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"Internet Marketing Expert Can't Give Away $100 Bills"
Yes the above statement is a true story. Most importantly to you is, *the fact* we couldn't even give away $100 bills on the internet. This incredible experiment reveals why most don't make money online and what you can do RIGHT NOW to change that and start profiting immediately.
Here's what happened: We created a web site making a legitimate offer to give away free money, promoted it through search engines and newsgroups, and left the web site up for several months - but not a single person took us up on it.
(This story does have a happy ending though - keep reading to find out!)
What does this mean to you and your online business? If you are selling anything less attractive than free hundred dollar bills (and that's most everybody, by the way) then it is *critical* that you keep reading to learn the very big problems you face in order to make money online.
Most People Don't Understand Just Exactly How Hard It Is To Make Money On The Internet - Or How Easy It Can Be IF You Do Everything Exactly Right
As very successful technology marketing consultants, we've taken people who hadn't earned a penny online and got them started making money immediately - And we've worked with people who were already making good money and literally exploded their profits with our special methods and techniques.
But, unfortunately, the plain truth is: it's hard to sell ANYTHING On The Internet! And if you don't mind my being blunt, I'm going to tell you the main reason why more people aren't buying from you:
They Don't Believe One Darned Word You Say! Literally. They're sick of being lied to. Sick of being misled. Tired of outrageous offers, unsolicited email spam, products that don't work as advertised, and people who hide behind fake names and fake email addresses.
And Here's The Problem: Even if you are selling the greatest, most effective, amazing product or service in the history of the world (even free $100 bills), I GUARANTEE you that whatever you are doing to establish your credibility right now isn't enough.
You've got to BEND OVER BACKWARDS to prove that you and your offer are legitimate and believable, and it's likely that you're not doing even half of what you should do to maximize your sales. (Which is good news for you, because after reading this article you should be able to *instantly* increase the profitability of your website or online business. :-)
Let me repeat that, because this is one of the most important things about selling on the internet that almost everybody is missing. . . You've Got To Bend Over Backwards To Prove That *YOU* And Your Offer Are Legitimate.
You can blab on for hours about how great your product or service is, but without spending time establishing how trustworthy and legitimate YOU are, you won't make the sale. Let's take our attempt to sell $100 bills as an example. I'm going to dissect our ad and tell you everything that was wrong with it. Are you making any of these mistakes?
(Here's the ad we ran on a Freeyellow free web site:)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'LL SEND YOU A $100 FOR FREE!!!! you just pay the cost of $10.95 to have it mailed to you by overnight delivery!! My supplies of these $100 bills are limited if I run out your order will not be processed so act now!!!!! Act now to get $100 (U.S. Currency) by overnite delivery!!!!!! WHERE ELSE CAN YOU GET $100 FREE?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
...Would you take a free $100 bill if you read that ad?
First off, let me ask you a question: If you knew for a fact that the above offer was legitimate and true in every way... How many $100 bills would you buy? (Dumb question, right?) Then why didn't people try to buy thousands of them? There's only one reason: The ad did not have credibility. And even though this example is on the "outside edge", the same problem exists in virtually every ad on the net. I'm here to tell you that no matter how good you think you've established your credibility in your current sales letter, you can do more - and doing so will put your sales through the roof!
OK, what's wrong with the ad we ran?
1) Too many exclamation points. Makes it sound "hypish" and destroys credibility - without credibility, no sale.
2) We don't identify ourselves in the ad. That's a terrible mistake, and I don't just mean our company name... Any scam artist can register a fictitious business name, and they're easy to hide behind. Without a clear identity behind the offer - to defray any fears your prospects may have - even the best offer with a triple your money back guarantee means nothing... you won't get the sale.
You should always have a "clear identity." You should have a phone number, address, and whenever possible a fax number. NEVER use hotmail, usa.net, or other throw-away free email addresses. Those who are out to scam you and run *almost always* use throw-away email addresses - free email addresses. At least with a legitimate ISP email account, the customer has some feeling you can be found if you turn out to be one of the "bad eggs" - a scam artist.
3) Need to give credentials. I should have established that I'm an expert in my field, should have listed famous and successful clients I've worked with ...you get the point. You must do everything you can to show your credentials, because that helps to build credibility.
4) Need testimonials. I should have listed happy customers of ours and happy people who had previous order $100 bills, using FULL names whenever possible, not initials. Testimonials are a great way to gain credibility. Even the weakest of testimonials can make a dramatic difference in your sales. HARVEST those like the golden nuggets they are... When a customer writes you saying nice things, *always* write back and ask, "Can I quote you on that?" - You'll be surprised how many say, "no problem" and this alone can make such a difference in your success you won't believe it until you've tried it.
5) Give full contact info like our business address and phone number to establish that we're "real people". There are many services where for a few dollars a month you can get a "one number for everything" services, taking both voice mail messages and faxes and forwarding them to you via email.
6) Here's a very important one: We need to explain WHY WE ARE DOING THIS. Lots of people miss this point. If I explain that we're giving away $100 bills as an experiment, or because I'm a wealthy philanthropist, etc., people understand what's going on, and there's a better chance they'll believe me.
I hope these tips have been of use to you. If you put these concepts into action in your online marketing, you should easily be able to increase your sales.
P.S. -Once we applied the credibility tactics I just listed, we "sold" a $100 bill to the very first person that we contacted. Yes, they *do* make a difference!!
About the Author Mike Enlow is founder of the "Masters of Marketing Inner Circle," and specializes in unusual and low-risk methods for increasing your business, both offline and on. To get his free "Instant Cash Flow System" that earned him $37,000 in two weeks, go to: http://www.enlowcircle.com/go/fullstory
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