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.

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…