Archive | July, 2024

While there are many ways to make money online, the vast majority involve selling a product – be it yours or someone else’s.

But have you ever considered offering great content or software for free, and then allowing your visitors and fans to reward your good work through giving you donations? It’s simple – you provide your visitors with the opportunity to say “thank you” through either monetary donations or buying you things that you want.

This might not be the method to use if you’re looking to make huge money, but it can be a lucrative source of extra income. And perhaps best of all, you don’t need to feel you’re pushing anything on your customers or asking them to buy more stuff they don’t need or want. Visitors reward you when they choose to, and because they don’t feel pressured, they can sometimes be even more generous than if you were trying to sell them the latest greatest product.

Here are 8 tips on how to make the donation business model work for your website…

1. Offer quality content that truly helps your readers. This is true on any website, but especially important if you’re going to ask for donations. The more your content helps your readers, the more likely they are to want to send you a monetary ‘thank you.’

2. If your content doesn’t provide helpful information, then it should entertain. Perhaps you’re especially funny, or you’re up on the latest news in your niche. You’ve got to offer your visitors some type of real value to get donations.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask. “Did you find this information helpful? Then please help us to continue providing this great info in the future by supporting us. Any amount is helpful and greatly appreciated.”

4. Make a wish list on Amazon and post a link to your wish list on your website. “Have I helped you? If you would like to express your appreciation, please feel free to buy me a book.”

5. Don’t be afraid to place expensive items on your wish list. Optimally you want to choose items from a couple of dollars all the way to a hundred dollars or more, because you never know who will be buying you a ‘thank you.’ It could be a rich person whom you’ve just given a stellar idea that will make him/her thousands of dollars, and they might be the one to buy you that expensive $599.00 espresso machine you’ve been thirsting for.

6. You don’t have to confine yourself to Amazon: More and more online companies are offering wish lists. For example, thinkgeek.com, barnesandnoble.com, dickblick.com and containerstore.com all offer wish lists, as do hundreds of other retail websites.

7. Instead of wish lists, let them send you money. For example, “Buy me a cup of coffee” is a popular way of asking for donations. You then give them Paypal options of buying you anything from a single cup of coffee ($3-$5) to a case of beer, or dinner for two. You choose the options offered and the donation for each. And you can also create an option where they choose the amount to send to you. “Was this post helpful to you? Then please buy me a cup of coffee.”

8. Don’t get pushy. You’re providing them the chance to be nice and return some of the benefits you’ve offered to them on your website. You’re not trying to “sell” them on sending you money or gifts.

Selling products online is certainly the most direct path to earning profits, but there are a growing number of high profile websites, and everyday bloggers who are making a pretty penny through donations. If you are creating quality content, give your visitors the option to reward you in this way, and you may be surprised at how much money you were leaving on the table before trying this out.

Are you using online video in your email campaigns yet? If not, you might want to consider it. Because video engages more of the senses than the written word, and it can result in higher conversions.

Here are 7 tips for getting the most out of video…

1. Don’t embed videos into your emails. If you’ve ever tried it, you know that embedding video into email is challenging both from a technical and a deliverability stand point. Instead, embed a thumbnail image that links to your video. The recipient clicks the play button and the video automatically opens on a video landing page and begins to play.

2. Keep your videos short and to the point. Remember, anyone can close your video at any time, so your video should only be as long as you can hold their attention. Don’t offer long winded introductions explaining why you’re making the video – just get straight to the point.

3, Tell them what’s in it for them. A continuation of Point 2 – people are super busy so respect their time by immediately telling them the benefits they’ll receive from watching the video.

4. Don’t use YouTube. There is a time and place for YouTube, but your landing page isn’t one of them. Instead, use your own branded video landing page with your own video player. Include contact information, calls to action, an email sign-up, etc. When you control the landing page, you control what happens next.

5. Don’t forget your mobile users. Make sure your video platform allows playback on smart devices and supports both HTML5 and Flash formats.

6. Consider adding written text to your videos. Some people like to watch video, others prefer to read. By adding a transcript below the video, you’re appealing to a broader range of customers.

7. Track your results. Just like any other form of marketing, you need to know what’s working and what’s not. Always track open rates, play rates, whether the emails are being forwarded, etc.

You’ve likely heard of a technique called YouTube Traffic Hijacking. In a nutshell, it’s finding YouTube videos that get a lot of views but don’t display a URL in the more information section. You contact the video owner and offer to either buy the video outright or lease the “more info” section. You then insert your own URL that leads to a product sales page.

Pretty simple, right? This is a viable, workable business model, but there are three catches. First, you have to FIND these videos. The videos you seek are getting hundreds of views a day and have an accumulated number of views in the six figure range, just to be sure they’ve got what it takes to continue to get more views. And they can’t already have a URL listed for more info.

Next, these can’t be just ANY videos that meet the above criteria. For example, that video of cute kittens climbing the screen door isn’t going to sell your traffic product. Maybe you can find an affiliate product that teaches how to get kittens to not tear up the screen door, but even if you do, how many sales do you think that will result in?

Bottom line, the video’s subject needs to have a STRONG correlation to the affiliate product or you won’t be making enough sales to make this venture pay.

Third, you have to talk the video owner into agreeing to sell you the video or into leasing you the “more info” space. If you get them to sell you the video, you’ve then got to talk them into keeping it on their channel (you move it, you lose the momentum of the views and have to start over from scratch.) If you rent the “more info” space, how long will it be before they catch on that all they have to do is get their own affiliate link, tell you to go take a hike and start earning their own commissions?

See, it’s not as easy as some would have you believe. Now, there is software you can purchase that helps you to find these videos, but you still have the other problems we mentioned.

There is of course another solution: Make your own YouTube videos.

Why not? Anyone can do it, you don’t need to be a master videographer, and when you make the video you OWN IT from day one. No begging someone else for their video.

And when you make your own videos, you can have your URL in place from the moment you put your video online.

So how do you get more views to your YouTube videos? While there are no guaranteed methods, tomorrow I’ll share an article with you that can greatly increase your odds of creating videos that garner hundreds of views a day. Stay tuned! 😀

You work hard to get traffic to your blog or website, and you provide great content they can use. Yet you’re not getting as many of your visitors to join your mailing list as you would like, right? Be sure you’re not making any of these common conversion mistakes.

1. Not placing your opt-in form on every page. Don’t hide your opt-in form, place it on every single page of your blog or website.

2. Not placing your opt-in form above the fold. The optimal location for your opt-in form is nearly always above the fold, on the right side of the page. In addition, you might also place it at the bottom of each of your articles or blog posts.

3. Not having a strong call to action. Tell them exactly what you want them to do. “Fill in your email address and click submit.” Leave nothing to guess-work or chance.

4. Not giving them a strong incentive. Make your incentive so enticing, many of your readers would consider paying for it if you weren’t giving it away in exchange for their email address.

5. Not making your form and offer big enough. Make your opt-in form and offer big enough and bold enough that it cannot be missed, even by a casual surfer. Use colors that contrast well with the rest of your website, but don’t use anything annoying or flashing – that can actually reduce conversions.

6. Not using a testimonial or endorsement in your opt-in offer. A one line quote from an industry expert about how much they enjoy either your opt-in incentive or your newsletter can lend a tremendous amount of credibility to you and your offer.

7. Not testing. Test your offer, test the colors, test the language/copy that you use, test everything. Nothing is as important as building your loyal list of followers, and testing is the best way to be sure you’re not losing new subscribers every day by presenting the right offer in the right way.

In testing, changing some of these common mistakes has increased subscriber opt in rates by 35% or more. Put them to the test on your site, and see what they do for you!

As marketers we write headlines all the time, whether it’s for a blog post, an article, an email, a sales letter or an ad. As you know, the better your headline, the more people will read your words and possibly take the action you seek.

Here are 15 ideas for headlines. Next time you’re stuck for what to write, simply refer back to this page. In fact, you might want to print it out and tack it up next to your desk.

15 Profitable Headline Ideas:

Give news using words such as “new,” “introduction” or “announcing.” “Introducing A Painless Way To Remove Skin Lesions Forever.”

Use numbers and statistics. “Unprecedented 88 Miles To The Gallon.”

Make a recommendation. “The 3 Niches You Must Be In NOW.”

Ask a question. “What Do Successful Marketers Have That You Lack?”

Tie in to current events. “How This Year’s Election Provides You With A Unique Investment Opportunity.”

Give the reader a command, telling him or her to do something. “Try This Weight Loss Snack And See If It Doesn’t Taste Exactly Like A Decadent Candy Bar.”

Use words that paint a picture. “How To Be As Muscular As Arnold Schwarzenegger In His Prime.”

Tell a story. “The Bully Laughed When I Fell To The Ground, But He Wasn’t Expecting What Happened Next…”

Create new terminology. “New Wixor Method Instantly Doubles The Conversion Rate On Your Website.”

Caution them. “How To Avoid The Costliest Mistake You Can Make In Building Your Online Business.”

State a startling benefit. “Get Your Own Virtual Assistant For Just $5 An Hour.”

Tell them your amazing offer. “Everything You Need To Make Your Own Beer For Just $29.”

Make a comparison. “Get Twice As Many Widgets For Half The Price Of Our Competition.”

Use a testimonial. “Before Taking This Course I Was Broke… Now I’m Debt Free And Financially Secure.”

Make a seemingly contradictory promise. “Eat As Much As You Want And Still Lose Weight.”

You have the potential to achieve great things, and to do something extraordinary, whether it’s in your online business or something else.

And achieving the extraordinary is more possible than ever before, thanks to the technologies and knowledge we have today.

However, it’s also easier than ever before to get distracted, too.

So, how do you stay focused? And how do you ensure that you are making progress every single day?

By taking a lesson from other successful people who have reached their goals.

There is a common fallacy in our culture known as the ‘overnight success.’

Someone achieves something great, and because this person was previously unknown, people say s/he achieved this success seemingly overnight, out of thin air.

But as you might expect, it actually takes years to become an overnight success.

If you ask any entrepreneur or actor who made it big, you’ll find they worked hard for years before achieving their goals.

Think about this: You’re an actor, going up for a major role. If you get it, this will be your big break.

But you’re up against another actor for that same role.

This actor has been taking acting classes for 10 years, taking part in local theater, auditioning for every part possible, and taking every job she’s offered.

You’ve been ‘acting’ for 10 years, too, but in that time you really haven’t done much.

You didn’t take any acting lessons.

You didn’t participate in local theater.

You didn’t audition for a part unless you ‘felt like it.’

Needless to say, it’s the other actor who gets the part and becomes an ‘overnight success,’ all because she’s been working hard for a decade to get ready for this exact moment.

I’m going to share something with you right now that is life-changing.

However, since you’ve probably heard this before, you’re also likely going to dismiss this.

That would be a grave mistake.

What I’m about to impart will make the difference in a life of mediocrity and stellar success, and it’s this:

Every single day, without fail, determine the ONE thing you need to accomplish to move forward on your goal, and DO IT.

If you can only get one thing done, what would it be?

Ask yourself this question every night before going to bed, and again the next morning.

If you get just ONE thing done, what should it be?

The key here is to focus on importance, not busy work.

Contacting ten possible new clients is a step forward. Clearing your desk is not. Yes, it might be important to have a tidy desk, but how does that advance your goals?

There is the story of the professor who holds up a glass beaker in front of the class. The professor fills the beaker with large rocks all the way to the top, and then he asks the class if the beaker is full.

“Yes!” the students reply.

Then the professor pours small pebbles into the beaker that fit all around the large rocks. Again, he asks the class if the beaker is full.

“Yes!” comes the reply.

Finally, the professor pours sand into the beaker, which fills in the gaps around the pebbles.

Now the beaker is full.

But what if the professor had put the sand in first, or the pebbles in first? Then the professor could not have fit the big rocks into the beaker.

The things you need to do to advance your goals are your big rocks. You’ve got to do these things first, or they will never get done. If you focus your efforts all day long on sand and pebbles, you will always be busy, but you won’t accomplish anything.

Choose one thing per day, the one BIG thing you can do to advance your goals, and do that thing first, no matter what.

There’s always going to be a small percentage of your customers who are more than happy to pay more to get things done faster and better.

Case in point: If you’re not familiar with it, there is a giant ferris wheel in London that is absolutely huge and offers spectacular views. It was built for the Y2K celebrations. Ironically, it didn’t open in time for Y2K, but that’s another story (perhaps about planning your business and hitting deadlines.)

To ride this ferris wheel, known as the London Eye, you’ve got to pay something like 20 pounds and stand in a queue for about an hour and a half. For you Yanks, a queue is a line. 😉

But if you’re willing to pay more – a good deal more – you will only have to wait about 15 minutes. That’s because they also offer something called the Fast Track, also known as the short line for rich people.

Now then, where in your business can you offer a “short line for rich customers?” That is, how can you upgrade your products or services for those customers who are more than happy to pay for better/faster service? Because these are the customers you need to spoil rotten. These are the customers who will make your business a pleasure to run and who will be the reason why you like getting up in the morning and you have a new car in the garage. Frankly, these are the customers who, when you get enough of them, will allow you to focus exclusively on them if you choose.

Think of it this way – would you rather service 100 rich customers who pay whatever you charge without so much as a flinch, or a 1,000 customers all moaning about your latest $2 price increase? To be frank, you can earn far more by catering to your best customers than you can by trying to sell cheap stuff to cheap people. And yes, I realize it might not be politically correct for me to be saying this, but I bet you can already see the truth in it.

So it’s your decision – continue to focus only on selling to the masses, or begin locating those customers and clients who will gladly pay you top dollar for your extraordinary services without batting an eye.

If you don’t have time to write 6 or 7 emails each week to send to your email list, try this method instead: Pick out several evergreen products that you know and trust and can promote to your list for months and even years to come… For example, choose your favorite hosting service or autoresponder if you’re building in the online marketing niche.

Write 4 emails for each of these evergreen products. They can be stand alone emails or a sequence with each email building on the previous one, whichever you prefer. Put a link in each email to the product or service you are promoting.

Place these sequences into your autoresponder and schedule them to begin going out as soon as someone joins your list.

However, cue these emails so they only go out on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Monday and Wednesday are reserved for new emails you write, promoting new products.

No matter when a new lead signs up, they start on the email sequences you’ve programmed, but they never receive them on Monday or Wednesday because this is when you send out your new, live emails.

Now you’re only having to write two emails per week.

Once you get used to sourcing products to promote and writing the emails for them, you have a choice: You can either send more live emails and fewer autoresponder emails, or you can use some of your new emails as automated sequences (assuming the products stay relevant and available.)

This method is a great way to ease into emailing 6 days a week, and it’s perfect for the person who is currently working a full time job but looking to quit as soon as the online income is high enough.

It’s also perfect for the new marketer who takes a long time to write an email. No worries, you’ll get faster with time.

Try this method and see if it doesn’t take some of the email writing pressure off of you.