If you are needing articles written there are lots of options available to you at many different price ranges. I recently ran across a site where you can get decent articles for a very price.

This is an activity I have the folks in my coaching class “Stuck at the Starting Line” doing and I figured that I would invite anyone else who was interested to participate.

The concept is simple…

Failure is a habit. It’s a rut that we get into and many times just don’t know how to get out of. The good news is this… Success is a habit as well. It’s something that we develop and get used to till we get to the point where success is the EXPECTATION.

A good piece of news is that studies tell us that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. So, with these factors in mind here was the challenge I threw out:

Pick any old blog that you have. It doesn’t matter. New or old. Shoot, you can even open a WordPress.com blog if you want. It doesn’t matter! Then, for the next 21 days write something on your blog.

ANYTHING! It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t have to be a life changing article, it doesn’t have to win the Pulitzer Prize, JUST WRITE.

You can write about the weather. You can write a recipe. You can review a movie. You can share how you hate snow. JUST WRITE!

It doesn’t have to be long or short. JUST WRITE!

The purpose is to get yourself into the HABIT of writing everyday. We’re not going to worry about SEO or monetization or a million other things we could occupy our thoughts with. Just Write, and let the habit develop!

This is a way to get out of the starting block and into the race! I’ll share more as to what to do with this new habit later. Just keep writing!

If you would like to participate in our challenge then please post a comment below and enter the url for where you will be posting your entries at. (Yes, I will be reading them. )

If you would like to join the actual class you can still do so at http://www.stuckatthestartingline.com

Go For It!

I hope you don’t mind but I need to vent a little bit. I’m sharing this with you because I don’t want you to make the same mistake as these guys did….

I was looking around the ‘net for a product that would be beneficial to you guys and was at a great price. I have to be honest and tell you that this process can sometimes take me several hours to do.

Why?

Because I won’t recommend over priced junk.I do my best to set high standards for my own products and so I expect the same for products I promote.

Well, I found a product that I thought fit the bill. It was a special “Fire sale” type of deal that several products for only $11. It included WordPress plugins that I thought you would like as well as a variety of video and pdf products mostly about getting traffic. I had never heard of the guys running the sale but the page was professional looking, the copy was good and I thought I had found what I was looking for.

Then I made a mistake. I clicked the back button on my browser. You see I have this nasty habit that I don’t suggest a product unless I have purchased it myself. Since I would not be able to download everything at that moment it was my intention to purchase when I got back home and then download. Hence, I left the sales page.

Guess what? A pop up asking me to “WAIT, Are You Sure You Want to Leave” while it loaded another sales page. I clicked the “Leave This Page” option.

Guess what? A pop up asking me to “WAIT, Are You Sure You Want to Leave” while it loaded A DIFFERENT sales page. I clicked the “Leave This Page” option. (again)

Guess what? A pop up asking me to “WAIT, Are You Sure You Want to Leave” while it loaded ANOTHER sales page!

I had to go through this SEVEN TIMES!!!!

Now I don’t mind this marketing tactic though I don’t use it myself. As a marketer myself, I don’t have an issue with being marketed to. In fact, I usually expect the pop up. No big deal.

But SEVEN?!

Needless to say I won’t be promoting this product because I don’t want you to have to go through this ordeal and that would be a reflection on ME.

When you are setting up your sales funnel, you should look at it from the customer point of view and optimize it for maximum benefit to the customer as well as maximum profits. But after you are done with that GO BACK though your funnel. This time thinking about what your affiliates might think about your funnel.

Yes, some affiliates will only care about how much they can make on the offer. But your BEST affiliates will actually care about the people on their list and won’t subject them to offers that will only frustrate them.

I wonder what the funnel would have looked like if I had actually purchased?

In my last post I wrote about the types of products that I try to avoid “at all costs” and so today I want to share with you the types of products that I will dive into with both feet.

First of all I like products that speed up the process (or make my process more effective) of some mundane tasks that I normally do. This may should contradictory to what I wrote about last time when I said I stayed away from products involving automation. So, to clarify, I stay away from products that automate content. If it is a menial task that can be automated, I’m for that.

For Example, Jason Fladlin and Will Mattos have a product called WP Twin which will duplicate every setting, every graphic, every plugin, and every preference from one blog to another. This is a HUGE time time saver for me when it comes to building out my niche blogs!

Another type of product of product that I will jump all over are ones involving “case studies” or “behind the scenes” look at the business of very successful marketers. Many times I might garner just one or two “Gold Nuggets” that really help me in my business. Additionally, I know very successful marketers can (and will) spend thousands of dollars on copy, testing conversions, etc. This saves me a TON of money and time because these folks are doing the research for me!

A great example of this is Lee McIntyres “Instant Internet Life Style.” These are recordings of a two day seminar that Lee did in England. Attendees paid $1,000 peach to be there, but I got the same information (which is located here) for only $19.95! When marketers are on stage they share more and go into more detail that they might normally.

Another example is of a $5 WSO I purchase from Maria Gudelis. She basically shared about a change she made to her One Time Offer Page which increase her conversions from around 6% to 20%. The WSO didn’t sell all that well but it was worth $100 bucks to  me because she had enough traffic to her WSO to be able to get valid data. It may have considered a “boring” WSO because it didn’t promise you how to make $10,000 in 13 minutes. But I found the information to be invaluable!

I hope this sheds some light on the types of purchase I make and why. By doing this I keep myself focused of growing my busing and just jumping from one hype sales letter to another!

Please post below if something from the video really strikes a chord with you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I recently posted this thread in the Earn 1k A Day Forum and thought that you guys might like it as well.

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In the past couple of months I have read where many people have had outstanding results on WSO’s. Some on their very first attempt. Others have shared very disappointing results.

Having said that, I think that there is a feeling among many that WSO’s are the current “Gold Rush” and all that has to be done is is pay your $59 ($40 for posting and $19 for WSO Pro), pull the lever and fortunes will come out. This is FAR from the truth.

I have had some very good success with WSO’s. No “WSO’s of the day”, but still very good results. I wanted to share some tips and advice to those who have had disappointing results and those wanting to run a WSO in the near future.

So here are my suggestions, take or leave

1) Develop street “cred”
Participate actively here in E1kaDay and at the WF. Ask specific questions, share interesting sites/posts/videos/etc. Give, give, give. Think of others first.

2) Do your “time”

Participate consistently. That means past your 10 day trial period. You will get you $$ worth from the relationships you form. Trust me…

3) Purchase other members’ WSO’s. Post specific and in depth testimonials on their WSOs as well.

4) When it comes time to run your WSO post it here in E1kaDay first. Test out your funnel. Ask for suggestions. Listen to the advice and take action on the parts you feel will make the most difference.

5) Understand that it’s not personal. It’s business. There are several six figure earners in this forum as well as a couple 7 figures as well. You may be surprised at who is who. Listen.

ABOUT YOUR WSO

6) Decide WAY in advance as what is your main purpose for your WSO in regards to your business. In other words, do you want to make money or do you want to build a list. Building a list is the #1 best choice and will lead to income down the road.

7) Make sure that your WSO does at least one of the following :

a) Solves a problem
b) Saves people time
c) has the potential to make people money
d) Helps people increase results
e) Saves People Money

8 ) Call PayPal the day before your WSO is live to inform them that there may be increased activity in you account.

9) Break your product up into parts. It may be better to have 5 ten page reports then to have one 50 page eBook. There are always exceptions of course, so test it.

10) Since you have decided to build your list with your WSO (hint, hint) set it up as a dime sale increasing $0.10 every 3 sales. Max out your price at $9.95.

11) Offer 100% commission to affiliates. It’s a weird mentality, but people would rather promote a $5 product at 100% commissions than get 50% commissions on a $10 product. Have an upsell of at least $10 to help you earn some cash as well.

12) Use graphics! There are several excellent WSO’s selling graphics that you can get for cheap. Then get someone at Fiverr to make you a nice product cover. Look like you know what you are doing.

13) Again, there are exceptions but keep your sales copy brief unless your WSO has several components. Most WSO surfers have a very short attention span.

14) Submit your WSO for approval 24 hours before you plan to go live.

15) After approval is given for your WSO decide on a launch time. Keep time zones in mind!

16) Post here in E1kaD when your WSO is live. The folks here are very supportive and can give that extra nudge if you have followed most of these steps.

17) As you get testimonials copy and paste them into your sales letter. Most WSO surfers don’t want to search through the comments to find reviews.

18 ) Always, always, always collect email addresses but don’t require it in order for the person to get their purchase.

19) If people don’t mail or there isn’t a lot of support right away. Don’t take it personal. It’s business. Things come up, it may not be a fit for their list, or folks just didn’t have time. Thank everyone anyway.

20) The first three hours of the WSO will be the most busy and it will start to slack. After 10 hours your WSO will fall of the first page and be “old news”. You will still get affiliates mailing their lists though.

21) Once your offer is on Page 3 you can bump it for another $40. Unless you have some really good money or you made WSO of the day, it may not be worth it to bump. People will find your WSO though when they search through offers to promote and sort by % commission.

22) Take note of those affiliates that sent you lots of traffic but no sales as you may not want to approve them the next time. It will help your conversions the next time which will help you attract better affiliates.

23) Lather/rinse/repeat- but this time mail your list also about your offer which will help you get to a quick start.

24) After following all of these steps it IS STILL POSSIBLE to have a WSO that BOMBS! Use the old WSO as a bonus for your next one!

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I would love to read your feedback so feel free to post below!

In 2008 I attended a family reunion of my wife’s side of the family in New Jersey. Many would cringe at the thought of attending such an event but it was a wonderful trip because:

1) My wife’s family who live up in that area are fantastic people and a pleasure to be around.

2) I Love New York City . (To visit, not to live there…)

3) It was by shear coincidence that Dennis Becker (Founder of Earn1kaDay) lived only two miles from our hotel and was willing to have dinner and hang out with us for a while.

While all the memories I have of spending time with the family and our trips into New York City are treasured, there is one incident that is just burned into my brain.

That memory is simply what a New York Pizza maker taught me about web traffic.

You see, we were up early on a Saturday because we had to catch a bus from our hotel into “The City”. We had a tour scheduled in the morning and then had tickets to see “Young Frankenstein” on Broadway.

Because we were up so early that morning, everyone was starved by the time 11:30 AM rolled around. You would think that finding a place to eat at 11:30 AM in the fourth largest city in the world would be simple thing, right?

That was not the case.

Establishment after establishment was closed and not scheduled to open till noon.

Here is where the New York Pizza Guy comes in.

We pulled on the door of yet another closed restaurant near Times Square when the New York Pizza Guy arose from his folding chair he had been sitting in and approached us.

“You folks looking for a place to eat?”, he asked.

“Yes!”, was our eager reply.

“Well most places around are closed till noon and are really expensive. They’ll charge you $10 for just a hamburger. Why don’t you come to my restaurant? We’re open, have great food, and you won’t pay stupid prices.”

He then proceeded to hand all eleven of us a paper menu for a little pizza place that was just a couple of blocks away. Our stomachs wouldn’t let us turn down the offer. And so the New York Pizza Guy picked up his chair and led us to the fantastic food and great prices he had promised.

After we ate our fill I was looking for the man who had led us in to thank him, but I was told by one of the other workers that he was already off looking for other potential customers to pull in.

It was then that it finally hit me!

We didn’t come across the New York Pizza Guy by chance!

He KNEW the places we were trying to get in were closed. He KNEW people would be looking for places to eat. He KNEW he had a better product at a better price but he also KNEW he didn’t get as much of the walk by traffic as the other places.

So he went WHERE THE TRAFFIC ALREADY WAS, put his chair in the middle of it, and FUNNELED as much of it as he could to his place by fulfilling a need that his competitors weren’t.

We can learn many things from the New York Pizza Guy!

I recorded this short video to show you an upsell technique that works very well. Test it out yourself!

As always, your thoughts and input are appreciated (use the comment section at the bottom of the post )

I preach this all the time. “There is information that you take for granted that others will pay good money to learn.

Someone posted a cool little video about this that I wanted to share with you:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Take the next 10 minutes to watch this amazing video. Watch it 3 or 4 times. It can change things. Please leave your thoughts below….

Click here to view the embedded video.