Business Action Steps

I’ll be departing for vacation tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be Internet-less. I need the break.

I have another trip to take after my return from vacation but should have at least limited Internet access on that trip. (although not much time to actually work on stuff).

In other words, I’m abandoning the world. And I’m looking forward to the break. I’ve already deleted two draft blog posts today because everything seems to be annoying me (HINT: One of them is people who insist on calling today’s holiday the 4th of July instead of Independence Day. See if you can figure out the reason why).

And yes, the experiments have kind of died in place. It’s because I’m beginning to realize that keeping them updated is time — something I don’t really have. I’m going to find a solution that will allow me to do both.

Things should be back to normal (if there ever were such a thing for me) towards the end of July.

–Tom

Just a quick note…

Did you want to pick up Rapid Action Profits to help sell your digital products, manage your affiliates and JV partners, and allow for instant payments to yourself and your partners?

If so, you need to take action now or pay more later.

Sid Hale says that the $50 discount on Rapid Action Profits is going to expire at midnight on Tuesday, June 24.

If you want to get the new and improved Version 3 at the Version 2 price, then you need to click the following link (if you go straight to the site you won’t get the discount):

http://rapidactionprofits.com/?e=FindOutMore&dc=RAP30spc

If this is something that you can use (and you probably can if you sell products online or even think that you might someday — and Sid hasn’t charged for an upgrade yet), here’s hoping you got there in time to save $50.

–Tom

For this week’s project, I wanted something that would both allow me to finish last week’s project while moving forward with a new one. And the solution has come to me.

First, about last week. I’m not going to be able to upload the new version of Rapid Action Profits until tomorrow (Wednesday) at the very earliest. This is one of my 60 hour weeks on my contract “job”, so time is going to be a bit scarce. But that’s OK; we can get there from here. Things are moving forward and I suspect that things will be in place by early next week for the product re-launch (and keep watching for news on the launch special).

For this week, I’m going to try some article marketing. There’s a new product launch coming up (an ebook) and I was asked to review it in advance. I like the product and think it will work, so I’m actually going to use the techniques listed in the product to promote the product — and it involves some article marketing (plus a few other things).

Of course, I’ll be explaining some of what I’m doing here on this blog, but to get the full story, you’re going to have to buy the product using my affiliate link. Why? Because I’ve decided to do a full-blown case study on how I used the product’s tactics to promote the actual product — and offer it as a bonus to anybody who purchases it using my affiliate link. In other words, not only will you get the product — you’ll also get a live example from somebody who has actually used it to make money.

Of course, if I fail, that will be obvious, too… But I don’t see that happening. It’s a great ebook that was written by somebody who knows what they are doing.

So that’s where we stand now:

* Put the final pieces in place from last week’s project

* Begin this week’s project.

So I’ll be working on my action plan for this week’s project over the next 24-36 hours. It is a bit ambitious since there’s a lot of set up that needs to be done, but I’m pretty sure that I can finish it by next Monday.

–Tom

After spending some time this past week wondering how to automatically generate affiliate promotional materials with the affiliate’s code already embedded in the materials, the solution to my problem was just dumped in my lap. Literally.

Sid Hale has just released a new version of Rapid Action Profits, and that version includes a feature that allows affiliate to pick up affiliate promotional materials “with their affiliate link already embedded in the material” (a direct quote from the email). As an owner of a previous version, it’s free for me.

It sure is nice to have a vendor who “gets it”!

I purchased Rapid Action Profits about six months ago and Sid has already put out two major upgrades. I purchased Version 1; he just released Version 3.

Of course, with the new version comes a price increase, but if you follow these steps, you can get the new version of RAP (Version 3) at the old Version 2 price for the next few days (this is a limited offer). HOWEVER, you must follow these steps EXACTLY (and do so right away) or you’ll have to pay the regular price:

• Click on this link to visit the Rapid Action Profits sales page.
• There is an orange and black frog to the right of the “Buy Now” button. Click on that frog.
• The price drops $50.

If you go there and the frog is gone or nothing happens, then that means that the old Version 2 price is gone. Even at the new price, it’s packed with great features and tools that make it a good value for anybody selling products online — but why not get the value while saving $50?

Hope to see you in Sid’s RAP owner’s forum as the newest member soon!

One more thing: Why is this feature so important? Because affiliates want convenience. Make it easy and profitable for affiliates to promote your products and you’ll attract more affiliates. So if you can make your sign-up process a one step deal, great. If you have materials that your affiliates can use to promote your products, even greater. If you can insert their affiliate links into those materials automatically when they log in, even better.

The more you can do for them, the better it is for everybody. And, of course, with Rapid Action Profits, your affiliates get paid instantly — and THAT’S a strong draw.

Now I just need to upgrade my software install — again! — but that’s much better than trying to hack an HTML / PHP form to make this work.

–Tom

It’s Monday, so that means that my project *SHOULD* be finished. It’s not.

Nevertheless, I did learn a few things:

• It’s easier for me to work on one week projects, even if I don’t finish them. The shorter time frame enables me to concentrate and focus better.
• I still allow distractions to creep in. Two things came up this week that “required” my attention (one was administrative, one was a script test that a friend asked me to test). Even with that, I was able to focus on the distractions, if that makes sense!

In other words, I allowed fewer distractions because I wanted to get the distractions that did pop up out of my way as fast as possible so that I could focus on my main goal.

So I like one week projects.

But the product test distraction was for an awesome product that is going to make blog maintenance a lot easier. You can bet that promoting it will be an upcoming project.

I’ll be talking about this week’s project in an upcoming post.

–Tom

Saturday. A cool one here in Southern Germany.

Could some of you on the East Coast of the U.S. PLEASE send some hot weather to this side of The Pond? Thanks…

The project I’ve been working on this week () is moving forward. Not following my own advice, I chose a project that is going to take me longer than a week to complete. However, in the process, I also have an idea for a small, inexpensive report that I’ll be able to write and (probably) sell for some quick cash.

First, I didn’t do the steps that I mentioned in this blog post in the order that I listed them. My main reason for that is because my partner on this project is extremely busy this month (he’s traveling to three conferences alone) and I simply don’t want to bother him any more than necessary. If I can do it all in one email (and do it correctly), it makes it easier for him.

So far, I’ve done the upgrade to Rapid Action Profits and have figured out how to make the affiliate program go “live”. I haven’t done it yet because I don’t want it active until all of the parts are in place. I should have the affiliate tools ready by tomorrow (more on that in a minute), at which point I can plan the rest of the sequence.

As much as I’d like to give it a try, I’m not going to do a conscious re-launch in the style of Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula, which I own. Some of the elements have worked their way into the project, to be certain, but consciously doing a launch using his system would set me back quite a bit — and I do want to get this wrapped up in the next couple of days. Technically, I should be done with this by tomorrow (Sunday), but it’s going to take a bit longer, primarily because I can’t plan or estimate to save my life. Not yet anyway!

To prepare the affiliate tools, I printed out a copy of the transcript from the interview and went over it with a fine tooth comb. In doing so, I highlighted what I believe to be the main benefits of the product, which I’ll work into the affiliate materials. I may also do a few quick tweaks to the sales letter, but again, at this point doing anything other than a few changes would set things back farther than I’m willing to do.

As I was reviewing the transcript, I found ways to add value to the product by expanding on some of the things that we talked about during the interview. I could also use them as the basis for a separate product if I wanted. At this point, while I haven’t completely decided what I want to do with this material, I will use at least some of it to make the current product better.

I also came up with the idea of taking what I’m doing and making a case study out of it, then making it available. I’d most likely use this to get a list of buyers (I would charge a small fee for it).

It’s also going to take a bit longer because of an upcoming product launch. I was asked to proofread a copy of a product that, as it turns out, is going to be launched in the next week or two. The person launching it has developed a good reputation in certain markets and the product itself is going to be the subject of at least one, if not more, major joint venture (JV) networks. So I think it’s going to be a good candidate for getting slightly sidetracked.

I do want to try promoting the product (it’s good and I feel comfortable doing so). I also want to use the launch to test a couple of other systems I’ve been reading. Since the launch date is coming up soon and the system requires a few days lead time for it to kick in, I’ll need to press forward with this now instead of waiting until the current project is 100% ready. The good news is that there will be another project on this blog. The bad news? The complete system is a 30 day system, so it will drag on a bit longer than I’d like (but I think that the system is worth testing).

And one final word: I’m going to start going back through old posts and if it relates to a particular project, I’m going to add a “Project Whatever” label (where “Whatever” will be the name of the project). I may also add the week and year to the label, i.e. “Week 24, 2008″ (the current week). That will give anybody who wants to research old posts the ability to do so by project name and by approximate start date.

But I won’t be doing that right away since there’s lots to do… And an admin paperwork snafu also needs to be cleared up. I’ve given myself two weeks to get that done (by the end of June), so that’s also going to cut into my free time.

And so it goes…!

–Tom

I’ve been working on the tools that my affiliates will be able to use over the past couple of days. Like most tasks, this one is taking a bit longer than usual, but it’s shaping up quite nicely.

I want my affiliates to be able to customize the tools with their affiliate link, then simply click a button to insert that link into all of the promotional materials. Thankfully Rapid Action Profits (RAP), the script that I’m using for this product, has this capability, but the template is cut and dried; I’m going to have to modify it. I like what Paul Kleinmeulman and Aaron Dwyer have done over at Affiliate Page Pro, but don’t want to have to outside of the RAP system to generate the tools. On the other hand, I might be able to integrate it without too much trouble — but really want to try to get this project implemented using existing resources.

I know enough HTML and PHP to hack a script, but as much as I like Paul’s products, I don’t want to spend the money right now. Of course, donations are gratefully accepted, Paul and Aaron…

But I think that I can easily modify the HTML template that comes with RAP to deliver the affiliate tools that I want to give.

I already have one lesson for this: I think it would be better to create everything from the start rather than first launch the product and then create the affiliate program. I’m also wondering if it would have been better to simply go with a ClickBank-type program. From a convenience standpoint, perhaps yes. But I like the idea of instant commissions, and ClickBank does have significant fees — but then again, you get what you pay for.

I also need check my affiliate terms to ensure that they understand that they MUST process refunds quickly and courteously. I only had one refund request the first time around, but affiliates have to understand that they will be responsible for issuing refunds if the payment was made to them. Again, if they don’t issue it, I guess that I would be kind of stuck, but then again, I can ban that affiliate in RAP and no more payments will go to them. It’s not a perfect solution, but I think it’s a risk I can live with.

So there’s lots to be done over the next couple of days if I’m going to have this done by Monday. It’s tough but doable. I’m finding that this short-term project is much easier to focus on than the longer stuff!

–Tom

Moving forward with my project, today is a writing day. I’m creating materials that my affiliates will be able to use to promote my computer and website security interview with Willie Crawford.

I finished the Rapid Action Profits upgrade yesterday. I’m glad that I did it because once I upgraded, the new version had “news” when I logged in, unlike the old version. The product news page had two script modifications that detect fraudulent purchases and send them to a special queue for review. It’s no secret that there are ways to change the price in some of these scripts, and it’s also no secret that there are some unscrupulous people who will try to take advantage of that fact. These modifications check to ensure that the paid price is the same as the offered price; if they are not, the transaction is flagged as fraudulent and the “purchaser” doesn’t get the download.

The security side of me likes that.

I thought about purchasing a couple of products that can help you create the promotion materials for your affiliates; however, I’m on a “don’t spend” kick right now and decided to not purchase them. Thankfully I did find enough in the sales letters to give me enough ideas about what to create and how to offer it, and I’m pretty sure that I can “hack” the Rapid Action Profits script to do what I want. So no buying for now.

Time permitting later, I’ll come back and share those resources with you — along with some additional reasons for not purchasing them just yet. Doing so right now would be a distraction from my primary goal of making $5 a day this week.

So, on with the writing!

Oh, one more thing: If you are interested in getting a copy of my website and computer security interview, make sure that you are signed up for one of my blog announcement lists by Friday of this week (June 13). I’ll be sending out an email to all of my lists that will have a special, limited time coupon that you can use to save about 25% off the normal price for a couple of days. Consider it a “relaunch” special that could be the best investment you ever made.

–Tom

OK, so what is this week’s project?

First, I’m going to take the computer security interview that Willie Crawford did with me and open up the affiliate program. Since I’m using Rapid Action Profits to manage that product, it won’t take long to get that set up.

Here’s what I need to do:

1. Update the RAP software. I’m currently using version 1.xx and Version 2.xx, which has more features, is a better choice.
2. Make the changes in the admin area so that affiliates can promote the interview — but not go “live” with it just yet. I’m going to offer 50% commission.
3. Notify my JV partner (Willie Crawford) to let him know what I’m doing and to see if he wants to do anything special for the launch of the affiliate program.
4. Set a date for opening the affiliate program.
5. Create a few promotional tools for the affiliates. This one is probably going to take the most time. If I remember correctly, there’s some product somewhere that simplifies this task; I may take a look at it and try to get a copy if I think it will help.
6. Notify current customers and beta testers and invite them to sign up to promote the product.
7. TEMPORARILY open the affiliate program for non-customer sign-ups (more on that in a moment).
8. Launch the affiliate program.

First, about opening the program to non-customers. I’m going to do this for only a short period of time. Normally I don’t like doing this, but in this case I’m going to make an exception because:

• Willie Crawford’s reputation. Willie (and I, for that matter) don’t release junk. People know that (OK, at least about Willie!) and may want to promote it without buying it.
• The topic (website and computer security). Lots of people get burned in these areas, and the interview and transcript can help save a lot of people from a lot of trouble. I want to get the word out to as many people as possible, and opening up the affiliate program may help get this interview into the hands of people who can use it.

If I can get everything done on this before the week is over, then I’ll start work on a short ebook that I’ll offer over at the Warrior Forum as a WSO. If not, there’s always next week!

–Tom

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I tend to change directions a lot (and if you are new to this blog, just go back and start reading from the beginning; you’ll soon see).

Well, it’s time for yet another change of direction. Sort of.

I’m still going to do projects, except that I’m not going to be doing monthly projects. Instead, I’ve decided to focus on short projects that I can get done (under ideal circumstances) in a week or less.

My goal is to choose projects that will hopefully generate $5 of income a day. So if I create a project that creates $5 a day in week 1, then do another project that creates an additional $5 a day in week 2, then… you do the math.

Why did I decide to start over again?

• Time. I simply don’t have time to focus on a project for an entire month. A week at a time works better for me.
• Commitment. Often I choose a project that requires full-time effort. I still work full-time, have a full-time family — and still want to have a full-time business? Something has to give, and after some heart-felt discussions with those that I care about, I’m going to start acting and planning as if I have a part-time business.
• Focus. Many years ago, I could easily get bogged down in the details of stuff. Take music. In my high school days, I could sit for hours playing the piano or tuba, going over the most mundane passages hundreds of times until I got it just right. Now that I’m 50, I find that doing those mundane, repetitive tasks don’t appeal quite so much. But I can do it if I know that it’s not going to last forever.
• Return. If I can complete 50 of these projects in a year, I’ll have $250 a day coming in (or $91,250 a year). Do it two years and I can seriously start thinking about quitting my day job, at which point I can take on those full-time projects if I so desire (NOTE: These numbers are PURELY hypothetical and by no means should be misconstrued as an income claim or promise!).

I’m sure that I’ll think of a few more reasons as soon as I publish this post!

So every Monday (except for when I’m taking a vacation, which for me is several times a year), I’m going to start a mini-project with the intention of finishing it by the next Sunday. Some weeks I’ll have more time than others, simply because of the way my work schedule pans out (I work five days one week and two days the next). Then again, on the weeks that I don’t work that much, we tend to play a lot, so it may even out.

In other words, nothing is set in stone; I’ll have to get a “feel” for this new system.

So in a nutshell, I’m going to choose a project that, as a part timer, I can finish in under a week. That project has to have the potential to make me, on average, $5 a day, even after the week is finished.

So what put this idea into my head? Click here to find out more about my “Get Rich Slowly” system.

Or you can click here to read about my new perspective on procrastination and learn about the “deluxe” option (this link leads to a post on another blog that I own and maintain).

–Tom