Last week I received a check from GCFN for $951.00! Signed by Mary Gersten!
I actually received a $50 check several weeks before this, but didn't think it was worth mentioning (I just didn't have time to photograph and post it).
If I've done the math properly, this brings my total "earnings" so far from promoting GCFN with web-based advertising and postcards to about $2800. I spent over $5000 total to enter the Certified Media Placement Specialist program, so I haven't broken even yet. I've got to make about $2300 more to break even. (Actually, it's probably more than that if I take account of postage spent on postcards. I'll try to add that up and mention the actual numbers in my next post. I do most of these blog entries without looking up my detailed accounting records).
I've actually been slacking on the postcards. Postage costs 26 cents per postcard. If you mail 500, that's $130. I plan to try it again based on this latest check, but I'm beginning to wonder if web-based marketing is more cost-effective for me.
The sad thing is, right now there's no way for me to know whether it's postcards or something else that is working.
Does Anyone Know What Is Working ?
Although I still have some concerns about the way the GCFN sales process is hype-intensive, I am definitely on board with this as a way to make some money on the side! The CMPS program is a legitimate training opportunity with real income possibilities as far as I can tell! You just have to stick with it, look at it as a training/certification program (not a pure money-making machine) and keep trying different things until something works. A bit hit or miss, but that's honestly all I've been doing so far.
Apparently my advertising is working now that I fixed my problem with domain-masking (see my Feb post about that). I've mostly been using some super-cheap pay-per-click type advertising (using very narrow, focused keywords that gives me a few dozen hits a week), plus Squidoo, this blog, and free advertising on TrafficSwarm and TopSurfer.
But the thing that really bothers me is that I have no way to actually track WHICH advertising is working.
Every advertisement is just a shot in the dark. That's not a 21st century approach to marketing!
Internet Marketing Training
Since I started with the CMPS program, I've been getting internet marketing trainings from Joshua Shafran and others (I get Josh Shafran's "3 comma club newsletter" via CMPS at $47 a month and worth every penny I would say).
The key to massive success as far as I can tell from all the resources I've read about making money online is that you need to be able to track what advertising and marketing channels are working, and which ones aren't. To maximize profits you need to optimize the winners and cut-off the losing advertising that is costing you money but not making any back.
So far, GCFN hasn't provided the features that allow me to do that. I just have to average over all of my advertising costs. Very frustrating.
Judging by the checks that keep rolling in, SOME of my advertising must be working. But I don't know which parts!! If I did know, believe me, I'd be ramping it up!
Checks Delayed 30 Days?
By the way, according to the GCFN back office, the checks are sent out 30 days after the sale. This makes sense, as they need a delay to be sure the order hasn't been canceled or contested by credit card companies. But this means the successes I've been having occurred 30-days prior to the check being sent. So this latest $951 check was earned from sales made prior to Feb 12.
I have hardly a clue about what I did in Jan/Feb that would have brought in all the sales required to make me $951. Between Jan 1 2008 and Feb 14 2008 I collected 9 prospects in my back office. If each sale was several thousand dollars total and I earn 10%, then $951 represents maybe 2-3 sales. I'm not sure if phone-ins are counted in my back office (and some of my advertising points people to call the phone number with my extension, not go to the website) so there may have been others not listed in my "MyWebCashStore" back office.
The point is, without a tracking system, it is really hard to justify putting massive effort into more advertising. I don't know what kind of return to expect. And therefore remain a bit skeptical about this as a business with "full time" earnings potential. (Is anyone from GCFN taking note of this??)
Anyway, I'll keep you posted. Thanks for submitting comments, it's good to know you are reading this and getting something out of it.
I do plan to put together some tips on how to do better with promoting GCFN (and other things, like ClickBank). But I'm still working at a job that completely drains all my mental energy and haven't gotten around to it yet. Sorry...but I'll be working on it, I promise.
