This week the guys at mystoryhub let us know about a new service that is detailed here  … http://myccmarketing.com/services/mystoryhub.php

A quick word of advice/clarification … I think (pls correct me if I’m wrong as I wasn’t on the call), I think this is a service offering to set up a hub site.

Now this is fine, if you want someone to set up a good looking personally branded website.

But (and this is a big “but”) if you’re after a Google Adwords-friendly landing page to beat Google slaps, I don’t know if this is the answer. You’ll have to clarify it with the guys at MyStory Hub.

My big concern, when I checked out the http://myccmarketing.com/services/mystoryhub.php
offer is that it didn’t mention that they can or will design any “landing pages” for us.

Now, here, everyone needs to understand there is a huge difference between a landing page (squeeze page, capture page, opt-in page) and a “branded personal website or blog”.

The examples at http://myccmarketing.com/services/mystoryhub.php are “branded personal websites/blogs”. My branded personal website is http://futureathome.com. On the other hand, an example of one of my Landing pages is http://futureathome.com/?page_id=284. Huge difference in form and function.

A landing page is set up with the sole purpose of capturing a lead’s name and email address (and possibly phone number). You can have dozens of these doing their job all over the internet.

A branding page (personal website), on the other hand, serves a totally different purpose (in terms of our sales process). This is where people go — after they have become a lead. You direct them there, once you have established contact with them to get to …

• know you
• like you
• build rapport with you
• and trust you.

It’s like inviting people to your Home, after you made initial contact with them in a business sense (after they’ve been to your landing page).

So, your prospects will generally (99% of the time) become a lead from your landing page, not from your branded website/mystory hub/Wordpress blog.

It can be confusing. But it is dangerous (if that’s the right word) to imagine that you can have a personal branding page that ALSO functions as a landing page (lead capture page).  The two have to be considered as serving two completely separate functions. One capture, the other rapport.

I would have liked to see the mystoryhub offer include a Google Adwords-friendly landing page design, with the form and everything. You’ll want to check this out with them.

Yes, you can certainly include a landing page within your personal website. But the landing page’s purpose and navigation should be isolated from the rest of the site. Otherwise people will get there, get distracted and start wandering around, instead of focussing and giving you their name and email address in return for the promise of “what’s on the other side”. You see, if there is no “other side” because the other side is already conveniently laid-out for them in your navigation bar, then there will be no reason for them to provide their name and address.

So I’d be asking the guys at mystoryhub if they can incorporate a Google Adwords-friendly landing page
for you.

You will want them to basically copy the general wording and layout from one of the landing pages from the back office. But change the design and change the names of the graphics and maybe include a pic of yourself and a sentence to introduce you (to make it Google Adwords-friendly). You will want them to bring across a “form” (the bit where the person fills in their name and email address) and they will need to link that back to aWeber and then back in to CCPro back office for you so you can track your leads.

I’ve just been through this today. Quite involved (sheesh). Good luck.

At the end of the day when approaching the thought of planning a landing page that’s not hosted by CCPro don’t be thinking you can incorporate one with, for instance, a personal blog site Home Page for instance. I just don’t think it will work. Too distracting. A traditional welcome page with a “For More Information” Form, is not a Lead Capture page, not an effective one anyway.

Yes, it is still a good idea to have a lead capture form on your Home Page and wherever else you might want one, but it’s not going to get many leads for you.

Of course there’s always an exception. Michael Forces blog (see picture below) at http://securebusinessmodel.com is the exception in this case. Michael has designed this whole site like a personal blog site.

But it’s not a “blog site that acts as a landing page”.

It is, rather, a landing page that looks like a blog site. Or, to be more accurate, a series of landing pages that, together, look like a blog site. Very cool. You go from one page to the next and unwittingly you are being confronted by one “landing page” after another. Ingenious. Each page makes you want to join Michael to see what’s on the other side. He gives a lot of info, but he’s careful about what he doesn’t tell so that there is still the offer of something incredible “on the other side”. Every page has an opt-in Form. You have to fill in the form to see a “Private Business Overview”. Every page has pics of Michael and Dalila enjoying the lifestyle made possible by “whatever it is on the other side”. Every page has great headlines. Every page follows a similar rhythm and feel.

I hope this makes sense. Please understand you don’t have to worry about Google Adwords-Friendly landing pages unless you are doing Google Adwords advertising to get your leads.

Some awesome advice here from the “King of Copy” Craig Garber.

If you aren’t already signed up for Craig’s list it’s well worth while. He sends emails like this about three times a week. Incredibly useful information. Even if you don’t buy anything from him, just get his tips, they are worth a million bucks. www.kingofcopy.com. I’m not an affiliate of Craig’s.

Here’s Craig’s tip … this one is about “transition marketing” or “process marketing”.

Something you need to consider when you’re selling — especially in print — is the number of things you’re trying to do at once. For the most part, you should ONLY be doing one thing a at time. Each sentence should only be dealing with one issue. Each paragraph — one issue. And each decision you ask your prospects to make, should only revolve around one thing at a time.

There are a few reasons for this: One, what you know about your product or service is usually infinitely more than what your prospect knows. And while it’s great to be enthusiastic, it’s equally important to make sure your prospects are on the same page with you.

Plus, most topics aren’t as simple as you think they are.  And when it comes to spending money, people generally want to be 100% crystal clear on what they’re getting. So while you might be tempted to say something like this: “This racquet is made of carbon fiber manufactured under the same controlled scientific environment NASA manufactures the components of the space shuttle.

This material was discovered by accident while NASA scientists were trying to create a special space-age polymer designed to last no less than 100 years and you’ve never seen anything like it!”

You’re far better off saying this, instead: “This light-weight racquet is incredibly durable.  In fact, it is made from the exact same material NASA uses to build the space shuttle.  Because of this, I guarantee its durability, for 100 years.  If ANYTHING at all happens to it during this time, I will replace it, 100% free.”

[Zoe says: the equivalent, in our case, might be "trying to sell" the concept of our product too early. Rather than simply selling THE NEXT STEP (ie the landing page or the application). eg: Come and join our business. It's called Acme and I work with a company called Global International and I sell their products and we do it on the internet. So you'll have to learn that too, but don't worry I'll teach you. And, by the way, did I mention it only costs $20,000 to come in at the top level.]

See, when you’re only trying to make ONE point at a time, you are much more likely to make that point. But when you’re trying to get people to do more than one thing at the same time, or think about more than one thing at a time… it’s just too confusing and things get lost in the mix.  The importance of any one thing is generally diluted, and your strong benefits wind up going unnoticed.

[Zoe says: Right on Craig, at the start of our Transition Marketing process all I "sell" is useful information (the Coffee House Letter), then I try to sell an "Application to Find Out More" about CCPro. It's subtle, seductive. You should never go charging in to the sales process like a rhino.]

This is especially important in print, where you’re stripped of all the non-verbal communication other media allows you to use. And you can take that… to the bank.

Is getting leads really all that hard???

Well, I guess it depends on who you talk to these days. Let’s face it, network marketing is more competitive, more expensive, more complex and more fierce than ever before. And right now Google advertisers in particular are throwing in the towel faster ever.

A few weeks ago I surveyed my subscribers asking what is their biggest challenge in network marketing. I got back a lot of replies and as I read through each one, I kept hearing a central theme … “My biggest problem with network marketing is how to generate leads and make more money than what I spend on marketing.”

Why is this such a struggle for so many? Why can’t people launch their online businesses and make them soar? And why is network marketing frustrating more and more home business owners? I am convinced that there are two fundamental reasons for all of this:

1. Most fail to properly grasp and apply the powerful but counter-intuitive fundamentals of “Information Marketing” (or Attraction Marketing) to build high-performance businesses.
2. Most fail to create a well-thought-out sales funnel, break it into pieces, and work at optimizing each step (process marketing).

You see, network marketing is not just about keywords, clicks and leads. That’s where it begins, and no doubt it is a very critical step. But what do you do with your visitors once they arrive at your site? How do they move through your sales funnel? If they want to proceed, can they do so assuredly and automatically? These questions boil down to having a watertight sales funnel: including things like a good picture; a congruent flow; a landing page that matches the ad, a personal web site that allows people to get to know, like and respect you, a system of auto-responders that enable you to continue to communicate with them, automatically. And CCPro gives more tools than ever for getting the job done! All you have to do is understand the genius that is the CCPro “information marketing” system, and put it to work for you.

But for many network marketing users (myself included), getting a firm handle on their sales funnel and learning which tools to leverage for the best results is a daunting task. No doubt about it.

The (short-term) Answer: Forget the tools for a while. Forget about twitter, Facebook, Google, Wordpress, YouTube, SEO etc.

Instead, focus on the PRINCIPLES of “Information Marketing”. The touchstone upon which any good business is built. Learn the skills that will empower the successful deployment of the mechanisms like Squidoo, Blogger, MySpace etc. These “tools” are your servants. Nothing more, nothing less.

The ANSWER: Information Marketing.

THE RESULT:Less time and money spent, more money earned.

A master knowledge of “Information Marketing” will put an end to your frustrations.

The INTENSITY of competition in home business and network marketing arena is heating up right now (Have you been feeling it?).

There are more people rushing to join the industry. More customers, that’s good. But more customers also means more competitors. In any case, I need to know what I am up against. I must have MORE than a “great” product and a turnkey “system” to prevail against the toughest rivalry.

*Understand this*

The key to success in network marketing is NOT brute force!

It’s FINESSE.

Even if you’re competing with 5000 other marketers, the secret to winning this game is counter-intuitive but simple. Sixteen years ago, stuffing a few thousand flyers in people’s letterboxes was enough to do the job. Obviously, that’s not going to cut it any more. Nowadays you must make the paradigm shifts necessary to propel you to the head of the pack.

And, like anything else, it’s easy when you know how.

So what is the secret?

I’m convinced that there is one fundamental, foundational understanding that people must comprehend …and that is this:

*Infomation Marketing*

Understand and implement the principles of Information Marketing and you’ll steadily surpass even the most determined competitors. It’s not easy. But it gets easier. Again, you do NOT succeed in network marketing through brute force selling. Don’t pitch. Never pitch. Instead TEACH.

Lever off the shoulder of the giant you have teamed up with … CCPro. The fact that you had the foresight to join the best online marketing education company on the planet makes you a leader in this industry.

But what to teach? What to offer first? Well, the “Self Employed & Rich” series is a good start. Promote that, attract a list, market to that list. The Coffee House Letter is another “Attraction Marketing Tool”, an awesome one. I use both, at the same time!

In fact, I never pitch the business. I pitch the Coffee House Letter. That is I pitch Information.

Then, when people give me their email address, they get to know me (from my emails and my website) and they get to know about CCPro. It’s simple, it’s beautiful and it works. It works because, in the first instance, I’m giving information WITHOUT WANT. I’m teaching. I’m attracting. I’m implementing the fundamental but counter-intuitive laws of “Attraction Marketing”.

If you don’t already have Mike Dillard’s Magnetic Sponsoring Course go here … http://zdeluca.magneticsponsoringonline.com