Interview with Johnny B Truant

You've used humour as part of your sales tactic for this product. How has this paid off?

Let’s face it... technical knowledge is a commodity. For that matter, so is marketing knowledge or anything else that people blog about. You can Google up tons of info on any subject imaginable. If all you’re doing to stand out is trying to create “the best information,” you’re traveling a tough road. Yes, your information has to be good — but, the most powerful tool you have is your personality. For me, that means humor.

It’s hard to say how it’s paid off. All I was trying to do is to generate interest and convert some of those to sales, and if that’s the criteria, it’s certainly been successful. But if I’m supposed to compare it to a traditional launch? Well, hard to say, since this is my first big launch and I have no “straight approach numbers” to compare it to. But people have certainly been enjoying the teaser videos I put out. I’ve gotten a ton of positive feedback.

You are able to offer cheap prices on your services because of the affiliate payment you get. Do you recommend other bloggers follow this path?

REDUCED prices. Not CHEAP prices. More on those semantics in a second, but let me answer your question first.

The answer is: Yes, if you can swing it. Not every field has affiliate relationships that relate in the same way. But to the extent that you can? Absolutely. If you consult on dog training and are somehow able to successfully refer dog training schools or groomers or something and can use that income to lower your prices, then do it. I look at this as win-win. The way I perceive this is that the companies I affiliate with are subsidizing my customer’s fees. If I can get what I deserve in part from sources other than directly from my clients, everyone wins. The more people who can win in a transaction, the better... and I mean, “The better for you,” too.

BUT, I don’t believe in being cheap; the very notion of being perceived as a “cheap” service bugs the hell out of me. I’m not cheap, at all. But I do offer good value. I get paid well because of it.

What has it been like learning and making mistakes so publicly on Naomi's blog?

Oh, writing for IttyBiz.com has been golden. I don’t care at all about making mistakes in front of other people. I have a very high threshold for embarrassment, and I have a “I don’t take myself seriously” facet to my real and online personalities (which are the same, BTW), so it so doesn’t matter if I screw up. And on the flip side, the exposure, advice, and tacit backing is huge.

Who are your influences online?

Hmm. Well, I’m still way new to all of this, so in one way, my influences are also the people I work with today: Naomi Dunford, Dave Navarro, Michael Martine, folks like that. But ultimately, my biggest influence is my mother, Marcia Hoeck (http://mybreakthroughbusiness.com). Her style is very different from mine, but everything I know about marketing, sales, and branding ultimately comes from her.

Why did you decide to create Make The Internet Your Bitch.

I’m laughing to myself because the real answer to that question is so totally incorrect of me to say — but it’s also the honest answer that you never hear from internet marketers, despite it always being God’s honest truth. C’mon Jade, why else would I have made it? Why does anyone make anything? I made it because I wanted to sell it and make a profit.

I wish more marketers would admit that they do what they do in order to make money because it’s SO OBVIOUS. It would finally acknowledge the elephant in the room, instead of this idiotic game we all play where we pretend that business is about being a martyr. Acting like profit isn’t a consideration fools nobody. Customers are smart. When someone pretends that their motivation isn’t profit, bullshit meters go off like crazy and that hurts the credibility of the entire industry. So let’s admit it: Businesses start with profit in mind. Products are created with profit in mind.

But read the answer to the next question quick, before I start to look like an asshole.

Finally, why should people buy it?

Because it’s good. It’s damn good.

It’s a comprehensive how-to, nuts-and-bolts course that explains EXACTLY what to do to get your online business started, through over 30 videos and a ton of explanatory text and tutorials. Online business can be overwhelming simply thanks to all of the random pieces of technology involved. You can’t just sell something; you need a cart or payment processor. So you have to figure out how to do that. And then, how will you stay in touch with your prospects? So you need a mailing list, and you have to know what service to get, how to configure it, how to create forms and add them to your site, and so on. Oh, and hey... what about that site? Every instructor assumes you have a website... I mean, duh. So you have to figure out how the hell to do that. It’s all so overwhelming. You have an idea, and you know you could knock one out of the park if you could just get the damn thing set up. But there are so many moving parts. Where do you start?

So why should people buy it? Because I’ll tell them exactly how to set up their online businesses in a way they’ll be able to understand and follow. From zilch to having all of the components of an online business in place. My thing is that I’m the guy who makes technology simple... and I’m telling you, if you can find and read Problogger, then you can build a website, set up and use a mailing list, start selling products online, do all of the techy stuff behind the scenes of a website, sell affiliate products and start an affiliate program for your products, everything. Step by step.

Listen, business is about an exchange of value. If I put out crap, I won’t be in business in the future. This is a “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” industry. Second chances are very hard to come by, and if you put out crap, people remember it. You get one shot every time you put something out. I’m smart enough to know my every product had better deliver 110%.