by Brad | Apr 20, 2016 | Blog
So Many Trading/Investing Companies fall on their own swords!
You trade (or teach trading)….but do you INVEST?
Not the normal investing one’s used to discussing
in the financial niche with bonds, ETF’s, etc., etc…
I’m talking about investing in your marketing!!
In this article I’ll show you WHY…and WHERE to
focus your investment. Sound like a plan?
GREAT!!!
First, I GUARANTEE you’re not investing enough…
and if you want your business to GROW, you
need to invest MORE.
More money, more time, more patience!!
Here’s why.
This week, I had a great chat with a guy who has a
TON invested in his marketing and it’s paid off for
him CONSISTENTLY for the past 5+ years!
We BOTH learned the value of investing in copywriters,
product development, funnels, email client, merchant
account, optimization and MORE first hand.
Seeing early on that no matter how good the product is,
you need to be able to MARKET it in order to grow.
As our conversation rolled on, we talked life, advertising,
affiliates, and then landed on marketing and how most
people he and I talk to invest NOTHING in their marketing.
We’re not talking about investing in ADVERTISING…
please understand these are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS!!
Advertising brings the traffic…
Marketing CONVERTS the traffic…make sense?
We shared stories of people/companies ‘loving’ their product
so much they actually used the words “it’s so good it’ll sell itself!”
Good gracious…needless to say, that product did NOT sell itself 😉
It got me thinking of the people I’ve chatted with who want to
‘give it a go’ on their own. Fine I say…let me know how your
house wiring goes when you ‘give it a go’ on your own as well 😉
So the real question is…WHY!?!?!
Why…why should you invest in your marketing?
2 reasons (with probably another 324 that I can think of)
1. The realm of marketing success changes daily!
What’s working changes month to month, and if you want
to WIN, you need to play it long term by reevaluating tech,
analyzing funnels, and sometimes listening to those who
are doing marketing BETTER than you 🙂
This all takes one CRUCIAL thing…TIME!
In order to be able to adapt quickly – to determine whether to
adjust or stay the course – you need to be in marketing mode daily,
analyzing the data DAILY. If you cannot do that, or don’t have someone
that CAN, then you should look to invest in HELP in that area ASAP.
2. Businesses that do not invest in marketing top out EARLY.
If you want your business to continue to GROW, it’s not about
coming up with new products every 2 months, it’s about investing
the money into marketing to GROW. If you can’t maximize, adapt,
and improve your funnels/processes as well, then you’ll hit a point
where you will go NO higher… that’s a guarantee you can take to the bank.
I see it FIRST HAND, upfront and personally, at least once a week,
every single week of the year!!
One company that comes to mind had a TON of success years back…
rested on their laurels and stuck their head in the sand about changes…
and are now in a REALLY tough spot.
People leaving, sales dropping…not great 🙁
OK, so you’re STARTING to realize you might be the company
above…WHAT DO YOU DO?!
You need to take a step back, analyze yourself HONESTLY, and
focus your time/resources in these TWO places:
1. Quality People.
Your neighbor’s kid whom you’ve met once, but has a lot of followers
on Facebook is NOT qualified 🙂 He’s cheap…but, just like the guy
paying .05 cents for leads, you get what you pay for!
Want to advance your funky tee shirt sales? HIRE HIM!
Want to ACTUALLY grow your business, find QUALITY people.
You’ll have to spend money on quality as quality is experience,
and that’s not cheap.
But it’s money well spent…whether on an external consultant like
ME, or someone hired within, or both…INVEST!
2. Tracking/Data
ALL…I REPEAT…ALL MARKETING IS DATA DRIVEN!!
Always has been, always will be…it’s called Marketing!
Qualify target, communicate, track, adjust, sell – results, REPEAT.
You need proper tech to be able to TRACK everything.
Your CRM (infusionsoft, active campaign, ontraport, etc.)
Your clicks (improve.ly)
Your leads (CRM/improve.ly, etc., etc.)
Your squeeze pages (unbounce, lead pages, etc.)
Your funnel (infusionsoft, active campaign, etc.)
You get the point 🙂
Either YOU need to focus on this 100% or find someone
or a company that DOES.
It’s the BEST BEST BEST way to quickly see what’s working,
what’s not, and what can be done to FIX it so you’re making
MORE money.
Because that’s the goal right?
You’ve got to invest in becoming a professional company
to make MONEY like one!!
What are your thoughts?
Am I on the right track?
Missing tech stuff?
Missing points?
LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!!
Cheers,
Brad
by Brad | Aug 21, 2010 | Blog
So let’s pick up right where I left off from the previous post!
* Are those leads buying again and again…or just the once…maybe?
This is a very good question, and from my experience lead conversion drops off every launch cycle as leads wise up and have been burned. There will always be buyers and more then likely those core buyers will buy more then once…but for how long? How long will they ‘fall’ for the dream before saying ‘I’m done’? I think more leads than anyone realizes have fallen into that ‘I’m done’ category because of the economy and because the dream hasn’t worked.
This isn’t a great trend and as the economy continues to crumble…more will fall into that category.
Possible Solution: To avoid this trap will require more communication with leads. Often after a launch the only material they receive is other pre-launch material for affiliates that have pushed for them…kinda a vicious cycle! It’s easily broken with more communication. If the leads hear from the company more than just to pitch them free offers, and to pitch their products, it’s going to lead to more trust. They might believe that ‘hey they really want to help me be a better trader.’ Share interesting articles, share your thoughts on the market, just stay in touch with them so next time you launch they’ll trust you more.
* Will those leads buy other stuff that is recommended to them?
Well…do they? What have you seen? Are leads less interested in other offers because they’ve been hard sold…or more interested in other stuff? In my opinion, if leads are hard sold a ‘dream’ about a product and don’t buy…how much do you think they’ll be open to buying another dream? Or worse, what about the leads that DIDN’T BUY!? If the pitch for ones own product is so hard and dreamy that it ruins all chances of selling anything of anyone else’s then it’s a loss for both sides.
Possible Solution: Don’t sell or ‘free report’ them to death! If the only contact with leads is to tell them about a free offer, or product pitch, at what point will they say ‘ok I’m done opening these emails or reading this blog.’ Give them actual useful insight of your own and quality content so when the time comes for a free offer to be pitched, they’re much more open because they’ve gotten articles and insights from you for free without having to opt-in to anything.
—
The biggest key with launch marketing is staying in touch with your leads and building a relationship. If you can give them content that’s earning you affiliate commissions, consider it a MAJOR BONUS! If you give them content without affiliate commissions, consider it the best way to sell them later. Relationships are even more important and if marketers can build that relationship with content, transparency, honesty, and good products then they’ll be able to survive this crappy economy!
So…what do you think?
All my best,
Brad Stafford
P.S. I mentioned ‘content that can earn you affiliate commissions’ … these are the BEST programs to provide you with that:
BigTrends.com: Quality name, long successful history, dedicated support team, quality products, superior content, and high payouts on web AND phone referred sales. Affiliate info Sign-up here. (etftradr.com which is under the BigTrends.com umbrella)
TheTechnicalTraders.com (TheGoldandOilGuy.com): Successful trader, tireless educator, high converting newsletters, highly educational and technical content marketing, 90% renewal rate on newsletters and products, full-time support staff, and high-end recurring commissions: Affiliate info and Sign-up here.
by Brad | Aug 20, 2010 | Blog
…Or in need of some changes?
First let me say that this is not a ‘hit piece’ on launch marketing. I’m asking questions to YOU, my loyal reader, and giving you some of my insight so you can give me some feedback into what you’ve personally seen and/or felt about launches in the trading/investing niche.
Second, many of us know the Jeff Walker launch style of marketing: use affiliates to push free offers that all lead up to an event, then opening (and eventual closing) of a product. There’s a time limit and quantity limit on the product and it’s a mad cash grab to get leads buying.
I describe this type of marketing as the “ONE NIGHT STAND” approach. I say this because everything that’s happening with that lead is focused on closing the deal by any means possible. “I’m leaving for Japan in the morning, there’s only ONE of me, blah blah blah.” It works…but is it sustainable?
For years this method has been the bread and butter of many TOP sites. They run the launches well, convert leads, and everyone wins.
But what about in this economy? Are leads wising up to the launch style? Do they know a ‘webinar’ is coming? Do they know that ’10 people returned the course and if you didn’t get it then you have your chance now’?
I think leads are wising up and I think in this economy the leads need to be treated differently.
Let’s take a look at a few questions that I’ve been asking myself…and I’d like your thoughts and opinions as well.
* Is that ‘dream sell’ method the best for the customer?
Even if the product is good, will they really be able to trade like the launch shows? Most of the launch style of marketing is focused on a ‘dream’ of being a great trader ‘if you only BLANK (fill in pitch for product here)’. For the most part these products work, and work well, but if they are oversold and not put into realistic terms does the customer really ‘win’? Or do they feel used and burned like a bad car deal after they can’t make it work?
Thinking about the customer is always important, and for the most part the launch style marketing takes that into account. But with the economy being in shambles and traders sitting on the sidelines, should the style reel it in a bit and say ‘hey this is the product, it’s hard to make it work, but you can do it with our help.’ Or should the ‘dream’ be sold HARDER?
Possible Solution: I think the key will be bringing people back to reality. The reality is that trading is HARD!! The chances they will survive is very slim…fact. But if the sales approach is focusing more on the amount of work needed to learn the system, achieve profits, and maintain success, then the customer will respect that more. Be more transparent, teach them more, provide more, and be honest with what to expect.
* Are those leads buying again and again…or just the once…maybe?
Sorry but I’ve got to end it here! Have a number of calls lined up this afternoon that I can’t miss. I’ll jump back into this tonight and try to get it to you asap!
Best,
Brad Stafford
P.S. My wife/editor told me I need to make my site ‘prettier’ with pictures and videos…what do YOU think? Please respond in the comment section…
