Not Trying to Be Offensive: Something To Consider Before Buying Your Next IM Info Product

I agree with you

You need to take as much from what they're doing
and put it into different niches. Simple as that I think!

So many profitable niches out there that will increase
in profitability over the next few months/years because
of increasing Internet usage and online payments
becoming more of a 'norm'.

Get into a niche and make your mark

Hi Darren,

I agree, it's a good idea to watch what the "top dogs" are doing with their sales funnels, marketing pieces, etc.

However, a word of warning for beginners...

Don't assume that everything they do will work for you. Or, for that matter, don't assume that any of these tactics will work at all.

That's because the savvy marketers are constantly testing stuff. You might run into something unusual -- such as a unique upsell technique -- and swipe it to start using it for yourself. It might bomb.

Indeed, it might be bombing for the expert too. And what s/he's really doing is just running some tests.

Point is, don't just blindly grab a tactic. Test it.

Cheers,
Becky

Note: Darren, I'm not suggesting that you personally are grabbing tactics blindly using them. I just wanted to make a note for beginning marketers who assume you should watch what the experts are doing and then just do the exact same thing.

Nope I'm not offended, Darren that is a very good perspective to look at sales process.
Unfortunately I found out the hard way, now I'll not read an ebook/video etc... that is not current (2009/2010). [Yeah I know I'm sad I read things that were dated 2005] Also I will not read or take on board anything that is not dated at all, something that annoys me that some ebook writers do.

Also I get your point the sellers are probably not even sharing their latest techniques with you, just what worked for them in the recent past. It sounds like you'l go far watching and learning exactly what they are doing.

Keren

Watching someones else's sales tactics and noting how they affect your buying decision is always a good strategy, in fact I do it all the time with both online and offline marketing.

- I watch how the big retailers like Walmart and Ikea market their products, and which of their strategies cause me to make a purchase.

- I make note of the buying experience I have every time I make a purchase, even if it is just a 2 dollar item at a convenience store. How did I feel after parting with my money, would I buy something from them again? Silly as it might sound it makes sense to me - after all I could have bought the same product at the same price form hundreds of stores, why did I buy from them and would I do it again?

- There are some great examples of branding in the "brick and mortar" world. What makes people buy iPods when there are better quality MP3 players that are priced lower?

- And of course online - whose sales letters get me to click, who has offers that make me hit the buy button, which WSO's do I eagerly purchase as soon as they are released?

I think a good marketer needs to analysis every sales and marketing transaction they see and learn from it. And as Becky has pointed out, don't assume that every one of them is necessarily a good tactic - even Walmart makes marketing mistakes! But in the long run they have more hits than misses - after all they didn't get to be the biggest company in the world by accident.

Bill

Great thread

I agree with you on this one.

Hi Darren, I agree with the points you are making - many Internet Marketeers do not share the very latest techniques (although some do!). But in my experience the real problem with absolute newbies is that they read the info and then ignore great chunks of it. They then try their version of what they have read for a week or two and then give up.

It's a bit like going to the gym for a week and complaining that you dont have a body like Arnie!