MemberCon - Latest Comments

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

LJPSaveSaveSave — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:11:04 -0000

Blog comments seem to be getting ridiculously spammy these days. My last blog posts have 0 comments - not because nobody commented but because they wrote things like "hey just visiting. You have an interesting design to 'florida hotels' in my opinion helping wonder." It doesn't make any sense and I find myself deleting more comments than publishing them. Whenever I can, I use their contact form to say "stop spamming my blog". Not sure how much good it does! Where are the real people? You just find yourself wanting a conversation with humans for once.

Re: How To Sell $500,000 Worth of Content Each Year

Dan Safkow — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:35:51 -0000

I don't understand the "perfect storm" argument. Music is an industry that's nearly 100% based on the "perfect storm" premise because the amount of talent (inventory) is infinite and for every person who makes it, there's 25,000 of equal (or greater) talent who do not. So the argument, "is it replicable?", is no more applicable for Jonathon Coulton than it is for Katy Perry or Bob Dylan. It's cynical to call Jonathon's success a fluke because the market has stated otherwise. At the end of the day, the only measurement of commercial success is commercial success.

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

Sharky of DentistFind.com — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:36:10 -0000

Thanks for the post, I was questioning this myself right now. I like this perspective on email marketing. I will try it but it's different for all the products so when we have time we will split test it.

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

Erickeril Newbillionaires — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:53:35 -0000

Well, seeing as you're not charging me ten cents to comment, I'd say that a few well written comments are definitely worth more than a lot of spam.

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

Lindy Asimus — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:46:06 -0000

That was great.

Seriously, blogs and comments on blogs would be more useful overall if only the published content added something useful to the world. Too many blogs themselves are just scraped and rejigged content that adds nothing of value to the world and just wastes time for those who visit.

A comment on a blog post that has an original thought or shows how to do something and thoughtful (not in the pandering way) can be even more valuable that the original post.

As an aside, all the mindless retweeting of links not even vetted is not doing anyone much of a favour but for those who want to support their members of their network, a considered (and authentic) comment on someone's blog is a much more useful way to help and show support.

Re: How To Sell $500,000 Worth of Content Each Year

Tim Bourquin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:00:57 -0000

Thanks for the comment Rob. We often hear that if you aren't passionate about what you do, your success in that endeavor will be limited. I think it's an important facet. If you hate doing something, your heart will never be in it and your ability to make a lot of money diminishes.

I think your point comes down to happiness vs. money. Some people can be absolutely content without money and because they are happy anyway, money is not the issue. For others, money DOES buy happiness - or at least it buys the tools that enable your satisfaction.

Much like trading, it's impossible to duplicate another's strategies just by looking over their shoulder. You have to find your own style and way.

Thanks for weighing in!

Re: How To Sell $500,000 Worth of Content Each Year

robbooker — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:38:44 -0000

Absolutely super brilliant discussion. Thank you for posting it.

Perhaps, I might kindly suggest, the discussion misses a critical fact: Jonathon is doing what he is supposed to be doing, and if he was making less money at it, he'd probably still be doing it. He's not doing what he is doing because he is successful, he is doing what he is doing because he wants to. It's possible that he would accept less money for what he does and still call it a success.

As for "it" being "repeatable," if we're talking about the money, we might as well talk about trying to "repeat" Jonathon's "success" at being 6 foot 2 inches tall (or whatever his height is). If you are trying to "exactly copy" someone else's earning potential, you had better have a really good time machine and get to work on coming out of his mother's womb, being raised in a certain place, learning to code...and the list goes on.

But if "it" is "doing what you really care about," and "getting lost in the happiness that comes from getting other people to share in what you care about," then it's repeatable 100 times out of 100. With or without the Internet. The internet is irrelevant as far as that is concerned. It's just a method, a tool, a distribution channel. Instead it could be mall kiosks selling hand-made bamboo iPad covers, or whatever else. Who knows how much money comes from what you really love and can get lost in doing? Who knows if you will go bankrupt while pursuing that. Who knows. It's not really about the destination (1,000 raving fans, or $500,000 in the bank, or a web site with 60,000 visitors every 3 seconds). It's about the journey.
Or maybe not. But at least it's worth a thought.

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Guest — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:46:00 -0000

Good to know. Thanks Tim!

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Tim Bourquin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:38:58 -0000

Thanks Aaron - having your content on some bit torrent site is always a risk, but it happens less than you think. Also, even if it is "in the wild" and available for free on one of those sites, most people won't find it and it won't affect sales. That's been my experience.

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Tim Bourquin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:37:26 -0000

Thanks Mike!

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Guest — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 05:16:11 -0000

Timely post for me, Tim. I wasn't going to offer video downloads on my site, but for the extra cost, I now say, "why not?"!

I was concerned that if I allowed video downloads - instead of just video streaming - that people would take my content and spread it on the web. But I realize if I don't allow video downloading, people can still rip the content and do the same anyway. Might as well make some extra money in the process!

Hope you are doing well!

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Mike Sigers — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:10:51 -0000

Great find, Tim! Glad to see another way to make it work. Like Mama said, it takes all kinds ;-)

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:
Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 4 of 4)

Mark Samms — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:57:48 -0000

Really good interview however I think Andrew got of lightly with not telling how much he is making he could of at least gave a rough estimate never the less great interview

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

guest — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:07:48 -0000

You definitely need to do it more often!

Good point about keeping things short - and having the end goal in mind... the click thru. I still see a lot of people selling via email - LONG emails. I definitely don't sit through them.

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

Tim Bourquin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:45:12 -0000

I don't know about that last part, but thanks Mike! Feels good to get a post in. I think I need to do it more often!

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

Mike Sigers — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:27:19 -0000

Great advice as always.

Now that Premise is on the scene, landing pages for short emails is easy to implement.

Thanks for showing and growing us little people ;-)

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

Tricia Adams — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:34:32 -0000

I have to say, although I see 100% where you're coming from on this, I can't really agree that comments like that are useless.

While they might not add value to that particular post, I do believe they add value to the blog as a whole. People like to be a part of something that's "popular." A blog with a lot of comments, followers, etc seems a lot more attractive than one that no one engages with.

I'll take a "great post" comment any day. Even if the person is just trying to get their name out there, they're still making me look good.

Re: Are Product Launches Dead?

Tim Bourquin — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:37:50 -0000

Thanks for the comment Casey. You're right - the relationship is critical. Sometimes people take that to mean you shouldn't intrude and never ask for the sale, but that just leads to a great relationship and a broke content creator. I believe it IS possible to treat your visitors well AND ask for the sale. Thanks for coming by the site!

Re: Are Product Launches Dead?

caseystubbs — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:47:34 -0000

This is a good interview, I personally feel like no matter what type of marketing you do that the relationship must come first. And in my view that you must have some kind of event marketing as well as a good relationship. I have had my product open for sale for 30 days in a row and as soon as I have a sale I sell out whereas before people didn't touch it. People like to get a bargain and that will probably never change that is why you see sales in the grocery store every week as well as in every other store you go to. You need to create a relationship and then show your customers the value of what you are giving to them.

I thank you for getting this great content for us here on this blog.

Casey

Re: How Getting Shot At From a Stolen Car Is Like Affiliate Marketing

guest — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:38:45 -0000

Glad you are okay, Tim. I bet the rest of the Internet marketers out there can't tell a story that is 1/10 as exciting as yours from that night.

And Mike is right: I guess this explains what you've been up to the past few months. It sounds like you and Emile are doing quite well though. Look forward to hearing what you can share in the near future.

Take care, Aaron

Re: Membership Site Software Reviews

Ravi Jayagopal — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:07:08 -0000

Tim and Emile,

Wanted to add one more to your review list here:

DigitalAccessPass.com : Membership Platform for WordPress

Thanks for the inclusion.

Cheers!

- Ravi Jayagopal
Founder & Co-Developer
http://DigitalAccessPass.com (DAP)

Re: How Getting Shot At From a Stolen Car Is Like Affiliate Marketing

Tim Bourquin — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:15:42 -0000

Thanks Mike - it can definitely be the seedier side of the web, but we're doing it differently I think and we are bringing a new perspective to it. We haven't had to sell Acai garbage yet!

Re: How Getting Shot At From a Stolen Car Is Like Affiliate Marketing

Mike Sigers — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:12:01 -0000

Kinda like when you walk into a holdup in progress by accident, I wasn't expecting that post.

I do believe you guys will be very successful, but I'm not "into" that part of the world wired webz and can't really say much more.

I'd love to see it in action, but can't expect you to show us your "stuff" like you're able to do with your membership sites.

This does explain the scarcity of new content for lo these many months ;-)

Good Luck!

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:
Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 1 of 4)

guest — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 03:43:30 -0000

Thanks for sharing that; those are definitely doable numbers per month.

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:
Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 1 of 4)

Tim Bourquin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 02:36:12 -0000

Hi Aaron - thanks for the comment here and on the other posts. I think two per month would be sufficient - depending on the cost. For some of our Lifetime Membership sites we post just one per month. For ad supported sites, more content means more traffic so I actually think if you pack enough value into the number you post to a membership site, two per month is fine - probably 4 per month is best for the first year.

MemberCon - Latest Comments

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

Re: How To Sell $500,000 Worth of Content Each Year

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

Re: How To Sell $500,000 Worth of Content Each Year

Re: How To Sell $500,000 Worth of Content Each Year

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Re: The Free Final Cut Pro X Tutorials I Just Paid For

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 4 of 4)

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

Re: More Data: Long vs. Short Email Copy

Re: Do Blog Comments Matter Anymore?

Re: Are Product Launches Dead?

Re: Are Product Launches Dead?

Re: How Getting Shot At From a Stolen Car Is Like Affiliate Marketing

Re: Membership Site Software Reviews

Re: How Getting Shot At From a Stolen Car Is Like Affiliate Marketing

Re: How Getting Shot At From a Stolen Car Is Like Affiliate Marketing

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 1 of 4)

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 1 of 4)

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:
Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 4 of 4)

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:
Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 1 of 4)

Re: Creating Money-Making Interview Content:
Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com (Part 1 of 4)