The Secret to Guru Success

Today is Sunday, a day I think out of all seven when I get particularly reflective. I wanted to talk to you today about internet marketing and make you really think outside the box today.

Did you ever wonder about the guru’s making 6 or 7 figures a year what they truly did or do to make that sort of money?

I was on a private webinar about 7 months ago with the Daddy of internet marketing that revealed the secret and I want to let you know what he said. He said you have to analyze the masses. Find out what their problem is and solve it for them. Sound hard? Well, not really. You see the savvy internet marketer knows exactly what the masses want and need and they gear their entire existence around those wants and needs and monetize it. For instance, many will tell you their tale of woes, how they were down in the dumps etc., selling their furniture and such just to get more education etc. etc. and with perserverance, determination and drive they are where they are today. They do that to connect with the people that are listening to them. They want to relate to them on a personal basis instantly gaining that connection with them. They are not lying they are being very truthful about where they came from and where they were, but it’s the WAY they do it that is so powerful.

Now did you ever analyze exactly what they do? Did you actually ever sit back and watch their process unfold in front of you? Have you figured out the secret yet? I sure did and instead of leading you on for three weeks then charging you a ton of money just to tell you what you could have already figured out on your own if you were paying attention, I am going to tell you in this article so keep reading.

You see folks, most people on the internet today do everything backwards. They hear they need to build a list, they understand that they need a list of people to “market” their “stuff” to, they then try everything under the sun to try to get people onto their “list”. They work at that list for a very long time then think magically as soon as they send an email about some business they are in that all these people on their list are going to join them and all will walk the beaches of riches together. Well, that can happen, just not the way most are doing it. What they are lacking is explained below.

The biggest thing I notice that is lacking in most people’s marketing campaigns are a lack of substance and value. Oh I know you are thinking, PLEASE I have heard this already. Well, listen again. Many people claim affiliate marketing is the best way to make money on the internet. That is definitely one of them. The problem is the average affiliate marketer has no client base or following to market the service or program they are marketing in the first place. Did you understand that? If not read that last sentence again. They have this awesome tool, product or service but make peanuts because when they became an affiliate they had no one to market the service to. This is why the “list” is important. Not spamming haphazardly on a social site or to your personal email inbox. An actual group of people that value what you have to say. They comment on your blog or ask your advice. They WANT to know what you are up to and they are waiting for you to show them what you are up to. Those are the people you want on your list.

Back to the gurus, a name in which I can’t stand but nevertheless when I refer to them it is not in my eyes an insult. They know exactly what they are doing and can predict before they start a campaign how much money they will make. Can you do that?

Ok enough with the chatter let’s get to the meat of this article. Here is the secret to the guru’s success:  THE LAUNCH.

Yes, you heard me, it’s the launch. It’s the art of launching a product or service in such a way that it will be successful from start to finish. How? Carefully. Well thought out. Studying the previous guru’s step by step and duplicate. Don’t think you can do this or don’t think you have something you can launch? Guess again. You can launch anything from a new line of bikinis to a newly written Ebook. It still needs to be something you are passionate about and that you can stand behind, however, it does not necesarily have to be something you created. It just has to be handled in the right order.

Here are some keys to a successful launch:

1. Don’t put the horse before the cart. In other words, get your presence out there. Start a blog and work it around what you are passionate about. For example, if you love baking cookies and are planning on writing a book about it, while you are busy writing the book, build your audience by writing a blog about cooking, baking, how to bake, why you love to bake, show pictures of your creations, encourage others to comment on your blog about their baking. Run a contest and award someone something for the best recipe of fudge. You get my drift. Something that will create buzz around your product or service, BEFORE you launch that book.

2. When you start #1 above, you will be naturally building your list. USE social media to gather more like minded people. Create a group on Facebook around cooking (back to example from step 1). Groups on Facebook are powerful, more powerful than a fan page for you can schedule events, email the people in your group etc. etc. very powerful, yet everyone talks solely about creating only a fan page. Do both…what the hell it’s more exposure.

3. Do NOT launch your product or service too soon. I see this happen ALL the time. New start up companies will launch their business prematurely before they are ready and all their work backfires in their face. If you don’t talk about your new book you are writing no one knows, right? Therefore no one will know if you suddenly got writer’s block and can’t finish chapter 10. It takes the pressure off of you, and trust me stress will make you counter productive in a heart beat.  So in other words make damn sure whatever it is you are launching is ready BEFORE you start to tell the people on your “list”. Don’t give a date unless of course it’s all ready to go!

4. The actual prelaunch itself should be a series of emails and videos and of course some sort of opt in area so truly interested folks can stay informed as you go. PLEASE make sure you have an opt-out clause at the bottom of every email. I strongly suggest not to launch a product or service with fewer than 500 people on your list. It’s a numbers game. All based on percentages. This is your business, treat it as one and do your due diligence.

5. Try to do a JV partnership with key people. For instance, you offer the JV partners a special “cut” of sales if they also market to THEIR lists. Guru’s do this all the time. Why not you?! This is a very VERY effective way to gain more exposure quickly. But first, realize you will need some sort of relationship FIRST with the JV before asking them to partner with you, after all, if whatever you are marketing STINKS then that person’s reputation is on the line. Again, horse before cart = disaster.

6. Study the gurus. I will list here a bunch of people that have this launch stuff down PAT. Look them up, get on a list of theirs and next time they do a launch save EVERY email you get and study it. How they talk, what they do, and duplicate. Mike Dillard, the king of internet marketers, is so good at this he seriously could snap his fingers and tell people to start drinking 17 glasses of water a day and they would do it..why? Because he has worked years at building his followers and giving GREAT advice and people adore him, including me. Ann Sieg, she is the renegade marketer, very down to earth and women in the industry can relate to A LOT of what she has to say and what she has been through. She was my first mentor, before I started paying attention to Mike. Jeff Walker, the one that taught me how to launch. Incredible career and again, very down to earth and easy to understand. There are many more but these three people I have studied, thoroughly, oh one more, Ryan Deiss. He either launches his own stuff or does JV all the time and is a master of the launch as well.

I must tell you when I study these people I don’t buy the courses at the end of the launch that cost people thousands and thousands of dollars. What I have done is take notes, lots and lots and lots, attended webinars, lots and lots of webinars. Watched what they do, when they do it and how they do it. I can honestly say I have purchased many products (books) these people and others have written, but never the 3 month long thousands of dollar courses, I didn’t need to. Maybe you do I don’t know. All I know is the more money I kept in my pocket and the more I learned for free has brought me to where I am today. About to launch my own company. Following what I have learned, studying, duplicating and tons of research. It will happen for me and it can happen for you. Just know the money is not in that terrific MLM you just joined or that company that has the supposed next best lotion. The money is truly within you. It’s just a matter of figuring out what it is or who it is you will partner with to get it done. That was my challenge, I knew I could do it I just didn’t know what although my husband was telling me for over a year what it was. He saw it, I didn’t. or maybe I was too scared to admit it. I don’t know, all I know is as soon as I started to believe in myself the rest started falling into place.

I hope this helped you. If you are searching, wondering, trying to figure out just what it is that will be IT for you. I hope I opened your eyes a little and made you think outside the box. Sometimes the answers to the hardest questions are so obvious we tend to overlook them. I wish you the best. Start to believe in yourself and look inside you for some answers.

Tags: Ann Sieg, internet marketing guru, launch, Mike Dillard, ryan deiss, secret to success