Make Money & Build Your List, Stop Wasting Time

30 replies
Hey guys,

I've been a member of the warrior forum for quite some time now and I wanted to be able to give back because of a lot of things I learned from this forum. Mainly, I want to share the one thing that completely changed my world when it comes to Internet Marketing… But before that, I want to give you a little bit of background.

My background

Like a lot of people on the warrior forum, I am an unintentional entrepreneur. I never grew up wanting to own my own business. My dream was to work for an aerospace company (which actually happened, and I still have a full-time job with them right now) and retire just like any normal person would at the ripe old age of 60 to 65.

My wife wanted to raise our children by being a stay-at-home mom. I thought this was a great idea but unfortunately, because I live in Southern California and the cost of living is insanely high if you want to own your own home, there was no way in heck that would happen.

Keep in mind, my salary at my full-time job is very, very good yet it's still not enough since we bought at the peak of the housing market in the 2000's.

So, I needed way to make money and started out by finding side jobs here and there fixing computers and building websites. Long story short, I was introduced to search engine optimization in building niche sites about three years ago and was successful in building a few properties That brought in about $400 -$1000 a month between all of them.

Then came Google Panda and they were all gone...

Low-hanging fruit

I spent months and months trying to get my niche sites back to where they were, to no avail. That was a good chunk of change that I depended on monthly so losing it really sucked.

I decided to change my strategy and was determined to find a way to continually build traffic as well as build an audience so that I could not only consistently make revenue on the side, but also build the community and help others at the same time.

I wanted a way to instantly receive an ROI on my work, and essentially get paid to build my email list.

The only effective way to do that was to.... build products.

Probably not what you are thinking...

Now, I bought a ton of WSO's and other information products that supposedly taught how to build products that you could sell quickly and easily. There was one problem in nearly all of them though... While they taught you how to make a product, they never gave a solid and easily actionable strategy to take. Plus most of them were about selling"how to make money" products.

You have to keep in mind most people, especially me at the time, never sold any type of information product in their life. Not only that, it is so freaking scary to make a product, and launch it as a WSO (which is what I chose to do - remember though That a WSO is a special offer and you should have the product that you're launching on the forum also at a higher price on your blog.)

As a new information product seller you have no clue how to manage customer service, no clue how to manage refunds, no idea what to expect after launch, No strategy for getting new buyers to buy other products that are are in your sales funnel, and so on. It's not enough just to say here's how to build a "product go and launch it on the warrior forum."

My strategy that works... (for WSO launches)

First off, building a product is easy. Even though most of the WSO's on the forum are about making money in some fashion or another, you don't have to be a search engine optimization guru, product creation guru, or anything like that. This was one of my major hurdles when I first started since I had little experience in making money online, there was no way I was going to compromise my integrity by putting out a bogus product.

Most people overlook this, but you can sell anything to anyone regardless what it is, especially on the forum.

For example, one of the things I knew really well was how to set up a WordPress website. Now, you may think that just about everyone knows how to do this, and it's true, and a lot of people teach how to do it. However, I had a hard time finding anybody that created a product where they not only taught how to set up WordPress, but they gave private label rights.

I knew from my web development and computer repair business that I was constantly having to teach people how to set up and use WordPress. It was a pain that I had to deal with just about every day. So, I created an information product and sold private label rights to it.

If I knew how to knit, I would make a product that taught how to next and offered as a private label product. Why? Because there are warriors out there that have Niche sites based around knitting. If you sell them a private label product about that topic, you save them time and money in the long run.

Cool huh?

So what about promoting?


With 4 kids, a full-time job, and a side-business, I don't have much time. Most new product creators set up JV programs, email super-affiliates, create contests - and that's awesome, but I think it's a waste of time. don't get me wrong, that's great to do when you have time to spare - but I don't and I imagine most other people don't.

I didn't go out and seek any affiliates, I didn't going to see any joint ventures, all I did was put it up as a WSO and after a while I had affiliates contact me, I approved them as affiliates, and my products have done pretty darn well.

Anyway, I've created over 15 different products (1 member site, 2 Wordpress plugins, 1 ebook, and 11 video products) and made WSOs out of about 8 of them and here's what I do with each of them:

Step 1

First, I develop my sales funnel conceptually.

What do I want the buyer to do after they've bought? Who is the type of buyer? If it's someone buying a private label product, most likely they are a business owner, blogger, or some kind of product creator.

So even though someone may buy a course for me on how to knit, if it's a private label product I know that they are going to use that for the most part to sell or build their business in someway so I can then develop products on the backend or offer affiliate products on the backend that are geared more toward business owners. See what I mean?

Why do I only do this conceptually? If the product bombs I am not spending time working on something that doesn't matter!

Step 2

After that, I start developing my product. It doesn't have to be anything special even just a series of small videos that are 30 minutes or more all together will do the trick.

Step 3

I then create quick sales copy (I just swipe from the copy from people I admire). I do this on a test thread. Honestly, I don't spend much time on this (which I'll get people who disagree, and they are right. I'd spend more time on it if I had more time).

Step 4

Next comes submitting the WSO for approval.

Step 5

Then launch and I immediately add a FAQ thread with pre-populated questions and answers I think of, also a link to my support email.

Step 6

My heart starts beating quickly for the next 30 minutes. Oh, I also subscribe to thread updates.

Step 7

I approve affiliates that ask and look good.

Step 8

Lastly, depending on the velocity of buyers I will either at that time start implementing the sales funnel strategy that I have in mind (creating the follow-up emails), or if it's not going as well as I'd hoped I will just add that stuff later.

That's it... Not that big of a deal...

So why products?

So there's a big reason why I choose to launch products whether on the forum or in some other venue, and that is because it is much faster than trying to build niche sites or, in some cases, faster than finding clients for an off-line business.

I can literally think of a product, create a 60 minute video, Decide whether I want this video to be private label or if I want to sell it without any licensing whatsoever, build a quick sales page, post the product on my blog at a normal price and then launch it on the warrior forum at the sale price.

Rather than spending 3 to 6 months trying to rank a website, I can have a product that is building my list in less than four hours (usually less than two).

Not only that, I'm building a community of people that like what I'm doing. If I'm good at communicating with them and don't spam them all the time, usually I'll have a group of loyal buyers that by just about anything that I put out that is valuable.

2-4 hours vs 3-6 months... Ill take the 2-4 hours thank you.

I ramble - so if you have any questions let me know and I'll clear things up !
#build #list #make #money #stop #time #wasting
  • Profile picture of the author GobBluthJD
    So, what I got from that is:

    "Most people overlook this, but you can sell anything to anyone regardless what it is, especially on the forum."

    Basically you're saying we should all just sucker other Warriors into buying whatever it is we put out?

    Seems legit.
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  • Profile picture of the author GobBluthJD
    Well, that's how it reads, so maybe you can revise for clarity.
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    • Profile picture of the author Elvis Michael
      Originally Posted by GobBluthJD View Post

      Well, that's how it reads, so maybe you can revise for clarity.
      There's a market/product for everyone. Everyone is in need of *something.*

      ...... is likely what he meant.

      Great post, btw, Dean.
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    • Profile picture of the author onSubie
      Originally Posted by GobBluthJD View Post

      Well, that's how it reads, so maybe you can revise for clarity.
      Says the guy with products "under review" by Amazon in his sig.... is that one of the 7 Steps to Make Money with Kindle? :p

      The majority of products marketed and sold online and offline are useless junk suckering people into parting with their money.

      Who needs a new phone every six months?
      How many people really needed or benefited from a "thigh master"?
      Was Hangover 2 really necessary?
      How about Hangover 3- are people still lining up to pay for the same movie a 3rd time?
      Would the world stop turning without Twilight action figures?
      Do we need another limited piece of crap from The Franklin Mint?

      What he said was hardly alarming....
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      • Profile picture of the author samanthamilner
        Banned
        Your strategy is great! This is a good way to generate steady income and build a solid business.
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
        Originally Posted by Art of Marketing View Post


        You made me smile with this one...

        Step 3

        I then create quick sales copy
        (I just swipe from the copy from people I admire). I do this on a test thread. Honestly, I don't spend much time on this (which I'll get people who disagree, and they are right. I'd spend more time on it if I had more time).

        I am sure the people you admire have mixed emotions on that one hahaha.
        That seems like it would be true, but it's probably safe to assume he doesn't mean he steals the whole sales page; he probably just has a swipe file that he uses a lot, like most sales copy experts.

        The stuff he swipes might not be original with the source from which he got it anyway. Very likely the people he is swiping from swiped some of their stuff too. There might be phrases in his pages that were swiped 3-4 times by the time he used them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kenny T
    Props to you for coming up with WSO's when you take care of 4 kids and a family to run. I don't even want to think about those as I am really young and I don't think I would be able to manage so many things at once.
    Also I agree You can Sell anything to anyone if you have done your research as "victory loves preparation"
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    • Profile picture of the author AndyCole1971
      My experience of WSO's has been patchy at best. I joined the Warrior Forum in October 2011 because I was told it's the best place to come for genuine help, advice etc but MOST IMPORTANTLY - no BS products.

      Hmm.......not sure about that. There really is some crap in the WSO's. I did get one good one but a couple of pretty bad ones. They're mostly over hyped and don't deliver. :rolleyes:
      Signature
      INTERNET BUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR | GARETH MORGAN

      est. April 2010

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  • Profile picture of the author Richard Phillip
    I'm printing this post out. Thank you so much for the actionable content.

    R.
    Signature
    Richard Winser
    For daily copywriting tips, and 10 FREE headline templates go here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Malcolm Thomas
    Great solid post. Creating your own product is literally the fastest way to begin making money online. That's where all of the real money is at.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brendon Zahrndt
    Someone could follow this exact strategy and create a case study to sell in the WSO section. It's been done before with success.

    I have a lot of respect for the work you do while having four kids to take care of too.

    Good post.
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  • Profile picture of the author maz1207
    Thanks for the valuable info. Reading your post is like buying a WSO that really teach how to make money online. Good one!
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinChapman
    I really enjoyed reading your story and how you make your money - I've bookmarked this thread and I'm sure I'll come back to it whenever I need some inspiration!
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  • Profile picture of the author Kalanag
    Kudos Dean. Great actionable Strategy Guide. Thank you for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author alvinchua91
    Thanks man for your insight. I guess it's always about the experience and willing to get your hands dirty and never lose sight of your goal.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joeyyip
    Just have to thank you for such insightful post! Picked up some golden advice from ya!

    Thanks for sharing once again!
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  • Profile picture of the author sogregory
    @DeanSoto good to give back..i'm putting finishing touches to my first commercially available product so nice to see others using a lean method too
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  • Profile picture of the author carnal
    Fantastic post Dean, thanks for the share
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  • Profile picture of the author JPBailey
    Honest Disclosure: I didn't even read the post, ok, I scanned it. The real lessons come from watching the responses come in. Haters!

    1. It takes A LOT of guts to even come on the WF and post, so hat's off to you for that
    2. It takes A Lot of guts to hear the feedback
    3. There are crap WSO's and there are good WSO's there are also a lot of good people and good cons, and great advice and stupid comments and every other wonderful thing there is in the real world...
    4. There are also WSO's that are for sale with the exact same info as some people give for free
    5. If you want to know what the top selling products are going around these days just get on my list to see them. Get on a lot of people's lists to see what is currently being promoted.
    6. My link to my list isn't here because this wasn't about promoting myself, guess you'll have to email me for it if you really want it
    7. Trying to think of something for number 7, I'll get back to you
    8. Become a student of marketing and you'll go far
    9. Learn basic copy writing and don't stop til you can see it in your sleep and the light bulb comes on
    10. It doesn't hurt to have a Master's degree in psychology before becoming a marketer, (like I do) but it's not really required if you're persistent and a good learner
    7. might be something like, "The money's in the list".

    Thanks for good share man!

    JP Bailey, MA
    Psych Marketer
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    NLP Ninja for Success Mindset - Master Your Inner Game. Check Out My WSO Here

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  • Profile picture of the author jacktackett
    Great post Dean. Wouldn't surprise me if this gets moved to the war room. One quick question- those products you feel flop, what do you do with them? Sell on Flippa or just retire them?
    Thanks for a great post.
    --Jack
    Signature
    Let's get Tim the kidney he needs!HELP Tim
    Mega Monster WSO for KimW http://ow.ly/4JdHm


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  • Profile picture of the author kiwikelno1
    Great post Dean, thanks for the sharing
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    • Profile picture of the author DeanSoto
      Originally Posted by jacktackett View Post

      Great post Dean. Wouldn't surprise me if this gets moved to the war room. One quick question- those products you feel flop, what do you do with them? Sell on Flippa or just retire them?
      Thanks for a great post.
      --Jack
      Glad you like it and it helped. Good question... I usually use them as a bonus. Just because they flop doesn't mean the product is bad - usually it's because of something I messed up on marketing or tech wise heh. For example, I had an offline sales product that I launched using my iPad and on travel. All of my copy looked wrong (formatting wise... It was all over the place) but I didn't know it for a while and couldn't fix it until I found a computer I could use lol. Also, for some reason the dimesale didn't work and shot up to $9.95 after the first sale. I think I ended up selling 3 of those, lol. So I use that particular one for a bonus (which everyone seems to like and adding bonuses always helps with marketing in my opinion).

      You can always redo copy, try new things, etc., and re-launch too if the product is good.

      Originally Posted by Greg guitar View Post

      That seems like it would be true, but it's probably safe to assume he doesn't mean he steals the whole sales page; he probably just has a swipe file that he uses a lot, like most sales copy experts.

      The stuff he swipes might not be original with the source from which he got it anyway. Very likely the people he is swiping from swiped some of their stuff too. There might be phrases in his pages that were swiped 3-4 times by the time he used them.
      Oh totally, lol. Not a good thing to completely steal copy. Use it as a guide and re-word most of it. There are some things to leave the same though. I try to keep the Headline "generally" the same. Reason being is that since it's the most important part, there is usually a very good reason why the Headline is the way it is sales-wise.


      Originally Posted by markmcknight View Post

      Thanks, you've inspired me to start creating m own products to share my knowledge.
      No problem! You can do it. Seriously, if I can do it so can you (I'm not just saying that).

      Originally Posted by Brendon Zahrndt View Post

      Someone could follow this exact strategy and create a case study to sell in the WSO section. It's been done before with success.

      I have a lot of respect for the work you do while having four kids to take care of too.

      Good post.
      Thanks Brendon . Means a lot. Definitely doable for anyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author waynemoney
    Great post. I am two weeks out with my first WSO. I can use all the good advice I can get.

    What would you do to improve your results if you had more time to do it?
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    You Don't Have to Be Part of the 99% of Internet Marketers That Fail Miserably
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    • Profile picture of the author DeanSoto
      Originally Posted by waynemoney View Post

      Great post. I am two weeks out with my first WSO. I can use all the good advice I can get.

      What would you do to improve your results if you had more time to do it?

      Nice! You'll do great.

      That's a really good question. It would probably be to get some affiliates on board prior to the launch i guess. the point of WSOs isn't to make a ton of money - it's to help people, add value, and build a list that will eventually turn into a community. The more people that you get on your list the better. Then you can decide how you want to add value later in your sales funnel. (I usually do dimesales because of this)

      Problem with getting affiliates prior is that it does take time, initially, to pitch affiliates. I dunno, I'm sure some people have success doing it, but in my opinion one of the worst things that you can do is shoot a PM or email to someone asking to them to promote your product. One affiliate that I did ask to mail for me prior to launch was someone I bought a WSO from. I thanked them for the stuff he taught, showed him how I applied it, we became friends on Skype, and then I showed him a product I was creating and he pitched for me. That takes a long time - I'm sure others can do it faster but I prefer the relationship. Besides, that same person has helped me in a ton of other ways simply because we are friends.

      But I don't worry about this too much because usually any affiliate that promoted for me on products before (without me asking them) want to promote again. Plus, as mentioned in the first thread, you'll usually get affiliates just by putting out a great product.
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