Jane is crushed.

She was sitting in a restaurant and saw across the room a huge collection of big-name Internet Marketers sitting around a big table, eating a great meal and laughing it up.

She recognized John Reese, the Traffic Secrets Guy, Ed Dale from The 30 Day Challenge, Jeff Johnson, the King of Affiliate Marketing, John Carlton the legendary copywriter and his business partner Stan Dahl, Perry Belcher, the Social Media King, Jeff Mulligan who dominates ClickBank, Jeff & John Walker, the Product Launch Superstars and Ryan Deiss from the Continuity Blueprint.

Jane gasped in amazement when Harlan Kilstein, the Jedi copywriter and marketing consultant, raise a toast with these surprising words:

“Here’s To The Recession!”

Everyone raised their glasses and laughed, heartily toasting and drinking to that one.

Jane couldn’t believe her ears. Her business selling a unique product line of handmade jewelry wasn’t going anywhere at all.

And not for lack of trying….

She was sending emails to her list with no response at all.

She had lots of content…and she thought it was good.

She had a pretty website.

Her bank account was approaching ZERO…fast.

She couldn’t understand why these marketers were toasting the Recession.

To Jane, the Recession was The Enemy.

To these Internet Marketing superstars, the Recession was a gift.

Their businesses were stronger than ever.

If you could transplant one key concept into Jane’s brain that would enable her to turn around her business now, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Submit your answer as a comment to this blog post. Be sure to include your full name and website. Our winner, who will be chosen after the Sunday at 5pm Eastern deadline, will win a Flip Mino HD video camera (it’s white, by the way!).

The good news is that this iPod Shuffle contest was just the first of many Tactic 7 contests for you.

The not-so-good news is that we could just pick one of you. And as we told you yesterday, you gave us some really, really awesome advice. (Are you taking your own advice? Just askin’…)

So without further ado….our first winner of a brand-new iPod Shuffle is…..
Colin James from ProfitMarketingSecrets.com.

Here is Colin’s submission (edited slightly):

The first thing John needs to do is re-structure his business model. He’s so busy chasing around going to client’s homes and not making effective use of his time. A much better strategy for profit is to start doing group bootcamps as a way to introduce his programs. Then instead of only seeing 4-5 clients / day at $100 / hour, netting $500 / day, he can now charge $60 x 10 students for 90 minutes. Now he makes more in 90 minutes than a full work day.

John, hope this is helpful for you. All the best in your venture. Colin James

[Colin, email us your address to tactic7 (at) gmail dot com and your iPod will be in the mail to you!]

Up next is a chance to win a Flip Mino Video Camera (those things are really cool!). This time, Jane is in need of your advice….she is waiting! Meet Jane tomorrow.

All we can say is WOW!

What a response – you all gave awesome input into how “John” can solve his problem.

Here is just a sampling of some of the great stuff you shared (and by the way, John, if you are listening dude, now is the time to get your act together):

Thomas J. Raef  says:
Start video taping some testimonials. Putting the testimonials on his site might improve conversions. I know that when I hear someone talking about how much weight they lost after following some training regime, I’m more apt to listen further and maybe even try the product/service knowing that others have had great success with it…Rarely do people who are over weight or out of shape want to workout, but they sure do want to look and feel better.

We liked this because video is killing it out there. Period.

Ian  said this:
Run ads in the newspaper driving them to your page where you offer your workout DVD’s. (if you can’t afford media, offer to write an article in the newspaper on keeping fit and get them to plug you or pay you with media credit)

We liked this because even in this uber-online world, we must all remember offline marketing.

Shawn LeBrun had three quick and smart tips:

Here’s what I’d do, and what I’ve done, in this same niche…
1. Highly targeted Google Adwords campaign. Also, try to joint venture with complimentary, but non competitive websites who can do an endorsed marketing campaign to their lists.
2. If he can afford it, rent a mailing list of targeted buyers in his niche and send out a direct mail campaign., directing people to his site
3. Try to get some remnant display ad space in targeted magazines like Men’s Health, Men’s fitness, Muscle and Fitness and try to offer a free report in those magazines to get people back to his site

Some more really smart stuff you gave us:
“Test until they say ouch.” – Steve Markowski

“Why would I want to make a product about how to do something that wore me out?” - Loren Woirhaye

“The second thing John needs to do is to take advantage of ‘Piggyback SEO’ where he gets a top placement in Google and other search engines by linking to other high ranking sites.” - Colin James 

“At the end of the day, what John has to do is make sure he’s offering the right product to the right audience via the right media.” Sarah M.

“John is a LOT closer to success than he realizes. The market, while competitive, is ready for a new face with a new message. John just needs the right partner.” – Jay

“After the psycho-babble is over the truth is you do what is important to you. It doesn’t matter what it is, you will make time to do what you really want to do.” - Talmage Shipman

Tomorrow we will announce the winner of the Solve John’s Problem iPod contest
AND tell you about this week’s: Salute The Recession AND Win A Flip Mino Camera contest!

I just asked this question to a friend.

Her answer was just one word and it came immediately.

“Attitude,” she told me.

I completely agree.

I used to own a coffee cup with the slogan: “Attitude is everything.” And success online is entirely related to your attitude and your mindset.

Let me identify how closely your internal dialogue is connected to your mindset.

May I introduce you to the three “oulds?”

They are:

Should Have

Could Have

and

Would Have

People like to pretend that they are Mike Tyson or Mohammed Ali when it comes to beating themselves. No one is as hard on you as…YOU are on yourself. And one of the signs of this harshness is a liberal use of the three “oulds.”

If you are spending your time telling yourself what should be happening instead, you are trapped in a cycle of mental assault that is hard – and becomes even harder – to break out of.

It’s easy to understand why this happens to so many. Everywhere you look, you see people running successful online businesses or gurus waving their Porsches in your face.

Let’s face it…seeing other people’s successes when you are stuck in “neutral” isn’t a whole lot of fun. And it sure doesn’t help your progress in business, either.

May I point out that beating yourself up doesn’t help your business grow. In fact, it may cause it (and you) to go in reverse. In business, “neutral” and “reverse” just don’t cut it.

So what I am about to share with you was taught to me by my teacher, Dr. Dave Dobson. When you find yourself beating yourself up, take a deep breath. Exhale slowly. And learn to laugh at yourself. I promise you, it’s funny. Really. There is no better way to interrupt your thinking pattern. Sometimes, telling yourself a joke, singing a silly song (I recommend “Mary Had A Little Lamb”) or put on some pumping, powerful music that puts you into the proper state.

If you don’t break the state, you will stay where you are. And where you are is not where you want to be. You can’t drive forward while looking through a rear-view mirror…unless you want to smash your vehicle.

What will you do right now to change your state for the better?

People wanted to get in on the contest but they are telling us that either they don’t have a business or they are just in the start-up phase.

So….we wanted to open this wider.

In addition to showing us how you solved a problem during the recession, you can also offer your suggestions and insight to the scenario that follows:

John would like to work full-time in Internet Marketing but he still needs a day job to bring home the family income. His wife encourages him to work online but knows that he is not yet ready to make that the primary source of their income.

John is a personal trainer whose clients get really good results. They lose weight, they get fit and trim and they enthusiastically recommend John to their friends. John trains in his clients’ homes and at the end of the day, he is physically (and mentally) exhausted, and, often, too tired to work on his Internet business when he gets home.

His website offers a 30-day training program that will allow people to jump-start their fitness and weight-loss goals. He offers effective diet and exercise solutions that people can do at home. He wrote the sales letter on the website himself and hired a graphic designer to lay out the site. He has lots of great information…but has no time to market and share it.

John thinks his biggest problem is that the weight-loss/fitness niche is too competitive and that there are many trainers offering programs similar to his.

He tried pay-per-click (PPC) but because the niche is so competitive, he couldn’t afford to stay in the running for long.

He doesn’t get enough traffic to his site to even evaluate whether his sales letter is effective.

So…here is the question for you:
What three specific steps should John take to bring traffic to his site and expand his online business so he can ditch his exhausting day job once and for all?

Please enter your suggestions below as comments. Be sure to leave your name so we can announce the winner!

Now It’s Your Turn….Show Us Your Stuff!

You know all of the great information we have given you over the past few weeks? Like the real and practical stuff, not the pie-in-the-sky theoretical stuff? We want to know what you have done, how and why. And, most importantly, we want to know your results.

How are you marketing during this so-called recession and still managing to rock it!? Some areas you may have focused on could include:

• Your Mindset
Example: I stopped watching the news and listening to negative talk radio. I re-evaluated the people in my life and stopped associating with the negative and toxic ones.

• Customer Service
Example: I called into my Customer Service number as if I were a client and I listened to the way my representatives handles a difficult problem. I made some changes in how we react and respond to these situations in the future.

• Connecting With Your Target Customer/Market
Example: I started a forum on my website for existing customers to use for questions, challenges and requests. The forum is password-protected and for existing customers only.

•Honesty In Your Business
Example: Salespeople in my company had been “stretching the truth” and I had been getting hit with high refund rates. I re-wrote the sales pages in question to make them more in line with realistic experience.

And we need some proof of your smashing success stemming from taking action….your proof can be in the form of a video, an email you sent, statistics, a new product…something you can give us to prove what you did and why. We expect the competition to be pretty tight here, so we need to make sure that we are able to verify all of the responses and results.

What do you have to lose? Not much…unless you count more money in your pocket.

We are going to be notifying people via email, so make sure you are on our list (sign up to the right). Your entry, which must be submitted as a comment at the bottom of this blog post, must contain your name + website address.

Deadline for submission for this week’s contest is Friday, April 24 at 5pm Eastern U.S. time.

Direct Marketing Giant Joe Sugarman is very clear.

He says that the most powerful force in selling is not your writing. It’s not your product or service. And it’s not even the solution you are offering.

The most powerful force in selling is HONESTY.

Selling, Sugarman says, must be “an honest profession.” Dishonesty will always catch up with you. Honesty is what sells. It is what he calls a “psychological trigger.”

People often say your customer is not so smart or knows little. Actually, though, the consumer is very smart. And people – consumers – are pretty smart about knowing when someone is truthful. And the more truthful you are in your advertising, the better your message will be accepted.

Sugarman says: “Lie in your advertising copy and you are only deceiving yourself. Your copy will say what you think you wanted it to say, but it will also say what you thought you covered up. Even a reader who hurries over your copy can feel the difference.”

Point out flaws, admit shortcomings and be totally transparent – and your customers will be so impressed, so receptive to you being human that they will be even more inclined to buy from you.

Sugarman says: “Each time you are honest and conduct yourself with honesty, a success force will drive you toward greater success. Each time you lie, even with a little white lie, there are strong forces pushing you toward failure.”

Truth sells.

That’s a fact.

No faking the truth.

That’s the truth.

So it saddens us to see Internet marketing sinking to new lows. Continuity is a great idea. Hidden continuity is dishonest.

Telling people you have a revolutionary way of doing PPC when you are teaching tactics Google has banned is dishonest.

Promising people they can make $100K in a day is playing on peoples’ desperation - especially when you have no proof anyone has done it including yourself.

What’s your truth?

What would happen if you “let it all out” and spoke directly and honestly to your customer no matter what?

What do you know about your target market, your customer?

Chances are, not enough.

Do you know their BDF?

Their:

Beliefs

Desires

And Feelings?

• Take some time to analyze what and how much you know about your customer.
• Reach buyers on an emotional level – reaching them intellectually is not enough.
• Do more thinking up front about your audience – don’t start thinking about your buyers when you are already well underway.
• Your product must “harmonize” with the marketplace.
• Knowing your market is about much more than just demographic information.
1. Who is he/she?
2. What does he/she believe?
3. What does he/she desire?
4. What does he/she feel about your product or the issue your product solves?
5. What are their hopes, dreams goals?
6. What moves and inspires this person?

Start with your prospect’s beliefs, desires and feelings from the beginning – and then move on to what they think about your product…not the other way around.

Become the expert. As you become the expert on your customer, you will also become the expert in any product or service you are selling. You will want to learn everything you need to know about your product or service before writing a single word.

Also keep in mind you will want to:

• Write an attention-getting headline of 1 to 5 words.
• Be sure to write brief sentences.
• Remember that people tend to read your first sentence when it is easier and not intimidating.
• Your second sentence is also important. Seventy (70%) of the people who read your first two paragraphs will read your entire ad.

What is the status of your headlines? Your copy? Your sentences? And, how well do you know your target customer? Do you really know what moves him or her?

Direct Marketing Superstar Joe Sugarman wants you to know there are great opportunities to be had in any era – and especially in a time of what most would call a bad economy.

And in fact, those who write direct response copy, Sugarman says, generally know before the general public when a recession is coming and, even better, when it is coming to an end.

Direct response is really a barometer of optimism. That’s because direct response is the best early indicator about what is happening in economy. Those who sell directly, such as mail order catalogs, are the first to feel the positive effects – people start buying from mail order stores before they go back to the brick-and-mortar stores.

And it is in this time that it is the most ideal to start marketing products and start advertising.

How?

• Link your product, service or expertise to the current trends. Example: During a recession (or a perception of one), people are more inclined to stay at home. For example, if people are staying at home, it makes sense that make money from home offers work better during a recession. And if people are reluctant to travel to seminars because of cost, than bring the seminars to them via webinars.

• Know their mindset. It’s not that people don’t want your product or service, it is that they are putting off buying decisions in many cases. They need an immediate reason to buy something now rather than later — show them they need the product now. For example, golf season is just beginning and it’s important you get the feel for this new driver so you can win big money off your buddies all season long.

• Use the recession to your advantage. As an example, media rates really start to drop at times like these. Drops in these prices represent amazing opportunities for direct marketers. Sugarman says much of his profit was made on the money he saved on media spending.

• Value, value, value. Build up to your offer so well and so convincingly that by the time you get to the price, your customer will see this as a mere number that is insignificant compared to the great value of your product or service.

Where are you right now in your marketing?
> Is your offer well-defined?
> Are you focusing on value over a price?
> Are you inside the mind of your customer?
> Is your solution clearly linked to something timely, current or newsworthy?