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7:23 pm
June 11, 2011
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QuoteIf anyone could help this would definitely help a bunch. I’m not sure if anyone else has this problem, but I have Aweber and I’ve been setting up my auto-responer e-mails. In addition to that, I have been attempting to drive traffic to my website but this is where I hit a crossroad: how do I get my squeeze page out there without continually spamming? I know there is article marketing but I feel like this takes too long to get discovered, and you could also get involved in other music forums, but until you add value to that forum people won’t start clicking your links (very time consuming). Does anyone have any suggestions on new ways to drive people to that page quicker or easier?
7:39 pm
June 7, 2011
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Mike Maldonado said:
If anyone could help this would definitely help a bunch. I’m not sure if anyone else has this problem, but I have Aweber and I’ve been setting up my auto-responer e-mails. In addition to that, I have been attempting to drive traffic to my website but this is where I hit a crossroad: how do I get my squeeze page out there without continually spamming? I know there is article marketing but I feel like this takes too long to get discovered, and you could also get involved in other music forums, but until you add value to that forum people won’t start clicking your links (very time consuming). Does anyone have any suggestions on new ways to drive people to that page quicker or easier?
Hey Mike, Spam is never a good idea. the quality of subscriber is always poor. Unfortunately the reality is that traffic generation either takes work or money to get traffic quickly. In my experience article marketing does see results pretty quick. But you could always try creating something of value and using a tell a friend script. That way you could start with your existing friends and fans. For a longer term approach, you might try creating a keyword targeted blog (not a personal blog) and essentially being your own advertiser on it. But that will take time and work.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
9:30 pm
June 9, 2011
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Hey Mike,
Generally speaking, if you want fast traffic, just run a relevant classified ad to your squeeze page. However this also takes work. Unfortunately Craigslist only lets you post one ad, in one city, to one website, per day. (Totally lame, but those are the rules). This means you have to do it everyday.
Regarding article marketing. Dude... one really well written and relevant article could make it to Google in heartbeat. Plus you only have to write it once.
Use all of the various article sites to syndicate the same article, just make sure you link to your squeeze page in the author's resource box. The "right" people will find your squeeze page.
John's right though. Spam is no good. Plus it makes you feel weird...
9:34 pm
June 7, 2011
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Steve Rodgers said:
Hey Mike,
Generally speaking, if you want fast traffic, just run a relevant classified ad to your squeeze page. However this also takes work. Unfortunately Craigslist only lets you post one ad, in one city, to one website, per day. (Totally lame, but those are the rules). This means you have to do it everyday.
Regarding article marketing. Dude... one really well written and relevant article could make it to Google in heartbeat. Plus you only have to write it once.
Use all of the various article sites to syndicate the same article, just make sure you link to your squeeze page in the author's resource box. The "right" people will find your squeeze page.
John's right though. Spam is no good. Plus it makes you feel weird...
Good advice, one quick thing though... if you are going to distribute the same article to multiple sites, I'd recommend making sure that it gets published on EZA first. They have the most pull within the search engines and the new algorithm update is such that it seems to be giving the SEO credit to the original source. That means that you want the site with the most authority to be the source so that your article can benefit from the site's authority. Just my two cents.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
11:33 pm
June 11, 2011
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Thanks a lot guys. Good advice, I’ll definitely give these a go. I understand that anything concerning driving traffic with take time and effort, but a anything to take the load off really helps.
1:45 am
June 7, 2011
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One of the things I suggest people do is develop a system that works and then outsource it. So even though it's work up front, going into it knowing that you are not going to do it forever makes the whole thing a lot easier. You'd be surprised how inexpensively you can outsource various tasks.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
4:34 am
June 9, 2011
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John Oszajca said:
One of the things I suggest people do is develop a system that works and then outsource it. So even though it's work up front, going into it knowing that you are not going to do it forever makes the whole thing a lot easier. You'd be surprised how inexpensively you can outsource various tasks.
Definitely. Once you go through the work of doing these things a few time, you'll sort of get a routine that works for you. From there is pretty easy to show someone else that routine and pay them to do it for you.
Also, John is spot-on about using Ezine articles first. I once wrote an article for my job and posted it to Ezinearticles. Very quickly it got ranked on page one of Google for the keywords I was targeting. What's interesting though is that the same article has been copied, chewed up and spit out by like 2,000 (not an exaggeration) other "marketers" who wanted to siphon traffic off of the back of my work. Joke's on them though... mine still sits at the top. Take that, jerks!
9:14 am
June 10, 2011
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John Oszajca said:
One of the things I suggest people do is develop a system that works and then outsource it. So even though it's work up front, going into it knowing that you are not going to do it forever makes the whole thing a lot easier. You'd be surprised how inexpensively you can outsource various tasks.
I'm assuming you're talking about virtual assistants? I have a system that's working. I know approx. what each subscriber is worth. So...where do I go to get good and cheap help?
5:14 am
June 7, 2011
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Charley Langer said:
John Oszajca said:
One of the things I suggest people do is develop a system that works and then outsource it. So even though it's work up front, going into it knowing that you are not going to do it forever makes the whole thing a lot easier. You'd be surprised how inexpensively you can outsource various tasks.
I'm assuming you're talking about virtual assistants? I have a system that's working. I know approx. what each subscriber is worth. So...where do I go to get good and cheap help?
Yes, basically. There are a lot of different ways to go...
1. Craigslist can be a great source of retiree's that are very educated but simply out of the work force and who are only looking for a little supplemental cash. You can typically find someone for $8 - $10. They are the most qualified but also the most expensive.
2. You can find pretty decent workers in the Philippines who often already have some of the skills you'll be looking for but it takes going through a lot of people to find the right one. I had someone working 6 hours a day for me for only $250 a month. I really just look for someone with really good English and assume I can teach them the rest. One place you can find people in the Philippines is at http://www.onlinejobs.ph -Paypal doesn't make payments to the Philippines last I checked so you'll need to pay through a site like xoom.com
3. You can just look for people on the freelance networks like http://scriptlance.com, http://www.freelancer.com, or https://www.odesk.com and then see how it goes. When you get someone good offer them a regular gig.
Just to reiterate... It can take a lot of patience and looking to find the right person, but when you do the sky is the limit. It's like having a manager who ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING, and for pennies by comparison.
Let me know how it goes.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
12:12 pm
June 11, 2011
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Mike, what exactly did you mean when you say you don't like continually "spamming"? By "spamming" were you referring to friends in your social networks or current mailing lists or a mailing list you have purchased or what?
The reason I ask is this. What's wrong with throwing $500.00 to $1000.00 at a targeted/pre-qualified mailing list?
Personally, I'm not a social networker type of guy. To be honest, I hate all the FB, Twitter, MySpace shit etc. I'd rather be surfing or riding my pushbike or even digging a ditch or …okay I won't go there. If I have to be in front of a computer, I want to be doing web development or dicking around in photoshop or audio editing or maybe writing songs etc.
For example, I won't spend $400 on a graphic designer for cover art, or $1K on a website, I'll do my own work because I enjoy it and it's my strength. As I say, I don't enjoy social networking and it takes it out of me. I actually get angry and neurotic and depressed if I spend too much time doing that stuff (so I better get off here soon!).
That being the case, it is prudent even wise that I don't squander my "attitude" on that stuff because I will burn out, lose sight of the bigger picture and get off track. If, on the other hand, I'm doing what I like, I stay on track, keep a handle on the bigger picture and my enthusiasm increases. John will undertand the "inertia" principle at work here.
So, it makes biz sense to delegate or outsource the stuff I hate doing rather than spreading myself too thin on the ground. If, I try and do it all, I only wind up doing that at my own peril. To try and do it all is in the final analysis, business suicide.
As for mailing lists, before the internet became the be-all-and-end-all of everything, this is what biz did. You bought the best pre-qualified/targeted list you could lay your hands on, sent out your best copy/collatoral and hoped for a good conversion rate. So, what's wrong with doing that?
Maybe it's not as creatively empowering as writing blogs etc but surely, it's faster and ultimately more effective? Is this what you mean by spamming though 'cause as far as I understand it, a well qualified list isn't spamming. Depending upon the particular list, you're contacting people who have said they want to be contacted with special consumer offers or similar.
Essentially, from where I'm sitting it makes sense to me to try and hunt down a great targeted consumer email list for $700 and work that thing. The money I save on my web development, cover art etc (my strengths) can be allocated to facilitating my weaknesses. If I spend too much time doing what I don't like doing, I'm not only proving that I'm an idiot but I may ultimately throw in the towel on the whole damned biz!
Anyway, it seems like a no-brainer to me so I'll be interested to get people's feedback on what they think of this. Okay, I'm frying in front of this screen now so I gotta go. Thanks for taking the time to read my shit. Hope to get some feedback.
Okay, I just had to return and say that I've just watched the first two vids of John talking about Press Releases and I'm really impressed with that. He lays it all out very clearly step-by-step, very empowering and money saving. I'll be back to watch the rest of the vids on that for sure. Great Stuff.
Also it is a case in point for the potential to trade strengths for weaknesses. For example, I have an ability for writing but I loath social networking. So, maybe I can trade with someone who has a gift for the social networking thing. I could write some of their press releases or website copy or whatever and they could get me fans on Facebook & followers on Twitter 'cause be buggered if I've worked out how to do it!
Cheers, 
If my post has been helpful or informative or whatever, please Leave A Comment in the comment box on the Home page or the Connect page of my new website. I will reciprocate. web: http://www.tommyroberts.org
12:02 pm
August 27, 2011
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tommy roberts said:
Mike, what exactly did you mean when you say you don't like continually "spamming"? By "spamming" were you referring to friends in your social networks or current mailing lists or a mailing list you have purchased or what?
The reason I ask is this. What's wrong with throwing $500.00 to $1000.00 at a targeted/pre-qualified mailing list?
Personally, I'm not a social networker type of guy. To be honest, I hate all the FB, Twitter, MySpace shit etc. I'd rather be surfing or riding my pushbike or even digging a ditch or …okay I won't go there. If I have to be in front of a computer, I want to be doing web development or dicking around in photoshop or audio editing or maybe writing songs etc.
For example, I won't spend $400 on a graphic designer for cover art, or $1K on a website, I'll do my own work because I enjoy it and it's my strength. As I say, I don't enjoy social networking and it takes it out of me. I actually get angry and neurotic and depressed if I spend too much time doing that stuff (so I better get off here soon!).
That being the case, it is prudent even wise that I don't squander my "attitude" on that stuff because I will burn out, lose sight of the bigger picture and get off track. If, on the other hand, I'm doing what I like, I stay on track, keep a handle on the bigger picture and my enthusiasm increases. John will undertand the "inertia" principle at work here.
So, it makes biz sense to delegate or outsource the stuff I hate doing rather than spreading myself too thin on the ground. If, I try and do it all, I only wind up doing that at my own peril. To try and do it all is in the final analysis, business suicide.
As for mailing lists, before the internet became the be-all-and-end-all of everything, this is what biz did. You bought the best pre-qualified/targeted list you could lay your hands on, sent out your best copy/collatoral and hoped for a good conversion rate. So, what's wrong with doing that?
Maybe it's not as creatively empowering as writing blogs etc but surely, it's faster and ultimately more effective? Is this what you mean by spamming though 'cause as far as I understand it, a well qualified list isn't spamming. Depending upon the particular list, you're contacting people who have said they want to be contacted with special consumer offers or similar.
Essentially, from where I'm sitting it makes sense to me to try and hunt down a great targeted consumer email list for $700 and work that thing. The money I save on my web development, cover art etc (my strengths) can be allocated to facilitating my weaknesses. If I spend too much time doing what I don't like doing, I'm not only proving that I'm an idiot but I may ultimately throw in the towel on the whole damned biz!
Anyway, it seems like a no-brainer to me so I'll be interested to get people's feedback on what they think of this. Okay, I'm frying in front of this screen now so I gotta go. Thanks for taking the time to read my shit. Hope to get some feedback.
Okay, I just had to return and say that I've just watched the first two vids of John talking about Press Releases and I'm really impressed with that. He lays it all out very clearly step-by-step, very empowering and money saving. I'll be back to watch the rest of the vids on that for sure. Great Stuff.
Also it is a case in point for the potential to trade strengths for weaknesses. For example, I have an ability for writing but I loath social networking. So, maybe I can trade with someone who has a gift for the social networking thing. I could write some of their press releases or website copy or whatever and they could get me fans on Facebook & followers on Twitter 'cause be buggered if I've worked out how to do it!
Cheers,
Hey Tommy,
Great post. I think it all comes down to the say that there's more than one way to skin a cat. Some people are awesome at the web development and graphics, others the writing and article marketing, others videos, other Facebook and social media etc. Knowing what your strengths are and leveraging them is just good business.
Spam by definition is unwanted and not targeted email attempting to sell something while adding zero value. Buying a targeted list isn't spamming - and if you can afford to do so and make it work for you then more power to you.
Focusing on strengths and delegating weakness is a smart move, as long as you're adding value to your customers and staying in the black. I wish my wife understood the whole outsourcing weaknesses bit...I'd rather outsource some of the mundane property maintenance stuff and get more results online...but that's just me.
10:22 pm
June 7, 2011
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tommy roberts said:
What's wrong with throwing $500.00 to $1000.00 at a targeted/pre-qualified mailing list?
Hey Tommy, I totally agree with where you're coming from. Just wanted to point one thing out as a side note... It's actually illegal to email people on a list that you acquired without personally getting the opt in yourself. HOWEVER, you can rent lists. The list owner just has to mail for you. Typically they go for about $90 per 1000 emails and you can get some really targeted lists. Billboard Magazine and MP3.com are just two of hundreds of companies that I have seen renting their lists. You can also contact music magazines directly and ask them if they offer email advertising. Many do.
Renting lists is what nearly every huge direct marketer does and it can be very powerful. HOWEVER, it's risky. There are a lot of people renting poor quality lists and representing them as something else and it can be hard to profit when you have a low ticket item like a CD. http://www.nextmark.com/ is the biggest site out there if you ever want to go browsing for lists. But do be cautious and don't spend money you can't afford to lose. It's a really great potential traffic source, but highly risky.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
2:01 pm
August 27, 2011
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John,
Thanks for making that distinction between 'buying' and 'renting' lists. I'd rather build my own in true bootstrapper fashion, but if other people want to rent and it works for them - so be it.
3:20 am
June 11, 2011
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@Tommy Roberts...Hey man, sorry it took so long to get back to you. I wrote that a while ago when I was first learning about squeeze pages and driving traffic to them. But yes, I was talking about spamming on social media sites.
I should have been more specific in my questions. What I was trying to ask was: If I were to send out a call to action to sign up for my mailing list on any of these social media platforms by sending a link to my squeeze page, how long should I wait in between each one without annoying the people who voluntarily “Liked” or “Followed” my page.
I followed John’s advice as far as Twitter goes from MMM and I have definitely been seeing a positive response as far as conversion rates, but on Facebook its much tougher because (other than the fact that I cant afford PPC advertising) I feel that you have to be much more cautious with your approach.
Yes, I do occasionally send out the “Want some free music? Click here:____” type of comment out, but I feel like this should not be the approach used all the time.
Also, to address another question that was originally asked, I was looking for more targeted forms in which I can get my squeeze page out to people. I was looking for alternative/easier ways other than social media and article marketing without have to pay too much (or anything for that matter lol).
I’m still not really at the outsourcing stage yet, but your ideas will definitely be helpful when I do.
-Mike
3:56 pm
October 26, 2011
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Hi guys, I am not sure how useful this will be but it maybe worth taking a look at http://www.fiverr.com-an interesting website with a social media column; basically people advertising what they can do for $5-not too much to lose if it doesnt work out, but may be helpful.
I run a dance label http://www.biggrooverecords.com and even though our trax are played by Djs around the world, this has not translated into a massive fanbase. We need to sell 30 online Cds a day to keep afloat-any ideas/help would be very welcome-thanks!
8:55 pm
June 9, 2011
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Hi Ekow,
Yeah... Fiverr is definitely a col site. A few of the other members here have also had some nice things to say about it. Thanks for sharing.
As far as your quota for selling music, at those numbers you would need a fairly large list to promote to. However about 3 posts above this one is a great idea on how to tap into other people's already huge lists. It does cost money, but if you have an optimized sales funnel in place and the list you rent is highly targeted, you'll be able to see some sales as a result.
-Steve
1:16 am
October 26, 2011
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Thanks Steve, that's really helpful. I will check this out.
12:33 am
June 7, 2011
Offline
ekow armah said:
Hi guys, I am not sure how useful this will be but it maybe worth taking a look at http://www.fiverr.com-an interesting website with a social media column; basically people advertising what they can do for $5-not too much to lose if it doesnt work out, but may be helpful.
I run a dance label http://www.biggrooverecords.com and even though our trax are played by Djs around the world, this has not translated into a massive fanbase. We need to sell 30 online Cds a day to keep afloat-any ideas/help would be very welcome-thanks!
All I can really say is to drive as much traffic as you can and get the conversion rate as high as possible.
But to give you some real numbers, if your funnel converts at 4% you will need about 800 subscribers a day to reach that goal. If it converts at 33% that would mean that you will need 2400 unique visitors a day. That's a lot, no doubt. Realistically, the only way you are going to do that is by ranking for a really big keyword or with paid advertising. But then with PPC your requirements go up as you will now have expenses to recoup.
But while that may sound like a lot, I do know artists pulling that kind of traffic and it CAN be done.
BUT, what I actually recommend is that you factor upsells and promotions into your funnel, including a membership site and some kind of live events, be them house concerts, internet concerts, or just good old fashioned shows. This can change those numbers around dramatically so that you only need to pull in a fraction of the subscribers each day to make the same amount of money each year.
I actually have a blog post coming out on this very equation. Should be up sometime this week.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
1:23 pm
October 26, 2011
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Thanks for your comments and for making it 'real!' It puts the whole task into focus. I had thought about a membership site, but I didnt think that I would get much interest as the artist profiles are not high enough. I am looking at ways to include upsells-I am with cafepress who provide a range of merchandise but 1/ no way of putting together bundles 2/No way of offering discounts/special offers. My thinking was to get the sales funnel going and worry about these things later.
The bands (of which I am a part) are essentially recording artists, not too sure when that might change.
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