To check out his newsletter BizWeb eGazette

Jim’s other sites are at Ez Webbusiness Builder,   &   Make A Living Online
JDD Publishing has been online since 1996 so this company offers not just stability but products that work and last.
Enjoy, and feel free to come back and leave a comment.
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“A 30-Second Marketing Plan”

Are you planning a new website?

Do you already have a site up and running?

If so, you need to know this “30-second marketing plan”.
 

Web surfing is a fast-paced activity. Some surfers (including myself) surf through an average of 10 websites in a five minute span. Yikes! That leaves each site about 30 seconds to reach the three objectives EVERY business website should be after…

1. Immediately instill confidence in each visitor
2. Give an irresistible reason to stay BEYOND 30 seconds
3. Start a lasting relationship

Accomplishing all three of those objectives in that tiny time frame is essential to your success online. Here’s exactly how your website can reach all three objectives in less than 30 seconds…

#1: How to immediately instill confidence in each visitor…

The very first thing a visitor to your site does is form an opinion based on what they see. This means you MUST imprint a unique and positive image in your visitors’ minds immediately. You do that by showing off an “attractive” home page.

C’mon, “attractive?” What is this a beauty contest?

Well, sort of. You see, a HUGE percentage of visitors judge your entire business within the first 10 seconds of visiting your site. If they are presented with a handsome page that loads quickly and looks professional, they may be compelled to stick around. (At least long enough to see what’s in it for them.)

Think about it like this… How many times have YOU clicked away from a site even before it finished loading? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Me too. Web surfers looking for something in particular not only want the right info, they want it from the right source. If your site looks like it was designed by a 12 year old, you’re in big trouble.

And no, you do not need fancy graphics, java and the like. Just make sure your home page is a place that YOU would be instantly impressed by. You do this with a professional logo, a crisp, fresh look and simple navigation links.

Unfortunately, most new webmasters cannot design a website that is professional and attractive. So instead of putting up a lackluster website, their best solution may be to be buy a business site template. Here’s a site that offers low-cost and attractive templates…

Template Monster

Oh yeah, and if you are hosting on one of those free sites, GET OFF and get your own domain name. Free hosting will kill a website before it even has a fighting chance.

If your company won’t spring for it’s own domain name at just a few bucks a year, your potential customers will think twice before they buy from you. Scratch that – most wouldn’t even consider buying from you. Plain and simple.

If you are serious about doing business online, get a domain and a professional web hosting package. If you need help deciding on a domain name, click the domain button at that link. You’ll find a free tool to help you locate a keyword based domain that fits your business.

#2: How to give your visitors an irresistible reason to stay past 30 seconds…

Once you have pleased them with your professional look, get right to the point — give them a reason to stick around.

You do this by making it glaringly obvious how your site can help them. Remember, they probably came looking for something in particular. If they are forced to “search” for how your site may help them, it’s too late, they’re gone.

You can pull this off by displaying a few lines of text prominently, where your visitors will see it right away.

Here are a few examples…

• “This site has helped thousands of webmasters design a professional website. Come inside and learn how to design your own site now.”

• “Do you need advice selecting stocks? Put our 10 years of experience to work for you. Browse our past picks and current recommendations.”

• And my own text which appears in the first two seconds my bizweb2000.com site loads…

  “I’ve been making a living online since 1996. I’ll help you do it too…”

Sit down and think about how your site will help your visitors — then make sure you tell them right away.

#3: How to start a lasting relationship with your site visitors.

The single most effective way to hang onto your visitors is to give them a gift and get their email address in exchange.

Hey, getting traffic is tough, so you are crazy if you let them get away without at least trying to stay in touch with them. And no, you don’t have to publish a full newsletter, but offer something! Here’s a great example…

A few years ago I visited a retail site which offered a “monthly specials” email list. Sign-up was free so I took a few seconds and joined. Every month for three years I received their monthly email. Out of 35 or so I received, I probably deleted 30 without even reading them. Yet one month I noticed a product I had been looking for, and at the right price, right in the subject line. Guess what? I opened the message, clicked to the site and bought it. While I was there, I also spent $300 on a digital camera.

As you can clearly see from that example, regular email contact pays off. If not today, maybe next week – or next year. The cost of staying in touch is tiny compared to the long-term rewards.

Just offer something of value in exchange for your visitor’s contact information. And don’t ask a million questions in your sign-up form. Visitors may be interested in what you’re offering, but may shy away if they have to reveal too much information about themselves. A lead is a lead. Ask for their first name and email address only. If you scare them away, they may never be back.

As far as the logistics, use a simple follow-up autoresponder to save their name and email address. Web based autoresponders can automatically follow up with your prospects at regularly scheduled intervals. If you need an autoresponder service, this hosting package as well as many others come with autoresponders built right in.

Once your list starts to grow, you can send newsletters like the one you are reading right now, specials offers, joint venture notices and anything else directly related to what they asked for. Just don’t overdo it. Your subscribers can be your lifeline to your business if you treat them right.

One last note on opt-in lists – I understand they take time to build. But it is time well-spent. Of course, there are legitimate ways to jump-start your list building. If you don’t want to wait the standard list building time curve, consider my friend Gary Baker’s unique package. He offers fresh lists of 5,000 opt-in subscribers at just four cents each – a jump-start package that is ideal for new and established business alike.

OK, that’s it for today’s tip. You now know exactly what your site needs to do the first 30 seconds every time a new visitor arrives… Impress, inform and retain. It’s as simple as that!

By Kevin Hogan http://www.kevinhogan.com/

[This is a reprint of an article written by Mr Kevin Hogan and contains some extremely valuable information for anyone and everyone.  The "Key" is not a new app, or a new theory.  It's not another home study course or 12lb box of material to learn.  I know you're gonna like this.]

Whatever it was, you got this FEELING inside that you couldn’t make the phone call or knock on the door or make the website.

(Any of these actions requires no mental skill whatsoever. Children aged 6 can successfully do any or all of these things.)

Or, you couldn’t get past writing the third chapter.

Or you got the web page up but trying to figure out the program for the page was too frustrating.

You got down.

You FELT bad.

You felt a bit depressed.

You felt like you KNEW you were doing the wrong business model.

You might have gotten angry.

You might have cursed. “IT” DIDN’T WORK.

And this of course is the most likely result. People truly think that “it” doesn’t “work.”

Or the better and more definitive cop out….”It wasn’t meant to be.”

Here’s the hard truth.

Write this down on paper, paint it on the wall. Post it on your computer;

• It has nothing to do with a positive attitude.
• It has nothing to do with what you “believe.”
• It has nothing to do with positive thinking.
• It has nothing to do with working smarter instead of harder.
• It has nothing to do with having your intentions aligned with the universe and attracting something.
• It has nothing to do with what was meant to be.
• It has nothing to do with ‘the Secret’.

The answer is simple.

You didn’t do two things that are necessary for success:

1. You didn’t CONTINUE until it was DONE.

2. You didn’t walk through the fire of discomfort, pain and fear.

You quit when it got hard.

You quit when it got frustrating.

You got tired.

You got angry.

You were upset.

You were apathetic.

You let your feelings get in the way of what you wanted in life and then to make it all OK, you determined:

a) it doesn’t work or

b) who really wants to do X anyway?

There’s a lot of people being suckered right now by a popular book that tells you to get in alignment with your feelings for things to work out.

If you do that…

….it is a 100% guarantee that you will ultimately fail. (Usually quickly.)

Don’t misunderstand…Feelings aren’t the “enemy.”

There’s not a thing wrong with feeling upset, angry, tired, apathetic, happy or sad.

Feelings are a wake-up call that you have not become comfortable in a specific life experience.

Feelings of discomfort talk to you. They say to you that you belong in your hamster wheel…but you misinterpret them to read, “this isn’t right for me.”

Feelings aren’t very smart.

They have zero IQ.

Interpreting something with no “sense” to it is something no one is taught in school or anywhere else.

And it’s not your fault.

No one ever taught you how to TRULY understand feelings.

Without going into a big long diatribe on neuropsychology, feelings and emotions, let’s just put it this way:

You simply can’t run your life based on your feelings or you will be doing all the things that “feel good” all the time…addiction.

Run your life on your feelings and you fail. And, you fail fast.

“Honey would you feed the baby?”

“I haven’t slept in a week. I’m to exhausted. Would you please?”

“No can do. I don’t feel like it. My feelings aren’t aligned with my intention to watch the game.”

Baby dies.

Oh well. At least they felt good.

People who run their lives based on their feelings become addicts of “feeling good and avoid feeling anything painful or bad.”

It’s only human nature.

And the addict won’t change.

Feeling “good” is simply too fun and easy…until they take the furniture, the house and the kids.

When you walk through the fire of your feelings, fear and pain, you WILL ULTIMATELY come to the point that your new actions become familiar.

It can take a week or two or three or four depending on how much you are involved. It doesn’t take long but getting past the first day or two or three is a toughie.

So, now, for the $100,000 KEYPOINT…

$100,000 KEYPOINT:

ACTION: Walk through the fire of your feelings, fear and pain and you will ultimately FEEL COMFORTABLE and FAMILIAR with all of the NEW ASPECTS of Life/Experience/Business/Relationship.

Next up is MOMENTUM.

Momentum is SO important.

If you dedicate 10 hours per day, 7 days per week, to your project X for six weeks, it will be almost a sure thing that you will succeed over the next 10 years at Project X.

Your life will COMPLETELY change.

You will be COMPLETELY transformed.

You will be CAPABLE of just about anything that is humanly possible.

But only a teeny tiny percentage of people will be willing to be that uncomfortable for six weeks.

After all, they work already work 8 hours a day plus commuting.

They want BALANCE when they get home.

They are so screwed.

Let’s put it this way:

Women will go through discomfort for 9 MONTHS to make a baby.

(If you think you were that important, even if you went to the baby classes, you’re so self-deluded that you’ll never make it in business. You went to the classes for one reason. To convince your wife you were worth not killing.)

Women go 9 months…but men?

The guy won’t spend 9 WEEKS to create a financial support system for the baby and Mom. (And you wonder why we are expendable as men? Hello?)

That Mom is pregnant 24/7. There is no “longer day.” They are all long. And I’m flat out serious.

Oh and don’t think I’m being politically correct. Two years later that Mom will go to a job and get paid less than a man because she missed two years of whirlwind changes in business that she couldn’t humanly have kept up with.

Success is about reality. People who whine that something is too hard: I got no problem with that.

People who whine that something is too hard and don’t DO ANYTHING TO OVERCOME IT, I got a big problem with that.

What’s a real shame is that people TRULY BELIEVE that building their own business which is something they have chosen, something they personally find interesting, something that might actually be rewarding, is harder than running the hamster wheel every day for the rest of their life (until they retire).

The only thing that is ‘harder’ is the work that will be done in the first couple of months while building momentum.

After that nothing compares to the freedom your own love and interests bring. And you know that every hour you work, is for you and those who depend on you.

But it’s darn tough to get someone to make decisions based upon how they MIGHT FEEL in two months.

The VALUE of some FEELING or some DOLLAR FIGURE in two months is NOTHING compared to the pain or fear or ANYTHING that you FEEL NOW, in this moment…

People run in the moment and only the moment. And that is why they fail.

Without getting all political (this used to be a better metaphor than it is now), when the woman gets pregnant, there is no turning back. She toughs it out for nine months and has a baby. Then toughs it out for 18 years and creates an adult.

But men?

Shoot, we don’t HAVE TO HAVE a business. We don’t HAVE to be successful. We don’t HAVE to achieve. We can MAKE IT on what we have going on now in the hamster wheel as long as nothing horrible happens like disability or the kids get hurt or they get really sick or go deaf or blind or yeah…all the things that you can count on ONE happening but you don’t know WHICH one….which is WHY you MUST set out to achieve NOW.

I want to feel good right now.

We all want to feel good NOW.

We want the burger, the cigarette, the whatever feels good in the moment thing RIGHT NOW and the idea of delaying gratification is simply unheard of.

So, we throw out Project X and go back to being depressed because we are in the hamster wheel and that is predictable, comfortable and familiar. It’s hated but it isn’t feared.

It makes no rational sense at all.

It’s all based on feelings and emotion.

It’s simply how people act. Very predictable. Very understandable.

BUT WAIT!!!!!

Say you want to be different. YOU want to be one of the teeny tiny few that actually does something that is cool in life.

What is the REAL SECRET?

The bogus secret is to visualize, feel good about it, (some say take action) be grateful as you receive it.

Guaranteed to fail long-term, if not immediately.

Here’s the real secret.

See, Believe, Begin, Continue, Finish

Those five words summarize it all. The formula. The golden key. The real Master Key.

Most people can get past the first three then of course, they stop.

Most people are great starters but don’t finish stuff.

“Idea people,” is how they refer to themselves.

“Idea people” have no self-discipline but will work comfortably (if not irritably) in just about any hamster wheel on the planet.

“Idea people” have no tangible value to offer because they can’t complete a project. And it’s a shame. Because it isn’t their fault. No one ever taught them CONTINUE AND FINISH.

They work just as hard as a “finisher” but they don’t ever FINISH their IDEA. Thus they have 25 projects that are worthless.

People aren’t worth dollars per hour….they are worth dollars per successfully completed and implemented and managed project…

I just signed a contract for another book.

They don’t care whether it takes me 2 minutes, 2 hours or two years to write the book. I get paid the same no matter what. 10% (to name a number)

They frankly don’t care if the book is all that incredible.

That’s my reputation on the line.

What do they care about?

Sales.

Period.

Is the book going to sell?

That’s the deal.

A publisher doesn’t pay minimum wage. They are happy, no, thrilled to pay you $100,000 for your royalties. It’s essentially one of the few logical businesses.

You sell 100,000 books, you make $100,000.

You sell 1 book, you make $1.

Now you know how much you are worth to your publisher.

Entitlement schemes that include “benefit packages”, minimum wage, stock options are all tossed out the window.

There is no “affirmative action”.

Black people don’t get paid more than Indians. Indians don’t get paid more than White people.

How many books sold?

When you THINK like a writer, you can be successful.

It’s pretty much the same as thinking like a good farmer.

A writer has to do several things right.

1) Write a book he is proud of. (Makes it easier to write the next book.)

2) Write a book that will sell.

3) Write a book that will sell the writer as worth doing future business with.

4) Sell the book.

5) Get paid.

No stock options. No minimum wage. No guaranteed salary. No raises. No getting fired. No pay reduction.

It comes down to ONE thing. PERFORMANCE.

You can never whine about your pay as an author (outside of contractual “misunderstandings*).

It’s the same thing in the music business.

Similar but not quite identical in the movies.

You get paid if people buy your product or service.  Period.

Think about it.

If you want to succeed, to achieve, is there any other way to get paid?

If you want to achieve, there never will be another way!

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

Reprinted with permission.

For more interesting reading check Kevin’s website:

http://www.kevinhogan.com

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How to Promote Any Affiliate Program In 5 Easy Steps
By Jimmy D. Brown of http://www.Affiliatenaire.com
…………………….

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!”

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