####################################################
From Chris Kilian, Stealth Promotions
Austin, Texas
E-mail: chris@stealthpromotions.com
Secrets for Success
Issue 79, May 31, 2000
This is a 100% opt-in newsletter delivered to
webmasters, marketers, and others seeking online
success. Your email address is protected and we
will NEVER share your information with anyone OR
trade our prized list of subscribers with any
other list of subscribers. Your info is PRIVATE.
Promise.
Here is what we have for you this week.
####################################################
Contents:
1. Editor Ramblings
2. Article: How to Accept Online Payments Without a
Merchant Account!
3. Useful Sites: Online Gold Mines.
4. Worthy Newsletters: Add yourself as a subscriber
5. Surfing News:
6. Great offers for you from our advertisers
7. Article: 7 Direct Mail Secrets Guaranteed To Create A
Stampede Of New Business
8. Pro-Motion
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*Taken to task by a subscriber:
Hello: I recently started getting your newsletter,
and appreciate the hints and help that it offers.
However, this particular recent one baffled me,
with its promotion of MLM chats and tutorial. Those
marketing programs are typically scams, and are, as
a general rule, illegal. Most, if not all, ISPs regard
them as a violation of their Terms Of Service (TOS).
I'm disappointed that your newsletter treats these
programs as a viable means of eCommerce activity or
promotion, and I hope you will reconsider these
programs in future newsletter "Tips", and perhaps
warn your readers to be very cautious with certain
marketing techniques. Thanks for your time and
consideration.
Sincerely,
Subscriber
Wow. Sorry dear reader, but we will have to agree to
disagree on this one. Yes there are MANY scams online.
Yes there are MANY whose shape looks like a triangle or
pyramid. Yes most pyramid schemes are scams, but not
all MLMs fall into that category. In fact most do not.
I was approached by a partner this past week about
joining what I think is a good example of a bad program.
For $110, you get what you can basically get online for
free, a replicating web page, FFA page, email and the like.
The "business" comes from you selling others the same bill
of goods you just got suckered into buying.
That is a pyramid in my opinion (and actually in the opinion
of a number of governmental authorities in the US and elsewhere
who are looking into this program.) I have warned you about it
in the past, and I still do not like it, even though a good
friend is now pushing the program on me (unsuccessfully.)
On the other hand, I am involved in a program that involves
no selling, no product delivery or inventorying, no collecting
of money, no risk and the company handles all my downline
the moment they join me. There is no selling involved (great
for me because I hate selling) and everyone is a customer of
products they would be buying anyway. The premise of this
program is real simple: switch stores (saving cash in the
process), tell others, make money. With a 90% or better
retention rate, this program is building residual income
for me, and I am excited about it.
That is one example of one of many legitimate programs that
also have a pyramid shape if you envision a completely full
organization, but are NOT illegal. Multi-level marketing
is and has been a GREAT marketing model for everyone from
the Fuller Brush man to Tupperware party to Mary Kay's
representatives in their pink Cadillacs.
I am sorry if your experience has been one that tells you
these marketing programs are "typically scams, and are,
as a general rule, illegal." Perhaps you could name some
names for me of companies that fall into this category.
I do not think that Amway, Excel, Rexall or any of the
many other real programs have been accused of being illegal.
They may be accused of having a poor compensation plan, or
over-priced products, or being over-saturated, or temporary,
but not illegal.
Is AOL creating an illegal MLM by letting you and I offer to
sign up more customers for them? Nope. But their program is
MLM.
Is AllAdvantage an illegal operation because it lets me earn
from surfers who are several levels below me, paying me a
percentage of what they pay them? Nope. But their program is
MLM.
Are there scammy/scummy people involved with all these kinds
of programs? Yes. But don't toss out the baby with the
bath water. Put the blame for turning a good program bad where
it belongs -- on the bad-acting people, not the program.
What are affiliate programs in general, dear reader, if not
multilevel marketing? Whether their payments come from one
referral level (two-tier programs) or several, there a many
online companies that depend on the power of suggestion to
move non-users/non-consumers of their product or service
into the user/consumer category, and they entice those sales
by paying you and I to encourage others to buy.
For a quick rule of thumb, when the program derives most of
its income from the recruitment of others - run. When the
program derives most of the income from the sale of real
products or services - investigate. If you need the product OR
you agree to switch your allegiance from one vendor to another
because it benefits you - consider it. If existing customer
loyalty is strong and a number of other factors which space
does not allow me to address here are favorable - join.
The future, dear reader, is going to be full of MLM and/or
affiliate programs, no matter what you call them. I treat these
kind of programs as viable because they are exactly that. The
person-to-person marketing being done by these kind of programs
are precisely what Corporate America wants to imitate. Why? It
works.
Dear reader, I am constantly reconsidering what I will and won't
endorse, promote and talk about in this ezine. Constantly. I am
sorry if you do not believe MLMs are a viable form of eCommerce.
You are wrong in my opinion. Take that for what it is worth.
I am sorry too, if this sounds like an attack on you personally.
I am happy to have had a chance to address this issue, and it
may cost me your readership and respect, but you were kind
enough to raise the issue for my consideration, and I felt I
owed it to you to give you my response.
This actually started off as an email to you, dear reader.
Feedback for your feedback. But, as I started writing, I
decided I would be curious to know how readers felt about
this issue. The results will be in by next week.
What about it readers? What do you think? Take 2 seconds
to make your opinion known. Click a link below to shoot me
an email, and I will tell you what YOU said next week.
Feel free to add your comments to this email if you want,
and I will share your feelings with quoting you.
If you want to know what program I am talking about give me
some contact information after watching the presentation at http://www.homebusiness.to/mycash
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How to Accept Online Payments Without a Merchant Account!
If you operate a small business from your home and have been
thinking of moving it online to take advantage of a
"global audience", this article is for you. A lot of
people I talk to are hesitant to start selling online
due to the "red tape" of getting a merchant account,
a secured server certificate, and if needed, shopping
cart software. Not to mention the huge expense of paying
someone to put it all together for you.
Well, listen up, forget all of that. I'm here to
tell you if you'd like to test the waters of online
selling it can be done without going to a lot of
trouble and expense.
There are many third party credit card and online
check providers who are willing to help you
get your online business up and running in no time
at all. Some of them are strictly for tangible goods
and others for intangibles, like services. Before
choosing one make sure you thoroughly check them
out and pick one that suits your needs.
So what do they do? Well, they provide a way
to link into their secured website where they
process the credit card orders and notify you
by e-mail of any sales. For all of this convenience
they take a small piece of the pie usually ranging
from 7 to 15%.
Let's take a look at a few of them and what they
have to offer.
1) iBill: This is the one I use to sell my promotional
services. If you sell something intangible this one
will work for you. No set up fees, no software to
download and your services can range in price
from $2.95 to $100.00. You do need to make
what iBill calls a "webgood page" so you need
to know how to create a webpage and FTP it
up to their server. iBill takes 15% of the amount
charged during any billing period and sends you
a check twice a month. They make it easy
to get started, and after signing up you can
be up and selling online within 48 hours. http://www.ibill.com
2) Valid Check: I've used Valid Check for years
to accept online check payments. Being able to
accept checks and credit cards is important
because it gives potential customers a choice
when it comes to ordering. The more choices you
can give them, the more sales you will have.
Basic charges are as follows;
Once you sign up they supply you with easy
to set up links to paste into your site.
You have two options when it comes to collecting
your money. You can download their free software
and print out your own checks or opt for them
to mail your checks twice a month for an added fee
of .36 per transaction. http://www.validcheck.com
3) Click Bank: This is the e-commerce solution
for thousand of business websites. Clickbank can
also be used to set up your own Associate program,
where by you allows others to resell your services
or products for a small commission. Not for tangible
goods but the perfect solution for real-time sales
of your services or digital goods. ClickBank allows
you to accept Visa, MC, Amex, and Discover. They
do charge a one time activation fee of 49.95 and
$1.00 plus 7.5% fee on each sale. http://www.clickbank.com/
4) DigiBuy: The perfect solution for those
selling software, or information. DigiBuy allows
you to accept Visa, MC, Amex, Discover and set
up is quick and easy. You have complete control
of pricing, order forms, and delivery options.
Their fee is 13.9% of each sale. http://www.digibuy.com
5)OBS: Online Billing Solutions allows you
to take all major credit cards. After review
of their site I could not find if you can sell
tangible or intangibles so I'm assuming you
can do both. No set up fee or monthly fee.
They take a percentage of sales which is
15%. Simple to set up you place a line of
HTML code on your site which links into
their secured server. Transactions can
range in price from $3.00 to $100.00 and
money is paid to you twice a month. http://www.online-billing.com
6) CC Now: Used for selling tangible
merchandise, CC Now is a full service
electronic commerce solution. Their
integrated shopping cart software encourages
customers to purchase multiple items at once.
Free to sign up, and no monthly fees. They
do collect a 9% commission on each sale and
pays out twice a month. CC Now allows you to
take all major credit cards and notifies you
by e-mail of any sales so you can ship the
product. http://www.ccnow.com/
If you're looking for an easy way to start selling
online without putting up a lot of cash this
really is the best way to get your feet wet and
see if web selling will work for you. If it does
you can always apply for a merchant account down
the road and save on the transaction fees.
The ability to sell your products/services online
is not difficult or expensive, you just need to
know where to look for help.
PageTalk allows you to create and upload a verbal message that
your visitors will hear when they arrive at your web page. http://www.pagetalk.com
Want to be available to offer that "human touch" for your
visitors? Set your site with HumanClick and you can offer
live chat with anyone who wants to contact you. You can
also get an idea of where and when you are getting visitors AND
where they go once on your site. There is a way to watch the
links they follow. If you have a busy site, the doorbell sound
alerting you to another visitor may get on your nerves, but it
is worth the trouble to learn great information. http://www.humanclick.com
What if you want to talk to a person by phone, or rather, they
want you to talk them by phone? If you set up an account with
Real Call, you can get instant notice that someone wants to
hear from you so you can follow-up while the prospect is hot. http://www.realcall.com
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5.#################################################
Surfing for pay this week:
AllAdvantage took several giant steps back this week with
their announcement that payments will now be delayed by 25-45
days. Also bad news is the move to increase the minimum needed
to qualify for a check to $30.00. Both signal tough times for
the biggest, first-mover Goliath in this still-evolving area.
While I do not share the "sky is falling" depression that some
have expressed on the heels of this news, I do recognize that
AllAdvantage is having growing pains, to say the least. Problems
with software "upgrades" and the site and now alterations to
the very foundation of the program, from our prospective, getting
paid to surf means that AA could face some rough going in the
near term. If your stats are like mine, decreases of 25% or more
in earnings are NOT likely to turn around quickly. It would be
sad to see AA die a very public death after being held up by many,
including me, as the guidepost for the infomediary industry.
Perhaps these changes will extend AA's life until it can go forward
with the IPO, which is not likely until the early fall at best.
I am not giving up, but I do see losing some ground over the long
hot summer.
Do you ever want to pick up the phone to talk to PayPal?
Try 1-877-6PAYPAL
DeskTop Dollars whose software does NOT allow me to adjust
where the ads are seen onscreen have sent out some money.
Elsewhere I was also happy to see an itty-bitty check from
Spedia, especially since I have not used the software in months.
I had been checking on their site from time to time, hoping
for improvements -- still waiting for some. I did however
finally reach the $30 threshold needed to request a check, and
it arrived. Good. Better still, my account was not shut down
when I asked for my money. By the way, Spedia is getting
talkative. See what I mean when you fire it up. Speaking of
out of left field, GoToWorld, the scummiest of the scummy sent
a check to me out of the blue. The check, dated May 8, was
for time accumulated EARLY this year, but at least a check is
a check. I will be running down to the bank with it soon.
BePaid has pushed back the release of its software (which
it previously had claimed it was releasing already) to some
indefinite time in the future. Claiming that they want to
be sure the software is ready and bug-free, they now say
they want to stress test it before it comes available. They
thanked me for my efforts to get over 20 referrals, and they
say they look forward to a quick release. We will see.
6.#################################################
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7 Direct Mail Secrets Guaranteed To Create A Stampede
Of New Business
By Yanik Silver
If you think "junk-mail" doesn't work...you're absolutely
right! However using highly targeted direct mail will almost
always work. Maybe you've heard that 1% or 2% is the industry
standard - well I'll show you how you can multiply that figure
many times over.
A common story I hear from my clients is how they mail out
thousands of glossy, beautiful brochures with pretty pictures,
flowery text and everything looking absolutely gorgeous, but
they get ZERO response. So they mistakenly believe direct mail
does not work.
What could be the problem?
You see direct mail when done wrong is almost always a huge
waste of money. But when it's done right you can expect
tremendous results and profits. That's why doing right only
means only one thing in my book - getting RESULTS!
Direct mail can become the most predictable and consistent way
to generate more customers, yet most businesses are guilty of
doing it wrong simply because they've never been taught these
jealously-guarded secrets.
With these 7 secrets your next mailing campaign will be a
massive success.
Your mailing list is essential to your success. Let's say you
were selling snow tires - you wouldn't want to send out your
offer to people in Phoenix, right?
Well as silly as this sounds, many people will make this same
mistake. You cannot just pick a random resident list of nearby
Zip codes to your office. What you need to do is consider who
your ideal customer would be and then find a way to target your
message directly to them.
With direct mail, you're given the opportunity to use laser-
beam, pinpoint accuracy to specifically target your message.
And thanks o the growing direct marketing industry, privacy is
dead in America.
So if you told me your ideal customer is a man age 45-55, who
drives a Chevy Chevette, who lives with his parents, who watches
Pro Wrestling, and who goes bowling once a week - I can get you
that list. It might not be that big of a list, but it is
available.
Now you probably don't need to be as specific as this but you
can.
**There are two major types of lists available.**
1. The first kind of list is simply compiled information, taken
from directories, phone books, motor vehicle records, etc.
Probably the most common way of using a compiled list is to buy
a geographic list, like all the residents around a 5 mile radius
of your office. Usually this will not yield the greatest results.
Another way is to segment a compiled list is by demographics
(that's the fancy term for age, sex, income, whatever). This is
a little better way to target. For example you could specify you
only want females, age 50-65, who earn $75k and above.
But there is an even better way is to combine them using
"Geo/Demo" characteristics.
You can pick certain geographic areas and certain demographic
characteristics that you desire. Think of your ideal prospect,
the more you know about them the better targeted lists you can
purchase.
For most people a good starting point is to comb through your
customer records to find common characteristics, like region,
age, etc. Or if you sell business to business then you should
try to look for common industries or SIC (Standard Industrial
Classification) codes that a majority of your business comes
from. Your goal is try to *clone* your best customers!
2. The second type (and much more valuable) is called a direct
response list. These are lists of people who have bought or
responded to direct marketing.
In some cases it will make more sense for you to buy a mail
order list. The people on this list have bought something from
direct response methods (mail, print ads, infomercials, etc.).
This kind of list is the most specific you can get. To get an
idea of what I'm talking about go down to your local Library
and ask the librarian for the SRDS (The Standard Rate and Data
Services) Direct Mail List Source Directory, usually in the
reference section. Or you can get more information on
http://www.srds.com.
The SRDS is a huge, 4" thick reference book with nearly every
public list available for rental -- it's the bible for direct
mailers.
Just glancing through this book you can find lists of buyers of
almost anything that has some affinity to what you're selling.
The best part about these lists is that you know these people
have a high interest in whatever they bought. So if you're an
Accountant, you could rent a list of people who bought tax
planning information by mail.
Or maybe you're a dentist, what better list could you find for
a teeth whitening offer than someone who just bought a tooth
whitening product from an infomercial?
What you want is a "starving crowd," somebody who has expressed
an interest in looking better. Somebody who has paid money. And
that's exactly who you can find using direct response lists.
But there's one more list that almost everyone forgets. It's
literally a gold-mine lying at your feet. And that's your *own*
list!
If you have not put all your customer's names and addresses into
a database you're overlooking an incredible source of added
business. This list will be the most powerful list and
responsivelist you can use for any offers because these people
already trust you and like doing business with you.
This is critically important. Especially if you're in a business
that typically doesn't keep their customer names and addresses
because you're missing an incredible amount of money. Maybe
you're a retailer or a restaurant owner -- make it a habit for
your staff to collect customer names! It is absolutely critical!
I cannot stress this enough.
The first thing you need to do is to get your letter delivered.
I know this sounds silly, but it's more difficult than you
think. Many consultants will tell you to save money by using
'bulk-mail' postage or as its now called 'standard rate'. Bulk
rate is the dumpster rate. After taking the proper steps to get
the best list, don't blow it by being cheap on the postage.
In fact, the Post Office freely admits that 20%-30% of all bulk
mail gets thrown out for various reasons. The reason is simple;
when your mailman's sack gets heavy, which letters do you think
he would dare not deliver? That's right - bulk mail. So if
something looks like it's junk mail it is more likely to get
tossed.
So in order to get your mailings respected (by the post office
and your recipient) all your mailings should go out first class
and use a real "live" stamp. That also means don't use mailing
labels or even worse than that, is a "postage indicia".
All these smack of "junk mail". The closer you can make your
envelope look like personal correspondence the better since
people sort their mail over the trash can. That means you only
have only a split-second for them to decide if they'll open
your letter or not.
===============================================
Secret # 3: A Letter Means Action
===============================================
Brochures and self-mailers do not work. What do you do when
you get a brochure in the mail? Most people will either toss
it out or file it away.
Hardly anyone gives it more than just a casual glance on the
way to the circular file.
What you need is an action device, and that's what a letter
will give you. You need to take advantage of the greatest
benefit direct mail has for you - personalized, intimate
conversations. A letter allows you to "talk" one-on-one to
your prospect. That means you should use "I" and "me" and
"you" freely in your letter.
Don't use the corporate sounding "we".
Remember just one person is reading your letter at once. So
don't write in the plural, even if your mailing is going out
to thousands and thousands of people. Just sit down and write
the same way you'd talk to a friend over dinner explaining the
advantages and benefits of the product or service you're
offering.
Start your letter with a compelling, benefit-driven headline.
Prospects will decide to continue reading by the headline. If
your headline fails to capture their attention and keep them
engaged, your letter will quickly end up in the trash.
The most common mistake you can make is to put your company
name, big and bold on top of the letter. This is the worst
thing you can possibly do. You see, every person is concerned
with one thing:
*What's in it for me?*
Your company name does not show what, if any, benefits, the
prospect will get from your letter. So put your company name
at the bottom of the page where it belongs.
===============================================
Secret #4: No offer = No Response
===============================================
Without an offer, your letter is doomed. It is not enough just
to send out a mailing hoping people will call if they're
interested. You've got to tell people exactly what next step
they should take, and if you don't, your mailing has failed.
The best type of offer is something that is non-threatening and
completely irresistible. If you can offer anything for free
this works best. Such as a free educational report, tape,
seminar, consultation, service, etc. Try to come up with such
an irresistible offer that anyone would be foolish not to take
advantage of it.
Plus by making a compelling offer you can then keep track of how
many people responded to your mailing.
===============================================
Secret #5: Continuous Mailings
===============================================
Why do people believe they can send out one mailing, one time,
and all of a sudden become bombarded with new customers?
It's ridiculous to believe any one shot mailing is going to
uncover *everybody* interested in your service or product.
Think about your own life. You've probably received some offers
that you were interested in but you never acted on. Perhaps you
put it aside for a phone call or maybe one of your kids came
running in and distracted you, or any number of other reasons.
Your prospects are the same way.
To overcome this, you've got to create a plan for multiple
contacts. Also, this way you can take advantage of the "moving
parade of life". You are not selling to a standing army, but
rather a moving parade of prospects. People will move in and out
of different needs and wants as they go through changes in their
life.
Here's an example: Let's say you're an owner of a furniture
store and you sent me an offer for deeply discounted furniture
. Well, you probably wouldn't have much luck because my house
is full of furniture. But what if when your second (or third or
fourth) offer came, my fiancée had left me and taken with her
all our furniture.
Now, all of a sudden, I'm a *very* eager customer.
That's why using multiple mailings often leads to double-digit
returns.
===============================================
Secret #6: Testing
===============================================
With direct mail you have the precision to test any offer on a
small group before mailing on a massive scale. Even if you think
you have the greatest idea in the world for a letter, you can
still test it to a few names, instead of mailing to 50,000
people.
Then if you get a good response you can move on to mail a higher
number of pieces because with a high probability you know it
will work again.
A reasonable test is about 2,000 to 3,000 names, depending on
how many names you have on your list. You can even test with as
little as a few hundred -- but you won't get a statistically
valid response. However, you will get an indication of the
letter's success.
But don't make the crippling mistake of mailing out tens of
thousands of pieces unless you can afford to lose everything.
Once you've created a letter that works well this is called
your "control" and now you can use testing to see if you can
do better.
Here's how:
On your next mailing you change only one element like the
headline, offer, pricing, etc. and then you split your list
in half. One half gets letter#1 (your control) and the other
half gets letter#2 (the test) then see which one does better.
And I guarantee you will see changes in results once you start
testing.
However, in order to accurately measure your test you've got
to follow secret#7...
===============================================
Secret #7:
Tracking
===============================================
John Wannamaker (and then later P.T. Barnum and William
Wrigley), said that 50% of their advertising was being
wasted -- but they didn't know which 50%.
But now each letter campaign you send out gives you the
ability to precisely track what your return on investment
is. This way you know to the penny if your marketing is
working or not.
Unlike many other forms of advertising you do to just get
your "name out", direct mail gives you an easy way to track
your returns.
Subtracting your expenses (cost of postage, printing, and
list rental) from how much business your direct mail campaign
brought you gives you your profits.
You must keep track of each and every prospect calling from
your letter and responding to your specific offer (secret # 4).
That's why you'll want to assign unique priority codes,
extension numbers or fake employee names for each promotion.
Each letter you send should have a unique code. Then you will
be able to credit that letter with the inquiry or sale. So you
know what works and what does not.
Many times I'll use a priority code at the top of the letter.
When prospects call in your staff should be trained to ask for
the priority code. Or you can use extension numbers like this:
Call 301-555-1234 xF00. This way you know this code (the
extension #) stands for an offer you made F=(February) 00=(2000)
Or if you do face-to-face business, an easy way is require
people to bring the letter with them/or present it to your
staff in order to get the special offer.
Tracking is critical or else you'll still be flying blind.
Now you can track your revenues and results from each mailing.
Plus, you get a clear handle on where your business is coming
from and which promotions are working.
Adding direct mail to your marketing is a surefire way to
produce immediate results for your business. And by applying
these seven little-known secrets, your next mailing can't help
but be more profitable and successful.
(c) 2000 Surefire Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
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8.##################################################
Pro-Motion
Answers for the "Pro in Motion"
Q. I'm the publisher of a free online ezine. The larger my
subscriber base gets the more I receive some very annoying
emails. It seems that some people subscribe to my ezine
then begin sending me ads for their products. As an online
publisher, am I giving them permission to do this?
(anonymous)
A. Absolutely not!
Sometimes we forget that, as publishers, we aren't the only ones
who need to present ourselves as professionals. Most of our
subscribers are also involved in an online business of one kind
or another. As professionals ourselves, we have a right to
expect our subscribers to act in a like manner.
Unfortunately some people think it's slick to subscribe to an
ezine then send their sales message back every time they receive
an issue. Receiving an issue of an ezine that you subscribed to
doesn't - I repeat, does NOT - give one the right to use that
as evidence of a request to receive your sales material.
Some publishers, like myself, send a welcome message to every
new subscriber. This welcome message is ALSO not a request to
receive a sales pitch in return. Those activities are still
considered "spam." Unacceptable! If reported - the sender can
still lose their ISP and/or web host.
I personally UNsubscribe anyone who does this. The minute I get
an autoresponder (other than a legitimate one informing me of
someone's unavailability) or any other kind of ad, I throw them
off my list. If I hear from them again - they are reported.
Subscribers are certainly welcome to write to me personally. If
they use a signature file, I'm going to see their offer anyway -
in a legitimate form. I will not, however, accept
advertisements just because someone is subscribed to my ezine.
My advice? Throw 'em off your list and/or report them! They're
just tire kickers anyway. And, not very honest ones at that.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
following resource box:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
dr. jl scott is the Director of the International Association for
Professionalism Online (IAPO) http://www.IAPOnline.org
- and also
the publisher of MONDAY MEMO! - the ezine dedicated to upgrading
Professionalism on the Web. For your FREE subscription: http://www.MondayMemo.org/ezine.htm
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All rights reserved worldwide. Reprint only with
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