The flaw in this shopping genie, and the magic solution revealed
Today’s Adventure in the Biz Opp Jungle:
‘In which Charlie is seduced by another win offer, reveals his drinking club habit, and reviews Shopping Genie.’
Hi
I see so many biz opp offers every day...
I think I’ve become desensitised.
I’m like a pathologist who’s carried out too many autopsies. Or a policeman who sighs as he’s called out to another drunken City Centre brawl. Or a Jehovah’s Witness who doesn’t think twice when a door is slammed in his face.
Today my inbox contained emails about an online webinar, a London hotel seminar and an FX Mega Robot...
Blah blah blah... said my tired brain. Etc etc etc.
Instead my attention was grabbed... by Virgin Wines.
DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!
In a nice friendly email, they told me I could save over £100 on their top-rated Australian red. Normally £16.49, I could now get them for LESSS THAN HALF PRICE. But I had to be quick.
What I like about Virgin Wines is that they’re one of the mainstream businesses that have embraced the email newsletter. Their emails read like personal letters. They use catchy sub-headlines that sell the benefits of the offer. And they really enthuse about their wine, filling you with confidence in their business, and causing you to salivate over their product.
My only criticism is that EVERY email they send contains a sales pitch. Sometime that works nicely when it’s a really big promise (like £100 OFF!)... but other times I don’t dare open the emails, thinking “I don’t want to get my wallet out again”.
If they were smarter about it, they’d occasionally send me some wine tasting tips... perhaps news from growers... or reviews of the latest wines.
This would entice me to read every email they sent. An email from Virgin wouldn’t automatically mean that I was going to be asked for money.
But other than that, they get the thumbs up from me.
Years ago, around the time I wrote The Inbox Tycoon, I predicted that mainstream business would one day start using email newsletters. There’s such huge potential...
If you’ve got any kind of business... a shop, a website, a product with resell rights, a book you’ve written, an eBay or Amazon shop, whatever... you need to start emailing your enquirers and customers every week.
The benefits are huge. You build a trusting relationship... you increase traffic to your website or shop... you can test product ideas... launch new products with all the hype and fanfare it deserves... entice readers with special offers and discounts...
I’ll give you an example...
How my drinking club keeps me coming back for more
I’m a member of Blacks, a private club in Soho – Samuel Johnson’s old drinking den in the 18th Century.
It’s a gorgeous old place where I meet up with business partners and contacts. I was there yesterday in fact, meeting my bookkeeper. I drank a bottle of wine while signing cheques and pretending to understand my finances. When things got confusing I stared out the window and watched the crazy folk of Soho ambling on the street below.
Anyway, back to my point...
Even Blacks send an email newsletter every week. It’s called Eat, Drink & Be Merry. Right up my street! Each short email talks about what food the chef has been sourcing, what the manager has been up to in her hectic life, and what’s coming up on the calendar. It feels personal and confidential. I like to read them.
While not being too pushy, each email from Black’s about food and wine inspires me to invent another excuse for a ‘business meeting” and head into Soho.
“I’m off on business” I say to my wife, as she juggles our two squabbling babies in her arms. “Very IMPORTANT business. I’ll be back tonight.”
Yes, I’m a sod.
Hey, and there’s another benefit of adding an email newsletter to your business...
You can start to grow a list.
By growing your own list if email addresses, many new doors will open. Suddenly you’ll the potential to sell stuff on affiliate and get involved in schemes that are beyond most people’s reach.
For instance the only way you can make Multi-Level-Marketing work is if you’ve got some kind of email newsletter readership. Because only then do you have a loyal set of interested people who have actively ‘opted in’ to hearing from you.
Most MLMs grind to a halt because you’ve only got a few friends and family members who you can ask to join. Have a list of 500+ and suddenly there’s potential.
Talking of which, a lot of readers have been emailing me about Shopping Genie.
This is a Multi Level Marketing scheme that promotes the product is a piece of price-comparison software. The idea is that you load it onto your computer and it seeks out the best priced products on the market for you.
To make money, you need to sell the scheme to other people. They then join your downline. Now when they find distributors, commission money moves up the chain to you.
It cost $199 to join up. Then you pay a monthly administration fee of $30.
So does it work...
Why this one depends on an email list
Reviewer Nick Laight has taken a look at this on his What Biz Opp site (www.whatbizopp.com) and says: “First problem I see is that most people, when they are looking for a bargain, are going to go straight to Google and gain access to price comparison sites such as Price Runner or Kelko. So why would anyone go to the time and hassle of downloading this app?”
I would agree with that. To me this product doesn’t seem like it has a strong Unique Selling Point. If there were no price comparison sites, THEN this software would become a ‘must-have’ product.
Nick also points out that you need lots of people to sign up if you’re going to make a decent monthly commission - at least 3,500 people. However this would be entirely possible if you have an email newsletter of some kind, or a list of customers and enquirers.
My view is that this – like all MLMs – could work if you’re an internet marketer or you’re building an email business. As a starter opportunity for someone with no marketing experience, they don’t usually work out.
The real magic of the Genie lies in the list... because on its own I don’t believe the product has the lure to pull in enough referrals.
However, if you’ve had some good experiences with this then please drop me a line and let me know.
That’s it from me. I realise I’ve talked a lot about drinking today. This has NOTHING to do with the stress of running a business from home with two babies screaming all day.
Or does it?
Glug glug.
Later alligator,
Charlie Wright
The Biz Opp Jungle