HERE’S A SIMPLE METHOD TO SNEAK IN ON A MARKETING FUNNEL AS AN INTERNET MARKETING BEGINNER

You’ve been studying online marketing strategies and getting into or have been doing internet marketing or online marketing to make a profit and to do this you have to market or sell something, whether it’s your own products or someone else’s products.  This is as basic as it gets.  But, I want to show you a little trick to come into the perfect position in a marketing funnel as a beginner.

Most serious online sales (and offline) follow a specific process or cycle of events.

Buyers Behavior Stage 1:

The potential buyer decides that he has a problem or need something.

Buyers Behavior Stage 2:

He begins to research the problem and sound out possible solutions. Many people find free information/solutions to their problems at this stage and drop out of the cycle.  Many times in this step friends come into play because of the trust/influence level, but they still recommend products that have helped them and then it’s on to Step 3 to do research and find reviews on these recommended products.

Buyers Behavior Stage 3:

His research and his own particular leanings make him begin to favor a particular type of solution or product. He now starts looking at review and comparison sites.

Buyers Behavior Stage 4:

Having read a few reviews he’s now favoring a particular product, and seeking reassurance, looking for the best price or the best bonus.

Although it’s only four stages, it can become complicated on how to implement this whole process into your business.  The so called gurus have figured this out to a science and can take their prospects through the whole thing until the last stage where they buy their products leaving them with a nice helping of cash in their bank account.  So I want to break this down into one small action step and give you something to take away from this that can be done right away without having to be a super ninja guru.

Check out Stage 3, reviewing the products.  This is a great place to come into this funnel as a beginner because the buyer has already concluded they have a problem, need a solution and have a handful of products to review and then make a choice on which one to buy.  Generally buyers will not drop out of the funnel at this point because they have invested valuable time getting this far.

I’m sure you have some products that you have bought along the way sitting on a shelf collecting dust at this point.  So dust ‘em off and create a blog post, Hubpage, or an Ezine article (the best would be to do all three) and put your review or recommendation about the product with your affiliate link inside the article.  Pick a couple that you gained the most knowledge about and even implemented in your business already.  Just make sure you at least have the name of the product first and then the word review in your title so you have a chance at being found in the search engines.  Be creative with your title, but make sure those two elements are in there.  You want it to stand out from the other reviews out there.

One suggestion.  Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income gets the best conversion rates of a product review by creating a video of some sort along with the review explaining to others how to use the product.  I know some other marketers that video themselves opening up the product package when it arrives, flipping through the book, opening the CD cases and then following up with a “how to” video.  You could also create an audio or pod cast outlining some of the key points of the product and how they can put it to use.  This works because of the personal interaction and not just a bunch of words.

I you want to crush it out of the park, then become an expert about the product you are reviewing, not just someone who has read the book, listened to the cd’s or downloaded the software and used it a couple of times.  Pick the ones you are passionate about and can answer questions that may come about from those who are responding to you about the product.  These will most likely be the ones you have implemented in your business up to this point.  In your review think about the objections your buyer may have and answer them up front.  This creates value and puts you in front of everybody else out there that has reviewed the same product.  Also, by creating these “how to” videos, audios or how ever you chose to present them while presenting yourself as the expert and the resource to go to, the potential buyer feels comfortable buying the product from you.

So go through your library, pick the ones you want to review and get going.  This is an action step that does require a little work on your part, but once you get started you’ll see how much fun and easy it will become.

I hope this article has helped you in some way, shape or form.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  Also, if you have created product reviews, what has been your experience and some of your tips.

Talk soon,

P.S.  If you have an iPhone I highly recommend you download Pat’s Smart Passive Income app.  Super cool app that you can take on the go to get all of his information, including blog posts, Twitter stream and podcasts.  And best of all it’s FREE.

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THE IPHONE IS NOT THE COOLEST SMARTPHONE TO OWN THESE DAYS…..THE THREE BIGGEST NAMES IN SMARTPHONES BATTLE IT OUT TO WIN POPULARITY CONTEST

It looks like the iPhone is falling short in the popularity contest with the kids and college crowd.  And the reason is “because my dad has an iPhone.”  Guess the kindergarten attitude is coming out a little in the gadget world.  It looks like what’s being carried around one major campus is HTC and Samsung devices, not the iPhone according to the Boy Genius Report.

This is interesting because HTC and Samsung have been hitting the market hard in the last year or so with new devices every couple of months it seems.  And Apple continues to only release one upgraded iPhone per year.  They each started out doing the same thing Apple did with the iPhone, release one great smartphone, and then follow it up within a year.  But it seemed HTC and Samsung weren’t gaining ground with the iPhone.  So they switched the game up a little to see what they could do to get get a piece of the pie.

Let’s face it, Americans want the latest and greatest of whatever product is out there.  And smartphones are falling into the same category very quickly with HTC and Samsung figuring this out, Apple not so much.  The iPhone was the best and coolest device to have for a long while when smartphones started becoming the thing to have.  So as usual, other companies wanted in on the action so the battle starts.  The only two major players that have risen to the top are HTC and Samsung.  But they noticed that by following Apple’s lead, they would never catch up because everyone just waited until the next iPhone.

What HTC and Samsung have figured out is that since smartphones are in almost everybody’s pocket now days, every two or three months millions of subscribers were due for an upgrade.  And guess what, Apple couldn’t deliver on all these upgrades and the American desire to have the latest and greatest cool gadget, so these two giants are now able to quinch peoples thirst by having a new device ready and waiting.

Does Apple really care?  I don’t think so and never will.  Steve Jobs didn’t build it this way.  I don’t think his company would be where it is today if he came out with a new iPhone, Macbook, iMac or any one of their products every couple of months to satisfy this desire.  He wanted his company to stand out and this is exactly what it is today.  I put Apple in the same category as Bose.  Bose is the premiere company that gives its customers the best quality sound in many different formats.  Yes they both produce products that follow where the market is going, which is what all companies do, but Apple and Bose look at the way they do it in a very unique light.

So what do you think about all this “hip to be square” stuff?  Which device are you using right now and why?

Talk soon,

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