A licence to print money?

Every which way you look at the moment, Internet marketers are building communities. And charging their members a fortune to join, whilst creating whole new product ranges and future incomes for themselves.
For years, internet marketers have been raking in the cash. Some, not all. (Some of us aren't quite so captivated by the need for cash and just love our job and helping business people get online to better business. Although being paid in flapjack this week won't necessarily prove the way to dealing with the economic crisis, but it was delicious and worth it when I earned the recipe too!)

Internet marketers, IMHO, are usually a couple of steps behind, and probably a zero or two, the porn site owners. If you want a new strategy, technique or idea for promoting your business and making money, who better to look to than the successful people doing it?

So, one of the latest trends appears to be building communities of people (read: wannabes) and using them as a resource, whilst charging them for the privilege. The porn sites have been doing this for years with Reader's Wives etc, or so I am reliably informed.

OK, OK, I can hear the shouting from the wings already - by no means do I mean everyone. I'm generalising alright? Poetic licence and all that!

I'm also not saying that those members of a community are not getting their money's worth because I believe some of the sites are offering quality content, help, advice, networking opportunities, products etc. But let's face it, much of the value is being part of an active community.

And there are plenty of those out there, have been for years, which don't charge a bean to join, and offer cracking content, help, advice etc (in some cases better than the paid versions).

But what these marketers are doing seems to follow certain fairly good ground rules for making money. And I think the ground rules are valid for any business.

I remember being told years ago, when I worked for a niche publisher, that the reason their books were so expensive (ie 10 times the price of a paperback novel....for a paperback) was that you would never get a Rolex in a cereal packet. Rolex know the value of their product and price it accordingly. So did this publisher, and by putting a high value on it, they were viewed, rightly, as a quality product.

So, ground rule 1: VALUE YOUR PRODUCT HIGHLY and price it accordingly

BUT, completely opposed to that view, these guys (the IM crew) are also offering ridiculously cheap products (as OTOs, or even freebies) that seem like real value for money. And that I suspect hits that psychological trigger in so many people, a human trait perhaps, that just LURVS a bargain. Go into any supermarket and you will see 2 for 1 offers, tempting bargains by the door or till etc. And the Tescos and Walmarts of this world know ALL the tricks, don't they?!

Ground rule 2: FREE or nearly FREE wins customers every time. They just can't help themselves.

Then there is the involvement factor. People love to be asked their opinion, view of the world or a specific topic, and to get interactive in discussions, heated arguments etc etc. And most importantly, in a world where people are increasingly isolated from their real world neighbours that need to belong, to be part of a community. many businesses fail to ask their customers to get involved, or make it very difficult.

Ground rule 3: Don't just listen to your customers. Actively involve them. Use their ideas, and get them talking to each other as well as to you.

And that last sentence contains a critical factor that I suspect most of us don't fully make the most of.

Use their ideas. The new IM communities are asking people what they want to know about, and then creating infoproducts, videos etc to meet those needs. And those new ebooks, videos etc become part of the product range - either loss leaders to bring in more paying subscribers, part of the monthly content required to keep members engaged and paying, or new pay for products. Who needs R&D teams when you get all the new ideas you want for nowt?

Ground rule 4: Talk to, listen to and plagiarise from your customers. And not just the happy ones. It may be that Mr Angry has got a valid complaint, the solution to which could be just what your company needs.

I've got more to come, but that'll do for now. Sweltering in an abnormally warm Cumbrian night and enough is enough!!