Ten outstanding applicants for my position of Content Czar received the following message from me this morning:

Half of the 20 applicants for Content Czar have been eliminated. The ones that remain are all strong contenders.

Congratulations: You have passed the first round of applications for the position of Content Czar!

Now it’s time to run you through the maze. I am giving you a project to do. For this project, I’m giving all of the Content Czar finalists access to three sources of raw product material:

1) MP3’s, transcripts and handouts from my Fall 2008 Bobsled Run – sales copy at http://www.bobsledrun.com

2) The AdWords / Traffic Conversion Seminar – all the MP3’s and handouts that we deliver digitally for that product (Excluding the videos themselves). Sales copy at

http://www.perrymarshall.com/adwords/conversion-seminar/

3) Instant download portion of the Gladiator Club product – sales copy is at

http://www.adwordsstrategy.com/autopilot.htm

Between these three products (even without the videos!), there is well over a dozen hours of raw audio content and 200+ pages of printed material to draw from.

(Perhaps that $25 application fee wasn’t such a bad deal after all?)

From this I want you to create a mini product and develop a sales funnel for it. This is your opportunity to make a Perry Marshall Mashup.

The final product can be as simple as product+sales page and/or video….or it can be as involved as you want to make it. Opt-in pages, videos, autoresponders, etc.

What I would like you to do is identify a SUB TOPIC within this material, something that solves a very specific problem, and derive a digital product that would be appropriate to sell for $20 to $40.

You could also choose to take information that is generic and niche it to some specific audience.

Which is to say this is not expected to be an extensive or exhaustive product. I actually find that the more narrowly and directly an information product solves a problem, the easier it is to sell. Less is often more.

All acceptable entries will be offered for my own customers to purchase. It’s got to be a worthy product. My staff and I alone will determine what is “worthy.”

I will pay commission to all applicants on the product they create. 7% of product sales, to a maximum payout of $5,000. I will pay this commission to any applicant regardless of whether they win or lose. Thus you are not working for free.

Furthermore, applicants will be reimbursed up to $250 for documented expenses incurred in creating this product.

Furthermore, applicants whose entries are accepted will be given personal credit and publicity for their work.

I am hoping that since the assignment is to build a product based on a narrow sub-topic, few if any of the submissions will be the same. Instead I anticipate a diverse range of submissions and sub-topics. An example of an existing mini-product that we sell is at

http://www.perrymarshall.com/google/955-03/ and the product itself is on the Bobsled Run members page.

Your success in selling this will depend on 1) the appeal of the subtopic that you choose, and 2) the copy you write for selling it on my website.

We will post your sales pages on the perrymarshall.com website, set up the product in our shopping cart, and promote it to my list. I’m interested in seeing who can sell the most product. But I’m also interested in product quality and presentation.

The results of this contest will be part (but not all!) of my final decision. Winning this contest doesn’t guarantee you the position, but will have a powerful influence.

Submission deadline: 11:59pm CST January 5, 2009.

ALTERNATE WILD-CARD POSSIBILITY: If you wish to do an alternate assignment of your own choosing, you can do that instead. What you do is up to your judgment. The reason I am suggesting this is: A couple of applicants demonstrated interesting skill sets that I didn’t necessarily ask for. For example, one had a significant track record generating free traffic from social bookmarking sites. You got a different, specific idea that will prove your skills? Do you have a skill that I didn’t consider asking for? Make sure the results are measurable, and execute it.

May the best man or woman win!

Perry Marshall

P.S.: Deadline for applications was December 19. New applications are not being taken – sorry!

About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.