My Mentor is Better Than Your Mentor

How did you like that title? You think Tristan Higbee would be proud? Or Sheila Atwood?

What I want to talk about is mentors, or more specifically, about being mentored.

I think a mentor should be hand-selected as one-size-fits-all only works with those womens cotton nightgown tshirt thingies.

Here are the qualifications I look for in a mentor:

1. They are honest and transparent.

2. They walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

3. Their business model has to be one I'm interested in following. I won a coaching spot one time and the guy "coached" on how to do nothing but free ad swaps. Not my thing at all.

4. They have to be making more money than me.

5. They need to be interested in ME and my success.

The good news is there are good mentors out there and you don't necessarily have to have a formal arrangement!

When I first jumped aboard the Internet marketing train, I was probably like you… wide-eyed with excitement and practically drooling with the possibilities. I felt like I was from the Exorcist with my heading spinning around and around with each idea and promise.

Then I found Nicole Dean.

I gathered up my courage and emailed her asking if she would answer 3 questions for my new ebook and not only did she say yes, she answered them immediately. When I sent her the completed ebook, she talked in detail about how I should market it.

Every time I asked her a question, she gave me looong answers. Even when I told her I was going to start a PLR store (like hers but not copying hers) she offered tips. Wow! I'm still amazed she took the time to help me.

When I asked her if she wouldn't mind sending out a promo for my PLR store via an affiliate link, she suggested some tweaks for my sales page and then promoted it. When I asked if she would consider promoting Become a PLR Writer, she mailed out and put a promo on her site as well.

I can't tell you how much I've learned from this smart marketer – not just about marketing but how to have fun with it and pay it forward.

When I learned Nicole was going to start a monthly "tell all" of what goes on behind the scenes, called IncomeCPR, I knew it was going to be good. She was going to tell me what makes her the most money and how she goes about it? How she grew her list so fast? How to take those products you've created and market them so you make bank. I'm in!

So I dove in and here's what I found after I came up for air: $10 for what you get is not a fair price at all. It's not fair to her anyway. I personally love it, the cheapskate I am.

This first month she explained how she structured her recent contest for affiliates and also included 5 case studies. These were about what some of her affiliates did on their end of the contest. I thought it was funny because they all took different routes yet they all made lots of sales.

As a marketer with an affiliate program, this lesson was gold.
As an affiliate of other marketers, this lesson was gold.

Nicole is a down-to-earth real person and I noticed she even told about a mistake she made with her contest. How often do you see that?

In this first issue, which she also calls Information Products: Unleashed, I got some tips I can start using immediately, and had one big lightbulb moment that I'm really eager to try.

I'm looking forward to stepping it up and I can't wait for next month.

Here's a quote:

After a lot of sleepless nights, here’s what I finally discovered and what I’m going to share with you: To make money with your information products, you have to do the RIGHT things – and at the RIGHT times. And I’m going to show you what those “right things” are. ~Nicole Dean

Sorry, I do believe I'm gushing about Nicole and IncomeCPR. But when I found out my favorite teacher was going to reveal her secrets (real secrets not slimy marketer fake/blackhat secrets) and it was as good as I thought it would be, I admit I'm excited.

Off to drink a martini in a relaxing bubble bath now…

 

• Do you have a mentor, unofficial or official? If not, what's stopping you?
• Do you know Nicole Dean?

 

 

 

Sam Stephens of DLGuard – My Thanks to You!

 Every so often I've just got to publically thank someone who has been such a great help in my Internet marketing journey.  Today is one of those days.

  

Sam Stephens of DLGuard - my thanks to you!

My husband is beginning to wonder why I get excited these days when I get an email from a guy named Sam.  But I've explained to him that Sam, Sam Stephens, is the guy behind my shopping cart, DLGuard.  He is also the person in charge of Support… my lifeline from my non-techy world to the… well… techy world.

I like DLGuard (aff link); it's been a good secure shopping cart and it's not at all hard to use in it's intended way.  But my needs have grown, and I've found (with help from Sam) that DLGuard can grow too.

My latest thing, which has meant many back and forth emails with Support, aka Sam, is a membership site – integrated with my JAM affiliate program – with multiple price points – and the ability to build a list of the buyers into my AWeber autoresponder.  Whew!  That was scary for me, but old hat for Sam.

My questions flew out to him and his answers started with calming words like "No worries…" (He is Australian  I'd be so annoyed with me by now, but this is his last email to me:

Hi Peggy,

Fantastic, great to hear it's going well!

I'll close this ticket off for now, but if you still need a hand then
please let me know. Just click on the "Open" link near the top
of the page to reopen this ticket, and then post a reply – I'll
keep an eye out if you need me!

Best wishes,

Sam Stephen 

Does Sam Stephens and DLGuard have my loyalty?  Yes!

So here is my thank you to Sam:

Dear Sam,

What a great feeling to know that you have
my back. This is not something I see very
often in the Internet marketing world where
product creators assume they're completely
done the moment the customer types in
their PayPal info and parts with their
hard-earned cash.

You are a great example of how customer
service should be, and I wanted to let you
know how much I appreciate that.  It does
not go unnoticed by me or your many other
customers, and is part of what makes
DLGuard the success that it is.

Thanks Sam!

Peggy

What about you?  Do you have anyone in your Internet marketing life that's gone above and beyond?

Are you a Sam Stephens groupie too?

Previous My Thanks To you Post – Randy Smith

Tiffany Dow – My Thanks To You

Here’s a post for the “My Thanks To You” category.  Because sometimes thanking someone privately isn’t enough.

To those of you who might not know Tiffany Dow, she is a PLR article writer and the Squidoo Queen.  She is also a ghostwriter and used to write for some big-name gurus before becoming a successful internet marketer herself.  She’s also well known on the Warrior Forum where she helps people and is not afraid to ask questions when she wants to know something.

When I first started with internet marketing I had the idea to write an ebook called Look After Your List.  Well… I wasn’t going to write it so much as interview people.  One of the people I got ahold of was Tiff and she not only gave me, an unknown, the time of day but she gave me some great material to put in the ebook.

Everytime I have emailed her with a question or suggestion, in true Tiff fashion she responds quickly and efficiently.  It’s nice to be heard.

More recently, Tiffany posted a 30 Article Writing Challenge on the Warrior Forum and even though I didn’t think I was very successful, I co-won with a fellow warrior.  I guess I won on effort and attitude; it certainly wasn’t on the most sales made!  Tiffany was more than generous with the prizes:

5 ghostwritten articles
$100 worth of PLR from her PLRminimart (I felt like a kid in a candy store)
$50 cash in PayPal
custom made Squidoo lens
custom made Hub Page

Wow.  More than generous, wouldn’t you say?

I’m sure she knows how much these prizes will indirectly increase my internet marketing earnings, but she probably doesn’t know how much I learned about the subtleties of article marketing from joining the 30 day challenge.

Things I’ve learned from Tiffany Dow:
  *  Grab the bull by the horns and just get after it.
  *  Don’t worry about not looking perfect – ask what you need to know.
  *  Help others
  *  Ask your subscribers to give you feedback on your ideas.  Give them a say about which direction they want you to go with what you offer them.
  *  Produce, produce, produce!

So my thanks to you Tiff!

Some of Tiff’s sites (without my affiliate links):
www.plrminimart.com
www.socialmarketing101.com
www.buildmylens.com
www.twittertraffic.com
www.guide2ebooks.com

Thanks To Randy Smith

Sometimes just saying thank you to a person isn’t enough.

So… I’ve come up with a plan to make my thank you’s public here on the blog under the category “My Thanks to You“, and I’ll post these now and again.

Dear Randy Smith,
www.randolfsmith.com

When I was brand-spanking new to internet marketing I reached out to you with a question.  Well, as I recall it was actually 3 or 4 questions disguised as 1.  You cheerfully answered those questions and offered even more information that answered questions I didn’t even know to ask yet.  Thank you.

I feel you offer me (and others) the right blend of honesty, insight, deep knowledge, humor, and especially encouragement.  Thank you.

You make me think about my internet marketing in ways I don’t want to.  “What Randy?  I should track my conversion rates for THAT?”  And will tell me if my sales page headline stinks.  “Boring, Peggy. That’s not going to capture people’s attention.”  Well, he did say it nicer than that.  But… thank you.

I appreciate that you’re a real person in this crazy internet marketing field who cares about others and it shows up in your site www.randolfsmith.com and your products www.salesletterabc.com and www.moremonthly.com, among others.   Thank you.

I don’t even remember how I “found” you Randy, but I’m sure glad I did!  You’ve been instrumental in making me a better marketer.

Thank you,

Peggy
P.S.  No affiliate links were added to this post.