Issue 10 - November 12, 2010
Hey Genc,
If you think your online business could use a boost - but you're not sure which part of your business to work on first - in just minutes from now...
You will know how to dramatically boost 4 centers of profit in your business, using something you already have.
Then, you'll find out why the most successful business owners online are NOT the kings of product launches.
Sure, product launches are great for launching a business, like I launched Strategic Profits 4 years ago.
But then what? More product launches? Not exactly...
You'll find my surprising answer (that will guide you to building a strong, sustainable business) in today's Reader Q&A Session below.
Take it to heart, and you'll be on your way to living the Internet lifestyle others are trying to sell you on a daily basis.
To higher profits,
Rich
 18 Simple Strategies for Turning Prospects Into Customers
and Customers Into Raving Fans
Most people are struggling to find meaningful ways to live.
And because of this - the role of stories and myths behind a business become central. They help to give the buyer himself meaning. They become real, a template to guide buyers' future actions.
When you have a strong Core Myth, it can give...
- Purpose to those who are purposeless
- Meaning to those who have no meaning
- Direction to those who lack direction
- A mission to those who have no mission
- A cause to those who have no cause
- A sense of belonging to those who feel alone
- And so much more....
But what good is a crowd-rallying Core Myth if you keep it yourself?
Once you've got your Core Myth down, your next goal is to get it out to as many people as possible, as frequently as possible, in as many different places as possible.
Here are 18 specific strategies you can use to get your Core Myth inside the minds of your existing and prospective customers.
Using Your Core Myth to Attract Prospective Customers
- Have a derivative work contest - You could create a big contest around your Core Myth. Invite the whole world to create a derivative work (a creation based on the Core Myth) and reward big prizes for the winner. This could be bigger than you realize. This is similar to what we did when I introduced the Attention Age Doctrine 2. We had a contest revolving around making videos that got attention and invited people to get the Doctrine. It was a huge success. And it was actually this campaign that landed me in front of Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo - getting paid $25,000 an hour for the privilege.
- Link to it from every page of your site - Make sure every page on your site has a link to it. This way, even casual browsers will get a sense of what your business is about and have the chance to connect with your core message.
- Create a section of your site to display derivatives - If you have your team members create derivatives or you hold a contest for your prospects, create a page where you show the best submission. Have that page be the download page you link to from all the other pages on your site.
- Include it inside all press kits - Simple enough.
- Create an annual sale that falls on the day your business was formed (Formation Day) - Just make sure you offer your prospects a smaller discount than any discount you offer to existing customers. This way you don't ruffle anyone's feathers.
- Post it once a year on your blog - Once a year - maybe on Formation Day - post your Core Myth to your blog with updates that bring it into the present.
- Include it in product launches - Include the PDF of your Core Myth somewhere early in the process of any launches. This way you increase the bonding to your company right before you have the opportunity to make some big sales.
Using Your Core Myth to Indoctrinate New Customers
- Consider turning it into a Gauntlet series - When you add new customers to your email list, you should send them a series of welcome emails. This series - which we refer to as a "Gauntlet" - should welcome your new customers... share some of your key business concepts... and offer articles that expand on those concepts. You can do this easily by cutting your Core Myth up into sections (end each one with a cliff-hanger) and explain why it is significant to your business and your customers.
- Have a solo email about it - Send out a single email dedicated to the importance of your Core Myth (although you don't necessarily call it your "Core Myth" in the email) and provide a link where new customers can get it.
- Include a paragraph in your first few emails - Dedicate a final paragraph in the PS of each email for the first few days explaining what your Core Myth is and why it's important for your new customers to read it. Follow that with a link to the PDF.
- Send links to any of the derivative work - If you had your staff do any derivative works based on the Core Myth or held a contest in your marketplace - share the best submissions with your customers in any of the ways I just suggested.
Sharing Your Core Myth With Current Customers
- Start including it with all products - If you sell digital products, include your Core Myth at the end with an introduction by you. If you sell physical products, print up your Core Myth (make sure it looks clean and professional) and include it in all the boxes your company sends out.
- Link to it in your footer - Your business probably sends out a lot of emails. So why not leverage the opportunity by placing a link to your Core Myth at the bottom of the footer for all business emails? The link could read something like "How we got started" or "Why we take our commitment to you so seriously."
- Turn your Formation Date into a business holiday - Each year have a special sale on the date of your formation. You can send a few emails out in the days or weeks leading up to the holiday, making a big deal about it. Give out the link to your Core Myth in each of the emails that you send out announcing the sale with this PDF being the reason why.
- Link to it from every page of your customers' sites - If you have membership sites, or any private content for customers, make sure to provide links to your Core Myth from every page of those sites.
- Have an annual contest - Ask customers to send in their stories about the impact your business has had on them and offer a big prize for the winner. Take all the best stories and - with your Core Myth - turn it into a book about your business that you can send to all new customers.
- Send it with a personal note - Send out your Core Myth with a personal letter from you. Tell your customers they might find it fascinating, since it tells the story of the obstacles you faced in building a company that could best serve them. If they have a comment about the story or their experiences with your company (both positive and negative), ask them to send it to you personally.
Winning Back Past Customers with Your Core Myth
- Send it with a personal note to former customers (those who haven't bought in over six months) telling them you noticed they hadn't purchased from you in over six months and you're unsure why. Tell them you've attached the story of why you started the company. Tell them if your business has let them down, or hasn't lived up to what you aspired to be when you created it, you'd like to know what you can do to make things right.
Your Core Myth Will Fuel Word of Mouth
Use your Core Myth in the ways I've just mentioned and you'll create believers in your business. As your group of believers grows... they'll feel that your business and its ideals are so unique and worthwhile they'll want to convince others to join your cause.
They'll start sharing your story and spreading your message throughout your market. When you cross this milestone it's time celebrate. You now have a loyal base of advocates.
Advocates tell the entire marketplace your unique point of difference, and stories about your business, your products and your services without you ever having to ask them to. This is the best type of "word of mouth," the most potent and sought after form of delivering a business message. The third-party endorsement of a group of people who already believe in your business and your cause is the strongest argument for persuading others.
Remember, when people believe in something, they seek out others who believe in the same thing. Then they do their best to convince everyone around them to believe in it too.
This process will spark others to belong. And so on, and so on, and so on... Meaning your business will continue to grow.
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Question: Hi, my name is Oliver, and I like the fact you are moving away from product launches, something about it doesn't seem sustainable. Could you give us a hint about the model you are moving towards? I can't wait to hear your solution to this.
Rich's Answer: Great question Oliver. First, I want to clarify my thoughts on Product Launches. I am a big fan of leveraging product launches for starting a business fast, gaining momentum, establish positioning, building a fresh list, and generating a big cash infusion. In fact, Strategic Profits owes its start and achieved its initial momentum through a product launch.
Having said that, Oliver, you are right when you wrote "it doesn't seem sustainable." It isn't. But that isn't a flaw in launches, it's a symptom of flawed thinking by many of the entrepreneurs who use them.
Here's what I mean. A product launch is a juiced up super-promotion. And a promotion, no matter how big or small isn't a business. Moreover, it won't evolve into a business, nor will it provide the day to day sustenance a sustainable business requires.
Sadly, too many online entrepreneurs (including many of today's gurus) don't realize the difference between the two - a business vs. a promotion. So they don't leverage their launches correctly and they don't grow a successful sustainable business.
For entrepreneurs who make that mistake, they generally follow one of two paths. Here's what they look like...
Path #1 - The entrepreneur has their first successful launch. They make the mistake of thinking they've now got a business. So they rush out and hire a bunch of employees. But, since they don't really have a profit-model, their team doesn't build up the foundation the business requires to become sustainable.
So quickly cash starts to become scarce. So the entrepreneur does another product launch. Brings in more money. And that cycle continues to repeat itself. Feast then famine...feast then famine, and so on. The business never gets off the ground, and the entrepreneur ends up burning out.
Path #2 - The entrepreneur has a successful launch. Realizes they don't have a business, so they don't build one. Instead they live off the money of the launch, and when money gets low they do another launch and the cycle repeats over and over again.
Now, there's many problems with both of these paths. But let me tell you just one of them. It's this - if you're on either path, when you do a launch, your launch must work. There's no safety net. Because if the launch doesn't work the money needed for the future won't be there for you or your business.
On top of that, for many entrepreneurs (not all) it's incredibly difficult to match the same success level as their first launch. I won't go into all the reasons why here. So, when you combine the "it must work desperation" with the increasing odds of declining success with successive launches, you've got a recipe for disaster.
The havoc it wreaks ripples out everywhere; decimating the psyche of the entrepreneur, eating away at the internal management of the business, and eroding the ethics in the majority of the marketing messages associated with the launch.
Once again, this problem (and the many others we didn't cover) is not inherent in product launches in itself. It's in the minds of many of the entrepreneurs who are mistaking it as an overall business strategy.
Now, on to the second part of your question. A hint on the model we're employing now.
It leverages many of the essential elements of product launches, but it does it in a way that produces a large number of sales daily - day in and day out. In fact, last month was the best month Strategic Profits has ever had - and it was done without me lifting a finger. I've got lots more to share about it, and I will in future newsletters.
But if you want a complete blueprint of the model that's caused us greater sales than ever before, and my best advice on how you can apply it, it's all in a report I wrote several months ago for our Founder Club members. So, if you're already a member of Founders Club, it's Report #3 - Supercharge Your Marketing.
If you're not a Founders Club member, you should be. Find out all about it here
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