Archive | August, 2023

This only takes a few minutes to apply, and it can result in a nice bump in your sales…

Here’s how it works:

When you create a product download file, put it in zip file, and add a “Read me first” document to it as well.

In the “read me first,” place another offer for your customer to check out. Or even more than one offer…

It can be as simple as a sentence or two directing them to the link where the additional offer can be found. Or you can get more creative and elaborate if you have time. Either way, you should see some additional sales using this simple, easy technique.

And you can add a “read me first” file to lead magnets and free offers, products you sell, and even add it to the bonuses you give away when selling affiliate products.

Apply this simple technique to products you sell online and you can significantly boost your bottom line, while also adding value for your customers in the process by including additional resources for them.

We’re all familiar with the “reviews” that are actually sales material in disguise. That’s not what we’re talking about here. If you want to write legitimate, believable reviews that attract search engine attention, increase traffic and build your reputation as an influencer and thought leader, here’s how to do it – complete with a template you can use today…

1. Realize you’re going to be spending some time on this. Commit to using the product yourself and writing a bare minimum of 1,000 words.

2. Choose the product. It should be something you want and you can use, while also being of interest to your readers.

3. Know your audience. What are they most interested in? What are their goals? Keep them in mind during the entire process because you’re doing this review for them.

4. Be unbiased and objective. Don’t bring preconceived notions to your review. Start with an open mind, looking for all of the positives and all of the negatives. Remember, your reputation is on the line so be honest.

5. Use the product. Some reviewers try to get away without using the product, and it always shows in their reviews. Don’t fake it – use it.

As you’re going through or using the product, keep these questions in front of you:

– What does the product do?
– How is the product different from similar products?
– How difficult or easy is it to use this product?
– What makes this product worth the purchase?
– What’s wrong with or missing from the product?
– Who is this product intended for?
– Where can this product be purchased?

6. Take notes as you’re using it. You won’t remember everything later when you go to write your review. Plus your notes will make the writing process much faster.

7. Don’t rely on PR and marketing material. Yes, you can use their photos. But write your own review from scratch.

8. List the good and the bad. You might make a Ben Franklin style list, placing the pros on the left side of the page and the cons on the right. Remember, even if you are acting as an affiliate for the product, your review will be much more believable when you also list the cons. And your reputation will remain intact for future promotions, too.

9. If it’s relevant, include technical information. Just ask yourself – would your readers want to know this?

10. Provide examples of the product’s use. You could write about different situations it might be used in, different outcomes it could facilitate and so forth. If you put the product to use yourself, write about your experience and the results you achieved.

11. If you’re selling the product as an affiliate, be sure to disclose that fact.

Product Review Template:

Writing a professional looking review isn’t difficult when you follow this simple outline…

> Introduce the product and write something interesting about it
> List the key product features
> Talk about the benefits of using the product
> If relevant, include information on the author as well as author case studies
> Discuss the good and the bad; pros and cons
> Explain who would best be served by the product
> Include pricing and purchase information

Unbiased, honest, in-depth reviews aren’t the fastest posts to write because of the research and testing needed. But placing your readers’ interests ahead of your own can help you build a solid reputation as an industry leader.

And in the long run your readers will love you for it, trust you because of it and be more likely to buy your highest recommendations.

The Streisand effect is the name given for a phenomena that can be used for good or evil – for your own advantage or against you.

In 2003 Barbra Streisand’s lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to the California Coastal Records Project regarding an aerial photo of her Malibu beach mansion on the website. The website operators rejected that letter and all follow up letters and the Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed the frivolous suit.

Here’s what happened: The previously little-known CCRP website includes more than 12 THOUSAND overlapping aerial photos of the entire California coastline. Plus they house an additional 55,000 photos that date back as far as 1972.

Streisand was upset that her mansion was visible in one of these 67,000 aerial shots.

Had she done nothing, likely no one would have ever noticed or cared. But because of the lawsuit, now everyone has heard about the site and the photo. Today, you can find that exact photo distributed all over the Internet.

Anytime anything is censored on the Internet, it’s immediately picked up by other websites. Get it removed from one site, it shows up on 10 new sites. Get it removed from those, and it’s on a hundred sites and in the news.

Banned books become highly popular. Movies that get protested see box office surges. Comedians, musicians and magazine publishers prosecuted for “obscenity” become folk heroes. (Lenny Bruce, Jim Morrison and Larry Flint, for example.)

Watergate wouldn’t have made much more than a ripple if it hadn’t been covered up. But six months of lies brought down an entire presidency.

The examples are prolific and you can find more of them here: rationalwiki.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

Now then – why is this important to you and your business?

Two reasons. First, it can bite you if you’re not careful. Is there something you don’t want known? Did someone say something really rotten about you or your business that people could believe? Then it might be in your best interest not to make a big deal of it.

In the same vein – did you make a major mistake? Rather than trying to cover it up, it might be best to admit it immediately so it never becomes an Internet sensation.

Second reason and food for thought: How can you use the Streisand Effect to build your business?

Every year PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) submits an over-the-top TV advertisement for inclusion in the Super Bowl. It’s often highly sexually-suggestive, and usually the network flat out refuses to run it.

PETA lets it be known their commercial was banned, and overnight it becomes an internet sensation. And they didn’t have to pay the outrageous Super Bowl ad fee, either. Now that’s smart.

Greenpeace wrote a pamphlet critical of McDonald’s. McDonald’s sued and the case was in the news for over 10 years; the longest libel trial in English history. Thanks to the lawsuit, that little pamphlet and its contents became famous.

And the icing on the cake was when the court ruled the activists had not engaged in libel – now the claims McDonald’s fought to suppress had the tacit backing of the English courts.

Books, albums and movies that are banned by churches, religious groups and so forth nearly always see their sales skyrocket with the ensuing publicity.

Are you getting any ideas? I can’t give you a step-by-step here on what you might do – that depends entirely on your business. But you might keep the Streisand Effect in mind.

Sooner or later you’ll find an honest and ethical opportunity to use it to your advantage, and it’s up to you to grab that opportunity when it happens.