3 Steps To Newbie Success Part 2

The System
 
Now that you have the proper tools to get started, you need to set up a system. The key to success on the Internet is to have a system in place. Once you build a system you can then start to build your list and your business.

A system is quite simply a step-by-step process that your prospects will go through. Some people call it a sales funnel. The purpose of the system is to turn prospects into leads into customers. It's really that simple.

Lead Capture - What that means is you have to have a web page on which your prospects can enter their name and email address to enter your system.

There are all types of lead capture pages, sometimes called a squeeze page or an opt-in page. However there are 3 elements that make an effective lead capture page.

1. Headline – You must have a compelling headline that will capture the interest of your prospects and entice them to keep reading.

2. Offer – This is where your free product comes into play. The product can be an ebook, software, audios, videos or even an email e-course. It just has to be something of value to entice the prospect to give you their information.
 
3. Opt-in Form – This is the code that you get from your autoresponder service that allows the prospect to enter their name and email address and submit it in order to get your offer.

That's all there is too it. Now you may have been around on the Internet and seen many different types of lead capture pages. The type of lead capture page you use is dependent in most part on the way it is used. There are long page lead capture pages where you read through a lot of paragraphs of sales material before the opt-in form. There are short lead capture pages that are also called splash pages, that will fit in one frame in your browser. These are short and to the point and have very few words, just a few bullet points and an opt-in form. There are also pop-up opt-in forms or just an opt-in form used on a website that says, For Updates, Fill In Your Information Here.

Here's a very effective squeeze page that I'm using in Traffic Exchanges: Click Here

It is important to create nice looking, effective squeeze pages. If you don't have the programming skills to create a nice page, it can seem daunting. However, with Adkreator you can create sleek looking squeeze pages with point-n-click simplicity. They even give you the product to give away! The best part is you can get a membership for free!
AdKreator

Utilize The Opt-In Process - After you have captured the lead, then what? A mistake that many marketers make is that they don't utilize the opt-in process to add value to their offer. What they do is they tend to use the Thank You page that is provided by their autoresponder company that basically says, Thank You For Your Subscription. That is a waste of real estate that could be used to offer another product or free-to-join membership site that can sometimes lead to sales.

In a double opt-in situation you have two opportunities to make this second offer. Double opt-in means that after the lead presses the Submit button they are sent an email requesting that they confirm that they wanted to receive your information. This email has a link that they must click before they will be added to your subscriber list and start receiving your emails. This process is in place to avoid frivolous SPAM complaints. Anything other than double opt-in is now frowned upon in the industry.

Here is the best way to utilize double opt-in. When the lead enters their information and clicks the submit button they are taken to a Thank You page. On this page you should have a brief explanation that they will receive an email that they must confirm before they will be added to your list and receive their gifts. It is helpful to tell them what the subject of the email is and that they should be looking for it in their inbox. If you stop there, however, you're wasting space.

The Thank You page is a great place to put an offer for another free product, or a free to join membership site. It is best to offer a product that is complementary to the one they just requested.

There are two reasons for making this second offer.
1. You are adding more value to the relationship that you are building with this subscriber and they will be more likely to confirm their opt-in.
2. Often times these free gifts have a backend offer that can lead to commissions for you.

This Thank You page can be simple like this one, or complicated like this one.

Continuing the process... After your subscriber receives the confirmation email, hopefully he or she clicks the link to confirm their request for your information or gifts. Unfortunately another mistake made by many marketers is to have the confirmation link go directly to the .pdf or .zip file that you were offering. Instead of going directly to the product, you should take the opportunity to send them to a download page.

The download page is another opportunity for you to give them another shot at the same products on the Thank You page, or offer different products. You can even make a one-time offer of a product that will compliment the product that they received from you as a gift.

Make sure you clearly indicate how they are to download their product. You will usually see words that say something like, “To Download Your Product, Right-Click Here and Select Save As” which will also be a link. The better option and more SEO approach is to have a link with words like, “Click Here To Download 3 Steps To Newbie Success!” Also make sure that you have instructions or links to tools they'll need to use your product, such as a link to Adobe Reader or a Zip utility.


Now that your new subscriber has downloaded your product, that shouldn't be the end of your system. There are two other important parts of the system that now come into play.

Utilize The Product – There are two ways to use the product to add value, build a relationship and possibly generate back end sales.

#1 - The product itself...
Hopefully you didn't just give away a product with no links back to you or offers for upgrades. In ebooks whether they are PLR or Branded, make sure you include links to tools that will help your new subscriber benefit the most from the information you are sharing. Software generally has a free version and a paid upgrade version with additional functionality. Some software products allow you to link back to the site of the person presenting the software, or an affiliate link for the software provider site itself.

Make sure that you don't miss this opportunity to add more value to your relationship and possibly make some sales.

Have you noticed throughout this series the links to great resources? That is exactly what I'm talking about. They are not overt advertisements for products, but rather suggestions for tools that will help you, with an affiliate link to that tool.

#2 – The download package...
Many marketers just provide a .zip file or a .pdf file which includes only the gift that was offered. A better way would be to include a .zip file which includes not only the gift offered, but also a bunch of bonus offers as well. These bonus offers can be in an additional .pdf file called READ ME FIRST.pdf or even Internet shortcuts. I generally include a folder in the .zip file called Unannounced Bonuses which has about 10 Internet Shortcuts to free or low cost tools and services.

When you downloaded this ebook, you actually downloaded a .zip file. Check out the folder that says, Unannounced Bonuses. You can drag a website to your desktop and create an Internet shortcut. Then just paste these shortcuts into a folder and zip it up with your give away product. When you have shortcuts in the folder, right click on each one and click properties. Then change the URL to your affiliate link or a tracker link so you know where the visitor came from. You'll be amazed at how many clicks you get from this announced bonuses folder.

Again it is all about relationship building and adding value to that relationship. People will not spend money with you if you just say “Here, buy my product.” But if you give them a good experience during their initial contact with you through the opt-in process, and add lots of value, they will be more likely to make a purchase from you because they know that you add more value to your offers.

The Follow Up – This is the part of your system that will generate the sales for you if done properly.

Your follow up is done through your autoresponder. A great way to do the follow up is automatically by creating a series of 5 or more emails that will go out every 2 or 3 days to your new subscribers. This follow up is an important part of the system that you are creating.

Your first email should be a brief email with the link to your download page in case they missed the page for some unknown reason or didn't download your gift at that time. You should also include some sort of a link, whether to another bonus or to a low priced high value offer. You can also include a link to your latest blog post or an article that goes into detail about your topic. This will get your subscribers into the habit of clicking in your emails.

The second email should be an introduction of who you are and what you are going to provide to them through your email series. Let them know that you will be sending them more emails with information, tips, ideas, tools, and offers to help them achieve what they are looking for in their business. Again don't forget a link. I usually include a P.S. in this email with a link to a great tool that is free to join, but has a great upgrade offer available.

The next few emails should discuss the topic of your gift, newsletter or ezine and offer free products or memberships that have great value but also have paid upgrade offers. Not everyone that joins a free membership site will take the upgrade, but really good offers usually get between 5 and 10% upgrades, which can help you earn commissions.

After you have warmed up your subscribers and they expect offers in your emails, you should start offering higher ticket items, such as $7 to $49 products. Again make sure that there are good upgrade offers to these products.

After you have sent about 7 or 8 emails, you can start offering higher-end products and services with price tags of $97 to $197. Always include higher value than the price tag being offered. You can do this with incentives or bonuses for making a purchase through your affiliate link.

This email series should run every 2 to 3 days for the first 2 or 3, then every 5 days for the next 5 or so, and then once a week or every 10 days for the remainder of your email series.

Using this type of warm up email series many marketers have been able to monetize the opt-in process, allowing them to pay for promotions of their syste Many experts say that you can expect to earn about $1 per opt-in subscriber every month. However, don't get discouraged if that doesn't happen right away. You need to warm up your list first before you can expect to start seeing numbers like that. When you can earn money for every subscriber you bring into your funnel, that's when you know you are on your way to success in your Internet business.