Eric Louviere is an Internet marketer I respect greatly. I ran across this post he made on his blog about a year ago. I talked to him and asked if he would mind if I reposted it on my blog (and of course include a link back to his blog) and he generously consented. For people who feel stuck and are spinning their wheels, I think this will be very helpful!
By Eric Louviere
I did an interview with a guy and he did a great job of asking me questions about the beginning… about going from zero (just getting started online) and growing to around 1k per month.
He was mostly interested in that first 1k per month or so. I had to really think back to 2005 or so, and after the interview, I kept thinking about it. Most are not interested or thinking about making a million… or even six figures.
They are thinking… 1k per month (if that).
So, times have changed a bit since 2004 and 2005, but the way I did it, still freaking works today! Here’s to this hopefully helping one or two:
Stage One:
I spent a long time just reading people’s posts here. I would follow people very closely and read everything I could find by… Allen Says, John Reese, Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford, Dr. Mani, Puddy, Keith Baxter, Dr. Mike, many others.
I took no action, though. I felt I was not ready yet. I felt like I needed to pay the price or put in the time, learn more about copywriting, be better at traffic, etc. Boy was I freaking wrong.
It was not until I realized that others were taking action without even knowing much (like teenagers) that i decided to just dive in and see what happens. Looking back, I wasted a lot of time “learning” instead of just doing stuff to try and earn money. Cash flow generation.
Lesson: Do things that bring in cash, don’t spend all your time focused on learning, or installing stuff, or wasting time on distractions… generate cash. Just sell!
Stage Two:
ClickBank.com
I started there pretty much. I started out promoting offers found on CB. I would drive traffic through my affiliate link straight to the CB offers. I paid for traffic. I made some money, lost some money, made some profits, nothing much to write home about. Did not hit 1k per month from just doing that.
Stage Three:
Great idea I got.
I decided to spend a weekend learning MS Frontpage, so I could create my own squeeze pages. I wanted to send traffic to my squeeze page first, to get them on a list, then I could promote to them over and over, including other offers.
Genius stuff huh? lol
Well, this was a huge step forward for me. Looking back, it was THE STEP. You see, I noticed that when I paid for a click, that click went to a sales letter. On that CB sales letters, there were almost always opt in forms. That product owner was getting my leads and would sell them over and over. For me, I had only one shot and that was it.
So, I created my first squeeze page. I wrote the copy. I set the entire thing up myself. And then, everything changed for me. Looking back, it was everything that happened BEFORE that first squeeze page and everything that happened AFTER that first squeeze page.
Billions and trillions of dollars later… that stands out as a major breakthrough for me. I went from crap earnings to… well… earning zillions over the years since.
Here’s why:
I built lists. Yep, the money IS in the lists and in how you manage those lists. I drove traffic to niche squeeze pages, then promoted to those people different offers. I easily hit the 1k per month after that. I mean, the first month or so after that first SP I was hovering around 1k per month —— on AUTOPILOT!
It was auto-pilot because I set up about 30+ sequenced emails ahead of time. So, 12 weeks after someone opted in, they were still getting pitched automatically. (just sell baby!)
Next Stage:
I realized that if I could increase the conversions on my AR emails, I’d make more money. heck, what if I could double the conversions on my emails? I’d double my money! I learned what became the absolute key to marketing in my mind:
Tweaking!
I now say this to customers: “often you are but 50 tweaks away from very high conversions. Unfortunately, most never reach tweak number 2 or 3… much less 50!”
I tweaked my emails. I tweaked my squeeze pages, I tweaked my ads, I tweaked everything. It was taking one step backward, to take one step forwards. Sometimes I’d take huge steps forward. Other times, I’d screw everything up.
But I learned something very valuable. It’s easier to increase conversions on squeeze pages and AR emails than it is to increase conversions on a sales letter (especially someone else’s sales letter — as an affiliate).
So imagine… you have a squeeze page… and you are driving traffic to it via paid traffic… and it’s converting at 30%. Right after they opt in, they get hit with an offer. The next day they get hit with the same offer again. The third day, they get something free… and then get hit with an offer again on the 4th day.
that produced………….. residual income. Over 1k per month.
Rocket Science? hardly
Magic Gizmo software that spits out money? not a chance
Pie in the sky? funny
some ebook method I learned? nope.
Trying things and learning on the way?? ABSOLUTELY! YES!
Next Stage
One time, I was not in a good mood for some reason. I decided to send a broadcast email to my niche list of diet people. I hit them with “tough love”. I just let it rip. Don’t ask me why I did that… but I did.
The next day, I had people emailing me and chastising me for my attitude. I was upset with myself for letting my personal emotions out on an email. But, something else happened too. Something BIG!
I noticed a lot of people also emailed me thanking me. Yes, they thanked me and said they did not really pay attention to me before, but would start paying attention now. HUH? What?
That’s when I learned………………….. Branding! Standing out, being different, engaging people, ruffling feathers, creating a stir, etc. I started changing my emails to have a more “tough love” tone. Besides, it was more like me anyway… instead of warm and fuzzy, I liked being me… “to the point and direct”.
My sales more than tripled.
Next Stage
I wanted to get in the IM market and sell stuff here. However, I was a bit intimidated at first. After talking with Paul Short and Terry Crim, I decided to write copy for marketers. I started out and wrote for FREE!
I picked people, like Dr. Mike and others. I said I’d write copy for them for free (or super cheap) to get testimonials or referrals in return. My main reason was for building relationships. Boy did that ever work. then, I stared making huge income from that too.
It was very uncomfortable at first. Dr. Mike invited me to LA to his event. I went. At the end of the event, he asked me to do an interview with him. I was nervous… but said yes. Then, he said, it’s going to be on camera. WHAT? I was really nervous then… but said yes.
I did the interview. I felt like an idiot. I felt like I bombed it. He said it was good. I watched it later when it came out and it was not bad.
Fast forward to today… and about 1 zillion interviews later… no biggie… no nervousness… easy as pie. I do them all the time now.
Lesson: I escaped comfort zones
Final Stage
I reached out to Mike Filsaime, who was one of my top idols. I was nervous, but contacted him anyway and asked him to partner with me. He agreed. I did an event and asked big marketers, legends, like Willie Crawford, Marlon Sanders… studs like Gauher Chaudry… Matt Bacak… Keith Baxter… many others to speak there. They agreed. Only one turned me down (John Reese). lol
I went on to ask Mike to partner with me on other things. Some he agreed, others he was not too big on. I asked anyway. In fact, I even once asked Allen Says himself to partner with me on something… and HE DID!
Lesson: I asked, A LOT
In Conclusion
I am not sure if this post helps you. For most, maybe it’s seen as bragging or self-promotion. Heck, who knows. All that matters to me is A) I accomplished a lot and others had a ton to do with it (people that is) and B) I love the idea of being able to help others like many did for me.
–Eric Louviere
http://ericlouviere.com/