Sometimes a deal is so good, the gang at the TFT office has a field trip!  Today, Spirit Airlines pulled their big yellow bus up to the PGA SuperStore in Greenwood Village and gave away 1,000 Tickets for 20,000 Miles!  While these Miles aren’t actual *miles*, these vouchers give you a Free Round Trip Ticket to locations like San Diego, Vegas, Atlanta and others.

The Team met up at founder Seth Fraser’s house and car pooled 20 minutes south of downtown Denver for this deal.  With the giveaway set for noon, we reached the PGA Superstore at 11 and were surprised at the line that stretched to the nearby Home Depot.

Several of the Home Depot crew came out and used their shopping carts and caution take to set up a que.

Many people brought collapsable chairs and some even brought the whole family.   Several of the children began playing together with the array of toys they’d stashed in their mothers’ purses.  The crowd was overall amicable and pleasant, despite the heat.  (And a note to those operating food cart: Where were you?!  The sun was blazing and I know our crew would have loved some bottled water and maybe a couple of brats!)

500 people were in the line by noon when the giveaway started.  That means 500 tickets were still available to late comers!  That’s outrageous!

Spirit passed out the vouchers which have a code on the bottom.  The codes need to be registered within 1 week of receipt.  Within 30 days, the 20,000 miles will be applied to my account.  I then have 30 days to book a Free Flight using these miles!  (The flight doesn’t have to be in the next 30 days, just booked.)

Spirit is continuing their promotion through the beginning of June.  Find out if your city is participating at the Spirit Tour 2012 page.

Thanks for stopping by the TFT Blog!  Here’s hoping we see you on a flight to a sunny vacation soon!

I hope that Part 1 gave you some great ideas in getting your email campaign rolling for both your freeloaders and your potential prospects. Here in part 2 we are going to get a bit more serious and I would recommend this plan of action for either the Intermediate marketer, or someone who has at least 5 hours per week to devote to their growing business. You will also need a small marketing budget at this level, and the ability to either create or hire a simple website to be made.

If you have not read Part 1 of this Episode please do so by clicking HERE.

At this level of our email marketing campaign we are going to continue emailing our prospects once per week, but we are going to add an additional feature which is going to allow us to harness the increased power of the holy “double opt in” leads.

So lace up your boots, because today we’re going even deeper into the trenches!

Again for the purposes of this article we are already assuming that you have Freeloaders, or a current list of people that you are emailing. We are going to call them Tier 1 Leads, and our objective is to get them to become Tier 2 leads or what is known as the Holy Grail of email marketing. Self generated “Double Opt In” email leads. (In future articles we will discuss raw lead generation and how to create our custom marketing funnels)

It is important to note that we are still going to continue engaging in the email activity outlined in Part 1. This Intermediate step is something we do in addition.

Definition Of A Tier 2 Lead or “Double Opt In”:

A Tier 2 Lead is someone who volunteers their name and email to you a second time, in order to gain access to more specific information from you. The reason why this type of lead is more valuable than a Tier 1 lead is because they specifically tell you what they are looking for, and you are able to market directly to their needs.

A Freeloader is someone who has submitted their name and email address into your personal TFT replicated website. However the chances are, that if they did not upgrade immediately upon signing up, or shortly thereafter, then they are probably someone who is just checking things out and they are nowhere near the “joining your team and doing business” process of their relationship with you at this time.

By giving them the opportunity to “double opt in” you can  achieve a “visual confirmation” on your end that they are more interested in the business aspect, and you can then deliver to them the specific information that they request. We will achieve this by periodically sending a “special email” which will include a “Call to Action” for your readers to visit a separate webpage and input their name and email address yet again in order to be put on a “new email list” designed to talk to them specifically about the opportunity of your TFT business.

Here are the good old fashioned nuts and bolts of what I would do as an Intermediate level Email marketer, sending emails to a list of either Freeloaders or my own contact list in addition to the routine that was outlined in Part 1. (If you haven’t read part one yet. Stop now. Go HERE, and read that part. Then come back.)

Step 1: Creating and sending a “Call To Action” email that offers the Double Opt in opportunity.

Now, I’m a patient marketer, so I would typically send a Call to Action email out once per month to my entire list of leads, freeloaders and contacts. In this email, I would always tell a quick story at the beginning and generally the topic would relate to things like TFT success stories, Leaders, passive income, and the advantage of marketing Free Stuff. I would then invite them candidly to visit a “splash page” of mine where they could put in their name and email (now their 2nd time giving me this info) for “special bi-monthly” emails that I would send teaching people how success was being found at TFT.

Here is an example email that I would send monthly to offer the double opt in call to action:

Subject: ”Are you looking for more specific information on success with That Free Thing?”

Body: Heya, I’m glad you opened this email. I also hope that you’ve been enjoying the Free stuff I’ve been sending you as much as I have. I will keep this brief. Once a month I like to offer everyone a chance to get more specific information on That Free Thing, and the home business where we are building a financial empire simply by giving away hundreds of free items.

If you would like to know more about your potential success with TFT click HERE. (Here would be a link to your splash page.)

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Every month when I sent this email the title would be the same and the message would be very similar and just as brief as this one. I want my reader to expect what’s on the inside of the email, because when they make up in their own minds to open it, I don’t want them surprised. They will have knowingly clicked this email seeking to find the link, to go to my splash page and get more information. OR…they will choose to ignore this email until the time is right for them, and they will be appreciative that I was not trying to “trick them” into opening it. Psychology is at work here.

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A “splash page” is a simple website that presents quick information and has an “opt in form” for visitors to input their info. When a Tier 1 lead, visits this page, and gives you their name and email a second time, they are expressing their further commitment to their marketing relationship with you, and they are telling you they want specific information, which is in this case “Success With That Free Thing”.

Here is a picture example of what a Splash Page generally looks like:

Notice my splash page is simply a title, a video, and an opt in form.
1. My title is to the point and reinforces to them that by putting in their email info they are going to get very specific information on success with TFT.

2. My video can either be creative and complex, or simply a “Hello my name is soandso, and I look forward to sharing with you why I’m excited about That Free Thing.”

3. For opt in forms and building my own private email lists I have always used either Aweber or Icontact. They are fairly inexpensive and/or I believe their are even Free Trial periods.

Once my Tier 1 leads enter in their name and email on my splash page, they instantly become a Tier 2 lead and our relationship has increased.

*They trusted me enough to give me their info a second time. (And believe me handing out all of that Free Stuff to them on a weekly basis didn’t hurt!)

*They have requested very specific information about Success With Your TFT Business

*Now you are going to deliver that information to them 2 times per month.

Now we are going to wrap up this lesson with an example of the type of email that I would send to my new Tier 2 leads list! These emails will be different for every marketer. You want to include the following information and just rotate the subject types in your emails. Again this is an email series that I would send out two times per month. Your writing load has now increased some, but the rewards far outweigh the 4-5 hours you will spend each week on your business.

Subject: ”Welcome To the Success With TFT Clinic!”

Body: You know, it’s not very often that an opportunity like this comes along. We’re talking the perfect products (Free Stuff), the perfect price point to join this business $25 one time and $9.95 per month, and absolutely perfect industry timing. If you just look at all of the “discount companies growing out there…..Groupon (42 Million Members), Living Social, Bing, Priceline….the list goes on and on. There is no mistaking it. Saving Money is big business.

And the amazing thing that is happening in this company, and why it’s already grown to over 21,000 members in just under 2 months of PRE-LAUNCH, is that you get to be a “giver”. You don’t have to ask for peoples credit cards. You don’t have to convince them that your juice product is going to change their lives, and you do not have to justify a $500 start up cost. Instead you can give people value. You can give them information on how to get items like:

*Free Prescription Glasses (up to $300 value)

*Free Batteries

*Free Food

*Free $25 Visa Cards

*Free $150 CASH for opening a bank account…

*And Hundreds, upon Hundreds of other Free Products with new products being added every single day!!!!!!!

By giving away stuff, people see the value in it. Just the few items I listed above are worth over a years worth of the $9.95 monthly fee. By becoming an upgraded member at That Free Thing, you SAVE money!

If you’re ready to get started today simply reply to this email!

The next email coming in two weeks will share with you some testimonies from real leaders experiencing massive success in their TFT businesses. You will freak out when you see how simple it is what they are doing, and how much fun they are having doing it.

To your success,

Yourname

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And there you have it soldiers! By adding in this simple marketing mechanic, and spending just a little bit of a marketing budget on:

A. Getting your splash page created at a website such as www.getafreelancer.com or creating the page yourself if you know basic html or have dreamweaver.

B. Getting yourself a good email list service such as Aweber or Icontact. Both are very reasonably priced and will scale with the size of your list

You will have gained an increasingly more responsive email list of Tier 2 leads. These leads will convert much better over Tier 1 leads, and oftentimes will end up becoming repeat customers as long as you maintain a top quality relationship with them.

That’s all for today. Take some R&R, re-read this article and then get out there and implement it! As always if you have any questions or feedback just hit the comment button below and fire away!

I’ll see you again here in the Trenches next Tuesday with the Advanced article. Make sure you bring your protein bars, and notepads because it’s going to get hectic as we learn to split test and refine our marketing engine.

In Episode 1, we covered the very basics of what to do in your first 4 days as a member of TFT. If you missed that article you may find it here:

Episode 1 — What To Do In Your First 96 Hours As A Member Of TFT

Thanks for visiting our “corporate” blog, but the one thing you’re going to see is that we don’t think in corporate terms, so this post will be very personable. We hope you employ the same methods – because they work!

This week’s most popular question was “How Do I Convert My Freeloaders To Paid Members?”

So let’s strap on our Marketing Helmets and dive right in!

I’m going to address this topic by giving a detailed response to how I would market to my Freeloaders and we will break this lesson down into three parts for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Each category is a self contained plan of action on what I would do based on what level your marketing expertise is currently at, and/or, how much time you have to devote to your business at this time.

In the following lessons we are going to assume that you already have a list of Freeloaders that you want to market to. In future lessons we will cover lead generation and marketing funnels.

BEGINNER PLAN OF ACTION FOR MARKETING TO FREELOADERS

Before we get into the “step by steps” I want to cover something important.

Rule 1: We do not dwell on Freeloaders

As we are building our business it is always most important to continue taking the same actions that acquired your Freeloaders in the first place. In other words, you must always be performing the tasks that attracted people to give you their name and email address. Too many times I see people build up a list of 100 or so leads (in any company) and then they stall by putting all of their focus into converting those leads. This creates a sense of desperation and failure in your business because you cannot visually see the marketing process at work, nor can you tell which stage of that process your Freeloaders are in.

It is important that the process of marketing to your Freeloaders remains just “one step” of your entire marketing plan.

With that defined, here is an outline of a simple step by step plan of action with examples included.

Step 1:

We’re going to contact our Leads once per week, and at the beginner level we are going to keep this to strictly emails. The whole plan here is to pick out our favorite “free item” from our back office each week and share it with our list, while also including a brief candid message. We do not need to be pushy salespeople here. We are GIVERS! We are giving away Free Things, every single week to our list, and the RIGHT people will contact us for more information. And you are never going to worry about the WRONG people, because they are going to live in their own little close minded world, and make the same amount of money next year as they did this year, and live paycheck to paycheck until someday “they get it”. At which point…you will have still been sending them “Free Stuff” all this time, so when they do “get it”, they will come to you. See how fun this is? We’re not stressing over our Free Loaders…..we have incorporated them into a continuous piece of our overall marketing business, and we will spend our personal attention with those who express interest to us, rather than us…sitting around waiting for them.

Rather than try to preach to you the concept of candid emails. Instead I’m going to lead by example here and just write up some examples showing you exactly what I would send to my Freeloaders if I was brand new to marketing.

Step 2: Choosing Which Day To Send Your Email.

Ok before I show you my 5 week sample I want to recommend that you choose either Monday or Thursday to send your emails. In my opinion on Fridays people are “checked out” already in anticipation of the weekend and they generally aren’t ready to pay attention to emails, much less consider new business opportunities. Mondays are great because these are the days when everyone is “fresh” from the weekend and also when everyone “dreads working” the most, so they are almost always looking for an excuse to read an email and/or consider doing “something else”. Midweek is not very good because that’s usually when slacking off on Monday has caught up to everyone and they are now in their “midweek crunchtime”. Weekends….forget about it.

It is important to select one day of the week that you will be sending your emails and remaining consistent to that day because ultimately you are training your Freeloaders to expect an email from you containing an awesome new “Freebie” for them. Over time you want your Freeloaders to be anticipating and excited to see what new “present” they are getting in their email the night before you actually send it.

Step 3: Composing & Sending Your Email.

Now that you have selected the day each week that you are going to be sending your emails, it is time to learn some basics about emailing your list.

*Keeping your email short & sweet: The year is 2011. We have been Twitterfied. We are Facebook addicts and we are being re-programmed to focus on information that is 120 characters or less and that is often served to us in “status updates” which are less than a paragraph in length. If you haven’t delivered your message, and given us a free item in 10 seconds flat, then you probably lost our attention span. Your basic Freeloaders are not going to read a long email from you.

*Your email title: The title is tricky because you do not want it to look like it is a “mass email”. Avoid the generic “First Name, you gotta check this out” type of stuff. We ignore those emails now.

Example of a bad title: “FirstName, You Have Got To See This!” (My notes: Actually I’ve seen this very title about 1000 times before from the idiots that flood my SPAM folder on a daily basis. I won’t even open an email with a title like this.)

Example of a good title: “Dude, here is the code to rent a free movie at Red Box! Enjoy your weekend!” (My notes: Ok this guy just called me “dude”, so he’s probably not going to blast me with some serious business pitch…AND….there’s a Red Box machine at the end of the grocery line that i see every week….how cool would it be to bring home a free movie tonight for my wife and I to watch! I’m opening this email….and if it delivers, I’ll be looking for that email next week too)

–

And now I’m going to show you the 5 emails that I would send with products, (In other words, 5 weeks worth of marketing to my Freeloaders). You don’t want to copy these word for word, but I feel the best way to learn how to do this is see real examples. These emails are short and sweet and they deliver the Free Stuff. My goal here is simply to have my list “appreciating” and “anticipating” all of the cool Free Stuff they will be getting by OPENING my emails each week. Every week I’m going to find a cool new product and give my list the information on how to get it. Each email will briefly mention that the free stuff is courtesy of me and TFT. (The right people will eventually ask me for more information. We’ll cover that part at the end of this lesson)

My emails will be written as if Monday was the day I was sending them.

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START OF SAMPLE EMAILS
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Email #1:

Subject: “Dude, I’m giving you a rental code for a Red Box movie. Enjoy the film on me!”

Body Of Email: “Hey, I hope you had a great weekend. Mondays are awful, but at least I can give you a free movie rental! Courtesy of yours truly, and TFT! At your local Red Box type in this code “xxxxxxxxxxxx”. Next week I will send you something else so be watching your email for me!

Email #2

Subject: “Uhh yeah. $150 for going to Chase Bank? Yes have some.”

Body Of Email: “Yo, I just got some info on a way to get $150 cash from Chase Bank – hope it helps you out! Go here (Link for info would go here): Let me know when you get your $150.

Email #3

Subject: “Oil is expensive? Or NOT!”

Body Of Email: “Look I know this is a weird one, but you gotta commute to work, and that means eventually you have to change the oil in your car. Here’s some great info on how to get 5 free quarts of it, you’ll thank me and TFT for it later!” (Link to info would go here)

Email #4

Subject: “You know staring at your computer all day can be hard on your eyes. So here are some eyeglasses for you!”

Body Of Email: “Ok so my vision isn’t 20/20 anymore and if you’ve been staring at computer screens for as long as I have, yours might not be either. Never fear! Free Prescription Eyeglasses are here! Worldwide! But only available today 4/20 so make sure you act fast.

TFT is saving me tons of money and I enjoy sharing a little bit of it with you! (Link to info would go here)

**Note: the product I used in this email was available on 4/20 and expired that same day. Sometimes you will want to use exciting products and send your email on that specific day!!**

Email #5

Subject: “It’s Monday…but at least I’ve got Ice Cream for you!!!”

Body Of Email: “I know that you love me, because my TFT business just showed me how to get a $20 gift card from Baskin Robbins and I’m sharing that with you here BAM! (Link to info would go here)

Send me a picture of your best Ice Cream Sunday creation! I’m having a blast with this business. Giving Free Stuff and getting paid for it rocks!

Signed,

The Ice Cream Man!

*NOTE: Obviously I haven’t included the links to the product information in these sample emails because this is a public blog!

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END OF SAMPLE EMAILS
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Notice how each of my emails deliver the message “and the goods” within 10 seconds flat. My titles do not look like standard “cookie cutter messages”, and my tone is very personal and very candid. I may not connect with “everyone” but I will definitely connect with “someone”. If you try to reach “everyone” you will come across as a “robot”. People connect with other Individual People…..they do not connect with “mass market spam”. Do not be afraid to show your personality in your emails. Again, Network Marketing is about being consistent and attracting the RIGHT PEOPLE to you and your business opportunity, and the right people, in your case, are those whose personalities will work with your own. It’s difficult to have a successful team if you are working with people who do not share the same mindset as you. So it’s important to be true to yourself when you write your emails. This will help you build a team of likeminded individuals and will increase the productivity and success of your downline.

The Right People do not have to be sold. They will generate their own opinions and they will form the idea in their own mind that they are ready to do business with you and your TFT opportunity.

The Right People will contact you! They will ask you how to get more information.
When they do ask you for more information this is what you do:

Step #4 Directing The Right People, To The Right Information

Congratulations. Once a Freeloader starts asking you for more information your chances of having them as a new member on your team are significantly increased. At this point you simply need to roll out your customer service skills. Answer their questions promptly and politely. There is no need to hype them, they are already “sold on the concept” otherwise they would not be asking you for more info!

You will also want to recommend that they attend one of our Opportunity Calls, and also our Training Webinars. The information for those is located on www.thatfreething.com near the middle of the page if you scroll down a little. By getting them on one of our live calls or presentations you will help them get “plugged in” and this will increase their chances of getting started on the right foot. We provide the road map, you simply have to guide them to it.

While you want to remain polite, and efficient in your responses to interested prospects, it is still important not to dwell on them, nor discontinue the rest of your marketing activities. Every so often I would run into a prospect who would ask me tons of questions but never take action. It is important to keep on marketing.

This concludes our Beginners Lesson on how to Market to your freeloaders. In Part II we will dive a little bit deeper into the analytical side of marketing by ramping up the frequency of our emailing efforts, split testing different strategies and days, as well as different Free offers. We will also utilize a separate and personal “splash page” that will allow us to convert our Freeloaders from Tier 1 leads….to Tier 2 leads, and we will take advantage of the holy grail of lead generation known as the “double opt in”. Stay tuned, because the next episode of “In The Trenches” is going to be intense!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 1st of a long series of weekly articles that will be designed to help you build your TFT business.

As your new “marketing guy”, I wanted to jump right in and tell you that I am excited to be here, and if you are willing to put in the work, together we can connect the dots on your road map to success.

If you ever need some marketing guidance, please email me at: justin@thatfreething.com (I am getting around 100 emails per day and I do take the time to personally write back to all of our TFT members. However, remember…I can’t do everything. There is no magic button I can push! You DO have to put in some work to build your BUSINESS!)

With that said, let’s get in the trenches together and make this happen for you.

The number 1 question this week was very simple.

“Help, I’m new, how do I get started?”

I think it’s safe to say that 80% of the emails I got had this question in some form, and so in this article I’m going to give you my first 4 days, (96 hours), plan of action. If I was a distributor and I was looking to build my TFT business and position my matrix in the best possible light for maximum income growth…

…This is what I’d do:

**Hint: Read through this article completely one time. Then come back to Day 1 and take action, and then each day follow the next steps.**

Day 1:

Log into your back office.

Click on Video Email System (You get…a completely awesome…video email and library system with your TFT membership for FREE!!!!!!)

Click on “Video Library”

Then, at the time I write this, you need to click on the drop down menu where it says “Default Library”, and scroll down to where it says “That Free Thing Libaries”, and then double click the Green Folder that shows up!

Starting from Left to Right. Watch every single one of these videos.

Pat yourself on the back. On Day 1 you signed up (taking a big step to your success with an opportunity that is second to none in the industry), and then you got informed.

Enjoy the rest of your day, I hope you are excited because tomorrow we begin building your “prospect list” and no I do not mean busting out a piece of paper and a pen and calling your “Aunt Sally” to tell her about your new home business deal. (We know that Sally is probably screening your calls anyway by now! haha)

Day 2:

Ok, today we’re going to set the stage for building your business. Yesterday was great, you are excited, and so today we’re going to lay some “brickwork” on your house of success.

A. You need a Facebook account. If you already have one great. If you don’t. Get one for free. If you are new to Facebook, when you are setting it up, it will ask you if you want to import all of your contacts. Click yes to all. We want you to have the biggest “list” possible.

B. Get a twitter account, and if you have a smart phone download both Facebook and Twitter onto your phones. (These are free).

C. Get a YouTube account.

D. Begin taking advantage of Free Stuff by clicking on My Free Stuff on the first page of your back office. (It’s in the left hand column). Browse through the items and order a few of them. Personally that $150 at Chase Bank for setting up an account with Direct Deposit seems pretty awesome to me. $150…pays over a years worth of your membership, and/or “Pays It Forward” for your first 5 personal sponsors. (Can you begin to see how easy it would be to duplicate this business? You could use Chase….as your “Home Business” banking account. In the end they make money as you make more money and direct deposit with them…..and in the beginning, they help your business by contributing $150 to you for signing up with them for Free! (Giant Alarms Of Excitement should be going off in your head right about now.) You can find the Chase Bank Freebie under the Hot Deals column on the left hand side (at the time I write this email on 4/1/2011)

If you managed all 4 of these items today. Congratulations. You’ve joined, you have educated yourself, and you have set up the platforms for growth. Tomorrow, we’re taking action.

So rest up!

Day 3:

Today we are going to let people know that we have a business, but we are not going to be overly aggressive or “spammy”. We are not in the business of being “salesman” we are in the business of “show & tell”.

A. On your Facebook create a status update similar to the following:

“Over the coming, days, weeks, and months…I’m going to be showing off a ton of Free Stuff that I’m getting. I’m extremely excited, and I’m going to be taking a lot of pictures and videos!”

—

(We did NOT mention our business….we did NOT mention them joining it…..or asking us about it. We are setting the stage of curiosity. We are EXCITED about all the Free Stuff we are about to get, and we are simply letting people know that we’re going to be taking a lot of pictures of Free Stuff.)

B. Make the same update on Twitter.

C. Open your video email in your back office. Click on the big green button “video Email”. Then up top click on “Add Contacts”. For now we will keep it simple. I want you to copy and paste at least 5 email addresses of sharp people that you know personally who might be interested in either “Free Stuff” or “Making Money” from home. (the more people you email this to, the better….but really push it and at least get 5)

In your subject line type something like. “I’m testing out this really sweet video email feature!”

In the “Email Text” portion, type the following message. (Or something similar)

“Hey, I joined a company that provides Free Video Email. For now I just copied and pasted one of their corporate videos, but soon I’m going to be sending videos to my friends and family. The value here is exciting to me.”

Yourname/signature here

—-

(In this email we are not looking to hit “home runs”. We are getting used to our awesome Video Email system, and we are simply letting a few people know about it. If you get some sign ups from this, congratulations, but the lesson here is “taking the first steps and getting familiar with the tools we can use.”)

D. Dive into “My Free Stuff” in your back office. I want you to finish the day strong by ordering and/or taking advantage of as much Free Stuff as possible. While you are doing this….start thinking about all of the creative ways you can use “Free Stuff” to tell people about your business.

*What if you started sending gifts to your friends and family regularly, with a simple note that said, “I got this Free from my That Free Thing business, and I thought of you.”

*What if you had “home parties” where people came over and you served drinks and food, and played games where people won Free Stuff and you ordered their Free Stuff directly from your That Free Thing back office. Think of the endless possibilities here.

*What if you created a “Pay It Forward Plan”. Recently there have been opportunities to Test Drive Cars for $25 Visa Cards and now there is a $150 bonus from Chase Bank if you open an account with them and set up Direct deposit. Could you “Pay It Forward” and sponsor 5 people with this FREE MONEY? Could you show them how to do the same thing???

Finish the day by making sure you have a digital camera, and something that can record simple videos with. Just about every cell phone doubles as a camera and even a video recorder these days. You NEED A camera at the very least. Having video capabilities to is better.

Today you actually got started doing “business”. You prepared your social networks for what is to come. You emailed a few people one of our corporate videos in your video email system. You ordered a ton of Free Stuff, and you started brainstorming on all the ways Free Stuff can be fun, and build your business virtually risk free.

Tomorrow we are going to get into our “routine” and you are going to start seeing the pieces of the puzzle from the first 3 days come together. (If you haven’t begun seeing that already.)

Day 4:

Day 4 is the start of your fundamental marketing routine. These are basic steps that you should put into ACTION every single day. It should take you no more than 30 minutes per day once you get good at doing it. Practice the following every single day, and you will begin to see your list of people that you are reaching out to….grow…and grow…and grow.

A. Everyday you are going to spend 15-20 minutes on Facebook.

*Each day you will strive to post a new picture of something Free you have gotten in the mail, or some Free service you have taken advantage of. Pictures of the $25 Visa card following a video of your test driving experience. Pictures of the $150 that you get from opening a Chase Bank Account. Pictures of Free movies you are watching. Go get a Free Waffle at the Waffle house take pictures!

*Each day aside from posting a ne picture or Video of your new Free Stuff, you are going to actually socialize by making a few “NON BUSINESS RELATED” comments on Friends comments or walls or pictures. It’s very simple. Browse around (get lost in someones profile for a few minutes), and when you see something or read something interesting….make a comment. Enjoy yourself! We are social creatures by nature…..have fun meeting people. Facebook….ends up growing virally. Add people who appear on your “People you may know list!”

B. Everyday you are going to post a Twitter picture! This is super easy to do and many times can be done right on your cell phone. On Twitter you may also make normal everyday comments about anything and everything. If it’s on your mind and it’s interesting. Post it on Twitter. Don’t worry about it always being about business. Twitter grows virally because people search based on topics….they will add you if you are talking about stuff that interests them.

C. Begin sending out weekly Video Emails to people you know, people you love, people you just met. In these videos, share the Free Stuff you are taking advantage of. Show videos of your children. Show videos of your “brick and mortar business”. Show real estate agents how they could show video tours of homes they are showing……by using this email system. (How can your video system help others? For 9$ a month……they may not even want to do MLM…..but everyone can use our Video email for this unbelievable price.)

D. Each day take advantage of a new Free Offer. The bigger your arsenal and picture “portfolio” of Free Stuff, the better.

E. Have fun. What “job” is better than this? You get to order Free Stuff. You get to travel around locally or regionally and find Free Offers and Services. You get to take pictures and videos and share them easily on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Video Emails. People are attracted to other people who are having fun. People….also love Free Stuff.

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Congratulations. If you are following these instructions plus spending a little time on creatively thinking about all of the things you can use these Free Products for, to build your business, then you are getting off to a great start.

These are the exact steps that I would take if I was brand new in MLM, and a brand new TFT member. Remember you do not have to be a great salesman….you simply want to be a “show & teller” and you want to be having fun. Days 4+ are something that should be incorporated everyday from here on out.

If you commit to showing people every single day, more and more Free Stuff that you are taking advantage of, you will end up with the “Right People” asking you for more information.

I always recommend 3-way phone calling interested people onto one of our twice daily conference calls, and then immediately following up with them, and helping them sign up. (Remember…..you also have the option of Paying It Forward! You should by this time have $175 in Free Cash from Test driving a Car and opening a Chase Bank Account…..right?)

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Each week I will be sending out a new “In The Trenches” Episode in order to help you build your business in the most efficient manner possible. These emails will be comprised of actual member questions, detailed marketing training ranging from basic to advanced, and testimonials, interviews and step by step action plans from the best and brightest this industry has to offer.

If you are an advanced marketer, stay tuned because we will have something for you in the coming weeks as well, and perhaps even you may have benefited from these fundamentals in todays episode.

See you next week, and remember you can email me with your marketing questions at:

jamie@thatfreething.com

Good evening and welcome back to the That Free Thing Blog.  How has your quest for Free Stuff been coming?  This month is huge for promotions.  This afternoon, I stopped by Cinnabon and shagged two delicious bite sized cinnamon buns.  My husband and his coworkers made a mass exodus to Panda Express to cash in on their Free Shanghai Agnus Beef promotion.  Tax Day this year has been a bountiful one!

Earth day is this Sunday and another great day loaded with Freebies.  Origins, Disney and Target are all offering up fantastic Freebies to celebrate.   Be sure to log into your account and check back often.  We’ll be loading up more great grabs as soon as we find them.  Let’s take a look at what’s come in the TFT mailbox this week.

I’m desperately in need of a bigger mail box!  Coming home to a mailbox building with all those little boxes and packages is like Christmas.  My favorite to unwrap is always K-Cups.  There’s the perfect quick fix coffee.   While they’re unreasonable experience at the store, loading up with promo packs has kept me out of the red on my coffee budget.  Tully’s has definitely topped my list of favorites.  Their slow roast brings out a full rich and true coffee flavor. (If the main ingredient in your coffee is something other than coffee, you are doing it wrong.  That is a coffee flavored beverage.  You should be ashamed!)

Spring is right around the corner and my Free Miracle Grow came just in time.  I planted my tomatoes about a month and a half ago. We purchased 2 mini green houses with peet moss pods to start the plants off.  One worked perfectly and the other fell victim to mold.  But the  survivors are ready to spring into a bigger space and the Miracle Grow will help their transition.

Were you fast enough to catch the Bumble & Bumble Trio?  This great grab went fast, but for those with hair that needs a little love, quality product goes a long way.   Make sure you check into your account daily to snag great deals that won’t last.

Thanks for stopping by the TFT Blog.  What great grabs have shown up in your mailbox?  Share your photos with us!

Hello, hello and welcome back to TFT’s look at effectively using Twitter to promote your business.   Early this week, we went over why you need Twitter and the absolutely basics of how to use it.  Today, I’m going show you how to craft a successful Twitter Account, how to build your Twitter Business Plan, and what to Tweet about.

How to Create A Great Twitter Account in 9 Steps:

1.  Create a User Name that people will associate with you and your business.  @ComcastCares clearly shows the account represents the Cable Company as well as implying customer service.  Using just your brand name can promote a sort of corporate disconnect.  Automative company Honda uses @Jill_at_Honda.  This name gives you a strong sense of the brand you’re connecting to as well as a feeling of personhood behind it.

2.  Add a Picture of YOU and use your Real Name.  People want to know they’re talking to a person and not 1-800-Robot.  Your Tweets will become the voice of your brand.

3.  Use your nearest City as your location.  This simple action will significantly increase a potential customer’s faith in your company.

4.  Choose a Background that represents the style of your company.  

5.  Tweet 1-3 Times per Day.   Don’t feel overwhelmed.  There are Free resources at your disposal create to help you space your Tweets throughout the day.  (Check out HootSuite, BufferApp, or SocialOomph.)

6. Follow people!  Use Twitter Search to find people interested in related topics, people following your competitors, and hey– while you’re there, follow your competition.  It’ll give you an edge.)

7.  Talk to your customers by name.  Use the @ symbol to include individuals in your post.  This can be done with questions (@SantaClause Where’s my Tonka Truck?!) or to mention individuals in an event (On my way to pick smurf berries with @BrainySmurf and @Smurfette).  Replies use the @ symbol are public messages and different from private Direct Messages which use D.  (Twitter jargon confusing you?  Check out Tech N’ Marketing’s breakdown of Twitter Features.)

8.  Be pithy.  140 characters is the perfect length for witty one liners.  Plus, this will get your coveted ReTweets.

9.  Use Hash Tags to highlight Keywords and Topics.  Check out the BBC’s article on The Art of the Pithy Hashtag #powerofthehashtag #thisishowwedoit

Like marketing through a Blog or Facebook, your Twitter Account needs to have a Strategy.  Many of these rules seamlessly cross platforms, but as with any marketing venture, you need to embrace the nuances.

Here are 4 Keys to Building a Business Strategy with Twitter:

1.  Choose your audience.  Who do you want to reach?  Who is your ideal customer?

2. Understand how they Speak.  On other plattforms, syntax becomes a lesser priority.  When  you’re constricted to 140 Characters each word becomes significantly more important.    (“What the heck is a Flash Mob?”  Check out this Tech Glossary.)

3.  Define your Twitter Persona. Is your audience formal or informal?

4. Identify the the Hashtags and Buzzwords that will bring you the most traffic.  Check out WhatTheTrend to see what’s hot.  Twitter has communities within in.  Using Hashtags will connect you to ones that benefit you most.

5.  Set a Goal and Track It.   Use Twitter Analytics (Helpful How-to Guide here!), HootSuite, The Archivist,  Trendistic, or any one of the great Twitter Analytics Programs available.

Alright, we feeling good?  Account is check up.  Pictures in place.  You know the vocabulary.  Now, what to Tweet?

8 Ideas for Tweets:

1.  Ask Questions.  Twitter is great for getting opinions.   (@HughHefner How many girlfriends are too many?)

2.  Connect with customers.  Use the @ tag to directly speak to customers while maintaining a public conversation.  (@OctoMom love the new kids pics!)

3.  Augment customer service.   (@WileyECoyote Sorry, no refunds)

3.  Share links, articles, and Twitter accounts  your followers might enjoy.  Become a gateway. (Hey Baconistas!  Check out @MissPiggy )

4.  Share news.  News spreads faster on Twitter than anywhere else. Absolutely Tweet about your business and product news, but also include other information that will entertain and information your followers.  (Woman mistaken for #JustinBieber http://tinyurl.com/2dhvtf9)

5.  Give away coupon codes and promotions.  It gives a reason for people to follow you! Plus, it’s always Trending.

6.  Share pictures. Check out Instagram! (#soHipster)

7.  Share your Blog.  ( #TinyURL #bigTraffic)

8.  Tweet about the human side of your business.  The human element is what makes a successful Twitter Account.  (#HappyBirthday to our IT guy @Zach_TFT !  Thanks for the excuse to have cake!)

Now that you know how to set up your Twitter Account and spend out great Tweets, set some goals.  Be sure to Follow us @ThatFreeThing and until next, week– have a good one!

Good afternoon and welcome back to the TFT Blog.  This is Anisa bringing you the basics of how to use Twitter for your business.   Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets”.  Before I show you how to use Twitter to increase your customer satisfaction and extend your business base, let’s look at why you should.

1. (Nearly) Everyone is on Twitter.  

Did you know that Senators are tweeting from the floors of Congress?  (No, really!  Check out TweetCongress!)  With 140 Users, 340 million tweets daily, and 1.6 billion search queries per day, Twitter is the mass text messaging of the internet.

2.  Tweeting bridges the gap between you and your customers.

Why do you think Senators are tweeting?  They’re embracing the mindset that hip people tweet!   By using the ‘@’ symbol followed by a Twitter user’s name, you can create real conversations.  Twitter strengthens your connection to a community.

3.  Tweeting can Generate Traffic.

Just like with Facebook, you can use Twitter for fun and spontaneous giveaways, to promote sales, and to give out discounts.  Following your business is as easy as a click and suddenly your followers are saving 15% or entered to win awesome swag!  Remember, the first sale is always the hardest.  Give potential customers incentive.

Convinced?  Let’s look at how to set up your business’s Twitter.

1. Look.  See what’s trending.  Twitter users add in the symbol ‘#’ followed by keywords in order to tag their tweets relevant to specific events, ideas, or topics.  Look at What the Trend and Twitter’s Search Engine.   (While you’re at Twitter’s search, check out your competition.  Find out what they’re missing and vow to make yours better.)  Curious about Hash tags (#) and all they do?  Check out Tech for Luddites article The Twitter Hash Tag: What It Is and How Do You Use It?.

2.  Sign Up.  Pretty self explanatory, yeah?  Do it here.

3.  Add a picture.  It’s part of the letting people know you’re real and not a robot.

4.  Download the Twitter App to your Smartphone. It’s available for Free through iTunes and the Android Market.  Having Twitter on the phone lets you Tweet from literally anywhere and at anytime.

5.  Tweet about things that interest you and your followers.  Yes, share information about your products, sales, and promotions you’re running, but not all the time.  Twitter is social networking, not a soap box.

6.  Share links.  (But wait– I only have 140 characters!  Never fear, friend.  TinyURL shrinks any web address to roughly 26 characters. http://tinyurl.com/3uv7g2)

Check back later this week for more in depth ideas on how to make Twitter work for your business.  Once you’ve create your Twitter account, be sure to follow us @thatfreething.

By this point, hopefully you’ve written a few blogs.  You’ve read our articles about Search Engine Optimization and been perfecting your Voice.  You’re putting in about 10 hours of week really trying to hone in on your Niche.  You’ve been checking out who reads your blog and how they got there and hopefully, you’re getting just a little bit frustrated.

Because that means you’re ready for this week’s look into the Psychology Behind Great Blogging.

Imagine we could pop open a blogger’s brain like a pocket watch and look into the thought process of the greats at Mashable, BoingBoing, & The Everywhereist.   (But not Perez Hilton.   That gearbox is pretty dirty.)  Each of these fantastic blogs is made up of different things but there are some Characters that Appear in every great Blog.

1.  A Successful Blog has a sense of placement with cultural significance.

Mashable brings us life hacks.  The Everywhereist travels the world and tells al the best places to go while on our exotic vacation (or just let’s us fantasize we’re on one.)

A truly successful Blog needs to be bigger than you.  You are a spec.  That is not to say that you are insignificant, but it does point out that there’s a very large world.  Like these bloggers, find your Niche.  Be aware of what is relevant in the world around you.

You are not Snooki. And for that, you should probably be thankful.

2.  All great bloggers share ideas.  They don’t have to be great ideas and they will get better.

Unless you are already famous, it’s highly unlikely people will tune in to hear about your daily activities.  Don’t be the tree that blogs about it’s leaves.  Be the tree that tells the other when the loggers are coming.  (Or that the scary orange monsters are coming!)

3.   All blogs start small.   You are small now.  That’s ok.  You will grow.  All great bloggers strive to evolve.  

Once upon a time, ICanHazCheezeburger– the blog with all those adorable cats and funny captions– started off as a couple of cat crazy kooks with photoshop.

4.  Organization is the key for great blogging.  Know your assets and how to present them.  Write good headlines and use great tags to let readers know exactly what to expect.

5.  Be Original.   The easiest way to do this is to be yourself.  The easiest way to be yourself is to know yourself.    (Have you taken the Meyers-Briggs Personality test?  I’m an INTJ.  Know you personality type helps you know your strength and weakness.)

6.  Be Curious.  Ask questions.

7.  Be humble and willing to discuss ideas.  Admit that sometimes you don’t have the right answers.  Be willing to question the answers you receive and give. You’re a blogger, not a politician.  Do not lie.  It hurts your credibility.  (Remember the rise and fall of Ms. Scribe?)

8. The one that that all great have in common: 

A Good Worth Ethic.    Blog for your supper! 

Thanks for coming by and being part of the TFT Family.  What do you think of our list?  What would you add?  Check back soon for more TFT News, as well as tips and tricks on how to write a blog that writes you a check!

]]> http://blog.thatfreething.com/8-traits-of-great-bloggers/feed/ 0 http://blog.thatfreething.com/tons-of-freebies/ http://blog.thatfreething.com/tons-of-freebies/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:43:02 +0000 admin http://blog.thatfreething.com/?p=618

Good afternoon and welcome to the That Free Thing Blog.   This is Anisa catching you up on the happenings at our office nestled in the foothills of lovely Colorado.  Sunday was stunning 84 degrees and this morning we have four inches of snow.  Rain or shine, our mail still comes.  Check out what we’ve got this week.

Did you see the Free Subscription to Pumped Magazine!  Freaky arms in six weeks?  Not sure I’ll live up to the expectations, but between this and my Shape magazine I’ve at least got my treadmill out.  My wine loving friends have quickly called dibs on the “I’ve Tried Menage A Trois” buttons.  Those are a great quirky marketing strategy.

Those are full sized Suave Professional Keratin Infusions!  In an early blog, I showed off my vouchers for these but seeing them large and present really shows how keeping an eye out for those big freebies really pays off.  Sadly, the coupon only allowed me to use 2 at a time, but that just means I’ve got 2 more to use next time I go shopping.  Burt’s Bees Gud lotion smells amazing.  (If you haven’t grabbed yours yet, the offer is still live!)  Not pictured is a bottle of CloSys mouth wash that I’m fairly certain my German Shepard stole and is hiding in one of her many treasure coves.  (Does you dog do this?  Boomer is a hoarder!  Last time I cleaned her kennel, I found 3 pairs of headphones and an earring, untouched and guarded like treasure.)

I want to make this Blog the best resource you have on your mission to becoming a well paid professional blogger.  What do you want to see more of?

You make this Blog!  I need your input to make it serve your needs and answer your questions.  As always, thanks for checking in!  We’ll be back later this week with more TFT Tips, Tricks, & Ways to Make Your Blog Based Business the best it can be!  Here’s a little parting gift for my fellow Coloradans.

Every 60 seconds 120 New Blogs are made.  That’s roughly 172,800 every day!  Of these, 60-80% will be abandoned within a month.  Even after that deduction, any new Blog is left with a significant competition.  You need to stand out.

How do you turn into an apple when you’re in a pile of oranges?  Let’s look at what the professionals have to say about how to differentiate your Blog.  Always upbeat and quick-witted Erin Clifford, a Professional Copy Writer based out of Denver, Colorado offered this advice to new bloggers:

Look at your competitors. What do you have in common with them? Whatever it is–  don’t talk about it. Now what makes you stand out against them? Whatever that is, talk about it in a way that is all about the consumer and what they’ll get from you. Don’t make it about how brilliant you are. Use ‘you’.  Not ‘me’ or ‘I’. No one cares. They just want to know how you’re going to make their life better.

Imagine your blog as your home.   Imagine bringing your competitors into your home with all your content and resources displayed on the walls.  After the tour when you sit down for coffee, what will you talk about?

Most of your competition will lack passion and authority in their subject matter.  They will be gone within the month.  Passion and Authority are required tools for a professional blogger.  Truly successful bloggers will marry their subject matter to the art of presenting it.

Your Voice is made of not only your word choice but how you solve problems, deliver ideas, collaborate,  & serve your readership (Check out last week’s article about Voice.)  The goal of a successful blogger is to forge a connection with their readers.  Ever quirky Illustrator and Lead Blogger for Denver Breaktime, Athena Lutton offers advice for fostering the blogger/reader relationship:

In my experience, people like you to get a bit personal. They like knowing that you’re a person, not a company. It should be about the audience, but you need to make sure you find your voice, and in a lot of cases getting a bit personal is a good way to make people feel they can relate to you.

In addition to instructional and informative articles, Athena contributes helpful ideas, humorous anecdotes, & a sense of personhood behind the articles.   She’s filling out the personality of the blog in addition to providing information.  Setting yourself out from the crowd comes from a combination of excellence & craftsmanship.  It’s made of a 120% performance.  You can’t turn an orange into an apple by just painting it green.