"A BIG dog is just a LITTLE dog who
wouldn't stop barking!"

 What the Statistics Tell Us...
When to Promote, and when NOT to Promote!

In the nearly nine months that “Secrets of the Big Dogs” has been available to the public, almost 18,000 copies of the ebook have been sold in over 120 countries.  This is a large enough sampling to enable us to derive some very interesting demographics about Internet purchasers.

You may be surprised at the results…

In mid-2000, for the first time, more than 50% of those with Internet access were from OUTSIDE the United States.  However (and this is a BIG “however”), our statistics show that 76% of the people purchasing “Secrets of the Big Dogs” were from INSIDE the United States.  An additional 7% came from the United Kingdom, 5% came from Canada, and 3% from Australia.  Thus, despite the fact that the ebook has sold in over 120 countries worldwide, a whopping 91% of sales came from just four countries – the predominant English-speaking countries.

Think about THAT for a moment – the other 116 countries (97% of the countries represented) accounted for less than 10% of our total sales volume!

Remember that we pointed out in the ebook that the “language of the Internet” is, at least at this point in it’s evolution, still English.  The fact that you can assume that 90% of your customers will be from just four countries is obviously an important factor in your Internet marketing endeavors.

Note also that if you add the 5% from Canada, you come up with 81%.  There are a number of reasons for this, namely the availability, reliability, and comparatively low cost of Internet access in North America.  Now I know it may sound “nationalistic” to state this, but I feel that you can pretty much assume that…

…regardless of what program, product, or service you are offering, for all intents and purposes, you are marketing to
the United States/Canada.

It is important to keep this in mind because there are UNQUESTIONABLY good and bad times of the year for marketing in the United States, whether it’s online OR offline.  Oh, I know that some of the Internet “gurus” like to feed us the hype that, because the Internet never “closes” – because your “store” is open 24/7 – there is NO bad time of the year for marketing.

Well, my friends, that’s just hog wash!

Yes, the Internet never closes – that’s quite true.  And, yes, whatever product you’re selling online, your store is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – that’s true also.  But it’s also true that the Internet (for good or for bad) is currently “United States dominated” and in order to be practical you MUST factor this into your marketing strategies.

Let’s analyze a complete calendar year, and try to determine what to be prepared for.  But first, it’s important to make a profile of the typical Internet marketer/purchaser to determine our target market.

Our target market (i.e. the business opportunity seekers market) consists of a person between the ages of 30 and 40.  He (or she) has a spouse, 2 to 3 children, a mortgage and a GOOD job, but not a GREAT job.  Oh, they’re paying the bills, alright, but they want more for themselves and their families.  Remember, now, that this is the profile of the AVERAGE Internet marketer.  Obviously, there are people at the other ends of this “bell-shaped curve” – the 17 year old kid still living at home with mom and dad, or the 76 year old retiree living alone working to supplement his retirement income.  But the vast, vast majority of our target market fits the profile of what is often called the “average American family.”

Now then, let’s start our marketing analysis with the 4^th of July.  (You’ll see why we chose this starting point by the end of this article.)

The 4^th of July in the United States is the OFFICIAL start of the “summer vacation season.”  The minds of our “average family” – our target market – is on keeping the kids occupied until they return to school in the Fall, vacations, fixing up the house, and barbeques – generally speaking, NOT on building a secondary income.  To make an example, video rentals in the United States drop 52.3% during the summer months.  Peoples’ minds are on OUTDOOR activities, and enjoying the nice weather and the longer hours of sunlight.

Yes, the business is still out there, but during the months of July and August, you should prepare for a slowdown in your business.  This slowdown hits it’s lowest point right around the 4^th of July holiday itself, but then bounces back for the remainder of July and the first two weeks of August.  Then another slow period sets in as parents busy themselves with getting the kids ready to go back to school for those last two weeks of the month.

By Labor Day, the first Monday of September, things are pretty much back to normal, and parents can now breath a sigh of relief as most all kids are now back in school, and schedules fall back into a normal pattern.

Prepare yourself now for the explosion of the Fall marketing season as our target market begins to fix on earning that extra income.  You will find your sales skyrocket (compared to July and August) for the remainder of September, October, and November – up until the Thanksgiving holiday, which is the third Thursday of November.  For a day or so before Thanksgiving, and two or three days afterwards, you will see a slump in your business that is even lower than the 4^th of July slump, as the Christmas buying seasons kicks into high gear.

Surprisingly, however, business bounces back very quickly, and despite the “countdown to Christmas” you will experience business as usual for the next five weeks.  Then Christmas itself, December 25, arrives, and another downward spike in business asserts itself.  A day or so after Christmas, business bounces back slightly but will remain slow for the next week, as parents once again have to deal with their childrens’ Christmas vacations and as they prepare for the next big holiday, New Years Eve.

Ah, but now we come to the biggest selling season of the year for us – for Internet marketers!

Starting a few days after New Year’s Day itself, and continuing unabated for nearly six full months is that most GLORIOUS time of the year for marketing.  After the extended Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years holiday season the thoughts of our target market now turn to more practical matters – like making money!

Yes, the period from January 2 (approximately) to July 4 is a wonderful time, with virtually NO major holidays or extended “time-off” periods to detract from our marketing efforts.  There is a small “glitch” during the Memorial Day weekend (the last weekend of May), which is generally considered to be the start of the summer vacation season with most kids getting out of school for the summer sometime around the end of May or the first week of June.  However, the American “it’s-Summer-and-I’m-gonna-have-fun” mentality does not really kick in until July 4 – in other words, June is STILL a very, very good month for marketing.

Now the point of our discussion is what you should be doing RIGHT now, and JUST as importantly, what you should NOT be doing…

For you Alpha Dogs – you CHIP members – it should be “marketing as usual” during this time of the year.  YOUR costs are already locked in, so it’s rather foolish NOT to be doing your usual marketing on a daily basis.  Oh, your sales results will be significantly lower for the next few weeks, but they will be ZERO if you don’t market at all!!!

Likewise, for you folks who utilize paid safelists, it should also be marketing as usual.  Don’t join any NEW paid safelists til after the first of the year, but for the safelists you are ALREADY a member of, it is, once again, foolish NOT to market as usual – like Alpha Dogs, your costs are already locked in.

On the other hand, DON’T SPEND ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR PROMOTION DURING THIS TIME!  I’m referring mainly to additional paid advertising such as ezine ads, banner impressions, and the like.  If you’re going to spend money on such advertising now (some ezine editors, for example, run some nice cut-rate specials during this time of year)  make SURE that you request that the advertising does not “hit” until well AFTER the first of the year, preferably the second week of January.

So…in addtion to your “foundation” marketing utilizing the CHIP programs and safelists, just what should you be doing?

This is a terrific time of year to plan your strategies for the new year – for the PRIME SIX MONTH LONG selling season which will be here before you know it!  Get all your “ducks in a row,” get organized, and establish a six month game plan – WHAT are you going to do, WHEN are you going to do it, and what amount of money are you going to budget for your upcoming promotions.

Though this time of year is relatively quiet, it’s like the “all quiet on the Western front” type of quiet – the calm before the storm of business that inevitably begins to hit in January.  Use this slow period effectively and to your advantage.  To use a trite, old expression, PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN!

Plan your work NOW while you’re being given a breather, so you can work your plan when it’s time to jump out of the holiday trenches and rush across the battlefield of Internet marketing to financial victory!

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