I am presently at a Tony Robbins conference and
last night we all (about 3,500 people) walked
on fire.

Was actually an incredible experience. It was
white hot burning coals rather than fire, but
that shouldn’t take away from the experience.

Weirdly, I thought afterwards that I had slightly
burned myself, but waking up this morning, I
found that there were no burns there.

So, after from the entertainment value and the
fact that I have now done something which I
can brag about to my friends, what was the
point?

(If you too happen to be here, be sure to say
hi or drop me a note at my helpdesk and we
can chat…)

It was about overcoming fears.

Just before we were about to do it, I was about
to chicken out, but realized that as the point
was to overcome fears, then if I didn’t do this
then it would be unlikely that I would be able
to overcome other fears in my life in the future.

Not sure if that makes total sense, but putting
it the other way, as I did do this, I now feel
that I am 100% able to overcome other fears in
my life and feel like a stronger person for it.

I will speak more about the conference tomorrow,
but for now, let me know a fear that you have
and how you are going to take action today to
overcome it. Or alternatively, let me know about
how you were able to overcome a fear in your
life. Or…if you have done the firewalk
yourself, let me know what you did or didn’t get
out of it.

Keeping it real in an unreal world,

Ben Shaffer

Takeaway Number 1:
If you have problems with insomnia, have kids

A lot is troubling me in this industry at the moment and I am pretty sure that in the next few weeks or months I will be writing a report about it, but for now let me tell you what is currently on my mind.

Every single day, there are multiple launches and when I take a look at these products, a lot of them are just pure crap. Sorry for the strong word, but there really isn’t any easy way to describe them.

I can’t see why someone would put out a product which would in no way help anybody. Well, there is the potential profits ofcourse from selling them (!), but that is a very short-termed view to take and if they were to put in a little bit more effort, then they would be able to create a GREAT product which would benefit a lot of people.

I read an interview recently with an internet marketer where he estimated that only 5% of people who buy his products actually use them.

If that were me, I would quit and do something else.

Even if I am slightly naive, I like to think that 100% of people who purchase my products go on to use them and benefit from them.

From an altruistic and karma point of view it really makes sense. But even if you look at it from a business point of view, that is really want you want to happen.

But let’s take a look from a business point of view:

Scenario A:

1. You create and launch a product
2. You make a sale
3. The customer looks at it for a few minutes and never
comes back for a second look

Scenario B:

1. You create and launch a product
2. You make a sale
3. The customer looks at it, is impressed with what he
sees and uses it
4. The customer is impressed with it and trusts you and
wants to learn from you
5. You create and launch another product
6. You make another sale to the same customer
etc.

There was a phase last year where virtually every other week a new product was coming out with ‘Google’ in the name. I don’t want to mention any specifically, but most of them had a second word which meant killer…I think you have probably seen some of them.

So, I bought a few of them and found that not only were most of them similar, but also that they were totally useless and would not help anyone.

Before this turns into a full scale rant, let me try and summarise and give a few more takeaways!

a. If you create a product, then create it the best that you can and in a way where it will be genuinely useful to people

b. Don’t buy a product unless you think that it will be useful to you.

c. If you do buy a product, put it into use so that it was not a complete waste of time

Would love to hear your views on what I have said.

Please leave a comment below.

Keeping it real in an unreal world,

Ben Shaffer

There has been something that I have noticed really. It hasn’t really bothered me so much as made me curious.

Whenever any marketer does a survey of his list, the results overwhelmingly say that the majority of people are looking to use the internet in order to supplement their income. Not to replace their day-job, but just to make life a bit more comfortable.

Over the last few months, with talks of recession and tens of thousands of job-losses that may have changed slightly, but I think that you would still find that the majority of people are looking to make an extra $500-$1,000 a month.

As you are (hopefully) aware, I recently launch Project Archimedes.

The salespage described some of the figures that I have achieved through site-flipping which were way more than the $500-$1,000 figure a month. I did that not to brag, but to build credibility that my methods work.

In retrospect, I wonder whether my conversion may have increased or decreased had I targeted it towards showing how someone could earn an extra $500 a month rather than tens of thousands.

Today there are two launches which I find very interesting. (I am not participating in either of them, so please note that in no way is this a promotion.)

The first one is highlighting how a super-affiliate makes $100k a day from promoting products and also Cost-Per-Action offers. I have no doubt that it will be one of the biggest launches of the year as the marketing of it has been excellent and they have also recruited some of the biggest names in the industry. I have not seen the product, but also should imagine that it will be a great product…

As a sidenote, the marketing of it has been remarkable and really is worth of a longer case-study. To give some background, about a month ago a seminar was put on in Las Vegas where many marketers were invited (including myself). Legend goes that at the end of the day the speakers received a standing ovation. If you read the emails of the promoters, you will see how this has been turned into a legend. People love stories! Not only that, but all of those marketers who did attend the conference now feel that they owe something in return, thus they feel more obliged to promote than they usually would do. A great use of reciprocation!

But let me get to the point…

Can you really see yourself making $100k a day from the internet?

Do you realistically think that it is possible for you to do?

According to the surveys, most people who are trying to generate revenue from the internet would be happy to earn that in TEN YEARS!!!

So why are they making such a big thing about this super-affiliate being able to generate 6 figures in a day?

One reason could be that they are pitching it wrongly.

Another could be that they are only pitching to people who really do have the expertise to generate that kind of revenue.

But both of those reasons are fairly doubtful. I am almost certain that they will sell a huge amount of product and that the majority of people who purchase will be in the newbie to intermediate bracket.

The reason I see, is that when people are reading the salespage they are breaking it down in a way so that they can fathom those figures.

eg. “If he can make $100k a day, it should be easy to make $500 a day or even $30 a day.”

If that is a realistic way of thinking I am not sure, but am sure all will be revealed soon.

From what I understand, this product is about creating a successful campaign and then scaling that up multiple times which will finally get you to that figure.

If that is the case then the person who just asked themself that question may actually be correct in that they will get that knowledge.

But if that is the reason that they are purchasing, do they really need that advanced course, or would something more basic like Commission Blueprint or one of the Day Job Killer products do the job for them?

The second launch which is happening is being brought out by Eric Rockefeller and Howie Schwartz. Once again, I haven’t see the product, but do assume that it is of high quality.

The prelaunch is highlighting the fact that Howie has brought in around $56k in around 50 days.

So, we have gone down from $100k a day to around $1k a day. Quite a big drop, but doesn’t necessarily mean that this product is less effective. In fact, as a consumer I would fathom a guess that what Howie has included in the product is probably a much more attainable strategy.

Let’s just go over that again…

Even though the promises and proof of the second product are less, as a consumer I see the figures as more realistic and attainable. Apart from the huge price difference, I am at this point actually more keen to make $1k a day than $100k.

So what is going on here?

I am almost positive that the more expensive product will bring in much more revenue than the cheaper one. Although looking at it from a logical point of, more people would actually benefit from the lower one.

In all marketing, especially online and especially in the internet marketing niche people are chasing a dream. The bigger the dream, the greater excitement it brings to the prospective customer. I am guilty of this myself also. I have bought hundreds of product over the last few years, many that I have not even opened. In a way it is the purchase itself that is more exciting than the product.

Yeah…I still get a rush when I purchase a product and the big box arrives at the front door. The better presented the materials are inside it, the better I feel about my purchase.

It’s definitely worth remembering this when you are doing any kind of marketing either online or offline. A great example is when you are selling something online, make everything including the graphics look enticing. This will both decrease refunds and also increase the chances of customer purchasing again.

Even on an Adsense page, think how you can build up that dream in order to make someone click on one of your ads. An easy example is if you are advertising dating websites…

It is yet to be seen whether anyone makes a product called “How to make $500 a month”, but the chances are doubtful because of the lack of dreaming !

Please post your comments below to let me know your thoughts…