Free

Chris Anderson’s latest book “FREE : the future of a radical price” just arrived in the office.

In it, Chris provides a long essay on the history and different methods of FREE as a business model.

He argues the case for FREE – and provides a long list of suitable examples.

FREE profiling is very much at the heart of the PeopleMaps’ philosophy, and as such, this was always going to be one of our must-reads.

Did we rush out and buy the book? No, of course not!

Instead we took advantage of a FREE audio version and Anderson’s breathless delivery accompanied us on our travels from the very south of France all the way to central Scotland.

In the end, though, the book contains such interesting content that having the audio file just wasn’t enough.

So, we ordered the book. We paid up.

Now we’re interested to find out how Anderson measures the conversion rate from FREE downloads to PAID purchasers…

A few hundred people completed the questionnaire in a couple of weeks, which is a fair success. Not all of them published their results on Twitter. That’s okay – not everyone feels inclined to share personality results.

However, it was the next point that really stopped me in my tracks. A few of those hundred took the time to comment on the website with some grumbles. The main complaint it seemed, was around the use of the “Tweet This” feature : some of the folk actually accused us of trying to harvest their Twitter account login and password details!

I’ll admit to being a bit crestfallen. I guess that I thought my disclaimer comment at the bottom of the report was enough to reassure folks that we wouldn’t ever see their Twitter details, as we used the Twitter developer API to exchange details.

To be honest, I couldn’t even begin to understand why folk would think we would want to steal their Twitter passwords and such in the first place. How can that be beneficial to anyone?

Oh, boy – I was wrong! And there were a few other points being made.

I took the time to reply to each complaint personally by email (although not everyone gave a valid email address) and also posted my response in the comments section.

Was it good enough? Of course it wasn’t. It might only have been a handful of customers, but they were making a valid point in the context of their experience. How could we ignore it?

The upshot is we didn’t ignore it. We made some changes. I rearranged the output report, deleted some of the text and inserted some new.  More importantly, we installed OAuth for the “Tweet This” feature. That means that the user details are inserted onto a page on the Twitter site, before returning back to the PeopleMaps widget.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure that the less geeky amongst our customers might still not be nervous, and I know I can make even more improvements to the widget – perfection more often being a goal than a reality. But overall I’m happy with the way we’ve dealt with it. For one, we’re learning to listen to feedback more, and understanding that all feedback is relevant and worth listening to. It’s really changing my attitudes to showing off what we have before I think it’s ready, and not being personally offended if the feedback isn’t as positive as I’d have liked.

p.s. Want to give it a go and see what you think? I’m open to your feedback, of course And if you’ve already completed a PeopleMaps widget/questionnaire you don’t need to complete the questionnaire again: enter the login details you created on the front page as “Existing User” and you’ll be taken straight to your report…

1. Twitter to start with – it’s quick and easy. We have a new personality widget. Complete the questionnaire, and it’ll tell you what kind of a Twitterer/Tweeter/Twit? you are. We’ve integrated it with Twitter, so you can easily share your results with your followers. Heartily encouraged – it’s all a bit of fun. So far, we’ve heard it’s very accurate too! And there’s a special link on there we want lots of people to see. That brings me to the next point;

2. Saving lives. Yes, it’s true. We’ve managed to link Twitter, personality and life saving together. But it isn’t some random association. It’s all to do with a special man we call Dr Mani. Dr Mani is a heart surgeon based in India. Well over a year ago Dr Mani suggested we produce a Twitter personality report. It took us ages, but we’ve eventually done it – and the timing is good, because Dr Mani is launching a new book. So, we’ve decided to use our Twitter personality report to send people to a page that tells them all about Dr Mani’s new book. It’s our way of saying thank you – and supporting Dr Mani’s cause. All profits from Dr Mani’s book go to sponsor vital heart surgery for children. The book? Well, it’s called Think, Write, Retire – and that brings me on nicely to the next point;

3. Making money. Dr Mani has been turning his knowledge into information products for years – and taking that profit and turning it into heart operations. He believes you can too! Here’s a short interview with the man himself to reveal more:

Can anyone use your book to create wealth on the internet without giving up the safety of their current job?

My book, “Think, Write & Retire”, shares the lessons I learned myself over the last 14 years, creating and selling information products on the Web.

I believe that it is possible for anyone to follow the same system and create wealth – though it is not instant, effortless or even ‘guaranteed’ always.

Information is what drives people to access the Internet.  And information products have always been (and will continue to be) in demand – as long as the information is valuable, useful and serves a need/want.

‘Think, Write & Retire’ takes a detailed look at each stage of the process -

* identifying one’s own areas of expertise or ‘above average’ knowledge,
* seeing how to package it into a product or resource others will value,
* researching what others are buying or seeking, and then
* matching the expertise to existing demand to achieve sales and profit.

It is written and designed in a way that anyone, even without any prior experience in information marketing, can learn how to create wealth from being an infopreneur.

Your profits sponsor children’s heart surgery – do you think there’s more chance of internet success if the cause is charitable?

A couple of years ago, I was interviewed for a short piece in FAST COMPANY magazine, and the reporter asked me the same question.  I replied that, on average, promotions where I donate all my profits to charity pulled a conversion rate that’s higher by 20% to 25%.

On a larger scale, I believe that any business (on the Internet or off it) has a higher chance of succeeding when it evolves around a worthy purpose.  There are many possible reasons for this, and to satisfy my curiosity, I polled my customer list once and asked WHY they purchased from me.

An overwhelming 85% replied (to my astonishment) that it was because they knew the profits were going to a worthy cause – and that made them happier to spend money with me than anywhere else!

Until then, I had not made the fact (that a part of my profits go to fund heart surgery for kids) an integral part of my
communication.

But after the people who matter most (my clients) said that’s what was important to them above all else, I made sure this information was conveyed to all prospects… just like I’m doing with this new book launch, where I mention upfront that 100% of book sales profits are going to charity.

From the outset, you have been a fan of PeopleMaps personality testing. Do you think that any personality type can successfully create wealth on the internet?

I simply LOVE the way you’ve turned personality testing into a fun and interesting process through your quiz and with widgets.  The test itself is engaging and interactive, the results uncannily correct and the lessons or advice you make us derive from them certainly helps in making anyone who takes the test a more effective person.

Yes, I do believe any personality type can create wealth on the Internet.  Though the ‘best’ approach for each type of personality will be different.

In “Think, Write & Retire”, I get into this in a section dealing with the four major ‘business models’ on the Internet.  When you see how they each differ, you’ll also notice that some will fit specific personality types better than the others.

For instance, a naturally confident, outgoing, friendly and chatty personality may find direct selling and aggressive marketing activities a more natural fit, while the diffident, quiet and shy type of person may prefer to rely on an ad-supported content publishing model more attractive for wealth building on the Internet.

The nice thing about the Web is that it is so vast, diverse, and has people interested in so many different areas and topics that there is room for just about any personality type to achieve massive success – as long as the core tenets of passion, purpose and persistence are there!

If you have those, and want to learn the “how to” of wealth building as an information marketer, my book will be of some help.

So, what can you do next?

1. Visit the widget, complete the test and share your Twitter personality with your Followers.
2. Take a look and see if you’re interested in Dr Mani’s new book and order a copy.
3. Don’t forget to rate the report, and leave us a comment to let us know what you think.
4. Share it with friends. The more people you share it with, the more people hear about Dr Mani’s book, and more buyers, means more heart surgery = more kid’s lives saved. FOR REAL.

The result: a new PeopleMaps personality report you can share with your Followers on Twitter …

Twitter personality for @peoplemapsjulie

Now we want you to make it better. What features do you want? Do you want to know which of your followers have the same personality as you, for instance?

The first person to respond (with a genuine suggestion, please) will win a signed copy of the book “From Here to Happiness” by Sunil Sharma.

Want your own Twitter personality profile? Get yours at www.peoplemaps.com/t

Got The Interview? Don’t Blow It!

This is a really juicy topic designed to help you pass your next interview with flying colours. If you’re job hunting now and about to attend any interview, you can’t afford to miss this one out.

Includes top tips for interview success, with advice on the personality attributes your interviewer will be most interested in.
Practice difficult interview questions – all geared towards you and your personality, and make sure your response is a winner!

Start Here – get your free report and if you like what you read, download the more detailed Everything You Need to Know About Your Career for only £27!

- free test – instant report
- 10 questions – eight minutes
- no credit card required – no obligation
Free Test

What Your Boss REALLY Thinks About You

Over 65% of employers use psychometric testing for staff recruitment and development. Find out what they’ll be reading about you beforehand with this topic from PeopleMaps.

It will reveal what they’ll be told about how you handle yourself as an employee and how you’re likely to communicate with them.

Get the upper hand, and be prepared.

Start Here – get your free report and and if you like what you read, download the more detailed Everything You Need to Know About Your Career for only £27!

- free test – instant report
- 10 questions – eight minutes
- no credit card required – no obligation
Free Test

How to win more interviews

This handy guide will tell you what to emphasis in your CV/résumé and application letters/emails to ensure you stand out from the crowd.

Make sure you read this before you apply for any more jobs, and increase your chance of progressing to the interview stage.

Start Here – get your free report and if you like what you read, download the more detailed Everything You Need to Know About Your Career for only £27!

- free test – instant report
- 10 questions – eight minutes
- no credit card required – no obligation
Free Test

Don’t Like Mondays? Discover Your Ideal Job

I’ve read a lot of Deepak Chopra. He’s a very wise man, and there’s a lot to be learned from him – go investigate if you’ve a mind. The one Chopra nugget that stays in my mind above all others is his revelation that more people die of a heart attack on Monday morning at 9am than at any other time! Shocked? It did me. I knew that to earn my living honestly doing something I loved was important – but a matter of life and death? That’s something everyone should be made aware of, don’t you think?

This gem of a report discusses the kind of job you would love and why. Ever been unhappy in a job? We’ll tell you about the work environments you will hate – and why. We even give you a list of job titles which will suit you, and a list of those to avoid at all costs. It really is a personality issue.

In addition, we’ll talk about how different aspects of company culture will affect you – the organizational, its management and co-workers, your duties and responsibilities, your promotion prospects – and of course, your rewards.

Start Here – get your free report and if you like what you read, download the more detailed Everything You Need to Know About Your Career for only £27!!

- free test – instant report
- 10 questions – eight minutes
- no credit card required – no obligation
Free Test

Maximize Your Strengths. Downplay Your Weaknesses.

An ideal topic if you’re job hunting and about to run the gauntlet of applications, interviews and networking. This provides guidance to make sure you impress, by playing to your strengths and minimizing the relevance of any potential weakness.

Includes amazing little extras that help you evaluate your positive and negative experiences so far and deal with a job you’re not happy in.

Start Here – get your free report and if you like what you read, download the more detailed Everything You Need to Know About Your Career for only £27!

- free test – instant report
- 10 questions – eight minutes
- no credit card required – no obligation
Free Test

The truth about your relationships!

The topic that can help make your life easier immediately. We reveal crucial facts about you and how you communicate with others, what your influence is, how you perform in a team and how sociable you are.

Hugely valuable prior to interview, we provide you with interview questions you might be asked, and guidance on how to answer to show yourself in the best light. Remember – one size does not fit all, and these reports are written for your personality.

Start Here – get your free report and if you like what you read, download the more detailed Everything You Need to Know About Your Career for only £27!

- free test – instant report
- 10 questions – eight minutes
- no credit card required – no obligation
Free Test