Why Gary Halbert Is Wrong In 2016

Mel,   A Roundtable member recently asked me what he would need to do for me to be interested in taking equity in his company.   So we started talking about his competitive advantage.   Right now his edge is:   He's a more diligent direct marketer and business manager than his competitors.   20 years ago that was enough.   As the late great Gary Halbert once said, "There's no business problem that can't be solved by a superior sales letter."   Do 1% better than anyone else at turning clicks into customers, and you were unstoppable.   The game has changed.   I told him, "Now you need to provide a decisively different customer experience based on a fundamental improvement you've made to the business process."   In other words, you can't simply dress it up the way marketers are wont to do.   He has to build something sustainably, demonstrably different.   He can; he knows more or less exactly what needs to be done; and it is doable. I believe he will do it.   Frankly, if he doesn't... somebody else will.   The most important thing about the iPad and the iPhone isn't the devices themselves. Nor is it even the fact that Apple has commercialized the most addictive product in the history of man—surpassing even cigarettes and heroin.   (At best, the drug dealers could only interest a tiny percentage of citizens in shooting smack. Apple has a million customers who, in theory, could not possibly afford an $800 telephone.)   No, the most important thing about the iPad and the iPhone is that they dramatically reduce peoples' patience for any kind of complexity or bureaucracy.   If it's possible to make something push-button simple, then the marketplace will not long tolerate anything less.   That's why Uber is making "road pizza" out of the taxi industry.   It's why Amazon is dismantling retail brick by brick.   And it's the reason why in Roundtable we ask questions like:   What is the nasty, messy, bleeding-neck problem in YOUR market that you're uniquely equipped to solve?   And how can you take that hideous complexity and whisk it behind the curtain of a "push-button simple" solution... one that's so beautiful and elegant that your customers can't imagine their lives without it?   Gary Halbert was wrong—superior sales letters don't fix these kinds of problems.   What does?   Wolverine entrepreneurs with the courage to sink their teeth into the tough hide of their market's most unsolvable problems—and with the help and support of their peers, bring those problems to their knees.   The entrepreneurs who make buying cars or hiring gardeners or boarding cruise ships in Antarctica as easy as tapping a button—those entrepreneurs will make bloody fortunes.   They will be the 10% who own 90% of the money.   These are the sorts of reasons why people will pay $60 million to buy your company.   Better marketing only goes so far.   Fix problems at their core and you will be wealthy indeed.   Carpe Diem,   Perry Marshall   PS: If you think you've got what it takes to be a part of Roundtable, we're now accepting applications for Roundtable 2, which begins in just a few months. Contact Tiffany@PerryMarshall.com to get started.                ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below: Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Winner Takes All in a 90/10 World

90/10 means: Bigger wipeouts, fewer levers, more losers, bigger wins Webinar: 6 Axes of Online Marketing Success  February 29 at 3PM ET REGISTER HERE   Mel,   I’m doing my level best to teach the world 80/20. I’m the 80/20 evangelist, flying all ‘round the globe preaching the good news of inequality.    In Planet Perry we’ve made 80/20 a VERB. As in:    “Dude, I massively 80/20’d my business over the weekend! I slashed two product lines, fired two staff members and six customers, then added our own version of a $2700 espresso machine.”   That’s my boy.   But reality has now moved beyond 80/20. Most things *YOU* and *I* deal with are 90/10.    10% of your actions generate 90% of the results.   That’s scary. But it’s true.    Taylor Pearson, author of The End of Jobs had a lengthy exchange with me and my 80/20 number cruncher Brian Woodruff. Taylor crunched some Amazon ebook data and said, “Hey, this really is 90/10. Ten percent of the authors are making 90% of the money!”   Yup.   Same thing in the music industry.   90/10 commands a different strategy than 80/10. It’s not the same rules.   On Monday’s webinar I’ll explain why the web is different, more extreme than offline. I’ll explain what you’re up against and how you maneuver.   Case in point: for a number of years we delivered “Bobsled Run,” a 12 week traffic / conversion / economics intensive. It was a raging success.   But then the world moved on.   We’ve reduced the number of levers, switched out some old for the new, and shortened the course to 6 weeks - precisely because the web is a 90/10 animal.   On Monday two of my star estudiantes will join us on a live webinar. They’ll describe how they jettisoned their overweight payloads in favor of agile alchemy.    We’ll describe the Six Axes of Success for this new 90/10 world.   Register here.     Seize The Lever - and yank that puppy HARD.   Perry Marshall     ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

DANGER. Biggest change in AdWords in 10 years

Mel,   Google just sliced off the ads on the right side and tossed them in the dumpster. Sort of like divorcing your high school sweetheart and throwing her off a bridge. Seriously.  Remember: In the beginning there were ZERO ads at the top of Google AdWords. Now there are 4! Right side is all gone. Bye-bye. Totally changes the game. Much harder to wedge your way IN. And… makes it harder to STAY on top. Those coveted spots will be vied for! If you’re at the top of Google now - batten down the hatches. WATCH THIS SPACE because your strategy for Google AdWords is going to totally change. Announcements coming soon. Do. Not. Ignore. Perry Marshall     ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below: Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Last Call: How to Survive When They “Outlaw” Direct Marketing

Maze 2.0: A Marketing Plan for the Death of the Web Starts TODAY! Thursday February 25th at 3:30M Eastern Get it all for “Less than Free”* Register Here   Mel,   This is huge.    Response from some of the sharpest marketers on my list has been roiling and boiling over my presentation Tuesday. If you weren’t there, I showed why Facebook and Apple are spelling out the “death of the web.”    The response was through the roof. Highest opt ins ever for a Planet Perry presentation.    And we’re about to get rolling with Maze 2.0, my plan to give you the tools you need to prepare for, survive, and thrive on the changing web.    (Oh, and, by the way, I’m giving this all away for “less than free”* if you join Mastermind 12! Get the details here or in the PS.)   Do You Need Maze 2.0?   Let’s take out the old clipboard and do the diagnosis….   Five Symptoms You’re Losing Ground Fast:   1. Does your “free line” keep moving back? Does it seem like lately you’re having to offer people negative interest rates? You’re giving away so much free content, free consulting, free product, that it’s like you’re saying, “Hey, I’ll pay you to borrow this money from me!”   2. Are your webinars not making the cash register ring like they used to? Are you lucky to get 30% of your sign-ups to actually show up?   3. Is collecting email addresses is like pulling fangs from a deranged wolf with rabies?    4. Have you been banned from Facebook for doing “perfectly reasonable” things … like promising real results and providing actual guarantees? The nerve!   5. Did you used to feel like you possessed a secret alchemy lab of direct marketing potions…but now you’re wondering why they’ve lost all their fizz?      If you’re feeling the pinch of social and mobile…if your marketing mousetrap seems to be rusting and rotting…if social media marketing seems like a gigantic, wasteful time suck…but you know you need to figure it out before it’s too late…you need to be in on Maze 2.0.    Click here to Sign Up…Starts TODAY!   Carpe Diem,   Perry Marshall   PS: “Less than free?” Here’s how: Maze 2.0 Bronze Level is $1495. But if you sign up for Mastermind 12 at the everyday price of $999.00, you get Maze 2.0 Bronze Level thrown in for no extra charge! You get one full year of Mastermind Club plus access to Maze 2.0 …a $2494 total value…for just $999.00.  It’s like you’re handing me $999 and I’m handing you back $1495. Get all the deets here.       ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Six Axes of Success - February 29

Webinar: 6 Axes of Online Marketing Success: Staging a Six-Week Turnaround in Your Business February 29, 3pm ET   Mel,   What could be more of a commodity than a shed?   What’s more easy to find, more dime-a-dozen than a small business consultant?   OK I guess you could cut hair or do manicures. But talk about candidates for the commodity slag heap.   Which is why I’m extra excited to introduce to blazing Planet Perry success stories.   On Monday, February 29, meet two gentlemen who completely bypassed the “sameness” accusation and spiked traffic, conversions, sales and growth in just a couple of months.   Eugene Ulrich of Ulrich Barn Builders in Dallas - and James Friel of the Quantus Group. Both of ‘em have been slammin’ butt and takin’ names as momentum continues to surge.   ON THIS WEBINAR: The Six Axes of Online Marketing Success. We walked both of these gents through a structured, systematic, “Top 1% levers in your biz” process. Each added elbow grease with some passion and precision.   One completely redesigned his entire approach to attracting customers. The other immediately logged 40% growth on the spot.   Get their levers and hear their stories Monday at 3pm Eastern:   Register here.   Seize the Day.   Perry Marshall       ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Bonus Presentation: “A Marketing Plan for the Death of the Web”

A Marketing Plan for the Death of the Web (No-Charge Bonus!) Thursday February 25th at 11AM Eastern Register Here   Mel,   Response to my “5 Lessons I Learned from Being Banned by Facebook” was so exciting (highest opt-in total ever!), that we’re adding another session tomorrow at 11AM Eastern before the Maze 2.0 program goes live at 3:30PM Thursday.   We’ll be taking some questions, going deeper on some of the “Death of the Web” topics I covered on Tuesday, and taking a look into the not-so-distant future of marketing on the web.   If you’re feeling the pinch of social and mobile…if your marketing mousetrap seems to be rusting and rotting…if social media marketing seems like a gigantic, wasteful time suck…but you know you need to figure it out before it’s too late…you need to be in on Maze 2.0.    Does this sound familiar…   Can't tell you how much Maze 2.0 comes at such a perfect time for me. I too have seen an enormous rise in mobile, yet coupled with ad blocks. (Google display is still working great for us...but the future is looming.)   I was reading how European cell networks are blocking mobile ads, and Apple is allowing ad blockers in their latest mobile operating system.   Obviously the move is to Social Media...and it sounds like Perry is addressing the biggest roadblock...time suck!!!   Thanks again,   -Marilyn   Get out ahead of the curve…or get run over.   Just click here and you’re automatically registered.   Carpe Diem,   Perry Marshall                         ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Last Call: A Marketing Plan for the ‘Death of the Web’ (Live Presentation TODAY)

5 Lessons I Learned from Getting Banned by Facebook Free, Live Presentation February 23, 11AM Eastern Register Here      Mel,   We’re about to get rolling with the free, live presentation “5 Lessons I Learned from Getting Banned by Facebook.”    AKA Is Social Media Killing Email Marketing?  AKA A Plan for the Death of the Web AKA Zuckerberg’s Plot to Destroy Email Forever.   Why should you tune it?    Because as Bob Dylan sang, the times they are-a changin’.   If you do any kind of email or autoresponder marketing, you can’t miss this.    Here’s what I’m gonna reveal on Tuesday… A plan for “Death of the Web” How the iPhone throws a wrench into the best-laid plans of mice and marketers How branding and direct response have finally merged, after 120 years of bitter rivalry The new paradigm that threatens to replace A/B Split Testing Big Brother in the 21st Century: How entrepreneurs and paradigm shifters MUST deal with the somnambulant bureaucracy (picture yourself waltzing into Bank of America and asking the teller for a small business loan) Eminent doom for the short-sighted crack addict This is nothing short of the future of online marketing.   Get out ahead of the curve. Don’t get sent to the back of the line.    Register for the free, live presentation here.    Carpe Diem,   Perry Marshall       ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

"Nice Guy" Perry and The Deadbeat Babysitter

Mel,   I have a tale of woe to tell today.   Before I'm finished you're going to think I'm stupid. But fear not, for I have since wizened up.   Our last house had a small basement apartment that we rented to a woman named Lydia.   Lydia was neither particularly sharp nor reliable, but for about four years she got us that rent check on the first of every month without fail.   Then she lost her job. And she wanted to know, was there anything she could do for us in lieu of the money?   By then business was good, and a few hundred bucks a month wasn't going to kill us.   So we gave her some jobs. She would do babysitting when we needed it (very convenient when the babysitter lives downstairs and is available pretty much anytime), clean our house every week, and hand address envelopes with her lovely handwriting—literally an in-house mail shop.   This worked OK for awhile.   Then the situation began to S-L-I-D-E downhill...   As it happened, Lydia wasn't the greatest babysitter.   She was also a sloppy house cleaner, but Laura doesn't like to nitpick.   And while she did OK with the envelopes, Lydia was 100% computer illiterate. So I still had to handle the data entry, cover letter printing, and other order-fulfillment tasks.   Finally I outsourced the shipping to a real mail house—what a relief.   Only now Lydia wasn't pulling her own weight. The babysitting and the mediocre house cleaning was certainly not equal to the rent she had stopped paying us.   Micromanaging Lydia into a model of productivity was also not worth my time.   If you think firing a deadbeat employee is tough, try dealing with one who's taken up residence under your roof.   We rationalized, "Lydia isn't as capable as we are, she has a hard time holding down a job, let's just be kind and generous and let things go."   Then the strange charges hit our credit card statement—two for take-out pizza and one trip to Olive Garden.   That was the last straw. As if it wasn't enough that we were giving Lydia free rent in exchange for a few easy odd jobs, now she's stealing our money to wine and dine on Italian?   When we confronted her, she sobbed that she's so ashamed of herself, how could she do such a terrible, stupid thing, she'll do anything to make this up to us.   "Lydia, we forgive you. But I think it's time for you to find a new place to live. I want you to be out by the end of the month."   It took almost 2 more months (and a threat of police involvement) before Lydia was finally out of our lives.   In hindsight, I was as much to blame in this situation as Lydia was.   My hiring criteria for Lydia was "can fog a mirror." She wound up in a role that was completely unsuitable for her.   And as Lydia taught me, this is a costly mistake—expensive in time AND money.   These days, I don't hire anyone without making them jump through a few hoops first. I require candidates to send me their Marketing DNA score. Often I'll start them off with a small project as an "audition."   And more and more my go-to source for freelancers and contractors is Marketers 24/7.   The marketers on M24/7 have already jumped through hoops.   They're familiar with how we do things in Planet Perry. Many have already posted their Marketing DNA score right in their profile, so you know right away how they mesh with your strengths and weaknesses.   I've used M24/7 to find volunteers, barter for services, and straight up hire contractors, and I'm continually impressed with the quality of the people who apply.   If you HAVEN'T taken advantage of Marketers 24/7 yet, go there today.   It's free.    Carpe Diem,   Perry Marshall       ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below: Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

A Marketing Plan for the 'Death of the Web' (Live Free Presentation)

5 Lessons I Learned from Getting Banned by Facebook Free, Live Presentation February 23, 11AM Eastern Register Here   Mel,   Listen up, Marketing Maven:   Two years from now, that old school direct marketing paradigm will be utterly replaced by a whole new mousetrap.    If you’re doing the old AdWords-ad-to-optin-page-to-autoresponder-sequence dance, you’re days are numbered.    You’re probably already feeling the squeeze.   And it’s gonna get squeezier. Because Facebook is out to dominate online advertising, render the old model obsolete.    And you better start mastering the new one NOW.    Here’s what I’m gonna reveal on Tuesday… A plan for “Death of the Web” How the iPhone throws a wrench into the best-laid plans of mice and marketers How branding and direct response have finally merged, after 120 years of bitter rivalry The new paradigm that threatens to replace A/B Split Testing Big Brother in the 21st Century: How entrepreneurs and paradigm shifters MUST deal with the somnambulant bureaucracy (picture yourself waltzing into Bank of America and asking the teller for a small business loan) Eminent doom for the short-sighted crack addict This is a preview of the new age of online marketing. A couple years from now this will be standard stuff… but it’s not now. If you wanna stay ahead of the curve…rather than get pitched into raging cold waters of the sea where you die of hypothermia in 12 minutes…this is the place to be.    Register for the free presentation here.   Carpe Diem,   Perry Marshall       ***NOTE: This email address isn't monitored! If you need help, please email:   support@perrymarshall.com     Free Video We manage our emails with Infusion. This Guide and Video explain my secret marketing sauce. If you no longer wish to receive our emails, click the link below:  Opt-Out of Email Communications   Perry S. Marshall & Assoc 159 N. Marion Street #295 Oak Park, Illinois 60301 United States (312) 386-7459   Having trouble viewing this email? Click here