Let’s face it…

What may have worked a few months ago or maybe even a year ago, may not work that well anymore.

As marketers ourselves, and at DealBackers, we excel at staying on top of the current marketing trends, the do’s and don’ts, and the changes that will have an impact on your marketing strategy in the vast sea of competition.

This is a good thing for all the founders that want to launch with us.

Why?

Because we can help them come up with a winning marketing strategy that will bring in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) time and time again…

…EVEN after the lifetime deal has ended.

That’s our secret sauce.

That being said, let us share with you our top marketing predictions for 2021.

Prediction 1: More AI being used within marketing

First of all, what is AI, or artificial intelligence?

Personally, I see it as computer and machine software that can perform human-like tasks making your workflow more seamless and hassle-free.

Have you not already seen all the SaaS deals springing up lately claiming their AI software will make your business life all the merrier?

Most recently, we had Copysmith AI claiming that their AI will turn keywords into copy that converts. I was quite impressed with some of the results it yielded when running some tests, and picked a couple up myself.

Or what about 10Web AI builder, which claims to recreate your website on WordPress within minutes?

And we can’t forget the talk of the hour back in the day (and in some ways, the ridicule of the hour) known as Alli AI, where they promised your website being able to optimize itself for SEO within minutes of using their AI.

And even Sidekick AI, which promises a sidekick virtual assistant to book meetings for you so you don’t have to…

Oh, and last but not least…we can’t forget the VERY popular Automizy, which built an AI called Mizy to make headline generation less difficult, AB testing more easier, and to propose solutions that are approached systematically via data analysis that is bias-free.

  These deals I mentioned are only the tip of the iceberg...

Many, many more came forward last year offering an AI solution to solve your marketing woes.

And you want to know the truth?

The average business owner is wearing more and more hats nowadays.

Instead of hiring VA’s or a team, they are looking for cheaper, hassle-free solutions to make their workflow more manageable.

I believe we can expect an even bigger wave of AI based SaaS coming in 2021…

And I believe they will continue to get more and more sophisticated.

Will these AI based SaaS eventually become smarter than human-touch and able to do the job better than anyone you could ever hire?

Elon Musk certainly believes so.

But what I can say is…

If you are one that has been laughing at some of these “silly” or “nonsensical” AI tools coming out recently, and feel they have been doing a lousy job at being anything remotely close to “AI”….

Well…I don’t believe we’ll be laughing much longer.

Competition is getting fierce in the AI field, and you never know…we may come across an AI based SaaS this year that’ll blow our socks off.

I wouldn’t dismiss it in the least.

Prediction 2: Insanely, high-value “stuff” packaged into lower ticket items

We are already seeing this to some degree, but it'll only get more intense this year.

The world of freebie giving and cheap $19 or $37 offers is becoming increasingly loud in a noisy marketing world.

Business savvy backers use these tactics as effective ways to grow their list and customer base.

However, this growth tactic is becoming so commonplace for consumers, that they are getting quite accustomed to freebies and cheap deals, so much so that it isn’t becoming the most attractive anymore…

Which means you need to start packing in a ton of value with whatever you’re offering in order to compete. 

If you’re selling something for $37, it’s got to to have a monetary value of $197.

If it’s $97, Then it better have some $1000 of jam packed content inside that delivers tremendous value.

If it’s a freebie, then it better be from one of your $19 products.

Capeesh?

Just look at some of the big dawgs as an example:

Frank Kern was giving away four e-books for $1, and recently even sold a 4-course-bundle-for-$4 deal.

And we can’t forget about Aaron Fletcher, who recently “gave it all away” for only $47 (or somewhere close to that price).

And what about Billy Gene, who used his dishonest, sleazy tactic of announcing his fake “retirement” so that he could sell even more of his $47 courses of “everything he’s ever created.” 

And then you have real gems like Laurel Portié, who teaches an incredible FB ads course, better than most $1,000 or $2,000 courses by self-acclaimed “gurus”, all for just $7/month.

You might think these "gurus" do this because of special sales of the year etc., but the real reason they do it is because competition is real. They want to win the customer acquisition game, and in order to win, you must offer life-changing content for insanely great deals, because that's what their competitors are doing.

Just look at Mohamed Ali, founder of DigitalThink.

One of the many reasons he is winning the LTD game is because he negotiates with founders to bring some of the best deal terms anyone's ever seen. The extent he goes to pleasing his customer base is out of this world, and it's something many competitors aren't pulling off.

But do you notice what's happening there?

He is bringing incredibly, high-valued deals with deal terms that even the likes of Appsumo couldn't even pull off, at insanely affordable prices.

What's happening as a result?

He is slowly winning some big time market share and DigitalThink is becoming a viable contender in the space as a result.

Infact, in a not-too-long-ago poll, DigitalThink came out as first place in deal platforms people like:

And no!

This poll was not run in the DigitalThink group.

Quite the contrary, it was run in a very non-biased group that talks about all SaaS deals and platforms. And you know what? That group which hosted this discussion didn't even win first place!

People can argue there were many reasons why DigitalThink won first place...but a BIG reason was because Mohamed offers insane deal term value, at an incredibly affordable price, and somehow, he gets the founders to go along as well.

People love an insane deal, and Mohamed Ali of DigitalThink has got that part figured out.

And we at DealBackers have every plan to emulate that model.

Just the other day, I saw an ad by this guy whose name is Bill Mueller, who runs a product called storysalesmachine.com, where he promises to teach you how to tell amazing stories that convert.

One customer was skeptical of the $37 price tag, believing there's no way they can get what the offer claimed, let alone the skills at such a crazy price.

But Bill responded, and here was his response:

You see? His "strategic" decision was to over deliver in a massive way to win big in his market. 

And after watching and analyzing this ad, he is doing really well with it and has great engagement as a result.

I'm sure he has plenty of upsells, but guess what? Customers will buy those too, and he's probably very happy with how his customer acquisition channel is performing.

So plan to see an "avalanche" type increase of insanely high value "stuff" packed into lower ticket items this year, and you may realize you just might need to up your game there as well. 

Prediction 3: To survive long-term and thrive, we will see more bold and courageous brands taking afoot

I build brands, not businesses.

I believe businesses stay temporary, but brands last decades.

A small business owner, with no real brand identity, and unable to speak to the hearts of its customers, will never stick around long-term. In the short-term, they will have gains, but long-term, it'll crumble away and die.

A marketer that brings in millions with a sales page, but no real brand behind it, will find themselves moving on to something else the next year, despite all the money they made.

The SaaS founder, who works so hard to develop a top-notch product, but no brand story to drive its marketing, will die quicker than it was conceived.

When I say "build a brand," I mean create an identity that your audience can rally around, that tells a compelling story, that has a cause. Let honesty, transparency, and values guide your decision making and what you offer to your customers. Stay true to your cause and long-term vision of the brand.

Pivot when necessary, but not when it jeopardizes your values and what you feel your brand stands for.

Don't just take short cuts because it's the easy way and it'll create faster gains in the process.

Long-term, customers will love you for living your brand, and being authentic in a noisy and copycat world.

There's a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, called: "people love to buy from people."

For a business just starting out where you are the brand ambassador, that may be true. But if you want to build a big brand that lasts when you're gone, then eventually you'll want to take yourself out of the equation.

Does this really need debate?

Just look at Apple. They've built a brand that people are crazy about.

And yes, they have made mistakes and have fallen short on their ethics and values from time to time, but people still buy because the brand has kept its impact over many years of an incredible track record.

Steve Jobs built a brand around people, principles, and thinking different.

Remember, people don't recall so much the details around what you offer and how you're better than competitor XYZ, but they do remember how they felt interacting with your brand, the emotions they felt, along with the positive experiences they had.

This doesn't excuse the fact that you still need a high quality product that offers a solution to your customer's problems, but guess what?

Your competitor is offering that exact same solution.

Maybe they have a different "angle" or "unique mechanism" they're using, but at the end of the day, it's the same solution.

And if you are the only solution out on the market, it's only a matter of time until you're copied!

So...do you have a business, or do you have a brand? 

Do you have a captivating brand story that takes your customer on a ride and ends with a solution and outcome?

Have you painted a vivid and compelling vision of your brand being the most epic thing for them that provides the ideal solution?

Someone once shared their negative and pessimistic opinion about lifetime deal fans (LTD fans for short, which means people who love to buy lifetime deals). The red underlined part is where your focus should be: