Man, I don’t remember getting this mad!

I certainly would not respond that way today, I would just give the refund and move on.

It’s a quick read, I’m on a crusade to save every aspiring Internet Marketer on earth.

How do/would you handle this type of refund request?  Just give it no questions asked?  Ask why?  Battle? Comment Below!

And so, the post I refused to publish 16 months ago surfaces…From here on.

As you already know I recently launched a product called 5 Minute Articles.

Sure you need to become familiar with the steps involved to make the process work, but once you do…wow. You’ll be writing new, unique articles in 5 minutes flat on any topic. It just takes a bit of practice. Out of all the copies sold I’ve only received one refund request. I’ll leave the person’s name out as that’s not the point of this post. Here it is…enjoy.

START:

Dear Howard,

I read through your material today and would like a refund. This system will not work for me. You seem to have a talent probably from years of experience where you can read through text and then rewrite it in your own words. I need to rely on something like instant article wizard.

Kind Regards,

XXXXXXX

END

First of all, who’s Howard!  I’m Steve.

Second, here is my reply. This product comes with a no questions asked refund policy he gets a refund no matter what.

START

Hi XXXXXXX,

Thanks for giving it a shot. I do have a talent, but that is only from experience. Shortcuts like Instant Article Wizard will only get you so far…you need to practice and rely on your own skills and improve them constantly if you want to get better (at anything!!!).

I will verify your order and send you a refund. By the way, who is Howard?

END

Are you kidding me? This person prefers to use a shortcut to write mediocre articles instead of spending a little time learning and trying out the 5 Minute Articles system and writing quality, original articles. He refuses to even try because he thinks he can’t!

I’m no genius, but if I’m interested in something, anything, I’ll give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t work out, but relying purely on shortcuts is not the way to get ahead.

———————————————————-

I’ve since switched to decaf…

If you don’t it’s an incredible business building tool.

Not only can it be your central area of command (where you announce products, build a list, recruit JV’s, you can do everything with Wordpress blogs), it’s also free from wordpress.org. If you don’t have one go get one ASAP.

Right now I’m talking to those who already have a blog. Any kind of blog.

If you want your blog to get more traffic, more visitors, most ATTENTION, you have to get more comments.

Why do businessmen wear suits?
Why do people buy rolexes?

It’s to get attention.

Comments mean a blog is getting attention.

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Hope you had a great father’s day!

Since then I’ve held a few jobs, but mostly made my income as an Internet Marketer.

A few months ago I decided…”I’m Going To Law School!”

I’m still waiting to hear from a few schools, but it looks like there is a strong possibility I’ll be leaving New York and will be headed to East Lansing, Michigan (I got into Michigan State University of Law!).

Good news is I’ll be in the part time program, so I’ll still have time to work on my Internet Marketing business.

I know this is a longshot, but if there’s anyone who lives in/near East Lansing give me a shout.

Do you think it’s possible for me to go to Law School and grow my business at the same time? Do you have a time intensive job and still manage to work online? Leave a comment below!

Here’s a funny story about Robert and I in Austin…

We both arrived on Thursday, a day before the seminar started. Being two young, attractive dudes we decided to check out the Austin nightlife, since most people hadn’t arrived yet (Although we did have dinner with Jack Tackett that night, you’ll find his picture below). We had a great time, met some nice people, and came back around 2 or 3 AM.

At 6:30 AM, out of nowhere, there is a loud alarm…almost like a siren. I JUMPED OUT OF BED and immediately woke Robert up.

“What’s going on?” he yelled, obviously startled that I’m violently shaking him so he would wake up.

“The fire alarm is going off, get up! Now!!!” I yelled back, while still half asleep.

Well, turns out Robert set his phone alarm (which actually sounds like a real fire alarm!) for 6:30 AM so we wouldn’t be late for the first speaker. What a guy.

Here are some pictures from the Warrior Event. More to come.

Steven Schwartzman and Jeanette Cates. It was really great meeting you in person Jeanette! An extremely knoweldgeable and nice person.	Robert Plank And Jack Tackett Jack is an open source master, and a great guy. Robert and I had dinner with him our first night in Austin!
Steven Schwartzman and Henry ? Henry is an awesome programmer, but he wouldn’t tell us his last name! What is it Henry?	Steven Schwartzman and Ron Capps (The Niche Prof!) Ron is a seminar veteran and was there to give Robert and I some great tips! Really nice and smart guy.
Steven Schwartzman And Robert Plank I don’t need to write anything about this guy do I?	Robert Plank, Steven Schwartzman, Dan, ? Dan is an Internet Entrepreneur who lives in Mexico and is absolutely killing niche markets in Spanish. The guy is awesome. I forget the man on the right’s name with the fantasic mustache, but he was great as well, and has many great membership sites planned.
Steven Schwartzman and Terry Crim Yes, THE Terry Crim! He doesn’t drink but he doesn’t need to…he’s just a natural party animal! He’s also a great programmer and is always willing to lend a hand.	Robert Plank And Steven Schwartzman Checking out the sites in Austin, Texas. By the way, Joba Rules!

No, it’s not! It’s only half the battle.

Without the other half, that person is absolutely useless.

I’m talking about getting that person to confirm their subscription!

If you’re building a double opt in list (which you should be), the person must confirm their e-mail address before you can begin e-mailing them. If they don’t, it’s as if they never filled out your form at all.

I’ve been testing a tool called Confirmation Rocket that personalizes your confirmation page, and gives detailed. personalized instructions on how the person can confirm their e-mail address.

Basically, it’ll get you more subscribers and it kicks ass. I’m testing it with great results, and I highly recommend you check out Confirmation Rocket as well.

I’ve spent some time getting it redesigned, and it’s still a work in progress.

Most people I’ve shown it it LOVE IT, but some (Robert Plank) really hate it.

Personally, I think it kicks ass, and looks much better and more professional than the ugly wordpress theme I was using before.

Do you like it? Leave a comment and let me know!

Do Doctors meet and discuss techniques with other doctors or do they just read medical journals?

Do Lawyers discuss cases and get opinions from their colleagues? You bet.

If you haven’t been to a seminar yet, you’re not treating your online business like a real business. It’s as simple as that.

You may be thinking, “Steve, I don’t have a product ready yet. When I do I’ll go.” That’s crap.

I’m amazed by the different skill sets of the people here at the Warrior Event (Yes, I am posting this from the Warrior Event in Austin, Texas, where I’m listening to Jordan Hall speak right now, and am sitting next to Robert Plank and Marc Harty). There are many newbies without products who are just starting out here, and there are experts.

No matter where you are with your business, you have to get off your behind and meet your colleagues.

The one thing I’ve heard over and over this weekend is, “You have to treat your Internet Marketing business as a business!” If you’re starting an offline business, do you start one and then think of a better business and start that one the next day? No!

I’ll admit, I often treat my business as a hobby, but going to this seminar, seeing others who are successful, meeting them and making friends…now I feel like I’m running a real business.

I hope to see you at JVAlert in Philadelphia.

One last question, are you treating your business like a business?

Here’s the deal, you should optimize your Wordpress blogs for search engines just like you would a regular webpage.

In fact, it’s even easier because there are a few simple tweaks you can make right now.

Check This Out – SEO FOR WORDPRESS

-Steve

While visiting the many attractions (including a huge aquarium and many museums) I noticed that they all have something in common.

At the end, after you’ve seen and enjoyed everything, you’re always taken to the same place. You guessed it…the gift shop!

In fact, it was always unavoidable and to exit you had to go through it.

This reminded me of how many marketers do business online, and time after time it has proven to be an effective business model. The master of this recently has been Rich Schefren from http://www.strategicprofits.com/blog.

He’s the master of releasing very high quality, free reports to wet your appetite. After you’re done reading, you want more. You need more. When you realize this, you find that he has a high priced product ready for purchase or that one will be released soon.

He shows great tips and strategies and lets you check them out for free…but he takes you right to the gift shop.

This is a business model that anybody can implement.

1. Create a high quality report/video/course and give it away for free. Provide real information, and don’t sell anything till the end. (Let them walk through the museum)
2. Create a mid to high level product that expands on what was offered in the free report. (Show them what’s in the gift shop)
3. Create more products to offer as upsells.

Remember, you can give a free tour but if you don’t lead them to the gift shop, you’re throwing money away. Museums have been in business for centuries, they know what they’re doing. So does Rich Schefren.

Finally, I decided to step out of the dark ages and install a help and support desk, to make it easier on myself, my customers, and my friends.

I’m still customizing the look but it should be working perfectly, so hop on over to AskSteveNow.com and help me make sure it’s working!

I’ll be writing a review on this particular script and the use of a helpdesk in general once I get more use out of it.