Create More Expensive Products and Thank Me Later!
Mar 7th
If you’re involved in internet marketing, you probably see tons of high-priced products all the time. Seminars for thousands of dollars. Huge video courses for $997. That sort of thing.
Let me first say that I DO NOT charge that much for any of my current products. Nowhere near that much. But I want to let you in on a little secret that I have been discovering in that 6 months…
Selling a $97 product is no harder than selling a $7 product online.
Let that soak in for a minute. How much happier would you be if you sold a $97 product every single day versus selling a $7 product every day? I’m not trying to equate money with happiness here, but it makes a difference. Last summer I launched 2 products at the $97 price point. One of those products has taken off. I have 0ver 1,000 affiliates promoting it. I make sales nearly every single day. Think about that – that means nearly $100 in extra income every single day.
If you think it was difficult to create that product, market it, recruit affiliates, etc…. you’re dead wrong. The process was the same as when I was creating 10 page ebooks on little niche topics.
So decide what you would rather do: spend hours creating a $17 product, or pump the product up a little bit and have a great $97 product. Which product is worth your time?
For an example of the my product creation process, check out Product Creation with Skype.
There’s my tip. Take it or leave it. Go make some more money!
Best of luck,
Reuben D. Rock
PhD Versus Job: My Quarter-Life Crisis
Feb 22nd
Here’s my attempt at a personal blog post, as per my 2010 Goals:
As I’m sure you’re aware, I’ve been a graduate student at the University of Memphis for the last 2 years. It’s been difficult, eye-opening, and a whole bunch of other things. Now I’m nearing the end of my MS in Psychology, and I’m looking toward the future. The only problem… there’s a fork in the road.
Do I stick around and complete a PhD, or hit the work world and start collecting a real paycheck?
For many people this would be a simple question. You’re either the academic type or you’re not. But like a lot of graduate students, I have no idea what I am. Research is not my great love. I also don’t live for the IRB, publication, grant-getting, etc. On the job front, my interests and career aspirations are incredibly eclectic – a product of my entrepreneurial experiences over the last few years. My skills are in statistics, training, Wordpress websites, marketing, copywriting, product development, etc. I like meeting people, traveling, coming up with new ideas, working independently (most of the time), and making money. My wife would say that making money is my greatest love. And that’s partially true – I won’t hide my affinity for living it up!
So here it is… the clock is counting down to my decision. On April 15th (also tax day – geez what a terrible coincidence), I have to accept or decline my spot in the Experimental Psychology PhD program at Memphis.
Let me think positively for a moment… whatever decision I make, it will be the right decision. You can always find happiness somewhere. Whether I am Dr. or Mr. Reuben Rock for the rest of my life is not really important. What is important is that I have a beautiful wife, lovely house, profitable business, and an assortment of friends and hobbies.
Any advice for a 24 year old caught between academics and the workforce? I’d appreciate your insights in the comments!
Here’s to my quarter life crisis,
Reuben D. Rock
Seasonal Products and Your Internet Marketing Business
Jan 26th
Every year around this time, I’m reminded of the seasonal nature of some of my products. Actually my top sellers are seasonal. Once winter sets in, sales begin to dwindle until spring. It leaves a tough couple months where my ad spending remains unchanged, but the clicks just don’t convert.
This is an example of when you should consider diversifying your product offerings. Getting into a new niche can really help you out in this situation. That’s what I’ve been working on in the last year.
My site, 90MinuteBusiness.com is a line of products that I hope will boost my income during the slow season for my physical products. When physical sales drop off, my 90 Minute Business products continue to keep me afloat.
What’s your experience with seasonal shifts in your sales? Have you been diversifying and trying new niches to combat the effect? If not, maybe it’s something you could work on in 2010.
Best of luck,
Reuben D. Rock
2010 Goals: What Will You Accomplish?
Dec 31st
My 2010 Goal Mindmap
Here it is again… the new year!
It sneaks up on us every time, and it leaves me scrambling to figure out what I’ve accomplished in 365 days? But the new year also brings the opportunity to dream big for the next 52 weeks.
So in the spirit of dreaming big, I present to you my 2010 goals. Just like last year, I used Bubbl.us to create a pretty little map of my goals. It is separated into business, personal, and academic sections. Click on the image at the top left to view my goals.
This year the academic goals are taking a hit. School is great. I hope to land an amazing job in my field after I finish my phd. But I don’t want school to be my BIG focus this year, so I cut back on my academic goals. Grad school has consumed my life and pushed my business aside, so this year will need to be different. I’m shifting my entire mindset: leave school at school. My business is my life and always will be. So profits will no longer take a backseat to statistics homework.
There is also a goal related to this blog: I want to make ReubenRock.com a little more personal. Writing about business-only topics killed me this year (which is why I haven’t written much to speak of in 2009). I hope to open up a bit about my life and the amazing things I experience. My wife and I travel, party, laugh, learn, and have a great time. These things are important to me, and I want to share that with everyone. So expect some personal flair in the coming year. And if you really want to get to know me, follow me on twitter (@reubenrock). Trust me – I really open up there!
My business goals this year are pretty lofty. They include specific $$$ amounts on some of them, which I sincerely hope to accomplish. I’ll be sure to share my progress throughout the year. If I actually hit these goals, I’ll probably be really excited – so you can expect a post about it.
So wrapping this up, what do you hope to accomplish this year? What will 2010 bring for you? I strongly encourage you to commit your own goals to paper. You don’t have to map them out like I did, but write them down. Post them somewhere in your home or office. If you see these goals on a daily basis, you won’t forget to make progress toward achieving them.
That’s all for now. Good luck, and I’ll see you in 2010!
Article Marketing Still Works
Dec 4th
I still write articles and submit to EzineArticles.com. Why? Because it still brings me quality traffic that converts. It still delivers high rankings in Google. It still works for my business. The articles I wrote 2 years ago are still driving traffic to my products, and they are still earning me more money.
Despite the fact that this technique has been around for years and is still effective… many internet marketers refuse to take advantage of it. Why? All I can figure is laziness. Sure, there are folks who focus exclusively on PPC or whatever and make tons of money. I can understand why they aren’t writing articles. But the people who are struggling to get started online, who haven’t earned a single dime, and who are begging for a silver bullet… these are the people who aren’t writing articles. And that makes me sad.
Why are so few people using article marketing? Because it involves work – actual, honest to god work. People hate writing. And they think making money online is the result of some special combination of Wordpress plugins or secret Adwords methods. So they continue to search for that one secret they need to learn. If they spent that time writing a couple articles instead of reading Warrior Forum, they might make a couple bucks. But most beginners just don’t do it.
There’s no real “hot tip” in my post today. Just a reminder that this old fashioned way of driving traffic is still an option. It’s just as effective as it was years ago. My articles regularly get click-thru rates of 30% and higher. Some of them as high as 60%. That’s money in my pocket, and it should be money in your pocket too.
If you really need an action plan, go build an affiliate site promoting my product at RecordingStudioProfits.com. The commission is about $29/sale. It’s converting really well right now, and my affiliates are starting to make more and more every month. Once you’ve built a quick landing page to promote the product, submit a couple articles to EzineArticles.com. Topics could be anything related to recording studios, home studios, sound engineering, etc. This niche has been getting high CTRs for me on my articles. You should be able to earn some quick commissions. Then I’ll send you a commission check and a note that says, “I told you article marketing still works!”
