If you’ve followed me online for a while you’ll know that my main hobby and top passion is playing the guitar.
As I type this post from my home office I have a Fender Stratocaster sitting about 4 feet away. And downstairs I have 4 more guitars too – you could say I love them!
Given this, you won’t be surprised to learn that I subscribe to a few internet marketers in the guitar niche.
One of them is Doug Seven who focuses on teaching country and blues style playing.
I think I’ve been on his list for probably 4 years now and I open every email he sends me.
In fact, of all the people I’ve followed online in various niches, Doug Seven is one of the best examples of brilliant marketing I’ve ever seen.
Now I know you might not care about guitars at all let alone have an interest in learning how to play one but from a marketing perspective there is a huge amount to be learned from this guy.
To be clear this is not an affiliate promotion, pitch or recommendation for his products (although they are excellent!). Rather it’s a recommend to take a look at what Doug Seven does and how he makes so much money in a niche which is highly competitive (there are stacks of free “how to play guitar videos” on YouTube).
To see what I’m talking about I’d suggest you do 2 things now:
1. Watch this video
2. If you would like to see the power of his emails and marketing in full subscribe to his list here at his squeeze page
My thoughts:
1. Doug has succeeded by listening to his customers wants and needs and selling into demand. How many marketers do you know who ignore your needs and just “broadcast” too you telling you what they think you should want rather than what you actually?
2. His enthusiasm is huge and infectious. You can tell he loves his subject and genuinely loves teaching as well.
3. He’s totally up front about making money in his business and uses that as social proof for why you should buy too.
4. He’s down to earth in his style. Don’t you think he’d be just like he is in his videos if you met him in person?
5. He’s a master of implementing the “6 Weapons Of Influence” in a way that is a pleasure to read and watch (you’ll see this over time if you join his list). I’ll bet he’s never read the brilliant book on this though!
Of course, you might be thinking, “Well I don’t play the guitar or am not an expert in anything particular so I couldn’t do this!”
Well as we’ve covered several times on the blog (here and here for example) you don’t need to be an expert to make money.
The value in studying Doug’s work is not in the fact that he is an expert guitar player but instead to learn from his communication (emails & video), his straightforward but highly persuasive style and marketing techniques. You can apply this stuff in any niche, creating products where you or someone else is the expert, with emails, videos or audio and affiliate marketing too.
Take a look at the video I linked to above and let me know what stands out for you. Please Like/Tweet this to help spread the word if you enjoyed this post and drop a comment below 🙂
Doug is a very personable “good ole boy” salesman. A lot to be learned from his videos.
“Good ole boy” – I like that Charles! Thanks for commenting 🙂 Cheers, Rob
Rob,
It’s clear that this is more about making a connection than it is about selling. I like the point he makes that even if you’re not buying he wants you to benefit from his free stuff. I guess this will help break down barriers to those who are on the fence.
Excellent points John – 100% agree! Cheers, Rob.
Hi Rob,
like you I am a Guitar freak, I am actually building a Telecaster at the moment, nearly there…this guy is great, really genuine and friendly-that is always a winner, that natural ‘at ease’ approach makes people feel relaxed. You are quite right, he is brilliant at marketing-it has given me some good ideas-I have always wanted to have a good Guitar-based website, and to have it earn some money for me too! Lesson taken is to be yourself, and to enjoy what you do-also to be smart with your marketing. Thanks for the ‘heads up’.
Great Michael! I thought there might be a few guitarists on my list but of course I have never surveyed for this. This will definitely help with the guitar side and general marketing side as well 🙂 Cheers, Rob
Hi Rob . This was a fantastic post. I see what you are getting at I think. Lay it all out and let what his customers is the right fit for them.
Confidence being in front of a camera would put many a marketer off and the hearing their own voice being recorded and replayed may be of surprise
The guitar playing was an extra bonus. awesome.
Hi Larry, Yes, the first time in front of a camera (or even doing a Powerpoint screencast video) can be “weird” but I think Doug shows you just need to be yourself and it’s all fine! Cheers, Rob.
I didn’t really get it? It was too long and a little boiring? He didn’t do anything for me and how irritating that he didn’t play his guitar………………………
Hi David, Thanks for your view – it’s good to hear an alternative one! You definitely can’t please all the people all the time! Cheers, Rob
Hi everyone,
it is true there are many on-line marketers out there but not so many who care about their subscribers!
You and me should do our best to help first and give value to people and if we will find a happy customer it will reward us.
Thanks Rob for this post, it was good value.
Erwin
See you on top.
Great Erwin, glad you liked it and thanks for sharing your thoughts! cheers, Rob.
A good lesson to us all Rob.
It just proves that selling has little to do with the product per se. Whatever anyone who is in the business of purchasing seeks is the all important elements of trust and credibility. You can tell straight away that you can trust Doug to deliver – he has that ‘aura’ about him and my ‘gut instinct’ told me that about him.
The product, however, is another matter………… but if I was in the market for a new wheelchair, for example, I would take onboard what he had to say.
Would I buy from him is another issue………..as long it was within my budget or if he convinced me to go higher (more features, benefits, guarantee etc) I would seriously do so.
The hard thing I am finding to come to terms with is selling remotely on the internet where you never meet nor talk to the client – the whole process of marketing and selling has to be learnt as a technique which many of us fail to grasp I believe.
Mike
Hi Mike,
You make some excellent points here and pose some good questions. Of course the audience can get a lot from a first video/intro but the key is that the trust online is really built over time and that’s when the crucial follow up emails come in. Another reason why building a list is so profitable 🙂
Cheers, Rob
Hey Rob,
This is a great post. I do have a question that’s sort of a twist of what you say regarding you don’t need to be an expert.
Here’s what I’d love to know…we all know it’s best to find a niche that both is searched for a decent amount online, but also one we’re passionate about.
But let’s say that you’re excited about helping people and providing valuable content to visitors online, but don’t necessarily have a deep knowledge or expertise or passion in the niche you chose?
In other words, as an aspiring online entrepreneur, you saw an opportunity to build a quality website about, say, guitars, but you don’t know how to play them. And while you’re passionate about helping people who love guitars find the information they need because maybe you love music, you aren’t necessarily deeply passionate about this particular musical instrument?
I know that sounds, I suppose, kind of silly or counter-intuitive, but in this day in age, there’s nothing stopping someone from hiring a great freelancer writer who’s an avid guitar player from writing the content. But I suppose, looking at the example with Doug, how could some of his philosophies be translated into the example I’m posing?
In other words, regardless of the niche I or anyone chooses, if someone isn’t an “expert,” they obviously cannot provide lessons in playing a guitar or archery or sewing or whatever that niche is because they simply don’t know how to do it (or at least do it well).
So what would be the next best step? Getting in contact with, say, a guitar instructor and asking them if we could record their guitar playing lessons on video, and then adding them to our channel? I suppose I’m just trying to logically brainstorm how one can grow a business which provides quality content, but also a business in which someone isn’t deeply an expert in and that they therefore feel their ability to sort of…expand the business is somewhat limited.
Thanks!
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your comment and questions – great to see you here on the blog 🙂
Yes, you basically have touched on the answer in your comment…
If you are not an expert (at saying playing the guitar), then you would get people involved in the project who are experts.
For example, there are tons of guitar teachers around, so approach some of the better ones and get them to provide a lesson or some kind of content for the product. Package those lessons/materials up and put them into your product. In return for their contribution you could provide a link to each of the teachers websites to help advertise their services. Or alternatively you could offer them a small slice of the profits.
There are many combinations if you start thinking about it we essentially it’s about “outsourcing” the expertise and then you, as the entrepreneur, curating and then marketing that content. Good for almost any profitable niche you can think of.
To give you an example of the niche we have been discussing, check out this: http://www.jamtrackcentral.com/
It’s basically built (very successfully) on what I’ve just described. Quite an “advanced” example but keep in mind this has been going for years so it is very polished now 🙂
Kind regards,
Rob.
Yes, love this guy as we know people buy from other people who they know like and trust .This guy makes you feel like you know him after a few minutes
and a lot of people will like him and trust him because of how he comes across on the video .He could be selling ANYTHING the principle of what he is doing remains the same .Thanks Rob this taught me a few new tricks !
Hi Nick,
You’re absolutely right – the passion shows through and it’s almost infectious even if you have no interest in the niche!
Glad you liked it and great to see you here on the blog 🙂
Kind regards,
Rob