I Made An Easy $2,000 This Month From One Offline Source

[W.P. Allen]

I contacted a local mortgage company and offered to build and advertise a website for them for free if they were willing to pay me 50% of any commissions from converted leads from the site. They agreed. The site has been up for 4 months now and in this time I've gotten it to the top of Google for the main keyword while at the same time using Adwords for a host of other keywords. So far I've spent about $300 on the whole thing and this month I've made close to $2,000 in commissions.


So if you're trying to think of something to do next (other than smoking cigarettes in a Wal-Mart parking lot) you should give this offline thing a try.

[ukescuba]

just out of curiosity how did you approach them and how do you know they are paying you what they owe you?


thanks for your time - and congrats!

[W.P. Allen]

just out of curiosity how did you approach them and how do you know they are paying you what they owe you?

I'm a very shy person (bordering on agoraphobia) so I used the phone. And I set up a form on the site so that whenever they receive a lead I'm notified. I suppose they could still cheat me out of a commission but they seem trustworthy and so far it looks as if they haven't kept any from me.

[joe.marsh]

Great for you..

This goes to show you... the key to success is action and follow through. There is always a way to make it work.

My best to you.
joe

[W.P. Allen]

Great for you..

Thank you very much! It wasn't a lot of work (just a 5 page website, some links, and a small Adwords campaign) and the payoff was huge. Offline work is an excellent supplement to your online work.

[A.Zamani]

GOOD FOR YOU...NICE SHARE .....
A.Z

[Sheila]

Congratulations on getting out there and doing it!

A lot of other people would have been afraid to pick up the phone and call the business owner. But you called them, made them an offer they couldn't refuse . . . and now you're getting paid for your courage and good sense - good for you!

Thanks for sharing.

Best of success to you!

[W.P. Allen]

I had a few questions posed to me about this site and how I did it.

It's a pretty simple formula:

1. Used XsitePro2 to build a 5 page business site.
-Homepage
-About me page (about the employees/company history)
-Services page
-Contact Us page
-Sitemap
2. Submit the created site to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask
3. Use Submitedge.com to buy links (directory and social bookmark submissions)
4. Had 20 general information articles written (I use need-an-article.com) then submitted to Ezinearticles.com
5. Built links with Linkvana.com and Articlemarketingautomation.com
6. Created a small Adwords campaign focused only on local keywords

That's it. I find that this formula works well and gets my sites ranked fairly quickly.

To find a company willing to split commissions is a matter of cold calling from the yellow pages.

I don't track commissions. I trust that the people I built this site for will be honest with me (and so far they have).

[Tony Vercetti]

Its true, there are many ways of offline promotion such as building sites for local businesses.

There are many ways to get clients, but they do require work and are not the typical "spam an ad in broken English all over craigslist" stuff. You can either call them, or visit the business to actually speak to the owners.

One other way if you are a bit shy of contacting people you don't know is to send some letters with your contact info addressed to the business. Stamp something like "Important" or "Confidential" on the envelope to increase the chance that your letter will be read upon receipt, instead of being thrown in a pile of junk mail.

[W.P. Allen]

Its true, there are many ways of offline promotion such as building sites for local businesses.

There are many ways to get clients, but they do require work and are not the typical "spam an ad in broken English all over craigslist" stuff. You can either call them, or visit the business to actually speak to the owners.

One other way if you are a bit shy of contacting people you don't know is to send some letters with your contact info addressed to the business. Stamp something like "Important" or "Confidential" on the envelope to increase the chance that your letter will be read upon receipt, instead of being thrown in a pile of junk mail.

I think that a phone call is much more effective than a letter or email. Businesses get tons of junk mail everyday. A phone call is much more personal and gives you a better chance to sell your service.

Now, I'm very, very shy. What I did to overcome it was to create a sort of script that I read when speaking with potential clients. The script was basically an outline of the service I provide. It kept me on track and prevented me from rambling (which I tend to do when I'm nervous). You don't have to be Mr. Salesman Of The Year to get clients. Just relax and let your services speak for themselves.

Also, rent "In Treatment" from HBO. I just started watching it and it is absolutely splendid.

[George Wright]

Great Job hst1....

I cut my teeth on offline marketing a few years back. Couldn't figure out how to track commissions so I just built sites for a fee. I'm glad you find clients you can trust to pay you. Your way is much more lucrative.

George Wright

[JIN MA]

Congratulations. Sounds like your on the right track. You've got a good system there.

[W.P. Allen]

Great Job hst1....

I cut my teeth on offline marketing a few years back. Couldn't figure out how to track commissions so I just built sites for a fee. I'm glad you find clients you can trust to pay you. Your way is much more lucrative.

George Wright

Thank you Mr. Wright!

It's very difficult to track conversions for an offline business so I only called businesses in the community that had been around for a while (I assumed that if they'd been in business for a decent period of time they must be somewhat honest and trustworthy and successful enough to not steal commissions).

[pj413]

Congratulations on your success.

[JPMaroney]

Originally Posted by hst151975

I contacted a local mortgage company and offered to build and advertise a website for them for free if they were willing to pay me 50% of any commissions from converted leads from the site. They agreed. The site has been up for 4 months now and in this time I've gotten it to the top of Google for the main keyword while at the same time using Adwords for a host of other keywords. So far I've spent about $300 on the whole thing and this month I've made close to $2,000 in commissions.


So if you're trying to think of something to do next (other than smoking cigarettes in a Wal-Mart parking lot) you should give this offline thing a try.

Congrats...

Question: Why not do this over and over and over and over in other local towns? 10 of 'em = $20K/mo if you get similar results. Once you've figured out the formula you could outsource to heavy lifting to overseas assistants.

Also -- now that you've been up and running for a while you can give VERIFIABLE average revenue PER LEAD. So in the future you could offer to set them up for people and "sell them leads" VS commission based.

Wouldn't require as much trust on your part...

Cool thing about this plan is that if your "client" ever ditches -- you control the site and leads, so you can just go sell the lead flow to someone else.

BTW:

You probably already thought of this -- but you should put a report together on this and sell it to other people as a biz opp. It would easily be worth $97 to $497.

Again CONGRATS...

----------------------
Side Note:
----------------------

One of the BIGGEST mistakes I see entrepreneurs make is finding something that works, then abandoning it for "the next idea" instead of fully leveraging and monetizing it. Not suggesting YOU are that kind of person -- but it's a natural problem that plagues a lot of entrepreneurs.

[FlightGuy]

Congratulations, hst.

Now just replicate that and start scaling with surrounding cities and towns. Or even different real estate markets.

Best of luck,
John Dennis

[billionareHuman]

Great work!

I don't really like the fact that you have to rely on trust for the number of leads you sent through. I guess you could always contact the leads at random if you are suspicious

[zoro]

Originally Posted by hst151975

I contacted a local mortgage company and offered to build and advertise a website for them for free if they were willing to pay me 50% of any commissions from converted leads from the site. They agreed. The site has been up for 4 months now and in this time I've gotten it to the top of Google for the main keyword while at the same time using Adwords for a host of other keywords. So far I've spent about $300 on the whole thing and this month I've made close to $2,000 in commissions.


So if you're trying to think of something to do next (other than smoking cigarettes in a Wal-Mart parking lot) you should give this offline thing a try.

Great Work!

Why don't you replicate it over and over, but instead of having to trust them with a commission split, just sell them the leads. You could sell the leads for around $30 - $100 each regardless of whether they convert them or not.

John

[Srikanth D]

Thats a great share.. Congrats!! Keep up the good work.

Hey,
I really really like your signature. I wish I can get the exact meaning..

[urbt]

That's great - offline businesses really don't know the value of website creation and are often willing to pay way over the odds - I approached a company about creating a small 10 page website for their business and they told me they'd been quoted in the thousands of dollars!

Moral of the story - selling online services to offline companies is the thing to do.

[madison_avenue]

Originally Posted by hst151975

Thank you Mr. Wright!

It's very difficult to track conversions for an offline business so I only called businesses in the community that had been around for a while (I assumed that if they'd been in business for a decent period of time they must be somewhat honest and trustworthy and successful enough to not steal commissions).

Thank you for a great post hst.

The problem with trying to track a lead for a mortgage is that there is a long gap between the company receiving the lead and the actual completion of the mortgage. This can be up to 10 weeks and some will be successful and some won't. So tracking is impossible you have to rely on the honesty of the company you are sending the lead to.

The only thing you can do is keep a record of leads sent and contact them monthly to ask how many have converted.

It is also in their interest to keep paying you because they want your leads to keep coming in. They know that if you don't get paid you will stop the leads.

I was wondering how you manage the follow up process?

[meisters]

Originally Posted by hst151975

I had a few questions posed to me about this site and how I did it.

It's a pretty simple formula:

1. Used XsitePro2 to build a 5 page business site.
-Homepage
-About me page (about the employees/company history)
-Services page
-Contact Us page
-Sitemap
2. Submit the created site to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask
3. Use Submitedge.com to buy links (directory and social bookmark submissions)
4. Had 20 general information articles written (I use need-an-article.com) then submitted to Ezinearticles.com
5. Built links with Linkvana.com and Articlemarketingautomation.com
6. Created a small Adwords campaign focused only on local keywords

That's it. I find that this formula works well and gets my sites ranked fairly quickly.

To find a company willing to split commissions is a matter of cold calling from the yellow pages.

I don't track commissions. I trust that the people I built this site for will be honest with me (and so far they have).

Congrats for you HST.

Thank you for sharing your info.

[billbarrett]

This is a fresh idea - to find offline a merchant to sell services/products online.
Congrats!

You are giving us a wakeup-call - not to focus too much into the "online" thing. There is plenty of cash offline, too )).

[jestershaw]

Thank you so much for this info.

Originally Posted by hst151975

I had a few questions posed to me about this site and how I did it.

It's a pretty simple formula:

1. Used XsitePro2 to build a 5 page business site.
-Homepage
-About me page (about the employees/company history)
-Services page
-Contact Us page
-Sitemap
2. Submit the created site to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask
3. Use Submitedge.com to buy links (directory and social bookmark submissions)
4. Had 20 general information articles written (I use need-an-article.com) then submitted to Ezinearticles.com
5. Built links with Linkvana.com and Articlemarketingautomation.com
6. Created a small Adwords campaign focused only on local keywords

That's it. I find that this formula works well and gets my sites ranked fairly quickly.

To find a company willing to split commissions is a matter of cold calling from the yellow pages.

I don't track commissions. I trust that the people I built this site for will be honest with me (and so far they have).

[Adaptive]

Inspiring story, thanks for sharing both the results and your techniques.

To find a company willing to split commissions is a matter of cold calling from the yellow pages.

How many pitches did you have to make before finding your client?

Regards,
Allen

[samish]

Originally Posted by hst151975

It's a pretty simple formula:

1. Used XsitePro2 to build a 5 page business site.
-Homepage
-About me page (about the employees/company history)
-Services page
-Contact Us page
-Sitemap
2. Submit the created site to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask
3. Use Submitedge.com to buy links (directory and social bookmark submissions)
4. Had 20 general information articles written (I use need-an-article.com) then submitted to Ezinearticles.com
5. Built links with Linkvana.com and Articlemarketingautomation.com
6. Created a small Adwords campaign focused only on local keywords

That's it. I find that this formula works well and gets my sites ranked fairly quickly.

Hi,

Sorry if this pm offend you. I don't like un-invited guest either. But, having ignored by gurus after I paid them, I really want to learn some marketing trick to get started.

If you don't mind, can you share some info with me. If you want me to pay, let me know. Here we go:

1- How do you submit to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask. I only heard of getting pick up by them. Not submit.
2- How do you create a small Adwords campaign focused only on local keywords? Where do you advertise them?

I don't visit the forum often. You can reply direct to my email sakima100@comcast.net - Looking forward for your reply.

BTW. Where is Cobra Island? Is it near Cayman Island?

Thanks.

Sam

P.S: I'm making my living buying, fixing and rent Real estate, design handcraft jewelry and make movies. Although I haven't made a dime on movies (3) yet.

[iw433]

Nice, informative and inspirational. I do the off line thing and whenever I find someone that is successful it helps me, so thanks.

[W.P. Allen]

One of the BIGGEST mistakes I see entrepreneurs make is finding something that works, then abandoning it for "the next idea" instead of fully leveraging and monetizing it. Not suggesting YOU are that kind of person -- but it's a natural problem that plagues a lot of entrepreneurs.

I make a decent amount of money online and the offline thing is only a supplement. Honestly, I prefer to build anonymous niche sites and make my money that way.

I don't really like the fact that you have to rely on trust for the number of leads you sent through. I guess you could always contact the leads at random if you are suspicious

Agreed. This is another reason why I only use the offline site as a supplemental income. I suggest that if you are good with people and don't mind working with other businesses that you try this method. If you prefer to remain an anonymous "lone wolf" like many other online marketers then I suggest you try another method. However, if you do this method right you can and will make money.

I was wondering how you manage the follow up process?

I simply send them an email each week and they let me know what activity has taken place. They're super-friendly with me and, as far as I know, keep me in the loop.

How many pitches did you have to make before finding your client?

I called 4 businesses and the fourth business is my current client.

Hey,
I really really like your signature. I wish I can get the exact meaning..

It's a Woody Allen Quote.

1- How do you submit to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask. I only heard of getting pick up by them. Not submit.

Google: Submit Your Content
Yahoo: Site Explorer - Yahoo! Site Explorer
MSN: Live Search URL Submission

2- How do you create a small Adwords campaign focused only on local keywords? Where do you advertise them?

Adwords has a very big learning curve. You need to read and study about it before trying it because if you don't you could potentially lose a lot of money. Start with Perry Marshall's book here: Download "The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords"!

BTW. Where is Cobra Island? Is it near Cayman Island?

It's an island in the pacific hidden from GI Joe tracking radar.

[Simon Harding]

Thanks for that tip!

Very useful.

Might try something like that myself!

Simon

[Maria Gudelis]

Originally Posted by hst151975

Also, rent "In Treatment" from HBO. I just started watching it and it is absolutely splendid.

Congrats to you!!!

Question - what is "In Treatment" about - ?? related to sales influence tactics or ??

Since you have the Woody Allen quote....have you seen 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - my favorite so far (but then ofcourse, I love Barcelona..flying there next week!)

Cheers, Maria

[W.P. Allen]

Congrats to you!!!

Question - what is "In Treatment" about - ?? related to sales influence tactics or ??

Since you have the Woody Allen quote....have you seen 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - my favorite so far (but then ofcourse, I love Barcelona..flying there next week!)

Cheers, Maria

Thank you!

In treatment is not marketing related but it's fantastic anyway. It's Gabriel Burn playing a psychologist and the show is based around his sessions. Good stuff.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is really good but I'm a HUGE fan of Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Love And Death, Crimes and Misdemeanors and of course, Annie Hall.

[Maria Gudelis]

Originally Posted by hst151975

Thank you!

In treatment is not marketing related but it's fantastic anyway. It's Gabriel Burn playing a psychologist and the show is based around his sessions. Good stuff.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is really good but I'm a HUGE fan of Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Love And Death, Crimes and Misdemeanors and of course, Annie Hall.

Cool - I'll check out In Treatment fo'sure and thanks for the tip on need an article - will sign up today - I've had mixed results with my outsourced article writers in India...and when I find great ones in the U.S. - they are so good that quickly they start making money online themselves and no longer do article writing! Good for them though!!!

[Jackie Tulos]

This is a lot of great info.I have been selling page ranting and seo to offline business and this will work well with my business.

[gg282]

I hate to bring bad news, but splitting the commissions on residential mortgages is a RESPA violation. Both you and the mortgage broker could be fined.

I had a mortgage loan officer ask me last week to generate leads for them and split the commissions. Then RESPA was brought to my attention. You also need to be licensed and working with the same mortgage company in order to split.

However it is legal to sell leads to them.

[W.P. Allen]

I hate to bring bad news, but splitting the commissions on residential mortgages is a RESPA violation. Both you and the mortgage broker could be fined.

I had a mortgage loan officer ask me last week to generate leads for them and split the commissions. Then RESPA was brought to my attention. You also need to be licensed and working with the same mortgage company in order to split.

However it is legal to sell leads to them.

I'll have to look into this. I could easily re-work our agreement and sell them the leads I receive in bulk. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

[IMDimWit]

Congrats and thanks for sharing a detailed and useful technique to work with offline businesses.

[Matt Hoey]

I've had similar ideas, thanks for showing how easy it can be.

[Chris_L]

Here's an idea to track the commission. Offer visitors a $20 gift card or some promotional items. Ask the customer to email you their order number (receipt number). This way, you can cross check the order number with the mortgage company to make sure you are credited for the lead.

[brucerby]

Great idea! Generous for you to share so many specifics.

I initially was concerned about the same thing other poster mentioned (The conflict with Respa laws and paying commissions to non-licensed parties)...

There are ways around it, but I'd be curious of ways that don't require payment upfront by the mortgage co. client for leads?
_____
Bruce