There are 2 ways that I can approach this blog post…

I can tell you what you want to hear. You know… you have probably heard some of these before:

• Your doing great building your online business
• All you need is to build a list and you’ll be rich!
• Keep doing what your doing and you’ll be living the “lifestyle”

and on and on and on…

I know this is what you want to hear…

How Do I Know?

Over the last 4 days I built a new list of 2,426 new subscribers (we can talk about that some other time) so that I could do a little experiment.

I sent them 2 “personal” videos showing them concrete actions they could take to actually stand out to their prospects and customers with a call to action asking them to leave a comment about how they were going to build a better business and relationship with their clients.

I Got HUNDREDS of Responses

And I personally replied with custom videos and emails going into detail about personalized action plans each person could do for their business.

These weren’t big things. Just small tweaks and tips that would get them better results.

Of the over 100 personal responses I sent I got less then 7 replies. I am guessing those were the few people that actually read them.

Anyone Else Confused?

Why ask for help and then turn your back on it? If you constantly feel like you are getting the “short end of the stick” online, maybe it is time to take a real look at your business and start finding ways to build it into the machine you want.

Now here is what you need to hear.

Building an online business is not as different as you have been led to believe than building one offline.

You still have expenses, no matter what you have been led to believe.

• You still need an education
• You still need to do your homework
• You still need to DO SOMETHING that works

Here is the thing. I finally understand why SO many people fail online. They somehow believe that having a “business” online is like the gold rush.

They just push a button… money
They just build a big enough list… money

If the main focus of your business model is to “provide value” to your subscribers, I want you to think about the following…

HAVING to use deceptive headlines like

• “PayPal Is Not Accepting Payments Today…”
• “re: You Purchase”
• “Your Commissions Have Been Aproved”

etc, etc, etc.. followed up by a “free offer” to get even more junk from another marketer is NOT providing value.

Don’t get me wrong, these are fun to use and can be very effective, but this is NOT a business model, there is a big difference.

Second, simply hoping that you can run a “numbers game” and get enough people on your list to click on a free crap offer and then run them through an endless cycles of upsells and exit popups is NOT providing value.

Are there places for upsells and exit popups and tactics like this? Of course! Just NOT the way you might be using them.

It’s Time For You to Make a Stand and Take Responsibility for Your Business

It is about personal growth, relationships, passion and dedication.

If someone led you down the wrong path.. who’s fault is that?
If you bought into a scam… who’s fault is that?
If your not getting the results you want… who’s fault is that?

The good news is you can start changing these things immediately and your business and your happiness will benefit as a result.

The real keys to online success are actually really simple

1) Provide REAL value, stand out and be yourself… No one can duplicate YOU

2) Study systems that have a proven track record from people that actually “walk the walk”. If someone is telling you that you need to build a big list… do your homework and make sure they actually know how to do that. If someone tells you that you need a Facebook Fan Page with millions and zillions of fans. Make sure THEY have one. If someone tells you that you should build membership sites. Make sure THEY have successful membership sites (and not just the ones that teach you how to make one)…

3) Then rinse-and-repeat what ACTUALLY works.

Building an online business can be fun, profitable and extremely rewarding, but when was the last time you really got something GREAT without a little elbow grease.

So what are you going to change TODAY that will make sure you build a thriving, successful online business?

Enjoy this post? Leave a comment below and add to the discussion. Thanks!

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First off, I want to warn you.

This post is NOT for you if:

• are trying to “get rich quick”
• chasing the marketing dream of the “big hit”
• think “pushing a button” is a business model

Basically anyone who is not interested in building a long term, sustainable, REAL
business…

This post is not for you.

Ok, with that out of the way, I want to share something with you that can dramatically change your business.

Too many of us get caught up in the hype, watching the big launches and thinking that we are all going to become millionaires overnight. (I know I did)

The truth is these huge launches are not something that the majority of us can duplicate.  If you have ever tried to get even a single JV partner (forget about all of the online marketing world), then you know exactly what I am talking about.

The way that it happens for the rest of us is usually a slower, longer process.  The good news is that this gives us an advantage and allows you to build the foundation for something that is truly long-term and can pay you passive income for years to come.

I still remember doing the “happy dance” about once a week when I made a single sale.

A SINGLE SALE!!!

I recently polled my list and asked them

“On average, how many sales do you make in a month”

Here are the results:

Percent	Sales
56.25%	0-4
9.38%	5-10
34.38%	11+

Now there are two extremely important points about these numbers that I want you to check out…

Just Get Over The Hump

There is a group of people that are still “learning” how to make a sale online.  That is about half of the group.

Then there is a very few that can between 5 and 10 sales.

And finally another large group that has figured out how to make sales consistently every month.

My experience was that once I learned “HOW” to make a sale online, it became easy to duplicate and I made a major jump in sales.

Just like the poll numbers show.  Once you learn “HOW”, the growth gets bigger and bigger.

Plan For Your Success

Most people never add a residual component to their product.  This is a HUGE mistake!

Here is what I mean.

I am positive that each and every one of you reading this has a $47 product in them.

You should also be confident that you can sell a single copy of that product each month (even if you have no idea what you are doing)

That means that over the course of a year, you could expect to make about $564 on that one product assuming you ONLY make one sale per month (12 x $47 = $564).

That’s 12 customers, 1 time

BUT…

What if you added a monthly, residual component to your product?

Now, each sale compounds and you can REALLY start building a long term business.

Suddenly over the course of 12 months those 12 customers are now worth $3666.00 (again assuming you only get one new customer per month).

Creating a recurring component to your product is simple to do.
What if you:

• Did a one hour call each month explaining more detail on your product?
• Used the questions from your customers to create additional videos?
• Updated the product each month with your new strategies?

I encourage you to take a step back from your business model and start to think about how you can maximize the sales that you are currently making and learn from the mistakes I have made with mine.

I can only imagine the size of my business if I had started with a recurring model to begin with.

So what do you think?  Can you make a single sale of your product and build a truly passive income that will take care of you for years to come?

One of the questions that gets asked frequently, is how long of a video someone should use to sell a product or service online.

Before you decide on how long your sales video should be you need to determine what type of action you are trying to get your viewer to take.

If you are trying to get your viewer to give you their name and email address you will use a different strategy than if you are trying to get them to purchase your product or service.

When trying to get your viewer to “opt in” to a mailing list.  You want to make sure that your message is short , concise and contains a strong call to action.

Consider a short 30 second video that explains the benefit of the information they will receive in exchange for opting in.

This video should repeat the headline, major benefits the information will provide them and explicit instructions for opting in.

If you are trying to get your viewer to make an impulse buy for a product in the $7 – $47 range, then you will need a longer video.

This type of video will be 5 to 10 minutes in length and will contain the same information as the opt in video with a few minor changes.

First, you will need to explain the benefits to the viewer in more detail.  Demonstrate the product to them in your video so they can “see” why they need your product or service.

Second your call to action need to tell them exactly what button to click and encourage them to complete the payment process immediately.

Many people overlook the importance of the actually telling them to buy.  This one small tip can increase your conversions.

Now that you understand there are different types of videos for different purposes you can choose the correct time for your need.

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