Project Update: Team Building, Sales Page 2.0

This is my weekly spotty project update, where I tell you what I’ve been up to this week in my business and share what’s on my mind.

I’ve always said that the real work of a problogger is mostly behind the scenes, and nothing proves that more than what I’ve been up to lately. While this blog has come down to more of a 3-post-per-week schedule, there is no rest.

Operation “Find More Peeps” Update

One of the big focuses in my business right now is building out my team. Back in May, I talked about how I’ve been the bottleneck to my business and that the answer is in growing a team. It is time to think bigger.

Since then, I’ve been making headway. My business is now being run on a day-to-day basis inside of Basecamp. It is ironic, too, because quite some time ago I was using Basecamp and ended up canceling it. The second time around, however, I quickly realized it was invaluable for me. I guess it is all about the timing.

Basecamp is an awesome project manager and delegation tool. As I build up a team, I get them all into Basecamp and I can manage all the projects and communications from one place, from any device.

Without people, however, Basecamp is pretty lonely. Now, I’ve been working with Lisa, my virtual assistant, for some time now. But, in order to get rid of the bottlenecks in my business, I needed others. Via a recommendation from Nathan Hangen, I brought on an awesome designer, Shawn. With Shawn’s help, I tackled a project I’ve been wanting to do for awhile (which I will discuss below). He will also be helping me with several other projects in my pipeline.

Next, via Odesk, I brought on a video editor from India. Now, so far, he has only done one simple job for me, however this guy has in-depth training in film, lots of experience in After Effects, Final Cut – you name it. It will be awesome to get him onto some more in-depth editing jobs for me, but potentially this is another bottleneck solved.

Next, I’ll be looking for a solid technical person and programmer. A true WordPress ninja who knows PHP very well. I’ll also be looking for some additional writers, researchers, content creators, etc.

In short, I’m eliminating bottlenecks so that the throughput of my business increases. More projects done – and done well.

Sales Page 2.0

I’ve been thinking some about the evolution of online marketing. What does the future hold and what needs to be done to stand out?

Last Friday, I talked about launch fatigue and some of the predictable launch patterns and how they’re getting rather boring. And I’m looking ahead to the pending relaunch of Blog Masters Club. Yes, it is coming and not to far from now. Although I don’t yet have an exact date in mind. Oh, and some things will be changing – in a good way.

But, I also looked at one of my other, smaller products. One that many of you may not even be aware of: 3DayMoney. Yesterday, I got rid of the LOOONNNGGG sales page.

Below, on the left, is the old long-form page. On the right is a photo of the new version.

I am abandoning long-form sales letters. I no longer think they are appropriate for people like myself (with blogs and established audiences). Why? Because our blogs pre-qualify people and build a sense of trust. If you then take that trust and run them into a long-form sales letter, I believe it disrupts the process.

This is my take, of course. I’m, in no way, condemning long-form, because there is a definite time and place for it. If you’re taking “new blood” – people that do not you know at all – and trying to sell them something, long-form definitely has a place. However, I believe there is also a time and place where long-form works against you. Let’s just say, there are legitimate reasons why you don’t see many of the big “guru” marketers using long-form in their launches. Instead, they use video only.

So, I am moving to a format you’ve seen in a few places – tabs. Sliding tabs, with a sideways sales letter. 3DayMoney is my first usage of such a thing so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

As for the product itself, I have also completely re-worked the training area, added a bunch of new bonus videos and some other cool stuff. Oh, and the price has changed.

I’ll have more to say about it a little later, but the page is online already. Feel free to check it out.

Looking Ahead

Still in my pipeline are projects like:

• Implement several new marketing efforts and some design changes into PCMech. This one should be interesting. Very interesting.
• Prepare for the relaunch of Blog Masters Club. I’ve got big plans for that project, too.
• I’ve got a bunch of new training material I want to create for my Inner Circle members, plus some structured stuff to add to the program. Stay tuned for that.
• I’ve got 2 new mini-courses I want to produce, based exactly on feedback I get routinely from you, the audience. Neither of these courses are “make money” stuff, but instead very important, core-level things that I believe people need to get through before the “make money” stuff. Stay tuned.

Lastly, I’ve been getting some nice guest posts lately to publish here on the blog, but I want to extend an open invite to all of you. Don’t think you need to be a well-known, established blogger to submit a post to me. Yes, the post needs to be good and unique, but I’d love to get some posts from bloggers who are not grooved into this niche. Got some success stories to share? Things that worked? Here is a small guide to guest posting you can check out.

So, there you have it. A “kitchen sink” style, inside look at what’s going on behind the scenes right now with me. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.