The Truth About Marketing
Ken McCarthy is both a personal friend and a mentor. In addition to knowing direct marketing inside out, he’s the best copywriter I know. Since 1994, Ken has been teaching marketing through live seminars. Many of the top income earners got their ideas thanks to Ken’s teaching. Unfortunately, this year will be the last System Seminar. This is your last chance to take it. I’m not implying any fake urgency or scarcity, this time its the real deal.
Three Secrets to Success
2011 marks the 12th anniversary of this newsletter. Many of you have been with me for years. Some of you for a decade. Hundreds of you have worked with me to achieve the true internet life style. You know what it’s like to enjoy the freedom it brings.
The last vacation I had was a six month road trip, four years ago. My wife Amy and I drove across Canada, and around the entire USA for six months. No set itinerary, just roaming around, staying in places that we enjoyed.
I worked the whole time, writing the newsletter and running my consultancy. Most people didn’t even know I was on vacation. That’s because I’ve got my business down to five items. All I need is a Mac laptop, backup drive, USB headset for Skype, cell phone and video camera. Throw in the WIFI that most hotels offer and I’m in business.
Four years later, here I am, roaming around China for six weeks. I don’t say that to impress you, but to impress upon you, that if you work hard, at something you love to do, and become one of the best at it, you can achieve your dreams.
As you build your internet business, think about being in it for the long run. Ignore shiny objects promising quick roads to riches. Avoid the shortcuts and tactics de jour. Stick to the tried and true marketing principles. (Like you’ll learn at the System Seminar, if you care to meet me there.)
Think of building your business like turning the propeller on a ship. If you turn it once, you don’t get very far.
If you turn a propeller for weeks, and you can cross oceans. Turn it for years and it will take you everywhere you’ve dreamed of going. I hope it serves you as well as it has me. I’d like you to remember these three things. Call them rules if you like, but they really are true internet marketing secrets.
You get paid by bringing value to the marketplace. That value can be through invention, or product innovation, but it can also be through what you’ve learned by reading and doing.
If you improve your knowledge, or skill set, you increase your personal value. You can charge more for your advice and services. Remain a student and keep learning new things your entire lifetime. Your mind will remain sharp and keep young, as you discover and explore new ideas. You’ll continue to earn more, with every passing year.
Be of service always. Listen closely. Listen to where people say they are now, and where they’d like to be. That distance, or interval between the two, is your chance to make a sale.
Sometimes it’s not your product, or service, and you’ll need to send the customer elsewhere. That’s ok.
People will respect your honesty and remember you. They are far more likely to purchase from you, than a stranger, when they need a product, or service like yours in the future. Never, ever, compromise your integrity, or values, for a short term gain. You may make the sale today, but ultimately loose the customer and their friends forever.
Remember that you’re in business for the long haul. The greatest measure of your worth, to any new customer, is your reputation. Be fair and honest in everything you do. New customers will seek you out, not just because of your advertising, but because of the relationships you have with their friends.
Identify the problems facing your niche. Source or create the solutions. Sell your solutions to the existing market, as digital products or downloads.
Digital is the fastest way from concept to market. Plus you’ll avoid the all hassels of inventory, merchandising and shipping.
Never do it the other way round, by creating a product first, and then trying to find, or create a market. The market must already exist, if you want quick success.
All that remains now, is to follow up your product sales with permission based email marketing, and you’ll have a successful business. But you don’t have to stop there…
Consider giving back to the community that made you successful. It could be through a newsletter, regular blog posts, or participating in discussions wherever your brand is mentioned.
You might also set up a private site, even though you don’t need the revenue. Simply by coaching and mentoring others, you’ll get a wonderful feeling of satisfaction, as you contribute to their success.
That’s it for the 200th edition my friends. I hope that these three internet marketing secrets serve you, as well as they’ve served me over the years.