It’s Simple, So It Must Not Work: How You Too Can Make Several Thousand Dollars in a Weekend
Let me tell you how my weekend went.
We made 8 sales of $97 Newbie Crusher, 3 subscriptions into $97/month Membership Cube, 1 signup to $97/month Webinar Crusher, a sale of a $49.95 product I haven't promoted in years, a couple of $7 products sold, a few $47 copies of Action PopUp, a few $47 modules of Double Agent Marketing also sold, a $197 product sold...
And a bunch of recurring subscription payments to take up the slack!
I'm saying this not to brag or make you jealous but to tell you how I did it...
Step 1: Setup a membership site to deliver the download
Step 2: Setup a sales letter to explain the offer and take payments
Step 3: Setup a page giving away a free gift upselling to the paid product
Step 4: Sent an email to my list telling them to click on a link
That's it. It really is that simple, and most of the time I even skip step three to make it even easier.
But most people won't do it, because it's too easy... what's the loophole?
"It's Simple, So It Must Not Work!"
It must not work. You must not be doing what you teach. Let me apply my own "twist" to this system. Let me try re-teaching it to others without actually doing it.
I see the same thing when it comes to "four daily tasks."
At one point I averaged how many things I really accomplished in one day. Some days it was 10 things, some days 0, some days 2, some days 5.
But on average -- I completed FOUR sixty minute tasks.
On days I completed more than four things, guess what?
- I didn't actually COMPLETE four things
- I cut up my tasks into "too small" chunks
- I was tired the next day and didn't get anything done
I've tried using fancy to-do lists, software, timers, and schedules. The only thing that will work LONG TERM for you is to do four things a day.
And if you don't know what four things you should be doing today, then:
- Setup a membership site
- Setup a SIMPLE sales letter that takes payments
- Create an optin page
- Send an email to your list
Finish four things today. Not 6, not 2, not 3, not 7, not 100... four. Then tomorrow, finish four more things, and so on. On average you'll get more things COMPLETED than those people who do 22 things one day, and 0 the next.
Filed in: Mindset
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What if you’re just getting started and dont have a list?
Make an optin page and start sending people to it from forums.
Did all the traffic come from your list?
Most of it was from my list.
A small amount from forum traffic, a small amount from affiliate traffic… it was almost all my list which as I said I built from forum traffic.
Ha ha – it’s TOO easy!!! 🙂
But of course, that’s because you’ve built a solid business foundation, and valuable business assets, all tied together.
Your tying this revenue example with the “4 things a day” is very strategic, and very important.
If we focus on the grand goal, instead of the daily, steady progress required to build the foundational assets… we’ll get discouraged when the inevitable roadblocks and speed bumps get in our way.
It’s necessary to have the big goal:
“a self-sustaining business that generates leveraged (almost passive) income…”
And the daily execution:
“4 things a day… not random things, but focused things.”
Personally:
I have my foundational assets in place.
But don’t have a (big) list of buyers yet.
So I’m working on growing my buyer’s list,
and building affiliate relationships.
(A quick sort-cut would be paid traffic, of course.)
Thanks for the kick in the pants, Robert!
Bolaji.
Hi Boliaji,
I’m glad you are using webinars now to get yourself more subscribers and build your relationship with those subscribers… when is your next one?
How many subscribers are you trying to build per day, what is your goal?
That sounds like a really good weekend. I goes to show that staying focused and working at a steady pace is a good way to earn money on the Internet.
I have been jumping around from one tactic to another for quite a while. Lately I have put the brakes on so I can get a grip on where I am at and what I am doing.
Thanks for showing us the simple 4 step plan. I am going to print it out and past it on my wall….
Ken
Hi Robert,
Let’s go over this again- You say the four things you should do every day:
Setup a membership site
Setup a SIMPLE sales letter that takes payments
Create an optin page
Send an email to your list
So what you are saying is to promote a new product everyday – jee’s I’d soon get fed up with your messages promoting a new product to me everyday!
I have been making a full time living from Internet Marketing for over ten years and your advice is not what I would recommend to those seeking my advice.
Cheers,
Kitty.
Kitty,
Where in the blog post did I say to do those four things EVERY day?
Those four things will get you setup, most people don’t even have those pieces in place.
Simple and straight forward. Makes good sense thanks! So what if you have multiple businesses that are not related? Would you do 4 things for each one? It sometimes feels like there is not enough time in a day for all the hats I wear.
If I had multiple business that were not related I would either get rid of the one that made me less money OR physically separate them, as in only focus on business #1 on Mondays and business #2 on Tuesdays.
Kitty,
I’m afraid you mis-interpreted Robert’s email.
He listed those 4 things as the foundational business elements he built… that allowed him to have such a profitable weekend.
Bolaji.
It’s easy when you know how. And of course what you provide is the know-how with your products. I’m a pretty technical person and can do the detail as well as see the high level, but I can understand how damn impenetrable this whole IM thing can be for many. So much stuff to understand (even if you do outsource it)
It’s true though, time management and organization are key. I like the idea of doing a fixed amount of things a day. Many times though I find myself phaffing around filling up time because the tasks I had to do, I did quickly (bizarre I know). Then again I’m lucky that I have a day job that allows me to errr do “other things”.
Anyways, sorry for the ramble and keep up the interesting stuff. I’m really get where you guys are coming from with you posts.
Hi Gareth,
If you find wasting time on the computer because your tasks are finished then you either need to complete slightly bigger tasks, or better yet, get OFF the computer and enjoy life.
Robert,
I tried the 4 things each day and it worked for a while, then I ran into a problem.
When I have been involved in a heavy preaching schedule I was not able to complete or even work on 4 things everyday. That caused me to try and do 8 or 12 or something to make up for those missed days. That did not work and I started to get discouraged.
My final decision was that I will do 4 things each day that I am able to put time into the Internet business.
Hope this makes sense and I am almost positive I will hear something from you about this. Fact is, I am looking forward to your comment on my comment.
Please keep up the good work and keep the good advice coming.
Clyde
Hi Clyde,
That’s exactly the advice I would have given you if you hadn’t solved your own problem already. For example, on Saturdays I don’t do “as much” work so each task is 10 minutes, not 1 hour each. My Saturday tasks might be as simple as:
1. Email list about one of my offers
2. Dictate three articles.
3. Clear out customer support.
4. Create PowerPoint for upcoming presentation.
I’m done in 30-45 minutes, and I still completed four things that day.
Robert,
I always love how you take what seems like complex or overwhelming tasks, and break them down into small simple, step-by-step format to make it more manageable.
I’ve been through many of your programs from article marketing to webinars; and always appreciate the “do this, then that” approach.
Keep the good stuff coming!
Brian
Yes I get what you mean Robert, sometimes the overwhelm from too many things to “choose” from to do, stops you from doing anything.
I found that a great lesson for my day job/life organization, by listing 3 or four things that I will get done on that day it helped me be more productive instead of being overwhelmed and procrastinating.
Cool post Robert and off the back of mentioning the articles you dictated I flew on over to Ezine articles.
Checked out your most recent articles and was sold on the Membership vs. Download page… I need to change my download pages!
Does this help in anyway with the Paypal fiasco that’s currently causing the sky to fall in over at the WF?
Good content, people need to read this stuff 🙂
Thanks for yet another focused post Robert.
What’s got me ‘frozen’ is trying to think of something to put in newsletters that hasn’t already been ‘covered’ by someone with a bigger name…
How might I go about convincing myself that my unique twist on something might be truly valuable to a list? Everyone is on information overload, so the big fear of getting a cool list started is the lack of truly fresh content.
This, that, the other thing (especially the IM market) has been hashed and re-hashed… and most of them are just pitch-a-thons that most of us delete anyway.
Anyway, you always seem to have a great way of looking at things that helps your readers, so any ideas you might have could help un-freeze me and any others feeling the same way.
Donna
I am angry for myself. After over a year of doing online business I am still doing it without earnings. I made it too complicated. It is a time to hear what Robert says over and over again. The question is if I do four tasks every day how to plan and put these tasks in the biggest project or should I concentrate only on projects contained only four tasks on the beginning?
Thanks Robert and best regards,
Christopher
wow im new to the internet and trying to find answers to questions is hard, but im finding that if you follow and read the bloggs and forums not only will you learn a lot but you will get the answers your looking for. theres so much and trying to do it all your right you get burnt out fast. takeing your advise has made it so much easier and cheaper on computer repairs.lol
thanks so much
michael
I am grateful to Robert to give us a formula to accomplish things: Just doing 4 things each day.
That is manageable and brings results.
Robert Plank is the only marketer I know of that compels
his subscribers to take steps, and to set it all up to be ready to go, now giving us a membershp plugin to do just that.
It’s worth paying less attention to other emails in our inbox in favour of Robert’s, and follow his steps.
Thanks, Robert.
@Giovanni Datttoma…yep, Roberts and Lances emails are the only ones I read of all the IM lists I ever subscribed to.
@Robert…Yes, it is important for me to get my @#$ away from the computer!
Hi Robert, I like the sound of four tasks for each day. I’m sure it has value. I wonder if it discourages you from doing more when the four things are completed.
Also I’m glad you talked about Saturdays, when you aim lower and ten minute tasks are fine. We need to be reminded that it should work to keep us in control so we keep this system working for us.
Robert, would just like to say thanks again. The four daily task works. I have been getting allot more productive work done because of this. I think allot of us get caught up in making things to technical. We think that if it is not high tech it can’t work. By the way the cool timer app works great for this. I turn the timer on to check my emails, while working on adding content to my sites and so on. When it goes off I work on the next thing. For me this helps me not get burned out or frustrated with one particular thing. Again this concept (four daily task) is priceless and a must use in your business.
Sorry Robert and Bolagi,
I read the following statement to mean these are the four things you should do every day:
“I’ve tried using fancy to-do lists, software, timers, and schedules. The only thing that will work LONG TERM for you is to do four things a day.
And if you don’t know what four things you should be doing today, then:
Setup a membership site
Setup a SIMPLE sales letter that takes payments
Create an optin page
Send an email to your list”
Mia Coupa My fault,
Cheers,
Kitty.
Great wisdom and practicality, Robert. In most people’s minds, they think it needs to be a struggle, so they struggle to make it work by making it more complicated than it already is. Also because they’re used to struggling, they think it will take something really big to make a difference, not understanding that it’s the little steps that add up to make a big difference.
Hi Nat,
You’re right, and what’s really silly about that struggle is that there is a struggle… it’s getting traffic, getting people to promote your stuff, getting it to convert better, making this launch bigger than the last launch… but most people don’t even get to that point. Get some stuff setup so you can get to the REAL fun.
I’ve been doing my 4 things a day. Getting heaps done. Thanks for the tip!
Gareth
Hi Gareth, that’s really great news and I’m glad to hear it has been working for you. The only reasons I’ve seen people fail at it is either: they forget to keep doing it, or they add too many extra rules to it and it’s no longer simple.
You do make it all sound so simple, and I guess it is when you’ve got a set of products and know what you’re offerring to whom.
“Getting it” and applying it are two different things.
Some of us are not trying to overcomplicate things.
For instance, it would take me way more than 30-45 minutes you say it would take you to…
1. Email list about one of my offers
1a login to autoresponder service
1b write email
1c fill out the pages and schedule or send autoresponder
2. Dictate three articles.
2a decide what to write about/angle
2b dictate
2c either transcribe myself or outsource
2d login in to articles directories and post
2e post to own websites
3. Clear out customer support.
3a open emails
3b respond
3c fix issues
4. Create PowerPoint for upcoming presentation.
4a open PPT
4b prepare slides
4c open camtasia
4d record voiceover for slides
Dead easy if you’re a machine and know exactly what you are doing and that is all you are doing! Most of us are faced with the stop-start issue ofworking and trying to do IM on the side.
A lot of it depends on the tools you use (some are quicker and easier) and how familiar you are with them. It’s much quicker if you’re using them regularly and don’t have to remind yourself what to do (yeah, 4 things can help with this by keeping currency).
This is a bit of a rant!
And I can hear you now saying “so make your 4 things what you can do”. OK. Point taken. I hate it when you’re right. Again.
Cheers, mate.
Jase, I’m saying 30-45 minutes for EACH task… not total… it would take you longer than 45 minutes to type a subject line, and type a couple sentences telling someone why they should visit your sales letter or latest blog post?
Longer than 45 minutes to write three questions and 3 keywords, then spend 3 minutes dictating out each article? (I never said I transcribed them in that step either)
Customer support… just do whatever 45 minutes gets you. Gmail plus the “Send and Archive” option saves tons of time… see message, click link, type one sentence response, hit Tab+Space to send and archive response.
PowerPoint slides… again I never said anything about recording… just making some slides.
Now that I’ve had my rant …
How will you use this information to the fullest?
1. email list DONE
2. write post for blog DONE
3. set up optin on new site DONE
4. mindmap article pack DOING
Bugger. Easy isn’t it?
Hi Robert,
Just found this blog, looks very good and informative.
1. How big was your list?
2. How targeted was this list?
3. One thing I have noticed about this site is that all comments have no date, which would be helpful to determine certain techniques? i.e. if they still work after google panda etc… Or are you promoting only Evergreen techniques? Evergreen seems to be a keyword every GURU is using these days? Whether all evergreen products/techniques work will open up a new can of worms for the future?
Great post
Robert,
I really appreciate your input. I am able to catch myself get distracted now that I am aware of the simple 4 things I set out to accomplish.
I have become far more productive with my time! Sure beats my endless to do list.
Now, don’t get me wrong I do jot things I would like to get done, more like ideas. That way when I find myself wondering what four things next then I pull them from my idea notebook.
It is interesting that some of the ideas become obsolete when I accomplish what I set out to do.
Thus, saving me even more time.
Thanks so much.
This is a great post, as usual.
If I may, I have a question about one of your comments, Robert.
You replied to someone that if you don’t have a list right now, send people your opt-in page URL from forums.
How do you do that? Do you send them private messages, use your signature? Your profile?
I’m always afraid of looking like a spammer and upsetting the forum’s community.
Rose,
1. Use your signature line and contribute to the discussion in the forum. (Some forums don’t even like that. That means you need to find a “better” forum.)
2. Other forums have special offer areas. Others have AdSense blocks (and you can use site targeting on the site) or some other ad network — usually it will say “Ads Powered By ____” and you can sign up for that pay per click network and target the site that way.
3. It also can’t hurt to email the forum owner and offer something like $50/mo for a text link back to your site.
4. I have done all three of the above. One technique I haven’t done with forum marketing, is buying signature space from popular users on that forum.
Facebook has captured a lot of this “community” traffic recently, but the strong high traffic forums are still very popular.