Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

Seth Godin, one of the world's foremost online promoters, offers his best advice for advertising in Permission Marketing. Godin argues that businesses can no longer rely solely on traditional forms of "interruption advertising" in magazines, mailings, or radio and television commercials. He writes that today consumers are bombarded by marketing messages almost everywhere they go. If you want to grab someone's attention, you first need to get his or her permission with some kind of bait--a free sample, a big discount, a contest, an 800 number, or even just an opinion survey. Once a customer volunteers his or her time, you're on your way to establishing a long-term relationship and making a sale. "By talking only to volunteers, Permission Marketing guarantees that consumers pay more attention to the marketing message," he writes. "It serves both customers and marketers in a symbiotic exchange."

Godin knows his stuff. He created Internet marketer Yoyodyne and sold it in 1998 to Yahoo!, where he is a vice president. Godin delves into the strategies of several companies that successfully practice permission marketing, including Amazon.com, American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, and American Express. Permission marketing works best on the Internet, he writes, because the medium eliminates costs such as envelopes, printing, and stamps. Instead of advertising with a plain banner ad on the Internet, you should focus on discovering the customer's problem and getting permission to follow up with e-mail, he writes. Permission Marketing is an important and valuable book for businesses seeking better results from their advertising.

Book Recommendation: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

If you are going to write a guide to crafting sticky ideas, your book had better embody your principles. Authors Chip and Dan Heath succeed admirably. What I love about "Made to Stick" is that it is not merely entertaining (though it is), it provides practical, tangible strategies for creating sticky ideas. Once you understand these recommendations, you can boil them down to a set of touchstone points to evaluate your own work. This sets "Made to Stick" apart from the work of Malcolm Gladwell, whom the Heath brothers cite as an inspiration. I enjoyed Gladwell's books but could not necessarily apply his ideas to my own work.

My review copy of "Made to Stick" is covered with highlighter. I am reading the book once through for pure pleasure, and then I am going back again to apply the ideas to evaluate the communications of a non-profit organization I am working for. "Made to Stick" challenges you to distill the essence of your message, to get back to core principles and to communicate them in a memorable way. Chip and Dan point out that as we become experts, we tend to use abstraction to define our ideas, and we lose our ability to communicate with novices. They teach us how to bridge that gap so that our ideas are once again accessible by everyone.

"Made to Stick" gives you the tools you need to revamp your own messages. It provides "do it yourself" conuslting in book form, which will be appreciated by activists, entrepreneurs, and businesses of all sizes.

Backlinks from Amazon.com

Thinking of outsourcing your reciprocal linking? Don't bother. There are many more benefits to linking than just getting links. Consider doing at least some work yourself.

One of the simplest I have come across is writing reviews for products on Amazon.com for example. People click over to Amazon with their credit cards ready to spend money. They are discerning shoppers and they are often repeat customers; they read reviews, they follow links to "what else purchasers of [a particular product] bought".

So write reviews of products that relate to your tourism product. Book reviews are the easiest; follow your nose to the bestsellers or new books in your category at the library.

e.g. for dive centres, write reviews for underwater digital photo books...

Of course you will have to make sure that your website link is embedded into your signature as in one of my earlier posts on this blog!

Amazon.com Associates Program

Launched in 1996, Associates is Amazon.com's affiliate marketing program. By linking to Amazon products and services you can add compelling content for your site visitors enjoyment and receive up to 10% in referral fees for doing so.

As one of the first online affiliate marketing programs, Associates has a 10-year track record of developing solutions to help website owners, Web developers, and Amazon sellers make money. Our latest innovations include aStore, Omakase™ Links, and Product Previews.

Current participants in the Amazon Associates program include large, well-known sites, niche content sites and blogs, comparison shopping engines, search engine marketers, and everything in between. Visit our Current Associates page to see how some of these members are using our solutions.

How the Program Works

Associates drive internet traffic to Amazon.com through specially formatted links that allow us to track sales and other activity.

Associates earn up to 10% in referral fees on all qualifying revenue made through their links.

We send monthly payments to Associates.

Once you join the program, we will give you access to Associates Central, our extranet exclusive to our Associates. This is the place where you will build your links, view your traffic and earnings reports, and read about the latest news and opportunities available to you through the program.

Participation is Easy and Free

Complete the online application.

Create & post your links to Amazon.com using our Build Links tool in Associates Central.

Begin tracking your traffic and earnings reports online. Reports are updated daily.

Associates Compensation Overview

With Amazon's leadership status in Internet e-commerce, Amazon Associates have many ways to make money: not only will you earn money on the sale of books, music, and DVDs, but also on toys, electronics, kitchen, apparel, jewelry, and more. The Amazon.com Associates program differentiates itself from other affiliate programs by offering millions of products to choose from, industry leading conversion rates and competitive referral fee rates that produce more money for our Associates.

Our compensation philosophy is simple: reward Associates for their contributions to our business in unit volume and in growth. Amazon is a fast growing business and we want our Associates to grow with us.

Compensation Details

We offer Associates a choice between two compensation plans, the Classic Fee Structure and the Performance Fee Structure. You may select either structure at any time during the month. The deadline for making a selection is 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on the last day of the month. At the end of the month, your most recent selection will be used to calculate your fees for the whole month. You will remain enrolled in the plan for the following month unless you choose otherwise.

To get you started out on the right foot, when you join the program you will automatically be enrolled in our Performance Fee Structure. After reading the descriptions below, we think you'll agree that the Performance Fee Structure is the most lucrative option. We hope that the additional earnings opportunity offered by the Performance Fee Structure will motivate you to start referring a high volume of traffic to Amazon.com as soon as you complete your application.

Option 1: Performance Fee Structure

When you join the program you are automatically enrolled in our Performance Fee Structure. The Performance structure allows you to earn higher fees when you generate a sufficient volume of referrals that result in sales at Amazon.com during a month. The higher your referrals, the greater your earnings will be.

Under the Performance Fee Structure, your referral rate will range from 4% to 10%, and be based on your total number of shipped items from both Amazon and third-party sellers. The same rate will apply equally to both Amazon and third-party items and will apply to all referred items shipped during the month. Please refer to the referral rate tier chart below for additional details.

Option 2: Classic Fee Structure

This is our fixed-referral-rate plan. You earn a 4% referral fee on items offered by Amazon or by third parties.

Caps: Personal computers (both desktops and laptops) have referral fees capped at $25, and Unbox Video Downloads are capped at $1.50 per item. No other product lines have their referral fees capped.

Fine Print: Please note that the information above is only a summary of the two fee structures offered for the month. Other terms and conditions apply. The classification of a Qualifying Product unit as a personal computer will be determined by us in our sole discretion. Please refer to the Associates Program Operating Agreement for complete details. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between anything on this page and the Operating Agreement, the terms of the Operating Agreement will control.

Start making money today. Click here for easy registration.

Book Recommendation: The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

This author has convinced me to change my assumptions about work life and personal goals. This is an easy read. Although I am a slow and easily distracted reader, I finished the book from cover-to-cover in a few sittings. I even spent some time researching the web links but didn't do all the challenges because I was eager to absorb all the ideas first.

It is probably best to read the book one time through quickly to grasp his point of view (the author even gives a brief blurb on how to speed read). Then after you "get it" take some time doing the challenges if you feel so compelled.

I have already implemented one of the author's recommendations in my daily life....check email only twice per day: right before lunch then again an hour before the end of the day. Process every email at the time you read it. Seems a simple challenge but I did suffer "withdrawal symptoms" from not constantly checking email. And you know what? Because I stayed focus on the task at hand and not constantly checking email I left work last Thursday (April 27) feeling less stressed and more accomplished. This is only a brief part of the book but to me was impactful.

Ferriss gives some great ideas about starting your own business even if you don't have or desire an MBA (like me). He provides lists of free and paid resources to help you along the way.

There is a simple road map for freeing yourself from the 9-5 grind. Is it attainable? I hope so. Maybe I'm just being an optimist but yesterday I took the day off from my "cube job" and spent part of my day setting up an online business following his "case studies".

The downside is that the book is provides a cursory glance at some topics that need to be expanded. However, I think he did a good job at presenting his view of how life can be. He's also opened himself up to "The 4 Hour Workweek 2.0" when he can go in more depth.

In all I found it an enjoyable read. I plan to follow his "roadmap" and see where it takes me. I already recommended it to two other friends.

Lead Generation for the Complex Sale: Boost the Quality and Quantity of Leads to Increase Your ROI

With the complex sale emerging as the norm in today’s business-to-business environment, it’s more challenging than ever to keep a consistent stream of qualified leads in your sales pipeline. You’ve probably lost critical hours by relying on outdated methods or spinning your wheels looking for new tactics to push the sales needle forward.

Lead Generation for the Complex Sale arms you with a sophisticated multimodal approach to generating highly profitable leads. Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch Incorporated and expert in lead generation solutions, reveals key strategies that you can implement immediately to win new customers, accelerate growth, and improve your sales performance.

You'll start by defining your ideal leads and targeting your ideal customer. Then, you'll construct your lead generation plan, a crucial step to staying ahead of your competition long-term. To help you put your plan into action, Carroll guides you step by step to:

* Align sales and marketing efforts to optimize the number of leads
* Use multiple lead generation vehicles, including e-mail, referrals, public relations, speaking events, webinars, and more
* Create value for the prospective customer throughout the buying process
* Manage a large group of leads without feeling overwhelmed
* Identify and prioritize your best prospects
* Increase the percentage of leads who become profitable customers
* Avoid lulls in the sales cycle
* How to increases the percentage of leads who become profitable customers
* Know how to identify and prioritize your best prospects
* Ready yourself for what's next – new and promising tactics

With Lead Generation for the Complex Sale you'll learn how to target prospects early in the buying process and make the most efficient use of sales productivity and marketing resources. Plus, you’ll pursue and capture future opportunities for viable leads.

In a business environment where your competition is growing and your budget is inevitably shrinking, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale gives you the power to drive a fast, optimal return on your investment and keep a steady stream of new customers coming your way.

Great Book: The Long Tail

In The Long Tail, Chris Anderson offers a visionary look at the future of business and common culture. The long-tail phenomenon, he argues, will "re-shape our understanding of what people actually want to watch" (or read, etc.). While Anderson presents a fascinating idea backed by thoughtful (if repetitive) analysis, many critics questioned just how greatly the niche market will rework our common popular culture. Anderson convinced most reviewers in his discussion of Internet media sales, but his KitchenAid and Lego examples fell flat. A few pointed out that online markets constitute just 10 percent of U.S. retail, and brick-and-mortar stores will never disappear.






Anderson's thesis came under a separate attack by Lee Gomes in his Wall Street Journal column. Anderson had defined the "98 Percent Rule" in his book to mean that no matter how much inventory is made available online, 98 percent of the items will sell at least once. Yet Gomes cited statistics that could indicate that, as the Web and Web services become more mainstream, the 98 Percent Rule may no longer apply: "Ecast [a music-streaming company] told me that now, with a much bigger inventory than when Mr. Anderson spoke to them two years ago, the quarterly no-play rate has risen from 2% to 12%. March data for the 1.1 million songs of Rhapsody, another streamer, shows a 22% no-play rate; another 19% got just one or two plays." If Anderson overreaches in his thesis, he has nonetheless written "one of those business books that, ironically, deserves more than a niche readership"

Meaningful Marketing

The impressively collaborative effort of Dough Hall (CEO of the Ohio-based invention think tank Eureka! Ranch) and Jeffrey Stamp (Vice President of Research & Development, Eureka! Ranch), Meaningful Marketing is a practical, "user friendly", resource book which offers the reader 100 truths and 402 useful ideas to improve marketing, and move more product with less expenditure.





A one hour audio CD complements and enhances the presentation of insightful and useful ideas, as well as caveats to guard against common mistakes and misconceptions. Meaningful Marketing is a superb resource for anyone considering, studying, or employed in the complex business of commercial marketing regardless of the products or services involved.

Punk Marketing: Get Off Your Ass and Join the Revolution

The marketing revolution is here, so get on the right side of the barricade and become a part of it! Let's thank Mr. and Mrs. Consumer and their little Consumerlings who have seized power from the corporations and are now firmly in control.

In Punk Marketing, Laermer and Simmons take an irreverent, penetrating look at the seismic change in the relationship between the people who sell stuff—products, services, entertainment—and those who purchase it. They demonstrate that to survive in business, a revolutionary approach is needed—one they have branded “Punk Marketing”—and it's one we all need to understand, for the traditional divisions among commerce, content, and consumers are continuing to blur ever more rapidly.

Never dull, sometimes controversial, but always a helluva lot of fun, Punk Marketing presents a manifesto for any businessperson needing to engage consumers—or any consumer seeking to understand and employ their newfound power. And here's the good news: It's based on principles that have existed forever. In an age of digital video recorders, “branded” entertainment, cell-phone TV, multiplayer online games, and never-ending social networking, a coherent approach to marketing has never been more vital. With Punk Marketing, there's a built-in plan to equip you with tools to make all this change work out just fine, thanks.

Punk Marketing is the first shot—soon to be heard 'round the world—of a long-awaited and breathless uprising that businesses want, deserve, and desperately need.

How to Succeed as a Small Business Owner ... and Still Have a Life

I'm an avid reader/researcher and now and entrepreneur so I have read LOTS of books on small business. This is the first book that I really felt "got it!" The writer clearly knows what it is like for a small business and has realistic tips and ideas for growing your business the right way and ending up where you want it to be.

The title initally appealed to me since running your own business can be so draining. This book was approachable, easy to read, and had actionable ideas from the beginning. I also like that it "got" the realities of being a small business owner and didn't take up your time with worthless "exercises" or visions of what your business plan should be like. After reading this book I was so inspired to create my own business plan and start working on business improvements laid out in the plan. The book helped me find the clarity I had really be lacking and it made me feel like it wouldn't be too difficult or onerous to do.

This book is a MUST for every small business owner who wants to see their business grow in a sustainable way!!! I can't recommend it highly enough.