"How do I get started in such a venture?"

Last night, I received an email from Bob in Illinois. Bob asks a question that I get often - "how do I get started?". So, with his permission, I am posting the original email and my response here. I hope it is helpful.

On Feb 6, 2008 8:20 PM, <p......b@c...t.net> wrote:

Travis,

I read your blog entry regarding StubHub.

I was interested to see you mentioned vacation spots as an example of a possible application. I've thought about that aspect for a while. My idea focuses on Timeshare. It seems there are numerous sites that ask for fees up-front without delivering. As a timeshare owner myself, I'd love a place that is well publicized where I could post my timeshare, like I've done with my Chicago Bears tix on StubHub.

Trouble is, I haven't the first idea how to get started. Where can I learn about the basics of starting such a venture?

Thanks,

Bob M....

Plainfield, Illinois

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the note!

I think to get a venture like this off the ground you need three primary skills.

The first is the easiest to acquire, and that is basic Internet technology implementation. You'll need to know about programmers and designers and online marketing options.

The second is market research. You need to know if people with timeshares (or looking for them) are willing to engage you and build a relationship. You need to know if there is a pain point that you can address and solve. For this, I must recommend Glenn Livingston's survey model. It is extremely thorough - it will give you the data on your market you need to succeed. I have used it several times now - and if you can handle the intensity, you are WAAAAY ahead of the game.

http://www.howtodoubleyourbusiness.com

The third is the less tangible, which is basic business sense. I just finished reading a book called "Jump Start Your Business Brain" by Doug Hall that goes into great detail about crafting a business idea that can succeed. I highly recommend it!

http://www.amazon.com/Jump-Start-Your-Business-Brain/dp/1558706070

In addition to these skills, you need a whole lot of determination and fortitude. When I first got into e-business I was looking for the silver bullet. And I sometimes still find myself trying to take the easy way out. But the thing is - that never works. It takes years to build a successful business online, just like it does offline. If you're not committed and "in love" then you're not likely to succeed!

Hope this is helpful.

Travis

A tale of two landing pages

You wanna know what really pisses me off? When the Broncos lose. (I was angry quite often this season...)

You wanna know what really boggles my mind? Landing pages. Sometimes knows as squeeze pages.

The objective of a squeeze page is to get somebody to give you their name and email address. That's it. Usually, you send somebody to a squeeze page from a PPC click. That person is probably looking for exactly what you have to offer. That person will probably be very happy, in the end, that they gave you their private email information.

Your job is to communicate as efficiently as possible all the great things that are in store for them if they sign up.

And, of course, there are a million ways to do this. And of course, the lifeblood of your online business is getting these people to do that. If you can get a high percentage of people to sign up (generically speaking) you pay less per conversion. If you get a low percentage of people to sign up, you end up paying Google a lot more than you should for each converson (and probably lose money on each sale, and probably go out of business, and probably become a bitter old man). So, it becomes a point of much testing and changing and tweaking to get as many people to enter their info on the squeeze page.

But here is what boggles my mind:



These two landing pages are identical, with one obvious difference. In the original squeeze page, the signup form is in the middle of the page, after some interesting content explaining all the fantastic benefits of signing up. In the new version, the signup form is placed smack dab at the top of the page underneath the headline.

A simple change like moving the signup form from the middle of the page to the top of the page produced much better conversions. You can see from this Google Website Optimizer screenshot that the new squeeze page (with form at top) performed a heck of a lot better.



One disclaimer here. As you can see, not a whole lot of conversions have been run through this test. BUT, I'd say at this point it doesn't matter how many more are run, the new squeeze is going to win out.

Moral of the story? Test everything.

To be fair, as is often the case these days, I got this idea from Glenn Livingston. A looooong time ago he said to me something like:

Travis, I'm very happy that you've got a nicely performing squeeze page. Now you need to test the heck out of it. Test everything. Headlines, colors, move the form around, testimonials, .....

etc, etc, etc... And, as usual, my thick skull takes longer than it should to process what a smart man says.

So - thanks again Glenn!

INFLUENCE: The Principle of Scarcity

"Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini.

Scarcity

• Something that, on its own merits, held little appeal for me had become decidedly more attractive merely because it would soon become unavailable.
• People seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value. Homeowners told how much money they could lose from inadequate insulation are more likely to insulate their homes than those told how much they could save.
• Pamphlets urging young women to check for breast cancer through self-examination are significantly more successful if they state their case in terms of what stands to be lost (e.g. "You can lose several potential health benefits...") rather than gained (e.g. "You can gain several potential health benefits...")
• As a rule, if it is rare or becoming rare, it is more valuable.
• "I see you're interested in this model here, and I can understand why; it's a great machine at a great price. But, unfortunately, I sold it to another couple not more than 20 minutes ago. And, if I'm not mistaken, it was the last one we had. ......then...... Do I understand that this is the model you want and if I can get it for you at this price, you'll take it? (Another unit would then magically be left in the back)
• One theatre owner, with remarkable singleness of purpose, had managed to invode the scarcity principle 3 separate times in just 5 words: "Exclusive, limited engagement ends soon!"
• A variant of the deadline tactic is much favored by some face-to-face, high pressure sellers because it carries the purest form of decision deadline: right now. Customers are often told that unless they make an immediate decision to buy, they will have to purchase the item at a higher price or they will be unable to purchase it at all.
• Can't come back tactic: It is to "keep the prospects from taking the time to think the deal over by scaring them into believing they can't have it later, which makes them want it now."
• Because we know that the things that are difficult to possess are typically better than the things that are easy to possess, we can often use an item's availability to help us quickly and correctly decide on its quality.
• Secondary source of power: As opportunities become less available , we lose freedoms and we hate to lose freedoms we already have.
• According to the theory, whenever free choice is limited or threatened, the need to retain our freedoms makes us desire them (as well as the goods and services associated with them) significantly more than previously. So when increasing scarcity - or anything else - interferes with our prior access to some item, we will react against the interference by wanting and trying to possess the item more than before.
• We show the strong tendency to react against restrictions on our freedoms of action throughout our lives.
• When our freedom to have something is limited, the item becomes less available and we experience an increased desire for it. However, we rarely recognize that psychological reactance has caused us to want the item more; all we know is that we want it. Still, we need to make sense of our desire for the item, so we begin to assign it positive qualities to justify the desire.
• Almost invariably, our response to the banning of information is a greater desire to receive that information and a more favorable attitude toward it than before the ban.
• Possibility that especially clever individuals holding a weak or unpopular position can get us to agree with that position by arranging to have their message restricted. The most effective strategy may not be to publicize their unpopular views, but to get those views officially censored, and to publicize the cencorship.
• 50% of students received "a book for adults only, restricted to those 21 and over." 50% received the same book with no such restriction. Those who learned of the age restriction: 1. Wanted to read the book more. 2. Believed that they would like the book more.
• Censoring & Banning: People involved came to want the restricted item more and, as a result, came to feel more favorable toward it.
• Compared to the customers who got only the standard sales appeal, those who were also told about the future scarcity of beef bought more than twice as much. But the real boost in sales occurred among the customers who heard of the impending scarcity via "exclusive information." They purchased six times the amount that the customers who received only the standard sales pitch did.
• The fact that the news carrying the scarcity of information was itself scarce made it especially persuasive.
• When the cookie was one of the only two available, it was rated more favorably than when it was one of ten. The cookie in short supply was rated as more desirable to eat in the future, more attractive as a consumer item, and more costly than the identical cookie in abundant supply.
• Department stores holding a bargain sale toss out a few especially good deals on prominently advertised items called loss leaders. If the bait has done its job, a large and eager crowd forms to snap it up. Soon, in the rush to score, the group becomes agitated, nearly blinded, by the adversarial nature of the situation. Humans and fish alike lose perspective on what they want and begin striking at whatever is being contested.
• Extreme caution is advised whenever we encounter the devilish construction of scarcity plus rivalry.
• Do we value more those things that have recently become less available to us, or those things that have always been scarce? In the cookie experiment the answer was plain. The drop from abundance to scarcity produced a decidedly more positive reaction to the cookies than did constant scarcity.
• This pattern offers a valuable lesson for would-be rulers: When it comes to freedoms, it is more dangerous to have given for a while than never to have given at all. And should these now established freedoms become less available, there will be an especially hot variety of hell to pay.
• And when these now-established freedoms were threatened, the people lashed out the way a dog would if someone tried to take a fresh bone from its mouth.
• Freedoms once granted will not be relinquished without a fight.
• The parent who grants privileges or enforces rules erratically invites rebelliousness by unwittingly establishing freedoms for the child.
• People see a thing as more desirable when it has recently become less available than when it has been scarce all along.
• The cookies made less available through social demand were rated the most desirable in the study. --> No only do we want the same item more when it is scarce, we want it most when we are in competition for it.
• The feeling of being in competition for scarce resources has powerfully motivating properties.
• "Goosing 'em of the fence can work devastatingly well. The thought of losing out to a rival frequently turns a buyer from hesitant to zealous.
• Barry Diller: Even the "miracle mogul" was no match for the right mix of competition and scarcity.
• Our typical reaction to scarcity hinders our ability to think. When we watch something we want become less available, a physical agitation sets in. Especially in those cases involving direct competition, the blood comes up, the focus narrows, and emotions rise. As this visceral current advances, the cognitive, rational side retreats. In the rush of arousal, it is difficult to be calm and studied in our approach.
• Cognitive processes are suppressed by our emotional reaction to scarcity. In fact, this may be the reason for the great effectiveness of scarcity tactics. When they are employed properly, our first line of defense against foolish behavior - a thoughtful analysis of the situation - becomes less likely.
• The joy is not in experiencing a scarce commodity, but in possessing it. It is important that we not confuse the two.
• Each prospect who was interested enough to want to see the car was given an appointment time - the same appointment time. This little device of simultaneous scheduling paved the way for later compliance because it created an atmosphere of competition for a limited resource.
• Re selling a car: The trap snapped surely shut as soon as the 3rd two o'clock appointment arrived on the scene. According to Richard, stacked-up competition was usually too much for the first prospect to bear. He would end the pressure quickly by either agreeing to Richards price or by leaving abruptly. In the latter instance, the second arrival would strike at the chance to buy out of a sense of relief coupled with a new feeling of rivalry with that... that... lurking newcomer over there.

Epilogue

• Where we are rushed, stressed, uncertain, indifferent, distracted, or fatigued, we tend to focus on less of the information available to us. When making decisions under these circumstances, we often revert to the rather primitive but necessary single-piece-of-good-evidence approach.
• With the sophisticated mental apparatus we have used to build world eminence as a species, we have created an environment so complex, fast-paced, and information-laden that we must increasingly deal with it in the fashion of the animals we long ago transcended.

Livingston Surveys Complete!

I recently purchased a DVD seminar series for the Livingston survey method called “How to Double Your Business”. If you’re not familiar with Dr. Glenn Livingston, click here to read more about his methodology.

Since I am already involved in the Incorporation/LLC market I decided to apply the lessons there first.My objective was to gather at least 300 surveys in the Incorporation/LLC/DBA market, and at least 35 for each of the channels that I wanted to move into.

Most of the data being collected was open-ended questions asking the survey taker to tell me about their most important problems. For taking a survey, I returned the favor by giving away a compilation of data that already existed for free on the Internet. (To be fair, they would have had to search long and hard to get all that data, and I provided it in one spot, so it was valuable.)

After more than a month, and a sizable $$ outlay, the surveys have been completed. Below is a screenshot of the number of surveys I completed for each channel.

As you can see, the LLC market is by far the biggest. At least, that’s the one that I was most successful driving traffic to with my Adwords campaigns.

This was not a cheap endeavor! The clicks in this market are expensive and only a small percentage of the people I paid for actually took a survey. But, the data collected was very valuable and confirmed that I am in a potentially lucrative market.

New business owners face an uphill battle of legality and complex rules. These people have all kinds of questions about their business entities. And, they are willing to form a personal relationship with me (even though we’ve never met and they’ve never heard of me). 23% of the survey takers gave me a their phone number (even though it was not required).

Now the real work begins! I’m moving on to the coding phase of the Livingston survey method. This step will require me to break down the answers of every survey received into “codes” that will tell me many things about my potential customers.

When done properly, the resulting data will tell me everything I need to know to make money in this market. It will tell me:

• What kind of products they’re desperate to buy, and at what price point.


• Exactly what the strongest selling points are that I could make (in order of highest priority to lowest).


• Which sub-groups and segments are most responsive.


• What types of terms they are likely to search on to find the data they’re looking for.


• Which markets are related (and which are not).


• Market demographics for laser-targeted offline advertising.

So, off to the Excel mines! Time to get my hands dirty and figure these folks out.

More updates coming soon.

Travis

ps. In addition to coding the survey data, I must also at this point begin my phone interview process. All of the data above will provide the “hard facts” I need about my market, but only by talking to the actual people and hearing the words they use and the emotion behind their problems can I understand the “softer side” of their needs.

Using Online Surveys To Understand A Market

When you understand a market, you know what they like and dislike. You know what products they buy. You know the terminology they use. You know how to talk to them.

If you understand a market the way Glenn Livingston does, you also know how much a lead/sale will cost. You know what you can sell the customer on the back end. You know the search terms that the customer will likely enter first, second and third in order to reach the information they're looking for. You know, based upon the potential customers' most important issue what else they're interested in (in order of highest to least priority).

When you know a market the way Glenn Livingston does, you cannot fail in that market. When Glenn Livingston enters your market - beware!

I've recently had the pleasure of watching the Dr. Glenn Livingston course "How To Double Your Business". I've spoken with Glenn and exchanged emails several times to discuss a project I'm working on using his methodology. He is highly intelligent, encouraging and helpful. I'd like to thank Glenn for his instruction and guidance.

Outside of seminars, this is the highest price learning course I've ever purchased. He used testimonials from a bunch of gurus whom I've followed for a long time (including Perry Marshall) to convince me that it was worth it. And - it was worth it - it was worth every penny!

A psychologist by trade, his methodology is to survey a market before you ever move into it. Or, if you're already in a market, use surveys to better understand it. He likes to say he'd rather "sweat in training than bleed in battle."

Once you collect enough surveys from your web site to be statistically relevant, you go through each one and code it for a scientific understanding of every aspect. Glenn then follows up on the phone with a select group of those people who took the survey to understand the softer side of their mindset.

He boils it all down and sells exactly what the market wants, in exactly the way they want it.

The DVD videos and accompanying audio cd's, computer software and testimonials explain every aspect in great detail. If you have the heart to implement the tactics, you have all the knowledge to do it.

In addition, Glenn hosts a monthly mastermind session where he answers questions and puts two people on the "hot seat" to analyze their campaigns in detail.

The survey methodology has several advantages and disadvantages. In my humble opinion, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. I've already implemented the surveys for one of my markets, and am preparing to do more.

Advantages of the Livingston Survey Method

• Understand a market before spending a lot of time and money on a venture
  
• Understand if a market is unlikely to be profitable (or not) before launching a product
  
• Understand what kind of products the market wants to buy
  
• Understand the search continuum in order to reach a potential customer earlier in the search cycle (and therefore pay less for her)
  
• Understand the cost per lead/sale so you know how much you have sell a product for in order to realize a profit
  
• Understand the amount of traffic available
  
• Understand the channels that traffic comes through, how engaged those people are, and how to most effectively market to each
  
• Understand exactly how the people within a market speak, what lingo they use, what drives their passion
  

Disadvantages of the Livingston Survey Method

• Costly
  
• Time prohibitive
  
• Not easy! This method is not for slackers - there is a lot of overhead involved in understanding a market like this
  
• Math... although Glenn makes it easy for all of us who are not statisticians, there is some excel work involved.
  

To get more information on the Glenn Livingston Survey course, just head on over to his web site. I'd highly recommend signing up for the

http://www.HowToDoubleYourBusiness.com

Travis