Few info-businesses have more longevity than the one I’m about to describe. Launched in 1872, it’s 142 years old, predating the telephone and the electric light bulb. You may be one of its million-plus subscribers or never pay it any mind, but Popular Science magazine is worth studying. The point of your and my info-marketing businesses is to provide value … Continued
Launching a New Membership, From Zero to Twenty
Willie Miranda built his real estate business the same way he built his Allstate Insurance agency — with referrals. When Willie discovered Craig Proctor-style direct response marketing for real estate agents, the customers he generated were in addition to those he was already meeting through his existing referral marketing systems.
Important Lessons Learned From Launching a New Membership
Before you launch your business, it’s all speculation. You know what you’d love to teach. You know what you wish had been available for you as you were growing. But, you don’t know what customers will buy or how much they’ll pay. That’s why you have to launch. Dr. Darold Opp recently launched a high-end product and coaching program for … Continued
Unseen fear and how to overcome it
Our brains are programed to fight for survival, similar to other animals. If a squirrel is on the ground searching for nuts, hears a tree branch break, feels a swoosh of wind and then feels a sharp pain in her side, she is going escape by running into the woods, barely thwarting the hungry hawk. What happens the next time … Continued
Nine Months of Running 30+ Miles a Week Ends With a Beer (or Two)
No beer has ever tasted so good, and what better place to enjoy one than at our favorite pizza place, Mellow Mushroom. My wife, Kory, had a Michelob Ultra. I had a Blue Moon with a splash of Sprite. We toasted completing the marathon — the culmination of 9 months of training. Just a few years ago I was a … Continued
Some people shouldn’t be encouraged.
There are many ways to fail in any business launch. The info-marketing business is no exception. You can choose a niche that is too large, under research your niche and launch the wrong product, market poorly, market too little or rely too much on joint ventures—and this is just the beginning of the list. Life is too short. I don’t … Continued
How to Build a Membership That Will Last for Decades
Tupperware’s home party business was started and launched by a woman: Brownie Wise. A woman-led business was unheard of in the 1950s as, at that time, a woman’s place was in the kitchen, the nursery, and the bedroom. Few families had more than one car, leaving the woman home with the kids all day. Having the opportunity to make a … Continued
The worst time to plan for disaster
I had a job for six years. I started as a bookkeeper and quickly became the company’s controller. Within two years, I had become the director of business affairs. Then I bought the business, just six years after joining the firm as a bookkeeper. I used employment as an opportunity to learn as much as possible. I set up the … Continued
Monthly Subscription Billing Checklist: Unless Your People are Doing This, You are Losing Money Every Month
Through the process of working with several different membership marketers, Denise and I have discovered an alarming truth: few of their internal member relations teams are performing the basic systems necessary to retain members. Their people often mean well—they have the best of intentions—but they just don’t know what is necessary to ensure they are collecting the full amount of … Continued
When I was in debt and scared
My wife and I were having dinner in our dining room while the news played on the television in the adjacent living room. Although we weren’t paying much attention, one of the teases before a commercial break caught our attention. “Police shoot dog on Eddie Road! Story right after this break.” My wife, Kory, and I looked at each other. … Continued