Am I being realistic here? [doing what Eben Pagan to get traffic]

Where do you get your information from? You couldn't be more wrong. Most of the names you mentioned, while they do have affiliates, they also BUY traffic, do SEO, etc. Eben Pagan has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on just PPC alone and that figure is from a few years ago.

Please get your facts straight.

RoD

Alright, you're right I didn't think of buying traffic.

But, nevertheless, do you think that that strategy could work?

Thanks

A more concrete answer: yea, I think it could work, especially if you partnered with people that own popular blogs that are incredibly relevant to your e-book AND if your e-book is good.

Thank you,

The reality is that I can't afford to waste time. But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to take risks. I'm going to do this anyway, once I release the product.

I just want some feedback from other Warriors and see if it makes sens to them.

-Paul

bump... guys,any feedback on this, please?

I've been in the dating niche for many years, so I know a thing or two about it. It's one of my favorite markets to be in because it's a market that grows every single year. Don't just rely on one e-book to build your business on. I would strongly recommend writing a short report and don't call it an e-book, call it a "report" or something else and sell it in the $5 to $15 range. Also write a bunch of shorter reports that distribute those for free, offer them to your readers for free etc.

Then have a MAIN e-book and do some price testing on it ($27, $37, $47, etc.) with some PPC and make sure you have at least a few hundred clicks for each price point. This won't come cheap, but the feedback you're going to get is going to tell you what your most profitable price point will be.

Then create a higher priced ticket item, like some audios or videos and sell those for $97 to $147. Don't get too stuck on the price points, I'm just giving you general ideas. Call this product a "course" or something else of higher perceived value.

Now, you might just want to create a blog that you can add content to it nearly every day and monetize it with:

* Adsense
* Affiliate offers (better than Adsense from my experience).
* Your own products.

Make sure you have no less than 10 different products to offer whether they are your own or someone else's (or both). Set up a cohesive strategy so when people go to your website that you're pushing them to join your opt-in newsletter. Having an opt-in form and a newsletter is a great way to build your dating niche business into a healthy six figure (or more) business.

Secondly, don't be afraid to buy traffic. Search for Warrior Jonathan Mizel and look at any special offers he has going. The guy really knows his **** when it comes to buying traffic.

RoD

I don't think the plan is realistic in its current format. You need to consider what are you really offering JV's? Where are you going to get JV's to partner with (offering guest posts isn't your only option)?

A single product isn't going to cut it. Kern, Pagan, Walker, Filsame, etc. don't have single product they have systems and funnels. You need to consider your back end offer, upsells and down sells.

Test the price. Actually I would say that your first product should be something with excellent value that you give away for free just for list building. Offer it as a bonus that a potential JV can add to their product just so you can get the subscribers.

I think it is possible for you to make your income goal, in that market, in that time frame just not with that plan.

Do you really think it's that simplistic ???

Eben also has a continuity program, high paid bootcamps, one on one consultations ..

He has an army of star employees that specialize in PPC, SEO, Media Buys... Will you?

Seduction was pretty much an underground novelty when he started .. but now? Now, you're facing brands like double your dating, neal strauss, mystery, etc ...

They are known and trusted. They have TV shows, hundreds of live pickups of them or their students on youtube, etc ..

Do you think you can match that? Or just write some ebook, slap a salespage and get Eben Pagan or the other guys to promote it for you while you're sipping margaritas and count your money for the day ...

Very realistic expectations indeed ...

First off, listen to every word Rod Cortez says... dude is right on point and giving you real world advice.

Second, I'm *in* the niche... and i'll tell you now... don't waste your time with that "plan" because you're gonna be disappointed with the results.

I get hit up several times a day from people asking me to promote their stuff... I've got no clue who these people are, yet they all come with their hands out asking to take.

Some of these morons have even ripped off parts of my product, or newsletters or sales copy and trying to profit from it.

(we ripped his stuff, lets ask him for a jv now) duh.

If you've watched ebens stuff, he talks about "giving before getting"...

and this is SO true when you're new.

Give before you take.

Why should I promote your product?

Why should I put your content on my site? whats in it for me? $20 a sale? whoopdie doo... I can go get mcdonalds now.... yes!

Owning all the assets, I can sell my own stuff and keep 100% of the money... PLUS... I know my customers will be treated right.

I have the list and the relationship with them, why do I need you?

When I wanted people to promote my offer... guess what I did?

I PROMOTED THEM FIRST.

I made them some money first, THEN I went and asked for a jv.

Kern says it best... what sounds better?

1. "hi, i'm mr.youdontknowwhothehelliam.... i have a new great dating ebook... and i'd like you to promote it... you get 50% commission... and the page is....blah blah blah"

or...

2. "hi... i'm so and so... I just promoted your stuff... it did pretty good to my list, we made $xxxx... even though its really small... btw... i have a new product and its converting pretty good to my list... maybe you can take a look at it and give me your feedback? - (then ask to promo)

(if you have half a brain, you answered #2)

Build a sales process than converts.

Get traffic.

Spend your *OWN* money on it.

Make sure the damn thing converts BEFORE you attempt to ask anyone for a jv. (this goes to everyone).

If you aren't putting your own skin in the game to test if your offer works, why the hell would i do it for you?

If it doesn't convert, are you gonna pay me for the money I would have made promoting another offer?

And lemme guess.... you have a squeeze page too.... so you're also wanting to collect a ton of my leads, not know how to or be able to convert them into sales.... then after not getting paid... you're going to blast them with affiliate offers.

these are all things you need to consider. :-)

well sometimes you don't know what you don't know... and if no one tells you otherwise, you well... just don't know.

Of course this is a sound strategy, unlike some of the detractors here I would argue that not enough people are willing to build out a sound partner strategy. Setting up an affiliate program is only 1/10th of the battle, the rest is scoping, building relationships, patience, follow-up, building tools and pre-sales material that help them increase their conversions not to mention conversion rates that are appealing (probably the biggest challenges for someone just starting out).

I would spend some time honing your marketing messages and landing pages to make sure they are sound first...before you start getting partner traffic to a site that doesn't convert where those partners lose faith in your product and never return.

But yes...nice to see someone thinking in terms of leveraging partnerships - it really does work if you do your preparation and homework.

Jeff

Guys.... thanks a LOT for the feedback.

I'm not looking to just "get" before I give. But I'll consider every word you said. Thanks everyone.

Another question would be : if you could only work on ONE source of traffic, what would it be? I think that partnerships are better than SEO (takes too long) and better than PPC (if you don't have the upfront money).

And YES, I need to get creative about what I'm gonna give to JV's. AND, I don't have the intention to start with "please promote me"... The main goal at first is to discover what the partner wants.

And, to be more specific, I'll never go to a partner that sells dating products. NEVER. Because I'm more about finding sideways niches, like people who are fighting lack of confidence for example... I might be wrong on that too, I don't know.

What's sure is that I don't have the time to wait for google love. And I don't have the money to do media buys right now.

Thanks again for all the input.

-PT

Me and rod are *IN* the niche... in the trenches... doing this... I'll let you decide what advice is more appropriate.

here's what you're not getting…. the people you're trying to hit up are getting hit up all the time... and if you aren't willing to test your own offer to make sure it converts... theres no way anyone with half a brain is going to be your guinea pig.

You wanna know the secret to get a TON of jv partners dying to promote you?

MAKE SURE YOUR OFFER CONVERTS!

And dude... who the hell is going to out their traffic sources?

Are you nuts?

Quit looking for the easy way... this is work man, no ones gonna do it for you… and money's not just going to drop from the sky.

Take a small amount of money and start testing... $50 could work... plus there's ppc coupons all over the net with free credits. start small and build up.

if you can't do that...

Get some traffic via seo... roll up your sleeves write some killer content and start testing stuff.

IMO... if you're stuck on doing the jv thing… your best bet is to come up with the most killer f'n bonus you can think of.... something REALLY gangster... that your market wants BADLY.

something worth just as much as your product, if not more.

Then give it to your prospective jv partners and explain how they can make money giving it away.

You should focus on a marketing plan that will work for YOUR business. Entering into a niche that is very competitive is hard... especially when you're looking to have success. You're better off selling a $19 ebook on baby sleep tips than to enter into the dating niche. Hope your pockets are deep.

Okay dude, trust me I'm taking seriously into account everything written in this topic.

And that advice about testing if IT CONVERTS before testing it ON my partners really hit home. Thanks again.

I do understand that it is going to take work. I'm definitely going to bust my a** on this, that's why I wanted to make sure that I'm doing something that makes sens to the more experienced people.

I'm willing to do as many interview, as many special reports and as many hours of work as it takes. I don't believe in small work=big bucks.

Thanks again, Dave

And let's not forget... When Eben was heavily using affiliates to drive sales, it's because he was paying $40 on a $20 sale. That's 200% commission man. Is your sales process strong enough to make that back on upsells and continuity? If not, better have a good plan to generate traffic (banners, ppc, ppv, solos, etc.).

If you want to attract JV partners you need to make your offer convert. Give them 100% of the profits. Build a large list of customers and monetize on the backend. JV customers are one of the best customers you can get, they prove to be buyers and they are a gold mine. As a whole, I think JV traffic is part of your traffic mix, you should also look at other free or paid traffic generation methods like SEO, social media and PPC. Find your market and then be in front of them.

i wish you luck in your work, i hope it's that easy, never give up though.

Find something of value you could offer theses partners. If you build up an email list, you can tell them you will promote to their list. If you have something that they want. It will be much easier to stand out and get a response from them.