Make More Money From Your Ideas

"I've just re-read your newsletter on the power of testing Google ads. I'm wondering about doing this to see what titles would work for the book. What do you think?"

Yes, go for it! This is a very creative idea, and one that would work quite well. I do know of other people who use Google ads for testing book titles, seminar titles, etc.

To do this, sign up at Google, create two or three ads that are the same except for the headline (i.e. the book title) and run them simultaneously for a while. That will quickly tell you which one works best. Drop off the worst-performing ad, replace with another, and repeat this process for as long as you like.

Remember that you're only counting clicks, so it doesn't matter where you send them when they click on the ad. You might as well just send them to your home page. This is usually a Very Bad Idea for real ads (you should always send them to a specific page about the product you're promoting), but it doesn't matter in your case because you don't really care where they end up.

If you would like more guidance, you can get my product Get Traffic Fast, which is all about Google advertising.

Labels: Google advertising, market research

"How do I know the e-book I write is going to sell?"

The bad news is: You don't - until you actually offer it for sale! The good news is: There are some things you can do to improve its chances.

Make sure you research your market first to check that there's a demand for it already. It's much easier to meet an existing demand than to drum up interest in a new product that nobody realises they want.

Then write the e-book with that market in mind, and answering their specific problems, challenges, worries and questions.

When you sell the e-book, get targeted traffic to your Web site, so that you're pitching it at the people who actually require that information.

Labels: e-books, market research

"Re: information products - what info to give away and what to sell, and for how much."

The answer to all of these questions is: Test and measure.

In other words, I really don't know the answer. And nor does anybody else, until you actually test it in real life.

As a general rule, I recommend giving away slightly more than you would consider to be reasonable. That way, you can be sure that you're giving real value. Make sure that you give away your strongest information, not your weakest. And make it easy for them to buy the paid information.

Labels: free products, market research

"How do I set up payment facilities for products that I want to sell on-line?"

This is a very general question, so I can only give a broad answer. There are a number of payment facilities available, and the exact system for you will depend on your requirements. For example, if you're selling electronic products in U.S. dollars, Clickbank might suffice.

As part of our Web site package, we offer a sophisticated payment system that includes a shopping cart, secure order forms, affiliate program and tax invoices.

Labels: e-commerce, shopping cart

"I need to build pre-qualified traffic to my website - but currently have very limited budget. Don't know how to create autoresponders but my hosting package supports them, unsure how to do robot text and struggling with setting up a merchant account."

You're getting stuck with details too soon. You should really get a plan in place first. You said that your goal is pre-qualified traffic; yet you also talk about robot text and merchant accounts, which have little to do with getting traffic.

Start by engaging a professional to work out your plan; then look at the details required to put it into practice.

Labels: planning, traffic generation

"I have a client who is looking to take a Powerpoint presentation and add my voice-over. They want to use it as a stand alone DVD/Video to train staff and also want it to run on a PC for self paced training. How do I do this?"

I use Camtasia Studio, from TechSmith.

Labels: multimedia, powerpoint, video

"Is Google Adsense classed as perceived as 'lowering the sophistication' of your site by visitors?"

A Stanford University study of Web users in 2002 found that one factor affecting a site's credibility was whether or not it had ads on it. In other words, a site was more credible if it wasn't covered with advertising.

So yes, it's possible that using Google AdSense does harm your site. However, it all depends on your goal. For instance, if you're selling a $1,000 consulting package, it makes more sense to put all your effort into selling that then cluttering up the site with Google ads that bring a few cents per click. On the other hand, if your goal is to provide free information to attract traffic and then make money from advertising, Google AdSense is a good option.

Labels: Google AdSense, Web strategy

"I am thinking of creating a section on my website where people can ask questions about different problems they are experiencing or ailments they have and I provide the solution (in brief terms). The +ves are it can create interest and get more people looking at the web. The negative is it will obviously take time to answer the questions – more-so if I get heaps asking questions – not that I would have to answer them all."

I reckon you should go for it! If you get too many questions, then - as you say - just be selective about which you answer. But in my experience, that probably won't be a problem. Generally people are disappointed at how few questions they get. I hope it will be different in your case.

I do something similar with this blog. Its main purpose is to answer real questions that I get from people, and it gives me the chance to demonstrate my expertise and also promote my products and services. As long as it's appropriate, and as long as I offer a reasonable answer first, it's fine.

Labels: blogs, customer support, forum, loyalty

"Our web site recieves a great deal of visits but does not generate the many enquiries. We would like to generate more enquiries!!"

There could be a number of reasons for this. But instead of guessing, why don't you ask your visitors why they aren't taking further action? Create a survey that pops up as they leave your site, asking them directly for their reasons. If you can give them some incentive for filling in the survey - such as an e-book or special report - that will increase the response rate.

Labels: market research, survey

"Do subscribers to free newsletters actually purchase products and courses through the websites they subscribe to?"

Yes, I know this is true, because it happens with my own newsletter. The key is to always provide value. Follow the rule that every message you send provides at least 80% valuable information and at most 20% advertising. And if you do advertise, make the advertisement related to the information you provided.

Labels: e-mail newsletter, providing value

Tom Murrell, one of my clients and colleagues, told me about Killer Covers, a paid service for creating e-book covers. If you're looking to create professional covers, consider using such a paid service.

Labels: e-books

"How do I get a number one ranking on search engines, such as Google, MSN, and Yahoo?"

Easy - pay for it.

Seriously. The easiest way to get a #1 ranking is to pay for advertising on these search engines. And the good news is that this is no longer only something for big companies with deep pockets. Pay-per-click advertising is well within the reach of any business. For example, with Google AdWords, you can have streams of visitors to your site for as little as $0.05 per click.

Labels: Google advertising, search engine listings