So I wrote a very revealing blog post this weekend… you probably saw it if you’re reading this one, I postulate. Although, there are like 30,000 people on my list and only 400 clicked to it, so it’s more than possible that you didn’t. Click here to read issue #1 if you want to.
So here’s the breakdown… over 400 people clicked to the post. 15 people left comments, 1 which was not worth approving. He basically just said he couldn’t read the font because it was too small. That’s good feedback… but here’s my feedback for you, guy… zoom your screen in a bit. 
And of the 400+, 89 clicked to the replay and answered the survey, and a couple of people bought “the money trigger” through my link.
THOSE 14 COMMENTS are why I am writing again, even though I only committed to once every 2 weeks. Wow, I was really uplifted. Yea, 14/400 is not a huge number but I was so happy to be truly engaged by people. I revealed some stuff and so did you guys! I didn’t really know how to respond to the comments individually, but I just want you to know that I really appreciated you coming on the ride with me and writing such thoughtful responses. Please continue to do so.
So what’s the deal with the post title?
Well, there’s an internet marketing networking event that I absolutely love… it’s called The Marketer’s Cruise. And there are 19 spots left since Captain Lou sent out his last email. That is not a lot. But before I get into all that, I want to share my experience…
I was at Joel Peterson’s Webinar Summit last year (another IM event) and Captain Lou was there promoting the marketer’s cruise. I had heard about the event before, but I think like most people, I didn’t really know what the deal was. I still talk to people who are very successful in this business and go to all kinds of events but they haven’t taken a serious look at the marketer’s cruise. Maybe because it’s an “expensive” event compared to some others (not really…) or maybe because it’s a week long. Or actually, it might be because it’s a cruise. Before the marketer’s cruise, I had never been on a “adult” cruise before. I had been when I was a kid… but clearly, that is different. So I really didn’t know what to expect… AT ALL…
Well, Lou talked me into it. He explained to me that there were going to be some very successful people on the boat and that it was going to be fun. So I signed up at the Webinar Summit, not really knowing what I had committed myself to.
In November, I got antsy and decided I needed to take a nice long (6 weeks), impromptu trip to New Zealand. From there, I flew almost directly (with a 4-hour stop in LA) to Ft. Lauderdale and went on this cruise. I shit you not, this was one of the most fun weeks I’ve ever had in my life. Turns out, I love cruises! There is something fun everywhere you turn. It’s almost impossible to be bored (well, I’m never bored in my everyday life either so that may be something else…). But instead of just cruising with one person (like a significant other or something), I was cruising with 350 marketers to network with. Since then, I’ve gone on another cruise and that was awesome too. I see now why they are so popular.
PLUS —> There is no pitching! Yay. Just networking and chillin.
I was talking to Igor Kheifets last night and was encouraging him to go. He said, “what was the value, dollar-wise, to my business?” It’s a legitimate question, if he’s really going to treat this as a business investment. Well, I went on to tell him who I met and what kind of difference it made for me…
It was awesome to meet Chris Munch in person. That dude is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met (I think I’ve said that like 500 times by now haha). So conversations with him were priceless.
I made (better) friends with Shelby Larson and she invited me as her guest to Yanik Silver’s Underground because she’s part of Maverick 1000.
I made friends with Brad Fallon, who engineered a record-breaking IM launch (Stompernet) and he invited me to help him with his company, uQast.
I engineered deals with a lot of other people, made friends with people I truly have something in common with, and just had an amazing time eating great meals, going on fun excursions, partying at the night club, and doing cool boat stuff with people I like. For like $1200 bucks, it was a ridiculous steal (though I did drop $2,000 at the casino!). I signed up for the 2013 cruise while I was on the boat, securing myself the biggest suite I could get.
Why am I telling you all this?? Well, look at this…
Yes, these are the survey results I was talking about. The majority of you think networking events are good investments in your business and you wanted to hear about my favorite one that I also thought was the most valuable.
So that explains why I’m writing this… but there is more…
Guys, I’ve been wanting to promote this event the entire year. The main reason I wanted to is because it’s awesome. It’s a great vacation but also a great event and way to start your business year (it’s in January). So the question is, why haven’t I?
Well, I kind of did. One of the things I wanted to do this year was make a big huge contest and give away a ticket for free and give away a bunch of other prizes. Well, I FINALLY figured out which software to use… and by a STROKE OF GOD LUCK (seriously, it was crazy how this came together)… I was able to get the contest software to work the way I wanted. I finally launched it with great anticipation of this $34k contest. What happened?
Total bomb.
I have never attempted anything in my business that was a bigger bomb. I’m not sure what the problem was because guess what, nobody would even give me feedback on it. It was like people would rather look away than help me out and give me feedback. At least that’s how I perceived it after posting it on networking groups, going individually to people, etc. We’re talking ZERO traction here people. Never heard louder crickets in my life! It made no sense to me.
So no big deal. I let it go. No need to work on something that I had no idea how to make work when I had so many other things to focus on.
But shit, I still want people to come on this cruise with me… because, as you’ve probably guessed by now, there is an affiliate program. And yea, it’s awesome and I want my people to do awesome stuff that will help them.
Let me just tell you though, the affiliate program for this cruise is not lucrative. So if by some off chance you thought I was writing this whole post just to make some aff comms, you are not correct, sir.
Here’s what I get if I book 10 cabins (no, not 10 people, 10 cabins):
- $2,000 credit on my cruise, paid after the cruise
- 30 minutes of stage time on the cruise, no selling allowed
- People in my “group” will wear t-shirts that say they are in my group
If I get 20 cabins, I get $4,000. If I get 32 cabins, I get $10,000. Still not awesome commission, but worth it to tell people about something you already like and are going on. And guess what, it’s physically impossible for me to get to 20 people at this point (19 left).
Some of you might be thinking, “Well, $2000 isn’t bad.”
Uh… if each cabin is $2400 average and I book 10 of them, then that’s a 8.3% commission. That’s just a hair above Amazon’s stinginess.
And guess what, if I sell 9 cabins, then I make $0. Which kinda blows for a promotion that you sell $21k worth of product for…
Anyway, I am being totally candid, as you can tell. Sure, if I book 10 cabins, I get something. But I’d much rather help my partner out by booking his last 19 spots and bring “my people” rather than just anybody. It ain’t about the affiliate commission, my peeps.
So here’s my suggestion to you… BOOK THIS THING TODAY! Seriously, it is worth it. What else can I say that I haven’t? (Though I’ll admit, I’m sure there are questions I haven’t thought off… thus what’s below…)
Here’s the link to book it and see all the details: http://marketerscruiseinfo.com
You can bring your entire family if you want. It’s a dirt-cheap family vacation that you can write-off. There’s nothing (except maybe prior engagements) that are going to stop you from coming on this thing with me and wearing a t-shirt that says my name on it! Well also you cannot be pregnant after a certain date or they won’t let you board (just ask Mike Lantz who couldn’t get on the boat because his wife was like 2 days too preggie).
Is this a step towards a million dollars this year? I don’t know for sure. I figure if I write passionately about something I love, then it has to be, right?
I’m also going to be holding a webinar to answer questions about the cruise if you’re on the fence. 4:00 EST Tuesday. Sign up here:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/517399694
Here’s the deal… very few people said they wanted a webinar about a networking event. I get that. I’m doing the webinar just in case people want to get a bit more information. If nobody shows up to ask me any questions, then I’ll just close the thing, no skin off my back. I pay Gotowebinar no matter how many people show to my webinars. Hopefully a bunch of people show up and we can all be excited about going on this thing and taking our businesses to the next level. No friggin replay. Please guys, do not bombard me with a million replay requests.
On the topic of replays… the amount of people who reply back to webinar invites with “please send replay” is more than you would ever imagine. If you were on the webinar the other day (or you watched the replay, ha!), then you probably heard me get a bit peeved by the incessant asking. Like, I’m in the middle of providing some seriously powerful content, trying to answer a barrage of meaningful questions, and then just replay requests coming left and right.
Guys, I get it. I know why you want a replay. You’re busy with something else and you can’t make the time (I bet that’s the reason for most of you – or you just want to procrastinate – or something else…). So I know where you’re coming from…
But I want you to understand what’s going on behind the scenes.
I did a marathon webinar the other day for “newbies”, talking about fairly basic technical stuff. A friend of mine peeked his head in on the webinar and couldn’t believe some of the stuff I was teaching because it was so basic. But because I targeted it correctly, most of the people on there got some awesome value. I admit, I thought it was super-good content for new people.
On that webinar, I mades some sales. That is fair reciprocation for what I offered, isn’t it? I mean, it costs me money to run Gotowebinar and it costs me time and effort to prepare for and run the thing. Not to mention, I have to actually be somewhere at a specific time, which is not exactly the lifestyle I am teaching people how to create. AND I was selling something that was an awesome value to peoples’ lives.
And guess what, when I mailed the replay and 89 people answered a survey to watch it, I made no sales.
So from a business standpoint, does it make sense for me to record a webinar, encode it, upload it, design a page for it, pay for the bandwidth, and then spend an email to tell you about it?
No, most likely not.
I mean yes, I may get some fans from it. But that is totally non-quantifiable. How am I to know if my efforts to run a replay are worth anything at all?
And what are my other options? To individually respond with a replay link to everybody who asks me? Well, I’d still need to record it, encode it, design it, and upload it. So I would save money on the email, which is the most valuable part. But then I’d be doing the work only for people who specifically asked for it. And I’d have to alert my support staff to respond accordingly and take up their time to do it.
Truth is, replays often do not pay.
So if you’re going to ask for a replay of the Marketer’s Cruise webinar, which already is god-awful commission, then do not waste your breath. Just not going to happen. If you want to be on it, then you’ll be on it. Or if you really have a burning question, email me and I’ll get back to you.
As far as the other webinar topics that were requested… they’re coming.
By far, the most requested topic has been about an innovative sales funnel technique. Well guess what, I have one. And it’s seriously badass. Nobody has done this before.
Only problem? I haven’t tested it out enough to give you anything to hang your hat on.
So just be patient. Let me test this thing, get some solid numbers, and then I will run webinars on it until I am blue in the face.
Also, there have been requests for Solo Ad topic webinars… I don’t know what else to teach you besides what’s in Solo Ad Revolution… so I’m running some new campaigns and trying some new tactics I haven’t tried before… just so I can show you that this stuff works over and over again. And when it does, I will run another webinar and you can see directly into my successful (hopefully) or unsuccessful campaigns – both have value.
That’s it for now. I hope you got great value from this post.
