“The other boys came to jeer, but they stayed to whitewash.”
Remember Tom Sawyer?
If you recall, Aunt Polly forces Tom paint a nine-foot-tall fence, and the neighborhood boys come by to mercilessly poke fun and laugh at him.
However, before you know it, Tom soon has ’em begging to paint the fence for him.
The best part?
They insist on paying him for the privilege—and end up enjoying themselves in the process!
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How does Tom accomplish this astounding feat?
Well, here’s a clue…
Tom understands that sometimes you’ve got to “trick” people into doing things they don’twant to do.
…even if it’s for their own good!
And—this is key—he doesn’t just let them do his laborious chore for free.
No sir.
He knows that the best things in life come at a price and people just don’t value what they don’t pay for.
This is the quirk of human nature that Tom exploits so well.
In fact, the very boys who came to laugh, wound up making Tom a wealthy man.
By mid-afternoon, he been handsomely compensated with marbles, a kite, part of a harp, and an apple—all the riches a kid could want!
Think about this for a moment…
In this story, Tom basically achieves what every online marketer wants:
He quickly converts his “traffic” into an audience that’s ready and willing to pony up and “pay to play.”
Now, wouldn’t it be downright nifty if you could do what Tom Sawyer did with your blog?
Sounds awesome, right?
Now for the bad news…
In real life, most bloggers never get “Tom Sawyer-like” results.
Most bloggers work hard, write post after post, and try their hardest to attract eyeballs by posting all over social media…
But when they look to see how many actual sales they’ve made, they sadly realize that all their painstaking efforts didn’t add one iota of concrete results to their bottom line.
{Boo!}
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way.
You don’t have to spend a lifetime laboring over a hot keyboard with no ‘cash dough’ to show for it.
If you do things right—then even if your visitors come by to jeer—by the time they’re done checking out your blog, you’ll…
Have ’em wanting to PAY for the privilege of “staying to whitewash!”
{Schwing!}
This key psychological insight we’re about to discuss is how you…
- Avoid being one of the many abandoned blogs that never got off the ground
- Get to the critical mass of thousands of visitors each month
- Rapidly build a list of eager, ready-to-buy prospects
- Consistently turn blog readers into raving customers
But first…
Let’s take a look at what stops many talented bloggers from producing the results they desire, no matter how hard they work at it.
Here are three misleading metrics that will keep you spinning your wheels and your profits in the red…
Misleading Metric #1: Pageviews
Ever hear the joke…
“Artist dies of exposure.”
Well, it happens all the time—because, unfortunately, “exposure” itself doesn’t pay a wooden nickle.
Here’s how to keep this from happening to you…
To get paid for your artistry, you’ve got to put the right offer in front of the right people at the right time—and you should always, always, always have that in mind.
And by definition, a business blog should make money for your business, right?
From a “10,000 foot view,” the way the whole thing works is really very simple…
- You drive traffic.
- You get visitors and convert them into subscribers and fans.
- You convert those subscribers into buyers and lifelong customers.
The trick is all in the “conversion” part of the process.
This is where many markers are leaving gobs of money on the table.
The good news is that it’s not hard.
I mean, hey, Tom Sawyer knew how to “cash in” on his audience.
Here’s the thing: many of your readers have limiting beliefs, past negative experiences, and other barriers that stop them from getting started with new opportunities, no matter how great.
That’s why you’ve got to “trick” ’em a little into taking the first step in the right direction.
If you don’t, you’ll never bridge the gap between traffic and building a list, and you’ll never have a shot at converting readers into customers.
More on this in a moment.
Take home point: It’s not about page views. Eyeballs don’t equal sales!
Misleading Metric #2: Clicks
Not even close.
At the end of the day, 1,000,000 clicks from people who’re never going to buy what you’re offering are worth absolutely NOTHING. Zilch. Zip. Zero. Nought. Nada. Negatorative.{You get the idea!}
Conversely…
1,000 clicks from your exact, bulls-eye target audience can easily generate a 5-figure sum, or even 6- and 7-figure numbers, if you retain these customers over the long-term—through cultivating a relationship and leveraging high-ticket transactions.
Honestly, it’s incredible what you can do these days…
For the first time EVER in history, technology has made it possible to quickly and cost-effectively target the exact clicks you need to make sales.
On Facebook, for example, you can laser-target your precise audience, and with the right ad you’ll only get clicks from the most-qualified prospects.
And if you set your blog up the “Tom Sawyer” way, you can turn a healthy profit doing so.
Yet, despite the technology at our fingertips for immediate monetization, far too many bloggers are still wasting countless hours chasing after “free” traffic.
I’ll have you know that…
Look, you can get all the free clicks in the world and still fail if you’re getting the wrong clicks.
After all…
The world is filled with freebie seekers and “lookie loos.”
So you’ve got to make make sure you’re targeting visitors who’ll find your content engaging, and most importantly, compelling enough to raise their hand to ask for more…at a price!
Take home point: It’s not about how many clicks you can generate from social media. Clicks don’t count if they don’t convert!
Misleading Metric #3: Number of Posts
So pay close attention.
Between 2000-2007, when blogs were first gaining momentum, there was a belief in the “build it and they will come” philosophy.
The idea was that if you just produce lots of content, then eventually your visitors will turn into followers and start organically buying your stuff.
And guess what?
It worked.
Now many of the “famous” bloggers, who go their start in that time period, still recommend using that exact same method to build a strong following
There’s just one problem…
There was a lot less competition 10+ years ago.
In 2005, Technorati estimated there were around 7.8 million blogs.
Now?
Some stats estimate over 279 million.
In 2005, anyone who updated their blog semi-regularly would get plenty of “Google love.”
In 2016, Google doesn’t care how often you update your blog—it’s just another drop in an ocean of content.
Not too long ago, I spoke with a novice blogger who, in the ’00s, was inspired by bloggers like Chris Guillebeau and Leo Babauta, who’d driven MASSIVE amounts of traffic, built fiercely loyal audiences, and made tremendous incomes by pumping out highly-readable content in volume.
Meanwhile, in 2016, my blogger friend was barely making a couple hundred bucks a month while feverishly producing 2 fantastic blog posts every single day!
{Ouch!}
Take home point: If you’re not converting viewers into customers, it doesn’t matter how good your content is or how much you write, you’re still not going to make any money.
So, are you ready for the difficult truth?
Content is key…but you shouldn’t be giving it all away for free!
Yes. Content is important. Don’t get me wrong.
But…it’s not 2002 anymore, when anyone with a pulse running an active blog was practically guaranteed to get gobs of visitors and views.
No, today you’ve got to…
- Create genuinely-valuable content.
- Actively advertise that content to a highly-targeted audience.
- Ensure that your traffic CONVERTS your audience into active subscribers and customers.
So, how do you ensure your traffic converts?
Simple. You just have to…
Begin with the END in mind
This is how you logically and effortlessly guide your readers to the opportunity you’re ultimately interested in sharing with them.
And what happens when you “go the other way” and write every word, every sentence, every blog post with the end goal of conversion in mind?
I’ll tell you.
- You start selling like crazy.
- Every action you take online will be greeted by crowds of readers happy to follow you without hesitation.
- You can do MUCH less work because your list—even if it’s not very large—consists of active buyers, and NOT tire-kickers.
At the end of the day, that’s what you want, isn’t it?
I don’t know if it makes a sound if a tree falls in the woods and no one’s around to hear it.
That’s a question for the philosophers.
However, I DO know that it doesn’t matter how talented a musician is…if nobody’s around to hear him or her.
It’s a sad fact that it sure as heck doesn’t matter if you’re the best if there’s nobody’s watching you.
Success in anything requires an audience
So, let’s bring this home…
- You NEED an audience.
- To get that audience you’re going to need an advertising budget.
- To recoup that advertising budget you need to begin with your conversion goal in mind.
Thus…
- Before you create any content.
- Before you spend any time getting traffic.
- Before you do ANYTHING else…
You need to create a compelling offer to entice your audience to become subscribers, and ultimately become customers.
This is the gap you need to bridge before doing anything else in your business.
And what’s the best way to do this?
With a simple giveaway called a “lead magnet” that grows your list and tees up your sale.
The BIGGEST mistake most bloggers make
Most bloggers realize they need more than just visitors, yet have weak opt-in offers like…
- Join my amazing newsletter!
- Get free “neat-o” updates about my blog!
- Get a weekly email with lots of “whiz-bang” information!
Look familiar?
Not particularly compelling, right?
What would happen if Tom Sawyer tried to entice his friends with lines like that?
Kids can be kinda mean, so he’d probably get laughed at, right?
The same applies to your blog.
It doesn’t matter how amazing your free content or products are—you need a little “sneaky” persuasion to squeeze every possible lead out of your audience investment.
As we’ve already established, without a little somethin’ somethin’ to entice people to go from visiting to following you, you can have oodles and oodles of visitors and strong content but have ZERO sales.
And in today’s world…
You need turn every click into a potential customer.
That way, you’ll always be making money—even if you’re starting out on a shoestring budget.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I’ll remind you one more time that…
If clicks just go in one end and out the other without you having any leads to show for them, it doesn’t matter how life-changing your content is—you’ll quickly go broke!
This is why you want to…
Blog less, promote more, and make your sales go through the roof!
This is where your lead magnet comes in.
What’s a lead magnet?
It’s that little bit of “trickery” that, when used correctly, can help you turn readers into customers at a profit.
If you use the Internet, and I’m guessing you do if you’re reading these words, then you’ve probably seen hundreds—if not thousands—of lead magnets over the past few years.
It’s the “free product” that everyone and their mom is offering in exchange for visitors subscribing to their newsletter.
And if the above doesn’t make things 100% clear…
In 2016, you MUST have a lead magnet.
It’s simply not enough to have an “awesome newsletter” anymore.
The people you really WANT to have on your list expect to get something in return for signing up.
And until you have a compelling lead magnet…
People will question your authority and have no clear incentive to join you.
Now, with so much contradictory and confusing advice out there, we know making your own lead magnet can be a bit overwhelming.
Especially if you don’t feel like you’re quite yet qualified.
But don’t sweat.
It’s easier than you think.
And it honestly doesn’t have to be substantially harder than writing your grocery list!
If you know how, that is.
So to walk you through the process, start-to-finish…
Tim Erway, founder of Elite Marketing Pro, put together an exclusive free report that reveals how to quickly crank out lead magnets that turn your website traffic into ready-to-buy leads.
In just a few minutes you’ll learn how to take a cue from tricky old Tom Sawyer…
And learn that you’ve got to value your content enough to make your audience “PAY” to consume it.
It’s not only good for you, but it’s good for them too. {Remember?}
Best of all…
You’ll learn how to avoid making any extravagant claims, using cheesy sales language, or unethically deceiving anyone into opting in.
So, if you’re ready to start converting your readers into subscribers like never before…
To YOUR Success,
PPS: If You Don’t have a Team, Haven’t Recruited Anyone (or less than 10 people), This is the FREE Course you Should Get –Network Marketing Training Course
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This article was reprinted in part by permission from: Andrew Draughon
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