Issue 96: THE #1 Product Sold on the Internet
by Paul Evans
www.nicheologyprofitletter.com
==================================
Spent last week in Dallas.
This week I’m in Mexico working with Orphans.
Last week’s work makes this week’s work possible. To me it’s what the “internet lifestyle” is all about.
Before getting to this issue’s training info…
01: I LOVE flying out of my home town’s airport.
Here’s why…
I was the ONLY person going through security. Was greeted by name. Engaged in actual conversation with classic souther hospitality.
02: “Muscle Milk” needs to be added to vending machines.
More and more convenient stores stock the Muscle Milk brand of protein. It’s even here in the ATL airport. AMEN! Now if it were only stocked right outside of 5 Guys Burgers and Fries! 
03: When people have their ear phones in they have no idea how loud they eat. The guy next to me sounds like a cow chewing its cud. Like a swine on the dine. It’s a smack attack!
04: Be watching for the 100th issue of the Nicheology Profit Letter. You’ll be invited to attend a free live online business training teleconference. No pitching. Nothing for sale. And you can ask questions.
Why?
Online business success rates stink. Primary causes… no fundamentals. No business acumen. No plan. Blind acceptance. No solid system based on reality. And a lot more reasons that will be solved on the call. Watch for it. Issue 100.
THE #1 Product Being Sold on the Internet
Take a peek behind the curtain.
Scarcity. Reciprocity. Launches. Sideways sales letters. Social proof. Herding. Fear. Gain.
All of those (and more) fill your email box and send you to webpages to get you to buy something you originally had no intention of purchasing.
The “average” internet market release focuses on psychology, not value. Sell-ability, not solutions.
For Example: People bought “Mass Control” who have no list and no product. WHAT?!
“That don’t make no sense” (Pete in “O Brother, Where Art Thou).
It seems that every launch sells-out. Every product promises riches. And somehow a trillion tons of “proof” fills the page boasting the ways a “newbie” stumbled upon a secret way to make a ca-gillion overnight from his mother’s basement.
Uh….. right.
The #1 “product” being sold in internet marketing is NOT squeeze pages, done for you systems, Clickbank magic, copywriting, continuity, mini-sites, workshops, live events, etc.
The #1 “product” being sold to YOU and ME is………..
..
..
..
..
HOPE
Hope suspends disbelief.
Hope causes you to make emotional decisions.
Hope opens your wallet.
Hope extends simplicity and ease and “you deserve it.”
Hope creates “THIS is IT” and “THIS must be THE answer,” when we ought to be thinking… “OK, this is a piece of the puzzle, not the entire solution.”
But hope does not work that way. Hope relates to faith more than logic or reality. Hope conceives in possibility (and often gives birth to disappointment).
You must be careful…
Hope can lead to dope. (Not drug, dope; dummy, dope.)
It’s not an accident that you WANT to buy that shiny new release. It’s hope on the loose. Be ready. Recognize it. Buy what will educate you, just don’t believe it will liberate you. Don’t get crazy and think…
“All of your wildest dreams will come true” (Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite).
Don’t buy hope; buy help.
And when you’re selling, sell hope AND help. KNOW the solution the customer will get and be proud and confident of it. Be excited that your people are not just buying but actually benefiting!
Success is NOT an Accident!
Paul
Nicheology – find your niche, build your list, launch your product. 3 PLRS each month, 2 exclusive Products in the Rough each month, sales letters, graphics, affiliate markets, niche research, training, the Profit Academy, live coaching call each month, and access to the archive. Over $100K in actual invested value. Way better than the latest $2K release from “big name guru.” Far superior than “pitchfest” seminars being sold at $3K a pop. It’s like being a member of a dozen sites in ONE at a “stupid low” price.
PLEASE look around on the internet for what you get in Nicheology…
Live training webinar each month
PLR sites (Most charge $27 for each month for one product)
Niche research sites
Affiliate training sites
Internet Marketing training site
Coaching call site
Access to the archive (rarely available)
Join Nicheology and get the best value in internet marketing…
Into article/affiliate marketing? Check out…
www.contentgoldmine.com/backdoor
I used to manage and train salespeople in highline car dealerships. I used to say : a deal is made when – hope for gain ( status, reward, …etc ) – exceeds the customers ‘ fear of loss ‘ ( making the wrong decision, $$, .. etc ); that principle holds true in every facet of life; offline or online.
Almost all sales copy online is geared towards the ‘ fear of missing out ..’ it’s just another hope for gain in disguise.
cheers
michael
[Reply]
Excellent Paul. Right on the money, honey. (Not bee honey, honey; a term of endearment, honey.)
Tired of all the hype – all the years of hype. Just got off a bunch of ezines again, but kept yours. Thanks for grounded truth. Need more and more of that. Hence, my site http://www.humanarelame.com Hmmm, I may just have to lead people this post from there!
Great success! Kim
[Reply]
Paul,
Great post. Refreshing to discover a new perspective–Hope…but always with a good helping of ‘help’(yes, pun intended
PS: Love the airport picture. Here in Japan, the new airport has a Sento. You have a few hours to kill, why not soak a way the time with a Japanese bath watching the planes land and take off.
[Reply]
“Why do they put those little flags on the green at the golf course”…
“To give you hope”
- Robin Williams (in a thick Scottish accent)
As a noob to internet marketing I can completely agree with your post. I feel like a dog in a park full of squirrels. I’ve been looking for a long time for something, anything, that can help a newbie out without breaking the bank. So far I’ve found a lot of empty promises or multi-thousand dollar products. The other problem is there no real information about the legitimacy of these programs. So, you have no idea what you are getting.
For now, I guess it’s “if it’s too good to be true, then it must be”.
Thanks.
[Reply]
Hey Dan,
Love the quote.
Your post really connects. I’m in the same boat. I’ve spent over $180,000. Ten years of my life and I’ve made a grand total of $63.
Just like you I scurried after so many squirrels that one day I finally woke up to find what I thought was a squirrel was really my tail.
I have so much empathy for you I just want to share with you what I’m doing.
First and most important, I’m looking ‘inside’ of me for finding the answer. Let me explain. While I was always looking for the next best thing, the next easy way to make money I was looking outside of myself. I was trying to find an easy way. A way that I could easily follow and be successful at making money.
It starts inside of you. With a commitment to yourself to drive yourself on ONE commitment (one squirrel so to speak) until that success has been made.
This alone has really helped me.
And second, I chose to do this…I chose to chase the Nichology squirrel. I’m a member of Opportunity.com and I’ve done nothing. I bought into NicheBlueprint, never got the store up. And the list goes on.
So why is Nichology different? Well, it’s like you said with your quote there’s a flag by the hole. In Nichology’s case that flag is HUGE (my hopes are sky-high) and best of it all, the hole is HUGE too (with the help you get at Nicheology, how can you NOT make a hole-in one, okay, for me maybe 2 or 3 tries)
In closing, I’m making this post to myself as well as anyone else who has gone-a-squirrel-chasing
[Reply]
Says it all, Paul, you’re right on the ball.
In recent days, I have delinked myself from about a gadzillion vendors and movers and shakers, many of who have offered to make me a millionaire yesterday if I ONLY FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES FAITHFULLY. Only problem is, my faith has been shaken considerable.
I still get a lot of email, some because I forgot to unsubscribe (I do so as soon as I get the mail) and a lot uninvited.
Everyone’s got a lot of hope
Makes everyone a possible dope
Beware the slick offers
That empty your coffers
And leave you on a sticky slope.
[Reply]
Faith overcomes fear however with study and a growing plan its hard to focus.
The day i started focusing on the fundamentals I had a major sift on success.
Thanks again Paul
[Reply]
I liked what you said in a recent post that seems to be related
to this. You asked if it was possible to make money on line,and you said that it is possible to make money online or off line too, it depends on the business plan more than the business. Not all donut shops are successful, neither are all online businesses. It depends on how the business is worked.
I believe in the value of continuing education, but my plan for the near future is to work the programs I do have (Nicheology is definitely one of the best) and put up little entries that have some chance of making me money before I invest in more programs. Making a Squidoo lens or commenting on a forum with my affiliate link in the signature file has a chance of bringing me money, just reading more does not.
Recently I found an old magazine with a coconut cake on it, and I had written my name and “birthday cake 2009.” We were unpacking some boxes and found the magazine just in time, and my teenage son and sister made the cake for me. Writing stuff down really helps brings dreams into reality. I am going to spend time writing an Internet business plan, even if it is is very informal. If it works for a cake, it can work for business.
Little actions as I can, working the programs I do have and creating a clear business plan. All that is much more useful than just buying another ebook.
[Reply]
Like Dan I am maxed out too.
Today I find that the FBI will be notified for something revolving around Twitter.
Why can’t this whole thing in IM be regulated.
Thanks Paul – your words were firing in all directions.
Appreciate it.
Hope some of these dope selers will succumb.
[Reply]
I agree it is the internet lifestyle that most people want but sadly most will never get. MLM is notorious for this. They hard sell the Time freedom thing. I use to be in NW marketing and even though the concept of leverage is great implementation is not so get. The industry has a bad name because companies put theré interests ahead of their distributors. The comp plans suck and favours the company, people drop off and don’t hang around because the attrition rate is higher than the recruiting rate. Good question Dan. This question is loaded and can cause heated debates if you talk about it in MLM.
cheers
Nigel
[Reply]
You’re an Airport Lover too? Glad to see there is another one out there. I love the buzz and sense of adventure ( I tune out the other stuff).
Yes Hope is a powerful thing. But nothing beats a business plan and a clear understanding of talent, ability, and interest. I’ll also add “moral code” to the list.
Many of the marketing techniques out there are legal, but hard for me to stomach. Some time ago I finally realized that this was the biggest reason why I didn’t follow through with some of the programs I’ve been sold or given. We have to do things that are aligned with our values as well as talents. Well, that’s my 2 cents worth…
Colin
[Reply]
Hi Paul,
Seems you hit a nerve with this one:). Think we’ve all been in that “chasing your tail” mode and when I saw your email title in my inbox, my reaction to what really sells online was – The Dream.
I’ve been unsubscribing and delinking for the past week, couldn’t believe how long I’d been on some lists. I’m focused on doing only 3 things well in my business.
My goal has not changed, create a profitable business ethically and legally by doing what helps as many people as possible in areas I won’t cringe knowing I got into 5 years from now.
I can agree, stick with the fundamentals, keep learning, and
understand you will give up something along the way.
[Reply]
Well analysed! That explains why those megalaunches become such megasuccesses pulling in gazillions of dollars in sales in a few short weeks. It’s another matter, though, that few of the buyers actually attain the level of success claimed in the “courses”.
[Reply]
…just ask the big, fancy schmucks…”How many (what percentage) of your sales – have resulted in actual money-makers for the buyer, and for how long?
[Reply]
The reality is that in any business the Pareto 80/20 rule applies. In fact, within the 20% who are successful, about 20% of them (4%) are phenomenally successful. We all hope to be in that top 20%, but we don’t necessarily do the things required for success. I’m certainly one who needs to apply myself more effectively to reach my goals.
The vast majority of us, myself included — but I’m getting better — spend our time and resources “getting ready to get ready”. The best advise I have received is to TAKE ACTION!
When we get off our dead behinds and get moving we will be able to be successful.
[Reply]