by Brad | Jan 31, 2017 | Blog
The past year and a half here in South Africa has taught me a lot about myself, about my family, and a lot about business success in general.
Yes I started a new business while here (TradersNewsMedia.com), but the MOST knowledge has been gained while working with the students here at LivingHope.
How…why…what???
How can working with students who have little to no working knowledge of business help me? Easy! Getting back to basics!
Two basic principles I want to focus on today…
-
Financial Goal
-
‘Non-Financial’ Goal
Huh?? Well the first one is simple.
What is your Financial Goal for your business success?
For TradersNewsMedia.com it varies. Sometimes it’s 5mm, sometimes it’s 1mm, sometimes it’s 50mm 🙂 The point is that coming back to that monetary goal can help me and Brian make decisions based on how we can hit that goal towards business success. We can analyze hiring someone, or not taking on a client, with a discernment that’s focused on a GOAL.
So what is YOUR financial goal?
The Second…’Non-Financial’ Goal
See if you can find the KEY point in being able to accomplish your ‘non-financial’ goal 😉
Just TODAY I had a chat with a now former student who’s an amazingly talented lady with a TON of potential whatever she decides to do. She has many business options, from cleaning to specialty jams and jellies. Her first goal is providing jobs in a local community, Ocean View, that’s in desperate need of prayer right now. Gangs have taken over a once peaceful place, the police are not helping as much, and people are being murdered daily.
As we all know EMPLOYMENT is way to lift people out of situations where crime seems like the only hope. So that’s exactly what this former student wants to do. And it’s a GREAT GOAL!!
But it’s her FIRST goal…and it should be her SECOND.
Why?
Because unless she is able to have financial success, then she’ll NEVER be able to employ anyone. I asked her…”think for a second…have you ever worked for a place where the owner didn’t make more money then you?” No…of course not. Because if they didn’t, then she’d NEVER have a JOB!
The same is true with her goal to employ people from Ocean View. If she isn’t successful and focused on her monetary goal, she’ll NEVER hit her second goal of employing people.
So ask yourself…what is your Non-Financial Goal?
Thanks for reading, and if you have any comments or want to share your financial or non-financial goals towards business success, I’d LOVE TO HEAR!
Cheers,
Brad
by Brad | Oct 20, 2016 | Blog
Part 3 of my series draws to a close with the EASIEST
part of getting more leads…
C stands for Cascade!!
Cascade…of TRAFFIC!! 🙂
Sorry that’s an awful C compared to my first two (Create & Convert)
but I started with C and I’m forcing the final one 😉
I know what you’re thinking…
Brad, traffic is the HARDEST PART!!
Honestly it’s not.
There are some amazing traffic and lead sources just wanting
to send you some HIGH quality, financial targeted, leads for
a fair market value.
Google, Facebook, financial email lists…ALL WANTING TO
SEND YOU TRAFFIC!!
BUT…
The KEY is really making sure you have the first TWO “C’s”
sorted out before the traffic. Because without those two you’ll
NEVER get more leads.
You need to create high quality ads that draw the eye, capture the
attention of the customer, and stand out among the hundreds of
other ads competing for your customers attention.
Second, you need to CONVERT those clicks into leads. If you can’t
convert those clicks then you’re spinning your wheels. You need
a QUALITY funnel to get those clicks to turn into leads, and those
leads to BUY…BUY BUY BUY!!
Then part 3 is the traffic…the traffic is easy if you know your internal metrics.
If you know that you can CREATE and CONVERT, then you
know exactly how much you can spend.
Do you?
YOU SHOULD…and you CAN!
Here’s how…
Through my new company TradersNewsMedia.com we can
do it ALL for you no problem.
We’re currently working , one stop shop, for a VERY
reasonable and fair market price for the value that we are
providing.
What I want to do is analyze your current process TOP TO BOTTOM.
From squeeze pages, to follow-up emails, to traffic sources.
I want you to put my 10 years of experience to the TEST…
CONTACT ME TODAY
Cheers,
Brad
by Brad | Oct 4, 2016 | Blog
Last week we covered the first C in my famous (self declared):Â Getting More Leads in 3 Simple Steps
It was…Create.
Now I want to dive in the 2nd C and THE HARDEST!
Convert!
You might be thinking “Brad what does CONVERT, have to
do with getting more leads??”
I’m glad you asked…because it has everything to do with it.
If you’re not converting, and improving your conversions then
you’re WASTING clicks and not getting the leads you DESERVE!
Let’s do some math…(to my past math teachers, you’re right I’m using math!)
Scenario 1: You’ve run a decent Google Ad campaign and were able to
generate exactly 1000 clicks…NICE JOB! Now, of those 1000
clicks 250Â people sign-up for your ‘thing’. Nice job…
Those 1000 clicks cost you, let’s say 3.00 bucks a click so
you spend $3,000.00 on 250 new leads at a cost of $12.00
per lead.
Scenario 2: Same clicks as above, 1000, but this time you
focused on the ‘convert’ and were able to get 400 new leads
at a NEW cost of $7.50 per lead!!
Not only did you save money by improving your conversions
but you GENERATED MORE LEADS!
You’re thinking exactly what I was thinking years ago…
“Yeah I want to convert MORE… but HOW!?!”
Honestly it’s taken me YEARS to not figure it out 100%,
but to hack the process, and shorten time to positive ROI.
That’s what we’re after…positive ROI.
The how is what I want to show you today…
(unfortunately you WILL have to do some work unless you hire THESE GUYS)
Here are the steps that I would recommend on how to
CONVERT MORE:
YOUR ACTION:
As in my previous article I’ll share with you how Brian
and I do it for clients via TradersNewsMedia.com, and
then I’ll give you a tip on how to do it yourself…ready?
Speed
TradersNewsMedia Way: Brian and I are creating dozens of pages for
dozens of products a MONTH…and we do it quickly because
it’s what allows us to get the best results for our clients.
We knuckle down and typically create 3-5 pages in a DAY!
We use a multiple platforms to give us the widest range of
page creative samples to give us the latest analysis of what’s
CURRENTLY working in our space.
Your Way: Knuckle down and create 2-4 pages! I know it
sounds daunting…but if you want to get better results then
you’ve got to put in the work to give yourself DATA to analyze.
Test
TradersNewsMedia Way: We’re using at least 3 different tracking
tools for the pages we’re using to help give us high level data to
determine the BEST pages, headlines, sign-up button locations,
number of bullets, etc etc…we’re ALL about data at TradersNewsMedia.com.
Your Way: Use a simple squeeze page creation tool that allows you
to create multiple A/B split tests. Unbounce, LeadPages, etc.
Optimize
TradersNewsMedia Way: Analyze the data REALTIME…shift budget
towards the creatives that are doing the best…then SCALE!
Your Way: Set up a reminder for yourself as a daily (or weekly) task to
analyze the pages to determine the pages that are converting the best.
Drive more traffic to the winning pages!
I know not all of this is easy, or fast, or guaranteed…but neither is LIFE!
If you want to get more leads then you have to convert more clicks, it’s
as SIMPLE as that.
If you need advice or help, contact me: brad@bradstafford.com
If you want it DONE FOR YOU…contact me: brad@tradersnewsmedia.com
Cheers,
Brad
P.S. Next week we talk about the EASIEST PART OF GETTING MORE LEADS!!
HINT: C******
by Brad | Jul 27, 2016 | Blog
This week I spoke with 3 ‘newbies’ who either have sites or want to start. One was in the trading niche, one in motion graphics, and one group not quite sure which direction to go.
They all had passion, desire, and the guts to pull off a successful online business. They knew a little about online business, marketing, and what hard work it would be. They had purchased courses, researched ‘gurus’, and asked about specific classes or courses that could help them get started.
Truth time…they’re ALL missing the ONE key to online business success…ready?
In my 10 years of online marketing and business I have learned one thing for certain: There is no class, ebook, video, or webinar you can consume to give you the best ways to move forward towards success quickly and effectively!
NOTHING can substitute experience…EVER.
It’s the one thing you cannot buy. It’s the one thing that cannot be taught. It’s the ONE thing that separates the successful businesses from the struggling or FAILED ones.
Here’s WHY that experience is crucial:
On our calls, my advice and insight for each one was TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!
Sure there are some aspects that can cover any industry, but OVERALL what companies/people need in order to be successful is a proper MENTOR. Some needed general guidance on where to start, one needed focusing on which market they should target, and another was guided OUT of a newsletter idea and into something more up their ‘alley.’ Each piece of advice was solid, but DIFFERENT based on what and where each was in their process.
That’s what a good mentor does…analyze WHERE they are, and where they SHOULD go.
A good mentor is..
Someone who’s been there…done that.
Someone who’s experienced FAR more than they have.
Someone who’s failed…and SUCCEEDED after failure.
That’s a mentor, and THAT is what people need.
You can have mentors for specific areas in your business (marketing, trading, graphics, etc), but overall if you want to succeed you need to have someone who can help guide you through all aspects of business growth and development in order to avoid potholes and aim towards success.
It’s true in life, and it’s true in business…
That mentor can be a parent, uncle, or a 80-year-old former IBM exec who took time to be a sounding board for me during early business stages.
So what are your goals? Where are you aiming? And WHO could be a mentor to you?
Let it sink in, get humble and ask for help, and then grow your business the RIGHT way.
I’ve mentored a ton of businesses over the years. Many have asked for my help, and most of them I turn away – because I’m not the right fit for their business. But maybe I’m a good fit for your business? I won’t know (and you won’t) until you ask.
Can I help your business? No matter what industry, no matter what experience level… Let’s find out!
Start a conversation with me here…brad@bradstafford.com
Cheers,
Brad
P.S. This morning in devotions at LivingHope, the history of Solomon’s son was discussed and if you read it…HERE ;)…then you’ll see that he had an opportunity to heed WISE advice to continue the success of his kingdom…and I think it applies to this. So if you have a few min, check it out!
by Brad | Mar 23, 2016 | Blog
A question I get quite a lot is this…
Brad…how do I generate consistent revenue?!
Little on the nose…but true.
The answers are simple, yet complex, so I’ll try to
unpack them as best I can for you here today 🙂
First, let’s assume that you have an email list,
a product (or the ability to create products) and
a functioning brain…HA!
Second, let’s assume that you’re an active participant
in the field of marketing. Meaning, you’re not
just sitting around complaining about how bad
things are, or making excuses. You WANT to
generate consistent revenue.
OK…let’s begin!
Step 1: Price Analyze Your Product!
The current price of your product, if it’s seeing traffic, is
the easiest and FIRST thing you need to analyze.
I’m SURE it’s been done in the past, but times change
SO quickly! AÂ subscription someone was willing
to pay 97 bucks a month for, is now 597…you don’t
know unless you test it.
Now, don’t get crazy and go from 7.95 to 7,950, but
within reason, test both sides of current price to see
if you can move the needle in a positive direction.
If you need help split testing, let me know and
we can discuss: brad@bradstafford.com
Step 2: Monetize Your List in a NEW Way
As you PROBABLY know I’ve been a big affiliate
marketing cheerleader in the past…well let’s say
that the market has me changing teams a BIT.
Yes, there are a FEW (and, sadly, it seems to be
diminishing rapidly) quality programs with good
products AND CONVERSIONS (the most important
part) out there…but again, they’re becoming
rarer and rarer.
So if you’ve monetized via affiliate model in the
past, or have NOT monetized your non-buyers,
then I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY (clear enough)
recommend that now is the time that you start
working with ad people on a CPCÂ or CPL model.
Performance is what the top companies are paying
TOP dollar for, and if you want consistent income
and consistent RENTERS of your list…PERFORM.
This is important: contact me for people I PERSONALLY
recommend: brad@bradstafford.com
This is the EASIEST thing you can do without
damaging your reputation, controlling your
list, AND increasing your monthly revenue.
Step 3: Invest In Advertising
As above…I’m not 100% on board with ALL
forms of advertising, however if you want to
properly test, perfect, and SCALE, you need
to advertise.
It’s simple, if you’re not investing in advertising
then you’re going to limp along as a company.
Again…need help/intros: brad@bradstafford.com
So the point of this article was really to show you
that there are a few EASY things (low hanging fruit
if you will) that you can do TODAY to generate
more revenue…
So…will you take action?
Hope to chat soon!
Brad
Eliza, Eve, and Me enjoying Kirstenbosch Gardens…BEAUTIFUL!
P.S. Should I add more pics in my blog posts? I’m
really on the fence…would appreciate your input!
