Today’s post is an email I received from David Vallieries, author of   ” Fail Faster For Success “.

As it is related to Success Thinking I wanted to share it with you.   Enjoy

===============================================

Hey Douglas,

I was listening to a recording made at a success seminar recently.

The speaker said something I thought was really interesting.

He said, “It’s not failure we’re afraid of, it’s success.”

It was one those “ah ha” moments for me.

As you know I have always been curious why some people
succeed and some don’t.

My first report on ’success vs failure’ was ‘Fail Faster
for Success‘.. in that report I suggested that failing
faster in low-risk situations was the way to help you
succeed faster because, if you can eliminate what does
not work, you can more quickly discover what does work.

If you haven’t downloaded that report or lost your copy
you can get it here (I renamed it, but it’s the same report
with updated information):

http://www.thinkandsucceed.com/free-gift-for-visiting

What this speaker said made a lot of sense to me.

The tools, the resources, the information and everything
you need to succeed is readily available. So why do people
still choose ‘failure’ over success?

The reason is they are more comfortable as a ‘failure’.

Strange as that sounds when you hear it, it’s true.

In order to succeed you have to move from ‘comfortable’
to ’scary’ positions in your life.

You have to start doing things you’re not used to- things
that are a little ’scary’ at first. Like making more money
and taking on more responsibility.

If you don’t think you’re afraid of making more money, you’re
kidding yourself.

With more money comes more responsibility, and more responsibility
is scary for most people. Right?

Don’t be afraid of the responsibility that comes with success,
come to terms with it, face it head-on and embrace it instead.

But success is nothing more than a habit that ANYONE can develop.

If you can develop success habits, your success is just about
guaranteed!

For example: What do you do each day to reach your goals?

Do you even have goals?

Ok… then write down what you would like to accomplish each
day, week or month.

Since we’re talking about making more money, how much, at a
minimum would you like to earn each month?

Once you have that figure work backwards and determine HOW
you’re going to get to that figure. In other words, what do
you have to do TODAY to make your goal for the month?

If you said you want to make $10,000 per month, fine.

That’s $333.33 a day. Not out-of-reach for anyone. It’s
very possible to do, and not all that hard.

I can hear you saying, “Yeah right. Maybe for you it’s easy,
but I could never make that much.”

If you just said that to yourself, then you are guilty of
being afraid of success.

Stop yourself and realize that it’s only success and it’s
partner “responsibility” that you’re afraid of. Once you
know your enemy then you can overcome it.

So, what can you do to reach that goal.. starting today?

Get more listings up on ebay… build your opt-in list,
send out JV proposals, build more websites…

What do you have TO DO?

Success is a habit.

Start doing what you need to do today
and every day and petty soon it becomes a HABIT. You will
get better and more efficient at what you do and more
successful as you develop better work habits.

You’ll make mistakes and have small failures, but that will
help you learn what NOT to do, so you can focus on what
you should do (re-read my “Fail Faster For Success” report.)

Keep a TO DO list in front of you to help keep you on
track.

You see? Success is not hard. But you have to be un-afraid
to succeed. It is scary to move away from those comfortable
things you used to do- like watch TV or surf the net all
day without a goal…

But the results are worth it.

Don’t be afraid of success. Embrace it.

Best wishes,

- Dave Vallieres
“Think and Succeed”!
http://www.thinkandsucceed.com/free-gift-for-visiting

====================================================

I think the speaker got it right David, it’s the added responsibility that I need to prepare
myself to accept.  Over the years I have accepted my share of responsibility i.e.
raising a family, being a Scouts Canada leader, running a non-profit bookstore for
a wholistic society, but money did not factor into this equation, altho I often
wished for much more than I had I always made do.

I read a lot about online marketers making $1,000’s and wish/hope/dream that
it could/would/will happen for me but alas the other side of the mind says
something else.  But I’m working on it.

If you can relate to this topic then feel free to share your thoughts below.  It’ll
be great to hear from you.

Marlon Sanders shares his insights and examples about the importance of getting the headline wording right.  And he should know… he’s done it 122x already.  Read the whole article for some great/interesting/inspiring insights and ideas.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Is Your Headline Missing The Two Most Important Words?

“How to tweak your headlines and possibly pull in thousands extra in sales” ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I just launched a new product. If you want to refer to the
sales letter as you read this article, it’s at:
http://www.marlonsanders.com/writerssecret

I made a mistake on the product title and headline and
quickly fixed it by changing just TWO WORDS.

I want to share these two words with you. Because maybe
YOUR headlines are missing these two words.

Let me explain.

First of all, if you’re new to all this, your headline is
the most important part of your sales page because it’s the
ad for the ad.

It determines whether or not the people who land on your
web page read anything else or immediately bounce. If you
get it wrong, you can kill your sales.

In fact, Michael Masterson says 80% of your sales are the
result of your headline and lead. The lead is the opening
of your sales letter.

Your headline needs to accomplish multiple objectives.

1. Get the message across that your product isn’t the same
old, same old.

In marketing we call this the USP or Unique Selling Proposition.
It’s a bit of a challenge to do this in extremely over-marketed
markets like Internet marketing.

People have pretty much seen it all and heard it all. So you
really have to put some brainpower into finding a unique angle.

2. Get across specifics

In general, specifics outpull generalities. They sound more
believable.

3. Communicate a crystal clear benefit or wifm — what’s in it
for me.

Now, if you leave OUT any of those elements, you can wreck your
results.

Change just a few words and you can spike your results.

My pal Daegan Smith is one of my “go to” guys when I need to
change or tweak a marketing process. You may have heard my
interview with Daegan in Promo Dashboard. If you didn’t, and
you have the product, you’ll find his interview on the “bonuses”
tab.

Great, great interview.

So anyway, as you hopefully know, I launched a new product this
week. When I say launched, I mean to my own list. I haven’t
even rolled it out to affiliates yet.

I wanted to make sure I had my letter tweaked and selling before
I gave my affiliates the opportunity to tell their folks about
it.

I try to treat my affiliates right. The same way I’d want to be
treated.

My letter wasn’t converting as good as I wanted. And we’d
had technical issues on the launch due to installing a new upsell
script and a few other things. Normally, things run like clockwork.
But Murphy (Murphy’s law) decided to pay us a visit.

So my copywriting brain wasn’t running at full speed. I decided to
use my “lifeline” option and call Daegan. My other lifeline “go to”
guy is Jason Fadlien or “Flads” as my pal Jit and I call him. But
Flads was nowhere to be found.

Lucky me, I had Daegan on the horn.

“Daegan, dog, what do you think of this headline?”

The headline originally read:

////////////////////////////////
Secrets of Making GGGGGGG
Anyplace Anytime Anywhere
Just By Writing On Your Laptop
And Selling Your Words
Over and Over and Over Again!
////////////////////////////////

The word “money” goes where the G’s are. I had to do that to
prevent this ezine from getting filtered to your forbidden box.

Anyway, that headline converted pretty mediocre. You’ll notice
there’s not a strong uniqueness about it. The uniqueness was in the
product title: “The Writer’s Secret.”

I felt that was a bit of an angle or idea people hadn’t heard
before.

But when it didn’t convert as I wanted, I changed it to:

////////////////////////////////////////
On December 3, 1998, I Discovered A
“Cookie Cutter” Secret That I’ve
Repeated 122 Times — And You Can
Use This Same Secret Starting
2 Hours and 58 Minutes From Right Now!
////////////////////////////////////////

I added specifics with the date and numbers. This sometimes helps.
And I changed the concept a bit.

But it still wasn’t rocking and rolling dollars into my account the
way I wanted. Sales weren’t just pouring in. They were coming in
but a bit slow for my tastes.

So I used my lifeline and called Daegan. Or maybe he called me.
I think he called me.

Anyway, Daegan shared with me how he already has his membership site
up to doing 70 g’s a month and he doesn’t even have his OTO (one
time offers” in place yet.

That boy can do pay-per-click and media buying like nobody’s
business. He’s just very thorough and systematic about sticking to
his guns.

My thing is the affiliate program. We’re on different marketing
models. But the same basics apply.

Anyway, Daegan said, “Marlon, I saw your email but I read the title
‘The Writer’s Secret’ and I thought ‘Even though I write every day,
I don’t want tips on how to write.’”

Of course, the product is NOT about how to write. It’s about the
exact model and system I’ve used since December 3, 1998 to bring in
money every month, month in and month out to the tune of millions of
dollars.

With small tweaks and differences, I’ve used pretty much the same
formula. I’ve added a few things to the mix and had to modify a part
here or there. But it’s an evergreen formula that has stood the test
of time.

I IMMEDIATELY saw what Daegan was talking about.

He said, “Your headline doesn’t give me a benefit. So what if it’s
a cookie cutter system? What will it do for me?”

I said, “Dog, I get it. I see it.” He fired back, “If I’m giving
copy advice to the great Marlon Sanders, I must be getting pretty
good at this.”

“Yeah, dog, you are,” I spit back.

You got to understand…I’m a copywriter by trade. And a darned
good one. But I don’t write for clients anymore. I do my thing and
that’s it.

Last year, I only produced one major product and several webinars.
So I’m out of practice in writing sales letters. I’m rusty. And
actually, this is one of the huge insights I got that allowed me to
articulate the concepts in “The Writer’s Secret.”

You know, any idiot can write things and make them complex. It
takes a lot of distilling, practice, mistakes and “boiling down” to
get just to the heart of something.

And say, “forget all the other noise, and just focus on THESE few
things.” It’s the 80/20 rule where 20% of the things get you 80% of
the results. But you gotta know what those 20% of things are.

I obviously know to have the WIFM (what’s in it for me) in the
headline. To have the big benefit in there.

But we had so many other factors in motion…moving servers…
installing a new affiliate software…all these other factors in
motion that I just couldn’t focus in on the sales letter.

When Daegan said that, I saw it immediately.

“Yeah dog, I get it,” I fired back to him. Then, to repay him for
his great insight, I explained to him my theory of “selling around
the edges.” A concept I’ve never heard anyone talk about. I try to
always give back the same or more to others than they give me.

Then, after getting off the phone, I read over the headline and
said, “How can I get THE BENEFIT in here?”

You need to be asking the SAME questions about your headline.

1. Does it project a unique idea that doesn’t sound like the same
old, same old?

2. Does it CONFUSE people?

In my case, “The Writer’s Secret” wasn’t the best title. It makes
it sound like it’s a product about how to write. So what could I
say to change that perception in the headline?

I scratched my head a bit.

3. Does it convey a crystal clear benefit?

I re-read my headline. I’d just finished watching the Frank Kern
video thingy he sent out. Frank is fond of using this term called
“money getting.” He’s the first person I heard use it and really,
it’s one heck of a phrase.

The reason I say that is that what MOST people do is use numbers or
claims that really push a gray line legally. I try to be very
conservative legally.

So I refuse to put blatant money claims in headlines and do the
things most marketers do. I’ve been around this Game 10X longer
than most. And that’s why I’m conservative.

The money isn’t yours if you don’t get to keep it because the gov’t
takes it away.

This also puts me at a bit of a disadvantage. I won’t say the
things others say. I have to imply or hint or communicate a
desirable benefit without being blatant about it.

Here is the headline I needed to tweak:

////////////////////////////////////////
On December 3, 1998, I Discovered A
“Cookie Cutter” Secret That I’ve
Repeated 122 Times — And You Can
Use This Same Secret Starting
2 Hours and 58 Minutes From Right Now!
////////////////////////////////////////

I zeroed in on those two words “cookie cutter.” There really isn’t
a clear benefit. I like the term. But what’s the benefit of a
cookie cutter? By implication it’s something you repeat over
and over.

But what’s the benefit of THAT?

Obviously it’s that you GET money. Enter Frank Kern.

I replaced those two words with “Money Getting” The new headline
became:

////////////////////////////////////////
On December 3, 1998, I Discovered A
“Cookie Cutter” Secret That I’ve
Repeated 122 Times — And You Can
Use This Same Secret Starting
2 Hours and 58 Minutes From Right Now!
////////////////////////////////////////

Now, I could have used many other words or ideas there. That’s
just what I came up with on the spur of the moment. And it
immediately and dramatically
increased sales.

The POINT of this is NOT to use those exact two words. If that’s
what you think, you totally and completely miss the point of what
I’m writing about.

The two words are NOT “money getting” The two words ARE whatever
the BIG BENEFIT for your buyer.

These are the two magic words: “big benefit”

The wifm has gotta be in your headline and gotta be crystal clear.

Here’s the point:

1. Does your headline spell out a crystal clear WIFM for the
reader?

2. Is there an element of uniqueness to your headline, so it
doesn’t sound like the same old, same old? In other words, do you
have any sort of USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in it?

3. Does your headline or product title CONFUSE the reader?

You can see what the new headline looks like at:

http://www.marlonsanders.com/writerssecret

Now, if you clicked on that link more than 48 hours ago, you’ll see
a different headline because I have a special “limited time offer”
script set up so I can automatically remove bonuses.

I forget to remove bonuses or change things. So I’m automating it
now. I’m going to add a bonus to Writer’s Secret that explains what
this script is and how to use it.

The OTHER thing I did to my sales letter was re-wrote the LEAD or
opening paragraphs to clarify a bit what the Writer’s Secret was
about. To make it clear it wasn’t “how to write” but that it was
about “money getting” or basically my exact formula for making a
living online that I’ve done
at least 122X since December 3, 1998.

If you read the letter, you’ll see 3 things:

1. Benefit — Money getting strategy

2. Proof — Used 122x since December 3, 1998

3. Uniqueness — Not what others are teaching

You’ll see those themes repeated multiple times in the headline and
the body copy.

I plan on releasing this to affiliates next week now that it’s
tweaked. I hope this inside look at the headline tweaks gives you
ideas about how to tweak your own headlines and sales letters.

Marlon Sanders
The King of Step-By-Step Internet Marketing and
“The Ambassador of Old School Marketing”

=======================================================
Marlon Sanders helps people with hopes and dreams figure
out how to turn those into reality by selling stuff on
the Internet. http://www.marlonsanders.com/writerssecret

//////////////////////

Marlon Sanders has been online doing money-making insanity

for some years now.  He’s like a grand-father to online selling

and marketing with many products to his name.

He likes to do insane things and gets so energetic onstage that

it’s hard to not stay glued to his videos.  All the stuff he sends

out is 100% content with some amusement (not fluff) included.

It’s my pleasure to extend this invite for
a brand new freebie PDF (no opt-in required)
from my good friend Marlon Sanders:

http://augies-place.com/3steps.html

P.S. This may not be available long, so download it now:
http://augies-place.com/3steps.html
P.P.S. Look for the link to his newsletter that is definitely good
enjoyable reading every week, you won’t be sorry.

Example of ‘Sleight of Mouth’, handling all objections and criticisms from different angles makes it easier to get others to say ‘yes’ or ’see your side’ of the issue.
Doug Obrien shares this training in 8 DVD’s using multiple example scenarios.
Based on NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) which is a very persuasive mind training system.

Let’s say you’ve come into work late several times and your boss calls you in and growls,

“You’re being late shows you don’t care about the job.”

There are 14 different responses you can use:

1.     Reality strategy: how do you know lateness and caring are the same thing?

2.     Model of the world: some people believe caring is shown by quality of the job done and the results obtained.

3.     Counter example: would you rather I be on time and be lazy while I was on the job?

4.     Intent: My intention is not to be late or uncaring but to give you the best quality time and highest productivity while I’m here

5.     Redefine: I wasn’t late, I was delayed in traffic

6.     Chunking up: Are you saying the most important aspect of my job is showing up on time?

7.     Chunking down: How specifically are lateness and not caring the same thing?

8.     Metaphor or analogy: If a surgeon is late for dinner because he is saving a life, does that mean he doesn’t care about his wife’s cooking?

9.     Another outcome: The real question isn’t whether I’m late or I’m caring.  The real question is how much I’m producing for the company.

10. Consequence: If I wasn’t late I wouldn’t have been able to close the sale while I was at a breakfast meeting.

11. Higherachy of Criteria: Isn’t it more important to focus on how much the person gives while on the job rather than punctuality?

12. Apply to self: Gosh, I wish you’d cared enough about me to tell me this sooner.

13. Changing frame size: Over time, you’ll see I brought in more business in a timely fashion for the company than all of the people who showed up to work on time.

14. Meta frame: Lots of progressive companies are working with flex time for their high producers.  I thought you were a forward thinking manager.

Caution Advised:  Some of these responses may get you into more hot water rather than out of it.  Only you know your boss and what HIS reaction may be.  Never hurts to try though; he/she may respect you more.

There has been much written about the importance of having backlinks on your blog to increase your SE rankings.  This has been a time consuming project in the past but now we can move forward quickly.

Matt Garrett from SEO UK.com will backlink you with 20+ sites and all you have to do is input the url you wish to have the backlinks go to.  A very simple task for quick forward movement of your site/blog.

Matt is also available to answer your SEO questions @  http://askmattg.com

One of the most important things to be aware of in online business is our ability, but more important, our willingness, to be open minded enough to accept and use what is new.  New SE parameters, new FTC rulings, new traffic generation techniques, new thought patterns to improve our success probability are among just some of the areas in which we must be prepared to make the necessary changes to our mindset and our strategies.

Life is change and like the seasons change so we must change to keep up and keep growing.

That’s all for today

Till next time

To Your Success

Intuition was once regarded as a ‘woman’s’ thing but, like everything else, times have changed.  Now it no longer is the realm of the ladies but is available to all as a tool in their success arsenal.

These 10 steps by Lynn can help you in finding and using your intuition…yes, your intuition!  Don’t think you are intuitive?  Ever hear a little voice telling you ‘do this’ or ‘do that’?  Ever get the feeling you’ve made the wrong choice just after making a choice?  This is YOUR INTUITION, find it, feel it, use it and grow with it.  Like any muscle the more it is exercised the stronger it can become.

Enjoy the article and feel free to comment.

The Top 10 Steps to a Successful Life
By Lynn A. Robinson

1. Make your intuition your ally.

How does your intuition speak to you? Do you receive information in words, feelings, a body sensation? Do you just know? Ask your intuition questions and pay attention to the answers and act on the information you receive.

2. What are you enthusiastic about?

The root of the word enthusiasm is entheos. It literally means “God Within.” Just think, when you feel enthusiastic about your dreams it means that God is speaking through you and saying “yes” to your goals! The feeling of enthusiasm is one of the ways your intuition speaks to you. What makes you excited, happy, delighted? What do you look forward to each day? Do more of it!

3. Be clear about your goals.

We are often quite clear about what we don’t want. Spend time thinking about what you do want. What does your ideal life look like? Draw pictures or cut out scenes from magazines that illustrate the life you want to create. Write in your journal, envision. Spend time each day imagining your ideal life. Envision the details of that life. Imagine you are living it now. What are you wearing? What are you feeling? Who are the people around you? The power is within your mind and heart to bring forth the new life you want.

4. Spend time in prayer and meditation.

Answers often come to life’s questions through self-reflection. Prayer and meditation are two ways we have of slowing down enough to listen to the still, quiet voice of our Higher Self. Remember that the answers don’t always pop into your mind fully formed as you meditate or pray. You may find them slowly evolving into your consciousness over several days or weeks as you ask for insight.

5. Create positive self talk.

Pay attention to what you tell yourself about yourself and your life. If the general tone is hopeful and positive you feel better and are more optimistic. William James said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” It’s easier to create a life you love when you give yourself affirmative message.

6. Practice an attitude of gratitude.

Research has shown that the happiest people are the ones who have gratitude for all that they have despite their circumstances. You don’t have to postpone happiness until you have achieved all your goals. Joy is an inside job. In the Talmud it says, “In the world to come each of us will be called to account for all the good things God put on this earth which we refused to enjoy.” Learn to appreciate the unfolding process of your life, not just the realization of your dreams.

7. Take action.

People often get stuck because they can’t figure out how to get from Point A to Point Z. What is one thing you could do that would be a next step? Take a class, talk to a friend, read a book on a topic of interest, learn a new skill. Take action on what feels exciting to you.

8. Look for coincidences and synchronicities.

It has been said that coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous. We often have serendipity occurring in our lives as a way to show us we are on the right path. As you trust your intuitive knowing you’ll find these synchronicities occurring more often.

9. Know that there will be ebbs and flows.

We often reach success through a series of ups and downs. When you are in a “down” place and feeling stuck, know that it won’t last forever. Find some ways to enjoy your life despite the lull and continue to focus on what you want.

10. Trust in divine order.

Maybe you’re beginning to feel as Mother Theresa once did when she said, “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.” The Universe has a perfect plan for your growth and unfolding as a human being. As you learn to be guided by your intuition you’re beginning to act on this wisdom from the Universe.

About the Author

This piece is by Lynn A. Robinson, who can be reached at Lynn@lynnrobinson.com. Lynn A. Robinson wants you to know:
She has a FREE “Intuition Newsletter.” Visit her web site at http://www.lynnrobinson.com.

This article is from Marlon Sanders MMM(Marlon’s Marketing Minute) Ezine. There are links here that I have adjusted to be ‘affiliate links’ so now we have that cleared up!  You’ll understand why after you read the article.

Marlon is one of the ‘grandfathers’ of IM.  He has been around since before ebooks and is lively, intelligent and entertaining.  He has built a huge reputation as “The King of Step by Step Marketing” and I find him to be the most humorous marketer who always brings a smile with his wit and sarcasm.

If you don’t know Marlon or would like to know more just follow one of the “affiliate links” and check out his blog and his product line.

After the article answer this:
“Are  you one of the few or just normal like most of us?”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
C. “Should you freak out over the new FTC guidelines?”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Let’s talk about the latest FTC guidelines and
how you should respond?

You’re going to be seeing lots of web sites and ads that
say “The average person made .01 cents,” or $1.00 or
other such ridiculous numbers.

Let’s talk about WHY this is and what you should understand
about it. There’s a bit of sane thinking in this ezine,
or I think there is.

So you might wanna read it.

The FTC published new guidelines about income
claims and affiliate links.

Here’s a great link to an interview about it from Fast
Company:

http://www.TurboProfits.com/tracking/go.php?c=oct10fast

Since I ain’t no lawyer, you better learn about this stuff
yourself. But let me give you a marketer’s perspective.

I in NO WAY am criticizing the law. I’m just stating a
marketer’s viewpoint and explaining things you’re doing to
see happen on marketer’s web pages, so you understand
WHY you’re going to see these things.

A lot of what I say below is intentionally MELODRAMATIC
and tongue in cheek. But there is a real law and real
penalties. So understand that while I’m making a bit of
light of it, there IS a real point here you need to
take seriously.

Let’s drill down.

1. Typicality of results

If you use testimonials or endorsements that make
a specific claim, you ALSO have to reveal the results
the average user gets.

So if you read in one of my letters and endorsement or
testimonial that says Johnny or Betty used one of my
products and paid for a new house with it, you’ll ALSO
be seeing a disclaimer that says:

“The average person who bought this product made .01
cents.”

I may be exaggerating but that is roughly what you’ll be reading
quite a bit.

Now, you and I BOTH know (or you should know) that the
average person buys stuff and doesn’t do a lot with it. Or if
you don’t know that or haven’t heard it, it is the truth.

Then again, the average person reads two books a year,
can’t spell the word Potato, thinks UFO’s exist, and
doesn’t vote in elections.

So unless YOU are average, this shouldn’t be of great
concern to you. Now granted, I had to look up the spelling
of potato in Wikipedia. But at LEAST I’m bright enough
to do that.

A lot of people aren’t.

HOWEVER — having said that, about three weeks ago, I
published an article FORESEEING what has gone down.
I published an article that said basically 95% of people
don’t do squat at Internet marketing.

That statement a few disillusioned souls to refund
to my office.

Absolutely phenomenal.

So let me break this down for you again at the risk of
having other pie-in-sky dreamers freak out over it.

Here’s what you’re going to see:

Marketers WILL have statements in their sales materials
that reveal the average results are PATHETIC.

Does THAT mean the methods don’t work?

Heck no.

What it means is people don’t work the methods. I speak the
truth.

a. Very few people read more than five chapters of those
books, ebooks and courses they buy. I know this because
I’ve put tracking links in products and I can tell how
deep people read into the product.

So HOW pray tell are the average results going to be good
when, on average, NO ONE even READS the product?

Should the fact that you’re competing against people who
can’t and don’t read ALARM you? Or should it KINDA make you
excited to know that you’re competing against people who
buy stuff and never even read it?

b. Out of the people who DO read, there are many reasons
people buy products.

A LOT of people, maybe even the majority, buy out of curiosity
or to do research. They don’t INTEND on acting on the
information.

I do this ALL the time.

I’m a curious person. I buy stuff all the time out of curiosity
with zero intention of doing anything with it.

Does that INVALIDATE the information I’m reading and mean it
doesn’t work because a whole lot of people are just like me
and reading for enjoyment, research or curiosity?

c. Do you really believe you’re an average person?

Personally, I don’t like the attitude that everything should be
boiled down to the lowest common denominator and we should protect
people who can’t read, can’t spell (or at LEAST look it up in
Wikipedia) and believe stupid stuff like they can push a button
and buy a yacht the next week.

One way or the other, evolution will eventually weed those people
out. Just not in OUR lifetime.

I like to think that God don’t make junk and that I got a little
something going for me. And I would hope you do also.

d. Decreased competition is GOOD.

This law will weed out some competitors who just don’t want to
reveal that the people who buy their deal on average don’t do
squat.

This is good.

It’s the law of supply and demand. Less supply means more of the
pie for the rest of us. Seriously, this law isn’t the end of the
world.

I’ve complied with MOST of it all my career or done my best to.
Much or most of this law has been in place for a long time. People
are just now realizing what the law says.

My take is, you don’t freak out. You just comply. Ain’t no big
thang. But when you see some disclaimers that sound outlandish,
you DO need to understand WHY they are there and the purpose and
intent of them to protect new, uninformed people from making bad
decisions.

I HAVE seen people who ARE sincere believe extreme hype and spend
money they didn’t have.

Law one: Do NOT spend money you don’t have to chase an uncertain
result. Scared money never wins. You build a business with money
you can afford to lose.

Law two: There is no simple, easy, no-brainer thing you can do that
will bring you in 6 g’s a month. Everything in business requires
a brain and thinking.

Law three: People who are an overnight success were either lucky,
inordinately talented or spent a long time preparing for that big
moment of success.

Law three: There is no magic ebook or course you can buy that in
30 days or even 60 is going to allow you to pay off those huge
credit card bills or buy you a Lambo. So stop asking for it and
looking for it.

You GROW a business over time, not overnight. Relationships with
customers take some time to build. And some people like my friends
Lee McIntyre and Jason Fladlien DO extremely well really fast.
But yeah, that ain’t average.

It took me a lot longer.

=================================
Is This A Hidden Flaw In The Law?
=================================

Now, lest you think this is all rosy, there IS a hidden flaw in
the law.

Here it is:

What the law SHOULD say is that you have to publish the average
results of people who reasonably followed what you taught.

This does NOT mean you skirt the law. I’m just saying here is
why I think it’s misguided. Now, I’m NOT blaming the FTC on this.
They are trying to protect people.

I understand that and it’s a noble cause. They have the right to
make and enforce the law and it’s our job to comply fully and
completely.

But let me give you an example from a marketer’s perspective:

The AVERAGE person who buys a beginner’s book on how to play the
guitar WON’T ever play more than maybe one chord.

They read chapter one, and go back to playing video games, eating
bon bons on the sofa or reading the National Enquirer.

I’m NOT making this up. This is actually true. But what’s wrong
with that? I have all kinds of books on all kinds of topics I
bought for one reason or the other and never did anything with.

Like this book over here on my bookshelf on how to design a
database. Like I ever read that! I mean, it sounded like a good
idea at the time!

I doubt I made it through one chapter. No big deal. And on rare
occasion I eat bon bons and read the National Enquirer. So there you
go.

Here’s what the law SHOULD say through the eyes of a marketer:

What is the average result by the person who actually follows the
majority, if not all, of the instructions?

Of course, there are so few of those people, it wouldn’t make for
a very good law. That would expose how ridiculous it is.

For example, how many people READ the Bible cover-to-cover or
even the New Testament?

How about even one whole chapter?

And how many of those people can even QUOTE what the 10 commandments
are not to mention even take a stab at following them?

Case proved.

The obvious example here is the people who buy something off of a TV
commercial that helps them drop 10 pounds.

Whatever “it” is comes with a little manual that says in addition to
using whatever the tool is, you ALSO have to STOP stuffing your
pretty little face with pizza, beer, tacos, nachos, pie, cake and
candy, not to mention those piggie blanket things down at the mall
I like to chow down on.

Of course, about .00001% of the people actually do that.

So we all KNOW what the average results are.

Does that mean whatever was sold doesn’t work?

It’s like Jared on those Subway commercials. By the way, I think
Subway is a trademark. I probably am supposed to say that.

Can you imagine the commercials when they say THIS?

“While Jared dumbped 108 pounds, (or however many it was) the
average Subway customer actually GAINS 25 pounds in a period of 5
years because in addition to eating subs, they ALSO on average
consume 512 pizzas, 398 bottles of beer, 498 pieces of candy, 109
servings of cake or pie and 598 bon bons, not to mention soft drinks
and other assorted goodies.”

Americans, on average, are considerably overweight. Eating at
Subway ain’t gonna change that as long people continue to pig
down on other stuff.

Is THAT Subway’s fault?

So I ate at Subway this week. I also bought a full pumpkin pie
and chowed down on it (albeit a little guiltily). I had some
pizza and ice cream.

So on net I think I gained 1 or 2 pounds this week. None of that
is Subway’s fault. By the way, this example if HYPOTHETICAL.
Maybe Subway customers lose tons. I don’t know.

It’s an example or illustration that’s pure fantasy in my head and
NOT representative of true, real Subway customers.

Here’s my POINT:

Isn’t the real question what happens in that rare event when
someone actually FOLLOWS instructions?

I think that my results would look pretty decent if you looked at
what happens when people act on what I teach. Like on my
Dashboards.

For the people who actually go through all the steps on an icon,
I imagine most people get a good result on that ICON. Thing is,
they don’t go through all the icons. And that’s the fly in the
ointment as far as average results are concerned.

=================
Here’s an Example
=================

About 3 weeks ago I published a drop dead ezine issue with extreme
specifics on how to do an outline in freemind and record it using
software that also is gratus.

Out of roughly 50,000 people who got my ezine issue, THREE PEOPLE
did anything with it.

THREE.

What percentage is that?

My math is crap (cause I’m “average” at math). But I think that is
.006% average results.

If you’re one of those 3 people, congratulations.

You’re the anomaly.

The weird, rare person with an ounce of entrepreneurial ability and
instinct and the capacity to take action.

People worry about competition.

Look at it this way. For every 50,000 potential competitors, about
3 of them will ever do jack.

This is what average is.

If you’re one of the other 49,997 who didn’t do jack, it’s OK.
You’re AVERAGE! It’s normal to not do anything.

It’s OK that you read my ezines for either inspiration, or for ideas,
or for use in the future.

A lot of people read this ezine just in case they DO decide to do
something in the future. It’s all good. Nothing wrong with that.
Fact is, I’d say that’s most people.

I do the SAME exact thing.

I subscribe to, buy and store information of all sorts from all
kinds of resources.

=========================
An Example From My Family
=========================

A long time ago when my dad who is 80+ now was a young buck, he took
a correspondence course to learn how to fix Television sets, which
were the hot new technology on the block.

I’m assuming the company sold a lot of those 3-year correspondence
courses.

My dad finished the course and they flew him in at their expense to
a graduation with two other people

That’s right.

Two others finished the course that year! Three total.

My dad went on to do very well in the TV service business and at one
point serviced the TV sets for virtually every hotel and motel in
in the city we grew up.

And that was his part time job.

The correspondence course was a GREAT course. It worked. It allowed
my dad to accumulate substantial assets and support my family over
the course of his lifetime.

Yet the average person who took that course NEVER made even one DIME
because they never FINISHED it.

That’s the fly in the ointment with this law.

You know that book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale
Carnegie?

On AVERAGE I dare say people who buy that book do NOT Win Friends or
Influence people. Why? Because it says stuff like you have to smile
at people and consider their point of view and listen.

How many people who buy that book REALLY do it? Seriously. How many
people do you know who listen, always consider the other person’s
point of view and who do all the other stuff the book teaches?

Not me! That’s for sure. And probably hardly anyone I know.

Ain’t Dale Carnegie’s fault I like to talk more than I listen,
criticize others, and consider my own point of view first.

2. Revealing affiliate links

This one is more vague. But the FTC says that, more or less, you
need to be transparent about this relationship.

No problemo.

You tell people it’s an affiliate link or you make a
commission. Whatever.

I don’t think this amounts to diddly squat. Just do it.

Here’s my affiliate link: blah, blah, blah.

Or: Affiliate link: blah, blah, blah.

Ain’t no big thang. I’m not sure exactly how you have to reveal
them or what’s required. I BELIEVE you just have to state that
they’re affiliate links. That’s how I read the law.

“OMG! I clicked a link, bought and someone snagged a few bux in
their bank account because of it. The world is coming to an end!”

Personally, I make an ATTEMPT to buy via affiliate links because I
want to SUPPORT the people who give me ideas and turn me onto cool
stuff. But maybe that’s just me.

I reckon lots of average folks out there believe that the people
who take time to write elaborate reviews on blogs with nice graphic
design and perty pictures ‘n stuff are just altruistic human beings
and doing it without making one penny if they click their little
link their, whip out their credit card and punch in the numbers.

So in the spirit of full disclosure, get this NOW! ALL links to
ANY product in my ezines or products that are NOT my own ARE
affiliate links.

That means, if you click and pull out your credit card and enter
those little numbers on it and push SUBMIT that money is going to
appear in my bank account.

If you have a problem with that, then do NOT enter your credit card
numbers now, quickly and easily and do NOT push submit. Not NOW.
Please. Thank you very much.

If you have been deceived into thinking I’m a charity and I do this
out of the goodness of my human heart just because I ain’t got
nothing else to do with my time, then let me clarify this for you
right this second.

You click. You buy. I profit.

How ’bout them bananas?

====================
The Final Disclaimer
====================

In the words of Frank freaking Kern, I ain’t a lawyer nor do I play
one on TV.

That means you’re well advised to go read the little law yourself,
consult your own legal advice, and, in general, use that little
thingy God put in your head called a BRAIN.

Now that’s a pretty novel concept for a lot of us, myself included.
And I DO expect that at least 3 people who read this ezine will do
it.

Still, I gotta say that just cause I’m supposed to and it makes me
sleep better at night.

=======================
What You DO Need To Do
=======================

As I read the law, here’s the scoop:

1. If you publish testimonials or endorsements that aren’t typical
of average results, you need to reveal what those average results
actually are, as pathetic and pitiful as they probably are or
will be.

2. If you make claims or promises in your letter, as anyone selling
anything does if they hope to make any sale before Christmas,
then you need to state what the average results.

I’m not certain the law requires this but I believe it does.

Again, you and I both know that in ANY how to product, the average
results will be absolutely pathetic. Just embarrasing. So live
with it.

Comply with the law. There is no choice about this.

Personally, I’ll probably state that my average earnings from my
buyers are .01 each unless I can get provable stats that show
otherwise.

Since thousands of my email addresses from thousands of customers
in dozens of countries are no longer valid, getting stats OTHER
than that won’t be easy.

So when you see those average earnings from myself and other
marketers, understand why they are there and what they MEAN.

Oh, if I send you a survey about this, please take it and return
it.

You can also publish testimonials that are fluffy without specific
results. Like “OMG, Marlon is so smart!”

Personally, I like to print out and read those testimonials anyway.
I try to get other people to let me read them to them but you
know…that doesn’t go down so well.

3. Consider publishing a separate web page for non-U.S. customers

I’m NOT sure about this one yet. But I THINK you will legally be
able to serve up a different page to non-U.S. customers.

4. If you use affiliate links, reveal they’re an affiliate link.

Like honestly, who except the rawest newbie doesn’t know this in
our industry.

So revealing it won’t make a dime’s worth of difference in your
sales.

This is NOT the end of the world.

People will STILL buy from you if they are educated about the
law in the U.S.

Average results suck but hopefully YOU aren’t average.

And if you are, join the crowd.

Oh, and read the law yourself since I ain’t no lawyer nor
attorney. I’m just an online marketer who likes to sell stuff.
I may be wrong as the day is long on all aspects of this law
and my opinions.

So use your noodle to get the boodle and do a bit of your
own sound thinking and research.

Marlon Sanders
The King of Step-By-Step Internet Marketing and
“The Ambassador of Old School Marketing”

P.S. In the spirit of complete compliance, here is my
new disclaimer:

Ain’t NONE of the results in NONE of the web pages
below anything remotely resembling AVERAGE nor typical.”
People who succeed at stuff possess superhuman,
freakish ability and you should NOT assume you fall
in that elite class of superhumans. You’ ain’t never
gonna amount to nothing so just give it up. That’s
my disclaimer. My average buyer earns .01. And if you
work really hard, read well and follow all the instructions
you too can end up in this elite class.
———————————————————–
Marlon Sanders is the author of “The Amazing Formula That
Sells Products Like Crazy for approximately .00001% of the
people who buy the product and the KING of Step-By-Step
Internet Marketing for those 3 people out of 50,000 who
can actually follow steps. Everybody else is basically screwed
with no hope of being anything but average — EVER!”

You can COMMENT on this article here:
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Hope you enjoyed the article and feel free to comment here or at Marlon’s Blog.  Be sure you leave a link so we get some Google love here as well.

He was only making $14.25 per hour.  He had no list, no product and no website.  He began by selling other people’s stuff for 5 years and then became above-average in his income and his lifestyle.

Who is he?  Frank Garon – the ex-truck driver

If you don’t know how to build a list right now,
if you don’t know how to get free publicity right now,
if you don’t know how to build rapport with people right now, that’s not a problem.
They’re all things that can be learned.
What George and I can’t teach somebody is how to pick themselves up and dust themselves off.
We can’t teach people listening to this tape how to believe in themselves and how to master some very basic business information that one needs to be able to do.

That’s just a little of what you can read about in this eye-opening interview.

Common Sense With Chrome Trim

Hope you enjoy it!  And if you do feel free to leave a comment below.

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