Morning!
Ever want to make money on the Internet? 🙂
Okay okay, stop throwing virtual coffee cups at me…making money is something we all like doing!
It doesn't matter if it's via selling your freelancing services, or the products you've built or the ebooks you've created or the design you offer….getting people to proactively pull the trigger and buy your materials is always a Good Thing Indeed!
So…what's going wrong? Why aren't more people buying from you?
You're doing everything right, right?
I mean, you have your blog or site, right?
You post useful how-to articles that AREN'T canned content that's been reposted a bazillion times, right?
You've been faithfully providing stellar information to people in your niche, correct?
So then…..why HAVEN'T people been flocking to buy what you have to offer?
I'll tell you why…..
It depends.
Ha ha, got you there, didn't I? I'll bet you were expecting me to solve the issue by a simple word followed by a simple application of success, right??
Nope, not from Barbara Ling! You see, EVERYONE has difficulties online…but what might be soul-searing to me might be child's play to you! So let's now examine some of the reasons why your sales are lousy.
It could be because:
Problem #1 – People Don't Trust Your Recommendations.
Are you the kind of blogger who ONLY posts about things that will make you money (ie, affiliate products)?
Do ALL of your emails center upon ridiculous pie-in-the-sky canned copy sales pitches that even a drunk beetle could see through?
If so, that's probably one reason why your sales are more tepid than leftover orange juice that rotted in the sun. You've made a reputation, all right…a reputation for someone who will push ANYTHING so long as a possible commission could be made.
==> Solution – Start afresh. I don't mean, start a new blog, but start sending out or posting valuable content whose ONLY benefit to you is the good-will of the readers. Give of your knowledge freely! And then, after a few weeks…send out an affiliate product post in which you write your own UNIQUE copy. By then you should have a feel for what your readers want…shun the canned copy and write from the heart.
Problem #2 – People flock for your free content but never BUY.
Gosh, I hate that, don't you? You spend days and weeks and months and even years providing superb wonderful helpful free content…and people are willing to take that and take that and then ask for more (so long as they don't have to pay).
==> Solution – Charge for your premium knowledge.
James had a superb post about this over at MenWithPens – to wit:
"…you’ve most likely read that thrice-weekly posts, free downloads and viral reports are a must-haves. Give it away! Free is good! Free brings success!
Well, did you ever stop to think and ask, “What kind of success?”
Blogging does achieve some measure of fame, notoriety and credibility, if what you write about is good. Good content and rising fame shows potential customers you’re worth hiring.
But loyal blog readers who help you get famous aren’t your customers. They come back day after day for what you give them already – free stuff. If you’re giving it away for nothing, nothing is exactly what you get back in sales….MORE…"
If that's not brilliant, I don't know what is!! Remember…showcasing your knowledge…TO AN EXTENT… is a Good Thing.
Giving everything away for free is not! (that's one reason why I wrote Income Fitness … teaching is how I myself make money).
Write teasers about common desires within a niche. For example, on my Virtual Coach blog, you'll see teasers about fixing naked WordPress sites, teasers about making eBook covers…but to GAIN that information, people have to optin to my free Income Fitness Prelaunch.
They get the goodies, I get a bigger list, and they also see the value I deliver for free (making them wonder, gee, if she shares THIS for free, how great will her PREMIUM stuff be!)
Problem #3 – You're UNKNOWN in your niche
Sure, true, people will buy from unknown peoples….but ask yourself. From whom would YOU prefer to buy…some fly-by-night who might not be there tomorrow, or someone who has consistently proven they're a subject matter expert in their chosen niche?
Hmmmm?
==> Solution – Get vocal within your niche and DOMINATE it.
Find targeted niche forums and blogs within your niche and visit there regularly. I myself post at the Warrior Forums; back when I was in diet/weight loss, I would post at
and several others.
Back when I was training in Internet recruiting, I was a popular poster at ERE.net and other recruiting venues. I also made sure to comment intelligently at other blogs/sites/etc. and gave interviews for the Wall Street Journal and other venues as well.
In other words…I got my name out as THE subject matter expert of choice. It worked beautifully.
I go into becoming an authority figure quite a lot in Income Fitness ; you'll be able to see that for yourself next Tuesday afternoon! If you have yet to sign up for the prelaunch, I urge you to do so – you'll get some rather excellent free hotsheets that can help your business today.
Remember…you can be doing everything right (ie, what everyone tells you to do) and your sales can still imitate a vacuum cleaner. Take a long hard look at WHAT it is you're doing…and turn on a dime to improve your situation. Your future income's fitness will thank you for it indeed.
Enjoy,
Barbara Ling
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You’ll love what you learn… Promise!