An idea to think over for those still interested in internet marketing

I was frantically sorting 3 weeks of collected email in my main account when I got back an hour or two ago. One of the lucky ones not to get deleted (because he wasn't someone I didn't know offering me an attachment with the title 'super happy fun game') was a short email by Dave Vallieres.

He was talking about a new ebook by Stephen Pierce. Told me it was the one to get this year.

I went to the site and checked it out. I didn't buy. But my interest was caught by something.

Stephen's site is

http://www.wealthbreakthroughs.com

One thing I wanted to comment on was Stephen makes a strong case for his argument. The copy isn't perfect for selling to someone like me. But I see it's appeal. He addresses some of the major questions going through a first time visitors mind

...like, who in the heck is this guy? And why in the world should I believe him?

Obvious, but sometimes the obvious is overlooked.

He posts up Clickbank checks, stats, and it's a pretty convincing argument. Maybe sometime I'll check it out. (Yes, I know how ironic it is that I say it's convincing and yet don't buy.)

The thing about the site that really got me thinking was the check mark boxes next to a few different features of his offer.

Stephen asks "Would you like to..."

Then a benefit/bullet question

then a yes or no check box

Interesting.

Just got me thinking. Back to something I think Boyd/Roy/Gordon talked about once. Probably got the names wrong. Sorry guys.

They were talking about a site where the visitor was guided through based on what he was interested in most, his communication style, his buying style, etc.

So the idea was the potential for each visitor to get a buying experience suited to his/her individual style/wants.

I was thinking of a site where the the visitors could click on the benefits that were of interest to them. Say by filling out a list. And they would be directed to a page where an offer was made specially customized to what they selected and a few other choices they made.

Anyone have any other ideas? Think it could fly?

I'm not personally going to try this right now. Although if I tried something else online for fun, this is the direction it would be headed.

Throw in a little good copywriting that doesn't reek of salesmanship (did you lose the d*** exclamation points yet?) and who knows... maybe everyone has some fun with a new idea whether it flies or not.

Success,

Erik Lukas

Hi,

You wrote:
> Just got me thinking. Back to something I
> think Boyd/Roy/Gordon talked about once.
> Probably got the names wrong. Sorry guys.

Those are indeed the names. Link below, and thanks for the implied compliment.

Best,

- Boyd




Post by Gordon (June, 2002)

Hi Erik,

> I was thinking of a site where the the
> visitors could click on the benefits that
> were of interest to them. Say by filling out
> a list. And they would be directed to a page
> where an offer was made specially customized
> to what they selected and a few other
> choices they made.
>
> Anyone have any other ideas? Think it could
> fly?

Yes, I do think this would fly. I spent three and a half years at a dot-com that ultimately didn't make it....after they were funded, they spent boatloads of cash on consultants, contract programmers etc to build 'the system of all systems'. Most of it never worked or increased sales at all.

Absolutely none of it was as effective as a simple perl script they had developed in their first six months of business called the 'Profiler'. Total investment: about $300.00 I believe...

The script was interactive and asked the prospect/customer questions and then, based on their answers, directed them to an appropriate follow up page. The questions were crafted to both qualify their needs and raise and overcome objections. In the end, a customized, personalized offer with a buy-it now button was presented to the prospect. Very effective and very easy to accomplish...

Wishing you success,

Richie

Thanks for the great story, Richie. That's exactly what I was looking for!

Success,

Erik Lukas

Hi,

This thread is a rather important one, though it may not be obvious....

best,

- Boyd

> Hi,

> This thread is a rather important one,
> though it may not be obvious....

It's obvious to me:)

I'll review everything in the past thread you found and post a short followup soon.

Success,

Erik Lukas

Hi Richie,

Thanks, that's a great post!

It really illustrates that sometimes, it's best to keep things simple.... The company you worked for clearly tried to make things more complicated than was really necessary!

I've been reading about this as one of the principles in Robert Ringer's book, "Million Dollar Habits". (Thanks to Erik Lukas for recommending the book to me - it's a great book!)

One thing I've realized is that some of the best money-making systems are actually quite simple. However, people often don't believe it can be so simple....

It's true, some money-making systems are complicated too - but some are amazingly simple. Robert Ringer tells the story of a guy who made his fortune simply from one store. He kept his prices high, and aimed for the "high end" of the market. When your prices are high (and you're aiming for the top end of the market), your profit per sale is that much greater. Something as simple as this can be enough to make a fortune with....

However, most people when they first get into business, make the opposite mistake, and think the way to make a lot of money is by selling with low prices, low margins, yet aiming for high volume. (Most dot-coms/dot-bombs did this, as you'll probably remember....)

This is actually the more complicated way to do things.... That's because, to get high volume you often need to advertise heavily. Spending a lot of money on advertising when you have slim margins makes it easy to go bust! It's much easier to have money to spend on advertising when your margins are reasonable.... If you like, you can think of it as a matter of survival.

Einstein said,

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."

I think old Einstein was on to something when he said that! :)

Thanks - this IS a good thread.... :)

- Dien

> Yes, I do think this would fly. I spent
> three and a half years at a dot-com that
> ultimately didn't make it....after they were
> funded, they spent boatloads of cash on
> consultants, contract programmers etc to
> build 'the system of all systems'. Most of
> it never worked or increased sales at all.

> Absolutely none of it was as effective as a
> simple perl script they had developed in
> their first six months of business called
> the 'Profiler'. Total investment: about
> $300.00 I believe...

> The script was interactive and asked the
> prospect/customer questions and then, based
> on their answers, directed them to an
> appropriate follow up page. The questions
> were crafted to both qualify their needs and
> raise and overcome objections. In the end, a
> customized, personalized offer with a buy-it
> now button was presented to the prospect.
> Very effective and very easy to
> accomplish...

> Wishing you success,

> Richie

Richie,

That sounds like a very useful piece of software. Is it a PHP4 script (which I've heard of but am not really familiar with) or something else entirely? Also, whatever happened to it -- e.g., did another company buy the rights to all software from your defunct employer, or...?

Chris

> Hi Erik,

> Yes, I do think this would fly. I spent
> three and a half years at a dot-com that
> ultimately didn't make it....after they were
> funded, they spent boatloads of cash on
> consultants, contract programmers etc to
> build 'the system of all systems'. Most of
> it never worked or increased sales at all.

> Absolutely none of it was as effective as a
> simple perl script they had developed in
> their first six months of business called
> the 'Profiler'. Total investment: about
> $300.00 I believe...

> The script was interactive and asked the
> prospect/customer questions and then, based
> on their answers, directed them to an
> appropriate follow up page. The questions
> were crafted to both qualify their needs and
> raise and overcome objections. In the end, a
> customized, personalized offer with a buy-it
> now button was presented to the prospect.
> Very effective and very easy to
> accomplish...

> Wishing you success,

> Richie

dno