Recent Updates
036: Keep it Stupidly Simple (When It Comes to Your Membership Sites, Webinars and Sales Letters)
Welcome back to the Robert Plank Show, tune in today to discover:
- What it means to "sell what you sell" (sell one thing for $97 as opposed to a maze of $17, $27, and $37 upsells), separate the "forest from the trees" (stop throwing out what's working just to build yourself back up to what you have now), and reduce that clutter (if you haven't used an item in 1-5 years, do you still need it?)
- Why the knowledge taught in "Think & Grow Rich" (visualize), "4 Hour Work Week" (80/20), "Good to Great" (one thing), and "The E-Myth" (checklist) keep showing up over and over again
- Why I re-did my blog post as the plain WordPress 2012 theme (and I'm happier with it than my previous "custom blog theme"
- How all you need to have is an ugly website, then send traffic to it, then build a list and keep promoting to that list
- Welcome our brand new sponsor Membership Cube who will show you how to get all your paid (and free) content up and running, how to get your copywriting (sales letter) done in a flash, then add all the upsells, dashboard, etc. that you want
Here are the questions I asked you in today's call -- but keep the answers to yourself!
- Do you email every day?
- Is all your content (i.e. podcasts or videos) "one take content?"
- Do you have a payment button online where I can buy from you today?
- Are you completing four daily tasks every day?
- Do you publish one "piece" of content per week? (podcast, YouTube, pitch webinar, or webinar class) FACEBOOK does not count.
Join Membership Cube 3.0 to Claim Your
Membership Site Training, Plugins & Clones Now
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035: Alumni Pitch Webinars and Version Two
Listen to today's Robert Plank Show to discover the launch technique you can use whether you're making $100 per month or $100,000 per month from your online business at the moment, including:
- the "fire and motion" most product launches forget about
- the exact kind of pitch webinar you need to use to promote your products (teach long division and sell the calculator)
- how to re-promote your existing products to pay your bills for years to come
- how to avoid being stuck in "product creation" or "product launch" mode and still make money when you update your courses
- And more! Please welcome our brand spanking new sponsor for this week: Membership Cube
- Additional resources: Membership Cube (create that membership site), Webinar Crusher (pitch your products with webinars), Make a Product (self-publish on Amazon.com), Podcast Crusher (create your own podcast on iTunes)
Join Membership Cube 3.0 to Claim Your
Membership Site Training, Plugins & Clones Now
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:56 — 37.5MB) | Embed
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034: Instant Content Creation Secrets (Eight Techniques to Get the Creative Juices Flowing)
Join us for today's exciting edition of the Robert Plank Show where we uncover AND discover:
- what quickly beats stress and gets the creative juices flowing (hint: exercise)
- what Napoleon Hill has to say about finding success when it comes to writer's block or anything else (hint: find people that have already done what we want to do, and copy what they did to get there.)
- Forget what you learned in school about "writing" to impress your teacher
- Help me in welcoming our brand new sponsor, Membership Cube (they will pay for your membership software out of their own pocket)
And our eight techniques to explode our creativity and churn out that content:
- private label rights as a starting point
- sales letter first -- combining things = creativity, problem/alternatives -> only solution
- four milestones -- document your steps/notes
- question that needs to be answered (title of this podcast) -- get angry and find a solution -- ask more than you need and cross out
- WWHW each chapter (i.e. book)
- RATGUM
- video/audio instead of writing (you won't agonize about it)
- enhancements: checklist, membership site, challenge, case study
RESOURCES
- Membership Cube (create your membership site)
- Make a Product (create your book and publish to Amazon)
- Webinar Crusher (product creation with pitch webinars and webinar classes)
- Email me at robert@robertplank.com for feedback or ideas for the next episode of the Robert Plank Show
So tune into the latest and greatest episode of the Robert Plank Show right now, and while you're at it, register for our upcoming membership training:
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Membership Site Training, Plugins & Clones Now
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:36 — 36.3MB) | Embed
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033: Membership Cube 3.0 (The Ultimate Membership Site Plan)
Membership sites! Check out the latest Robert Plank Show to discover:
- the big two things our favorite Platinum student used to jump from 6 figures a year to 6 figures a month (answer: membership sites & webinars)
- the exact tools to set it all up (WordPress, Wishlist Member, Video Player, WP Drip)
- how to get a 4-part or 1-hour course out fast and then organize it with TablePress
- how to stickify and gamify your site using WP Notepad and WP Kunaki (available inside Membership Cube)
- This week's sponsor: Membership Cube (get your entire membership site online and making money) -- check out our rap about membership sites about 11 minutes 20 seconds in, you're going to love it
- What services to use to ensure that membership site stays online: UptimeRobot, Plugin Dashboard, and Backup Creator
Join Membership Cube 3.0 to Claim Your
Membership Site Training, Plugins & Clones Now
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:28 — 27.9MB) | Embed
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032: The Decline of Social Proof (Why You Should Value Money Over Blog Comments)
Tune in to today's Robert Plank Show to discover:
- how you too can make your own set of rules (do whatever you want and still make as much money as you want)
- how to "rise above being a geek" (a huge factor in those that make it and those that don't)
- when social proof works against you (dangerous)
- the 10/20/30 strategic reverse comment strategy to get a flood of blog comments
- when you don't even want blog comments (like under this post!)
- and more!
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Membership Site Training, Plugins & Clones Now
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:10 — 37.7MB) | Embed
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031: The Self-Recharging Bank Account (Use Facebook Ads & Retargeting to Create a Flow of Endless Leads & Sales)
True in to this episode of the Robert Plank Show where we talk about:
- how to get a flood of traffic, leads and sales into your new or existing online business
- what garbage traffic to avoid (also avoid: "split testing")
- How to use what I discovered from Google AdWords ads to apply to any part of your business to turn on the traffic anywhere
- Why the "old way" of Facebook advertising (fan pages and inviting friends) doesn't work, plus what to do when the only people clicking on your ads seem to be competitors "checking you out" instead of buying
- the three-pronged "interests, retargeting, datafile" method that finally works when combined with a conversion pixel (explained in today's show)
Join Membership Cube 3.0 to Claim Your
Membership Site Training, Plugins & Clones Now
So tune in right now below... and while you're listening, be sure to register for our upcoming (Wednesday August 13th) free membership site training below:
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:55 — 37.5MB) | Embed
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Click Your Way into Online Profits Using WordPress, Paper Template and Plugin Dashboard
I honestly believe that this year (NOT next year) and this month (NOT next month) is the month and year that you'll create that website that makes money, update or re-do an already money making site or whip out that brand new stream of income...
For a few reasons:
- This thing called "WordPress" that allows you QUICKLY to point and click your way to type in whatever content you want (without a lot of technical skills)
- WordPress plugins that then take what you've written and change the look and feel (for the most part, remove the sidebar) so you have a FOCUSED (single call to action) landing page
- Everyone says people have a "lower attention span" these days... which means you can get away with a shorter sales letter, shorter sales video, AND if you just run a few ads (like Facebook retargeting) then you can leapfrog ahead of your competition
I know it's easy to get "confused" about which web host to use, what theme to have, which plugins, what color and font to have on your web pages... heck, I've even seen people try to "code" their own HTML web pages as if it was 1998 (and remember how those pages looked?)
Component #1:
WordPress (Posts and Pages)
Look, we both know that you're probably not in the web design business, the computer programming business, the shopping cart business. If you're doing any of this right, then you have a PASSION for a niche like guitar, learning a language, losing weight, etc.
Even as a nerdy computer programmer, I don't want to have to re-invent the wheel from scratch every time! I want to type out what I want, click a button, and it's done. Ready to collect email optins or take payments. I don't want the "solution" (a really complicated page building system with 100's of choices) to be more confusing than the problem (not having a web page to begin with).
That's why when it comes to any web page including a blog, sales letter, optin page, webinar registration page (so I can drop a retargeting pixel), or webinar replay page...
I No Longer Upload and Edit
HTML Files on a New Site!
Instead, I point and click WordPress pages...
The next thing I need you to know about blogs and WordPress: posts and pages. POSTS are really only relevant when you're talking about a straight up blog, online journal. New post on July 1st, here's my diary entry. New post on August 1st, diary entry.
A PAGE is navigation. On a blog you're talking about "Contact Me" pages, "About Me" pages, "Best of This Blog" pages. The Contact Me page doesn't have a date on it, it's just there.
I like to think of posts as journal entries going top to bottom, pages as going left to right.
Component #2:
Paper Template
(Frontend Sales Page, Download Page, Optin Page)
That's where Paper Template comes in. Using WordPress, you can install our "Paper Template" plugin which will allow you to create a "piece of paper" looking landing page in addition to your blog.
For example, I have my blog at RobertPlank.com, and I can create an additional PAGE at RobertPlank.com/free that's a landing page, a forced optin page, and I don't have to "link" it from anywhere else on my blog if I don't want to.
This landing page is called an OPTIN PAGE which is that white piece of paper with a headline explaining some freebie I'm giving away (like a short report), three bullet points (explaining the short report), a sentence telling someone to fill in the form below, and an optin form to enter in their name and email address.
They fill it in, they get that bribe in exchange for their name and email address and they can UNSUBSCRIBE at any time.
If I really want to make money I can install WordPress at the "root" of a domain, the .com, like WebinarCrusher.com, and then install Paper Template onto that WordPress site, create a "paper" page and then set it as the front page of the site.
So someone goes to the "root" of WebinarCrusher.com, they aren't looking at an HTML web page where I had to edit CSS code and upload images, they're looking at a WordPress PAGE that I edited (it just happens to be the front page).
Not sure what to place on that sales letter? Glad you asked... Paper Template has a 1-click pre-written sales letter. It drops in all the basic components you need on a sales letter...
3-part who-else headline, 3-part anticipation subheadline, establish the problem and alternatives, huge breakthrough, vague solution, solid solution, detailed explanation, who's it for, how it's delivered, breakdown of each module, offer stack table, price reveal, guarantee certificate, priority order form, all that good stuff.
Don't be overwhelmed. Just delete what you don't need and edit the headlines and text of what's remaining... by the way, Paper Template also comes with pre-written headlines and bullet points so you can drop in what you need anywhere and just fill in the blanks.
Instead of confusing ourselves with 10, 20, 30 different types of landing pages (Under construction page??? Coming Soon page? Sold Out page?) let me make it simple for you, Paper Template has these "types" of web pages (almost identical but with different placeholder text written in):
- Optin Page (ask for an email address)
- Sales Page (present an offer and ask for the sale)
Webinar Signup Page (let's skip this, it's just a fancier 1-click optin page but for a webinar)Webinar Replay Page (also skip this, it's a "wider" version of our piece of paper with nothing on the page but a headline, video and link to go to the sales page after they're done watching)- Download Page (piece of paper web page with no links to it that offers a PAID product for download)
- Gift Page (same as above but it's a FREE product for download after someone registers on an optin page)
Let's get to it...
I'm going to explain a few steps that I take when setting up these funnels so bear with me if I'm brain-dumping a few things at you:
- Register a .com domain name (cost is $10) that contains your niche keyword and a filler keyword, for example, WebinarCrusher.com contains the word "webinar" but I can't register Webinar.com so I go with WebinarCrusher.com
- Install WordPress and Paper Template and set a "sales letter" (one single piece of paper template that explains an offer with nothing else to do at the bottom other than buy) with a payment button on the bottom (we prefer PayPal). You can check a box in your Paper Template settings to make this the front page, as in WebinarCrusher.com
- Set the "download link" someone goes to after paying (this is a setting in your PayPal button) to WebinarCrusher.com/download123xyz -- this will be another of our WordPress PAGES -- we can always rename or move to a membership site later but it's keep it simple. The front page is the sales letter, this "download123xyz" will be a page with videos or links to PDF files where they download our course
- After creating that button, go back to your WordPress site and create a new page with the "Download Page" template (which contains verbage like what they can expect to see on their credit card statement, delivers the download, links to an upsell, etc.
Only four steps to have a web page that promises something for sale and delivers that download.
I know people geek out about things like a "video sales letter" -- guess what happens with those these days? They find no one's going to sit through a 90 minute video like they did a couple years ago, so they add a couple bullet points under it... more headlines... an offer stack. Next thing you know, it's a long form sales letter, should have used Paper Template.
OR you might see "web 2.0" web pages. They're very wide, taking up most of the computer screen (good luck making that look good on a tiny phone screen, Paper Template is responsive).
These web 2.0 pages will usually have lots of columns (not too great for readability and the "bucket brigade" trying to pull them to the end of your sales letter).
Usually they'll have one color background for the first chunk of the page (like blue) and then a different background color dividing the rest of the page (such as a white background)... so it's more or less a long form sales letter, only wider, and with two different background colors...
Either way, I believe that the TEXT on a web page is more important than your design or even fancy video -- ugly pages sell. I wish for my own ego's sake that wasn't true but that's what I've observed since making these "paper template" web pages.
If you want to get really fancy then here's how I build out my funnel for a FRONTEND site:
- Install WordPress on the .com level like WebinarCrusher.com: this one WordPress site will hold all my PAGES like the sales page, optin page, download page, etc.
- I create a "sales page" Paper Template page and set it to the front page of the site: WebinarCrusher.com
- Add download page at WebinarCrusher.com/download123xyz: so WebinarCrusher.com -> WebinarCrusher.com/download123xyz
- When you're ready to setup an optin page (which I like to do for cold traffic), then you'll create a "gift download" page. I prefer to either paste three EzineArticles into a Google Drive and save as a PDF, or grab a YouTube video (even one of my own) as a free gift. This just delivers something for free (hidden from navigation) and links to the sales letter at the bottom: WebinarCrusher.com/gift-download -> WebinarCrusher.com -> WebinarCrusher.com/download123xyz
- Now we need to create a page that asks for the optin at WebinarCrusher.com/free. Don't worry, it's just a click away. Explain the free gift on a SHORT web page (with three bullet points) and use an autoresponder service such as Aweber to collect their email address: WebinarCrusher.com/free -> WebinarCrusher.com/gift-download -> WebinarCrusher.com -> WebinarCrusher.com/download123xyz
If I want to get fancy and create something like an upsell page, I just create another "sales page" template in there at WebinarCrusher.com/offer and I could change the funnel sequence to:
WebinarCrusher.com/free -> WebinarCrusher.com/gift-download ->
WebinarCrusher.com -> WebinarCrusher.com/offer ->
WebinarCrusher.com/download123xyz
An upsell page is nothing more than a web page with a button to buy and an additional link under that button saying "No thanks, take me to my download page."
If I wanted to create a membership site in the future, I would use something like Member Genius and setup a SECOND WordPress site at WebinarCrusher.com/members (and have all my protected content in there) and setup the payment button to go to the registration page for that membership site instead of just "WebinarCrusher.com/download123xyz" but let's not get TOO technical...
Once you have that funnel setup you can do lots of interesting things like add countdown timers to those optin pages and sales letters (sparingly) which is built into Paper Template...
You can make use of re-usable "snippets" of code, for example if you want to place tracking codes on different pages or different payment buttons (we like to offer a 1-pay and a 5-pay payment plan on most sales letters) -- also built into Paper Template.
Paper Template will also manage your on-site and off-site redirects. You could for example, cloak your affiliate link, redirect an old deleted page to something new, or even shorten some of your own affiliate's links, and track the clicks over time -- built in.
Click Here to Download "Paper Template" Right Now
(Opens in a New Window)
But for now, let's just keep it simple!
Component #3:
Plugin Dashboard
(Install & Update Plugins)
Real quick, the final piece that ties it all together. When creating one of these new sites from scratch I like to use Plugin Dashboard to drop in all the plugins I need in one go.
I'm talking about your security plugins, SEO plugins, backup plugins. I'm talking about all the "little things" you always forget to do in WordPress like setup the link structure, set the sitewide title and contact email, and yes, even install plugins like Paper Template.
There is a "Paper Template" checkbox inside of Plugin Dashboard. The only information you need to give it is your license key and license email address (it automatically fills it in if you have that open in another browser tab) and it pulls it down from the cloud, activates it and you're ready to click your way into sales funnels and profits using WordPress.
Tools You'll Use
- WordPress (free and installs easily using "SimpleScripts" in most web host control panels)
- Paper Template (just $47 for the Ultimate version and allows you to create & manage WordPress landing pages)
- Plugin Dashboard (just $17 and installs & updates your plugins)
Click Here to Download "Paper Template" Right Now
(Opens in a New Window)
030: Three Proven Internet Business Models That Make Money (Amazon FBA, Fixed-Term Membership Sites, and Facebook Fan Pages)
Please listen to the latest Robert Plank Show podcast right away to discover three easy money making methods using the Internet:
- Amazon FBA training: Dropship CEO
- Fixed-Term Membership Sites: Membership Cube
- Facebook Fan Pages: Setup a Membership Site
Like the Robert Plank Show on Facebook
Can you please leave a comment below and tell me: what is your favorite way of making money online? (it doesn't have to be one of the methods listed in today's show)
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There’s No Need to Be Disappointed About Making Money Online: You’re Right!
I have some very important news for you today and that's:
YOU'RE RIGHT!
Let me explain. There's something I'm sure you've seen that we can call "internet marketing irony" and that's what happens when:
- You buy this thing called "private label rights" and outsell the product originator, only to have them get angry at you for outselling -- this happened all the time years ago when I got my start (jealousy)
- Other internet marketers seem to get upset when you do things like: mailing your list, following up, running pitch webinars, charging higher prices... you know, this thing called "marketing" (inner conflict)
- You see someone promoting a "product creation" course when they only have one product, a "book creation" course when you can't find their book, a "selling on Amazon" product when they aren't selling anything on Amazon (re-teaching what they barely know instead of implementing)
- Posting questions like, "I want to use this webinar service but I need something that can handle 10,000 guests..." Or, "I want to use this autoresponder service but I need something that holds 1,000,000 subscribers" (chest beating, they don't have 1 million subscribers)
Let's just call it what it is...
Entertainment... a SOAP OPERA!
If you spend too much time with the indecisive, negative, bitter, unmotivated people of the world then they will drag you down to their level... it's true...
I'm NOT saying you shouldn't help people. I post in public areas here and there and I definitely monitor what others are doing because I want to stay "in touch..."
But when "they" are getting too negative, you need to identify when criticism becomes complaining and shut that off... complaining means, the same negative message on repeat with no "real" solution.
"You are what you are and where you are
because of what has gone into your mind.
You can change what you are and where you are
by changing what goes into your mind."- Zig Ziglar
I'm not going to ask you something cheesy like, "What if the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, the founder of UPS, Colonel Sanders, etc... had given up when they first started?
Do you remember when you first got started online? Chances are most people told you it was a bad idea, or you even had to keep it a secret from several people...
I listened to the wrong people for a long time (the ones that told me I should stay at my day job) and I remember being ANGRY that I had to get a mortgage. My "favorite guru" at the time bragged about buying a home in cash (he now lives in a small apartment).
Problem: Vicious Cycle of
Negativity & Self-Doubt
I'll admit... I was one of those NEGATIVE people! I was a teenager, coding this and that plugin while I saw all these "rich guys" create autoresponder services, web hosting companies, heck, one guy made a plugin that added a visitor's first name to a web page, he sold tons of copies at $99 all day long. I thought... this guy has to be stopped... why won't people see? I spent all kinds of time posting about my "cause"... until one day I realized I was spending all my time tearing others DOWN instead of building something UP.
- If someone keeps dragging you down, day in and day out, they've gotta go... I'm sorry but you know deep down who they are
- If you find yourself being too negative for too long, maybe you need to unsubscribe from a few lists (not mine of course), unfriend a few people on Facebook (I have 245 people on my block list and way more I've unfriended or unfollowed) -- it's ok to check in on them on YOUR terms, but don't let THEM interrupt YOU
- Move closer towards the people you want to be like -- those people with successful businesses that make money
As an internet marketer (even if you are in some other niche and you are MARKETING on the INTERNET, you're still an "internet marketer") you should be aware of what others are doing. You should WANT to be sold to. You should PAY ATTENTION to what gets you to click and buy...
Solution: Ask Better Questions
The saddest thing is when I see an internet marketer (sometimes a subscriber but not always) say something like:
- They hate those "long ugly sales pages" (that they buy from anyway)
- They get "bombarded" with emails (that they chose to subscribe to and that they buy from anyway)
- They hate those "pitch webinars" where evil marketers try to sell them something -- in that case, I hope you also don't watch TV (commercials), go to the movies (previews), drive a car (radio and billboards), read magazines (print ads), or browse web pages or Facebook (sidebar ads)... you should look at it as an opportunity to GROW your business by getting the ideas all around you and seeing what works (and what doesn't)
Doesn't it make sense that if you ask better questions of yourself (like "what's good about this?") then you'll get better answers, which you'll be able to use to solve your current problems (like "what price do I charge?") to get better problems (like "now how do I handle all these online sales?")
You're right either way. If you "THINK" it's all a scam, and that there are too many issues to sort out with this internet marketing stuff, you're right. If you KNOW you'll do what needs to be done (and that's not necessarily more hours or "hard work") then you'll do it. You'll make that optin page, sales letter, membership site, and start sending traffic, adjusting, and making sales.
If the usual mentors you think about (Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump) started over from scratch, do you think they would "play around" with graphics, domain names, and which WordPress them and plugins to use... OR... do you think they would set something up that's good enough and adjust from there?
I'm curious to know in the comments below... what mistakes do you see other marketers making, especially in the products they put out? And what can you learn from their mistakes?
