Most Successful Email Ever?

[John S. Rhodes]

I recently sent out a very simple email. It wasn't very special
except for one little thing.

Let me set the stage. In the first part of the email I clearly
explained a problem that I was having. I was talking about
something that I thought would be extremely easy. However,
it was hard. It was complex. There wasn't much information.

Next, I explained to my readers how to solve the problem.
I gave them step-by-step instructions on how to solve the
problem. I didn't leave anything out. I even pointed them
to free tools instead of pointing to products where I would
get a fat commission.

After that, I mentioned in just one sentence that I found a
tool that could have saved me about 1 hour of effort
and pain. I stated that I did not buy that product but it
sure looked good. I also made it clear that buying that
product would generate a small commission for me. Once
again, after that, I told my readers that the tool was NOT
needed. It could be done for free.

Well, you can imagine what happened. Some people followed
the "how to do it free" advice but many others bought the
product I mentioned. That generated a few bucks.

Now, you might be thinking that I made a killing from this.
The truth? I did NOT make a killing. I made some side money
and helped some folks. Great...

The next step was the KILLER STEP. Here's what I did.

I thought to myself, "Self, this is a problem. This is a real
business opportunity."

I then started using my tools and processes to determine
if this was a profitable niche.

Holy Smokes!

I found a two word, high profit domain name that gets over
20K searches per month with relatively low competition. I
instantly snapped up the domain name, created a video,
and put together a little squeeze page. Of course, the
monetization will come via the product I referenced above.

(I bought the product. Used it. Created a video showing
how damn good it is. Simple conduit, My Fellow Warriors!)

It solves the problem.

Futhermore, I can use the approach I used in my email.
I can provide a ton of great, free information in my
autoresponder series. I can give The Answer to people
but then offer up something even faster and easier, for
a fair price.

The lessons here are simple.

1. Look at the problem you're having and recognize that
others are probably suffering too. That's a market!

2. Help people. Give them value. Hand out advice. Give
as much as you can for free. Be open about it.

3. Look at what you're doing and recognize that there
are simple business models. Puzzle things out. Create a
system based on your experience. Develop a sales
funnel to make the magic happen.

Opportunities are all around you. Helping people creates
businesses. Systems and models help you frame the
issues and provide real solutions for profit.

That email exercise I described above could very well
turn in one of my major money-making sites in 2009.

Are YOUR eyes open?

~ John