Internet Prophets: The World's Leading Experts Reveal How to Profit Online
280
Internet Prophets: The World's Leading Experts Reveal How to Profit Online
280Paperback
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
In this industry-defining book by award-winning author and Reinvention expert, Steve Olsher, you’ll discover:
* The seldom-revealed, proven tools, strategies, and shortcuts leveraged by the world’s leading Internet and Mobile marketing experts to cut through the clutter, reach the masses, and profit online.
* Hundreds of no- and low-cost tactics to cultivate leads, dramatically increase conversion rates, and generate immediate and long-term cash flow.
* The specific answers and steps you must take to dominate your niche, establish significant brand awareness, and foster a loyal, border-line fanatic following.
Internet Prophets provides the exact blueprint you need to create your ideal lifestyle. The time is NOW to build your future. Transform your business—reinvent your life.
"Internet Prophets" is arguably the most comprehensive Internet and Mobile marketing resource ever assembled and features seldom-revealed details from 25 business icons who have changed the game, including:
* Armand Morin: World-renown online expert with sales of over $85M.
* Mike Filsaime: Online legend and creator of well-known products such as Butterfly Marketing.
* Mike Koenigs: Mastermind behind Traffic Geyser, Instant Customer, and Cross Channel Mojo.
* Yanik Silver: Maverick entrepreneur and creator of the Underground Online Seminar.
* Marc Ostrofsky: Sold Business.com for $7.5M. Annual online sales of $80+M.
* Dan Hollings: Mobile marketing aficionado and Internet marketing strategist for The Secret.
* And, many others.
When every dollar spent comes out of your pocket, it is imperative to realize the maximum return on your investment while avoiding unnecessary mistakes which cost you time, energy, and valuable resources. To become the best, you must learn from the best. "Internet Prophets" provides the blueprint. The rest is up to you!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781614482321 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Morgan James Publishing |
| Publication date: | 08/01/2012 |
| Pages: | 280 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
GREAT IDEAS AND GREAT EXECUTION
Damn Tim Ferriss. His bestselling book, The 4-Hour Workweek, popularized the idea of being your own boss, avoiding the rat race, shooting the alarm clock, and watching zeroes accumulate in your bank account. While this lifestyle is certainly appealing, most business owners know that making it happen isn't nearly as simple as setting up a shopping cart on your homepage. If an entrepreneur doesn't need to wake up to an alarm, it's probably because he never went to sleep.
Creating, and operating, a profitable business takes significant effort and dedication. That said, Tim provided a real service in spreading the word that it's not nearly as complicated to pull off as most people assume. Armand Morin is living proof that it's possible and is a self-made multimillionaire. His company, which has only eight people on staff, has grossed over $85 million to date.
His secret: Simplicity, and capitalizing on what's next. These two powerful pillars have been Armand's mantra throughout his stellar business career.
Armand Morin: Perpetual Pioneer
In 1995, telecommunications was red-hot, especially pre-paid phone cards and long-distance aggregators. Seizing the opportunity, Armand created a telecom company that provided long-distance discount services. Within 10 months his business grossed almost $2 million in sales. While impressive, Armand heard gold jingling in the beeps and hisses of his 14.4 modem and sold his telecom venture to concentrate on the forthcoming Internet wave.
Armand's first online venture reinvented the traditional advertising structure. As he was surfing the web he stumbled upon a site that provided links from a directory-based page to other sites. Site owners paid $20 to have the link created and no performance guarantee or representation of traffic was provided. The idea intrigued him and he sought to replicate the model. Using an AOL website builder to launch his first page, he began to market his service online.
The year was 1996 and, at the time, there were few options for driving traffic to one's site. Given that thousands of pages were being created daily, the opportunity to provide low cost exposure was appealing. In his first week, Armand earned more than $8,000. Unfortunately, current automation technologies and financial tools didn't exist. For instance, he couldn't accept credit cards. When customers wanted to buy advertising, they'd have to send him a check. He'd then have to wait for the check to clear before undertaking the arduous process of entering each link by hand.
Given the significant volume of business Armand had generated, this took a great deal of time. Armand responded by hiring data entry workers and also by developing proprietary software to simplify the process. As traffic online increased, sites that offered free products such as calendars and business-related reports gained in popularity. Search engines, however, were just in their infancy. During Armand's detailed study of the Internet, he'd created more than 600 bookmarks for sites that offered customers free products and resources. After organizing the sites into categories, he offered the list for sale ... for $110.
He sold 100 in the first week. Traffic spiked from there. Eventually, the site attracted over two million visitors per month. In just 12 weeks, his company grossed over $4 million.
Tools Equal Jewels
Sometimes when things are going most smoothly, life puts a speed bump in front of you. While Armand was driving traffic and sales online with breathtaking success, trouble was brewing.
As funds poured in, Armand's bank shut him down and froze access to his accounts. Why? Because they assumed such a massive flow of cash must be the result of illegal activities. Nothing, however, was even remotely illegal about Armand's operation. Regardless, they wouldn't listen and put millions into deep freeze. At this point, some might have thrown in the towel while crying about grossly unfair treatment. Not Armand. He immediately sought to create effective tools to help others avoid the same fate. There were two glaring issues that needed to be addressed:
• Accepting credit cards.
• Gaining access to a merchant processing service that would release funds earned.
Armand started devouring as much information as he could find on the subjects. From white papers on merchant accounts and credit card processing to industry reports on available software and forthcoming technologies, he absorbed a huge amount of knowledge, and boiled down the most critical facts into an easy to understand report.
Armand recognized many site owners and IT professionals would directly benefit from his research. Believing he had a potentially lucrative product, he next sought a streamlined way to deliver it. Printing and mailing paper-based books was expensive and time-consuming. It was also difficult to create interim updates for information that might change over time. Nowadays, Armand could have simply used a PDF. In 1996, the format did not yet have mainstream acceptance.
The solution? He developed software that opened an .exe file containing several HTML documents. In other words, he created a browser that was built specifically for the purpose of reading his report. It was one of the first ebooks ever released.
These endeavors marked the start of Armand's online empire. By leveraging the knowledge gained through his early experiences, he was in strong position to propel his company forward. He remains front and center.
Ideation Is Priority #1
Product creation is paramount to achieving massive success and, while execution is important, you first need an idea. Armand is a master at creating products that sell. Those last two words are especially important. People are often struck by bouts of inspiration and spend significant time and resources bringing their ideas to fruition. Unfortunately, most ideas aren't commercially viable and many have wasted thousands of dollars creating products that collect dust in a garage.
The key is to create a product that meets an existing need. Armand's ebook accomplished this. It taught site owners and IT professionals how to accept credit cards, streamline payment processing, and identify merchant servicers who won't freeze their accounts.
Further, when he sought to distribute the ebook and found there was no simple way for doing so, he created his own software to solve the problem. That meant he had two products to sell which fulfilled specific market needs — the ebook, and the program to deliver it. Both ended up selling well, taking the sting out of Armand's problem with his bank.
Armand concentrates on satisfying market demand by creating products that:
• Makes tasks easier.
• Or, automates existing tasks.
This formula consistently provides above-average returns. If you keep these two goals in mind, you can continually generate winning product ideas.
Mo' Problems, Mo' Money
When evaluating ideas, consider the correlation between the size of the problem your product solves and the amount you can charge for it. The bigger the problem, the higher the price tag. Too many companies price a product based on operational and marketing costs, and the desired return. That can create a substantial disconnect insofar as what that product is actually worth to its target audience.
The overriding factor to consider is how much the market is willing to pay for the product or service. Regardless of whether you spent millions on research and development or pennies, your potential customers don't care about your costs. They just care about getting what they perceive as substantial value for their investment.
Successful Internet marketers begin with addressing small problems and creating low-priced products. In fact, many argue the first touch-point should be providing valuable free content in exchange for a customer's contact information. The objective is to entice a customer to enter your sales funnel, whereby a meaningful relationship is developed over time, and you proactively inspire her to purchase higher-priced products and services. Industry leaders recognize the first sale represents merely the beginning of the relationship, not the end.
Armand's funnel is structured as follows:
• Free: An example is Armand's Internet Marketing Newsletter, which has no subscription fee; you simply provide your name and email address.
• $27-$47: An entry-level product that solves a specific problem or provides information that can be leveraged for profit. Examples include an hour-long MP3 in which Armand reveals a game-changing process or a social media "white paper" delivered via PDF.
• $97: A low-end offering that adds value. Examples include many of Armand's simple, yet effective software products.
• $197: This is Armand's magic price point. The beauty of $197 is that it's affordable for most, converts about as well as lower-priced options (e.g., $97), and huge numbers aren't required to generate significant revenue. Examples of $197 offerings include live events and training products.
• $497-$9,997+: As the Internet has grown in popularity, so has a customer's willingness to explore untraditional classroom environments and purchase high-end learning tools. To satisfy this market, Armand offers a wide-range of premium products and services. These range from home-study courses and coaching programs, to private three-day training at his home.
Armand prides himself on both his creativity and consistently delivering value that far exceeds the cost of his products. The beauty of the Internet is that you can easily launch new products, test the waters, and modify pricing as necessary. Having the courage to try something new and remain flexible enough to make adjustments on the fly are critical to your overall success.
Don't Go The Extra Mile, Go The Extra Marathon
Product creation and pricing are challenging, but an even greater hurdle is differentiation. Most companies in the same field offer comparable products and services at about the same prices. Achieving major success requires standing apart from the crowd. Armand does this by maintaining excellence throughout his organization. From product development to customer service, he sets Six Sigma standards.
We've all experienced One Sigma service — you have a problem, call customer service for help, and have to deal with a maze of menu options, after which you're placed on hold for 30 minutes. And when a human being finally answers your call, the person lacks the training to be of genuine help.
When was the last time you called or emailed customer service and had your issue resolved immediately, without a supervisor being involved — and received an extra product, discount, or bonus because you were inconvenienced? That's the level of customer service Armand's company delivers — and it's what you should strive for too. It creates loyal customers for life.
Most companies don't do this. They fail to pay for adequate customer service, choosing short-term profit margins over long-term customer satisfaction. This is a foolish strategy as it costs them word of mouth recommendations and repeat business.
A related issue is that companies rush products to market before putting them through adequate quality analysis. This results in a flood of calls to customer service. Armand tries to anticipate all possible issues before a product is ever sold. And by spending so much time on the front-end, enduser issues seldom occur. Specifically, Armand's company has grossed over $85 million, but it typically receives less than 20 customer service-related questions each day. His products are so well designed, vetted, and tested that customers rarely need support.
Despite best efforts, occasionally a product will slip through Armand's rigorous tests for quality. When this happens, customers are notified and his team immediately focuses on finding solutions. When the problem is fixed, the new version is offered to product owners for free. Machiavelli said, "A prudent man must always follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been outstanding." Consider following Armand's strategies. There is much to be learned from a true master of his craft.
CHAPTER 2DOMAIN DOMINANCE
Over time, technology and business practices evolve in a predictable manner. With each revolution, new opportunity is created. This process is defined by four distinct phases:
• Research and Development: New technologies and business practices emerge. Uncertainty is prevalent and adaptation is unclear.
• Ascent: Awareness and implementation expands.
• Maturity: Widespread acceptance is commonplace and the threat of over saturation exists.
• Decline: Demand is met, sales and adaption declines, and new technologies and business practices emerge.
This circle of transition has existed for centuries. To illustrate the power of leveraging the inherent inertia found within this cycle, let's discuss the Internet. In its infancy, the World Wide Web held significant promise. However, bandwidth and related issues were met with uncertainty as to the Internet's viability and mainstream appeal. (Phase 1)
New companies emerged to dramatically increase the Internet's functionality and both businesses and customers slowly began to take notice. Once stability and utility were in place, usage spiked. (Phase 2) Today, virtually everyone is connected to the Internet, has a website, and even your 85-year-old aunt is offering products for sale. (We are currently in Phase 3)
With the rare exception of the millennium's turn when the implosion was in full-swing, dot com millionaires are created every day. Marc Ostrofsky — now a bestselling author and multimillionaire — was one of the first.
The Life And Times Of Marc Ostrofsky
We are each wired to excel in very specific ways. Marc's DNA is stacked with an entrepreneur's fire and, at just seven years old, he opened his first business: a lemonade stand. After selling countless cups, he graduated to selling "darn near anything he could get his hands on." During the 1980's and early 90's, Marc created niche-oriented magazines and trade shows, leveraging the synergy between the businesses. Because he had access to customers and businesses who wanted specific information (the magazine subscribers) and vendors who wanted access to them (the advertisers), trade shows were a natural next step. Phone calls, face-to-face meetings, and personalized direct mail were (and still are) time-consuming and expensive options. Current technologies, such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing, did not exist at the time.
Trade shows, however, provided a cost-effective solution for both buyers and sellers. Marc stood at the precipice of an incredibly lucrative opportunity. Given his business acumen, he took full advantage. His trade show and magazine businesses exploded, and by the time he sought to acquire Business.com as the domain name for a new magazine he sought to launch in 1995 he had already amassed considerable wealth. For this reason, the $150,000 price tag did not present a meaningful barrier.
Before buying Business.com, he asked his father for his thoughts. His father was a tenured university business professor and Marc often sought his wisdom before making big decisions. When asked if he should buy the domain, his father responded: "Will you make more money owning the domain or keeping $150,000 in the bank collecting interest?" Marc pulled the trigger. This turned out to be a brilliant move. In 1999, after a heated bidding war ensued between two rival companies, he sold the domain for $7.5 million.
At around the same time he purchased Business.com, he also secured the rights to eBusiness.com. After the sale of Business.com was finalized, he contacted the other company to see if they had an interest in the second domain. They did. He then sold eBusiness.com for $10 million. (Terms of this sale were kept confidential, which is why it's not in Guinness.) Marc grossed $17.5 million on the sale of the two domains. Not a bad return on his investment. However, he wasn't done yet.
With the sale of Business.com, he demanded "put rights" which allowed him to buy stock in the firm at a later date or keep the cash, whichever was larger. In 2004, Marc exercised his "put" rights and received stock in the newly formedBusiness.com entity. In 2007, the company was sold to RH Donnelley for $345 million, netting Marc an additional windfall.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Internet Prophets"
by .
Copyright © 2012 Steve Olsher.
Excerpted by permission of Morgan James Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments,
Foreword,
Introduction,
Part I: Mastering The Product Cycle,
Chapter 1: Great Ideas and Great Execution,
Chapter 2: Domain Dominance,
Chapter 3: Test The Waters, Then Jump In,
Chapter 4: Nailing Your Niche,
Chapter 5: F.A.S.T. Company,
Chapter 6: Marketing Magic,
Part II: Dominating Popular Markets,
Chapter 7: Presentation Prowess,
Chapter 8: Profit From Podcasts,
Chapter 9: Video Visionary,
Chapter 10: Workshop Wealth,
Chapter 11: The Secret of Mobile,
Chapter 12: App Attack,
Chapter 13: QR Codes,
Part III: Leveraging The 'Net,
Chapter 14: Dot Com Principles,
Chapter 15: SEO Strategy,
Chapter 16: Cracking The Facebook Code,
Chapter 17: Blogging For Dollars,
Chapter 18: Product Launch Liftoff,
Chapter 19: Creating Community,
Part IV: Strength In Numbers,
Chapter 20: Networking Nirvana,
Chapter 21: Alliance Secrets,
Chapter 22: Establishing Credibility,
Chapter 23: Being The Producer,
Chapter 24: Publicity Power,
Chapter 25: Virtual Velocity,
Epilogue,
Featured Internet Prophets,
About the Author,