Coffee Break Blogging

In the first installment of what will be a 4-part series, we will discuss conversion triggers. In other words, we will talk about the psychological principles behind much of the marketing you see today and why they work. Understanding these "triggers" will allow you to move people into action.... whether that be to buy something, to opt into your email list, to open an email, to click on an email, to post a comment, to click on a tweet.... whatever it may be. Moving people into action is the name of the game, and these conversion triggers are a very important part of doing it. In this series, we will discuss many different conversion triggers, why they work, and examples of using them. And perhaps you'll even learn something about yourself. ;-)   So first of all, I want to welcome you to 2016. This is the first episode of Coffee Break for 2016. I took a few weeks off for the holidays. Christmas, New Year's... spent a lot of time not in my office. And then last week; it is was just kind of an interesting week,

This will be our final Coffee Break installment for the year 2015. We'll be on a brief hiatus and then hitting the ground running in the new year. But, to that end, I thought it'd be a good idea to review where we've been this year, how things are moving along, and where I intend to take the show in the year 2016. In this episode, we will discuss: The original reasons I started Coffee Break Blogging Why I do solo shows and don't generally have interview guests A review of the "7 Stages To Building An Online Business" and where this podcast currently stands in the 7 stages What I'm looking to do with this show in 2016 What is going to happen after the 7 stages are done?

As we bring 2015 to a close here on Coffee Break Blogging, I wanted to take a break from the usual programming.... and just talk to the general idea of growing your online business. ... Especially if you feel you are lacking for time. I've gotten that feedback from many people - including some Lab members. Short on time, not enough time... and for this reason they put their business goals on hold and go put out fires. And I get it. Jobs, kids, family. Life can be a messy business sometimes. :) So, in this situation, how can we continue to make headway on our business and not put the whole thing on perpetual hold? In this episode, I share my thoughts on expanding your "sphere of influence". It is the idea of being able to spend time on those other things.... AND your business at the same time. I also share a few productivity tips - and the underlying reason for each - to help you make more headway with your business. Hope you find this episode helpful.   So today, we are going to take a little bit of a hiatus

You can't sell something on the Internet without some kind of a sales page. Whether it is a written sales page or a video one, the components are primarily the same. So, this episode is going to give you a full grand tour of the major elements of a converting sales page. We'll discuss: The headline Opening text Stories Credibility Sub-headings Testimonials Proof it works The offer Risk Reducer The Close For each of these 10 components, we go into detail about how to do it and what you should be thinking about in each. If you are new to copywriting or making sales pages, then this Coffee Break episode is highly important for you.   So let's get in to our topic for today, and that is... A Sales Page. Specifically, we are going to talk and give you a grand bird's eye view of the 10 components of a converting sales page. Now what this episode is NOT going to be for you is a full breakdown of copywriting and sales conversions and all that... We couldn't possibly cover that in one episode if I tried. But what I a

When it comes to giving your product a name, this is something you want to put some thought into and not just "shoot from the hip". I've had some real doosies for product names. My first product was called "3 Day Money"... which is probably my worst product name of all time. But, even the Blog Monetization Lab itself used to be called "Inner Circle"... then the "VIP". :D What is wrong with these names? Well, in this episode, I boil it down to 3 things to keep in mind with your product names: Brand-ability Communicating the benefit Avoiding Confusions I explain each of these in this episode. I also talk about the exercise you should go through to arrive at an awesome product name. Lastly, I discuss 3 specific followup tasks you should do, both while considering a name, as well as after you've chosen one. Don't take the name of your product lightly. This episode of Coffee Break can help you avoid problems down the road in your marketing.   So let us go in and get into our topic of today... We have already tal

So, you have that new product you'd like to bring to market. It could be a new ebook, a new course, a new membership site, etc. So, you start thinking about product launches. Launches are sexy - no doubt about it. You've like heard the tales of the huge pay days. The million dollar days. Hell, you'd be OK with a multi-thousand day, right? :-) And it seems as if some big product launch is the way to go. But, is it? Do you really need to do a traditional product launch? In this episode, I talk about the fun parts of a launch... as well as some of the realities of a launch. Behind the scenes, it isn't always as sexy as it can seem. When is a launch a good idea? When does it make sense? And when should you slow down and think a little longer term, and perhaps forget about a traditional launch? And how do you get started setting up an evergreen launch funnel? All this and more... in this episode of CBB.

For anybody who creates digital products for sale, there will inevitably come that concern of other people stealing it and making it available for free somewhere. It happens. How much should you really worry about it? Is it really that big a problem? And, what can you do to keep it from happening? In this episode, we'll talk about tools you can use to protect your paid content from getting stolen (at least easily). Keep in mind... if a person has the right tools and right knowledge, there is little you can do about this. Where there is a will, there is a way. :-) So, let's talk about what to do about it and to what degree you should let it occupy your thought process. So, let us get into that... Let's talk about Securing Your Product... Namely, how to keep people from stealing it.   Now, here is the thing... I know that especially when you are first getting started and you put products out there for sale that you want to prevent people who have not bought your product from being able to gain access to it. Now

There's always that tiny risk, yet many bloggers who are new to all this fear it almost out of proportion to the reality... You put your product out there, and somebody gets mad. "You've sold out!", they say. How do you deal with the haters, if they happen? There are two aspects to this that we discuss in this episode... The truths about the haters The truths about YOU. It goes both ways. So let's address this fear head on, in this episode of Coffee Break Blogging. Now, let us talk about our topic of today which is... HATERS.

We'll end off this multi-part series on pricing with a bird's eye view of the whole thing... So many bloggers out there don't have any product yet. They just use banner ads... or affiliate links. And, all this stuff about pricing doesn't yet apply to them. If that's you, then realize this... Until you make your first offer and name your price, you haven't even really gotten to the starting line. Your offer is the starting line. Give this episode a listen. It is important if you ever intend to make your blog the crux of a full-time income.

Figuring out your price for your product is usually a touchy subject. What if you price it too high and nobody buys it? What if you shoot too low? This is an episode you might want to have a note paper handy for before listening. In this episode, we'll discuss: The most common mistake product creators make when pricing their product How YOUR perception of value of your product can be different than your customers... The basis for determining your price How to survey your audience to find out what they'd be willing to pay How to ask them what they'll pay without directly asking 4 specific questions to learn price sensitivity Looking at the prices of your competition... and how to compete with them This is a meaty episode. Get ready. :-) So let us get in to our topic for today, which is pricing.

In the world of internet marketing, you very often see people price their products with prices that end in 7. $7.... $27.... $97... Why do they do that? Is there some hidden psychological reason for this? The answer is no, and this episode goes into it. We discuss: How the 7 prices got started How you never see an emphasis on 7 outside of the IM world Whether it makes any sense or not to test out incremental price changes When is the ONLY time it makes sense to make such tests? Let's put this into perspective. What we are going to be talking about today is going to be kind of informal but it is one that you guys have seen many, many times... And that is Prices that end in 7. Very, very popular in the whole internet marketing world. And you might wonder, is there any reason for it? Is there some deep reason you are unaware of why so many internet marketing prices end in the number 7?

A story that is all too common... You get a product idea. So, you ask a few people about it and they give you glowing feedback. They tell you its a great idea and they'd be interested in it. So, you think you have a winner on your hands. You're onto something! You go and make it, put it out there for sale and... Nothing. No sales. What the hell happened? Another common one is to create a product you think is awesome. You let a few people into it for free to get feedback. They tell you great things. Then, comes time to sell it and once again... No sales. So, this begs the question... How do you test out a product idea? How do you test out a price? Well, the short answer is "pre-sell". This episode describes the typical situation people find themselves in - and then walks step-by-step through the pre-sales process and how to do this for yourself. The Blog Monetization Model starts with "product/market fit". This process is a HUGE part of how you find and validate that fit.  

In terms of techniques to drive sales, the most common one out there is the low-ball the price. Put it on sale, offer a discount, put out a coupon. And sure, it works. For awhile. Until it doesn't. See, low prices is really lazy marketing. And if you end up relying on it too much, it puts your business into a poor position. That said, there IS a good time to have low prices. There's a specific reason for them - and a specific context to them. In this episode of CBB - and part 2 of our series on setting your prices - we talk all about low prices. The 5 dangers of relying on low prices as your primary sales strategy When the right time is to use low prices Specific " real world" examples of low price strategies being used correctly This is an important episode, because the last thing I want you to do is mislead yourself into thinking you're going to generate a really nice income online on the back of $7 eBooks. :)   Today we are going to go into Part 2 on how to determine and specify what to charge people...

In the first of a series where we'll be talking about how to set your prices, we're going to deep dive on the psychological factors that affect pricing - both for your customer... and for YOU. Many people struggle with what to charge for their products. And the easiest path is just to low-ball the price. While low prices have their place, it is too often done out of fear. Fear of being salesy Fear of not making sales Fear of being able to deliver So, how do we get past that? In this installment of CBB, we'll talk about how to get over the confidence issues with your offer and your price. We'll also talk about the foundation for how to set your price. Lastly, we're going to talk about how price affects what happens AFTER the sale has been made. This is a HIGHLY important topic... and may very well result in you confidently asking for higher prices. :-) This is the first of a multi-part series having to do with prices - an important aspect of product creation and the monetization of our businesses. Also, if y

Should you have a community inside your membership site? Should you set up a forum or set up a private Facebook group? That's the topic of this installment of CBB. Truth is, while there are many benefits of having a community inside your membership, it also comes with several cons. And those cons are much more pronounced in the beginning. In this episode, we'll discuss: Pros and Cons of having a community Choosing a platform for your community When is a Facebook group better than a forum? When should you say "no" to a community for your membership? When is the right time to start a community? What is my preferred platform and why? Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.

In our last episode, we talked about member onboarding and how it helps you keep members in your membership site longer (member retention). In today's show, we're going to go right at the topic of retention head on... How do you increase member retention rates? We're going to cover 10 specific tactics to make it happen, including: Orientation A member challenge Community swag Get them to promote your program (and its for a specific reason) Gamification Payment Plans Monthly content teasers Community Stand For Something Promote best members to VIP For an explanation of each of these tactics, give this episode a good read. :-) Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you.   In the last episode;  Episode 128, we talked about member onboarding which is that on ramp that you need to send new

So, once you have a member sign up for your membership site, how do you get them started? How do you get them to stick around? After all, your monthly program really doesn't matter that much if people don't stay a member. An important component of this is called ONBOARDING. It is what happens immediately after they join in order to get them up to speed, get them consuming material, and get them winning. In this episode, I talk about the goals of onboarding and some ways of doing it. These tactics will also go along way toward increasing your member retention. Lastly, if you're finding these episodes valuable, I'd highly appreciate it if you could post a quick review over in iTunes. You can also share on social media and direct people to CoffeeBreakBlogging.com. Be sure to use hashtag #cbb so that I can see it and thank you. ;-)

How do you go about selling a monthly recurring membership? Is it harder to sell a monthly membership than a one-time payment? In this episode of CBB, we dive right into the topic of selling a recurring monthly membership. And we do that by discussing 5 different techniques for getting new members. We'll discuss: Webinars Front-End Offers and "Splintering" Different positioning Blog calls to action Trials How (and when) do you use these different things? Learn the in's and out's of each of the 5 techniques in this episode of Coffee Break.;-)

OK, let's be real... all this talk about membership sites lately here on CBB, and what really makes it "sexy" is the monthly recurring revenue. I've made it clear that a membership site can be used in many other ways, but people REALLY like that monthly recurring revenue. So, how can you do it? What can you offer that justifies a monthly subscription? We'll discuss: The one simple rule that you must follow to sell a subscription and keep them from cancelling The 5 things people will pay the MOST money for Examples of how to build these 5 things people buy into your membership 2 key factors of delivery to keep your members around How I deliver monthly content to my own members How to go about building a member community How to do what I call "outsourced thinking" and charge for it This episode will likely get the gears going and generate some ideas for you on how you could set up a monthly recurring subscription program for your blog. I hope it does, because this kind of business model is the "holy grail" of

Hello there! I'm back with another episode of Coffee Break Blogging; Episode 125. It's amazing how these episode numbers just stack up so quickly! :-) In the last episode, we talked about how to take credit cards on your site. But, the next question is... how do you actually accept the order? That's where the shopping cart comes in. And, there are a TON of these things out there to choose from. But, what kind of shopping cart do you really need? In this episode, we'll discuss: The different kinds of shopping carts In which circumstances you should use each kind of cart Different options for keeping things SIMPLE, especially when you have just a few downloadable products to sell An overview of the hosted shopping cart systems and why you may want one The benefits of using a membership site platform as your shopping cart Exactly how I do it at the Blog Marketing Academy The shopping cart market is huge with lots of competitors. This episode of CBB will help you find your way through it all.