Today I’m doing something that I should have done a long time ago…
Better late than never, right?
Anyway, what I’d like to do right now is find out what YOU need help with… and then, get this, answer your question. (no tricks, I promise)
So here’s what I’d like you to do – there’s a link that says comments on this blog post – please click on comments and post your questions, dilemmas and places where you’re stuck, and I’ll do my best to answer your specific question. (I’ll reply in the comments and if you leave your real email address, I’ll send you a copy.)
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Why am I doing this?
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The first is obvious – I actually do care and want to see you succeed. I have a lot of niches that I’m involved in but this is the one I’m truly the most passionate about, and has a lot of awesome people in it that are struggling for one reason or another that I think I can help.
I don’t want to come off as some kind of arrogant “marketing god” or anything like that. I’m just a guy who loves marketing trying to help out my fellow marketers. (We gotta stick together, ya know.)
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I want to help YOU!
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Now the second reason I’m doing this is because I’m cookin’ up a couple new training products here at the Command Center and I want to make sure they directly address your problems and potential hang-ups. The advantage to you is that I’m personally going to respond to all your questions and give you the best answer I can.
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Here’s what to do next
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Just click on the comments and submit yours. I’ll personally respond to the questions every few hours (and if you leave your real email address, I’ll send you the reply as well so you don’t need to keep clicking the refresh button).
Feel free to ask comments on anything related to running an online business – getting traffic, conversion, affiliate marketing, eBay, whatever! If you ask a question that I can’t answer, I promise I’ll do what I can to at least get you pointed in the right direction.
-Gary
P.S. I can’t keep replying indefinitely, you can keep commenting, but if you want an actual answer, please make sure you ask your question within the next 72 hours (that’s 3 days if you’re “math challenged” 
Example Question (and one I get a lot):
I’m just getting started, and I’ve been trying to make money with affiliate marketing. I post links to sites where, but I’m not getting any sales, can you help?
I’ll give a bit more general answer here because it’s a fairly general question – if you provide specifics, I can give a more specific answer.
Here goes:
Dear Example,
While it seems like there are a zillion ebooks and courses out there saying how easy it is to make a ton of cash doing affiliate marketing, the truth is that true, sustained success in affiliate marketing requires a bit different approach than most of the current ebooks are teaching.
First of all, I would recommend you work in only a handful of niches instead of going for all of them especially if you’re going to be doing most of all of the work yourself.
The next thing to remember is that real people are going to be reading your stuff. So don’t just throw up poorly written crap and think that it will result in sales.
Provide Value!
I don’t know if you’re doing product reviews, but if you are, then make sure you’ve actually used the product and have something intelligent to say about it. If you’re just throwing a product link up there, expect conversion to be very poor.
Finally, I’d focus on an area where you can build a list. One thing has become apparent over the years, and that is the value of the list. Being able to write and email and bring in a few thousand dollars and knowing you can essentially do it on demand is an extremely comforting feeling.
So build a list, send them good stuff, and build a relationship with those people (and they are real people, just like you – just like I know that you’re a real person as you read this post)
Hope that helps.
Now it’s your turn – whatcha got?
Gary
Is it just me or are there more “tools” being marketed now more than ever to help marketers do more but at the same time they are selling you that they are telling you to outsource. So which is it. Buy the tool to automate and do it yourself or outsource?
The answer to that really is… it depends.
If it really is a good tool that will help me get better results, I’m likely to buy the tool and then give my outsourced person the tool to use.
For example, let me take the case of link building. There are a lot of tools out there to help you build links, but for me to spend my days building links isn’t really the best use of my time even if the tool helps me take a shortcut. So what I do is have my outsourced people use the tools I buy – it makes them faster and more effective.
If you’re in an either/or situation, I would say I prefer outsourcing over tools since the creativity and problem solving ability of a human tends to be far more valuable than a piece of software, but I take it on a case by case basis.
Gary
How can I create traffic so I can attract more and more bidders on ebay?
eBay does have a variety of enhancements you can add to your auctions to get more eyeballs to your listings. The trick is to make sure you get a positive return on the investment. Some other things to keep in mind if you have the space is to make sure you have the correct spelling and common misspellings if applicable.
I also like to describe the thing in general terms (again, if space permits).
For example, an iPod is an MP3 Player
An HP Laserjet is a laser printer
Mizuno Wave Riders would be running shoes
Here’s a video I recorded on this very topic, actually http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5i8i8QKDwg to give you some more ideas.
I have a couple of campaigns where I average about $300 each. I started a new one with an ebook I wrote. After only three weeks I am averaging close to a hundred visitors a day. I can make this grow but before I do I need to improve my conversions.
They are terrible at 500:1. What can I do? The website is in your form.
Doug,
I took a look at your site and I have a few suggestions. First of all, you might want to include a picture of you holding all the fish you caught using your methods and I’d also recommend some pictures of the product.
Instead of putting the testimonials all in the same spot. I’d put them in separate boxes throughout the copy to help break it up a little bit. I’d definitely give a new headline a shot as well.
You could (and should) try adding video to the salesletter.
You could even give away part of the product… like 5 free catfish bait recipes and build a list and then give them an OTO immediately after they opt-in and promote the product to the list you build and try to sell the product in multiple steps.
Those are the ones that stood out to me as being the obvious changes you could make.
Im looking to sell roughly 100 of my DVD’s to help get started with ebay and hope to make a few hundred from them. I typed out a practise description of my item on Word Pad and wondering if you are able to give me any advice and tips to make my item more attractive to bidders. Here it is.
Ok so the Summer Madness is finally here
and some of you might still be wondering what it is you will be doing over the holidays,
but what is the top 5 activities we all like to do over the summer holidays
1. Having a Barbaque
2. Going out to clubs and pubs
3. Hanging out with friends
4. Spending time with your loved one
5. Chilling out with your loved one and/or family to a movie
Am I close?…
Well the first 4 is up to you to figure out, but number 5 I can help you with.
Now i’m guessing you all have a stack of DVD’s or VCR’s at home that you have watched too many times and have got really bored of…
I know I have.
Well you have just found the right person.
I am selling 100 DVD’s ranging from Top Titles such a HellBoy and Death Race to more lower key titles such as Biker Boyz and Bandits.
I am selling these DVD’s in 10 bundles, each bundle containing 10 DVD’s.
Each Bundle will cost £35, thats only £3.50 per DVD…BARGAIN!!!!!!!!!
If you keep bidding for my items then in time I will be able to afford some of the best and most entertaining items that I can find just for you.
But I need your help to do that.
Does that sound like a tempting offer to you and do you want a friendly service?..
Then what the hell are you waiting for?…
All you have to do is enter your bid and buy MY items.
CONDITION: Wear and Tear is visabale but is still in very good condition.
DA ROLL OF DA DICE:
BID HIGH
BUY MY STUFF
LEAVE POSITIVE FEEDBACK
FAST SHIPPING!
Dan, that’s a good start.
Here’s a few things I noticed right off the bat.
1) I don’t know if that’s just the way it’s spelled in the UK, but I’ve only ever seen barbaque spelled as barbecue, barbeque or bbq. (again, if it’s spelled right for UK usage, then ignore me.) I know it’s a small thing, but it’s very important to spell things right or you look careless.
2) I might take an approach that all the new supposed summer blockbusters this year are turning out to be crap and they can rely on gently used movies from years past. (and all for roughly the same cost as a night out)
3) I’d probably make it a bit more clear that they’re getting part of your personal DVD collection and not just some random grab bag of DVDs from who knows where.
4) In the condition section, I would say that they’re used movies, but you guarantee that they’ll play or they get their money back.
5) In regards to this: “If you keep bidding for my items then in time I will be able to afford some of the best and most entertaining items that I can find just for you.” This is basically your reason why you’re doing this story, the only problem is that it’s not all that clear. How about something like this instead:
“I need your help! I’m brand new to this eBay thing, but am really excited about this as a new business too. That’s why I’m selling my DVD collection, so I can get even more cool stuff offer to my fellow eBayers (we gotta stick together ya know). So please send in your bid and I’ll be sure to send you some awesome movies.”
–If you have an actual story behind why you’re doing this, then by all means tell that story.
6) Record a video of you with your collection that you’re selling and show them a few examples of what they’re getting. If you’re new on eBay that will go a long way in demonstrating credibility.
There – that should get ya started
-Gary
Dear Gary,I am in the process of seperating my merchandise to make individual stores with like product,I have all one of a kinds. Example, Vintage jewelry, Vintage kitchenware, collectibles, and miniatures. Will this help my listings to do this? Also, can you recommend a combo of auction, bin, and store items to get the highest sell through rate. Thanks
Carla,
I’m going to assume you’re talking about eBay?
I’m a big fan of splitting things up into specialties.
Here’s why:
When someone who is interested in, say, vintage kitchenware, takes a look at your other items listed (and if you offer discounted shipping on multiple items, they will) they’ll see only items there’s a good chance they’re interested in vs taking the “everything but the kitchen sink approach” where they have to wade through a lot of crap they’re unlikely to care about.
It also allows you to present yourself as an expert in that area since those are your only offerings.
You get the added benefit of building targeted lists that you can use to offer backend products or promotions.
I would use do auctions on items that have a pretty consistent final sale price and sell frequently. If there isn’t a well established track record of people bidding the items up, then don’t do a true auction or set a high minimum bid.
With your store, I’d try to include items that are natural compliments to what you’re already selling and items that are high profit margin.
The classic example here is when somebody buys a camera, you also get an opportunity to sell them things like a carrying case, extra battery packs, lenses, memory cards, a tripod, and you can package it all together and turn a nice profit on the package even if you only broke even selling the camera.
Did that all make sense? I know I threw a lot out there pretty quickly.
Gary
Hey Gary,
Thanks for doing this. I have been spending the last couple of months researching internet marketing. I see so much potential in this industry. The only problem is I dont know were to begin. I feel like I have learned alot about making money online, but don’t know where to start. I have done lots of keyword research but can’t find keywords to roll with. Also it seems that all the good article,blog and squidoo page titles have all been used. I have lots of ideas I want to implement but don’t really know how or where to start. Whats your advice for someone that has done the necessary reading and research, but hasn’t taken any action?Thanks in advance for you reply.
Up front costs are what seem to drive my online marketing ventures. If it is an annual/pay pal transaction I’ll do it. If it’s monthly fees. No thanks. How do you figure all that out?
What steps do I need to take to bring traffic to my website?