Jeff Walker - death of this and that…

I was just reading an interesting blog post
that declared the “death of product launches.”It reminds me of the last time that product
launches were declared dead… which was in late
2006.

If you folks were around back then, you might
remember that back in October 2006 there was a
whole bunch of launches in the “Internet
Marketing” niche… there were literally five or
six launches PER WEEK that month, in just the
“Internet Marketing” niche alone.

Predictably, with that many launches in one
niche, some of them didn’t do very well… and
there were rumors of “product launch overdose”
and the “death of product launches”.

Well, Mark Twain once famously wrote “the rumors
of my death are greatly exaggerated”… and the
same was true for product launches.

In fact, the entire “product launch phenomenon”
never even slowed down - it just kept growing.

The product launches today, both inside and
outside the “Internet Marketing”niche, are
bigger than ever.

———
Just the facts…
———

Let’s look at some facts… of the top five
all-time launches (measured by total sales) in
Internet Marketing history, four of them have
happened this year.

One was in January, one in February, one in
March, and one in April.

Does it sound like launches are dead in the
Internet Marketing niche?

Now some people are saying that using total
sales (or profits) is not a good measure for the
success or failure of product launches.

I find that a bit weird, since we’re talking
about business here… are we supposed to be
ashamed of making profits?

But OK, if we aren’t going measure things by
profits, what else should we look at?

Well, how about something that I’ve been
preaching about since 2003… how about your
relationship with your clients and prospects?

Because if you’re doing things right, that
relationship is the strongest asset in your
business…

——
“The Relationship Maximizer”
——

I’ve mentioned this before - there is simply no
better way to create a strong bond with your
list than a well-executed product launch.

If you haven’t personally experienced this, you
would be shocked how well this works.

Now since I’m on the inside of sooooo many big
launches (both inside and outside the “Internet
Marketing” niche), I get to see what happens
AFTER the launch.

And the same thing happens every time - after
the launch you end up with an super-energized
and highly-responsive list. It happens every
time if you’re doing things right.

——
What about YOUR niche?
——

Of course, probably only one in a hundred (or
one in a thousand) of the people reading this
are in the “Internet Marketing” niche.

Most of them are in a niche like “learn to play
guitar” or “pet first aid” or “get more dates”
or one of a thousand other niches.

And if that’s your case, then you’re really
lucky… because those are the markets where
product launches are REALLY killing it.

I suppose the reason that I’m always focusing on
niches outside of Internet Marketing is because
that’s where I spent my first 10 years online…
I was publishing and selling stuff for stock
market investors and traders.

And that’s the market where I developed all my
product launch techniques (ie, the “Product
Launch Formula”)…

So yeah, I *knew* launches worked great outside
of the rather weird and twisted world of
“Internet Marketing”.

But here’s the big NEWS FLASH - all those
launches in all kinds of “obscure” niches keep
getting bigger - just like the “Internet
Marketing” launches.

I see it nearly every day in the results my PLF
Owners keep reporting back to me. Here’s just
one example… a few years ago, the typical
launch in the “learn guitar” market was
$6,000.00 or $8,000.00. Now lots of them are
pushing up towards the six figure range.

I don’t have the time to go into all the reasons
why I think launches keep getting bigger (hint:
Product Launch Formula is part of it… but only
part of it) - that will have to be another email.

——
The OTHER side of the coin…
——

Of course, it seems like the “death of the
product launch” people seem focused on the
Internet Marketing space.

I don’t know why people obsess about the IM
niche so much, but they do.

And these people keep wringing their hands about
the large number of launches, and the
overwhelming number of emails they’re getting
about those launches.

Well, there’s a simple answer to that - just
unsubscribe from the lists that aren’t creating
any value for you.

It’s really not that complicated. The lists all
have an unsub link down at the bottom.

(One more thing to watch for: some of those
people writing about too many launches are
actually using their rant to build a platform to
do their own launch or promote someone else’s
launch. Interesting. Nothing wrong with it at
all… it’s just clever marketing. But it’s
interesting nonetheless.)

——
The real HOLY GRAIL…
——

Here’s something that lots of people miss about
product launches (and business in general)…
it’s all about positioning.

One of the first and best lessons in business
came from an old friend of mine who owned a very
successful car repair business.

He specialized in servicing Subarus. At the time
he was one of the most successful people I knew.

But he told me that his big regret was that he
could of picked any brand… and he picked
Subarus instead of Mercedes or BMWs.

He told me that he could be charging 25% more
per hour - same amount of work, but a lot more
money.

He had a great reputation, his staff did great
work… but he could be making a bunch more
money with better positioning.

So what does this have to do with you?

Simply put, you need to continually focus on
your positioning in your market. And you will
make a lot more money and have a much healthier
business if you are positioned as a leader in
your niche.

And guess what?

Product launches are the ultimate positioning
tool. They give you instant credibility. They
give you instant name recognition. They give you
“guru status”…

——-
Oh no… I said “guru”
——-

Lots of people seem to recoil at the word
“guru”… it’s a loaded phrase in the Internet
Marketing world.

But my definition of the word “guru” is “leader”
or “market leader”… and if you’re not looking
to be a leader in your niche, then you should
probably find a different niche.

Because there is no better positioning than to
be a leader in your field.

Trust me… I have had that “guru positioning”
several times in different niches. I was a minor
guru in the investing field, I had a bit of guru
positioning in the stock market trading field…
and I suppose I’m a guru in the Internet
Marketing field.

Each time it made a serious impact on my
business. Because when you’re seen as a guru,
then it makes building a business a whole lot
easier.

——
Case Study: Eben
——

Let’s look at an example of great positioning
being built through a product launch…

Right now Eben Pagan is in the midst of a launch
He just spent four weeks or so giving away great
content and material… and he just went “live”
with his launch a few days ago.

Eben’s a good friend of mine… and about an
hour into the launch he sent a one line email to
me with an update on how it was going - the bottom
line is that it’s going very well.

This is yet ANOTHER super-successful launch.

And I can guarantee that if you ask Eben whether
product launches are dead, he would have a good
long laugh.

Eben is a good “case study”… or at least
someone who’s good to study.

You see, he has a NICHE business that’s doing
some $20 million in sales each year. His niche
is the “dating advice” market.

Eben was a lot like me… for years he made all
his money outside the “Internet Marketing”
niche. In fact, his only exposure to the IM
niche was as a customer buying IM training
products.

Then last year he decided to start teaching
stuff in the IM niche… and it was really clear
to Eben that the best way to create a business
in this new niche was with a series of product
launches.

KEY POINT: given the assets from his “other”
business, Eben could have used virtually ANY
method to create his new “Internet Marketing
Guru” business.

But by using a series of product launches (which
went with the standard progression of “seed
launch”, then “internal launch”, then big “JV
launch”) he was able to create a near-instant
seven figure business with little risk and
without spending much money.

Since Eben’s dating advice business was built on
“guru status” he clearly knew the value of
achieving that positioning in his “new” niche…
and he went after that guru positioning right
from the start.

Now clearly, Eben’s path to the very top of the
“Internet Marketing” niche is NOT something that
everyone can achieve. In fact, I would say
that’s INCREDIBLY hard to do.

But if your sights are a little lower than multiple
millions in your first year, and if you’re going
after a less competitive niche than Internet
Marketing… well, it’s still VERY achievable.

And that’s what I’ve been preaching for years…

——
Get “guru” positioning in YOUR niche…
——

Last week I was on a mastermind call with Eben.
It was just the two of us. The first 45 minutes
we brainstormed on Eben’s business, then the
next 45 minutes we focused on my biz.

Somewhere in the middle of our conversation I
said “everyone wants to be in our business”…

And that’s the truth.

Outside of being a rock star or playing
professional sports, pretty much EVERYONE would
rather be in the information marketing business.

Or more specifically, the ONLINE information
marketing business…

It’s easy to see why - it’s a business pretty
much anyone can start with almost no money or
risk, you can focus on any of ten thousand
different niches, and the sky is the limit in
terms of profits.

(Can you really start an information marketing
business with almost no money? Well, my total
investment to start my business was $35.00… in
retrospect, it would have been better if I spent
some more money initially - but times were tight
and I just wasn’t sure if the business would
work out.

It’s been 12 years in this business for me now,
and after starting multiple seven figure
information marketing businesses, I will tell
you that there is ONE thing that you MUST do…

——
Get “guru” positioning in YOUR niche…
——

Every top marketer knows this… you need to be
the expert. You need to be the leader. You need
to be the guru.

Some people aren’t comfortable with this. But if
you want to succeed in this market, you need
to get over it.

And don’t get me wrong - you don’t need to be a
public speaker. You don’t need to be in a bunch
of videos. You don’t even need to be an
extrovert (for example: me… I’m definitely an
introvert).

But there are things you need to do to position
yourself and your business…

And Eben’s got it figured out… that’s what his
new product is about.

——
The guru mastermind…
——

OK, this email has gotten REALLY REALLY long.

But this is the part where I try to pitch you on
going to check out Eben’s new Guru Mastermind
program.

First, I want to tell you WHY I’m going to pitch
you on it.

You see, I get approached every single day by
people that want me to send out an email for
their offer… but I turn down 99% of them.

There are lots of reasons that I turn them
down… either I’m not impressed with the
product, or not impressed with the product
producer, or I don’t think it fits my list.

But one of the biggest reasons is that I just
don’t like sending offers to my list. I don’t do
it often… over the last five years I’ve
probably sent an average of six or seven offers
per year.

But this is the deal with Eben’s stuff - I was
onboard to promote this product before he even
asked me…

You see, as I’ve gotten to know Eben over the
last two years, he has delivered a HUGE amount
of value to my business.

Serious bottom-line value.

He’s done that in mastermind sessions, phone
conversations, emails… and his products.

In fact, when I was going through the big launch
of PLF 2.0, Eben was in midst of an “internal
launch” for his “Guru Mastermind” program.

He launched on March 25th and I launched on
March 27th… and since we were both going
through the same experience, we decided to coach
each other through the process.

Basically, we checked in via phone every couple
of days coming into our launches. We helped each
other with ideas, copy, and acted as overall
“reality checks”… and it worked GREAT for both
of us.

——
The insider’s view…
——

Since I helped coach Eben through his initial
launch of the Guru Mastermind, I have a bit of
an insider’s view on the product.

And here’s my opinion:

1. It’s really expensive. It will NOT be a fit
for most people. Sorry about that.

2. It’s the most comprehensive training in the
information marketing business that I can think
of.

3. The “regular folks” that I know that joined
the Guru Mastermind during his initial program
have raved about it to me. (And some of those
people are VERY demanding.)

4. It overdelivers in a serious way.

5. It’s a serious commitment - it’s hardcore
training, and Eben tells you right on the order
page exactly what he’s expecting from members in
terms of a time commitment.

And did I mention it’s really expensive?

It is. But here’s the other side of the coin…
in my first year in the information marketing
business I made less than $20k (that was 1996).
It wasn’t until my THIRD year that I started
really making a good living, and I didn’t hit
six figures until my FOURTH year.

That’s because I tried to figure everything out
on my own. Duh… not very smart.

So this is the point… I’m sure that if I had
Eben’s program back then, I would have cut that
learning curve by YEARS.

Back then I wouldn’t have had the money to take
Eben’s program. And I wouldn’t have been smart
enough to sign up for it, even if I had the
money.

Because it took me a long time to figure some
things out… like the value of paying for “top
gun” training from people who had the experience
that I sorely lacked.

So if you’re in a position to afford this
program, and you’re interested in a massive
short-cut in your business, then I highly
recommend you take a look at Eben’s program.

Here’s the link:

http://www.sixinseven.com/gmm.html

best regards,
Jeff

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