Ever wonder how much of a genius you have to be for your marketing know how to pay off for you?

Here’s a story that reveals the answer.

Today I ran into the lady who runs my local computer repair shop.

“That banner you told me to put up WORKED! I’ve gotten 5 jobs from it just this week,” referring to the big yellow banner outside the shop reading “Virus Removal Experts.”

Now, actually, the headline I gave her was along the lines of “Viruses Removed — Guaranteed!”

Or something like that.

But what she’s running is working, so I ain’t tellin’ her to change it anytime soon.

Flash back in time to 3 weeks earlier. We were talking about how she could get more customers.

Drawing on my vast storehouse of marketing wisdom, I inquired, “What’s the #1 best seller you got around here?”

“Virus removal,” she snapped back.

“See that blank spot on the sign out front? Will they let you put anything on that?”

She replied with a skeptical tone, “Well, you’d have to PAY for that. But they will let me hang a banner up.”

Being the marketing genius I am, I replied, “How ’bout you put somethin’ up there on a yellow banner…like your viruses Removed — Guaranteed!

“…or perhaps….Viruses Removed in 48 Hours — Guaranteed.

“Or…Free Virus Analysis.”

I spouted off some blatantly obvious stuff like that anyone with any knowledge of and skill in headlines whatsoever coulda come up with.

Anyway, she put the yellow banner up with the relatively lame “virus removal experts.” And it paid off in spades.

“Next time you come in, your repair is free,” she offered generously.

Now, you may be thinking that all the money you spend on ebooks, courses and so forth is a waste if you don’t start a business.

Look at it this way.

You can get a lot of free stuff like computer repair, dry cleaning or whatever…Just by having the most basic, simple understanding of marketing.

Anyway, I popped by later and showed her how to run an editorial style ad dropping into a hotline followed up by a series of letters ala Dan Kennedy/Jeff Paul model.

Again, this ain’t rocket science stuff.

You shoulda seen her eyes light up.

Then I came up with a back end for her since her profit margin is horrible.

And if you’ve studied headlines a little and know just the
basics of lead generation, you pretty much coulda done the
same.

How much of a genius do you gotta be to come up with a headline like:

“What will YOU do when your wife, kids and friends see P-O-R-N popup on YOUR computer? We get if off FAST! Guaranteed. Or it’s free.”

See, all this marketing stuff might end up not bein’ a waste for you after all.

Fact is, with a little direct response knowledge, you can
appear to be a genius to a LOT of businesses.

If you think I’m a genius for coming up with the stuff above, you need to go through the Cash Like Clockwork System.

Check out: Marketing Genius

A Sneaky Little Technique That Can Boost Your Online Profits By Up To 330%!

Today, I’m going to teach you an extremely powerful, marketing “secret” that will get your profits multiplying like rabbits.

But first… let me ask you something.

When is the last time a computer bought your product or paid for your service?

The answer is never. No one sells to machines. And yet, because of the net… because of the technology… because of the automation… experienced entrepreneurs who take their business online, forgot that they’re doing business with PEOPLE.

The fact that your “store” is a website or that your marketing message is delivered via email rather than snail mail doesn’t change who your target is: real, live human beings with thoughts, emotions…and hopefully deep pockets!

Even though you’re using a webpage, an autoresponder, or an email, it’s really YOU — a person — who’s reaching out to a customer or prospect.  Success in selling happens when a one-to-one personal connection occurs.

Relationship is the key.

You can’t sell benefits to a computer. You can’t get a computer excited about how good it will feel after using your product or service. It’s so obvious; it’s ridiculous. You’re selling to a person. And if you want that person to buy from you, you need to put yourself out there.

So why do a lot of people act like they’re criminals and disappear when they’re selling online?  Are you guilty?

Do you use the Internet itself to create walls that hide “human side” behind technology. Do you hide behind emails instead of making phone calls? Do you peak out from behind your website without offering a “hard copy” way to reach you?

And do you play a weird game of hide-and-seek with customers using frequently asked questions and customer service “tools” so that you never really have to connect?

I know, I know! You’re saying that automation and technology are the biggest advantages of the Internet. All these streamlined communications processes help you do good business.

That’s fine, if what you want is good business. But personal communication can make your business great.

Sometimes just by adding that personal touch… that human factor… to your site can boost your sales by 100%, 200% to as much as 330%!!!

What am I talking about? I am talking about a tangible demonstration that your business is trustworthy because trust is at the foundation of every sale.

So it turns out that this secret strategy is actually a simple one, too. I’m talking about adding a phone number to your site… and a mailing address…and a fax number. I’m talking about giving your customer an option contact you one-to-one.

I’m talking about talking! Just talk to your customers and find out what they want.

Now you might say, “Dan, this won’t work for me. I’m a one-person operation and I’d get so buried by phone calls that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else.”

You know how important testing is in business, don’t you? Well, why not test my theory before you reject it. Do it my way. And see if you will actually get a lot of calls.

I think you’ll be surprised. I have a lot of clients who add phone numbers to their sites, and they don’t really get that many phone calls.

If you’re really stretched to the limits time-wise, you could hire someone to handle it for you in-house or outsource it… although I think outsourcing almost defeats the purpose by putting you one step further away from your customers.

Personally, I urge you to talk to your customers once a while. It’s time well spent…even if time is money. You’ll learn a lot from the conversation — what people want and how they want it.

And that, I assure you, can be worth millions (literally) to your business.

Do you know that a lot of people actually have a fear of picking the phone and calling a stranger? So it’s unlikely that you’re going to get flooded with a lot of Chatty Cathies and Talky Teddies you’ve never met before who just want to shoot the breeze for ten minutes.

So why will people pick up the phone and call you? Probably for one of four important reasons that make these valuable calls that you’ll want to take.

1.       They have an urgent problem, and they need a solution now! If your product/service will solve their problems, they’ll buy from you – NOW.

2.       They want to buy from you, but they might just have a few questions and you answer them well, they’ll buy from you – NOW.

3.       They might have a comment regarding of your product or service. This could be helpful to your business and make them more likely to buy from you in the future.

4.       They might have a problem, and they’re mad. But even if they are, you can fix it for them. Then they’ll love you, and they’ll buy from you again and again.

You may not have realized it before, but every telephone inquiry from a customer or prospect is a money call.  And when money calls, you want to be sure to answer. Because each one of these money calls mean sales in one way or the other.

Personally, I love it when my phone rings. Because it’s either one of my deep-pocketed mentoring clients who wants to run something by me OR a prospect who wants to give me money.

Ching-Ching! How can you NOT love those calls?

And here’s a special message for you if you’re selling a luxury service or a high-end product.  It’s tough to sell big-ticket items offline, and even tougher online. It’s not impossible… but it’s tough.

Think about it. Someone who’s looking for a marketing onsultant and sees your site is probably NOT going to plunk down $5000.00 in an electronic payment just based on nothing more than your online sales copy.

And don’t be fooled that an autoresponder series will do the trick any better. It’s tough to close a sale for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars just through emails. Not impossible… but tough.

But, you can easily close a $5000.00 sale via the telephone. (If you know how to “give good phone,” that is).

A lot of copywriters don’t do it the “easy way.” They avoid the telephone. They only communicate via emails. Or they charge exorbitant “consulting fees” for phone calls as a way to telegraph that they don’t want to speak to people.

Now, that’s their personal preference. But perhaps they should put themselves in the shoes of their clients who say, “This means I’m going to hire a copywriter and pay thousands of dollars to a service provider — an employee — that I won’t even be able to speak to by phone? That stinks!”

Worse than annoying a prospect, lack of accessibility makes people suspicious. They might feel like you’re hiding something… that you’re not being totally upfront.

Take the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. The mayor’s office has a website, but his home phone number is listed in the telephone directory. And, while it sounds unbelievable, he actually does pick up the phone when he’s home and talk to his constituents.

They love him for it.

Take me for example. I am actually one of the very, very, very few experts who can be reached by phone. If I’m not on a call already or working one-on-one with a client in my office, I always pick up the phone.

And when I can’t pick up before the machine does, I try to return all my calls promptly. (Unless, they’re trying to sell me insurance or some crap.)

Accessibility is, in a way, my unique selling proposition. People are actually very surprised when I call them back. They know how busy I am. And my prospects respect and appreciate that I prioritize them.

Is every call a walk in the park that ends with a trip to the bank? Well no. Sometimes I do get calls from some jerk who just wants to “bust my balls” or waste my time.

But really… the whackos are few and far between. Most of my callers are good people. They’re calling me because they want me to help them with their conversions, not because they want to BS the weather.

I’d say 95% of the people who call are very serious and I’m happy to have the opportunity to speak with them. As for the other 5%… once they “reveal” themselves, I get off the phone very quickly.

So how can you use this sneak technique to beef up conversions on your site? To borrow the old phone company slogan: “Reach out and touch.”

Add a telephone option to your site and take orders via telephone. If you think this could be overwhelming, you could test just taking calls within business hours.

If you’re doing huge volume, add a toll-free number.

If you’re doing big business in the international market, outsource so that you can accept phone orders 24/7.

The Internet is the Land of Opportunity, although some online entrepreneurs think they’re in Lazy Land… and don’t understand why they’re not succeeding.

They want to live the ultimate Internet marketing lifestyle dream. They want everything to be automated. They want their ads to find the prospects, they want their site to sell the prospect, take the money, and forward a deposit directly into their online bank account.

That dream can be real, but too many business people are relying too much on the technology to do ALL the work for them. Sometimes, it’s good to go back to old-fashion communication.   Silence may be golden, but in business… talking is pure platinum.

We’ll “talk” more soon.

Dan Lok

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A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title as the World’s #1 Website Conversion Expert.

To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at:  Website Conversion Expert

Why You Aren’t Making The Money You Want To On The Internet And What To Do About It!

Many clients come to me with problems…

The most common problem I hear from people is they aren’t making the kind of money they want to make with their Internet business. They don’t know what the problem is and they want me to help.

I’ll tell you what the problem is. Most of these people are what I like to call opportunity seekers. These are people that have too many sites and don’t spend any time focusing on ONE business. They may have 20 or 30 websites, with each site only breaking even or making a few hundred dollars every month.

Most opportunity seekers are not making the money they want or achieving their financial goals. Why?

They are making a common mistake. They have too many sites, too many interests. This prevents them from focusing their efforts and creating the six figure income they dream of.

Focus Is The Key To Long-Term Success

If you want to succeed on the Internet, you are much
better-off staying focused. That means starting off with one site or idea and perfecting it before moving on to the next Internet adventure. Far too many people have a get rich quick mind-set. In fact, I’d say almost all opportunity seekers have this mind-set.

They jump from one program to another hoping one of them will lead to success.

Opportunity seekers are always the first to jump on the next big moneymaking bandwagon. It may be one thing one month, another the next month.

They may try to concentrate on affiliate marketing then switch dramatically to e-book marketing the next.

Whatever seems to be working for others they jump into with wild abandon, without considering their true talents, abilities and interests.

These people are looking for some easy way to make money. They think they can make money with Google AdSense or just a web page, or even with a multilevel marketing program. This is NOT how an entrepreneur thinks! However, this is exactly how an opportunist thinks.

They always are looking for shortcuts, and then wonder why it isn’t working.

It isn’t working because you have no focus. You must have focus. You must think like an entrepreneur. Focus is one of the most vital aspects of your success. My advice to these newbies is shut down 29 of your sites and focus on one site, the one that best represents your interests.

Optimize it. Work on refining it. Refine your sales process and your back end on this single site and make it successful BEFORE you move on to the next site.

Yes, I have many sites. But I am Dan Lok. You’re not there yet. Perfect your one site. THEN you can think about moving on to other moneymaking ventures.

Horizontal Vs. Vertical Business

Many people have what I call a horizontal business. A horizontal business has many sites in many different niches, like hobby niches.

People who own horizontal businesses have 20 or more separate business ventures. I recommend having a vertical business instead. A vertical business is a business that has depth and focus.

Having a vertical business means if you have a product in a particular niche, like stock trading, focus on selling products related to that and that only. Put all your eggs in one basket and create a funnel effect. This way you’ll have one group of customers and you can become a big fish in a small pond.

You’ll have all your eggs in one place yes… but you’ll become an expert egg layer and watch all your eggs hatch with great success.

Make sense?

What is the problem with a horizontal business? You aren’t specialized.

It’s almost impossible to make a six-figure income with this kind of business because you don’t spend enough time on any ONE business.

When you have a vertical business, you have fine-tuned your business so well competitors have a hard time keeping up with you. People can’t compete. You also build a strong client base with satisfied customers.

Think Like An Entrepreneur

So, the biggest problem people have is they are opportunity seekers.

The key is thinking like a true Internet entrepreneur. Don’t jump on the trend bandwagon. Don’t ask what the shortcuts are. An entrepreneur has a long-term vision. You have to have a one-year, five year and ten year vision. Find out what you want your business to look like in the long-term.

Ask yourself, What do I want to accomplish ultimately? Then decide whether your activities fit with your goals. Stop jumping from one program to another. Focus on one program, one site, and one great idea. This is what you have to do if you want to make six figures. It has nothing to do with your knowledge, skill set experience etc. It has to do more with your focus.

Sit down. Think about it.

Stop jumping from one program to another and stop getting sucked into false moneymaking schemes. Find out what your goals are, what you want to accomplish.

This is a far superior approach. Yes, it takes a lot of energy. But its worth it. In the long-term it’s much less tiring than diversifying your business.

Once you are an expert in your industry or niche, THEN you can think about diversifying your business.

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A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title as the World’s #1 Website Conversion Expert. To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at: Website Conversion Expert

Crazy as it sounds, the next U.S. President, whether it’s Bush or Kerry, is gonna help you sell more of your stuff.

“Oh, yeah. Right Marlon. Let’s see you ‘splain this one to me…”

No seriously. Read this email for the complete scoop. It ain’t gonna cost you a cent, pound or peso. So wadda you got to lose?

Well, it’s election time again in the U.S. You guys and gals in UK, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada and so forth are probably even hearing about it.

The candidates are making their final whistle stops. It’s a good time to talk the marketing of a President.

There’s a lot YOU can learn from this year’s election that can show you the path to selling more of your stuff.

Isn’t it kind of strange that the most prestigious job in the U.S. comes down to one thing –

M-A-R-K-E-T-I-N-G!

See, marketing is about selecting MARKETS for a product or service and designing an APPEAL to that MARKET that will get a response.

That’s what marketing is. The study of and appeal to markets. I bet a lot of people teaching marketing don’t even understand that.

Yeah, you have the traditional marketing mix of product, price, promotion and distribution (or place).

But at heart, it’s just about markets. Who is in the market for MY product (or service).

Think of it like this: The President IS a product that is sold to markets. Who are those markets?

Gays, lesbians, religious groups, right wing, left wing, investors, educators, labor unions, moms ‘n dads, corporations, small businesses, and so forth.

You will hear each of the candidates specifically pick out certain of those groups and make an appeal or promise to them.

The appeal or promise is essentially a HEADLINE. It’s the articulation of a promise or a benefit.

A candidate is in the JOB of picking out groups or markets and making a PROMISE to them of a BENEFIT.

If you WATCH TV, you’ll see them speaking to different groups, making appearances at schools, labor union rallies, army groups, educators and so forth.

All in an effort to GET PUBLICITY for a marketing message delivered to a specific group or audience.

They don’t give a speech ’cause they wanna get their message to the local PTA. They do it because they’ll get national media coverage and gratus media coverage.

So instead of paying for radio ads or TV spots, they get advertising without forking over any green stuff.

You’ll notice they use all the media: TV, radio, billboards, publicity, direct mail, telephones, and more I’m not thinking of right now.

Heck, they even have the equivalent of a commissioned affiliate program — you help ME get elected, and you’ll get pork barrell legislation back in return, or you’ll get a cushy cabinet position…or somethin’ along those lines.

What can YOU learn from this?

What GROUPS are you aiming specific promises or messages at for your product or service?

Even the President lives and dies by marketing. And if he or she needs to know it, don’t you think YOU better know it too?

Marlon Sanders

P.S. If’ you want a crash course in marketing (both online and offline), you can get it at:

Crash Course in Marketing

(By the way, if you problems on your PayPal limit, we have an alternative payment method. Just live chat us at amazingformula.com/support)

You may not make it to running for President. But I bet you can get a better job, start a more successful business, promote your group or organization with more success — or help your kids be more successful in life.