Make More Money From Your Ideas

"Are you aware of any problems with only sending HTML newsletters? (as compared to text based ones) There certainly used to be recipients that could not receive HTML ones, is this still the case?"

A few years ago, most people preferred plain text e-mail. Recently, as HTML e-mail programs have become more popular, almost everybody can now read HTML e-mail. However, I have found that they don't always reach the reader. For example, some spam filters and some corporate firewalls will block any HTML e-mail.

The best option is to provide your newsletter in both formats - text and HTML. Our e-mail newsletter software allows your readers to choose their preferred format, and automatically sends it to them in that format.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"I am setting up a website to market health products and information. This sector seems to be oversupplied. Is it still possible to set up a website for this industry and generate extremely good income from it?"

Yes, but "health" is too broad a topic. It's far too difficult to reach the right people cost-effectively.

I suggest you start by turning your thinking around. Rather than thinking of the products you will sell, find a market of people who are desperately looking for a solution to a problem. For example, in the health area, you might target:

• People recently diagnosed with diabetes
  
• Women bodybuilders
  
• Busy executives looking for more energy in their days
  

Make sure that you choose a market that's easy to reach - in other words, they all "hang out" at specific places.

When you know you've got a market seeking a solution to a problem, that's when you start giving them solutions.

Labels: market research, niche marketing

"I'm writing a book about [topic deleted] for women of all ages. What's the best way to market to this niche?"

"Women" isn't a niche! It's far too big. The only way to reach such a large market is to spend a lot of money on advertising, knowing that much of that advertising will be wasted because it will fall on deaf ears.

It's better to take a slice of that market and write your book for a more specific niche. That means you've got a smaller market, but your book will be more valuable to that market.

Here are some examples of narrower markets:

• Women re-entering the work force after raising a family
  
• Women recently appointed to managerial positions
  
• Single mothers with children younger than 5
  
• Female British Prime Ministers of the 20th century
  

OK, so the last option is probably too narrow! But gee, that would be a really relevant book for her, wouldn't it?

Labels: niche marketing

"I started out with simple button names for my Web site menu, but some colleagues suggested that I should find some 'sexier' selling words. What should I use?"

Use clear, simple and obvious button names on your menu. If you really must use the sexier names, use them on the pages after they click the buttons.

It's OK to get advice from colleagues, friends and family, but remember that they are not your target market. So they will often give you sincere, well-meaning and BAD advice! So take that advice, but treat it with a grain of salt.

To be blunt, it really doesn't matter what they say. The best feedback you get is feedback from real paying customers.

Labels: market research

"I have two products, both for the same market. They are on a similar topic, but one is a book and the other is an audio CD. In your experience, should I sell both on the one site or have a different site for each but offer a special deal of the other format?"

The theory is that every sales letter should sell only ONE product. It's OK for the product to be a bundled product, but in that case, the bundle should be the only thing they can buy. Don't give them options.

Personally, I would bundle everything you've got into one package, and sell that package at a bargain-basement price (even if you're selling it at cost or even below cost).

Then focus on your advertising and your sales letter. That's where you will make or break the sale.

The bad news is that I think it will STILL be difficult to sell it - that's just the way it is with selling on the Net. So keep the price low and fine-tune your advertising and sales letter. After you've got them working OK, start raising the price.

Labels: copywriting, sales letter

"Is it true that high priced e-book products are not tending to sell?"

No, not necessarily. If it's (a) high perceived value for money, (b) from a well-known authority and (c) difficult to get elsewhere, it will always sell. But most people fail on (b) and (c).

In other words, they don't persuade people to buy, mainly because they don't convince them of the value of their products.

Labels: pricing

"How do I make my email campaigns more effective?"

This is an extremely broad question, so I will give you some useful principles to follow.

First, make sure that you have explicit permission from everybody who is on your mailing list.

Next, find out what they would like to know. Survey them regularly to discover their biggest problems and concerns.

Next, offer them real value (not just promotion) in every message you send them. It's about building a trusted relationship, not about selling, selling, selling.

Finally, when you do offer them something to buy, make sure it's a high-quality product with great value for money.

Labels: e-mail newsletter

"How to quickly find a niche that people are really looking for?"

Start by searching inventory.overture.com for various words and phrases. This tells you how many people are searching Overture (a major search engine) for these words. The higher the number, the better.

Then I suggest you buy some Google advertising to find out whether there's any real interest in this topic. Perhaps you could write and give away an e-book to people who visit your Web site.

If there's enough interest, start charging for the e-book.

Labels: niche marketing

"How do I get articles written on my topic? I've written the outlines of some articles, but I don't have time to write them out in full."

Use a service like elance.com to find writers.

I've never had Elance writers do articles, but I have had them write entire e-books for me. The going rate seems to be about US$8-10 per page. So for 15 articles, you're looking at about US$150, though I would be tempted to set a budget of US$200 to get a higher quality response.

If you go to Elance.com, browse the projects and search for articles, you'll see a whole bunch of other projects listed here. Use them as a model for writing your bid.

Attach your article outlines as part of the bid, so that the writers can see what you have written already, and can base your bid on that.

Say something like "300-400 word articles" or "one-page articles" so they know the length.

When you do choose somebody, ask them to feed the articles to you as they write them, so that you can review them as you go and keep track of progress.

Elance.com is a wonderful resource for suppliers in a variety of areas.

Labels: articles, outsourcing

"I am wondering if you would be willing to give an indication of how you structure the arrangement between yourself and your co-presenters/co-interviewers on your information CD's. Obviously you and the other presenter are promoting your areas of expertise and so can both sell the product."

It's pretty easy. We just split the cost of producing the master version, and then each have master duplication rights. In other words, we each sell them ourselves and keep all the profits.

Because we're both selling the product, this arrangement works well. But if the other person was just contributing their expertise without intending to sell it, maybe I would pay them, or give them some low-cost copies, or pay a royalty, etc.

The idea of royalty payments (e.g. you pay me 10% of all sales that you make, and vice versa) sounds attractive, but it reduces your flexibility. For example, what if I give away a product or sell it at a lower price? Do I still pay you a royalty?

That's why I tend to use the simple arrangement where we each sell the product independently. I have a one-page letter of agreement that we both sign.

Labels: joint ventures

"Every idea I think of targeting a particular niche, it's already occupied by a lot of competitors. I doubt, should I start or not?"

If you're opening a new restaurant, is it better to open it in a busy area with lots of other restaurants or out in some remote area where you've got no competition? The answer is ... it depends! Sometimes it IS better to find a new untapped niche. However, in most cases it's good news if you have competitors, because it means that there is a demand for your product or service.

Just be sure that you do truly have a niche, not a broad area. It's much easier to market to a specific niche - in fact, the smaller the niche, the better.

Labels: niche marketing