DareDevil Marketing

Marketing is psychological warfare.  Ok, that assertion may be a little…intense…for what really goes on when attracting consumers, but there are definitely parallels involved, in at least some form or fashion.

From grocery stores stocking their cereal aisles with the sugary kids’ cereals right at childrens’ eye level to “Girls Gone Wild” commercials repeating ad nauseum on Comedy Central after 10 pm night after night…it’s all marketing.

And it’s all psychological.

Using psychology properly in marketing is an exercise in finding the “sweet spot” where truthfulness and efficacy merge.  However, as you know many marketers – both online and offline – aren’t aware this point exists and are thus willing to cross nearly any ethical barriers to make a sale.

I’ve used this particular strategy with many of my unused domains for a couple of years now as a way to gather valuable marketing data, build lists in markets I’ve never before stepped foot in, and even to make money marketing to those lists.

Without ever building an actual website, or blog.  Just a simple landing page.

With all other variables equal (traffic, keywords, etc.) this method can thousands of times more profitable (and fun!) than parking your domain at Sedo or using Google’s Adsense for Domains service.

But I believe the *real* take-away lesson is in understanding the psychology behind why it works so well.

It’s because it involves actually TELLING YOUR WEBSITE VISITOR TO GO AWAY – THAT THEY DON’T BELONG THERE.

People want what they can’t have…even if they don’t know what the hell it is!

I admit it…if I’m intrigued by something then I’m the same way; if something catches my interest and I’m suddenly told that I can’t learn more about it, then that just makes me want to learn about it that much more.

But just the opposite is true as well:

If something is offered freely and openly to where the perception of value is diminished, then it will never be viewed as valuable…until it’s taken away, of course. The air we breathe is a good example of this. You’re using it without even thinking of it; taking it for granted. But if it were suddenly to be removed for some reason, getting it back would likely become very high on your list of priorities very quickly.

My point:

Always, always, always incorporate some level of scarcity into your marketing.

Always.

Since it’s human nature for people to want what they can’t have, then why not have human nature do all the hard work in your marketing? After all, it sure beats trying to talk people out of their money…

I’ve never made more than a few pennies a day at parking domains with conventional methods that display pseudo-relevant ads on them. Lots of people do, I’m sure, but there’s a whole methodology to it that I can’t be bothered to learn because I’m just not interested in that business model.

So this is what I do to make money from domains that I occasionally pick up that I haven’t yet had time to develop:

1) I create a small squeeze page out of a quick Wordpress install by throwing on a single column theme.

2) Some quick keyword research should yield 3 to 4 keywords that I would most want to target for the upcoming site.

3) I use those keywords in the headers (with <h2> tags, of course) for a three or four paragraph squeeze page-esque lander that I’ve placed on the Wordpress install.

4) I’ll use (or don’t use) images relevant to the niche. Sometimes images help, sometimes they hurt. I just make sure the page itself is clean with no sidebars or other distractions.

5) I’ll then throw in an opt-in form: name and email address.

6) Biggest Takeaway: I make the short content slightly ominous to raise curiosity. I always try to make it seem like when the visitor gets there, they happened to stumble on something that they shouldn’t have. Like they found some kind of back door or loophole.

7) I use Aweber (my favorite) to handle my list and autoresponder. The confirmation page should confirm their double opt-in and then redirect them to a relevant offer or a “review page” of several offers. Since I use a pre-existing Wordpress install for this method, I use the EasyRedirect plugin.

8 ) Not only does this allow me the chance to make some cash from the affiliate offers on the review site, I also get a targeted list to market to as well. I like to set up autoresponder messages that are sent out once every three days or so that shoot out PLR articles relevant to the topic and hit them with another offer every week or two weeks or so.  If and when I finally get around to developing the site, I’ve already got a targeted audience that I can announce it to for traffic and – more interestingly – to poll to hear what they’d like on a site like that.  Bang!  Instant content ideas.

9) I’ll also perform some basic SEO and linkbuilding whenever I have the spare time. Nothing fancy; the usual stuff like social bookmarking, making a squidoo page or hub about it, submitting a few articles, throwing up a relevant slide show video or whatever. Doing this, some of my “sites” like this that I may never get around to developing net me a few hundred a month as well as dozens or more opt-ins a week. Even better, many times they end up ranking higher in the search engines for their target keywords than developed, more established sites (YMMV, of course).

Here’s a crude example:

You bought the domain: DirtyBabyDiapers.com on impulse only to later figure out that you either don’t know what to do with it or you simply don’t have time to mess with it right now.

So you go and do some quick keyword research to see what derivative keywords are netting some search traffic.  Your standards may vary, but I look for at least 3,000 to 5,000 searches a month unless I have a very specific reason to go lower.  I’m not awfully concerned with competition for these terms because they are always long-tail terms and I’ve found that with enough time and elbow grease, the #1 spot can be taken for nearly any long-tail keyword.

Example keywords:

1. Dirty Baby Diapers
2. Dirty Diapers
3. How to Change Diapers

(no, I didn’t research this. It’s just an example)

Your squeeze page content could look something like this:

We’re still unpacking DirtyBabyDiapers.com! Remember, this is an “invite-only” site so if you somehow stumbled across this page by accident, then please navigate away now. If you’re looking for other great stuff on dirty baby diapers you can find that here. <-(link to product review page with affiliate links)

If you were invited, you need to enter your name and a valid email address that you check daily so you get the daily updates reserved for all invitees!

[Opt-in Form: Name, Email]

Important Note! Remember to keep the release of DirtyBabyDiapers.com a secret! DirtyBabyDiapers.com is the world’s first look inside the secret methods of expert diaper changers and the tactics they use to get cheap diapers up to 90% off retail price. The minute this information gets out to the masses, it won’t be valuable anymore!

Dirty baby diapers are a mess! (<- paragraph header enclosed in <h2> tags)

[Short, keyword-rich paragraph about how dirty baby diapers are a mess]

Dirty Diapers will Ruin Your Life! (<- paragraph header enclosed in <h2> tags)

[Short, keyword-rich paragraph about how dirty diapers will ruin your life]

How to Change Diapers and Keep Your Hands Poo-Free! (<- paragraph header enclosed in <h2> tags)

[Short, keyword-rich paragraph about how to change diapers]

The footer of your page should link to a privacy policy and/or “Terms of Service” page that clearly states you’re collecting their information. Make it non-descript, but make sure that it’s not invisible.

This strategy isn’t anything super-secret or earth-shattering, but it does work and I can almost guarantee that it’s much, much better option for you on domains that you plan on developing one day (or even if you don’t).

You get:

1) The chance to get indexed in the search engines as well as some valuable initial aging; maybe even pretty good ranking as well.  At the very least, you can burn through the dreaded “sandbox” time without sweating it too much because you’re busy with other things.

2) A list to market to, to poll, and to announce the upcoming site to.  Anyone that has ever excitedly launched a brand new website only to be met with the deafening sound of crickets chirping for weeks after launch can appreciate how valuable this benefit will be.

3) The chance to grab some quick cash from the affiliate offers you’re recommending on your product review page as well as through your emails to your list.

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