How To Avoid The Big Mistakes That Can Cost You Thousands Of Dollars and Months Of Time

Marlon's Marketing Minute Newsletter

How To Avoid The Big Mistakes.  Period.

May 1, 2010
8:41 a.m CST

Hi,

Marlon here.  Extremely important issue today….

Today's article:

“How to Avoid The Big Makes.  Period!”

Today I'm going to talk to you about how not to LOSE money.
And how to get more of it while doing the same.

There's a skill in a non-Internet marketing
arena I'm learning.

And like any new skill, you're not worried about getting
all the nuances to start with.

What you want is to avoid the BIG mistakes.  In this
article, I'm going to help you avoid the BIG ones.

I really hope you read this and think about it. It'll
save you months if not years of wasted time and effort.

WEBINAR MONDAY:  On Monday, I'm doing a special webinar with James
Jones.  It's called Niche Marketing The Easy way and if you struggle
to find a niche or don't know how to find good keywords, you will
LOVE this webinar:

We will also have a Q and A session at the end so be sure and
attend.

Title:         Niche Marketing the Easy Way
Date:        Monday, May 3, 2010
Time:        3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/346833745

NOTE to ALL customers — Do NOT email us for customer support.
Do NOT do it.

If you need support for ANYTHING or have any problem or issue,
ALWAYS go to my support desk:  http://www.getyoursupport.com

Marlon

PS:  While others only give you good info during their product
launch only to disapear until the next launch, I'm here every week
delivering high quality content to you.

If you'd like to THANK me, the WAY you do that is by recording a
video testimonial on your web cam, uploading it to youtube then
posting the link on my blog at marlonsnews.com or telling Tim on
chat at getyoursupport.com.

Be sure to give me permission to use it in my sales letters if you
don't mind.  Some people just need to hear a REAL PERSON say it.

******************************************
Marlon's Marketing Minute
Electronic Newsletter
http://www.promotemarlon.com
Vol. 5, #19, May 1, 2010
******************************************

This issue contains:

A. Sponsor advertisement

B. Announcements from Marlon

C. Main Article:  How to Avoid The Big Mistakes. Period.

D. Resources

Brought to you by: Marlon Sanders, Publisher

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A. Sponsor Advertisement

Discover the Secrets Of “Parasite Hosting”

I bought reprint rights to offer you this.

http://www.marlonsanders.com/parasite

There's a cool video to watch that explains the whole
thing.

Sale ends this weekend.

=============================
B. Announcements from Marlon
=============================

1. Do NOT email us for customer support

Do NOT email us for customer support. We are anxious to
serve you at: http://www.getyoursupport.com

We have LIVE CHAT to serve you better.  Most people in this
business skimp on this.  I don't. Tim is an award winning
customer service person.

2.  Did you get your BONUS video for Facebook buyers?

If you bought my $7 Facebook special offer last week, I did
a special video that showed how to put your email capture on
your Facebook page.  Tim sent it out.

If you didn't get it, go to getyoursupport.com and post a
ticket.

3.  Did you buy Big Course or Cash Like Clockwork?

These products are ONLY digitally delivered.  Tim says I need
to make sure you know this.  The tabbed interface to access the
products is quite elegant if you ask me and the ultimate in
convenience.

4. Quick Start For Writer's Secret Implementation Videos
available for purchase SEPARATE from “The Writer's Secret”

Lisa put sweat, blood and tears into covering all the crucial
details in these videos. You can see the videos at:
http://www.quickiestart.com

5.  Ateam webinars

Good things are coming.  I've just been bogged down in this
darned Traffic Dashboard which is taking forever to research
and complete. But it'll be 100% worth it for you.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
C. Main Article: How to Avoid The Big Mistakes
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Today I'm going to talk to you about how not to LOSE money.
And how to get more of it while doing the same.

There's a skill in a non-Internet marketing
arena I'm learning.

And like any new skill, you're not worried about getting
all the nuances to start with.

What you want is to avoid the BIG mistakes.  In this
article, I'm going to help you avoid the BIG ones.

I really hope you read this and think about it. It'll
save you months if not years of wasted time and effort.

=====================================
Big mistake #1:  Never doing anything
=====================================

This sounds obvious. But it's an EASY trap to fall into
because you keep learning, learning and learning.

It's easy to fall prey to the fear of making mistakes and
the fear of being criticized.  A lot of people never
sell big ticket products because they're afraid of being
criticized.

You know, if you sell a $27 ebook, no one is going to
get too upset if they think it sucks. But if you sell
something for a G, and people think it sucks, yeah, they'll
complain.

But you can't let that fear hold you back.  Just try to
produce good products.

It's true that if you do something and it doesn't work you
could feel like your “dream” will never happen. But it's
100% it'll never happen if you never do anything.

Instead of seeing your results as your own personal ability
being judged, see your activities as performing marketing
tests.  More on this attitude in a second.

Law 1:  Do something.

============================================
Big mistake #2:  Trying to sell to everybody
============================================

It's like trying to catch bass in the ocean.  You're
probably going to have more success catching bass in
a lake.

Think of it as fishing in ponds or lakes.  Over here
you have bass.  Over here you have something else.

You have to find a LAKE to fish in.

Now, I don't fish. So it's not a perfect analogy.
But you get the idea.

You can look at it as shopping malls.

A shopping mall in one part of town is going to have
different stores than one in another part of town,
right?

You don't put the Neiman's or Nordstrom's (high end
stores) in the low rent part of town.

The point of targeting a specific group of people is
it's easier to know what they want and be specific about
how you provide that.

Look at marketing like this.  You have a specific group
of people and you are performing a marketing experiment
to find out IF these people will actually spend money
to solve a problem or get a defined result.

It's a test. It's an experiment.  You do your research
to find out what they are already spending money on.
Then you find the next link in the chain as I've taught
in other courses.  Then you launch your test out there
and see the results.

The results are NOT a statement about you nor your
marketing. They're the results of a test.

Law 2:  Find a pond to fish in.

=====================================================
Big mistake #3:  Spending all your money on one high-
end coaching program without really investigating it.
=====================================================

I see people spend all their piggy bank money on one
high-end program or coaching program without really
investigating the feedback on the Internet about it.

Be REALLY cautious about spending all your piggy bank
on one program that promises the world — EVEN if your
favorite “guru” endorses or promotes it.

In marketing, you do reciprocal mailings for friends.
It's almost impossible to avoid.  Or you owe someone a
favor.

Now, I personally do about 100X less of these than
anyone else.  It's cost me a great deal of money to NOT
do these.

But I've always tried to put my concerns for my customers
first.  But even at that, on occasion I owe a favor to
a friend.  And I work hard to only promote good products
when I do that.

But do your research no matter who endorses it … IF
it's a very significant chunk of your piggy bank. If it's
discretionary money, don't sweat it so much.

For me personally, it was a VERY big breakthrough in 1992
(or somewhere in there) when I spent $5,000 for Jay
Abraham's Marketing Protege program.  Nowadays many of the
things I learned are common knowledge — USP, lifetime
value of a customer, endorsed mailings.

But at the time, NO ONE taught these things. And I learned
an enormous amount very quickly, even though the program
wasn't structured and was more a hodgepodge.

Then again, that's a bit how Jay's mind works.  And I'm
kinda that way too. So it all worked for me.

At the time, $5,000 was a lot of money to me. So I kinda
spent my piggy bank.  So I'm not against big ticket purchases.
But some people just buy junk from a high-powered telephone
sales pitch and do almost no research on it…. all
because the person on the phone says they are calling on
behalf of XYZ guru.

Fact is, some marketers sell their leads to telephone sales
rooms that call and sell very large ticket coaching programs.
You should know that.  I don't do it. But some people do.
A lot of these phone rooms are in Utah.  In the biz, it's
known as selling your leads to Utah and everyone knows what
that means.

There may be good programs there also.  I don't know all of
them.  I know that in SOME of the programs, the “coaches” have
a noteboook with 50 programs in it.  And they do coaching for
all kinds of programs from real estate to Internet marketing.
So you can imagine how useful the coaching is.

They usually start selling at $10,000 and then just keep going
lower till people say yes.  By the same token, I know of one
company like this where the marketer goes in and personally
trains the coaches then does monthly follow up with them. So
I'm not saying as a blanket statement they're all bad.

All I'm saying is be smart. Don't be stupid.  Do your
research no matter WHO endorses the product.

At the same time, I see people agonize over a $97 product.
You know, come on.  Keep this in perspective.  No one
product is going to change your life in all likelihood.
Success is the result of an accumulation of know how
and skills.

Law 3:  Do your research.

====================================
Big Mistake #4:  Not building a list
====================================

Someone commented on my blog just the other day.  “Marlon,
I'm finally taking your advice and building a list.”

They probably bought someone else's program that somehow
finally convinced them.

I'm just telling you.  If you want to be in the Game 5 or
10 years from now being successful then build a list or
lists.

The model works.  It has worked for 100+ years and will
continue to work.

Law 4:  Build a list

=============================================================
Big Mistake #5:  Searching for the one system that sounds the
easiest with the least possible work and effort.
=============================================================

Everyone I know who succeeds expends effort to do so including
myself.

However, once you get your systems tested and in place, they
truly CAN run more or less on autopilot with minimal input
and monitoring for substantial periods of time.

Then you may have to create new systems or re-tweak.

Sometimes there are fundamental shifts in the market that
require a new set of systems to be created and installed.

The axe I have to grind is with consumers who search and
search for someone who promises them the world with little
effort.

Some people believe this nonsense.  They actually believe
you can obtain huge results almost by pushing a button or
expending very little effort.

If that's you, stop it.

Success is the result of the accumulation of skills and
know how and the implementation of the same.  Ultimately,
you find one formula that works for you through trial and
error.

And the money comes when you then repeat that formula over
and over in the same market or in various markets.

That's where money comes from.

It takes experimentation on your part to refine that formula.
And if every month you're trying a brand new formula you'll
never get there.

You get a formula and work with it, tweak it, refine it until
you get it to work.

So you find a group of people who buy a lot of stuff over and
over.

You see what they are buying right now.

You create something like it but add your own spin and USP
or solve a problem or two with the existing products or
systems.

Then you throw it out there and see if the market confirms
that your observations were correct.

If not, your test failed.  You either tweak that product
again or take another stab at it.

I personally like to look for under served people or topics.
So here's a group of people who buy lots and lots of stuff
but on this one topic, idea or product, there's a lack of
supply.

I like to BE the supply to a lack.  True marketing is
serving.  You serve people who are under served.  You become
the supply for lack.

There are always gaps in the market.  Wants that are unfulfilled.

But this is only one way to look at it.

Others see wants as things that are NEVER satisfied. So if people
buy one thing to fulfill a want, they'll buy another and another.

Law 5:  Get a formula and tweak it

================================================================
Big Mistake #6:  Not really focusing and getting lead generation
systems in place and down pat
================================================================

All businesses boil down to generating new customers and making
sales.

So you gotta get really, really, really good at that process.
Become an expert in it.

For Internet marketing this means:

a.  Knowing where your customers hang out at.

b.  Hanging out there with them.

c.  Watching what they talk about and looking for unmet wants

d.  Filling those unmet wants or under-served products

e.  Having a system for continually putting more and more and
more of those people on your list by giving them a really great
reason to get ON your list and STAY on your list.

f.  Sending out emails that provide value and sometimes sell
stuff.

Your whole entire business hinges on your ability to find the
people who buy lots of stuff then find some way to get 'em on
your list so you can send 'em emails.

Don't like getting people on a list and sending them emails?
Then you're on the wrong list baby!

That's what I do. Go find someone else.

Law 5:  Get really good at filling your pipeline with new
blood

=============================================================
Big Mistake #7:  Thinking you have to have the perfect product
before you can sell it
=============================================================

Listen, by the time your product is perfect, the market has
changed and it won't sell anymore anyway.

Joe Vitale said, “Money loves speed.”

Provide value?  Yes.  Provide more value than people pay for?
Absolutely.

Provide perfect products and value?  No.

Now, the bar of what people expect keeps moving higher and
higher.  That's how business works.  So you always have to
get better.

But that's ok because you learn as you go.

==============================================
Big Mistake #8:  Never getting good at selling
==============================================

Business as I've said is about finding potential customers and
giving them really compelling reasons for buying from you today.

You get them on a list and then you sell 'em or serve 'em.
Those two ARE the same thing. Selling = serving unmet wants and
needs.

You may not like to sell.  You may not be good at selling.

Get over it.

You gotta sell.

Now, you can do it by writing stuff.  Reports, sales letters,
whatever.

You can do it by doing teleseminars or webinars.

You can do it by sign language.

But somehow.  Someway.  You gotta sell.

Stated in more socially acceptable terms, you gotta give people
reasons to buy from you.

Whatever.  Nothing happens until someone gives you money in
exchange for something they want.

Law 8: Get good at selling

===========================================
Big Mistake #9:  Hopping on the band wagon
===========================================

Sometimes you gotta hop on the band wagon.
Sometimes it's a mistake.

In general, it's better to be ON the wagon before the
band get there.  Because by the time the band gets there
it's too late.

This is especially true with search engine optimization
methods otherwise known as seo.

By the time the perfect, user friendly course comes out with
all the methods made dirt easy, those things are probably less
effective.

The money is made early on in most arenas.  You get to the
diamond mine BEFORE everyone else finds out about it.

This is admittedly double talk and an art.  On the one hand,
I like proven business models like list building and I don't
like fads that die fast.

On the other hand, if you're too late to the party, it's OVER.

So it's an art to know what to jump in early on and what to
avoid.

What I DO know is that, in general, by the time everyone is talking
about it and you have all the social proof that makes you feel
comfortable and by the time all the software is perfect and hassle
free and by the time there are cheap coaching programs on it and
by the time all those nasty kinks and bugs are worked out and by
the time it's super simple and easy to learn and do — by THAT
time it's TOO late.

Stop complaining about software that has glitches or isn't perfectly
easy to use and processes that aren't all 100% perfectly laid
out.

Because by the time all that happens everyone else has figured it
out also and the party is so freaking over it isn't funny.

The money is made early.

Money loves speed.

If you sit around and debate on it, research it, think about it,
mull it over — it's too late.

By the same token, don't bet the farm on a fad.

Which sounds like double talk.  And that's why judgment is involved.
Which is GOOD!

Once it's a “machine,” the party is over.

Why?

This is a basic, fundamental understanding of the law of supply
and demand.  When the supply equals demand, the profit is GONE.

Law 9:  Joe Vitale was right. Money loves speed.

==============================================================
Big Mistake #10: Doing all the technical stuff yourself
==============================================================

Outsource your customer service as soon as you can.

Find a good technical person (freelancer or part timer) as soon
as you can.

Find a webmaster and graphic designer as soon as you can.

Law 10: Focus on 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

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

REPRINT RIGHTS: You have permission to use the above
article without omission and including the resource box.
You have the right to insert your reseller URL for any
products I mention

=========================
D.  Resources you can use
=========================

(If you want to post this ENTIRE ezine, you can replace the
following links with your RESELLER links.  Get your links
at http://www.getyourprofits.com)

1. The Marketing Dashboard: Amazing Formula and Gimme
boiled down to icons and step-by-step. Doesn't replace AF
and Gimme but useful. Basically, it spoon feeds all the
things in AF and Gimme. http://www.getitgoing.com

2. The Marketing Diary: Me teaching Matt daily all the
details of the Amazing Formula and Gimme system. This
contains additional insights into The Amazing Formula and
Gimme that you won't find in those products. It's
literally what I taught to Matt in his first 90 days with
me. http://www.themarketingdiary.com

This is an EVERGREEN product and if you're new to this business
you'll learn tons.

3. After 8 years, thousands of customer emails, thousands of
buyers in virtually every major city in the world (and
many you haven't heard of), 13 web site designs, 4 product
designs, after ebook and CD versions, after endorsements
from major marketers the world over, after hundreds of
marketers and products have come and gone, after attacks
by the world's most notorious criminals, after attempts to
put it under, there is ONE product that remains and stands
tall. There is one product that is stable.
http://www.amazingformula.com

4. Are You Paying Over $10.00 For Hosting?

If you are, you may be getting ripped off.  Design Dashboard
shows you not only the basics of doing your own design but really
walks you step by step through setting up your hosting,
autoresponders and shopping cart.
http://www.designdashboard.com

5. Promote your own products made easy

Grab the brilliant video by Adeel Chowdhry on how to mash
together stock video, stock sounds and stock music to create
an attention-grabbing, compelling video you can put on your
sales page, Facebook, Squidoo lenses, Hub Pages, or even
Twitter out to your list.
http://www.PromoDashboard.com

6.  Your Own Products?

It's the only step-by-step, A to Z system not JUST for
creating info products …. but that shows you HOW to select
product ideas using my “flanking move” I've built my business
on, HOW to do 12-product surveys with an actual example, that
gives you a tested, proven email & source with a  30% success
rate in getting interviews with experts — PLUS, templates
that would cost your more than the Dashboard to have custom
created!  http://www.productsdashboard.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
E. Get the Evergreen Traffic System
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tinu emailed and says she has added new info on social media!

Most All Her Domains Got Shut Down, She Can't Get Out Of Bed Some
Days,  Her Hands Swell Up Like Balloons, Her Podcast and Video
Hosting Got Shut Down — And She STILL Snagged 3,579 Average
Visits  Per Day In April 2008!

http://www.TurboProfits.com/tracking/go.php?c=7_25_tinue

Evergreen Traffic System is now sold and serviced directly by Tinu.
That link there would be a tracking link and NOT an affiliate link.

Tinu's seo stuff is BRILLIANT and evergreen. It STILL works
awesome.

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

May the road rise up to meet you
and the wind be always at your back
and until we meet again
may God hold you softly
in the palm of his hand

— Irish poem

Copyright 2010 Higher Response Marketing Inc.
All rights reserved.