Most of the time when you see this type of headline it is simply an attention getter so that the person using it can sell you the product after telling you how good it is.
That is not the case this time. I actually mean to stongly suggest that you NOT buy the Google Sneaky program.
It is not that the information inside is awful or wrong. Nick Marks gives you several short video sessions on how to video your presentations using Camtasia or MS Movie Maker and he tells you why it is so important to use video in your sales process. Anyone who has a copy of the Mind Movie Creation Kit, the various programs from Kickstart Media (Traffic Geyser folks), or courses from any number of other online experts, will already have this information. If you don't, ask your teenager for help for free!
I have a couple of main gripes. One is, you will be subjected to a high pressure, sleezy sales pitch for his coaching program over the phone, and if the fact that you will be receiving a call is mentioned, it is in very fine print. I have been through this many times for many other internet marketing programs and they tend to follow a pattern, although this is on the high end of the pressure scale from what I have experienced. When I said I was not interested they were not willing to drop it and just go on to the next person on their call list. They tried to make me feel as if your efforts online have been unsuccessful and they are your ticket to wealth and happiness for a substantial coaching fee. They won't take no for an answer.
The marketers who tell you up front that you will have a 30 minute free "coaching session" as a result of signing up for the loss leader offer I find generally have a little more useful and helpful information to share. They are still trying to ultimately sell you on a high ticket coaching program, but they do provide some valuable help.
Marks' team springs this call on you at just about the time you get home to make dinner and don't even ask if this is a convenient time to call. They don't warn you that by signing up for the basic offer you will be called about coaching. When I told them I wanted to cancel the ongoing $97 charge, the first person to call said, "Oh yes, the hidden charge." The next day someone else even more obnoxious called and when I asked for information on how to cancel, he said he could not do that, and hung up. Rule one of salesmanship is, when a customer wants to cancel, make it EASY for them to do so. Maybe then they won't blast you in a blog post or a forum discussion.
I have been all through my emails and for the life of me, I can't find any follow up on the Google Sneaky program that gives me info on how to cancel. The trial period, if you bothered to read the fine print, was 7 days and then you'd be billed $97 for his ongoing program. It looks as if I will have to wait all 7 days and then call from the number on my credit statement. What a waste of money! What incredibly poor customer service! It is almost a given that when they make it this hard to cancel before the first billing, they will be unwilling to refund the charge.
In contrast, the marketers with continuity programs that I respect and follow regularly, like Michael Cheney, Alan Bechtold, Erik Stafford, Mike Filsaime, Dr. Mike, Frank Kern, Ryan Deiss, Marc Horne, Todd Gross, Tellman Knudson, the GVO team, and several others I have had ongoing relationships with, all are very up front in the way they advertise their continuity programs and how you will be vetted through their funnel. They also make if very clear from the moment you sign on to a program how to get ahold of customer service, even if you are calling to cancel. They treat their clients with respect, and they are rewarded in large measure because of their excellent service, not just because of the excellence of their programs.
If you decide to get the initial Google Sneaky offer for under $10 you will have two upsells right away. One is to a "free" website, which really just means you'll have the same replicated site as thousands of other people. That will get you nowhere. When you realize that you are offered a fairly expensive upgrade for a more "flexible" hosting plan. My experience with trying that plan for a couple of sites is that it really gives you little or now help in setting up your site. You can do better simply getting yourself a hosting account at Hostgator that offers lower priced plans for hosting one site, or GVO, which offers excellent service and training for newbies.
The other upsell is to Traffic Geyser, which is a good service, but will cost around $97 per month. There are less expensive ways to start with video marketing. For one, if you sign up for a GVO plan you will get free video hosting. In addition, unless you take very good note of where you can cancel-- and I didn't find thatinformation in the basic member site nor in any follow up-- you will be charged $97 per month after 7 days. There is very little information about what that continuity program will get you.
I expect better service, better products, and more transparency from someone who won the Marketer of the Year award a couple years ago. Google Sneaky? Marks Sneaky is more like it.
Liz Nichols
lizdnichols (at) gmail.com
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Helpful Hints for Internet Marketing Success
I spent a few minutes today listening for the second time to Michael Cheney’s “7 Deadly Marketing Mistakes” within his new Delta Squadron coaching program. This is the kind of advice that all internet marketers need to take to heart and commit to memory. Like Cheney, I’m afraid many of us have committed these mistakes time and again, and they really do rob many people of success.
Rather than repeat exactly what Michael says, I’m going to summarize this points by turning the negatives into positives. DO these things and you too should have internet marketing success:
1. Think positively about what you know already. Essentially, everything you learn in IM makes you a little better qualified than the next person to be considered an expert at some aspect of the business. Just specialize in one or two things that you are good at after sampling the waterfront of the techniques and strategies for making money on the internet. No one can do it all, but everyone can become an expert in one or two strategies.
2. Know why you are marketing and have a marketing plan. Know what you do best, the techniques needed to best market what you have to sell, and get it done. You must first plan what you need to do and then you need to take action. Also, understand why we are marketing in the first place. We are here to help people solve problems using the online environment.
3. Be focused. Decide what it is you want to do and get it done. Most people get distracted with what Cheney calls “bright, shiny objects,” or, “the magpie effect.” Soon they are going off on tangents and in different directions from where they started. The distractions just lead to nothing getting finished.
4. You need a mentor. Don’t listen to the people who have less experience and background than you have. Find people who have successfully solved the issues you face, and follow their lead. It is ok to associate with people who are about at your level of experience. These people can make great partners and mastermind friends, but people who do not have any more experience than you have do not make the best mentors for you.
5. Go where others have gone before you. This applies, first of all, to finding a niche. If no one is presently marketing in this niche and no one has ads already, then there is a good chance that this is not a profitable niche. Don’t reinvent the wheel, at least not initially. You can still create products, but make them compilations of the best of what is already available, or a tool that helps others digest what someone else has created. There will be time enough in your career to invent new ways of doing things once you can afford the extra risk of going it your own way. Doing your own thing is always more risky and costly, so save it for when you have more experience, if at all.
6. Remember the real business we are in with internet marketing: it is really a people business and you must get out and interact with people in order to be successful. Get involved with a networking team or mastermind; frequent forums and discussion groups; attend live events. Be there to help people. Don’t hide yourself away in a cave.
7. Because IM is really a people business, the primary focus should be on helping others to solve problems, not in making money. Sometimes the right thing to do is to make a little less money in order to make the information you have to share more affordable. Yes, you are in it to make a profit, but, if that is the primary motivator you will probably not succeed. The best marketing strategy is generally to give the highest value and to “move the free line” wherever possible. This builds a following better than going after the buck first and doling out the information later because it works from the element of trust.
This is just a sampling of the kind of material in Delta Squadron. It is a great way for kinesthetic learners to grasp IM and basic business building skills because Cheney uses a combination of video, audio, print, graphs and charts to get different lessons across.
Currently Delta Squadron is closed, but Michael is forming a waiting list for the next entry point into the program. To find out more about the program and join the waiting list for a look inside the product check the Delta Squadron link.
Liz Nichols
lizdnichols (at) gmail.com
Rather than repeat exactly what Michael says, I’m going to summarize this points by turning the negatives into positives. DO these things and you too should have internet marketing success:
1. Think positively about what you know already. Essentially, everything you learn in IM makes you a little better qualified than the next person to be considered an expert at some aspect of the business. Just specialize in one or two things that you are good at after sampling the waterfront of the techniques and strategies for making money on the internet. No one can do it all, but everyone can become an expert in one or two strategies.
2. Know why you are marketing and have a marketing plan. Know what you do best, the techniques needed to best market what you have to sell, and get it done. You must first plan what you need to do and then you need to take action. Also, understand why we are marketing in the first place. We are here to help people solve problems using the online environment.
3. Be focused. Decide what it is you want to do and get it done. Most people get distracted with what Cheney calls “bright, shiny objects,” or, “the magpie effect.” Soon they are going off on tangents and in different directions from where they started. The distractions just lead to nothing getting finished.
4. You need a mentor. Don’t listen to the people who have less experience and background than you have. Find people who have successfully solved the issues you face, and follow their lead. It is ok to associate with people who are about at your level of experience. These people can make great partners and mastermind friends, but people who do not have any more experience than you have do not make the best mentors for you.
5. Go where others have gone before you. This applies, first of all, to finding a niche. If no one is presently marketing in this niche and no one has ads already, then there is a good chance that this is not a profitable niche. Don’t reinvent the wheel, at least not initially. You can still create products, but make them compilations of the best of what is already available, or a tool that helps others digest what someone else has created. There will be time enough in your career to invent new ways of doing things once you can afford the extra risk of going it your own way. Doing your own thing is always more risky and costly, so save it for when you have more experience, if at all.
6. Remember the real business we are in with internet marketing: it is really a people business and you must get out and interact with people in order to be successful. Get involved with a networking team or mastermind; frequent forums and discussion groups; attend live events. Be there to help people. Don’t hide yourself away in a cave.
7. Because IM is really a people business, the primary focus should be on helping others to solve problems, not in making money. Sometimes the right thing to do is to make a little less money in order to make the information you have to share more affordable. Yes, you are in it to make a profit, but, if that is the primary motivator you will probably not succeed. The best marketing strategy is generally to give the highest value and to “move the free line” wherever possible. This builds a following better than going after the buck first and doling out the information later because it works from the element of trust.
This is just a sampling of the kind of material in Delta Squadron. It is a great way for kinesthetic learners to grasp IM and basic business building skills because Cheney uses a combination of video, audio, print, graphs and charts to get different lessons across.
Currently Delta Squadron is closed, but Michael is forming a waiting list for the next entry point into the program. To find out more about the program and join the waiting list for a look inside the product check the Delta Squadron link.
Liz Nichols
lizdnichols (at) gmail.com
Friday, October 2, 2009
GVO's Comprehensive Marketing Platform
I have been a member of the Kiosk hosting company family for the past two years. I have moved all of my websites to Kiosk and recommend it for my clients.
Over the past two years I've watched Kiosk grow from a small Canadian-based company into a global powerhouse based out of San Antonio where that have virtually unlimited bandwidth available and a state of the art computer data center to support their vastly increased services.
Kiosk is also the home of Hot Conference video conferencing, a strong contender in the web conferencing arena. They've continued to improve the capabilities of this conferencing platform to support all types of media platforms. I have experimented with the conference room and have attended many trainings in the Hot Conference classroom. Each member with a Titanium (unlimited hosting) account gets a 10 seat conference room free.
Kiosk as of mid-September officially became GVO, Global Virtual Opportunities, and has many other new features that all come as part of a Titanium membership. Some of you may have tried the Easy Video Producer, the easy way to produce and upload videos onto premade optin and other forms for viewing on the internet. This is a place to store your videos, again, all part of a great package that if you bought it separately would cost lots more.
New to the GVO line-up is a full autoresponder service and bulk mailing. GVO comes from an internet marketing background and hosts many top people in IM. While certainly no spamming is allowed, they do understand the need for mass emailings for clients who have large downlines and major launches and they are good to work with.
I've also found GVO very up front in dealing with clients. When there was an equipment failure that was supposed to be covered by a piece of equipment which also failed, Joel Therien, GVO's CEO, was on the spot creating a video for members of what happened and what he was doing to fix the problem. Joel and his right hand guy, Mike Potvin, have been religious about doing video blogs two or three times per week for the past year to let all members know how the upgrade to GVO was progressing. I have rarely worked with such a transparent company willing to share the good, bad and ugly. (Mostly it's been good though.)
The list building phase is just about done for the big launch. Check out the free training on how to be more effective in network marketing at: http://www.eliminatemlmfailure.com and watch for the launch details of the new GVO.
Liz Nichols
www.eliminatemlmfailure.com
Over the past two years I've watched Kiosk grow from a small Canadian-based company into a global powerhouse based out of San Antonio where that have virtually unlimited bandwidth available and a state of the art computer data center to support their vastly increased services.
Kiosk is also the home of Hot Conference video conferencing, a strong contender in the web conferencing arena. They've continued to improve the capabilities of this conferencing platform to support all types of media platforms. I have experimented with the conference room and have attended many trainings in the Hot Conference classroom. Each member with a Titanium (unlimited hosting) account gets a 10 seat conference room free.
Kiosk as of mid-September officially became GVO, Global Virtual Opportunities, and has many other new features that all come as part of a Titanium membership. Some of you may have tried the Easy Video Producer, the easy way to produce and upload videos onto premade optin and other forms for viewing on the internet. This is a place to store your videos, again, all part of a great package that if you bought it separately would cost lots more.
New to the GVO line-up is a full autoresponder service and bulk mailing. GVO comes from an internet marketing background and hosts many top people in IM. While certainly no spamming is allowed, they do understand the need for mass emailings for clients who have large downlines and major launches and they are good to work with.
I've also found GVO very up front in dealing with clients. When there was an equipment failure that was supposed to be covered by a piece of equipment which also failed, Joel Therien, GVO's CEO, was on the spot creating a video for members of what happened and what he was doing to fix the problem. Joel and his right hand guy, Mike Potvin, have been religious about doing video blogs two or three times per week for the past year to let all members know how the upgrade to GVO was progressing. I have rarely worked with such a transparent company willing to share the good, bad and ugly. (Mostly it's been good though.)
The list building phase is just about done for the big launch. Check out the free training on how to be more effective in network marketing at: http://www.eliminatemlmfailure.com and watch for the launch details of the new GVO.
Liz Nichols
www.eliminatemlmfailure.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Bombing the Competition: Michael Cheney's Delta Squadron
Every so often a marketer comes along who is so compelling that you've got to follow them. You just know that this is the one who will make a difference in your life. The one who will cut through the crap, knock you up-side the head and set you straight.
Michael Cheney is such a teacher.
In a matter of a couple of years Michael has risen from loser status to hero status. He has helped over 200 marketers find their way online and start to make a full time income based on his sound and practical advice.
What's more, he makes it fun. He uses imaginative terms for what could be seen as mundane tasks. He is funny and witty, so it is not hard to listen to him for an hour-long webinar. In fact, you look forward to his online meet-ups.
He answers your questions and he gets back to you, and the cost of this personal coaching is actually within a lot of people's budgets (unlike so many gurus where you practically have to take out a second mortgage to pay for it.) He understands that there are many ordinary people out there who need his help and can only afford to make a modest investment to get the help that is needed to succeed.
He know because he's been there. Michael struggled for about 5 years to make an income online. He was living in a small apartment with a dead end job and both drinking and drug habits. He turned his life around completely and in a very short time was making $1 million to $5 million per launch for his projects. He now lives in a lovely house in the Scottish countryside and commands a great income from his online business and consulting.
He's just released his latest program, Delta Squadron. It's as creative and fun as his earlier programs. He includes his secrets to how he made his first $1 million in a few days. There are also a couple of attractive upgrade options, along with a 30 day free trial of his membership program. Get it here:
http://www.deltasquadron.com/a/go?a=42244
If you don't already have an internet marketing teacher, I highly recommend that you grab on to Michael. He is one of the best, and, frankly, you can't beat his price for the amount of value you'll get from his program.
Get on board now:
http://www.deltasquadron.com/a/go?a=42244
Liz Nichols
http://www.myblogbuilders.com
PS: I have just joined his exclusive coaching program. I will share what I can with my list, so comment here with your email and I'll get you on the list.
http://www.deltasquadron.com/a/go?a=42244
Michael Cheney is such a teacher.
In a matter of a couple of years Michael has risen from loser status to hero status. He has helped over 200 marketers find their way online and start to make a full time income based on his sound and practical advice.
What's more, he makes it fun. He uses imaginative terms for what could be seen as mundane tasks. He is funny and witty, so it is not hard to listen to him for an hour-long webinar. In fact, you look forward to his online meet-ups.
He answers your questions and he gets back to you, and the cost of this personal coaching is actually within a lot of people's budgets (unlike so many gurus where you practically have to take out a second mortgage to pay for it.) He understands that there are many ordinary people out there who need his help and can only afford to make a modest investment to get the help that is needed to succeed.
He know because he's been there. Michael struggled for about 5 years to make an income online. He was living in a small apartment with a dead end job and both drinking and drug habits. He turned his life around completely and in a very short time was making $1 million to $5 million per launch for his projects. He now lives in a lovely house in the Scottish countryside and commands a great income from his online business and consulting.
He's just released his latest program, Delta Squadron. It's as creative and fun as his earlier programs. He includes his secrets to how he made his first $1 million in a few days. There are also a couple of attractive upgrade options, along with a 30 day free trial of his membership program. Get it here:
http://www.deltasquadron.com/a/go?a=42244
If you don't already have an internet marketing teacher, I highly recommend that you grab on to Michael. He is one of the best, and, frankly, you can't beat his price for the amount of value you'll get from his program.
Get on board now:
http://www.deltasquadron.com/a/go?a=42244
Liz Nichols
http://www.myblogbuilders.com
PS: I have just joined his exclusive coaching program. I will share what I can with my list, so comment here with your email and I'll get you on the list.
http://www.deltasquadron.com/a/go?a=42244
Monday, August 31, 2009
Headlines that Sell
I highly recommend a great new blog post from Michel Fortin's blog:
http://www.michelfortin.com/headlines-that-pull-persuade-and-propel/
He bemoans the recent trend toward long, mushy and totally ineffective headlines. He suggests building a swipe file of great headlines. Here's a starter from this same Fortin blog post. Use emotional hot buttons to build the most effective headlines:
* Curiosity (“Revealed! Closely Guarded Secrets For …”)
* Mystery (“The Five Biggest Mistakes to Avoid By …”)
* Fear (“Over 98.4% of People End up Broke When …”)
* Pain (“Suffering From Needless Back Pain? Then …”)
* Convenience (“How to Increase Your Chances With …”)
* Envy (“How Fellow Marketer Pummels Competitors By …”)
* Jealousy (“They All Laughed When … Until I …”)
* Sloth (“Slash Your Learning Curve By 57% When …”)
* Love, Lust (“Make Her Fall in Love With You With …”)
* Shock (“Finally Exposed! Get The Dirty Truth On …”)
* Greed (“Boost Your Income By More Than 317% When …”)
* Pride, Power, Ego (“Make Fellow Workers Squirm With …”)
* Assurance (“… In Less Than 60 Days, Guaranteed!”)
* Immortality (“Reverse The Aging Process With …”)
* Anger (“Banks Are Ripping You Off! Here’s Why …”)
Great suggestions, as usual, Michel!
Liz Nichols
http://www.michelfortin.com/headlines-that-pull-persuade-and-propel/
He bemoans the recent trend toward long, mushy and totally ineffective headlines. He suggests building a swipe file of great headlines. Here's a starter from this same Fortin blog post. Use emotional hot buttons to build the most effective headlines:
* Curiosity (“Revealed! Closely Guarded Secrets For …”)
* Mystery (“The Five Biggest Mistakes to Avoid By …”)
* Fear (“Over 98.4% of People End up Broke When …”)
* Pain (“Suffering From Needless Back Pain? Then …”)
* Convenience (“How to Increase Your Chances With …”)
* Envy (“How Fellow Marketer Pummels Competitors By …”)
* Jealousy (“They All Laughed When … Until I …”)
* Sloth (“Slash Your Learning Curve By 57% When …”)
* Love, Lust (“Make Her Fall in Love With You With …”)
* Shock (“Finally Exposed! Get The Dirty Truth On …”)
* Greed (“Boost Your Income By More Than 317% When …”)
* Pride, Power, Ego (“Make Fellow Workers Squirm With …”)
* Assurance (“… In Less Than 60 Days, Guaranteed!”)
* Immortality (“Reverse The Aging Process With …”)
* Anger (“Banks Are Ripping You Off! Here’s Why …”)
Great suggestions, as usual, Michel!
Liz Nichols
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Selecting the Best On Site Internet Training
The fall is always a season where many of the big
name marketers hold major on site internet training. I have
noticed that more of these events are taking place
spread throughout the year-- perhaps because at events
like JV Alert the Big Guys get together and plan out a
calendar of major launches. If you don't follow in line
you're toast. Despite the coordination, fall is always
a busy training season in the IM industry.
Each person must to assess training needs before getting
caught up in the frenzy of buying the latest and greatest
product. No one has enough cash and time to go to all of
the super events out there, and you don't want to waste
the precious time and money on the wrong thing.
Sometimes when you buy a low cost product, the upsell will
be a high end course to help you tailor the training
materials to your own situation. It's a great strategy,
but it leaves a lot of people with training courses they
didn't realize they can't afford to support properly.
The hard copy course without the on site training is
sometimes much less useful, so in order to protect
the investment on a new product, it may well be
important to attend the live event. It is
too bad that these often hit the market quickly leaving
little time for those marketers who are not in the IM
Inner Circle little time to plan and budget for the
most critical events, or even double-booked.
Trainings are of at least 3 kinds:
1. The least focused on specific topics is usually the
"tell and sell." This is a workshop on a fairly general
topic area, such some famous marketer's free customers'
"thank you" event. By getting in a room customers who
have bought your products in the past, you've got a
perfect set-up to get them to buy products again at the
seminar, at a higher price point. So the big-name
marketer invites all of his buddies to talk about their
latest and greatest products.
Sometimes these will be relevant to what you need, and
most will not.
While the relevance of the tell and sell is lower,
the cost is also usually little other than travel costs,
and it does offer a good opportunity to network with other
marketers and to meet, often for the first time, some of
the big names in the industry.
It is good to attend one or two of these "tell and sell"
events early on in one's IM career just to meet people
and get the scope of all the new products coming on the
market. Try to avoid the urge to jump to the buy line in
the back of the room, unless the product is really way too
cool to pass up, and can be used IMMEDIATELY in your business.
2. Lecture training
This type of training is classroom style teacher at the front
podium and students taking notes at tables lined up in the rest
of the room. There may be guest teachers, or you may be drinking
at the cup of one great master. There is time, usually for
questions, and people you want to talk to can be buttonholed in
the halls, but the emphasis is on a lot of listening and note-
taking.
This format works best when the crowd is filled with fairly new
people, or people new to the product, and they just need to be
grounded in all the details. If there is a manual or video series
with on online training to follow, then the student can go back
home and apply the training to their own situation. With a good
support desk, the student will often feel good about the training
experience, even if they quickly forget the details.
This type of training may be rolled into the purchase price of
a product, or may include a refundable $97 to assure attendance
by registrants. Other common price points for this type of
training are $497 to $997, depending on the popularity and
scarcity of information on the topic.
3. Hands on workshop.
For this type of session, bring your laptop and notebook because you
are in for a lot of individual work. This type of session will
usually start with some lecture ground-work and will quickly move
on to more individual training where associates of the guru will
go around and assist people who get stuck. Often people will be
grouped into teams, interest area, or level of experience so that
the groups can move along at approximately the same pace.
Personally, I get the most out of this type of session, provided
I can apply it to a project I am actually working on and have a high
level of confidence and respect for that guru and his/her team.
When you can go home with a website completed and checked over by an
experienced IM'er, or a detailed project plan for how to carry out your
next launch, then the feeling of accomplishment is tremendous, and you can
zoom your success rate tremendously as a result of the experience.
Often these sessions do not come cheap, and go up in cost the fewer
people who are being helped at the same time. It is common for
IM small hands-on sessions to cost from $1997 to $5000. One-on-one,
if the guru even does them, will cost $5000 per day and up.
Major rainmakers like Jay Abraham may cost $5000 per hour or more.
There have been times in the past couple years when IM pundits
wondered if the on site training model was dead. Seats were left
unfilled and whole events have had to be cancelled because of the
high cost of travel and the uncertainty about the economy.
The live Webinar is also fast becoming a viable substitute for high
quality, hands on training. I will be covering this more as the
former Hot Conference is reborn in the form of GVO Conference with
many cool interactive features that are not commonly available when
there are large numbers of registrants.
Note that the largest Webinar in internet history just took place a
few days ago when Perry Belcher and Ryan Deiss introduced Belcher's
new Social Networking course. Webinars can be tremendously successful
in introducing product launches, and they can also be highly useful
in delivering premium content. Again, more on this aspect of IM
training in a later post.
Liz Nichols
lizdnichols@gmail.com
name marketers hold major on site internet training. I have
noticed that more of these events are taking place
spread throughout the year-- perhaps because at events
like JV Alert the Big Guys get together and plan out a
calendar of major launches. If you don't follow in line
you're toast. Despite the coordination, fall is always
a busy training season in the IM industry.
Each person must to assess training needs before getting
caught up in the frenzy of buying the latest and greatest
product. No one has enough cash and time to go to all of
the super events out there, and you don't want to waste
the precious time and money on the wrong thing.
Sometimes when you buy a low cost product, the upsell will
be a high end course to help you tailor the training
materials to your own situation. It's a great strategy,
but it leaves a lot of people with training courses they
didn't realize they can't afford to support properly.
The hard copy course without the on site training is
sometimes much less useful, so in order to protect
the investment on a new product, it may well be
important to attend the live event. It is
too bad that these often hit the market quickly leaving
little time for those marketers who are not in the IM
Inner Circle little time to plan and budget for the
most critical events, or even double-booked.
Trainings are of at least 3 kinds:
1. The least focused on specific topics is usually the
"tell and sell." This is a workshop on a fairly general
topic area, such some famous marketer's free customers'
"thank you" event. By getting in a room customers who
have bought your products in the past, you've got a
perfect set-up to get them to buy products again at the
seminar, at a higher price point. So the big-name
marketer invites all of his buddies to talk about their
latest and greatest products.
Sometimes these will be relevant to what you need, and
most will not.
While the relevance of the tell and sell is lower,
the cost is also usually little other than travel costs,
and it does offer a good opportunity to network with other
marketers and to meet, often for the first time, some of
the big names in the industry.
It is good to attend one or two of these "tell and sell"
events early on in one's IM career just to meet people
and get the scope of all the new products coming on the
market. Try to avoid the urge to jump to the buy line in
the back of the room, unless the product is really way too
cool to pass up, and can be used IMMEDIATELY in your business.
2. Lecture training
This type of training is classroom style teacher at the front
podium and students taking notes at tables lined up in the rest
of the room. There may be guest teachers, or you may be drinking
at the cup of one great master. There is time, usually for
questions, and people you want to talk to can be buttonholed in
the halls, but the emphasis is on a lot of listening and note-
taking.
This format works best when the crowd is filled with fairly new
people, or people new to the product, and they just need to be
grounded in all the details. If there is a manual or video series
with on online training to follow, then the student can go back
home and apply the training to their own situation. With a good
support desk, the student will often feel good about the training
experience, even if they quickly forget the details.
This type of training may be rolled into the purchase price of
a product, or may include a refundable $97 to assure attendance
by registrants. Other common price points for this type of
training are $497 to $997, depending on the popularity and
scarcity of information on the topic.
3. Hands on workshop.
For this type of session, bring your laptop and notebook because you
are in for a lot of individual work. This type of session will
usually start with some lecture ground-work and will quickly move
on to more individual training where associates of the guru will
go around and assist people who get stuck. Often people will be
grouped into teams, interest area, or level of experience so that
the groups can move along at approximately the same pace.
Personally, I get the most out of this type of session, provided
I can apply it to a project I am actually working on and have a high
level of confidence and respect for that guru and his/her team.
When you can go home with a website completed and checked over by an
experienced IM'er, or a detailed project plan for how to carry out your
next launch, then the feeling of accomplishment is tremendous, and you can
zoom your success rate tremendously as a result of the experience.
Often these sessions do not come cheap, and go up in cost the fewer
people who are being helped at the same time. It is common for
IM small hands-on sessions to cost from $1997 to $5000. One-on-one,
if the guru even does them, will cost $5000 per day and up.
Major rainmakers like Jay Abraham may cost $5000 per hour or more.
There have been times in the past couple years when IM pundits
wondered if the on site training model was dead. Seats were left
unfilled and whole events have had to be cancelled because of the
high cost of travel and the uncertainty about the economy.
The live Webinar is also fast becoming a viable substitute for high
quality, hands on training. I will be covering this more as the
former Hot Conference is reborn in the form of GVO Conference with
many cool interactive features that are not commonly available when
there are large numbers of registrants.
Note that the largest Webinar in internet history just took place a
few days ago when Perry Belcher and Ryan Deiss introduced Belcher's
new Social Networking course. Webinars can be tremendously successful
in introducing product launches, and they can also be highly useful
in delivering premium content. Again, more on this aspect of IM
training in a later post.
Liz Nichols
lizdnichols@gmail.com
Big Seminar Preview Is Today
Today is the day for the Big Seminar
lead-up training call.
Big Seminar is the oldest and biggest of the
Internet Marketing get-togethers. The traditions
was started 13 years ago by Armand Morin, creator
of the Generator line of products and one of the
foremost trainers in the industry.
This year's Big Seminar will be held Nov. 6-8 in Las Vegas.
I can assure you that all the big name marketers will be there,
and a good share of them will be speaking. This is one of those
events where joint ventures and bonds of friendship are made
within the IM community.
In leading up to the big event, Armand does weekly
teleseminars with the speakers he is featuring at
the seminar-- 20 teleseminars in all that are completely
free. Even those who do not make it to Big Seminar will
benefit greatly from the sessions with leaders in IM being
interviewed by Armand.
Tonight's call is 9 p.m. Eastern. To get the call-in
information please sign up on the form at the link:
http://generatorsoftware.com/pro/bs.php?422792/70
From my experience these can be really good
because they tend to share a lot of great
info.
You can find out more here:
http://generatorsoftware.com/pro/bs.php?422792/70
Enjoy!
Take care.
Elizabeth
P.S All the info for the calls will be sent
to you after you fill in your info here:
http://generatorsoftware.com/pro/bs.php?422792/70
lead-up training call.
Big Seminar is the oldest and biggest of the
Internet Marketing get-togethers. The traditions
was started 13 years ago by Armand Morin, creator
of the Generator line of products and one of the
foremost trainers in the industry.
This year's Big Seminar will be held Nov. 6-8 in Las Vegas.
I can assure you that all the big name marketers will be there,
and a good share of them will be speaking. This is one of those
events where joint ventures and bonds of friendship are made
within the IM community.
In leading up to the big event, Armand does weekly
teleseminars with the speakers he is featuring at
the seminar-- 20 teleseminars in all that are completely
free. Even those who do not make it to Big Seminar will
benefit greatly from the sessions with leaders in IM being
interviewed by Armand.
Tonight's call is 9 p.m. Eastern. To get the call-in
information please sign up on the form at the link:
http://generatorsoftware.com/pro/bs.php?422792/70
From my experience these can be really good
because they tend to share a lot of great
info.
You can find out more here:
http://generatorsoftware.com/pro/bs.php?422792/70
Enjoy!
Take care.
Elizabeth
P.S All the info for the calls will be sent
to you after you fill in your info here:
http://generatorsoftware.com/pro/bs.php?422792/70
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