I have this great idea for a new digital product, and I’m sure I can make a killing selling my product on Internet.

It’s so simple, and the best part is that it will take less than a day to finish the product, and probably another day to build the sale pages.

Great!

I ran out of time yesterday, but I’m starting now…

I’ll start in a minute, but first I have to check my email.
After all, it could very well be an important message for me there. You never know.

Let’s see…all the usual Spam, I’ll just delete those.
Or perhaps it’s best to have a quick look at them; the Spam filter might have made a mistake and erroneously sorted a couple of messages as Spam when I really want to read them.

Hmmm. 257 Spam’s, and yes, three of the Spam’s are in fact about free software that I wanted to have a closer look at.
I’m deleting the rest of the Spam’s, …there…all gone except the three free offers.

Perhaps I should check them out while I’m still in the mailbox.
I always try to focus on the important things, and of course it saves time reading the free offers emails while I am logged into my mail account.

Time is a very fragile commodity, and I’m really focused on saving time so I can get to the important part of my business.

Selling digital products on Internet.

The problem is - I have to find something to sell while I’m working on this great idea for a unique product.

Right.

Let’s see…the free software products that my mail system erroneously marked as Spam.

I’m going to speed-read those three emails so I can get on with the real work.

Oh-oh! Hmmm.
That offer in email number two looks interesting. Not really free, but near enough, and something I can easily sell while I’m working on my great unique product.

I’m going to have a quick look at that webpage.

All right!  I could easily have missed that offer, I’m paying by PayPal nowww, and there is the download page. Perfect!

Downloading now. On my harddisk I have a lot of stuff I can sell, and there, downloading completed. Another great deal!

You can see that I am very good at this; focusing on the important bits, and at the same time saving time.

Super!

Back to the product creation.
Damn! I didn’t realize that I had used so much time in the email department.

It’s time to relax a little, so perhaps I should watch a movie on my DVD before going to bed.

And in the morning: Up bright and early, and starting on that great product idea.

After reading my email, of course.

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Hi again.

Today I’m going to tell you a little about secrets.

It’s a proven fact that almost everybody would like to learn secrets, but how many people does it take before a secret is not …hmmm… secret any longer?

As I’m into Internet Marketing it’s only natural that I want to know what other Internet Marketers are up to. After all; we all need fresh input and new ideas once in a while.

Right? 

So I surf the ‘net, and look at a lot of sales pages for eBooks and other digital products.

And here is the thing:

A lot of the squeeze pages use sales copy like:

* The Secret Way to Riches
* 10 Secrets to Autoresponder Success
* Affiliate Secrets
* How to Make Money Online. My Secret Formula for Instant Success
* eBay Secrets
* Joint Venture Secrets
* Easy eBook Secrets
* The Secret Lovelife of Squirrels

Bet you haven’t read the last one on the list!

The reason why so many Internet Marketers use the “secret” word is certainly no secret!

It sells!

So, in the future I think we’ll see many more secrets for sale, from $1.99 up.

There is, however, another very effective way to market digital products.

I wish I could tell you all about it, but unfortunately my lips must be sealed.

It’s secret.

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I’m sure you recognize the famous words above.

Here’s another Robert Frost quote:

“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it”

A couple of days ago I submitted my first articles to several articles sites, and I was both slightly surprised and quite happy to learn that they were accepted for publication.

Not too bad for a newbie.
(and somehow I don’t like that word: “Newbie)

Back to the headline: …”But I have promises to keep”…

When I surf the ‘net and look at all the incredible and fantastic offers with promises of instant riches and millionaire status in literally no time I am overwhelmed by the kindness of these Internet marketers.

Imagine: Stuff like “Make 100.00 dollars in 10 days”  (or was it: “Make 10 dollars in 100.00 days)?

To be fair many of the sites promising Heaven and Earth have a disclaimer where they say that of course they cannot guarantee that *you* will make any money at all.

The disclaimer is often written with very small letters, and the font is light grey, so you need sharp eyesight to be able to read it at all.

The point I’m trying to make here is that very few people are stupid enough to fall for this kind of marketing.

Why not - at least - TRY to be a little more honest, and not make promises it’s impossible to keep?

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Since I’ve been working for an airline for more than 30 years I know a little about what customers want, and what happens if they are disappointed and unhappy with the service they feel they have a right to expect.
 
I’m going to tell you a little story from my former life in an airline uniform, and if you wonder whatever that has to do with Internet Marketing - please read on.

It should become very clear…

The time: 07:40 AM.

We are at the Boarding Gate; all the passengers are checked in, and most of them are standing or sitting close to the Gate waiting for the boarding announcement.
 
One of my colleagues is on board the aircraft checking with the cockpit crew and cabin crew that all is ready for an on-time departure at 08:00.

Standing there at the Gate (smiling to the passengers) I get a radio call from my guy onboard:
 
“Technical problems, Jan. The Captain says we’ll be delayed for at least one hour. The mechanics are on the way to look at the problem.”

Right.
 
Time to inform the passengers.
 
“Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I have just been informed that we have a technical problem, and that your flight will be delayed.
The mechanics are on the way to the aircraft.
We’ll keep you informed about the progress, and we’ll be back with new info about the departure in 50 minutes, that’s to say at 08:45.
We apologize for the delay.”
 
—
 
Now the time is 8:55; no word from the aircraft, so what the h*** am I going to tell the passengers?
I’ll wait another ten minutes (hoping to have some news – preferable some good news – from the flight deck).
 
And no, I did not keep my promise to be back with new info to the passengers at 08:45.

—
 
We’ll’ leave the Boarding Gate and this little story now, and have a look at promises made and kept - or broken - in the world of Internet Marketing.

It’s easy to tell your prospective customers that you have the “magic formula” to solve their problems and fulfill their dreams - whatever those problems and dreams may be.

It’s easy, and extremely counterproductive.
 
Oh yes, you may well get a few customers buying your product, but when they discover that they have been taken for a ride do you really think any of them will ever return to buy from you again?
 
Of course not.
 
That’s why - in the long run - it always pays to be honest.

Never ever make promises you can’t keep.

And never ever tell them that something will happen at a particular time or on a particular date if you are unable to deliver in a timely manner.
 
The best way to keep your customers happy: Give them real value for money!

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Your business, your success are like big steel balls.

Imagine there’s a big steel ball, it’s as big as you, and it’s incredibly heavy. It’s so heavy that it won’t roll on the slightly uneven ground underneath it. It’s just completely stuck.

Most people give up and walk away. They’re the 98 per centers who will forever be the employees, the worker bees that our society needs, and they will never do anything “great” with their lives.

The other 2 percent try to push the ball anyway.
Success depends on it.

It won’t move. It just will not budge.

But you keep at it regardless.

Pushing, sweating, straining, and suddenly, it gives just a little and rocks back into place.
Now you’ve seen it move, you’ve had your first success, so you strain against it again, pushing, pushing, and eventually it rocks again and you push harder and it starts to move.

Gradually, the huge steel ball that’s your business starts to move.
Now that it’s moving, it’s easier to keep it going, but it’s still taking a lot of work. But you keep at it relentlessly, because you’ve seen that you can do it.

As the ball picks up speed, it’s now easier to keep it moving, and it starts to go faster and faster.
Now it’s moving as fast as you can walk, and all you need to do is give it a slight tap now and then to keep it on track.

Eventually, you have to run to keep up. The steel ball is off on its own.
It doesn’t need you anymore, because along the way, other people (employees, contractors, etc.) have joined in, and they’re pushing your steel ball for you.

It’s still your steel ball; it’s just not your responsibility any more. And you have the freedom to go do whatever you like with your life, knowing the steel ball is being well looked after by other people.
That’s your goal, that’s what you’ll achieve, just by being relentless and not giving in at the first resistance.

So give your ball one more push; eventually it *will* move!

(Thanks to Frank Haywood for this article)

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