1. You gotta know WHO you're gonna sell to

I don't care if you call it a niche, target market or some other word.

But you must have a group of people who are inclined to buy what it is you sell.

I'll be honest: 90% of people NEVER get beyond this step. It's a true boondoggle.  Yet, what if there were a SIMPLE, easy way to get beyond this problem in about 10-30 minutes.

How much would that be worth?  $100?  $200?  $1,000?

Because without THIS first step, you never collect $200. You never score a "get out of figurative jail" card.  You never get on the playing board.

2. You gotta have info product ideas AND HOOKS for them

It's NOT enough to have a list of 100 info product ideas known to sell.

That's nice. But not enough. Why?

Because you need HOOKS, product names, magnetic headlines and things that grab the prospect within 3 freaking seconds.

Without that, no one will ever READ about how super duper that product you have is.  Period.

What's having great product ideas and hooks worth to you?  I don't know what it's worth to you. But I bet it's worth more than a poke in the eye!

I'd say it's gotta be pretty valuable. Because without it, no one CARES. THEY.  DON'T. CARE.

So it's kinda important to get product ideas and hooks under your belt so to speak.  Like Batman's belt where you can whip out the exact thing you need to get out of a jam at a moment's notice!

3. You gotta know how to plan, outline and create a low ticket digital product in under 60 minutes -- even if you haven't done it before

Why?

Because you don't want to get left in the bones of the "I don't have a product yet" graveyard where 90% are.

Now relax, jack or jill.  You don't have to be some product spitting genius g-u-r-u to do this. No siree bubba.  Today with the help of AI, you can do it.  But it really helps to know HOW.

If I asked 100 aspiring marketers to spit out the plan and outline for a high value low-ticket digital product in 60 minutes, how many do you think could do it and deliver something that isn't junk?

If you guessed only some to not many or a few, I'd say you're right.  Certainly, the majority wouldn't because they're stuck at #1 on this list. They don't have a niche.

Then they don't have an angle or hook. That's #2. But if they do have 1 and 2 in place, they don't actually know how to pump out a plan and an outline faster than you can say jack flash.

To say you need an hour is ridiculous.  You really need about 5 or 10 minutes. But I'll be generous and assume your spouse has a few honey do's for you on the spur of the moment. So call it an hour.

Let's say you have your niche, you have your product ideas and hooks, you have your outline.  

4. You need a FUNNEL.  NOT a hard, difficult, complicated, arduous, painful one.  

But a no-fluff, 3-page funnel you can build and launch this weekend.  Take a deep breath bucko.  Gary Halbert would be proud of ya.

What if you had a step-by-step blueprint that shows you how to build a fast, lean funnel that sells $17 to $97 products without overwhelm?

Would that be worth more than a popcorn and a coke at the movies?

Let's hope so.  Or you aren't thinking NEARLY big enough. enough.  Instead of reading the magic of thinking miniscule, maybe it's time to put your big boy or girl pants on and read the Magic of Thinking Big.

Or at least bigger.

Cause while advertising law says you have to spread on disclaimers about it not being average or indicative and a million and one other things (which I do understand), the TRUTH is there are ALSO a heck of a lot of people making full-time livings selling stuff online.

Back in 1997 you could argue only a few people were doing it and the only thing they were selling was how to make money.

But newsflash. It's NOT 1997 anymore. I mean, if it was, I'd have hair and it wouldn't be white if you catch my drift.

Good gosh. I see people in groups all the time who don't even know what a USP is that are raking it in like nobody's business.  Yeah, it aint' average. But it's REAL.  And it's one hecka more than a few dudes or gals doin' it.  

It's not a little, teeny tiny cottage industry like the old days. 

FACT:  ChatGPT ran the numbers and came up with this:

If we conservatively combine:

• Info product creators (ebooks, courses): ~150,000
• Online coaches (Zoom-based, digital delivery): ~150,000
• Newsletter creators (Substack, etc.): ~10,000–20,000
• Other digital product creators (templates, guides, swipes): ~50,000–100,000
• Overlap and inflation correction: subtract ~25–30%

Estimated full-time earners globally: 250,000 to 500,000

Let's say you have your niche, your product ideas and hooks, your outline, and your lean, mean funnel.

What's next?

5. You need to be able to whip out those upsells in as fast as 15 minutes without slaving away for hours and days

You need to be able to price and pitch a smart, low-friction upsell that feels like a natural next step.

But you can already do that now, right?

Oh, you can't?  OK, put this one on your checklist. Because if you sell 500 products and have NO upsells that actually work, how much money do you LOSE?

I bet it's more than the cost of 4 tacos at the drive through.  Or that pizza and coke.

I mean, if all you're willing to pay is the price of a hotdog and soft drink at Costco, we need to have a heart-to-heart talk.  Cause the article I read online says they LOSE THREE BUCKS for every one of those suckers you slam and slurp down.

Of course, we all know you pile on the mustard and relish cause it's free. :)

OK what else do you need to have a shot at joining those 250,000 to 500,000 people doing this gig full time?

OK you got your upsells whipped up. What's next?

6. Come on man.  You gotta have a SALES PAGE -- but relax.  This ain't the "hard labor" of yester year

Yeah, I know.  The old-timers would turn over in their grave if they heard me say this.

But today, you CAN have AI write your sales letter for you if you're either lazy, in a freaking hurry, tired, distracted by those Netflix movies you need to finish, or you can't get enough of all the "thirst" videos shoved at you on Facebook and Instagram.

So yeah, you can just bust out AI and let it spit it out for you in minutes.

Should you learn to write your own sales copy?  HECK YEAH!  But you know, when you're getting started there's a lot to learn.  So indulge yourself and use AI.

But you object:  You've tried it and it sucked.  

Would it be worth more than little thing of fresh fruit from the grocery store to know how you actually get AI to spit out a GOOD ENOUGH sales letter?

Yeah, I thought so.  But if not, see the prior comment about the magic of miniscule thinking.

What next bucko?

I used to hate marketers who used that word "bucko." They were trying to be Halbert.  But it's not in vogue now.  And it's like paying an Homage just like ending your price in 7's.  It's the badge of honor of the "old school". So there you go.

7. You got to PROMOTE that sucka and bring home the bacon

Cause if you don't, it'll be like one of those Chinese movies where the spouse leaves the secret "War god" because he was working some humble job...when he was really a billionaire.

I'm just joshin'.  I wouldn't do that to you.

But really, you gotta promote. 

So one spiffy way to get those eyeballs on your offers you haven't heard that much about is called the piggyback method using "thank you page" traffic.

Now, there's some steps to pull this off correctly. But don't sweat it. They're learnable and doable.

And for those of you who got jobs and need to fly under the radar or you get a pink slip for not being "devoted" to your job, I got your back.

You can do faceless videos, no problemo.  We got ya covered.

8.  Finally, you gotta add some URGENCY to get those orders to come in like a flood

More than ever, today people respond to urgency, present offer not excluded. I call it urgency without the ick.

And I got ya covered on this one also.