====== eBook: The Confidential Internet Intelligence Manuscript ====== //[[:Courses:start]] : [[:courses:books:start|Books studied like courses]]// The Confidential Internet Intelligence Manuscript by Mark Joyner, CEO, Aesop.com, Copyright 2001 Aesop.com, 50 pages //Personal copy of PDF in Evernote in Simpleology notebook// ===== Introduction ===== * Scientifically derived info on how your business can really prosper on the internet * revelations about internet marketing ==== Why was this manuscript created ==== * the dream we all want to believe: “Through the Internet, anyone with a computer, an Internet connection, and the willingness to sweat can set up an operation in their garage that competes with major corporations.” * Mark Joyner began a business as a shoestring company. * internet gives ability to advertise without hard capital * Mark "began to apply military metaphors (ala Sun Tzu et. al.) to my business." * "small groups of men, applying the proper tactics, can cause great damage and make armies of far greater size stand up and take notice." * Book reference: * "Guerilla Marketing" - Conrad Levinson * Guerrilla's dont fight the same as a great army, guerillas ignore those rules, and make their own * Do this right, and a business can be built to multi-millions without a dime of venture capital * roots: sales-driven, cash-flow-dependent * other companies waste millions on advertising that may or may not work * tactics must deliver results. * throwing daisies at an approaching army is not likely to work * dangers * cult of personality and accepting dangerous advice as truth * remember it is just accumulated observed data * be skeptical of what is not seen for oneself * science never renders gospel truth * look for observations that painstakingly isolate every possible effect on results, proper samplee sizes, confidence intervals, and scientific controls. * do your own testing * Sections * Lessons learned - examples of data conducted from tests * Survey results - demographic data about viewership * 1) audience can affect results * 2) look for insight into mind of internet consumer ==== One Word of Caution ==== * Simplest concenpts can "have the most profound effect on your bottom line." * Noticing a particular day of the week works better can be make a huge profit difference * simple change in an order form can increase salees by 32% ==== Why you need to use this information right now ==== * Things in this document can increase earnings in 1 day ====== About Scientific Marketing ====== * "Do not fall for the myth that **all** testing is valid. * Testing is dangerous is the data is insufficient or derived in arbitrary ways * beware of sweeping conclusions * solid understanding of statistical concepts and methodology is critical ===== Isolation of Test Variables ===== //pg. 11// * A/B test on two letters with innumerable differences leaves more questions than answers * better to isolate individual variables, example: test a singlee change to a headline in an ad * cumulative effect of many small changes can create dramatic improvements over time ===== Marketing: A Fusion of Science and Intuition ===== * Example email subject line: "NAME, this is barely legal..." * Outclicked other headlines, but undersold other headlines. Readers mind wasnt in the right frame for the offer that followed * intuitive hunches - followed by testing * definition of the scientific method ===== Isolated Variables vs. Gestalt Testing ===== * Two kinds of testing at Aesop: * Isolated variable testing - isolate individual elements and test independently * gestalt testing - combination of elements working in integrated manner, and test against another integrated group of elements * both can be conducted currently ==== Examples of Isolated Variables Testing ==== tiny eelements that can be changed: * a headline * adding an element to an order pages * single graphic ==== Examples of Gestalt Testing ==== marketing processs has many distinct elements. Gestalt tries to select a winning combination of individual changes from many possible permutations. a combination might be a particular TV commercial with a particular website. The website may perform better with a different commercial. ==== Cumulative effect of lessons learned ==== Look for isolated variable tests that give a positive result independent of gestalt. Example: Dissonance elements - explained in Lessons Learned * testing finds it to consistently get more clicks and sales * 3 components: * "Quantified success results" * "The impression that the reader can do it, too" * "It is easy to do" * In this case, the combination is cummulative Page 15 example from Killer Tactic's Journal of an affiliate programming earning an average guy $17K ==== One More Thing ==== //Pg. 15// Be true to the scientific process, liated as: * 1. Observe some phenomenon or aspect of the universe. * 2. Develop a hypothesis that explains the phenomenon. * 3. Use the hypothesis to make predictions. * 4. Test those predictions by experiments or further observations and modify the hypothesis in the light of your results. * 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrep Warning: Don't let intuition outweigh critical analysis. ====== Lessons Learned ====== ===== Introduction ===== //Pg. 18// When following advice, use principles that someone applies themselves. Hard to grasp lessons may need to be personally applied to make them understandable. ==== I. Email Marketing ==== Possibly world's most powerful and economical form of markeeting "The Internet is the **only place on earth** where you can truly **market everyday** with no money – or very little money – **if you know how**." List of most important discoveries about email marketing === A. Best Day of the Week to Send Email === //Pg. 19// When is as important as the what. Testing shows Wednessday is not the best day. For details, see: [[work:garnet:course_notes_private:course_private_notes:private_the_confidential_internet_intelligence_manuscript:start]] Possible to make 89% more on an offer just by changing when it is sent out. === B. 2 Elements of a Successful "Lead-in" === First rule of Email marketing - **Get your email opened!** job number 1 - grab recipients attention devices that can backfire - "hype, capital letters, exclamation marks, and other devices that are equivalent to “screaming” on the Internet." * These get the emails classed as spam, leave them unread, and can increase the unsubscribe rate == 1. Friendly Tone == Exercise: in email box look at the emails that rivet your attention and are most likely to get clicked and opened. * Emails coming from friends * not ones that look commercial in nature write subject with same kind of tone as emails from your friends == 2. Curiosity Factor == Dont do the selling right in the email. Instead, encourage a clickthrough to a website. Risk is not clicking - and many times you don't click. So what is common about the times you do click? * ====== Survey Results ======