It’s no secret really.  People buy “How to” information in every niche, sub-niche, and marketplace there is.  Why?  I believe it’s because the human mind is curious and always seeking to find a new way of doing things.

The reason I wanted to address this topic is simply because consumers search for, purchase, and read (or watch) “How to” information in their subject of interest without the usual apprehension and hesitancy that they might otherwise experience with a regular report, ebook, course, or video.

Consumers understand the structure and format of “How to” articles and reports.  They have seen and already consumed them often and I believe, subconsciously, they expect the format to provide them with the information they are seeking. They know that they are going to get a step-by-step or natural progression of instructions that will lead them from where they are to where they want to be.

Providing “How to” information to your audience can be the very basis of your business.  In fact, there are very popular services online like Lynda.com (recently sold to LinkedIn), Teachable, and Udemy that allow experts to offer courses of instruction to targeted prospects in order to teach consumers “How to” do various tasks and solve problems or fulfill desires and dreams in the consumer’s life.

If you are not offering “How to” information to your audience and subscribers, you should be!  The “How to” format or model seems to be universally accepted across all subjects and topics and it has some advantages over other alternatives.

• “How to” information is relatively easy to outline, write, and publish.  As the creator of much “How to” information, I can tell you that it is a very intuitive and easy format to produce.  If you can create a list of steps in outline format, starting at the beginning and moving from one step to the next logical step through to the end of the sequence, you can create “How to” information.
• “How to” information lends itself to all types of media … from articles, to short reports, to white papers, to infographics, to ebooks, to video, to audio, and podcasts, membership site content, and just about every other publishing format there is!
• “How to” information allows the reader to quickly move through the information and spend more time on those steps that need further focus or less time on points that he has already accomplished or that he currently understands.
• “How to” information is easy to “put down” and then come back to at a later time.  Steps can be checked off or highlighted as they are accomplished.  The information doesn’t need to be totally consumed in one sitting because the reader can simply leave the material and return later to continue progressing through the information until the end.
• “How to” information lends itself to browsing and skimming.  It is an easy format to follow and to “pick apart” for highlights, key thoughts, important instructions, and quick consumption if that is the desire of the reader.
• “How to” information lends itself to easy and enticing marketing.  Think about all the books and reports and articles you’ve seen over your lifetime that were titled “50 Ways to …” or “The 10 Best …” or “The Top 5 …”  Well, you get the picture I hope.  It’s easy to title your information and if you’re dealing in a marketplace of rabid fans and consumers, you have a ready-made template for your information.
• “How to” information lends itself to lead magnets, teaser copy, summaries, and other snippets or shortened versions of the full “How to” information.  It’s very simple to include 1-3 ways, or steps, or tips, or tricks in order to entice the reader to want to see more … which can lead to a curiosity about the full document and process.
• “How to” information can be published in many different formats (all at the same time, if desired) including on a blog, in a newsletter, in an email series, in membership sites, in books, reports, videos, podcasts … well, in just about any type of media there is!

Here are a few suggestions about how to find information and examples of this type of writing in your niche.

Go to Amazon books and look at the titles in any niche.  There is an excellent probability that some of the most popular books will include some variation of this format:  “101 Ways to ______________.”  or  “10 Steps to _____________.”

Try all of these descriptors:

• Ways
• Steps
• Ideas
• Secrets
• Facts
• Things
• Reasons
• Basic
• Rules
• Tips
• Best
• Popular
• Easy
• Tricks
• Hacks
• Little know
• Undiscovered
• Brand New
• Amazing
• Fool proof
• Proven
• Professional

Well, hopefully you get the idea of the various ways of setting up your “How to” information steps and instructions.  There are many more things you might say to introduce what you are going to “teach” or expose in your information.

The Internet is the perfect vehicle for sharing your knowledge, your expertise, and your instructions if you desire to base your business on providing information to consumers in your niche.  It allows anyone with an Internet connection and a little bit of technical savvy to record and publish their “How to” material so that it can be presented to millions of people across the globe!

The Internet plus your valuable “How to” niche information can become the basis of a home-based business that will provide a very nice full-time income for its owner.  It’s a tried and proven business model that anyone can dive into!

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.BusinessEmpires.com

Marketers have long understood the value and importance of a strong and powerful Call-to-Action (CTA, for short).  It’s not enough to simply present an offer and leave the final decision on what to do to the prospect.

The CTA is actually a command, a motivation to take some action, and an invitation to take another step in the sales process.

Successful marketers understand the power of guiding the prospect toward making a purchase once the sales offer has been presented in full.

I would like to offer some ideas or suggestions on how the make you next CTA a more powerful sales agent.

First, be sure that your CTA is direct, specific, and detailed enough that there’s no question about what action you want the prospect to take next!  Credibility and believeability are important so think about using any supporting material you can think of . . . like statistics, percentages, endorsements, testimonials, etc.  Your prospects will see you as a more credible marketer when you use supporting data and facts that make your case stronger.

Second, coupons, sales, and freebies can be a part of any CTA.  They usually increase the perceived value of an offer.  They often motivate people sitting on the fence and not able to make a decision.  A flash sale, a one-time coupon, and even quantity discounts can be just what a CTA needs to move a non-committing prospect.

Here’s an example:  instead of simply ending your sale page with “Click Here” or “Buy Now” . . . you might want to say something like “Get this Free training that has been increasing my sales conversions by 50% this past month!”  Or something similar – be creative and come up with your own hot idea to add value and power to your next CTA!

Third, add the principle of urgency to your CTA.  Many would-be purchasers are in a hurry, a rush, or are anxious to get on with life.  If you don’t give the prospect good reasons to buy now . . . he probably won’t buy at all.  But here’s a caution – most marketer’s overdo this principle and insult the intelligence of the buyer in the mean time.  We all hear many marketing messages on every form of media telling us that we have to act fast before the offer is gone forever!  People see right through fake or false urgency and when they do . . . often they feel manipulated and not inclined to buy from this merchant.

If there is a buying deadline, tell prospects exactly what it is (i.e. Friday at 10:00pm Eastern time.)

Instead of saying “download your free copy” of something, provide a specific number or quantity that will be available.  You might say it this way:  “Hurry, there are only 25 copies being given away!”  It’s important that the marketer follow through and be truthful about the CTA happening as stated.  Don’t give away 50 copies if you said you were going to give away 25.  Be honest and up-front as some people will check to see if you are good for you word!

Fourth, be sure to make the CTA simple and uncomplicated.  Only promise one offer, one gift, or one solution at a time.  Too many results complicates the CTA and sometimes confuses the buyer.  If you want to add additional “goodness” to any offer, do it after the fact (for example, on the download page or as a “surprise unannounced bonus.”  It’s best to keep the CTA short and hard hitting.

Fifth, only give one command in the CTA, otherwise you stand a good chance of making it boring and not so urgent.  Don’t ask the prospect to do more than one thing – like visit multiple web sites, remember multiple facts, or take a series of actions.

Sixth, make the CTA stand out!  Boring, run-of-the-mill, vanilla or “lazy” CTAs don’t cut it these days.  We are all bombarded with hundreds, even thousands of marketing messages each day and it is easy to a prospect to filter out or ignore bland CTAs.

Often the design or graphical elements used in the offer’s CTA can make it really pop and be something that is difficult to ignore.  It can grab attention and direct a prospect to take quick action.

There is a big difference between a small narrative link that is black and says “Click Here” compared to a large red button, a pretty model pointing to it, and a CTA that entices the prospect to “Download 101 Tips Guaranteed to Triple Your Online Sales.”

Seventh, be extremely clear and straightforward in “commanding” the prospect in whatever action you want him to take next.  Remember, one action only per CTA.  Make the CTA easy to understand, easy to execute, and easy to justify as being the next logical step in the buying progression.

Eighth, keep track of all your CTAs and split test them so that you can compare their performance based on facts rather than hunches!  It will pay you dividends to track how well various CTAs perform and keep a swipe file on hand so you can use the best ones over and over in your marketing.  Just use split testing and keep all other variables of the offer constant.

I hope these eight suggestions will make sense to you.  Crafting a powerful and valuable CTA is not really a difficult thing.  CTAs can make a noticeable difference in your marketing results so don’t underestimate their power!

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com

You’ve created a blog or a niche website with quality content that your prospects want.  You’ve included a compelling sales page and an order button.

Now what?  How do you convince your prospects to become subscribers and customers of your niche business?

There are many creative and unique ways to do it, but often the tried and true proven techniques that other successful online business owners have used for years are the place you should start.

1. Specialize and Focus Like a Laser

It seems almost counter-intuitive – you’d think that if your site would appeal to as many people as possible, you’d get more members.  But usually it doesn’t work that way.  Instead, you’ll get more members once you focus your site’s topic and all your marketing materials like a laser on one niche only.

Example:  Let’s say your site teaches people how to build a website.  You should focus on one niche, such as “web design for ebook marketers” or “web design for private practice doctors.”

Think about it . . .

Let’s say an ebook marketer wants to learn how to build a site.  Is he going to go to “Joe Blow’s Web Design” membership site . .  or to the “Web Design for Ebook Marketers Site?”  That’s right, he’s going to choose your site because it’s geared specifically to his needs.

2. Give a Free or Low-Cost Sample

You can get more paying customers and members if you first give people a free or low-cost trial membership (such as $1 for one week).

Doing so gives people a chance to get a look at the inside of your site to see if it’s right for them.  Since you collected their credit card info before they joined the site, you can automatically start their paid subscription once the trial is over (of course begin fully transparent about how your offer works, when they will be charged, etc).

3. Share the Benefits

As mentioned previously, you’ll need a sales letter to help turn prospects into members.  While you’re sharing all the benefits of your membership content in general, don’t forget about the benefits of the membership site itself.  For example:

• Small price.  A monthly fee (such as $10 or $20 or even $50 per month) sounds small compared to a one-time fee such as $297.  As such, you can get more members by focusing on this small recurring fee.  You may even break it down further by reminding your prospects of the daily cost (e.g., “just 75 cents a day – about the price of a candy bar…”).
• Not overwhelming. If you have a training site and you’re tackling a big topic, let prospects know that they won’t get overwhelmed since you’re offering a step-by-step course in weekly installments.

4. Let People “Peek” Inside the Site

Whether you offer free trials or not, you can get more members simply by letting prospects “peek” inside the site.  There are multiple ways to do this, including (but not necessarily limited to):

• Providing partial content, such as the first paragraph of an article with a link or a description of report with a link.  When people click on the link, they’re encourage to become a member.
• Screenshots of the inside of the site, which shows the materials available, a listing or relevant content, the community forum, etc.
• Video of the inside of the members-only area of the site.  Just use screen recording software like Camtasia and record yourself “touring” the site.  It’s a very compelling way to introduce what you offer.

5. Create an Enticing Squeeze Page

You can’t just put up the words “free newsletter,” post your subscription form and expect a rush of new subscribers.

Instead, you need to create a squeeze page, which is sort of a sales letter for your newsletter.  This page should include the usual parts of a sales letter such as the headline, the bulleted benefit list and a strong call to action.

Here are two additional tips:

• Answer the “what’s in it for me” question (WIIFM).  From the second your reader lands on your squeeze page, he’s going to wonder, “what’s in it for me?”  Your headline should answer that question by promising a big benefit.  Every line of your copy should continue answering that question until your prospect is convinced he needs to join your list.
• Make it reader-oriented.  Your letter should use the word “you” as much as possible (otherwise the reader will lose interest).  If you have statements that include the word “I,” see if you can rewrite them using the word “you.”

Example:  “I’ll show you how to train your dog.”

Rewritten:  “You’ll discover how to train your dog.”

6. Offer a Freebie in the Form of a “Lead Magnet”

Yes, your newsletter is free.  But you need to offer a little extra bonus to entice subscribers to join right now.  This extra bonus might be something like:

• Free access to a membership site.
• Free ebook or special report.
• Free access to tele-seminar.
• Free audio recordings.
• Free video.
• Free software.
• A free multi-part e-course delivered by autoresponder. (This is one of the best freebies, because it trains your subscribers to read your emails!).
• Other free tools, help or resources.

7. Provide Social Proof

Your prospects may not believe or trust you if they don’t know you well.  If they don’t believe you, they’ll guard their email addresses and click the back button.  That’s why you should include proof such as endorsements, testimonials, screenshots, video, pictures and other evidence that your claims are true.

Examples:

• You might provide “before” and “after” pictures on a bodybuilding site.
• You might provide video proof of your Clickbank account to show that you know what you’re talking about in terms of affiliate marketing.
• You might add testimonials from your customers showing how you gave them expert training in your membership site.

8. Arouse Curiosity

One of the best ways to boost your conversion rate is by arousing your prospect’s curiosity about your newsletter and/or your freebie offer.  You can do this in your headline as well as in your list of benefits.

Examples:

• “Discover a sales letter trick that doubles your conversion rate overnight – see page 18 to learn this surprisingly simple trick!”
• “You’ll find out what five words you can say to a marketer that will virtually guarantee he’ll agree to your joint venture!”

9. List Your Policies (Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Earnings Disclaimer, etc)

You should include a link to your privacy policy on your newsletter subscription page.  Most people won’t read it; but, it can boost your conversion rate for those individuals who are concerned about how you’ll use their contact details.  Be sure to let subscribers know you won’t trade, sell or otherwise share their information.  You want to reduce the risk a prospect feels when volunteering his private information.

10. Make Individual Contact or Follow-up

Most marketers won’t do this . . . but if you can (especially if your list is small and in the early stages), it will endear your subscribers to you because most of them will never have another business owner personally follow-up with them without being asked to do so.  Personal contact is not “business as usual” on the Internet!  Don’t be afraid to show your customers that you’re a concerned and caring individual.

Well, there you have it – 10 proven ways successful marketers get more people to join their email list.  Naturally, just knowing these tips won’t grow your list.  So start applying them today, because the sooner you do, the sooner you can reap the rewards!

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com