This week, I used a slightly modified technique that I learned from another blog, by watching that blog owner and what he did. I’ve spent a lot of money there, including a monthly service that I pay $100 / month for.
It was that service that has helped me achieve the very fast results I’ve seen.
On Monday, I posted an explanation of something I’d experienced and achieved, plus some irrefutable proof of what I was saying. I promised to share what I’d done to achieve the results I’d seen in a post on Friday.
However, I’d only share that information with people who were subscribed to my blog at the time I posted it. That was the deal. I forced no-one to take it, everyone has a choice in life. You agree?
It was free information, and extremely valuable too for those people that take action on it. Typically, it will be 1%-2% of people reading it.
Anyone subscribing after the post couldn’t get the information.
That was my plan at the start of the week.
But because I’m a softy, I decided to relent and offer the information for $10 for those people who had decided not to subscribe at the time I made the offer. And also to give 100 hours for people to do so.
I may not do that again. Oh who am I kidding? Of course I will, it’s a good idea.
Make a mental note to take action on it yourself right now. No, go write it into your business plan. Now.
I should make it clear here that I sent two emails out this week to existing mailing lists of mine, making the offer. That’s TWO chances for people to read my email and act on it.
Many people did. I’ve seen an increase of 205 subscribers to this blog in the last two days.
That’s 1.44% of my total mailing lists, excluding this blog. (There are also 36 brand new subscribers not on any other mailing list.)
Well, well. 1.44% – between 1% and 2%.
98% did nothing, or didn’t read my emails. It’s the same thing to me, and what I expected.
I don’t send out frivolous emails to my lists, I often send out good quality content, and I don’t promote every product going. So there’s no good reason for ignoring any emails I send out. I don’t send out many.
After all, these people joined my mailing lists willingly at some point, and have never unsubscribed.
Notice that these are all decisions that people are making of their own free will. I can’t force you to take actions. I can offer choices, but that’s about it.
Free will.
Some people though, believe that somehow other people are responsible for the choices they make.
This is a snippet from a petulant email I received from someone when they unsubscribed from one of my mailing lists.
“I don’t have time for games with free blog posts that are now $10 because I wasn’t sitting at mu computer when the announcement came in.”
That was the second announcement he was talking about, not the first which I’d sent two days previously. There were two chances to do the right thing.
Somehow, he thinks I’m responsible for his actions. He chose to be somewhere else on two occasions, and consequently missed out. He’s clearly annoyed that it’s going to cost him $10 to get the information that was free, and now blames me for what he did.
Why would anyone not want to take responsibility for their own life? As a child it’s understandable, but once you reach at least your teens you should have learned by then that every action you take has consequences. And that those actions are your decision and your decision alone. Whose fault is it anyway?
So, he’s missed out this time. But at least he’s on the list now. He won’t miss out when I announce a nickel sale starting at $1 for my new software in a password protected post next week will he? He won’t have to pay $97 when it goes on general release will he?
Oh. Yes he will have to pay $97. He unsubscribed.
Oh dear. Some people just don’t learn.
So, what have you learned from I’ve done this week?
Were you watching closely? Did you understand what was going on? Did you get it?
Have you realised that you could learn just as valuable information by watching what I did this week, as to the post I made yesterday?
http://graham-cox.com/list-building-using-password-protected-posts/
Graham got it straight away, and I can see that a few other people got it too.
Did you?
-Frank Haywood
