Top Articles on Internet: October 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Is that really possible?

The answer:

Yes.

In fact, not only is it possible, but I believe it’s necessary.

And in case you think this just another piece of lame broke-blogger sales advice, I sold about $35 million dollars’ worth of real estate to investors over a three-year period. I’ve seen first-hand what works, and what doesn’t.

After decades of tolerating sleazy salesmen with sparkling smiles and you’re-my-best-buddy attitudes, people are sick and tired of inauthenticity. The moment you appear even the slightest bit fake, their BS detectors go off, and they cheerfully show you their middle finger.

Plus, let’s not forget about social media.

As people get more and more connected, it’s becoming harder and harder for scam artists and snake oil salesmen to hide. You put the squeeze on one person, and five minutes later they’re on Facebook telling the entire world you’re a scumbag. Before long, you’ve ruined your reputation forever.

A new approach to selling that keeps your soul intact

The truth is, the heavy-handed sales tactics of the past are no longer appropriate for most businesses. Not only are they morally repugnant, but they’re increasingly ineffective.

Which is why smart businesspeople are changing the way they sell.

The new approach is less about manipulation and more about genuinely helping people. It’s less about charm and more about empathy. It’s less about making a quick buck and more about building a brand people want to buy from forever.

And the best part is your soul gets to stay squeaky clean. Not only can you sell without changing who you are, but you can go to bed at night knowing you made the world a better place.

Sound cool to you?

All righty, then. Here are six strategies to help you get started:

#1: Forget about making the sale and focus on helping people

You hate the idea of selling? That’s fine — good, even — because the most effective salespeople are the ones who aren’t focused on making the sale.

Here’s why:

People can tell whether you care about them or not. Regardless of whether you’re in person, doing a video, or writing a sales letter, they are silently watching to see where your loyalties lie. And if they sense you care more about making the sale than helping find the product or service that’s right for them, they’ll immediately distrust you.

So stop trying so hard.

Forget about how much money you’ll make if they buy, and forget about sales goals or quotas or even your own objectives. Instead, focus on them. Make helping them your number one priority.

If that means recommending your product because it’s genuinely the best solution to their problem, great. Or if it doesn’t look like a good match, that’s fine too.

What’s important is that you care, that you be honest, that you tell them the truth, regardless of how it affects your bottom line.

Remember, the really good salespeople — the ones who make seven figures a year in commissions — aren’t pushy. They’re selfless. They’re so focused on the customer they almost cease to exist.

Almost.

#2: Don’t even mention your product for the first 20 minutes

Lots of sales people pride themselves on the “gift of gab.”

They never stop talking from the moment you meet them, spinning stories, telling jokes, talking up their product or service, believing that if they talk long enough, if they push the right buttons, if they don’t give you a chance to object, you’ll finally submit, and they’ll make a sale.

That’s why we avoid them. We lie and say we’re just browsing, not because we want to deprive them of making a sale, necessarily, but because we’re sick of their spiel. If we let them get started, we worry we may never get them to shut up again.

The better approach, of course, is to say nothing. Instead of talking your customers into buying your products and services, do nothing but listen for the first 20 minutes. Let them do the talking. Make absolutely certain you understand their needs before you even mention what you have for sale.

Shockingly, you’ll find people want to buy from you. Not because of your charm or your wit or your knowledge about the product or service, but because they feel like you understand their needs, and so they trust you. That trust is worth more than all the words in the world.

#3: Put away your yellow highlighter and pick up the chalk

So, let me guess. Those long sales letters with big red headlines, yellow highlighter, and overblown promises probably turn you off, right?

Yeah. Me too.

For the longest time, marketers have been treating us like we have ADD. They feel like they have to make everything flashy, exciting, and aggressive, or we’ll get distracted and never buy anything.

But it’s just not true. Yes, that approach continues to be effective when selling to extremely unsophisticated people (or to distracted, ice-cold traffic from something like a pay-per-click campaign), but for most topics and niches, there are better options.

Like teaching, for example.

There’s a reason the flagship Copyblogger Media course isn’t called “Social Media Sells” or “Talking About Yourself Sells” or even “Content Marketing Sells.”

It’s called Teaching Sells.

Because a teaching-focused approach to business, where you think almost obsessively about how you can teach and benefit your potential customer, will let you stand out in even the most competitive environment.

Instead of trying to force people into buying on your first contact with them (which you’re not going to be able to do anyway), get them on your email list.

Give them some free training that proves the value of what you offer. Send out videos, free reports, and interviews showing them how to get results without requiring them to pay for anything.

If it’s good, they’ll want more, and that makes selling easy.

#4: Trade dollars for dimes

So, let’s say I’m selling dollar bills for $.10 each. How many would you buy?

As many as I’m selling, right?

Well, what if you could make essentially the same offer with your product?

Amateur marketers create a product that’s worth X, and then they sell it for X. So if you have an e-book, and the value proposition and market forces dictate it’s worth $100, you sell it for $100.

But if you want to create an irresistible offer, try this idea on for size:

If your product is worth $100, sell it for $10. Or better yet, figure out how to make your e-book worth $1000, so the $100 becomes a pittance. The 10X value differential makes it a mouthwatering deal.

And just to be clear, I’m not advocating lowering prices. That’s not what this strategy is about. I’m talking about increasing value.

It’s about always offering your customers more than you take, so that all of your products and services are irresistible. The best way to do that is to offer 10 times more than you take.

#5: Take responsibility for what happens after the sale

Imagine you just bought a new Apple computer, and you’re having trouble figuring out how to use it, so one day, you stop by the Apple Store and ask the guy at the counter for some pointers.

“Don’t look at me for help, moron,” he sneers, looking at you with disgust. “Our job is to produce a quality computer with quality software. If you can’t figure out how to use it, that’s your problem.”

Ridiculous, right?

The Apple Store helps create a great experience with their products, by making sure the customer gets full enjoyment and satisfaction out of the experience of owning that Macbook or iPad.

Yet countless marketers are guilty of it.

Take the average e-book author, for instance. She writes what she knows, packages it up into an e-book, sells it, and then that’s the end of the transaction. If the customer gets results after reading the e-book, that’s great, but if not, it’s not her problem. Her job was just to give them the information, right?

Wrong.

Smart e-book authors package homework assignments, checklists, and a quick start guide along with their e-book to help people put information into action. They know that customer interaction starts with the e-book, it doesn’t end there.

They might even take it a step further, and offer to pair customers as accountability partners, or maybe they also have a premium package that includes one-on-one consulting.

The result is happier customers, more testimonials. Eventually, you can charge a higher price point because people who are using your product are getting results.

#6: Guarantee their satisfaction (or their money back)

What’s the easiest way to separate ethical marketers from the ones just trying to take your money?

Simple: a strong satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason the customer is unhappy with the product, he can return it for a refund, no questions asked.

Here’s why:

Smart marketers understand they’re not selling products or services. They’re selling results. And if for any reason the customer doesn’t get those results, then the marketer knows they don’t deserve to be paid.

Not only is it good business, but it increases sales. Substantially. I’ve seen sales bumps as high as 80% when a client introduced a strong, no-BS guarantee for their product. It just makes people more comfortable buying, especially online, and that means more sales.

In fact, the stronger your guarantee, usually the higher your sales will go. With my guest blogging course, not only do I offer a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, where you can get a refund for any reason, but I also guarantee that if you do all of the exercises you’ll get a guest post on a popular blog of your choice within 90 days, or your money back.

The result?

An online business that grosses a healthy six figures per year.

Oh, and in case you’re curious, with more than 350 students now, no one has ever used the second guarantee. So not only does it improve conversion, but it also costs nothing. Makes it a no-brainer, if you ask me.

The Bottom Line: Selling Doesn’t Have To Be Evil

It can and should actually be the opposite.

If you’re genuinely trying to help people, listening with empathy, teaching your customers how to solve their problems, offering them awesome deals on products and services they love, delivering results that change their lives, and doing so with guarantees that remove all risk of them ever having to worry about being cheated, then I have news for you:

You’re not doing anything bad. In fact, we might even go so far as to say you’re making the world a better place.

And the best part?

You’re getting paid for it. Every day, you get up and make the lives of your customers better, and the better the job you do, the more money they’re happy to give you in return.

So, don’t get hung on a little word like “selling.” There’s too much at stake.

Not only can you make a fortune, but the world is full of people whose lives your products and services can change for the better. Every time you cringe, every time you procrastinate, every time you shy away from telling them what you do, you’re depriving them of a better life. The truth is, the world needs people like you out there selling, or the whole engine of progress comes screeching to a halt.

So, get out there.

Help some people.

Get rich.

And most importantly, sleep easy, because your soul is safe. You can tell the deity of your choice I said so.

About the Author: In addition to serving as the Associate Editor of Copyblogger, Jon Morrow is also on a mission to help good writers get traffic they deserve. If you’re one of them, check out his upcoming blog about (surprise!) blogging.

Comments

Awesome points. To be successful in selling in this day and ... by Etieno Etuk
I like Gitomer's stuff a lot, it's outside my comfort zone but ... by Sonia Simone
Welcome, and thanks for reading. by Jon Morrow
Yeah, some people get hung up on sale styles, totally ... by Jon Morrow
I've heard of that one but haven't had a chance to read it yet. ... by Jon Morrow
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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Comments

Super list of tips Robert, thanks for sharing RB by Ryan Biddulph
Thanks for the great list! This will make my weekends busy and ... by Looking At It Differently
You realize don't you that the NYTimes has already had a blog ... by Georg
I would never get anything done if I read all these links, but ... by Nicole Rushin
It is a bit much. Robert has been collecting links for 2 weeks ... by Brian Clark
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Friday, October 28, 2011

Comments

It really wonderful to hear such great advice, was making the ... by Veehcirra
Really struck by Sonia's questions, "What is the benefit of ... by Joe
My favorite line from this one: "Don't think of yourself as ... by Ricardo Bueno
That was awesome advice! So great to hear Sonia spell it out so ... by Carol Zombo
Great piece of information, I will try to implement the advice ... by Faizan
My Fridays get better because of these podcasts/interviews. ... by Paul Jun

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Books change lives

Celebrities usually write books to “set the record straight” or explain the twisted story of their rise to stardom.

They can’t do that with a magazine article or tweet. It takes more than 140 characters to explain why Paris does what she does, after all.

Changing a reader’s opinion requires space — whether it’s transforming your attitude toward Paris Hilton or changing your thinking about how you do business.

A tweet doesn’t often change someone’s life. But books can and do — all the time.

I’ve written my books to help people. Although my books don’t sell quite as well as Seth’s or Paris Hilton’s, I have received countless emails from readers thanking me for the information.

In a small way, my books have changed people’s lives.

They’ve also changed my life.

A book is something tangible you can point to as a repository of your knowledge. Unlike a series of blog posts, a book is organized and works as a cohesive unit. People take books more seriously than almost any other form of writing.

Being a book author gives you a level of credibility like almost nothing else.

Let’s face it, saying you’re a book author has a lot more cachet than saying you’re a blogger.

Where’s your book?

If you’re reading Copyblogger, you’re undoubtedly a writer, content marketer, or some other type of wizard of words.

You’re a writer. Why haven’t you written a book?

Maybe the idea is too big and scary. I’m living proof that it’s not as hard as you might think to face those fears, move forward, and get your book out into the world.

Here are seven secrets Paris and Seth know that you may not know about getting a book written and published:

1. You don’t have to accept rejection

Many people never write their Great American Novel because they think someone might not like it.

We writers are sensitive souls and fear of rejection is real. The secret is you don’t have to accept rejection.

Have you ever heard of Mark Victor Hansen?

He’s one of the guys who wrote Chicken Soup for the Soul — a book that has made millions of dollars and spawned countless spin-off products. Yet, that book was rejected 140 times. Mark believed in his book, refused to accept the rejections, and kept going.

Another secret is that rejection often has nothing to do with the quality of your book or your ideas.

Many rejections relate to a publisher’s business decisions and have nothing to do with you or your writing at all.

2. You can learn everything you need to know

Many authors take a peek at the book-publishing business, get completely overwhelmed, and run away.

It’s a lot like when you started your own business or your blog.

There’s a learning curve.

The secret is to realize that although writing is a creative process, publishing is a business. Publishing a book is going to require work and a bit of education on your part.

For less than $100 worth of books about publishing before you get started, you can save an enormous amount of time, money and aggravation in the long run.

3. You have to market the book

Even if an enormous New York City publishing house publishes your book, you will have to market it.

A first-time author rarely gets help from the publisher. Accept that you will be on your own when it comes to marketing — a fact I’ve discovered first-hand, the hard way.

When you know that you — and only you — will be responsible for marketing your book, you won’t be disappointed.

The key is to think like a marketer before you write the first word of your manuscript.

4. You don’t have to sell your soul to “The Man” (unless you want to)

It used to be that you had to beg a Big Publishing Company to give your book idea the time of day.

You needed an agent and preferably a lot of money. And as noted, the Big Publishing Company could still reject your book on a whim.

Book publishing is different now.

You can publish a book yourself. In the past, self-publishing was often equated to vanity publishing. (In other words, a self-published book was often considered crap.)

But now that idea has been turned on its head. Some people argue that being published by a Big Company is more for “vanity” reasons than anything else. It’s certainly not because of all the great marketing support you’ll receive.

You get to say, “My book was published by Big Company.”

Of course, almost no one outside of New York actually cares about that.

Have you ever looked at a book to check and see which company published it? Me neither.

Your readers don’t care who published the book. They care whether or not the book is good.

In the past, I had a couple of books published by a big company. I started self-publishing my books because it made it possible to release books I wanted to write and make a lot more money.

It’s not just me. Even Seth Godin ditched his publisher and started The Domino Project so he can have more control over his books.

5. Your online presence and knowledge give you an advantage

If you’re here reading Copyblogger, I bet you have a blog.

Or if you don’t, you’re thinking about starting one. Your blog is the beginning of the “author platform” every publisher requires (even if the publisher is you).

Today most books — whether paper or pixels — are sold online.

All the online marketing techniques you use to market your blog or digital products work for a book too. You can leverage what you already know.

A blog also gives you a way to do market research.

Chris Anderson said he wrote many parts of The Long Tail based on comments from his blog.

6. You need to spend time and money on your book

As noted above, publishing is a business.

If you opt to try and get a traditional book publishing deal, it will take time to find an agent, write a proposal, and send out queries.

If you opt to publish yourself, you’ll need to pay for editorial services, ISBNs, and designers.

You need to accept that these investments are part of the business of your book.

7. You will feel resistance at many points during the publishing process

Every writer experiences some level of anxiety about putting a book “out there.”

In his book, The War of Art, author Steven Pressfield talks about the concept of “resistance.” Often authors struggle to get a book out the door.

I’ve written 12 books and worried about each one.

As a bit of an introvert, I worry about putting too much of myself out there on public display or worse, being completely ignored.

The secret is to know that resistance happens; it’s part of the process.

So what’s stopping you?

As a good content marketer, you’re probably churning out articles, blog posts, and ebooks.

So, why not publish a real print book too?

It worked out nicely for Seth and Paris, after all. There’s no reason it can’t work for you.

A book is your legacy.

Why haven’t you written it yet? If you’re stuck, what stopped you? Tell me about it in the comments.

About the Author: Susan Daffron, aka The Book Consultant owns a book and software publishing company in Idaho where she spends most of her time writing, laying out books in InDesign, or taking her four dogs out for romps in the forest. She teaches authors about book publishing, puts on the Self-Publishers Online Conference in May, runs a book author mastermind, and just launched Virtual Writing Retreats, which offer writers accountability, feedback, and the gift of time to get their writing done.

Comments

Hey Susan, Nice Post about eBook publishing, it going to ... by Romy Singh
You're welcome Sharon! Thanks for commenting. As you probably ... by Susan Daffron
I think I can relate to what you are saying Josh. I began ... by Sharon Fiberesima
I'll second that. I'm also 'just a reader' and it doesn't ... by Sharon Fiberesima
Hi Fin…thanks for reading! All I can say is, "yup." What ... by Susan Daffron
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Click here buttons

image of studiopress.com click here icons

This is one of the most important things you can do regarding conversion online.

Specifically ask your audience to do the things you want them to do, otherwise most of them won’t do a thing.

Now, you can ask them in style …

Click here to download your free Click Here Buttons. Heh.

Post format icons

Give your audience a cool and useful little signal of what they’re about to read.

Click here to download your free Post Format Icons.

Dark background patterns

Five styles in eight colors, take your pick.

They’ll really pull the site together.

Click here to download your free Dark Background Patterns.

Custom alert boxes

image of studiopress.com custom alert icons

Got a paragraph, call to action, or other bit of crucial text you want to highlight on your site?

Click here to download your free Custom Alert Boxes.

Custom ribbon header

Need a pro header for your site?

How about one with seven different color options?

You got it …

Click here to download your free Custom Ribbon Headers.

Icon set for bloggers

These minimal icons (available in 8 color schemes) cover just about any on-site admin need a blogger has these days.

Give your readers something beautiful to click.

Click here to download your free Icon Set for Bloggers.

Light background patterns

Just like the Dark Background Patterns above, without the angst.

3 styles in 6 colors, these’ll keep your site’s background fresh for years.

Click here to download your free Light Background Patterns.

Navigation bars

Send them where they’re going in style.

Click here to download your free Navigation Bars.

Real estate icons

For real estate pros, and private home sellers alike.

Start the process of marketing that home online with these minimalist details.

Click here to download your free Real Estate Icons.

AgentPress call to action banners

All right, this one set is for insiders only, publishers using the AgentPress Theme for WordPress.

Of course, if you’re a real estate agent who’s not running your site on Genesis, you can always upgrade to AgentPress anytime.

Click here to download your free AgentPress Call to Action Banners.

Why are we giving away these world-class web graphics?

We want to give our Genesis Framework for WordPress customers all the tools they need to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress.

We also want to browse a more beautiful web.

So, we both benefit from these icons and banners and backgrounds being out in the wild — for bloggers and site publishers no matter what theme you’re using.

And, of course, we hope you’ll join the other 58,542 online publishers who trust Genesis to provide a solid foundation for their sites.

With search-optimized code and functions, 51 turn-key designs, and unlimited support, updates, and websites you can build, Mashable calls Genesis the "best of the best" among premium WordPress themes.

Whether you’re a novice or an advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the rock-solid infrastructure to take WordPress places you never thought it could go.

Grab your free web graphics and then check out Genesis (and one, or all of the 51 themes) right here.

Comments

+1 to that. by Brian Gardner
Dude. That's a great-looking theme. I may have to update my ... by Martyn Chamberlin
Well the good thing in most of these cases is that we supply ... by Brian Gardner
There are some excellent visual ideas here so thanks for ... by Allan Kent
Oooh – how pretty! I love the custom alert boxes Thanks ... by Sarah Russell
Plus 5 more...

Monday, October 31, 2011

Is that really possible?

A new approach to selling that keeps your soul intact

#1: Forget about making the sale and focus on helping people

#2: Don’t even mention your product for the first 20 minutes

#3: Put away your yellow highlighter and pick up the chalk

#4: Trade dollars for dimes

#5: Take responsibility for what happens after the sale

#6: Guarantee their satisfaction (or their money back)

The Bottom Line: Selling Doesn’t Have To Be Evil

Further Reading

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Further Reading

Friday, October 28, 2011

Further Reading

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Books change lives

Where’s your book?

1. You don’t have to accept rejection

2. You can learn everything you need to know

3. You have to market the book

4. You don’t have to sell your soul to “The Man” (unless you want to)

5. Your online presence and knowledge give you an advantage

6. You need to spend time and money on your book

7. You will feel resistance at many points during the publishing process

So what’s stopping you?

Further Reading

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Click here buttons

Post format icons

Dark background patterns

Custom alert boxes

Custom ribbon header

Icon set for bloggers

Light background patterns

Navigation bars

Real estate icons

AgentPress call to action banners

Why are we giving away these world-class web graphics?

Further Reading