"Choosing a goal and sticking to it changes everything." -Scott Reed
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Improve Your Online Small Business Profits
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Cort: Recently I was invited to join a guest private membership site. Honestly when I went to the site I was really expecting to find the same old crap at most other so called "private" sites. As you are aware at most of these you have to upgrade to get the good stuff. Not so with Clifford Mee, a true Mr. OverDeliverer!
Clifford: I know that you are one of the new "hotshots" in Internet Marketing; however I would like to know what you did before your Net involvement. When was this? What got you interested in the Net?
Clifford: I first started doing business online part-time
using Ebay back in 1997/8, though I had been online since 1995.
Back then the only websites around were a few US ones and the odd one from the UK. They were pretty shonky but I quickly realized that it would be a major part of commerce in the future.
I was the general (and marketing) manager for a nightclub and a number of bars during those years and it was only when I went full-time online in December 2003 that I put up my first website.
Cort: As I mentioned to you in our conversations, but that our readers might not know, we have something in common! I was the assistant manager of Florida's first major disco in the late 60s which of course dates me!
Did you see the value of Email Marketing almost immediately after it appeared? What made you get involved with Email Marketing?
Clifford: My very first website was a newsletter opt-in
page - my goal has always been to build lists to market too.
When I ran nightclubs the most important part or the job was hooking into the social networks of people. Building a list is no different - it's critical to your success.
Cort: What are you doing to avoid the ever present spam filters from putting your email in spam folders? Are you considering using PDF files to send your ezine like I have started to do?
Clifford: I may use PDF's but only for archive purposes
or as viral reports. I still believe plain text emails are the way to go.
I use a reputable autoresponder service to get my messages through the ISP's filters. Typically I get a click through rate of between 20-25% on links in my text emails from my entire lists. Which is very high.
I believe this is a combination of good interesting email copy, and good deliverabilty from my list host and avoiding spam trigger words wherever possible.
Cort: Definitely an impressive click through rate! What are your feelings about Plain vs. HTML Email Marketing? What about the Audio and Visual Email?
Clifford: As mentioned plain text is my preferred choice.
Audio and Video emails I haven't dabbled with as of yet and so I will reserve judgement.
I write emails as if I'm a good friend and mentor. People use text emails to chat with one another so it makes sense to use the same medium they are used to.
Cort: What have been your biggest successes in your business and why? Failures? What would you do differently if you could do things over?
Clifford: My biggest successes have always been down to me over-delivering on value. Whenever I do that with a project it's a roaring success. Most things in life are built round a value for value exchange. Give more value and you'll be more successful. It's that simple.
I don't believe in failures and here's why...
Failure doesn't exist as long as you learn from it. In fact the more you fail the more you'll succeed because you're actually DOING something rather then waiting around hoping something might happen.
Most people never get started online because they're
worried they won't get everything perfectly right.
You don't have to get it right, you just have to
get it going! If I could do things differently I'd have quit my entertainment manager job and started my first website
in 1995! But I have no regrets.
Cort: What would be your advice to Internet newbies concerning Email Marketing?
Clifford: That's a huge subject, in fact I'm in the middle of writing an e-course on it.
The key to email marketing in a nutshell is this - build trust and be interesting.
How do you do this?
*Vary your approach and make sure you always write from the reader's perspective
*Send some info only messages without links and send some messages with resource links, which you gain no financial advantage from
*Don't EVER promote crap and don't promote what everyone else is promoting
*Don't use blatant affiliate links and always over-deliver on value.
This will make you stand out from the crowd and you'll be highly successful with email marketing!
Cort: GREAT advice, Clifford! And I am so thrilled to see that you have agreed to re-open your private membership site for DEMC readers!
Clifford: Yes I would like to give your readers a membership
to my private marketing club. I've setup a special page for them here http://www.privatemarketingclub.com/DEMC-Gift
They will be getting:
*New Master Resale Rights You Can Instantly Profit From.
* A Video & Audio Training Vault Stuffed With Kick Butt Tools & Strategies
* Red Hot Ebay Tips & Tricks
* Exclusive Content You Can Cash In On
* Super Software, Ebooks & Much Much More
Cort: I told you he was the REAL Mr. OverDeliverer!
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Cort McCadden also known by his real name Hugh Simpson is a former consumer investigative reporter for Post Newsweek TV and the co-founder of the website http://www.moneywiselife.com and the new blog http://moneywiselife.blogspot.com where he shares up to date consumer awareness tips for especially seniors since he has reached 60 this year. He is also an emergency preparedness consultant and he encourages you to download the FR** Emergency Preparedness Guide at http://www.usprepared.com offering tips for preparedness on both man made and natural disasters.
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