Adjust Slightly: Find Your
BUYING Target Market
Have you ever started online business or website and found yourself saying, “This market just doesn’t buy anything!”
You are most certainly not alone.
In this information age, full of free free free, sometimes we get all caught up in the hoopla and we forget we’re trying to turn a profit from our online venture. Of course, it’s all well and good to help people and give stuff for free, but we all gotta eat some time. The good news is, sometimes all it takes is a slight adjustment to your target market. Because realistically speaking, if you’re positioning yourself to attract people who just want free stuff…you’re going to have a heck of a time to get them to buy something.
Here are some common adjustments that might fit your own business
Disclaimer: These are not one-size-fits-all ideas. They may work or they may not for your market. You need to evaluate your own business and measure the results of any adjustments you make.
- Go from providing how-to information to actually DOING it for them (ex. software, services, ready-made projects). You can sell how to information, but there may just be more money in giving people the tools or already-done-for-you products and services.
- Go from the desperate portion of your market to the proactive. In some cases, the desperate buyer may be your target. Other times, you may find the more pro-active person who is always looking ahead, trying to prevent problems and ensure success may be a better target.
- Go from giving everything for free to showing your audience how to invest in themselves. You can give free information, recommend free tools and resources…but what’s that going to get you? Perhaps some very thankful readers/fans, but unfortunately, an empty bank account.
Take a good long look at your website, your subscribers, readers and your entire business? Who is naturally attracted to your offerings? Are they buyers? Are they their for a free ride? If it’s the latter…a target market adjustment may be in order and a lot of that has to do with the way we communicate with our readers.
Start by changing the way you speak to your readers – everything from your sales copy to your newsletter opt-in copy to your content. When you change the way you talk, you change those who are attracted to your marketing.
Here are some tips for changing the way you talk:
- Stop thinking you always have to offer a free resource.
- Make no apologies for recommending products.
- Make offers and recommendations regularly – they’ll get used to it or they’ll ship out (And guess what? It’s OKAY if a non-buyer ships out)
- Educate your readers about why they should purchase products.
You work hard in your online business. You painstakingly create content and products. But if you aren’t getting the results you’d hoped for…maybe it’s time to adjust.
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“Making Money is Easy. It’s All in the Marketing”
The other day I was standing in line at Wal-Mart waiting to check out, when a headline on this month’s Reader’s Digest magazine caught my eye.
In big yellow letters it said, “We Can All Be Rich.”
Interesting, yes, but that claim alone wasn’t enough to make me pick up the magazine, eager to find out how. Instead, it was the two tiny, barely readable sentences below that headline that piqued my curiosity.
“So says innovator Austin Hill. But reputation, not cash, will make the world go round.”
Definitely a fascinating concept. So I picked up the magazine and flipped to the article to check it out.
Basically it was saying that who we are will replace cash, and then it went on to talk about Austin Hill’s early days as a young entrepreneur. In high school, I think it was 1984, he found a way to get into the school computer and edit report card grades. He knew how to fix it, so he approached the school, told them about their flaw, and said he would fix it for $400 an hour. I think he wound up with $10,000 for his work.
The next story was when he approached (the school again I think), about teaching employees how to keep their computer information secure. They said, no we don’t need that we have passwords to protect data.
Austin told them that he could get the password out of anyone, and that they could pick someone for him to call and get the info from. They chose some lady high up on the ladder who was tight-lipped, and on speaker phone for everyone to hear, she gave him her computer password when he told her he was a tech guy.
Well, needless to say, they hired him to train their employees and I think he earned something like $50,000 for that job.
Interesting stories, but it was the last thing I read before I put the magazine back on the rack to deal with my 8 and 5 year old who were fooling around; that stuck with me.
Austin said something like (can’t remember the exact wording), “Making money is easy. It’s all in the marketing.”
It wasn’t an “ah ha” moment, since I already know the important role marketing plays in business. Instead, it was more of a reminder.
In Austin’s case, he found a problem, told his market they had problem, and then told them how he could solve their problem. After that, money wasn’t an issue. His market knew they had to fix the problem, and they were willing to pay whatever it took.
The same goes for an online business. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t take the time to find out what problems their market has before coming out with a new product.
That’s the key….
- Know what the problem is
- Tell your market the problem (sometimes they don’t realize they have a problem until someone points it out)
- Offer them a solution to their problem
I believe that a lot of products fail simply because they don’t solve a problem of a particular market. Besides, how would you go about marketing something if you didn’t know that the product was even needed by your market?
Sounds silly, I know. But it happens every day. People create products just because they want to, not because their market wants them to.
You market a product by connecting with your prospects on an emotional level. And you do that by telling them that you share their pain, you understand their problem, and you have a way to help them. Well, making money is easier.
On the other hand, if you try to market your product without that connection it’s going to be a lot harder to make a sale; especially if you don’t understand their problems.
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Top 10 Reasons to Use Resell Rights Products
1. Save Time – Writing all your own products takes time. Buying resell rights products allows you to skip right over that. Instead of spending all that time in production mode you’re free to do the money-making activities. Now you have time to be marketing those products you’ve got ready to sell.
2. Save Money – If you don’t have time to create products yourself, another option is to hire this process out to a team. If you do you’ll need to pay a writer, a graphic designer, a copywriter and a website designer. That can be a very pricy proposition! By using resell rights you are saving yourself a large chunk of change and getting a high quality product at the same time.
3. Keep All The Profits – As an affiliate you might get 30-50% in commissions from the sale of any products you promote. When you purchase resell rights products 100% of the profits are yours. The only thing it costs you is your initial investment in the rights and the rest is pure profit.
4. Skip The Research – Market research can be difficult, especially if you are new at it. Buying resell rights products means you get to avoid the initial research part.
5. Professionally Written Content – Maybe you don’t feel you’re writing is up to the professional quality you’d like in a product. With resell rights products you will be getting the advantage of having a professional write you a product without paying the high cost of hiring one yourself. All the editing, revising and formatting is already done for you.
6. Earn Credibility By Association – It takes time and effort to establish a respected and trusted brand, online or offline. When you buy resell rights products from a brand that has worked hard to build that reputation you can earn credibility simply by being associated with them. That’s why celebrity endorsements work so well (and are so costly for companies to get!).
7. Profit From Experience – When you serve a specific target market for a certain amount of time, you start to get an intuitive idea of what they need and want. That kind of experience takes time to build. Reselling products created by an experienced business allows you to benefit from the time they’ve spent ‘in the trenches’ learning the needs and wants of YOUR target market. That’s very valuable stuff.
8. Gain New Customers – Again if we talk about affiliate marketing you are sending customers to the company you are an affiliate for. By selling resell rights under your own company you are keeping those customers with you. You can build a loyal and profitable relationship with those customers in a way you couldn’t possibly do if they bought through someone else and became their customer.
9. No Worries About Making It Unique – One of the advantages of using private label rights products is that you can edit it. Did you know that’s also one of the disadvantages? You see, according to many marketers the majority of people who buy PLR never use it because they never get past the customizing and rewriting stage. With resell rights products there is no worry of that. You can’t edit these products so you can’t get held up by this step and never sell a thing. Resell rights are ready to go. That means you get to make money faster.
10. Expand Your Expertise – Maybe your customers are asking you for a product on a topic you’re just not comfortable writing on yet. This is where resell products would be very useful. While you may not be an expert in everything you can still offer a quality product that fits their needs.
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Physical Products?
A customer recently asked me about getting physical versions of Internet Marketing Sweetie products, because they liked having something in their hands to work with.
So I’m putting the question to you…
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Business Finances: How well do you manage?
I have to admit, I wasn’t always a great money manager when it came to my business, and I know I’m not alone in that admission.
In truth, I used to spend the money as fast as it came in, and then scramble later to pay my business expenses. Not an ideal situation to put myself in, especially when I had to dip into my husband’s pay or use a credit card to pay them.
But it wasn’t just me. My husband would ask for money, and I’d give it to him, and eventually he just took for granted that I always seemed to have money. I didn’t, not really, because I was spending my profits and then giving him money that was allocated for expenses.
Sometimes that money was spent foolishly, but in most cases, it merely bought groceries, gas, and paid other essential living expenses. Still, it was a very unwise thing to do because it meant I was living beyond my means.
Perhaps this really isn’t that big of a deal when you’re just getting started, but as your business grows you have to have discipline. You can’t be burning through your PayPal account when you have affiliates and contractors to pay, refunds to process, and monthly business tools/services to pay for. Not to mention contributing to the household bills.
So there comes a time when you have to manage your business finances like a real business instead of a hobby. Everything needs to be tracked, expenses paid first, and your profits taken last.
Now that doesn’t mean you have to be so strict that you never have fun with the money you’re making, because you should. In fact, my business profits pay for our frequent weekends away in the summer, as well as luxury items like a fancy digital camera, a video camera, computer, etc. Or it may be just a simple dinner out and a trip to the movie theatre.
Don’t deny yourself the fun of doing things with your hard-earned money, just be wise about it.
Here are a few things you can do to get a better grip on your business finances:
- Put away that PayPal debit card: This little sucker makes accessing your money incredibly easy, so until you have the discipline to use it wisely, get it out of your wallet and tuck it away for emergencies only. Instead, make bi-weekly or monthly withdrawals of your profits from your PayPal account to your bank account.
End of the month withdrawals are ideal because then all of your income for that month has come in, and all of your expenses have gone out. So you can clearly see what your “take home pay” is.
I’d really love it if PayPal would let you set up accounts within your account, so you could separate your money…one designated for expenses and one for income. So all of your income from the previous month would stay separated from your expenses in the coming month.
- Track: Get diligent about tracking where your money’s coming from and where it’s going, and then cut out all the extras you don’t need. If you don’t have a clear idea of what your income and expenses are, then you’ll just end up overspending.
For instance, I have various team members who are on retainer, so I know exactly what their services are going to cost me each month. I can check my records at any given time and know how much is owing to affiliates, what subscriptions I have and how much they cost, etc.
This type of tracking also allows me to budget for new projects, or allocate funds to current projects, like adding new tools to my affiliate center. It also enables me to me know how much marketing I can do in a given month, like outsourcing press release writing & submission, article writing & submission, PPC, creating viral tools, etc.
- Save & Invest: Instead of spending your profits as fast as they come in, take only what you need and leave the rest. If you need money to pay the hydro bill and buy groceries, make a withdrawal for the exact amount you need.
Then you can take a portion of those savings and invest in your business. Go to that seminar you’ve be dying to go to, or hire the people you need to get that new project completed, so you can make more money.
It’s not easy to change the way you manage your finances, but it’s so worth it. It’s nice to see the money add up in your PayPal account, and know that you have more than enough to sustain your business and cut yourself a good pay check too!
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Free Download: Resell Rights Video Tutorial & Blueprint
The other day I talked about resell rights products being “old school” in most people’s minds, and how I thought differently.
So I’ve put together a 4 part video tutorial that takes you step-by-step through one of the many ways you can use resell rights products in your business, to plug those profit leaks. I’ve also included a 16-page blueprint that provides you with additional tips, strategies, and ideas.
First, watch me on video talking about resell rights products, and then if you’d like to learn more, you can pick up a copy of my video tutorial and blueprint. Go here: http://www.resellrightsproductshowto.com
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Are Resell Rights Products Old School?
Before private label rights content (PLR) became such a hot commodity, resell rights products were the “it” way to sell products online without creating them yourself. And now, you really don’t hear a whole lot about resell rights products, at least I don’t anyway, so does that mean using them is an “old school” method?
I’d have to say no. I believe there is still a place for resell rights products in your business, and if used right, they can prove to be as valuable as PLR is to you now.
But before we get into that, let’s touch on exactly what resell rights products are…
Basically, they’re products that someone has created and branded, and they allow others to resell the products and keep 100% of the profits. The product typically comes with an ebook or report, a sales letter, and a thank-you/download page. You’re not allowed to change any of the content or graphics, but you can add your name to the sales letter, thank-you/download page, and add in your order link.
There are also those who sell master resell rights to their products, which means you can turn around and give your customers the rights to resell the product too. This can quickly saturate the market if licenses aren’t capped, and unfortunately, most people don’t limit the number of people who can buy a master license.
So if you can’t change any of the content or graphics, why would you want to sell them?
Like I mentioned, resell rights products can be just as valuable to you as PLR, but there are a few guidelines you should follow to ensure maximum profit.
1) Don’t buy products from just any old Joe Blow: Willie Crawford recently talked about “celebrity status” in his teleconference for Sell Big Ticket Items. He said that he encourages people to get their picture taken with high profile marketers at events, because being connected with those brands can raise your own status in the eyes of your market.
The same thing can be applied to the products you sell. If you’re selling a resell rights product with Joe Blow’s name on the cover, who cares? But if you have a widely recognized brand stamped on that product, it’s going to be easier to sell because people will know the product is going to be good, and they’ll think more highly of you because you’re associated with that brand. This may actually give you more of an edge than a PLR product with your own name on it.
2) Choose products that sell minimum licenses: You don’t want to be selling the same product as thousands and thousands of other people, so choose products that cap their licenses at just a few hundred.
3) Do something unique: Just because it’s a resell rights product doesn’t mean you’re limited on what you can do with it. Here are a few ideas:
-> Add it to a paid membership site
-> Add it as a bonus to your own product
-> Create a learning center on your paid site
-> Sell a print version
-> Take key points from the content and create a video
-> Take a bunch of resell rights products and create a coaching program from them
-> Create an audio version of the ebook or report that includes tips and thoughts from you to add value to the product
-> Add to the product by creating checklists, idea sheets, worksheets, software, interviews, and other downloadable goodies.
Overall, I think resell rights products are still a very viable option for getting the products you need without the work and expense of creating them yourself.
Before you go, can you please take a minute to answer this one question about resell rights products for me? Click here to share your answer (thanks in advance, I really appreciate it).
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Sweetie Saturday: Business Branding Roadmap
It’s that time again -> Sweetie Saturday Report Club Time!
The Sweetie Saturday Report Club has been updated with this month’s goodies. Inside, you’ll find (log in here):
Not a Member Yet? Click here to find out about this super-affordable and value-packed membership.
This month’s report (complete with resell rights):
Much has been written on the subject of branding, yet it is one of the most simple marketing strategies on the planet. “Branding” occurs when any sort of element – auditory, graphic, or physical object – is instantly and universally associated with a person, company or product.
In other words, a physical token becomes an instantly-recognizable icon, triggering the viewer into knowing exactly what company or person is represented – and exactly what to expect from them.
Your Quick and Easy Guide: Business Branding Roadmap: How To Brand Your Business For Long-Term Success will help you get your market to think of YOU when they need a particular product/service.
You’ll learn…
-> The truth behind branding
-> How to discover if branding is necessary for you
-> Find out what you should brand – your company, your products or you
-> 5 critical questions you must answer to avoid the pitfalls of branding
-> The #1 branding secret that you need to know to build a successful brand
-> Uncover the 2 elements to effective branding
-> The 4 business branding don’ts
-> 5 no-lose strategies for achieving a victorious brand
…and so much more!
I’ve included a written report plus full audio recording that shows you how to brand your business for long-term success.
At only 14 straight-to-the point pages (or listen to the audio if you prefer), it’s easy to read through this no-fluff guide and start applying what you learn. No sense in reading all day, when you can be building your business instead.
Plus, you’ll receive…
This month’s Mini Course: “Pay Per Click (PPC) Marketing” ~ was created around a member submitted question. It includes a 9-page guide where I talk to you about PPC marketing; how it works, the advantages of it, free vs. paid advertising, using keywords and more.
This month’s Essential Biz Notes: “Why People Buy Things!” ~ If you want to sell a product, you have to know why someone would want to buy it. Once you understand the “why” it makes writing the copy, and selling a whole lot easier.
Speaking as a former copywriter for pay, one of the keys to writing a successful sales letter begins with understanding your customer so you know what emotional triggers to hit in your copy. This month I talk about 10 reasons people buy.
This month’s Sweet Cheat Sheet: How to Brand Your Business ~ A handy printable checklist to ensure that you haven’t missed any vital steps.
This Month’s Step-by-Step Action Plan: This is your quick start plan to using the information that you learn in the report. Because sometimes, you read something and then think, “now what do I do?”
So this action plan will help you take what you learn and dive right in to the next step.
Stay Accountable & Learn More at the Club Members Only Discussion Forum: It’s one thing to get the information and tools you need to build and improve your online business, taking action is quite another. That’s why we’ve the private club members discussion area is available to you. Each month, you’ll find new discussions about the monthly materials. You’ll also find opportunities to share your action plans and stay accountable to sticking with your goals. We’re also going to be setting up monthly challenges, along with additional resources and tools you can use to grow your business.
Now, there are no more excuses for NOT taking action.
Not a Member Yet? Click here to find out about this super-affordable and value-packed membership.
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