APD-Marketing Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the first APD newsletter of 2008. First up I would like to wish
you and your family a very happy and prosperous 2008.

I don’t want to start a new year in a negative vein, but sadly I am going to…however,
on a brighter note, the big black cloud will have a silver lining – promise!

If you can remember back to 2007 (yes, it already seems a long time ago doesn’t it?) I
was saying that I thought 2008 was going to be a bumpy ride, and I’ve seen nothing to
change my view on that. Indeed, even Gordon Brown has publicly stated he thinks
things might not be so good this year!

Well done Gordon, very astute. If I could see it coming last summer and it takes you
until January 2008 to realise…just who should be running the country? Send your
votes in now please!

Seriously though…there will be a lot written by those doom and gloom merchants I
was talking about back in August last year. In fact, it would really help to read that
issue again in view of what I am going to say today.

You see it was brought very firmly home to me that the situation is very real.
Mortgage defaults are up, people are not spending so much and believe me when I tell
you the number of jobs out there will decrease during the year.

However, what you must remember is that it is up to you how you react to all of this.
Also remember what I told you… the media will build this up to be a huge economic
wave when really it’s just a mere ripple.

So, what happened to jolt me back into the real world after the festivities? Simply
waiting in the check out queue in Sainsbury’s and listening to two people recount
their stories of a pre Christmas redundancy! It was quite sad as the two guys chatting
were both really down and just didn’t know how to react or what they should do. My
estimate is they were both in their mid fifties.

I also had one of my old City chums on the phone telling me the software house he
worked for had just suddenly, out of the blue, shut down their recruitment branch. No
warning, he got called to a meeting and that was it…out.

The bottom line is that job security is disappearing. It has been disappearing for a
number of years. When I first started work for a clearing bank back in 1976, it was a
“job for life”. Such a thing no longer exists.

I’m not just talking about losing jobs to layoffs and business closings, which is
happening at an alarming rate in some regions. I’m also referring to a new trend that has emerged… outsourcing. And this is good news for you!

Many employers are starting to outsource more and more of the work that was
traditionally performed by employees. Now something that is very interesting has
started to emerge. Yes, the large chunks of work are off-shored to places like India, but…the smaller packets of work are going to freelancers and other specialised “micro-businesses” with just a few employees.

One factor forcing this trend is today’s high speed of technology change. The
necessary expertise to perform certain functions can literally change from year to
year. In many cases it’s simply easier and cheaper to hire different people on a limited
time basis instead of continuously having one employee trying to keep up with all the
different tricks of the trade.

This trend will have far reaching consequences for today’s workforce. Even the more
experienced employees will have to stay sharp. They can’t sit on their laurels anymore
because they will continuously have to prove their worth in new situations, more now
than ever before.

Some consider this outsourcing trend a huge threat to their career. The truth is though
that it’s an opportunity, a big one.

To give you an example, I recently purchased a software product called Keyword
Elite. You can read my review at the following URL…

Keyword Elite Review

Initially I just got the product to help with my own PPC marketing and keyword
research. However, I was telling a friend about it (he used to work for me and now
owns his own recruitment agency in the North West) and he suddenly got all excited.

“I’ve been looking to get into some PPC marketing to see if I can cut my advertising
costs…could you help me out?”

I agreed and spent a few hours researching a market for him. I sent him the results and
he came back to me a couple of days later delighted and with a new niche market
open.

Two days later a friend of his called me asking if I could do some work for him as
well. Personal referrals – very powerful!

You will know from past newsletters that I have relatives in Vancouver. Some of the
family were visiting and they complained they couldn’t make Adwords work…guess
what? Yep, I showed them the product and before I knew it I was doing some
keyword research for their t-shirt printing business!

They gave me a glowing testimonial, and the penny dropped…hey, there’s a market
for this.

This is exactly the sort of work that small and medium sized businesses don’t have the
time and skills to keep up with.  So, I now offer the use of my software product and
services in this area. How cool is that? It pays a premium as well!

What skills or abilities do you have that you can use in a similar way to protect
yourself? Think about it.

And that brings me to another “slant” on this story. It was great to be back at “work”.

The time off was fantastic but I was so ready to dive back into work. What did you
feel on Wednesday 2nd January (Thursday 3rd if you’re in Scotland)?

Taking time completely away from work is a necessity for many reasons that I won’t
go into here. But here’s a reason I’m willing to bet you have never thought of, and
more importantly what it can tell you about yourself and the business you are in…

If your work / business is ideal for you – you should’ve noticed a certain feeling over
the break. With each passing day away from work you would have felt yourself being
drawn back to work.

First of all you just feel a bit uneasy about not “doing something”. But…it keeps building with each passing day away until you just can’t take it anymore. Finally to simply keep your sanity you just HAVE to get back to work.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, the chances are you are in the wrong
business. If you took a (long enough) break and weren’t itching to get back – you need
to evaluate your business and determine if it’s right for you.

If your business is not calling you back while you’re away, it’s likely you’re not playing to your strengths.

I’ve written about this before, so I am not going to go into detail today – but hopefully
the whole reason you decided to go into business (aside from the money) is do
something you love doing each day…so that it’s not just a job…a chore.

Too many people find themselves doing things they hate, and I find that so sad. This
is especially so when opportunity abounds! We are surrounded by opportunity, it’s
everywhere.

So, what about that silver lining?

Well, when the economy turns downward there is always an increased market for the
“how to make money” products. What do you know how to make money with? What
could you turn into a product that could help people make money? How could you
help people earn in return for payment?

When companies have to tighten the purse strings there is always an increased
demand for “packets of work” as described above. What services can you offer that
will fill such a need? What skills and abilities do you have that might be useful for
local / small companies? What are you specialised in?

You should know the market you work in, or your interest of preference…what can you offer to others?

When one door closes, another opens. It’s the old accountancy syndrome I talked
about last year. They make money from doing all the accounts when the economy
does well and also make money from the insolvencies when it goes badly.

Can what you do or want to do be turned on its head?It’s the same as the banks will do in the coming choppy waters. They will hedge and bet on derivatives so that when one market loses, they’ll be on to another that wins.

There is always a way to stand on your own two feet. Everyone has something that is
a saleable asset, and I mean everyone.

Think about what yours is and how you intend to use it for your benefit in 2008. It
may be the best move that you ever make!

This is a vitally important area and I will put up a PDF in the freebies area of the main
site to help you with this over the next week or so. I’ll send a mail out when it’s
ready.

How To Get What You Want (Edit 2009, here it is)

And, finally, just for a giggle, I’ve decided that I need to lose a bit of weight after the
excess of the festive period. So, to aid my discipline in this matter, I have decided to
go public with my efforts. I’ve started my first blog and you can find it at:

(Edit 2009…weight loss campaign over – blog now shut down)

To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing when I started it, so that’s why the name
doesn’t really reflect what it’s about. But, hey I wasn’t going to be stopped!

Feel free to have a laugh at my expense and add comment if you wish.

But, as much of a laugh as this might cause, it does have a serious message. You see, I
didn’t have a clue how to put up a blog, how to put up a post, I still haven’t got a clue
about most of it…but…did it stop me? (Edit 2009, look at me now!!!)

No, it didn’t. And therein lies a very serious and vitally important message. Don’t
procrastinate! Even if you don’t have a clue, just do something. I did and I got a
result. OK, not the best result, but I will get there.

And that’s the vital point…I will get there. It may not be the finished article right
now, but at least it’s up there, available on the world-wide-web and it has the
possibility to make me some money!

In fact…to take this a step further 18 months ago I didn’t have a clue about anything
to do with internet marketing.

Did I let that stop me? Obviously not!

I have said many times before…I am nothing special. If I can do it…YOU CAN too.
On that very bright note, I will wish you all the best for a successful 2008.

As always, I’ll be back next month with more great information to help you profit in
2008.

Now…go for it!

As always…to *YOUR* success

Cheers now, and have fun!

Derek

www.apd-marketing.co.uk

How To Find Great Information Product Ideas

What Do You Believe?

Hello from Vancouver! We’re just at the end of our time with family over here and I have to say we have had a brilliant time. We climbed to the very top of Whistler Mountain (what an amazing 360 degree panorama), spent
a couple of days in Seattle and also went white water rafting.

I have to tell you that is one hell of a buzz! I highly recommend it if you haven’t had a go. It was my first time, it pushed my comfort zone that’s for sure. But when you push your comfort zone, that’s when you sample the
real spice of life.

Just as an aside…when was the last time you pushed your own personal envelope?

Anyway, it’s been just fantastic to spend quality time with family as well. It’s so great to be able to do the important things in life!

So, we’ll be on our way back home soon, and whilst we have had a superb, exciting, relaxing and indulgent holiday, I am looking forward to getting home.

While we’ve been here, it has been very interesting to see and hear the news from a North American perspective. The power of suggestion that the American media use is very strong, stronger than the UK in my opinion. And, it therefore seems North America is more open to the suggestion of the media. Now, I know we have a habit of doing the same in the UK as well, although I’d like to think we challenge things a little bit more, but…the subject did get me thinking!

And, the article that got me thinking on this subject was the news on the US mortgage market and how the property market in the US has collapsed and the credit markets are looking dodgy because of that and how that may well knock on to the Bonds markets and…all of a sudden the entire economy is looking like it’s going to collapse.

Now, being in Vancouver the news there seems to have a heavy US bias, so I’ve been able to see this close up.

But…the question I want to ask is “do you believe what you read (or hear or see)?” You see, all this bad news is a real threat to you. Not because of what’s happening out in the markets, but because of the effect it may well have on YOU! The markets, the big corporations and such like will make
money regardless of the general economic situation. They’ll just make the money in different ways depending on the different conditions that exist at any given time.

But, because the media is now full of scare stories, everyone picks up on it and all the negative “chatter” starts and all that “bad news” turns itself into a self-fulflling prophecy! Before you know it everyone is telling you how bad the economy is. How poor Fred down the road was laid off and had his house repossessed by that shark bank. How the corner shop has closed after 75 years trading, oh it MUST be bad.

However, this is not the real threat to you or your business. It’s the doom and gloom merchants that so enjoy (and yes that is the right word) peddling all this bad news.

Let them get into your head and it will be bad news for your business!

The reason for this is simple. If you believe it, it will come to pass.

Studies of advanced thinking clearly show this to be true. Numerous studies have shown that people who believe they are good at something are indeed good at it. Think back to the school disco. The people who think they are attractive to the opposite sex are more successful in attracting the girl or boy. People who believe they are good leaders turn out to be so.

The ultimate manifestation of this is in drug trials. I’m sure you know what happens. People are told a new drug has been developed that cures a given ill. To test the drug some people are given the drug, others a sugar pill – known as a placebo.

The really interesting thing is that some of the placebo patients get better.

It’s called the “placebo effect” and the only explanation for their recovery is that they BELIEVE they have taken the drug.

If that does not clearly demonstrate the power of the mind I don’t know what does! The implications of this are quite staggering. Just think about it.
What effect do you think the bombardment of bad news might have on you? Or anyone come to that. If you surround yourself with bad news media and people who constantly moan about how bad things are, sure enough, you will come to believe it. It will sow a seed of negative doubt in you that will grow and go on to possibly destroy all your hard work and tear down all of your achievements.

This happened to me in the recruitment business after 9/11. There were so many (perceived) negatives in the market. Sadly, I believed the press and watched my fortune disappear down the bad news tubes. Now I look back on it, if I’d just kept my head, looked for the new opportunities created by the situation, and kept working instead of taking my eye off the ball, I would easily have got through.

It’s a hard lesson to learn.

So, don’t blame the government, the media, the economy or whatever. It’s not any of those things that will bring you down, it’s YOUR thinking that will undo you if you believe all the negative claptrap. If you allow yourself to be sucked in and believe what you think you should you will only have yourself to blame!

When all is said and done, if you have the right business model, really understand your market and control it rather than the other way round, you can ride any economic waves that come along. Interestingly enough,
the media would have us believe each economic wave is a huge tsunami, when in actual fact they are merely small ripples in the great scheme of things!

So, remember, the power is in the belief itself. I can’t remember who said this, but this is so powerful…

“all we have to fear is fear itself”.

Many (and I mean many) years ago, I did Amway. I didn’t do very well,
but I was young! Anyway, they had a great support system of positive tapes (that’s how long ago it was) and books. I always remember one of the senior people talking about this subject. He always talked about having loads of positives around that would build a “Neg Shell” to protect you from all the doom and gloom merchants – what a great idea!

Yes, I know there will always be bad news, but… we defnitely live in good times. It’s less than sixty years since we lost rationing in this country. In 1962 the world stood on the edge of nuclear oblivion.

But…thankfully opportunity is everywhere now. The Internet continues to transform our world and lives…and provides many of these amazing opportunities.

So, forget what the media would have you believe and get out there, put yourself on the line and win.

But, remember, it’s up to you what you think and believe. Your mind runs your life, so look after it, feed it the right stuff and use it wisely.

OK, that’s it for this month. We now have ten hours on a plane. Some might look at that with some trepidation. Not me, it’s still part of my holiday! I’ll have a beer in the departure lounge, do some shopping, then watch a couple of flms and do some reading on the plane. It will be positive stuff to charge me up for getting back into the business “big-time” as soon as I’m back home.

And…jet lag? Pah, all in the mind!!!

As always…to *YOUR* sucess

Cheers now and have fun.

Derek

www.apd-marketing.co.uk

Learn Copywriting

Hello and welcome to the February 2007  edition of the APD Marketing newsletter. With Christmas now a distant memory and the new-year “commitment to change” also fading just a rapidly, I thought I’d ask for a bit of help this month. OK, I know I need to incentivise you to help me but more of that later…

But first (as always), I have a question for you.

I know you are interested in starting your own business. You wouldn’t have
subscribed to my “business start-up course” if you weren’t. Ha, got you on that one haven’t I?

But seriously, I have a question that’s been bugging me over the last 6 or 7
weeks. And it’s this…

What Do YOU Need To Be Successful?

I seriously doubt if anyone has ever asked you that before. And…I couldn’t be more serious. This is why.

You see, in November I launched my “Instant OnLine Riches” kit (note March 2009, product now withdrawn). You’ve seen the website. The kit is a basic intro into the world of Internet Marketing and it also has things like an HTML web page (WYSIWYG) generator, and access to myself (and my network) for consultancy via email, so, an ideal kit to get you up and running…Or so I thought.

Time to be brutally honest, sales have been nowhere near as good as I expected.

I have to admit to being surprised, especially as I was using a general business start up course to try and “persuade” you guys into buying. So, you obviously want to start a business, online has to be the place to be (or does it?) and I have an online start up kit, but…It hasn’t sold awfully well.

I expected it to be an out and out winner, but it wasn’t.

So, having thought about it, it became clear that is not what the market wanted. Yes, I know it shouldn’t really have taken me six weeks to realise that, but… I was just so surprised. I suppose, as I said last month, nothing should surprise us in this business, but there you go. I’ll take it on the chin (can’t do anything else really)!

But, in view of what I’ve found, I just have to ask you, what it is you really need to be successful in your business? What areas of your business are giving you trouble?
What barriers are you finding it difficult to break through?

This got me thinking back to when I first started.

To give you an example, I’m not brilliant with technical things. It takes me a long time to understand these things. So, when I started I needed to learn things slowly in point and click detail. So, for example, would a point and click guide on how to develop a Frontpage website help you?
Google Adwords is a real labyrinth to try and work your way through when you first start. Would an in depth guide help you become more efficient and build sales in your business?

Search Engine Optimisation is an absolute minefield with very few guarantees of success, is this holding you back?

Going back to my early days, I know one thing that I had huge trouble with was finding the right copywriter. It slowed me down by three or four months as I remember. I have an idea that this may be an area of concern. Is this you?

As it happens, I’m in the process of putting together a really comprehensive package of copywriting products. Part of the deal will be a critique of two of your sales letters by my copywriter business parter Alison. Would this be of use to you?

So, just what is it that’s holding you back? What information or help do you NEED to move your business on to the next stage?

I mentioned at the start of the newsletter I’d incentivise you to help me here, so, for every reply I receive (no matter how insulting), I’ll send you a free eBook as my way of saying thank-you for taking the trouble to respond. A fair exchange I hope. I’m not sure what eBook it will be just yet, but I’ll get something good out of my files, promise!

Now, I was hoping to be able to announce the launch of the new (soon to be open) APD Marketing information portal this month, but…alas, those technical bugs have bitten again!

Basically, it will be a website where you can go and find out what we’re up to at APD. There will be some free stuff for you to download and you’ll be able to get any back copies of the monthly newsletter you want. I’ll put the business start up course up as well, just in case you lost a lesson or two along the way! Please feel free to refer a friend once it’s up and running.

So far in the free stuff is planned to contain a copy of Napoleon Hills brilliant “Think and Grow Rich” and an eBay Profits eBook. I’ll be adding more as we go along.

As soon as I’ve got the technical issues sorted, I’ll drop a mail out to you so you can go and have a look. It should only be a week or so…I hope.

That’s it for this month, a little shorter than usual, but I’m sure Ill make up for it next month! I’ll say goodbye until the next time.

Cheers now, and have fun….

Derek

Derek Armson
APD Marketing Ltd
derek@apd-marketing.co.uk
www.apd-marketing.co.uk

How To Control Money And Time

Hello and welcome to January’s edition of the APD Marketing newsletter. I hope you had a very merry Christmas and the new-year hangover is now fading away.

Now, normally at this time of year, all the newsletters tend to talk about goals for the coming year. Is this year really going to be your year and are you actually going to getup off your bottom and make something happen in 2007.

You know the score.
And…as you’ve recently read my business start up course where I go into some detail on goal setting and taking action, I thought I’d spare you and talk about something totally different…

What’s a Customer Worth?

What an interesting question. Have you ever stopped to wonder?

So, what is a customer worth?

The trite answer is, “It depends what you do with them!”

Before I do talk about the value of a customer and how to make sure you get the maximum value out of your customers, (in the nicest possible way), just one small point.

You Do Need Customers!

Obvious, I know, but…you do need to actually have customers. Now, I’m sure you have realised this, but…without customers you simply don’t have a business. Yes, you can have the website, the office, the letterheads in fact…all the expenses. But you just cannot claim to be “in business” until you have customers. Without them all you have are expenses and you will be down the tubes before you can say “London Underground”!

You see, customers are the greatest assets of any business. Your customer list is what gives your business its value. Make sure you understand this.

Your income (and therefore profits) derives from the fact that your customers buy from you. So, as a business owner, your main focus must be the continuous building, maintaining and nurturing of your customer base. This is the life-blood of your business and is what enables you to grow…expand to greater levels of profit and sales.

At it’s most basic level, business is all about…

•  Acquiring new customers
•  Delivering superior products / information
•  Building a relationship
•  Maintaining contact
•  Maintaining a steady flow of new products
•  Keeping customers happy
If you can achieve this, you will have a customer base that buys from you regularly and you will also gain many “word of mouth” referrals for your business.

Keep In Touch

So, today, I’m going to talk about the “maintaining contact” aspect of the business.

For any sales people out there, you will probably remember from your training that, on average, it takes seven contacts from you before your potential customer really trusts you. And, of course, they will not buy from you until that trust is earned.

The same applies in the online world.

Your copy can be the strongest around but your initial conversion rate will be low. That is why you must have some form of personal details capture mechanism on your site. If you don’t “sell” to your prospect (and that’s all they are at this stage) on first contact you will need to “capture” their personal details so that you can maintain contact.

You see, if they don’t buy initially you will probably need (on average) a further seven contacts to make that happen.

As an example, have another look at my site ( www.apd-marketing.co.uk ), and you will see that my “capture mechanism” is the free seven-part business-start up course that you all signed up for. OK, you didn’t buy the Start Up Kit that I was offering, but rather than let you just “slope off”, I offered an inducement for you to give me your contact details.

So, the fact that you signed up for the course offers me seven more opportunities to “talk” to you. Hopefully at the end of the course you will have gained some benefit and feel more disposed towards buying products from me, either now, or at some stage in the future.

You will notice that I followed up the course with my free newsletter (which you are now reading), and so, I now maintain regular contact with you. Again, this can only be good for my business as I deliver benefits to you on an on-going basis. This in turn builds trust and once more, makes you more likely to buy from me.

Now, in the past, keeping in contact on such a regular basis, via the postal system, would have cost thousands of pounds! In fact, it would have meant instant massive losses for any business. The old direct response methods never made a penny until the back end products were sold.

Nowadays, the advent of e-mail makes online businesses much more profitable, even on the front end.

So, how does one make these contact mechanisms work?
The reason that I am able to keep you so well “informed” is that I use an automated system that sits behind my business. It sends out what information I say to whom when I tell it to! Understand?

The Power of Autoresponders

Seriously though… I use an Autoresponder to manage my business. The package also has an integral Shopping Cart, which means online check out software.

These things have really come of age over the last 18 months. The system manages everything as far as customer contact is concerned.

•  It keeps a database of all my customers and people who sign up for my
courses and newsletters – I don’t even need a desktop contact management
program.

•  I can, however, export all the contacts to a desktop program if I feel the need!

•  It allows me to set the dates and frequency of communications I send out

•  I can send out “broadcasts” i.e.; one-off messages

•  I can track my ad campaigns

•  All my orders are managed for me, including the “order” and “thank you”
pages

•  I can manage my product database including all the relevant marketing
materials

•  I can develop custom forms and pop-ups for my websites

•  I can manage my entire affiliate program

•  And, there are superb online tutorials to help me make sure I get everything right with the minimum of fuss.

In short, I manage my entire business through the Shopping Cart / Autoresponder.
The one I use for my business is AWeber. Have a look by clicking on the following link. You can get a free trial run by clicking here.

To be honest, I really couldn’t run my business without this product. It takes a bit of commitment to learn how it all works, but as I said, the tutorials are excellent, so it’s just a case of dedicating a little time to learning what you need to know.

End Game

So, back to the original question, what is a customer worth over the lifetime of a business? To be honest I can’t even begin to imagine. What I do know is that approximately 20% of any customer base will become loyal and long-standing customers – customers how come back to buy time and time again. OK, so the front end product is only £67, but back end products range from £399 up to £1,499.

I also know that without my autoresponder, I couldn’t even begin to plug into this potential. So, the answer, is, without my autoresponder, a customer is worth very little! With it? Well, many thousands of pounds. When I decide to retire, I’ll sit down and work it all out, but I love this business, so that’s some way off. Watch this space!

I love working out new ways to do things, I love helping other people get up and running and hearing their success stories. I love writing these articles, I love finding new and useful products and I love learning about this business. With the pace the Internet moves at the only sure thing is change – that’s for sure! I learn somethingnew every day; it’s what keeps me going!

That’s it for today, so I’ll say goodbye until the next time.

Cheers now, and have fun….

Derek

Derek Armson
APD Marketing Ltd

derek@apd-marketing.co.uk
www.apd-marketing.co.uk