If you’ve been keeping track of my 1ShoppingCart™ Expert blog, you know that I really do think the best way to get subscribers for your email list is to use a single opt-in method.

As you can see in my last post on using single opt-in over double opt-in, you could easily lose more than HALF of your customers by using double opt-in.

If you haven’t read the article above, go ahead, I’ll be waiting here until you get back…

So what did you think? For many people thinking about single opt-ins that way is eye opening, and I have even more to share with you so you can have the best of both worlds!

Did you know there is a way to use single opt-in PLUS gain the advantages of double opt-in without losing ANY prospects?

Here’s how. Add the following code at the very top of EVERY email in your autoresponders. (or at the very bottom) Regrettably the merge code does not work in the signatures. So you can’t automate this.

%$optinlink$%

By putting this in your emails, it will put in the following…

It’s best to put this at the very top of your email that is sent out on day 0. Then I would add it in the footer somewhere. That way… It’s on all email messages.

Or you can send an email getting them to double opt-in. Something that is it’s own separate email…

Hi %$firstname$%,

Before you start reading and getting all wrapped up in my material, I’d like to give you some vital tips to make sure you receive every issue.

%$optinlink$%

After you click the above link, follow the directions below.

If you use any of the following email services, this is for YOU!

AOL.COM
Hotmail.com
Yahoo.com
MSN.COM
Any other web-based email program

You MUST enter our ‘sent-from’ address in your personal address book, or the filters may prevent you from receiving your copy of “YOUR Newsletter Name.” Just go to your address book and enter my name and email addresses:

Name: Your Name
Email(s): Your Email(s)

And, for Hotmail and any other service that provide a ‘Safe List,’ be sure to add my address and domain to your ‘Safe List.’

In Hotmail, for instance, log in to your account, click ‘Options.’ Look down the list and right below ‘Junk Filters’, you’ll see the words, ‘Safe List.’

Just add the domain, YOURDOMAIN.com to your list and you’ll never miss an issue of my newsletter!

Again…

%$optinlink$%

Check your email now and you will have the first issue waiting for you,

YOUR SIGNATURE

If you want confirmed e-mail addresses, this lets you keep your message campaigns out of the spam folder AND lets you know that your sales letters are reaching their audience.

That’s how I recommend you set up your e-mails from 1ShoppingCart™ if you want to make sure that double opt in works seamlessly for your subscribers.

Here’s one other myth that I want to dispel right now. Sometimes you’ll hear people say that single opt-in emails won’t ever be sent by 1ShoppingCart™. This is not true. They DO get sent.

There difference however, is that single opt-in emails are sent from a different server than the double opt-in mail server.

Here’s how it works.

All of the email providers (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) have a list of “safe” servers that are known to not send spam. The 1ShoppingCart™ double opt-in mail server is on this list, so any email coming from here won’t be marked as spam. The single opt-in 1ShoppingCart™ mail server is not on the list, so it has a higher chance of being flagged as spam, but it will still get sent.

Overall, the benefits of single opt-in far outweigh the drawbacks, especially when you implement the tip I’ve shared with you in this blog post.

Bonus Tip: If you want to customize the ‘Thank You’ URL for the link provided when you use %$optinlink$%, just follow this simple steps.

1. Login to your 1ShoppingCart™ account
2. Scroll over ‘Email & Marketing’ and click ‘Email Setup’
   
3. Click on the ‘Opt-in Preferences’ tab
   
4. Put your URL in the ‘Opt-In Message Thank You URL’ section
   
5. Click ‘Save Settings’

Bonus Tip #2: 1ShoppingCart™ treats all customers who order from you just like someone who has double opt-in confirmed. So you do not need to add the opt-in code to your ‘order autoresponders’ for anyone who purchases from you.

Hope this helps. Let me know your thoughts below!

Now here’s a question I get all the time, “Is there a way to print my order invoices directly from 1ShoppingCart?”

Well the answer used to be ‘no,’ and because I was asked this enough times I actually created a product, the ‘1ShoppingCart Rapid Printing’ for Invoices and Packing Slips. This product has helped many fill the void that 1ShoppingCart couldn’t fill themselves… until now.

Well, we spoke and the 1ShoppingCart executives listened.

There is now an easy way to Print Invoices and Packing Slips – right from the 1ShoppingCart main order page.

Have you seen this? It’s simple and handy to use.

Under the main ‘Order’ page there is a button called ‘Print Invoices’ or the button ‘Print Packing Slips’. All you need to do is select the orders you want to print and then click on one of these two buttons. Simple!

This was rolled out by 1ShoppingCart last week, and I wanted to pass this information along in case you weren’t aware of this yet.

Sadly, because of this, I will be taking the 1ShoppingCart Rapid Printing Software off the shelves.

But don’t worry, I’m working on a new product for you to take its place. Since I get questions all the time, I know the common pain points that you all have. And recently I’ve heard a lot about videos, so I’ve got something special up my sleeve showing you how to quickly and easily add videos to ANY page hosted on 1ShoppingCart, including upsells.

Stay tuned.

And as always, if you’re interested in anything else, just put it in the comments below.

Have you ever wondering if there’s a way to get rid of the “Continue Shopping” Button and “Clear Cart” Buttons at the bottom of all the checkout pages?

We get asked this question all the time, and it turns out there’s an easy way to do this… But before we show you how, let me answer another question some of you may have. Why would you want to get rid of these buttons in the first place?

Turns out this can increase conversions, but knowing if this can help you depends on your business. Through testing we’ve found that for those of you who only have one, two, or even a few products that you’re selling, removing the buttons will INCREASE your conversion rates.

Think about it…

If a client fills out the order form and gets to the bottom of the checkout, why would you want to give them options to back out of the sale? You only want to give them ONE option – submit their payment and purchase your product.

If however, if you are running a site with lots of products (think Amazon.com or any type of store front) you’ll have to do your own testing. In this case most of the time you WANT your customers to continue shopping so they can add more products to their purchase… As always I recommend testing everything for your unique situation, but if you only have one product, here’s how you easily remove the buttons:

To “remove” the “Clear Cart” and “Continue Shopping” buttons in 1ShoppingCart™ all you need to do is follow the instructions below:

1. Log in to 1ShoppingCart™
2. Click on the “Setup” menu, then “Cart Customization”
   
3. Then under ‘Custom CSS’ insert the following:

   /* Hiding the Continue Shopping Button */
   #ctl00_scPageContent_continueShoppingButton { display: none; visibility: hidden;}
   #ctl00_ctl00_mainContent_scPageContent_continueShoppingButton { display: none; visibility: hidden;}

   /* Hiding the Clear Cart Button */
   #ctl00_scPageContent_clearCartButton { display: none; visibility: hidden;}
   #ctl00_ctl00_mainContent_scPageContent_clearCartButton { display: none; visibility: hidden;}

That’s it. Simple!

A little bonus: A lot of people asked how do you get rid of the “Return To Cart” button. It’s easy… Just add the following code under ‘Custom CSS’ just like the “Continue Shopping” and “Clear Cart” buttons above:

/* Hiding the Return to Cart Button */
#ctl00_scPageContent_backToCartButton { display: none; visibility: hidden;}
#ctl00_ctl00_mainContent_scPageContent_backToCartButton { display: none; visibility: hidden;}

I created this blog at 1ShoppingCart™ Experts to teach you guys how to use what I think is a great piece of software to help simplify the order fulfillment process and reach customers.

You may have seen recent posts about when refunds are posted to your account, or how to make sure you’re not losing money on international orders. I’ve even written about how to help customers who want to change how often receive a recurring delivery to simplify the process.

As I thought about it, I realized that most of the tips and tricks I’ve come across with 1ShoppingCart™ with my clients relate to specific problems.

It seems to me that you guys should be asking the questions that you want to see answered here on this blog. I want to help you make your website as profitable as possible, but that only comes with knowing your specific concerns.

So, fire away and let me know what aspects of setting up an account or keeping it running are giving you a headache. Consider me aspirin that comes in several forms:

1. If it’s a quick question, you might see me pop into the comments to address it as soon as I get to reading it. You don’t have to worry about long waits.
2. For more involved processes, you may see the the answer as an upcoming blog post. We’ll be sure to let the asker know and credit them in the post!
3. If you need a full-scale consultation to make sure that your business can go from scratch to fully up-and-running, you want to contact me through this site so I can assess your needs.

Three choices and whichever you choose, you’ll get rapid responses about your 1ShoppingCart™ needs from a leader in the field.

Let’s get started: What do you want me to write about and answer just for you?

Your product is selling like hotcakes and you’re just days away from fulfilling your orders and turning the best profit your company has ever seen.

So why are you feeling so down all of a sudden?

It might be because of 1ShoppingCart™’s invoice and packing slip system.

When I was first starting out, I used to want to tear my hair out in frustration. When I was only selling a few dozen items a week, it wasn’t that big a deal to go into an order, click on Print Invoice and be on my merry way.

But being successful made me unhappy. It was click on an order, click on print invoice, click on OK. Over and over, again.

Does that sound like it’s fun? No?

One of the things about 1ShoppingCart™ Experts is that we like to minimize the few hassles that 1SC does offer.

And that’s why I came up with my 1ShoppingCart™ Automated Invoice Printing System.

No more invoice by invoice. It lets you export orders to an Excel spreadsheet, upload it into the program and then export it as a document where you can print out tens or even hudreds of orders at a time.

You don’t have to be at that level of sales to realize how great this is for someone looking to save time.

In fact, every five minutes you save on the order fulfillment process is time you can use tweaking your e-mail marketing campaign, or running tests on your opt-in campaigns. It’s not time saved, it’s money you’ll be able to earn.

At 1ShoppingCart™ Experts, I’m all about making things easier for you guys. In fact, I’m a big believer that if you set things up the right way, money should just start racking up in your accounts.

Setting things up can take a little bit of time but the payoff can be big. One alternative I found for SEO purposes is using Google Profiles. Why does it work so well? Let’s check it out.

I set up my google profile for myself that you can see by clicking here.

It’s got everything a client might want to know, including a client list, what sets me apart and my background and experience in the field. I even put schools and other names (think keywords here).

When I checked after a bit of time, I realized that it helped my name come up #1 in Google. Now, keep in mind that I’m no John Smith, but this is still really cool.

Check it out. Go to Google, type in Tyler Sorensen and looks whose #1 baby, yours truly.

It’s simple to fill out, so basically in 5-10 minutes you can get your name out there in a forum linked to the number one search engine in the world. It’s free, and even if you’ve calculated your hourly rate and used that, the value of getting your name up high in the search engines is critical.

If you use your own name in advertising your product, and your reputation precedes you, I can think of no better way to spend your five minute break setting up a Google Profile and driving traffic back to your 1ShoppingCart™ equipped site. Make sure you enter keywords relevant to your business, just like you would with any search engine optimized content.

Now it’s your turn. Take a few minutes and build your personal Google Profile by clicking here. Then let me know how it’s working for you.

‘Til next time.

Yes that’s right… Fire them today! Ok, maybe not today but I bet you could in a week or so.

Let’s take a look at a few things on your site.

Page views are up on your site equipped with 1shoppingcart. Your 1ShoppingCart is optimized and looks good. Your search engine optimization strategy is working full hilt. And yet no one’s buying your product.

As you may know I work with clients like Evan Marc Katz of evanmarckatz.com, Dick Mills of pitching.com, and David Wygant of davidwygant.com, who is the #1 dating coach on the web whose products continue to fly off the shelves. And the list goes on.

These are not isolated clients either; I’m known for bringing in revenue to sites like these at a rate well in excess of where they were before I came in.

The difference between these sites above and a site that doesn’t perform is simple: A long-form sales letter that works.

You need to sell people in a way that makes them want to click through to your check-out and buy your products and services.

If I’m preaching to the choir, then I apologize. But so many people don’t realize that the value of a well-written sales letter pays dividends months and years down the road.

In fact, along with setting up your website properly, it could be the most important investment you make.

So what do you do once you have the salesletter written?

Find someone on Elance? Overpay a webmaster to put it up? What fonts do you use to increase readability? What color do you use for a headline to maximize your conversions? What about your sub-headlines? And the list goes on.

These days, finding quality freelance webmaster can be a pain. You might see a sales letter sample from a Craigslist ad or a freelance jobs board posting that stands out, but you’ll be paying hundreds of dollars, and in most cases for the high quality work thousands of dollars.

I’m not here to tell you how you should be spending your money, as each site owner and 1shoppingcart user goes about their business a little bit differently.

What I will say though, is you don’t need a fancy webmaster if you can find the right program that helps you build a sales letter website on your own. That’s were I come in.

I built a WordPress plugin that quickly and easily builds a salesletter for your website. And the best part is, everything in the plugin – from the colors, font, layout, etc. has been tested since 2001.

And just for you, my 1ShoppingCart subscribers and readers, I am knocking $60 off the regular price.

You can see my wordpress salesletter theme called ‘Instant Salesletter Websites Creator‘ by clicking the link above.

There has been a lot of talk about setting up and tweaking 1ShoppingCart so that your site’s potential revenue can be maximized. Before worrying about that, you need to make sure you’ve got the right sales letter, or else they’ll never see your shopping cart. So make sure you check out my Instant Salesletter Websites Creator so you too can easily create high converting salesletters for your business.

As you all know most entrepreneurs in the online world deal with haters of every kind. Haters post on blogs, send rude and nasty emails and will even call and act tough over your voicemail.

You all know what I’m talking about, the voicemail where the guy or gal calls to tell you how terrible of a person you are, or how much your product sucks, or just some absolutely ridiculous reason why they should get a refund.

So how do you handle them?

Tim Ferris of the “Four Hour Work Week” just posted a video on practical tactics for dealing with haters and he posted it on his blog for everyone to watch free of charge.

Tim is a man I have much respect for, and a quote on his blog by Colin Powell rings so true for Internet Marketing:

“Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity.”

So do you know what to do if you ever get someone who hates you on your case? Or how about what to do when some bad publicity comes your way?

Another one of our clients was mentioned in an article and was totally misrepresented. They selectively took some of his words, twisted them and then published them to the world. And guess what…

Once something’s out for the world to see your options are limited, and soon enough the hate mail started rolling in.

We all know how damaging negative publicity can be, and there’s
no good way of knowing how many potential clients he lost because of this.

In the video Tim talks about why you should record all interviews YOURSELF. Whether it’s a radio or print ad. Why? Because then YOU hold the evidence of what was truly said and you have the right to post that entire interview anywhere you want.

Imagine if my client would have recorded that interview? We could have limited the damage having that recording available to us. Tim also goes through some other invaluable tips, so make sure you check it out.

Watch the video now by clicking here. It’s a must watch.

How To Get Social Proof In Your Checkout Process

All of you using 1ShoppingCart™ are in some way involved in a business. Either you’re the business owner, marketing for a business, or running the web side of things.

And many of you are “lucky” enough to be doing all three.

So I’m sure most, if not all, are intimately familiar with the concept of social proof, and how important it is when selling your products.

There are few things more powerful than learning other people, just like yourself, give their testimonial about a particular product or service.

You see this in action everywhere, and every good sales process has many real life testimonials from folks.

So how nice would it be to also have this social proof for your potential clients shown on the checkout page, right before they are making the decision to purchase?

Well, if any of you have tried doing this yourself you know that 1ShoppingCart™ doesn’t make it easy. In fact it took me a little bit to figure it out myself, and I’ve had programming experience.

So what I’ve done, just for you, is create a product that will walk you through the simplest and easiest way to accomplish having testimonials show up on your 1ShoppingCart™ Checkout or Cart Content Pages.

I’ve implemented it myself for clients, and I’ll show you exactly what you need to do to to get testimonials to appear on your checkout pages, to really convince those people who haven’t quite made up their minds to purchase your product.

“I was very pleased with the look and feel of my how my testimonials came out on my shopping cart. You took care with every detail and I was able to install this within 5 minutes, thank you.”   Steven R Shaw imgears.com

 

Not only do I show you, in an easy to understand step by step format, how to add testimonials to the check out and cart content pages, but I also show how you can add different, specific testimonials to each individual product pages!

This means that you can add a testimonial about product X, right on product X’s checkout page! It’s hard to beat that social proof!

And this isn’t limited to just testimonials. I lay out the framework for you, but you can replace these testimonials with whatever you want, for example, your great guarantee on your products.

(You do offer a great guarantee right? )

Imagine, you’re the customer trying to decide whether you really want to purchase this product, and then you glance over and are reminded about the terrific guarantee you offer. It’s a great way to increase conversions.

So what will this ability to increase your conversions cost you? Well it took hours to create, and at $135 per hour it would be perfectly reasonable to charge about $500 for this.

Many of you can justify the cost of this with an increase of just 1 or 2 sales. But I’m not going to charge $500, and in fact, I’m not going to charge even half that amount.

Because I want to help out as many of you 1ShoppingCart™ users as I can, it’s going to cost you less than a hundred bucks, so even those of you with lower priced products can quickly make up the difference with an extra 2-3 conversions.

For $89.97, I’ll show you exactly how to implement this on your own shopping cart, so you can set it up for as many products as you’d like.

And that’s not all, if you have any trouble whatsoever, just send me a quick email and I’ll be happy to help you out.

So don’t delay, be sure to have the power of social proof working for you in as many places as possible, and pick up your copy of “1ShoppingCart™ Testimonial Template For Checkout” now.

Click the add to cart button below and I will see you on the next page.

Oh… And on my checkout form above, when you click to invest in the “1ShoppingCart™ Testimonial Template For Checkout”, you’ll see these testimonials in action.

To your business success,

The other day a client asked a question that I have received a few times in the past. And you know what happens when I receive a question multiple times… It means it’s something that a lot of you have questions about, so up it goes on the blog.

The question was… When a refund is processed in 1ShoppingCart™, when does it show up in the 1ShoppingCart™ reports?

The answer is quite simple, but may surprise you.

Refunds are shown in the 1shoppingcart™ reports in the month the original order was purchased. So if product was purchased in January, and refunded in January, it would show up in the report for January.

Makes perfect sense.

But what if they purchased in January, but were refunded in February? The refund will be reflected in the January report, not February.

You should be aware of this because it means sales reports for previous months can change. A lot of people mistakenly assume if you process a refund today it will affect the current months sales report, but this isn’t true if the initial order was placed in a previous month!

Hope that clears up any 1ShoppingCart™ Refund questions!