Smart Passive Income #275 - Use the Force, Pat ...

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Today's (September 2010) guest post by James Tayo - his blog seems to be no more - provides hints on how to make people click on your links ...

It starts with a personal story - how English people cannot resist reading stories about the Royal family ... and immediately provides the big secret:

Use incomplete headlines

People are nosy, and will not be able to resist finding out what's behind that headline ... we simply want the complete story ... click ...

... James provides a link ... which does not exist anymore ... which is creating even more suspense ;)

Nevertheless, he names some of the headline examples from that non-existing page:

• "The Secret of Making People Like You" ... of course we like to uncover secrets ...
• "A Little Mistake That Cost a Farmer $3,000 a year" ... it seems that the combination little with a "high" sum creates the magic ... but don't we like to read about the mistakes of other people, too?
• "Why some People Almost Always Make Money in the Stock Market" ... again a secret to uncover combined with a sprinkle of jealousy ...

... and he wouldn't be a great marketer, wouldn't he finish with a call to action: Come up with a headline for this post using the described principles!

Smart Passive Income #265 - Learn from Newsletters

Newsletter

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Pat likes getting emails ... that's why he subscribed to more than 20 newsletters ...

... either that, or - as he says in his post (which of course starts with a personal story ... he finished his manly housework - cabinetry, painting and putting up a new fence ...) - each email is a chance to learn something new about marketing.

Next time you receive an (annoying?) newsletter keep special attention to:

• the subject of the email ... does it coerce you to open it? Why? Why not?
• what's the call of action, how is it structured? ... Did you follow it? Why? Why not?

... and don't forget if you do not like to get an "annoying" newsletter any more, just unsubscribe ... but don't try to unsubscribe to spam ;)

Smart Passive Income #227 & #228 - Podcast & Unfinished Business

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Pat is starting a podcast (which is still alive in 2014) and to involve his future listeners, he asks for help, ... to fill out a short survey ...

... and embedded in yet another personal story, the secret of calling people to take action ... it seems we - the people - cannot stand that something is unfinished ... Pat uses this insight e.g. by

• asking for name and email address in return for freebies like ebooks, ...
• providing free content, and keeping part of it for the paid version, ...
• ...

I get the concept, but especially the review example seems really far fetched (note that I left this one out above, and now you have to go to Pat's post to see what I meant, you have no chance, you cannot resist, ... unfortunately no affiliate link).

Smart Passive Income #221 - Call to Action

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Embedded in a personal story, Pat explains how to create a working "Call to Action".

If you place an advertisement or just have a homepage where you want the visitors to become customers, you need to tell them! Most essential seem to be the words your are choosing, and providing a reason why your visitors should click on your link ...

Here is a list of phrases Pat finds especially helpful - but of course - you need to choose which ones will suit your case best, and always test your choice:

• get ...
• download ...
• click here to ...
• press ...
  
• enter ...
• buy now
• use ...
• order now
  
• select ...
• choose ...
• enroll ...
• attend ...
• register ...
• donate ...
• subscribe ...
• take a tour ...
• sign up now ...
• check out ...
• share ...

To make your visitor click provide incentives like:

• order now to get your free gift
• sign up now because this offer will expire soon
• reserve your copy before it’s too late!

Smart Passive Income #167 - Marketing Forums & Advise

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Pat introduces five forums targeting online marketing. One of them is only available for a small subscription fee. Another one seems to have changed it's name in the last four years (at least the link forwards to another site) ...

Should you like to participate there, Pat has some advice on what to do and not to do:

• Don't just join to promote your own sites ... 
• Use your signature to promote your site (combining this with the advise above, it seems you should guerrilla marketing) ...
• Read the rules before posting (you will be the first one) ...
• Search before starting a new thread (you will be the first one, too) ...
• Help other people in need (you will be among a view) ...
• Don't loose yourself in the forums (you will not be the only one) ...

Smart Passive Income #135 & #136 - Future Plans & Blog = Bar

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Pat shares plans for his future ...

... and he compares a blog to a bar ... not people rushing through (on the lookout for a public toilet) are good customers, but people who stay and have a drink or two ... and he summarizes:

• First impression is key, huge traffic does not count if everybody hits the back button immediately.
• You need to give your customers something, that they will want to stay and visit again.

Smart Passive Income #125 - to #127 - App Promotion & Informational Content & It's a Boy

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Pat tried to contact reviewer sites for his new App iCaption. But got virtually no feedback. Now he tries a different approach: a contest ...

... and he reveals three ways to sell your informational content:

• a book
• an audio book
• a video

... and his boy is born, congratulations ... (now you know his name, his birthday ... another open door for identity theft :( )

Smart Passive Income #122 to #124 - Income Report & eHow & Marketing

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Pat's income for July 2009 is "down" to 9.000,- USD. While it is still an impressive number, compared with his income for June 2009 its a only one third ...

... and he wrote another post on eHow ...

... and finally the big secret on success: MARKETING (... its important, and there are lots of different methods, ... and we do not want to do it ...)

Smart Passive Income #118 - New iPhone App

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Pat shows screenshots of his - soon to be posted / remember we are in July 2009 - new iPhone app called iCaption. I don't really understand its concept. Everyday they app shows a new picture which the user is allowed to comment, or can vote on existing comments ... What's the incentive to buy that app? If that app was a success, Pat is really a marketing genius!

Smart Passive Income #94 - Dog Sitting - Private Information - Marketing

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... another post (Pat calls them random fun posts) about details of his private life ... on how to find a dog sitter ...

Not only is this a good way to keep your readers interested, it should also help to attract new readers who stumble upon your blog by chance when they were looking for dog sitters (or the any other private-life topic). If your blog is only about business, it will only show up in search results concerning that specific business. If you blog about unrelated things from time to time, this could broaden your audience ...

Smart Passive Income #91 - Personal Information vs Identity Theft

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People are natural born peeping toms - at least they/we like reading about other the lives of others. So Pat posts about his first dance with his newly wed wife.

Seems to be a nice marketing strategy but is it safe nowadays? Could identity theft be an issue?

Smart Passive Income #78 to #80 - eBook Marketing Techniques

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Pat continuous his "how to publish an ebook" series with marketing tips.

• Start marketing your ebook as soon as possible, even if it is not finished yet. ... let your fans know about your progress ...
• Use promotional pricing & discounts
• Spam (Pam calls it front-line marketing and he advises to be very careful) ... if you look in your letter box and find it 99 % filled with "marketing material" you could think that marketing actually equals spam ... and because it is so much easier to create and distribute virtual "marketing material" ... there is a reason why most legal systems have laws to prevent them ... please be even more than very careful with this kind of marketing and when in doubt please contact your local legal counsel!

Pat considers further markeing thechniques like Google adwords, Facebook or private advertising on other blogs. The first and the last are not for free, might generate traffic to your site but actually create no sales ... On Facebook you can buy advertisement space or go for "front-line" marketing ...

Pat's third post about ebook marketing addresses the use of affiliate programs for your own products ...

Smart Passive Income #29 - The Skeptic Arises

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... the skeptic arises: The idea behind smart passive income is to work hard once, create a product and sell it using an automated process, not having to invest any more time into that particular product ... compared to a nine to five job where you only get money when you actually do work ...

Pat postulates two formulas:

9-to5 ... time * wage = income

... meaning you get only paid when you work. To get more income you need to work more or increase your wage ...

passive income ... product = income

 ... meaning once you have a product you have income ... well, ... the product does not need maintenance? ... no updates? ... no continuous marketing efforts?