The Maverick Marketer Blog

Lots of folks are mailing today about John Reese’s Reese
Report.

John’s a friend of mine and perhaps more important right now is that he’s someone I look to as a mentor.

First time I heard him was on a call in like 2003 with a bunch of other sharp guys and his answers just stood
out from the rest.

He’s blunt… he speaks his mind, and he’s deadly honest… and soft spoken at the same time. All of which is a good thing when you want to get advice about what to do with your business.

At every seminar he’s at, the host puts him on the expert panel at the end… even if he wasn’t one of the scheduled speakers.

No hype or bs… and he delivers truckloads of content when he does decide to release a report or blog post.

I know, his name strikes fear and loathing in the hearts of those who don’t like all the hub bub about his big $1mill day in 2004 when he launched his Traffic Secrets home study course and made history by selling over 1000 copies at a grand
each.

And, others flock around him like a sea of groupies at seminars, almost tripping over themselves to talk to him.

So it’s not surprising that opinions about John abound on both sides… but without hesitation I’ll say that anyone who doubts John’s marketing savvy or dislikes him for his successful track record is teetering on the edge of stupidity.

Want to know my opinion?

When John launched the Reese Report over a year ago I was among the first to sign up as a charter member and I’ve been paying with a smile on my face every month ever since.

I download the digital version the minute he announces it is up and I read it before the print version lands in my mailbox.

You should see the pile of digital and print stuff that I let pile up, unread, on my shelves… but RR I read immediately.

Hey, John’s influenced me a great deal so if you like reading my stuff, I can’t imagine you wouldn’t like his.

But… in this case… it really doesn’t matter what I think.

Go check out an issue of his letter for yourself…

He’s made $97 (literally) worth of his newsletter (including the multimedia stuff) without asking for anything but your email at… http://www.maverickmarketer.com/rr

I know you probably have an inbox full of emails about this… but in case you hadn’t seen it yet, I want to make sure you get a chance.

Plus, I wanted to throw my two cents in on the controversy that kicks up whenever John does something.

Whatever you think of the Reese Report sample… I’d recommend that you get on his list to watch what he does.

I do.

All the best,

Craig Perrine

When I started Maverick Marketer last summer, my vision was to show you how to stand out from all the noise and win your customer’s hearts.

After all… it doesn’t matter how good your product or service is if your marketing doesn’t stop prospects long enough to consider your offer.

So much marketing flies at you from every possible media source, including the Internet, that sometimes I really wonder if ours heads are going to start popping one of these days.

When I say "Maverick" what I’m referring to, in part, is what makes some marketing (and marketers) different, noticeable, and believable.

Being a Maverick in a hype filled industry often is little more than simply doing your marketing in a personal and engaging way.

Like when I write about my personal life or go off on a rant. Sure, I probably alienate some people each time I do, but the majority of my readers get to know me better.

The problem with Internet marketing compared to television or radio is that most websites are just text blobs…

You’ll notice, of course, that my site is the same way at maverickmarketer.com. It’s just text.

Why? Because it’s been working… 49% of visitors opt in. Of those, over 90% confirm their subscription. So I have left it as all text since I created it last summer.

If you haven’t seen already, I have links to screen cam videos on this blog… but overall the multi-media element has been missing on my site.

That’s about to change.

I’ve done some tests recently that have me re-designing my sites behind the scenes…

Here’s why… increased response = increase revenue.

I study marketing trends… what’s working, what’s not. What’s up and coming, and what’s old hat.

Let me tell you about a trend that I’ve been dabbling in that is literally taking over this year.

Video… it’s bringing the Internet from wild wild west to the greatest multimedia communications channel the world has ever known (thanks to a few pioneers).

Like I said, I’ve done screen cam videos for some of my case studies and promotions, but things are getting a whole lot more interesting than that now.

Multi-media is so powerful because our culture is predominantly visual. We’re conditioned to television and movies and that means that we’ll eventually demand that of our online experience, too.

Right now, nothing stands out in marketing online like video. It’s fresh, it’s different, and it gets noticed.

I get way more traffic to my blog posts that involve video than I do for text in general. On a previous blog that I published last year, I had a series of videos on my subscribers’ websites that got spread around the web. I was getting viral traffic resulting in comments on my blog from people who weren’t even on my list.

So why isn’t everyone doing audio and video on their sites?

Here’s the challenge up until now with video… it intimidates a lot of people. How the heck do you do it? What equipment do you need?

And it’s true… if you have no idea how to create a screen cam or don’t understand the equipment or software involved, it can seem like an impossible task to put video on your blog, website, or in your emails.

Heck, most people don’t really understand how to put up a website, let alone add multi-media to it.

Here’s the thing… I’ve got a couple of friends who are video and marketing pioneers, Mike Stewart and Jim Edwards. There’s been quite a buzz about these two since December because they released (and sold out) a soup to nuts, step by step home study course on how to do video.

I literally clicked on their link to buy the coure 9 minutes after they took the site down last year… I was locked out. I’ve waited till now to get a copy.

Yup, the’re re-launching their course now… and I’m going through it right now… What I’ve seen so far has proved to me that I will be doing a LOT more video very soon.

They’ve made it brain dead simple. Even a techophobe like me can ‘get it’ and take advantage of video now.

My landing page, my ecourse, and my next product are all going to have video incorporated in them. More importantly, I see how it’s going to be a lot faster and easier than I thought to get this done (and make it look right).

If you want to see video in action… check out the landing page Mike and Jim have to promote their home study course.

You go there (have your speakers turned up) and see if that isn’t a heck of a lot more effective as a first impression for someone who stops there than your typical website.

I’m going to see if I can get one or both of these guys on the phone and do a call for you.

Listen, I’m a reluctant techie. But I know that the web isn’t going back to the silent, text days any more than television and movies are going to lose audio and go black and white.

Things don’t move backwards… and if you are serious about marketing online, you want to take a good look at how video can be a part of increasing your profits at

http://www.maverickmarketer.com/videoprofits

Ever since I saw Mike Stewart present on audio and video at Big Seminar last year I knew this was coming… but now the training is available for folks like you and me to actually figure it out (Mike’s been in radio, TV and such for decades… he knows his stuff and it comes second nature to him… and Jim’s a marketing genius… so the two of them are a real dynamic duo).

Everything I’ve written about in my blog when it comes to courses and tools are things I’m using to build my own business… and audio and video are no different.

Why? Isn’t this just some fad everyone is promoting?

Nope. We even have a saying in our language: "Seeing is Believing".

If you can demonstrate a benefit about your product or deliver an info product in video (or a sales message), you’re going to get far more attention from your potential customer than if you just wrote on and on in text.

Don’t get me wrong… I love text. I love to read. But I’m wierd that way. My wife, for example, can’t stand long copy websites.

But… the reason people in Internet Marketing are so ga ga all of a sudden about video is that the truth of it’s effectiveness has become undeniable.

Look at the website launches of the most successful promotions… John Reese’s relaunch of Traffic Secrets — tons of video, Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula, Armand Morin’s Big Seminar has video testimonials, Mike Filsaime’s Butterfly Marketing, and now Jim and Mike’s course… all have very effective video on them.

One would have to be one heck of a Luddite to argue that video was a fad… especially now that TV, movies, newspapers, magazines and newsletters all are integrating with the Internet and blogs.

The real question is, what is holding you back from using video… not whether you should use it.

I had to be dragged into video kicking and screaming… I don’t easily pick up new techie stuff… but I did because I saw the raw power of being on that cutting edge.

Don’t stick your head in the sand on this one… the biggest response rate boosts from using video are going to go to those who adopt it early.

Later on… it’ll be more like TV… and you’ll have to work harder to stand out.

But don’t ignore video… there will soon come a day when just plan old text and a site slapped together won’t cut it at all.

Multi-media is big part of my email marketing strategy and my testing so far shows higher conversion rates with few exceptions (though I did one video last year that was a dud… no response at all… but I am learning now why it was such a flop from Mike and Jim’s course…).

I’ll be doing some videos here shortly and you’ll see me change my sites and emails right before your eyes (I couldn’t help it… had to go there, lol).

If there is enough response to this post… I’ll probably create a ‘look over my shoulder’ program while I implement it on my projects as I go throughMike and Jim’s course.

We’ll see. Stay tuned…

- Craig

P.S. I was always nervous about doing audio and video until Mike Stewart got me into it (audio first). It’s fun now, and I would not want to market online without it these days with everyone so overloaded with hype… a good screen cam video or regular video makes you stand out like nothing else. Check out this landing page that Mike and Jim did…

 

I’m sitting here listening to my iTunes music collection… ripped from my own CD collection from ‘the old days’ when I was in college… having a bit of an online marketing revelation I want to share with you.

It’s stunning for me to have the the memories and emotions flood back. It’s the surest form of time travel that I know of. I just listened to some old Clash that I listened to when I was 13, sitting in my mom’s apartment talking trash with my buddies in 8th grade.

Nothing like some old school British punk rock to liven up your day.

I haven’t walked in those shoes for over twenty four years. And what’s funnier and ‘circle of life-ish’ is that my 13 year old is the one who asked me to burn these Clash songs on to his iPod. (we even found my first Walkman… and I had to show him how to put the cassette in… and the darn thing didn’t even attempt to work… dead as a paperweight).

I know, I know… I’ve got some kharma coming to me… my own teen years are knocking at my door looking to collect on old ‘rebel without a cause’ debts. Somebody save me. Is my name Earl?

But I’ll tell you this… putting on the Nirvana or Clash or Metallica from my bad hair days (yes, I had a mullet and flirted with grunge for a while) helps me to remember what it is like to be 13 and think everyone over 30 is a clueless automaton sold out to ‘The Man’.

Luckily, I have more than the hard stuff in my CD collection…

I also found some Michael Jones ‘Sunscapes’ piano, new age stuff that I was introduced to when I went to Supercamp as a 15 year old.

That put me in a state where I was ready to do anything and take on the world in a much more positive way (after all, I not only did ropes courses and easy math tips… but also met Tony Robbins and many other people who helped me turn my life around and come to my dear parents’ assistance. I’ll tell you more about that pivotal experience soon because we’re coming up on the 25th anniversary).

I used to listen to Sunscapes, George Winston, and several Windham Hill artists and collections when I wanted to write in college. I churned out many a ’semi-decent’ term papers to those sounds (as well as The Red Hot Chilli Peppers for variety).

But I also sat on my washing machine, staring at the wall, drinking just a little too much Jack Daniels while Guns And Roses blared at levels none of my neighbors could love for too long wondering why the women in my life at the time seemed to make a sport out of playing hacky sack with my heart (how’s that for sappy and melodramatic… just being true to the times, lol).

After being happily married for ten years (as of December 31, 2005) I can say it’s been a long time since I walked in THOSE unhappy single shoes as well.

Good thing, too. I almost became a monk.

Now my cars have doors that shut without shoe string and I drink single malt scotch in moderation (mostly). Heck, my SUV actually has heated and cooled seats… something that perhaps only those in the hotter states would appreciate right about now.

Sure beats roll starting a 1972 Volkswagen Bug on a January night in Vermont with hands so cold they burned on the metal.

Oh, and with all due respect to my friends who drink Jack Daniels… (Michel!) I would rather pour it into one of my old cars than drink it today. Though next time my 13 year old pesters me to have something the grown ups are drinking… I might give him a taste of Kentucky’s finest and buy myself a few more years of him thinking booze is revolting, lol. One bad hangover can ruin a flavor for life, I guess. Nothing personal to bourbon, folks.

Then again, one hangover and a series of bad decisions can make you stop drinking altogether for 7 years… which I’ve done also. Nothing funny about getting lost in a bottle. Lost a few friends there.

If you think this has nothing to do with marketing, consider that your customers come from a variety of walks of life. I don’t know about you, but my life has brought me down many different paths… some pretty bumpy and dark, some a blessing beyond anything I’d imagined.

When a subscriber writes me that they’re hocking their stuff and sending their wife off to work 3rd shift at some meaningless job so they can hang on to their dream… I know whereof they speak.

When a woman writes me of her life long depression lifting due to discovering EFT and sends me her book she wrote about her journey, I can relate and feel joy at her massive accomplishment.

Having lost my mother to cancer at the crazy young age of 56, I can pray for those who now worry for someone just holding on or mourn the loss of a love one in a way that I wish I couldn’t… but that is the journey we travel here on Earth and there are times when life won’t let us forget it.

In a differnet way, but also scary at times, when someone tells me they just retired from corporate America and want to do something, anything, online that will work and give them something to raise their surprisingly limited standard of living after a career of service.

Sure humbles the snot nosed 13 year old still rattling around deep in my psyche, that’s for sure.

But these days things are good for me…

This spring I’m taking my family on an 8 week RV trip across the country to my former stomping grounds in Vermont where I spent 17 years (it took me a few months in Texas to thaw out… lol). Aimee and I have family there and Hayden, Ethan and Sam miss their grandparents and extended family and friends. It’s interesting to me that when I was 10 my father and I traveled the US in an RV for one magical summer… and today I’m bringing home my family to see him… in an RV.

Can anyone play the Lion King ‘Circle of Life’ song now?

I’m bringing my Portable Empire on the road with me as my friend and rising star Pat O’Bryan would say. He’s a former broke blues guitarist who’se taken a big bite out of the Internet and shows no signs of slowing down. He is having a workshop in May that sold out in like 11 hours after he promoted it… at $5,000 a ticket for just 25 people.

But Pat and I could tell you what it’s like to feel like success is just a cruel joke that rich people play on folks who don’t seem to have a clue how to achieve it.

That’s a tough place to be… and I’m eternally grateful it was more like a bad dream than a permanent reality.. all of my successful friends now have at one point or another tasted that bitter place, too. Gives one hope, that’s for sure.

What is reality? What is the truth?

It depends on the shoes you are wearing.

Do you have holes in the toes or does Gucci carry you through the day?

No judgement either way… it’s not about that. I’d prefer nice shoes to blisters, thanks, and I think most would. Though sometimes life calls for steel toed shit kickers and other times you want to have ski boots.

My point is…we all live in our own worlds, lost in experiences that are at once unique to ourselves and at the same time share emotions that are common to all humanity.

I’ll grant you that if you’ve lived a pristine life where the only thing that got broken was a fine glass of crystal when the maid tipped it off the table… you may have a harder time identifying with someone who’s idea of success is being sober for more than a day and getting a paycheck once every few months to make bets on the ponies.

Somewhere in between is probably where your customer is and when you market to him or her your copy will be more powerful if you can really connect with what it is like to walk in familiar shoes.

I’m a probably a Maverick because I’ve lived around the world, both in the UK, Germany, and several states in the US from east to west coast and now in the sunbelt. I’ve been to the former Yugoslavia and walked barefoot in the blue Mediterranean sea back before the country split into fragments… and I’ve watched belly dancers in an upscale restaurant in Calgary, Canada.

I’ve driven a Pontiac Bonneville with no powersteering (nearly off the road) and I’ve sailed on a 51 ft yacht around Sausalito, cruising home in a Porshe 911 that took me 7 years to afford.

It doesn’t hurt that I’ve hauled logs working on a farm in a foster home (luckily only for a weekend… long story) and hooted and hollared with good friends in a straw floor country western bar sharing a couple buckets of beers.

There was a time where you’d see me at the Opera… or at a Depeche Mode concert in Montreal with my friend passed out at my feet in a puddle of beer and other stuff I don’t want to identify.

Yes, I’ve even been squashed to the point of losing my breath at the front of a throng of Guns and Roses fans in an open air concert in Germany just a day after having food poisoning and 104 degree temperature.

I’ve tried FreeStyle Skiing (like some of the stuff you see in Turin), BMX bike tricks that made my mother’s hair turn gray… and done triple digit speeds on a racing motorcycle throught he hills of Vermont, dodging racoons.

I’m lucky enough to have lived through it all without any major broken bones (though I should have had my head checked a few times).

I’ve also sat on my couch for a semester and watched more HBO and drank more Budweiser than any one college student should… and I didn’t turn the channel when the nude scenes came on, either. Where do you think I saw Animal House and all the other classics?

As Paul Newman said when he played a Pool Hustler in "The Color Of Money", "I am a student of human moves."

While I’ve never been a hustler, I take pride in having played pool till 3am in a rough part of D.C. while buying drinks for guys that would have given me the chills had been clean and sober myself.

If you want to understand marketing… and people… and what makes them buy… and where they come from… it helps if you’ve wandered around a bit in life. There is only so much you can learn from watching reality TV and staying cocooned in your home turf.

I’m not saying you have to swap needles and walk through the Strawberry Fields Forever… but at a minimum, reading a broad range of biographies, stomaching more than a 30 second dose of a genuine daytime soap opera, and flipping through the pages of National Enquirer or Mad Magazine or Cosmo or Maxim would serve to help you sample a diverse pile of human experience (both good and bad).

Hey, if you’ve rolled the dice with your life already and come up bust, that’s cool, too. But don’t overlook the fact that life can be pretty smooth sailing, too, once you pile up enough losses to figure out how to win… it helps if you have a mentor, in this journey, that’s for sure.

Life isn’t just chaos and tough times… and it’s not just bliss and beauty. It’s everything as far as I can tell.

And if you’re like me, you may find that taking a tour of your music collection or downloading some old favorites on MP3 may just spark some memories and creative juices that have been hiding out for a while.

Transport yourself back to where you have been and where others are today, especially if it’s 180 degrees from where you are now.

Then try some new sounds…

If you’re on the top of the world, take a virtual tour through the darkest valley… and if you’re in that valley, read about those on top of the mountain as well as those climbing up by trying on their hiking boots for a while. It’s all human.

Next time you’re writing about the problems your product will solve and the benefits of buying it from you, there will be a richness and an understanding, a depth, that will resonate with your potential customer in a three dimensional way inaccessible to most ‘ads.’

We all lose touch with what it’s like for others at times… and keeping an open mind and observing reality from as many perpectives as possible will definitely keep you sharp and focused on what your customer truly wants to buy from you… and you may find, especially in information marketing, that it is far more than just your product, but your empathy, too.

So slap on the headphones and turn up the tunes… sample some sounds and take a trip down memory lane… you might just find the inner voice you’re looking for on that next project.

Currently, I’m listening to hot shot newcomer country artist, Michael Lee Austin… and I’ll tell you more about him next time.

- Craig

P.S. If you’re radio only plays one station… I highly recommend adjusting your dial to the right or left to find someone you normally wouldn’t listen too… and that applies double if you are listening to talk radio. Know thy neighbor. Know thyself.

P.P.S. I’ve gotten almost 500 responses to my ‘what is love’ survey at www.worldlovesurvey.com and it’s absolutely fascinating to see the answers from around the world. Far from just a PR stunt, this project is something that I’m personally motivated to follow further. Everything can’t be about money and marketing, after all…