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Alen Sultanic's Deepest Internet Marketing Secrets Revealed - Nothing Held Back!
Troy Ericson
Overview
This video features an interview with internet marketing expert Alen Sultanic, who shares his journey from a low-wage job to becoming a successful online entrepreneur. He discusses the evolution of the internet marketing industry, the importance of "competing on economics" and understanding audience psychology, and his philosophy on building communities and investing in technology. Sultanic emphasizes bringing back the "magic" and integrity to the industry, advocating for a more supportive and less transactional approach to helping others succeed online. He also touches on navigating market downturns and the mindset shifts required for sustained success.
How was this?
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Chapters
- Started in internet marketing after seeing an Australian affiliate marketer earning $35k/month, a stark contrast to his $6/hour GNC job.
- Early learning was difficult due to a lack of resources, relying on forums like Warrior Forum, which has since declined in quality.
- Achieved his first income of 24 cents from AdSense, a milestone that felt significant at the time.
- The industry has shifted from celebrating small wins (like a $100 day) to normalizing massive earnings ($100k+ days).
Understanding Alen's humble beginnings highlights the transformative potential of internet marketing and the dedication required to achieve success in its early, less-resourced days.
Making the first 24 cents from AdSense after two years of effort.
- Revived the 'Nothing Held Back' community to restore the 'magic' and supportive nature he experienced in the early internet marketing days.
- Criticizes modern gurus for 'lying by omission,' failing to provide crucial information, and blaming students for failures.
- Emphasizes integrity and honor by not pitching products within the community, setting a standard for himself and others.
- Aims to build the largest digital marketing community globally, offering hope and accessible education to aspiring entrepreneurs, preventing them from spending excessive amounts on courses.
This chapter explains the motivation behind Alen's public presence and his commitment to fostering an ethical and supportive environment, contrasting it with perceived negative trends in the industry.
Not pitching his own mastermind within the 'Nothing Held Back' community, even with 172 members.
- Mastered copywriting by focusing on the philosophy of offers rather than just mechanisms, understanding core emotions.
- Advocates for 'competing on economics' by optimizing pricing, upsells, downsells, and quantity, rather than solely relying on copy.
- Highlights the importance of changing the audience when an offer or copy isn't working, as it's often easier than changing the offer itself.
- Explains selling to low (tired, depressed) and high (energetic, motivated) emotional states requires different strategies and formats (e.g., short-form VSLs for high emotional states).
These strategies provide actionable frameworks for improving marketing effectiveness by focusing on quantifiable results and understanding the psychological drivers of consumer behavior.
A supplement company increased its Average Order Value (AOV) from $80-$120 to $200 by making changes to pricing and upsell structures, solving their capacity problem.
- Believes recessions present opportunities because fear makes people more reactive, though warns against unscrupulous individuals exploiting this.
- Invests heavily in technology and building platforms/ecosystems, viewing marketing limitations often stem from technological constraints.
- Distinguishes between 'acting big, thinking small' (common after success) and 'thinking big, acting small' (early stage), emphasizing the former leads to defensive play.
- Hires by 'renting human brains' and overpays to get exponentially higher value, building self-sustaining, unmanaged teams by pairing individuals.
This section offers insights into strategic investment during economic downturns and the crucial mindset shifts and team-building approaches necessary for long-term entrepreneurial success.
Overpaying employees to get 10x the value, and hiring people in pairs to create self-sustaining teams.
- Views the industry as regressive, with skills often being photocopies of older methods rather than progressive advancements.
- Emphasizes intuitive copywriting, feeling the message in the body, over purely intellectual writing, as feeling is the primary form of communication.
- Pioneered combining the Hero's Journey with VSLs in 2009, a technique now widely adopted.
- Suggests that while traditional copy is important, understanding the 'philosophy of offers' and the 'economics' behind them is more critical for sustained success.
This chapter challenges conventional views on copywriting and offer creation, advocating for a more intuitive and progressive approach that resonates deeply with audiences.
Writing copy that is felt in the body, not just constructed intellectually, leading to offers that, despite appearing simple, generate millions.
- In a recession, desire remains, but justification becomes harder, requiring marketers to strengthen the 'why' behind their offers.
- Low-ticket offers require more effort to ascend customers but offer benefits like branding and audience building; high-ticket requires more front-end effort.
- Advocates for 'inclusion marketing' (getting everyone in) over 'exclusion marketing' (only converting a small percentage) due to rising ad costs and market saturation.
- The best customers (Level 3) are acquired by using revenue from less ideal customers (Levels 1 & 2) to finance their acquisition.
These points provide practical advice for adapting marketing strategies to economic downturns and acquiring valuable customers efficiently.
Using revenue from less ideal 'shitty' customers to pay for the acquisition of high-quality customers.
Key takeaways
- Integrity and community building are crucial for long-term success and restoring trust in the online marketing space.
- Mastering 'competing on economics' through offer optimization is often more impactful than solely focusing on copywriting.
- Understanding and catering to audience psychology, including emotional states and buying cycles, is key to effective marketing.
- Adapting to market shifts, especially during recessions, requires strengthening customer justification and focusing on technological innovation.
- Building scalable, self-managing teams by overpaying and pairing individuals is a powerful growth strategy.
- Intuitive and emotionally resonant copywriting, feeling the message in the body, leads to more impactful offers than purely intellectual approaches.
- Acquiring high-quality customers often involves leveraging revenue from less ideal customers to finance their acquisition.
Key terms
Affiliate MarketingWarrior ForumAdSenseNothing Held Back (NHB)Lying by OmissionCompeting on EconomicsAverage Order Value (AOV)VSL (Video Sales Letter)Hero's JourneyInclusion MarketingExclusion MarketingChurnHigh Emotional StateLow Emotional StateCognitive EmpathyEffective EmpathyOffer Philosophy
Test your understanding
- How does Alen Sultanic define 'competing on economics,' and why does he consider it more important than just good copywriting?
- What are the key differences between selling to individuals in a 'low emotional state' versus a 'high emotional state,' and how should marketing strategies adapt?
- Explain Alen's philosophy on building teams and why he advocates for overpaying and hiring in pairs.
- What does Alen mean by 'lying by omission,' and how is this practice detrimental to aspiring entrepreneurs in the online marketing industry?
- How does Alen suggest marketers should adapt their strategies during a recession, particularly regarding customer justification and offer structure?