"You're Only Days Away From Escaping Life's Biggest Delusion
Of Working For A Living!"

"Are You Ready To Unlock The Exact System
That Works... For Any Business Online?"

Welcome Back Marketing Scholar...

Flowers or Chocolates Anyone?

Here's the first link I'd like to talk about in today's lesson.  This link has more to do with Affiliate promotions than anything else - and that's really important to understand.

You see, if you play your cards right online, you could make a full time living just from affiliate endorsements.  The trick is to find those affiliate products that compliment your target market (and knowing how to market those products effectively via email marketing - next lesson).

Let's take a look at the page I've setup on our website for the link Flowers or Chocolates Anyone?  What's the first thing you notice?

YUP!  Get their email address.  To be perfectly honest, the web page itself isn't going to generate much income.  Really!  Yes... I put up the link to an affiliate page, but in my marketing mindset I'm going for the kill with my email endorsements.  The page itself isn't to sell on.

If you notice the opt-in offer on this page... what does it let the reader know?

For FREE, they'll never have to worry about forgetting a birthday or anniversary again!  We'll send them an email and alert them!

Pretty clever huh?  Why?  Because now we have a customer subscribed to our list and they're actually telling us when they need to purchase something!  WOW!  How's that for a targeted (ready to buy) customer.

Here's a clever little scenario...

We could find a programmer who could setup a simple script for us that would generate auto-pilot income.

Oh... The brilliance never ends!  And you thought we just had a crappy little web page setup with some affiliate links!  Shame on you!

Do ya think we'd get a few sales from those emails that are being automatically sent out by our cheap little software program?

How many sales you ask?  Well, that would depend on HOW MANY FOLKS SIGNED UP TO JOIN OUR OPT-IN LIST!  So, do you think it's an important part of our marketing strategy to get folks to opt-in?  DOY!

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I actually used a similar idea on my pet site.  I used to have emails sent out to my list automatically to alert folks of such things like:

• flea season
• heartworm alerts
• booster shots
• tooth hygiene

And I'd subtly plug online pet medications that were up to 50% cheaper online than in most vet clinics.  The emails went out automatically at pre-determined intervals (which we'll learn more about in our next lesson) and the commissions just kept pouring in.  Best of all, I never lifted a finger.  I setup the system once, and the rest was auto-pilot!

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And by the way.. there's actually a program already out there that can do exactly what we just discussed.  The software is called Mailloop 7 (just newly updated)... and it rocks. 

I Personally Think It's The Best-Kept Secret of Successful Email Marketers.  Here's just a few of the things it can do for you:

1. Send customized email that uses unlimited amounts of personal subscriber information!
    
2. NEVER risk having your legitimate opt-in email mistaken for SPAM!
    
3. Handpick select groups of subscribers for special, customized promotions!
    
4. Monitor all of your email campaigns with advanced "Real-Time" reporting!
    
5. Use unlimited sequential autoresponders to grow your list (and sales) by up to 45%! (more on that in our next lesson)

If you're serious about wanting to make a living online - you really should check out the Mailloop 7 Software software.  It's made me a lot of moolah over the years!

Now, there's just one more aspect of our affiliate links page - Flowers or Chocolates Anyone? - that I want to briefly discuss -- The type of links we present to our reader.

Notice that I haven't put the standard text links and banners that most affiliates give you when you join their program. 

HINT: Make Your Links Look Like Content!

Better yet, use those affiliate endorsements as content!  You should set up your affiliate links similar to the way you setup your article archive.  For the most part, folks are sick to death with flashy banners and promotions on every website they visit.

Be CLEVER!  If you have a link that promotes Gift Baskets, use this link as another page of content and riddle the page with benefits about sending the perfect gift basket to that special someone in their life!

Then, subtly promote your affiliate links in the context of the article and you'll have a sure-fire winning web page that will earn you commissions - guaranteed.  Plus, the more content you have on your website, the more the search engines will spider your site and list your sub pages in their rankings as well.

Remember, not every customer is going to "ENTER" your website at your homepage!  There's nothing wrong with a customer doing a search for one of your keywords and finding a search result that leads them directly to one of your content pages.  In fact, that a plus!

So, when you're setting up the pages on your site, keep this in mind!  Ask yourself...

• What's my MWR (most wanted response) from someone visiting this page?

• Do I have an opt in offer clearly presented on this page?

• Does this page provide quality, informative content?

Once you begin analyzing every page on your site this way, your sales and commissions (and search rankings) will begin to explode!
 

Our Newsletter Link

The next link I want to talk about is Our Newsletter link.  The link itself and the actual page are ironically the least important aspect of the whole "newsletter" topic.. but still very important!

If setup and marketed correctly, your newsletter will be the entire driving force behind your online success.  Let's quickly take a look at the newsletter page.

Well, I'll be a straight shootin.. pistol flickin... SOB!  What's the first thing a customer sees when they visit our newsletter page?

Well can ya believe that!  (Whoever designed this Candle Lite Cooking Page Is Brilliant - wouldn't ya agree?)

Let's play a little game...

Let's step back for a minute and think back to WAY before you started learning all this brilliant marketing stuff...

What if I told you I setup a website called "Candle Lite Cooking" and I asked you to take a look at it and tell me what ya thought of it.  I could've probably guessed some of your responses long before you even browsed past the first page...

I could hear ya now (ya little know-it-all)...

• Not too professional lookin...

• Graphics are kinda crappy...

• Where's all the products you said you were sellin?...

• What's with this free stuff you're givin away all over the place?  Thought you wanted to make money with this "so-called" website!...

• Why don't ya spice it up and add some "FLASH" or "ANIMATIONS" to the site?  They're so cool and people love em...

• Blah! Blah! Blah!

Don't ya just hate it when you're wrong and ya think ya know everything!  This website might not look like much, but I guarantee ya one thing... Anybody could easily make $60,000 a year with it!  And that's just one site!  And again, if we did this 5 times over with other niche sites... that's $300,000 a year from a few crappy little websites!

So the lesson here is this Gumby... Don't follow the crowd!  Listen to what I'm tellin ya and do everything with one goal in mind - GET THE ADDY!  The Dinero isn't far behind! (and after our next two lesson... you'll understand this brilliantly!)

Okay, so back to our newsletter link...

The first thing you noticed was the opt-in for our FREE subscription.  We want everyone who visits this page to give us their email addy... period!

But maybe they're sick and tired of all the junk mail they've been getting and they don't want any more crap coming into their inbox.

Well... Well... Well...

I guess we'll have to work a little harder on convincing them that what we have to offer is FAR FROM CRAP!!!

So, what do we need to do?

Let's raise the bar and entice them a little bit.  Let's offer em something extremely valuable - for FREE - to join our newsletter subscription. How about a Free Report Titled...

"Lose 10 Pounds In 10 Days
WITHOUT Changing Your Diet!"

Will that get some folks to give us their email address?  I say absolutely!

Now, let's suppose this visitor isn't interested in dieting.  Now what?

Have no fear... We're going to show em just how EXTREMELY valuable our newsletter is.  Just like with our article archive, we're going to entice this visitor to read over some back issues and decide for themselves...  Fair enough?

Note:  As you can see, I listed all of the back issues of our newsletter in a nice, neatly organized fashion.  But I do also want to point out one extremely important point, however.

Whenever possible, include the titles to all your newsletter issues in an orderly fashion.  This will allow your visitors to read over some of the titles and... if you're good...  something will grab their attention.

Then, just make sure each and every issue is jam packed with quality, informative, entertaining content and you'll drive new subscribers to your opt in page like bees on honey.

'Nough said... Moving along...

Last, but definitely not least, we have our little army of "silent salespeople" working at the bottom of the page, cleverly enticing each and every visitor to sign up. 

Go ahead Mr. or Mrs. Customer.  Enter that email address!  You know you want to.  You see how so many other folks are willing to take the time and write in about how unbelievably "helpful and resourceful" this newsletter is.  After all Mr. Customer, folks don't just write in and say things like that if something is "JUST AVERAGE"!  This must be one helluva newsletter... right?

Oh... The magnificent power and magical spell those clever little testimonials hold!  Remember back in Lesson 7 when we talked about how to have your customers raving about your website, products, services, etc?  You do remember... right?  If not, then go back and study it! 

Riddle that page with testimonials!  It's a proven fact that quality testimonials are one of your greatest selling tools.  And just because we're not asking for a credit card number for our newsletter subscription doesn't mean we're not selling!

We're selling on every page of our site my friend.  Never forget that.

Sell... Sell... Sell...

So, that about wraps it up for our newsletter page.  Rest assured, we haven't even scratched the surface when it comes to delivering a quality, informative (selling) newsletter via email, but we'll be tacklin that in the next lesson.

For now, I just want you to understand that your newsletter page is a sales page too!  Sell it with more passion than any product on your website.  Once you get those email addresses, the sky's the limit. (Again, we'll go over that subject in more detail in the next lesson so hang tight..)
 

Visit Our Store

Okay, right out of the gate I'm going to make a confession here!  This store link is by far my LEAST FAVORITE link on our entire website!  Surprised?  Don't be...

Reality check time...

Most folks think they'll setup an online store and droves of customers will come pounding down the doors.  In reality... it just doesn't work that way.  But before we get into all the clever little aspects of our store at Candle Lite Cooking, let's take a look at that page...

Yup!  The opt-in right at the top of the page!  How clever - a "Member's Only" section for our exclusive V.I.P. customers.  This is a win-win situation if I ever saw one.

I'll elaborate...

Without a doubt, if you make the offer enticing... A lot of your customers will sign up for your FREE membership to get discounts, incentives, etc.  --  and that's exactly what you'll give em!

Here's how... Let's assume you deal with only 6 very reputable suppliers for your drop shipping and wholesale needs.  Now, let's further assume that of these six suppliers, at least one of them each week (or worst case scenario each month) sends you their list of discontinued items and sales.  Wouldn't it be much more advantageous for you to be able to shoot an email out to all of your Club Members and offer these special deals exclusively to members?  Of course it would.  And they'll love ya for it!

Plus, you're building yet another list of opt in subscribers that you can follow up with on a regular basis and promote other products and services.  And best of all, you can also cross-promote your lists as well.

For example, you could send a note to all your club members offering free entry into your "Candle Lite "Socialite" Reminder Service"!  Then, every member of your discount club would also be automatically receiving reminders when a special occasion is drawing near. 

That's one customer, on two separate lists, receiving promotions and offers regularly with you rarely ever lifting a finger!  Are ya startin to see the beauty in this ?... GOOD!

And remember... don't fret... because we'll cover the whole email marketing thing in detail in lesson 12 (and to be honest, your product sales from wholesalers and drop shippers will probably end up being your least profitable income stream... but it's still an income... right?)
 

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At the end of this training, I'm also going to provide you with a list of some of my personal favorite drop shippers and wholesalers.  These sources are a goldmine for getting products shipped directly to your customers without you having to lift a finger.  It's important to note, however, that there are a lot of wholesalers and drop shippers on the web offering these types of services.  Some are reputable, some are total crapola!  Be wise and check these suppliers out before ever doing business with them.  Use common sense.  Make sure they offer a phone number and inventory counts so you can stay informed!

The sources that I've bundled together for you I've personally used and I can testify to their professionalism and quality service.  Again, after you're all done with these lessons, I'll have the download available for you.

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So Chumley... the next thing I want to cover is the actual product listings themselves.  We'll keep this brief and to the point because in our next lesson I want to cover product sourcing in more detail and I think you'll find what I have to tell ya quite enlightening!

But for now, let's first take a look at the page we're selling our products from:

Simple, sweet, and a nice clean layout.  Each product category will take our visitor to a page listing that has those products listed glamorously on the site with a detailed description of each.

Yes... I said DETAILED description!

Now, let's take a look at just how important a description of a product can be in the selling process.

The truth is... most online store owners don't realize the tremendous power their "Product Descriptions" hold.  Most think that because they own a "Retail Online Store" buyers expect the norm.  They are WRONG!  WHY FOLLOW THE CROWD?  You need to grab your readers attention.  You need to realize that a product description is much more than just a "Product Description".  It is the "SUPER SALESPERSON" at work.

All you have are your words to convince a buyer to buy your product.  Yes, a good image of the product is very important, but you need the right words...POWERFUL words, to make the sale!  You need to arouse emotion in your buyer.  You have to let a buyer know how your product is going to benefit them......IMMENSELY!

Imagine there were only you, and one other competitor trying to sell a product.  You're both in competition to sell this same product...and your competitor has the advantage of selling the item at $10.00 below your price.  Do you think you could conjure up the words in your product description to make the sale?  If not... You really NEED TO LEARN!  Chances are, no matter what you're selling online, there's always going to be someone else selling the same item at a lower price...  And you don't want to get suckered into a price war.... remember?

So what do you do?  YOU SELL!  YOU SELL YOUR HEART OUT!  You sell with WORDS!  You be the SUPER salesperson you need to be.  It's not that difficult... trust me.  I guarantee you I could sell the same product to a customer that you were offering at a $10.00 discount.  How do I know?  I've done it... many times!  How would I do it?  Simply put... WITH WORDS!

Plus, I always have an advantage over my competition...

You see, I already have this customer in my mailing list.  They've already read several issues of my newsletter.  They're on my email list for specials and promotions.  They've received several FREE downloads from my website that have helped them tremendously.  They know I respond to their concerns in a timely manner.  They know if there's a problem with their purchase they can return it... NO QUESTIONS ASKED.  AND.....

I've written a product description about this item that not only describes all the features of the product, but it also overwhelms them with the benefits of buying this product?  Did my competition do all these things for this customer?  Do you really think this customer will buy from my competitor just because their a little cheaper on price?  Sorry!  Go AWAY!  The sale was mine way before this customer even decided to buy!

Don't Describe Features... Describe Benefits - This is a key in writing and selling effectively.  Buyers "THINK" they're interested in the features of a product (and naturally they need to know the basics to be sure it's what they are looking for), but what a buyer is really going to be sold on are the BENEFITS of a product.

-- How will this product make their life easier?
-- What will the look on their Grandchild's face be when they open it?
-- How much time will they save after it arrives on their doorstep?
-- How much more will their spouse appreciate them for buying it for them?

Take, for example, a home stereo system.  Naturally, your customers will need to know the features that the stereo has.  For instance, how many watts?  How many speakers?  The overall size of the unit...  The warranty... The manufacturer....etc., etc., etc,.  But your job as a SUPERB salesperson is to list those features and follow them up with "punch after punch" describing all the benefits of those features.  Create emotion in your readers!  Make them feel like they couldn't live without it!  Here's an example of a "GOOD" description in comparison to a "SUPERB" description::

*************** GOOD DESCRIPTION *****************

RCA Home Theatre System With Surround Sound
Save big on this RCA home theatre system today!
Made of solid oak, this system is guaranteed for 5 year.
Comes complete with all wiring and installation video.

Features Include:
-- 100 watts of power
-- DVD/CD Player plays all DVD/CD/CD-R/CD-RW/MP3
-- AM/FM Digital tuning receiver with 40 random preset stations
-- Separate controls for front, center, surround speakers, and subwoofer
-- On-screen menus and information display
-- Parental control function
-- Fluorescent display
-- Headphone Jack - 6.25mm Phone Jack x 1
-- Left/right/center speaker dimensions (3" driver): 3.5"W x 5.8"H x 4.25"D
-- Surrounds speakers dimensions (3" driver): 3.5"W x 5.8"H x 4.25"D
-- UL Listed and Approved

------------------------------------------

Not bad.... right?  This description gives the buyer everything they need to know to make an informed purchase.   PLUS.. it has a pretty impressive list of features.  If you're looking for a nice home theatre system, this is a really great deal!  But let's see if a SALESPERSON could do better by using the same features and selling the BENEFITS of the product too....

************** SUPERB DESCRIPTION **************

You'll Really Enjoy This Uniquely Designed And Extremely Sophisticated RCA Home Theatre System With Surround Sound!  Best Of All - You Can have It Delivered Right To Your Home In As Little As 3 Days!

You and your family will enjoy huge savings on this RCA home theatre system today.  This extremely popular system is made of solid oak and backed by a 5 year warranty direct from the manufacturer.   You'll enjoy peace of mind in knowing that your purchase is backed for a FULL 5 YEARS from one of the largest names in the electronics industry!

The Solid Oak Construction makes this unit extremely stylish, plus you'll be thrilled to know that a little furniture polish will keep this beautiful system looking brand new for years to come!  With it's exquisite design and rich texture, you'll feel proud when displaying this system in your home.  Similar systems of this quality sell for $100's more with a lot less features.

The Premium Features Of This RCA Home Theater System Include:

100 watts of sheer power guarantee you'll never crave more volume when your favorite song comes on the radio.  You'll be dancing and singing to your favorite songs in no time... and feel like your in the middle of a concert hall!

The built in DVD/CD components play all types of media including CD-R,
CD-RW, And MP3.  You'll be able to burn your favorite music to any CD and enjoy it at your leisure.  Plus think of all the money you'll be able to save by burning your favorite music.  If you're a Napster or online music club member, you'll be able to download your favorite music to disk and play it with incredible sound and clarity!  And don't forget the MP3 feature!  Digital playback with your favorite music, all in stereo surround sound!

This unit also features an AM/FM digital tuning receiver ( that's digital - not what most are used to in a receiver) and also comes with 40 random preset stations.  While many systems on the market feature 10 or 20 preset stations, you'll have a system with 40 presets to enjoy!  You could let the whole family preset some of their favorite stations and still have a few left over for just YOU!

You'll also have the added luxury of not only FRONT controls, but you be able to control the front, center, surround, and subwoofer individually.  You'll never have to worry about where to place all those speakers to get "True" Surround Sound Quality!  With so many available controls to take advantage of, you be able to finely tune this system with ease, and feel like you're in the middle of a concert.  It's that efficient!

And here's a real treat!  Not only will you have a remote control and touch button capabilities, you'll also have the added luxury of "ON SCREEN" menus and information display.  Now that's a real nice feature that you just don't find on most systems these days.  No more going blind trying to see the small controls on the unit itself, instead you'll read each and every command easily directly on your television... Now that's a feature you just can't be without!

Are you worried about your children's programming?  Well fear no more!  This RCA unit has built in Parental Controls as an added feature!  Mom or Dad can set it... and forget it!  Choose which channels you'd like to block, and you'll never have to worry about the little ones listening to a program they shouldn't.  That's peace of mind that no parent should be without!

How many times have you been caught up in a movie or your favorite program and wanted to know the time?  So, you need to get up, turn on a light, and check the clock on the wall.  Or, maybe you're lucky enough to have a VCR in the room and it has the time displayed (but is it the correct time)?  Well, RCA has taken some of that aggravation away by including a florescent display on both the remote control and Sound System itself! 

With the SUPER high quality sound this system provides, chances are there's going to be times when you'd like to BLAST your favorite music, but unfortunately someone close by is trying to concentrate on something else!  Now, that's OK too because this Ultra Modern System comes with a Headphone Jack (6.25mm Phone Jack x 1 ) so you can plug in your favorite headphones.  Sit back, put your feet up and relax to your favorite tunes without disturbing a soul!

And you'll love this feature as well!  Left/right/center speaker dimensions (3" driver): 3.5"W x 5.8"H x 4.25"D and Surrounds speakers dimensions (3" driver): 3.5"W x 5.8"H x 4.25"D mean that you're getting a system that's not only compact and discrete, but also big enough to handle the power!

Because the system is also UL Listed and Approved that means no worrying about a wire short circuiting or causing a fire from overheating.  Everything's been thoroughly tested to the strictest of standards and is 100% safe for your use.... Even if you turn it up REALLY LOUD!

And last but not least, The best part of the whole package is it comes complete with each and every wire and connector you're going to need to get setup in lightning fast speed!  And if you're worried about getting your system setup and playing, forget about it!  RCA really goes out of their way to provide quality products and they want to make sure that you get your system setup and playing as soon as you open the box.  So, they've even included a Video to watch that will show you how to setup your system correctly, with ease, without any worries. 

Yes it's true... most systems with this many features can be quite expensive, but through this special offer we've drastically reduced the price to first time buyers.

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Do you see the difference in a GOOD description and a SUPERB description.  Granted, I just wrote that description in about 3 minutes and left out a strong close, but I specifically used the same features for both.  Do you see the POWER in words.  Do you see the POWER in selling "BENEFITS".  If you strictly sell features, it's features you're buyer will read.  But, if you sell BENEFITS, your buyers will read with emotion more than logic...and that my friends is what makes the sale!

We're going to talk more about the power of words and sales copy in general in the next lesson!  One of my favorite topics and a must if you're going to sell online.

Aside from your product descriptions being so important, allowing your customers an easy shopping experience is a must.  if you have a shopping cart setup that's a total maze to get through... chances are you're not going to see many sales coming through.

If you remember, in Lesson 1 we talked about where to grab a free shopping cart to sell your goods.  Just to refresh your memory, you can grab a 5 star FREE shopping cart at Mal's E-commerce.

This free cart is by far the most advanced FREE cart I've ever come across.  You can accept all forms of payment (including Paypal) and the buying process for your customers is extremely easy and professional. If you want to accept MC/Visa however, you will need to have your own merchant account.

In my humble opinion, having your own merchant account is WAY overrated.  With PayPal being so convenient and secure, I find it a lot less hassle simply offer PayPal as the primary payment gateway for my customers.  Plus... PayPal has recently changed their terms so now anyone can pay you with a credit card via Paypal - even if they don't have an account with PayPal.

Okay.. let's keep moving forward...

I'd like to take a look at one final aspect of our online store page setup...

OH MY GOD!  Another opt-in offer!  Have I lost my mind?  I say... nope!  Actually, I wish there were a few more spots on the page where I could offer something in exchange for a customers email address, but I stick to the two offers... that should do it!

Seriously though, take advantage of the space you have available and if you have an offer that isn't going to be obtrusive on the page, include it!  What's the worst that could happen... someone gives you their email address?  Boy wouldn't that just stink!
 

Well Captain Kirk... I think that about wraps things up for the cleverly designed yet simple web pages on our site - Candle Lite Cooking.  Simple and clean with one main focus... Get The Email Address.

Now, if someone ever asks you what the one, ultimate, most profitable tool you must have in order to build your business and profits - what would your response be?

An autoresponder!  Yup!  And in our next lesson we're going to learn all about autoresponders, how to construct messages that we can load into our autoresponder for maximum profits, and how to cleverly write those messages for optimum sales!

In addition, we're going to talk about creating our own product that will allow us 100% profit (instead of a measly 10% or 20% profit) like you'll be seeing when selling tangible products online.

We're also going to go over how you can have unlimited amounts of your own product ready to go without having to create them yourself.  A real time saver for sure.

And guess what, there's even more in Lesson 11... so I expect you to be on time, focused, and ready to rock!

Bonus PC Video's For This Lesson:

Enjoy!

See ya at the top,

Azman Arifin
http://www.azmanonline.com

I'd love to hear your comments or any feedback you might have about this course.  Please send your comments to azman@azmanonline.com