Embracing the Unsubscribe Button

Wouldn't it be great if everyone who came to your website, signed up for your email list?

And, wouldn't it be better still if those same people bought from you every time you sent an email out?

The Ultimate: if they stayed on your email list forever!

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The truth is, not everyone is going to be interested with what you offer. And that's okay!

Some people will come to your website by accident. Maybe a search engine didn't get the search criteria right and click on your website.

Then, there are going to be people who may belong on your website but for one reason or another decides that your email list is not right for them. This too, is okay!

In fact, you don't want these people on your list. It seems counter-intuitive as most people would want as many people on their email list as possible. But, the reality is if they don't want to there, you don't want them there.

Why Not?

The first reason is your autoresponder service is charging you for the number of subscribers on your list. Even though many will let you have up to a certain number for the base monthly fee, why non-engaging subscribers who won't open your emails and never buy from you?

Think of your emails list as your community or private club. The members (subscribers) come to find out what is going on in your club. You want to cater to people who care about this community.

Another reason why you don't want the non-engaging members is that they bring down your quality score at your autoresponder. Most people are not aware that unopened emails or deleted emails is used against you. It's not a huge factor but the more this happens, the more it hurts.

One caution: if you have several people unsubscribing to your list, this could sent up red flags to your autoresponder company. Besides, it doesn't do much good for you either. If you find this is happening, review what kind of messages you are sending. There's got to be some underlying reason for the mass exits.

Provide Value to Your Subscribers

This is an obvious statement but you'd be surprised how many people get this wrong. A good rule of thumb is to provide four or five emails that are not sales-related to every one that may be. This is usually a ratio marketers find works very well.

Another option is to try and make all your money on your website and send them to your website via the email messages. A great example would be Adsense ads. You would include some information in your email and then send them to your website to get more detailed information. The page that contains that information contains ads where you get paid when they click on them.

You could also incorporate banner ads from other advertising platforms on the pages you send them to.

Be aware that readers are more sophisticated these days and have adopted a kind of ad blindness. Banner advertising is not as effective as it used to be.

When you keep your focus on high quality emails, you are likely to retain members of your list for much longer than if you use it solely for selling to them. ​You also build trust with them when you are giving them the valuable information. Over time, they will have no qualms about buying from you over and over again. When they associate your name and brand with the content you send, it becomes much easier to sell.

Don't Take Unsubscribes Personally

I already discussed why you should welcome or embrace people who unsubscribe to your list. Some online business owners take it personally when it happens and get discouraged. Again, unless it is mass unsubscribes, accept that it is a normal practice and expect it to happen.

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Sleuthing Out the Pretenders

There's a saying in the money-making world, "Fake It Until You Make It!"

Essentially, this means that you pretend to be successful to get people to buy your stuff or to sign up to your newsletter, or whatever you are trying to get them to do.

I don't know about you, but following this advice seems a bit underhanded and sneaky to me. It's deceptive. I get that people have to start somewhere to build up their reputation and authority. But, does it have to be with deception?

The motivation is the classic chicken vs. egg dilemma. How do you sell when you are not an expert? If you are not able to say, how are you going to ever gain the credibility to eventually to sell.

I get it! But, I believe there are better ways to go about it.

My Credentials

Okay, so if I am going to extol the virtues of flushing out the pretenders, then I should have at least some credential to back me up, right?

Yes, absolutely! I am not yet a blogger of the status of the likes of Neil Patel, Seth Godin, and others. I am working on it though. However, I have successfully sold through my websites and continue to do so and I am a published author who makes a steady income from my books.

So, while you may not see my name or my blog posts immediately appear when you search on Google, I am taking legitimate steps to grow my business and reputation.

I created GetPaidBootCamp.com from the perspective of a beginner back in 2009. I did let it run idle for several years as I had other commitments that got in the way at the time. However, When I started up again a few years ago, it was with the commitment to help people make money online.​

My efforts have been working. Again, I am not completely where I want to be yet, but I have no doubt I will be there soon. And, the knowledge I have gained is now allowing me to feel confident that I can call myself an authority.

What to Look For When Evaluating Others

Suppose you receive an offer in an email that states this person can help you become a bestselling author. Great! You are stoked up thinking that your ship has come in and you're going to enter the big leagues, right?

Not so fast. Don't you think the person teaching how to do this should have at least one bestselling book? In fact, if they have a great and successful method, shouldn't they have several bestselling books?

When a blogger tells you he can supercharge your traffic and make your blog become influential, are they showing you the various websites they have made that are influential?

The point is, always look beyond the sales pitch to make sure the seller is walking the walk and not just talking the talk. Otherwise, how you can you trust the material you are buying is going work? And how will the seller possibly answer any question you may have in a credible fashion?

What if Your Not an Expert or Influential?

The one lesson I have learned in the several years I have been doing this is to be honest. If you are new, then set up your blog in a way that is an experiment in learning about what you are blogging about. Then, as you gain credibility and authority, you can start incorporating those skills into our blogs.

Using this way of blogging can actually be used to your benefit. You will show your readers that it's possible for someone new to learn and do. By blogging about your experience, they can use what you've learned as a road map to succeed. This immediately increases your credibility over time while allowing you to build your blog presence.

Reviewing Products You Have Not Used or Purchased

I know of colleagues who will cal me out on this one. But, I firmly believe that you should not review products that you haven't at least tried yourself. It's another deceptive practice. How can you tout the benefits of product and pass it off as if you are the one who received those benefits?

You'll see plenty of advice floating around on the web that you can use what others have written as the basis for your review. That is NOT a review. That is a research report.

​By the way, I do believe you can gather other people's reviews and other value-added information about a product and pass it off as research. You can state that you have not bought this product yourself but based on your extensive research, you would be comfortable buying this product, etc. Your viewers will appreciate the honesty and they still will buy from you since they often don't have time to do this research themselves.

Another option is to buy the products you are going to review and use them. See if they benefits derived match with what is said in the sales page. Add your insights about what you liked and didn't like. When you have legitimately bought the product, you can feel good about writing a review.

A Note of Caution: If you receive a product for free in exchange for a review, you should disclose this fact in your review. This is per FTC guidelines and they are cracking down on people who don't disclose.

False Testimonials

Don't even think about including testimonials that are fabricated. This is something the FTC is going full force to combat. It too is deceptive. Also, don't make claims about products that cannot be verified through studies. Acai berries were the source of major complaints during their popularity.

Piggyback Off of the Success of Others​

Another way to gain credibility is to align yourself with people who already have it. If you can get influential people to endorse what you are doing, this can go a long way into building up your status.

Also, if there is a service that you belong to that contains people who have succeeded with the service, you can use that influence to prop up your blog. You have proof that others have made it work in that network. If you use this method, it's not a bad idea to ask some of those experienced and successful members if you can name drop. Most will let you do it.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions

If you get a money making offer, does the seller make himself accessible? You can use this as a litmus test to see if they are willing to answer questions. Ask them to see websites that are successful or books that they have published, etc. Be fair though. If they aren't making outrageous claims and they can show success in certain areas, consider that when making your decision.

Honesty Truly Is the Best Policy

No one likes to be deceived. So, don't do it. By being honest with your readers you will build trust with them. They will find it refreshing that you rise above other who are using deceptive practices. You will stand out because of it.

Find a way to use what you know or don't know in a way that will help readers. They will get a kick out of keeping track of your progress and watch you as you grow.

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Writing for Free: Is It Ever a Good Idea?

You answer a writing job ad and the poster asks you to write a sample for them for free. Do you accept?

I've heard horror stories from other writers and have experienced it myself. You'll find job posters who have no intention of hiring writers. They are only looking for several writers to produce free content for them.

While it's certainly a nasty practice, it goes with the territory when you write for others.

Is there anything you can do when this happens? There is, and I'll tell you what to do below.

​The situation is annoying but it makes you wonder if there are situations where it makes sense to write for free?

The answer is yes and here are the situations when you may want to consider it:

• Guest Posting
  
• To Get Published Clips
• ​Specific Topics You Need to Come Up to Speed With
  
• Reports to Giveaway in Exchange for Opt Ins
• ​Bulk Content Deals
  
• Sales Brochures to Advertise Your Business
• Press Releases for Your Business
  

Guest Posting

Guest Posting got a bad reputation a few years back when Google's Matt Cutts announced that Google was cracking down on the practice. Bloggers freaked out because of it but Matts later modified his statement to say that Google wasn't against guest posting in general. They were just going to go after guest posting for the sole purpose of getting back links to your website. Specifically, they were targeting services that offered guest posting exchanges and other such practices.

Even with the additional statement, guest posting took a big hit. There are plenty of bloggers that still refuse to do it. I think it is overblown and can still be considered in the right circumstances. I think if you legitimately look for influential bloggers who are looking for quality work and you spread out the pool, you should not have any problems.

If you do believe that guest posting can help you, use the following tips to help you get it right:

Don't approach the top influential bloggers. They won't respond to you. They are simply too busy. Instead, approach the up-and-comers. Find the middle-tier bloggers who are working hard to make a name for themselves and are starting to gain some traction.

Read through the blogs you would like to target to get a feel for the tone and the content. Use some of what you read as a basis for your pitch to the blogger. If you haven't even read their blog, they probably won't consider you. If you can mention points about what they have written, this can go a long way in getting their attention.

Once you have a feel for the styles of those targeted blogs, come up with a few relevant topics and write on those topics. Yes, do this before they even know you or accept work from you.

Once you have the posts written and you have read them over several times to make sure they are error free (IMPORTANT!!!!), you can send an email to the owner of the blog and let them know that you have written these posts. Ask them if they would be interested in including them on their blog.

What if They Say No?

Move on! Find other bloggers in the same niche that may be interested. If you contact enough people, at least one is bound to say yes.

When you find ones that are willing to post your work, you may or may not want to ask if they are willing to share it on their social media channels. Many guest bloggers feel you should not ask for this, while others will state that it is okay. It's a personal preference but the influential bloggers will probably share without you asking. No guarantees though.

It is fine for you to share the post when they publish it. In fact, the bloggers will likely want you to do this so they can get your traffic to their site. It's up to you if you want to ask for permission to do this, as a courtesy.

Try to establish a relationship with the blogger who agrees to post your work. They say a rising tide raises all ships. Offer to do future posts for the blogger or try to help out as much as you can. Ask them if there is anything else you can do for them.

Getting Published Clips

If you are a freelance writer, chances are good that potential clients have asked you for published clips. If you are not familiar with that term (then you really haven't done freelance writing basically, it is writing that you have done that has been published on well known websites.

Some potential clients will accept free places like HubPages and other similar places. But, others want clips from highly established magazines and websites. Having published clips on influential blogs is going to help you big time with this. Even if the potential client isn't familiar with the influential up-and-comers, yet, it's only a matter of time before they will. So you may not get the gig initially. But, as the influencer grows, you can always resubmit later, at which point your post is published on that blog.

Published clip dilemma solved!

Specific Niche Topics

You are going to find niches that pay quite well. However, if you don't have any clips in that niche and you are not very familiar with the topics included, it's going to be difficult to land those high paying gigs. The solution: create your own blog in that niche and start creating content for it. Be consistent and learn as much as you can. You could also approach experts in the field of that niche and ask them if they are willing to post on your site. This gives some credibility and authority to your website.

One word of caution: don't pass yourself off as an expert if you are not. Remember, you will need to write about the topics from the perspective of someone who knows what they are talking about. Your potential clients will notice if you are not!

Giveaway Reports

While these aren't as effective as they used to be, they still can get some people to opt into your list. Write a report that can be sent to potential subscribers. Make sure what you include is extremely high quality. Use graphics and other stimulating assets. Keep the report as short as possible. Try to find a way to get them to read the report by including interactive elements in it or some other methods like contests, quizzes, etc.

Even if they opt in but don't read the report, you now have them on your list. Make sure you offer great information to this list. Remind them in future emails that there is some kind of surprise in the report and they would have known that had they read it (they probably will go back and read it). Make the surprise worthwhile.

Bulk Content Deals

If you are looking for new clients, you could offer them bulk deals on your content. For example, if you charge $50 per document, you could offer first time clients the first two free as long as they order ten articles and pay upfront. So, for that first order, they would pay for eight but get ten articles.

You could continue this concept for regular clients. Remember, that when you get clients that give you a steady stream of writing work, you have less prospecting that you need to do. This should be reflected in your prices. Prospecting takes you away from writing, which is the primary method on how you get paid.

Sales Brochures for Your Brand

It should go without say that you should create sales brochures and other marketing materials for your brand. But, there is something even more subtle about doing this yourself. You can market this as a service to clients. You can also outsource it if you are not good at doing this or you don't have the time. You can still market the service when you outsource, but your margins will be smaller.

Creating this kind of item on your own does take some practice. Too many people hold the belief that they are not good at design and it isn't as difficult as you may believe. You need to try it and keep going. However, if you don't have the time or the inclination, don't be afraid to outsource. End of story!

Create a Press Release for Your Brand

Much in the same way that you want to create sales material for your brand, you also want to learn how to create press releases. In fact, it's probably a more important item from a promotional aspect. For one thing, this is much easier to learn than to be a graphic designer (Sales Brochures) and it is definitely something that you can market as a service.

What's more is the more of these you create for your brand, the higher the chance of getting it some much-needed recognition. Press releases are an underutilized promotional method. The best way to learn is by analyzing ones that currently exist.

What to Do When Potential Clients Ask You For Fresh Samples

Getting back to the situation presented at the beginning of this article. When you become a seasoned writer and have clients under your belt, you will feel comfortable telling these clients that you already have samples of your work and that should be sufficient enough to make a decision. If they are insistent on your writing for them - to me that is a huge red flag - but it is up to you if you want to honor the request.

You could agree to write half the number of words they specify. If they ask you to write a 400 word document, tell them you'd be willing to write a 200 word document and that this, along with your other samples, should be enough to make a determination.

If they are really insistent and you agree to write what they ask for, specify that you only will do it if they give you a decision about hiring you within 24 hours after you submit. Then, if you don't hear from them in that 24 hour period, publish the created sample somewhere. It could be on your blog or some other free blog website. This way, if they publish it themselves later, they will get flagged for duplicate content.

"WHO WANTS A BETTER WAY TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE?"

Writing jobs, such as freelancing can be a great way to earn money. But it often requires constant promotion to make it work. When you are looking for clients, you aren't writing, which means you aren't making money.

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A better way to make money is to create passive income streams. Learn how to EASILY create online income streams that can bring you cash in your sleep!

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