5 Pillars of Information Marketing
JULY 27, 2011
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It certainly was for me. For six years I stumbled along with my website business, grinding out small increases in sales each year. It wasn't until I finally got help from a coach who gave me EXACT step-by-step instructions that I was able to generate a full-time income from my websites.
If you're just getting started, I can understand how you might feel overwhelmed. I also appreciate the worries I hear from readers that all the good opportunities are gone or that they have no time to start a website business.
But many opportunities still exist, and I can find a success story to match almost every reader of Early to Rise, no matter how tough things might feel for you.
For example, I think you'll agree that being a newly divorced, recently laid-off, mid-50"s mother with two kids entering college, and having no computer skills would be a tough situation, right?
Well, just recently I listened to an interview with Penny Halgren who was in that exact scenario, but has since gone on to build a 6-figure per year website - selling information on how to quilt.
That's right, she doesn't sell expensive money-making products, or real estate courses, or even fitness information. Nope, she makes her living selling quilting advice.
She started by building the foundation of her business on the 5 Pillars of Information Marketing. If you put these 5 pillars in place in your business as Penny and I did, I guarantee you'll be able to build a strong internet business and powerful connection with your readers - and ultimately, the lifestyle you want and deserve - for all of your hard work.
Plus, you're going to love the fact that not one of these 5 pillars relies on sneaky search engine optimization or expensive pay-per-click voodoo. I think you'll agree anyone can create these pillars and build a strong foundation for a website business today.
Pillar #1 - Have a BIG IDEA that serves a hungry niche market
Almost all markets are crowded, but that doesn't mean you can't succeed. You simply need to create a product that has a unique hook and allows you to stand out from the others in your marketplace.
That's why it's so important to focus on a topic that you are passionate about. After all, if you don't love what you're doing, then it will be really tempting for you to quit at the first sign of frustration.
And the great news is you don't need to have an email list of 100,000 people to create a 6-figure income. All you need are a small number of people in a niche market that is hungry for your solution.
In his famous essay, "1000 True Fans", author Kevin Kelly says, "A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, video maker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living."
If you have only 1000 true fans paying only $100 per year for your products, that's still a $100,000 income. It might be through a membership site or a new product you release every year or a year's subscription to a weekly newsletter. Just remember, it's easier to sell over and over to your 1000 true fans than to get 1000 new customers each year, so consider that as you plan your business.
Pillar #2 - Personality plus Passion plus Products = Profit
This 3-step formula has been the foundation for growing my fitness information business since I sold my first program online in 2001. Let me explain it to you.
First, we buy from people they know, like and trust. We want to do business with someone who has a personality that connects with us. Second, we follow people that are passionate about their subject. Third, when we find that person we connect with, we're happy and eager to buy all of the products they could possibly create - plus, having more products offers multiple ways for new clients to find you.
When it comes to communicating with personality, it's important to be yourself and to find the way that allows you to communicate best. For me, it's writing. But if you struggle to create articles and emails at your keyboard, I have good news for you.
With the rise in internet video capacity, it's easy to create and add videos to the web, and it's easy for your true fans to watch it. So if your personality comes out best through video, you can get started passionately communicating with your fans today with a simple, cheap Flip video camera or smartphone.
Success almost always comes back to doing something you love. It makes it easy for you to show your passion, communicate with care, and continue to create value over and over again for your true fans.
Pillar #3 - Ruthless Time & Energy Management
With any business where people work at home/on their own schedule, you can have amazing ideas and great copywriting skills, but if you can't manage your time implement, take action, and get the work done, you will struggle.
That's why learning to organize, prioritize, stick to deadlines, fight against email, and delegate the simple tasks is so important for growing your business.
In addition to getting up early and doing 20-30 minutes of focused work before heading downtown to my personal training business, I would spend every minute of my breaks between clients working on projects to move my business forward. There was no time for idle gossiping or surfing the web for funny videos - as my colleagues did - when you're on a mission to build your business.
So when you're in work mode, always be asking yourself a powerful question that I first heard from Dan Kennedy. The next time you find yourself browsing CNN or ESPN or the comments of some trashy blog, ask yourself Kennedy's question, "Where's the profit in this?" It's a sharp reminder to get you back on track with the work you should be doing in the limited time you have each day.
Pillar #4 - Always Be Learning
If I have just one regret after all these years of building my information marketing business, it has to be not getting a mentor sooner than I did.
Today, I continue to invest in personal coaching and in attending at least four major information marketing seminars each year. Each of these provides an incredible return on my investment of both time and money.
Nothing beats having your own coaches or mentors. That's why I've arranged for a special webinar for a limited number of Early To Rise readers on Thursday night with some of the best coaches in the Information Marketing industry.
I truly believe that building a profitable website business is simple when you have a proven system and experienced coaches. And this is your best opportunity to get both of them all in one place.
When done properly, Information Marketing is the lowest-overhead, highest-revenue-generating business you can possibly run. You don't ever have to sell face-to-face - this process can be entirely automated so you can run your business from your kitchen table, a coffee shop, and yes, even from a vacation house at the beach.
You see, the one common attribute among every successful information marketer I know has nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with mindset. In my experience, I've found that people with this mindset can know almost literally nothing about computers and still become extremely successful through information marketing. So here's the fifth pillar of information marketing.
Pillar #5 - You must have an "I will succeed no matter what" attitude
Of all the information marketing experts I've coached in the past four years, every one of the top success stories has had the attitude that nothing was going to stand in their way.
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