It doesn’t happen very often but there are times when you appreciate the little things in blogging.
Smart things that bloggers do to their blogs that make life easier for their readers.
Case in point: Yaro’s recent Membership Site opus - a 9-part series.
Now if you know Yaro, you’ll know full well for his love of long, involving posts, so when he does a 9-parter you know you’re gonna be in for some reading!
Now lately I’ve had a bit of eye trouble - too much time in front of the monitor is my diagnosis. It’s either that or a nasty and ongoing battle with hayfever, with hayfever clearly leading the battle.
And that’s where this little WordPress plugin comes in handy - WP-Print. And Yaro uses - and so should all of us. In fact, after I post this I’m heading off to all my blogs and adding this plugin.
The plugin is at number ten in the long list of very simple, but extremely useful plugins developed by Lester Chan.
It’s a breeze to install and you get a few options to play with under the options tab in your WordPress Admin.
I only wish I could develop plugins - but one thing I ain’t is a programmer. So when Lester adds…
I spent most of my free time creating, updating, maintaining and supporting these plugins, if you really love my plugins and could spare me a couple of bucks as my school allowance, I will really appericiate it. If not feel free to use it without any obligations. Thank You. My Paypal account is [email protected].
I’m putting my hand into my PayPal wallet and giving him a twenty.
]]>What I’ve noticed is that niche membership sites are becoming popular, a far cry from 5-6 years ago I can tell you that from experience. :-)
When I started looking into it I realized it’s a fast emerging trend - there are numerous software and other services out there. It’s also starting to appear in the blogging industry - there’s a post coming soon of a new membership plugin for WordPress.
There’s even a membership site on the the topic of … membership sites - MembershipSiteAdvisor
Obviously, there’s not much there for you unless you’re a member but they have this article - How to Start, Run, Promote & Profit From Your Own Membership Website.
I wonder if the free nature of the blogosphere lends itself to a membership site? Imagine if Darren Rowse and his ProBlogger site turned into a membership site. Would there be an outcry or would folks just accept it as doing business by going the exclusive route.
Wouldn’t it be a pleasure to have a site with no advertisements and no affiliates rammed down our throats - 100% pure content.
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And so I lead you onto what’s coming next.
The whole month of November will be Membership Site Month here at ePublishingDaily. Yes. That means that every post will have a membership-flavor to it.
I’m scouring the web getting together a massive amount of information on creating and running successful membership sites.
There’ll be the usual tips and hints, link outs to some top quality articles on the subjects, reviews of quite a few products and services and my own editorial spin on the issue of membership sites.
Watch this space…
]]>Rest assured this blog is back on track and raring to go.
For those wanting to know and constantly emailing - No, ePublishingDaily is not for sale. I had a moment there of wanting to be rid of it and I must admit that being offered a high 4-figure amount for it was extremely tempting - but I came to my senses and realized that I haven’t even scratched the surface with what I could do with this joint.
I can tell you that November is going to be a big month here at ePublishingDaily - I’ve got something special planned. Something that I have been watching very closely over recent months, a trend that’s on the rise and sure to excite those in the information producing business.
Keep watching this space.
]]>What caught my attention was Part 5 in the series where Yaro talks a little bit about the ‘triggers” internet marketers use to get prospects to sign up.
… the major triggers you are attempting to elicit in people. It’s these triggers that create the right conditions for people to feel comfortable making the decision to join your membership site - in fact they should feel an overwhelming compulsion to join if you use these triggers well.
Note that many of these elements are going to feel like you are “tricking” people, that you are attempting to force them into a decision that isn’t necessarily in their best interest by manipulating their emotions. Guess what - it’s true!
I sense a certain unease in Yaro discussing this because internet marketing has a poor reputation amongst many people … and often times, it’s justified.
Yaro continues …
The problem is - and this is where the agitation many people feel towards marketing arises from - that we use our understanding of human behavior to manipulate people into making purchasing decisions for things they don’t need, purely in the interest of profit.
Sobering thoughts for a internet marketer to speak and that’s what sets Yaro apart from the rest in my opinion.
Obviously, the guy has a conscience and you can sense he’s dealing with it while writing the post. I just hope that when the real money comes rolling in (and with information products, 6 and 7 figures are quite common) he doesn’t become jaded and just another “internet marketer” using all the trick in the book without much of a conscience.
Somehow, I doubt he’ll end up that way (fingers crossed).
I wonder how many other well-known internet marketers take the time to think through their actions in amassing customers in such a way?
Hence, that the triggers that can be used in internet marketing are powerful tools, tools that play heavily on the emotions of a prospective buyer. These tools (triggers) are finely-tuned devices that can be easily abused to the unsuspecting.
No wonder internet marketing has a bad name in many circles.
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When I first started collecting items for my resource page - which I eventually called The Ultimate Resource Page … for information publishers, I never knew how much of a big hit it was going to become.
With special thanks to Darren from ProBlogger who gave it a kick along it was StumbledUpon, Del.icio.us-ed and went through a sort of (very) mini viral phase - close to 10,000 uniques visits so far.
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Mike Sigers, the super salesman himself, over at Simplenomics asks a simple question that most people probably couldn’t answer: Why Do People Really Buy?
Knowing what they buy will make you a living. Knowing why they buy will make you rich.
Think about that quote for a minute. If you can get to understand the why then basically it should be a breeze to keep on producing based of the “whys” and get your customers to buy from you again and again.
The saying goes that customers buy on emotions and rationalize it later with logic. If you can tap into that emotion you’re well on your way to ultimate success.
As Mike says: If you’ve got the guts simply ask one of your customers why they buy from you.
I know that’s my plan of action for every product I produce in the future - there’s nothing more truthful than the true words of a paying customer.
]]>6 Reasons I Shouldn’t Blog (and Sell an ebook) really offers an amazing insight into some of the dredges of society - stealing, expecting to resell his ebook, doing the old chargeback thing.
Number two made me laugh…
My sales letter states clearly that my ebook is an ebook. And my mini sales letter says available for your immediate download. Yet daily I get asked when it will ship.
When you enter the information publishing business these are just some of the many things you have to deal with. Gladly, it’s only a small percentage of society that makes life crap. The vast majority makes it all worth while.
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Note: I have a copy of Aaron’s SEOBook which I am reviewing more for it’s layout and design rather than it’s content (although I must say it’s an intriguing read … and it’s not all about SEO)
I’ve had a change of heart after some serious thinking about my future direction and I’ve come to some certain conclusions.
I love the information products business … if done right! I loved it so much that I created this blog to cover the industry. But over time it has been dragging me down as much as I want to be up and passionate about it.
To be honest with you all, I just see so much crap and hype in the industry - it’s more prevalent than I thought and it far outshines the good products.
These following two quotes pretty much speaks for me…
a large part of the bad reputation the internet marketing field gets is due to marketers working harder at marketing than at creating a relevant useful products in the changing marketplace and following through with quality customer service. - Aaron Wall
and another quote that hit home…
The line between an emotionally compelling offer and misleading people with hype can be a fine one at times - Yaro Starak
I receive so much rubbish emails and requests and offers (and even bribes) that it has slowly mentally dragged me down - and not that I’m a generally down guy but this was just too much.
I’m still in the information products business but my model is a little bit different: it’s a about quality. It’s about producing the best product, taking the time to design it with some thought as to the reader. I’ll also stay away from the marketing hype and tricks being used - once again, it’s that fine line thing.
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The new direction for me (and that will include producing quality information products) is SmallOfficeAustralia.
Update 27/5: The link above should now take you to the right blog … thank you Des for letting me know of my ’sophisticated’ mix up … errr , yeah I’m sticking to that sophisticated bit. :-)
Over at my other blog, TheBlogColumnist, I explain it in more passionate terms.
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Further to that this blog is now officially for sale. No fancy announcement or hype and if it sells it sells, if it doesn’t then it’s no skin of my bones. I don’t necessarily need the money thus the no fuss sale.
It’ll be a private sale with no time limit. I’ll provide some specs to the sale for those interested.
If you’re interested drop me a line at: [email protected].
Thank you for your time and patience and keep on producing quality infoproducts that the industry an be proud of.
Cheers,
Martin Neumann
Another week has come and gone and I can easily say it’s been the most productive week here at ePublishingDaily.
I’ve finally got my act together, I’m laser focused and it’s only going to get better (and bigger).
So enjoy your weekend and here are some choice readings I’ve come across that you might enjoy…
- Why Smart Infopreneurs Must Know Their Market
- Top 5 Reasons to Use Autoresponders
- Tips on Creating Your Own Infoproducts
- How to Determine Pricing for your New Product
PS. All the best to Liz and friends with their SOBcon07 being held this weekend in the Windy City.
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Getting into the spirit of another group writing project is an awesome way to meet news people and blogs - and no one does a group writing project better that fellow Aussie, Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger.
His latest group writing project is simple. Top 5. Top 5 anything! I like it. The submissions for Day One were so varied I just didn’t know where to begin. :-)
And so joining in I give you … the Top 5 Reasons Why Information Products is the Ultimate Business:
- The Barriers to Entry are Close to Zero
A computer, internet access, a website, a PayPal account and an idea. That’s all you need. The information products industry is booming and it’s all because people want information and are willing to pay for it. For the information entrepreneur starting up is so easy - almost too easy. - Worldwide Market … 365/24/7
The beauty of the internet is that it pretty much levels the playing field for all businesses - big and small. You can be the smallest of small businesses working from a corner of your garage and you can compete with the big guys … and win! It also opens up your market beyond you geographic location and into a market of millions. - Automation is the Key
The key to a successful Information products business is automation. In fact, over my years, I have never seen a business that uses automation as much as this industry does to achieve super revenue. Taken the time ti set up a system up front and just watch it work its magic. From autoresponders to instant payment and instant delivery. Gratification all round. - Passive Income
Spend a weeks writing your information product, package and get it to market. Good. The major work is done. And now you can watch it sell for years to come (obviously, how you market it comes into play). Can you imagine something that took you a free hours to create in 2007 is still selling in 2009 - that’s passive income. And while you’re getting that passive income you’ve now moved onto your latest infoproduct - eg. rinse and repeat. - Six Figures is Not as Far Away as You May Think
Imagine having 4 information products selling at $49.95 each. You’ve marketed it well. Now imagine is each product sells 500 units a year. Now do the maths. You have a six figure business. And in 3-5 years time, if you leverage off all your products and continue the “rinse and repeat” a seven figure business does not seem too far-fetched.