. Here’s part of what she said:

“Broke is a Joke.  Oh… this one is going to sting for some of you.  Here goes (all in love).  If you are broke building a business for you will be a joke. Everyone must finance their dream.  I sold things on Ebay and worked 60 hours a week…  If you are broke with no plan or desire to make money to finance mentoring and your business you are on the hallucination train.  Get off, get a job, and finance your business.”

Wow…that’s tough talk!

A few weeks ago I talked to someone who desperately needed help.  I suggested she get started with a $97 Breakthrough Call. These calls really have led to big changes for my clients so I have absolutely no qualms about promoting them.

“I don’t have $97,” she wrote back.

I wanted to suggest a j.o.b. or another financing plan, but hey – it’s none of my business. I’m a copywriter and online marketing coach. I don’t do life or money.

So I would add to Suzanne’s article:

If you’re broke, don’t broadcast it.

Be businesslike – even with your business coach. If you are struggling with money issues, work with a financial consultant or a life coach. Your business coach can be a source of future referrals and jv’s.

Once I almost embarked on a jv with a marketer I’d begun to respect. She was a real go-getter with a great personality. One day I asked, “Can I put this on your credit card?”

I don’t remember the context or how the question came up. I will always remember her reply.

“I don’t have any credit cards. I just have the one where I deposit funds…”

Somehow our business relationship never got off the ground.

What do you think? Comment below. If you don’t see a “Comment” option, click on the title of this post.

Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy earnings the easy way – by selling other people’s products and services? You get commission while they do all the work.

Here are a few ways I’ve used to add serious affiliate revenue to my own bottom line.

I will illustrate with one of my favorite affiliate products – Reach Desperate Buyers. This Report contains just about everything you need to be successful on the Internet, including the best discussion of keyword research I’ve seen anywhere. I have absolutely no qualms about recommending this Report via my affiliate link.

Here are some ways to promote your own favorite product or service.

(1) Create a solo-email, website page and/or blog post with your own personal endorsement of the product or service. This is the single most effective way to get more affiliate income. Discuss your own before-and-after story, with case studies and photos if applicable.

You can also add credibility to the offer. For example, here’s what I say:

The author of Reach Desperate Buyers is extremely ethical. If you are not happy with this Report, I know she will refund your investment with no questions asked. In fact, once a computer died with my copy of the Report. She immediately sent me another. (Since then, I’ve printed out the Report – it’s dog-eared and worn.)

(2) Encourage people who click through your link to share their results too. You can use their testimonials for your affiliate program.

For instance, I tell all my workshop participants, “I regularly get thank you notes from people who bought Reach Desperate Buyers through my affiliate link.” To make it as effective as possible, let people know your results, eg. before and after information (eg. screenshots of your SEO listings), and what you found most effective – your own case studies are a real motivator for people considering signing up.

(3) Anticipate and answer objections. For instance,

There’s just one problem: The sales page for Reach Desperate Buyers is a little…well, sales-y. The author has revised the content of the Report but never bothered to change the sales letter. Why? Well, she’s getting so much business, she figures, “Why bother?”

So I warn my own readers: Get past the sales-y sales page. There’s good stuff here.

And they thank me! What could be better?

When I was just starting out, I ran across a marketing coach. I forget his name but I know I lost track of him a long time ago and his name hasn’t surfaced. What I do remember is asking him something that people often ask me: “I’ve got some Reports. Can we collaborate on marketing?”

I didn’t understand why he was so dismissive. He gave me the response I now give myself when I get emails from others.

(1) When you approach somebody with an idea, be very specific about what you are offering to do and what you bring to the table.

For instance, I could have said, “These Reports have great testimonials and my sales page has a good conversion rate. Will you promote them in your ezine in exchange for a 50% commission?” That’s how specific you need to be.

(2) I’ve had dozens of offers from people who wanted to be my assistant, partner or teammate. They say, “I want to learn from you. But I don’t want to pay you. So maybe I can help with something?” Well, if I’m going to work with someone, I need to be sure that they’ve got great skills and some degree of success. If they’re that good, they can afford my fees and they won’t want to barter.

(3) I’ve had offers of free services in return for training and offers to “share” a resource I use. Sharing a resource requires a high level of trust. Asking me for these things, when we haven’t even met or done business, doesn’t lead me to trust whoever’s making the request.

Bottom line: Work on your own marketing and build up your business.

I can help through coaching and copywriting.  Sometimes just identifying your niche and creating some offerings will make a huge difference.

I’ve always enjoyed promoting programs and products of people I admire. I especially like to see the message come up in my inbox: “Cathy Goodwin, you have made a sale!” Or I go to my affiliate page on someone’s site and see that I’ve got money coming.

Unfortunately, those indicators are misleading. I expect to receive a commission check. The computer shows that someone owes me money. But when I ask, I hear, “Oh, they were already in our database so it doesn’t count.” Or, “I forgot to mark that product as “no commission.”

The 1ShoppingCart system can be confusing too. Not all commissions show up in the Commissions Due section. You have to look at the order pages.

What’s that going to do to the whole affiliate idea? Should  we just promote products from clickbank or paydot, where there’s no conflict? After I’ve promoted a program in my ezine, tweeted the link and posted to Facebook, I get … zero?

My argument is that even though someone was in your database, maybe there was something in my recommendation that pushed her to say yes. Maybe she saw the announcement of a book or a class in my ezine and somehow hadn’t caught it on the original site.

And if you forget to mark a product as no commission….hey, pay SOMEthing. Especially if it’s a huge four-figure product that I sold for you.

Finally, how about a Wall of Shame for big-name Internet marketers who won’t pay their commissions? Some of them just say, “I won’t pay you” and some just don’t answer queries. Sure the amounts are small, but a few $97 commissions can add up when you pool them together. And if you’re not eager to pay commissions, just kill your affiliate program.

Joint ventures are a very good way to increase your opt-in list, gain visibility and attract new clients. A joint venture takes place when any two people come together to create a class, product or promotion for their mutual benefit.

Example: Your Product +  Jane’s Teleseminar. You have an information product that sells for $97. Jane agrees to interview you on a teleseminar program that introduces you and your product to a new audience. You win because you sell more copies of your information product, so you get more revenue. Your name also gets introduced to a new audience. Jane joins your affiliate program and gets 50% of all the revenue. She also benefits because her fans see that she attracts interesting guests who bring them information they couldn’t get otherwise.

Example: Sam’s Product + You List.  Sam might have an information product. You agree to send a mailing to your list, presenting the product. You get 50% of the proceeds and Sam gets access to a new market as well as revenue he would not have obtained otherwise.

The question for online marketers is, “How do I connect with savvy business owners like Jane and Sam?” All too often, inexperienced business owners just dash off an email saying, “Hey, can we get together and do something?” They get responses ranging from a polite “No thanks” to a complete brush-off. Worse, they get known as pushy and unprofessional. Instead, you need to approach your proposal as a copywriting project.

That means identifying benefits and asking the all-important question: What’s In It For Me? Check out my two previous posts, where I go into quite a bit of detail.

Sometimes I get asked, “How did you manage to get such good guests for your teleseminars? How can I network and partner with ‘famous’ people?”

The answer goes back to copywriting and marketing concepts. When you’re asking someone to invest time in your venture, ask, “What will I bring to the table? How will this joint venture benefit both of us?”

You expect your potential partner to ask the Magic Marketing Question: “What’s in it for me?”

For example, suppose you want to get interviewed on a radio show or teleseminar. Why would someone want to host you? You might have:

• a great product with a proven track record and conversion record
• an affiliate program so your host can benefit from sales of this product
• a responsive list where you can promote the event and introduce your host to a new group of prospects

Remember that every time someone works with you, they’re investing not just time with you, but also opportunity cost. For instance, I can send emails to my list only so many times before they protest and start signing themselves away. Recently I was asked to introduce a small product to my list. The product was a simple ebook selling for $19. My commission would be $9.50.

I decided not to move in this direction. I’ve got products to sell with a much higher commission and more importantvalue.

If this product had an amazing value so I would say, “Wow – I’d expect it to  sell for $49 and it’s just $19!” I might do it, because i know the author can produce much more. The price could go up. But right now, it’s just an ordinary product, barely worth $19.

I’ve got other things to recommend to my list, with better values for them and for me, too.

To discuss how you might get started with joint ventures, schedule a breakthrough call. We’ll spend half an hour brainstorming how you might approach others … and whether now’s the right time with the right product.

Every so often I get an email from a total stranger, saying, “Hi Cathy! I have a great idea for a business venture we might do together.”

Ouch.

When you’re proposing a business venture, you’re writing copy. You’re hoping to make a sale. You want to sell your idea and you want the other person to take some action and share the risk.

Apart from monetary investment, you are asking someone to donate time. You have to demonstrate that his investment will be rewarded.

(1) Research your potential partner. What kinds of projects has she produced to date? Does he seem busy or open to new ideas? Will your proposal fit into her business strategy and position? For instance, I periodically get invitations to participate in spiritual programs,. If you read my blogs, articles and book reveiws,  it’s pretty clear that I position myself as a left-brained, down-to-earth online marketing consultant.

(2) Before sending a proposal, send a query, based on your research. Many of us are already knee-deep in projects. You would really have to knock my socks off to get my attention.  Include a link to your website or blog and summarize your experience and qualifications.

(3) Send your proposal only after your idea is fully formulated. Demonstrate features and benefits of the potential partnership, just as you would present a new product or service in a sales letter. You would just use a different format: a regular email message.

For example: “I have a brand new ebook that I believe your readers would like. The ebook is Promoting Yourself on the Internet and the sales page is at http://www.makewebsiteprofits.com/internetbook.html.  When you promote the ebook to your list, I will give you 50% commission. Then spell out each person’s role, including investment and benefits.

Learn more about the services I offer to develop an effective online presence.

If you’re going to be serious  about an online business, sooner or later you’ll wonder if you need an affiliate program. The answer is, “Usually, yes!”

Mistake #1: No affiliate program.

I subscribe to a lot of ezines. Sometimes I want to reproduce the article in my own ezine. When I do, I want to use my affliate link, of course. If the author doesn’t have an affiliate link, I won’t use the article. After all, I have many other articles that I can use instead.

No affiliate program? You’ll find few marketers (especially those with a list of any size) who will use your articles or promote your products. Having an affiliate program communicates, “I’m serious about my online business.”

You will also demonstrate your customer service and professionalism as you work with affiliate partners, so they’ll recommend you more enthusiastically.

Mistake #2: Not telling affiliates when you have a new product or campaign.

Recently someone came out with a new info product that carries a 4-figure price tag. I knew the product would be valuable to the right buyer, so I asked about affiliate commission. The business owner hadn’t really thought about affiliates. He was leaving money on the table.

Mistake #3: Not offering realistic commission.

A few days ago I receievd  an invitation to promote a product paying a whopping five dollar commission. You heard me. Five dollars. Can I get excited about this? I don’t think so.

True, I do have a small product for $17, paying an $8.50 commission: Bragging101. But once someone gets into my system, I often sell them additional products. And I will be changing this price in just a few days, perhaps adding another recording.

No affiliate program? I recommend the shopping cart. Click here to get a 30 day trial (FREE last time I asked). Or go to http://budurl.com/pps4cart

Do they have an affiliate program? You bet! And they have a great system too.

I’ll be teaching some tips in my teleseminar coming up soon.

If you’re  a coach looking for a holiday gift for your clients, check out this book. The author has collected a dozen or so basic coaching parables. She’s packaged them attractively with nice artwork and some new insights

If you click here, you also pick up 91 bonuses with an estimated total value of $10,000 or more. I didn’t count…but you can! I include a bonus myself.