This morning I am editing a PLR ebook I bought and the author wrote (or story is) about a newbie who found success by offering a service while building up passive income streams. That is something I am also working on but I want to provide a service with a clear conscience.

What I mean is that I wanted to sell solo ads because I know that there is money there. I know that there are people out there making a killing buying solo ads. The problem is that I am not making sales with the signups I get from the solo ad traffic I am buying. I am getting tons of email subscribers but I am still working on converting subs to customers.

Meanwhile, I have been learning more and more about copywriting effectively and product creation. That’s why I am editing this ebook to match my voice and as a secondary benefit from creating my own product by editing/rewriting a PLR ebook is that I learn different methods, and techniques and get ideas on how to implement what I am learning.

The author speaks about getting a copywriting gig because of her skill as a writer that she has been developing in an enjoyable manner since grade school. I am not a gifted writer. I have to work hard at it.

That’s probably the problem, I have been sold the idea that making money online is easy when in reality it is simple, but not very easy! You choose your market then you figure out how to bring that market what it needs and make money! Simple.

How do you find the market? How do you get the product for less than you can sell it for? How do you promote to the market? Where is the market? Do I feel ok being in this market? (you could make a killin’ selling illicit drugs to teenagers, but would you feel good about it?)

I have a few services I could offer, that meet my criteria. One idea is to create a guide with affiliate links that shows how to create your own landing page and sell those cheap solo ad clicks I have access to – not my favorite anymore – Another idea is to sell a guide – rewritten PLR – and promote an upsell on the thank you page and place a link to a product that pays me an affiliate commission. The third idea is to copy some of the ideas I see other doing which is to give a “just add traffic” DFY business that has affiliate campaigns done for you and a landing page that requires you to send traffic to it and it sends subscribers into your sales funnel that is automated to sort and sell your funnel products plus promote affiliate products to them.

I can pay someone a monthly fee and they give me access to squeeze pages that convert and email campaigns that promote your affiliate products for you on autopilot. Sounds like a good deal.

Another service I’ve considered is a PLR type business. I can do it a few ways too. I can do lots if I can get on with a good host that will accept me into their affiliate program. I can try HostGator again or BlueHost…

This idea ties back into the free guide that has affiliate products promoted in it. I can promote a free domain and I will build your website for you give you my squeeze page that gets a 35%+  opt-in rate plus a follow-up campaign for a PLR product and the same deal as above where you get DFY email campaigns to promote affiliate products.

I mostly want to get a solid system going for myself first but then I read ebooks like the one I’m revising now, I feel like making a couple sales a month could really help get my business moving in the right direction.

I like the idea of the self liquidating offer that you create to build an email list. The problem is I can’t find the right combination of product and traffic source to allow me to generate any self liquidating offers that I could immediately start scaling to maximize my list now.

That brings me back to where I’ve been for awhile now… How do I convert opt-ins to customers? I have to test more offers. The cool thing about affiliate offers is that they are all done for you.

I need a better offer I guess.

I keep building these ideas but I can’t seem to get enough momentum to get through the roadblocks. It’s too much work, It’s too expensive, I don’t understand it well enough to teach it, I can’t compete against these pros…

If I am facing these obstacle then so are others, I keep seeing opportunities pop up now I need a way to maintain the energy long enough to get them to market, even if I get in my own way!

I have other projects trying to steal away my attention and I am going to get back to them soon because of ChatGPT. I think an Adsense site may be a good idea. Now that I understand SEO a little more I can use ChatGPT to create content around easy to rank for – high paying – keywords. If I can’t get Adsense I can get CPA offers, affiliate offers or maybe even build up sites and sell them to my competitors.

I have too many options sometimes.

This post has revealed to me what I need to do.

1. Stay Focused
2. Finish My Projects
3. Promote My Products
4. Get Test Results, Analyze, Optimize and Repeat
5. Create More Products
6. Automate Email Marketing

If you haven’t heard yet A.I. – ChatGPT – is now available to the public for experimentation. Content creators are all nervous about their jobs because of the power of this A.I. program.

It can write code for you.

It can come up with outlines for articles or even books for you.

It will take on the “voice” you command it.

It can help you come up with ideas for ad copy.

It can do much more and what I mentioned is just what I understand about it… It is huge right now!

I just finished up a post about my struggle coming up with a definite plan using my knowledge and experience to make money online. That post and this one are being created by me not a.i. at all.

What I am using ChatGPT for is to come up with ideas for different subjects such as book outlines and persuasive email subject lines to get open rates up. I also use it to help generate headlines that capture reader’s attention.

In other words, I am using ChatGPT to help me with copywriting.

I am also going to use it to help me put together this guide that will help me organize my business and help my subscribers start their own.

I have been watching Youtube videos about list segmentation. There are about as many ways to do it as there are people using the internet.

It seems that a popular method or segmentation is to simply divide prospects and customers.

There is automation that I can add in my AWeber that will help me create a segment of customers and those who are just prospects.

But… Let’s focus on using ChatGPT to help me create and market a product that teaches how to create a landing page that converts solo ad clicks into subscribers and how to test and optimize it.

I am also going to do some brainstorming here.

The prompt I am going to use to get this project started:

“What is a solo ad, a squeeze page and how do I use solo ad traffic to optimize my squeeze page?”

And here’s the response I received:

“A solo ad is a form of advertising where you pay another email marketer to send an email promoting your product or service to their list of subscribers. The email will typically include a link to your website, and the goal is to drive traffic to your site and convert that traffic into leads or sales.

A squeeze page is a standalone web page that is designed to convert visitors into leads by collecting their contact information. A squeeze page typically includes a form where visitors can enter their email address and other contact information in exchange for a freebie or other incentive. The goal of a squeeze page is to capture leads and build your email list.

To optimize your squeeze page for solo ad traffic, you should make sure that your page is designed to convert visitors into leads. Here are some tips to help you do that:

1. 1. Use a clear and compelling headline: Your headline should grab the attention of your visitors and clearly communicate the value of your freebie or incentive.
   2. Include a persuasive copy: Your copy should explain the benefits of your freebie or incentive and why visitors should sign up for it.
   3. Make it easy to opt-in: Make sure your opt-in form is easy to find and fill out.
   4. Use a clear call-to-action: Your call-to-action should be clear and obvious, and encourage visitors to sign up for your freebie or incentive.
   5. Optimize for mobile: Make sure your squeeze page is optimized for mobile devices, as more and more people are using their smartphones to browse the web.
   6. Use images and videos: Use images and videos to help explain your freebie or incentive and make your page more engaging.
   7. Use social proof: Use testimonials, customer logos, or other forms of social proof to build trust and credibility with your visitors.
   8. Use A/B testing: Use A/B testing to test different versions of your squeeze page and see which one is more effective.
   9. Track and analyze your data: Use tools like Google Analytics to track the performance of your squeeze page and see which areas need improvement.

By following these tips, you can optimize your squeeze page to convert the solo ad traffic into leads and build your email list.”

It’s pretty good!

There are some points that I have found differing opinions on how to structure a squeeze page as far as incentive is concerned. Some say to give away a freebie and others say that just attracts freebie seekers.

That is something I can test myself. First, I need to set up a product that I can start making money with so that I will be able to afford more testing.

I need to have a clear path to what I am doing or else I get confused or distracted and end up where I started. But, I have a place to start now, again!

Let’s go into the product a little deeper, but first let’s look at how this will transpire…

This project will use my product, a guide to creating and implementing a high converting landing page that works by converting solo ad clicks into subscribers to build an email list – fast.

That will lead into my PLR product I’ve set up for $27 that teaches copywriting. In that guide there is space to promote an affiliate product or to create another product that I can sell.

So, to get this off the ground I still need a product that teaches about the landing page build and where to get cheap solo ads.

I have other guides that go into greater detail about how to optimize your solo ad buys too. That could be an upgrade to my freebie guide to getting a high converting squeeze page.

As I go through this I am pulled back to PLR products that are already made and just need to be set up to be sold.

That leads me to another possible product where I buy a PLR product, set it up on a website for someone and give them my guides to getting high converting squeeze pages and how to test using AWeber.

Testing keeps coming up in my focus today too.

How do I get paid for doing all this testing when I don’t have any good results to report yet? Should I sell the report about 1,000 ways not to make money online? I’m pretty sure I’ve tried at least 1,000 things that haven’t worked.

While I conduct this research I need to find something that works, like a recipe, so I can be certain to have an income. That is what the past decade+ has been while figuring out the stuff that doesn’t work.

The number one thing guaranteed to not make you money online is to do NOTHING! No action creates NOthing.

I’m off to create this report about creating a squeeze page that converts wholesale solo ad clicks into email list subscribers. Somewhere I need to be tracking all I do in an organized manner.

A couple more things, 1. I am working on setting up a split test on AWeber. I want to test 2 landing pages.

In order to do the test I need to have a funnel to send subscribers into.

That means I have to have a front end or lead magnet offer.

I need my landing page.

I need the upsell product, sales page and download page setup.

I need a high or mid ticket product to promote.

I need email campaigns setup for sending to my lists as a solo ad.

I have to set up an email campaign for the upsell and the high/mid ticket item.

Plus I have to start putting more campaigns together for customers and for the prospects lists.

There is lots of work to get this going. That is the benefit of the DFY products like the Ambassador Program or the Easiest System Ever that you set up your autoresponder and load it with their email campaigns and then add traffic and you have a business ready to build your email list.

Having used and promoted both of those programs I have to say, be ready to spend money while you learn and while you build your subscriber list.

As a do it yourselfer I have run into plenty of difficulties too. When you see what they are charging you to do something simple it makes you cringe but when you try to do it all yourself you also see why the charge is fair for what you get. Especially if you consider all the time and testing that they have to do to get you something that works.

Would you be interested in a program where I set up a squeeze page, tell you where to get cheap traffic and set up affiliate email campaigns you can copy too?

Would you pay $20/month for 2 new campaigns for mid to high ticket Clickbank products in the affiliate marketing niche?

I was going to and even set up a stripe account to accept payments to sell solo ads. I don’t have a curated list and I am still struggling on getting a conversion rate above 1% so I don’t feel like it’s the right thing to do. I am still going to run some tests using this traffic source and I will give the link out in my report but I don’t really want to sell solo ads this way.

I just recently discovered that I can allow others to copy my campaigns and my landing pages with a share link from my AWeber account.

I really want to promote hostgator because I use them and have been for many years now. They didn’t accept me into their affiliate program.

I can’t recommend any other host because I haven’t used any others. That could be one of my tests, see if another host is good and if they will accept me into their affiliate program. That brings up some ethical concerns now too… Am I recommending products that pay me the most or the ones that help you the most if they are not the same product?

That’s what the affiliate disclaimer is for I guess.

So, my guide will recommend AWeber for your autoresponder service, HostGator as a webhost (until I try and can recommend another host or just become an affiliate and add it as an option), and will provide a guide to where to get low cost solo ad clicks, copy of my squeeze page and access to copy my email campaigns. The campaign will be from the vendors affiliate tools webpage and may be edited for personalization by me.

I can add a review of different Solo Ads sellers too, as I get more solo ads done.

My current solo ad provider doesn’t use my solo swipe, they use their own. I will use some other sellers and use my own swipe and that could be another product or feature of my products or services.

All this is inspired by ChatGPT, I can easily create reliable informative content now and just need to find a way to monetize that content.

As I write this stuff down I am reminded of product that are out there or can easily be created and sold and it feeds that loop of what should I do? There’s so much to choose from. I need to focus on one method and angle and get results, record them, make adjustments and repeat the process.

Just thought of another product – how to split test effectively.

Stick around here and ask questions and you’re sure to get useful feedback.

Here’s how I’m planning on running my first test – create 2 slightly different squeeze pages and run a split test on them with Solo Ad traffic.

Do I give something away as a lead magnet or do I pre-sell the report to attract “buyers” instead?

I am having difficulty wrapping my head around how to test 2 squeeze pages against each other and now I am dipping into testing 2 different philosophies?

This is starting to be a run on blog so come back for more tips and tricks and for an update on my progress.

Staying focused is extremely difficult sometimes. When building a business to make money online there are not only a massive amount of opportunities available but also so many nuances and methods within each opportunity that it makes taking meaningful action a difficult task!

Here’s an example:

I recently found out that getting subscribers on my email list is easy using a high converting – generic offer – squeeze page and cheap solo ad traffic – @$0.25 per click. Now I am tasked with converting these subscribers into paying customers and I am stumped!

I am convinced that selling my products, a PLR product or my creation, is the way to go. If I create a product it has to be about something that I can do and since I am not making tons of sales I can’t honestly talk or teach about how to make money online. 

The issue of being insincere when trying to sell people something to do something that I haven’t already done is amplified when acting as an affiliate for some make-money online system or coaching program.

How do you avoid the “fake it til you make it” path?

Here’s where this has led me – Do I focus on creating a guide that helps my subscribers create a landing page that converts solo ad clicks into subscribers or do I try and “teach” or sell courses on how to write great sales copy (copywriting in general)?

Should I do a study on different landing pages and publish my results? Where is the money in that?

Do I just write the guide on how to build an email list using solo ads – plug in affiliate links to the tools I use and give away the report?

There is a formula I recently found that goes into the upsell, down-sell, and how to offer high ticket items to my subscribers. Which brings me to my next problem – How do you decide which path to follow and when do you decide it isn’t going where you want and need to switch directions?

Here’s another angle that may be leading me where I need to go – Because my landing pages convert well I know that the information I am giving for it is valid. If I continue to perfect it and improve its already high conversions using the copywriting advice from the ebook I am selling then it might do the trick of convincing my mind that I am not a fraud. I am doing my best to follow the advice of those who’ve gone this path before me and I want to be sure I don’t lead my subscribers astray or misrepresent myself as an expert at something I am not.

Now I have to come up with an implementation strategy. That’s where the copywriting advice comes in. I need to be assertive, honest, and helpful. That means I am going back to my plan of giving away my landing page templates. That gives me a good opportunity to get sign-ups for AWeber as an affiliate. I may be able to get into some hosting affiliate programs too. Also, I will have ample opportunity to release more guides as I gain experience and sales and will be able to offer more helpful advice too.

Next, I need a way to segment my subscribers so I can market something different to people who have already bought from me. It’s something I need to study and understand because, at this very moment, I am lost in this endeavor.

There is a PLR seller who has these products that are spread out over weeks if you buy the whole product line. He has an offer for about 30 products or more that you can market to your list in an ongoing manner. I don’t know if it is a membership type of deal or if you just market a new product every few weeks or how exactly it works but it is a neat product that takes care of either customers who are also members or it takes care of my need for coming up with new products every few weeks myself.

If only there was an easy way to make decisions with confidence that your plan will work as out and all will be good.

That’s where my mind is wandering this morning. My plan now is to take what I know and parlay it into a massive – mostly passive – monthly income!

I keep reworking things in my own head without actually testing things out the way I’d like to. I get info from internet sources and they are compelling enough to make me take notice and rethink my strategy.

I am sticking with the PLR products. I may end up using PLR as a Front End product, the upsell and have a membership site with all my courses available while you’re a member for a monthly fee.

I really like PLR because it allows me a quality product that is easy to set up and sell.

That allows me to focus on marketing.

It seems like the same or nearly the same amount of effort is needed to sell an affiliate product as it is to set up and sell a PLR product. The difference is you keep all you generate and you build a buyers email list!

Now, with ChatGPT there is no reason not to have an email campaign set up for selling your products. It will help you to develop an email autoresponder to help follow up with leads and get your sale.

I tried to create my own product to offer for sale to my subscribers but I did like I always do and hurried through and created a less than stellar product.

What I did find out though is that there are some really good PLR products that help me to see things clearly and get ideas from them. I follow the advice or get inspired by the substance of the products so I know they are worthwhile. I also choose niches or topics that don’t go out of style.

Email marketing is here to stay. Copywriting is a necessity in sales online and in print. Building a list of email subscribers is something that people need to learn how to do in order to keep in touch with their customer base.

There are software that need tutorials, tactics that need explaining, and techniques that need to be shown so there are plenty of products that have alternate angles to be explored, deeper explanations or new angles so there is plenty to explore and share and make money from.

I can finally see the machine and how the pieces work together. Now I just need to build mine with quality parts.

I also have to learn how to think differently about the information I have and have an offer out to you to buy it from me.

I have Stripe set up but not sure yet how exactly to make it all work together. I am placing the order form below to offer Solo Ads for sale. You get the copywriting course, “Killer Web Copy” with any purchase. I just have to figure out how to deliver the ebook and the clicks when you order and make it more automated but let’s see what I’ve got so far:

When you’re researching how to make money online you quickly get bombarded with hyped up claims of making millions with push button ease.

Inreality, the methods are simple, but that simplicity doesn’t make them easy.

I have recently come up with an idea for a market I would be comfortable entering.

Over the years I have become proficient at building websites.

I am not good at building tracking systems or knowing how to easily put ecommerce order buttons on any old page and then make sure everything is running smooth and is protected against cyber attacks…

I recently became proficient at getting subscribers on my email list using solo ads.

I also recently found a reliable source of wholesale-priced solo ads.

I had some success selling on Udimi.com and I want to break out and sell solo ads independently from a platform.

It is not easy to just put some PayPal buttons on a webpage and sell solo ads.

I have lots of parts that still need manual maintenance.

Short term I am planning to set up a system to sell solo ads and sell PLR products to help my customers learn how to be effective marketers using solo ads.

I feel like I need to have a better offer or a better package in order to get customers to trust me and spend money on my products.

I can give away a guide or solo ad clicks but not both.

I keep going back and forth in my head on what direction to take.

I can’t seem to get a clear path mapped out on what to do next.

It seems like I must put together a stripe account in order to offer subscribers the opportunity to place orders directly from the emails I send out.

It is a big headache because I don’t use stripe and if you use anything to get money, as a business, then you have to jump through all sorts of hoops and it takes a long time and lots of boring reading.

For now, that’s where I’m going to focus. I am going to get set up on stripe, figure out how to create an offer that sends subscribers directly to the order form from their email.

Peace,

Gilbert

The Extreme Importance of a Headline in
Copywriting

–taken from Killer Web Copy, VOL. II Chapter 7

The headline of a sales copy is perhaps the most important part of the whole
piece. The headline is what grabs the reader’s attention and gets them to read
the rest of the copy. It is the first thing they see and can be the key to the whole
copy.

It is essential for every copywriter to fully understand what it takes to write a good
headline. It is also important for a copywriter to understand why the headline is
so important.

The headline should be so compelling that it makes the reader want to read more.
The headline serves the purpose of drawing in the reader and piquing their
interest.

Everyone has heard that first impressions are very important. You should think of
your headline is the first impression you give off about your business and your
product.

You want that first impression to be compelling, interesting and intriguing. You
want the reader to be impressed. You want them to want more.

Your headline should do three things. It should grab attention, communicate a
message and entice the reader to read on.

There are many different ways to write a headline. In fact, there are eight main
ways to write a headline. You can use any of these ways that works for what you
are trying to sell.

The first type of headline is a direct headline. This type of headline is blunt and
straight to the point. The reader should clearly know what is being sold and what
the great offer in just by reading the headline.

The second type of headline is an indirect headline. Unlike a direct headline, this
type of headline uses a subtle manner. Its main goal is to make the reader
curious so they feel they must read more. Commonly indirect headlines use
words with double meanings.

Killer Web Copy

The third type of headline is a news headline. This type of headline is an
announcement. It is something newsworthy. The idea is to be compelling.
The forth type of headline is a ‘how-to’ headline. This type of headline is very
popular. It works very well at selling almost anything. Basically, the headline
starts with the words ‘how to’ and goes from there.

The fifth type of headline is a question headline. It asks a question that is
something a reader will want to find the answer to.

The sixth type of headline is the command headline. This type of headline
basically tells the reader to do something. The trick to this type of headline is to
use strong words that will trigger action in the reader.

The seventh type of headline is the reason why headline. This type of headline
does not need to have the words ‘reason why’, but will usually contain a number.
It is going to highlight a certain number of things the reader will learn if they read
on, for example: ‘5 Ways to Lose Belly Fat.’

The eighth type of headline is the testimonial headline. The testimonial headline
is just like it sounds; you take something someone has said about your product
and turn it into a headline.

Once you figure out what style of headline you want to use, then it is time to get
writing. You have to make sure it is clear and well written.

No matter what style you choose, you have to use strong words and make sure
your point is getting across. Your headline has to have the following
characteristics:

It must offer something useful to the reader.
It has to make the reader feel as if they must read more.
It has to include something that tells the main point of the copy.
It should be specific.

Killer Web Copy

It is also important to not get carried away with a headline. If a headline is too
wordy, then a reader may avoid reading it at all. In general, headlines should
stick to a maximum of eight words.

The headline is so important to the success of copywriting that you should plan
on spending as much time writing it as you do writing the rest of the copy.
The biggest mistake a copywriter can make is to simply throw together a
headline. Good headlines require work.

You should be very dedicated to writing your headline. It is, after all, going to be
almost as important as the rest of your copy. It makes no sense to write a great
copy and have a terrible headline because the chances of your readers reading
the rest of the copy are slim to none if your headline doesn’t reel them in.

We’ve all seen those blatant attempts to give us crap in exchange for our money. Clickbait hype!

What about your sales copy? – Is it just a bunch of crappy hype you’re hoping works since you see it all over the internet –> if everyone else is doing it it must be working, right?

You’re probably wondering, what is actually working? How do I get someone to click on my promotions?

It’s a process – with copywriting – that you must constantly and consistently adjust, measure, test and implement improvements, then do it again!

It’s what marketers do. You write up a lead capture, squeeze, page and send traffic to it.

You have to test it a few hundred times, I mean send at least 300 clicks through it and see how many conversions you get.

You then change one small aspect of the page and do another 300 click test and compare results.

Next, you continue to send traffic to the one that’s working and test another against it, in an A|B split test.

Make sure to give the new page at least 300 clicks and check the conversion rates and always put the best one up to run against your new page.

That’s just to optimize the landing page to get leads added to your email list.

Next, you have to do the same thing with your sales or OTO (one-time offer) page. You have to see the amount of traffic you send to the page and compare that with the number of sales you get and start sending traffic to the one that is converting leads to sales the best and keep testing new pages in a split test against your best-converting sales page.

Here’s a link to a course that goes into the details of how to get started with an email marketing business. It focuses on copywriting. That is the basis of online marketing – copywriting – It’s the lifeblood of any online or mail-order business.

You have to rely on your words and your ability to get in front of your prospects at the right time. You continuously test new words against the ones that have been producing the best results so far.

You see near the top of this post I’ve created an advertisement for the product I am promoting that goes into greater detail on the subject matter of this post.

This post is how I work on my delivery of my sales messages and also how I brainstorm on how to proceed with my endeavors.

With the current state of the world being what it is and my experience level based on my personal life experiences I have a low level of expectation for any employers to take me seriously and I have no sense of security from the officials elected to take care of the public, that leads me to the need to take care of myself and online marketing is the easiest and most lucrative option I see available.

Keep coming back here to get updates on what is working, what is falling to the wayside and what is coming up next…

-Gilbert

Here’s a short list of steps to take to write an ebook with the help of ChatGPT:

1. Go to ChatGPT.
2. Ask for titles for your book about “Your Topic Here” – (I usually ask for “a list of 10 title ideas for a book about learning how to be a copywriter”)
3. Choose your favorite title and adjust it and edit it and refine it to what you like, ChatGPT is great for generating ideas and writing codes…
4. ask ChatGPT to write an outline for the book “Your Favorite Title Here“
5. The Outline can be your Table Of Contents – you may edit or not as you see fit at this or any stage and be sure to check that you are not plagiarising anyone else’s work.
6. For each chapter ask ChatGPT to give you an outline for the chapter
7. Take each topic of the outline and ask ChatGPT to expand on the topic.
8. Place the information in a word editor of your choice and create the layout you desire… add pictures, tables, charts links, etc.
9. Create a cover for your book
10. proofread and fix any errors
11. edit to make the work flow together smoothly
12. put the cover on your book
13. convert your book to pdf and upload it to your host where you can sell or give away your book as you desire