A Working Vacation
My last few blog posts haven’t had much to do with Internet Marketing. I’ve been chasing Jack Kerouac around California, absorbing inspiration to finish my new book.
Let’s talk about Internet Marketing, now.
A couple of weeks ago, on our weekly UnWebinar, I was talking with my coaching students about driving traffic to their website. Here’s the dirty truth about traffic- most of the people who are teaching traffic-driving online are just blowing smoke. I buy most of the Google/Adwords/Traffic products that I see- and by the time I buy them, they’re out of date, lame, and just plain wrong.
Here’s the problem. Google is set up to make a profit for Google, Inc. How do most people find stuff on the internet? They Google it. Google doesn’t give a damn about Internet Marketers. They’re interested in providing the best surfing experience for the people who use their search engine to find information.
As a consumer, I approve. If I want information about, for example, coffee (I’m writing this from a coffee shop in San Luis Obispo, Ca) I don’t want to know about your coffee MLM, your coffee recipes, or even your free report on the dangers of coffee. That’s why Google is crushing the one-page sales letters and squeeze pages. As marketers, those are our bread and butter. As consumers, those are just trash on the information highway.
What’s an Internet Marketer to do?
Well, you can continue throwing larger and larger amounts of cash at Google. They’ll cheerfully sell you keywords until the cows come home. There was a brief golden moment a few years ago when this made sense. Now, you’re up against Folgers, Starbucks, Procter and Gamble, etc. for your coffee keywords. The multi-nationals are big ships and they turn slow, but they’ve got deep pockets. They’re not dumb. They are ruthless. You can’t compete with them.
Obviously, you’re out of business. That’s the obvious outcome. To quote my patron saint, Douglas Adams, “if you want something other than the obvious to happen you have to DO something other than the obvious.”
So, not-obviously, you need to find a creative way to drive traffic that doesn’t involve buying the Google kids another lear jet.
On that UnWebinar, we master-minded on that problem and here’s what we came up with:
Blog
articles
teleseminar- instant teleseminar- classic view $67/month
facebook event – invite friends
linkedin event
youtube video
human interest
forums – specific to this niche
book review, amazon. Link to your profile. Resource box in profile.
Press release- webwire.com – $19.95
Facebook fan page- just for this product
squidoo lens
hub page
weebly page- 2 free
If you do all of those things for every product you launch, you’re going to get attention, traffic and sales.
It takes more time than throwing cash at adwords, but most of it is free, and… I like the disruptive aspect of it. Most marketers aren’t going to work that hard. If you do, you’ll kick their butts.
Here’s a twist on that- instead of using those techniques to sell products, us them to GIVE STUFF AWAY!
Huh?
Yep. It’s called “moving the free line,” and it works.
Let me explain. Let’s say you use your trust fund to buy the coffee keywords in the above example. Let’s even say that you drive traffic to your sales page. You’re still marketing to strangers. You’re making cold-calls. That’s the most difficult sales position to be in. It requires copywriting chops that are, frankly, a drag. I just don’t like to sell that hard.
What if you were to use those strategies above to build your list, instead? Once someone is on your list, you have the opportunity to let them get to know, like and trust you. Who do people buy from? People they know, like and trust. Instead of selling (or trying to sell) to strangers, you get to share your enthusiasm for products you really like with people you already have a relationship with.
That’s the perfect position too be in, for a marketer. Procter and Gamble can’t do it. Starbucks can’t do it. You can. And you can do it, like I am, while you’ve vacationing in coastal villages on the Pacific Coast Highway like I am right now.
That’s what the Portable Empire system is all about. Put your laptop computer in your backpack, pack a duffle bag, and hit the road- if you want. Or stay home, hang out with the kids. It’s about the freedom to live your life without answering to “the man.”
I’ve been teaching this system to a select group of marketers for about a year now, and it works. I’ve watched some of my students go from “is thing on?” to major forces in the Internet Marketing world. I’ve proven that the system works and that it can be learned.
If that sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, go to http://portableempirecoaching.com right now and sign up. You can try it out for a month for $18.
I don’t know what your dreams are. I do know that you can live them if you want to.
My dream has been to be completely mobile. I’ve traveled all over Europe, for example, but I was always rushing to a gig. And, seeing Munich, for example, through the windshield of an equipment truck on the way to whatever bar I was playing that night is NOT the way to see Europe. I’ve dreamed of traveling at my own pace, taking time to experience each town- meet some people, see how they live, eat in the local restaurants and absorb the local culture.
I’m living it. A couple of weeks ago, Betsy and I decided to test the Portable Empire system on the road. We packed up the new 4Runner and pointed it West. We spent a few days in San Francisco. A couple of days in Big Sur. Now, we’re drifting down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping in the coastal towns. Today, we’re in San Luis Obispo, which is a gorgeous little town. Yesterday, I was sitting in a coffee shop working and I noticed a line forming outside the coffee shop. A band was setting up in the street. It turns out that San Luis Obispo hosts a party for itself every Thursday. They close off several blocks downtown, and just party. Live bands, good food, beer and wine, balloons and clowns and brilliant, happy mayhem ensues.
We had a blast.
Today, I woke up early and drove to the nearest coffee shop. Excellent coffee, free internet. I’ll spend about an hour taking care of business. Email, marketing, write this blog post, check the news… Then, back in the 4Runner to see what Santa Barbara is all about. Never been. I hear it’s nice. We’ll spend the weekend there, and then continue South, playing on the beach and exploring the towns along the way.
Most people save all year for a vacation like this and go home broke. By using my Portable Empire system, I’ve not only financed the trip, I’ve made money. This, my friends, is the way to travel.
I’ve been posting pics and stories to my Facebook page. Somebody commented, “If I didn’t know and love you and Betsy, I’d be so jealous…”
Don’t be jealous. Join us. Go to http://portableempirecoaching.com right now and sign up for the coaching program. What good is a dream if you don’t make it real?
3 Responsesto “A Working Vacation”
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Sorry Pat,
I spell check got consciousness wrong in my last comment. Sync
San Luis Obispo is a great town to find inspiration for building a Portable Empire. There is a vibe there, constantly whispering into your ear “life is for enjoying not working”. I believe the Thursday music festival is just the manifestation of this message marinating in the collective consciousness of the people of San Luis Obispo. Soak it in guitar man!
San Luis Obispo is a great town to find inspiration for building a Portable Empire. There is a vibe there, constantly whispering into your conciseness “life is for enjoying not working”. I believe the Thursday music festival is just the manifestation of this message marinating in the collective conciseness of the people of San Luis Obispo. Soak it in guitar man!
Thanks Pat, for the traffic advice! Your coaching program looks wonderful! I need more time to devote to it. It would be a dream come true.