Want to Maximize Your WordPress Website Fortin-Style?
Posted on 21. Jun, 2011 by Michel Fortin in Blog, cms, consulting, critique, feedback, interest, introduction, marketer, News, price, product, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Success Chef, theme, Traffic, training, WordPress
Many people have asked me for this, and now I’m seriously thinking about doing it. (Yes, I hear you, Mike Sigers.) I’m thinking of offering a WordPress training course.
No, not a basics course and not something too advanced. And not any old training course teaching stuff you would expect to find for free online.
But a “Fortinized” WordPress training. A “how-did-he-do-that” course that shows you how, exactly, I tweak, optimize, modify, and monetize my WordPress websites.
Let’s just call it FortinPress.com for now. 
It’s been on my mind for the last two years now. I was supposed to put one together with another marketer, but it never materialize for a number of reasons — being extremely busy being one of them.
I want to gauge your level of interest on this. I want to see if you would be interested. So here’s what I envision, what will be included, and the price point…
The course itself will be delivered over 4-5 weeks through a series of webinars.
I prefer live webinars because you get to see me do it, in front of you, live. I share my desktop with you, and you get to see what I do, how I do it, as I do it. You also get to see the innerworkings of my websites, warts and all, and any snags that appear, which is a perfect learning environment.
Here’s the tentative course synopsis:
1. Introduction and Examples
In this session, I will go over WordPress, how I specifically use it, how I turn it into a content management system (CMS), how I use it on my clients’ sites, and more. I will also give you a sneak peek at the admin areas and the tools I use.
2. Themes and Styles
I will go over theme tweaking, styles, and graphics — from making basic layout changes to more advanced modifications. When people ask, “Michel, how did you do this or that on this theme?” This session will answer that question.
3. Plugins and Functions
This session will focus on plugins — the plugins I use or recommend, and how to set them up. Not all plugins are usable out of the box. Some need tweaking. I will show how I set them up and offer a downloadable Excel spreadsheet of all my plugins and where to get them.
4. Tools and Shortcuts
In this session, I will go through some of my tricks and external (non-WP) tools I use to speed it all up. I will show you how I use Firebug, SEO tools, page speed tools, cheatsheets, social media integration, cross-browser tweaking, etc.
5. Money and Traffic
I’m thinking this may be something a lot people will love to know, and that’s how I monetize, market, and drive targeted traffic to my WordPress website. Without PPC or advertising. I will talk about list-building, content strategy, and social media integration.
6. Open Q&A Session
The final session will be an open question-and-answer session. This is where I will answer any and all of your questions related to the course content. If it takes an hour, I’ll take an hour. If it takes three, three it is. I want to take all the time needed to answer all your questions.
Bonuses
Not sure about this one, but I think a free trial to a one-month Success Chef University might be a good bonus. This is not going to be some forced continuity thing. If you like the free trial, you will need to re-subscribe to keep it going. Just sayin’.
Success Chef also includes the weekly Wednesday night classes and the derivative products, like List Whisperer, Marketing ESP, the Copy Doctor, etc.
Upsell
I do plan on offering an upsell. The reason I’m doing it is not entirely because I want to maximize sales, although that is obviously one of the reasons. But more important, I feel like this is one upsell people will actually ask for and buy.
What is it? It’s a private, one-on-one session with me.
This is an opportunity where the student can book a time with me, and I go through their website, theme, and plugins, and perhaps even web copy and strategy.
In it, I will review their setup, answer individual questions, and provide actionable recommendations. Perhaps even fix a thing or two while on the call, and implement a few tweaks right on the spot (within reason, of course).
Again, this is a tentative list. It might change, especially based on your feedback. All these sessions will be recorded and available online in a password-protected area.
The price point will increase once the sessions have been delivered and uploaded. I want to offer a lower price point before and while I deliver the course as a special introductory price.
My thinking is $297 is more than a fair price. I looked at other courses of this type, and $297 is actually on par or less than most.
The upsell will be $997 (total) for both the course and the full, one-on-one session. Considering that I charge $1,000 for critique consulting, and a minimum of $3,000 for any copy project, I think this price point is more than fair.
Now, you don’t have to choose the upsell.
You can buy just the main course for $297.
I only want to make the one-on-one session available to those who need more hand-holding and individualized attention.
But if you have a website right now, and you’re wondering how to tweak it but don’t know how, and if you prefer to save the hassle and expense — Mike Sigers said he was charged $2,500 to modify just one page! — this will certainly be a bargain.
So let me know your thoughts.
To answer a few of your questions in advance, let’s say I’m looking at next week as the launch, and the course will be delivered throughout July. Probably in the afternoons.
(However, if you choose the upsell, the one-on-one session can be booked at any time based on any openings on my schedule.)
All the sessions will be recorded and you will have access to the recordings. You can share your private session (if you choose the upsell) with a freelancer, partner, staff member, or designer, if you wish them to implement some of the things I recommend.
(Keep in mind, I will do a few tweaks for you, and do it live. This is only if the changes you need fall beyond the scope of our time together.)
Standing by and listening…
Want to Maximize Your WordPress Website Fortin-Style? originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.
The Need For Long Copy and Other Stupid Myths
Posted on 21. May, 2010 by Michel Fortin in abuse, armand morin, audience, Blog, buyer, FTC, marketer, myth, nick usborne, offer, Opinions, product, selling, service, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, video
Recently, Terry Dean wrote an awesome article, entitled “Copy is King and Other Common Lies.” The article boils down to the fact that the market and the offer come first.
Copy is still important. Design plays an important role, too.
But copy is not king. The market is. And I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, after reading the article it made me think of something I’ve been meaning to share with you for a while.
And I’m warning you, this might ruffle a few feathers.
Three years ago, I wrote a white paper called “The Death of The Salesletter.” It was controversial because a lot of it was contrary to popular belief, particularly since it was coming from someone whose career revolved around writing salesletters.
Long-scrolling salesletters, that is.
Long-form web salesletters are dead. Or better said, they are evolving. But the changes we are seeing are more than what you think. And I’m not talking about video…
Ostensibly, the impetus for this change is largely influenced by the introduction and adoption of multimedia. That’s because the Internet is different. Some say the Internet is just another medium. It is, but it is still different. It’s visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
Better said, the way people consume information on the Internet is different.
But there are a couple of things I wanted to share with you that I didn’t cover in the report. The reason is, since then we’ve seen a lot of other changes, too.
After three years, we’ve gone through a recession, a series of societal pressures forcing us to change, and new or updated governmental regulations to comply with.
We’ve had the FTC’s new disclosure, affiliate marketing, and blogging rules. We’ve had the Google slap, Facebook slap, Visa slap, MasterCard slap, AdWords slap, and more.
(Reminds me of old Catholic school days where teachers, who were mostly nuns, walked around with wooden paddles ready to swat you if you were ever out of line.)
After all this, I have become a firmer believer that long salesletter copy is often not needed. And when it is used, it is largely misused. Sure, long copy has its place. It will always have a place. We need long copy when there’s a level of education needed.
For instance, in a previous blog post I wrote about my OATH formula. This formula is based on knowing the level of buyer awareness of your market.
In my marketing management class in college, I taught the stages of awareness new products go through, often called the “product adoption curve” or “diffusion process.”
(Famous copywriter Gene Schwartz discusses something similar in his book, Breakthrough Advertising, and how copy is different for each stage.)
My formula is simple. OATH is an acronym to define each awareness stage.
“O” stands for “Oblivious.” Your market doesn’t know about the problem. They aren’t aware they have it. Next is “A,” which means “Apathetic.” They know they have a problem but they don’t care. Solving it is not important to them for whatever reason.
Then, there’s “T,” which is “Thinking.” They know they have a problem and can solve it, but they’re thinking about it. Maybe they’re not convinced or they’re shopping around. And finally, “H” is for “Hurting.” They want to solve it now. They’re desperate.
When you look at the OATH formula and how copy fits in each stage, it stands to reason that the more oblivious they are, the more you need to educate them. And conversely, the more desperate they are, the less copy is required.
Makes sense?
(This doesn’t include the product type. The four product types are “convenience,” “shopping,” “specialty,” and “unsought” products. The more commoditized the product, the less copy it needs. The more specialized it is, the greater the need for copy.)
Now, here’s the thing.
Internet marketing is not just about Internet marketing. There are tons of markets, products, and solutions being marketed on the Internet. But the most conspicuous is the Internet marketing industry. In other words, the “how to market on the Internet” market.
Which boils down to the making-money market. The bizop crowd.
(Not entirely, of course, but in large part.)
Let me ask you, where do people in the make-money market stand in the OATH formula? If you guessed “hurting,” if not at least “thinking,” then I would say you’re right.
(In terms of product type, most how-to-make-money products are commoditized. Or they are not as specialized as they used to be — unless it’s software, of course. But much of what you find in $5,000 infoproducts can be easily found in $30 books.)
So let me ask you, if that’s the case, then why are most Internet marketing products still being sold online with long-copy salesletters? Particularly hard-hitting ones?
And that includes long video sales pitches, too. Remember, multimedia salesletters are still using long copy — they’re just delivering it differently.
And I’m also not referring to actual training followed by an offer of some kind. (In other words, educational content unrelated or indirectly related to the pitch at the end.)
I’m talking about overzealous, aggressive, superlative-laced, hypnosis-inducing, carnival-barking, smooth-talking, slick-sliding-from-headline-to-P.S. sales pitches.
Whether it’s on video or in text.
Today, I still see long sales copy, with hard-hitting sales pitches, pushing Internet marketing products onto the marketplace. Why is that? Why would you need long copy to push something that’s seemingly targeted to a hurting market?
The reason is simple. There are actually 10 of them.
Here they are, in reverse order (David Letterman style)…
10. The market is skeptical and cynical (probably because of the rest of this list).
9. The product is overpriced.
8. The value or benefits are small, insignificant, or non-existent.
7. The product is unneeded or irrelevant.
6. The solution is temporary in nature.
5. The product is just snake oil.
4. The product is scammy.
3. The order process is scammy (e.g., forced continuity, upsell hell, fake scarcity, etc).
2. The market is naive (i.e., being hurt opens you up to abuse and manipulation).
… And finally, number one is (drum roll, please)…
1. The product is crap.
There.
I said it.
This is nothing new. I remember copywriter Nick Usborne saying this many years ago in my copywriters forum. It caused quite a stir. And since my clients were mostly Internet marketers at the time, I was apologetic whilst defending my clients. And my livelihood.
But today, I have come to the conclusion that most (not all, but most) Internet marketers who still use long copy, especially long copy that screams like a Monster Truck Rally announcer, is for a product that sucks. Period.
Now, not all of them are that obvious. Some of them are slick. Very slick. Copy injected with great storytelling, believability, personality, and testimonials that make you salivate.
When someone says about an Internet marketer that “he’s so good at selling, he can sell ice to an Eskimo” — being Canadian, I would have preferred to call them Inuit, but I digress — the question is, why would you? Think about that, for a moment.
Really. I’m serious.
Would you feel good about yourself if you sold something utterly useless to someone who doesn’t need it? Plus, I bet you that when you tried to sell your “ice,” you had to use a pretty long sales pitch, too. Either that or manipulate your client somehow.
Obviously, that’s nonsense. It’s downright abusive, too.
Ultimately, the lesson I want to deliver here is this…
Great products sell themselves. Just as educated markets, particularly hurting markets, buy themselves. They prefer to buy than to be sold. They don’t need much help. They just need direction. And that, my friends, is what direct marketing should be.
It should direct the market as well as be direct.
(As my friend Armand Morin always says, “Just sell the darn thing!”)
No need for long, drawn-out, credibility-pumping, testimonial-oozing, adjective-laden, trance-inducing, endlessly-scrolling copy. Especially audience-manipulating copy.
Some people might respond with, “But Michael, you’re full of crap! Long copy works, I tell you. My sales numbers prove it!” Of course, it does. No argument there. Heck, that’s why it still exists and is being used all the time. Spam still exists, too. Right?
But because something works doesn’t make it right. It’s no different than saying, “Hey, if you need to make money, go rob a bank. Why? Because it works!”
So unless your market is oblivious, and uneducated about your problem and its solution, you don’t need long copy. Unless, of course, your product is crap, your business is shady, your reputation is shot, or your market has been abused in the past.
So I’ll end by repeating something I said earlier, because it’s important. Great products sell themselves, just as great markets buy themselves. Your job is simple…
… You just need to find them and match them up.
The Need For Long Copy and Other Stupid Myths originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.
Are Product Launches Peddling For Profits?
Posted on 09. Apr, 2010 by Michel Fortin in authority, awareness, Blog, distribution, FTC, manufacturer, marketer, Opinions, positioning, proof, psychology, relationship, salesletter, selling, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, success, urgency, value
After participating in a recent product launch (something I very rarely do), our Platinum Group was discussing the issue and I wanted to share those insights with you.
Considering the recent hysteria behind the massive Apple iPad launch, it got me thinking about how most Internet marketers conduct their product launches.
Most of them work because they’re based on basic human psychology. But I believe people who do use it do it poorly.
In fact, I think they do so because the strategy, particularly as it applies to Internet marketing and digital products specifically, is inherently flawed. What I mean is, in order for it to work — and work well — it must rely on three major factors:
- Anticipation
- Social proof
- Scarcity/urgency
Granted, you can manufacture these. And when you sell Internet, digital, or information products, you have to. Why? Because these products are, or are seen as, limitless.
And therein lies the rub…
The best and most profitable launches in history didn’t rely on any of these. At least, not in a direct way. Sure, these factors do play a huge role in most successful launches. But they occur almost as natural byproducts. They are not manufactured.
And that’s exactly what iPad did for their launch day. They used #1 (anticipation) and #2 (social proof). But they didn’t use #3. In other words, they launched without the need to create or promote any kind of manufactured scarcity.
Why? Because they didn’t need to.
Obviously, iPad is a physical product, which is naturally limited. That scarcity was made even greater on launch day because of #1 and #2. In other words, they didn’t have to “close their doors” and reopen them at some later date to create scarcity.
Granted, Apple may have limited their in-store stocks on launch day to create more demand. I don’t know. And they did a lot more. Seth Godin shares a few others. But I’m referring to the product launch strategy’s three major factors specifically.
My point here is, natural scarcity or creating a genuine sense of urgency — better said, possessing or projecting one — will trump a manufactured one. Every time.
Manufactured scarcity appears self-centered, questionable, and suspicious. When you look at how the FTC, Visa/MasterCard, Google, and now Facebook — with its recent slap — frown upon generated scarcity, you know people are lashing out against the practice.
When Jobs introduced the upcoming iPad, it created a ton of anticipation. With the iPhone being as popular as it was, news generated inherent social proof since people already had experiences with the iPhone.
But there’s more to it than that.
Apple created genuine scarcity because they have strong brand recognition, are well positioned, and have a history of delivering solid products with great value. They didn’t have to poach other people’s lists, create sales contests, or use high-pressure tactics.
Now, I’m not saying joint ventures, sales contests, and manufactured scarcity are wrong. But if you keep using them, product launch after product launch, then chances are you will be be seen as nothing more than a salesman. A slick, smarmy, snake-oil peddler.
(That’s not just my opinion, either.)
Apple didn’t create demand, which is why they didn’t need to manufacture scarcity. Whether the product was a physical one didn’t matter. To paraphrase Gene Schwartz in Breakthrough Advertising, “They didn’t create demand, they merely channeled it.”
Speaking of channeling demand, let’s look at some of the differences.
When I used to teach marketing management in college, there are two schools of thought in marketing. One is called the pull strategy, and the other the push strategy.
What do they mean? With the push marketing strategy, you are pushing the product through distribution channels. A “channel” can be, for instance:
Manufacturer
Distributor
In Internet Marketing and with downloadable products, the channel looks more like this:
Seller/Vendor
The push strategy is the one most often used by salespeople, infomercials, direct response advertisers, and direct marketers. And, obviously, Internet marketers, too.
The pull strategy, on the other hand, is where reputation and recognition generate awareness and demand. And that demand pulls the product through the distribution channel — thus requiring a lot less legwork, and a lot less need to sell. For example:
Consumer
Store
Now, let me put this in a better perspective for you.
Ostensibly, a push strategy can make a lot of money. There’s no denying that. That’s how many marketers make their “millions,” particularly via these massive product launch parades. Problem is, you have to constantly push products to stay afloat.
Sadly, this constant need to push products creates that unflattering “salesman” stigma, where most Internet marketers are largely seen as peddlers and not businesses.
In order to stay alive — or to maintain their standard of living — most Internet marketers need to constantly create new products, make new offers, and seek new “addicts” to push their products onto. (Sounds dangerously close to drug dealers, doesn’t it?)
That’s why most of them churn and burn their lists.
If they stop pushing more products, there is no business.
That’s why Sylvie and I call them “serial drive-by marketers.”
If you use a pull strategy, or complement your existing push strategy with a strong pull strategy, you will work a lot less. The rest will almost take care of itself. The business will keep going, no matter what. And above all, there will be less of that peddler stigma.
What constitutes a strong pull strategy?
Aside from offering in-demand products and solid value, there’s positioning, brand recognition, business identity, good customer service, a loyal fan base, authority in your field, and strong relationships with your customers and prospects. Just to name a few.
(Sure, there are more than that. But how many Internet marketers use any of them? Very little. For example, how many online salesletters have you seen with a logo? ‘Nuff said.)
Think of it this way: there’s a difference between the pawn-shop mentality and the retail store mentality. The former constantly needs products on its shelves to sell to stay alive. But the latter doesn’t need new products to sell. (And by “new” I mean “more.”)
Rather, retail stores need traffic. Consumers. Markets. People with needs. You simply create products to fill needs, not create needs (such as using fake scarcity) so you can shove your products down people’s throats during some big, limited product launch.
In other words, we need to think more like a retail store than like a pawn shop.
Now, I’m not saying we need to become like Wal-Mart or some other big box store. And we don’t need to focus on branding alone, or to advertise via some upscale, big budget, Madison Avenue advertising firm like many big brand stores do. No, not at all.
But we need to think like Wal-Mart.
We need to think like an Internet marketing business instead of like a peddler.
How would you feel if, upon entering your local Wal-Mart, they only had one product available at any given time? Or they had limited quantities of a product you know well and good wasn’t limited? Or they used high-pressure, time-sensitive tactics to sell you?
Sadly, most Internet marketers conduct their business like pawn shops. I’m not saying we should stop using direct response. Direct marketing, particularly for small businesses, is essential. But it should complement a good business strategy. Not replace it.
How great would it be if you sold products like crazy simply because people asked? How great would it be if you never had to sell or use any kind of manufactured scarcity to sell? And how much more money would you make, especially over the long term?
Bottom line, start focusing on creating long-term, solid businesses rather making serialized promotions for subpar products with time-limited, over-the-top product launches that at best merely provide short-term cash injections.
Something to think about.
By the way, if you’re interested in how to become a recognized authority, and position yourself and your business in a way that generates authentic demand and scarcity, then I encourage you to come to next week’s Authority Event in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Are Product Launches Peddling For Profits? originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.
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