An Entire Marketing Department for $11/hr Our money-making formula: We do 5 things: Generate Traffic (a lot of eye balls), Capture Leads (build a database so you can market to them long-term), Qualify prospects (eliminate tire kickers so people you talk to are ready, willing and able to buy), Convert Sales (money for you in your bank!) and Nurture (create long-term customers who give you raving review and generate a massive amount of referrals)

2. Readers don't know who you are. Text strips Vitale warns, "Also keep in mind that many readers
everyone of rank and status. A "Sig File" or Signature have to pay for the messages they receive, and they
File is your opportunity to reveal who you are in a way often pay per line. If you had to pay for the junk mail
that may bring you more business. It's something that you receive at home, would you like it? If your sig is
is written at the bottom of every Email message you more than four lines, some people are bound to
send. Most Email packages provide the ability to complain. Again, go for brevity."
automatically include your electronic signature
(whatever words you type) at the end of every Here are some guidelines for creating a sig file for
message. This is a great opportunity to turn people yourself, from Vitales’ upcoming book Cyber Writing:
onto what you sell, or turn them off if not done How to Promote Your Product or Service Online--
correctly. Without Being Flamed:
Surprisingly, very few people use sig files online. 1. Make it brief.
Ending your post with "Mary Glenn" or "Nicholas You're not posting a resume. Just say who you are in
Smith" conveys nothing. Unless you tell people who the easiest and clearest terms. A rule of thumb in
you are, they won't know. Unless you describe cyberspace is the shorter the sig file, the more
yourself, you're just another invisible creator of text. important the person. It's easy to imagine that the
For that reason, be sure everything you post has a President would simply say, "President, U.S.A." What
tightly written sig file at the end of it. else would be needed?
Joe Vitale, (Email: jgvitale@ix.netcom.com), a If you have to spend paragraphs explaining who you
bestselling author and speaker about how to succeed are, you will be regarded as an egotist desperately in
in life and on the Internet provides us with many great need of attention. Four lines of text are generally
tips about putting this "little known" tool to use. considered safe.
"Your sig file doesn't need to be an advertisement." 2. Give contact information.
says Vitale. "When I first started posting messages, I Add your phone and fax numbers and always be sure
would add a fairly long sig file at the end of them. I to include your email address. Although most online
would include my name, phone and fax numbers, and systems will automatically add your email address to
a list of my books as well as how to buy them. everything you post, don't count on it. Include your
email address so everyone can respond to you.
I quickly learned that was the wrong thing to do.
Several people politely (and some not so politely) e- 3. Add a quote.
mailed me that my sig file was too long and too sales- It's become customary to add a one- or two-line quote
oriented. I edited my signature." that sums up your philosophy of life or way of doing
business. This quote is your opportunity to make
For Vitale and many others, myself included, people think, or smile, but certainly to remember you.
successfully using Signature Files came when we
remembered that online readers want information. A better line to add here is your "USP" or "Unique
When they see your post, they aren't buyers. They Selling Proposition." Amazon Books' USP can't be
are readers. You want to give them enough beat: "The world's largest online bookstore."
information so that they will want to contact you
directly. When they do, you then have an opportunity Your USP defines your place in the marketplace in a
to create a relationship with them, to tell them more way that makes you distinct from...and better
about your products and services and, if all goes well, than...everyone else. Here are some questions to help
to turn them into buyers. As you'll discover, one of the you figure out your own USP:
fundamental truths of marketing is that people like to
do business with people they know, like, and respect. What are you selling?
Your sig file is an opportunity to begin that Write down what you think is your product or service.
relationship. This can be as obvious as, "We sell carpets," or you
can add something that your service provides: "We

3. sell carpets that make your feet feel better and your
home look more attractive." Your USP has to have persuasive power. It needs to
state a reason for people to spend their money with
What is unique about what you sell...or how you sell you. Why should anyone give you money for your
it? You have competitors. What separates you from service? Writing a sentence that satisfies all three of
them? What do you offer that they don't? What is Reeves' points will help you create an unforgettable
unique about you? Or what can you make unique USP. As Reeves pointed out, very few businesses
about your business? Write down your answers. have a clue about their USP. Write one that makes
you and your business shine and you will stand out
How can you describe both answers in one tight, online (and off) as a power to reckon with.
persuasive line? This may take some work. Write as
many one-line statements as you can generate. The Look at the following examples. What type of an
more you have the better. Then, tinker with them, impression do they leave you with?
combine them, and see whether you can come up
with a one-line statement that declares your Actual Example 1
uniqueness. That will be the beginning of your USP.
Jason J Simonds | Midcoast Internet Solutions
Be careful of using empty words such as "quality" and jjs@lincoln.midcoast.com | Computer Connection
"service" or "the best." Saying you sell furniture of the jjs@tcc.midcoast.com | Computers and Connectivity
highest quality means nothing. What exactly does ..........................................................
"quality" mean? Do you use a particular brand of Local Local Local Local Local Local Local Local Local
wood? Say so. News Server*IRC
Saying you deliver "outstanding service" also means Server*Owned*Operated*Support*Training
little. How is your service great? Do you answer the
phone on the second ring, make house calls, stay Comment: This Sig File has 2 emails, why? There is
open Sundays, or give away puppies? Say so. nothing distinctive about it and it repeats the word
"Local" 10 times. That's a misuse of a Sig.
Rosser Reeves offered several suggestions on how to
write your own USP in his classic book, "Reality in Actual Example 2.
Advertising." Here are three of them:
************************************************************
1. "Each advertisement must make a proposition to Douglas R. Locke - drlocke@pan-tex.net
the consumer." PCN, LP P.O. Box 404; Pampa, Texas 79066
Your USP should describe exactly what someone will CPA; Ex-Elec. Engr. 806-665-8501
get from buying your product or service. What is the ************************************************************
benefit from people doing business with you? Online
or not, knowing what your business helps "cure" will Comment: This Sig file has a bunch of confusing
help you describe and position yourself in the letters, (PCN, LP). What does all this mean? Why is it
marketplace. What is your proposition? here? It’s an example of poor marketing. He loses
the opportunity to "sell" us on what he does.
2. "The proposition must be one that the competition
either cannot, or does not, offer." What is unique
about your business? You must stand out from the Example 3.
crowd if you want your prospects to come to you. --
How are you different from your competitors? What ("`-/")_.-'"``-._ Leo "doc" Savage
do you do that they don't? . . `; -._ )-;-,_`)
(v_,)' _ )`-. ``-' leo@esva.net
3. "The proposition must be so strong that it can _.- _..-_/ / ((.'
move the mass millions." You might be able to write a ((,.-' ((,/ http://www.esva.net/~leo/
sentence that states a proposition, and even a unique
one, but unless it persuades people to do business
with you, it's incomplete.

4. Comment: The lion is cute but what does that have
to do with anything?
Example 4:
Gerry Robert's Signature File
Gerry Robert
FREE Report: 6 Steps for ANYONE to Find 200+ Hot
Prospects and Get Others to Pay For Everything -
Including Sending Out 10,000 Brochures
Email: gerry@gerryrobert.com
URL: http://www.gerryrobert.com
It is our hope that you find this information useful. To
your success in “Making Money with Sig Files”!