My Seven Figures Newsletter April 06, 2007
April 6th, 2007 by John
Wow. Time flies.
Sorry, about the missing newsletters guys, but I’ll give you a little insight as to all that’s been going on so we can get you totally up to snuff.
But first, the idea of this newsletter was to help keep Liz and me on track for our 7 figure 2007, as well as allow you a peek into our efforts, to help you.
I promised I would give you all the details, even the numbers, so at the end of the year, we would all know whether I was getting a purple Mohawk.
Well, Q1 is done, and I have some hustling to do;-) Here’s how my months broke out:
January - $31,939.11
February - $24,535.45
March - $38,349.56
Q1 Total - $94,824.12
Not a bad haul for 3 months, and I’m definitely not complaining, but if you carry this out over a year, it puts me at a little under half of my 7 Figure goal. So, there is much work to be done.
And after tabulating this I went to Walgreens, bought some of that colored hair spray that washes out, just so I could get an idea of what this is gonna look like.
It wasn’t pretty. At all. Purple and I go together like Justin Timberlake and speed metal.
Luckily I had to shave my head bald for a recent surgery so any trace of me with purple hair has been completely erased.
It was a good exercise because it reinforced the fact that I need to get on the stick, or I was going to look like an Easter egg, and not those pretty ones.
So, that’s the bad news.
The good news is that Liz and I have not yet launched some of the several sites that we have planned that will add a great deal into the monthly bottom line.
These sites will be residual earners, so once they are launched the hard parts will have already been done. They will simply require some monthly maintenance, but not the kind of concerted efforts we’re putting into them to get them launched.
The lesson here, for all of us, is that consistent income is far easier with residual income models. Common sense? Yep…but I think we’re all guilty of ignoring that from time to time. I certainly am.
So, let’s take a quick look at where the income above was derived from:
· Copywriting services
· Testing services
· Coaching
· Product releases
· Niche turnkey businesses
It’s no secret that much of my business has revolved around copywriting, and I don’t recommend something like this as a long term model because it is trading time for money (see comments about residual models above).
But, that said, I will also say that if you have a marketable skill that the Internet marketing community has a need for, it the easiest and fastest way to ‘break through’.
You see, if you can design web sites, write code, write copy, or offer some kind of value, including even virtual admin services, then chances are you will be doing business with some of the industry big hitters pretty quickly.
And if you build on those relationships, then guess what?
You open yourself for possible JV opportunities on products, residual and otherwise, that you may not otherwise have had.
The people that I have worked for and with combine for millions and millions in sales every year. And the relationships are largely built because I have worked for them at some point.
So, if you have a skill, and you are struggling to break through…get out there and offer it up. Soon enough you’ll be emailing and phoning folks you never thought possible.
Make sure it’s a short term strategy with a plan to move into other areas, or at least make sure that you can scale the business model, because otherwise may run into some problems.
For example, I was sick for about 6 weeks, in the hospital a couple of times, and that made it very very difficult to be a copywriter. Because I have other revenue streams in place, I was still able to support my family the way that I want to.
But 6 lost weeks for someone that trades time for money is heavy stuff.
Before I wrap up this newsletter, I also want to share a business idea that I never see talked about, and that could make you a fortune, if you put in a little effort.
One of my profit models is as a testing consultant. This pays and pays well.
You see, smart marketers follow their metrics closely so they know how profitable their products are. And good copywriters are not always easy to find, so quite regularly, marketers will find themselves with sales copy that is not converting well at all.
Enter the testing consultant.
Rather than rewriting copy as a whole, you are taking multiple variables within the copy or sales page, and seeing what converts the best, with the end goal of raising those conversions as high as you can.
Payments for these kinds of services range from a flat fee, to a flat fee plus a percentage of future sales.
And this isn’t a hard sell for the marketers that follow their metrics because they know that any increase in conversions you afford them is found money, and more profit.
Sound hard? Well it’s so not, but you do need to have a good understanding of copy, and what affects conversion rates.
If you do, then think about starting your own testing services business. It will soon become commonplace and why not be one of the folks that helped to build that segment of the industry?
You would have the chance to be a ‘pioneer’.
Ok, that’s enough yapping outta me today. Keep your eyeballs peeled for the next letter from Liz later this month…
Liz and I both wish you all a marvelous weekend. And if you celebrate Easter, then a very Happy Easter to you.
Cheers,
John & Liz