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Fastest way to make 10 million dollars, Direct Mail or Internet Marketing?

by svedski
56 replies
Lets say you're a decent copywriter already and you know practically nothing about either Direct Mail or Internet Marketing.
And you were to make 10 million dollars in the fastest way possible.
Which route would you take? Where is the money?
#direct #dollars #fastest #internet #mail #make #marketing #million
  • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
    Why can't you do both?
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    • Profile picture of the author svedski
      Originally Posted by vndnbrgj View Post

      Why can't you do both?
      That's true, especially if you can sell the market on both ways.
      However, if you're marketing to other internet marketers, online might be the only logical route to go?

      On direct mail you do a new project/campain all the time. You're in the moneymaking-business.

      In internet marketing, you have a real, long-term business (if you wanna do it correctly).

      I'm I wrong with this?
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    To make $10 Million Dollars, you must be a expert copywriter, not a decent one. Also...last I checked, Direct Mail is on its way out. Use Internet Marketing, it leverages your time and you can scale the results.
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    • Profile picture of the author Newearner
      Originally Posted by sdentrepreneur View Post

      To make $10 Million Dollars, you must be a expert copywriter, not a decent one. Also...last I checked, Direct Mail is on its way out. Use Internet Marketing, it leverages your time and you can scale the results.
      is to follow your lead is the way to make 10 mill thx for all your help..
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    • Profile picture of the author MouseandMice
      Originally Posted by sdentrepreneur View Post

      To make $10 Million Dollars, you must be a expert copywriter, not a decent one. Also...last I checked, Direct Mail is on its way out. Use Internet Marketing, it leverages your time and you can scale the results.
      I have a feeling you are just being sarcastic because that comment is so blatantly false that it's the only thing I can think of. With that said, I have a sarcastic personality too but I try to tone it down now online because it's so tough to "read" it online.

      There are lots of new students on these forums and even though you and I may know about the power of DM, their search for new (to them) knowledge compounded by the difficulty of reading sarcasm and wit online will lead to posts like this planting false info in their brains.
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  • Profile picture of the author ronrule
    :rolleyes:

    The only 8 figure writers are writing best selling books or screenplays.
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    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by sdentrepreneur View Post

      To make $10 Million Dollars, you must be a expert copywriter, not a decent one. Also...last I checked, Direct Mail is on its way out. Use Internet Marketing, it leverages your time and you can scale the results.
      Being an expert copywriter doesn't mean anything... If you have decent conversions and you know your numbers then it is a matter of scaling up... period.

      I can't believe you said direct mail is on its' way out... even if that were the case then that just means less competitors using it.
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      • Profile picture of the author svedski
        Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

        Being an expert copywriter doesn't mean anything... If you have decent conversions and you know your numbers then it is a matter of scaling up... period.

        I can't believe you said direct mail is on its' way out... even if that were the case then that just means less competitors using it.
        Exactly. It just seems so much easier and faster to make a lot of money by direct mail compared to IM.

        Lets say you find a great list with 500,000+ hotline buyers. In your salesletter you sell a physical product or an info product that gets back $2 for every $1 you spend.

        500,000 x 2 = $1,000,000 (You can start with 10 grand, and you end up with a million dollars). You can probably do this in just a couple of months.
        To make the same amount of money in IM, wouldn't it take longer?

        Or can you scale up just as fast on the internet as you can by direct mail?
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        • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
          Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

          Exactly. It just seems so much easier and faster to make a lot of money by direct mail compared to IM.

          Lets say you find a great list with 500,000+ hotline buyers. In your salesletter you sell a physical product or an info product that gets back $2 for every $1 you spend.

          500,000 x 2 = $1,000,000 (You can start with 10 grand, and you end up with a million dollars). You can probably do this in just a couple of months.
          To make the same amount of money in IM, wouldn't it take longer?

          Or can you scale up just as fast on the internet as you can by direct mail?
          Everything is easier on paper than in reality lol. If you're doing direct mail, you have a lot to figure out. Will you do EDDM, or have a targeted list? Will the copy generate X amount of responses with X amount of leads and X amount of sales? The first step is to just run a profitable campaign, which many people don't.

          For online, it is hard to say. It depends on the product and service and how much money you have to put into it. You can use adwords, infolinks and a ton of other paid ads online that drive a lot of traffic. The traffic COULD be more targeted or less targeted but the same principal applies, the first step is running a profitable campaign.

          If you have 10k to invest, focus on making 20k, then 50k, then 100k, because you aren't going to make 10M without hitting the small numbers first.

          That would be quite a feat.... one I would certainly love to hit but nowhere close to hitting it lol.
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          • Profile picture of the author abbot
            Banned
            What's up with all of these stupid threads? If you people would spend half the time executing as you did asking absurd questions, you might actually have a shooting chance in hell at becoming successful.

            I see these questions, and simply laugh. It's like you guys sit down at night and break out your crayons and colored pencils and draft up these insane plans on how you're going to become richer than bill gates, then come here, a place where 90% of the people are broker than you are, and ask what they think about your plan...

            You want to make 10 million dollars? Start by learning the ropes...the basics of whatever it is that you want to do. Do it until it makes you money. Take exactly what you did and do it again....and again...and again...One day you might wake up and see that since you've actually been doing something, you're already half way to your goal.

            If you seriously have to ask on a public forum how to make 10 million dollars...you're 110% not ready to even handle that kind of responsibility. You need to start from the basics...

            Try making $1,000 first

            /rant...
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            • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
              Originally Posted by abbot View Post

              What's up with all of these stupid threads? If you people would spend half the time executing as you did asking absurd questions, you might actually have a shooting chance in hell at becoming successful.

              I see these questions, and simply laugh. It's like you guys sit down at night and break out your crayons and colored pencils and draft up these insane plans on how you're going to become richer than bill gates, then come here, a place where 90% of the people are broker than you are, and ask what they think about your plan...

              You want to make 10 million dollars? Start by learning the ropes...the basics of whatever it is that you want to do. Do it until it makes you money. Take exactly what you did and do it again....and again...and again...One day you might wake up and see that since you've actually been doing something, you're already half way to your goal.

              If you seriously have to ask on a public forum how to make 10 million dollars...you're 110% not ready to even handle that kind of responsibility. You need to start from the basics...

              Try making $1,000 first

              /rant...
              I think you are being cruel. There really is a simple way to chose;

              Work on becoming great at direct mail, test endlessly, reinvest everything you make, fail repeatedly, and work like a dog for 30 years. There, see how easy that was?

              Or...

              Work on becoming great at internet marketing, test endlessly, reinvest everything you make, fail repeatedly, and work like a dog for 30 years.

              I think either way will work. See? It really is magic.
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            • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
              Originally Posted by abbot View Post

              What's up with all of these stupid threads? If you people would spend half the time executing as you did asking absurd questions, you might actually have a shooting chance in hell at becoming successful.

              I see these questions, and simply laugh. It's like you guys sit down at night and break out your crayons and colored pencils and draft up these insane plans on how you're going to become richer than bill gates, then come here, a place where 90% of the people are broker than you are, and ask what they think about your plan...

              You want to make 10 million dollars? Start by learning the ropes...the basics of whatever it is that you want to do. Do it until it makes you money. Take exactly what you did and do it again....and again...and again...One day you might wake up and see that since you've actually been doing something, you're already half way to your goal.

              If you seriously have to ask on a public forum how to make 10 million dollars...you're 110% not ready to even handle that kind of responsibility. You need to start from the basics...

              Try making $1,000 first

              /rant...
              Freakin' YES! lol
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          • Profile picture of the author alina albert
            I am not understanding what you are trying to say.
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        • Profile picture of the author Avalonesa
          Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

          Exactly. It just seems so much easier and faster to make a lot of money by direct mail compared to IM.

          Lets say you find a great list with 500,000+ hotline buyers. In your salesletter you sell a physical product or an info product that gets back $2 for every $1 you spend.

          500,000 x 2 = $1,000,000 (You can start with 10 grand, and you end up with a million dollars). You can probably do this in just a couple of months.
          To make the same amount of money in IM, wouldn't it take longer?

          Or can you scale up just as fast on the internet as you can by direct mail?
          Can you tell me what product would return $2 for every $1 spent?

          I think direct mail and online marketing would work well together actually.

          The best business model is a recurring billing model, where you charge the customer a monthly fee and make it low enough, and make your service high value enough, that they continue paying the fee.
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          • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
            Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

            Lets say you're a decent copywriter already and you know practically nothing about either Direct Mail or Internet Marketing.
            And you were to make 10 million dollars in the fastest way possible.
            Which route would you take? Where is the money?
            Write compelling ransom letters to billionaires.


            Originally Posted by Avalonesa View Post


            The best business model is a recurring billing model, where you charge the customer a monthly fee and make it low enough, and make your service high value enough, that they continue paying the fee.
            The best business model is a recurring billing model, where you charge the customer a monthly fee and make it HIGH enough, and make your service EVEN HIGHER value, that they continue paying the fee
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    • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
      Originally Posted by ronrule View Post

      :rolleyes:

      The only 8 figure writers are writing best selling books or screenplays.
      Clayton Makepeace was making 1 or 2 million dollars are year
      writing direct mail pieces.

      That takes some really exceptional copywriting though.

      The reality is if you're going to make 10 million dollars realistically
      you'll need more than just copywriting skill or some really great
      joint venture partners.

      Also the either/or question is not helpful.

      To make that kind of money you do every marketing method possible
      that produces a profit.

      Serious income requires serious scale and you'll need multiple marketing
      channels to make it really work.

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
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      • Profile picture of the author Enfusia
        Originally Posted by AndrewCavanagh View Post

        Clayton Makepeace was making 1 or 2 million dollars are year
        writing direct mail pieces.

        That takes some really exceptional copywriting though.

        Kindest regards,
        Andrew Cavanagh
        It's quite good that you brought up Mr Makepeace.

        Please correct me if I am in error but I once read that Clayton's been able to get that up over 6 million per year now with the help of his "partnered relationships".

        As far as hitting 10 million per year in total sales it's achievable.

        I'm not going to give numbers of what my companies did nationally and internationally but a few here on the forum already know. Just one of my companies NutriHarmony (a network marketing company I sold to an international concern) was doing pretty well. You can Google it, there are still bit's and pieces on the U.S. web.

        I've had 3 other companies 2 in this type of financial category and one only just doing a portion of that, but still nicely profitable.

        My point is; yes you can do it.

        I'm in my planning stages to do it yet again.

        The challenge for me is I get bored. I like the thrill of building them from nothing to exploding. But, the day to day management while something I CAN do doesn't interest me.

        So, I sell that interest and start another company.

        Oh, and by the way. The number of failed ideas I've had are too numerous to recall. But that's the way it works, maybe 9 ideas don't pan out for whatever reason but then you hit the 10th one that does.

        The people that really fail are the ones who get knocked down nine times and don't get up that 10th time. They are the ones that never know glory. They are the ones who tell you that you can't do it.

        Can't simply means don't want to bad enough!

        Patrick
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  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    lol abbot that was a fantastic post.

    and nameless, it's really good to see you back around.
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  • Profile picture of the author kellyyarnsbro
    Copywriting should be your masterpiece for you to make that 10 million dollars, that's a huge amount dude even an average copywriter guy can't make it i bet.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Too open ended of a question.
    Market research?
    What need are you fulfilling?
    What product or service?
    BtoC or BtoB?
    And so on.
    Only then can you figure out which would be most effective.

    Dan
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    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    Hi there,

    Make 10 million fast?

    Take Avonelesa's idea - just get 500,000 to spend $2 with you. There's you're 10 million.

    Or, as we used to joke when we first entered the American market - get a Wal-mart shopper to spend $1 with you, instead of on cigarettes, and you'll be a billionaire!"

    If only it were that simple,

    All the best,

    Sasha.
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  • Profile picture of the author mert
    Very Interesting Question and the best (for me) one I've come across so far!

    Anyways, my answer is neither! Simply because those process does not happen in a snap (nowadays that is).

    I'd say a combination of both and a little bit of everything. This is where you put your eggs on all baskets and observe which basket drives you the $$$ and take that route. That's how it should be and that's practical in it's highest sense!

    Botton line: your leaving a lot of money not using the other method.
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  • Profile picture of the author gjabiz
    Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

    Lets say you're a decent copywriter already and you know practically nothing about either Direct Mail or Internet Marketing.
    And you were to make 10 million dollars in the fastest way possible.
    Which route would you take? Where is the money?
    Let me begin with a link, but hurry, it could disappear at any minute

    http://www.infomarketingblog.com/mmfedex/
    read the copy on this page. Take note of this:
    Here’s a rundown of Napier’s sales figures for his most important holdings.
    • Heat Surge Amish Fireplaces: 840,341 fireplaces sold with a $460 average selling price = $386,566,860 gross revenue
    • Cool Surge Portable Air Conditioners: 96,721 units sold at a $300 average selling price = $29,016,300 gross revenue
    • Patent Health Diet and Joint Supplements: 344,439 units sold with a $100 average selling price = $34,444,390 in gross revenue
    • World Reserve Monetary Exchange: 2,519,242 units sold at a $145 average selling price = $365,290,090 gross revenue
    A lot more than 10 million dollars. And these are only a handful of the products these two companies sell. A third company, based on the SCI NPGS system, sold well over 10 million in a very short time period with the Gut Buster, almost all initially sold by print ads.

    This promotion by Lawrence Bernstein tells you that Direct Mail is alive and well and still, probably the quickest way to your big money goals.

    However, you don't know a thing about it, right? Is there a shortcut.

    Yes, yes there is.

    When you read the ad, note these companies are now selling specialty products, or as he refers to them, "commodities" meaning real things, not anything to do with the stock market. Specialty Products is a multi billion dollar a year "niche". All you have to do is locate and secure the rights to one, could be an old out of date one at that, and license it out.

    There is a guy in St. Louis who has been paid way over 10 million dollars in royalties over the last few years, simply because he has a signed piece of paper...is NOT a copywriter, NOT a marketer, but to answer your question, the route I would take is to hook up with a major marketing company and develop or ACQUIRE a product they could do all the work on, and send me a royalty check once a month.

    Consider going this route to get your 10 million.

    But I would also take a multi-channel approach to my quest.

    gjabiz

    PS There is nothing stupid about thinking big...good on you OP
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    • Profile picture of the author svedski
      Originally Posted by gjabiz View Post

      Let me begin with a link, but hurry, it could disappear at any minute

      http://www.infomarketingblog.com/mmfedex/
      read the copy on this page. Take note of this:
      Here's a rundown of Napier's sales figures for his most important holdings.
      • Heat Surge Amish Fireplaces: 840,341 fireplaces sold with a $460 average selling price = $386,566,860 gross revenue
      • Cool Surge Portable Air Conditioners: 96,721 units sold at a $300 average selling price = $29,016,300 gross revenue
      • Patent Health Diet and Joint Supplements: 344,439 units sold with a $100 average selling price = $34,444,390 in gross revenue
      • World Reserve Monetary Exchange: 2,519,242 units sold at a $145 average selling price = $365,290,090 gross revenue
      A lot more than 10 million dollars. And these are only a handful of the products these two companies sell. A third company, based on the SCI NPGS system, sold well over 10 million in a very short time period with the Gut Buster, almost all initially sold by print ads.

      This promotion by Lawrence Bernstein tells you that Direct Mail is alive and well and still, probably the quickest way to your big money goals.

      However, you don't know a thing about it, right? Is there a shortcut.

      Yes, yes there is.

      When you read the ad, note these companies are now selling specialty products, or as he refers to them, "commodities" meaning real things, not anything to do with the stock market. Specialty Products is a multi billion dollar a year "niche". All you have to do is locate and secure the rights to one, could be an old out of date one at that, and license it out.

      There is a guy in St. Louis who has been paid way over 10 million dollars in royalties over the last few years, simply because he has a signed piece of paper...is NOT a copywriter, NOT a marketer, but to answer your question, the route I would take is to hook up with a major marketing company and develop or ACQUIRE a product they could do all the work on, and send me a royalty check once a month.

      Consider going this route to get your 10 million.

      But I would also take a multi-channel approach to my quest.

      gjabiz

      PS There is nothing stupid about thinking big...good on you OP
      That's some great stuff. Thanks for the share!

      However, those numbers are gross revenue, not net profit.
      For all I know they might as well have LOST money on those campains (probably not, but we don't know how much they actually neted.)
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      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

        That's some great stuff. Thanks for the share!

        However, those numbers are gross revenue, not net profit.
        For all I know they might as well have LOST money on those campains (probably not, but we don't know how much they actually neted.)
        They didn't lose money. I'm very familiar with the company, the heaters, the advertising for the heaters, and the results. Also the parting of ways of the company and the real guy who started the entire heater craze with Suarez.

        The examples are deeply flawed. The OP isn't going to marry the daughter of an owner of a huge direct mail company. And there was a huge amount of luck, work, failed prototypes, negotiations, travel to China, and more that would keep all but the most determined of us from duplicating this example.

        "how to make 10 million dollars"?

        Make $1,000 first. This "all you need is desire and faith" is simply wrong. It sells books, but it's wrong. And it's cruel.

        And I really hate to say this, but the fact that the OP even asked the opening question, shows that he (or she) has a long...long way to go before even $100,000 is a possibility.



        Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

        Exactly. It just seems so much easier and faster to make a lot of money by direct mail compared to IM.

        Lets say you find a great list with 500,000+ hotline buyers. In your salesletter you sell a physical product or an info product that gets back $2 for every $1 you spend.

        500,000 x 2 = $1,000,000 (You can start with 10 grand, and you end up with a million dollars). You can probably do this in just a couple of months.
        To make the same amount of money in IM, wouldn't it take longer?

        Or can you scale up just as fast on the internet as you can by direct mail?

        Very sorry (This actually saddens me). But your examples shows more than your first post.

        Yes, getting a mailing list of 500,000 buyers is possible. But of the same thing? That bought recently? In the same media that you will advertise in?

        But yes, if you invest $500,000 in mailing out 500,000 "hot line names" (are there that many on the planet?) and you are brilliant enough to double your money...you'll have a million dollars.

        Minus the incredible cost involved in mailing out 500,000 offers, the employees needed to process the letters, the Uhaul needed to carry the letters to the post office, and finding that magic list of 500,000 eager buyers (Of the same offer) that are ...all at once...wanting your offer. Oh, and the cost of whatever you are selling.

        Maybe make $1,000...then $10,000...then more. I'm very sorry....because, many decades ago, I asked the same questions.
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        • Profile picture of the author gjabiz
          The OP asked a question and mostly got bashed. He doesn't stand much of a chance as he is today. The examples were to show what sort of volume a direct response campaign can bring in...I don't see too many IM promotions doing anywhere near those amounts.

          The question was which way is faster not can he do it.

          As for parting of the ways, it is almost a cliche in business to part ways with both employees, contractors and even CEO's, don't know what your point is regarding that, the millions the guy made bringing the heater to SCI, is still his to keep. Again, he had control, a Toll Position.

          And let's go back to earlier days, when Suarez had the first big success was only bringing in 100,000 net profit a month for the founder and had he not been so stubborn and wanting to do things his way, he could have saved a few years of trial and error.

          We recently heard of a 17 year old who was apparently paid 30 million dollars, and these mulit-million dollar deals do exist...but, I do agree that the OP has no chance of getting there any time soon.

          You don't have to be the one who pays the costs and uses a truck to take mail to the PO, as noted in my reply, you hook up with a marketer
          much like the original guy who brought the heaters to the marketing company...and SCI is just one of scores of companies constantly looking for new ideas, even new apps as well as specialty products and such.

          gjabiz


          Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

          They didn't lose money. I'm very familiar with the company, the heaters, the advertising for the heaters, and the results. Also the parting of ways of the company and the real guy who started the entire heater craze with Suarez.

          The examples are deeply flawed. The OP isn't going to marry the daughter of an owner of a huge direct mail company. And there was a huge amount of luck, work, failed prototypes, negotiations, travel to China, and more that would keep all but the most determined of us from duplicating this example.

          "how to make 10 million dollars"?

          Make $1,000 first. This "all you need is desire and faith" is simply wrong. It sells books, but it's wrong. And it's cruel.

          And I really hate to say this, but the fact that the OP even asked the opening question, shows that he (or she) has a long...long way to go before even $100,000 is a possibility.





          Very sorry (This actually saddens me). But your examples shows more than your first post.

          Yes, getting a mailing list of 500,000 buyers is possible. But of the same thing? That bought recently? In the same media that you will advertise in?

          But yes, if you invest $500,000 in mailing out 500,000 "hot line names" (are there that many on the planet?) and you are brilliant enough to double your money...you'll have a million dollars.

          Minus the incredible cost involved in mailing out 500,000 offers, the employees needed to process the letters, the Uhaul needed to carry the letters to the post office, and finding that magic list of 500,000 eager buyers (Of the same offer) that are ...all at once...wanting your offer. Oh, and the cost of whatever you are selling.

          Maybe make $1,000...then $10,000...then more. I'm very sorry....because, many decades ago, I asked the same questions.
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        • Profile picture of the author svedski
          Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

          Maybe make $1,000...then $10,000...then more. I'm very sorry....because, many decades ago, I asked the same questions.
          And it seems to me that you havn't traveled very far.
          Just because you are a failure doesn't mean that I am going to be a failure.

          For your interest, I've made way more than $1,000, and even $10,000 for that matter, in both internet marketing and by direct mail.
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          • Profile picture of the author abbot
            Banned
            Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

            And it seems to me that you havn't traveled very far.
            Just because you are a failure doesn't mean that I am going to be a failure.

            For your interest, I've made way more than $1,000, and even $10,000 for that matter, in both internet marketing and by direct mail.
            OH now we completely understand. We didn't know that you where so overqualified..

            You've made 10k? WOW, it must be nice to be as smart as you are..

            Want a reality check? No? oh well...I'm going to give it to you any way.

            CONSIDER YOURSELF A FAILURE - We're not the ones on a public marketing forum asking others how to make an absurd amount of money..

            THEN the people that are actually patient enough to try to shake you back into reality, you call a failure.

            You have so much to learn before you should even start CONSIDERING making money.

            It's people like YOU that give people like ME a bad name in this industry. Shame on you.

            Do everyone a favor. Just quit posting, you're taking up bandwidth.
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            • Profile picture of the author svedski
              Originally Posted by abbot View Post

              OH now we completely understand. We didn't know that you where so overqualified..

              You've made 10k? WOW, it must be nice to be as smart as you are..

              Want a reality check? No? oh well...I'm going to give it to you any way.

              CONSIDER YOURSELF A FAILURE - We're not the ones on a public marketing forum asking others how to make an absurd amount of money..

              THEN the people that are actually patient enough to try to shake you back into reality, you call a failure.

              You have so much to learn before you should even start CONSIDERING making money.

              It's people like YOU that give people like ME a bad name in this industry. Shame on you.

              Do everyone a favor. Just quit posting, you're taking up bandwidth.
              Just because 10 million is absurd to you doesn't mean it's absurd to me.
              You will get what you aim for. If you believe you can't ever make that kind of money, believe me, you won't.

              I believe I can, and I will.
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              • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
                Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

                Just because 10 million is absurd to you doesn't mean it's absurd to me.
                You will get what you aim for. If you believe you can't ever make that kind of money, believe me, you won't.

                I believe I can, and I will.
                I like this guy lol.

                10 million is absurd to so many people because the majority of this forum hasn't even made 10 bucks. Yeah, you're asking a question on a message board, people don't like it because they think the amount is crazy. Maybe it is crazy...

                The truth is, no one can make money for you, and nobody is going to be able to give you the answer. Once you do high volume, you're going to have issues with expanding, increasing growth, fulfillment, and other issues that come with running a business.

                10 million is probably going to be a marathon, and if you try to sprint early on, you're likely to collapse without finishing.

                Keep your goals high, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. Obviously in order to make 10M, you need to make 10k, 100k, 1M all before you can make 10M.

                What do you think a company would look like that does 10M a year? How many employees? How do they market? How do they handle day to day operations? How do they handle fulfillment? How did they get to that point? Reverse engineer it and you might be able to start making the right steps.

                You are only limited by yourself. It is hard enough to break down the limits you unknowingly set on yourself, forget about the limitations other people want to throw on you.
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                • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
                  Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

                  What do you think a company would look like that does 10M a year? How many employees? How do they market? How do they handle day to day operations? How do they handle fulfillment? How did they get to that point? Reverse engineer it and you might be able to start making the right steps.
                  This ^^^. John Carlton says he knows many entrepreneurs who were able to get to $1 million per year just based on sheer will and hard work, but getting to $10 million+ is a different matter.

                  At that level it is a function of setting up the right systems. That's why so many entrepreneurs bow out (or bring in help) after the company is ready for professional management. It's a different skill set.

                  Not to say you shouldn't try--you should. Just be prepared to adapt your systems for growth, and bring in people who have skills you may not.
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          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

            And it seems to me that you havn't traveled very far.
            Just because you are a failure doesn't mean that I am going to be a failure.

            For your interest, I've made way more than $1,000, and even $10,000 for that matter, in both internet marketing and by direct mail.
            Whaaattt???!!!

            Young man. This isn't a pissing contest. We are trying to help. I'd still be willing to help. But we have to talk about real things, and answer real questions.

            I was actually telling you that I felt empathy for you, at the beginning of your journey. You are mis-understanding everything said here.

            But before you get a pat on the back, you need to learn a little.

            I can't even feel insulted. I really wish you luck. Sorry if you felt offended.
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            One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

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          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            [DELETED]
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            • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
              Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

              Whaaattt???!!!


              I can't even feel insulted.... Sorry if you felt offended.
              This is the funniest part to me, its like an ant trying to sass the lion.

              You aint shit lion, I can lift 20x my weight

              Okay ant thats nice but as it stands right now you can still only carry part of a leaf.
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              Promise Big.
              Deliver Bigger.
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          • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
            Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

            And it seems to me that you havn't traveled very far.
            Just because you are a failure doesn't mean that I am going to be a failure.

            For your interest, I've made way more than $1,000, and even $10,000 for that matter, in both internet marketing and by direct mail.
            I don't think anyone on here would call Claude a failure. He is likely one of the highest income earners on the offline forum. Yes there have been those to claim to make big money here but most of that had been fake hype BS IMHO.

            Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

            Just because 10 million is absurd to you doesn't mean it's absurd to me.
            You will get what you aim for. If you believe you can't ever make that kind of money, believe me, you won't.

            I believe I can, and I will.
            I personally believe I can make $10,000,000 in fact I believe I can make $10,000,000/yr. But I don't believe I am likely to make that next year. Very few people are "overnight successes" and most of those really worked for years to get to the point where they could be an "overnight success".

            As for Claude for all you or I know he is a multi-millionaire already. He has talked about some but not all his income before which you clearly are unaware of or you would understand why your replies to him are so silly sounding to people like me who pay attention and "do the math".

            As for making $10,000,000 I would say the fastest way is in product marketing. Once you have a tested "hit" you produce an infomercial and hope it turns into a true winner.

            Basically you have to locate and gain ownership or licensing of a product that will likely hit big.

            This is hard to do for a small company as there are giants in the industry that can take early losses in order to build up a brand.

            Most anyone can make $10,000,000 over a lifetime if they want to and commit to it completely. Hell with inflation even a young guy working at McD's right now will likely make over $1,000,000. On the other hand few people will have multiple 7 figure years and fewer still will have 8+ figure years.

            The point many were making is the question itself is the wrong question.
            "Money" isn't really the point or even the goal.
            You don't want the money you want what you buy with it.
            You don't build a business to make money you build it to serve customers. Making money is simply what happens when you build a well ran company that serves customers well.

            Internet Marketing and Direct Mail are simply tools. You will likely use both and many others to gain $10,000,000. So there is no real answer to the original question. What will work best and what you should focus on will depend first on the products and services offered and second on how each media works. Whichever gives the best ROI will be where you will focus but all that provide positive ROI should be used.

            A simple example is this. You come upon a change machine that give out 24 quarters every time you feed it a $5 bill. How many $5 bills will you put into it? The answer of course is as many as you have and can get till it runs out of quarters. And I suspect you would come back the next day and try it again after it was refilled with quarters. Advertising (direct mail and internet marketing are both forms) works the same way if you are doing it well. You feed in $500 and hope to get $600 (or more back).

            What you consider a good ROI will be based on many factors. For some companies they might be ok with putting in $500 and only getting $100 back due to the lifetime value of the customer. While another company might stop using any method that doesn't have a ROI of at least 10x.

            We have no idea where you are along the line of success. You may have a successful $1,000,000/yr business. You also could be making the same money I made at my first job when I was 19. You could be anywhere along that line or even above or below it.
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          • Profile picture of the author DaniMc
            Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

            And it seems to me that you havn't traveled very far.
            Just because you are a failure doesn't mean that I am going to be a failure.

            For your interest, I've made way more than $1,000, and even $10,000 for that matter, in both internet marketing and by direct mail.
            I can tell you haven't figured out just how hard it is to cross the six-figure personal income mark in your own business. $10 mil is a GREAT GOAL. WORK TO IT.

            But...until you yourself get to personally keep more than 100k a year, you shouldn't be running around calling people failures. This stuff is hard. It's personal and it requires a full transformation of you as an individual.

            I know that Claude's feelings were not hurt at all because to get to a level of comfortable success requires you to become impervious to criticism.

            It's obvious you are inexperienced because of the way you lashed out.

            Lashing out pushes people away. Success is all about learning to pull people in. Marketing is about making people come to you with their money and give it to you. That is the attitude and skill that you need to create.
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            Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    If you were one you would be telling us, not asking from us
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  • Profile picture of the author CaraB
    While by no stretch of the imagination would I say direct mail is on it's way out (actually preparing a few tests now), internet marketing is the way to go if you are looking for quick changes which allow more methods to be tested. Additionally, if done correctly you can reach far more people with the least amount of work.

    Direct mail is just as great as internet marketing - just different methods for reaching your audience. Anyone who says different doesn't truly understand it's power
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  • Profile picture of the author PanteraIM
    Either method is going to generate you leads and not sales.

    People get sent shit all the time in direct mail and a million internet marketing offers.

    Once they're on the phone with you they're just a prospect and not a customer and they aren't going to be opening up their wallets right away just to buy your offer either, you need to SELL to those people.

    I think this what some people don't realize before doing any of this marketing stuff is that they are different faculties entirely.
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    you cant hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket.

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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      I can tell you guys that from experience, a $500,000 (in sales) a year business is completely different from a $10,000,000 a year business.

      We hover between $500,000 and a million a year in total sales from all sources.

      That is all done with two in house employees, my wife, and myself. We keep pretty busy.

      But even if we doubled our sales, we would have to take on more employees, lease more space, go after the "harder to get" sales, and more.

      A CEO from one of my suppliers stopped in my retail store one day. He told me that I could easily double my business in my retail store. That would have made it about a million a year in total sales. (By the way, lots of Mom & Pop businesses do a million a year. It's no big accomplishment).

      We were only talking about my store. Not my speaking, online businesses, or local online services for clients. Just the store.

      I said "No. $500,000 is comfortable. And we get to keep about half of it. A million a year would force us to take on more employees, expand our store, and hire someone to manage it all. Right now, My wife and I can do everything. If we doubled our business, we may make another 20% in income, but it would be twice as hard".

      Now, what about 10 million a year? I've never done it, but I know several who do. The difference between one and ten million is usually just a lot more of the same thing. Because even at a million a year, you start needing systems in place, employees to implement the system, and at least one manager to oversee the whole thing. At ten million it's similar, just bigger.

      Anything above that, and I'm the wrong guy to talk about it.

      The OP wanted to know which is faster; Direct mail or online? But that's the wrong question.

      To approach anything near six figures a year or more in net income, you need to completely immerse yourself in becoming an expert in marketing. That means either heavy study, and/or a job that gives you that experience by itself. You have to find an offer that will be in demand, and you have to either buy it super cheap, or create it. You have to test hundreds of mailing lists, wasting thousands of dollars on bad test mailings.

      It ain't easy, and it isn't quick. The stories we read about 17 year olds selling their business for millions are popular, because they are so very rare.

      Believing in yourself is necessary, but it just means you don't doubt yourself, and usually, that's because you don't know enough to doubt yourself.
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      One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

      What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
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  • Profile picture of the author jcaviani
    The internet vs. direct mail question is really not a strategy question but rather a question about marketing channels. Your strategy, which can include many channels should be to start a relationship with a customer through providing value and then grow the business by

    1. Getting more customers
    2. Getting your customers to buy more, in quantity, from you
    3. Getting your customers to purchase more frequently from you.
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    • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
      Originally Posted by jcaviani View Post


      1. Getting more customers
      2. Getting your customers to buy more, in quantity, from you
      3. Getting your customers to purchase more frequently from you.
      Hi there,

      Jay Abraham & Dan Kennedy advice that's often forgotten...

      All the best,

      Sasha.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I think everything has been said already but I still have to add my 2 cents worth.
    If $10 million is your goal, you need smaller goals to achieve first.
    You need a plan on how to achieve it.
    If you don't know how to make money online at all, then you have zero hope of making $10 million ever, let alone "fast."

    It seems everyone wants to be a success fast. Nobody actually wants to put in the hard work you need to get there.
    So stop asking and get off your butt and actually do something.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author haero
    I would go Internet Marketing - build up carefully targed niche blogs, do great a consistent SEO, update the blog with fresh, high value content and sell your stuff there. Remember you always have to provide value to your readers for free, otherwise they won't stay long at your wesbite. Results - sky is the limit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Igor Fridrihs
    Do both, but have a look at this from another point of view. Expenses are much less in IM and you can automate the process.
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    50-100 Clicks HQ Solo Ads

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  • Profile picture of the author TeamBringIt
    Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

    Lets say you're a decent copywriter already and you know practically nothing about either Direct Mail or Internet Marketing.
    And you were to make 10 million dollars in the fastest way possible.
    Which route would you take? Where is the money?
    1. Have a killer product
    2. Use whatever medium, that you are an expert in and start selling.

    Both IM and DM are great tools, to deliver the message and possibly sell. Copywriting can work quite well, in both areas as well.

    I'll tell you this much, find a client that has a good product, write the copy for that product and outsource anything that, you are not an expert in (IM or DM). Writing copy is talent/skill most do not have and use that to your advantage.
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  • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
    Here's one story: How Brendon Burchard got to $10,000,000 a year as an author/speaker, mostly using internet and affiliate marketing techniques:

    thechargedlife • Why Authors Don't Have to Be Broke: A $10,000,000 Case Study
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    Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
    - Jack Trout
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  • Profile picture of the author RiskTaker
    Infomercial's then DM then IM.

    Speed and Scale nothing beats TV
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    Get Paid

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    • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
      Originally Posted by RiskTaker View Post

      Infomercial's then DM then IM.

      Speed and Scale nothing beats TV
      Or, infomercials then retail. Cha-ching.

      "It is not widely known that one of the most lucrative channels of distribution available to an infomercial marketer is retail."
      http://www.hawthornedirect.com/tim_h...r_infomercials
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      Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
      - Jack Trout
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  • Profile picture of the author alvinchua91
    I like that you aim big. Same here. Sad thing most people don't believe they can make it. Well, I believe 99% of the people here don't make $10million a year, otherwise they probably won't be here. Ever heard of sour grapes? That's what's the case with most of the posters above.

    Anyway, back to topic, I believe Eben Pagan (David Deangelo of Double Your Dating), Brian Tracy and Brendon Burchard and such people are the only truly qualified ones you should listen to.
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  • Profile picture of the author links123
    Informacial then Direct Marketing and then Internet Marketing.
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    Web Development | Web Design
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  • Profile picture of the author Dustin Blevins
    I didn't want to read through all the replies, but direct mail is not on its way out.

    The people selling that thought are the people selling the competing product.
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  • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
    Start by making a $1, then another, and another. Then, find a better way to make dollars. Then make more dollars. Use what you've learned from taking action to learn how to make $100, then $1,000. Then find better ways to make $1,000. Keep doing this, and remember that it's not making the money that matters. It's KEEPING the money AND (most important) doing it in a way that creates freedom.

    When it comes to that, I'll take $100k a year working a few hours a week over 10 million a year and selling your soul to your business. The question isn't how to make money, it's who finding the best WAY to make money...the easiest. Again, start with $1.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Veritas
    Internet marketing has a much farther reach than Direct Mailing. I would try to learn about IM and how to drive traffic.
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