You’ve Gotta Spin Some Plates

by admin on March 7, 2010

This was my all-time best user response email message, reprinted here.  Thought you’d like to see it :-)

==============

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are NO promotional links in this email.  You
can’t buy anything from it, no matter how hard you try.
I just really want you to understand this message.
Here’s the thing, you are NOT going to want to
read what’s in this email.  It’s probably a mistake for me
to broadcast it, because it’s the polar opposite of what
sells to the IM crowd, and I’ll probably drive my numbers way down
this month by sending it.
Worse yet, a lot of people will unsubscribe, because it’s
not even really such a profound or new point.  But it’s
critically important, especially at this time on the
internet, and I’d rather have a list full of people who
accept this message, and let the rest go.
* MAIN POINT:
If you want to succeed online or off, life is the same
as it’s always been … “You’ve got to spin some plates”
I heard this last month while masterminding with a
pretty powerful crew.  (I’m amazed they invited me
… Perry Marshall, Dave Dee, Charlie Martin,
David Bullock, Scott Tucker, were among the crowd)
Every single one of these people knows that entrepreneurs,
… particularly INTERNET entrepreneurs, are caught up
in a fantasy of having computers do all their work for them
while money electronically piles into their account.
While there ARE aspects of internet life which are like this,
the truth is, every successful internet entrepreneur I’ve
ever met (including, and perhaps especially everyone in
that room) was “spinning lots of plates”.
They were doing research, developing products, managing
customer service teams, preparing for seminars, writing
articles, working on business plans, testing markets,
tracking split tests, getting coached, writing autoresponders,
working on salesletters, dealing with merchant accounts,
managing programmers, recruiting employees, running affiliate
programs, managing their PPC accounts, driving traffic
with SEO, social media, blogs, and videos, sourcing
products, recording audios, writing their books, doing
press releases, building a compensation plan for their
company, meeting with vendors, negotiating, getting joint
ventures, dealing with partners, attending to legal issues,
managing telesales teams, teaching live chat operators how
to do their jobs, running coaching groups, developing next
year’s goals, studying spreadsheets, optimizing their
landing pages, learning how to write better copy, and on
and on and on.
Now, it sounds overwhelming, but I have to tell you I found
it incredibly relieving, because up until that point I think
I felt like there was something wrong with me.
Sure, I’ve had a great deal of success.  And while yes, good money
does really flow into my account separate and apart from the
direct hours I work, and I CAN take off anytime I want to for
a day or even a few weeks and come back with more money in
my account, … I’m definitely NOT hanging out in Fiji
getting paid to eat Cheese Doodles, and won’t be any time
soon.
And I’ll bet, unless you’re already making EIGHT figures,
you’re not either.
And you see, there’s nothing wrong with that … unless you
THINK there’s something wrong with it and start panicking,
and continually question and change your focus.
I really don’t mind spinning a lot of plates.
They’re MY plates.
No one assigns them to me.
No one tells me how long I have to spin them for, or which
ones to spin at which time.
No one makes me do an unproductive dance while I spin them.
No one pretends to know what they’re doing and stands
over me taking pot shots while I do all the work.
They’re MINE, and I LOVE them.
So if you find yourself spinning a lot of plates just take
a deep breath and relax.  That’s the way it’s supposed to
be.  The question isn’t why you have so many plates to spin …
the only real question is whether they’re the RIGHT plates.
And here are two things to keep in mind in that regards.
First (I got this from Perry), … to make an internet
business humm you only need ONE way of driving traffic
and ONE way of converting it.  (Mine are PPC + Research).
Once you’ve got a great system in place, you can just
pay other people commissions to do all the rest.
Second, … the internet is a CATALYST to help supercharge
the value you deliver to the market.  The internet is not
your business.  (Got this one from Bryan).
Listen, when we’re 95 years old, maybe we’ll meet in Fiji for
a Cheese Doodle eating fundraiser.  Until then,
I’ll be the guy with the plates in the air.
All my best,
Glenn :-)
Glenn Livingston, Ph.D.
CEO, Psy Tech Inc.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are NO promotional links in this email.  You

can’t buy anything from it, no matter how hard you try.

I just really want you to understand this message.

Here’s the thing, you are NOT going to want to

read what’s in this email.  It’s probably a mistake for me

to broadcast it, because it’s the polar opposite of what

sells to the IM crowd, and I’ll probably drive my numbers way down

this month by sending it.

Worse yet, a lot of people will unsubscribe, because it’s

not even really such a profound or new point.  But it’s

critically important, especially at this time on the

internet, and I’d rather have a list full of people who

accept this message, and let the rest go.

* MAIN POINT:

If you want to succeed online or off, life is the same

as it’s always been … “You’ve got to spin some plates”

I heard this last month while masterminding with a

pretty powerful crew.  (I’m amazed they invited me)

Every single one of these people knows that entrepreneurs,

… particularly INTERNET entrepreneurs, are caught up

in a fantasy of having computers do all their work for them

while money electronically piles into their account.

While there ARE aspects of internet life which are like this,

the truth is, every successful internet entrepreneur I’ve

ever met (including, and perhaps especially everyone in

that room) was “spinning lots of plates”.

They were doing research, developing products, managing

customer service teams, preparing for seminars, writing

articles, working on business plans, testing markets,

tracking split tests, getting coached, writing autoresponders,

working on salesletters, dealing with merchant accounts,

managing programmers, recruiting employees, running affiliate

programs, managing their PPC accounts, driving traffic

with SEO, social media, blogs, and videos, sourcing

products, recording audios, writing their books, doing

press releases, building a compensation plan for their

company, meeting with vendors, negotiating, getting joint

ventures, dealing with partners, attending to legal issues,

managing telesales teams, teaching live chat operators how

to do their jobs, running coaching groups, developing next

year’s goals, studying spreadsheets, optimizing their

landing pages, learning how to write better copy, and on

and on and on.

Now, it sounds overwhelming, but I have to tell you I found

it incredibly relieving, because up until that point I think

I felt like there was something wrong with me.

Sure, I’ve had a great deal of success.  And while yes, good money

does really flow into my account separate and apart from the

direct hours I work, and I CAN take off anytime I want to for

a day or even a few weeks and come back with more money in

my account, … I’m definitely NOT hanging out in Fiji

getting paid to eat Cheese Doodles, and won’t be any time

soon.

And I’ll bet, unless you’re already making EIGHT figures,

you’re not either.

And you see, there’s nothing wrong with that … unless you

THINK there’s something wrong with it and start panicking,

and continually question and change your focus.

I really don’t mind spinning a lot of plates.

They’re MY plates.

No one assigns them to me.

No one tells me how long I have to spin them for, or which

ones to spin at which time.

No one makes me do an unproductive dance while I spin them.

No one pretends to know what they’re doing and stands

over me taking pot shots while I do all the work.

They’re MINE, and I LOVE them.

So if you find yourself spinning a lot of plates just take

a deep breath and relax.  That’s the way it’s supposed to

be.  The question isn’t why you have so many plates to spin …

the only real question is whether they’re the RIGHT plates.

And here are two things to keep in mind in that regards.

First (I got this from Perry), … to make an internet

business humm you only need ONE way of driving traffic

and ONE way of converting it.  (Mine are PPC + Research).

Once you’ve got a great system in place, you can just

pay other people commissions to do all the rest.

Second, … the internet is a CATALYST to help supercharge

the value you deliver to the market.  The internet is not

your business.  (Got this one from Bryan).

Listen, when we’re 95 years old, maybe we’ll meet in Fiji for

a Cheese Doodle eating fundraiser.  Until then,

I’ll be the guy with the plates in the air.

All my best,

Glenn :-)

{ 2 comments }

The One Foot Tsunami That Totally Kicked My Ass

by admin on March 1, 2010

I had a VERY strange weekend which proved to me there’s no such thing as certainty in an uncertain world, despite all our spreadsheets, predictive models, and planning   Sometimes you can do all the research and preparation in the world, and then a tiny, unexpected wave comes along masquerading as a Tsunami and knocks you off course.

Here’s the story …

I worked VERY hard last week preparing my presentation for the AdWords seminar in Maui, and was feeling rather proud of it on Saturday morning as I was about to board the plane.

About 15 minutes before boarding time, I decided it would be good to drink some mineral water before the long flight because I like to be well hydrated on a plane (not because I like to pee).  So I took out my headphones and stopped listening to my outsourcing MP3s just long enough to talk to the cashier when I heard this announcement from the TV:

“Urgent evacuation  required to save lives.  Massive Tsunami is headed for Hawaiin islands after one of the 10 largest earthquakes on record!”

Coincidentally, about 1/3rd of New Hampshire lost power on Friday due to a wicked windstorm.

AND it was my anniversary coming up.

So I said to myself “Am I really going to leave my wife alone in the dark on our anniversary weekend while I travel half way around the world INTO a disaster area”

I called Perry to get his take on things, and we decided I should just try to change my plane and wait until there was more news about how bad the Tidal Wave actually was going to be.

Seemed sensible, so that’s what I did.

And later that day, when I found out there was only about a 1 foot rise in sea level which did virtually NO damage to the area I was to visit (and the route to get there), I went to get another plane.

Well, it turns out that either I wasn’t the only one who had that idea, or else this is really the season for Hawaiin vacations, because the next available seat was on Tuesday evening, which would put me at the seminar just a few hours before it ended.

That’s how  a 1 foot Tsunami kicked my ass.

Live and learn.

G :-)

{ 9 comments }

Cheat Sheet Collection (PPC and Beyond)

by admin on February 23, 2010

Glenn, I don’t have time, could you make more cheat sheets?”

OK, OK … so here’s 21 of my absolute best quick and dirty money making cheat sheets (right click and download the ZIP file) including:

- How to corner your market
- How to master the conversion optimizer
- 7 uncommon reasons internet businesses fail
- My 10 most important business insights of the decade
- How to Taguchi test in adwords
- How to profit from  word of mouth URLs today
- The content network curse
- Getting more content network impressions
- Working with display advertising on the content network
- Domain name testing in Adwords after 2009
-  Automatic Broad Match
- The Livingston Broad Match Magic approach to competitive market entry…
- Hyperresponsive Surveys…
- Mining for negative keywords…
- PPC XRay..
- Multivariate email testing…
- Self esteem and purchase behavior…
- Adwords mysteries…

And more!

Don’t say I never gave you anything :-)

Like this stuff?  Then get your ass into my hyper-responsive marketing club so you can REALLY put it to use before I raise the price forever (on Friday).

G :-)

-

{ 12 comments }

Perhaps I Frighten You?

by admin on February 23, 2010

It’s not Halloween, but I still scare people.

You all know I’m really just a big hairy teddy bear, but my work is pretty intense. I suggest looking at your marketing landscape very carefully, putting numbers on it, and burying yourself in all the valuable free information you can get before you start throwing money at your marketing problem.

Know why I do it?

Because it’s a jungle out there, and it’s only getting worse.

1 Billion+ people online and growing, but only 21 slots on the search engine results page (11 paid, 10 organic) for any given market. And we all know you gotta be on page #1 or you’re building billboard in the woods.

Brutal!

Someday, as competition heats up and more and more advertisers get online, you won’t be able to make a dime without doing what I suggest, I’m sure. And all the bright shiny objects will vanish in the wind.

But for now, I’ll reserve my work for the few and the proud.

Care to join us? (price goes up on Friday)

{ 0 comments }

I Am Ugly, Oh So Very, Very Ugly

by admin on February 23, 2010

It’s confession time, and I’m finally ready to admit it… I’m ugly.  Oh so very very ugly.

I’ve tried for 4 years now to make what I do seem sexy, but it’s not.

That’s why you don’t see any beauty contests for marketing researchers.  No bikini babes lined up with surveys and statistics.  No hunky t-shirts of 45 year old men showing their market segmentation tables and graphs.   No endless, seemingly irrelevant display ads stalking you across the internet which say “click here for some hot market research action”.

And nobody really wants to talk about market research at parties.

Because market research isn’t a “bottom line function”, it’s just not that attractive.

Most marketers would rather jump into the market and try to make money right away, slogging it out on the battle field, licking their wounds as they go along.  But I’d rather sweat in training than bleed in battle.

So I’m constantly imploring people to avail themselves of the literally hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of FREE information available today online.  To slow down, digest and organize it all, choose their targets carefully, and plan their attack methodically.

Which somehow makes me the bad guy in their minds.  Because I’m not as sexy as the newest traffic technique, or the quickest way to make money this week.

Oh well, I guess I’m destined for an ugly life, having a (comparatively) small but rabid group of followers who make more money doing rather than teaching.

A group of Ugly Tortoises with X-Ray Vision and steadily growing businesses, not flash in the pan booms and busts.

I guess people don’t really want to see that at the beach.

But  I honestly can’t see any other way.

And you know who DOES think market research is sexy?

Fortune 100 companies who can afford it. I’m NOT talking about the DUMB brand managers who go without research and just consult their wife for an opinion on which poodle to show in the ad. I’m talking about the smart companies who research the hell out of their markets before they spend $20,000,000 on an advertising campaign.

To them, $100,000 for a research project is a drop in the bucket, they do those day in and day out. I ought to know, I’ve done plenty of them.

But what if I told you that you could get MORE information about your market for $77 than than these companies are getting for $100,000? What if I reminded you that I used to conduct those projects, and have translated these research principles into practical, easy to implement, step by step procedures and illustrated them all in over my shoulder videos and cheat sheets?

Would you still hesitate to join before my final price increase?

Because I’m going to jump the price from $77 to $97 on Friday morning. And because I NEVER increase the price on existing members, this is your last chance to LOCK IN YOUR RATE to learn this ugly, ugly form of marketing, tested and proven in over a dozen markets, and honed over a lifetime of an ugly researcher’s career.

So? How about a little kiss? Yes?




PS – My stuff USED TO be difficult. It USED TO make people’s brain’s hurt. Not any more… now it’s EASY, just not sexy. (Kind of like this lady above). But I know you’ll be happier with the results! Price jumps from $77 to $97 on Friday

{ 8 comments }

Content Network Negatives and Risk Management

by admin on February 16, 2010

According to Jered “The Content Network Exorcist” Klima (who has managed hundreds of thousands of dollars per month), there are nuances of negative site usage and risk management on the Content Network which elude virtually all AdWords users…

Things which Google themselves point out in the depth of their documentation…

Which have dramatic implications for how you manage the content network… it’s a real paradigm shift.  Without question, it’s the most valuable thing I’ve learned about Adwords this year, and it’ll only take you 15 minutes to go through.

Highly Recommended,

Glenn :-)

Rocket Clicks PPC Management |    Beat the $20/mo Price Increase (2/26/10)

PS – The thematic shift Jered presents is entirely consistent with the focus of my hyper-responsive club.  Essentially, you need to start thinking THEMATICALLY, which requires you to more tightly define what your entire site is about than ever before.  In fact, one way of understanding Quality Score is a recognition that if you don’t take the time to clearly outline your exact place in the world of keyword conversations, Google will define it for you!

I’ve thought long and hard about the best way to define your space, then conquer it with focus and determination in Google (both Search and Content) and beyond.   This is NOT  a technique or a fad, but a set of principles you implement with a step by step over-my-shoulder system.

I’m implementing one last price raise on February 26st, jumping from $77 to $97.   So if you’ve been on the fence following me, consider this your limited opportunity to LOCK IN YOUR RATES FOREVER.  (Note: I never raise rates on active members ) Beat the $20/mo Price Increase (2/26/10)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

{ 9 comments }

MP3: Insights for Search – Practical Uses

by admin on February 15, 2010

You’ll be Genuinely surprised at all the practical, immediately useful applications Rob Sieracki’s got for you using this underutilized and undervalued Google tool!

Enjoy :-)

Rocket Clicks |    Beat the $20/mo Glenn Club Price Increase (2/26/10) |  Coaching Priority List

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

{ 1 comment }

Enough with the SEO Voodoo Already

by admin on February 14, 2010

Are you totally sick of not understanding all the SEO mumbo jumbo out there?

Me too.

And I’m convinced it’s just another instance of  ”confuse and conquer”.

That’s why I asked Ty Price, Director of Ecommerce at RocketClicks.com (and now also a partner in the business)… to spell out in Plain English exactly what’s involved in getting free traffic, especially for PPC based websites.

Ty’s kind of like a “Buddha” around the office.  He has an uncanny knack for remaining calm in the face of any “urgent” business situation,  and a particularly friendly and easy way of simplifying supposedly complex issues.

So enough with all the SEO Voodoo already.  It’s not so complicated… listen to this FREE MP3 and you’ll be able to explain it to your 7 year old.

Enjoy,

Dr. G :-)

PS – If you’d like a consultation about SEO for your business, please contact Rocket Clicks below.

Rocket Clicks |    Beat the $20/mo Glenn Club Price Increase (2/26/10) |   Coaching Priority List

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

{ 7 comments }

“So Little Time, So Many Liars” (Recorded Consult with Glenn)

by admin on February 10, 2010

Know the biggest problem we face as internet marketers?

LIARS.

A Darwinian economy creates ruthless temptation to lie, exaggerate,  distort, and mislead.  And the PPC auction puts that on steroids.

Every time you look at the results of a split test you’re faced with a moral dilemma.   Because the majority of the time, strengthening your claim beyond what you can actually deliver raises your click through and conversion.   And sadly, outright lying raises it stratospherically.

Of course, the smart marketer knows that lying creates only trial, not repeat. (It can also lead to being married to a big smelly guy named Bubba, and spending a lot of time lifting weights in the yard)

So what’s an ethical marketer to do?

I’ve known Chuck Batson for years, have had dinner with him, and in my judgment he’s one of the most ethical marketers around.  Chuck  operates in a market you’d think is more traditionally known for honesty and compassion… the vegetarian/vegan/raw-food world. (Which means, you know… he refuses to eat fried kittens and stuff, no matter how good they taste)

But he’s up against LIARS too.

Thankfully, he used my old How To Double Your Business course (predecessor to the hyper-responsive club) and found an honest way into the market, but he’s only making a few bucks and because he works full time as a programmer, he can’t seem to find the time to expand.

I really like Chuck, respect his values, and appreciate what a dedicated customer he’s been for almost 4 years.

Listen carefully and you’ll learn a few things about dealing with the Liars in your market too!

Dr. G :-)

PS – Chuck asked a few very valuable questions towards the end about the difference between free and paid content.  It’s definitely worth listening to the answer if you’re following my model.

Glenn Club |   Coaching |  A to Z Product for Newbies |  Advanced Adwords Seminar

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

{ 5 comments }

Are You Willing to be Hated?

by admin on February 8, 2010

In order to be loved, you need to be hated.

If you want to build a base of adoring customers who throw money at you, you’ve got to tolerate a (sometimes even larger) group of people who despise you.  Not mildly dislike, but literally “hate” and “despise”.

Sometimes it’s because you’ve gotta tell them things they don’t want to hear.  Just ask any parent… children are not at all shy about letting you know when they don’t like what you say.  Yet a loving parent still tells their kids what they need to know, because otherwise they’ll grow up ill prepared for life in the real world.

The best parents do this calmly, with a genuine, gentle smile, taking the whole matter in stride, knowing that their kids won’t hate them forever, that an adorable loving face is just around the corner.

But beyond this, in marketing there are people who will NEVER come around.  They’ll always hate you for who you are, what you stand for, how you look, what you sound like,… the very essence of your being.

Most of them will probably never let you know, but trust me they’re there.

And a few very bitter, mean people, will make sure you know in the biggest way they can.  They’ll write in to customer service, fedex your nasty notes, threaten to tell everyone on the internet what a schnook you are, and expose your every weakness publicly if they can. (By the way, I’m curious how many people know the word “schnook”?)

Not many, but you’ll definitely remember it when they do.

Beyond this, in relationship marketing the simple facts of life are that not everyone wants to have a relationship with you.  In fact, overall an extremely small percentage of hyper-responsive customers bond with you to provide more than HALF the fuel for your business… usually less than 5% of everyone who buys, and only 1 in 2000 website visitors (really… read the math at the top of this letter if you don’t believe me)

The majority of the market simply ignores you.

And another minority HATES your guts.

So what!

It’s the price of success.

“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”

And if you do it right, the things people hate you for are the very same things which exhilarate your best customers.

For example, in Glenn’s view of the world you really shouldn’t be putting up an opt in form or trying to sell anything until you’ve studied the market for at least three months.   After running dozens of successful projects myself and watching hundreds of students and clients, I’m 100% convinced it’s both faster and more reliable to engage in exhaustive market research before you try to stake your ground.  (I’ve seen people try to shortcut it and fail for years now)

My best customers know and embrace this fact, and relish the idea that the vast majority of their competitors won’t be doing it.

Along those lines, here’s another truth you may not like hearing… unless you’ve got a serious head start (e.g. capital, previous success to build on, etc) you’re not going to stumble upon an oil well and build a $10 million dollar business in 12 months.

I know when you see it in writing it seems silly to even say it.  It’s obviously not even in the realm of possibilities for 99.9% of the population, but you’d be surprised just how many people harbor this fantasy, and suffer from constant depression as they’re confronted by the facts.

Even building a million dollar business in 12 months is unreasonable for most entrepreneurs (though I do see it done on very rare occasion).   There are just too many variables in all markets to be able to jump in and pull out 7 figures right away, despite what the gurus tell you.

What you CAN do this year is build a solid foundation for reliable and secure growth.   You can work hard and watch things get better.

Especially if you’re willing to be hated… like me :-)

Food for thought,

Dr. G :-)

PS – If you’re not feeling hated, at least some of the time, you’re not marketing hard enough and you’re not telling your market what it really needs to know.  (Give it some thought)

PPS – Are you willing to be hated?  I’d be very interested to know your struggles along these lines if you’d leave them below.  I have the belief this factor is a major unexplored obstacle for most entrepreneurs.  Let me know below please OK?

{ 32 comments }

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