Russell Taylor is a real-life example of how our society is quietly going digital. Taylor is a university-degreed geographer who is also a husband and a homeowner at the tender age of 24:
“I can't believe that a city the size of Austin doesn't have a carpet cleaning company or a lawn-care service.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just spent 30 minutes trying to find a carpet cleaning company. Evidently, Austin doesn't have one.”
Russell's mother, operations manager Corrine Taylor, is from a different generation; one that doesn't immediately think of searching the internet when they have questions about a product or service. Reaching inside her kitchen cabinet, she quietly handed her son a telephone book.
“I think this might solve your problem.”
Staring at it, Russell replied, “Gee. That never crossed my mind.”
Remember last week's memo? I told you “The internet is no longer a new and strange phenomenon. America has grown accustomed to it and we're turning to it for information with increasing regularity. According to Google.com, more than 55 billion searches were conducted on their search engine alone last year and nearly 80 million searches 'of a commercial nature' are being conducted each day. This is a number equal to about one third of the total US population. And that's a DAILY number. Your customers are among those conducting these 'commercial searches.' Is your information there for them to find?”
You need to get serious about the information provided on your website. But be careful, because not everyone who claims to be an internet consultant actually knows what they're talking about.
Dan Roitman is a young Wizard Academy graduate who created an unusual email message for selling a foreign language program. It was immediately rejected by the “experts,” who told him; “This will never work. People don't take the time to actually read an email. You just need a picture with a few direct bullets underneath. Delivering this email would be a waste of our time and your money. Re-write it like we told you and then come back.” But Dan Roitman believed in the principles he learned in Magical Worlds and Wizards of Web, so he persisted until the company finally agreed to do a test. The email went out and Dan received 50 orders – a record at the time. He then began testing different elements in the message and within 5 weeks had increased his conversion rate to more than 350 orders per day.
The email delivery company that had rejected Dan's message now routinely asks for his advice. As a result, one of their clients immediately doubled their sales overnight and another has tripled their sales due to Roitman's perceptive advice. His foreign language program is now trending toward profits of $40,000 a week and he feels certain that he'll hit that number within the next few months.
Gee. That's $2,000,000 a year, isn't it?
Please don't think that I'm saying internet marketing is easy. You've still got to have the right product and be relentlessly focused and insanely disciplined. But I am saying that it can be done.
Roy H. Williams
PS – Next Week's Memo: “Josie's Third Gravitating Tangerine” – RHW
PPS – Dan Roitman will be attending the April 30 – May 2 session of Wizards of Web as the guest of Wizard Academy. Is there anything you'd like to ask him? Seating is limited and the session is nearly sold out. Reserve your seat online at wizardacademy.org or call (800) 425-4769 – JG Tornoe