Home » Blog » LEARN TO EARN » Finally! Greg and Fiona’s Top Ten Marketing Gems

What would you do if someone handed you treasure chest full of jewels?

Would you squirrel it away?

Would you incessantly ponder why anyone would give away something so precious?

Well, wonder no more! We’re giving you the wealth of knowledge we’ve gathered on the sometimes rocky road we’ve traveled to build our online business. We want to share what we’ve learned because we believe there’s enough success out there for everyone to have their fair share.

We want you to succeed! Don’t squirrel these gems away. The secret with these gems is… they’re only precious WHEN YOU USE THEM.

Come on… let’s dig into the treasure chest 🙂

CLICK TO WATCH THIS VIDEO… OR READ ON IF YOUR PREFER:

#1 Be Authentic

There are so many people on the internet trying to be something they’re not. They try to be who they ‘think' others want them to be. And they ‘think' that’s easy to do online. They create a make-believe personality. They become chameleons, changing to suit their surroundings.

It’a waste of time and effort. No one can keep up that kind of charade. It has to be tiring, it certainly doesn’t benefit anyone, and people can sniff a fake a mile off.

The best things you can do for yourself on your road to success are:

• Be honest

• Be authentic

• Be genuine

People want to deal with REAL people they can trust. And, when you’re authentic, when you’re upfront and honest, people will have more affinity for you and will grow to trust you.

#2 Provide Value

On one of our travels (when you live a Laptop Lifestyle, you’re able to visit new places whenever you please, with no prior planning), we visited The Vermont Country Store, in Woodstock, Vermont. We were gob-smacked with, and very appreciative of, the wide array of samples of the foods they sold. We enjoyed tasting the free treats they offered. We must've tried a dozen different tidbits ranging from chutneys, salamis, cheeses, choccies and sweets!! (We didn’t need lunch that day lol)

And, d’ya know what happened before we left that store?

Naturally, we purchased quite a few of the things we tasted.

The Vermont Country Store offered huge value and earned new customers because of the free tastings they provided.

It’s no different online. In fact, its been proven to take at least seven “touches” to influence a prospect into becoming a paying customer.

Be sure to PROVIDE VALUABLE INFORMATION to your prospects and your customers through:

• Ebooks, emails, and blogposts

• Audio and video content

• A combination of the the above (you need to cater for the different learning modalities of different people)

The value you offer your prospects and customers will return to you exponentially. It’s priceless.

#3 Build An Email List

Don’t expect people to buy something from you immediately.

Only instant decision makers who have a nagging problem to solve will do that. Digital, physical, no matter the item or service – many people think everything’s a scam until they try it out. And they won’t try until YOU build a relationship with people first.

So, when you know there’s a problem you have the ability to solve:

• Find your target audience

• Build that email list/database

• Develop those relationships

When you do these things, sales will naturally follow.

#4 Advertise Wisely

On your road to building a profitable online business, advertising gets you the quickest results. But…

… you need to manage your ad budget wisely to ensure consistency when building your email list.

Also, choose your advertising strategy carefully – because you’ll need to stick to that choice ‘through thick and thin’.

Your choices include:

• Slow but (almost) free advertising, like blogging and video marketing

• Pay-Per-Click advertising, like Google adwords and Facebook – a bit faster, and not terribly expensive

• Offline advertising, like leaflet drops and print ads – affordable but not targeted

Free ads take time to gain momentum, whereas paid ads can start working immediately, though they stop when you stop paying.

Whatever way, or combination of ways, you decide to advertise, be sure you stick to that method, so you learn it ‘inside out’, and become proficient at building your email list to a point where you can easily scale up that advertising.

#5 Target Quality Prospects

Get to know your audience like an author knows the characters they write about. Who are they? Where do they hang out? What are their primary problems?

But even before you figure out who they are, figure out who you are.

You need to know exactly what you have to offer, and how you want to provide valuable content and information per #2 above – which means attracting the right people to you by how you tell your story on your website.

Once we’d honed our ‘About Us’ story, we were able to focus on our audience. You’ll do the same.

To build your audience and email list (email database):

• Stick with one source for paid ads until you attract prospects on auto-pilot

• Seek targeted quality people as opposed to sheer quantity of people

• Build a value-driven relationship with your audience

Targeting the wrong people is like flushing your money down the toilet, and is a huge waste of your time and effort too.

#6 Leverage Other People's Products

Some people never start their online business because they mistakenly believe they need to do something no one has ever thought of before!

That’s a flawed way to think! It’s not true at all – leveraging other people’s products is a humungous (multi billion dollar) industry.

Ways to leverage other people’s products:

• Become an affiliate marketer. While/If you develop your own products, find others that are a good fit with what you’re passionate about

• If you have your own products or services on offer on your website, find other complementary prducts and offer them on your site too

• Keep looking for new, different, exciting options to promote

#7 Promote High Value Products

This gem is the richer cousin to #6.

When you promote high value products (anything over $1,000), your marketing efforts are rewarded way more richly than if you promote $100 products. Your marketing efforts are the same, but the commissions are super-sized.

But, where do you look for top-tier, high-ticket products to promote as an affiliate? Head down to your local book store and look in luxury magazines in the lifestyle, travel, golf and boating niches, for starters. Read the ads in those upscale magazines. Use what you learn to:

• Visit the websites of the companies offering big ticket items

• Find out if they have an affiliate program

• Apply to be an affiliate and enjoy offering glamour and excitement to your prospects

When it comes to running paid ads to such affiliate offers, again revert to the luxury magazines and study the ads other companies run. Find ads for exclusive, luxurious, top-tier, or high-ticket products that might be of interest to your customers and readers. Look in magazines like CondeNast, Travel and Leisure, Tatler, Forbes, Gold International.

#8 Have Residual Income Products

Make sure you have products that work for you while you’re developing new products or ideas (if that’s what you want to do).

Having just one or two of them will bring in bread and butter income while you are out there bringing in the steak!

Try pulling together:

• Monthly newsletters where people pay a small amount each month

• A series of one-page information sheets, where you charge per sheet

• Any type of regular subscription that fills a need for your clients and customers

These regular streams of income will turn into a river of residual success.

#9 Keep It Simple And Consistent

People like to ‘think' tasks are too difficult, or too complicated, or too boring. They tell themselves all the ways they can’t do something rather than explore the ways they can.

We know a man who wanted to put together a website. He kept putting it off because it seemed like such a gargantuan task. But we persuaded him to take it step by step and focus on one element at a time, and now he’s started a successful business.

Some words of wisdom to live by – Those who can, do. Those who can’t, outsource!

So, move forward consistently.

You build up momentum by:

• Building your list, consistently

• Blogging, consistently

• Broadcasting, consistently

Don’t shift into reverse, and keep your foot on the pedal.

#10 Get A Mentor

Trying to find out everything from the internet is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. Too much, too fast. You just can’t take it all in. It’s overwhelming!

So much of the good stuff in steps 1-9 is made easier and much more effective when you have a mentor (or mentors) to bounce ideas off, to work with, to learn from.

Learning this business is just like starting any new endeavor. When you start a new job, they don’t just give you a computer and expect you to ‘hit the ground running' (the worst catch-phrase ever!). Someone teaches you, guides you, answers your questions about the new role, don’t they?

Likewise, a mentor:

• Guides you so you don’t take too many wrong turns

• Encourages you when you hit a rocky patch

• Educates you and applauds your successes

There's so much hype out there about instant success. We want you to know success is ahead of you, IF you’re willing to work for it in a deliberate, focused way. It’s an adventure! We love it and we know you will too.

Having someone who has been through what you’re going through is key, as within three to six months, with dedication and support, you could see your business bloom. Too many people get frustrated, spread themselves too thin, and give up.

It took time to gather these top ten marketing gems. It’s up to you what to do with what we’ve learned.

The future is digital. Get a jump start on that future! An article in Time magazine stated that by 2045, 60% of jobs will be replaced by robots!

Get to grips with the digital world. Decide to change. Be open-minded to learn new skills.

It’s your turn now. Will you tuck these gems away and forget about them, or will you leverage them and build your road to success?

One little decision. One first step. Give it a try. Give it time. Give it your all.

And have fun doing it 🙂

We toast your success.

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