It’s been a while since I’ve blogged or done any videos, almost the whole summer. Today I decided to change that, mainly because I’m procrastinating from other work and just need to get into a productive mood. On with the goods!
There are a few keys to success in Internet Marketing that you will read about in your IM journey but the one I am about to share with you here holds a lot of value and I am sure you’ve heard it before.
Stop “selling” to people, start “helping” them, stop “pushing” people and start “guiding” them.
Now I don’t mean stop Internet Marketing and go and volunteer at the local shelter (although that would be a kind gesture) but rather stop trying to force products onto people.
You may think this is obvious and that you don’t do it, but the reality of the fact is many people don’t understand the difference and it’s the major factor in their way of 1 sale a day to many a day.
Let’s Break It Down
The typical marketing process in a nutshell goes a little something like this:
1) Pick a niche.
2) Research the keywords in that niche.
3) Find affiliate products for that niche.
4) Build a website around those keywords/niche with On Page SEO in mind.
5) Have a CTA/Sales/Landing page where you review or sell the product.
6) Promote the H-E-Double Hockey Stick out of your site with Off Page SEO /PPC/Article/PRs etc.. (basically drive traffic).
Now if you noticed I “e-emphasized” (heard it first at robbeh.com) #5 which is an obvious step. You can’t make money without some sort of offer page. But here is where the problem lies.
These types of sites don’t do crazy well. Sure, you will make sales…but you won’t make the most out of your traffic. You may THINK you’re helping the user by pairing a search query with a related product but that’s not helping!
Let me give you a real life example to help bang my point home.
A woman is walking down the street in complete tears and bumps into a homeless man. She apologizes and helps the man up. He proceeds to ask what’s wrong and the woman explains she is having trouble with her marriage. The man proceeds to give information of what she should do and where to find this amazing relationship book for marriages on the rocks.
As you can see, the man has “helped” the woman by connecting her problem with a solution. But how many woman would take this mans advice?? Sure, a few who are desperate for help but most would probably think there is very little value in advice coming from someone she doesn’t know, who doesn’t appear to be in a relationship or have any knowledge on the topic. In fact, some woman would probably ignore the man from the start and keep walking!
This is the typical website on the market to date.
Now, if that homeless man had simply introduced himself and maybe explained a relating story, offered to listen if she wanted to vent or ever needed someone to just seek an opinion and maybe asked her how things were going every time she passed him on the street. The woman be much more likely to take the advice of the man because a relationship and trust was established.
The Reason Behind the Problem
People by nature don’t usually start a relationship (with a person or website) with 100% trust. Trust is earned. Trust is why brands are important to people. If I wanted to sell a new facial cream to customers…it would take quite a lot of pre-selling to get that product in their homes. Opera, Dr. Oz or other big names just say it on their show and stores can’t keep it on the shelves…that’s because they’ve already established major trust!
The Fix
When selling products as an Internet Marketer offer a lot of free and helpful content. Prove to them you are actually there to help them. If you are selling acne treatment, first give them some tips on what they should try before spending their hard earned money on products. Then shows them if nothing is working to try a particular product. If it’s a product you’ve tried, explain what worked for you. Example: Maybe only using it at nights is all you need rather than twice a day.
Show the customer that you are there for them, not their wallet! Then you won’t have to take their wallet, they will give it to you.
As you can see this is where e-mail marketing can be so powerful. On a website offering these helping resources can be difficult and be counter productive. But if always think, how can I help this person out – you will see a drastic difference in your sales.
P.s. I will be returning soon (WA/Word/IM)
One Response to “The Golden Key to Internet Marketing”
Robert is 24 years old with a little over 3 years experience in Internet Marketing. While still very successful, he takes a different spin on Marketing by cutting out all the crap he dealt with to get to where he is. Hopefully he (I) can share that with others. - I love writing in 3rd person :)
Hey Robbeh,
Josh here from WA. Great post. It is so true what you say about helping people. By doing so the law of reciprocity will fall into place, which will make them more comfortable purchasing something from you in the end. Unique, engaging, helpful content is the key! Hope to see you round WA again, you are a truly helpful guy to have around!
Later man,
Josh