This is just a quick post about the video ebooks Louis Allport sells, many of which have been resold by thousands of people. Are you one of them?

As of 14th December 2007, Louis will be revoking all resale rights licenses and taking the videos offline. I don’t know Louis personally, but I do know a lot of my subscribers and customers have his products. Indeed, I have resold them in the past, too.

So, if you’re selling any of his resale rights products, please visit this page to learn more.

EDIT: A lot of people are going nuts about this… understandably. But don’t shoot me - I’m just the messenger!

If you’re an XSitePro user (and you really should be) then you probably know by now that XSitePro 2 isn’t far off.

About 6 weeks or so ago I spoke to Paul Smithson on Skype about XSitePro 2 (and various other things) and what he told me blew my mind. Let me tell you, this isn’t some quick-n-easy upgrade. It’s a complete overhaul of the entire software and has been built from the ground up, based on over 2 years worth of information and feedback from current XSitePro users. And believe me, that’s a lot of feedback!

Now, I’m not going to reveal any of the inner details in case some of them change before release, but what I will tell you is that a price rise is almost certain and that price is likely to be $297 instead of the current $197. I say ‘likely’ because it could be more.

However, if you buy XSitePro version 1 before version 2 is released then you will get a FREE upgrade to the newer version when it’s available. That’s a stellar reason to grab version 1 of XSitePro right now.

There’s so many things I’d like to tell you about XSitePro 2 but I can’t… and keeping my mouth shut is one of the hardest things to do because I want to shout it from the rooftops and tell you just how much time, effort and energy this app is going to save you and how much it’ll help you grow your business. THAT’S how much I know XSitePro 2 will rock. I was getting all exited on the phone when Paul was telling me about it (boy is he a passionate guy when it comes to giving to the community).

So if you don’t currently own version 1, make sure you grab it ASAP to ensure you get version 2 for free. I know $197 is a big investment, but the key word there is ‘investment’. It’ll make your life much easier when it comes to getting your web pages designed and online and, when version 2 comes out, your investment will be worth its weight in gold with whole carat diamonds set in the middle.

Check out XSitePro.

Not really! This is something I go through with nearly all of my new clients who just starting with the idea of making money from the internet. They write an ebook, get the website done, create the autoresponder series and get started on the promotion… and then ask me which software they should buy to protect their ebook from thieves.

I always give the same answer: don’t bother. Let me explain.

Firstly, nearly all ebook protectors are software-based, which means they convert the ebook into an exe file… which means Macs not running Windows won’t be able to run it. So you’ve just pee’d off 10% of your target market.

Not really an issue I suppose - my Subliminal Desktop doesn’t yet work on a Mac, but I’m not too worried about it. I accept that I lose some orders because of it.

Secondly, it can become a support headache. Six months after buying, customers go back to it and can’t remember their password. OK, so it’s not the end of the world sending a 60-second email, but if you’ve got thousands of customers it becomes a pain.

And thirdly, a lot of these protection software apps require the end user (i.e. your customer) to be connected to the internet to be able to view the ebook. Now THAT is a pain, especially in the niche markets because a lot of people don’t spend their time permanently connected to the ‘net because they fear security problems and getting hacked etc. So they have to get online just to read your ebook. Very inconvenient for them and doesn’t do your credibility much good.

If you’ve got decent PDF software then you can password-protect the file and do away with the software, but it then creates a support headache as mentioned above. And what’s more, if you’re the sort of person who insists on having that protection then it takes up even more of your time because you’ll end up looking through your sales just to be sure the person asking for the password really did make the purchase.

It’s swings and roundabouts. For me, the whole idea of running a business is to have more time for the things I want to do. Spending time with my family, playing golf, lying in the garden soaking up the rays (or rain as it is in the UK at the moment)… not typing out emails to customers who’ve forgotten their passwords or explaining why I’ve locked the ebook down like a prisoner on Death Row.

I accept some piracy will take place. I accept some of my ebooks will be (and have been) distributed illegally. I accept it because the loss of income is far outweighed by the minimal customer support I have to do.

Which would you prefer?

I recently ran a survey for my Dominating Amazon customers, and I thought I’d write a post about the results I got and what they mean.

This was interesting to me because it’s first poll I’ve run using Marlon Sanders’ Push Button Survey software, and it held up really well as you’d expect from one of Marlon’s products. It also made my life much easier to get the information together to see the results because it did all the work for me.

The questions I asked were about my Dominating Amazon ebook, with an additional question at the end which was about a bunch of product ideas I either have on my desk or in motion at the moment. Basically I wanted to know what my Dominating Amazon customers would most like to learn about.

The results were very interesting. Firstly, the majority of my customers bought Dominating Amazon because they liked the sound of how easy the system is to set up and use, closely followed by those looking to get into affiliate marketing for the first time. That’s great because those 2 groups of people are exactly the market I was aiming at when I wrote it. Simply because the system is easy to use and is a great way to get into affiliate marketing.

Most customers think Dominating Amazon contains more information than a $27 ebook, with a large percentage thinking it contains more than most $47 ebooks. Again, interesting because if I was to raise the price in the future then I have a good marker to go by, and it also shows my customers have a high opinion of the ebook. Incidentally, I also asked if anyone thought it wasn’t worth even the 7 bucks they paid; no one chose that option.

As expected, most customers hadn’t actually put the Dominating Amazon system into action. That’s OK - most people rarely do put into action these types of systems. Of those who had, a good percentange had made money from it. In fact, more people had made money than had broken even, which is a terrific result. There were of course a number of people who had lost money using Dominating Amazon. Again, that’s OK because nothing is foolproof and it’s to be expected.

The last 2 questions (5 in total) were about future project ideas I have. The first was about creating Amazon affiliate websites and whether or not my customers wanted to learn more about it. An incredible 90% of people gave me a resounding YES. If that doesn’t give you a product idea then nothing will!

The final question detailed 12 fictional products (i.e. they don’t exist yet) which are either ideas on my desk or in motion at the moment. I guess that means they’re not really fictional, but you know what I mean.

This produced some very interesting results and actually made me selve a project I had already planned out in sketchy detail. I won’t reveal what it is (hey, I’m not giving you EVERYTHING on a plate) but I was surprised very few people wanted to know about it (less than 3%).

One project already in the making (at a very advanced stage) received the 2nd highest number of votes, which tells me my original market research was spot on. It’s going to be a membership site, and if you want to find out about it when it goes live then you’ll need to join my global newsletter (form in the top-right on this page) because I won’t be touting it to my existing customers right away. I won’t explain why but I have good reasons.

The winning option for that final question was actually ‘Dominating Amazon Part 2,’ so I guess my customers really are happy with the first edition! That’s good to know.

I will be (at some point) creating part 2, which will really be an overhaul of the original system with a ton more content (I’ve learned plenty since I released the original) and I will probably be putting it on ClickBank for a higher price.

Anyhow, I wanted to share these results with you for 2 reasons. Firstly, you might well have taken part in the survey so I thought you might like to know an overview of the results, and secondly to show you the power of customer surveys.

You need to ask questions of your customers. I’m the first to admit I don’t do it nearly enough, but it’s something I’ll be making a bigger effort to do from now on. Using Push Button Survey made it simple for me to do.

The results actually ‘forced’ me to shelve a project I had planned out because very few people wanted it. It saved me wasting my time and making a mistake, all because I asked what my customers really want.

If you’ve got a mailing list or 10 then ask them questions. Find out what they want, what their frustrations are what they’d like to learn more about, and then simply go ahead and make it for them. Easy, really.

I see it all the time: “Which software should I buy to run my membership site?” It’s a dumb question because I can’t recommend anything to you unless I know what features you need to run the membership site you’re thinking of.

Do you want OTOs? Do you want discount coupons? Do you want a built-in affiliate program? Should that be 1 tier or 2? Do you want different membership levels? Do you want products to ‘expire’ after a month so people can’t join, download everything and then close their account?

There are tons of questions that needs answering, and the only person who can answer them is YOU. And the thing is, when I pose those questions to potential clients they often run a mile because they never even gave it a thought.

Anyway, let’s have a run down of the membership software I own:

DLGuard. Awesome software which I use to protect my downloads. Very secure, lots of features… including membership site capabilities. I’ve not used it for this purpose, but from what I hear it’s excellent.

Amember. Been around for a while now… which is a good thing because it has lots of features and most of the bugs have been ironed out over the years. It’s very secure and has tons of features like preventing account sharing and can run multiple membership sites from one installation. Has an affiliate program built-in also but I haven’t used it yet. From what I hear it’s not feature-packed but it does the job. Can aslo interact with various other software such as Wordpress, e107 and Joomla! to name a few.

Launch Formula Marketing. I bought this originally to run my Subliminal Desktop site but ditched it as it didn’t have the features I needed at the time. I’ve lost touch with it but apparently it now has tons of features and I’ve read lots of positive reviews.

Butterfly Marketing Script. The software I bought to replace LFM mentioned above to run Subliminal Desktop. Has tons of features, is easy to install and set up (when you know what you’re doing) has a good forum and a decent templating system. It does take a while to work out all the nooks and crannies but when you have it’s well worth it.

JVManger 2 Fantatsos. I have this but haven’t really got into it yet. Expensive at $4,000 (at time of writing) but it’s more than just membership site software; it’s a complete business management package that can run an entire internet-based business. The features have to be seen to be believed.

Easy Member Pro. Not used it, but from what I hear it does an excellent job and has lots of features as well as being easy to use and set up.

There’s plenty of others (well, probably about another 2 dozen or so… probably more) but they’re the ones that come to mind while typing this. If I’ve left YOUR software off the list and would like it adding then drop me a line at www.replytojimbob.com.

If you’re looking to start a membership site, don’t… whatever you do… don’t start by looking for software to run it for you. First, clearly define exactly what you want from your site and what your business model is going to be. Only then should you start looking at the software side of things.

I was planning on writing this later in the week but I’m uploading a ton of stuff to one of my servers so I figured now is as a good a time as any.

This post is all about testing. Testing your copy, testing your offers, testing your prices… testing every conceivable part of your sales machine to refine it and make it pull in more money on autopilot than it would without testing.

It’s essential and with the dawn of a easy-to-use split-testing software (including Google’s free Website Optimizer) there’s no excuse for not doing it. I mean, wouldn’t you mind spending half a day setting something up properly to test multiple parts of your sales letter to automatically find the bits that push all the hot buttons for your prospects, thus increasing profits? Of course you wouldn’t mind. And if you do mind, do it anyway. Or outsource it.

BUT… the bit where most people come unstuck is what to test and how much to test at once. So let’s look at that a little more closely.

Sales Copy
You can split-test every single aspect of your sales copy online… but that doesn’t mean you should. The problem with split-testing too much is that there are too many combinations of different sections that might not hang together, depending on the angle you’re taking.

Instead, stick with the main parts of the sales letter and test each one at a time to gauge response. Those main sections are:

Headline
Sub Headline
Opening paragraph
Offer
Guarantee
Close
Call to Action
P.S’s

That’s about it. And make sure you test each one at a time until you get the results you want. Again, if you’re testing every section at the same time then there’s too many combinations to give you a clear result, unless you’re getting monstrous traffic which, if you’re in the small niches, is unlikely.

Start with the headline. Split-test 2 headlines until you have a clear winner. If you’re getting good traffic then you can of course do more but you need good traffic or you’ll be waiting forever to get a meaningful result.

Within your headlines try different hooks and different benefits. Different ways to get attention. Anything goes!

The same is true with your sub headline and opening paragraph. Find out what pushes the hot buttons and increases response. With your offer, try different bonuses and different prices. Even try different ecovers, just to find out what your prospects like.

Your guarantee is a biggie and can massively increase response. You can try different guarantee lengths of 30 days, 60 days, 6 months, a year… lifetime. See which pulls best. Test the copy as well.

You need to do that for all those key parts of your sales letter, but do it one at a time. And when you’ve tested all the sections and got your response rate soaring, you can start at the beginning and do it all again!

Testing is a never-ending process. You should be constantly looking at ways to increase response. And by doing it step by step throughout the main sales letter sections you’ll see a gradual improvement over time. For sure, if you do them all at once you *might* find that one killer combination out of the thousands possible when you’re getting a million hits a day, but it’s far easier and more rewarding to do them one at a time.

If your headlines have been sorted and increased response then start on the sub headline. When you have a clear winner move onto the opening paragraph, then when there’s a winner there move onto the offer… and so on.

These days it’s simple to do and really is a must if you want to grow your profits from your existing traffic.

So what are ya waiting for!? Get going. Start here: services.google.com/websiteoptimizer/

If you have any questions about testing your sales machine feel free to drop me a line at www.replytojimbob.com.

Here’s a really important lesson I learned from the copywriting workshop I attended a few weeks ago: don’t forget the roots of direct selling online.

In other words, don’t neglect the offline, direct response marketplace. All three of the speakers (Trevor Crook, Peter Woodhead and the incredible Ted Nicholas) all pointed out that the internet is simply a medium from attracting customers; it’s not the ONLY place you should be running your business.

When you think in this way, you’ll realise that there’s a ton of opportunities out there to get highly qualified prospects to see your sales message. Broadcast fax (still works!), Yellow Pages (provided your ad is very well written), classified ads (for the right market) magazines… they’re all mediums where you can attract prospects.

Direct marketing, using ‘old fasioned’ snail mail still pulls in megabucks when done right. In fact, Ted Nicholas said at the workshop that his offline direct main converts 3 times better than his online sales letters. Both get targeted traffic, but offline pulls 300% better. That was like a colt to the chest for me.

It was a real eye-opener and I quickly made the decision that my new affiliate marketing membership site (in the making - not far off now) will be promoted first and foremost using direct response sales letters from mailing lists I’ll buy.

When that is rocking and rolling I’ll move into online advertising. For me, it makes perfect sense because PPC advertising will be expensive and will take me longer to make the ROI I want per member. Offline will be far cheaper.

Again, as I always stress, these things aren’t rules. They’re usually true but you have to test the market first. Something true most of the time isn’t a rule. So test test test and, when you’re done, test some more.

I’ll speak more about testing later this week.

Finally got round to it, so you can now join my ‘global’ newsletter. But please only join if you’re serious about your business progression. No point you being on the list otherwise.

I’ve also set up the newsletter so you’re emailed automatically whenever I add a new post to this blog. Great feature from Aweber!

I’m a big fan of keyword research tools. Things like Wordtracker, Keyword Universe, Keyword Elite and Nichebot do a terrific job of helping you find those all important keywords that could turn you a healthy profit without you ever realising it.

But there’s one problem with them: just about all of your competition are using them too. That means (assuming you’re all using these tools effectively) that you’re all going after the same keywords.

So what’s the solution? Use the one keyword tool only YOU have access to… your brain!

Before I hit the keywords tools I usually have a brainstorming session to try and empathise with my target customer. I get into their head and think the way they think in an attempt to work out what they would type into the search engines to find what they’re looking for.

This is a really powerful technique which, when used with keyword tools, can yeild some amazing results and have you bidding bottom-dollar on keywords which have little to no competition… even in the most competetive of markets.

Don’t rely on software to do all the work for you. Use your brain and, with a little practice and a lot of patience, you’ll start hitting keywords your competitors will never even consider.

Side note: keep an eye out for more keyword research tips and tricks in the future. Some of these things will blow your mind

Something you see more and more these days is marketers giving away bonuses in return for buying a product through their affiliate link.

Is it worth it? Well of course it is, or it wouldn’t be done. However, it’s not the be-all-and-end-all.

During one particular product launch last year, I made $6,000 in 24 hours without offering a single bonus. I realise that’s not huge money (and who knows… I might have made more should I had actually offered an incentive) but the fact that it took me about 20 minutes to write 5 emails which pulled in that money meant I didn’t have to spend days crafting an offer and getting everything into place to make it work.

I sent out one email 10 days before launch, another 3 days before launch, another a few hours before launch, another at the launch and another about 12 hours into the launch.

The emails were short and to the point. Not hyped, and certainly not ’salesy’. They simply pointed out what the product was all about and stressed the benefits of it.

There were a lot of marketers promoting this launch (I’m careful with what I push) but I still got my slice of the pie. Why? Because of my relationship with the list I was promoting it to.

Amazingly, I pushed this product to just 600 people, and it’s my relationship with this list of people that made it work so well. In short, I’ve offered them tremendous value in the past and have helped them a great deal for free.

They trust me and I value them. If they need help they know I’m here and in return they know I will only recommend products I have seen, used and believe offer them great value, hence me having such great conversion rates with this small list.

Without a doubt bonuses are one of the best ways to get people to buy through your affiliate links, but you need to build a relationship with those customers and treat them like gold. After all, they are the ones who decide if you’ll make it or not.