I have received a lot of PM’s from people wanting to know if their ideas and or methods were good. While I appreciate that people want my input I just don’t have the time to devote to each person. I also don’t have all the answers, regardless of what I may think ;)
So, I decide to lay out a complete method that will allow you to make money offline with very little “work” involved outside of the actual selling and client communication. Everything here is outsourced. This is very easy to implement immediately and as you will see making an extra $3,000 - $6,000 monthly by following this exactly is well within reach for anyone that reads this and just takes action and follows through.
SEO can be a royal pain in the ass and clients can be even more of a pain in the ass. They want their sites ranking on top quickly and they are never fully satisfied unless they are on that top position. Realistically you can’t rank everyone on top. Well, you could but keeping them there is another topic. You have no control over what the search engines will roll out as far as updates, refreshes, algorithm changes, etc. So, you have to tip toe around because you don’t want to do anything that could damage the rankings, therefore a slow and steady process is used. The clients get impatient waiting for the results.
Most clients know that you don’t have control over what the search engines roll out, but at the same time they want results. What if you could approach local clients and say, “Aren’t you sick of throwing thousands of dollars into SEO each and every month just to see your website bounce all over the place? It’s time to flip the script and beat them at their own game!” Think that will get their attention? You bet it will!
Ok, so before we dive into this you are going to need to present yourself as a professional organization. No Gmail email addresses, no Google voice/Skype phone numbers. All that crap screams rookie and half ass service. Now, if you have $5 in the bank then this isn’t going to work for you. It is going to take about $500 to get started. You have to pay to play so to speak. So, if you are looking for a magic method to make money from with no investment then click the back button and go find a method to make a quick $500 and then come back.
Your tools of the trade will include the following:
PHONE: LOCAL NUMBER & 800 NUMBER
Do not use Google voice or Skype. It is amateur and if someone hears the, “Please state your name and Google Voice will try to connect you” they will hang up. Get a VOIP system. I suggest you check out nextiva. They have a plan that is $34.95 a month that includes unlimited calling and faxing. It also includes a local number as well as an 800 number. Since you are targeting local clients in your city/town then you want the comfort of a local number for them but when they see an 800 number as well they will tend to picture you as a larger operation. Now, you can use the soft phone application and use it through your computer – just get a headset. Or, you can get an actual desk phone. They have a special on the Polycom IP331 for $82.95. Now, if you are real good you might be able to convince them to throw in the phone for free if you sign up for service. Casually mention another company and that they have a free phone offer. I have seen that work. There is no contract and no set up fee with nextiva.
Get more info here:
Code:
http://www.nextiva.com
IDENTITY: LOGO
You need a kick ass logo, but you don’t want to break the bank. BHW member adss30 has a BST thread that offers logos for $24.99. Small price to pay to have an identity. Also, you will need this to brand your marketing materials and all communication (email signature, fax cover sheet, business cards, etc.).
Get more info here:
Code:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/web-design/521262-awesome-designer-logos-mobile-app-wordpress-cms-websites-magento-fb-page-more.html
BUSINESS PORTAL: WEBSITE
You need a website. There is no way around this. Again, for reasonable priced work take a look at BHW member adss30’s BST thread. Complete WordPress site design, coding and install is $319.99. WP is the best platform because you can keep a blog and it can grow with you easily as your business grows. You want to keep it fairly simple and generic. Fill it with nice content but more importantly have very strong call to actions. A contact form that is easily accessed from all pages and your 800 and local number visible on all pages.
So, find a Godaddy $1 domain coupon and get a good domain. Then set up your email as well.
Get more info here:
Code:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/web-design/521262-awesome-designer-logos-mobile-app-wordpress-cms-websites-magento-fb-page-more.html
PAYMENT GATEWAY
Use PayPal Advanced. It looks more professional than just a regular PayPal account and it allows your clients to check out directly on your site instead of being redirected to PayPal and then back to your site. Overall it is just much more professional. This will run you $5 a month and then 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. The client can easily pay with any major credit card. Or use 2Checkout. Both are very good.
Get more info here:
Code:
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/plans-and-pricing?intl_cid=BizHP-CTA|web:see-plans-and-pricing
Code:
http://www.2checkout.com
INVOICING
Freshbooks is so simple to use and produces a very nice invoice. You can also set it up so the client pays directly through the invoice. Sign up takes seconds and you can also upload your logo and change the colors of the interface to match your logo. It is 100% free to use for up to 3 clients. $19.95 monthly for up to 25 clients, and then $29.95 monthly for unlimited clients. So, get started for free and once you have 3 clients you can easily afford to upgrade. It grows with you and they don’t even require a credit card and payment details to get started.
Get more info here:
Code:
http://www.freshbooks.com
RANK TRACKING
You want to be able to send nice looking rank reports to your clients. I like SerpBook because it is simple to use, more accurate than any other system I have tried, and produces beautiful reports. You can upload your logo as well and brand them as your own. You can sign up for the trial for free and it tracks 10 keywords. Give it a try, as no credit card or billing details are required to try it out. As you build clients you will want to upgrade.
Get more info here:
Code:
http://www.serpbook.com
...or use my affiliate link:
Code:
http://serpbook.com/?aff=425
Now that you are ready to roll you must be wondering what you will be selling.
RANK & BANK LOCAL WEBSITES & RANKINGS!
First, lets answer the “WHY” question…
*You will be targeting LOCAL companies and their keywords are much easier to rank this way than what most people try to rank using a rank and bank method. So, you will be able to get them to the top.
*This is short term and the client knows this going into it. Much easier sell when they know exactly what will happen. Traditional SEO is like walking on egg shells, but this is straight to the point.
*Rinse and repeat: While some sites may stick on top for a long time most will stay for 2-3 months then disappear. So, deliver exactly as promised and the client will re-up over and over. As you build your client base it can turn into quite the jackpot.
Some way wonder how in the world you will sell this approach. Simple: by being HONEST! A simple, “Listen, you don’t know what the search engines are going to roll out tomorrow, and while I am very knowledgeable about SEO, as are other SEO professionals, NOBODY can look you in the face and tell you that they are 100% positive that the rankings will go up, stay there, and not be affected. So, to eliminate that, I am proposing a method that is going to deliver you what you want, and that is leads and business/revenue. While short term, we know what we are dealing with and realistic expectations are set upfront. Also, the cost is much lower.” – Something along those lines.
Now, here comes the “HOW” part…
STEP #1:
First, you are going to build them a landing page that’s sole purpose is to generate leads and make their phone ring. You will want to get them a domain that has their main KW in it. (Order of preference: .com, .net, .org, .info)
The landing page should be unbranded, without their name or logo. You will want their phone number on the page and a very large call to action. Set this up so it delivers the inquiries directly to them in real time. You can also set it to send you them as well so you can track every lead that comes through the landing page. This way when they say “Well I think it is doing well” you can fire back with, “Well, actually Joe, it is doing great. You have received 47 leads this month online and this doesn’t include all of the phone calls.”
You will want to make it an eye appealing design, and optimize it as best you can. Title tags, meta, alt image tags, H1/H2, and all that jazz. Include at least 1,000 – 1,500 words of optimized content as well.
Now, for the landing page design and development adss30 is again a good option. His landing pages are only $99.99, which is dirt cheap.
So, this will cost you a total of $99.99 if you write the content and do the onsite optimization.
Get more info here:
Code:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/web-design/521262-awesome-designer-logos-mobile-app-wordpress-cms-websites-magento-fb-page-more.html
STEP #2:
Now that the landing page is done and optimized it is time to shoot that sucker to the top of the search engines for the local term(s) you are going to target for the client.
For this, you are going to use BudgetRank. You don’t have to lift a finger other than clicking the mouse a few times to place your order. For this you are going to get a Level 7 package that costs $397. This rank and bank madness is designed to push them to the top fast. It requires zero work on your part. When completed you will get a full report branded with your logo and contact information.
Get more info here:
BST Link:
Code:
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/seo-link-building/601534-budgetrank-affordable-search-engine-optimization-solutions-search-engine-optimization-starting-only-37-a.html
Direct:
Code:
http://www.budgetrank.com
The complete website and SEO will cost you $497, and you will be selling this package for $1,097. That is leaving you with a $600 PROFIT for each sale. Do some simple math. Just 5 sales a month is $3,000 and 10 sales a month is $6,000. Some will be able to do much more. Now, since you are outsourcing everything it allows you to focus on sales. Sales are what makes you money so having to just essentially “take the order” and “deliver the order” almost all of your time can be used for prospecting and closing deals. In the beginning I would suggest you do the content and onsite optimization to save some money but as you grow you can hire a virtual assistant to do that.
HOW WILL I GET CLIENTS?
Before we go over all the prospecting methods download the template pack. These are all word docs that you can easily put your logo and contact details on. This doc pack contains the following:
*Phone Script
*Email Template
*Fax Template
*Mailer Template
*These are all specific to this method. (Note: This should just be used as a guide. Throw your own personal touches and personality into these)
I am not including a service contract template. You will need to get that on you own. You can find some with a Google search. I would suggest you have an attorney look your agreement over if you can afford it. Again, this is your call.
DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATES HERE:
Make sure you click the "Click here to start download from sendspace" and not one of the ads...
Code:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/qjpf71
VIRUSTOTAL RESULT: CLEAN
Time to get clients…
There is no simple way to start prospecting. You are going to want to just dive right in. The first thing I would do is take a drive around your local market. Take note of potential targets. Avoid companies that are a franchise and avoid national companies. You want local businesses with local owners that your can have direct communication with. Take a day and explore your area. You may uncover some new businesses and some oldies might pop back in your mind. It will also give you ideas for categories. So, write down potential targets as well as categories.
Next, put a pot of coffee on or get a bunch of Red Bull. Now it is time to hand pick companies to target. First, create an Excel spreadsheet and include the following fields: Company Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Email, Phone, Fax.
Now, make sure that your Google search page is set to your local zip code. Perform a test search and then click on “search tools” on the menu bar and make sure it displays your location. Time to dive in. Example: if you first wanted to gather a list of electricians in Seattle you would want to search “Seattle electrician,” “electrician Seattle,” etc. Now, ignore the local results and the first page. Focus on the right and on the very top – the PPC ads. If you find a local company that has a PPC ad on the first page but they are not showing up in the organic first page results then put them into your Excel spreadsheet.
That is the ideal lead. They obviously have a marketing budget and are spending money. They also have the desire to get new customers if they are actively spending money on a PPC campaign. We all know how expensive those clicks can get. When you explain to them how you are going to drive them leads through organic traffic it will be a much easier sell. They aren’t on the first page, so they are being forced to pay for each click. Now, if you tried to pitch someone who is already on page one they will say “I’m already on there.” Plus they might have a website that you do not want to risk with a rank and bank SEO approach. The guy pumping a sh#t load of money into a PPC campaign is your dream client.
So, when you are prospecting be smart about it and go after keywords that carry a high CPC. When you find someone that is dumping thousands of dollars into PPC every month it will make pitching them the idea of getting a few months worth of organic traffic for only $1,097 seem like a very attractive offer. Think some of the businesses aren’t spending a lot on PPC? IF they are working with an agency then they are spending a lot, as well as agency fees. If they are doing it on their won then they are probably over bidding as well and spending a lot. Example: I saw a local salon that I would assume wasn’t spending much, but they were dumping $2,500 a month into PPC! I saw their campaign and they were targeting the most useless keywords and their CPC was ridiculously high. That campaign was a huge loss each month.
Put together a prospect list and then get to work. The approach you go with is up to you. Some people suck on the phone but can sell like an animal through email. Others can pick up the phone and create pure magic. So, do what you are comfortable with and what you think will produce the best results for you. Mix it up and try them all. Practice makes perfect. Once you do it for a couple months you will get into a routine and you will just get on the computer and prospect and pitch on auto pilot. You will know what works for you and develop your own winning routine.
MAIL/FAX/EMAIL
These are all simple – send them out and then follow up. Some people are afraid to follow up. Don’t be. Businesses get very busy and while they might have made a mental note to reach out to you there are things that come up and push that to the back of the list. Often you will hear, “Oh I’m so glad you called. I have been meaning to call you!” Keep calling until they do one of the following two things: 1) Buy from you, or 2) Tell you no. Think about it: the worst thing that can happen is they say no. Then you move on. Don’t be afraid of rejection. This is a numbers game.
PHONE
There is nothing that can make you a pro on the phone other than practice. You might want to put together a prospect list of less likely prospects to practice on, such as personal trainers, yoga instructors, etc. People that could possible be a customer and will at least allow you to practice your phone pitch. This way you are not practicing on the big dogs right away. You want to feel 100% comfortable before you throw this at them.
This is something that you can dive into head first once you get situated. Some of you already have websites and a local presence. The real go getters can finish reading this thread, download the docs and get started TODAY. The landing page is outsourced. The SEO is outsourced. There is a nice profit worked in for you. If you are organized and ready to put in the effort then this method can make you a lot of money.
Set goals and do not stop until you reach them. With this method the landing page and SEO package costs you $497, but you are charging $1,097 for this. That is $600 PROFIT for you. Sell 10 packages a month and that is $6,000. Now, since the potential for these sites to fall off the face of the earth in a few months you can get them going on another sale. Once you show them that it is driving leads and customers to their business you will have a client for life. So, one client can turn into 3-4 purchases throughout the year. When those start to pile up you begin to make serious money.
Now, go make it happen!
(Disclaimer: While I suggest BHW user adss30 for the logo, your site, and the clients landing pages I am in no way affiliated with him or his company, nor am I receiving any kind of compensations from him. I just know that he is available virtually 24/7 on Skype and goes above and beyond to make sure his clients are happy. Also, his prices are ridiculously low. I am affiliated with BudgetRank. Just posting this to be 100% transparent. You are free to use whatever you would like, but obviously I would appreciate if you supported BudgetRank for the SEO portion of this outsourced method.)