My Position as a JV Partner

I just received my review copy of Butterfly Marketing this morning - on launch date, no less. Unfortunately that left me no room to offer a full review of the package in time. I'll keep you posted as to when that review is posted, though.

Just as I sat down to write my thoughts, I found that an anonymous contributor had already posted a comment on yesterday's blog post that practically mirrored the things I was going to share with you myself. You can read that comment here (it's the first one after the original post).

I do agree with the comments that were left there, and I think it's a shame that so many that are following this campaign have been left with a sense of uncertainty about it all.

I think that there are some important lessons to be learned from this campaign, though. Whether you purchase the course and learn the strategies taught there, or not... there is plenty to be picked up just from watching it all unfold.

I am a JV Partner (a Joint Venture partner, or an affiliate) for the Butterfly Marketing promotion, so my thoughts are coming solely from that perspective...

I'm of the opinion that JV Partners and/or affiliates are a product developer's biggest asset. In fact - done right - a product developer can give all of his attention to those partners and to customer service, and never have to spend time actively marketing his own product.

If you treat them like gold, they will do all of the work for you. Give them a complimentary copy of the product, a great commission structure, the tools to work with, and plenty of time combined with timely follow-up... and you have a group of people who will promote your product(s) faithfully. These people will build your credibility, drive tons of traffic to your sites, post detailed reviews of your products and even recommend your affiliate program to their peers.


Obviously, that is not exactly how the pre-launch and promotion went for the Butterfly Marketing campaign. I am disappointed, yes... but I do want to say that I have a lot of respect for Mike Filsaime too, and I have to give him credit where credit is due.

As JV Partners, we were kept updated by email very frequently, and we were given several tools to work with from downloads to videos along the way. Unfortunately the download had it's errors and the review copies didnt arrive in time for us to review the material - and I'm afraid that will most certainly leave it's mark.

I think that one of the things that stood out even above that, though, was that I never really knew what the target market was for this product. It wasnt clear throughout the JV messages, and I still wasnt entirely sure after I read the "leaked chapter" (as noted here). That made it very difficult to promote, as I wasnt sure how to 'qualify' the traffic I would send to the main site.

All of that is behind us now, of course, as I have a copy of the Butterfly Marketing package in my hands now... and I intend to go through it piece by piece and see what it is all about. I've barely had time to scan over it all just yet. Once I took a quick look at all of the material, I threw everything to the side and went for the meat - the main book.

That's where I'll start... and I'll keep you posted on my thoughts ;)

About Butterfly Marketing

Here we are at the end of the month, and you've probably been hearing about the Butterfly Marketing promotion just as much as I have (if not more). This will be one of those product launches that goes down in Internet Marketing history, no doubt.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some candid thoughts on the Butterfly Marketing campaign. I have not yet received a review copy of this package, so I can't give you any more information just yet. From what I understand it is on its way (checking watch)...

At any rate, if you haven’t checked it out lately (the BM pre-launch site), you should take a minute to watch Mike's most recent video, which is a walk-through of his PayPal account. It's quite an eye-opener.

I have no clue exactly what the Butterfly Marketing package is about, exactly... but each email that rolls out gives just a little more information, and a few more hints. If you havent seen them yourself, these testimonials came out in one of the last few emails - which gives a basic idea of what we might expect from the course:

Joe Cooper -
"Within two days of launching the site, I had already made back more than my entire investment in Mike's Package - just from the upsell sales!

I received close to 7,000 new subscribers in the first 7 days, and dozens of sales. I have not promoted the site at all other than those first five JV partners and that one email, but the site is still growing by usually 20-50 members a day.

At the last count, I have 14,367 members and I have had a total of 307 upsells at $97 each - giving a gross income so far of $29,779."


Keith Wellman -
"I was in a dead end job, baby on the way, and my marriage was suffering from the stress.

After using Butterfly Marketing, I made $3500 in my first month, $5000 in my next, $7000 in my next month, and I just quit my Job and my now mea and my HAPPY FAMILY are moving to Atlanta.

I made over $15,000 just last month and it all started with Butterfly Marketing."


Tom Beal -
"You launching Butterfly Marketing has created a butterfly effect that I feel will ripple on for generations to come.

I just had a very soft launch I began seeing an amazing phenomenon. People began referring people through their automatically generated affiliate links and within days I had 79 referral signups with 4 - $97 upsell sales.

I am now seeing an ongoing list and making $100 per day. 'Thank you' just doesn't seem powerful enough of a phrase to express the gratitude I have for you and your product, Mike!"


There is a call tonight that will explain more -

Monday, January 30th - at 9PM, EST.

Here are the details that I have on that:

Speakers - Mark Joyner / Mike Filsaime
Capacity - 1000 members across 2 phone lines
(2000 additional via Webcast)

Call Information - Look out for details in next emails.

Topic - Mike Filsaime agrees to Mark Joyner's Request to a "No-Holds-Barred' Interview surrounding the launch of ButterflyMarketing.com

Mark may ask 'ANY' questions related to the Launch. i.e. - Product Details, Price, Launch Strategies, Launch Day Bonuses, goal sales... You name it.

Nothing will be held back...

---------------------

Mike also said:

"I am also going to give away some strategies I have never told anyone about before. It is based on information Mark Joyner shared with me and the research blew my mind and will blow you away to. You may never send out another email at the same time of day again...

Also, not only am I giving away a free copy of Butterfly Marketing on Saturday, I am also going to GIVE AWAY ADDITIONAL FREE COURSE to a random person on the call. The name of the winner will be said just before I show the sneak preview sales page!

You need to be on the call to win this free course."

Click Here to Get On The Call


So there you have it. This is obviously worth following, so if you arent "on the list" yet, make sure you sign up and get in on the call at least ;)

I do have more thoughts, but I'll save those for another post...

A little inspiration...

A little inspiration never hurts...

Whether it be music, a friend, or something you hear or read.


Speaking of which, I came across a new article by Jack Humphrey that I really enjoyed. He was talking about content sites, and profit potential in 2006. You can find that here: Building Content Sites. Definitely inspiring for those of us that invest a lot of time in our "virtual real estate" ;)

I also came across a really fun press release on Connie Berg, who has a network of affiliate sites. I believe I got the link from Alan Gardyne's forum originally... At any rate, if you havent seen it yet, you can check it out here: Waseca entrepreneur finds success .


I'd love to hear your thoughts on those two pieces... and also, anything that's inspired you lately.

Week Three - 2006

While the first two weeks of the year seemed to go really well, this past week was just the opposite. It just seemed to be a little scattered and distracted... but I guess that's life :p

My daughter came down with a cold at the beginning of the week, that I ended up with by week's end. Add in there that they had Monday off from school, and then a snow day on Wednesday... and a few other unexpected things that life threw at me, and it was just an all around crazy week! LOL

So here it is Saturday morning - time to go over the week behind me, and pencil in the plans for the week ahead. I was going over my stats this morning to get some bearing, and noticed that sales are down overall - across all of my sites. Search engine rankings are starting to rise in some places though, which is driving new traffic and should give things a boost.

It's normal for sales to wind down a bit just after the holidays, of course - and it seems like a big drop after the rush of holiday sales in November and December - but having been at this for several seasons I see it as a normal trend for this time of year. No concerns there...

That said, it does make me take a second look at ways that I can increase profit potential across my niche sites year round. So that is my focus for the week ahead: analyzing each of my niche/affiliate sites and making notes for improvements.

Lovely...

I got a terribly sore throat this week, and before I knew it I was down with a full blown head cold - and hopefully just that, and not the dreaded flu bug that is going around. Ann Marie (my youngest) had been sick this week, so I had been doctoring her up and letting her sleep with me too... Smart Mommy I know :p

Ahh well - here's hoping it passes quickly, at least ;)


In the meantime, as I was catching up on my email a bit this evening I ran across something you might enjoy...

This is a new blog post from Jason Cain:
3 Ways For Bloggers To Make Money With Video!

Snow Day!

While I was driving home last night, there were big wet flakes coming down like crazy. It had been raining all day, and by dark there was standing water in the roads and puddles everywhere. Ann Marie and I were taking turns wiping the 'fog' off of the car windows so that we could see out, both tired and just ready to get home.

When the snow started, the flakes were so big and wet that they almost slapped the windshield. I said "Look, it's snowing!". We both looked up at the street light as we passed it and we could see the snow was really coming down... it was beautiful. We were just getting into town where there were more lights, and Ann Marie stayed glued to the car window watching the snow fall.

Where it had just been a dreary and drenching rain all day, now it was this beautiful white swirling that filled the sky. We were both all smiles, and she was clapping her hands and saying that school would probably be out :)

It's hard to tell in Tennessee anymore. We go from 60 degrees to snow and back to 60 degrees again. All in the same week.

I got up before dawn this morning and peeked out. Hmm, still too dark to see much. I got online and checked the school closings, and sure enough - we had a snow day! :-D

I tiptoed into the kids rooms and turned off their alarm clocks, then tiptoed back out closing their doors. Might as well let them sleep in, right?

Then I put on my housecoat and made a big pot of coffee. It's going to be a nice day :)

Week Two - 2006

This second week of January proved to be just as productive, and (thankfully) even more organized than the first. As I mentioned last Saturday, I am sitting down at the end of each week to go over goals & plans and to map out the week ahead. A new weekly habit, if you will, to keep me on target and to analyze progress across the board.

This week my main focus was the Turning Ideas Into Dollars site. I manage this membership portal alongside my partner Andre Chaperon. We ended 2005 with a great discussion about the changes we would like to make within the site for the coming year, and so we have been 'in progress' with those plans for the last few weeks.

Our plans included moving the site to a dedicated server, changing our CMS (content management system) from Mambo to WordPress, and bringing in a few new Advisors. We also outlined the new content and tutorials for the coming year, and moved our mailing lists over to Aweber.

All said and done, we made a lot of progress this past week, and have things moving forward at a steady pace. It may be a bit 'under construction' at the moment, but will be well worth the wait for active members ;)


Other things that I accomplished this week included: getting final payment from each of the affiliate merchants that owed me past due commissions (link), setting up Valentines promotions for a couple of my affiliate sites, outlining my seasonal promotions for my niche mailing lists, and making a few updates on several of my websites.

All in all, a very productive week!

So what about you? How did your 2nd week of the New Year go... and what kind of progress did you make with your goals & resolutions?

Oh! And I told you I would give you a link to the Body Challenge that I joined last week. You can find that here: http://BodyChallenge.net . Should be fun!

Short Sentences

I really dont like
emails that are
formatted so that
they only have
three or four words
per line... like this.

In email marketing
it is standard to use
a hard break so that
your sentences dont
go all the way across
the screen. It just
makes your message
much easier to read.

But please... let's stick
to the standard of 60
characters per line!

Getting an email that
only stretches 20 or 30
characters per line is
just maddening!

You
might
as
well
write
it
like
this!

< / rant >

My Honest Opinion...

I have to shoot straight with you here. I am getting the information on Butterfly Marketing on the same timeline that everyone else is. To keep you up to date, I post the links & downloads the minute that I get them... which doesnt always mean I get the opportunity to read them myself, first.

In fact, yesterday I posted a link to the 'Leaked Chapter' of Butterfly Marketing - which I had not yet read through. I had other obligations to tend to, yet I didnt want you to miss out because it was offered on a very limited-time basis.

One of the biggest questions about the Butterfly Marketing package so far has been: What is it, and Who is it for? I felt the 'Leaked Chapter' really answered those questions...

My honest opinion on the 'Leaked Chapter' of Butterfly Marketing?

Sure... Here goes:

Reading this document gave me the impression that this product (Butterfly Marketing) is geared solely towards product developers and affiliate program managers. The concepts may also work well for membership site owners and service-based business owners. But my main feeling was that the material will work best for those who have their own products, or plan to create their own products.

In fact, if you are a blogger or build websites to earn Adsense revenue... or are a full-time affiliate marketer... the entire Leaked Chapter may have just gone over your head completely - or just bored you to tears.

There just hasnt been enough information about the product (which is to be launched Jan 31st) to determine it's target market - or who will be most interested in purchasing it. As for the name of the product (Butterfly Marketing), I am reminded of the movie "The Butterfly Effect" in which the concept is that every small thing that we do has a cumulative effect. Think ripple effect. Which leads me to believe that much of the content will revolve around Viral Marketing strategies. (I'm taking a stab in the dark here, yes)

If you read the document too, you couldnt help but notice that it was full of typos and grammatical errors - which made it incredibly hard to read. In fact, there were several paragraphs that I had to read two and three times just to 'get' what he was trying to say.

I know I wasnt the only one to be put off by this, because there were several comments left on Mike's blog about it... and this is in a document that Mike has been working on for well over a year (pg 7 of the Leaked Chapter).

I'm not sure what to make of that... I think my main thought on it was this: "Will the negative effect of this Leaked Chapter have a 'butterfly effect' on the entire Butterfly Marketing campaign?" -- my guess is yes.

(And will this blog post that contains my candid thoughts and honest opinions have a 'butterfly effect' in the long run? My guess is yes again...)


About the section on Spilt Pay (yes, I'm being facetious... it was "Split Pay"): I dont like this strategy at all. From a merchants standpoint, I dont like the idea of putting my buyers through an extra step to complete the order process. I dont want to put questions (or stumbling blocks) in their mind at 'checkout'. It just seems completely unnecessary (and a good place to lose the buyer).

From a buyers point of view, it's awkward. I've actually purchased a product that was set up on Split Pay before... and the only reason I followed through with the order was because I knew and liked the guy that was making the offer. It wasnt even a product that I ever used - just an act of support to someone who was holding a 'firesale' to raise funds.

That's just my opinion... test it yourself, and track the results.

On the topic of immediate payout, though, I do agree that this is a good way to encourage your affiliates (if you have them) and to keep them actively promoting your products. In fact, I am an affiliate for Jason James (owner of Auction Resource Network) and can vouch that this strategy truly works. Jason pays out daily via PayPal, he offers a high percentage, the program has a 2nd tier... and he gives his affiliates an incredible arsenal of tools & resources with which to promote his program successfully.

Jason's affiliate program is the absolute best example I have ever seen of what Mike talks about on pages 15-20 of the 'Leaked Chapter'. Speaking of which, go read the paragraph on page 20 again... That one set me back almost as much as the typos.

Anyway, if you are an affiliate and have no interest in developing products or managing your own affiliate program -- definitely check out Jason's affiliate program. You'll have to scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on "site map" to find the affiliate program link. This will put you in my 2nd tier ;)

Back to the document, though, the last thing that I wanted to say was on the section about Integration Marketing (p 25-26). It seems to me that this would work best in the "Internet Marketing" niche - and only for "established" Internet Marketers. At least, that is my impression after reading those two pages.

Dont get me wrong - "co-promotion" strategies can work in any niche! I just felt as if the information in this particular document was focused on Internet Marketing. You can use the same concepts on your niche site about Bird Feeders, for example... you would just have to get creative and tailor the concept to work in your favor.

(I doubt you have a membership site about Bird Feeders, or a Free Trial Offer... but I could be wrong)

That was all that he meant by "Integration Marketing", by the way: co-promotion or joint venturing. It's not a new concept, just a new name.


This product is NOT for everyone (obviously). That said, it will likely be like GOLD to a select few. While the target market has not yet been defined (at all), my best guess is that this is a product that will be of the most value to people who want to become established as an Internet Marketing Guru. It may even be the key for those that are eager to join the 'elite' at the top of the IM Niche.

I havent even received my review copy yet, so I may be eating those words within the week ;) I dont mind saying that upfront, because the truth is that nobody really knows much of anything about Butterfly Marketing - yet, anyway. All you have here is my thoughts, guesses, opinions and comments... which I am guessing mirrored many of your own thoughts on the topic. Yes?


Until the next update, you can still get the free Leaked Chapter and enter the drawing to win a copy of Butterfly Marketing through the links in my last blog post. I'll keep you posted as new information becomes available, of course - and will be standing by ready to stick my foot in my mouth if need be ;)

Free Download That's Creating a Buzz

You have probably already heard that Mike Filsaime 'leaked' a chapter of the upcoming Butterfly Marketing package. If you haven't already downloaded a copy, you can get yours here:

Download a Free Chapter of the Butterfly Marketing Package


This is a very limited time offer, so if you don't see that when you click through... my apologies. Go ahead and grab this free PDF file while it is available to get a 'sneak peak' into the Butterfly Marketing package.

Once you submit your request for the free document, you will be redirected to Mike Filsaime's blog, where you can find instructions to enter the drawing for a free copy of the full package.

A lot of people are talking about this 'Leaked Chapter' already - it has obviously created quite a buzz. I'd love to hear your comments!

Week One - 2006

The first week of the New Year comes to an end, and I find myself sipping coffee on this sunny Saturday morning... with my mind buzzing in several different directions.

My morning started out like most mornings do: I started the coffee pot. I ran a sink full of soapy water and did the few dishes from the night before. I sat down and filtered out the junk email that came in overnight, and deleted the spam from my discussion forum. As I went through my morning routine, Ideas came to me... and I jotted those down on my notepad as I continued on.

As I was going through the motions, my mind was like a mental checklist - going over the week behind, the week ahead, things I wanted to get done today, etc. I plan to get my linen closet re-organized today, and also clean off my desk. I am starting a new 'diet challenge' next week, and have been putting some thought into what my plans will be (and I'll give you a link to this as soon as I have it). I also planned to go shopping today and get my son a new winter coat.

And then it just hit me, and I stopped right there and decided to refill my coffee cup and take a break for a few minutes. My mind is just entirely too busy this morning - going at full speed. I'm geared up with new goals, feeling very positive about the New Year we've just stepped into, and basically just full of motivation and drive!

The thought that hit me was this: Is all of this drive and motivation we pump ourselves with at the beginning of a year... a recipe for burn-out and failure? Are we setting ourselves up to fail at our New Years resolutions with too much energy, and not enough direction - or long term planning?

For me, Saturday mornings are nice and quiet - and a perfect time to take a moment to myself to reflect and plan. I decided to make this a weekly habit for the rest of 2006 - to sit down and go over my goals and plans, and map out the week ahead.

I like to break things down into 'bite size chunks', so this will work out nicely for me. Instead of pushing hard and driving myself into insanity, I will just take this year one week at a time. That is not to say that I dont have long term goals - because I do - but that I will approach them with deliberate purpose and realistic timelines.

I will grab a cup of coffee and sit down here and 'blog it' each Saturday morning, for the next 52 weeks. You are welcome to join me, and we can hash out the week behind us and brainstorm for the week ahead.


I still plan to clean off my desk and organize my linen closet today, but I am also going to go over my task lists and goal sheets and do some brainstorming on exactly how I want to proceed from here. As for the shopping, I got smart and logged on to jcpenneys.com and Zack and I were done shopping in five minutes flat. Why drive across town and join the Saturday morning crowd at the mall if you dont have to! :p

So what about you? How did your first week of the New Year go? Did you launch 7 new websites, clean out all of your closets, lose 23 pounds and completely close out your accounting for 2005?

If you didnt, dont sweat it. Just join me here on Saturday mornings and we'll take this year one week at a time ;)

Free Guides from the Archives

I was just going through some of the Archives of my site & newsletter, and came across several free guides and great resources that were worth mentioning again. If you missed these the first time around, here's your chance to pick up some great material - free!


1) How to Make Six Figures Online
In this Blueprint for Success, Jimmy D. Brown gives us three foolproof steps - and a very specific action plan - for building a $100,000/year business online.

(You have permission to resell or reprint this report)

NEW: Jimmy D. Brown just released this timely video: How To Get Everything You Want In Your Busines and Life in 2006

Jimmy says, "Do you want 2006 to be YOUR year for success, instead of letting another 12 months pass you by?" If so, check out the video!


2) WordTracker's Keyword Research Guide
This 75-page guide features leading experts in the SEO industry and asks them to provide keyword advice to a fictional company selling vegetarian dog food online. WordTracker is the industry leader in keyword research tools. You can download their new guide for free - no strings attached, no list to join. Be sure to grab a copy!


3) How to Have Your Subscribers Lining Up To Read Your Emails While Deleting Your Competition!
This is a report by Lisa Preston that I really enjoyed myself. As the developer of Instant Niche Emails, she knows what she is talking about when it comes to email marketing ;)


4) Free SEO Tips
This is a link to Aaron Wall's SEO Blog. Aaron offers offers search engine optimization tips, an SEO ebook for sale, and covers current search engine news. Got search engine questions? Ask Aaron!


5) Free SEO Course
SEO Expert, Brad Callen spills the beans and reveals the closely guarded secrets of the world's greatest search engine experts... all for FREE!


6) NEW: Paul Smithson just released a terrific little report on Setting Goals. You can download a copy here: http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/free/setting-goals.pdf

In this report, Paul shows us how to turn resolutions into achievable goals. You'll also learn how to have "balanced goals" - and why this is (so!) important.


Enjoy!

You Could Win This!

In my 2005/2006 post, I mentioned that there were a couple of things that really had my attention going into this New Year. One of those things is Mike Filsaime's Butterfly Marketing package.

Butterfly Marketing is not yet available to the public, but I am expecting my review copy to arrive any day now. In fact, I have already created a page on my site for the review, so you can go ahead and bookmark this and then check back for new information there each week:

Butterfly Marketing Review
(this link will open in a new window)

The official launch date is set for January 31st. The reason that I am bringing it up now is because Mike is giving away TWO copies of Butterfly Marketing before January 31st. One of which he has already given away! The second drawing will take place on January 28th, 2006.

The package will sell for over $1,000... and I wanted to give you a heads-up on this so that you can get your entry in well before the 28th.


--> Click Here to Enter the Drawing <--


If you arent already familiar with Mike Filsaime, he is the man behind PayDotCom, InstantBuzz and Carbon Copy Marketing (just to name a few of his online ventures).

Michel Fortin said, and I quote:

"I think that Mike's butterfly effect concept is not only powerful, but to be privy to his secrets is also going to make a lot of people insanely successful. (And rich.) I can't wait!"


Good luck! I'd love to see you win this!

What I am listening to right now...

I just got an email from Jeff Johnson (the Search Engine Voodoo guy) with a link to an audio interview that I decided to listen in to. Here is a copy of that message:

------------------------

I recorded an interview today (1-2-06) with an expert about a topic that is of great interest to both SEO and non-SEO marketers looking for new ways to generate tons of high-quality free traffic.

It also puts your incoming links campaign on auto-pilot and can help increase your existing rankings.

Not to mention generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales and free publicity if done correctly.

You can get started with the techniques outlined in this call recording with zero upfront costs.
Best of all, it only takes a few minutes to learn and anyone who can type can take advantage of these techniques.

The call only lasted about 30 minutes so it is definitely worth the time to listen.

Here is the free call recording:
http://www.salesautomator.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=185928

------------------------

The link above is not an affiliate link - or at least it is not mine. This is the same link that was in Jeff's email, and it opens the audio file directly (it doesnt take you to a web page). I assume it is Jeff's tracking link to determine how many people listen to the interview.

At any rate, I am listening in now - and will post comments on it later. I thought you might want to listen in too...


Edited to add: In the first few moments of the audio, I learned that this interview includes Marc Harty and is on the topic of Press Releases. Great stuff so far! I actually met Marc at the Publishing Profits Seminar in Chicago just over a year ago.

Here you can see a photo of us at that seminar: Fabio Marciano on the left, myself in the middle and Marc Harty on the right: