It's phenomenal software, and does exactly what it's designed to do:   grow your list, manage your membership sites, handle upsells, downsells, and cross-sells, and do it all with a built-in affiliate program.

I love this software and use it for many of my sites.

Only one problem.  Last year, the man who developed the software, the man who changed so many lives with his Butterfly Marketing strategy, gave the software away for free.

I wasn't mad.  Not really.  I was just kind of...jealous .

But now, that man, Mike Filsaime, has taken it to a level I can't really believe.

He's made some serious changes in his business, so he decided to make the Butterfly Marketing software, the $2,000 gem that so many of us love, open source.

Yes, I said open source.

What does that mean?

Basically, he's giving anyone who wants it 100% totally free private label rights...to the source code.

Let me explain the implications of that.

Usually, if you buy PLR to some software, you can rename it, give it new graphics, and market it as your own.  But you can't touch the code.  You get the right to re-label the software, and that's it.

When software is open source, you can do anything you want with it.  That means that if you've tried Butterfly Marketing in the past and didn't like something about it, you can now change it.

You can hire a programmer to build on a rock-solid foundation to develop a piece of software that does whatever you want it to do for your membership sites.  And membership sites don't have to be huge content behemoths, they can simply be a place where you send your customers to download their purchases.  (But if you do intend to do a huge, ongoing membership site, it works for that, too).

The possibilities are staggering.

If you haven't already downloaded this, go get it now.  When you do, you'll see an offer to join the Developer's Community.  It might sound like it's only for programmers, but that's not really the case.  It's the place where people are going to share all of their plugins and additions to the base script.  And it's going to rock.

So, make sure you click any of the links in this post and download the software if you sell any downloadable product or intend to run any kind of membership site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKitYrYYOKI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlBudrb3Fz8

Your opt-page is really a sales page; the difference is, you are selling something for free.

Your opt-in page should be designed with one – and only one – purpose in mind: proving to your website visitor that what you have to offer is worth giving you their name and email address to get.
Your opt-in page should sell something that they don’t have to pull out their wallet to get. It should make your prospect want what you’re offering so badly that they race to enter their information so they can get started immediately.

Here’s the seven keys to making that happen:

1. Use a headline that makes them take action NOW.
Your squeeze page must have a headline, that the most effective headline will create a sense of urgency in your visitor. Use words that generate fear that they’ll miss out if they don’t take immediate action. For example:

• For the next 10 subscribers only…
• You must read this free report if you want any chance to …
• What will you lose in the next 24 hours if you…

2. Ask for only what you need to know.
Unless you’re an advanced internet marketer, don’t ask for every piece of contact information on the first encounter with a visitor. Simply ask for their first name and primary e-mail address. It’s also ok to ask them what area they most need help with, but avoid asking for a lot of personal details. Asking for too much information when they have no idea who you are will likely scare them away.

3. Keep it simple.
Make your opt-in offer short and simple. Don’t confuse the visitor, or they will simply leave. Tell them what you want to give them and how they go about getting it. Period.

4. Emphasize the benefits.
Don’t describe the gift that you’re going to send the prospect. Describe instead how they’ll benefit from using the gift. Keep your focus on them and give them a real reason why they should give you their contact information.

5. Put your privacy policy where they will see it.
Immediately below the subscribe button on your opt-in form, place a small statement that tells your prospect that you won’t share their contact details with anyone. Privacy is very important to most people and you need to let them know that you’ll protect their personal information.

6. Use professional, high-quality graphics.
If your picture of the gift you’re going to give them looks like something a kindergartner drew, you’ll likely turn away your potential clients without them even seeing what it is you’re offering them. Use graphics that catch the eye (in a good way) and generate interest. This also applies if you’re using a graphical opt-in box on your squeeze page.

7. Test, test, test.
If your conversion rate is less than 100%, you can improve. Right? Consistently track your results and test different words, graphics, colors, fonts, layout, etc. on your squeeze page. This is something that should become a habit for you with all of your marketing messages.

Be sure to use all 7 of these techniques to build your list and keep it growing.

Setting up your squeeze pages to get the best results doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

No list building means no business.

The first step to undertake in building your list is to entice those in your target market to sign up for your mailing list. There are basically two ways to do this:
1. You can offer something of value that they’ll receive when they opt-in to your list. This is sometimes called a forced opt-in.

2. You can give them something of value, then let them know they can sign up to your list for even more. This is generally referred to as the reverse opt-in.

Rule of thumb: use both methods.

On-line, when someone raises their hand and indicates they want more information by clicking on a link in one of your articles or blog posts, send them immediately to a page where they can join your mailing list.

You can increase your conversion rates on forced opt-in pages if your article, blog post, forum post, or whatever message the reader saw with your link tells them that they’ll be signing up for something. Here’s an example: “For more information on increasing your opt-in conversion rate, sign up for my free Breakthrough Marketing newsletter at http://thebreakthroughmarketer.com/info/marketingtips020003.htm.”

On the other hand, if someone is coming to your site with no idea of what you have to offer, allow them to see what they’ll be getting by signing up to hear from you regularly. Sending “cold” traffic to your content site serves to put your visitors at ease.

One way to maximize the reverse opt-in is to use pop-ups and pop-unders so that the visitor can still see the content, but they’re reminded to sign up for your list. There’s even a special tool that presents an opt-in page after a visitor has browsed several articles on your site (go to http://thebreakthroughmarketer.com/info/reverseoptinoptimizer_01.htm to see it).

As a side note, be sure there is an opt-in form on every page of your content website and blog. You can place it in the sidebar directly above your navigation menu, but make sure it’s displayed on every page. You don’t want visitors to have to struggle to find a way to sign up for your mailing list.

In both cases, your goal is to leave your new prospect thinking, “Wow! If this is what I get for free, I wonder what I’ll get when I buy something!” The key is to consistently deliver quality and value to your prospects.

You can have one website or several, but the sum of your website activity must encompass all five of the following marketing vehicles:

Lead capture

Your lead capture pages, also known as squeeze pages and opt-in pages, are the most important pages on your websites. These pages allow your prospects to raise their hand and say, “Yes, I want to hear from you.”

You don’t absolutely have to have separate pages for capturing leads, but it’s highly recommended. If you have a blog or content site, you can simply put your opt-in form in the sidebar of those pages. If you do this, however, make sure the opt-in form stands out. You might even want to consider using a pop-up or pop-under window in addition to having the sign up form in the sidebar.

Sales pages

Sales pages are where your prospects go to read your offers. They should serve one purpose and one purpose only: show the visitor how doing business with you will benefit them.

Each of your sales pages should focus on one product or service. Don’t confuse your prospects by giving them so many choices that they can’t make a decision, so they just leave your site.

Blog

A blog is an excellent tool for establishing relationships with your clients and prospects. It’s an easy way to foster communication and encourage interaction. The exchange of information between you and your readers gives you immediate feedback on how well your material is being received.

You can publish your blog as a subdirectory of your main website, or you can give it it’s own domain name. The choice is up to you. Many experts use their own names as the domain name for their blog because it makes it easy for people who are looking for information about them to get to know them very quickly.

Social Networking

Social networking sites have two major benefits.

First, like your blog, they allow and encourage interaction between you and your intended audience. The two-way communication tells you what your prospects and clients want and what you need to fix in your marketing system.

Secondly, social networking sites generate a lot of traffic and are highly-rated by the major search engines. When your social networking efforts tie in to your main websites, your relative importance goes up. That’s extremely powerful for improving your search engine rankings.

Authority

Establishing yourself as an expert, someone to be listened to, is essential to the success of your Information Marketing business. You need to show your intended audience that you know your stuff.

Your authority site can be your blog, it can be your main “corporate” website, or you can set up a separate content site. The choices are virtually limitless as to how to demonstrate that you are an authority in your niche. The important thing is that you establish a web presence that showcases your knowledge.

You have a lot of flexibility in setting up your websites and establishing your web presence. Plan carefully so your place on the web can grow as you expand your empire.