If You Were President of Internet Marketing for a Day

[rocketman]

This post approved in advance by Linda.

Every Tuesday and Thursday your email box is filled with duplicate offers from affiliates promoting the same "new thing" - because they get 1/2 the sale.

Guru types set out to create 4 figure plus products with the $500+ affiliate commission in mind.

Need I go on describing the disturbing trends and noise in our industry?

Time for us to stop using all our marketing weapons and tactics on each other?

If you were the President of Paradigms in Internet Marketing - and you could change things, really change things - what would it look like?

Say there's a website where sellers sold their products at "no affiliate markup" direct to you and me, (Internet marketing stuff, ebooks, software, memberships) how would that site work?

1. $24 a month to members - $97 a month to sellers - members link directly to sellers site and buy direct - zero affiliate commission.

Members fees would fund lots of training, free downloads etc. Value.

2. Free to members - low fee to sellers - 5% commission to the site.

3. Free to members - free to sellers - 10% to the site.

Linda said I could ask you to give me your input on this - I would really appreciate it if you'd tell me which of these sounds best to you - or any ideas you have on how it could be, if you were King!

Sincerely,
Rick Butts

[Linda Buquet]

Can't say that I've thought this through completely at all Rick.

But JUST off the TOP of my head (which is swirling with a million other things right now).

My initial thought is somewhat different than the options you posted.
(Have to mention I'm fairly anti-ebooks and stuff anyway and hate all these people that capitalize on n00bs.)

I don't think most people appreciate things or utilize things as much if they are totally free. Yet I think 24 a month although fine for mid - high level marketers, it would seem a lot to newbies.

So I would think a 9.95 a month price point for members would be good.

For sellers - you need to sell them on the value of your service - which includes being able to get them in front of lots of members. You need to sell them on the time and money it would save them not having to set up and run an affiliate program and pay out commissions.

So if you can sell them on that value proposition then I think your cost to sellers should be higher. Maybe intro price of 97 until you reach X # of members and then the price goes up to $149.

Just off the top of my head...

[Linda Buquet]

Oh and since Rick was so modest and professional with his post and didn't try to self promote at all - in fact doesn't even have it in his sig - I'll let you guys know the site he's talking about is:1 Affiliate Link and it's a novel concept.

[rocketman]

Thanks Linda,

I have read about your feelings about people preying on newbies - and agree.

With all the numbers swirling around in my own noggin' I've really started to like the $7 number. Call it "son of $9.95!".

You are right, the free puppy, the rental car, get treated differently than the $500 dog or the car we own - and an investment - even small - always makes me feel like "darn, I should be USING this thing!"

Which should bring more people back to the site (I have other interactive things like live product reviews right under the product) being built into the membership software.

I really look forward to more feedback here, thanks!

Rick

[Larwee]

Rick, I expect you are likely to see a variety of answers on this one.

The $24 a month for members and $97 per month for seller would turn me off if I had an interest in something such as this.

Maybe I'm a little cheap, but something like $5 a month for members, LOW fee to sellers and 5% to site.

While free membership sounds nice there are some people who will be attracted by something just because it is free and really have not much interest. The small $5 a month for members would attract more serious members.

Just my opinion.

[StephenR]

As I mentioned earlier on your blog option 1 is what I would go with. Keep it exclusive.

[Dorian]

Great topic Rick. I have a topic already written about this that I will post in the next day or so so stay tuned because I bet you'll find it interesting.

So are you starting some sort of coaching program? That's exactly where I'm headed and along with providing people information I want to guide them in the exact no BS path to their goals.

Your absolutely right, seems like newbies run right our of the online market fast due to all the products they are bombarded with. It's almost worse than watching TV. Their inbox becomes a promotion receiving machine...lol.

Intermediate marketers preying on the new guys is a very good way to put it and they mostly do so because the little guys don't know the tricks so they use them against them so to speak.

But then it catches up to the marketer using these techniques and thus loose people's trust and respect (like I did when I unsubscribed from numerous marketers email lists).

Good topic and I hope more people read what you wrote because it is an important topic.