GIVE ME DESPERATE BUYERS ONLY!

Transcription

1 GIVE ME DESPERATE BUYERS ONLY! Create and sell information products to people who are highly anxious to solve their problems By Alexis Dawes All New 2009 Edition

2 Copyright 2009 Alexis Dawes All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the author, Alexis Dawes. LIMIT OF LIABILITY AND DISCLAIMER: This manual is based on personal experience and is designed to provide information about the subject matter covered. Every effort has been made to make it as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes both typographical and in content. Website URL s and content can change overnight so if you click through to a site and it s not there, please contact the author so that it can be corrected. The author shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information covered in this manual. TRADEMARKS: Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used for reference only. SHARING THIS DOCUMENT: It s often said that, Information wants to be free! I absolutely, positively enjoy writing. And I wish I could give away everything I write - but I can t. I m a single parent. The sole, breadwinning, head-of-household. And instead of becoming a welfare recipient, adding an unnecessary burden to my fellow tax-paying citizens, I ve chosen to self-publish my work. This is my only 9-to-5. It s how I make my living how I put food on the table and pay my rent. I ask that you please respect the work I do by not giving away or reselling this guide. I sincerely thank you for that respect! Alexis Dawes 2

3 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 3 THE DESPERATE TOPIC CRITERIA 7 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #1: Piggy Back on Popularity 23 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #2: Finding the Desperate in Almost Any Topic 26 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #3: Write for the Forever Desperate Buyer 54 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #4: Desperate in YOUR Niche or Profession 87 WRITING THE DESPERATE PRODUCT 90 WRITING THE SALES COPY FOR YOUR DESPERATE PRODUCT 101 PROMOTING A DESPERATE PRODUCT 112 CASE STUDIES 140 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MY BUSINESS 171 THE END? 176 3

4 INTRODUCTION I created my own formal methodology for targeting desperate buyers because I m lazy. Yeah, I said it I m lazy. Although I make feeble attempts to blog and half-way maintain a Facebook page (let s not even talk about Twitter), I m not overwhelmed about becoming the next super expert in any field. I don t want to be a slave to my business. I don t want to send out a hundred s to my previous buyers. I content being the anti-thesis of marketing. When I have something worthy to say, I say it, and then I go back to whatever I was doing. I want to sell people good information, make a lot of money, and enjoy the world around me. It s really not a lofty goal. When you re selling to desperate buyers you can be lazy and still make a lot of money. That s because a desperate buyer is primarily concerned with solving their problem. Period. So it always gives me a little chuckle when prospective buyers me, expressing concerns like I noticed you wrote DBO back in Are people still buying e-books? I heard nobody is buying them anymore. My buyers don t purchase e-books for the sake of saying that they have one. They purchase my e-books because they want to solve a specific problem. The fact that I m selling an e-book is nothing more than a convenience factor for my buyers. A mere side note when compared to the fact that they want their problem solved. But this bit of information is nothing new. It applies to all products and services. I didn t go buy that electric drill because I wanted it. I bought it to make sure the screws were tight on my table, so that it didn t collapse on our legs while eating 4

5 dinner. If there was a shoe that did a better job than an electric drill, I would ve purchased the shoe. In other words, the type of tool is less important than the benefit the tool provides. So as long as you re selling information to help people solve a desperate problem, they re going to buy it. The e-book just helps buyers obtain the information faster. That gets most prospects over the first hurdle. But once they purchase DBO another concern frequently arises I understand your formula, but I haven t experienced any significant problems in my life. How can I come up with some ideas for problems that need to be solved? This is the concern that I ve been working on over the past few years. Because even though I ve been fortunate enough to have some life difficulties that I ve been able to write about, not everybody encounters a rocky existence. I ve had many customers me because they ve been happily married, they have a decent job, their kids are okay, they take their med s for high blood pressure, and they pay their bills on time. People like this do have an idea of what problems exist. However because they ve not had to solve their problems in any unique/creative ways, they genuinely don t know what to write about. For example, if you ve figured out a diet for getting rid of back pain, you can write about it. But if you re just taking a couple of ibuprofen, that s not going to be enough for a desperate buyers product. And that s the issue a number of previous DBO buyers were having. And that s what this second edition of Desperate Buyers Only focuses on. In the next 170-something pages you re going to learn how to find a ton of desperate problems lurking all around you. The 4 techniques you ll be learning have all generated desperate topics for me. In most cases, if you follow my advice, you ll have a topic in less than an hour. 5

6 Once you ve written your e-book, you ll learn how to promote it. You ll find that I m a fundamentalist in this department. I still believe in writing articles. I still believe in advertising on Google. But I ve also added a few twists and turns to the way I do these things, and I ve emphasized the points where I ve seen previous buyers make the biggest mistakes. Plus I ve added a few other marketing techniques that are guaranteed to generate free traffic for you indefinitely. But before we get started, I want you to know that this IS going to require some work from you. The upside is that once you figure out what works, you ve got a product that you can continue to sell as long as the problem still exists. And that s the beauty of selling to desperate buyers. It s not a get rich quick thing. It s all about making money daily! 6

7 THE DESPERATE TOPIC CRITERIA (NOTE: It s a good idea to print this section out, as I ll be asking you to refer back to it several times throughout the course of the book.) There s an old saying that goes, Measure twice, cut once. Unfortunately we live in an age where it s more popular to measure once (really, really fast), and cut fifty times. Take my 7-year old she s notorious for scribbling down her spelling words. When I check her homework, I usually make her re-write 50% of what she s already done. I constantly explain that if she were to write neatly the first time, she wouldn t have to do so many re-writes. In terms of creating an information product, most people choose a topic quickly, and then write it slowly. That s the equivalent of measuring once and cutting fifty times. But I ve found that if you choose a topic with care and forethought, you can write it quickly and know that what you ve chosen has a pretty good chance at selling well. This is where you measure twice, cut once. That s what my techniques are all about, and specifically, that s what this section prompts you to do. As I mentioned in the Introduction I m going to show you 4 different methods for finding desperate product ideas. However, no matter which method you use, there are certain boundaries your topic should fall within. These boundaries are excellent for weeding out the duds. And they work whether you re using any one of my methods, or whether you run across a potentially desperate idea from the lady at the grocery store. On the following pages you ll find those 4 suggested criteria. Throughout this book I ll be recommending that you refer back to them. 7

8 1) Does it really hit a desperate hot button? Over the years I ve learned that desperate topics are typically centered around certain situations and mind states. An e-book that shows readers how to use a digital camera isn t a desperate product. An e-book showing wanna-be professional photographers how to use certain features on their camera, so that they have less post-production work, is a desperate product. Why? Because if a photographer is spending less time Photoshopping their work, they can spend more time taking pictures. And that affects their ability to make or keep money a point of desperation. Once you have a topic, go through the list of questions below. Can you say yes to at least one of these questions? If not, then your topic probably isn t worth pursuing. o Does it affect their ability to make or keep money? o Does it affect their ability to start or run a successful business? This is the topic I most prefer to deal with when I m creating an information product. Business owners especially small business owners are always on the lookout for ways to improve their businesses. o Does it affect their ability to get, do or keep a good job? o Does it affect their ability to look good, smart or beautiful in front of others? o Does it affect their ability to live longer or have a healthier life? o Does it affect their ability to start or keep a relationship? o Does it affect their ability to buy, maintain, keep or use expensive items? o Does it affect their ability to avoid life-and-death danger? o Does it affect their ability to connect with a higher power? o Does it affect their ability to follow an important dream? o Does it affect their ability to master a task? 2) Are people searching for solutions online? Because I m thrilled whenever I have to do research - (seriously) - I ve yet to find a desperate topic that people aren t seeking solutions for. Unless your infoproduct topic is based on some brand new technology or website, I m almost 100% sure there are people looking for a solution. And if you are writing about some new 8

9 technology or website, then obviously it s okay if you don t find anyone searching for solutions just yet. There s a very easy way to see if your topic is receiving any searches. It s called the Google Keyword Tool. You simply enter your keyword Then highlight the Show All in the Choose columns to display box And you ll be given a list (longer than this one) of related phrases containing your keyword. You can also see the search volume for each phrase. 9

10 Many people ask me what s the minimum number of searches you should see before starting a project. I like to see the Average Search Volume at around 1,000. But keep in mind, that number can be achieved through multiple phrases. Also keep in mind that a solution can typically be found in many different ways. Remember my Chexsystems e-book from the first edition of DBO? I found that my readers were finding me by Googling various terms like: non chexsystem banks non chex systems banks bad credit bank account 10

11 Technically the correct term is non chexsystems banks. But quite often your potential customers won t use the technically correct term. So make sure you find all the possible search queries, not just the correct ones. And how do you do that? I employ two methods. First I go to EzineArticles.com, and copy and paste at least 3-5 articles about my proposed topic into a plain text file. Then I go to Build Your Word List, and paste the entire article compilation into the text box. Number of words to output should be set to 100, select number of words in a phrase to check should be set to 3, and order words in result by frequency descending. 11

12 When you press the calculate button, Build Your Word List will give you a list of words and phrases that are repeated in these articles. The good thing about using EzineArticles.com for this task is that many authors try to keyword stuff their articles. So you re getting lists of keywords, without having to manually read through each article. I also use the Google Keyword Tool to locate complementary keywords. Suppose you were writing about a natural remedy for nail fungus. Go to the Google Keyword Tool, and type in nail fungus remedy. Make sure the Use Synonyms box is ticked. In addition to keywords containing nail fungus remedy, you ll also be given related terms like: nail fungus treatment nail fungus medicine treating nail fungus fingernail fungus cure over the counter nail fungus 12

13 3) Can you give advice instead of information? When I look back at information product failures I ve produced over the past few years, I see an obvious trend. Among those products, I ve given information instead of advice. And desperate buyers don t want information they want advice. Let me give you an example. Back in 2007 I came out with two e-books geared towards independent clothing and accessory designers. The first one was for women s apparel and accessory designers. The second one was for children s apparel and accessory designers. Both e-books contained lists of websites where these accessory designers could obtain publicity for their products. I gave descriptions of the sites, who to contact, 13

14 what to submit, and so on. I assumed it was a desperate topic. I mean these sites can affect a designer s ability to make money. That makes the topic desperate. But I was wrong. In one year I sold fewer than 20 copies of BOTH e-books. And then there was The Book is in the Buzz also a directory of resources. Even though it was positioned as a backend report to the first edition of DBO, it also suffered from rather lackluster sales. When I began to examine the entire campaign, I realized that it too provided information, but no advice. Think about the make-up of those products compared to my GetCheckingNow.com e-book, which I ve been selling since The GetCheckingNow.com e-book features a list of banks that I ve personally used to obtain a bank account after being listed in Chexsystems. It gives you first hand information on what to expect, what forms to use, etc. It s a small, tested list of banks. Not some big, random compilation. And that s what makes the difference. In the GetCheckingNow.com e-book I give information, but I also mix it with first-hand advice. The other e-books provided information, with no first-hand advice. 4) Can you give your information product an emotional edge? Even though a desperate buyer needs a specific piece of information, that doesn t mean you can offer up any old piece of crap, and expect applause. This is especially true if you re dealing with a topic that has solid group of competitive infoproducts. So I like to make sure that my product has some kind of emotional edge. I want potential buyers to feel hungry for my information especially if they ve chosen not to purchase right away. If they re shopping around, I want my e-book to be perceived as the BEST solution. And the only way to do that is by making sure you infuse that emotional edge. 14

15 Ask yourself, can you make your e-book: a) Brew in controversy. The book, Why Men Love Bitches became a bestseller for one simple reason controversy. Why do reputable webmasters secretly study black hat search engine optimization techniques controversy. A certain segment of buyers want scandal and they re often willing to pay a premium for it. Can you explain your topic in a controversial way? Many years ago when I came out with Taking the Back Road to Get the Front Page in Google (which I no longer sell), I wrote an article teaching readers how to use Google Answers (also defunct) to get a top rank in the Google index. It was a controversial method and I knew the poo might hit the fan. What I wasn t prepared for were the death threats I got for the 2-3 days after the article got published widely online. (That s when I stopped using my street address online!) Someone even used my address to sign me up for every religious e-zine on the planet. I also wasn t prepared for the five figure payday I received as a result of those controversial teachings. I woke up with so many orders in my box that I thought something was wrong with PayPal. There were PayPal s Notification of Payment Received messages on almost the entire first and second pages of my Gmail account. Depending on your topic, you may have to deal with a little flack. But if what you re teaching really and truly works, there s going to be a buyer out there waiting with credit card in hand. b) Present an obvious contrarian view to the popular consensus. I subscribe to a bunch of stock market investing e-zines. I don t read each one every single day. But I do tend to gravitate towards contrarian headlines like: The Small-Cap Sector You d Never Think to Look At (Penny Sleuth, February 25, 2009) 15

16 Why You Shouldn t Move to Bonds (Penny Sleuth, February 27, 2009) I m that type of person I like going against the popular consensus. Titles like: Five Charting Patterns You Need to Know (Penny Sleuth, February 19, 2009), just don t ring my bell. I d prefer something like: Why Charting Patterns Aren t Worth the Paper They re Printed On And guess what? There are lots of people like me. Can you craft your information to attract them? c) Promise rapid results. If it seems like nobody wants to wait for results anymore, it s because nobody wants to wait for results anymore. When readers have a desperate problem, they usually don t want to wait a long time to solve it. Even if the problem cannot be solved overnight, you MUST give them a few easy steps to get them moving in the right direction. For instance, can they make a phone call to gather specific information can they fill out an application practice a move in the mirror go to the grocery store and buy a special item? Give your readers a quick and easy step that helps them move in the direction of solving their problem, and they will feel much more confident about following through on the entire solution. d) Appeal to obsessives. I am fanatically insane about writing. I love to write. I love to learn how to write better. Every night before I start working I pray that I can channel the great copywriters of yesteryear. Oh, and I have one heck of a library of writing books. My bookshelves are beginning to take up every ounce of available wall space. Welcome to the world of an obsessive. We buy, and buy, and buy, and buy, and well you get the message. 16

17 Obsessives want improvement and greater clarity. They seek the why behind the how-to. They re not content with learning how to throw the line in the water to catch the fish. They want to know all about the dozens of lures. They need the inside scoop on all the different lines. In other words, they want to explore every aspect of their interest. And that s good news for you because obsessives are CONSTANTLY hungry buyers. The most important fact you must know about writing for obsessives is that they re easy to catch when you can explain something in a unique way. Golfers (serious obsessives) have books, magazines, websites, and even an entire cable television channel devoted to hitting that little dimpled ball into that little hole. Of course they re not going to be receptive to everything out there. But copywriter John Carlton s famous One Legged Golfer sales letter was unique enough to become one of his best converting pieces of copy. I mean if you re a golfing fanatic, you cannot miss the opportunity to learn the stroke techniques of a freaking one legged golfer. And that s the way obsessive thinks. They want unique, never-before-seen-inthis-way information. e) Has the power of NOW. Some topics are evergreen. For example, when you re talking about giving birth it s an evergreen topic because babies are born every single day. There s no specific season for having a baby. Then you have certain topics that have the power of NOW behind them. These topics have grown in popularity because of a current trend or some other event that s going on. I like topics that are shrouded in the power of NOW because it gives desperate buyers an organic reason to buy your product NOW. As I write this, there s a scandal going on with Bernie Madoff the psychopath investment broker who stole $53 billion dollars from his clients. One of his clients was actor Kevin Bacon. He lost everything except his home and his checking account. And then I saw a retired bricklayer who had invested $400K with Madoff. That was his entire life savings. All he and his wife have left was their home. 17

18 Do you see the power of NOW angle here? I d write an e-book that tells you how to make sure that your broker isn t stealing your money. And I d advertise it on Google AdWords under keywords like how to choose an investment broker or best investment broker. I m getting ahead of myself here, but you understand. 5) Do you know the shortcomings of other similar information products? No matter what your proposed topic, there s a very good chance that there s already a book, e-book, audio or video product that helps the reader solve the problem. But I don t want you to worry that you have competition. In this information-rich age, competition is inevitable. Worrying that other products exist is as productive as shooting spitballs up your own nose. What you need to do is figure out where those other products come up short. What topics do they neglect? What issues do they skim over? What are the important issues that they relegate to minor mentions? Knowing these things allows you can create something different than what s already out there. Depending on the topic, you may choose to read customer reviews for similar or related books on Amazon.com. Allow me to give you an example. Let s say after doing your research you discover that doing layers in Adobe Photoshop is a difficult task. Many Photoshop users are banging their heads into their Mac s because they want easy-to-follow instructions. So you head on over to Amazon and do a search for Photoshop layers. One of the books, The Adobe Photoshop Layers Book: Harnessing Photoshop's Most Powerful Tool, covers Photoshop CS, has the following review (and I m excerpting)- From Ron: While the book does provide some of the underlying fundamentals, I took off one star from my rating because more improvements in describing the "whys" could be made to make it even more useful. 18

19 And here s a review excerpt from Z. Ricarditich: I was greatly disappointed in his treatment of Masking, the technique that takes layering to a new level. I knew nothing about it before I purchased the book and, if that is possible, know less now. Chapter 4, Masking, is a complete disaster. He abandoned his patient approach and plowed into the subject, leaving me bewildered and lost. I'm sure he feels differently, but his ability to sense the confusion of the neophyte abandoned him at that point. Masking comes up often enough after that to make the book increasingly frustrating, like hearing a conversation in which you miss every fourth word. Had I learned even a bit about masking, and more about why certain layering actions are taken, I would have given the book five stars. As it stands, I'm still looking for the layering book that puts it all together. Going through the other reviews for this title I also noticed that readers didn t think there were enough images to match the text. Text being overwhelming and example images being underwhelming. By the way, the fastest way to find the flaws of the book is by clicking on the customer reviews link (shown in the image below). 19

20 When you click on the Customer Review link, you ll be taken to a page that shows you the most helpful favorable review and the most helpful critical review. You can also see more 3, 2 and 1 star reviews. The most helpful critical review is the one you want to pay close attention to. Any reviews 3 stars and lower are also important. But even a 4 star review can reveal some gleaming flaw that s mentioned in other reviews. 20

21 Okay how about another example? This time I m going to choose an esoteric topic the stressful business aspects of selling handmade products. I got this idea from What to do when people say your handcraft is too expensive, a popular post on the CraftBoom website. (You ll learn about getting e-book ideas from popular posts in the next section.) I go to Amazon and do a search for the phrase, selling crafts. The first book I see is Handmade for Profit. And here s an excerpt from a 4 star review- From reviewer M.L. Bell: While some of the information is less technical or web savvy the general ideas and business structure information is well presented in a human and positive way. 3 Things to look out for when searching through Amazon reviews- 1) The copyright date of the book. A technology book published in 2000 probably isn t going to have information that s relevant today. 2) The date of the review. A recent review for a technology book (for example) that was published in 2000 isn t exactly relevant. Books published 3-4 years ago, that contain Internet information, might not be as accurate as they were the year they were published. 3) Irrelevant information. Sometimes reviewers focus on nit-picky details that have nothing to do with the quality of the book. For example, they ll say that a book was for experts and they (the reviewer) needed something more basic. Ignore these types of reviews. You want reviews of content only. And if there are no reviews on Amazon (as you might find with e-books, audios or videos), do a Google search. First search Google for e-books focused on your topic. Your search list would include the following key phrase: YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE e-book 21

22 YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE ebook YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE audio YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE DVD YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE video Once you compile your list, you ll do another Google search using the information product titles, adding another keyword. So your search will look like this: INFOPRODUCT TITLE HERE reviews Keep in mind that when it comes to e-books, you might find reviews from affiliates. (Affiliates are people who attempt to sell an e-book for a percentage of the profits.) So the reviews for certain e-books may be more on the positive side. If you see a link in the review that looks something like this: then you re probably looking at an affiliate link. If there are no reviews at all? I normally purchase 1-2 competitive titles just to see how other people have written about the topic. I keep in mind what I liked and didn t like about it. And that s all you can do. 22

23 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #1 Piggy Back on Popularity For this edition of DBO I wanted to give you a technique that you could use indefinitely. A technique that would allow you to find a sizable number of desperate topics, with a variety that would change over time. (This is especially for those readers who are afraid that if everyone has access to the same information, the same topic will be written about over and over.) Some of the best places to find an ever-changing flux of desperate topics are blogs. Not just any and every blog. You want to look specifically for blogs that have a popular posts section. A popular post is one that has received the most page views when compared to other posts on the blog. That means they re the ones visitors read most frequently. Most of these posts present basic solutions to pressing problems the blog readers might have. And that s good for us because thanks to these posts, we re able to gauge what topics prospects are most desperate for. So where do you find these popular posts? To make your job easier, I ve built a search engine that has over 500 sites featuring popular posts at PopularPostSearch.com. Let s say you re curious to know what small business topics are popular right now. Go to the PopularPostSearch.com, and type in small business. You ll be given web pages that contain the words small business. Some will be small business related blogs. Some will have popular posts that include the words small business. And some will just have the words small business on the page. When you re looking at the results from the PopularPostSearch.com the first thing you ll see is that the popular posts are normally included in the blogs sidebar, 23

24 like the image you see on the following page. (The popular posts are in the red box.) For that reason, I could not link directly to the list of popular posts. In most cases I ve included a link to the homepage of the site, and you ll just need to scan the sidebar for the popular posts section. And that s the reason why whenever you use PopularPostSearch.com, you may not get a post with your keyphrase in it. I could not link directly to the popular posts. On occasion you will see that some bloggers have created blog posts that highlight their popular posts. So if you don t see anything in the sidebar, then it s in the actual blog post. 24

25 Okay go to the PopularPostSearch.com, enter your keywords, find a few popular posts that look interesting to you. Got some? Now pull out your printed version of Desperate Topic Criteria on pages Make sure your potential topic meets the standards for a genuine desperate topic. If so, you re ready to start writing. Head on over to Writing Your Desperate Product on page

26 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #2 Finding the Desperate in Almost Any Topic My neighbor s daughter is a software engineer who currently does some technical writing. I told her that I had done a little technical writing, but that I hated it because it was too nit-picky for my tastes. She, on the other hand, loved it. Funny enough, she felt like she d be stumped if she had to write about desperate topics like I do. It s a cry I hear quite often But I don t have any desperate topics to write about. My life is so normal! Who would care about the things that I do? It s usually not until they come to me for a consultation, and I hit them with a battery of questions, that they begin to realize, I DO have a lot of things to write about! Yes, you do. What seems normal and boring to you and I may be the answer to a pressing question for a potential buyer. Ordinary to us can be extraordinary to someone else who desperately needs the information. When I first starting writing, I was extremely critical of myself because I automatically assumed that everybody knew the same things that I did. I honestly didn t think I was teaching them anything new. And I was nervous each time I wrote something new. I clenched my teeth when I unveiled my first infoproduct, thinking that buyers would ask for refunds with little notes attached I know this already! You can t imagine how I felt when I started selling How to Get a Bank Account Even if You re in Chexsystems an information product developed solely from freely available information. But you know what? I got sales. And I continue to get sales to this very day. And although there s the occasional refund request telling 26

27 me that they know this information already, it s such a miniscule percentage that it doesn t even register as a blip on my worry screen. For my chosen topics, I found that I often knew a lot more than my readers. If I didn t know more, I could research important details that other authors had left behind. Sometimes it wasn t even a matter of knowing more, as much as it was the way I explained a topic. For instance, I read many books based on the Law of Attraction. Though they all basically give the same message, I love the way Mike Dooley teaches it more than Esther Hicks. His explanation just resonates with my line of thinking. Same message, different words. And believe me, both authors do EXTREMELY well. So before you get started in this section I want you to make a promise that you ll suspend all beliefs that what you know, who you know, and what you ve been through in life is boring and not worth writing about. Throw those notions out the window right now. There is something that you know, or something you do that could be turned into a desperate topic. So let s find out what it is, shall we? 1) Choose your fishing rod. In this case your fishing rod is the keyword for the topic that you re going to be working with. Here are some questions that should help you generate a few ideas: What subjects did you enjoy in school? What was your major in university? Is there anything you regret not learning? What types of jobs have you had? What types of businesses have you run and been successful at? What most excites you about your current job or business? What types of businesses have you run and failed at? What hobbies have you had? 27

28 What sports do you excel at? What awards have you won? What types of books and magazines do you read? What types of television shows do you watch? What are three personal things that you ve always wanted to do, but have never done? What are three business-related things you ve always wanted to do, but have never done? What do you consider to be your natural talent? What are you naturally good at? Name 3 topics that you happily talk about. How has your personality changed over the past 3 years? Do you live an unusual lifestyle? What are the 3 hardest things you ever had to do in your life? What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? Have you ever had to overcome a major illness or accident? Have you ever overcome a bad habit? If you had to overcome a habit, what would it be? What s your favorite place in the world? Why? What types of after-school activities have you helped your children with? What types of difficulties have you helped your children get over? What subjects did your spouse/significant other enjoy in school? What major did your spouse/significant other have in university? What types of jobs has your spouse had? What are the jobs/hobbies of your three closest friends? I bet you ve got a few keywords now. 2) Check Insights for the weather conditions. Since giving birth to my daughter I ve had problems with recurring boils. (I also started graying like a 75 year old, but that s another story!) Boils are big, painful lumps that can appear anywhere on your skin. If you go to a doctor they typically 28

29 prescribe an antibiotic. Unfortunately, antibiotics never worked for me. And I m not much into prescribed med s if I can find a more natural solution. So a couple of years ago I started looking at my diet as the culprit for all these boils. I tried a lot of different things, including giving up red meat and limiting my sugar intake. I tried different supplements. I even stopped guzzling my favorite energy drink. Eventually I found a formula that worked for me, and the boils stopped coming altogether. I knew friends who had suffered from an occasional boil, but I wasn t sure if recurring boils were a big deal. And if so, what should I focus on to attract the most buyers. To figure all of this out, I started with Google Insights. Checking out Google Insights is like looking at the weather forecast before you plan a fishing trip. You enter your targeted keyword which was boil for me and Insights will tell you the web search volume for your designated time frame. (You choose the time frame.) It also tells you the countries from which the most search volume occurs, the top search terms related to your keyword, and the rising searches. Rising searches are keywords that have experienced significant growth in a specific time period, with respect to the previous time period. Once the results are shown, you can further tailor the results for a specific category. You ll notice at the top of the screenshot (on the following page), Insights gives me category links for Health, Science, Beauty & Personal Care, etc. Here s what I got when I used Google Insights to search for boils. 29

30 Now I m going to click on the Health category link, since boils are a health related problem. Notice how my results become more tailored. 30

31 Once I add in the Health category, the countries featuring the most searches change from Kenya, Latvia and New Zealand, to Kenya, New Zealand and the Philippines. The United States actually came in fourth place in both instances. 31

32 Since New Zealand is the top English speaking option, it might be a good idea to see if there are any NZ based sites that I can advertise my boil report on. Okay moving on when I look at the actual search terms related to boils, I see that the boils in there. The Boils is actually a punk rock band, so I won t even bother with that one. Under the Rising Searches section, all the terms are related to skin boils. This is good info to have when writing my sales letter. Looking at this list I see that there s a growing interest for information related to inner thigh boils, boils on buttocks, boils on legs and popping boils. That s definitely a desperate topic. It s REALLY uncomfortable when you have a boil on your backside. Now let s look at another generic topic data recovery. Let s say you re a computer geek, and you can map out a step-by-step process for recovering lost or erased data from a hard drive. You intend to write an e-book about it. Here s the first chart from Google Insights. 32

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34 Now let s take it a step further and click on Computers & Electronics. Interesting how the United States doesn t even register in the top 10 for regional interest on data recovery! That doesn t mean that nobody in the US is searching for 34

35 data recovery information. It just means that at least 10 other countries are searching for it on a more frequent basis. I think this says A LOT about the need to use more international marketing tactics, like translating our titles for different language speakers. But keep in mind that you can also click on a specific country for data on that area. And here s what we get for the United States. 35

36 Now let s say you look at the search terms and realize your solution is geared primarily towards Windows users. So you click on windows data recovery under the Top searches section. 36

37 So this is interesting. Windows XP recovery is the top search. And Stellar Phoenix is the only thing listed under Rising searches. So in my sales copy I d want to mention why my e-book is better than Stellar Phoenix. But also take note that only 5 states are doing the bulk of the searches. Though I wouldn t consider this an impossible sell just yet. I haven t counted in other English speaking countries like the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. You really have to look across all English-speaking regions to get a better idea of whether this idea is good or not. 37

38 Here s Australia. There were no Top searches or Rising searches. 38

39 Here s Canada. Again, no Top or Rising searches. 39

40 Here s the UK. The only Top search was data recovery software. And here s New Zealand NOTHING! 40

41 Okay, NOW I d consider this a difficult sell! Based on the preliminary market research, I doubt that I d write this particular e-book. Regional interest is low, which means that sales will probably be low. I didn t say non-existent, but I doubt you d be able to make a killing. Before I go on to the third step, let s look at one more keyphrase: penny stocks. I m going to look at the United States only since penny stocks are a regional thing anyway. 41

42 This morning the Forbes 500 list of top companies in the US came out. Exxon came out as #1. So let s say I use the Power of NOW (which I talked about on pages 17-18) and see what I can pull with oil penny stocks (Under Rising searches). Nothing here yet. Oil penny stocks is a Rising search term, not an established Top search. So we may not see any real interest here for a while. 42

43 So as you can see, Google Insights can give you a quick scan at what the potential landscape looks like. And because it covers regions AND top searches, you are able to see your topic at a much higher vantage point than you would with just top searches alone. I gave you the penny stocks example to show you that even though a key phrase is listed under a Rising search, doesn t mean it s a winner just yet. In most cases, rising searches should be observed over a few months to see if there s a continual gain of interest. Keyphrases listed under Top searches are far more consistent as far as ongoing interest. But as you can see with windows data recovery, a Top search doesn t make an ideal e-book. And that brings me to the great equalizer of Step #3 3) How to tell if the fish are abundant with the Google Keyword Tool. Google Insights is akin to the weather forecast for your fishing expedition. If you see a thunderstorm approaching with high winds, you re certainly not going fishing on that day. Likewise, if Google Insights tells you that most of the queries for your keyword are coming from outside a country you want to target (the equivalent of thunderstorm and high winds) you won t want to go there. Now the Google Keyword Tool tells us if the river is worth fishing in. In other words, we re going to use the Google Keyword Tool to figure out the approximate number of searches our terms receive on a monthly basis. Even though I said I wouldn t want to pursue the windows data recovery e-book, let me show you an additional reason why it wouldn t work. Take a look at the screenshot on the next page. 43

44 This is a bad sign for a couple of reasons. For one thing, there are only 13 keywords related to windows data recovery. Only 6 of them have a significant history, as noted by the Search Volume Trends column. This means that there hasn t been any significant search volume over the previous year, even though the topic is pretty evergreen. The Google Keyword Tool has clearly re-confirmed why this isn t a good topic. Moving along, let s go back to another example boil treatment. Reversed (treatment boils) it was one of the Top searched phrases according to Google Insights, under the word boils. But does it have the enough traffic to make it worth my while? 44

45 45

46 I would say yes to this one for three reasons. #1 combined, I m guesstimating there s around 40K impressions per month from this one set of key phrases, #2 I can replace the word treatment with cure and remedy and probably triple the number of impressions, and #3 I see lots of 5 clicks available. Now you can really see why I prefer Google Insights first and the Google Keyword Tool second. I ve gleaned information from Google Insights that absolutely enhances the way I look at the data from the Google Keyword Tool. Next let s try penny stocks. Judging from the first couple dozen listings, you definitely have enough people searching for this type of information. But OUCH the estimated cost per click (CPC) is pretty high across the board. 46

47 I have a few tricks in the promotion section that you can use to combat this problem. But as far as traffic is concerned, there s a very high interest. 4) Bait the hook - use Google to see what makes people desperate. I often use this technique randomly (not just with this particular technique) because it s a quick and easy way to see what brings people the most pain. I m going to take the original search term boil treatment and do the following Google search: boil treatment problems forum Why this search? Because it allows me to see what problems people are encountering in regards to treating their boils. Furthermore, I don t have to know which forums to look at, because I ve included the word forum in my search. Because I put the quotes around the word forum, Google will only return pages that include the word forum somewhere on them. That doesn t mean every single result will be from a forum. But you do increase your chances of it being a forum with quotes around the word. When I did that search, here s a question someone posted on ehealthforum.com. This is the type of stuff you can use as fodder for your information product especially when you don t see a reply posted, as was the case here. I had a skin boil two week ago...and the pharmacy ask me to apply antibiotic cream.. now the boil is hard and not pain anymore...but i feel tat there is still somethings inside... wat can i do to cure it??????? There was also an ongoing thread at the City-Data.com forum, which gave me some additional information. The person who started the thread had gotten two of 47

48 their boils lanced by a doctor. Yet, the doctor wasn t searching for a root cause of all these boils. I would say that s definitely good information for the sales copy. Now I ll try a penny stock search. penny stock investing problems forums Again at the City-Data.com forums I found a thread started by a person who wants to start investing in penny stocks. He s being told by the other members not to invest because there some stock manipulation with certain penny stocks. This is good information to have, but there s a caveat. The search I just gave doesn t work for all topics, or it can give you limited information, as is the case for penny stocks. Take book proposal, for example. According to the previous formula, the Google search would look like this: book proposal problems forum And here s what I got: 48

49 Even though I do get some forums in the mix, this search doesn t exactly give me problems writers run into when doing with book proposals. So sometimes and this is an intuitive process that ll be unique for each case you have to change the way you word your search query. A problem can also be stated as: 49

50 a mistake an error an issue a difficulty a hassle a pain In addition, there are many aspects to the book proposal process. Are you referring to problems when writing the book proposal, formatting it, or submitting it? You see I try to make the search examples cut-and-dry. But I also want you to understand that you may have to make adjustments depending on your topic, as each topic has its own parameters for what works. You may have to experiment with several in order to find the magic key. So in the case of book proposals, I m going to change it to: mistakes book proposals 50

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52 What a difference! I could ve gained a world of information just scanning through the first 50 results for this query alone. Now let s apply that revised search to penny stocks. penny stock investing "problems" Here s what I got: 52

53 5) Is it worth writing about? Just as I suggested in The Desperate Topic Criteria on pages 7-23, you ve got to make sure you can give enough power to your infoproduct so that buyers don t just like it they love it. Here s the condensed version just to refresh your memory: Can you give advice instead of information? Can you give your information product an emotional edge? a) Brew in controversy. b) Present an obvious contrarian view to the popular consensus. c) Promise rapid results. d) Appeal to obsessives. e) Has the power of NOW. 53

54 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #3 Write for the Forever Desperate Buyer I remember the day clearly when my high school friend Justine introduced me to the Internet. When she sat me down at the computer and explained it all to me (Gopher, AOL and Compuserve were bigger than web pages back then) - I knew I d just found THE thing that would change my life forever. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. At the time I couldn t afford to buy a computer, so I borrowed my friends student ID and used the computers at a local university. Seeing my insane desperation to figure this Internet out, my parents purchased my first laptop a monochrome (black and white screen) Toshiba. During the day I d answer phones at my job. At night I read everything I could get my hands on to figure out how to make money online. The rest obviously is history. I learned enough to build several successful websites. Thanks to the Internet I ve been self-employed for over a decade. And even though in general the Internet isn t a big deal anymore, it still brings out the same drive and determination within its participants. Especially those who choose to use it as a primary channel for generating income. So it often makes me shudder when I hear this big myth being perpetuated about Internet marketing infoproducts. A lot of people seem to feel that writers like you and I SHOULDN T pursue the Internet marketing niche. The myth says that we shouldn t bother creating more Internet marketing infoproducts because it s an overcrowded, competitive niche. But there s very little validity to that statement because: Most Internet marketing infoproducts (hereby referred to as IM products) are generalized for the Internet marketing population as a 54

55 whole. There are very few niche segmented IM products out there. Segmented meaning, IM specifically for hair salons, IM specifically for massage therapists, IM specifically for clothing designers, and so on. Not all infoproducts are attractive to Internet marketers. Even if you re writing for the general IM population, your writing and style will only appeal to certain types of readers. I don t write for every Internet marketer ever to grace the Internet. I have a specific type of personality that doesn t resonate with all potential buyers. Not all IM products are priced for all Internet marketers. I ve had the pleasure of shelling out upwards of a thousand dollars for information products from the likes of Dan Kennedy and John Carlton. But a lot of people can t fathom spending a thousand bucks on some advice. That s why $15 print books do well, $30 a month subscription sites do well, and $97 e- books also do well. Different price points attract different buyers. As the Internet continues to evolve technologically and from a marketing standpoint, there will ALWAYS be a need for infoproducts to explain those changes. When YouTube came around, there was a need for YouTube marketing strategies. When MySpace gained popularity, smart authors created MySpace marketing e-books. And let s not even talk about the stir that blogging and Twitter has created. People who are serious about Internet marketing NEVER grow weary of learning something new. I ve had customers who have ordered each and every one of my infoproducts - RELIGIOUSLY. And these people are name brands who are quite successful at what they do. (Sometimes taking the ideas I talk about, and making waaaay more money than I did!) Internet marketing isn t some passing fad. It s a living for millions of people. So why wouldn t they want different perspectives? 55

56 Unless every qualified person on earth created an Internet marketing infoproduct, there could never by an overabundance of Internet marketing infoproducts. It s just not possible. With that said, you have every incentive in the world to ignore the naysayers, and go where the money is. People are desperate for quality IM products, and I m going to teach you the right way to create and sell to this desperate market. Who Succeeds In Selling IM Products - and Why It doesn t take a rocket scientist to create an Internet marketing infoproduct. Nor does it take a college degree, a Masters in English, or any fancy-schmancy credentials attached to your name. My readers fondly know me as a single mom who loves to travel. In fact, one of the biggest selling points for Desperate Buyers Only was that I m a NOBODY. In my sales copy I pointed out that if a nobody like me could pull $200 a day, then there s hope for every breathing, coherent body out there. And that brings me to my first point on the types of people who do well in selling Internet marketing products. They re everyday people who simply take a big chance. As well as I ve done selling Internet marketing products, I ve also had a few flops that I d rather quietly sweep under the rug. The Book is in the Buzz is one of them. I wrote it as a follow-up to Desperate Buyers Only. It s a directory of websites where readers can get hot ideas for new information products they want to create. There s a lot of information in it. But it s just that - information. I simply described each website and left it up to the reader to decide how to use that site for their benefit. Bad idea. I really should ve gone through the actual process of creating an e-book based on one of those websites I 56

57 described in Book is in the Buzz. I should ve shown them the process from start to finish. The point is, I was lazy. I didn t take a big chance, and I was rewarded with low sales. Now you d think I would've learned my lesson from there. But I didn't. I went on and created two more e-books that were nothing more than directories of websites. This time the audience was independent clothing and jewelry designers. And neither of those e-books did well. Why? Because I wasn t telling them anything extraordinary. Like I talked about earlier, I was giving them information not advice. They re quick thinkers. The whole Web 2.0 movement initially spawned enough fodder to keep quick thinking IM infoproduct developers very, very busy. Web 2.0 gave us such goodies as: MySpace Friendster YouTube Digg Del.icio.us Flickr and the list goes on. But that s not the only purpose for having fast firing neurons in this biz. Years ago when I was searching for ways to promote my report How To Get a Bank Account, Even If You're Still in Chexsystems, I came across a website where one of my competitors was doing some advertising. That website/advertisement was showing up in Google. 57

58 I thought, Hmmm... if her ad is showing up in Google, maybe I should write a better ad, using better keywords, and advertise on the same site. Maybe my ad will rank better than hers. It was that single thought that I attribute at least $50K in sales over the years. Because not only did my ad rank well in Google (it has been #1-#8 in Google for my targeted keyword since 2005), I was also able to use that tactic to promote my other sites. And then when I saw it had longevity, I turned around and sold what I had learned for $97. All because I was able to formulate a plan and work the plan with speed. They see an idea in 3D. Truth be told, a lot of e-books contain re-hashed information. But that s not where it ends. In my opinion, Desperate Buyers Only IS re-hashed information. I m not saying something brand new by suggesting you sell to desperate buyers. It s a basic economic premise. The thing is, even if you have re-hashed information, you gotta put a spin on it. It s like on American Idol when judge Paula Abdul says, Oh my gosh... I loved it! You TOTALLY made that song your own. Or like fashion... Bell bottoms of the 70 s are now living as boot cuts of the new millennium. You can t just borrow someone else s great thoughts, and change a few words with the help of a thesaurus. You have to see something in a concept that s new and fresh. You can focus in on a single aspect of a concept. You can add two ideas together to create a super-idea. We ll explore more ways to do it all later. They realize that the right time is right now. I have a good friend who works for the government, but he longs to quit that daily grind and start his own business. His biggest problem is that he can t 58

59 seem to mentally get over a business failure he had some years ago, that cost him $3K. He constantly tells me about these great business ideas. Then instead of plotting everything out, and giving one a try, he over thinks the process. He s constantly worried about something going wrong, even though he s perfectly well prepared to handle any pitfalls. He just contemplates the same moves over and over again. Internet marketing infoproduct developers who have been in the game longer than a couple of years don t sit and wait to develop an idea. If they have an idea, and it works, they package it up and sell it. Remember, we re talking about an industry that s still evolving at a tremendous pace. Speed in this business is a very valuable asset. Especially if you learn to utilize it well. They use common sense. I like to occasionally lurk in Internet marketing forums. It s a good way to see what s hot, what s new, etc. But forums can also be a source of comic relief. It never ceases to amaze me how someone can overtly promote an e-book on how to get rich online through their forum signature, while they re asking for advice on how to promote their website. I m NOT saying that I m a know-it-all either. I read A LOT and test different strategies to constantly improve my own skills. Smart Internet marketing infoproduct developers sometimes go through slumps too. But come on there s something very idiotic about selling get rich quick information, and showing the world that you don t know what the heck you re doing. Egads! 59

60 They re resilient. Putting in the time to do this is one thing. But the ability to continue acting on an idea even when you haven t been successful, is what separates the guru s from the wanna-be s. And you can quote me on that one. Everybody experiences some degree of failure in business. Big businesses. Small businesses. It doesn t matter. Nobody is exempt from failures hand of fate. I mean just look at the worldwide financial mess we re experiencing right now. So get over that fear right now. Because somewhere along the line you re going to lose money, lose face, and probably lose a night or two of sleep. You ll have critics. And you ll get refunds. But here s the good part. You won t be the first, nor will you be the last. Everybody in this business has the exact same issues - beginners and pro s alike. So don t ever feel like you're being singled out. That s just the way things are. The important thing is that you either learn from it, or ignore it and move on. As the old saying goes, what doesn t kill you will make you stronger. Why am I Spilling the Beans Now? So you re probably wondering why - if I have the skill and the know-how to create IM infoproducts that sell really well - would I share that information with other writers. As I m frequently asked, Why not just keep it to yourself, crank out new products every month, make millions and retire? Because your success doesn t impede my success. When someone buys my e- book, it s fair to say that they re also going to buy another person s book or e-book or DVD or whatever. Quite possibly yours. We might be joint ventures partners in the future, or you might choose to be an affiliate and sell my products. 60

61 This isn t a race for me to beat you, or vice versa. This is about helping each other make a niche better and each other richer. If you re craving that action, step up and get some. Creating and Selling Internet Marketing Advice Even If You re Not an Internet Marketing Expert Let me tell you something I ve noticed about people in general. We like to live vicariously and learn through other peoples experiences. Take me for instance I m an armchair traveler. I may not take a trip until my daughter s summer holiday. But during the 9 months that she s in school, I like reading about different destinations, learning about various cultures, watching travel shows, and so on. I am basically living my dream through other people s experiences. I m learning how to act, where to go, what to do, and what to eat. When I read a Zagat s restaurant guide, I m also living through someone else s experiences. I m deciding where to eat based on what other Zagat readers have said in their reviews. So when I m asked, How do I teach Internet marketing, if I haven t mastered it yet? My set answer has always been, Become a tester. In order to be perceived as an expert in Internet marketing you have to be the person who s doing the vicarious living. Vicarious living is achieved by testing. You must experiment with different online marketing strategies, then show your readers the final results in the form of an information product. Even if you re a beginner, this is the ultimate strategy because: You can make all the mistakes you want, and people will still want your advice. Readers like seeing the good, the bad and the ugly. It helps them to do a better job by understanding where the pitfalls are. 61

62 You are developing an information product while you re improving your own skills; You can test many different variables, which means your competition - (as far as the topic is concerned) - is limited. If you re diligent you can complete a series of tests, and start making money with your own information product in only a couple of months. Make that sacrifice and you ll have a skill that you profit from year after year. Believe it or not, I made enough from the first edition of DBO to live solely from its profits for 3 years straight. Even if I had no other income during that time period (which I did have) - I could ve thrived just from DBO. In February 2009 I netted $3,091 from the first edition of DBO (not this one, the first one). That s after I paid my affiliates. And remember, this is all going on during a recession. Desperate Buyers Only IS the result of my own tests. I show my readers specific sites that I created using the DBO formula. I show them which advertisements worked and which ones didn t. That first edition, as well as this one, is a result of my tests. It didn t shock me that it continued to do well, even though it hadn t been updated in almost three years. I did receive some flak because some of the information (mainly websites) were outdated. But that didn t stop the show because the fundamental part the results of my own tests are timeless. There s a book called The First Hundred Million, written by E. Haldeman-Julius. Haldeman-Julius sold over 200 million books, with some 2,000 titles. The First Hundred Million is an analysis of the original titles for many of his books, along with the title that it was later changed to. He shows the sales figures for each title, so you can see how a change in the title makes a difference in sales. Interestingly enough, E. Haldeman-Julius sold these books during the 1920 s and 62

63 1930 s. And yet, The First Hundred Million is STILL recommended by top marketers and copywriters today. If you go to the link above, you ll see it being sold for $ When I purchased it 10+ years ago it was around $100. The bottom line is that readers can get re-hashed rhetoric anywhere. They can get plain vanilla how-to anywhere. But test results make readers desperate. It s beautiful and it s ugly and it s real-life. And that s what people will clamor to see. So here are the steps you ll take to decide on the topic for your information product. 1) Choose your audience. 2) Choose your IM specialty. 3) Choose your test hook. 1) Choose your audience. Before you choose your audience I want to show you something. Open five separate browser tabs, go to Google on each one, and type in the following search phrases: promote a clothing line online clothing designer online marketing how to sell clothing online sell handmade clothing online promote clothing online Now quickly scan the first 50 listings for each phrase, and make note of how many information products are being sold to this audience. When I did it, the only e-book that showed up in the organic listings was my own Indie Designers Marketing Guide for the phrase sell handmade clothing online. There were NO AdWords advertisements from information publishers who teach clothing designers how to market their goods online. NONE! Okay now try these phrases: hypnotherapist online marketing hypnotherapy online marketing 63

64 promote hypnotherapy online internet marketing for hypnotherapists Once again, scan the first 50 listings for each phrase. Find any information products specifically for promoting ones hypnotherapy business online? No? Me neither. That s pretty amazing considering there are a whopping 9,500 members in the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners. (And that s just one association in the United States.) I asked you to do this exercise because I wanted you to see the vast opportunities available to you. When you choose an audience, you don t have to take on the entire IM population. As you can see there are lower hanging fruits just ripe for the picking. And surprisingly, no one is really picking them! Imagine you chose hypnotherapists as your audience. You decide that you re going to teach them how to generate inexpensive sales leads through Google s Content Network AdWords advertising. Your product sells for $65. Even if you only sold 40 copies a month (just 10 a week) you d still net approximately $2,400 a month. I m sure you could find a couple of bills to pay with $2,400 a month. And that s with just one product in the pipeline. Since no one is really dominating this niche, you could conceivably come up with 2-3 more IM products, and double or triple your take home pay. Now perhaps you ve heard the old marketing saying that if there aren t any products being sold to a specific audience, perhaps it s because those people aren t spending any money. So in theory, because there aren t any online marketing products for hypnotherapists, there isn t a demand for these types of products. That theory is wrong at least in this situation. Hypnotherapists and all the other occupations you re going to learn about are interested in gaining more customers. Everyone in business is there to make more money. And the way you make more money is by getting more customers. Besides, there are marketing infoproducts for 64

65 hypnotherapists. There are marketing infoproducts for massage therapists, and yoga instructors, and jewelry designers. So it s not that you cannot find a single marketing product for these people. It s just that online marketing products aren t equally prolific. And that s what makes them desperate buyers. While there are IM infoproducts out there, hardly anyone is giving hypnotherapists and other groups direct attention. That s where you come in. Here s a list of 22 freelance buyers that you can write for. I chose these types of buyers because: The type of work these sellers do is easy to understand. You don t need to be a participant in the business to understand how to write for them. Because they re individuals and not part of a larger corporation - they don t need authorization to purchase a product. Most these freelance fields have forums and blogs where you can get a feel of what they do, their wants, needs, problems and difficulties. Most of them had limited amounts of online marketing infoproducts available to them. Sometimes there were several infoproducts available, but they were written years ago, and hadn t been updated, or they didn t focus on a single marketing technique. I suggest you check out the entire list first. Once you ve narrowed down your list, visit a few of their forums or blogs to learn more about who they are, what they do, and what they re concerned about. You might even find a few infoproduct ideas while you re searching. And even if you don t, the next step will give you some guidance. 22 Types Desperate Buyers Artist - Painter, Sculpter- A person who creates fine art, using oil paints, acrylics, watercolors, markers, clay, stone, marble, and so on. 65

66 Sub-niches: Watercolorist, oil painter, acrylic painter, collage artist, mixed media artist, digital art, graffiti artist, illustrator, printmaker, stained glass artist, mosaic artist. Why are they desperate? Because most artists have a difficult time with the marketing process. They can paint, design or sculpt well. But marketing usually isn t their strong suit - hence the term starving artist. They require a paint-bythe-numbers marketing system that s easy to understand. Technical terms - as related to the Internet - should be fully explained. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Wet Canvas Internet Sales Strategies Forum Astrologist/Numerologist/Intuitive- Although these are three different fields, they re all related to one main theme... learning more about the present and the future. Think psychic without the crystal ball. Why are they desperate? Because depending on the field, there are very few marketing materials available. Most times if there are any marketing materials, it's combined with a how to become a type materials. You ll probably find the bulk of available marketing information is for astrologers. Author/Writer/Information publisher- An author is much more than someone who writes traditional print books. Thanks to the Internet, authors can do print books, self-publish their own books, create manuals at their local copy shop, create audio materials, video materials, e-books, subscription web sites, ghostwrite for other people, develop advertising supported web sites, create newspapers/magazines for their local community, and so on. Why are they desperate? Because there are A LOT of sub-niches in the information publishing industry that haven't been covered in depth. For example, marketing for ghostwriters or how to promote a local publication. You have to look beyond the obvious print book and e-book authors. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Print on Demand Publishers Yahoo group 66

67 Technical Writers and Editors Yahoo group SongwriterCafe Yahoo group Writer s Blog Songwriter/Musicians Forum American Grant Writers Association Specialized Information Publishers Association Self Publishers Association of North America Bookseller- As the name describes, a bookseller is someone who focuses on the sales of books, rather than writing them. Many online booksellers are actually Amazon.com affiliates. Why are they desperate? Because technically they re in direct competition with big bookstores like Amazon, Chapters, Barnes and Noble, etc. They re also going toe-to-toe with smaller booksellers. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Digital Point Amazon Forum 5 Star Affiliate Programs Amazon ABestWeb Amazon Affiliate Program The World Book Market Clothing designer- The realm of clothing designers is vast. They can cover men s, women s, children s, and even dog and cat clothes. There s formal wear, active wear, costume designers, pageant dress designers, and so on. Point A to B- Who are they going to design clothes for? Men, women, children, animals? Where will they get their inspiration? What pieces will they have in their clothing line? Who will handle the pattern making? 67

68 What type of fabric will they use? Where will the clothes be manufactured? At home or in a factory? How will they market the clothes? Sales reps, wholesalers, through their own store, web site? Why are they desperate? Designers who create their own lines have to invest large amounts of money for their goods to come to fruition. The designs have to be sized properly, fabric has to be purchased, cut, and sewn, and then the lines have to be marketed. And that's the condensed version of the story. It s really an intricate and time consuming process, even if they re doing the actual sewing themselves. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Career Education and the Business of Fashion Clothing seller- Instead of taking on the entire design and marketing process, the seller buys the clothes at wholesale prices and sells them at retail. Point A to B- Decide if they re going to sell to men, women or children. What sub-niche will they sell to? Urban street wear, dressy, wedding, infant and toddlers. What brands will they sell? Where will they get the merchandise? Directly from designers, sales reps, wholesaler? Where will they sell? Online or offline? Mall, Main street, or catalog? If they sell offline they'll need fixtures, signage and equipment for the store. If they sell online/offline they'll need a web site. Decide where they ll advertise. Newspapers, magazines, Internet, radio, television? How will they ship the merchandise? Why are they desperate? Clothing is a commonly sold commodity. You can find it any and everywhere. Marketing is clearly important for helping sellers stand out from the crowd. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Ebay s Childrens Clothing Boutique forum 68

69 Coach (Life coach, consultant)- Coaches help their clients move ahead in business or overcome tough life issues. Coaches can help clients with their financial lives, career planning and development, prosperity/abundance, marketing, leadership, health, and so on. Many coaches receive their training from institutes like Coach University or the International Coach Federation. Why are they desperate? While the coaching field has grown tremendously over the past decade, there are still many people who aren t familiar with coaches and what they do. So coaches have to continually educate potential prospects. Also as the coaching field continues to grow, more new coaches are entering the field. Learn more about what makes them desperate: The Coaching Forums Cosmetic/Beauty product developer- Beauty product developers create their own soaps, bath fizzies, lotions, moisturizers, perfumes, and other cosmetic products. Why are they desperate? Consumers are used to purchasing well-known beauty products, but may be apprehensive about buying something that s homemade. Homemade beauty products usually aren t sold in many offline stores like the larger brands. So the Internet is a really important outlet for product sales. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Indie Beauty Network Dog trainer- Nowadays people treat their dogs like children. They have daycare, ritzy clothing stores, organic dog treats... the sky s the limit. Trainers work with dogs to help them obey commands, overcome aggression issues, and potty train. Why are they desperate? When I got my dog the first place I looked for training was the local PetSmart - which is a huge pet store chain in the US. It s a convenience thing for many new dog owners, since they re probably already buying dog food, toys, etc from the PetSmart. And because dog training is a locally based business, online marketing campaigns have to be very precise. Learn more about what makes them desperate: National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors 69

70 Doll and toy maker- Children aren t the only ones who enjoy toys and dolls. Many adults are also avid collectors. I recently passed a comic book store and saw several scary looking stuffed animals for sale. The owner of the store told me that they were made by a local artisan, and they were very popular. If you do a Google search for reborn dolls you ll see there s a very decent sized market in existence. And these expensive dolls are typically for adults. Why are they desperate? Like clothing design/manufacturing, toy making is a time consuming business. So makers want to maximize their marketing efforts, in order to continue creating. Learn more about what makes them desperate: International Dollmakers Forum KidRobot Discussion Boards Event planner- Event planners organize weddings, conferences, trade shows, seminars, concerts, birthday parties, dinner parties, family reunions, and any other gathering you can possibly imagine. Why are they desperate? Actually there s no shortage of books on launching and running an event planning business. But as far as books focused strictly on marketing an event planning business... I was only able to find one title. And it wasn t geared specifically towards online marketing. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Party411 Discussion Forums About.com s Event Planning forum Graphic artist- Graphic artists create logos, book illustrations, custom graphics for t-shirts and websites, they do layouts for flyers, menus, reports, and so on. Why are they desperate? While there are well-known directories that show graphic artists how to get work offline, there s a limited amount of online marketing information available to them. 70

71 Learn more about what makes them desperate: HowDesign.com Business forum Estetica Graphic Design Business forum Design Talkboard Business Forums at YourDesignForums Handbag designer/manufacturer- Handbag designers create purses, totes, wallets, cosmetic bags, baby bags, backpacks, and shopping bags. The bags are made using fabric from a fabric store or leather. Accessories such as handles, corners, snaps and bottoms are usually purchased from a craft store, or online. Why are they desperate? The Internet has really made this craft more easily available to more women, so it is growing in popularity. But aside from a few key sites, handbag designers really don t have many only marketing resources. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Handbag Designer 101Forums Handbag seller- Handbags are a staple accessory in most women s wardrobes. Probably the most popular sellers are those by high end designers like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Kate Spade, Prada, Marc Jacobs, and so on. Lots of ebay sellers strive to get their hands on bags by these designers. Knock-off bags (that resemble a high end design, but without the logos) also produce brisk business. Why are they desperate? Handbags are popular sellers on ebay. But that also means it s a very competitive environment. The search engines are filled with web sites from larger, more established handbag sellers, so it can be difficult for the one person operation to gain a foothold. Hypnotherapist- Hypnotherapists are trained to use hypnosis in order to help their clients handle or overcome a range of problems. This might include smoking, weight loss, sexual issues, spiritual issues, health problems, and so on. In the United States, hypnotherapists have to go through 100+ hours of training in order to be licensed. 71

72 Why are they desperate? Hypnotherapy is a local business. So marketing online has to be handled with more precision than a general campaign. Learn more about what makes them desperate: The Business of Hypnosis Jewelry designer- Among other things, jewelry designers use beads, chains, elastic, silver, gold, and all kinds of findings to create custom made pieces. Because there are so many books available, most designers are either self-taught, or they learn by attending classes given at jewelry supply shops. Why are they desperate? There s no shortage of online or offline shops that sell jewelry making supplies, especially when it comes to beads. As a result, jewelry making is a rather popular hobby. And with the Internet, more and more designers are attempting to sell their works online. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Starving Jewelry Artists IndiePublic Forums Etsy.com Business Topics forum Jewelry seller- Sellers can specialize in costume jewelry (jewelry that s not made from precious metals or stones), watches, earrings, necklaces, rings, and body jewelry made from gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, and other precious stones. Why are they desperate? Jewelry is something that has typically been purchased offline as people like to try it on. Online - especially on venues like ebay - there are many established sellers who promote both costume and fine jewelry. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Orchid Limousine business- In the United States there are around 12,400 limousine companies. They primarily provide airport transfers, transportation for special 72

73 occasions like proms and weddings, and business travel services. Why are they desperate? During economic slowdowns fewer people use limos. So it s vital for them to have strategies that keep the pipelines full. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Limousines Online Make-up artist- Make-up artists are predominantly used by participants in weddings, proms, graduations, television/movies, theatre, and modeling. Why are they desperate? There s almost really no online marketing resources for make-up artists. There are web-based directories where they can get listed. But currently no information products specially make-up artists. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Make-Up Artist Board Make-Up Artist Message Board Massage therapist- Massage therapists are masseuses. They may be skilled in acupressure, shiatsu, sports massage, reflexology, and so on. In the United States over half of the states require between 500-1,000 hours in massage therapy school. Hours in Canadian provinces are typically 1,000+. Why are they desperate? One issue that massage therapists complain about is the lack of sufficient marketing skills they gain from massage therapy school. There are marketing infoproducts available outside of the schools. However most of the material is focused on offline marketing. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Bodywork Online Business Forums Model- Models work in a variety of fields including magazines, catalogs, television/commercial, fashion shows and trade shows. Most models are represented by a modeling agency. However there are many directories on the Internet where models can promote themselves without the help of an agency. 73

74 Why are they desperate? Top models are paid extremely well, so of course there s a huge financial incentive. Also as I mentioned before, there are many web-based directories where models can promote themselves. So the market has gotten much more competitive over the years. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Models.com Forums OneModelPlace Forums Mortgage broker- Mortgage brokers match home and property buyers with lending sources. They are paid a commission for the deal they broker, in addition to extra fee s paid by the applicant. Why are they desperate? Mortgage brokers have gotten a bad rap over the years because of the deceptive practices of certain companies in the field. So consumers tend to be wary in that aspect. There are also lots of websites where applicants can apply for loans. Plus the search engines are filled with savvy companies who have well optimized web sites. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Broker Outpost Mortgage Forums MortgageBrokerLand.com Forums Musician- Musicians who market themselves on the Internet may be looking for local business from weddings and other special events. There are also music instructors looking for local students. Then you also have musicians who make beats/tracks to be used by hip-hop artists. There are also musicians who create short clips for videos and audio books. And finally musicians who are promoting their music CD s and mp3 s. Why are they desperate? There are many online directories where bands and singers can list themselves. But when it comes to resources for music instructors and bands looking for local gigs, there s very little to go on. Learn more about what makes them desperate: BandMix 74

75 Velvet Rope Network marketer- Network marketers sell specific products or services to end users, and recruit people to promote those same items. For example, they might sell nutritional supplements, kitchen ware, legal services, and so on. The items or services they promote are usually those that have to be replenished on an ongoing basis. Why are they desperate? Because part of being successful as a network marketer entails bringing in new sales associates under you. As many newbies to this field find out, friends and family aren t always so receptive to the opportunity. So if they want to be successful, they have to spend a considerable amount of both time and money selling the product/service AND promoting the business opportunity to others. Learn more about what makes them desperate: MLM Forums OnlineMLM.com Discussion Forums Newsletter publisher- A decade or more ago, being a newsletter publisher meant sending out an page print publication every month. Nowadays the options are way more vast. Newsletter publishers can send out free newsletters on the Internet, and have advertisers cover their costs. Or they can run membership web sites, and charge subscribers on a monthly basis. Of course the print option is still very much alive and well. Why are they desperate? With the Internet, you have many more people who attempt to sidestep fee-based publications. And with a greater number of content publishers both on and off the Internet, the competition has heated up in many topical niches. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Folio Personal trainer/fitness trainer- Personal trainers work with people to help them achieve their body shaping goals. Some work with clients to help them lose weight. Other trainers work with budding bodybuilders. And then you have personal 75

76 trainers who offer intense bootcamp sessions. In general, personal trainers create menus for their clients, develop exercise routines, assist their clients in the gym, and offer overall motivation. Why are they desperate? There was a time when personal trainers could only be afforded by people who were well off. Not anymore. Today it s not a huge stretch for the average person to be able to have a personal trainer. And as a result, trainers are now as close as your neighborhood gym or fitness center. With competition growing from gyms, the marketing task of an independent personal trainer also increases. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Just Pure Fitness Ask the Trainer Forums Photographer- Portrait photographers typically work in a studio (although not always) and take pictures of individual people, families and pets. Stock photographers take pictures of all kinds of things including: people, animals, buildings, food items, things in nature, etc. Stock photographers then sell their pictures to be used in advertising, on websites, in books, magazines, brochures, on t-shirts, mousepads, and so on. Why are they desperate? Two reasons - the digital camera and the Internet. More and more wannabe photographers can enter the field because of the increasingly good quality of digital cameras. The Internet not only helps with advertising a photography business, it also enables stock photographers to sell their images through a greater number of channels. For example, anyone can upload their images to a site like IStockPhoto.com and begin getting paid for their work. The big stock photo companies no longer have a direct pipeline to buyers as they may have had years ago. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Photo.net Photography Business Forum Professional organizer- Professional organizers help their clients clear the clutter and take better control of their personal and business lives. They work with clients on both a personal and business level. Here are a few of the things they assist with: 76

77 Paper management/filing systems, closet design, kitchen design, home office design, relocation assistance, time management, and space planning. Why are they desperate? It s a relatively easy field to enter, with a low start-up cost. There s no licensing for professional organizers. That s a recipe for lots of competition. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Get Organized Now! Discussion Forum National Association of Professional Organizers Public speaker/seminar leader- Public speakers work in several different capacities. They can offer seminars on their own, give workshops/training to corporate groups, offer keynote speeches, or work in seminar centers like the Learning Annex. Why are they desperate? Profits can be extremely high - especially when it comes to keynote speeches for major conferences. So the competition tends to be tough. Great public speakers get hired over and over again. Newbie s typically have to prove their worth in order to command high fee s. Learn more about what makes them desperate: SpeakerNet News The Global Speakers Forum is a fee-based service for speakers, that gives you access to a forum. Real estate agent- Real estate agents are the men and women who sell homes. They receive a commission for each sale they make. Why are they desperate? This is one field where marketing is paramount - and everybody knows it. Agents have to be adept at staying in front of potential home sellers, and being even better at promoting the homes on their roster. There are lots of offline marketing materials available to them. But there s still room for improvement in the online marketing world. 77

78 Learn more about what makes them desperate: Real Estate Forums iq Real Estate Researcher- Also known as an independent information professionals or information brokers, researchers may hail from a variety of fields. Genealogy researchers are popular nowadays as more people want to uncover their family history. Some researchers monitor developments in a particular field or industry, as is the case with legal researchers. A fairly popular niche is the public records researcher. This person uses publicly available court documents and other forms of data to compile information about a person, company or industry. The bottom line is that they retrieve information, organize it for the client, and possibly analyze it to compile a report. Why are they desperate? Marketing information products for people in this field is extremely limited. Online marketing infoproducts is extremely difficult to find. While those who have previously worked in the field may have a leg up as far as established connections, newbie's barely have an online marketing roadmap. Learn more about what makes them desperate: The best way to learn about researchers needs is to become a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals. They have a thriving discussion group, but it s for members only. Tax preparer- Although January-April are probably the busiest times of the year for tax preparers in the United States, the flow of business by no means stops after that. Business clients and late filers keep the flow going year round. Why are they desperate? When tax season rolls around, you can throw a stone 50 feet in any direction and hit a tax preparer. They are extremely easy to find. And the smart ones are marketing dynamos. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Tax Almanac AccountantsWorld 78

79 T-shirt designer- Thanks to the availability of free online tutorials and fairly affordable design software, t-shirt designers are growing as a commodity in the design industry. They mainly create designs and logos for fashion tee s. Why are they desperate? T-shirt designers all tend to congregate and compete on the same sites. There s no definitive marketing guide for them to follow. They need to be alerted to other ways that they can promote themselves. However be forewarned... there are lots of younger designers in this niche. So the price of your product may be a big issue. Learn more about what makes them desperate: T-Shirt Forums T-Shirt seller- T-shirts are hot sellers both on and offline. But it s not just fashion tee s that are on the radar. T-shirt sellers also specialize in machine embroidered tee s, customized shirts for teams and tee shirts for events. Sometimes designers sell their own goods. Why are they desperate? It s easy and inexpensive to get started, so the sellers market is growing. However many newbie sellers are gravitating to sites like CafePress or Zazzle, or they simply don t understand all the logistics of creating and marketing their own website. The marketing books that are available on Amazon are older, and really don t take the Internet into account. Learn more about what makes them desperate: T-Shirt chat Tour Guide- There are independent tour guides all over the world who specialize in: photography tours, shopping tours, ethnically-based tours (Black Paris for example), walking tours, adventure tours, diving tours, and so on. Why are they desperate? There are a small number of print books that show travel business operators how to promote their operations - and an even smaller number for those wishing to promote their businesses online. The two books that I found on Amazon were written in 2000 and Needless to say, we all know how rapidly things change online. 79

80 Translator- Translators take a message in one language and translate it into another. They may work with printed documents or help people communicate in real life situations. Some translators have expanded their services by translating websites. Why are they desperate? Most translators take the easy Internet marketing route. They post their CVs on a few translation job portals, and that s the extent of their marketing efforts. Furthermore, I only found one online marketing infoproduct directed to this audience at TranslatorTips. Learn more about what makes them desperate: ProZ Translator Forums Travel agents- With the mainstream growth of the Internet, travel agencies have taken a fairly good sized hit in the pockets. But the industry isn t dead yet. While the under 40 crowd tend to be seasoned Internet travel deal seekers, many Baby Boomers still prefer to go through travel agents. Outside of the United States, travel agents are still a visible part of the Main Street landscape. Travel agents book trips for their clients, suggest hotels, sell travel insurance, etc. You also have site owners that act like web based travel agents. These people refer traffic to bigger travel sites like Expedia.com for a commission on each sale. Why are they desperate? There are many marketing books, and a sizable amount of travel marketing information. But the gap lessens significantly when it comes to online travel agent marketing. And it gets smaller when you re talking about information written within the past two years. This sector is hungry for marketing information. But very few are servicing the online marketing aspect. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Travel Weekly The Biz Video producers- When you think of a wedding or corporate training video, you re thinking of the work of a video producer. Video producers film commercials, events, training sessions, seminars, and a variety of other events. Now that high speed Internet has made online video easily accessible to more people, video producers have another growing niche to target. 80

81 Why are they desperate? This is traditionally a high end field. Video production assignments can start at $5,000 and go up to six figures. Also for the most part, it s a locally based job. So if there are lots of other video production companies within an area, competition might be tough. Especially when there are a limited number of assignments to go around. Learn more about what makes them desperate: DVProfessionals.com Forum DVCreators.net Forum Virtual assistant- Virtual assistants (typically abbreviated to VAs), are entrepreneurs who provide professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients from a home office. They usually work for other small businesses and consultancy groups. Why are they desperate? There s lots of cheap competition from VAs in countries like India and Pakistan. Whereas a US-based VA might charge $25 an hour, a VA in India might accept $6-$10 an hour. And because VAs already have the necessary skills to do the job, the start-up costs are low. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Virtual Assistant Forums Virtual Assistant Club Voice over artist- Voice over artists are the people you hear on radio commercials, or the announcers speaking in the background of a television commercial. They re also the people you hear talking in software programs, games, and even audio books. Basically they re the actors and actresses who are heard, not seen. Why are they desperate? Like any acting job, clients are looking for a specific type of voice. The demand for certain voices may outweigh the want for others. So it s really a competitive field just because there are only so many jobs to go around for so many voices. 81

82 Learn more about what makes them desperate: Voice-Overs.com The VO-BB Yoga instructor- Some yoga instructors work for a specific school. But most are freelance. In other words, they may teach yoga for several different schools, or they ll have their own school with a private clientele. Why are they desperate? In any local community there s only a need for a certain number of yoga instructors. In my own community, I watched a more established yoga center get demolished (businesswise) by a newer center because the newbie s were far better marketers. Yoga is spiritually and mentally uplifiting. But it still requires good old fashioned marketing. Learn more about what makes them desperate: Yoga.com 2) Choose your Internet marketing specialty. Now that you ve had a look-see at your readership, I want you to decide on a specialty. In other words, what s the general topic you re going to talk about in your information product? Search engines: Keyword research Search engine optimization on page factors Search engine optimization off page factors Pay per click advertising Google AdWords Optimization for local search Vertical search Mobile search Getting listed in directories Content development: Write content to drive more traffic to a website Where to submit articles Article marketing 82

83 Developing an online newsletter Developing a blog Wordpress Promoting a blog Guest blogging Podcasting Writing advertisements/copywriting Writing a book Creating an audio/video series Creating a video for YouTube Creating content for Squidoo Social marketing: Participating in forums to generate leads Properly using social media websites Twittering for clients Website design: Domain names Website hosting Creating a portal/authority site Design landing pages for lead generation Understanding analytics/enhancing a website based on analytics How to make a website more usable Advertising strategies: Advertising on blogs Text link advertising Banner advertising marketing Affiliate marketing Online auctions Online classified advertising Viral marketing Google AdSense Ad tracking Exit traffic Pop-up s 83

84 Miscellaneous strategies: A/B split testing Conversion analysis Online reputation management Online publicity/press releases You can base your decision on a few different factors: Are there any other competitive titles? If yes, what s wrong with them? What s right with them? How can you make yours different? Are there any other free blogs or authority sites (for your audience) that explain your specific topic? If yes, can you make your infoproduct better? What IM topics are most pressing on forums and blogs for your target audience? If there s no indication (which is usually what happens) what are their most pressing needs? How can you tie those needs into IM? At the present moment do you have enough previous knowledge to discuss the topic? If not, you need to educate yourself by reading general IM marketing on your chosen topic. Don t just read one product. You need several different points-of-view to develop a good understanding. 3) Now select a test hook. The next step in the topic creation process is choosing a test hook. You re going to determine the type of test you ll run as the basis for your information product. In an e-book I m currently writing I decided to see how much money I could earn in one week of steady marketing my freelance writing services on certain forums. I selected this test hook because I know that prospective buyers would be looking for immediate financial results due to the current economic situation. It matches what I said earlier about having the power of NOW. Here are some test hooks that can be adapted and tweaked to your specialty. The cost hook: You ll be running a test on a certain amount of money. It can either be a low amount - $100 or less or a larger amount - $1K+. 84

85 Specialty- Google AdWords Example- Generate at least 1,000 clicks a month for under $100. The time hook: You ll be running a test on a certain amount of time, like 1 day, 1 week or 1 month. Specialty- Developing an online newsletter Example- How to start generating leads from your online newsletter in 30 days or less. The multi-site hook: You ll show your results running the same ad on a number of different websites. Specialty- Advertising on blogs Example- You ll run the same ad on different blogs (targeted and/or untargeted) and show the results. The single site hook: You ll show your results running different ads on the same site. Specialty- Promoting a blog Example- You ll run different ads on a single site to promote a blog. The number hook: Tell how you achieved a certain goal leads or 100 sales, for example. Specialty- Article marketing Example- Show how you generated 100 leads a month through article marketing. Copy tweak hook: Show the conversion results with one piece of sales copy pitted against another. You can use the copy tweak hook with advertisements, website sales copy, landing pages, etc. 85

86 Specialty- Landing pages Example- How does changing the length of a landing page affect the number of leads being generated? 4) Begin your test! Whoa Alexis, I ve got a problem. How can I attempt to run a test selling original art if I don t have any original art to sell? Good question - and actually it s the least of your worries. The good thing about these desperate buyers is that you won t have any problems finding a few who are willing to take free marketing help. Especially now that we re in the center of a recessionary storm. You can find willing participants in a few ways: Sell other peoples products as an affiliate. And if they don t have an affiliate program set-up, you can always contact them to see if you can resell for them. I ve had several clients who have done this, and yes it works. Put an ad on Google AdWords telling about your free marketing services. This method will require both an AdWords ad and a landing page. Your AdWords ad should tell that you re offering free marketing services as case studies in your infoproduct. And your landing page should give further details, including the appropriate information they should send you. If you already have a blog, put an ad on your blog offering free marketing services. Advertise on other peoples blogs. I have used, and love BlogAds.com for this purpose. You choose the blogs you want to advertise on, based on topic. You can see the number of estimated ad impressions. And you can advertise for as little as one week, with an ad as small as 150x100. For example, if you wanted to target photographers, an ad on BeyondMegapixels.com will cost you $10 a week. 86

87 FINDING A DESPERATE TOPIC TECHNIQUE #4 Desperate in YOUR Niche or Profession After 3+ years of offering consultations to DBO readers, I ve noticed the same problem come up countless times. A financial planner for example - will call me wondering how to create a desperate e-book that utilizes their expertise. From the outside looking in I m thinking there must be a dozen desperate topics that they can come up with within a few minutes. But that s not how they see it. Unfortunately their extreme knowledge of financial planning prevents them from seeing the desperation in any of it. Sometimes when you know so much about a topic you automatically assume that everybody else is familiar with the same concepts. You see importance because you re an expert. You don t see desperation because you re not a novice. So this final topic finding technique is for those of you who are knee deep in your profession or niche, and want to pull desperate topics from it. 1) Who s most interested in knowing what you know? Most people answer this question by telling me about their customers. But lets s look beyond your customer. If you ve been successful at your craft then people in your profession also want to know what you know. Same deal for people who want to be in your profession. Depending on what you do you may have an easier time selling to other workers, versus selling information to customers. I had a client who sold a certain financial service. He primarily dealt with clients who were financially well off, and he managed their accounts. He happened to be 87

88 very good at selling to these people. During the course of our conversation I discovered that he was within the top 10% of all sellers in his field. This is one of those situations where I determined that he d have an easier time selling to other salespeople, versus selling to his customer base. Why? Because of his existing success he d be able to charge a lot more selling to the salespeople. 2) Describe a stalling point. As I mentioned on the previous page, I wrote this section of DBO because a number of professionals who d read the previous version of this e-book couldn t figure out how to generate desperate topics. It was an obvious stalling point for those readers. Stalling points are tiny problematic pockets that only people who are immersed within a niche or profession will know about. Yet even though I describe stalling points as tiny, they can be very lucrative for a couple of reasons. The most obvious being that if only participants within a niche know about the stalling point, you ll have a limited amount of competition when it comes to publishing information products. Secondly, each stalling point can be packaged and sold as a unique e-book. So if you discover 10 stalling points, you could conceivably have 10 different reports. Here are some examples of a stalling point: Spa owners who have a wonderful facility, but cannot get an adequate amount of foot traffic. What should they do? Newbie s to the competitive intelligence field might not know how to explain their findings in a written report. How should they write the report, what should it consist of? Librarians who need to develop library procedures or policies. 88

89 3) Describe 3 things that make newbie s upset, angry or disorientated when completing an important task. Aaaaah newbie s. What a sweet little group of buyers they can be. They re curious to learn, but they can become flustered quickly. And that s good for you - if you know what brings them to that boiling point. I m talking newbie buyers as well as newbie s in your profession. When I first started doing photography, I knew that it was important to learn how to frame a shot, but it was the one thing that caused me the most anguish. As much as I tried, I could never seem to look at the environment in front of me, and see a natural visual frame. To a non-photog this might seem like a petty point to pursue. But if you re going to be a decent stock photographer, framing is a critical skill. So is lighting. In fact, any part of a process where excessive choice making is involved usually causes anxiety, and therefore makes a good topic. 3) Does your response in #2 or #3 meet the Desperate Topic Criteria? If so, move on to the next section, Writing the Desperate Product. And if not, you ll need to start from the beginning again. 89

90 WRITING THE DESPERATE PRODUCT One of the best things about creating an information product for desperate buyers is that they don t want a bunch of chit-chat. If you ve got a toilet that s one flush away from overflowing onto your brand new hardwood floors (or even your old hardwood floors, for that matter) you don t give a hoot about the ABC s of indoor plumbing. The only thing you want to know is how to get that water to go down the drain preferably without having the plumber come out. So if you re going to buy something, it s going to be an e-book on how to fix the clogged toilet so you don t end up walking around in waste water. That s it. And that s the main point you have to remember when creating an e-book for desperate buyers. Your buyers don t want a 300-page dissertation. They want you to tell them how to solve their problem preferably in the fewest number of words you can formulate - though not necessarily in 1-2 pages. I like starting at pages, and maybe going up to 50 pages max. Now that s not to say that you cannot go higher of course you can if it s necessary. But always remember the mindset of your reader. They re desperate use as many words as you need to get your point across, and no more. There are 4basic formats I like to work with when creating desperate products: the resource report, the how-to report, the test results report, and the subscription infoproduct. Depending on your product, you may want to combine formats, and that s okay too. The Resource Report I ve probably done more resource guides than any other type of DBO infoproduct. For me they re quite easy because I love to do research. And if this is the type of infoproduct you choose to do, you really have to love the thrill of the resource chase. Rarely (unless you re writing from previous knowledge) will you find what you re looking for on first glance. 90

91 When I wrote How to Get a Bank Account Even if You re in Chexsystems, I searched for many hours to find those banks. They were ALL freely available online ALL mentioned as being non chexsystems banks. But I had to dig coal miner style in order to find them. They weren t on the first page of Google results. Or the second. Or the third. Or even the tenth for that matter. The average person would ve given up no more than 30 minutes into that session. And I knew that. I understand that most people are complete novices when it comes to researching properly. And the good part is that they don t know that they re novices. So they search a little bit and then they give up, assuming what they want doesn t exist. Fortunately that works out in my favor and yours too! So if you choose to do resource guides and you don t have all the necessary resources on hand, factor in your research time. And if you don t have the time to do the proper level of research, then hire a competent research professional to do the work for you. IF YOU NEED A RESEARCHER I STRONGLY RECOMMEND: The Association of Independent Information Professionals The link above will take you to their membership directory where you ll be able to search for research pro s by expertise. I tried hiring researchers on sites like Elance (which I did recommend for finding other types of experts to interview). It can definitely be cheaper to hire people on Elance. But the quality of the work I received from several Elance-acquired researchers was poor 90% of the time. When I compared the resources that I found to the ones that they found, it was never exactly what I was looking for. So do yourself a favor and pay a little bit more to hire someone who does research for a living. There IS a difference. 91

92 Now let s suppose you don t have the money to hire a research pro. Or you want to learn the ropes yourself so that you don t have to rely on anybody else to get the job done. I understand your rationale completely, so here are a few tips to help you ramp up your research-ability. When researching online, proper use of search phrases is vital. I have a notebook that I ve developed over the years that has nothing but search phrases. For example, if I m teaching readers how to buy a certain item, I ll use the following search phrase: advice on buying KEYPHRASE HERE So if you were writing a report on hybrid cars, and you wanted to teach your readers what to look out for when buying one, you d use: advice on buying hybrid cars But don t stop there because that s just the tip of the iceberg. As I m scanning through Google s results, I notice a page with the title, Tips for Making a Fuel- Efficient Purchase. To a seasoned researcher, that s another prime search phrase to add to the list. So I d add: advice on buying fuel efficient cars In Google s results I also notice a page with the following title, Green Car Buying Advice. That s yet another search phrase to add to my list: advice on buying green cars The logic in building this search phrase list is that it allows you to go in slightly different directions when you re doing research. You may not find exactly what you re looking for under one search phrase. But if you have a selection of 10 phrases to choose from, chances are you re going to find what you need. When I was doing research for the Chexsystems report, I had to look under: 92

93 non chexsystems banks non chex system banks second chance bank accounts bad credit bank accounts -(and several others) I don t quite remember which one was the charm. But I distinctly remember it wasn t the most obvious choice, which was non chexsystems banks. Look beyond the first few pages of search results. I mentioned this a couple of pages ago, but it s definitely worth saying again. Whenever you do a search, be willing to scan the first results search results. I m not saying you should click through to each and every website. I want you to just scan the titles and descriptions. Because I can tell you from first-hand experience that even though Google says the best results come first, the best results for YOU may not show up on the first page. I can t tell you how many times I ve discovered virtual goldmine s of information on the 18 th page of search results. So dig wide (lots of search phrases) and dig deep (scan lots of search results). (FYI I ve included a copy of The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula with this edition of DBO. It s going to give you a wealth of information on solid research practices.) Outlining the Resource Report Introduction: Tell why you wrote the report, what types of resources you ve included, why you chose these particular resources, mention any special features or extras you ve included. For each resource: Online/offline location, a description of the item, how to use the resource, when to use it, how much is costs, who to contact, what to say when contacting, how long it takes to complete the task. 93

94 Extras: Remember, your job is to help the reader complete a task as quickly and easily as possible. Extra items like copyright free PDF s, applications, forms, updates and links to forums give the reader the confidence and the ability to do just that. The How-To Report If you know how to do something important if you ve got a technique for breezing through a complicated process if you can teach readers how to jump over a hurdle the size of the London Bridge - you ve got the foundation for a desperate how-to report. When creating a how-to report the most important thing to remember is that you want to give your readers instant comfort. You want them to be able to close your report, and immediately start solving their problem. So you MUST give them an actual, physical activity to complete right away. I call this the Keeping Their Hands Busy theory. I want to move my readers in a specific direction as quickly as possible. I want them to physically do something, to complete a step even if it s clicking on a website or making a phone call. Why? It s psychological. Physically doing something commits them to the process I m outlining. Once they ve successfully completed a single step, they ll feel more confident about achieving the overall goal. They feel like they can get the job done. That s the main difference between a regular how-to product, and one for desperate buyers. Regular how-to information products don t typically offer that sense of urgency. Now let s say you re dealing with a topic that you really have no previous knowledge of. You might be wondering, How can I teach others to do something efficiently that I ve never tried? 94

95 Well you have two choices. #1 Become a human guinea pig and try the technique out in your own life. Or #2 Get others to tell their stories. As for me - well I actually prefer the guinea pig route. There s NO substitute for getting your hands dirty and learning how to do something the old fashioned way. The insight you gain, and the extra sales you ll make are definitely worth the experience. That s probably why old school copywriters are always suggesting that you read something outside your area of interest every, single day. It really does help you become a better writer. But actually doing something gives you the benefit of firsthand experience. That s a valuable ally when writing for desperate buyers. But admittedly this isn t always an option. If you re a woman writing about men s fitness, you can t go guinea pig it. And that s where the option #2 shines. Now normally for situations such as this I recommend using Elance, the popular freelancers-for-hire site. But let me show you what recently happened when I recently tried it. I was working on a report that showed the unemployed how to obtain a job in an unusual way. I wanted to collect stories from people who had done just that. So I posted the following request on Elance: Did you obtain a job in an unusual way? Did you bypass the resume and cover letter for a more daring approach? Did you obtain your job in the United States? If so I d like to hear your story. I m looking for 4 people to each write a 750 word article on how they got a job in a not old-fashioned way. Was your approach well thought out, or spur of the moment? What did you do? How long did it take for you to hear from the employer? Is there anything you regret, anything you would ve done differently? Please bid with a synopsis of your story telling what type of job you got, and the short version of how you got it. 95

96 If you re chosen I ll need the article written within 4 days. And payment will be made promptly upon receiving the final draft. (Please see my feedback. I m ALWAYS prompt.) Thank you in advance. This project listing survived for 3 days, and then I got the following message from Elance- Elance does not allow requests for free work. Unfortunately, your job 'Did you obtain a job in an unusual way?' with the below job description was removed because it violated this policy. We understand this may have been inadvertent and suggest that you repost your job and request relevant samples (already completed) to get a feel for a provider's style and quality of work. Some employers may also initiate several small test jobs before deciding on a provider to move forward with. We appreciate your business and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us directly at policy@elance.com. Regards, Elance Team I ed them to find out how I was supposed to choose the writer if I didn t have a synopsis. And they basically told me that I just couldn t ask for a synopsis. I would have to rely on the integrity of the bidders. That s bullshit. I ve gotten stories from bidders before (without asking for the synopsis, of course), and some of them have been crappy. There s no way you should ever hire someone to tell of their experiences if you don t have some idea of what their experiences are. So in this situation, Elance was a bust. So instead of Elance, try an expert directory. People listed in expert directories want publicity. So they re often very willing to answer questions from authors and reporters, making your job much easier. Here are a few expert directories: 96

97 Help a Reporter Out (HARO) Over 50,000 sources are at your beck and call. Just fill out a simple form. ProfNet They ve been connecting experts with journalists since You can either send a request to their list, or search their directory of over 25,000 experts. The Yearbook of Experts They re updated yearly and they have experts in a dozens of different categories. Sources A large directory of experts and media spokespersons. BlackExperts.com A directory of African-American experts in a variety of categories. Open The Government Expert Directory They have a limited number of experts on US government issues. Self Improvement Experts Directory Anything related to self-improvement is here from abundance to habits and time management. UC Santa Cruz A search engine featuring faculty from the University of California. Many different topics are listed here. Depending on your topic, associations can also a good place to find story tellers. Weedles Association List and the ASAE (American Society of Association Executives) are popular association directories. Once you find an association that matches your need, look in the Press section of the association website you ll often find a contact who handles inquiries. If you call and explain what you re looking for, these liaisons can often connect you with a potential source. 97

98 And finally, if all else fails you may want to take a look at PRWeb, a popular press release distribution site. Because remember, the people featured in a press release want publicity. They want their story to be told so it s actually a very logical choice for locating sources. Outlining the How-To Report Introduction: Give a little background information on the problem. Why is it so necessary to solve? What s the pain? What makes the problem so difficult to solve using other methods? Steps: Now you re going to give step-by-step directions on completing the process. What items, time, or financial commitment will the reader need? In action: When I wrote the first edition of DBO, many readers told me that they liked the fact that I showed the how-to in action. Even though I had to give up two money making websites as sacrificial lambs to illustrate the DBO process, it was absolutely worth it. This is an optional step. But if you can show readers how you used the steps to solve the desperate problem, they re going to love your product that much more. The Test Results Report Although you ll mainly be doing test result reports whenever you re creating an IM infoproduct, you can write this type of report for any desperate topic when you re showing the results of a controlled experiment. When you re writing a test results report there are actually two parts. First you ll run the reader through your experiment. And second you ll tell them how to do the task, adding in all the necessary do s, don ts, and insider tips that you learned. Outlining the Test Results Report Introduction: What items did you use in order to complete the test? What items will the reader need in order to complete the task? 98

99 Steps: What did you do first? Why? What about second, third, fourth? Was there a specific turning point when things went from bad to good or vice versa? Why do you believe things changed what were the factors? How-To: Here you ll give the reader the basic outline for completing the task efficiently. (This edition of DBO is actually a reverse of this formula. I did the how-to first, then I m going to show the test results. Obviously you have to do what works best for your situation.) Subscription Infoproduct Some bodies of information are better suited to be distributed piece by piece by piece. This works specifically if you have a topic that contains an ever expanding amount of data. For example, I have a daily ed newsletter called Breakthrough Business Journal Prompts. Journal prompts are questions an ever expanding list of data. An easily expandable list. That s the important part (an easily expandable list) because subscription sites aren t easy to maintain if you re constantly trying to come up with lots of articles, in addition to marketing other products. Trust me on this one it s too easy to get sucked in to the allure of getting membership fee s every month, and forget about the workload that never, ever stops. If you re going to do subscription-based infoproducts think EASE. Think about what you ll do when you go on vacation, or if you want time off. How easy will it be for you to provide the necessary updates? If you can compile all of your articles (or whatever) for the entire year, then do so before you begin selling it. This way you ll have an entire year to work on the second years worth of topics. That s exactly what I did with Breakthrough Business Journal Prompts. 99

100 Outlining the Subscription Infoproduct If you re going to supply current events type information, then make sure it s a need to know NOW type thing. Stock trading advice fits this bill. So does IM information, because things can change so quickly in that industry. Test results as I explained on the previous page can also make fantastic subscription fodder, as long as you re willing to continue the tests. Resources which I also spoke of earlier - don t usually make good subscription content. Unless you re giving your readers some super secret sources. Think wholesale sources for electronics products. Finally The Title Titles are simple. They should be constructed like a concise headline, basically letting the prospect know what problem will be solved. As a rule of thumb, I try to use as few words as possible. Sometimes you can say what you need to say in 3 words ie Boils Be Gone. Sometimes you can t ie The Good and Fast Content Creators Handbook. Do I follow this rule 24/7? Of course not! Sometimes I like to get a little jiggy with it. I write a lot of e-books. So I m always dipping my toe in the water. Call me a part-time renegade. Don t worry, you can be a renegade too. 100

101 WRITING THE SALES COPY FOR YOUR DESPERATE PRODUCT Outside of the topic, the sales copy is the second most important feature of your DBO campaign. It s the only significant obstacle standing in between you and a PayPal payment. Everything else is an easy-to-jump hurdle. But if your sales copy isn t right you re dead. So you need your sales copy to be like an instance of love at first sight. As your copy speaks to the prospect they should feel a flutter of passion. You want them to feel intoxicated by your words. When I came out with the first edition of DBO, I d receive s from people who told me that my sales copy made them feel desperate. That s music to my ears! Now I m going to give you several tips for writing stellar sales copy. But before I do that, I want to give you the numero uno suggestion that you absolutely, positively MUST adhere to, no matter what. You must fully understand their problem, and you must communicate to them that you fully understand their problem. Yes, I know it sounds elementary. The problem with Internet marketing people is that we re so used to new and exciting and whiz bang plopping us over the head that we forget to truly master the basics. If you don t completely understand the prospects problem, you re not going to say the words that they use. You re not going to talk about the situations that matter to them. And you re not going to hint towards the proper level of emotional stress that they feel. Imagine receiving an envelope in the mail. It s addressed directly to you, so you open it up. The letter inside is printed beautiful ivory letterhead. You begin to read. 101

102 The person is selling custom designed swimming pools. You ve been thinking about having a swimming pool put in. But when you read the letter, they re talking about waterfalls and Jacuzzi s. You don t want waterfalls and Jacuzzi s. You want slides and diving boards - something the kids can enjoy. Even though you want a customized pool, and this company sells customized pools, they re not talking about the same customized pools that you want. So you don t buy from them, even though they may very well have slides and diving boards. Well that s what happens when you don t scream I UNDERSTAND! You don t get the sale. So what should you do to avoid this rampant problem? 1) Study the sub-niche. Internet marketing is a niche. And within that circle there are several sub-niches. You have the get-rich-quick Internet marketers. You have the more straight laced online marketing people who come from corporate backgrounds. And then you have the 1-2 person operations who are in the middle of the road. Writing sales copy for a get-rich-quick Internet marketer isn t the same as writing for the corporate heads. One group typically requires longer, more emotional copy. The other prefers shorter, less hype-filled copy. For a business audience (especially), it s a good idea to figure out what your subniche prefers. Sub-niches also exist amongst health product buyers. Some people are traditionalists wanting tried and true remedies. Others are leery of the traditional medical establishment, and prefer natural cures. If your niche is investing, are you going to target the more conservative Investors Business Daily crowd, or the more risqué PennyStock.com people? In order to understand your sub-niche you may have to look at the entire niche as a whole. This will help you effectively compare the differences. 102

103 Now look at popular websites within that sub-niche. Examine sales letters for information products within that sub-niche even if the topics are different from yours. Get a feel for how prospects are massaged in to the buying process. 2) Discover why they re desperate. Knowing the negative consequences of not solving their problems or the positive benefits of solving helps you relate to the buyer. Let s say you ve chosen the following blog post as the basis for your topic: The Concept That Changed Our Financial Life. The post basically talks about creating an emergency fund. So we want to know what makes the reader desperate to create an emergency cash reserve. Well as a former member of the Living-Paycheck-to-Paycheck Posse, I know that unexpected emergencies pop up all the time. I remember when my daughter was a baby and the heater in our car died in the middle of the winter. Emergencies like this almost always require more cash than you have leftover from your paycheck. If you don t have an emergency fund you can get caught in a seemingly never ending cycle of payday loans, or you may have to borrow from friends and relatives. Finally, with the current economy breathing like a recessionary dragon, layoffs are occurring at an alarming rate. Not having an emergency fund can leave you open to losing your car and your home. It can affect our most primal need for food and shelter. As you can see, I didn t just list one or two reasons. I came up with several. If you re having a problem compiling a list of negative consequences, try the following Google searches: consequences of YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE disadvantages of YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE problems with YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE 103

104 For example: consequences of not having an emergency fund disadvantages of not having an emergency fund problems with not having an emergency fund You should also reverse the process by figuring out the positive benefits of solving the problem. By seeing the situation from both sides of the fence you get a more balanced view, which allows you to better sell the final product. Here s a second list of Google searches you can try: advantages of YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE positive benefits of YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE benefits of YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE why you should YOUR KEYPHRASE HERE For example: advantages of having an emergency fund positive benefits of having an emergency fund benefits of having an emergency fund why you should have an emergency fund 3) Learn the lingo. Imagine your best friend sets you up to go on a blind date. He tells you that your date is a successful stock broker. Unfortunately you re like a fish in the Mojave Desert when it comes to investing. So a few days before your date you make it a point to scan through the Wall Street Journal, just to be up-to-date on what s going on in the world of high finance. Your date is impressed by your knowledge. Score 1 for you! Lingo is a magical tool. Knowing the words, the slang, the acronyms and catchphrases is all a part of communicating effectively with the prospect. You can t say stone if your customer says cabochon. Everybody has to be on the same page. 104

105 So if you re targeting a niche that you have no prior experience with, it s important that you do enough research to understand the terminology they use on a regular basis. How much is enough? I like to read blogs within the niche because they tend to provide a more recent snapshot into the life of my customer. Besides reading the actual blog posts, I also check out the reader comments making sure to click through to their websites. If a blogger recommends a specific book, I might also go to the local library and scan through it. I ll even the blogger and ask them to recommend a book if they haven t done so already. I stay away from glossaries because even though they provide a pre-built solution, you still don t know which words directly apply to your readership. It s better to do your own leg work than to rely on possibilities. 4) Get to know the guru s. Depending on the topic and your audience, there may be a guru or two already selling to your audience. For example, if you wanted to sell an e-book to selfpublishers, you d have to understand how Dan Poynter fits in to the picture. Why? Because Dan Poynter is a well-known guru when it comes to self-publishing. You should know what Dan Poynter sells, and see how he sells it. His long-term expert status means that he knows how to push the right hot buttons. You re getting free market research, courtesy of the guru. Now in saying that, I should also mention that I don t want you to go in and blatantly copy someone else s sales letter. Plenty of people swipe words, but you cannot duplicate someone else s style and finesse. It s far better to develop your own style and be able to use it at will forever. I only want you to use their sales material to better understand how to communicate to the audience you ll be selling to. You want to look for sentences or phrases that show: What s important to the reader, 105

106 Feelings and emotions that the reader may have, Situations/problems that the reader might be going through, The effects of not solving the problem. Print the sales letter out and highlight those portions for future reference. 5) Write on! Okay you re ready to take the final leap into sales letter writer status. Now I ll introduce you to a useful outlining process. LEAD HEADLINE: This is the most important part of your sales copy because it s the first thing your prospect reads. To keep it simple, I use the following formula: Exploit the Problem There is a Cure + Curiosity Factor Exploit the Problem- Let the reader know that you understand the severity of the problem they have by mentioning it in the lead headline. There is a Cure + Curiosity Factor- Now tell them that you have a solution. But you should also throw in enough of a curiosity factor that the feel compelled to keep on reading. LEAD PARAGRAPH: One of the most blatant problems I see with DBO product sales letters is a slow beginning. This isn t a once upon a time bedtime story. This is where you can be more detailed in explaining that you understand the problem. But in doing so it s important for you to hit the reader over the head with a statement that s going to show that you genuinely know what s going on, and you can be their savior. 106

107 Before you write the lead paragraph, ask yourself the following questions: What s the worst feeling/emotion my prospect has because of this problem? What is my prospect being forced to do (against his will) because of this problem? What solution would make my prospect the happiest? Notice these questions are all about extremes - the best and the worst. It s important to pull your reader in by the collar and shake them. Exploiting extremes in your lead paragraph is the best way to do this. ADDITIONAL HEADLINES: Whenever I write the other headlines I try make sure that in progression, they read like a story. In other words, I look at each headline as a piece of complete headline story. If the prospect only focuses on the headlines I want her to understand that I do have the ultimate solution based solely on the headlines. That s important because nowadays most people skim through a sales letter before they read the entire thing. You must accommodate these skimmers by making it easy for them to follow your story through the headlines alone. PROGRESSION OF COPY: I ve read nearly every copywriting tome you can imagine, from the $14.95 bookstore books, to the $2,000 mega kits. I have a good working knowledge of all the tricks, back flips and side swipes. What I m about to tell you here summarizes one of the least talked about aspects of writing great copy. I call it progression of copy how to write your copy so that one section effortlessly flows into the next. Storytelling in sales copy. Though I picked up bits and pieces in other copywriting materials, I learned the most about progression of copy by reading books on novel writing. Now mind you, I can t write a piece of fiction to save my pinky toe from an alligators snapping 107

108 jaws. But in learning the basics of writing a piece of fiction, I ve figured out how to incorporate these steps into my copy. It makes a great formula for a DBO sales letter because it presents an easy-tofollow formula. What are the HARDSHIPS of the problem? You can tell about your situation, or create a situation that illustrates the hardships of having the problem. If it s your job to give people advice on your topic, then say so. Give a blurb about your history and know-how. I can t stress it enough, but it s vital that you make this section as true to life as you possibly can. If you re not accurate, or you re using the wrong words, or your story is too vague, you re going to lose people here. This is where you gain the most trust where you create an emotional me too connection. Who or what is the CULPRIT for the problem not being solved? Grab your pitchfork folks! This is where you give the reader something or someone to dislike. Give them a villain, an enemy, a reason why they have the problem, or why conventional solutions aren t working. Even if it is the prospects fault, when you allow them to place some of the blame on someone or something else, you further show your understanding. What will it take to SOLVE the problem? How can they be on the way to solving the problem? Technically this is where you talk about the e-book. But I want you to focus on giving the reader benefits and details to what they ll find inside. Remember, they re not buying a book. They want a solution to their pressing problem. So stay focusing on telling them how you ll solve that problem. Show and justify the PRICE. Whenever I come to a long-form sales letter, one of the first things I do is skim for the price. I m sure I m not the only one. I ve not done any scientific studies, but I bet most people who are used to seeing long-form sales letters go hunting for the price. 108

109 Which is why it s so important to make the price PROMINENT, and to make sure that you quickly tell the reader why the price point makes sense. Now some of you might be wondering why I don t put the price at the very beginning of the sales letter, since this is something that people do look for. Well because in the course of skimming down for the price, I m hoping that something in another headline will catch their eye. If I can stop them and pique their interest mid-way, I ve got a better chance of them coming back up and reading the entire letter. Supermarkets do the same thing. They ll put staple items like milk and eggs in the back of the store, forcing you to go down the aisles and hopefully pick up other items along the way. Then they put certain items on the ends of the aisles (called the end caps), hoping for the same result. In sales copy, the price is like the milk and eggs. The headlines are like the items on the end caps. It s all designed to sell. ORDER BOX Every sales letter needs an obviously separated section that shows the prospect where to place the order. If you don t, you re going to get s from people who are confused about how to place the order. Trust me on this one been there, done that! I put a dashed line around my order box because coupons in the newspaper always have a dashed line around them. Coupons equal discounts, and that s the exact psychological association I want them to make DISCOUNT. Give them PALM TREES and PINA COLADAS. Until the prospect enters their credit card information, they re always teetering on the YES/NO fence. That s why I always put a brief paragraph after the order box, just in case they need further confirmation that they re making the right decision. I call this my Palm Trees and Pina Coladas strategy. I like the paragraph to paint a rosy scenario of what life would be like once their problem is solved. How lovely 109

110 will it feel to (fill in the blank)? How happy will they be when (fill in the blank)? What will they suddenly be able to do if (fill in the blank)? Give them the fantasy! You can also use Palm Trees and Pina Coladas in the PS. But if you use it in the PS, it s only to re-affirm the fantasy. In other words, you shouldn t only use it in the PS. You should always make it a priority to use it right after the order box. And Finally PHOTOS GALORE. I was journaling about the sales letter process as I was writing this edition of DBO. Why do most sales letters look so blahhh??? I pondered. Headlines and highlights excluded, I found that my letters looked unappealing to the casual clicker. I kept trying to find some distinguishing factor that would make a person periodically stop in their tracks. Because hey all you need is one itsy bitsy pause to get a foot in their decision making doorway. Since the sales letter itself is really the star of the show, I didn t want sidebars, or loud backgrounds to distract the reader from the copy. I wanted something in the sales letter that would enhance or encourage the reader to continue. As I was journaling, I realized that photos would be a fantastic option. I mean LOTS of photos sprinkled throughout the copy. Photo s that gave emotion to the words. Photo s that when matched with the corresponding copy could give the reader a yeah that s me! moment. Like I said before, that s all you need to get the ball rolling. An obvious emotional connection. Depending on how big the paragraph is, I like to put a photo in each one. Though sometimes it s overkill, so you may want to opt for one photo every 2 nd paragraph. I get all of my photos from Istockphoto because they have a huge collection. It costs $18 for 12 photos. The price per photo drops the more you buy. Now here s a quick tip because even though Istockphoto is gargantuan, finding what you need isn t always easy. So first I start my search with the primary keyword. I usually find that the best choices are located on the first page or two. 110

111 But sometimes even after looking at those, I may find that I need a specific facial expression, body position, hair color, etc. So I go back up to the search box and add another keyword, and click the Search within Keyword(s) box. My choices become smaller and I typically find what I want at this point. 111

112 PROMOTING A DESPERATE PRODUCT Desperate readers who are proactively looking for a solution go to search engines like Google and Yahoo. If your kid needs to complete a science fair project from start to finish - in 3 days flat, you re going to Google. If you ve just put some Liquid Drano in your toilet, and plunged it, and the water s still not moving, you re going to Google. Though over the years I ve also realized that sometimes a desperate buyer won t proactively seek out a solution through a search engine. For instance, imagine you really want to establish an emergency fund, but you don t think you make enough to pay the bills and put some money to the side. With the economy the way it is, it s a desperate topic in your mind. However it doesn t occur to you that you can Google a solution. You re reading through a personal finance blog and you stumble upon an article that teaches you some budgeting basics. It s actually a guest post from Suze Orman. In that post Suze talks about her new book that shows readers how to establish an emergency fund, even when you re living from paycheck-to-paycheck. Hey! you mentally exclaim. That s EXACTLY what I need! You pull out your credit card, and immediately purchase Suze s new book. Sometimes people won t actively seek out a solution to a desperate problem. But they will readily buy a solution if one is presented to them. In that case, you have to go beyond search engines, and be in the exact locations where desperate buyers might be. And that brings me to the first marketing technique I frequently use for getting desperate buyers to purchase my products. 112

113 Promote your product with guest blog posts Not only can you use blog posts to find desperate topics, you can also use them to get buyers to purchase your solution. By guest blogging on other people s blogs you: Demonstrate your expertise; Retain a permanent position on the blog, which means residual traffic for as long as the blog exists; Possibly gain rank in Google. (If your guest post is indexed according to the main key phrase you use in the article, your post could generate a lot of traffic.) Now here s the big caveat this promotional technique isn t going to work for every topic. Even though there are tens of millions of blogs out there with thousands more being created daily most of them aren t maintained beyond a couple of months. (Dang it, I m terribly guilty of this one!) And then sometimes the blog author doesn t allow guest posts. On occasion, there may not be any blogs devoted to your topic. But here s the good part, you don t necessarily need a blog devoted solely to your topic. If you re writing an information product for curing foot bunions, you re not going to find any foot bunion blogs. But you might find a foot-related blog, or even a shoe blog, and that s a great place to start. The first place you ll want to explore for your guest post submission is the very blog you obtained your desperate idea from. Look in the blogs menu, or on the About Us page. Sometimes you ll see a call for guest bloggers. If not, don t fret. Here s what I do First I ll read through previous blog posts to get a feel for the owner s style and philosophies. I also like to see what they ve written as it applies to my infoproduct topic. Sometimes you ll find something, sometimes you won t. Finally, write down a few things that you like about the blog. Is there a particular post that you really enjoyed? Why? 113

114 Now you re going to the owner of the blog. Here s an that I wrote to the owner of Anywired.com. I was able to write two guest posts for her blog, which resulted in at least 20 immediate sales for the first edition of DBO. This initial foray into guest posting is what really motivated me to use it as the basis of this promotional technique for my other desperate infoproducts. Hi Skellie, My name is Alexis and I'm an Anywired blog reader. You wrote a post today on Muse Businesses which I commented on. I've been writing and selling ebooks for 7+ years, so naturally I recommend it. I've written an ebook based on my experiences selling ebooks. It's called Desperate Buyers Only ( It'll give you a glimpse into what has worked for me, and hopefully inspire you to join the ebook bandwagon. Here's the download link: You can learn more about me at my blog: And if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to . It's the least I can do for sucking up your bandwidth. Warmest regards, Alexis Notice a couple of key components here I tied in my infoproduct to the blog post she had just made that day, and I gave her the download link for the e-book. Sometimes it s not possible to tie your product in to a recent post but you might be able to tie it in to an older post. Also, it s important that you give them the download link upfront. Don t make them ask for it. 114

115 You ll also notice that I didn t mention anything about writing a guest post in this . It was really a gesture of goodwill. And still it got me two guest posts. As you ll see in another example a little later, I do mention the idea of writing a guest post. Now let s say you want to find a few other blogs that are accepting guest posts. Here are the exact Google searches that I use: guest bloggers wanted YOUR KEYWORD HERE guest bloggers wanted YOUR KEYWORD HERE guest bloggers YOUR KEYWORD HERE guest blogger YOUR KEYWORD HERE guest post YOUR KEYWORD HERE guest posts YOUR KEYWORD HERE YOUR KEYWORD HERE inurl: guest post So your search might look like this: guest bloggers wanted parenting guest bloggers wanted parenting guest bloggers parenting guest blogger parenting guest post parenting guest posts parenting parenting inurl:guest post I included certain search phrases in quotation marks because I want Google to give me a list of pages with that exact phrase. If I don t include the quotes, I may get pages that contain the words guest, bloggers, and parenting, but guest bloggers may not be together. With the first phrase - guest bloggers wanted parenting you re going to get a list of blogs that are specifically looking for guest bloggers. The second two will show you posts written by guest bloggers. These sites may not openly advertise for guest bloggers, but if they have guest posts, they may be open to accepting others. 115

116 Depending on your topic, you may have to use broad-based search terms. So instead of: guest bloggers wanted single parent you may need to start with: guest bloggers wanted parenting Provide comments on targeted blogs. If you can t get a guest post slot, don t fret. You can always provide comments on existing posts, which in some situations can deliver a serious traffic punch. The reason? Most blogs allow commenters to attach a URL to their names. So if you leave a comment, and someone clicks on your name, they ll be taken to your website. And I m not talking about those random I agree type comments. I mean insightful, well thought out comments that demonstrate your expertise. In other words, don t just agree. Give an additional fact, or even challenge what s being said with a counter point. Though you should NEVER be insulting to the blogger. If you don t like what they ve said, vent to yourself. To make your comment search easier, you can subscribe to a service like BackType. BackType is a free service that allows you to receive notification whenever your designated search terms are mentioned in a blog post. You can opt to have those notifications ed to you immediately (which is what I recommend), or in daily/weekly digest format. So if you ve written an e-book on Photoshop layers, for example, you d use photoshop as your search term. I ve also taken a liking to Social Mention. Social Mention is a search engine that aggregates content from blogs and blog comments, as well as social media services like Twitter, Digg, etc. If you use the search engine, you can obtain real time 116

117 feedback. Or you can subscribe to receive a daily with blog posts featuring your targeted phrase. And just to cover all of my bases, I also find blog comment opportunities through Twilert. Twilert delivers Twitter posts based on the keywords you choose. And you ll be pleasantly surprised at how many Twitter posts point you to great blog comment opportunities. You can opt to have them sent as once a day, once a week or once a month. Obviously I prefer to have them sent daily. The key to truly winning the blog comment game is to find a few blogs that center around your e-book topic, and become a regular commenter. Here s another strategy I ve used sometimes if a blogger doesn t have guidelines for guest bloggers, I ll post a few comments over the course of a couple of weeks. Then I ll the blogger to suggest a guest post. This way it doesn t look like you re just some random person suggesting an article. Submit your articles directly to authority websites. In the first edition of DBO I suggested that you submit your articles to article directories like EzineArticles.com. Even though I still submit some articles to EzineArticles.com, I m finding that I receive significantly less traffic than I used to. Not a total halt just far less. So nowadays I m more keen on finding targeted websites that I can directly submit my articles to. This way I m assured that my articles are going onto websites where my prospects are, instead of generic article directories which means more bang for my submission buck. Sounds good, right? Well there s a problem. When you re submitting articles to sites like EzineArticles.com, you write one article and that one article may get used on several different web sites. But when 117

118 you re submitting to several different sites you usually have to write a new article for each one. The hard part especially if you re only promoting a 10-page report is that you can easily run out of article ideas. That s where Rack and Write comes into play. Rack and Write is a free service that I developed in 2008 to combat this very problem. You enter several nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc, related to your topic. Rack and Write sticks those words into article title templates, giving you a list of 1,000+ different article ideas. Plus, along with each article title template I ve included a description of what to include in the article. Not every title template is going to be appropriate for your article needs. But with over a thousand to choose from, you re bound to find at least 20 that match your criteria. Okay now you ll need to locate sites where you can submit your articles. Here are the search phrases I use to find authority sites that need articles: article submissions wanted YOUR KEYWORD HERE article submission YOUR KEYWORD HERE articles wanted YOUR KEYWORD HERE articles needed YOUR KEYWORD HERE YOUR KEYWORD HERE inurl:submit article So your search might look like this: article submissions wanted parenting article submission parenting articles wanted parenting articles needed parenting parenting inurl:submit article It s important that you try each search phrase, because what works like gangbusters in one niche, may yield terrible results in another. For example, I ve noticed that the phrase article submission YOUR KEYWORD HERE generates a lot of article directory sites (which I don t want), 118

119 along with some good parenting sites. Whereas article submissions wanted parenting includes a majority of non-parenting sites. Just to give you an idea of the types of sites you may find, here are several opportunities I was able to quickly find using article submission parenting: About.com K-6 Children MommyThink Parenting Toddlers The Imperfect Parent Main Street Mom Family Corner And look at the additional sites I found with parenting inurl:submit article: Parenting Journals DIY Father Mom Fuse Families Online Magazine Child Central My Child Safety 119

120 There were plenty more under that particular search. But it just goes to show that you cannot rely on one search phrase to obtain everything you need. Advertise on USFreeads I recommended this one in the first edition of DBO, and I m still tooting that horn. USFreeads is a classified ad website. And depending on the topic of your e-book, I wouldn t say it s the absolute best place to promote your title IF you were looking for people on that site to click on your ad. But don t worry about that. You can use USFreeads as a middleman for getting listed in Google. Look at the screenshot for one of my advertisements- Over the course of 4 years that ad has been viewed almost 40,000 times. And trust me when I say that it s NOT because everybody on USFreeads needs a non Chexsystems bank account! 120

121 This advertisement frequently shows up within the top 10 or top 20 results in Google for the term non chex system banks. Sometimes the ad drops from the search results altogether, and then shows back up again within 4-6 weeks. I ve learned not to sweat it, and neither should you if this happens. The point is, this advertisement which has run untouched for years helps generate a good 40% of my yearly sales for the $24.95 e-book it promotes. (I talked about this e-book extensively in the first edition of DBO.) I love these kinds of cheap-but-effective marketing solutions. Now there are two rules to using USFreeads effectively: 1) Don t make your ad sound like a keyword stuffed abomination. As a fulltime writer I am so terribly against keyword stuffed articles. It just goes against my natural grain. So when you write a USFreeads advertisement, you should use your targeted keyphrase a maximum of 3-4 times. It shouldn t be forced or awkward sounding. Remember, real people are going to read this ad. And if it sounds like dodo, nobody s going to click thru to your website. Here s the ad I ve been successfully running for years: Are you desperate for a checking account of your own, but find it impossible to get one because you've ended up in the hellish nightmare called the ChexSystem? You can be in the ChexSystem and Telecheck system and still get a bank account TODAY - regardless if you've paid your outstanding debt or not. My report "How to Get a Bank Account Even If You're in the ChexSystem" will give you the names of 3 banks that you can contact today to obtain a checking account, savings account, or both. (And YES that's includes personal and business accounts.) 121

122 One bank will give you a FDIC-insured checking account right over the telephone in less than 10 minutes. You'll receive checks, deposit slips and a MasterCard debit card within 5-7 days. I'm currently in the ChexSystem, and this is the bank I use. "How to Get a Bank Account Even If You're in the ChexSystem" will tell you what to expect when you call these banks so there are no surprises or embarrasing situations. And that's what makes my report superior to other information products out there. I'm in the ChexSystem so I understand all the hassles you're going through. My report will make the entire process virtually stress free. I've done all the preliminary legwork for you, so all you have to do is get your bank account. Plus I guarantee that you'll get a bank account or your money back. So what are you waiting for? Get your new checking account today! 2) If you decide to feature your ad, don t make it redirect to your web site. You can pay an extra fee to have your advertisement featured. The primary benefit of featuring an ad means that it ll be seen before all of the regular advertisements in your category. When you go to feature your ad, you re given the option to have the ad redirected directly to your website. So if someone on the USFreeads website were to click on your ad link, they d go to your site instead of being forced to read the ad first. Sounds like a good idea, huh? Well in most cases it s not. 122

123 You see Google shows the USFreeads advertisements in the search results. But it doesn t work the same way if you have your ad redirected to your site. If you have the ad redirected the only clicks you ll receive will be from people on USFreeads. That s not to say that you won t get any clicks. I have a couple of ads redirected to my websites and I do get clicks. But they are significantly less than the ads without redirection. Using Google AdWords to promote your desperate product. First off let me say that there is NO magic formula to doing well with Google AdWords. There are ways to increase your chances of doing well. But no matter what you do, you ll always have to be willing to test different options. The Nagging Keyword Detail Many, many years ago I decided that I was going to sell jewelry and handbags at a weekend market in Washington DC. I saw an ad in a jewelry magazine for a company that was selling something like 500 pieces of jewelry for $50. So being the consummate bootstrapper that I was back then, I took the bait. I just kept imagining how much money I could make if I could sell each piece of jewelry for only $5-$10 each. In my mind, I was in line to make a mint! Two or three weeks later the box arrived. I ripped it open and quickly discovered why they were selling 500 pieces of jewelry for $50. That stuff was HIDEOUS! The earrings that weren t butt ugly were incredibly heavy. I ended up not selling any of that jewelry and it was a complete waste of $50 plus shipping and handling. What does this have to do with choosing targeted search terms? A lot actually. When I looked at that ad, I mainly paid attention to the big number 500 pieces of jewelry. And that s what many netpreneurs tend to do when they look for keywords. The first thing they notice is the broad based keywords that have large search numbers. 123

124 For example, photoshop tutorials yields around 368,000 searches a month. It looks like a gold mine if you re selling Photoshop tutorials. But a keyword of this magnitude will easily take your entire budget in a couple of hours. Only experiment with broad based keywords IF you can afford to spend $100+ a day. This is where the high rollers play. A desperate buyer who s trying to solve a specific problem is going to use specific search terms. If they re having a problem with layers in Photoshop, they re going to use the term layers within the search term. If you re selling a Photoshop e-book that helps with difficult-to-solve layers problems, you want to be there when they ask for layers help not when they ask for a Photoshop tutorial. Not only is this a far more efficient way to reach potential customers, it s cheaper. Look at the extreme price difference between the estimated cost per click (CPC) when you go from a broad term - clogged toilet - to fixing a clogged toilet. Clogged toilet = $2.33 per click VS. Fixing a clogged toilet = 36 per click 124

125 With an average search volume of 12,100, clogged toilet might yield a lot more traffic than fixing a clogged toilet, which only generates an average of 140 searches a month. But fixing a clogged toilet is what your prospects are looking to do. You can be 99% sure that when somebody types in fixing a clogged toilet, they want that problem fixed right now. You can reach those people inexpensively, and with virtually 0 competition in the AdWords department. Here s a screenshot of the AdWords ads for fixing a clogged toilet. Notice that there are NO AdWords ads. The DBO AdWords Formula No matter how much money I make, I always think like a bootstrapper. My goal is to make the most money from the least investment, just like most of my readers. So when I launch an AdWords campaign, I try to stay within the $100-$200 a month threshold, since this is what most people can afford to spend. Now keep in mind that when you opt to take the bootstrapping option, you have to be a vigorous tweaker. You can t just put up a bunch of ads and leave them alone till the end of the month. Unless you start making money right out of the gate, the sit-and-watch strategy is the AdWords kiss of death. It s a waste of both time and money. Secondly, from a bootstrapper point of view, you should never allow your ads to run under content search, unless you choose the sites yourself, and you monitor the 125

126 clicks and conversions carefully. Content search is when Google has your ads run on other peoples websites - (Google AdSense). Left unmonitored, these clicks can gobble up your budget faster than a 3am thief in a bank vault. So be aware. Your ultimate goal in all of this is to get lots of pre-qualified prospects at a cheap rate. To do this you must convey that you re selling information and that you have the ultimate solution for them. So here s what I do: 1) Select the primary keyphrases. These are the most obvious terms your prospects are using to search for solutions to their problem. There are an abundance of keyword tools out there. And I ve tried many of them, but for our purposes I recommend the following two: The Google Keyword Tool If I m going to write an AdWords ad, the Google Keyword Tool tells me everything I need to know about Google s search volume and the estimated cost per click. And it s free. The interface is very self-explanatory. You enter a search term, type the characters in the box, and press the Get keyword ideas button. Keywordspy I like to use Keywordspy in conjunction with the Google Keyword Tool. I ll pull the basic keywords I m interested in with the Google Keyword Tool. Then I ll enter those keywords into Keywordspy to create a more refined list of keywords for my AdWords campaign. What Keywordspy does is tell you which phrases your competitors are using. In fact, you can compare the keyphrases they re using today with the ones they used months ago. If I notice that a site went from 132 keyphrases to 65, then I have a good idea of what might not be working, and I can plan a strategy accordingly. 126

127 Keywordspy tells you exactly how many competitors there are for each keyphrase. The Google Keyword Tool doesn t give you an exact count. But you can see if there s a very low, low, average or high advertiser presence for each keyphrase. 127

128 A gentle reminder keep in mind that keyword tools are helpers. You cannot and should not use them as lottery tickets for surefire success, or even to predict the failure of a keyword. There s absolutely NO substitute for testing. So while I want you to use keyword tools for guidance, don t bet the farm on any of them. Always be willing to test. 2) Select a range of lateral keyphrases. I like to describe lateral keyphrases as those that exemplify the basic idea of the e- book that I m trying to sell, but doesn t necessarily contain the most frequently used words. So for my Chexsystems e-book, a primary set of keyphrases would look like this: non Chexsystems banks non chex system banks non checks systems banks But a set of lateral keyphrases would contain things like: bad credit bank account no credit check bank account second chance bank account 2 nd chance bank account I don t mention Chexsystems in any of the lateral keyphrases, but these searches would still be valid for the person seeking a non Chexystems bank account. Here s another example for the term boils. First the primary keyphrases: boil remedy boil cure boil treatment And now the lateral keyphrases: ingrown hair bump ingrown hair lump ingrown hair pus 128

129 Sometimes an ingrown hair develops into a boil, so the lateral phrases help me to reach those folks who may need a little reminding that it s actually a boil they re battling, not an ingrown hair. Although they require more forethought and creativity, lateral phrases can be significantly cheaper than primary keyphrases. But unlike primary keyphrases, they re not as easy to figure out through traditional keyword tools. The best lateral phrases will almost always come from you. You ll have to figure out the multitude of ways prospects might be searching for your information, and the only way to effectively do this is by knowing and understanding your topic. Let s compare primary and lateral keyphrases for the term penny stocks. Primary: 129

130 Lateral: low price stocks stocks under $5 stocks under $10 stocks under $1 3) Choose 5 of the lowest priced keywords a day and go up progressively higher. For the first seven days my ultimate goal is to find 25 keyphrases where I can bid a maximum of for each one. If there are more targeted keyphrases within that price range I ll continue on until I have to go up to In any case, I always try to stick with 5 new keyphrases a day. 4) Write 2 different ads a day for each new keyword. This is important if you want to yield the best possible test results as quickly as possible. 130

131 If it s possible, all ads should include the exact keyphrase you re targeting. This way when your ad shows up, the phrase is highlighted, thus drawing more attention to your ad. Sometimes the phrase is too long or too awkward to include word-forword. But as long as you include words from the keyphrase, they ll still be highlighted separately. Here are the day-by-day testing parameters I currently use: DAY 1: Test an ad with the price of the e-book and one without the price. The ad without the price should indicate that you re selling an e-book. You ll also want to keep the same idea for each advertisement. For example, if I emphasize prevention in one ad, I ll emphasize prevention in the other one. So for the keyphrase boil remedies I ran the following ads: Boil Remedies I had boils for 18 years. I'll tell you what prevents them - $ Need Boil Remedies? Don't just get rid of boils, new e-book shows how to prevent them. And here are the ads for treat boils. Don't Just Treat Boils Learn how to prevent them. My ebook offers complete details - $ How to Treat Boils Hot compresses treat boils. They don't prevent them. Read my ebook

132 DAY 2 or 3: Add in 5 new keyphrases, with 2 ads per keyphrase. Now go to your Google Analytics page, and check to see which of your ads from the previous days are generating longer page views. To do that, go to the Dashboard for the site you re working on. In the upper left hand section you ll see the following box. First you ll click on Traffic Sources, then you click on AdWords. 132

133 Then you ll see the following section in the bottom part of the main screen. Click on the link marked google (cpc). Now you can see the headlines for your ads. When you look at this screenshot you can see that the How to Treat a Boil ad isn t generating the most visitors. However when people click thru from that ad they re staying on the site almost 200% longer, when compared to the Treatment for Boils ad, which is generating the most visits. In fact, the Treatment for Boils ad yields one of the lowest amount of time spent on the site. 133

134 Since I ve had the cursory 100 visits (okay technically 99) on the Treatment for Boils ad, I would retire this particular ad if it hadn t generated any sales. Then I d go back to the Google AdWords interface, to see if I could improve the click thru rate for the ads generating the top 3 highest Average Time on Site. By the way, in case you re wondering why I m not interested in nursing the unproductive keywords, it s mainly because I have enough to keep me busy right now. My main goal is to generate sales, not to fix a dead campaign. So I want to figure out what s working, and see if I can improve it. If I feel like being a miracle worker later on, I ll do it once I m generating sales. And if that s not incentive enough for you to follow the same philosophy, take a look at the screenshot below. When you re comparing the 2 ads for a keyphrase you ll notice that ads which generate low click thru rates are generally charged a higher price. Look at the results from an experimental test I did, and notice the difference in the price for the same keyphrase and same number of clicks. Not surprisingly, the ad with the greater click thru rate is the same one that generated the longest Average Time on Site. 134

135 For boil remedies, I took out this low performing ad: And replaced it with this one: Boil Remedies I had recurrent boils for 18 years. Now I have none. Only $ DAY 3 or 4: Once again you re going to check your Google Analytics account to see which ads are producing the highest Average Time on Site. Now look at the Average Time on Site for the ads you ve previously revised. You re going to take out the least performing ad, and allow the winning ad to run without competition. If the click thru rate and the Average Time on Site remains consistent, and you re getting sales, then you re doing okay. If the click thru rate and the Average Time on Site remains consistent but you re not getting any sales, then it s time to go back through your sales copy to see where improvements can be made. DAY 5: Repeat until you re racking in the dough! Become your own traffic source. Most of you who have been around the Alexis Dawes block for the past few years know that I m a sporadic blogger. I get a wild hair and I blog, blog, blog. And then I stop. There s no rhyme or reason to my madness. I mean I want to love blogging. I reeeeally want to smoochie up with the whole blogging process. But there s just sporadic chemistry there. 135

136 And the problem I have with that is that there are many awesome benefits to blogging. The steady audience. Throngs of rabid buyers who do your bidding on command. The possibility of landing some super delicious book deal down-theroad. So I sat back one day and I asked myself a question. I said, Self how can you get some of the same benefits of blogging without blogging. How can you get the steady audience and the throngs of rabid buyers who feel compelled to do your bidding on command? And how can you do it for free? Without having to check in every single day This was right around the time that I completed The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula, and so it was perfect time to find a solution. That s when I came up with Rack and Write. (Yes the same Rack and Write I spoke about earlier in this chapter.) Rack and Write is free service. As you may recall, you type in several nouns and verbs associated with your topic. Then Rack and Write gives you a behemoth list of article ideas, along with a quickie outline for writing the article. How does it fit in with The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula? Rack and Write gives users a TON of article ideas (over 1,000) They re overwhelmed with good ideas I come to the rescue by referring users to The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula so they can learn how to write their articles faster I advertise The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula on the Rack and Write website. FINAL RESULT: $ales Without any promotion on my part except for a single mention on my blog - Rack and Write pulls anywhere from 700-2,000 visitors a month. Around 3-7 people a week end up purchasing The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula as a direct result of using Rack and Write. I make around $100 profit from each sale (it s printed, so I have to account for printing and shipping). 136

137 I get a lot of organic traffic from Google. I get people from my semi-comatose AlexisDawes.com blog. And I have quite a few regulars who come back for more ideas. Traffic Source Templates Cheat Sheet I m always looking online at apartments in other countries, trying to decide where I d like to make my next real estate conquest. As I m searching, I use the FXCheatSheet to check the currency conversion. And although Oanda.com doesn t sell an e-book, using the FXCheatSheet has prompted me to purchase foreign currency from them before I go abroad. Currency conversion lines at the airport can be long, and the rates can by awful. And as a frequent traveler (with child), it s easier for me to have a few hundred dollars on my person before I arrive at my destination. I didn t even know about this service before I used the FXCheatSheet. So the cheat sheet basically created a long-term customer in me. Is there a set of rules, standards or guidelines that your potential customers constantly use? Is there a specific body of information that they re constantly researching, like translating one language to another? These are great ideas for cheat sheets. Frequently Asked Questions Site Often when you have a problem, you ve got questions that you want answered. Once your questions are answered, you want a solution to solve the problem. And that s what makes FAQ sites such excellent traffic sources for certain desperate infoproducts. You answer their questions, then you lead them to your e- book to help them solve the overall problem. It s an old school tactic, but it works. I used it to help promote Boils Be Gone. I simply looked in my site stats to see what phrases people were using to find my site. Then I turned those phrases into questions for the FAQs-About-Boils.com site. 137

138 This traffic source tactic obviously works well to promote health related infoproducts. But it can also work well for certain business topics and personal development stuff. As long as you have a list of questions in place, you can set up a FAQ site in a couple of hours. Here s how I did mine: 1) Reserve your domain name. 2) Get hosting that has FAQMasterFlex. My host already had it in CPanel under Fantastico scripts. 3) Examined my site stats to see which phrases prospects were using to find my site. 4) Created a list of categories based on those phrases. 5) Created a list of questions from those phrases. 6) Typed everything into FAQMasterFlex. 7) Done! Fill-in-the-blank The concept behind Rack and Write can be adapted to any topic that requires your prospect to create or produce written content. For example, if you re selling a real estate e-book you can have fill-in-the-blank real estate contracts as a traffic source. If you re teaching readers how to layout an effective display ad, you can have 20 fill-in-the-blank ad layouts (all camera ready, of course). What documents do your readers need to have to solve their problem? Answer that question, and you ll have a fill-in-the-blank traffic source. How to come up traffic source ideas When I need to come up with a traffic source idea, there are four primary questions I ask myself: 138

139 1. What would my readers be doing before they came to me for a solution? I created Rack and Write because people would be looking for article ideas before they learned how to write faster. 2. What errors in judgment do my readers frequently make? People often make errors when it comes to health related issues. For example, is that lump a boil, a cyst, or tumor, or acne? 3. What are 2-3 complementary topics my reader wants to know about? Knowing this will allow you to create a cheat sheet. 4. What search terms are people using to find my sales site? This is how I come up with FAQ site ideas. I look at my stats to see which terms people are using to reach my site. Then I turn those terms into questions. 139

140 CASE STUDIES Over the next several pages I m going to give you a rundown of the how s and why s behind the e-books I recently created using the DBO formula you just read about. The Handbook for Responsible Creators Technique used: Piggybacking on popularity I came up with the idea when I searched for Law of Attraction on PopularPostSearch.com. A Quantum Life Blog has a popular post titled The Secret s Law of Attraction is Wonderful, it s just Not Accurate. Does it really hit a desperate hot button? Yes. Beliefs can affect a person s finances, health, business, job situation, etc. Are people searching for solutions online? Yes. Can you give advice instead of information? Yes. I ve been (what I consider to be) very successful using the Law of Attraction in my life. I ve had some seriously fantastic situations just fall into my lap over the years. And I don t do affirmations, nor do I visualize much. Can you give your information product an emotional edge? Yes. Because I don t visualize or do affirmations (which most people consider an integral part of attracting what you want) I believe I m offering a contrarian view point. Do you know the shortcomings of similar information products? Yes. This is stuff that I m very much interested in, so I m familiar with many books and e-books within this niche. 140

141 Sales Copy: I initially was going to sell The Handbook for Responsible Creators. But I remembered that I wrote in my blog (a couple of years ago) wanting to give away an e-book and ask for donations. Because this e-book was of a spiritual nature, I figured this would be a great time to test my idea out. It was strictly a fly-by-theseat-of-my-pants moment, not something I specifically planned out. So you ll notice that I didn t write traditional sales copy because I m not selling anything. I created a simple landing page using the lead headline formula I spoke about earlier: Exploit the Problem There is a Cure + Curiosity Factor Here s what I came up with: When it comes to the Law of Attraction, you can affirm, visualize with emotion, and gaze lovingly at your vision board several times a day. But until your 'listening' skills improve, you may perceive the manifestation game to be much more difficult than it really is. (And I'm going to teach you that 'listening' skill for FREE.) When the user clicks on the final sentence, they re taken to the free PDF. 141

142 Marketing Strategy: BLOG COMMENTING- If at all possible, I like starting off by commenting on blog posts because it s an easy and free tactic for generating traffic. Plus it s something you can continue to do all day long depending on your topic and the number of blogs available. So using my two blog comment search engines (Social Mention and BackType) I went on a mission to locate some comment opportunities. On April 28 I found a post on Maria Musing s titled What LOA is Really About. I left the following comments on that post: When the news media went full force with recession watch 2009, I remember my mother calling and asking me how my business was going. For me, nothing had changed. When consumer confidence was at the lowest of the low, everything was perfectly fine on my end. In fact, business had increased for a few months. Then - for whatever reason - I got nervous. What if business does slow down what if this happens what if that happens I was worried sick. I stopped going out for dinner and I stopped book shopping - two of my favorite vices. And then something happened. Business did slow down - significantly. I intuitively knew that I d attracted the slowdown. It was so obviously tied to my frame of mind, it was scary. So a month later I started spending again, to demonstrate that I knew business would pick up. I redid my bathroom, went summer clothes shopping, etc. Not only did business pick up, but it s been my best month this year. And I haven t done anything differently to attract more business. I simply changed my actions to reflect that I do trust I ll be provided for. 142

143 I m not saying that everyone should run out and start spending frivolously. I know what changes my mindset, so I do what works for me. Maria, as you stated, confidence is a big issue during these weird economic times. As contrary as it sounds, now is the time to live boldly, knowing that the circumstances of the world do not have to be our circumstances. Thanks for that post. Next, I found Make it Happen on the Create Your Own Reality Now blog. Here s the comment I left on that one: Awesome post Nan! I've been in business for myself for several years now. Like you, I have encountered some awful and heart wrenching situations. Most times it has involved a loss of money. Initially these difficulties would bother the heck out of me. I felt like I was being taken advantage of. And many times I would just have to suck it up and keep moving forward. Even today I still have these off-the-wall situations conveniently drop themselves into my lap. But the difference is I don't become all frazzled and disorientated like I used to. You can look at a problem as a wall that encircles you, or as a barrier that you can simply walk around. As tough as my problems were, I found a way to walk around all of them. Now the funny thing is when I have these problems and I tell my close friends about them. They go absolutely nuts, and they can't understand why I'm not tossing furniture out the window. :-) Later that day I found Can I Really Have What I Want (My Husband Back)? and I posted the following comment: 143

144 Hi Tracy, The other day while walking down the street I lost an earring. Just last night while coming home from dinner, I lost yet another earring. It might seem coincidental, except I ve not lost an earring in forever. Earrings never, ever, ever fall out of my ears. So losing two gorgeous earrings in less than a week clearly felt like a sign from the Universe. I believe I understand what the loss means, but that s besides the point. What I want to emphasize is that the Universe is ALWAYS giving us signs as to the direction that our lives are about to take. When I think about all the major changes that have taken place in my life, there was always some random hint that I chose to ignore. I like to think that they came out of the clear blue sky, but in my heart, I really did see it coming. When I read that you were surrounded by 7 couples who were ending their relationships, I intuitively felt like the Universe might ve been giving you a sign. Now that s not to say that your relationship is done. But it really looks like this separation is something that was meant to be for a reason. As far as what you can do to get him back? Be willing to move on. Even if you re aching inside, pretend that you can do it and simply let it go. As harsh as it may sound, no more visualizing. I had a guy who I fawned over for many years. I was so in love, it was unreal. He was totally in love, but he wouldn t commit. 144

145 Only when I decided to let it all go did he come around. It seemed like dynamics of everything shifted when I released that attachment. (BTW, I never went back to him, and I met some incredibly fantastic guys along my dating journey.) I wish you strength. I know this is tough journey, but you can and will make it. Now remember I told that Twilert was also a good place to find blog commenting opportunities? Here s one that I recently found: The site featured in that Twitter post is looking for contributors who can write on Law of Attraction topics. It s great having opportunities like these handed to you on a silver platter. GUEST BLOGGING- Creating a Better Life is looking for bloggers to write articles on the following topics: goals, gratitude, health, inspiration and motivation, law of attraction, productivity and relationships. The only stipulation is that the article should be original to the Creating a Better Life blog. 145

146 Here s the that I sent, suggesting a series of articles. If you find an opportunity like this, it s best to suggest several articles instead of just one. This gives you a better chance at becoming a regular fixture. (By the way, I used Rack and Write to come up with some of these article ideas.) Hi Lyman, My name is Alexis Dawes, and I m one of those people whose been using the Law of Attraction long before The Secret made its debut. Short of being a millionaire (which is right around the corner) I ve attracted most of the things I ve wanted in my life, and even a few things I didn t really want. Although I ve visualized and I ve done affirmations, I find that when I listen to the Universe, I m able to manifest miracles. I ve written a free e-book called The Handbook for Responsible Creators that explains my unique philosophy. It s at ( I d love to be able to write some Law of Attraction based articles for your blog. Here are a few ideas: 1) Why I Visualize Less and Listen More When it Comes to the Law of Attraction 2) 3 Things You Must Realize When the Law of Attraction Fails 3) 4 Habits Every Budding LOA Practitioner Should Cultivate 4) Why Bigger Goals Isn t Always Better When it Comes to the Law of Attraction 5) Using the Law of Attraction When You ve Lost Your Job Let me know what you think. Best regards to you, Alexis 146

147 Two days later Lyman gave me the go ahead for my articles. In fact, he also runs the Free Personal Development Material website, where he posted my e-book. Here s the first article I sent to him: Why I Visualize Less and Listen More When it Comes to the Law of Attraction I don t have a single problem with visualization. I can close my eyes and imagine whatever I want in technicolor. I can hear the sounds. I can smell the smells. It all appears very easily in my mind. Yet I don t do it that often. Maybe a minute or two a day - if I remember. Now that I m writing about it, I honestly can t remember the last time I visualized. Now when s the last time you heard that statement from someone who avidly believes in and practices the Law of Attraction? I mean we re often taught that visualization is a key component to the Law of Attraction. But is it really? Do we really need a daily dose of visualization to make a few million dollars a year and pitter-patter around town in a Rolls Royce? Will visualization absolve our student loan debts? Will it allow us to dine out whenever we want? I m sure it does work for some people. But it s always been like a besides-the-point point for me. Its never really felt like it s a necessary part of the Law of Attraction equation. Over the years I ve found that listening is far more effective. And if you re not much of a visualizer, you might like what I m about to say. Listening is Like Following a GPS System Let me tell you a little factoid about the Universe it s ALWAYS speaking to us. 147

148 Day or night. Whether we re in the shower, in traffic or at the grocery store. The Universe is constantly guiding us and giving us messages on which direction to take. Once in a while we ll hear a message, and brush it off as one of those random moments of intuition. But trust me when I say that it s not random. We can actively hear the Universe whenever we want to. It s not some special skill given to a select few. Active listening often works more quickly than focusing on an end result. If you have a target destination firmly stamped in your mind, you know that 9.5 times out of 10 it s going to take some action on your part to get there. So if you understand that the Universe is always talking, you re much more likely to start moving in the right direction. Listening prompts you to take action a lot faster than visualizing and waiting on the sidelines. It helps you to understand that YOU really are a creator. Unfortunately Most Messages Go Ignored I have a friend who was in overdrive trying to attract a new job. He applied to several different companies, and was finally offered a position at one of them. The company was a lot closer to his home (which is what he wanted) and it paid more than his current position (which is what he wanted). Yet he didn t take the position because he d get one less vacation week the first year. Sadly, a couple of months after he declined the offer, he was laid off. The Universe was talking. Unfortunately he didn t listen. Thinking back to your own life, how many times have you brushed off a message, only to see the proverbial poo hit the fan? Don t worry, all of that is about to change. 148

149 How to Hear What the Universe is Saying 1) Notice what you notice when you think about your end result. Sometimes when I think about what I want, a random word will pop into my mind. Or I ll start thinking about a situation that happened on a television show. Or a song will pop into my mind. Or I ll pass a billboard with a distinct message. That s the Universe talking! I have a journal where I ll write down these seemingly random occurrences. At the end of the day I ll look through my notes to see if I fully understand the meaning. I don t get it all the time. But I m finding that acknowledgement makes it clearer over time. 2) Don t look for fanfare and angels singing. Unless it s a life or death situation, the Universe typically doesn t shoot lightning bolts from the sky. The Universe works within the simple confines of our daily lives. If you re sitting at a computer all day, you will still get the message. But it may come in the form of the subject line of an message. Perhaps it ll show up in a piece of junk mail you receive. 3) Expect to receive messages every single day. In fact, expect messages several times a day. Hourly, if you wish. You see, I wasn t joking when I said that the Universe is ALWAYS talking. Look around your room and notice what you notice. Describe it, dissect it. How does it apply to what you want? Write down your feelings. Don t worry about being right or wrong. Just trust that you ve gotten a message. 149

150 Try it again in a few hours. The more you do it, the more amazed you ll be at the results. And the faster you ll feel yourself being propelled to the thing you want. Visualizing may give you a temporary flood of good feelings. But listening helps you to actively move forward Alexis Dawes is the author of The Handbook for Responsible Creators: The no-crapping around guide for clearing your blocks, using your intuition and wielding your skills to implement the Law of Attraction in your life. You may download a free copy from Responsible Creators. ( ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS- Now I m going to look for authority sites where I can submit articles. If you ll recall, the search queries I use are: articles submissions wanted YOUR KEYWORD HERE articles submission YOUR KEYWORD HERE articles wanted YOUR KEYWORD HERE articles needed YOUR KEYWORD HERE First I tried: articles submissions wanted law of attraction. I put quotes around law of attraction because I wanted Google to give me sites that included the entire phrase, not just pieces of it. There were only 26 results, and from those I got nothing. Next I did articles submission law of attraction. I went through the first 100 listings and found the following sites: Manifesting with the Law of Attraction e-zine Sun Angel newsletter Law-of-Attraction-and-Success Psychic

151 Psychic Info Center Then I tried articles wanted law of attraction. There were 36 results, but I didn t find anything here either. Same deal with articles needed law of attraction. And finally I tried law of attraction inurl:submit article. Life Magick A Year From Now USFREEADS.COM I decided to feature the advertisement and have it redirected directly to the ResponsibleCreators.com website. It averages around 10 clicks per week. PROFITS: Within the first week of this e-book being listed on FreePDMaterial.com, I got my first two donations. One for $5 and another for $10. I m currently averaging anywhere from $5-$15 a day. I find that the number spikes significantly when an article of mine is published somewhere. IMPORTANT LESSSONS: 1) Consistent marketing is important, even when you re giving something away. I really wasn t sure how much marketing I d have to do to start making money with this one. Now that it s been around for a few months I see that I have to promote on a daily basis. 151

152 There are A LOT of law of attraction e-books out there. Many of them are free. So it s important for me to be in as many places as I can to maximize the number of donations I receive. 2) You have to be creative in finding free ways to promote your e-book when it s free. Obviously because this is a free product I don t want to spend a lot of money promoting it. Actually I don t want to spend any money promoting it. So you have to stick with a lot of content related marketing activities (think blog comments, guest blogging, article marketing) to promote your product. Ideally it would be great if I had my own law of attraction related blog because the blog would act as a funnel for the e-book. And in most cases, it s easier to get someone to link to your blog rather than a free e-book. 3) If you re going to ask for donations, make sure your material has a different angle from other free e-books. This is actually more of a rule more than a lesson. I don t want you to get the impression that you can put together any, old piece of information and expect donations. It doesn t work that way. The information in your free e-books have to be just as compelling as your fee-based e-books. You still have to make sure your information has an emotional edge. You still have to offer advice instead of information. No slacking here. All the DBO rules should be in effect. 152

153 Boils be Gone Technique used: Finding the Desperate in Almost Any Topic Does it really hit a desperate hot button? Yes. Boils are painful, they re often recurrent, and they can make your skin look horrible. So they affect your health and depending on where you get them, your looks. Are people searching for solutions online? Yes. Can you give advice instead of information? Yes, I ve had boils for 18 years and through trial-and-experiment I ve learned how to treat and prevent them. Can you give your information product an emotional edge? Yes. Do you know the shortcomings of similar information products? Yes, I ve tried remedies from countless websites. I did get a good idea of what worked from a free website (turmeric). But I found that it had to be used in a specific way in order for it to work, which wasn t in anything I d previously read. Marketing Tactics: USFREEADS.COM I decided to feature this advertisement and have it point directly to the Boils Be Gone website. Admittedly this one has been a flop. I m going to see if USFreeads will take the redirection off the ad. 153

154 ADWORDS ADS- I ve put a box around the ads that have generated sales so far. As you ll see, there s no discernible pattern here. No particular rhyme or reason why one ad works over another. It s all simply a test. KEYWORD: Recurrent boils Ad #1 Tired of recurrent boils? Quick fixes don't work. The boils come back. New report has a remedy. Ad #2 Tired of recurrent boils? You don't have to keep suffering. You can prevent them - $ KEYWORD: treatment for boils AD #1 Treatment for Boils Don't just get rid of them. Prevent them. New report show you how. AD #2 Treatment for Boils I experimented with a lot of boil treatments. What works? $24.95 KEYWORD: skin boil treatment AD #1 Skin Boil Treatment There are lots of recommendations. New report shows what really works. 154

155 AD #2 Skin Boil Treatment There are lots of recommendations. Here's what works really - $ KEYWORD: recurring boils AD #1 Sick of Recurring Boils? Don't just get rid of them. New report shows how to prevent them. AD #2 No More Recurring Boils I used to get new boils every month. This rememdy works - $ KEYWORD: how to treat a boil AD #1 How to Treat a Boil Don't just get rid of them. Prevent them. New report shows you how. AD #2 How Do You Treat a Boil? Most common remedies don't work. New report shows what works-$ KEYWORD: how to get rid of boils AD #1 Want to Get Rid of Boils? I'm boil free after 18 years of boil torture. New report shows how. 155

156 AD #2 How to Get Rid of Boils Drug store remedies don't work. Learn what prevents them - $ KEYWORD: how to get rid of a boil AD #1 How to Get Rid of a Boil Drug store remedies only ease the pain. Learn how to prevent them. AD #2 How to Get Rid of a Boil Don't go for a quick fix. They'll come back. Learn to prevent them. KEYWORD:Cure boils AD #1 Cure Your Boils - $24.95 My report shows you exactly what to do to prevent boils. AD #2 Want To Cure Your Boils? I suffered with boils for 18 years. Now I have none. Read my ebook. KEYWORD: treat boils AD #1 Don't Just Treat Boils Learn how to prevent them. My ebook offers complete details - $

157 AD #2 How to Treat Boils Hot compresses treat boils. They don't prevent them. Read my ebook. KEYWORD: boils remedies AD #1 Boil Remedies I had boils for 18 years. I'll tell you what prevents them - $ AD #2 Need Boil Remedies? Don't just get rid of boils, new e-book shows how to prevent them. KEYWORD: boils remedies AD #1 Boil Remedies I had recurrent boils for 18 years. Now I have none. Only $ AD #2 I Have Boil Remedies Learn from someone who had boils for 18 years. I know what works. KEYWORD: treating boils AD #1 Tired of Treating Boils? I had them for 18 years. I'll tell you what prevents them - $

158 AD #2 No More Treating Boils It's better to simply prevent them. My new ebook shows you how. KEYWORD: vaginal boils AD #1 Tired of Vaginal Boils? They're painful and embarrassing. Learn how to prevent them - $ AD #2 Vaginal Boils Are Awful And they keep coming back unless you know how to prevent them. FAQ SITE- I made the FAQ site a secondary marketing task because I wanted to see what search phrases were leading people to my sales website. This is also a good tactic to use when you re not sure what types of articles to write. I ve shown you a screenshot of 40 keyphrases. This is a relatively small list because the site is still new. But over time it will continue to develop. And as it does, you can either take the phrases and turn them into individual articles. Or you can create a Frequently Asked Questions site, which is what I opted to do. 158

159 PROFITS- It took about a week to receive my first sale. I believe it was because my Boils Be Gone website was showing up in Google in the #9 position under my primary keyphrase get rid of boils. 159

160 Then 2 weeks later, my site showed up in the #1 position for the keyphrase get rid of boils. 160

161 Same site in the #10 position in Yahoo. IMPORTANT LESSONS: 1) Search engine optimization stuff can be overrated. I really don t stress when it comes to SEO stuff. I insert 2-3 choice keywords in to my sales copy a few times, and that s it. And yet, I frequently obtain top 10 spots in Google for those keywords. 161

162 If you don t want to lose your mind, don t worry about being seo correct when it comes to search engine optimization. I find that the more calculated you are about the process, the more trouble you have. When you write for regular people and only occasionally insert your keyword, the engines seem to pick that up. Perhaps it s the smoother semantics. I don t know. 2) Actively use your stats to enhance your marketing efforts. When I look at my site stats I always see which keywords people are using to find my site. Keywords derived from your stats can give you a wealth of information about the mindset of your customer that may you have missed in your initial research. I especially like using Google Analytics to examine keywords because it tells me the average amount of time people are spending on the site, depending on which keyword they use. To do this use the following click pattern in Google Analytics: a. Find your site, b. Click on Traffic, c. Click on Keywords, d. The chart will tell you the Average time spent on site for each keyword. Once I know which keywords are delivering the longest site stays I can add articles to my site, or write articles for other content sites. I m more confident in what I write because I have the stats that prove what I m writing about is a hot topic. 162

163 3) Not every information product is cut out to be a freebie. Once I started receiving donations for my ResponsibleCreators.com e-book, I decided to see if I could replicate that success with Boils Be Gone. I ran a full blown Google AdWords campaign for 2 weeks giving away Boils Be Gone, then asking for a donation. After more than 300 downloads, I didn t receive a single donation! Selling it is by far more profitable than giving it away. And although I m not 100% sure, my infoproduct instincts are telling me that it s because of the content matter of Responsible Creators. Responsible Creators is a spiritually angled product. I think people are simply more apt to give a voluntary donation when it s spiritual, because donations are commonplace in the religious airspace. Perhaps if I were teaching people how to get rid of boils using energy healing (like Reiki), I could ask for donations, and I d probably get some because Reiki is a spiritual art. But I m still glad I tested Boils Be Gone to see what would happen. Even when it s all said and done, you never know what s going to work until you try. 163

164 The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula Technique used: Desperate in YOUR Niche I wrote The Good and Fast Content Creation Formula because I personally knew that creating good content is an important and often talked about topic among online marketers. If you run an authority site, you must create content. If you run a blog, you must create content. If you want to do article marketing, you must create content. These are factoids I already knew from being in the online marketing business. Furthermore, I knew that being able to write content fast was a major advantage (yet often a major problem) to people in the industry. Does it really hit a desperate hot button? Yes. The ability to write good content fast is often the bridge that separates the money makers in the content industry from the amateurs. So it affects peoples ability to make more money. Are people searching for solutions online? Yes. The following keyphrases alone generate over 100K searches a month: Article writing How to write article Writing content Writing articles Write article How to write articles Write fast Writing fast Can you give advice instead of information? Yes. This is a formula that I ve used for my own articles. 164

165 Can you give your information product an emotional edge? Yes. It appeals to people who are obsessed with writing great content for their websites. And yes that IS an obsession for some people since it does affect their money earning power. Do you know the shortcomings of similar information products? There are other information products that teach people how to write fast. But they lack completely in the research department. And the problem with many existing and budding content-preneurs is that they don t know how to research a topic effectively. It s not all about just entering a keyword in Google. There are many ways to find the exact information you need in a faster manner. Other products don t cover the different types of articles you can write. Nor do they offer a plug-and-play framework for writing the articles. Marketing Tactics: This project truly shows the power of having your own traffic source. Around 70% of visitors to the Good and Fast Content Creation Formula website arrive because of Rack and Write. Now remember, Rack and Write helps users come up with article ideas. Hundreds of article ideas actually. My goal was to give users so many article ideas that they would be excited to write yet flustered because they couldn t crank out as many articles as they d like. In fact, I didn t use any other marketing tactic because I was curious to see if the Good and Fast site could be profitable with traffic from Rack and Write. Okay I lied. I actually did announce it on my AlexisDawes.com blog which is technically my own traffic source. But even still, the majority of customers come through Rack and Write. 165

166 PROFITS: I started earning money from the first day that I announced the Rack and Write website on my blog. Now keep in mind that this is a print product. It costs me around $24 to print everything at FedEx Office (formerly Kinko s). And then another $4 for a binder. I also offer free shipping anywhere in the world. Shipping ranges from $11-$25 depending on where I m sending it to. So let s say on the highest end of the scale I m paying $54 to print and ship the package. It costs $129, so I net $70 (I took away PayPal fees also). I sell anywhere from 3-10 of these a week. On the low end, that s $840 a month in profits. On the high end, it s $2,800 a month. Nowadays I average around $1,500-$1,700 a month, or $18,000 a year. And because this is an evergreen topic, I can continue to sell this puppy for years and years and years. IMPORTANT LESSONS: 1) Creating your own traffic source isn t always easy but the payoff can be awesome. It took me a good 8 weeks to put everything together for Rack and Write. I had to write all the article titles, write descriptions for all the articles. Then I had to figure out which ones required nouns, verbs, etc. Once that was done, I had a programmer put together the website infrastructure. Then I had to pay someone to manually enter all the article titles and descriptions. Needless to say, it was quite a bit of work. But it was totally worth it. Rack and Write gets a lot of organic traffic from Google. I get a ton of repeat visitors, which slowly translates into paying 166

167 customers. And if I ever want to promote anything else on the Rack and Write website, I ve basically got my own billboard. If I ever decide to sell Rack and Write (which I seriously doubt) it s very much ready to go. It s always good to have a few sites like this in case you need cash right away. It s like insurance. 2) Don t be afraid to be comprehensive. I often say that desperate infoproducts shouldn t be more than 50 pages long. But there are exceptions to the rule. I decided to make Good and Fast a bigger product because there were already a bunch of content creation tools, e-books and articles that re-hashed the same information. And yet they missed some very key components like research. I didn t want buyers to feel like they were getting something that they could find elsewhere. So I made Good and Fast fatter. 3) Sometimes a simple switch in format can make potential buyers feel that your information is different. Nearly all of the content creation infoproducts out there were e-books. I didn t want to be lumped into that category. So I raised the price and did a print product instead. I probably don t get as many sales as the e-book people. But my take home profit is still higher per sale. And considering I don t have to pay to do any marketing, I m making out like a fat cat. I wouldn t necessarily recommend you do print for every product you sell. But if you want to go high end let s say over $100 per sale you may want to at least consider print. 167

168 How To Get a Bank Account Even if You re in Chexsystems Technique used: Desperate in YOUR Niche 2009 UPDATE This was my first desperate e-book. I talked about it in the first edition of DBO, and today it s still going strong. But there were a few bumps in the road. First and foremost I had A LOT of copycat sites pop up. People who took my sales copy, made a few slight changes, and also began selling Chexsystems e- books. I didn t expect that to happen, so it really caught me off guard. Then I took it off the market for around a year because the bank I strongly recommended stopped accepting Chexsystems customers. Then another bank implemented the same policy. I couldn t sell the report with one bank, so I took the site down. Within that downtime I had 2-3 DBO customers me asking if they could purchase the GetCheckingNow.com domain. I declined. Eventually I ended up finding some additional banks, I re-wrote the report, and put it back on the market. MARKETING: I don t actively promote this site anymore. Mainly because I really don t have to. My GetCheckingNow.com website consistently shows up within a top 10 position in Google for my primary keyphrases. 168

169 Plus my USFreeads advertisement also shows up in the top 10, and I have an EzineArticles.com article that also tends to show up in the top 10. These two sites fluctuate from time to time. Sometimes they re there, and sometimes they re not. I only check periodically. PROFITS: Even with this COMPLETELY hands off operation, with probably 5 times more competition than when I originally launched in 2005, I m still pulling about sales a month at $24.95 a piece. When I first reported on it, I was pulling in 3-10 sales a day. So yes, it was a huge drop in sales. But I also had extenuating circumstances in that I had many people copycat me because they knew of my success. I have a feeling that if I didn t expose this niche, I would ve still been generating a similar level of sales. 169