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A lot of online business owners are looking at the holidays with dread because they're going to be headed into the new year with even more debt. So, my question is this..

“If you (meaning YOU, not someone you were advising) had to double your income in the next 30 days, how would you do it?”

I think you'll find the answers this week interesting and hopefully motivating.

Denise O’Berry of DeniseOBerry.com says:

Well, thankfully my business is not one of those facing more debt but these are some things I'd do to double my income by the end of the year.

• Find my hot products and raise the price a bit — somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 to $5 depending on how well the product performs today.
• Package like products together and run one or more promotions to my list and on my website.
• Find a JV partner who wants to increase their sales for the month and create a promotion that will benefit them and me. This could involve me selling to their audience or them selling to mine or both.
• Include a new one time offer in all of my email list sign up sequences.
• Create a niche report on a timely hot topic, find partners to help me sell it, and put it out there for the world to buy.
• Create some quick videos as a companion to an existing product that is selling well, make it a package for a higher price than the single product.
• Run a retirement sale on products that are good quality, but need refreshing.
• Offer a resale rights package on an appropriate product.

Those are all the thoughts that come to mind as I brainstorm the possibilities. Thanks for asking the question. Looks like I have a good start on a new action plan. I'll do some now and save some for later!

Shannon Cherry of Quick Sales for Quick Profits says:

As someone who has run a completely debt-free business from the beginning, I've had to sometimes really bootstrap in order to make sure I had enough money to pay my bills and not be tempted to EVER run up a credit card.

Here's are the survival tips I've used in the past:

1) Cut the fat. Look at your business expenses. What can be cut? (Be especially critical of those items you pay for each and every month. Are you really using them? I often look at things like SaaS (Software As A Service) as a big money suck.)

2) Hold a sale on old items or some redone PLR. As a matter of fact, my sales have been so successful, I've was asked to share how I get them done. The result after make sure every step works is the S.A.L.E.S. System Formula. Get the free report and ebook to learn how to use Quick Sales for Quick Profits by clicking the link by my name.

3) Make some phone calls. I look for people who have invested with me in the past and get on the call and thank them. Often times this leads to questions from them where I can direct them to products to help them.

4) Ask for help. Sometimes you need extra help, and that's when I reach out to a friend and ask them to promote me to their list. Sometimes, its hosting a teleclass where they interview me; other times I write them some sales copy on a good product I sell and let them send it out.

Connie Ragen Green of ConnieGreen.com says:

If I wanted to double my income during the next 30 days I would create a new product and a new training course, as well as taking a look at other products I have not been promoting recently. The product would be something that would be evergreen, meaning that I could set it up on the Internet and sell it for years to come. I find that a $97 product does best. Then I would promote it using every method and technique that works, including article marketing, blogging, social media, interviews, teleseminars, and affiliates.

Then I would survey my list to see what type of a course they would be interested in taking from me during the next week to 10 days. Just as soon as I figured out what they wanted to learn from me, I would design the course to be taught in three or four sessions. I'd create supporting materials to go along with it, and set it all up in a membership site. Depending upon the topic, I might bring in other experts to teach their area of expertise to my students.

Next, I would take some of my products off the digital shelf and dust them off. Most of us have products or courses we have not been promoting. Sometimes our list has forgotten that we have them, so this is an opportunity to freshen them up, add some new bonuses, and market them more vigorously.

Finally, I would let my affiliates know that I was having a huge promotion. This would bring in even more sales and connect me with new prospects and clients.

I tend to go through this exact process every six months or so, and my income takes a huge jump each time.

Alice Seba of Contentrix says:

What you're asking for is a short term plan…doubling in 30 days, so let's talk about it in that context.

What that requires:

* Full focus – no distractions, no shiny objects. I have to stick to the plan.

Speaking of the plan, that includes:

* Reviewing stats and financial statements. Things to look at include the numbers from last December. What sold well? What was down? I would also look at the stats over the year. What products sold best, which affiliates sold the most, which products didn't do well? What promotions and coupons performed best? Which days of the week were the beat performing?

* Using that information, it's time to come up with a plan for new products and/or special promotions to create in the coming month. This planning would include assigning any work to writers, my VA, etc. Products need to be put together. Promotional copy needs to be written and shopping carts need to be ready.

* Making a promotion/email schedule. The money is in my lists, so that's where my focus lies. Blogs, social media…etc. those are secondary if I am looking for immediate financial benefit. I will focus on my opt in lists, customer lists and affiliates

* Make a short list of affiliates to personally contact and ask to promote the most relevant products for them.

* Make a list of new affiliates with potential in order to contact them with a really great promotion. It would have to be something that truly benefits the affiliate's readers and is lucrative for the affiliate as well.

Next comes execute, which involves:

* Getting contractors ready with full instructions, deadlines and a plan to follow up

* Writing emails like crazy. Write them and schedule them.

Basically, it boils down to having a plan that includes new products and very attractive promotions. Couple that with being fairly aggressive in leveraging my own lists and the lists of others…and we're ready to roll!

Susanne Myers of AffiliateTreasureChest.com says:

I actually had to triple my income for the month at some point last year to cover some unexpected expenses. Here's what I did:

Take a look at your current assets including
– All websites and domains you own
– All products you created
– All articles, plr and other stuff you own that's collecting virtual dust on your harddrive
– All lists that you have.

Next, come up with a plan to bring in some big cash.

Do you have some websites that are still making some money but you've lost interest in? They could use some TLC and have good potential, but you just don't have time enough to work on them? Consider selling them. You can put them on flippa, or offer them to some of your friends, colleagues, and even your affiliates.

You can do the same with some good domain names you have. Be prepared to spread the word and do some marketing to get some decent cash for these sites and domains.

Next, look at the products and lists that you have. Combine some of your current products, use articles you've written and plr to create bonuses for it or come up with some new products. Create a nice combo package and then email your list about it. 4 day sales that create some urgency work best for this in my experience.

Next, email your affiliates and people in related markets and have them offer the same sale to their list.

Scott Tousignant of FatLossQuickie.com says:

If I had to double my income in the next 30 days I would…

Number one, would be to connect with a few Joint Venture Partners who have high quality and complimentary products to those that I offer, which fulfill the needs of my Fat Loss Quickie fans and followers. I would then plan some cross promotions that are win-win-win situations and schedule the entire month on my promotion calendar.

A win-win-win situation occurs when I recommend a Joint Venture Partner’s product and earn a commission, while they gain customers and make money too. Then they return the favor and recommend one of my products and earn a generous 75% commission, while I gain customers and make money. The customer wins because they receive high quality products that solve their problems.

…By the way, that is exactly what I’ve already done to prepare for the month of December.

I particularly like to scope out hot new products that have an irresistible offer, such as a Huge 3 day sale.

I would also consider running a 3 day sale on my own products and run an affiliate contest with big prizes. This has worked extremely well for me in the past, and I believe that I shared one of those instances in my interview on Nik’s Success Cast. I paid out huge prizes, which may sound scary, but the outcome was BIG profits in just a few days.

David Frey of MarketingBestPractices.com says:

Simple.

I would take my best selling information product and turn it into a high ticket ($2,000 plus) live event. Then I would offer it to all of the people who already bought the lower ticket information product.

I would also offer the buyers to become an affiliate for the live event that including some affiliate prizes.

Then I would create a rocking sales video and do a private product launch to my list and to select JV partners.

So the formula is…

Low(er) ticket product -> High ticket event

Nicole Dean of .. here! .. says:

I've created a list of six ways to increase your income.

1. Increase New Visitors (More Traffic)
2. Increase List Size (More Leads)
3. Increase Number of Offers (Create More Products)
4. Increase Number of Offers Seen by Prospects (Better Followup & Funnels)
5. Increase Results (Improve Conversion on my Offers)
6. Decrease Expenses (Cut Costs)

So, any time I want to increase my income – I know that I can do so by tackling one or more of the items above. Some are quicker. Some take more time to see results. But, the cool thing is that they work together. So, if I increase my traffic AND my conversion, for example, that actually multiplies the effect, as opposed to doing only one or the other.

However, the question was what would I, personally, do to double my income in 30 days. And, that's simple because I've had to do it on a few occasions. It wasn't a lasting effect (as far as consistently staying doubled), but I can make it spike when I need to – and, although the “double effect” dips the following month, it's still higher than it was before.

I  know that I could do it by running a sale. However, I don't like to run sales. If you're on my lists, you've probably realized that by now. The reason is simple. When I release a new product (whether my own or PLR) – my LOYAL readers normally buy it right away because they're excited to get it. I feel badly offering it at a discount six months down the road. It just doesn't sit right to  me. So, instead, I normally release my products at a lower price initially to reward my customers and those who are fast-action takers. Then I raise it.  I'm more comfortable with that approach. So, that rules out sales for me.

The only exception to that is running a unique offer that is a bundle – so that my loyal customers can not directly compare it to something they've previously purchased. For instance, I might take two products of mine, add something to it, and sell it for a price higher than each product would sell alone.

So, what would I do?

Actually to be completely honest with you (like I'm normally not? lol!) — I'm having a difficult time writing this blog post. In fact, if I hadn't have already gotten the responses from my friends, I'd probably stuff it back into draft mode for awhile and think a few more days.

I just feel silly writing about what I would do – like “DUH! I you WOULD do this, why AREN'T you doing it right now?”

Even though my income is higher than ever – it could always be higher. And, the more money I make, the more good I can do for myself, my family, my friends, and for charitable organizations. So, why aren't I doing it?  That's a very good question – and the reason why I have my accountability partners to kick my butt when I let fear, procrastination, and self-doubt get in my way.

So, I guess I'll change the question. It's my blog. I can do that.

What WILL I do?

Well, looking at the list above, if I were focusing on short-term results (like the question states), I would, like Alice said, put aside blogging and social media and instead focus on my lists (and leveraging the lists of others) and offers.

* The first thing I'd do is call in some favors. I've successfully promoted a lot of other people who have not promoted me back nearly as much (or at all). So, I'd let them know of some of my hotter products and get them mailing for me.

* The second thing I'd do is write up a plan for my lists for the month. Whenever I do this, it's extremely successful. However, when I fly by the seat of my pants, I stress and don't do as well. So, I'd sketch out a plan for connecting with my lists  – making sure that  I'm putting together a good combination of useful information, fun stuff, with appropriate promotions tied in for products that I  know they'll love.

Just by doing those two things, I could possibly meet my goals, but that's not good enough.

* I would also run an affiliate contest or promo at EasyPLR.com to give people an excuse to talk me up.

* And, I would release a new product – and tell all of my affiliates. I'd then reconnect with the JV partners above – in case they wanted to promote that, too (plus it gives me an excuse to bug them twice without looking like a pest!).

That should do it.

It’s Your Turn.

So, now, I’ll pose this question to you. If you had to double your income in 30 days – what would YOU do? I’d love to hear your comments!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. I have created brandable reports from several of the previous Expert Brief columns that you can use to earn commissions by giving them away.

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