So you want to understand a bit about the Internet marketing gurus? Here are a few things I recommend you read.

The Butterfly Marketing Manuscript

This is a $97 ebook from Mike Filsaime. Is it worth it? I think so. Filsaime provides some really effective techniques to monetize your website visitors. I’ve never seen better explanations of how to handle one-time-offers and downsells. Although, I wouldn’t recommend buying his software which follows the principles of the manuscript. He’s not updating the software anymore and you would be much better off custom coding some of his ideas into your own ecommerce system anyway.

The Internet Business Manifesto

This is a free ebook from Rich Schefren. As follow-ups, he’s also written the Missing Chapter and the Lost Chapter. In the manifesto, Rich discusses how most folks who attempt to be Internet entrepreneurs are little more than opportunity seekers chasing their tails. He tries to set folks straight by suggesting they think about their business strategically and provides some tools to make this possible.

Product Launch Formula

Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula is now considered by many as the bible when it comes to launching new Internet businesses and reviving those that already exist. He provides step-by-step instructions to have the most profitable launch possible. Walker is just now releasing the version 2 of the Product Launch formula which provides social media techniques to amplify the effect of a product launch not present in the earlier guide. This is an expensive product, but well worth the investment.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Well, I’ve already mentioned this one from Robert Cialdini in an earlier post. However, since it’s the basis for so much of the guru material, just read it to save some time. You must get this book. A used copy is less than $10 on Amazon.

These suggestions just scratch the surface of the library of materials from the guru Internet marketers. Most of the gurus specialize in one or a few categories. For example, Yanki Silver is considered the authority on copyrighting for the Web, Perry Marshall is know as the master of Google Adwords for newbies, and our friend rich Schefren is the wizard of business growth.

Let me know what subjects are of particular interest and I can recommend the best books and videos.

Brilliant programmers are working 24/7 on the planet. If you have a real business you can pay a pittance to get yourself out of almost any technology backlog, jam-up, or snafu, without your existing tech team in the office. Of course this doesn’t work in all cases, but increasingly it’s becoming true for most programming work.

There are a few factors at play here which have lowered the bar to make it possible for you to get your project done for less money and time while still maintaining a high standard of quality.

1. Agile Software Development

This covers a bunch of practices which make software development a lot faster. Say goodbye to the 100 page product spec.

Do you realize that programmers are now able to write stories instead of actual code when programming in Ruby on Rails? If there’s a problem in the story they can change course immediately.

2. Open Source Goodness

So many applications can be installed with just a little knowledge. Take this blog for example. It runs on WordPress which requires a database. Now I’m not a programmer, but I installed WordPress, setup the database, and tweaked out the blog.

There are a lot more more open source applications which can be installed just as easily. If an open source solution exists for what you want to build, don’t reinvent the wheel and give the open source solution a shot. I’m launching a Digg style site for online marketing news which is based on an open source content management system. It will cost me $0 to see if I can gain traction.

3. Cost of Programming

A good programmer in San Francisco might make at least $10,000 a month.

A really good programmer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia makes $1,000 a month or less.

See the difference?

It’s not just India anymore. You can find good programmers in China, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.

There are no more excuses!

Many folks marketing products or services online often times get so wrapped up in technology that they forget to focus on the fundamentals of sales. If you want to boost profits it’s essential to realize that the psychology of sales works in the digital world just like it does in the old fashioned one.

There are certain psychological triggers which greatly influence your odds of closing sales. The key is to use the triggers while building a relationship with your customers through regular communication where you provide more value than they expect. This requires that you have a good product in the first place and that you communicate to the desires of your customers.

The Internet marketing gurus employ these strategies to pull-off huge product launches which generate many millions of dollars within a 24 hour period. Whether launching a new product or trying to improve sales for an existing one, understanding the psychological triggers for influence will make you money.

Here are two exercises which will help immensely:

1. Read Influence by Robert Cialdini

Ciaildini’s material is the basis for many of the sales guides produced by the Internet marketing gurus. Why not just read their source material?

Cialdini defines six “weapons of influence”:

* Reciprocation - People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethiopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1937.

* Commitment and Consistency - If people commit, verbally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy.

* Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.

* Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.

* Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. See physical attractiveness stereotype.

* Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a “limited time only” encourages sales.

From Wikipedia

2. Think of ways in which in which you can “delight” your customer

When people receive more value than they expect, they become fans of your product and company. As Cialdini describes, this will often make them want to return the favor. These are the folks that will tell their friends to buy your products and services. They will also buy more expensive products from you in the future. Once the customer opens their wallet once for your products, it’s easier for them to do it again. This follows Cialdini’s principle of Commitment and Consistency.

Be mindful of Cialdini’s weapons of influence as you craft your marketing messaging. Let me know your results.

So who are the Internet Marketing Gurus? These are the folks that offer to sell you programs to become rich through Internet marketing. I’ve always dismissed them as charlatans or trainers of pure newbies.

The fastest way to delve into the word of the Internet marketing gurus is with a quick visit to GuruDaq. The site shows which gurus are making the most money in the form of a stock index. The gurus listed on GuruDaq are essentially at the top of a very incestuous family tree. The family members help each other to push how-to Internet marketing guides and software to the masses.

I’ve had a revelation in the past few days. To my surprise all the gurus are not bull****. In fact, I now realize that I’ve left a ton of money on the table by not following some of the guru advice. Are they all good? Of course not. A few are truly brilliant. Is a lot of the information pure fluff? Yes that’s true too. It’s a common practice for these guys to pad their courses with what I call a lot of intro and outro. However, somewhere in the middle there could be some gold. The problem is that most of us don’t have time to sift through all the pebbles to find the gold.

What you need is a guru reading list. To be continued…

I’m starting my second week of a month long visit with MindValley in Kuala, Lampur Malaysia. This is a learning adventure to see how MindValley takes an idea and turns it into a profitable business.

These guys know Internet marketing backwards and forwards. They know it better than any other group I’ve encountered. In the coming weeks and months you’ll see MindValley release some truly innovative Internet marketing products. I’ll provide more information when the products become available.

There’s a lot more substance here than I expected. It will be very difficult to soak up MindValley’s business know-how in a month.

My time is spent examining MindValley’s existing portfolio of businesses and participating in the planning stages for new businesses. In many ways, MindValley seems more like a university than a company. Often, times this means pouring through the definitive information product on a particular subject and extracting the pearls of advice that can move company projects to the next level. All the best learnings are documented in the company’s wiki and employees adopt the learnings across the company. This spans the gamut from the best ways to brainstorm an idea for a business to how to package and launch a new product.

My head is bubbling with ideas for new businesses. I plan to test out some concepts next week following the idea testing methodology which MindValley has defined. I’ll let you know how it goes.

This morning I was a bit surprised to find that another company is offering a PPC conversion tracking solution for affiliates. Remember, that the big problem is knowing which keywords convert for affiliates since the conversion pixel resides on the merchant’s page, not the affiliate’s.

Tracking202 is a San Francisco based company that’s offering their PPC affiliate tracking solution for free. The solution offers many features similar to HLOLA which I described in an earlier post. Why is Tracking202 free? They claim they’ll offer complimentary paid services in the future. If I were them I would certainly be charging. Funny how the Web 2.0 craze has brainwashed companies into giving away really good stuff for free.
Like HLOLA, I have not tried this service, but it’s a very good idea.

Both Tracking202 and HLOLA are hosted solutions, so yes they can study your keyword list and conversion data if they really cared. I know some folks are paranoid that this information will get into the wrong hands. The keywords are only useful to someone in a similar business and more folks probably know your data than you realize anyway. Your agency knows, your former employee now working at the competitor knows, and of course Google knows everything. I’m not suggesting one be reckless, just not to worry so much.

Apparently people can’t stop worrying. I lifted this from Tracking202’s FAQs:

You say you do not look at our information, but how can we trust you?

Unforunately there is no way that we can 100% prove to you that we do not look at anyone’s data. If there was a way to prove it to you that we do not look at your data, we would happily do it, but unforunately we have no way of doing this. If you have an idea of how to achieve this, please let us know, we would be happy to comply.

They sound like decent guys. Don’t worry

The nice folks over at HLOLA have graciously decided to extend a special introductory offer to members of JamieShiller.com. They’re offering the first month of service for $19 instead of $59. Yes, I know you want a free trial, but they don’t offer one, so at least I’m saving you $40. The HLOLA promo pricing will be listed on the pricing page at HLOLA.com. Let me be very clear about two things. I am not an affiliate for this product and I have never tried it. However, I very much like the solution HLOLA claims to offer. Follow the link below to pay only $19 for the first of HLOLA service.
[private]

HLOLA - $19 For First Month

[/private]

I was dabbling as an affiliate in some programs powered by Commission Junction a few years ago. One problem I encountered was how to track which of my keywords would convert into sales. The problem for affiliates is that they don’t control the merchant’s conversion page, so they usually can’t track which keywords convert unless the merchant allows them to place a pixel. Unless you’re a big affiliate, and even if you are, most merchants will not want to place an affiliate’s pixel on their conversion page. It can be a pain for merchants to install a pixel and they might be prevented by a bunch of internal corporate rules anyway. If you can get a pixel, by all means, do it. The good news is that there is an alternative.

Two years ago I wrote my own PHP script which performed A/B landing page testing and keyword conversion tracking for affiliates. I’ve long thought that I should offer the code as a product to others with the same dilemma.

So how does the script work? A number of affiliate program providers allow affiliates to pass in variables into their reporting systems. For Commission Junction the parameter is called an SID. I used the SID to pass an identifier in the the URL which tracked the landing page a user converted and they keyword which led to the conversion. It looked like the following when passed in the URL:

SID=lp1_blue-widget

Here the SID column of the Commission Junction reporting would say lp1_blue-widget. In the example above, the user would have converted on landing page 1 with the keyword phrase blue widget. Commission Junction only gives you one field to play with. That’s why I separated the landing page and keyword with an underscore. This system works fine if you’re not doing too many conversions. However, it will take a bit of Excel crunching if you’re fortunate enough to have many conversions.

Enter, HLOLA. This company is taking the tracking method I’ve explained to the next level. They’re not doing any landing page testing like my script did, but in terms of keyword conversion tracking for affiliates, the system is way more advanced. Currently HLOLA can track conversions from Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and MSN AdCenter that are captured in Commission Junction, Clickbank, Share A Sale, Link Share, Azoogle Ads, CPA Empire and NCS Reporting. The secret to HLOLA is that you need to upload your reports into their system which then parses the info to offer rich analytics information and build pretty graphs.

I have not tried HLOLA myself, but I do appreciate their approach to keyword tracking for affiliates and I’m glad it’s finally being offered.

Update: HLOLA is providing is offering a discount on the first month of service for readers of JamieShiller.com. For details visit see PPC Conversion Tracking For Affiliates - HLOLA Exclusive Promo.

So I met another tech company in the Internet marketing space operating out of Kuala Lumpur. As I mentioned before there are only a few companies working in the Internet marketing category over here. This is a European based company that was drawn to open a development office because of the supposed benefits the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) would provide.

From speaking with this company and others, I get the sense that they feel the MSC benefits are a bit of a sham or not worth the trouble of jumping through the required hoops. It seems the official designated MSC zones conveniently correspond to the properties of certain landowners. Other places in the city just don’t qualify for the program.

I’ve only been working in an office for three days, but I’m not sure how “Super” the MSC is when the Internet data transfer speeds are painfully slow in central Kuala Lumpur. It’s amazing that I can even make calls on Skype.

Overall, even with the bureaucracy quirks and the slow Internet, I do get the sense that Kuala Lumpur is a great place for a startup of a shoestring.

Update 3/10/2008:

After further conversations, I’ve been told by business owners in the tech business here in Kuala Lumpur that they like the MSC program because makes it easy to hire foreign workers and they pay no taxes. Makes sense.

The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) is a collection of areas in and around Kuala Lumpur which offer attractive incentives to draw in multi-national tech businesses and encourage local entrepreneurship in tech. The initiative has been modeled after Silicon Valley. It is intended to provide first-world knowledge and infrastructure but at developing-nation costs. Malaysia plans to have a knowledge work based society by 2020 when multimedia corridors will crisscross the country.

Companies operating inside the designated MSC zones enjoy the following bill of guarantees from the Malaysian government:

1. Provide a world-class physical and information infrastructure.

2. Allow unrestricted employment of local and foreign knowledge workers.

3. Ensure freedom of ownership by exempting companies with MSC Malaysia Status from local ownership requirements.

4. Give the freedom to source capital globally for MSC Malaysia infrastructure, and the right to borrow funds globally.

5. Provide competitive financial incentives, including no income tax for up to 10 years or an investment tax allowance, and no duties on import of multimedia equipment.

6. Become a regional leader in intellectual property protection and cyberlaws.

7. Ensure no Internet censorship.

8. Provide globally competitive telecommunications tariffs.

9. Tender key MSC Malaysia infrastructure contracts to leading companies willing to use the MSC Malaysia as their regional hub.

10. Provide an effective one-stop agency – the Multimedia Development.

New office buildings are going up all over Kuala Lumpur. If these buildings lie outside the MSC areas of the city, their space might rent at a discount of up to 60% because MSC benefits would technically not be available. I am told this is the case with the building being constructed in the picture below. However, even without the MSC benefits, this building will offer premium, brand-new, office space for cheap when compared to Silicon Valley prices. Plus, it’s right next to a train station.

For more information about the Multimedia Super Corridor visit http://www.msc.com.my/.