In Search Of Heroes Spreads Good News About Everyday, Real-Life Heroes Who Deserve Recognition For Their Good Works: October 2005 Archives

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October 31, 2005

"11 Secrets Of A Successful Ad" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

Are you fully prepared to markedly increase your margin of success?
A big key to dramatically increasing your income is simply learning how to prepare a powerful advertisement.

But, why should you listen to me? There are many self-appointed experts who say they can help you.

Also, there are numerous books on writing ads. Why not just read these?

The problem is very few of the book authors ever invested their own hard-earned money in trying to make an ad work. So, please be ultra careful in selecting an expert you can trust.

It's a matter of record that I've written and run more successful space ads in magazines and newspapers than anyone else in the world during the last 50 years.

Yet, nearly everyone I talk with thinks the real secret to my track record is compelling copy.

But, while important, it takes far more than powerful copy to make an ad highly profitable.

Today I'm going to discuss the behind the scenes of a successful ad.
I study advertising--my own and others--on a daily basis, as I'm always looking to improve my success margin. Based on what I observe in the marketplace, most direct marketers, ad agencies and copywriters do not have a clue about what I'm about to reveal.
Treat this information like solid gold nuggets. Because if you do, you will be depositing large sums of gold in your very own bank account!

Secret #1
Create a powerful headline. A good headline is the most important part of any ad. At least five times as many people read the headline as the body copy. You don't have even the slimmest chance to create a profitable ad without a super headline.

I write as many as 200 headlines for any product before I choose 3-6 to test.

Tip: Many copywriters spend 95% of their time and effort purely on the body copy. Don't do it! Spend 80% of your effort on the headline writing. The body copy to support the headline is the easy part.

Tip: Search for the biggest consumer benefit you can find for your product or service and incorporate this in the headline.

Secret #2
Put your headline in quotation marks. Why? Studies show a headline attracts 28% more attention in quotes.

Secret #3
Use a drop first letter. The first word in your ad should begin with a letter that is oversized and bolded. Drop the letter two to three lines.

Why?

Selling is a sequential process.

When the reader's eye is drawn to the left and to the first sentence after the headline, then the second sentence, etc., you increase the chances the prospect will read your copy in the sequence you prefer.

Secret #4
Begin the copy with a powerful opening sentence. This can accomplish several goals: 1. You amplify and reinforce the promise of the headline. 2. You set the tone for the offer. 3. The reader is induced to read the second sentence.

Secret #5
Talk about your prospect, not you or your company, in the copy 99% of the time. The reader is not nearly as interested in you or your company as they are in themselves.

Focus almost exclusively on the benefits to the prospect in your copy.

Secret #6
Use easy-to-read typefaces. In your headlines, I recommend using Times Roman or Ariel. In the body copy, I suggest a serif typeface such as Times Roman.

Tip: Do not use all capital letters. Use upper and lower case letters in your headlines. This means you start each headline word with a capital letter with each subsequent letter being lower case letters.

Tip: Use at least a 9-point typeface in your body copy.

Tip: Use black copy on a white background. Do not use white copy on a black background, which is harder to read.

Tip: Use justified left and ragged right layout.

Secret #7
Set your copy in three columns. The maximum width should not exceed 45 characters.

Secret #8
Break up the body copy with powerful sub- headlines. A good ad averages 3-4 sub- headlines per column.

These subheadlines should be strong enough so that readers with short attention spans can read the headlines, the subheadlines, and the coupon and have sufficient benefits to make a buying decision.

Secret #9
Use photographs or illustrations advantageously. Do not devote more than 1/3 of the available space to a photo or illustration. The copy is much more important. Remember, copy is king.

Tip: Use photo first on the page. Follow it with the headline, which ideally acts as the photo caption.

Tip: Caption every photograph. Do not assume the reader knows what or who the photo is about. They don't. Such assumptions are invariably wrong.

Tip: When using a large photo, make sure photo ties in to the benefit of the headline.

Secret #10 Use a coupon with a thin dotted line around the copy. Many graphic artists feel almost compelled to surround the coupon copy with a thick dotted line. This tends to draw the reader's eye to the coupon too soon in the selling process. Remember, selling is a sequential process.

Secret #11
Add copyright information to your ad. As and when you have a successful ad, some people will inevitably try to rip off your ideas.
While I'm not giving you legal advice, by adding the following you are in better position to stop infringers: © Copyright 2004 (you or your company name)

Tip: Often a cease and desist letter will get plagiarizers to stop illegally using your intellectual property and a big part of your livelihood.

I know the above information works. To say it can be worth a fortune to you is not an exaggeration. How can I be so certain?

Because I've tested every variation I could think of. I've flopped with so many ads, I finally learned what works. And perhaps more importantly, what not to do.

Additionally, many of my seminar attendees and readers, including some of the biggest names in marketing circles, credit my teachings for their successful ad campaigns.

If you want to save a lot of heartache, as well as money, do not listen to the advice of those self- appointed experts, especially on the Web, most of whom have never run a single successful ad in their lives.

Tip: I'm sad to say most advice from marketers, especially on the Internet, is wrong and without a basis in reality. Before you buy products such as books or tapes, or hire a copywriter, or take advice from anyone about marketing or copy, ask for at least a dozen examples of successful ads they've actually prepared and run. Plus three business references. If they are legitimate, they will be happy to provide this as the least they can do.

If these cannot be supplied, do not walk away-- run from such false prophets. Do not encourage them by buying their books and tapes either. They don't deserve your support until they first earn it in the marketplace.

Increase your margin of success in all your ads, mailings, brochures and catalogs with these tips.

As always, you have my very best wishes for increasing the success margin in all your advertising campaigns.
Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:00 PM | Permalink

"How To Create Powerful Offers That Drive Your Sales Through the Roof" by Yanik Silver

What does a mafia boss know about marketing?

Lots. Read on to find out...

Do you remember in the movie "The Godfather" when Don
Corleone says, "I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t
refuse"?

And it’s this simple concept that’s the backbone of any
successful sales proposition you make. (However if I were
you, I’d probably leave out the threats of violence in your
sales piece.)

From now on, your job is to create such powerful offers
that anyone reading it would say to themselves, "My
goodness, I’d have to be a complete idiot not to take them
up on this deal!"

And creating a powerful offer like this is easier than you
think.

Let me share with you one of the most compelling offers
I’ve seen. It took a dying hotel on the wrong side of the
Vegas 'strip', where you had to watch your wallet at every
turn, and transformed it into a super moneymaker.

This is from a very successful ad that used to run for Bob
Stupak's Vegas World hotel. Listen to this deal and see if
you wouldn't act on this even if you were just an
occasional gambler:

"Act now, to receive a virtually free Las Vegas vacation.
For $198 per person or $396 per couple I will:

1) Put you up in a luxurious mini suite in an exciting Las
Vegas hotel right on the famous strip.

2) I will give you free tickets to a show with name
entertainers.

3) I will put a chilled bottle of champagne in your room
for free.

4) I'll let you drink as much as want for free, whether
you're at the gaming tables, playing slots or in one of the
lounges.

5) I'll hand you $1,000 of my money to gamble with for
free.

6) I'll let you keep all your winnings.

7) I'll guarantee you'll win a color TV, VCR or a faux
diamond ring.

Obviously I'm not going to give this incredible deal to
everybody in the whole world. There can only be (small
number) of these vacation packages available. First come,
first served."

If that's not an irresistible offer, I don't know what is.
The closer you can get to something like this, the more
customers you’ll have falling all over themselves to give
you their money.

Does this give you a few ideas?

========================
Using The Bonus Pile On
========================

Vegas World’s offer uses a concept I call "Bonus Pile On".
And the way it works is to keep piling on bonus after bonus
until finally you have to say "no mas" and whip out your
charge card.

It was the same thing with the famous Ginsu knife
commercials a few years back. They used this technique
perfectly to sell millions of dollars of cutlery. The
announcer would say "And if you act now you’ll also
get..." and then about 15 different knives and kitchen
gadgets would pop up on the screen.

It made you think about how much value you were getting for
such a little price. That’s the power of the "bonus pile
on".

So what’s the best way to start using this in your
business? Well, one of the best ways I know is using paper
and ink. You can give away a series of valuable reports
with any purchase. What’s more, you could even make this
information available as a download from your website so
you’d have zero distribution cost.

Or you could make deals with other businesses where they’d
let you give away a product or service from them to your
customers. If you really use your imagination here you’ll
come up with lots of ways to create a "bonus pile on".

===============================
Make Prospects Take Action Now!
===============================

There’s no doubt about it - deep down, everyone of us is a
lazy procrastinator. That’s why you need some kind of
deadline or scarcity factor to make prospects take action
now. If your prospects believe an offer is going to be
around forever, there’s no reason to take action.

That’s the reason deadlines work so well. In one of my
businesses, I’ll stamp a red deadline on the order form for
the last day prospects get over $2,000.00 in free bonuses.
And believe me, it’s not unusual to get people ordering
right on the very last day of the deadline just because of
this stamp.

=======================
100% No-Risk Guarantee
=======================

Finally, the last component of a powerful offer is to make
your deal as risk-free as possible. Nobody wants to make a
mistake and be stuck with something that doesn’t deliver as
promised. That’s why you should make every effort to lift
the risk from the prospect and place it squarely on your
shoulders. Make a bold guarantee and make it for as long as
possible. If you have a quality product, you shouldn’t
worry because most often return rates will drop the longer
you extend guarantees for.

Another strategy to try is offering a 30-day "hold-your-
check or charge slip" trial. That means people will send
you checks postdated 30 days out or you won’t charge their
credit cards for 30 days. Joe Karbo used this to sell tens
of thousands of copies of his book "The Lazy Man’s Ways to
Riches".

Now you have all the keys to creating your own irresistible
offer and watching your sales soar. Just keep adding value
and more bonuses until you come up with an offer than makes
your prospect feel guilty for not ordering.

Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites...and he still
doesn't know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, including his
newest resource for online copywriting -
http://www.UltimateCopywritingWorkshop.com

Posted by ralph at 01:07 PM | Permalink

October 30, 2005

"How to Become A Successful Self-Publisher" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

Today's topic is about two little-known action tips
that will help you succeed in the world's most ideal
business.

I know there is huge worldwide interest in what
constitutes an ideal business.

How?

When I first wrote about this subject in my news-
letter in the early nineties, I received more
feedback on it than any other topic.

What constitutes the ideal business?

1. Enjoys low overhead.

2. Products can be sold throughout the world.

3. Is portable—can easily be moved and operated
anywhere in the world.

4. Requires little capital or major investment in
equipment.

5. Enjoys high profit margins.

6. Has minimal labor requirements. Can be
operated with few or no employees.

7. Can be operated from home.

8. Is relatively free of government regulation and
control.

9. Is highly respected in the business community.

10. Sells on a cash basis instead of offering
extended credit.

11. Competitors cannot duplicate. Creation of
product is legally protected.

12. Is fun for you while satisfying your intellectual
needs.

13. Helps make the world a better place.

Self-publishing best meets the above criteria
for the ideal business.

Tip: Publishing unique, helpful information can
be an unbeatable marketing tool. Further in this
issue I'll show you how to use it successfully
for any business.

Let's briefly look at what self-publishers and
conventional publishers typically do when they
decide to market a book or special report.

1. The book is written, taking up to two years
of effort. Little or no thought is given to the
marketing process.

2. The title is decided by some editor often over
lunch in less than 20 minutes.

3. The book is published. Absolutely nothing
happens. This has been called "the calm before
the calm."

The book never sells out its first printing. (This
is the fate of more than 96% of all books published.
Is it any wonder!)

Here are the two most important actions I always
take. I recommend both as an indispensable part
of your action plan.

1. Write an ad to sell the book before a single word
is written.

Tip: The result is the eventual book will have the
best chance to do what it should--serve the readers'
self-interest. (Most books are incredibly dull and
boring and are an ego trip for the author.)

Plus, of course, you can use the ad to market
the book.

More than 90% of your time as a self-publisher must
be spent on marketing. For my book HOW TO
FORM YOUR OWN CORPORATION WITHOUT
A LAWYER FOR UNDER $75, I've written more
than 120,000 words of advertising copy. The book
has just 32,000 words in it. Sales are nearly
2,000,000 copies to date. The reason for all the
success is not the book itself, but all the marketing.

As Tom Watson, the late founder of IBM, said so
well, "Nothing happens until a sale is made."

2. Create a great book title. A book title is actually
a headline for the book. It's crucially important.
When I create a book title, I write a huge number of
potential titles. For my books HOW TO PUBLISH
A BOOK AND SELL A MILLION COPIES,
MAGIC WORDS THAT BRING YOU RICHES,
and HOW TO TURN WORDS INTO MONEY,
I wrote over 120 titles for each before choosing the
final one for each of these best sellers.

Best-selling authors like Harvey Mackay, author of
"Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive"
and "Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His
Shirt," invest about $60,000 in fees for an expert to
create each title for their books. They know how
important it is.

Tip: Here is a business-building blockbuster.
Regardless of the business in which you are engaged,
whether you market online or offline, you can use
books and special reports as free bonuses to build
your sales. Here are some examples of businesses
and the type of material they could publish that could
dramatically boost their business.

Real Estate Developer:
"Seven Easy, Low-Cost Tips Which Will
Increase The Value of Your Property"

Plumber:
"How to Stop Leaking Faucets Yourself
in Less Than 60 Seconds"

Architect:
"How to Build The Beautiful Home
of Your Dreams Below Budget"

Restaurant:
"How to Prepare Ten Terrific Gourmet
Meals in Less Than 20 Minutes"

Vitamin Distributor:
"Maximum Health Secrets
On a Minimum Budget"

Tip: Your information should be written in such a way
that it is (A) immediately useful to the reader, and
(B) you do not directly benefit in any way.

What you are seeking is a special feeling of
reciprocation on the part of the reader: "I got so
much out of this special report, when I think
about possibly availing myself of your type
of product or service, I will think about you first."

The result in increased sales will delight and
astonish you.

Stay tuned for more tips on self-publishing
success.

Warm regards,

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:49 PM | Permalink

"Inside Secrets to Writing News Releases!" by Joe "Mr. Fire!" Vitale

How would you like to get 30,000 phone calls from prospects eager to buy from you?

When I wrote and self-published Hypnotic Writing, my manual on copywriting, (which I later incorporated into my book, CyberWriting: How to Promote Your Product or Service Online (without being flamed)) I bought the mailing list of all the writing magazines in the country. I sent a one page news release to each. One day I opened up one of the national magazines and there was a half page article about my book! It was my entire news release! Had I paid for the advertising, it would have cost me a few hundred if not thousands of dollars. As it were, the exposure cost me about thirty cents.

My best seller is Turbocharge Your Writing. I figured the readers of Target Marketing magazine would be interested in it as many marketing people rely on the formula in the book to write their sales letters. So I sent a news release to them. The editor called and said, "Are you prepared to handle about two hundreds calls?" I said sure. Then I persuaded him to list my address in the magazine, rather than my number, as a service to his readers. All they would have to do is send me a check for the book. I'm still getting orders!

One of my clients is a real estate broker. We sent a news release out about his service and his new book. Women's Day magazine called him and wanted to buy the rights to excerpt an article from his book. We agreed as long as they gave him a resource box explaining how readers could contact the author. The editor said, "Are you prepared to handle thirty to forty thousand phone calls?" We'll handle it, we said.

When I was promoting the autograph party for my book, The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising, I created a simple contest where the top three most unusual business ideas would receive free copies of the book. I wrote a release and sent it out. The Houston Post newspaper ran it on the front page of their business section!

The press is powerful.

When Sharon Holmlund's business was mentioned in Home Office Computing magazine, she received over 400 inquiries.

When Sharon Olson received a plug in a newspaper column, over 900 readers wrote to her.

When Janice Guthrie's business was mentioned in Reader's Digest, she received over 740 calls immediately. The list goes on.

The media desperately wants news. About 80% of what you read in the papers and see on TV is planted by people like you and me sending out news releases!

But how do you write a news release that works?

The biggest secret to writing a hot news release is NEWS!

Okay. That may seem obvious to you. So what's considered news?

In short: People are interested in themselves first, and other people next.

Focus on interesting people and you'll grab interest.

Focus on what readers care about and you'll grab attention.

Focus on giving information and you'll grab free publicity.

When I was hired to write a story on a client who wanted more business for his college fund raising service, I didn't begin by saying "Desperate client needs more work." Though the truth, that would appeal to NO ONE. Instead, I began the article with:

COLLEGE MONEY CRISIS NOT NECESSARY
$135 Million Available To Students Who Know Where To Look
(New Jersey) Experts agree a college education is essential for the future work force. But tuitions at public colleges have climbed an average of 12% in the last eight years, according to the College Board of New York. How is anyone expected to finance an education?

Notice how much more interesting the above is? It will interest college students, parents with college bound kids, and many more. The above has NEWS in it.

When I wrote a news release on myself, I didn't begin by saying "Houston Author Would Like To Write More Books And Make Money." That wouldn't interest anyone but my mother. Instead, I created a more human interest and news oriented lead and began the piece with:

BOOK HIM! THIS GHOST DOESN'T SCARE ANYBODY
(Houston) Award-winning author Joe Vitale spent 20 years developing his craft and struggling for a living as a freelance writer before he discovered the wealth in being a ghostwriter. Now he uses his talents to help speakers, therapists and top executives get in print.

For anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 Vitale will meet with clients, interview them, do research, and write their books. "I do the work, they get the fame -- and all the royalties."

Most best-sellers by sports figures, celebrities, politicians and business leaders are not written by the people on the covers. "Everyone from Lee Iacocca to local business people have hired ghostwriters to create their books," Vitale says.

Get the idea?

In short, you must have news, invent news, or tie your story to existing news in order to get the media to pay any attention to you.

I explain all of this in my new sales and marketing home study course, Project Phineas: How to Get Rich, Famous, and Live Forever. I can't tell you everything you need to know here, but I can give you enough information for you to edge out your competition.

Again, the secret is NEWS.

1. You must have news.
That means you are doing something that the media would consider "a good story." When I created my new home study course, that is something new, and news worthy.

2. You might invent news.
When Evel Knievel said he would jump a canyon, he created a news story.

3. You might attach your story to existing news.
That means that if there is a holiday, you might create a holiday sale. In order words, figure out a way to ride on the skirt tails of something already happening in the news.

Here are more tips: My friend Paul Hartunian, a publicity genius, says there are three ways to get news coverage:

You have a solution to a problem. (Your product or service solves something.)

You have the latest fad. (Remember the pet rock?)

You are a nut. (Evel Knievel.)

Again, your success with the media will depend on you having NEWS. That's all they want. One way to look at this is to remember the following quote. (I don't recall who said it. It may have been William Hearst.)

"If you want it in the paper, it's advertising.
If you want it kept out of the paper, it's news."

Think about it.

For help in writing

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HypnoticMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale,
This ebook book shows you techniques on how to make your publicity, emails and websites hypnotic. It also includes Joe Vitale's 3-step marketing strategy called "Guaranteed Outcome Marketing," which can increase your business by 70% -- in less than 90 days

HypnoticWriting.com
By Joe Vitale
This course, by Joe Vitale (recognized by many as the best copywriter in the U.S.), shows you how to use "hypnotic" tricks in your writing to get people to more easily agree with you. A must for anyone who wants to write persuasively.

AdvancedHypnoticWriting.com
By Joe Vitale
This ebook is the unparalleled sequel to Joe Vitale's blockbuster "Hypnotic Writing." It reveals how to use the phenomenon of hypnotic suggestion to turn your words into cash.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

HypnoticWritingSwipeFile.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This is a collection of over 1,550 copywriting gems that took Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson years to compile. This is their personal swipe file that they use to create world famous sales letters responsible for generating millions and millions of dollars of revenue.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

CreateAdvertisingThatSells.com
By Joe Vitale
An interactive online video advertising course featuring book, workbook, and video instruction that has been one of our bestsellers. And since we can all learn from the masters, it also features several reproductions of hugely successful ad campaigns.

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 07:16 PM | Permalink

"My Eight-Step Formula for Writing Long Copy" by Michel Fortin

Here they are.

1. First, with all projects I ask that my clients take time to answer an initial, 25-point questionnaire. Their answers will provide some background information. Admittedly, there's a lot of research to do. But they provide me with a place to start and, more importantly, a basic understanding of their business, the purpose of the message and its goals.

Yes, that's "goals" in the plural.

Of course, there is the main goal, which may be to generate leads or sales. But other, secondary goals may include: to dispel rumors, answer questions, build credibility, eliminate misconceptions, differentiate from the competition, etc.

2. Then, I read and study the answers carefully, and I also add to the questionnaire by conducting a lot of "exploratory" research. That is: I try to gather as much information as I can — anything about the business, the product, the offer and, above all, the target audience.

Throughout the process, I copy everything into a plain text editor (I use TextPad.com), where I can easily rearrange the content, include any corresponding URLs (links are active in TextPad), make important notes and add small story blocks. (I'll return to this later.)

3. When I conduct my research, it also helps me to go through the information and pull out the important stuff. The idea at first is to have as much information as possible at my fingertips: including facts, features, factors, etc. I undiscerningly add whatever information I find out there.

Of course, there's a lot of good information out there. But a lot of it is also irrelevant to the story or the platform (I'll return to this). At the beginning, however, I gather as much as I can, put it all into one document, highlight the most important information and later discard the rest.

4. After that, I dig deeper. I spend a lot of time studying the information. I ask questions about the product or the offer, and perhaps try to get some clarification from the client. And I try to put what my client tells me into words that specifically meet my client's audience at their level.

You see, what the client feels is appropriate (or positive, or beneficial, or interesting) may not be a shared feeling among her clients. Too many businesspeople are "married" to their products or businesses that they tend to forget (or at least become removed from) their clients' perspective.

5. Next comes the creative part. I first try to find what top copywriter Bob Bly calls "a copy platform." A platform is a storyline, an angle or a slant that I will take to describe the offer. It may be the fear of loss, a news story, a "hot button pusher," a success story, a claim, the pleasure of gain, a takeaway offer, a "lie dispelled," a secret, etc.

From the platform, I write the copy but start with bullet points only. (The platform will give me a good indication of what I can write about and how to write it, as well as the options I have.) For example, I:

Write the headline (the most important part);

Add qualifiers (e.g., surheadlines and subheadlines);

Create the opening or introductory paragraph;

List the features, advantages and benefits;

Expand on key items for the main body;

Integrate headers at every two or three paragraphs;

Incoporate story blocks (i.e., highlighted stories, remarks or sidenotes, which all aim to give the reader a break and at the same time reinforce key benefits, reasons, urgencies, etc);

Create the offer and boost its value (such as by adding bonuses, premiums, discounts, options, packaging, comparisons, etc);

Build credibility and believability (such as by adding background information, testimonials, proofs, factoids, guarantees, etc);

Close with a call-to-action statement;

And plug some "PS's" at the end to restate the benefits of the offer, emphasize the sense of urgency or add a bonus not yet offered.

6. I then rearrange the content for flow. One of the benefits of working with TextPad is that I can work with multiple, tiled windows opened at once, each showing a different part of a same document. That way, I can easily scroll through each window and rearrange the content from one window to another (i.e., from one section of the copy to another).

Why? Because it helps me to ensure that the ideas in the copy flow properly and that they follow the AIDA formula (i.e., that the copy grabs their attention, creates interest, builds desire and calls for action). From this, I can sense if I need to also add certain elements, whether cosmetic (such as a grabber) or tactical (such as a liftnote or pop-up).

7. Once re-arranged, then I write. I expand, cut out, tighten and add more. I then place it all into an HTML or rich text document in order to add emphasis, such as with formatting, typestyles, tables, colors, graphics and so on. (Cosmetics of direct response copy are important, since certain visual "triggers" help to increase both readership and response.)

I re-read the copy. Out loud, too. Why? If I ever struggle with a part of the copy, or if I verbally trip, then I know I need to edit or rewrite that section of the story. After I'm done, I have my assistant proofread it, and then upload it to my website for my client to read and offer feedback.

8. I revise the copy until the client is satisfied.

There is no way to predict how well my copy will do. For some, my work multiplies their response rates like gangbusters. But for others, my copy is a downright dud. It happens, maybe because the platform is wrong, the audience is not targeted or the offer is not appropriate and will never sell, no matter how good the product is. The only way to know is to test.

I appreciate it when my clients keep me posted on the results. While there's not much I can do, it gives me an idea of what can be improved. In fact, some clients prefer to keep me on a retainer after the initial project, so they can have me rewrite parts of the copy or offer any suggestions on how to improve it, without contaminating the initial control.

Posted by ralph at 04:10 PM | Permalink

"Interview Your Subconscious! : 9 Steps to Unique Articles" by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

1. Remove your limits

Reduce your subject to a single core word and then brainstorm around it. For example, if you're trying to write about "Study Skills", expand your thinking to "School". Now jot down everything that comes to mind when you think about School, and when you run out of ideas start asking yourself open questions around the subject and noting your answers.

Examples:

What did I enjoy about school?
What scared me?
What did I wish I'd known from Day 1?

This will help you get back into the mindset of someone struggling with school issues of all kinds and you'll start to get a feel for their concerns and worries.

2. Restore your focus

Once you've started to understand the general feelings of your readers, allow your mind to focus back on your original topic of Study Skills. From your new perspective, what questions would you ask? What would you want to know? Is this really a "Studying" issue or is it more about Time Management or being able to work without distractions or being paralyzed by the fear of not doing well?

3. Be your audience

Write each question on a separate sheet of paper; don't stop until you have at least ten and preferably more. Stay in the mindset of your readers until you feel you've asked every major question that concerns them.

4. Take a step back

Put your pile of question aside for a few hours, overnight if possible. Don't consciously think about them; just go about your day as usual. Give your subconscious time to process them without any further prompting from you. If new questions come to mind jot them down somewhere safe and then forget about them.

5. Get out your pen and write

When you're ready, sit down with your pages of questions and simply start to answer them. Writing your answers by hand can give you access to ideas that might be missed if you type them. Don't edit yourself at this stage. Using Speech to Text software or a digital recorder can also be helpful in bypassing the internal editor.

Imagine someone sitting in front of you asking for advice and just talk to them. Keep your tone natural and conversational and stay with the question-and-answer format.

6. Edit lightly

Trust your first instincts. Proof-read and correct any obvious errors, but don't do any major editing until your piece has had time to "sit" for a while. Again, leaving it overnight will give you a fresh perspective the next time you look at it, but even if your deadline doesn't allow for that it's important to give yourself a break from it.

When you're pushed for time, writing several articles at one sitting can create enough change of focus to make you "forget" the one you've just written.

7. Polish it up

Short articles are unlikely to need major editing if you've written them as described here. They will flow easily and naturally already and having each Q & A on a separate sheet makes it easier to select only the ones you want. Your job now is to put them in a reasonably logical sequence and make sure they're understandable and that the reader is led smoothly from one question and answer to the next.

8. Top and tail it

Write a brief introductory paragraph as a "teaser" for the main article. Many article directories now put the first paragraph of each piece into RSS feeds which are picked up by other websites, so you'll want to make sure that your two or three major keywords appear at least once in that first paragraph.

Write another short paragraph to summarize the major points of the article and provide some ideas for the reader to explore the subject further. Don't of course forget your own resource box: use the format [a href="http://www.yourwebsite.com"]Your Website Name[/a] (replace the square brackets with angle brackets) for your link, so when your article is converted to html your link will automatically be live.

9. Submit it!

Posted by ralph at 01:03 PM | Permalink

October 29, 2005

"How to Avoid The Seven Biggest Causes Of Business Failure" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

I've never seen or heard anyone identify the true
reasons for nearly all business failures.

Especially misleading in my view are university
courses and statistics published by the government.

The following article could be entitled,
"What They Don’t Teach You About Business
Failure at Harvard, Wharton or Stanford."

Here are the biggest causes of business failures and
how to avoid them as I see it.

1. Putting the product first, with marketing second.
This is the exact opposite of what's necessary for
success. Smart and successful entrepreneurs identify
the market first. Then they create and/or focus on
the product.

Tip: To succeed, you must find out whether people
actually want your product, can or will pay for it,
and how much. The very best proof is not a focus
group or survey but an actual market test.

2. Overemphasis on image. A fancy office with
high overhead or an expensive logo will do little or
nothing to facilitate success. And it could drive
you out of business fast, as many businesspeople
painfully discover.

Tip: Keep overhead low. Operate from a home office
or very modest one when you start out. Most of your
prospects and clients couldn't care less. Carefully
invest every available penny in marketing. This
dramatically increases your chances of success.

3. Bad business partnership. Many entrepreneurs
rush into partnerships with little knowledge,
communication, or diligence.

I submit that a business partnership is even tougher
to make work than a marriage. Most fail in
misery. And in bankruptcy. And if this isn't
bad enough, lifelong friends often wind up
hating each other and estranged forever.

Tip: Avoid partnerships completely if you
possibly can. But if you have strong business
reasons to form a partnership, make sure right
from the start you know your future partner's
strengths and weaknesses very well. And, most
importantly, clearly define in detail exactly
what you and your partner will be responsible
for in the business.

4. Business model is too complex. The best business
models are simple. Employees, customers, even
suppliers, should be able to immediately understand
the nature and goals of the business. For example,
"When it absolutely, positively has to be there
overnight."

5. The business attempts to pioneer a new product
or industry. Entrepreneurs are often attracted to
businesses that are pioneering a brand new product
or industry. (I personally must resist this tendency
as well.) While a precious few are successful, most
fail. Businesses that are radically different from
existing known businesses can even scare off
customers rather than attract them.

Tip: You can achieve extraordinary business success
when, instead of being a pioneer, you simply do
something far better, faster and/or cheaper than
existing businesses.

6. You and the business are driven into bankruptcy
by a lawsuit. You can be fully and personally liable
in the event of a lawsuit which goes against you. You
could lose all your assets, including your home,
savings, cars, etc.

Tip: Never operate a business without the protection
of a corporation. Operating through a corporation gives
you a "corporate shield." You actually keep your
personal liability limited to whatever assets you choose
to put into your business. Worst case, in the event of
a lawsuit simply fold your corporation and start another
one.

Talk with a good lawyer and accountant and
discuss your personal situation including tax aspects.
You can probably eliminate close to 100% of all
potential legal threats which could go against your
personal assets.

7. Divorce. Untold businesses come to a halt each
year when marriages fall apart. In many cases
financial disagreements wind up in court.

Tip: Before getting married, and no matter how
unlikely it may seem at the time, have a good attorney
prepare a prenuptial agreement which spells out
exactly what will happen in the event of a divorce.

Avoid the above pitfalls and the path to business
success will become much smoother for you.

Warm regards,

Ted Nicholas

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:48 PM | Permalink

"Forum Frenzy Fumigates Online" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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Chris Locke, co-author of the book "The Cluetrain Manifesto," claimed that the Web is not comprised of computers, companies, or even consumers for that matter, but of conversations. One of the best books I've read on Internet culture, Cluetrain is a "must-read" for all Internet marketers.

Whether we know it or not, and whether we like it or not, we are edging towards a more human approach online -- unerringly following one of John Naisbitt's "Megatrends," from the book of the same name and a prediction initially expounded 20 years ago, called "High Tech, High Touch."

Cluetrain not only supports such a trend, but also discusses how the human paradigm affects and will shape the Internet. On the ClueTrain.com website, a simple, single phrase sums up the manifesto's 95 theses:

"If you only have time for one clue this year, this is the one to get: we are not seats, eyeballs, end-users or consumers. We are human beings. And our reach exceeds your grasp...

... Deal with it."

Visit Cluetrain's website and glance over their endorsements page, which basically is a open, online guestbook. You will notice that more and more companies, including large, multinational firms such as IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers, are starting to "clue in."

I am neither a sociologist nor a futurist by any stretch. But as an observer and Internet marketer, as well as a conversationalist, all I need to do is take a look at the most successful sites online, nowadays. When I do so, two glaringly obvious commonalities shout: content and community.

The former is self-explanatory.

Content not only makes a site "sticky," it boosts search engine rankings, enhances the potential of attracting advertising dollars, and opens the door to creating sponsor-supported or membership-based models (like Classmates.com and iVillage.com).

But the latter of the two is important and the focus of this week's editorial: community. In addition to publishing email newsletters, moderating discussion lists or maintaining opt-in mailing lists, do you administer forums, message boards or web communities?

Consider the advantages. You gain the ability to:

Directly access your target market;
Advertise in front of qualified people;
Share prospect and customer bases (without any need to
physically exchange private, personal information);
Maintain constant contact with your target market;
Impel and observe comments, trends, and conversations;
Increase credibility and top-of-mind brand awareness;
Survey your market on new site or product features, new
product ideas, affiliate programs, pricing models, etc;
Generate non-competing, third party sales revenue;
Handle, manage, and diffuse (potential) complaints;
And correct errors early (or from their onset).
There are many more advantages. Admittedly, there are disadvantages, too. Maintaining a message forum or online community requires time, labor, and money. That said, the marketer's motto is to always test -- so you can never be sure unless you try it before making a decision. Thus, if you want to test the communal waters before making the dive, I suggest a small, one-page message board, preferably a free CGI script.

Here's an example. Probably one of the most popular (and the easiest to install) message boards on the Web is Matt Wright's WWWBoard. It's a free CGI script, which is also very customizable.

To see the board in action, visit the website of my friend Jim Daniels. Also, if you decide that the script is too plain for you and you want to enhance it, there are many additions, features, and upgrades available -- usually as third party modifications (or "mods"). Most are available here.

Here are some other free message board scripts:

TalkShop at http://www.spiceisle.com/talkshop/faq.htm
Discusware at http://www.discusware.com/discus/index.php
MyBoard at http://myboard.dk3.com/
InvisionBoard at http://InvisionBoard.com/
SimpleBoard at http://michaelmoser.org/board/simpleboard.htm
Once you decide that maintaining an web community or a more extensive forum (including boards categorized by topic, for example) is right for you, you can move up to the more feature-rich (and perhaps database-driven) forums now available on the Web. Here are a few (some of them are free):

UltimateBB (Ultimate Bulletin Board)

Probably the most popular of all the commercial bulletin board programs around, the Ultimate Bulletin Board is also the web's most pricey. Depending on the features you want, like emailing board members, translating posts, posting private messages to other members, adding graphics and "smilies" (or emoticons) to the posts and so on, it can cost anywhere from $250 to $1,500. See the UltimateBB script in action by visiting Dr. Ralph Wilson's site.

phpBB.com (PHP Bulletin Board)

This is the one that I like the most. In fact, after testing a few of them on the Success Doctor site, it is the one that I recommend the most. It's surprising since PHPBB is comparable to UBB but completely open source and free. In other words, it is extensive, entirely customizable, packed with features and offers an inordinate amount of mods, which are all available at the site. You have the ability to fully customize the board, which only requires a basic knowledge of HTML and CGI. To see it in action, visit my Copywriters Board.

IkonBoard

If you like the style, look and layout of both UltimateBB and YaBB, then you should visit IkonBoard, which is another free but commercial-like board. Personally, I have never tried it but I have tried their demo. The website boasts of its extensive administration and moderation options, but as a user I can tell you that the features are comparable to those of UBB and YaBB. (In fact, YaBB offers an IkonBoard converter, if you ever wanted to switch your board from one to the other.)

vBulletin

vBulletin is similar to UltimateBB in that it is intended for larger sites. As the site states: "vBulletin is a powerful, scalable and fully customizable forums package (...) ideal for all medium-to-large sites." vBulletin costs between $85 and $160, but unlike UltimateBB the fee is renewable each year. To see vBulletin in action, check out Matt Mickiewicz' popular SitePoint.com.

In closing, note that hosting an online community is not the be-all, end-all of Internet marketing. (Keep in mind that I also mentioned "content" as being a significant factor in the success of many online businesses.)

Remember that, when all online transactions have come and gone, and after the rise and fall of many a dotcom, what remains are people -- and people connecting in ways that were never possible before is the heart of the Web.

Posted by ralph at 03:01 PM | Permalink

"Perfectionism & What You Can Do About It " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

"You don't have to get it right. You just have to get it going." -- Mike Litman

The quote above has to be the most important idea for many a business person. It's the antidote to the dread perfectionitis disease that paralyzes you.

Perfectionitis is born of a perfectly reasonable impulse: to produce a quality product.

But it is the "impossible standard" aspect of it that makes it dysfunctional. It is the kind of impulse that makes a parent say "No one's good enough for my Billy" (or Susie). And because getting it perfect is nearly impossible, making public your effort is well nigh impossible.

One of Dan Kennedy's lessons is that half of winning is just showing up! So he and Litman are on the same page.

To have a newsletter and not write to your subscribers is to not show up!

What are the problems with not showing up?

- No one remembers you. Harsh but true. Oh, you may be a memory in passing, but people have their own lives. You are a blip on most people's screens. The only way to become a bigger blip is to show up.

- You miss opportunities to announce and to sell. Does this really need any elaboration? Didn't think so. :)

- You miss opportunities to BUILD on previous opportunities, and so forth.

- You miss chances to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field.

Besides the inverse of the above, what ADVANTAGES arise from just showing up and communicating to your list?

- You become more comfortable in communicating.

- You build momentum, so that coming up with ideas to communicate is easier.

- You have opportunities to answer the question, "What have you done for me lately."

- You have a store of information which you can archive and then refer your subscribers. For example, you can write, "As I mentioned two weeks ago (url), you can enhance your writing ability by..." And on the archive page, you can advertise. :)

Yes, the tragedies of not showing up are tremendous. Perfectionism can literally KILL your business!

And the benefits of "just showing up" are equally huge.

Moreover, they can cascade and reinforce each other.

So how can you move yourself to "just show up?"

1 - Use Litman's comment at the top of this article to remind yourself that perfectionism is NOT a good pole star.

2 - Write short pieces. You don't have to write Moby Dick. Short pieces that deliver real information that they can use is what people mainly want.

3 - Give yourself a schedule. And stick to it.

4 - Ask for feedback on what you write. You may find that people like it, even though it's not "perfect." And if they criticize, you'll have information on how to improve.

Do these things and perfectionitis will be a thing of the past, for you will more consistently show up.

Posted by ralph at 01:06 PM | Permalink

October 28, 2005

"The Top Ten Mistakes In Preparing Sales" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

1. Poor Headline. Or what's even worse, no headline.
The most important part of sales letters is the
headline. Unless the headline immediately attracts
attention and generates interest, your prospect will
stop reading right then and there. This means you have
no chance--zero--to fulfill the purpose of the sales
letter, which is to make a sale. Your headline should
communicate the strongest customer benefit of your
product or service.

TIP: Spend hours, days, even weeks if necessary,
creating headlines. Create at least 15 to 25 and
test the strongest ones. I write as many as 200 to
250 before choosing two to four to test against each
other to find the most profitable.

2. Copy is full of "Me" messages. Some examples:
My products are terrific. My company is wonderful.
We've been in business for 15 years. We have a long
tradition of quality, etc., etc., etc.

So much advertising is full of this drivel. This is
all about you. No one in the world cares besides
yourself.

Your prospects want to know exactly what benefits they
will get from your products. In other words, if you
sell grass seed, don't dwell on what it's composed
of. Instead describe how beautiful their lawn will be.

TIP: Here is the fastest way to improve your copy.
Review the first draft of your copy. Eliminate all
these words--I, our, we, my. Substitute you and your.
I promise you'll be amazed and truly gratified with
the result. It's sure to blow your mind!

3. Copy fails to answer the question "What's in it
for me?" The process, of course, starts with the
headline. An excellent copywriting technique is to
prepare bullet points. These should consist of all
the benefits a buyer of your product will get.

Tip: Your benefits should be stated in headline
format. The secret of making benefits even more
powerful is to describe the benefit of the benefit.

4. Exaggerated Claims. Many copywriters and
marketers think the more astonishing your claims
are, the more persuasive. This is a fallacy. If a
claim is exaggerated, it seems and feels untrue.
You thus lose that all-important credibility.

Tip: First you should dramatize your advertising
claims with the help of short emotional words.
Then prove each claim. Expert comments and
testimonials can be a big help.

5. Confusing offer. So many sales letters do not
make a clear, easily understandable offer. The
result is few or no orders. Reason? When
consumers are confused, they don't act--they
do nothing. Confusion always breeds inaction.

Tip: Think through your offer very carefully
and write it down before you prepare a single
word of your sales letter.

6. Copy is too short. As the old saying goes--
the more you tell, the more you sell. Tell the
complete story of your product. Include every
benefit you can. Copy can never be too long.
Some of my sales letters are as long as 56 pages.
But you can be too boring. The biggest sin of
any copy writer, even in a two-paragraph letter,
is to bore the prospect.

Tip: The secret is to tell a complete story, but
in the fewest words possible. Eliminate every
single unnecessary word.

7. Large blocks of copy and few subheads.
Lengthy paragraphs without frequent subheads
make copy intimidating to read. This discourages
reading and response. Place at least two or
three subheads on each page. Plus, keep paragraphs
and sentences short. Paragraph length of no more
than five sentences or less should be your goal.
Some paragraphs can be one to three words.

Tip: When you write subheads, strive to make them
short and benefit driven. If the subheads are
well done, readers with short attention spans can
simply read the headlines and subheads and make
their buying decision on those alone.

8. No testimonials. Customers who rave about your
product or service are extremely effective and
should be included in every sales letter.
The words from the mind and heart of customers
build your credibility. However, most marketers
waste the potential impact of testimonials.
Common mistakes include using initials rather than
the full name, as well as omitting city and state
or country.

Tip: When getting written permission to use a
testimonial in advertising, also request a photo.
Most will happily agree. Photos help to add power
to testimonials.

9. No money-back guarantee. Your response to any
sales letter will be significantly higher if you
include a money-back guarantee.

Tip: The longer the guarantee, the more sales and
less returns or refunds requested. For example,
30 days works better than 10 days, 60 days works
better than 30 days, etc. A full year "no quibble"
guarantee works very well.

10. No P.S. The P.S. is the second most read part
of any sales letter. Many people read the headline
and then turn to the end of the letter to see who it's
from when they read the P.S. My strong recommendation
is to never send out a letter of any kind without
including a P.S. This includes personal letters.
Make it a habit from which you never vary. So when
you are writing to your mother, father or friend,
end the letter with a P.S.

Tip: When preparing a P.S. for a sales letter, a good
formula to follow is to simply restate the biggest
benefit of the product, the guarantee and the offer.

Extra Bonus Tip--The signature in any sales letter
is very important. When a prospect receives a
letter, they look at the headline, who it's from and
then the P.S.

A few tips:

1. Make sure the signer is given a title.

2. The signature should be bold and done
with a felt tip pen. Most signatures are shaky
and weak. They appear to come from someone who is
not proud of their letter but apologetic.

3. The signatures should be printed in process blue.
No other color--not black or red or purple or green.
I've tested other colors and none works as well as
process blue. Blue "feels" more natural to the reader.
Remember this. When you prepare a sales letter you are
asking the recipient to suspend belief while they read
your message. Your signature plays a big part in that
process.

Sincerely yours,

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 10:21 AM | Permalink

"Getting Published " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

A recent survey showed that more than eighty percent of Americans want to write a book. This extraordinary statistic is somewhat puzzling considering that the National Endowment for the Arts estimates that only fifty-seven percent of Americans have read even 1 book in the last twelve months!

What is it that makes people -- even non-readers -- want to put pen to paper?

Perhaps it's the desire for fame and fortune, the need to earn the respect of others, or maybe it's just the wish to leave some mark on the future, a permanent record of a life lived.

Whatever the reason, for those who actually complete a manuscript, the odds of seeing it published by a reputable firm are slim.

For the estimated 2 million manuscripts currently completed, there are only 64,000 publishers of record, and only a fraction of those are actively seeking new manuscripts.

So what are the millions of hopeful authors to do?

Well, the first step would be to ensure their manuscripts are the best they can be. This can be done by re-writing, editing, proofreading by an outside firm or even by a well-read and literate friend.

Even then, most of those two million books stand no chance of being accepted by a traditional publisher. Those authors that do make the cut are not necessarily the best writers, but rather are those who can sell themselves and their stories most convincingly.

Some authors, after rejections from the trade, will find themselves victims of vanity publishers, who take advantage of the hopes and aspirations of writers to extract an exorbitant fee to 'publish' their book.

Luckier will be the writers who publish through firms like iUniverse and Lulu, for although their books will likely never see wide distribution, at least their losses will be minimal.

And finally there are the select few who decide to become publishers themselves, even if it is only to self-publish their own book.

These publishers will find great obstacles, and a great deal of work in this route, but the challenge and reward of having one's success or failure entirely in one's own hands is a powerful feeling.

Whether they choose to publish electronically, or use short run printing service like Lightning Print, or even to go full boar with a print run of 1,000 or more, their success depends on how well they sell themselves and their story to others.

And so, if you are about to embark on a new manuscript, educate yourself thoroughly about the industry, its scams, and potential pitfalls. And more importantly, learn to market yourself well, for this, more than any other skill, is the determining factor in your success or failure.

Posted by ralph at 06:07 AM | Permalink

October 27, 2005

"Boost Sales the Easy Way" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

Here is the fastest, simplest, easiest thing you can do to dramatically increase sales.

When you have a successful sales message in any print or Internet format, such as a space advertisement, sales letter, card deck or web page, and want to take one action to increase sales, here is what you do. Simply...

Make it bigger. Make it bolder. Particularly the headlines.

The first thing you should do is to significantly increase the size of your headlines and subheadlines. Make them 2, 3, even 5 times as large.

If the typeface size in the body copy is below 9 point, increase it to 12 point.

Tip: Do not use larger than 12-point type for body copy. My tests show this should be the maximum size. However, with headlines and subheadlines there is no real limit to size that I've experienced.

When you blow up the size of words, you simply get more attention. It's like speaking confidently rather than whispering.

I have never increased copy size of a winning offer without experiencing a significant sales increase--as much as two and a half times the previous level of sales. And that is using the exact same copy I've previously used!

Presenting your headline in certain colors can also give you a big sales boost.

Tip: The magic of a red headline: Using bright red on the main headline along with larger size can also give you a dramatic sales boost.

However, the body copy should always be black. I've never seen another color other than black match its sales power.

Try the above. You'll be delighted with the result.

Kind regards,

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:56 PM | Permalink

"Private Minisites Pave Paths To Profits!" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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A recent, growing trend on the Internet is the private minisite -- it's a small, password-protected website that offers "insider information" on a topic that might be of interest to a specific audience. Similar to an ebook, it offers information that's geared for a specific group, niche or vertical industry.

A private "minisite" is like a small, niche-oriented community whose access is restricted and granted for a fee. Of course, web communities are all the rage, right now, for various reasons -- one is certainly that these places help to humanize the digital experience as well as offer "insider information" that's current and more palpable, particularly for that group of people.

However, the success of a private site, whether large or small, is largely predicated on the idea that it is dynamic and offers many extras that plain, static information products (like ebooks, for example) don't or can't. One of its greatest benefits is that it is constantly updated with the latest data.

As an example, private sites offer many resources, which help to make the site vibrant, vital and valuable (I call it the "Three V's"): checklists, surveys, applications, downloads, resources, chatrooms, scripts, services, links, file sharing, "hot" topics-of-the-day, discussion forums, event calendars, instant messaging, reviews, consultations, etc.

Membership-based minisites, however, are not large or bulky. And they don't necessarily need all of the above bells and whistles. They are called "mini" because, typically, the private section consists of content and the public one consists of just one long copy sales letter. (Being a copywriter, the bulk of my work consist of sales letters for private sites, these days.)

The driving force behind the private site is the idea that their members feel part of an elite group who have access to exclusive knowledge, and the fact that they are constantly being updated on the subject matter. It's an important part of their membership.

If you're an expert on a specific topic, or if you know how to do something better (or different) than anybody else, then you have a basis for a private minisite. But unlike information products, your income will not be based on one-time sales but on recurring, billed memberships, including renewals, upsales of non-competing products and affiliate programs to your members.

An additional yet enormously compelling benefit of private sites is the idea that the owner offers personalized consulting on the topic area. Members receive not only information but also receive top-notch support. (A way to accomplish this is by erecting a private discussion forum. It also reduces redundancy, since questions can be answered only once in many cases.)

The more niche-oriented or unique the product is, the greater the chances of success for the private site will be. Just offering content that's exclusive to private members is a start, for the feeling of exclusivity is the catalyst behind any private site. This is where niche marketing can really profit.

As a long copy, web sales letter copywriter, there are several things that help make private minisites compelling to aspiring members. Let me give you a few examples to give you a headstart.

1. Drive Customer Actions

Drive customer actions by telling them, specifically, what you want them to do. Use expressions like "click here," "subscribe today," "visit this," "join now," "go there," "discover how" and "learn these" are commands in which you compel people to take action. Take them "by the hand," in other words.

Private sites (or any sales-oriented, single-product site, for that matter) must have the least amount of links on or around the sales letter. The more links there are (to other resources or pages, for example), the more you distract users and take their focus away from your letter (and away from the purpose of your public site, which is to sell private memberships).

I know I'm going against the grain, here. But offering extra pages, like FAQs, links, testimonials and so on, are great for information-based sites (or those selling multiple products). They help to make the site "sticky" and drive search engine rankings. But for private minisites, they're dead weight.

If you're selling a single product, keep visitors focused and steer them in only one direction. Too many messages, choices or "things to do" only confuse people. If you offer an opt-in email newsletter, for example, turn the subscription form into a pop-up (or add it to the body of your sales letter).

If you offer people too many choices, they will not make one.

(You're unknown, so a newsletter, opt-in mailing list or even a multipart course delivered via autoresponder is an important tactic, since you build trust and credibility, and develop a certain relationship with your prospects who might not be inclined to join right now.)

Look at how I incorporated the opt-in form within the copy I wrote for Kirt Christensen. There are only three links: order, affiliate signup and login. But the form is added on the sales letter and in a pop-up window. Bottom-line, the sales letter won't drive people away and keeps them focused, interested and excited.

2. Create a Sense of Urgency

Jim Rohn said that, "Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value." People fear making bad decisions. With scams and snake oils rampant on the web, the fear is even greater when shopping online. So, most of them tend to procrastinate, even when they're interested in your offer. Therefore, communicate a certain sense of urgency that compels visitors to act now.

Use "takeaway selling" to stop people from procrastinating. In other words, shape your offer -- not just your product -- so that it is limited, time-sensitive or quantity-bound. Make your offer scarce. As an example, put a deadline on your offer or some kind of limit on the number of people you accept.

(Takeaway selling is based on the fact that "people don't know how much they want something until it's about to be taken away from them." It's the supply-and-demand mentality: the less available something is, the more people want it. It's also a reason behind the success of private sites.)

Add a deadline to your offer, or limit the number of products you sell (or the number of new members you allow to join). But there is a caveat: to make sure that people believe your need to limit the offer, give a reasonable and logical explanation to justify your time-sensitivity, or else your tactic will be instantly discredited. (How many "time-limited" offers have you seen on the Internet that are totally false or misleading?)

If you add a deadline or limit the number of members you accept, you must explain why you're doing so. Here's an example of what I put on some sales letters I've written -- they sell memberships to private sites and offer personal consulting to their members:

Example #1:

"To be candid with you, I don't know how long I'm going to keep the doors open to new members since this information is extremely sensitive and limited. I don't want to dilute the value of this information for my paid members. If you were a member, wouldn't you want the same, too? So, I must restrict the number of users for quality control purposes."

(In this case, it is very true. The author sells access to a limited number of "hot" real estate opportunities that he finds through his unique system, which he also teaches his members. If too many people join and get their hands on the opportunities or the system, it will surely lower the value of the information to the member-base, and contradict the purpose of the site. Otherwise, why would one join?)

Example #2:

"We're only human, and there are only so many hours in a day and so many people we can physically attend to! So, in order to limit the number of hours we do provide, we must put a cap on the number of new members for obvious reasons. We can only guarantee that people who sign up through [date] will qualify for membership, completely custom-tailored support and this incredible set of free bonuses worth over $[amount]! 'You snooze, you lose'. So, don't wait. Join NOW!"

(This example demonstrates the importance of the support they offer private members and, at the same time, drives home the idea that such a service is limited. I'm sure the owners can hire part-time help, if the need ever arose. But nothing can replace expertise that comes from straight the experts -- the more people join, the less time they have.)

3. Pique Their Curiosity

People are instinctively curious. And nothing piques curiosity more than something that's secret, rare, private, unavailable, exclusive, limited, scarce, uncommon, prohibited, hidden, etc. People fear the unknown and as a result constantly seek to "know" the unknown. They also love having dibs on something that's not readily available (especially if it gives them an edge over the competition before they know about it).

So, use words like "private site," "exclusive members area," "insider access" or "restricted vault." Moreover, people love not only hidden information but also the idea that it's all put together into a single place that's easy to access, learn and digest. It all comes down to a matter of convenience — you did all the research and gruntwork for them.

Using expressions like "secret formula," "specialized system," "custom-tailored checklist," "unique process" and so on drives people's interest because they all imply less time, money and effort in finding that same information. When I write copy for private sites I use expressions like: "Proficiency Program," "Secret Formula," "Inner Circle," "Mentoring System," "Hidden Vault," "Treasure Trove," "Coveted Toolkit" and so on.

Even though such phrases are truly qualifying the product as a whole (i.e., the entire private minisite) and not one specific item, formula or system, it still helps to make the product a little more tangible and convenient in the visitor's mind. It also adds a certain mystique to it. Use it to your advantage!

4. Be Specific With Your Benefits

Finally, put a numerical value on any benefit you promise, be it in dollars or hours. And make it an odd number, for they are more believable than even or rounded numbers. (That's why, for example, Ivory said it's "99 and 44/100% pure." If Ivory had said "100%," it wouldn't have been as believable.) In fact, here's a rule of thumb. A true benefit is one that's:

1) Quantifiable, 2) Measurable and 3) Time-bound.

One private site I critiqued offers golf training to its members. Originally, one benefit promised, "You will hit stronger drives." I told the owner to replace it with, "My mentoring program will show you how to boost your drives by as much as 27 yards in less than 30 days."

Take a look at this a little closer: the word "yards" makes the benefit measurable, the word "27" makes it quantifiable and the words "30 days" make it time- bound. Now, that's a clear, cogent and compelling benefit!

Nevertheless, if you're an Internet marketer or entrepreneur, the private minisite may be the product for you. But realize that the number of memberships you successfully sell will hinge greatly on the words and expressions used in your sales copy. If you ignite your site with killer copy, you will detonate your response rate.

Posted by ralph at 04:07 PM | Permalink

"Checklist For Writing Effective Articles " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Before writing an article, have you ever felt overwhelmed by a blank sensation, not knowing where to start?

...I'll bet you have!

This checklist should help you eliminate some common problems in writing articles:

1. Have a specific purpose in mind.

Always have a specific purpose in mind before you begin writing: you should be crystal clear about what are you hoping to accomplish by writing your article.
Is it an article clarifying an issue for your customers, to attract prospects, to improve the link popularity for your website?

2. Know your target population.

Before writing an article, conduct research on the target population. What are their experience, their interest, and their wants in the chosen topic? What pain or problem do they try to avoid?

3. Develop a detailed outline first, stressing on the benefits.

Now that you have a purpose and a target, organize your article so that scanning it quickly will show immediately to your reader how he will benefit from it and what are the most important points.

4. Stop your reader in his tracks with your title.

Your title should grab the reader's attention and 'force' him to read your first paragraph. Using your most important benefit usually does it.

5. Start your article with the most important information

Again, do not keep your most important information for the conclusion! Give it immediately and develop on it in the following paragraphs.

6. Keep jargon to a minimum.

If possible, avoid jargon as well as prejudices and insinuations. Write your article so that even a child can understand it.

7. Make your article warm and personal.

Speak direct to the reader. Use a lot of 'you'.
Reading your article, the reader should feel warmth and empathy, knowing that you have the same problems and goals than him.

8. Keep sentences short and simple.

Using short and simple sentences will allow a fluid and easy reading, preventing your reader to get bored.

9. Have someone from the target population critique your article.

Who can give you a better feedback than someone from your target population? It will help you

10. Spend more time rewriting than writing.

Besides formatting your article for easy reading and nice presentation, be sure to use tools or an external editor to carefully proofread your writing for grammatical and spelling errors.

Remember that the more writing you do, the better you will get. After sometimes, when you are in the habit of writing, article writing will not seem as difficult as now!

Posted by ralph at 07:08 AM | Permalink

October 26, 2005

"How to Make A Great Flyer for Marketing Online and Off " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Flyers are a good standby tool for marketing both online and off. And there’s no need to be a genius to create a great one, either. Here are some basic guidelines to design your own flyers.

1. MICROSOFT WORD – Begin with a basic software program like Microsoft Word or Publisher. Open up the program, then look under “File” then “New” to see if there are already existing flyer wizards for documents or templates. If so, start there and adjust one to suit your needs.

2. COLOR – First take a look at your project budget. Is there room for full-color printing of hard copies to distribute? If not, don’t worry. Regular black ink on colored paper produces nice looking, professional flyers. Coordinate the paper color with a theme for the month, like green paper for St. Patrick’s Day or red or blue for the 4th of July.

3. TEXT / FONT – Don’t have too many different fonts, text sizes and styles in one document. Just choose a couple of complimentary fonts and sizes. For ideas on which to use, start a collection of flyers that are stuck on your door, around your mailbox and placed on your car’s windshield. Search your favorite industry web sites for ideas, too, by looking at their online documents for downloading. Print them out and check to see what you link and don’t like about them.

4. PULL TABS – Add pull tabs to the bottom, so that if the flyer is placed on a bulletin board, passersby can pull off a tab and take the info home with them. Check the Help menu for directions. Basically you add a wide text box along the bottom portion of the flyer. Then you insert one row of columns. Click on the first column and write what you want to say – not much fits here so take care! Maybe use your URL or website address and phone number. The text will run horizontally like normal, reading from left to right. So what you do is highlight it and click on “Format” from the top menu, then “Text Direction” do make it run vertical and fit in your tabs. Do the same for each tab.

When you’re finished, make print flyers for local distribution. And turn the document into an Adobe .pdf file to distribute online. Upload it and include links to it in your emails and forum posts. Attach the pdf to emails when you know recipients accept attachments and can take a look, too. Reach out online and off with great looking flyers and grow your business one step further!

Posted by ralph at 01:02 PM | Permalink

"How to Name a Product, Service or Company" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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Today, it is an understatement to say that we are constantly bombarded with information of nuclear proportions. The roles of both the consumer and the entrepreneur have become so immensely challenging that choosing a business from which to buy -- let alone being and remaining in business -- has become a dizzying process. Therefore, how does one survive let alone thrive in today's explosive hypercompetitive, overcommunicated marketplace?

Unfortunately, many businesses still market themselves with institutional approaches (the kind that only says "I'm open for business"). These methods no longer work -- at least not as effectively as before. For instance, while some companies successfully generate a good response from their marketing efforts, it is one from which little or no business is produced.

The key, nowadays, is not to advertise that one is "in" business but that one is "the" business of choice. Where people used to ask "why should I buy this product?" today, that question has changed to "why should I buy this product FROM YOU?" Simply put, today's consumer will choose one company over another because the perceived value in their choice is greater.

The world is so full of raw, unstructured data that people no longer have the time to sift through all the information that is thrown at them let alone to make sense of it all. They no longer have the time or energy to shop around for the best product from the best company at the best price. They usually make a buying decision based on the kind of information that instantly communicates a specific benefit -- one in which there is an implicit added value.

Generating interest from one's marketing is one thing, but getting respondents to actually buy is another. So, how can a company communicate that it is the business of choice? What kind of information will get people to buy what it has to offer and do so instantly, especially in a hypercompetitive, highly marketed world? The answer is through positioning.

Top-of-Mind Awareness
In today's world, top-of-mind awareness is the most effectively provocative form of marketing available. The idea is to create, within the subconscious minds of prospects, a psychological anchor that causes people to choose when a need presents itself a company over another instantaneously.

In reality, the goal is to market one's business in specific ways so that the name, product or service stays at the top of their minds at all times. In other words, since people no longer have the time to shop around, when they do have a certain need they will go to or look for the one company (or product) that happens to be at the top of their minds at that very moment.

Ries and Trout, the fathers of the positioning concept and authors of the bestsellers "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind" and "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing," state what I believe to be the most powerful notion in business, in that marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products. In fact, marketing is all about perception. You don't need to be the best company offering the best product at the best price in order to be known as the best. As long as people perceive you're the best there is, you have the upper hand.

However, there is a caveat: People want the best and that has never changed. But if you outright state that you are you then place yourself in a very fragile position, for people will think that you're either exaggerating at best. As an old mentor of mine once said, "Implication is more powerful than specification." If your marketing implies that you are the best without utterly claiming it, people will then perceive that you're the best and you will thus gain a winning edge over your competition. Top-of-mind awareness marketing is to be the best in the consumer's mind -- to win the battle for your clients' thoughts, not dollars.

Now, there are many steps that one can follow in order to effectively achieve top-of-mind awareness, but this deserves a book entirely on its own. So, let me share one of them with you, which is the first and most important step in top-of-mind awareness marketing: Names.

Names
Does the name of your business, product or service intrinsically reflect the nature or benefit of that which you provide? Is it suggestive? I am astounded to see many businesses today that are still called by ordinary or blatantly unappealing names, or names that mean absolutely nothing, such as with acronyms like "MGF Technologies, Inc." I agree that some businesses may have notable or even catchy names. But if they don't create top-of-mind awareness they won't create more business.

Consider this example. Which investment company would come immediately to mind if you were in the market for one: "John Smith Investments" or "Wealth Wise, Inc."? What about "John Smith, Accountant" or "A Knack with Knumbers"? Would you choose "JSI Brokers, Ltd." or "Money Mastery"? You see, your name is extremely important in order to anchor your firm and position it above the competition in the minds of your prospects.

If your name does not tell people who you are and what advantage people have in choosing you (i.e., the added value you bring to the table), consider changing your name, especially to a brand name that reflects the benefits of choosing your firm. Choose a name that communicates your unique competitive edge and does so clearly, effectively, and efficiently.

Today, with their very limited time people would love to skip the inconvenience of searching for that one company that offers exactly what they want. If they've heard of your business and want to know more, however, many will attempt a to go directly to you even before thinking about searching for the appropriate solution. But if they did not hear of you, their search will be vastly more simplified if your name conveys a specific, unique, and direct benefit.

Taglines
Another tip is to add taglines to your business, product, and service names. A tagline is a small sentence, preferably five words or less, that says all that you are in one single swoop. I'm sure you've heard of "The Midas Touch," "Kills Bugs Dead", "Just Do It," or "You deserve a break today." More than likely you know from which company these taglines derive.

Taglines are extremely effective, particularly in casting an aura of superiority or exclusivity without stating it outright. They usually complement business or product names and help to anchor them in the mind more effectively. Taglines are particularly beneficial when one is self-employed, running a home-based business, or limited in making claims due to the type of industry in which one operates. Through a tagline, one can create the perception of superiority and anchor one's firm or product effectively in the minds of prospective clients.

Here are some examples. Rather than saying "John Smith, Business Etiquette Consultant," say "John Smith, Where Protocol Meets Profits." Instead of saying "Jane Smith, Graphic Designer," say "Jane Smith, Great Graphics Guaranteed." Other than saying "John Doe, Fashion Consultant," say "John Doe, Flat-Out Fabulous Fashions." Remember that the more top-of-mind awareness it creates, the simpler the search for your business becomes.

For instance, if you were to put two products from two separate companies side by side, two products that are of the same kind, quality, and price, which one would you buy? Naturally, you would have a tendency to gravitate towards the one whose package is such that it makes the product appear as if there is more value added to its purchase.

This added value may be in the form of guarantees, lower prices, better quality, additional features, faster results, etc. Essentially, put a special name and possibly a tagline on your product or service that communicates this added value. If your product seems ordinary or is similar to that of your competitor's, make it appear extraordinary through its name.

A typical or even nameless product or service may be easier to sell when face-to-face with a consumer. But in the impersonal world of highly competitive marketing, however, the lack of human interaction takes away the emotional element as well as the ability to persuade or overcome objections. Therefore, a name must communicate that emotion. By doing so, it positions the product or service in the prospect's mind and empowers them to buy.

The object of names and taglines is not to claim superiority or to make one "look good." It is simply to turn the assumed into the assured in the minds of people (i.e., to make their choice a simpler and more confident one). If they don't have to assume that your firm or product offers a specific process, result, or benefit, they will likely choose you first.

For instance, most mechanics and garages offer free estimates these days. Not only do people assume that most of them do, they also expect it. This once extraordinary service has now become but a cliché. However, let's say you've heard of a garage offering "Free Fee Finders" or "No Guesstimate Estimates," or one whose tagline says "Where Estimates and Smiles are Free." And let's say you had to choose a mechanic and you specifically wanted one that offers free estimates. Let me ask you: Would you go to one you think that offers them or to the one you know that does?

Everybody Can Do It!
This process is amazingly simple yet so remarkably effective. If people don't have to assume that your company, product, or service offers a certain benefit, or in other words if you take the guess work out your prospects' mind, you instantly place it head above your competition. You might think this process is a little silly or even meaningless, but people have made fortunes by simply packaging ordinary companies or products -- even those that are identical to that of their competition -- a little differently. Remember the "pet rock"?

In the beginning, my consulting practice was dedicated to doctors. And during my work I often heard this silliness objection time and time again. But I still say that the above techniques can be applied even in these situations. For example, a dentist offers traditional general anesthesia and nitrous oxide sedation in order to make the process of dental work a pleasant and more comfortable experience. Many if not all dentists in his area offer the very same thing. However, he markets it with two simple words: "Dream Dentistry."

In essence, in today's hypercompetitive, overcommunicated world, top-of-mind-awareness is probably the best marketing tool now available. Through packaging, an ordinary company, product, or service can become irresistibly compelling. This is what I call "Glue for the Mind." So, make the ordinary extraordinary. Make yourself outstanding by making yourself stand out!

Posted by ralph at 08:38 AM | Permalink

October 25, 2005

"Fail Forward" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

“The secret of success is to go from failure to
failure without any loss of enthusiasm.”
--Winston Churchill

With all due modesty, I have perhaps experienced
more marketing success in my own businesses than
any other person whose audience is entrepreneurs.

So then, does the subject of failure really belong on
these pages? My answer: Absolutely!

Indeed, I don’t know of a more important success
subject.

Reason?

I submit you can never succeed big until you first
discover how to fail. And that it’s OK, and even
desirable, to fail.

Plus, I’ve never seen or heard anyone talk about the
subject in a realistic way.

Lest I be misunderstood, I’m not advocating being
cavalier about any of your endeavors.

Indeed, doing all you can do to succeed in every
activity is the path to high performance.

However, let’s say you or a loved one fails a subject
in school. Providing you’ve applied yourself as best
you can, nothing terrible happens.

You can always take the class over or change
subjects.

Why spend endless hours punishing yourself or
others? It’s not fair. And it’s a waste of time.

First, I’m going to show how to develop “an
immunity to failure.”

I feel I’m eminently qualified to write about failure.
While I’ve been blessed with a success level beyond
my dreams, contrary to popular belief, in marketing
and copy campaigns I’ve failed at least three times
more often than I’ve succeeded. And this continues.
With new businesses of my own, my record is 21
successes and 2 failures.

My experience in direct marketing is not unique. A
friend, Joe Sugarman, famous for BluBlocker
sunglasses and one of the best copywriters ever,
states he is thrilled if one out of 10 marketing
campaigns is a success. And his prime audience is
consumers, one of the toughest to penetrate.

With copy projects for clients, especially for an
entrepreneurial or health audience, I have major
successes about 3 or 4 times out of about 10
attempts.

Here is the good news. If I succeed just 10% of
the time, I continue to earn fortunes for my clients.
And since I usually own equity in the company, for
myself as well!

Tip: The secret to marketing success—risk small
and “roll out” big.

Indeed, while they may not publicize it, every highly
successful person I know, whether an entrepreneur,
politician, or executive, fails far more often than they
succeed.

So do the world’s best athletes.

On your path to success you, too, will undoubtedly
fail far more often than you will succeed.

Here is the important point. It’s not your failures
that can cause you the problems. It’s how you react
to them that makes all the difference.

When many people experience even a single
marketing setback, such as an ad that doesn’t pull,
they get so discouraged and down on themselves they
never try again. Of course, it doesn’t have to be this
way. It’s a choice that’s within your power.

In Europe and Asia in particular a failure of any
kind, especially in business, is considered shameful.
Unfortunately, it’s even socially unacceptable.

For example, at least two entrepreneurs I know in
Switzerland didn’t succeed their first time out. Now
they do not even show their face at our tennis club.
They are too ashamed!

This aversion to failure keeps the vast majority of
Europeans from taking risks and becoming
entrepreneurs.

The most forgiving country in the world as to risks,

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:51 PM | Permalink

October 24, 2005

"Business Networking puts More Money in Your Pocket " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Business networking puts more money in your pocket by helping you overcome the number one biggest problem facing new business owners. Prospecting for new customers. Business networking events can go a long way towards making the whole prospecting problem go away. There are two main kinds of networking opportunities available to the average entrepreneur. Passive networking and strong networking. Both have unique benefits and drawbacks.

The most well known example of passive networking is your local chamber of commerce. You can find a chamber of commerce chapter in almost every major city worldwide. Your local chamber of commerce gives you the opportunity to meet with many of the movers and shakers in your local business community. Through the many events they plan on a monthly and yearly basis, they offer you a chance to connect with a number of potential prospects for your products and services.

Weekly networking groups or clubs are an example of strong networking opportunities. These kinds of business networking events can be found in many major cities worldwide. A strong networking group will meet on a weekly basis for the sole purpose of exchanging business leads with one another and learning better ways of networking to grow their business. The most successful networking groups require your weekly attendance and insist that their members provide fellow members with referrals throughout the year. They also allow only one person from each profession or industry to belong to the group. This keeps the quality of the referrals high. One such group is Business Network International (BNI).

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of networking? They both have their place but strong networking groups represent a bigger commitment than passive networking groups. By belonging to a strong networking group, you are committed to be on the lookout for referrals for group members. Strong networking groups also usually meet on a weekly basis whereas passive networking groups usually meet monthly.

Passive networks can have multiple people from one profession or industry as members. They also have no requirements for passing on referrals to other members. Referrals do occur in a passive networking event but it is not facilitated by the meeting and is totally up to the business owner to initiate. You can belong to multiple passive networking groups. Any business you get from passive networking will most likely be a result of the amount of effort you put in.

Strong networks on the other hand restrict membership to only one person per industry or profession. This greatly increases the likelihood that you will receive referrals from participating members. Meetings are structured in a way to encourage referrals and there is a formal referral exchange that happens every week. It is strongly recommended that you only belong to one strong networking group in order to keep the quality of your referrals high.

In either case, it is important for members of these groups to see you as professional and competent. Referrals will go to people the referrer knows, likes and trusts.

Want more business? Start attending business networking events in your area.

Posted by ralph at 06:52 PM | Permalink

"Cutting-Edge Internet Marketing" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

As a subscriber, I have some exciting news of which you
should be aware.

I invite you to experience what I believe is the most
unique form of excellent marketing I've ever been involved
with.

Imagine what you could do if you could market your product
on the Internet using the latest e-mail, audio, and visual
technology in combination!

Would this be a dream come true?

Suppose the whole thing could be put on "auto pilot" using
autoresponders.

What you can now actually experience is the future of
Internet marketing.

My co-speaker at my upcoming San Francisco seminar, Joel
Christopher, has launched a new marketing system. This has
just "gone live" in the last 24 hours. The Internet will
never be the same.

Here is how it developed. In the last 60 days, Joel and I
did three teleseminars with up to 1000 people on each call.

During the calls I answered all types of direct, penetrating
questions provided by subscribers. Subjects included
marketing, Internet marketing, and creating "killer" copy.
Plus all kinds of personal questions about me and my
lifestyle which brought out information never before
revealed.

Each day for 27 days you get a 10 or 12 minute segment of
these calls right in your e-mail. It's so powerful, it's
almost scary.

You wouldn't have subscribed to THE SUCCESS MARGIN
unless you were interested in gaining and keeping that all-
important marketing edge.

Experience this marketing program for yourself. You will be
gaining an insight into the exciting future of Internet
marketing. And there is no cost or obligation.

Just go to http://www.SmallBusinessSuccessSeminar.com
and click on the "OK Button" at the bottom of the pop-up box
which you'll see as you enter the site.

We guarantee that you'll marvel at this magnificent and
magical multimedia miniseries.

You'll start getting these segments immediately once you
go to http://www.SmallBusinessSuccessSeminar.com. Of course,
you can opt out at any time.

Yours truly,

Ted Nicholas
www.tednicholas.com

P.S. Please feel free to email this letter to a friend.

P.P.S. "The secret to success, in life and in
business, is to work hard at the margin.
Relentlessly. It's as powerful as compound
interest, the eighth wonder of the world.
Those little marginal extra efforts will
inevitably grow into something big."
-- Bill Bonner

Little things mean a lot

"God is in the details"

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 01:55 PM | Permalink

October 23, 2005

"How To Get A Job During All Economic " by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

"You may say I'm a dreamer..."
--John Lennon

The last Success Margin entitled "Wanted--
Employees seeking lifetime job security" produced
lots of feedback. Most was very favorable.

However, a few subscribers say I'm too "idealistic."
I must admit that at times this tends to be true.

One subscriber, normally a big fan, stated I'm "way
off the mark" on this topic. He writes:

"I gave my heart and soul to six major corporations
only to be fired. I saved five to 10 times my salary
for every employer. But they were still not happy.
They said, 'that's not the way we've always done
it.' And, 'that's not the way our competitors do it.'

"Major corporations don't like independent,
innovative, responsible, risk-taking maverick
employees, unless perhaps you're the CEO. What
they want are mindless, ass-covering, meeting
attending, yes-man robots who don't rock the boat,
don't upset the status quo, and don't make their
bosses look bad.

"So I started my own business, where my
independent thinking, motivation and dedication
are finally put to good use."

While I like and applaud this solution, I have a
different take on the nature of companies
comprising the business world.

There are two basic types of management styles.

The first rewards the best political type and are
not really interested in the most productive.

The second is desperately seeking employees
who think and function like entrepreneurs.
Sometimes called "intrepreneurs," such employees
help management build sales and profits or cut
costs in measurable ways. Their pay often includes
various "piece of the action" compensation plans.

More and more enlightened companies prefer hiring
intrepreneurs.

Definition: Intrepreneur--Functions very much
like an entrepreneur but does so as an employee
within a company.

Any reader who is currently working for the first
type employer is wasting their valuable life. You'll
never be fully appreciated or rewarded unless you
connect with the second type employer. (Or, of
course, start your own company.)

** Good alternatives to a "regular" job **

You don't necessarily have to be an employee to
meet your goals.

You can also operate as an independent contractor
or consultant. Indeed, many companies prefer it
as they do save money by avoiding the cost of a
typical benefit package.

Also, it's an indisputable fact now that people can
do their job outside a company facility. Many
companies are open to your working from home.
Or other locations you choose, such as an Internet
café.

As to my idealism, please be aware dear reader that
I can be of best help to you by NOT presenting the
world as it is. Anyone can do that.

I have a romantic view of things and I present the
world in an idealized way. As it can be and ought
to be.

Such a view may give you something that's worth
aspiring to. I can also assure you what I
recommend is often very practical. Indeed, it's
exactly what I do in my own business. And so do
many of my clients.

If you agree with my recommendations, you can
decide which parts you wish to apply to your
business life.

This writing style allows me to always be
completely open and forthright with you.

And since this is a free publication that doesn't
accept advertising, the only person I have to
please besides you is myself. And you can
subscribe forever, or as long as you feel it's
worthwhile for you.

** Getting the ideal job you really want **

Most applicants are terrible at seeking a job. It's
no wonder millions are unemployed. And many
are so discouraged they have lost all hope of
landing a position and are in the category of the
permanently unemployed.

What I'm about to share with you comes from my
experience on both sides of the desk. A job
seeker and a job giver.

First, some don'ts:

-- Don't send the typical boring resume to
businesses you hardly know

-- Don't cold call. Cold calls have a very low
success rate.

-- Don't communicate your goals. Your problems.
Your objectives. Your future. These are "me"
messages your prospective employer doesn't care
about. Your prospective employer is interested
in what's in it for him. This means his goals.
His problems. His objectives. His future.

** Don't apply for a job--campaign for it **

1. Select three to five prospective employers you
wish to target.

2. Get as much background on these companies as
possible. Sources of information can include the
library, the Internet, trade organizations, past and
present employees and competitors. If the
companies are publicly owned, you can get
financial information by calling and asking for
their latest financial statement. If the companies
are privately owned, you can often get a great deal
of information about them on the Internet.

3. After studying the background data, determine
what their problems, goals and opportunities might
be.

4. Prepare a letter directed to the person who will
be your boss and to whom you'll report. You must
sell yourself in this letter. Rewrite your resume
onto no more than two pages. Include your biggest
accomplishments in each job. Focus on how you
helped make or save money way beyond your
salary.

5. Convince him/her you can help them meet their
goals and objectives.

6. "Try me before you buy me." Offer to
completely prove yourself before becoming a
permanent employee by working for a month at a
low salary, or even free, so the employer is risking
almost nothing.

7. Include a good photograph dressed in
appropriate business attire and smiling directly
into the camera.

Ask for a personal interview. At the interview:

I. Dress in the type of attire the company prefers.
You'll find this out as you research.

II. Personal grooming is very important. Shower,
use deodorant, clean nails, shiny shoes.

III. Be confident, warm, friendly, but not overly
personal.

IV. Make eye contact.

V. Listen carefully and answer questions as
honestly as possible. Avoid overtalking.

VI. Act enthusiastic. But don't plead or beg
for the position you seek.

VII. There are no bad jobs. Be willing to start
at a lower position than you are seeking.
You'll prove yourself quickly. Cream rises
to the top.

Some of the toughest interview questions are:

-- Why should we hire you? Remember,
preparation is the key. Focus on helping to increase
revenue, cut costs, or both.

-- What is your greatest strength? Focus on one that
will help your prospective employer most.

-- What is your greatest weakness? Discuss a
work-related weakness you've overcome.

-- Where do you see yourself in five years? Project
a realistic position a few steps above the job you
are seeking.

--What salary are you seeking? Be open and honest
about what you'd like to earn after your 30-day
"tryout."

-- Why do you want to leave your present job? Be
positive, not negative. By all means, don't put
down your present employer.

-- Do you have any questions? Based on your
research, ask two to three questions maximum that
will show you've done your homework and that
you are interested.

Every successful employer is on the lookout for
superstar employees whether or not they are
advertising for new people. Approach them
correctly and you have a great chance you'll be
hired.

Happy job hunting. Please let me know the good
news about your great new job!

Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas

P.S. Here is a recent review of my new book,
HOW TO TURN WORDS INTO MONEY.

"'How To Turn Words Into Money' opened my eyes
to the fact that words can 'make or break' a promotion.
Your advice on ads and sales letters made me realize how
simple it really is to craft an effective ad or letter--
if you follow the steps!

"Overall your book will be read and re-read many times!"

Mark Bond
Cary, NC

For comple te details, go to the following link:
http://www.turnwordsintomoney.com

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:46 PM | Permalink

"The Secrets of Joe Sugarman Revealed!" A review of three new marketing books by Joe "Mr. Fire!" Vitale

I don't know Joe Sugarman. Never met him. Never spoke to him. Never bought a pair of his famous BluBlocker sunglasses. Never seen him in any of his successful infomercials, or on the home shopping channel, in one of his marketing seminars or anywhere else. I've never seen his JS&A mail-order catalog gadgets or any of his unusual hard-sell full-page ads. But after reading his three new books, I'll never forget him. Partly because I now think Sugarman is a genius. And partly because I'm now mad at him.

But let me tell you the whole story...

A month or so ago I received an e-mail from David Deutsch, a brilliant copywriter and a personal friend, urging me to drop everything and order Joe Sugarman's new book, "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word: The Ultimate Resource on How to Write Powerful Advertising Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters and Mail Order Entrepreneurs." Since I am a copywriter and since I collect books on marketing (about 5,000 in my library so far), I immediately called 1-800-323-6400 and asked them to send me the book by Fed-X. I wanted it NOW. As it turns out, Fed-X had problems with their flights and their deliveries, and the book didn't arrive for two l-o-n-g, dreary, frustrating, hair-pulling (and I'm bald), impatient days.

I was not happy.

But then I opened the package. I was stunned to see how beautiful the book looked: Hardcover, dust jacket, high quality paper, 312 large pages---truly an impressive (and expensive) work of production. But the best was yet to come. Inside this book were Sugarman's hard earned secrets of persuasion. I don't know how to convey how impressed I am with this. In my giant library of books on marketing, only two or three books stand out as true bibles on how to write copy that sells, and *they* are out of print. When I saw Sugarman's explanation of the 24 psychological triggers that cause prospects to buy from you, I knew this was a living work of sheer genius.

In fact, I used Sugarman's concepts to rewrite my ad for my new home-study course on sales and marketing. Where my original headline was long and wordy, I replaced it with one inspired by Sugarman's tendency to come up with two or three word headlines that rattle the brain with curiosity invoking images. For example, one of Sugarman's ads began "Pocket Yellow Pages," for a 1978 calculator. Another's headline read "Pickle Power," for a 1982 battery charging system. I retitled my ad "Barnum's Secret," since the course deals with the secrets of P.T. Barnum. Will the new headline work? As Sugarman teaches, only testing will tell.

I spent a week slowly devouring every word in Sugarman's new book. I loved the fact that he included ads by his students, such as Joe Karbo's famous lazy man's way to riches ad, and the Victoria's Secret ad that began with the headline "Lingerie for Men." Most of the ads are by the master himself. One print ad by Sugarman, titled "Pet Plane," actually sold a plane by mail for $240,000---when it was valued at $190,000, a truly staggering feat. All of these ads, with Sugarman's commentary, are very instructional. All in all, "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word" is worth gold and worth getting right now.

But wait: As it turns out, Sugarman has written an entire *trilogy* on marketing.

All of these new books are based on an exclusive seminar Sugarman taught for 12 years, attended by Joe Karbo, Federal Express, Victoria' Secret, and a long list of other now successful names who paid $3,000 each to sit in Sugarman's shadow. The first book is the one I just reviewed. After I read it, I called 1-800-323-6400 and told them to send the other two new books to me by UPS next day delivery. (Heck with Fed-X.) An hour later someone from Sugarman's office called to say the third book was not printed yet, and would not be for maybe four months. Four months! I was disappointed (what a weak word for what I felt) but told them to send the book they had. To my surprise, on the next day *both* new books arrived. I was confused, but glad to have both books in my hands.

Let's look at the second book next:

"Marketing Secrets of a Mail Order Maverick: Stories and Lessons on the Power of Direct Marketing to Start a Successful Business, Create a Famous Brand Name and Sell Any Product or Service" is another beautiful work of production: Hardcover, dust jacket, 396 pages. This meaty book is *packed* with stories, lessons, ads, tips and techniques. In it Sugarman reveals the story of how he cleverly wrote a retail ad that sold thousands of computers in *one* morning, causing a line of people for blocks. (!) And I nearly cried reading about the ad Sugarman ran to raffle off his services as a copywriter to help raise money for the American Cancer Society after his mother's sad death. The bizarre twists and turns as a result of his idea---a train wreck, car wreck and a meeting with an Hawaiian healer---melted my heart while boggling my mind. Clearly, Sugarman has been around the block (often chased) in the world of marketing. He tells stories about his successes, as well as his failures, and they are *riveting.*

The success story about the software program that could accurately predict the stock market (which made many people wealthy) made me drool to get my hands on it. The failure story about the "Laser Beam Mousetrap" that went for $1,500 reveals how your ego can cripple your success. Then there are Sugarman's thoughts on type fonts, layout, photography, pricing, publicity (it doesn't sell much), humor (avoid it) and much more, that make this book required reading.

Now let's look at the third book in Sugarman's trilogy:

"Television Secrets for Marketing Success: How to Sell Your Product on Infomercials, Home Shopping Channels and Spot TV Commercials from the Entrepreneur Who Gave You BluBlocker Sunglasses" is yet another gorgeous book: Hardcover, dust jacket, 314 pages. Sugarman's stories about the products he loved and spent a fortune on (like the pill that removes wrinkles, which really works) are entertaining as well as educational. You learn that the product is king, the public (and only the public) is the voter, and a sound way to discover what will work or not is by testing your product first in print (another reason to read his first book). That's how Sugarman knew BluBlocker sunglasses could do well on TV. In print, he sold 100,000 sunglasses in six months. On TV, he sold that many in one month. (He's sold twenty million total.) You also discover that an infomercial is like a Hollywood screenplay, with three distinct parts, and with keeping the viewer entertained more important than virtually anything else.

While I loved this third book, I have to admit I found it the weakest of the three. I don't want to decry the value of this work, but I have to point out that Sugarman says he got out of the infomercial business in 1993 because of problems he foresaw (raising costs being a biggie). To write a book on how to create winning infomercials when he now believes infomercials aren't what they used to be seems like a very mixed message. His concerns about infomercials may be why his enthusiasm isn't in this last, and thinnest, book. He simply doesn't believe in them as much as he used to. Still, make no mistake, this IS a terrific book.

Actually, all three books are outstanding, with the second being my favorite. Since there is very little repetition in them, and since each contains ads that aren't in the others, you really have to have the set to feel like you've learned all of the secrets of Joe Sugarman. I'd say these books comprise a twenty-year education in direct response marketing, which can be the road to riches for virtually anybody. The only thing missing in this trilogy is material on marketing online. But stay tuned: Joe's next book is "Computer Secrets of a Marketing Guru."

I mentioned at the beginning of this review that I am mad at Joe Sugarman. Here's why:

When I called his office to find out why the first book---which was to be delivered by Fed-X the next day---hadn't arrived, they blew me off. They said that Fed-X had tried to deliver the book but I wasn't home. Nonsense. I STAYED home to receive the book. I had to call Fed-X to discover the book wasn't delivered due to flight delays. I also asked for a refund of the extra money I paid for overnight delivery, but neither Fed-X or Sugarman's office have yet to return a cent.

When I called to order Sugarman's other two books, someone told me the third book wasn't in print yet. As you now know, I received the third book with the second one. Sheesh. Doesn't anyone communicate in Sugarman's office? I was not impressed.

Finally, when you call 1-800-323-6400 and buy all three of Sugarman's books, as I have done, you are supposed to get a free slipcase to hold the books. Well, I never received it. I'd love to have one, too, as these wonderful books beg for a protected spot in my library.

Oh, I guess I'm not really mad at Sugarman. When I think of the three absolutely terrific new books he has given the business world, and when I delve into those books and relish the stories and learn from his tested theories, I can't help but smile, relax and forgive.

And maybe one day I'll even buy a pair of his sunglasses.

Joe "Mr. Fire!" Vitale Author, "There's a Customer Born Every Minute: P.T. Barnum's Secrets to Business Success" (AMACOM, 1998)

Joe Sugarman's new books with ordering information:

Vol. 1: "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word"
Vol. 2: "Marketing Secrets of a Mail Order Maverick"
Vol. 3: "Television Secrets for Marketing Success"

$39.95 each plus $5 shipping from 1-800-323-6400 or FAX (702) 597-2002 or write to JS&A Group, Inc., 3350 Palms Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89103

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 07:14 PM | Permalink

"Ad Copy Secrets for Online and Off " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Who couldn’t use some great ad copy tips once in awhile?! Here are secrets shared by ad pros to use in your promotions online and off.

1. DIGITAL IMAGES – Add images with your ad copy. Rule of thumb here is NOT “the more the merrier.” So choose one or two of your best images. Don’t have a camera or not great with it yet? Don’t worry. Surf the Internet or check software packages for images that grant you permission for use. Simply type “free images to use” into your favorite search engine. Or check places like Amazon.com or Ebay.com for affordable image packages that fit your industry needs.

2. PRICE – List your price and don’t irritate people by playing games and hiding it or leaving it out. People are bombarded with sales commercials, postal mail, email, radio and television ads, etc. They don’t and won’t waste time on hunting for your price. Plus whenever you offer rewards or free bonus items in your ad copy, make sure to include the dollar value beside each so that people know they’re getting a god deal and your package holds more value overall.

3. TESTIMONIALS – Continually gather testimonials of all lengths from your clients and sprinkle them throughout your ad copy. Group some inside a yellow or blue (or other color that coordinates with your marketing piece) box. List some in individual boxes along with a photo of the person sharing comments and his or her company name to add credibility. No need to be book-length comments, either.
“Those 1-liners stand out and pull readers!”

4. HAND WRITTEN NOTE – Include a hand written notation or actual letter with your ad copy. Write the note on the edge of the ad so that it stands out, or write it on a small different colored sheet of paper. For online use, scan it and publish it on the web page or visit your favorite search engine and find a third party solution under “website handwritten notes” for companies like 3M Worldwide at www.3m.com . The addition of a personal touch can always help increase sales. Note: If your handwriting is difficult to decipher, maybe ask a friend or colleague to re-write your copy first before it going to press.

When you’re finished, with your ad copy, go back and check for areas of improvement. Even tiny changes can make hug differences in response rates. So go take a peek!

Posted by ralph at 01:12 PM | Permalink

October 22, 2005

"Make Your Ad Copy More Effective " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Telling a story or sharing product and service information is fine in an ad. But the bottom line is that you want to close a sale. The difference in ad copy doesn’t have to be earth shattering. It can be very slight, in fact. Here are ways to make your ad a little more effective come closing time.

1. TESTS – Make public knowledge the results of your product and service testing. Share how your items stand up against the competition; how durable they are, how safe. Discuss the quality and unique features. Let people know “why” they should choose your items. And present the material in a professional way with statistics, graphs, before and after photos or other graphic images and a well-written report or case study documented.

2. YOU – While you’re at it, let them know why they should choose you! Don’t hide behind a P.O. Box and Yahoo email address. Add your background information, a nice executive resume, testimonials from clients, work samples, community involvement projects, industry awards, educational courses you continue to take for self improvement, workshops and seminars you attend, etc. let people know who you are. Add a nice, professional photograph of yourself, too, if you like.

3. CHARITY – Tie in a percentage of your sales with one of your favorite charities. And make mention of this in your ad copy. This is a win-win strategy because your company gives back to society plus your clients read about it; it improves your image in their eyes and shares your concerns. And they give, too. Everyone helps each other.

4. GUARANTEE – Include a good, solid guarantee in your offer. For examples, look at the last thing you purchased and check out the guarantee. In a nutshell, make it a lifetime offer and / or give them back MORE than they gave you.

5. PS – Since most people look for this feature, add it! Say something in your P.S. – like give them a Bonus offer if they reply by a certain deadline. Or focus on your best reason why the reader should buy – and NOW.

6. CONTACT – Do include complete contact information – that works! Test any email addresses and telephone numbers before going to press

So next time you need to ace your ad copy, go back over what you wrote and tweak it here and there for improvements. Better yet, have a contest and invite your readers to do it for you! How’s that for a win-win solution?!

Posted by ralph at 12:55 PM | Permalink

October 21, 2005

"A Headline Can Earn You A Fortune" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

It's shocking to observe how poor the headlines are
in all media. The worst examples are on the Web. This
includes advertising as well as news stories.

It's incredible to me, right in the middle of the
Information Age, when it's more important than ever,
creating headlines has become a dying art.

Yet, headlines are responsible for 90% of the success of any
piece of sales copy.

Numerous times just by creating a new headline, I've turned
a loser into a winner. This is without any change whatsoever
in the body copy or the offer.

The headline is not just important to the marketer. It's
almost everything!

Whether the headline is on an outer envelope, at the top of a
space ad or sales letter, it must be strong, powerful and grab
attention.

The subject line in an e-mail letter acts like a headline
and should be treated with the same importance as in all
other media.

Here is what the late advertising legend, David Ogilvy,
had to say:

''On the average, five times as many people read the
headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless
your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90%
of your money.''

There are five main reasons why a headline is so important.
It:

1. Attracts attention
2. Communicates a strong benefit
3. Appeals to the self-interest of the reader - Answers the
question: ''What's in it for me?''
4. Sets the tone for the offer
5. Selects the right audience

To underscore the importance of the headline on the outside
envelope, I'd like to take you behind the scenes for a case
history from which you can glean enormous benefits.

The following account has been generously shared with
the permission of my client, partner and friend, Dr. Reinhard
Hittich.

I had prepared a very successful sales letter for GreenPower
for Dr. Hittich's company located in Holland (I write the
copy in English and it's translated into German).

The product is called Spirulina Plus tablets, a plant-
derived nutritional supplement.

The successful headline, or ''teaser,'' original copy on the
envelope reads as follows:

''How You Can Defeat the Dangers of the Toxic
Environment in Which You Live''

Simply to try to beat the ''control,'' even though extremely
successful, I suggested we test four new teasers against the
above control mail kit on the outside envelope. Testing
new headlines is the easiest and potentially THE most
profitable thing you can ever do.

We would keep all the other elements exactly the same.
This includes the sales letter, order form, and reply
envelope without change.

Here are the new outside envelope headlines, or as direct
marketers call them, ''teasers.''

#1
Can a Natural Green Plant Miraculously
Prevent and Cure More Diseases
Than All The Artificial Drugs Put Together?

#2
Can a Green Plant Supplement Contain At Least Twice
The Nutrients and Health Power Of Any Vitamin Pill?

#3
What is Nature's Most Perfect Food?

#4
Shocking Health Facts About the Miracle Green Plant
Pharmaceutical Companies Do Not Want You to Know

Which of the above four new headlines or existing
headline (five total) would you pick as the winner?

I'll give you the results in a moment. However, before
you know the answer, to get the maximum benefit from
this exercise, think about which one appeals to you most
and why.

The good news is, in any form of direct marketing you do
not have to guess. You can test and make decisions based
on facts.

Here are the actual mailing results from this test.

Original Control Headline Percentage response 7.08%
New Headline #1 Percentage response 8.60%
New Headline #2 Percentage response 9.32%
New Headline #3 Percentage response 7.92%
New Headline #4 Percentage response 9.00%

What happened was extremely unusual. The winner was
number 2. However, all four of the new headline tests
beat the existing control, which was already extremely
profitable!

Dr. Hittich, my client, was not just surprised. He was
shocked beyond belief! He couldn't get over changing a
few words on the envelope would make such a huge difference
on the overall sales and profitability of the mailing.

Another way to analyze the importance of what happened is to
look at the numbers.

For every 10,000 pieces mailed using #2 (the new control)
the gross profit increase over the former control is $10,800.
The gross profit increase is 40% over the original mailing.

On 100,000 pieces mailed, the additional gross profit is
$108,000. For a major mailer, on a million pieces mailed
this is a cool $1,080,000.

Tip: Write down even hundreds of headlines before you get
ready to sell anything. Select four of the strongest ones.
Every time you do a mailing or e-mail letter, create and
test at least one headline against your original headline,
copy and offer, whether or not it's already working.

Can you now see how you are 17 words or less away from your
first or next million?

Why 17 words? Simply because only a handful of times have I
made a longer headline work in my experience.

Here's to better headlines and more success to you in all your
endeavors.

Yours truly,

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:00 AM | Permalink

October 19, 2005

"Removing The Biggest Success Obstacle" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

The secret to success, in life and in business, is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into something big.

*** ''God is in the details''

What is the underlying cause which may hold you back from the successful, fulfilled and happy life you dream about?
We've been told all our lives fear of failure is what stops us from major actions such as:

-- Telling the important people in your life that you love them
-- Starting a profitable business of your own
-- Writing a best-selling book (I believe there is at least one great book in every human being)
-- Founding a charity
-- Pursuing the romantic relationship you really want
-- Simplifying your life
-- Adopting a beautiful child
-- Creating a successful advertising program
-- Voting Libertarian
-- Changing jobs
-- Becoming completely debt free
-- Saving at least 10% of your income
-- Getting a second citizenship
-- Moving to a new exciting city in your home country or abroad
-- Speaking publicly on a regular basis
-- Placing a portion of your assets in another country
-- Getting into top physical shape
-- Feeling free to express emotions, including crying
** What do you fear? **

Do you fear disappointing your family or friends? Wasting your education? Poverty? Bankruptcy? Unemployment? Making new friends? Death? Insanity? Being isolated and alone?

These are all real human fears. Can these fears be attributed to fear of failure?

Fear of failure, in my view, is not the fundamental fear. I think the "experts" are dead wrong.

I submit that one underlying fear sabotages and blocks your success path. It's the ultimate fear.

Fear of success.

Consider this. Fear of failure is the fear of making mistakes and losing the approval of others.

Fear of success is not feeling worthy of all we are capable of achieving in life. This is a major self- esteem issue for everyone. It can be devastating in its consequences.

Suppose your achievements proved all your critics wrong? Then what?
Suppose you did have the guts to really go after what you wanted?
Suppose you didn't stop until you achieved the life of your dreams?
I had to overcome my fear of success before I made it in a big way.
My parents really did a number on me. When I shared my deepest dreams and goals, they tried to discourage me. I spoke of having a chain of shops of my own. Of becoming a millionaire. Of writing a best-selling book.

"Who are you to want to become successful, rich and famous," they would say. "You are just an average person from a middle-class family. Stop dreaming. Perhaps become a pharmacist. Or just get a good, safe, secure job. Work hard. Be content with your life."
My parents weren't trying to hurt me. It was their way of protecting me from disappointment.

But I overcame my fears. And so can you.

Imagine yourself independently wealthy. Being involved only with projects you adore. Traveling the world as you wish. Enjoying the friendship of brilliant, interesting people. And all the while keeping physically fit.

While most of the people in the world do not fully understand and may even oppose such a lifestyle philosophically, you confidently know your path is sound.

You can live your life for yourself. And those you love.
You can easily support your favorite charities.
And you can know deep down your way of life is the most benevolent way you can give back to this beautiful world.
The ultimate result? You will finally be free.
The fastest, most direct way I've found to over- come fear of success is through expressing a few daily affirmations. The secret is to say them out loud. You may feel silly at first. Initially you may not even believe them. But, I promise you, they work.
Affirmations are deceptively powerful. You can actually trick your subconscious mind, the real powerhouse of all our lives. Eventually you will change your belief system and accept them.
Here are six affirmations I recommend:

1. I completely forgive myself and others for honest mistakes of the past.

2. I will ultimately succeed and deserve all the benefits of my achievements.

3. My life in no way depends on what others think, say or do.

4. I will forge my own path and, if necessary, am willing to stand alone.

5. I will relentlessly pursue excellence and be all I can be.

6. I will find a way to give back.

To accomplish anything close to your potential, you must overcome your fear of success. When you do, there will simply be no stopping you.

With my sincere best wishes for your greater success,
Your correspondent,
Ted Nicholas

P.S. Success seldom rests on the big things. It's doing lots of small things well over and over. Success is in the margin.
© Copyright MMIV Nicholas Direct, Inc.

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:31 PM | Permalink

"Make it Easy for People to Find You" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to the growing overload of information on the web, people no longer have the time to search the Internet let alone search engine results in order to find exactly what they want. More and more people would love to skip search engines and their plethora of irrelevant, or misleading, links. And many attempt to reach websites directly by typing plausible URLs into their browsers.

Beyond generic names, domain names that are short, easy to pronounce and easy to remember have considerable mnemonic value. A mnemonic is a device (such as a word, symbol or sound) intended to assist in recall. If a domain name carries some mnemonic value, it will increase traffic on its own. The more generic or mnemonic a name is, the more valuable it is.

Several interesting case studies include the acquisition of the domain name "art.com" by an online lithograph seller, originally named "art-u-frame-it.com," for a whopping $450,000 USD. Rumor has it that traffic and sales have soared almost immediately. But another case is the domain name "business.com," which recently sold for an incredible $7.5 million. And that's not a rumor!

Nevertheless, while the availability of domain names let alone good ones is shrinking, here are five basic guidelines to follow when registering yours. Try to follow these as much as you can and your chances of creating instant traffic will be multiplied -- I call them the "5 S's:"

Suggestive
Spelling
Suffix
Size
Singsong
First, choose a suggestive name, one that communicates the main benefit if not at least the nature of the website. Benefit-based domain names have a multitude of advantages beyond ease-of-recall, including credibility. For example, if you sought a financial planner and were given a bunch of URLs, would you choose http://www.nafep.com? Or http://www.investright.com?

Second, make it easy to pronounce and hard to misspell. Don't forget this number one rule in choosing names: "If you have to spell, say farewell!" Think of the people trying to find the website. Make it easy for them to do so and avoid anything that impedes the proper spelling of the domain name.

For instance, avoid hyphens (like http://lets-make-a-deal.com), numbers (like http://www.4you.com), hard-to-pronounce words (like http://www.akamai.com or http://www.heitml.com) or acronyms (like http://dfps.com). Unless you are IBM, AOL, CNN, BMW or some other, already well-known brand, avoid acronyms or initials at all costs -- they are probably the worst of the bunch.

In short, make the name intuitive. Words that are easily or commonly misspelled will impede traffic. For example, take these simple spelling tests: One is available here. Now, how many words did you misspell? Chances are at least one. If a name contains any such words then the chances of losing potential traffic are significant.

On the other hand, if an acronym makes a name easy to pronounce, easy to remember and shorter, then go for it. In fact, this is the third guideline: The shorter it is the better. For example, which one would you remember the most and have the least amount of trouble (or potential for error) in typing into your browser: YetAnotherHierarchicallyOrganizedOracle.com? Or Yahoo.com?

Next, "dot-com" it. Being the most popular suffix, its mnemonic value is as great as that of short domain names. Actually, more and more companies are dropping the "http://" and "www" from their URLs, particularly in advertising. And it will be soon, "As society embraces the Internet," says Martin Lindstrom in a ClickZ.com article, "Brandbuilding on the Internet," that the "dot com will disappear too."

Finally, the fifth guideline is to use repetition. Repetitious sounds are pleasing to the ear and add a singsong quality. As the adage goes, "Repetition is the parent of learning." By making the pronunciation simpler, repetition, such as with rhymes and alliteration, helps to turn names into "hooks."

For example, NoBrainerBlinds.com, CocaCola.com and SiteSell.com have that pleasing, singsong quality. Also, strong-sounding or "choppy" consonants (like the sound of "P," "D," "T" and "K"), used particularly at the beginning, help recall by adding emphasis. They are called plosives. And according to naming guru Steve Rivkin, "It makes linguistic sense to start a brand name with a strong-sounding consonant or a plosive."

Ultimately, if you already possess a domain name that breaks any of the above rules, register a second one and point it to the your website's IP address, which is your site's Internet location. Many websites have two, three or even more names pointing to the same IP for increased visibility.

It is unclear if this is true but hyphens can be used in this case to maximize search results. A good strategy is to register both versions (such as one with the hyphen and one without it), and point both of them to the same IP address. The added advantage is that keyword-based domains names often rank higher on most search engines. With a name such as "stock-tips.com," the keywords "stock" and "tips" may cause the site to be ranked higher.

In essence, make it easy for people to find the site, for the easier it is to find it the easier it will be to draw traffic to it -- and to do so without any form of advertising. And think like your visitors and the keywords under which they will likely find your site. The more you do the more traffic you will generate.

Posted by ralph at 02:52 PM | Permalink

"Is This Business Right For You? " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Your dream is to have your own business and to tell the boss "Good-Bye". An excellent dream to have, a little exciting and a little scary at the same time. Before taking that big step, take a long hard realistic look at yourself and determine "Is this business right for me?"

What is your personality? Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Do you enjoy talking to everyone you see or are you the type that has trouble talking to a stranger? Do you love number crunching, administration, computers, researching, etc.? Are you a leader or a follower? A risk taker? These are important questions to ask yourself? You want your business to match your personality and talents. Look at your business idea, does it match your personality and talents? If it does not, you will struggle to make it a success. Find a business that is right for you.

Do you take criticism well? How well do you listen to others? If you don't know, ask a close family member or friend. You have heard the saying "the customer is always right". No matter what type of business you start, you will have customers. Can you listen constructively and respond without showing anger or a negative attitude? One disgruntled customer can keep many future customers away. One mad employee can destroy your business.

Have you been told "No" lately? Adults seldom are. As you start your business there will be those times that "No" is the answer you receive. Do not take it personally. Take it as another step in your venture to success. Use the "No" to move ahead. Do not allow yourself to lose your momentum.

When you begin your business you will wear many hats, starting with the janitor. How well can you perform all the duties that will be required of you? From planning to organizing to prioritizing, everything depends on you. If your business will have employees, can you interview and select the best applicant without emotions playing a role? Can you fire your sister, brother, daughter, son, best friend, or anyone else you need to fire? Important questions to ask, because there will come a time to let someone go.

Starting your business adds additional financial burdens on you and your family. How do you currently handle this responsibility? Do you pay your bills on time now? Your vendors will only take so many late payments before they classify you as a "cash only" customer. Review your current habits and learn to pay your bills early. Structure your bills so that everything does not come due at the same time. Always alert your vendors if you see that you are going to be late paying.

How soon will you see any income? Leaving the security of a "job" and depending on yourself for 100% of your income is a giant step. Do you have enough funds to get you through four to six months of living expenses? House payment, car payment, utilities, essentials, insurance, etc. Do not forget to factor in what the business will need during this time. Look back over the past six months to a year and average what you have been spending per month. Multiply that by six and add what your business will need. Do you have that much put aside? Make sure that you do. Some businesses will see income the first week, while others may take a few weeks or months to get a steady flow coming in.

Is this business right for you? Find the one that fits your personality and talents and you will enjoy having your own business. Go ahead and tell the boss "Good-Bye".

Posted by ralph at 12:13 PM | Permalink

"Lost Genius Reveals How to Write Sales Materials that Sell (or Bruce Barton's 6 Points for Writing Ads)" by Joe Vitale

Bruce Barton was a celebrity in the 1920s. He was a bestselling author, confidant to presidents, master copywriter, philanthropist, congressman, and co-founder of the largest advertising agency in the world, BBDO. He helped five men become US Presidents. He wrote a fund raising letter that got a 100% response. The only book ever written on Barton and his ideas is The Seven Lost Secrets of Success. I recently discovered Barton's six points for writing ads, which he probably delivered in a speech in the early 1930s. Here they are, as Bruce Barton himself delivered them:

1. The theme.
"A lot of time and money is wasted by our failure to think through and get a theme before we start. The theme ought to be based on two principles---first, that a man is interested in himself; second, that he is interested in other people. Our formula for Every Week (magazine) was Youth, Love, Success, Money, and Health---all things in which people are vitally interested."

2. Interesting headlines.
"I think any public notice I may have had has come from titles. Nobody was more surprised than I when The Man Nobody Knows became a best seller. The title is what sold the book."

Barton also mentioned that when he edited magazines, he often used provocative titles to stir up controversy and interest. Examples included, "Why I never hire any woman under 30," "How my wife has hindered me in business," and the other side of the question, "How my wife has helped me in business." These interesting headlines guaranteed readership.

3. The visualization.
Barton didn't elaborate on this. But I'm sure he was referring to the layout of any sales piece. He once said, "A picture is worth two pages of type, and a headline is worth almost all the rest of the ad put together." For Barton, the illustration, headline, and body copy made up the layout, or visualization, of any sales piece.

4. The copy.
"The introduction can be eliminated almost always. The mind starts cold when you begin to write, and you don't get into high until the second or third paragraph. Cut out the introduction, and then you have a good hot start.

"Another elementary fundamental of advertising is to make the copy fit the space. To this day, I never write a piece of copy without counting the words. The picture, the headline, and the layout should be set before you begin the copy. To me, writing the copy before you have visualized the layout is backwards."

5. Adjectives.
"After you finish a piece of copy, go back and cut out all the adjectives. Henry Ward Beecher's father was once chairman of a committee to draw up resolutions on slavery. One sentence in his resolution read: 'It is an outrage.' Some one suggested that it should read: 'It is a terrible outrage.' Beecher said that was the way he had it in his first draft, but he had cut out the word 'terrible' for the sake of emphasis.

"Adjectives are like the leaves on a switch. They make the switch look pretty, but if you want to hit a blow that will cut, you take off the leaves. Literature that cuts has very few adjectives. The greatest things in life are expressed in one-syllable words---love, hate, fear, home, wife, child."

6. A purpose.
"We should never write an ad without the idea that something is going to happen. What do we want the reader to do? Write with the conviction that he is going to do something when he gets through reading---go to the store and buy; clip the coupon and mail it. And remember the power of the direct command. Don't say, 'If you would like this beautiful booklet, we will be glad to send it.' Say, 'Sit down right now and fill in this coupon.' People want things made easy; they want you to make up their minds for them."

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Posted by ralph at 09:20 AM | Permalink

"Estimating an Item’s Value for Sale on eBay " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Proper pricing of items to be listed for sale on eBay is one of the most important aspects of generating interest in one’s on-line auction listing.

If the price is too high, interest will be low, and the possibility of a sale decreases.

If the price is too low, the seller generates enormous traffic, yet the final bid might be too low to satisfy the seller’s need for a profit.

The following steps will aid in the process of pricing an item for sale on eBay.

Step 1: Determine How Much the Original Item was Worth

First of all, one must find out how much the item cost when it was new. This helps the seller set realistic goals as to how much they can expect to profit when the item is sold.

The seller must remember that the going price for the item in today’s market will be different from its original price. And depending on the demand for that item, he may get a price that is better, or worse than the original price.

The seller must also acceptance the fact that the buying power of today’s dollar is different from that of ten years ago.

Step 2: Do a Little Research

Sellers should research the current price of similar items. This gives the seller a good standard as to how much they should price their item. Searching eBay for successful auctions of similar items is one of the best ways to do this.

Step 2: How Much Has the Item Depreciated?

The seller must check the item for damages and other irregularities from a mint condition item of the same kind. They must then deduct a reasonable amount from the asking price based on their evaluation. Wear and tear on an item will definitely bring down the price of an item considerably. It is wise to make sure that items are repaired, or spruced-up before being auctioned.

Step 3: Start a Little Lower than Usual When Setting the Selling Price

It is wise to start an auction a step or two (or even three) lower than a sellers intended price. This generates interest in the item. It may be hard to believe, but auctions that start lower than the intended price actually have a better chance of overshooting the intended price.

Professional opinions are always available if the seller of an item is in doubt of the value of his or her item. Third party appraisal companies help in this regard. A list of such companies is available at the Authentication & Grading link under Protection and Authentication on eBay.

Posted by ralph at 06:03 AM | Permalink

October 18, 2005

"Advice to Ted Nicholas's Grandchildren Follow-up" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

The last issue of The Success Margin, "An Open
Letter to My Grandchildren," apparently struck a
deep chord in the minds and hearts of many readers.

There was a huge and favorable response. Plus,
requests to reproduce the article from subscribers
all over the world. This included friends and
clients, my own children, and grandchildren.

The most common comments were along these
lines: "Thanks for your inspiring thoughts;"
"I'm going to give a copy to my children
and grandchildren;" "Couldn't have said it better
myself;" "Loved it;" and "I wish I had this
information earlier myself."

There were also very interesting questions to
which I devote this issue. (In case you are a new
subscriber, you can get the previous issue by
visiting www.tednicholas.com)

Question: You refer to Ayn Rand as your favorite
author. What are the three most important things
you learned from her? And which of her books do
you recommend?

TN: Ayn Rand truly helped me deal with life more
effectively than any author I've ever read. A few
key highlights:

1. The true role of the entrepreneur in society.
And why they are the "undiscovered heroes."

2. The crucial difference between positive and
negative selfishness.

3. That I was not alone in my desire for individual
freedom in my own life.

I suggest you begin reading "Atlas Shrugged" and
"The Fountainhead" first. Undoubtedly you will
then want to read the rest of Ayn Rand's writings.

Question: Why do you favor majoring in History,
Philosophy and Psychology rather than business
subjects?

TN: I believe these subjects help provide a well-
rounded education. They help you understand how
people really tick. They also teach one how to
be a better thinker and writer--a must for anyone,
especially an entrepreneur.

Business subjects as they are taught in most
universities tend to be based on theory, not
real-world experiences, and because of their
impracticality, not useful.

Question: Other than your own business, what
do you consider the best investment? And the
worst?

TN: The best investment can be one of two
possible things. The first is well-located
income-producing real estate, such as a house
or apartment. You can produce a consistent
return on your investment of 10% or more.

The other super investment is shares in a
solid, well-managed company.

The very worst investment anyone can make is
a car, especially a new one. The value of your
new car investment drops by 20-30% or more as
soon as you drive it home. The value of the car
can often be less than what is owed if it's bought
on credit. Cars help keep many people living
paycheck to paycheck all their working lives.

I've recommended my "Mercedes Strategy" to
seminar attendees for years and have seen
remarkable and gratifying results for my readers.

Here is how the "Mercedes Strategy" works.

-- Look for a previously owned Mercedes, 5-10
years old. Logic: A Mercedes car is seldom
neglected, abused by its original owner, who
tends to be a conservative older person. Such
a car in good condition can easily last for 250,000
miles or more. Look for mileage under 100,000
miles. You can check dealer lots and newspaper
ads as good sources of leads.

-- Ask for the service records and permission to
bring a good mechanic to inspect the cars you've
found. Of course, agree upon what the inspection
will cost you before proceeding. Only if the
mechanic finds the car mechanically sound
should you proceed.

-- Negotiate a price. Make an offer. That's it.

Recently a seminar attendee and friend, Christian
Boucke from Germany, met us at our hotel in
Holland for lunch. He picked us up in a beautiful
white Mercedes sedan, which looked and rode
like a new automobile.

Christian bought the car the past year after
attending one of my seminars in Bonn. The price--
just $3,000! And he paid cash so he had no car
payments, for the first time in his life. His
friends and clients also loved this prestigious
car. They assumed it was new. He is delighted
with this lovely automobile.

Middle class people tend to buy the most new cars.
Compare the "Mercedes Strategy" with buying a
new car of any brand every couple of years.

The result: You become a slave to car payments of
perhaps $200 to $450 per month, most of which is
interest. Worst of all, it's a declining asset
all the while.

Buying new cars makes banks and finance companies
rich. And tends to keep the middle class person
broke.

Most new car companies, including Ford and Chrysler,
actually lose money on the cars themselves.
Meanwhile, they make a fortune in their finance
companies. Financing you is a very profitable
business.

Once fully understood, is this losing strategy
what you really want? You definitely can replace
the philosophy of the loser to that of the true
winners. A car is one of the best places to start

The poor and the middle class spend their entire
lives buying liabilities they erroneously think are
assets. One thing is certain. You cannot continue
the practice of putting your money in poor
investments if one day you want to become wealthy.

Question: How much money in the bank and
investments do you think a person should have
to be considered rich?

TN: Everyone has a different level of expenses.
You need an amount that earns enough in passive
income--which includes dividends, interest,
rentals and royalties--to maintain your living
standard without the necessity of working.

Working then becomes a choice, enabling you to
spend your time doing nothing at all. Or doing all
the things you love regardless of the income
produced.

Question: I have always considered buying a home
that I live in a good investment. Indeed, nearly
every extra penny I earn goes into my house.
What do you think Ted?

TN: I define an investment as an asset which pays
you a rate of return worth the risk. A home
investment usually does not meet this standard.

I believe you need a dose of tough love. Buying a
home in most cases keeps the great middle class
forever broke.

However, to be fair, a house can be a decent
investment in some instances. For example, if
you buy a home for $100,000 with a $20,000 down
payment and sell it for $200,000 five years later.
But, of course, this result is not certain. And
many experts feel home prices in most of the U.S.,
Europe and Asia are so overpriced they are in a
house "bubble." There is at least a 50/50 chance
the market will crash.

But even in an ideal scenario, during those five
years you own the house before you sell, if you
don't make payments on the home, who then owns
the house? The bank does, not you. Correct?

Even if you make house payments and don't pay
real estate taxes, who then owns the home? The
state, not you. Correct?

To compound the problem even more, what do most
people do when they get a raise?

They buy a bigger house with an even bigger
mortgage. And they are still living paycheck
to paycheck. And this vicious cycle continues
forever. The home buyer stays in debt permanently.
The only real winners again are the banks and
finance companies.

The real killer of wealth for the average person
is debt. A financially literate person should take
the necessary steps to get out of debt as soon as
possible.

John Cummuta, one of my seminar attendees, offers
the best program I've seen on getting out of debt.
It's published by Nightingale-Conant and is called
"Transforming Debt Into Wealth."

The rich have a completely different philosophy
about buying houses, especially when they are
getting started. They don't buy single-family houses.
Instead, they invest in a duplex or triplex residence.
They live in part of their building. They collect
enough rent to meet and often exceed their mortgage
payment. So they live rent and mortgage free.

Their investment in a home produces income rather
than expense. Such a strategy meets the definition
of investing.

Instead of working and trading time for money, your
home investment is working to provide income for you.

But most people today are in a precarious shape
financially. They are getting deeper and deeper
in debt. They place even bigger mortgages on their
houses to buy the things they want.

Indeed, during the past 12 months, the savings rate
of Americans at 2.4% was at the lowest point since
the Great Depression.

However, personal bankruptcies were also at an
all-time high. But the real bankruptcy is not just
financial. It's when consumers buy into the wrong
philosophy.

Politicians, including President Bush and Alan
Greenspan, are urging U.S. consumers to spend,
spend, spend to make themselves and America
rich. This message is so erroneous and outrageous
it borders on being criminal. They do or should
know better.

In your heart of hearts, does living on credit
seem like a path to great wealth to you? I can
assure you, no one in history has ever gotten rich
this way. And never will.

There is only one certain path to wealth. You will
get rich by making and supplying goods and services
that other people want to buy.

The old virtues--saving money...hard work...
discipline...good marketing--that's what it takes.
And this will always be. Yesterday, today and
tomorrow.

Question: What's the very best way to make
BIG money?

TN: Without a doubt, it's in a business of your own.
It's the only way in the world you can actually
"manufacture" money.

There is no other way. You can start a small
business with an idea, little or even zero capital,
and in a short time be earning hundreds of thousands,
even millions, of dollars each year.

Question: What's the very best investment you can
make?

TN: Yourself. Real-world education. Books, tapes
and seminars can supply you with knowledge no
one can take away. You can become a master in any
subject you choose within three years just by reading
one hour per day. And a world expert in five years.

But, you've got to think and act on our own. Most
Americans and Europeans are becoming non-readers.
Instead, many sit passively watching an average of
25 1/2 hours of TV each week. I'm not disparaging
TV. It can be a great educational medium, too.
But you must select programs carefully or you
waste the biggest and most valuable asset we all
have equally--time.

Clearly, it's far better to spend your time reading
and listening to the best minds in the world in books
and tapes by people who really "walk the talk."

Plus, you don't have the time in your life to make
all the mistakes and acquire all the knowledge you
can gain from all those who are willing to share
theirs with you.

Question: You recommend learning how to sell
as key to small business success. But why is the
word "sales" so negative in many people's minds?

TN: Lots of reasons. First, many high-pressure
"boiler room" types give the profession a bad name.
Plus, lots of films depict characters who are the
worst examples of salespeople.

The reality is this. The most successful people
I've known, including many multi-millionaires,
are almost 100% just the opposite of the above
stereotypes.

Sales and marketing superstars are usually great
listeners, warm, humble, and down-to-earth. They
learn how to communicate intelligently in a "no
pressure" manner. They understand that if any
buyer is pressured and regrets their purchase,
they will not ever become a loyal, lifelong
customer.

Loyal, long-term repeat customers is
where the real money is.

Super salespeople are also scrupulously honest,
for they know their reputation is their biggest
asset.

Don't listen to those who disparage salespeople.
Instead, learn how to sell like an ace. You'll
live like a king.

As you begin to achieve your entrepreneurial
goals with the right philosophy, your long-term
success is inevitable. But please understand
what approach to improvement can give your life
the most excitement, meaning and fun.

The relentless pursuit of excellence.

Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas

Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
727-596-4966
E-mail: tnicholasdirect@aol.com
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 10:38 PM | Permalink

"Press Releases That SELL!" From an article by Joe "Mister Fire!" Vitale

In 1902 Charles Austin Bates, one of my mentors and one of advertising's founding fathers, wrote that good advertising "...is simply telling a plain story. It consists merely of giving information to possible buyers."

Not many in advertising would agree with that definition today, yet it is one of the soundest explanations of how to get attention (and sales) in cyberspace. If you can write about your product or service in a low key, informative way, you will win friends and possibly make sales. One of the best ways to do just that is something called the "Net-Advertorial."

As you might guess from the name, an "advertorial" blends an advertisement with an editorial. The added "Net" lets you know this is for the Internet, or any online service.

If you can imagine writing a news story about your product or service, including details about how to do business with you, and posting this story online, you have a clear idea of what a Net-Advertorial looks like. It offers more news, less sell.

Net-Advertorials are a way to flamelessly let the online world know about your product or service. You can post them in the appropriate Usenet groups, offer them to pertinent emailing lists, and send them to people you exchange email with.

When someone hands me a product to promote, I look for the story that it fits into. Let's use a book as an example. I don't want to write a press release to promote "a book" as that usually isn't much news, but I probe to learn how the book fits into a larger picture.

For example, let's talk about the fellow who got a call from a reporter eight minutes after he faxed out my release. His book is called Fun Projects with Wooden Pallets. If I were like most publishers, I might whip up a release saying the book was now out and say a little about it. But I don't think that's very powerful. I prefer a double-whammy approach, which I achieve by combining the new book release with a feature story approach. After some thought I came up with the following headline:

New Ways to Make Furniture -- and More -- from Scrap

Note how that headline has a more "news feel" to it? It doesn't even mention the book. That, to me, isn't as important as what the book helps you do. In advertising we talk about features and benefits. The book is a feature; what you can do as a result of having the book is the benefit. I focused on the benefit.

The next thing I looked for was a killer opening line. I believe that the first line in your feature news release should be a grabber. If you don't hook the editors there, they probably won't go on to the rest of your release. It's worth mentioning right here that your editors will decide to read your release -- or not -- based on your headline. If it intrigues them, they'll read on. But the next potential stopping point for them is your first line. In the case of the above client, my first line was this:

You know those wooden pallets stacked up in and behind many businesses?

That's an opening line that I still love. Why? It gets the reader nodding his or her head, saying "yes" internally, and puts them in a receptive mood. It also pulls the reader into the next paragraph. It makes you ask, "What about those pallets anyway?"

From there I created a story about how to use the pallets to create furniture -- the news -- and I quoted from the book and the authors, thereby plugging the book within the context of the feature story. Do you see the difference? Rather than focusing on the book, I focused on the story and mentioned the book within the story.

The client I wrote this net-advertorial for said he had a reporter call him only eight minutes after he released my story! And that reporter turned the story into a five column feature article on the front page of the Sunday newspaper, complete with photographs as well as the name, address, and phone number for ordering the product.

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 07:08 PM | Permalink

"A Business Strategy That Cannot Miss" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

Would you like to have a strategy for your business
that can't miss?

Here is the most powerful business strategy you
could ever employ. It's also the simplest.

Provide a quality product or service at a price lower
than your competition.

It's so fundamental, it amazes me it's not discussed
more often in university classes, books and business
seminars.

Lowering costs is perhaps the most important reason
free enterprise is by far the most beneficial economic
system for consumers.

But to succeed in a big way, there is another factor
beyond price. You must also add one or more special
"twists."

Two of the companies I've founded are prime examples
of the "lower cost with twist" principle.

Enterprise Publishing Company's most successful product
ever is my book "How to Form Your Own Corporation
Without a Lawyer for Under $75" with sales of nearly
two million copies.

The "twists":
A. Slashing legal fees
B. Tear-out forms included right in the book

The Company Corporation, which I founded in 1972 and
sold in 1991, has become the largest incorporator of
businesses in the world, with over 300,000 clients.

The "twists":

A. Lower cost than any major competitor
B. Faster service-"incorporation in seven
minutes or less"
C. No lawyer necessary

Other examples of successful major companies which
built their empires on reducing costs and their "twists"
include:

COMPANY: Dell
FIELD: Computers
TWIST: Direct sales to consumers; custom built

COMPANY: Wal-Mart
FIELD: Department stores
TWIST: Low prices every day; wide variety

COMPANY: Southwest
FIELD: Airlines
TWIST: No frills; excellent customer service

COMPANY: Office Depot
FIELD: Office supplies
TWIST: Wide variety; larger stores; good
display, excellent customer service

COMPANY: Hampton Inns
FIELD: Hotels
TWIST: Money-back guarantee

COMPANY: McDonald's
FIELD: Restaurants
TWIST: Fast service; cleanliness

COMPANY: Toys R Us
FIELD: Toys
TWIST: Well-merchandised; wide variety

COMPANY: Book-of-the-Month Club
FIELD: Publishing
TWIST: 4 books for $1

COMPANY: Mary Carter
FIELD: House paints
TWIST: Buy one can, get one free

COMPANY: Geek's on Call
FIELD: Computer service and repair
TWIST: Great service

COMPANY: Ford Motor Company
FIELD: Automobiles
TWIST: Assembly line production

COMPANY: Standard Oil
FIELD: Gasoline
TWIST: Neat stations; clean restrooms

COMPANY: Select Information Exchange (SIE)
FIELD: Newsletter
TWIST: Five subscriptions $19

COMPANY: Charles Schwab
FIELD: Securities
TWIST: Discount brokers

COMPANY: Career Track
FIELD: Seminars
TWIST: One-day events

COMPANY: Ted Nicholas
FIELD: Seminars
TWIST: High value, high content; money-back guarantee

As a consultant and copywriter, I've always tried to make
dealing with me a bargain.

I charge a minimum monthly fee, plus equity in the
business. In every case I've ever been involved with,
the increase in sales and profits plus equity built up
for the client exceed and overwhelm the investment in me.

My seminar fees of $5,000 to $15,000 per person may
at first seem on the high side. Of course, everything
is relative. Many attendees who have earned hundreds of
thousands of dollars, even millions, based on what they
learned from me will testify to their value.

What can you do to create a low-cost business with a
powerful twist in your chosen field?

Answer this question and the result will be a successful
future for you that will exceed all your dreams.

Your correspondent, twisting the night away,

Ted Nicholas

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:15 AM | Permalink

October 17, 2005

"Are Long Copy Salesletters Scams?" by Mike Fortin

The debate was originally sparked by a comment a very well-known Fortune 500 "guru" made about Armand Morin's AudioGenerator.com.

I love it, because debate ignites passion, provides insights and shows some very interesting clues in the way people think — and feel. Which is the very point I'm bringing up with the issue of "long copy."

Before we begin, let me remind you of a truth we must keep in mind...

Copywriting is "salesmanship in print."

And that hasn't changed since former Canadian policeman John E. Kennedy changed the face of advertising forever with those three words in 1905. (Selling has been around since the beginning of time. As sales trainer Zig Ziglar once noted, selling is the oldest profession in the world. Not that "other" job.)

Because long copy is exactly that: a printed form of a sales pitch. Every question, every handled objection, every attempt the close, all the way to asking for the order, are elements that are applied in long copy salesletters.

Copywriter Paul Myers made a wonderful point: "Your copy needs to be as long as is needed to make the sale, and not one paragraph more."

Gary Halbert once remarked: "There's no such thing as 'too long' but 'too boring'." In other words, if the copy seems too long, it's probably not because of the length, but rather, because at some point it started to bore you.

But the best advice on this comes from Dan Kennedy...

The person who says 'I would never read all that copy' makes the mistake of thinking they are the customer. And they're not. We are never our own customers. There's a thing in copywriting I teach called 'message-to-market match'. It is this: when your message is matched to a target market that has a high level of interest in it, not only does responsiveness go up but readership goes up, too. The whole issue of interest goes up.

The truth about long copy is that, first of all, there’s abundant, legitimate, statistical research, that's split-testing research, to indicate that virtually without exception, long copy outperforms short copy. There’s some significant research has been done that indicate that readership falls off dramatically at 300 words but does not again drop off until 3,000 words.

The conclusion you can draw from that is this: If they're NOT targeted from the "get-go," they won't read 50 words much less 5,000. (I urge you to read the entire interview available on Kennedy's website.)

If they are targeted and genuinely interested in what you have to offer, then they're going to want more information about it, not less. And that is the key — because the debate really boils down to three important issues:

Market.
Objective.
Results.
Respectively, in that order.

1. The Market

The approach you take (long or short, institutional or direct response, and hypey or toned-down) depends on the product and the offer (such as the price), because both depend on something more important: the audience.

Long copy does outperform short copy in almost every case. But I do say "almost." Different audiences warrant different types of approaches. In a handful of cases, shorter copy is best. It's all about targeting your market.

Target marketing will tell you everything you need to know about how to write your copy. A common obstacle I see is when business owners are "married" to their products and write copy for their products instead of their audiences.

Second, if your message is not targeted to the right audience, no matter how long or short the copy is, no matter how emotionally charged or not it is, and no matter how innovative or poor the product is...

... The copy won't sell. Period.

Find out who your market is. If you have more than one, I also submit that you should have a different salesletter directed at each different market — it's market segmentation, pure and simple. Even if it's the same product.

As the saying goes, "Different strokes for different folks."

2. The Objective

The approach itself will be based on the objective of the copy. Personally, I love direct response marketing (whether it's a long copy salesletter, a direct mail piece or an infomercial) specifically because it's measurable, quantifiable and immediate. It's one in which you ask for the order outright.

Or one in which you directly ask the reader to do something. Anything.

It's different if you wanted to use institutional advertising in order to build the brand of your product, penetrate a new market or create top-of-mind awareness — and not attempting to sell and generate orders on the spot.

Some people choose institutional advertising over direct response advertising. That is, short, pithy, clever copy, with a lot of whitespace, corporate logo and highbrow, highfalutin language. No phone number. No address. No selling.

And no urgency.

That's fine, but this will require a massive advertising budget, a lot of repetition and a ton of patience before knowing if the approach works. But if it does (and once it does), orders will start pouring in. Still, it's very risky at best.

Nevertheless, the question is, what is the copy's goal? Think about this. Is it to educate and inform? To build a brand and penetrate a new market?

Or to make an offer and SELL?

3. The Results

You will approach each market differently. And the language, and particularly the offer, must fit THAT specific market. Again, it depends on #1 and #2.

For example, do you use hyperbole, emotions and even "used-car" vernacular to make your pitch? Maybe. Maybe not. But consider this: while the language may or may not be hypey, "go to the court of last resort," as Claude Hopkins said. That's "the buyers of your product." And that's the key: testing.

If the language is indeed turning them off and causing them NOT to buy, that's what's important. Again, your audience will ultimately dictate your approach.

Is it too hypey? Too cheesy? Too "scammy?" If so, how do you know? Aside from your market and objective, the language you choose depends on your offer. But more important, it all depends on the results your offer creates.

Whether the reader likes the language or not is not the issue: if the language makes the sale, that's the true test. In the end, your prospects will cast their votes on your copy not with their opinions or feedback but with their wallets.

Projecting a professional, poised and credible image doesn't mean you can't be emotional in your pitch. People buy on emotion first and justify their decision with logic. Even engineers, C-level executives and politicians.

You can still fire up hormones and press hot buttons and stir emotions — without appearing cheesy, overbearing or downright crude.

Some final words.
Don't go on long-winded tangents, and don't add copy just for the sake of making it long. Keep your eyes on the prize. Stick with the sale. Be relevant. Make your case, tell your story and provide as much information as is needed to make the sale... And not one word more.

Because the bottom line is this: the length and tone of your copy are dictated not by what you think, and not by what a copywriter or advertising agency thinks, but by your audience, your objective and, above all, your results.

Posted by ralph at 04:19 PM | Permalink

"Ted Nicholas, One Of The Greatest Copywriters in History, Volunteers to Help With The In Search Of Heroes Copywriting Program" By Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

Newsletter Editor: "THE SUCCESS MARGIN." A free e-zine, Ted Nicholas shares secrets of his direct marketing success which made him a millionaire.

Accomplished Public Speaker: Holds seminars in Europe and in the United States on direct marketing and self-publishing. Attendees happily pay up to $7,500 to attend and feel they've gotten far more than their money's worth.
President: Nicholas Direct, Inc. Ted Nicholas' own company, which markets his books, audio and video tapes, newsletter, seminars, as well as other information products.

Founder of 22 companies, including: Peterson's House of Fudge; Entrepreneurs of America, a national association providing a resource network for entrepreneurs; Enterprise Publishing, a national publisher of "how to" business books and products, later sold to Dearborn Publishing; The Company Corporation, highest volume registered agent and trademark service company for over 120,000 companies.

Author of Many Bestselling Books:
HOW TO TURN WORDS INTO MONEY
MAGIC WORDS THAT BRING YOU RICHES
HOW TO FORM YOUR OWN CORPORATION WITHOUT A LAWYER FOR UNDER $75
HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK AND SELL A MILLION COPIES
COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONSULTING SUCCESS
THE GOLDEN MAILBOX: HOW TO GET RICH DIRECT MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT
SECRETS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP
THE COMPLETE BOOK OF CORPORATE FORMS
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO "S" CORPORATIONS
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUSINESS AGREEMENTS
43 PROVEN WAYS TO RAISE CAPITAL FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
EXECUTIVE'S BUSINESS LETTER BOOK
HOW I SOLD $200 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Consultant: To entrepreneurial companies who retain Ted Nicholas for help in marketing their products and services.

Media Credits: "Good Morning America," "Today," "Oprah Winfrey," "Tom Snyder," and "Joe Franklin" TV shows. Also interviewed on hundreds of radio shows and by newspapers and magazines throughout the world, including: "Morning Live," WCEO; "Nightly Business Report" on WPBT; "Business Day" on the Business Radio Network; "Money in the Morning" on KCEO; and 250 others.

Brief Background: Without capital, Ted Nicholas started his first business at age 21. Founded 22 companies. Mr. Nicholas has written 15 best sellers and has published 53 books by other authors. He serves on the board of numerous corporations.

As a consultant, he has provided services for companies in nearly 100 different industries. When Ted Nicholas was just 29, he was selected by a group of business leaders as one of the most outstanding businessmen in the nation and invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States.

Posted by ralph at 08:50 AM | Permalink

"Help for the Home Based Business " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Wouldn’t it be great to get some good, affordable, reliable help, even though you work out of your home? But finding workers and figuring out where to meet or when to bring them into your home office can pose some difficult juggling, personal and security issues.

A popular solution is outsourcing. When you outsource, you can hire experienced people and let them use their creative talents while you focus on other tasks. Another benefit is that the workers you hire may be more up to date on the latest information and technology in their specific fields and can be assets to your clients, as well, offering improved quality service.

OUTSOURCE

Here are the basics to outsourcing:

Focus:

Focus on outsourcing some of the major tasks of your workload. First, sit down for a breather and look around your ‘To Do’ lists and office area. What CAN you outsource? Which work seems to pile up the most?

For example, maybe you can’t seem to find time to update your website each month. Maybe your newsletter is STILL not getting out regularly. Or perhaps your direct mail campaign is not quite as direct as it should be; i.e. it is sitting directly in the same pile it was three months ago.

Then write out one-page project description for these major tasks. Focus on WHAT exactly you’d want done, WHEN and HOW the end product should turned in to you.

Take Action:

Then look for service providers. For example, with the sample tasks above, find people who can help with Internet websites, newsletter creation and sending out direct mail campaigns. Call round and surf the Internet and ask other home based business operators which companies they recommend. Check forum posts; inquire for advice and suggestions. Shop around for comparisons.

Then set up trial periods and test a couple. Remember, no one is perfect. See who you can communicate with pretty easily and who’s flexible to work as a team player. Check out the quality (and quantity) of their work. Then choose a candidate. Remember, this decision is not carved in stone. And you can always hire the other person as a back up or second helper down the road. So be kind to all who test, make decisions and keep your business moving forward.

ROI:

Make the most out of your investment and get a great return by investing in your time wisely, too. Outsourcing will hopefully free up more time for you to focus on the work you like and allow more time for marketing and advertising, to increase sales and projects. Don’t forget to brush up on your skills and keep up with the industry now, too. Read the latest ezines in your field and take a brush up course or workshop to improve your skills.

Network and seek out joint venture opportunities.

Outsourcing is a great way to help small businesses grow larger while still remaining at home. So reach out and give it a try!

Posted by ralph at 07:56 AM | Permalink

October 16, 2005

"To Brand or Not to Brand?" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The shift that marketers are making from institutional marketing to what I call "directional" marketing is a rather interesting one. While the most notable reason is the fact that the Internet expands one's target market and increases the sales potential, more often than not it is also the fact that it is arguably more cost-efficient than any other medium.

The web is an extraordinary tool that can help most ebusinesses to accomplish various things. One in particular is the reduction of costs that one would have normally incurred when doing business offline. In other words, what better way would there be to advertise, sell and serve the customer as efficiently, errorlessly, timely and economically than through the web?

People assuming that Internet marketers are not making money online (at least not yet, anyway) should think again. Profits are being realized right now in explosive amounts and in multiple ways, and online companies are laughing all the way to the bank as a result. For example, analysts are purporting that the upcoming holiday season will potentially become one of the busiest, most lucrative times in the history of the worldwide network.

But more important, the savings resulting from more efficient marketing intelligence gathering, quicker product roll-outs, expanded market reach, more expedient order fulfillment and greater public relations potential have made ecommerce the most profitable business activity ever. Due to the fact that the Internet is completely user-driven, direct marketing has become not just a tool for brand-builders but also a necessity to their online survival.

A recent article in CyberAtlas, entitled "Internet Advertising Focused on E-Commerce, Not Brands," revealed online advertising statistics amassed through a Strategis Group study. Surprisingly, the study claims that the top 50, most visited web sites on the 'Net as a result of online advertising is not the larger, more branding-oriented companies but the direct marketers -- such as Amazon.com and eToy.com, as opposed to, for example, Procter and Gamble, Ford Motor Company and Coca-Cola.

However, while some of the larger companies are spending huge amounts of advertising dollars to brand their online presence (with institutional marketing), which will devour a significant portion of their profit margins, the cost-savings factor of the web balances it all out in the end -- thus making ecommerce exceptionally attractive, particularly to direct marketers.

Institutional marketing is not a bad concept -- building one's unique identity if crucial. But alone it's very risky and requires a large investment of capital -- something most small to medium-sized businesses can not afford. Therefore, should branding be left out completely of one's marketing strategy? Not really. In fact, it can (and should) become a natural byproduct.

Brand loyalty can come as a result of implementing directional marketing, which is not only a more cost-effective approach but also a natural extension of the web due to its more intimate environment. Click-happy netizens have very short attention spans. Therefore, direct marketing is necessary to take users by the hand and lead them to favorable outcomes.

But the proper use of various elements of online marketing, such as a more professional looking site, benefit-based product and domain names, positive client testimonials and strong guarantees can help to leverage a direct marketer's efforts while creating strong brand preference. For instance, how many sites have lost customers -- sites with great sales copy, reputable products and outstanding offers -- due to sloppy looking design?

Such elements may seem a part of the branding process but in fact they also support the direct marketing process. Take Hotmail for instance, which is now a well-recognized brand on the Internet. Did it arrive at its position through pure branding efforts? Not at all. Through viral marketing, they managed to plaster their brand name at the end of each email they helped to deliver -- which are now numbering in the millions daily -- while gently directing users to their web site and getting them to take action by signing up for their free service.

Nevertheless, cost-efficiency is certainly an important aspect of online marketing, and the goal here is not to negate branding entirely. However, directional marketing can include an array of practices, from response-oriented promotional activities to upselling offers -- all at the same time building brand equity.

Branding should be a byproduct, not a goal in itself.
Take Yahoo!, for instance. In the beginning, this little, unknown Internet directory was not a strong brand but had the capability of attracting hoards of netizens to its site. Today, Yahoo! is almost synonymous with the web. It maintains the recognition as being the leading search engine on the web -- even though it is not an engine at all, which underscores the whole point.

Beyond creating recognition and loyalty, branding also communicates a certain degree of credibility. Often, direct marketers are placed in the same category as sleazy, pushy snake oil peddlers. A century ago, peddlers would travel from town to town selling their wares with the sole goal of selling as much and as fast as possible in order to leave town quickly, thus avoiding the inevitable wrath of their dissatisfied customers. That stigma still exists today.

However, that fear is easily justified. There is no doubt that scamsters exist online. Markets are more accessible, which makes easy prey easier to find. People are still leery of buying on the Internet to a certain degree (and rightfully so) as a result. But a good dose of credibility-building can make a direct marketer shine. This is where branding comes in.

Directional marketing should include various branding elements that are often used in the offline world. (Conversely, institutional marketers are also slowly recognizing the need to implement directional marketing online.) Direct marketers with poorly designed, inconsistent looking sites will have a tough time in building repeat and referral sales. Thus, they may need to spend more dollars and energy upfront on creating new customer relationships.

When visiting Hotmail's website, one can instantly recognize their unique brand: Their logo, their corporate colors and their professional appearance. But at the same time, one is offered a variety of options and links: From reading Hotmail's privacy policy, reasons for signing up, frequently asked questions, to new product offers.

In fact, the latter includes their MSN instant messaging tool, to compete with the Internet's current leader: ICQ owned by AOL. Users are gently directed to sign up for this additional free service. Of course, all of which are aimed at building MSN's (and Microsoft's) brand. But it's direct marketing nonetheless.

In the end, while direct marketing has a firm place on the worldwide web, it does not replace the branding process completely. In fact, strong brands communicate greater perceived value, can defend their offers against price competition, make the direct marketer's job much easier (with repeat and referral sales) and help to curb costs overall. But branding should be an extension of direct marketing -- a byproduct.

Therefore, a direct marketer must be aware of branding, such as a consistent, professionally designed site (i.e., graphics, message, color scheme, etc) as well as benefit-based product and domain names. These are just a few of the elements that, while building strong online brands, can surely help to increase sales -- and save a lot of money down the road. Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 02:37 PM | Permalink

An Open Letter To Ted Nicholas's Grandchildren" by Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

In this issue I share some information, ideas and
recommendations I'm sending to my grandchildren.
I feel the concepts apply to everyone, especially
parents and aspiring entrepreneurs. Indeed, as a
teenager I wish someone had given me even a part
of this message.

To My Dear Brittany and Alex,

At your ages, 13 and 15, in the next few years you
will both be making important career decisions.

My purpose in writing you today is to provide you
some alternatives you may not have thought about
or considered.

I'm going to propose you look closely at a career
choice which is most probably not being discussed
or offered in school.

The career choice I'd like you to ponder is that of an
entrepreneur. This involves going into business for
yourself.

Why do I suggest this option?

Two reasons:

1. Conventional schooling is geared toward training
you primarily as an employee, working for someone
else.

The emphasis is on getting a "good" formal education
and getting a "good" job. This means exchanging
time for money. Forever.

While this can be a good choice for many people, it
may not be for you.

2. Your own expressed desires.

In the past when I’ve asked Alex what he'd like to
do when he finishes school, he's stated: "I'd like
to earn a lot of money and live a lifestyle just
like yours."

Please clearly understand that the only way you
can become wealthy is as an entrepreneur.

People who have a job (employees) almost never
become rich. They simply exchange their time
for money. Therefore, their income potential
is extremely limited.

Employees tend to live all their lives paycheck to
paycheck even as managers, directors and
professionals. This means they seldom accumulate
substantial wealth.

As an employee member of the "middle class," here
is what you can expect financially according to
statistics.

At age 65, after over 40 years of work, the average
savings and income-producing assets of people in
the U.S. are less than $7,000. This amount of money
would last only a couple of months.

Please understand. Money is certainly not everything
(health is far more important). But at age 65 having
almost nothing in savings in the world's richest
country is really pathetic.

Here is the sad truth. The middle class is exactly
like the poor in one major respect. Neither
accumulates any real assets. Indeed, the vast
majority are less than three months from being
completely broke and even homeless.

** How the Rich are Different **

Wealthy people have money work for them.

The rich have income-producing assets. These
include stocks, bonds, and real estate.

But the number one asset of virtually all rich
people are income-producing businesses.

While some businesses can grow very large, all
start as small businesses.

And contrary to popular belief, you can start many
small businesses without capital—with little or no
money.

Conventional wisdom says being self-employed is
risky. I submit this is a myth. Of course any
course of action, including your own business,
involves some degree of risk.

However, in my view what is a far riskier career
choice than being self-employed is to be an employee.

During poor business periods, you can be laid off.
Plus, you are subject to losing your job at the whim
of your employer! Maybe he or she wants to hire
a relative to replace you. You can become
unemployed at any moment.

There doesn’t have to be a good reason for any
employee to get fired. Let me ask you this.
Does this seem like a risk-free existence to you?

Please don’t misunderstand me. I don't mean to
suggest becoming a millionaire business owner is easy.
Indeed, to be super successful requires a lot of
persistence, determination and hard work. But the
skills are all learnable. And once you master the
necessary skills, you can go as far as you want to go.
The sky is the limit.

* What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? *

1. You must be a "self-starter" and a person of
action. Employees tend to act only when their
management "nags" them to do so.

2. You must discover how to market and sell your
product or service.

Tip: the very best way to learn sales skills is to study
direct marketing.

3. You must become financially literate.

4. You must learn to think and act independent of
others.

5. You must learn to take advice only from successful
people.

6. The ancient Greeks said it best:
"Know thyself." You must make an honest assessment
of your strengths and weaknesses.

Were I you, the first question I would ask myself is this.
Am I really a self-starter?

Or do I require someone else—a teacher, a boss, my
parents—to "nag" me to perform? Be as honest as you
can possibly be.

If you are not self-motivated, I urge you to finish
school, get an advanced university degree and get
a job. Start at any level with your employer. Make
yourself invaluable. And work hard to make a
company money or help cut costs. Choose a solid,
ethical company as your employer.

Everyone is not entrepreneurial material. And
that’s OK.

Work on becoming the most skilled employee you
can be. Become a superstar who is the most likely
to be kept on the payroll in both good and bad times.

If you want to become an entrepreneur, here is the
action plan I recommend.

1. While you are still in school, instead of part-
time jobs, work on developing income on your
own. This can take many forms, including lawn
maintenance, babysitting, newspaper route, teaching
tennis or another sport, or selling a product. There
are numerous possibilities.

2. Invest in yourself. One thing you can never
lose or have taken away from you is your
knowledge. Know-how is your best investment.
Invest what you can afford in good books and tapes.
Focus on small business skills. Information on
personal skills is also invaluable. Pursue subjects
which include building self-esteem, active listening
and building relationships, both personal and
business.

Read as many books on sales and business as you
are able. Autobiographies of famous entrepreneurs
such as Michael Dell, John Wanamaker, and Milton
Hershey are great too.

Some of my favorite authors include
Robert Kiyosaki, Napoleon Hill, John Caples,
Robert Collier, Claude Hopkins, and David Ogilvy.
And as soon as you feel ready, (my favorite author)
Ayn Rand. You might want to read all your
Grandpaw’s books too.

3. At the college level, I recommend majoring
in Philosophy, Psychology and History. I'd also
take courses in sales, marketing, finance and
public speaking.

4. Study entrepreneurial courses. While a
university degree is not absolutely necessary, I'd
go as far as I could and graduate from a good
college or university. (A big name school is not
important.) The social skills alone that you can
learn in school will be of invaluable help in your
business life.

5. Hang around entrepreneurs. When you have
the opportunity to spend time with successful self-
employed people, do it. You'll learn a lot just
from their positive "can do" attitude alone.

If your school has any clubs such as DECA (an
association of marketing students) which promote
entrepreneurship, join them and become an active
participant.

6. Avoid debt. Overuse of credit keeps nearly
everyone in debt their whole lives. It's become far
too easy to "charge it" to a credit card. Interest
costs can keep you broke. And when one over
borrows against a home, monthly interest charges
can become a lifelong burden. A good rule is delay
gratification until you can pay cash.

Please be aware that if you decide to join the
world of entrepreneurs, I will help you all I can.

But, the decision of what to do with your life is
strictly your own. I will love you, help and support
you forever in whatever endeavors you pursue.

In closing, let me say that starting my first business
at age 21 and founding and selling 23 others, while
having lots of setbacks, has been a fantastic and
exciting journey for me.

And it's given me a lifestyle others only dream of.
You, too, can achieve a lifestyle of your dreams
having a business of your own.

Small business owners create more jobs and wealth
than do big businesses. I consider entrepreneurs
to be the undiscovered heroes of the world.

If you decide to take your own entrepreneurial
journey, I'm confident you will do fantastically
well. But knowing you, I'm also sure you will
do great things in anything you choose to do.

With all my love,
Your "Grandpaw"

I sincerely hope that in sharing this very personal
letter, the impact on you and your loved ones is all
that you want it to be.

Please drop me an e-mail with your experiences.

Until next time,

Ted Nicholas

Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
727-596-4966
E-mail: tnicholasdirect@aol.com
www.tednicholas.com

Little things mean a lot.

"God is in the details."

Posted by ralph at 06:50 AM | Permalink

October 15, 2005

"A Surefire Tip That Always Increases Sales" Ted Nicholas

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

*** ''God is in the details''

How much would it be worth to you to possess a
marketing secret which is almost certain to
double, triple, even quadruple your sales?

Plus, you can build even better rapport and a
closer bond with all your customers. This secret
can also result in significantly increased revenue
and an increased profit margin in the long run.

The key is the creative use of fr^ee gifts.

I've never sold anything that didn't sell better
after offering well-chosen fr^ee bonuses and
gifts.

Including valuable fr^ee bonuses and gifts
within your offers can have a remarkable effect
on increasing sales. No other strategy is as
powerful in creating sales than building greater
value for your products.

I'm sure you and everyone reading these words
loves to get things fr^ee. I know I do. It's a
universal human quality.

The word fr^ee, in fact, is the most powerful
word in any language. (However, in electronic
marketing using the word fr^ee can have your
offer kicked out by sp^am filters. Always avoid
using fr^ee in all caps. Use upper and lower
case. To avoid many of the filters, the word
can be presented as it is in this article. Plus,
see other tips later in this message.)

Fr^ee gifts can also be effectively used as
surprise, unadvertised bonuses in your outgoing
shipments.

Tip 1: While bonuses do not have to be expensive,
to be effective they must be of good quality.
Otherwise, if your fr^ee gifts are cheap looking,
junky and don't work, as are far too many sent by
direct marketers, your efforts will have a negative
result. You will turn off your customers forever.

Example of a good, low-cost quality product.

More than 10 years ago with an order from a
direct marketer, I received a simple but
attractive rubber jar opener (with company
logo on it). This piece of rubber is designed to
easily open sealed jars. We use it often with
gratitude to the sender.

There is also a powerful psychological reason to
incorporate fr^ee gifts in your marketing
strategy. Based on the law of reciprocity, if you
shower customers with valuable gifts, people
tend to feel more obliged to continue doing
business with you.

Tip 2: An almost irresistible marketing strategy
is to reverse the risk completely. How? Make
the total actual value of the free gifts included
in your offer exceed the value of the product
you are selling.

Tip 3: The number of fr^ee gifts makes a
difference. I've found the use of either 3 or 5
fr^ee gifts works best.

Tip 4: In all forms of marketing, delay is death.
Make including the fr^ee gifts conditional upon
making an immediate buying decision. For
example, "If your order is received within 7 days
(or by a given date), you will receive 5 early-bird
bonuses."

Tip 5: Do not use failed or unappealing bonuses.
Use only highly desirable and appealing items as
bonuses and gifts for which people would gladly
pay their hard-earned money.

Tip 6: As with all products you market,
differentiate each fr^ee gift with descriptive
benefit-driven copy. For example, if you offer
a calculator in a bonus, make sure you include a
description of why it's unique. This could be
extra large keys. Or an easy-to-read screen.

** Examples of Successful Fr^ee Gifts **

-- Book
-- Special report
-- CD or DVD
-- Calculator
-- Coin purse
-- Travel alarm clock
-- Travel lamp
-- Personal alarm device
-- Vitamin carrying case
-- Mont Blanc pen set (for expensive products)
-- Tee shirt
-- Baseball cap
-- $10-50 discount certificate for your product
(with cutoff date)
-- Wristwatch
-- Mercedes convertible (for $5 million and up
mansions)
-- Bracelet

** Examples of Successful
Unadvertised Fr^ee Gifts **
(to be included in outbound shipments)

-- Key ring
-- Jar opener
-- Flashlight
-- Magnet with your logo, telephone number
and email address
-- Pen
-- Pocket knife
-- Pocket calendar
-- Diary
-- Flower seeds

In e-mail marketing, the word Fr^ee is
unfortunately often associated with spa^mmers.
Therefore, why do ethical marketers continue to
use fr^ee as a key part of their strategy?
Simple. It works.

Caveat. While this is not to be construed as
legal advice, a few suggestions regarding
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules may
be helpful, particularly to U.S. marketers.

Be careful when making fr^ee offers. You
could be charged with misleading consumers.
Fr^ee must truly mean fr^ee. You must not
recoup the cost of a free product in any way.
Your advertised product cannot be of lower
quality than the same type of product you
normally sell. And the price cannot be increased
to make up for the fr^ee product. A product
should not be advertised with a fr^ee offer for
more than six months in any 12-month period.
Furthermore, 30 days should lapse between
offers. And a fr^ee offer should not be
promoted more than three times in a 12-month
period.

If you are in doubt about your offer, check with
a lawyer who is knowledgeable on FTC (or the
governing body in your country) rules.

Use the fr^ee gifts to build your business to
entirely new levels. Deliver more value than
ever before. And I trust you'll enjoy your
increased success so well deserved.

Your correspondent,

Ted Nicholas

Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

P.S. Success seldom rests on the big things. It's
doing lots of small things well over and over.
Success is in the margin.

Posted by ralph at 11:57 PM | Permalink

"How to Hypnotize People into Reading Your Sales Materials! (or, The Amazing Robert Collier Technique Revealed)" by Joe Vitale

On a sunny, warm day in August, 1996 I kneeled over the grave of P.T. Barnum and had one of the most remarkable experiences of my life.

I had begun researching the famous showman in order to write my forthcoming new book, There's a Customer Born Every Minute (to be released in October, 1997). I had visited the Barnum Museum, the Historical Library in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and met with Barnum scholars, biographers, and collectors of his writings. I wanted to visit Barnum's grave and pay my respects. Little did I know that the incredible, magical experience would change my life forever...

Recently I went online to hunt for old books by some of my favorite authors, this time I went after anything by Robert Collier, mail order advertising genius and author of such classic books as The Secret of the Ages and The Robert Collier Letter Book.

I typed in his name at one of my favorite book search engines (which I'm going to keep a secret as long as I can), and to my amazement several new (to me) titles came up. I stared wide-eyed, my mouth open, as I saw that someone had two copies of a magazine Collier edited in the late 1920's called "Mind, Inc." I couldn't believe it. I immediately grabbed the phone, called, and bought those magazines. A few days later they arrived.

I opened the brown package, my heart racing with excitement, and nearly drooled as I slid the little paperback sized magazines onto my desk. They were well worn but intact. I thumbed through them and marveled at my find. Here were new articles by one of my heroes, my mentor, a man who changed my life not once but twice with his books. I felt like a happy child on Christmas morning, getting the gifts he longed for and needed most.

As I looked over Collier's magazines, something shifted in me. I saw an advertising technique at work that seemed hypnotic in power. I had one of those "ah-ha!" experiences great inventors write about. I held one of the issues in my hand and read the back cover. Collier had an ad there that began --

"How can I tell if I am working aright?" many people ask.

There is an easy, simple rule. With it in front of him, not even a child could go wrong. Just ask yourself one question. If your answer is "Yes." You are on the wrong track, and you will never make much progress, until you get off it and on the right track.

If your answer is "No," then you are working in the right direction, and you have only to keep it up to attain any goal you desire.

That question is the basis of the Lesson in the next issue of "Mind, Inc." If you are looking for a road map to guide you through the mental realm, send for it!

Did you catch what Collier did?

Let me give you another example. This one comes from Collier's editorial in the opening pages of the other issue I found:

Dear Reader:

Twelve years ago, the three examining physicians at the head office of the Life Extension Institute made a thorough physical examination of the writer. They had him hop and jump and do sundry things to stir his heart into action, then they listened with their stethoscopes and nodded knowingly to each other, finally gathering in a corner to whisper earnestly together, with many a meaning glance in the writer's direction.

The upshot of their conference was a solemn warning against all forms of violent exercise. The heart was dangerously affected, in their opinion. Tennis, horseback, swimming -- all these were taboo. Even running for a street car was likely to result disastrously. If the writer wanted excitement, he might walk (as long as he did it sedately) or crawl about the floor on all fours!

That was twelve years ago, remember. A few months back, he had occasion to be examined for life insurance. The examining physician knew of the Life Extension Institute findings, so he asked the Head Examiner of his company to check his report. The Head Examiner came, made the same exhaustive heart tests as the Institute and put away his instruments with a chuckle. "When you get ready to pass out," he said, "they'll have to take out that heart and hit it with a rock to make it stop beating. Work, play, do anything you like in reason. The heart can stand anything you can!"

What made the difference? Perhaps the following lesson may give you an indication."

Collier did it again! Did you catch his method?

Collier told you just enough to intrigue you, to get you hooked, to get you interested -- and then he stopped!

In the first example he cleverly trapped you into wanting to know the question he kept referring to. But he never told you the question. He snared you and then asked you to send for the next lesson, where the mystery of the question would be revealed. How could anyone not send for it? I sat at my desk reading Collier's ad more than seventy years after he wrote it and I wanted to send in the coupon, too. But Collier is long dead. I'll never know the question!

In the second example Collier cleverly told you two intriguing stories, asked the question that every reader would then have on their mind -- put then didn't answer it! Again, Collier generated interest, and then told you to read the magazine to find the answer. Talk about hypnotic writing!

And that's how you get people to read your sales materials. You pull them into it. You grab their attention, keep them reading, get them wanting what you have and then -- stop and tell them to send in a check, or call you, to get what they now so badly desire.

Did you notice how I began this article?

I used the Robert Collier technique to hypnotize you into reading more. I began saying I had an experience at Barnum's grave. What was the experience? What happened? What's my new book about? All of these are questions in your mind as you read the opening. It's hypnotic. And if you've read this far, you know the method works.

The next time you want to write something and be sure people actually read it, remember the Robert Collier technique. Start by writing about something that will interest the people you are addressing. Tell them an interesting story. Get them wondering about something that they want to know more about. And then STOP. Change direction. Write about something else that may still be related to the opening, but don't resolve the opening until the end of the article. And maybe not even there. Maybe you'll want people to send in a coupon or call you for the answer.

HypnoticLibrary.com
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This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
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Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

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Posted by ralph at 08:21 PM | Permalink

"Don't be the Best… Be the First!" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Article Inspired By The "Law Of Leadership" From My Two Favorite Marketing Mentors, Jack Trout and Al Ries.

Often, many businesses build their entire marketing strategy around a particular brand and its "better" qualities. Claiming superiority smacks of being untrue and is often a very risky endeavor. In other words, if you claim that you're the best, your statement will be suspect.

Years ago, a mentor once said to me that "Implication is more powerful than specification." It is much more effective to imply superiority -- to be perceived as being a superior company or one with a superior product -- than to simply being (or outright stating that one is) superior. But how do you get others to perceive that you're the best? How does one imply superiority without stating it outright? The following are a few pointers to guide you in that direction.

The First Always Lead
If you're the first in some category, you are also considered as the best. People have the natural tendency to attribute superiority to a product that's first in its category. But if you're not the first, you can usually invent your own position. If there's no category in which you can be first, then create one. By being the first in your very own unique category makes it tremendously difficult for competitors to copy you. But even when your competitors do copy you, their marketing efforts will only help to remind people of you.

Being the first in the marketplace is not as important as being the first in the mind of the marketplace. Working with cosmetic surgeons, I've personally experienced this undeniable truth. A particular hair transplant doctor is one of the first surgeons of this type. While superiority in this field is a matter of artistic ability and not seniority, he is still widely recognized as the best surgeon there is -- even if he still uses outdated techniques.

Jack Trout and Al Ries, the fathers of positioning, developed the category concept into a science. The first law in their book "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing," which is the law of leadership, is based entirely on the concept of being the first. In essence, the law states that no two bodies can occupy the same space. If you get to a position first, nobody else can ever take your place. Hence, being the first virtually guarantees your position.

You don't have to be the first with a product or service. You only have to be the first in the consumer's mind. By owning the leading position in the mind people will automatically assume that you're the best. Why? It's because uniqueness separates you from the rest rather than compares you to them. It's immensely more effective than actually being the best.

Create Your Own Category
For instance, Ries and Trout prove this point with a very simple question. They ask: "Who was the third person to fly over the Atlantic in a solo flight?" Now, if you're not a history buff like me, you will more than likely be stumped. Almost everyone remembers that Lindbergh was the first because, being the first, he comes to mind immediately. But if you were asked the same question but rephrased in a different way (e.g., "Who was the first 'woman' to fly over the Atlantic in a solo flight?"), your answer will likely be "Amelia Earhart."

Look at your own life. What are the things you remember the most? More than likely, you will remember your first kiss, your first dance, your first love, your first car, your first day of school, your first job, and your first heartbreak. Can you remember your second kiss let alone your fifth one? In all likelihood, you don't. When it comes to marketing the same holds true.

Many people try to compete by comparison and may even generate some recognition as a result of their efforts. But where they often fail is in creating lasting top-of-mind awareness by drowning their image in a currently known category -- or ladder, if you will. Everybody knows who is the first in some category or another, but rarely do people remember who's second let alone third. If you market your company as a better firm with a better product or service at a better price, all you are really doing is reminding others of that which you are better than, which is your competition.

Again, if there's no category in which you can be the first, create one. Having your very own category is powerful because it is impossible for competitors to beat you. Being the first, your place is therefore guaranteed and you will thus be perceived as the best by default -- there's no competition!

Go the Other Way
Coke, which was touted as being "The Real Thing," is an old company with a hundred-year old recipe locked in some secret safe. So, Pepsi decided to go the other way and proclaimed that it was for the "New Generation." On the other hand, 7UP floundered until it became the "Uncola." As a result, the more Coke and Pepsi advertised, the more it helped 7UP.

For a long time, Avis was an unknown car rental agency. One day, it finally conceded that it was number two -- second only after Hertz. Their "we try harder" campaign, which focused on their underdog position, turned the size of their bigger competitor into a negative. Domino's Pizza was surely not the first pizzeria. But by being the first to deliver its pizza "in 30 minutes or it's free," it went from a small restaurant to a multimillion dollar franchise operation. And there are countless other examples.

You can be the first to cater to a specific market, the first to offer an alternative to an existing product or service, or the first to cater to a market in a unique way -- such as by offering an ordinary product or service but with a unique twist. You can also customize a general product or service for a specific market. For example, you might be a travel agency. You could decide on being the first to sell business trips catering exclusively to financial institutions.

However, if you're not the first you might then market yourself as "the first to serve the financially inclined," "the leader in business trips for bankers" or "the first travel agent for the smart financier." In other words, don't be the best in some existing category. Be the first in one -- one you create. Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 07:36 PM | Permalink

"Three CyberAd Types!" by Joe Vitale

For more than one hundred years good advertising professionals have been using the same formula for creating their ads. Known as "AIDA", it represents "Attention, Interest, Desire, Action:" a proven structure for a successful ad.

But the online world requires a new formula. Use the old one and you're likely to create an ad that will get you many replies: all flames. Why? Online travellers prefer less direct forms of advertising. While this prejudice is changing by the moment, it will be a while before direct selling is accepted online. Until then, you need a safer formula. I have one, and I call it "TARGET." Before I tell you how it works, let me explain the three online ad formats that I think will work best for you:

Three CyberAd Types

1. Imaginative

Bruce Barton, cofounder of BBDO, one of the largest ad agencies in the world, often used a method for creating ads called "Imaginative." With it he wrote some of the greatest ads in American history. In my book on Barton, titled The Seven Lost Secrets of Success, I said this method "Reveals the Business Nobody Knows." It is a powerful way to write an online ad. Let me give you a couple of examples:

In the 1920's there was an ad for a door that had the headline, "The Personality of the Doorway." The copy revealed why a door was special, as well as what it revealed about the home and the home's owner. This ad helped sell more doors because it imaginatively revealed something typically unseen about doors. It went deeper than the obvious. Instead of writing an ad that said, "Buy our doors," it made their ad and their product new and different. The ad was imaginative.

Back in 1925, when Barton was speaking before the American Petroleum Institute, he told his audience they were not selling gasoline at all. He said, "My friends it is the juice of the fountain of eternal youth that you are selling. It is health. It is comfort. It is success. And you have sold it as a bad smelling liquid at so many cents a gallon. You have never lifted it out of the category of a hated expense."

Look for what your product or service delivers. When people buy a drill, they don't want a drill, they want the holes the drill will help them create. But go deeper. Why do they want the holes? It may be to hang sentimental pictures of their family. It may be to help create a new room in their warm home. Use your imagination and focus on something deeper.

2. Interpretive

This approach asks you to say something new about an old product. Create a fresh viewpoint. Someone selling soap might explain (as one ad did) "Your skin has five miles of pores. How clean are yours?" People reading that ad stop and say to themselves, "I didn't know that!" Your new information makes your product more interesting.

Recently I saw a television commercial for a long distance service that explained how a telephone call worked. It was interesting information that made me sit up and take notice where I might otherwise have paid no attention at all.

Think about your product or service and consider the history of it and facts about it. What you take for granted may be exciting news to your readers. I once worked with a large motor repair company. I said they should announce that they could fix any motor within one hour. They countered with, "Any good mechanic can say that." I said, "But are they saying it? If not, you have an opportunity to capitalize on a fact your peers take for granted and your customers don't know."

What is obvious to you that might be news to your prospects?

3. Initiative

Confront readers with a direct question and you're likely to involve them in your ad right away. That's why when you go to a movie theater they say, "Large or small soda?" They assume you want a drink. They are taking the initiative in the sales process. When a salesperson asks, "Which do you prefer---a small car or a large one?", they are taking the initivative with you.

You can plunge a reader into an interaction with your product with this approach. For example, the most successful ad in history began with the question, "Do you make these mistakes in English?" The question yanked people right into the entire ad because it's involving, personal, and bold. It takes the initiative.

Think of your business and how you might write an ad that suggests and even demands involvement. Asking a personal, relevant, fascinating question can grab readers as they are whizzing by in cyberspace and pull them right to your ad.

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 07:03 PM | Permalink

"Tips For Designing Your Home Office " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Setting up a home office is one of the most important tasks you will face when you make the decision to work from your own home. Your home office can be a corner of your kitchen or living room or, if space permits, a former spare bedroom.

Size is less important that functionality. When deciding on where to set up the nerve center of your business, there are some factors you need to consider.

Is the area well lit?

Proper lighting is extremely important. Spending hours at a time in a dimly lit work space can create eyestrain which, after long periods of time, could lead to more serious problems with your vision.

Are there plenty of electrical outlets?

Take into consideration what appliances you will have in your work space. Your computer system will require an outlet for your cpu, monitor, scanner, printer, speakers (sometimes) and other ancillary equipment you may have.

Is the area well ventilated and dust free?

All of that computer equipment needs to “breath” to remain cool and functioning properly. If you have ever “fried” a computer you know how important it is to keep the fan clean and dust free.

Do you have telephone access?

In addition to having a telephone handy for business purposes, you will also require telephone access for your modem. You may also consider a separate telephone line for your business. It is much easier to track telephone business expenses for tax purposes if you have a separate phone line. It’s also important that your clients can reach you. If your clients have to compete with your teenagers telephone habits, chances are they will call someone else. Make certain that this separate line is set up to receive phone calls while you are online. Most major telephone companies now offer that service. You may pay a few extra dollars a month for it, but it will pay for itself over the long haul.

How much ‘foot traffic” is there liable to be?

You want your office to be as isolated as possible. Can you imagine trying to speak with a client or figure out html code with kids screaming in the background? Not a very professional picture. If you have no choice but to have your office in a high traffic area, adjust your work schedule to coincide with family activities. Sit your family down and explain the importance of your work and why you need their cooperation. It won’t always work out that way but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

It goes without saying that you need to have normal office supplies. Even if your work is online you still need the pens, pencils, note pads and so on.

One of the stickiest challenges you may encounter comes from your friends. People who do not work from home seem to think that if you do, you have all the time in the world to visit. This can become a major problem if you do not set the parameters. Setting out the ground rules is important to the overall health and well being of your business. Let your friends and extended family know your business hours and explain to them that you are not available during those periods of time. The sooner you do this the better.

Conduct your business in a professional manner. Just because you work at home does not mean that you should throw out the rule book. Maybe you have read the humorous comment about “working in your pajamas. It sounds good in sales messages, but the truth is you are much better off if you awaken in the morning and prepare yourself for your work day as if you were still trekking off to the office, because you are.

You will be much better prepared to focus and get down to business if you dress the part. That doesn’t mean that you need to squeeze into the normal “office” attire. It does mean that you set the standards for your business and much of that has to do with “mindset” and self-image. Dressing comfortably is a one of the serendipities of working at home, but you will be much better prepared for business if you dress the part.

I have one final word of advice for the new work at home entrepreneur. Having your office right down the hall can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse. Remember to take time out for yourself. Most people believe that working at home comes with certain privileges, and it does. However, it can also become all-consuming and take total control of your life.

Don’t allow that to happen. Create your schedule and live by it. Make sure you turn off the lights, shut down the computer and “go home” at the end of your work day.

Posted by ralph at 12:00 PM | Permalink

October 14, 2005

"How to Make Your Name Stick" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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In our overcommunicated society, we are constantly bombarded with messages that seem to be just one big blur of sameness. Limited by society's very short attention span, your marketing message has to be effective to the degree that it must communicate its essence and create top-of-mind awareness within an extremely short amount of time. Names are often the best tools -- and sometimes the only ones -- for accomplishing this efficiently.

When positioning your company or product, your name has to stick firmly in the mind of the marketplace and must do so instantly. While uniqueness is an important factor, there are many other elements that can help the anchoring process -- elements that help a name memorable as well as chosen when a customer experiences a specific need or desire. So, here are some simple rules to follow when choosing a name for your company or product.

What Does it Do?
To make a company or product name truly memorable, it should convey its main feature or benefit. If I give you the word "Die Hard" for instance, you will think of a battery that dies hard. If I tell you "Jiffy Lube," you will naturally assume that it's a garage offering oil changes in a jiffy. If I tell you "Band-Aid," you will picture an adhesive bandage that comes to your aid.

Names that do not convey at least the basic nature of a company will be easily forgotten. This includes hard-to-pronounce words, abbreviations, and acronyms such as "MGF Holdings Limited." It also includes self-titled companies such as "Michel Fortin International" (which was, believe it or not, the name of my original company -- one that nonetheless failed).

Benefits are particularly effective because such a name would make a company or product appear as if it had some added value. When placed alongside a competitor offering an identical product, a benefit-based name positions itself above the competition in the mind. As a result, the name will thus be quickly remembered when people make their decision to buy.

Rhymes Move Minds
Since the invention of the printing press, the written word has made it easy for us to forget names. Consequently, the process of rhyming has in the same way gradually fallen out of favor. But strangely, what we remember the most are, for example, the nursery rhymes that we were told as children. In today's memory management courses, people are told to use rhymes and word association in order to improve their memory. Rhyming is therefore effective because it is pleasing to the ear and helps to hook words easily in the mind.

Beyond ease-of-recall, rhyming also tends to add credibility. Psychology professor Dr. Matthew McGlone has found that rhymes not only make a phrase more memorable, they also make it more believable.

According to his research, people preferred "woes unite foes" over "misfortune unite foes" or "woes unite enemies." As he points out, "People often attribute the aesthetic quality of a rhyme to the statement's validity, which suggests that people may unknowingly equate beauty (a rhyme's singsong quality) with truth." In other words, rhymes confer a greater sense of credibility.

While some names can easily rhyme since they use multiple words (e.g., "Blinds of All Kinds" or "Ronald McDonald"), most names are made up of only one word. If they can not rhyme at least within themselves (e.g., "Rodeo" or "Coca-Cola"), then the job would be conferred unto their taglines -- those small sentences that follow and complement names.

For example, if I said "It takes a licking but keeps on ticking," you will probably remember this phrase if not instantly recognize the product with which this tagline is associated. And if the tagline rhymes with the name (such as "Uh, Oh! Better get Maaco!" or "When you need an edge, use Pledge"), the name will stick even more effectively as a result.

Repetition Resonates
What do "Saran-Wrap," "Coca-Cola," "Willy Wonka," "GI Joe," "Barbie," "Hamburger Helper," "Crispy Crunch," and "Blockbuster" all have in common? Similar to rhymes, the repetition of consonants give a name that pleasant and obviously effective singsong quality. Repetition makes a name memorable by making the pronunciation more simple. In other words, it is definitely easier to remember a string of similar sounds than it is to remember a combination of totally different sounding words. Did you "see the softer side of Sear's" lately?

Rhymes and repetitious consonants used in order to make a name more memorable are called mnemonics. Mnemonics are not only useful but also effective, particularly in the branding process. From the simplest product to the most abstract or complex technical service, a memorable name helps to make the company or product memorable as well. Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 02:35 PM | Permalink

“Success on the Internet” by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

There are at least 3 important steps to a successful plan when working on the internet. These 3 steps can be applied to just about any plan, and when coupled with the right amount of determination and perseverance, will result in success! But remember, you must persevere through the dry spells and difficult times. Everyone has hard times and this is just a fact of life. The key is to keep working toward your goal and never give up.

Three Important Steps

1) Develop the Right Philosophy

The first point is to develop the right philosophy. How you approach your business (and life) will determine your success or failure. Try to always be growing and expanding your horizons in some way. You might want to think about continuing your education or contributing to your local community in some way. (Make sure to set-aside enough money for personal development.)

Most successful people do not blindly follow someone else. They learn, evaluate, and make the necessary adjustments in their approach to career and life. Excellence is the goal, and continuous training and instruction are a very important part of the process.

As you continue to grow and develop, be sure to find other individuals who can help in the process. Good mentors are hard to come by, but indispensible when it comes to personal growth.

2) Decide What You 'Really' Want

Determine your true inner desire and then do it! If you don't really desire to accomplish what it is you are currently doing, when the difficult times arrive you will simply quit. It's a fact of life! Thousands of dollars are lost by people who invest in ill-suited programs which they soon quit. The inner desire and "real" interest were not there in the first place.

Always remember...to be successful you must first determine your true inner desire. Identify what it is that you really want in your career and life. The answers to these questions will lead you to success.

3) Take Action

Do your homework, but by all means step out and do something. Not just anything, mind you...you can actually be busy and not accomplish anything.

Consistent action in the right direction will produce results. It is the law of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow. In other words, you get what you deserve, not what you need. Plant enough seeds and you will find growth. Ask enough people and someone will join or buy what you are offering.

Posted by ralph at 11:45 AM | Permalink

October 13, 2005

"Hidden Selling: A Secret Way to Make Money (or, What I Learned from Muscle Builders, P.T. Barnum, and the Color Green)" by Joe Vitale

Scene One: It's 1843. A mysterious entrepreneur hosts a Grand Buffalo Hunt in Hoboken, New Jersey. He anonymously advertises it as a free event open to the public. Thousands of people take the ferries across the river to witness the "wild sport of the Western Prairies," which turns out to be a playful hoax. The buffalo aren't hunted, are actually frightened by the crowds and eventually stampede off. They are later rounded up safely. The crowds give three cheers for the nameless person behind the entertainment. They go home happy.

Question: Who was the entrepreneur who orchestrated this free event? More importantly, how did he profit from it?

Scene Two: It's 1934. An unusual event takes place at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Billed as the Green Ball, highly respected designers, fashion experts, artists, society people and reporters are invited. The Green Ball showed the importance of the color green. There were green menus featuring green beans and other green food. There were talks on the importance of green in the arts. There was a newly created Color Fashion Bureau to help promote the color green in clothing. All proceeds from the event went to charity. Reporters covered it and the public ate it up. It was a major and mysterious occasion.

Question: Who made money from this free event? Who was behind it?

Scene three: It's 1998. Muscle Media magazine hosts a yearly bodybuilding contest for average men and women. They give away an expensive book on training and supplements. They give away a two-hour professional quality video, called "Body of Work," containing inspiring stories about the previous years contest winners. They ask for no money but request that you make a donation, if you are truly moved by what you see, to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that helps terminally ill children achieve a dream. People respond by giving more than $423,000, practically overwhelming the Foundation when 1,272 checks arrive in one day.

Question: How does Muscle Media make any money from all this giving? Who is behind it?

These three stories illustrate a business phenomena I'll call "Hidden Selling." They are events orchestrated to entertain and educate people, that are usually free, but which secretly sell something for some hidden benefactor. If this Hidden Selling method is organized correctly, the public will never care (and may never know) who made money from the events. They will simply feel good and willingly---even mindlessly---start giving their money to the entrepreneurs who designed the events.

Do you see what's going on here? Do you sense the incredible power of a secret marketing technique at work?

Let's look at each of the scenes above and meet the wizards behind the curtains:

Scene One: The Grand Buffalo Hunt was originated by P.T. Barnum. He had bought a herd of skinny buffalo months before, hired a man to nourish them back to health and then quietly announced a free "buffalo hunt" to the public.

The public did not know Barnum was behind the event. Barnum knew that their curiosity would add more interest. The public also did not know that Barnum rented the ferries for the day of the hunt. So every time someone got on board to go across the river, Barnum made money. He also profited from all the drinks sold at the show. In short, Barnum gave people a fun excursion for the day, charged nothing for it, but secretly made money from the sale of items people needed to get to the event: a ride, food and drink.

Weeks later Barnum announced that he was the entrepreneur behind the then famous hoax. People laughed and said "Barnum humbugged us again!" As a result, Barnum got even more publicity for his name and his businesses.

Scene Two: The Green Ball was created and implemented by Edward L. Bernays, the man considered the father of public relations. Bernays was hired by Lucky Strike cigarettes to find a way to make the color green fashionable to women.

Why? Lucky Strike packages had a green design. Research showed that women would not buy the packages because it did not go with their clothing. Since the cigarette manufacturer had invested millions of dollars in their product design, they would not change it. Instead, they needed to change women's perceptions.

Bernays created the Green Ball to do just that. While no one is clear just how effective the Green Ball was in selling more cigarettes, it was clearly effective in making the color green the "in" color of 1934. As a result, Lucky Strike had to profit, if only in now having their package design accepted by all.

Scene Three: Bill Phillips is the editor of Muscle Media. He is the key man behind the magazine, the contest, the free video and the free book. He is helping people go for their dreams of being healthy and attractive. As he does so, he is getting rich.

How? Phillips' company sells nutritional supplements for bodybuilders. The more people he inspires to become fit, the more people buy his supplements. Since supplements have to be taken daily, that means long term, consistent sales. While I don't have numbers for what this means in terms of profits, I can easily imagine that he will pull in many times what the Make-a-Wish Foundation will receive as gifts.

None of these scenarios are in any way bad. (The cigarette event might be, but consider that it was 1934 and few knew of the harm of smoking.) I think Bill Phillips, Edward L. Bernays and P.T. Barnum all did something that focused on people, not profit. But behind the scenes, hidden from easy view, was a profit motive. They put giving ahead of getting. As a result, they got big-time.

I'm suggesting that you can apply this to your business, too. In fact, I'll go as far as to say that in today's skeptical age, when consumers are callused to high pressure sales pitches, you almost have to use Hidden Selling as an additional way to make a profit.

The way this method works, it also helps people. That's what I like most about it. It forces you to think of giving, not getting. Barnum gave people what they craved in the high stress times of the 1800s: Fun. Bernays gave people what they wanted in the 1930s: Culture. And Phillips is giving people what they want today: Fitness. Truth is, people still want all of those qualities and always will want them. Human desires never change.

Do you see the pattern here? Focus on an altruistic end. Put money on the back end. Focus on giving people something they want. Put getting behind the scenes. Focus on an event. Put cash at the end of it. Forget "show me the money" and focus on "give people something."

Hidden Selling is alive and well today, but not used as often or as cleverly as it could be. This may be your opportunity to use it to help others while helping yourself. As I point out in my latest book, There's a Customer Born Every Minute (AMACOM, 1998) P.T. Barnum called it "profitable philanthropy." As Bill Phillips says in the letter he sends out with his Body of Work video, "You must freely give of yourself first before you get." He calls it the "Law of Reciprocation."

Bottom Line: Find a way to host an event that truly helps people and let the back end of it in some way help you. The result could be making a difference in the world while also making more money than you ever dreamed possible. Isn't that worth doing?

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 07:12 PM | Permalink

"Does Your Copy Have Personality?" by Mike Fortin

Does it all matter? Absolutely.

What makes one style of copy more favorable than another? Why does one person buy from one type of copy and not from another?

The style you choose will not appeal to everyone. It never will. Even some of the best ads miss the mark with at least half of their target audience.

You may have heard me say this before. Trying to be all things to all people is a death knell for most businesses. By trying to be all things to all people, you must paint your copy with broad brushstrokes in order to appeal to everyone.

Similarly, ads crafted so as not to offend anyone will be counterproductive. It may even backfire. Why? Because the more you try not to offend anyone, the more generic you become with your copy. And the more generic you are, the the more your copy will be disconnected from your audience.

In other words, to your prospect, you appear as if you DON'T understand them, and that your copy DOESN'T cater to their specific, individual needs, goals, concerns, budget and unique set of circumstances.

Thus, you alienate most of your market that way.

Sure, you may avoid offending a minority. But now you inadvertently offend the majority -- perhaps in a subtle, indirect or unconscious way -- because you appear as if you simply don't care.

You see, ads are distinctive. They're alive. They like pieces of art.

Each one has a certain personality. And no matter what you do, that personality may attract some people and repulse others at the same time.

Instead, appeal to the majority, even to the detriment of the minority. It's not just because they're conducive to the greatest results but also because they offer more than just information. They also present that information in a way that is favored by the majority of your target audience.

Instead, it's best to cater to one predominant market, i.e., one predominant buyer personality. That way, your information is presented in a way that the market feels the copy is centered on them. And them alone.

Different People Prefer Different Things.
Over the years, many psychologists and behavioral scientists have categorized personality styles. They may have labeled them differently, but the methodology is essentially the same.

A personality style is defined by a person's assertiveness and responsiveness level. One of the more popular models -- and perhaps the best one for copywriting purposes -- lists 4 such styles:

High assertive, low responsive
High assertive, high responsive
Low assertive, low responsive
Low assertive, high responsive
Is this some kind of new science? Not at all.

Around 400 BC, Hippocrates, in his book "Air, Water And Places," dubbed these 4 personality types Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric and Melancholic. In more recent years, behavioral scientist and sales psychologist Dr. Tony Alessandra labels them Directors, Socializers, Relaters and Thinkers.

But the most common labels given to them are: Driver, Expressive, Analytical and Amiable. Here's a chart of how this looks like in the form of a quadrant:

(Screenshot from a DVD video at http://CopyOnFire.com/.)

Your Market Will Predominantly Fall Into 1 Or 2 Personality Styles.
Of course, with all things being equal.

Your audience may not necessarily and precisely fit into a single, neat personality category, and your entire market may not fit one specific style. Keep in mind that the keyword here is "predominant."

But depending on your product, your industry, and both demographics and psychographics of your target audience, it is safe to say that the majority of them will likely demonstrate one particular style more than any other.

To give you an idea, here's a brief look at them:

Drivers are concerned with RESULTS.

They are practical, impatient and time-sensitive. A Driver is a person who usually is more concerned with the bottom-line. For example, they want to know how long will it take to get your product, what kind of results they can expect and, of course, how much does it cost.

Bankers, sales managers, purchasing agents, businesspeople, corporate executives and so on are typically Drivers. They don't care how to get from point "A" to point "B." They just want to know if you can get to point "B."

Everything else is irrelevant. So give them the bottom line.

Analyticals are preoccupied with DETAILS.

They don't care much about results. They're far more interested in the facts of your product. They might want to know what is its exact size, where and of what is it made, what are the ingredients, what are the features, what kind of guarantees do you offer with it, and what, precisely, makes it work.

Scientists, developers, mathematicians, engineers, computer programmers, doctors and so on are mainly Analyticals. They want specifications. They want facts. They want statistics. They want data. The more, the merrier.

They prefer cold, hard information rather than hyperbole and stories.

Expressives care most about PERCEPTIONS.

Status and approval are important to Expressives. How they perceive things and how other people perceive them take precedence. They are mostly impulsive, colorful, ego-centric, undisciplined and spontaneous.

Actors, teachers, musicians, artists, art lovers, graphic designers, directors, comedians, etc fall in the Expressive category. As an example, they're the ones who buy mostly for the sake of prestige of ownership, or to boost their standing in their communities, their organizations or their peer groups.

(For instance, Expressives are the types who intentionally park their brand new luxury car on the street so that the neighbors can see them.)

Ultimately, tell them how your product will make them look good.

Amiables are interested in FEELINGS.

They are emotional, caring and humanistic. They are normally those who deal with the public and care deeply about the relationships they hold. How your product will help others and strengthen the relationships they maintain with them will be of utmost importance to Amiables.

It's not uncommon for Amiables to hold careers as salespeople, home-based business owners, entrepreneurs, social workers, human resource personnel and so on. If your product can solve a problem, that's good. But if it can help your prospect to solve a problem they have with others, that's even better.

With Amiables, use testimonials, stories and analogies. A lot.

How Do You Appeal to Your Buyer's Personality?
For instance, avoid lacing your copy with feelings and emotions when your audience, comprised mostly of Analyticals, wants specifics. Be objective and factual, and refrain from hyperbole or drama.

While an Analytical will never have enough information, don't drown your visitors with needless details when they consist of Drivers. Be quick, pithy and straight to the point when dealing with these practical buyers.

However, be sensitive and friendly when pitching to Amiables. Use stories, case studies and testimonials. Use hyperbole and focus on feelings. Take your time with them. Be warm and interactive.

For Expressives, talk about how the product will get others to compliment them. Or focus on how the product will make others around them cringe in horror, turn green with envy or even be humiliated.

Here's a real-life scenario.

A patient visits a dentist for an initial consultation.

During the meeting, the Analytical will be preoccupied mostly with the details of dental work. Knowing precisely how much freezing will be applied, which specific teeth (and parts thereof) will be repaired and what kind of filling will be used are of enormous interest to him.

On the other hand, a Driver will want to know how long the procedure takes, how fast can he return to work after the procedure and how much it costs.

But for the Amiable, they are mostly concerned with pain that such a procedure might incur, their happiness with their new look, and their ability to please their spouse, friends or boss with their improved appearance.

The Expressive, however, will be mostly interested with how good do their new teeth look, how their teeth changes their appearance, how natural are they going to be and how attractive the procedure is going to make them.

But What If My Market Consists Of More Than One?
Your market will fit into one predominant category, and one more than any other. And depending on your type of industry and product, the style of your message should chiefly appeal to that one specific style.

But what if your market consists of strong, identifiably different groups? In other words, what if you have more than one predominant personality type in your target audience? If so, I submit that you can have a different ad or salesletter directed at each different market.

It's market segmentation, pure and simple. Even if it’s the same product.

For instance, a clever entrepreneur can take a product, package it, price it and sell it in 2 different ways to 2 different audiences on 2 different websites — and thus maximize sales from all potential market segments. Oftentimes, even creating their own competition.

Posted by ralph at 06:19 AM | Permalink

October 12, 2005

"How Mark Twain Might Write Online!" by Joe Vitale

While it's anyone's guess, I like to think Sam Clemens would apply his techniques as a speaker to the world of cyberspace. Most people don't realize that Mark Twain became famous due to his speaking talents. While his skills as a journalist and a humorist made him popular, it was his speaking that shot him into fame. Later, his books made him a household name. But even then, Twain's speaking engagements kept him in the public eye, and helped secure his place in American history.

But Twain wasn't a born speaker. If anything, he was born to navigate boats. As an author and as a speaker, Twain was self taught. He worked hard to perfect his skills as an orator. He learned by watching such greats as Charles Dickens, and by paying attention to how charismatic ministers held the attention of their congregation. Twain also learned from his own mistakes.

After reading all of Twain's published speeches and looking for the common elements in them, I think he used six secrets in making himself famous. And I think you and I can use these same methods when we're writing in cyberspace. I believe just playing with these six techniques will improve our cyberwriting and make our online experience all the more enjoyable.

Secret One: Rehearse

Mark Twain once quipped that it took him three weeks to make a good impromptu speech. While Twain's speeches gave the appearance of being done on the fly, they were actually well thought out, even written out, rehearsed, and committed to memory. His goal was to achieve what he called "counterfeit impromptu."

In other words, he was so prepared that he appeared unprepared. It was planned spontaneity. This gave him a lot of power. He knew what he was going to say down to the exact pause, and this allowed him room for improvisation while giving him the security of knowing what he was going to say next.

Twain was like an actor. He wrote out his speech, or script, committed it to memory, and rehearsed it. When he strolled on stage, he moved with an ease that made him appear to be totally relaxed. While the audience thought he was talking to them informally and spontaneously, he was actually delivering a well planned theatrical performance. In fact, it was so perfectly theatrical that virtually no one ever guessed that Twain had planned the event days or weeks in advance.

In short, Twain's first technique was one of preparation. While many speakers today think you should never write out your speech because it makes your talk rigid, it's important to realize Twain didn't read his speech or even repeat it the way he memorized it. He used his planning as a base for his performance. He gave himself permission to ad lib, to stray from his talk, and sometimes to leave it all together. But this initial preparation made him more comfortable, and helped him give a more powerful, humorous, and satisfying talk.

How do you apply this to cyberwriting?

One of the biggest mistakes with cybertravellers is writing their material quickly, and zipping it off without rewriting it or editing it or even re-reading it. Anything you write for the online world needs to be polished as anything you write for publication. It's very easy to dash off a response to someone and send it off. The problem is, the potential for miscommunication is enormous. And when you consider the fact that your e-message can potentially be read by millions of people, there's cause for alarm. You don't want a written blunder to get broadcast around the world.

To protect yourself, keep these suggestions in mind:

a. Know what you want to say. Don't waste everyone's time trying to guess what you mean. Ask yourself, "What do I want to say? What's the one message here?"

b. Pretend you are speaking to one person who is sitting across the desk from you. Mentally role play a dialogue that begins, "Here's what I want to say..." Write your monologue down.

c. Now edit. Whittle your message down to the essential points. Pretend you are writing a telegram and every word will have a price tag on it. The more words you cut out, the less the message will cost you.

Secret number one is rewrite and perfect your e-writing before you ever post or send any message.

Secret Five: Use a Starter

Mark Twain's fifth technique was what he called a "starter."

Twain loved to fully engage his audience as soon as he stepped on stage. He wanted to "start" the program on the right foot by capturing the audiences' attention and keeping it nailed on him. He developed several clever ways to accomplish this:

His favorite starter was the self introduction. Twain would simply walk on and introduce himself. This usually made the audience warm to him right away, and saved Twain the trouble, he said, of training people to introduce him right.

Another popular starter was walking on stage and saying nothing for a full minute. Sixty seconds of silence is a LONG time when you're on stage and an audience is waiting to hear you speak. This trick made people laugh, chuckle, wonder, and guess what Twain was up to. But it certainly held their attention.

The last "starter" Twain used was walking on stage with a book and acting like he was going to read from it. He would open it, but then close it and begin to "ad lib." His ad libbing was actually his well planned talk. Because people expected Twain to stop at any moment and return to the book, they paid attention. They felt he must be saying something more important because he was delaying reading. But Twain never returned to the book. He simply used it as a device to make people focus on him.

In later years Twain didn't need a starter at all. His reputation as a speaker was so well known that all he had to do was step on stage and people were smiling and hanging on his every move and word.

How do you make this method work in cyberspace?

Let me answer with an example: Say you are about to reply to a message concerning a new delivery system that someone asked you about. You begin your message by saying, "Here's what you wanted to know about our delivery system..."

But then you stop and redirect the message with a new statement: "...But before I tell you about it, let me mention something about our new overnight service."

What you've done is capture people's attention, and then held on to it. They'll wait and read on because they expect you to return to your original statement and complete it (and of course you should return and complete what you start). This is a powerful way to use Twain's technique and keep people riveted to the screen.

Another method I've used is called "the plunge." You begin your e-message right after something has happened and before people fully grasp what you are talking about. Good fiction uses this technique. The story begins with gun smoke floating up from a revolver, someone dead, and someone else running out the door. "What's happening?" asks the reader, and before he or she knows it, they're reading the entire story. The opening "started" them.

You can apply the same method to online communications by starting your message where other writers might have their third paragraph. In other words, most online writers take too long to get to their point. Most of them could delete the top half of their message and lose nothing. I suggest that a good "starter" would be to begin your message where others might have their fourth paragraph. If you get a message beginning with the words, "He looked shocked when we told him the sales reports," you'd probably read on to find out who was shocked, why he was shocked, and what the sales reports actually said.

Consider starting your message in places where readers are forced to read on to discover what is going on.

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 07:02 PM | Permalink

"Make Your Benefits Clear!" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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The process to which is often referred as "institutional" marketing can be extremely seductive, particularly to the small businessperson since it is intoxicatingly flattering to the ego. Small businesses often attempt to copy their larger corporate nemeses in an effort to create strong brands through relatively smaller marketing budgets. Such a tactic unfortunately requires a long period of time and repetitive advertising in order for it to work.

On the other hand, when a business brags itself as being a better company with a better product at a better price, it usually winds up with very poor, long term results. If a statement is made wherein the author proclaims that his company or product is number one in the marketplace, such a statement will all but make that information more suspect. Even though there is evidence to substantiate that claim, there will no doubt be a clear lack of credibility.

In this day and age where consumers are more educated and more sophisticated than ever before, claims of any kind can never be made without them somehow being criticized or at least questioned. Therefore, a better approach is through positioning -- the concept of effectively anchoring a product or service, in the mind of prospects, above the competition.

Implication, Not Specification
Any claim, even if backed up with statistics or surveys, is seldom believable. An old mentor of mine once said, "Implication is remarkably more powerful than specification." In other words, if you specify that you're the best, you'll be questioned. But if your marketing implies that you are, without stating it outright, you will not only get the message across but you will also anchor that message (and position it) more effectively in the minds of your target market.

For instance, when Pepsi doing their famous taste tests in the 80's, Coke thought that a newer, better-tasting Coke would beat Pepsi -- hence, the introduction of the "New Coke." But where is the New Coke today? Not only did Coke reintroduce the older version under the banner "Classic Coke," but the New Coke has also disappeared from the grocery store isles.

Specify Benefits to Imply Superiority
Coke wasn't the only culprit. Pepsi made a similar mistake with its clear brand in the early 90's. Of course, during the last decade there was a fad with clear consumables. Clear soaps, clear deodorants, clear dishwashing liquids, clear sodas, and of course clear foods were stocking up shelves. At first, they were selling quite well. "But what Pepsi didn't count on was the 'curiosity factor' in its research," says Jack Trout in his book "The New Positioning."

In essence, there is no clear benefit in a clear product over its darker version. People are astonishingly attracted to benefits, whether consciously or subconsciously. And clear colas were hip because the initial perception was that "clearer" meant "better," "safer," or "healthier." It was this perception of more benefits that drove their initial success.

However, once the market realized that this was not true in that clear sodas have just as many calories as their darker counterparts, they were dropped. The only clear consumable that stood the test of time was the clear deodorant. Why? The clear deodorant prospered because people can't stand white, powdery residue on their clothes (and it is terribly inconvenient to wait for the deodorant to dry). Thus, clear deodorant has a clear benefit.

Position with Benefits
Having an impressive portfolio, including a slick ad campaign, a superior product or a number one company, will not work for you in the long run -- unless you have a million dollar ad budget with money to invest in repetitious commercials. If you run a business or sell a product or service, make sure that when you position it in the marketplace you do so by marketing its main, core benefit or benefits -- not its features, superiority, or image.

A benefit that is clear, practical, and direct will, in your promotional efforts, naturally convey a sense of superiority -- without having to state it outright. In short, make your benefits clear. Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 07:28 AM | Permalink

October 11, 2005

How to Craft Cash-Creating Climactic Copy" by Michel Fortin

Do you remember how you flipped each page with an almost excruciating curiosity because the story was so tantalizing, you became increasingly riveted to the book with each subsequent chapter?

Copy is, or should be, the same.

Good copy makes a good case. But great copy tells a good story. A great copywriter is also a great salesperson. But all great copywriters AND all great salespeople also have one thing in common...

... They are also great storytellers.

The closer your copy reads like a compelling story — keeping the reader interested and engaged, hanging on to every word — the greater your chances she will read your copy until the end and, of course, buy.

Your "story" should tickle the reader's curiosity and pull her into the copy. Each new idea introduced should build on the other, pulling the reader further and deeper into the salesletter. The copy should almost mesmerize the reader to the point she's in a trance-like state.

Each header, each paragraph and each word crescendos and prepares you, step-by-step, for the climactic "twist" in the story's plot.

The climax, of course, is the offer.

And the plot, in copywriting, is called the "platform."
Your platform is the major concept or "storyline." It's possibly a core benefit, result or key topic that creates the foundation upon which your entire "story" is built. It's one powerful idea with which your entire copy will hinge.

The platform you choose to present your offer is critical to the offer's success — hopefully the offer is good, but getting there is the job of the platform.

The concept of the "greased chute" is one in which you keep the reader hanging on to every word you write — up until they buy. They simply can't leave. They're glued to your copy. They're compelled to keep reading.

Copy is telling a good story that involves the reader so they can see in their mind's eye the benefits of your offer, as if they owned your product already. The platform is the "pivot," if you will, you choose to build your story on.

It could (and often should be) be your USP. It could be what copywriter John Carlton calls your "hook." It could be some major advantage or benefit.

Ray McNally, a programmer and friend, offers a neat software program that complements an affiliate marketer's efforts by helping them capture the names and email addresses of traffic they generate to an affiliate link.

This program sets up a doorway page (not the search engine kind) that, before the affiliate's generated traffic is sent to the site being promoted, it capture's their name and email addresses for future follow-up.

Why? Because once they click on an affiliate link, they're gone. But that affiliate has worked hard or spent money on generating that traffic. They own that traffic. So why not capture it in the process?

If they DIDN'T end up buying that affiliate product, no problem. That list can now be followed-up with, or even monetized in other ways!

What has that got to do with copy? Here's my point.

Originally, Ray had one of those hackneyed headlines: "Discover how to explode your income... Blah, blah, blah." Bland. Hypey. Boring.

After talking with Ray, I said, "Ray, this is your USP! Your hook. Why not capitalize on it?" So the platform I told him to use was this ability affiliates will gain with this software to make far more money with the traffic they generate.

The result is here: http://AffiliatePageCreator.com/. Check the headline out and you'll understand what I mean. Also, you'll notice another strategy I used.

Before I explain it to you, let me backup a little to "set the story."
A great way to learn how to write mouth-watering copy is to read fiction. Take a popular book and read it through once. Then go back, read it again and take notes. List the nuances, twists and storylines that grabbed you. And why.

In other words, try to look beyond the story.

Pinpoint where certain characters, ideas and phrases were introduced in specific locations of the book — and see how they relate to the whole plot.

Look at the flow of ideas. Is there a crescendo? Are there small "valleys" along the way (until you reach the "summit," i.e., the climax)?

What do I mean by "small valleys?" Copy should build on the reader's intrinsic curiosity. But it needs to do so multiple times throughout. In fact, incorporate what copywriter David Garfinkel once told me are called "nested loops."

A nested loop is when you begin on an idea but, before you complete it, you introduce another idea. And guess what? People will read every single word more intently and intensely, and remember more what is being said in the process, until you close the loop and finish the idea.

In between the nested loop is therefore a great place to insert a key idea or critical point you want to drive home.

Why are "nested loops" so powerful?
In 1927, Bluma Zeigarnik, one of the early contributors to Gestalt Psychology, found that people have an intrinsic need for closure. Often called the "Zeigarnik Effect," he discovered that we remember interrupted tasks best.

We either passionately attempt to complete something that's incomplete, or feel a certain discomfort, uneasiness or disconcertedness, until it is. The tension created by such an unfinished task helps us to concentrate more.

For example, have you ever watched the news on TV or one of those tabloid shows, where they begin with the following introduction:

"Tonight, Hollywood superstar escapes blazing fire while filming her new mega-budget movie. More on that later. But first..."

That story aroused your curiosity. So you remain glued to your TV set until... They air that particular story at the end of the show! Now, do you think they did this intentionally? Of course. They did so to force you to watch the entire show. (And of course, all of the commercials in between.)

Look at all the TV shows that keep you hanging with each show to the next. (Look at the hit show "24" as a perfect example.) Even commercials use this strategy brilliantly. (Remember the "Taster's Choice" soap-opera-like series?)

Once you close the loop, their concentration level goes down somewhat, which is why you want to use multiple nested loops, or "valleys," throughout the copy. Once they finally "climax," there's no more "Zeigarnik Effect." And you stand a great chance to lose your reader.

(Take, for instance, the show "Dallas" in the 80's with the famous "Who Shot J.R.?" plot. After the show's culmination when they finally revealed who did it, ratings dropped dramatically.)

In copy, include nested loops to not only keep the reader reading but also to build on the reader's level of concentration until the very end. And use them to introduce new or critical ideas in between them.

Look at soap operas and cliffhangers as an example. As an aside, even a few Internet marketers are doing exactly that. For example, check out the "Joe And Mable Show" at http://www.joeandmable.com/.

Posted by ralph at 11:47 AM | Permalink

Homage to John Caples -- or -- "I laughed when I heard the greatest advertising book in history had been revised, but when I saw the book! --" A book review, by Joe Vitale

When the American Marketing Association and NTC Books, Inc. hired me to write what was to become The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising, I knew I had a battle to fight. The greatest books ever written on how to write ads were still in print, and they were all by one man: John Caples.

Caples spent most of his long life writing and testing ads. He was a brilliant copywriter. Most agree he was a genius. In 1925, at the age of 25, he wrote what may be the greatest ad in history, an ad that has been duplicated in one form or another for more than six decades. It began with the now famous headline, "They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano, But When I started to Play!--"

Caples was elected into the Copywriters Hall of Fame in 1973. He was elected into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 1977. The famous Caples Award, given for the year's best ads, was named after him. He died in 1990, at the age of 90, after spending 58 years in the advertising business. The man remains a legend.

How was I ever going to top the work of John Caples? I spent three years of intense research in order to write my book, and throughout the journey I had one goal: Write something that would be better than what John Caples had already written. I failed. But I had a good time nonetheless. I learned a lot, as well.

So try to imagine my surprise when I heard that Prentice-Hall was revising and reprinting Caples' most popular book, Tested Advertising Methods. I was excited. I couldn't wait to get it. When the new book arrived, I held it and smiled, eager to dive in and relish once again the words of one my favorite mentors.

This classic book first came out in 1932. The publisher reprinted it numerous times. Caples himself revised it four times. The last edition, still available in paperback today, was reprinted at least fourteen times. This is a book that has stood the test of time.

Caples wrote it while a young copywriter for the famous BBDO advertising agency (he later became their Vice-President and spent 56 years with the company). He continued to test, refine, revise and add techniques -- not theories, techniques -- to his book right up to his death. As far as most experts are concerned, his book is THE bible in advertising. It's the one I keep by my side. It's the one I tried to model my own book after.

For example, chapter five of Caples' book contains twenty-nine formulas for writing headlines while chapter four of my book contains 30 ways to write headlines. Chapter thirteen of Caples' book reveals thrity-two ways to get more inquiries from your ads while chapter twelve of my book contains thirty-four ways to increase responses to your ads. But don't think I beat Caples. I didn't. His book contains five more chapters, dozens of illustrations, and countless more tips, tricks and techniques for writing ads that get results. Heck, the very last chapter of my book -- on how to test your ads -- primarily consists of Caples' own seven-point checklist!

Again, Tested Advertising Methods has been the Holy Grail of advertising since 1932. So why revise it? And who dared to touch the legendary Caples' chosen words?

Prentice-Hall likes to keep classic books in print. I don't blame them. But I feel like they colorized a famous black and white movie. There's a certain "unreal" quality to this 1997 new version. As I began to read this revised edition, I began to get a sinking feeling in my chest. Gone was much of the warmth and simple clarity of Caples' writing. Gone were many of his hand picked famous ads. Gone was much of his gentle spirit.

The man who revised Caples' writing is one Fred Hahn, who's supposedly been in advertising more than 35 years, though I've never heard of him before. Hahn does his best to replace old ads with modern ads to update the book and prove that Caples' principles are still valid today, nearly seven decades after he created them. He does a fair but not convincing job.

My problem is that Hahn left much of the good stuff on his cutting room floor. For example, Caples included dozens of tested ads -- showing the good as well as bad ads -- and added his illuminating commentary under each. When Caples shows you an ad with the headline, "New Home Permanent Conditions Hair As It Curls" and then an ad with the headline, "Girls...Want a Fast Permanent?" and asks you to select the better ad, you never forget the lesson. (It was the latter.) Hahn dropped the ads and the commentary. Major mistake.

I also admit I don't trust Hahn. I thumbed through the index and couldn't find the name of Bruce Barton (the subject of my book, The Seven Lost Secrets of Success). Barton wrote a few of the ads that remain in Caples' book, his name is mentioned several times in the text, he was Caples' boss at BBDO (Barton co-founded BBDO), he wrote the foreword to the first edition of Caples' book, and yet his name isn't in the index.

To be fair, I also looked up the name of David Ogilvy, who wrote the foreword to the later editions of the book, and whose work is also in the book. His name is in the index only once, overlooking his other contributions to the book.

How can I trust what Hahn says about modern ads when he or his publisher wasn't careful enough to proofread the index?

Despite all I'm saying here, I am glad to see Caples' book available in a beautiful hardcover edition. A whole new audience will be introduced to the Caples style of writing ads that get RESULTS. Anyone interested in producing ads that sell can do no better than memorize Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples.

Gordon White, Caples' biographer, said this of his friend's book: "Tested Advertising Methods is so clear, so complete, and so easy to follow, that if a creature from outer space came to Earth and read it, that visitor could produce excellent advertising. That hardly leaves any excuse for our not doing the same."

I'll still use my mentor's famous book for reference, inspiration, and education, but I think I'll stick to the fourth edition, the last one Caples revised himself, and the one I -- nor anyone else -- have never been able to improve.

Joe Vitale
May 9, 1997

Books by John Caples:
Advertising Ideas. McGraw-Hill, 1938.
Advertising For Immediate Sales. (Publisher and date unknown.)
How to Make Your Advertising Make Money. Prentice-Hall, 1983.
Making Ads Pay. Dover Publications, 1957.
Tested Advertising Methods. Fourth edition. Revised by Caples. Reward Books, 1974.
Tested Advertising Methods. Fifth edition. Revised by Fred Hahn. Prentice-Hall, 1997.

Books about John Caples:
John Caples: ADMAN by Gordon White. Craine Books, 1977

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 06:22 AM | Permalink

October 10, 2005

"Paul Colligan's In Search Of Heroes Interview Was Very Informative and Inspiring" by Ralph Zuranski

Click Here to listen to Paul's In Search Of Heroes Interview

"Paul Colligan Is a Leader in Website Consulting, E-commerce Creation and Software Development and Training along with Podcasting...the New Internet Technology Ready to Sweep the Planet"

Click This link to listen to Paul's heroes interview

Paul Colligan, the Affiliate Guy, Premiumpodcasting.com and Podcasttools.com, is CEO of Colligan.com Inc. an online provider of consulting, technologies, and Web properties for Internet marketing. He is also the Webmaster of several popular Internet Marketing sites that include FrontPage World, Affiliate Marketing World and You Can Sell Online. Paul recently launched AutomateSales.com and FrontPageCart.com to help businesses get their e-commerce programs up and running quickly.

Mr. Colligan has played a key role in the launch of dozens of financially successful Web sites and Internet marketing strategies that have seen millions of visitors and millions of dollars in revenue. Previous clients have included InternetMCI, the Oregon Multimedia Alliance, Rubicon International, Microsoft, the Electronic Boutique, and Pearson Education.

He is also is a popular presenter on Internet technology topics and frequently speaks online, on the air, and before audiences about his passions. He has presented at events around the country that include Internet World, Linux World, Commission Junction University, Armand Morin's Big Seminar, the X-10 Seminar, and Microsoft Tech-Ed.

Paul writes regularly for a number of popular self-published email newsletters with more than 60,000 subscribers. He has also co-authored and been technical editor for a several books about Microsoft FrontPage, his most recent being Special Edition Using Microsoft FrontPage 2003. Microsoft awarded Paul MVP status in 2002 for his efforts with their product.

Paul lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and daughters and enjoys hiking, theater, music, fine dining, and travel.

Paul also periodically updates a blog of his Internet Marketing efforts. It can be found online a http://colligan.blogspot.com.

Ralph Zuranski's Interview with Paul Colligan

Ralph Zuranski: Hi, this is Ralph Zuranski. I’m on the phone with Paul Colligan, he’s the Affiliate Guy, the CEO of Colligan.Com, Inc., and you can find him at http://www.colligan.com. He’s an online provider of consulting technologies and web properties for Internet marketing. He is also one of the pioneers in podcasting. He has a pod casting site called http://www.premiumpodcasting.com where he’s working with new technologies to actually send information to people’s iPods directly over the internet through their computers, all automatically.

Paul is also a Webmaster and has a number of Internet marketing sites that include Front Page World, Affiliate Marketing World, and You Can Sell Online. Paul recently launched AutomateSales.com and FrontPageCart.com to help businesses get their e-commerce programs up and running quickly.

Paul Colligan played a key role in the launch of dozens of financially successful websites and Internet marketing strategies that have seen millions of visitors and millions of dollars in revenue. He is a FrontPage genius.

Previous clients have included Internet MCI, The Oregon Multimedia Alliance, Rubicon International, Microsoft, of course, Electronic Boutique and Pearson Education. He’s also a popular presenter on Internet technology topics and frequently speaks online, on the air and before audiences about his passion. I met Paul at two of the Big Seminars. He is a speaker at numerous events around the world.

Paul writes regularly for a number of popular self-published email newsletters with more than 60,000 subscribers. He’s also co-authored and been technical editor for seven books about Microsoft’s Front Page. His most recent book is Special Edition Using Microsoft Front Page 2003. I’ve checked that one out and it’s really great.

Paul was awarded the Most Valuable Player status in 2002 for his efforts with Microsoft.

He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and daughters, and enjoys hiking, theater, music, fine dining and travel. Paul also makes periodic updates on a blog that is found at http://colligan.blogspot.com.

Wow! That’s a lot of things that you do Paul, how are you doing today?

Paul Colligan: I’m doing OK; I’m a little exhausted after that list!

Ralph Zuranski: Yes, well I guess so! It’s amazing, all the stuff that you do. I’m excited about your launching into podcasting and getting involved in premium podcasting. I know that is an integral part of what we want to teach the kids how to do. Maybe, before we get started with your Heroes questions, you could tell us a little bit about it.

Paul Colligan: Well you know, pod casting to me is probably, no, it just is, the most exciting implementation of Internet technology I’ve ever seen. It goes ahead of e-commerce. I think it goes beyond web design. I think it goes beyond anything because it’s an amazing, enabling technology. You know, right now we think of all the stuff in terms of time spent in front of our computer.

You know this morning, I had to go visit a friend of mine. I had breakfast with him. I spent twenty minutes in the car, each way. The average person spends that time listening to shock jocks, or drive-time radio or something like that. I had a couple of podcasts in there. I was bettering myself on that ride.

Everybody thinks of the Internet in terms of what they do on their computer. They download music and listen to it in front of their computer. And they do stuff in front of their computer.

But with pod casting, you take it with you. You go for a walk, a hike and you take it with you. I’m actually driving the whole family down on Thursday to go visit my parents. My wife and I are probably going to be listening to Podcasts on the entire way down, just catching up on things.

And, it’s just amazingly empowering! The guy I had breakfast with this morning wants to utilize it with what he’s doing in his efforts. As I was walking him through it, his eyes were just exploding with just the potential for what this thing means. I’m just absolutely thrilled about it.

Ralph Zuranski: Would you mind telling us what it is. I’m sure most people are in the dark just like I am.

Paul Colligan: Well, the great thing is, first of all podcasting is nothing new. There’s absolutely nothing new in the world of podcasting. That’s very important for most people to realize.

What it is, we took four or five pieces of technology and when I say we, somebody else did it. I’m just thrilled about it. They took four or five pieces of technology and just combined them all together and made them a lot more powerful. The first technology is Mp3 audio. You know, people have been doing Mp3 audio for ages. Right now, this interview is probably going to be an Mp3, right?

Paul Colligan: Right, yes.

Paul Colligan: This interview is going to be an Mp3 but the typical paradigm, the typical approach people take, would be take this file, download it and sit in front of their computer and listen to the audio.

Well, most people don’t do that. Most people don’t listen to audio in front of their computer. That’s where they do their email. That’s where they do their web. And there’s sort of a disconnect.

You know people could certainly take that Mp3 audio and put it on any Mp3 player. They want to and a lot of people do, but that takes a lot of steps. It takes a bit of a geeky approach.

And the fact of the matter is, they still have to go to your website. They still have to find the page. They still have to download the file. They still have to transfer the file from the computer to their Mp3 player. That is eight or nine steps that you have to perform flawlessly.

Pod casting is different from the old way, which is basically pull. You have to go to your website and you have to pull down information.

Podcasting is push. Once somebody subscribes to a Podcast, once somebody says, "Hey, I want to get this," for lack of a better term, they call them shows.

You tell a Podcast client that every night your computer goes out and looks to see if there’s anything new. If there is, your computer downloads it onto your computer automatically. It puts it on the Mp3 player.

So this morning when I got up to go visit my friend, the computer was on but I didn’t have to click anything, I just unplugged my Mp3 player and took it with me. I checked what was new and played it.

The best analogy is kind of like a TiVo that is getting pretty popular these days. That’s the hard drive in a video recorder.

People always ask me, “What’s the difference between TiVo and just taping a show?”

Well, when you TiVo something, one of my favorite shows right now is 24. I just absolutely love that show. I told TiVo once, "Tape me this season." That’s all I ever did.

Every Tuesday morning, “24” is there. If I work a little late Monday night and I miss the first 30 minutes, I don’t have to rush upstairs and click a button or do anything.

When I’m gone for the weekend, like when I went to the Big Seminar, I got actually snowed out and had to spend an extra day in Atlanta. If I was a VCR guy and had to rush home, I would have missed 24. But it’s just sitting there waiting for me when I get home.

That’s the real power of this. Some people are arrogant enough to think that once a week somebody is going to find your website and download your file and then sink it with their MP3 player. These are people think much too highly of themselves.

You know, when you use the technology of podcasting and let it come automatically, that’s where it starts to get interesting. That’s where it starts to get exciting.
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Ralph Zuranski: People want to do podcasting. What are the steps that they have to take. Do they need special software?

Paul Colligan: There’s a website that I’ve put up called “PodcastTools.com” and there are a lot of videos there that actually walk you through the process. It’s really not that complicated. We have actually got videos that show you how to do a completely 100% free Podcast.

Ralph Zuranski: Really? That’s great…

Paul Colligan: Yes. What we’re doing with premium Podcast is we’re leveraging that same technology and we’re just enabling the same people to actually charge for their Podcast, using the imagery of television.

For a long time it was just what we got over the air. It was what we got over antennas and at some point somebody said, "Dang, I’ll pay a few bucks to get something better" and HBO was born.

HBO claims to be in 1/4th of all American homes, I don’t know if that number is true or not, personally, but people are willing to pay for content. I mean, the Big Seminar, you brought that up. You know, that was hundreds and hundreds of people willing to pay good money for good content. And so premium podcasting is just a way to leverage this really exciting technology through a paid paradigm.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, that really is exciting, if you think it’s that important. You’ve been in computers and software for a long time writing the Front Page manuals and I know that if it’s happening, then you know about it.

Paul Colligan: Thanks.

Ralph Zuranski: Let me ask you a couple of questions about the In Search of Heroes program.

Paul Colligan: Sure!

Ralph Zuranski: What principles are you willing to sacrifice your life for?

Paul Colligan: You know, I grew up in West Germany, which for some people, they don’t know what that means any more. But, my folks were in the U.S. Military during the 1980’s. For a while Eastern Europe was chopped up. It was one half freedom and one half communism. I grew up there on a U.S. military base.

I went to Berlin. Berlin was a really interesting city because the city was one half freedom and one half communist. You could actually take a bus. You could take a double-decker bus to a little city on the outskirts of Berlin. You could peek over this famous wall that separated these two areas. It was just amazing that here I was 100% free and somebody else on the other side of the wall was 100% not free.

Ralph Zuranski: Wow.

Paul Colligan: That always freaked me out. And what was really interesting was about four years ago when I still had a day job; I worked in a consulting agency with an international focus. The gal I shared the office with grew up in East Germany. She was my age at the same time I grew up in West Germany. We were both programmed and taught about how the other one hated us.

Ralph Zuranski: Really?

Paul Colligan: And about how the other one had different programming. In the fourth grade, she trained in a distorted paradigm. I just wouldn’t believe her. In the fourth grade, she was learning male “chauvinist pig” in her English vocabulary.

Freedom is incredibly valuable. I would sacrifice my life for freedom.

It’s very important, because if you don’t have freedom, you can’t do anything else. You can’t act. You can’t pursue commerce the way you want to. You can’t create. You can’t worship. You can’t do the things that are just vital to the human existence.

And that has to come first. A lot of people have died for freedom in the past. But it’s always been good. People are dying for freedom right now.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s true. Do you have a dream or a vision that sets the course of your life?
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Paul Colligan: Absolutely. You’ve got to! You have to have a purpose. My dream is really a simple one. It’s a wonderful family culture. I want a family that just reflects God’s gifts and impact on our lives. I want a family that people look at and go, “Wow, look at that.”

And that comes from a family culture that comes from the combo of me my wife, my kids, and that’s what I do. Everything I do is really based on that. People sometimes say, “You’re trying to take over the world and what not.”

No, I want a wonderful family culture. Working at home allows me to do that a lot better than working a day job.

Ralph Zuranski: Yes, I can believe that.

Paul Colligan: For all this is I just want to create revenue from creating value. A lot of people, they try to create revenue by fooling people, by taking from people. I try to create revenue by creating value for people.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s really important. Well, I know you’ve had a few setbacks, misfortunes and made some big mistakes in your life. Is it important to take a positive view of those setbacks, misfortunes and mistakes?

Paul Colligan: Well, absolutely. If you don’t, you’re just going to end up curled up in a ball, kind of whimpering and whining to yourself how bad things went. And if a setback takes you down, then it won. If you learn something from the setback, you’re far better off for it.

And it's almost like I don’t want them to win. So as a result, you’ve got to pull what you get out of them. You’ve got to pull what was there to teach you. And I tell you, I’ve learned more from my setbacks then I have from the good stuff because, the good stuff is easy. The setbacks are the hard ones. Those are the ones that make you think.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s true. A lot of people have said that. How important is it to be an optimist? I know there are so many people around us that are negative and just try to destroy our dreams. How important is it to be an optimist?

Paul Colligan: It’s the only option because, like you said, a lot of people are out there are trying to destroy your dream. A lot of people are trying to take away freedom. A lot of people are trying to stop you.

And if you are an optimist, you are not going to let that happen. And it’s got to come through the heart of what you are. It’s got to come from you.

I wake up every day happy. It’s got to come from a reason to wake up every day happy. You’ve got to be an optimist. It’s really the only option.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, I know that you are always anxious to pursue more new ideas. Does it take a lot of courage to do that?

Paul Colligan: Sure. But that’s the fun part. I think, there are so many people who are just stuck doing somebody else’s stuff, completing somebody else’s vision, fulfilling somebody else’s dream. And that’s needed. I don’t want to disqualify anybody whose doing that, you know. And sometimes there’s a time in your life…

When I worked for that consulting agency, it certainly wasn’t my dream. That agency was a time for me to learn. It was a time for me to grow…a time for me to understand bigger business and how to work with people.

It was great stuff for me, but in the back was always, “I’m going to take this and make this my own.”

Everybody’s got to do that. That’s the fun part. Why go someplace else when you can explore something new? It would be like opening up the refrigerator, every day, having the same TV dinner in there. You’ve got options! Why not take them?

Ralph Zuranski: That’s true. How important is it to believe that your dreams will eventually become reality? I know that is one of the hardest things to do. And in daily life, there are always the doubts and the fears. Sometimes it’s hard to believe in your dreams. How important is it to believe?
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Paul Colligan: Well first of all, if you don’t believe in your dream, you don’t have really anything. I mean, a dream by its very definition is something you believe in. If it’s not that, then it’s just a nice idea. It's not a question of believing in your dream. It's more like an understanding of what dreams really are.

And, I had great influences in my life, I’m sure we’ll talk about that later. But, I realize that was a gift and I know that I want to act on that. There’s got to be a reason to wake up, a reason to pursue, and a reason to do the next step. That’s because the dreams and the plans and the goals are going to become something some day.

Ralph Zuranski: Who helped give you the willpower to change things in your life for the better?

Paul Colligan: My parents, without a doubt. It was never questioned what I couldn’t do. It was a question of how do we do what it is we’re trying to do.

They are absolutely amazing. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t realize more, especially now that I’ve got girls of my own, that I realize what an important role that my parents played.

My faith is very, very important. I believe in a God who cares for me, wants the best for me, and if that’s true, which I believe it is, well then I look out for it. If I don’t believe that, then I am kind of on my own.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s true, I believe the same way.

Paul Colligan: The last part is just friends. We all have the opportunity for friends who bring us down. Those people at the end of the day are such a drag!

So I’ve always had friends who pick me up and bring me up. They are not all Internet entrepreneurs. I have some of the most ungeeky, unentrepreneurial friends on the planet, but they don’t bring me down. They lift me up, and it’s that combo that does it.

Ralph Zuranski: There are a lot of people that may be having a bad day or whatever, and they have a tendency to upset others, to offend and oppose them. What do you do when people do that to you. Do you totally forgive those who upset, offend and oppose you?

Paul Colligan: Yes, it’s not as hard for me. Sometimes I wonder if it’s arrogance more than it is anything else. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. That’s part of the freedom thing I talked about. If two of us disagree on something, that’s absolutely great. That’s what makes the world go around.

Planet "Paul" would be just so painstakingly boring.

And so if somebody upsets me, well, what is it that upsets me about what it is they are doing? If the upset nature is just my reaction to what they’ve done, great, I could change the reaction and they didn’t win.

And it’s the same thing with offending and the same thing even with opposing. You know, basically if its something I can control, I do. If it’s not something I can control, I really try to let it slide off the back, because it’s the only option. I could spend all day dealing with, “Oh man, this person really bothered me or I could just deal with it.”

Ralph Zuranski: Well you know a lot of people experience great joy in serving others. Do you find service to others as a source of joy?

Paul Colligan: Yes, because it’s a chance to say thanks. I’ve been given so much, been served so much, been handed so much. I realize I worked my butt off. But, I’ve been blessed in a lot of ways. And a lot of these people you can’t say thanks to directly, so serving others is a way to say thank you…almost back down the line.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, what power does prayer have in your life?
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Paul Colligan: Well again, it goes back to the perception of who God is. And if God is who I believe He is, and what I certainly hope He is, then it’s got to be a part of my every day life and it is.

Ralph Zuranski: Do you maintain a sense of humor in the face of serious problems?

Paul Colligan: You’ve got to! That one’s easy. A sense of humor is one of the most precious gifts out there. You know its funny. I remember satire and humor is a great way. If you are involved in something, you know it could be full of humor.

If you are stuck in the middle of something lame and boring, which we often are, even in my job, humor helps break the cycle. The paperwork I have to do, once a month is bookkeeping day. There is nothing I hate worse than bookkeeping, but if you keep a sense of humor through it, it absolutely gets you through it. And you’ve got to go that way.

Ralph Zuranski: Other than your parents, who are the heroes in your life?

Paul Colligan: Well, historically, I think the biblical character of the apostle Paul is an amazing one, because this guy did what he thought he was supposed to be doing 110%.

And then, he had a change in his life and he believed he completely saw the error of his ways. He completely turned around and did 110% change. But always with fervor, always with excitement, always with complete dedication and I really appreciate that.

I like to think that if this all goes to pot one day, that that part of me won’t change. And historically that’s one that I look to. Everybody loves to talk about what he did after the fact.

I think he made a decision on the right side of things, but the fact of the matter was it is part of who he was from the very beginning…to really pursue what he believed in. And I think that’s important.

It’s a reminder for me too that if something changes radically, one of the big things I try to do with my business, if you look at Colligan.com, we’ve have a mission statement. One of the big things there is, I want to be willing to change everything if the technology dictates it.

Right now you talked at the beginning about my e-commerce sites that I partner with. I truly believe that those are the best e-commerce options on the planet. I truly believe that.

Is it possible that one day a better e-commerce solution could pop up? Yes. Could I, will I lose money if a better e-commerce engine pops up? Yes.

But, am I going to hold on to my system and not let anyone know about this new system because I want to keep the revenues? I hope I’m not going to do that.

So that’s one hero.

There is a flip side of it.

I just think of what is happening overseas, the soldiers over there, what they are going through and what they’re doing. A lot of them don’t necessarily, 100% believe in what’s going on. But they believe in the higher call and I just applaud that. I just cannot comprehend the courage that goes on over there.

You know, we were in Germany and my dad actually was a teacher for the dependent kids. He was in the military before I was born. We had it easy. There was good beer, good sausage and friendly people.

These people are in the desert and people want to kill them. It’s a whole different world. So the soldiers right now, I just cannot think enough of them in every way.

And then my family…my daughters are so gorgeous because they have no sense of the inability to do anything. Now, they’re five and two, so they haven’t gone bitter on me.

You know, my daughter will look at me and say, “I’ve got a plan, I need two boxes, some wire and some paint” and I just want to pursue that to the fullest. For her 4th birthday, she told me one day, she said, “I want to do a lemonade stand”. I said “Why?” and she said, “To make money like you do!” It was awesome.

Ralph Zuranski: That is amazing. It’s important to recognize the heroes in our personal life and this society at the same time. Do you think there are any heroes that aren’t getting the recognition they deserve?

Paul Colligan: Absolutely. I think the soldiers overseas aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. I had a really interesting experience. I don’t talk about this a lot because I don’t want it to get in the way of things.

Actually the day I launched my store online was 9/11. And, I got up early in the morning. The store had been completed. Everything had been completed, but I didn’t want to do the release until that day.

I woke up in the morning and I did a mailing to 25,000 about the store and then I switched over to “My Yahoo!” to find out what was happening in the news. And it just devastated me.

I felt terrible about doing it. Obviously nobody knew what was going on. I watched in horror as it all happened. I just…the firefighters who went in and the police and the average people, the people who brought water and food and all that kind of stuff.

That was a sad, sad tragic day. But, man, we got to see real heroes that day in a way that we needed. I don’t think we needed the towers to go down, but it was good for us.

Anybody, anybody who accomplishes what they aren’t supposed to accomplish, anybody who doesn’t recognize the limits, they’re heroes.

There is not an American alive who wouldn’t have understood a guy who freaked out at that moment and couldn’t handle it, but these guys didn’t. And, that just blows my mind.

And I think about all the stuff that happened behind the scenes the same day I launched my store…the attacks, and the people dealing with the attacks. All these things happened in the background.

These guys went into the World Trade Center for a very specific reason. It wasn’t two tall buildings. The terrorists went after…commerce the day I went after commerce. And they tried to destroy it, and they couldn’t.

And man, that’s awesome. I get everybody involved there. Anybody who just does what they aren’t supposed to do and doesn’t recognize the limits does great things. Those are the heroes of the day.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s so true. Why are heroes so important in the lives of young people?

Paul Colligan: Well, if all young people do is aim to be like their friends, then they’re all kind of standing in a circle and pointing at each other. I remember what it was like and we all do.

There’s a time you want to be with your friends and you want to be like your friends, but it just stops there.

You’ve got to have a hero, because you’ve got to have people to aim for…something bigger than them. You’ve got to aim for something outside of the box. So you have got to have that or else you’ve got nowhere to go.

I’ve been reading some stats lately; just the amount of time that young people spend with adults is becoming less and less and less. Sadly schools having 35 students in the classroom, even with the best teachers, the laws of physics are going to prevent them from interacting with kids.

So you’ve got to have a hero, it’s just a way to look up. It’s very, very important.

Ralph Zuranski: How do people really become heroes? I know you talked about people that achieved beyond the limitations other people put on them; and people that just stepped up to the plate and helped wherever they could without getting any recognition. Are there any other ways that people can become heroes?

Paul Colligan: Well, you know, you can go to Toys “R” Us today and you can buy the Great American Hero action figure type things, and they are great, but there a lot of heroes out there doing a lot of things that aren’t necessarily getting the press.

Any time someone does something bigger than they are, any time someone does something not expected of them, that’s heroic. And I think anybody can look for a place to be a hero and be one.

They don’t have to join the Fire Department or join the military or something like that, and you can look for the option. And if you look for it, you’ll find it. There are so many options out there, today.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, a lot of people say there are no heroes in our society. Where are the heroes located?

Paul Colligan: Everywhere! Some of them are loud. Some of them are quiet, but they are everywhere.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, how does it feel to be recognized as an Internet Hero? I know you are out there pioneering on the Internet. I listened to you at a couple of the conferences and liked what you had to say and your personal integrity. How does it feel to be finally recognized for what you do?

Paul Colligan: Well, I am thrilled and humbled, but at the same time I’ve got to think of Woody Allen. Woody Allen said, “Never join a club that would let you in as a member.”

Ralph Zuranski: That’s true.

Paul Colligan: I like to do what I’m doing, but man, there’s some heroes well before me, much more worthy.
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Ralph Zuranski: How are you making the world a better place?

Paul Colligan: I’m trying. The first of all is the legacy of my family. It starts there. And that’s the number one for me. And the second thing, as I alluded to this earlier, just build a business around tools and services that enable people to do great things.

I had an absolute thrill. I was at a movie website about a month ago. It’s a pretty popular movie website. He is kind of an Internet character out there.

The reason I visited the website is that he had just turned on a thing where you could buy ads directly at his website as opposed to going to an ad agency.

I wanted to see how that worked, and I was looking at the different ads and there was somebody selling a “How to Salsa” DVD which is something I just can’t think of further away from me, than learning how to salsa.

But I looked, you know, I’m a geek, I always peek under the covers and this person who was selling the salsa DVDs was using my Front Page cart service.

I didn’t know the person, knew nothing about the person, didn’t know about the website, didn’t know about the tool, and didn’t know about the product. But Front Page Cart was enabling (for some reason, I envisioned her as a gal, I hope it is) this gal produced a "How to Salsa DVD" and sold it on the "Ain’t It Cool" website.”

And that just gave me such a thrill…such a tickle because my work enabled other people to do great things and see their dreams. That was one of the most exciting moments I’ve had in quite some time, just on my own work because that’s what I try to do, tools and services that enable people to do great things.

Ralph Zuranski: Well do you have any good solutions to the problems facing society? I know some of the tough ones are racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people.

Paul Colligan: That’s an easy one. I played in politics for a little while and it’s for some people…not for me. I played in different community service elements and realized that’s for some people and not for me.

I think we all have our paths we’re supposed to take in these areas. But, the simple fact of the matter is you mentioned racism, abuse and violence. If we’re all created in the image of God, like I believe we are, we all have value.

Ralph Zuranski: Yes, I believe that also.

Paul Colligan: Then racism, abuse, violence, it’s abhorrent. You’re beating on God. You’re abusing God. And, if that’s the case, then I think an answer is to get people believing that we are created in the image of God.

I think if you believe that deep down, it’s going to change the way you act. It’s going to change the things you do.

That’s going to do more than a politician who makes some law or opens up some center or who accomplishes something. There’s a need for that, and a place for that. I’m not trying to disqualify that in any way. But, if the person is pondering this action, they go wait a minute, this is bigger than me. They stop because of that. That’s what’s going to happen.

Ralph Zuranski: I agree. If you had three wishes for your life in the world that would come true instantly, what would they be?

Paul Colligan: Oh gosh, another easy one! I would love to see true freedom for everyone, the freedom to make a decision, the freedom to act if they want to.

Yes, the Wall fell and communism fell. A good chunk of it is gone but true freedom isn’t there yet. I’d love to see true freedom for everyone, because once that happens, and then we’ve got the ability to make the decisions, pull ourselves up and do great things.

You’ve seen some footage of Afghanistan, allowing women to attend school. That’s going to do more for society than any aid package we could possibly send, because they are going to be educated, to do things for themselves. They are starting to get it. Are they at true freedom yet? No. But they are better than they were a couple of years ago.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s true!
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Paul Colligan: So I believe in true freedom for everyone. The next thing I would like to see is just that the liars step down. This is the liars in politics, the liars in business, and the liars in religion. There are a lot of them in all areas. They should just step down.

Enough said there. And the last thing I’d love to see is just the most valuable commodity. I’d like there to be truth and wisdom. You know, if that’s what people look for, that’s what people look for, if that’s what people go for, it all begins to make sense.

Ralph Zuranski: Isn’t that the truth! Well, parents are incredible influences in kids’ lives. What are the things that parents can do that will help children realize they too can be heroes and make a positive impact on the lives of others?

Paul Colligan: Well, I learned from my parents it’s all about perspective. I remember once I read this article. It was like Ann Landers or Dear Abby or something like that, and it just changed my life.

It was a topic I knew nothing about. They were talking about adopted kids. And you know this woman wrote in and she said, "Hey, I’ve got an adopted child and I’ve got a natural child. How do I break the news that my child was adopted? How do I give her this bad news?"

And that was an interesting question, how do you do that and I kept reading and Ann Landers said no, or whoever it was, Ann or Abby, whoever.

They said no, that’s not what you do. You tell the adopted one that I chose you. You tell the adopted one that I went to the agency and looked at all these kids and picked you out.

You know, and I was like, “dang, that’s the difference, right there!” It’s not just two sides to every story…the other side of the coin type of thing. It’s just a true attitude towards life that you absolutely have to take.

One of the things that I’m trying to do with my girls, because my parents did it, was I don’t want to limit them. My five year old just had her birthday. She told me she wanted a pink iPod.

And part of me was like; no five year old needs an iPod. She doesn’t even know what an iPod does; she just thinks the pink one is cute. But if I tell her that, it’s “No, no, no.” So we’re sitting down, and trying to figure out how much a pink iPod costs.

Currently one of her favorite places to go in the world is the dollar store. So, the comparison there is 300 selections from the dollar store or a pink iPod. How much is $300? Well, let’s count out 300 pennies. And so part of what we need to do is, we don’t limit them.

There’s going to be times there’s stuff they shouldn’t do. There’s stuff they can’t do. There’s stuff you can’t afford to do, but just make it, how can they do this? How do we save? How do we make it happen?

And then the flip side of it is, at the same time you don’t push them. You know, my daughter wanted a pink iPod because she saw what fun we’re having with ours, and she made the decision herself.

And if you push people, they don’t make those decisions, and so I don’t think you push. I think you encourage. I think you enable. I think you don’t limit, but I don’t think you push because that’s how they’ll figure out who they are, what their part is, what their piece is.

And finally, and you hit into this earlier, society is going to pound them. When society pounds them, pick them up and that’s the big job.

It’s a facilitation role. In many ways it’s as strategic as the businesses I run.

Every day I get up, I look at the sales from last night. I look at trends. I look at things. Is there anything I need to deal with today to make this stuff bigger? I think in the same way it’s what you have to do with the kids.

Ralph Zuranski: I know a lot of people think that kids should be their best buddies, but others think that it's important to help discipline kids and help guide them in the way that they should go.

Paul Colligan: The problem with the “buddy thing” is it’s good to have friends and it's important to have friends, and I want to have friends. I want my kids to have friends, but again if we’re all friends, then nobody’s looking up.

And if somebody’s looking up, you know you can go hello, hello, and the kids will look up. And the kids who look up will go places.

You know, imagine society with no goals. I think a lot of parents do want to be their best friend and the heart to do that.

I truly understand the heart of that. I think kids are more and more alienated every day and sometimes, who knows, the parents might be the only ones.

But the real richness, the real joy of being a parent is being able to say, "Hey, look up here!" It gets better, there’s more and that’s kind of the goals.

So yes, I hear you and I think that does a lot of damage. I understand where it comes from but I think it does more damage than good.

Ralph Zuranski: Well Paul, I really appreciate your time and your wisdom. Is there any parting wisdom that you want to provide?

Paul Colligan: You know, I think this is a great program. I was peeking around the website. You’ve got to think bigger than yourself. It doesn’t matter where you are, and because you know, then you aim for something. If you are just aiming for what’s already there, there is no real reason to get up, no real reason to do much. And look for something bigger.

Ralph Zuranski: The reason why I’m doing the interviews is it’s astounding; some of the wisdom that pops out of people’s heads when they are asked profound questions and to just listen to what some of these people have to say.

It’s encouraged and inspired me to say the least. It’s really good to get the wisdom of some of the people that are already successful, that have made a lot of mistakes, that know exactly how to be successful and help other people to be successful at the same time.

And I know you are one of those people so again, I just really appreciate you taking your valuable time to do this interview with us.

Paul Colligan: No problem, Ralph.

Ralph Zuranski: Thanks a lot, Paul!

Paul Colligan: Thank you!

Posted by ralph at 04:55 PM | Permalink

"Learn How You Can Overcome Procrastination Immediately" by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

How to Overcome Procrastination!

Problem:
People procrastinate because many are paralyzed with fear of failure, loss, pain and some, success! What we fear becomes our reality.

Solution
1. Fear is “False Evidence Appearing Real.
2. 90% of what we fear never becomes reality.
3. The best way to overcome fear is to do what we fear.
4. It helps if you visualize the worst case scenario and accept it as a possibility and realize it will probably never come to pass.
5. Our imaginations exaggerate negative fears completely out of proportion and in most cases never occur!

Problem
Few have a strategy to accomplish their goals.

Solution
1. Make a contract with yourself.
2. Identify specific rewards for positive action.
3. Establish certain penalties for procrastination.
4. Break your goals down into small steps.
5. Schedule a time segment for each activity.
6. Give yourself rewards for correct action and penalties when you do not follow through.

Problem
Many have a lack of discipline. It takes 30 days to break old habits and establish new ones.

Solution
1. Create a Success-Habits-Reminder card with boxes for checkmarks to record your daily activities.
2. Tape it to your bathroom mirror.
3. Stick it on your desk to keep track of your actions.

Problem
Most people do not have a plan or assign priorities.

Solution
1. Create a “To Do” List.
2. Determine immediate, intermediate and long-range goals.
3. Plan the goals that are in immediate reach of your abilities and assign priorities: Important & urgent, Important but not urgent, Not urgent or important.
4. Do the urgent & important tasks first.
5. 80% of your activities are not important to your goals.
6. Only 20% are urgent & important.
7. Learn to eliminate the 80% activities that do not help you attain your goals.

Problem
Many try to complete the most urgent & important activities at the last moment.

Solution
Every day schedule a block of prime time to work on an important activity that is due in the future. Soon you will find the time to analyze and polish your projects many times before they come due.

Problem
There never seems to be enough time to contemplate your decisions

Solution
Schedule quiet time to make important decisions. Listen to relaxing music that balances both brain hemispheres. If you do not schedule time for exercise, rest, entertainment, fellowship and prayer your will spin out of control.

Problem
You are overwhelmed.

Solution
Learn to say, “No!” to activities and individuals that do not contribute to the attainment of your goals. Often, people take advantage of your kindness and generosity without ever realizing you have better things to do with your time.

Problem: Most people do not have a master plan.

Solution
1. Create a master list of all personal, spiritual, physical, emotional and financial goals for 1 year.
2. Assign priorities for each.
3. Predict a date for completion.
4. Write everything in pencil so you can change it.

Problem: Few people use an organizer or daytime planner to coordinate their activities.

Solution
1. Transfer the things on your master list to the correct dates in your organizer.
2. Check off each item as it is completed.
3. At the end of each day, reschedule the things that were not completed.
4. If an item is rescheduled twice, you are procrastinating.
5. Ask yourself, “What if I never do this?”
6. If the answer is, “No big deal!” Delete it.

Problem
Some people suffer from perfection paralysis.

Solution
1. Make the decision that you are not perfect and never will be. Everything you do will be imperfect in some way.
2. Realize that if it is worth doing, it’s worth doing wrong until you get it right.
3. Stop judging yourself according to your accomplishments.
4. Learn to trust yourself by developing intuition and following your hunches. You will find your first premonition is usually the correct one.
5. Discover just how right you are by making predictions and observing how a high percentage of them are correct. (Predict the line at the supermarket or bank that will move the fastest and take action accordingly.)
6. Make quick decisions in 20 seconds or less.
7. Make your decisions the correct ones by believing in your choices and acting with confidence.
8. In difficult situations, flip a coin, choose heads or tails and then observe how you feel about the outcome of the toss. Your response to the coin toss will help you make the right decision.

Posted by ralph at 11:49 AM | Permalink

"How to Use Subliminal Advertising on Your Resume!" by Joe Vitale

My best friend in college, an advertising major, used to grab a pencil
and write the words "sex," "death," "females," and several obscene words on
his resume. He would then erase those words, leaving only a faint impression
of what he had written. He then mailed his resume to prospective employers.
"What in the world are you doing?" I asked the first time I saw him
doing this bizarre act.

"It's subliminal advertising," he explained. "Ads today are full of
subliminal messages that activate our emotions."

"What's that got to do with your search for a job?"

"I'm using subliminal advertising on my resume," he explained.

"Employers won't know what I wrote, but they'll be drawn to my resume."
Personally, I thought my friend was gonzo.

But my friend got several job offers that year. Was it because of his
innovative use of subliminal advertising? I think not. It was probably more
because he was creative minded enough, and daring enough, to even think of
applying subliminal advertising to something as common as a resume. He was,
in many ways, a genius. Unfortunately, he passed away many years ago. I
can't say what he would do or say today.

Still, does subliminal advertising really work to get you to do things
below your conscious awareness?

Most if not all of the evidence that I can find says no, it doesn't
work. Even James Vicary, the creator of subliminal advertising, later
admitted he had no solid research for his claims.

But the FCC might think otherwise. Here's their official statement on
the use of what they call Subliminal Programming:

"We sometimes receive complaints regarding the alleged use of subliminal
techniques in radio and TV programming. Subliminal programming is designed
to be perceived on a subconscious level only. Regardless of whether it is
effective, the use of subliminal perception is inconsistent with a station's
obligation to serve the public interest because the broadcast is intended to
be deceptive."

There aren't too many cases of subliminal advertising in the courts,
either. But there was some news coverage during the last presidential
election about Bush's team using subliminals to air the word "RAT" when Al
Gore spoke. According to one news report:

On September 13, 2000, two U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden, D-Oregon and John
Breaux, D-Louisiana, requested the Federal Communications Commission to
provide an "immediate and impartial" review of the Republican National
Committee's allegedly "subliminal" "RATS" ad. The Senators reportedly told
FCC Chairman William Kennard that a review of the controversial ad would be
in "the best interests of both political parties, and all Americans."

It had been shown that when the ad was slowed down, the word "RATS"
appeared briefly while a voiceover criticized Vice President Al Gore's
prescription drug plan as one in which "Bureaucrats Decide." Republican
presidential nominee, George W. Bush, told reporters that he believed the
appearance of "RATS" in the advertisement was accidental. However, Al Gore
said that he was "disappointed" by the ad.

Mispronouncing the word "subliminal" as 'subliminenal" several times,
Governor Bush said that he was "convinced" that the advertisement was not
meant to send a subliminal message.

The so-called "RATS" ad had run over 4,000 times in 33 markets
nationally for about two weeks. The ad reportedly cost the RNC over $2.5
million. The ad has been pulled from the airwaves.

So, what's the truth here?

I would say subliminal advertising is not only questionable, it's
illegal. So that end's the case of whether you should try it or not in ads,
particularly ads on radio or television. Even if it worked, it's against the
law. And, in general, direct advertising will always out-pull subliminal
advertising.

Of course, if you are like my late friend from college, and aren't
afraid to take a pencil and write obscene words on your next article,
letter, or resume, then go for it. Just be sure to erase those words before
you turn them in or send your resume to an employer. You don't want to end
up in a job interview with the employer asking you:

"Now tell me, why did you write 'sex' and 'death' and 'females' and all
these nasty words on your resume?"

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 11:47 AM | Permalink

"Triple Your Response With This Google Adwords Trick" by Michel Fortin

One tip I use to increase my clickthroughs from Google AdWords is to use dynamic headlines in my ads so that the keyword searched for by a user appears in the title of my ad.

It's proven that, when the keyword searched for appears in your ad, it increases your CTRs (e.g., clickthrough rates).

Thus, here's how you do it. Type ...

{KeyWord:Default Title}

... Exactly as shown. "Default Title" is the default title that appears if the keyword isn't an exact match to your list of keywords, is a variation or if the keyword/keyphrase makes the title longer than Google's limit of 25 characters.

Plus, type it exactly as shown -- KeyWord, not keyword, or Keyword, or KEYWORD -- because "KeyWord" will capitalize each word in your title ("Keyword" will only capitalize the first letter), since first capitalized letters increase CTRs, too.

Now, that may be good news to some of you, but it's NOT the news I wanted to convey. As a test fanatic myself, I wanted to try to see if {KeyWord} works in the ad itself -- either in the ad content or, more important, in the display URL.

Why the display URL?

Because the display URL can be whatever you want (and the real URL is the one people are sent to when they click) ... As long as the display and real URLs are in the same domain, it meets Google's editorial guidelines.

Since I was in the middle of writing copy, I didn't have time to check this out. So I made a request -- and The Copy Doctor member, Eric Graham, was gracious enough to try it out.

The result? You won't believe this! (And you certainly won't believe the tremendous boost in conversion it did, too! Hint: It tripled ... a 328.1% increase! ... the CTRs!)

See http://copywritersboard.com/viewtopic.php?p=2258#2258
for the whole story.

Enjoy,
Michel
Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 11:43 AM | Permalink

October 09, 2005

"Forget Benefits, And You Will Sell More" by Michel Fortin

Let me say it another way.

You've done your research. You found a starving market. Your product fills their needs. And your sales copy shines with benefits. If so, then why is your product still NOT selling? Is it the price? The offer? The competition?

Maybe. But not necessarily. The fact is, these things are not always to blame for being unable to sell an in-demand product, even with great copy.

It has more to do with one thing: FOCUS. (Or the lack thereof.)

In fact, the greatest word in copywriting is NOT "free." It's "focus."

And what you focus on in your copy is often the single, greatest determinant of your copy's success. Similarly, the most common blunders I see being committed in copy is the lack of focus in a sales message on:

The individual reading the copy; and,
The value you specifically bring to them.
In my experience as a copywriter, I find that some people put too much emphasis on the product, the provider and even the market, and not enough on the most important element in a sales situation: the customer.

The individual reading the copy at that very moment.

Don't focus your copy on your product and the features of your product — and on how good, superior or innovative they are. And don't even focus on the benefits. Instead, focus on increasing perceived value.

Why? Because perception is personal. It's intimate. It's ego-centric.

Let me explain.

When you talk about your product, you're making a broad claim. Everyone makes claims, especially online. "We're number one," "we offer the highest quality," "it's our best version yet," etc. (Often, my reaction is, "So what?")

And describing benefits is just as bad.

Benefits are too broad, in my opinion. You were probably taught that a feature is what a product has and a benefit is what that feature does. Right? But even describing benefits is, in my estimation, making a broad claim, too.

A claim always looks self-serving. It also puts you in a precarious position, as it lessens your perceived value and makes your offer suspect — the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish by making claims in the first place.

Therefore, don't focus on the benefits of a certain feature. Rather, focus on how those features specifically benefit the individual.

There is a difference. A big difference.

The more you explain what those claims specifically mean to the prospect, the more you will sell. It's not the features that counts and it's not even benefits. It's the perceived value. So how do you build perceived value?

The most common problem I see when people attempt to describe benefits is when what they are really describing are advantages — or glorified features, so to speak. Real benefits are far more personal and intimate.

That's why I prefer to use this continuum:

Features Advantages Benefits

Of course, a feature is what a product has. And an advantage (or what most people think is a benefit) is what that feature does. But...

... A benefit is what that feature means.

A benefit is what a person intimately gains from a specific feature. When you describe a feature, say this: "What this means to you, Mr. Prospect, is this (...)," followed by a more personal gain your reader gets from the feature.

Let me give you a real-word example.

A client once came to me for a critique of her copy. She sold an anti-wrinkle facial cream. It's often referred to as "microdermabrasion." Her copy had features and some advantages, but no benefits. In fact, here's what she had:

Features:

It reduces wrinkles.
It comes in a home kit.
And it's pH balanced.
Advantages:

It reduces wrinkles, so it makes you look younger.
It comes in a home kit, so it's easy to use at home.
And it's pH balanced, so it's gentle on your skin.
This is what people will think a benefit is, such as "younger," "easy to use" and "gentle." But they are general. Vague. They're not specific and intimate enough. So I told her to add these benefits to her copy...

Benefits:

It makes you look younger, which means you will be more attractive, you will get that promotion or recognition you always wanted, you will make them fall in love with you all over again, they will never guess your age, etc.

It's easy-to-use at home, which means you don't have to be embarrassed — or waste time and money — with repeated visits to the doctor’s office... It’s like a facelift in a jar done in the privacy of your own home!

It's gentle on your skin, which means there are no risks, pain or long healing periods often associated with harsh chemical peels, surgeries and injections.
Now, those are benefits!

Remember, copywriting is "salesmanship in print." You have the ability to put into words what you normally say in a person-to-person situation. If you were to explain what a feature means during an encounter, why not do so in copy?

The more benefit-driven you are, the more you will sell. In other words, the greater the perceived value you present, the greater the desire for your product will be. And if they really want your product, you'll make a lot of money.

It's that simple.

In fact, like a face-to-face, one-on-one sales situation (or as we say in sales training, being "belly to belly" with your prospect), you need to denominate as specifically as possible the value of your offer to your readers.

In other words, express the benefits of your offer in terms that relate directly not only to your market, but also and more importantly:

To each individual in that market
And to each individual's situation.
Don't focus on your product. Focus on your readers. Better yet, relate the benefits of your offer to the person that's reading it. And express how your offer benefits your prospect in terms they can intimately relate to.

Look at it this way:

Use terms the prospect is used to, appreciates and fully understands. (The mind thinks in relative terms. That's why the use of analogies, stories, examples, metaphors and testimonials is so important! Look at "facelift in a jar" I mentioned earlier, as an example.)

Address your reader directly and forget third-person language. Don't be afraid to use "you," "your" and "yours," as well as "I," "me," "my" and "mine." Speak to your reader as if in a personal conversation with her.

Use terms that trigger their hormones, stroke their egos, tug at their heartstrings and press their hot buttons. You don't need to be hypey. Just speak to your reader at an intimate level. An emotional level.
Because the worst thing you can do, second to making broad claims, is to express those claims broadly. Instead, appeal to their ego. Why? Because...

... We are all human beings.

Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising (one of the best books on copywriting), once noted we are not far evolved from chimpanzees. "Just far enough to be dangerous to ourselves," copywriter Peter Stone once noted.

He's not alone. My friend and copywriter Paul Myers was once asked during an interview, "Why do people buy from long, hypey copy?" His short answer was, "Human beings are only 2 feet away from the cave."

(Speaking of Eugene Schwartz, listen to his speech. It's the best keynote speech on copywriting. EVER. You can also get a copy of his book, too, at http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/AudioclipsE.htm — just scroll about halfway down to the clip entitled "Hear legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz teach his proprietary system for writing breakthrough advertising copy").

People buy for personal wants and desires, and for selfish reasons above all. Whether you sell to consumers or businesses, people are people are people. It's been that way for millions of years. And nothing's changed.

Your message is just a bunch of words. But words are symbols. Different words mean different things to different people. Look at this way: while a picture is worth a thousand words, a word is worth a thousand pictures.

And the words you choose can be worth a thousand sales.
Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 11:45 AM | Permalink

October 08, 2005

"Ace Your Ad Copy with These Tips" by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

What percentage of prospects come your way as a result of your ad copy? What percentage of sales do you close because of your ads? Well, increase both percentages with some of our tips, tailored to your own ad campaigns.

1. ERRORS – It’s tough to have 100 percent perfect ad copy. Nearly impossible! So tell your readers that whoever spots five errors in your ad copy due to grammar issues or misspelled words, wins a reward. This way your readers will not only be reading your copy longer, increasing the likelihood of purchasing awhile they’re at it, you’ll get editing done at no charge for your revised printing or online publication.

2. YES – Lead your readers to the conclusion you want; that is to say, “Yes” to your offer, by asking them several yes and no questions in your ad copy that have affirmative answers. Have the questions be based on the main offer and focus on what will happen if they do not buy. But don’t set a negative tone by having them reply “No.” Or by the time they’re through reading, they might say, “No” to you!

6. CONTACT – Do include complete contact information – that works! Test any email addresses and telephone numbers before going to press

Posted by ralph at 01:09 PM | Permalink

"How To Create Unblockable Popups" by Michel Fortin

However, there are unblockable pop-ups. Some people sell software to create them. But there are also free scripts available on the Internet. Here are a few links to help you create "unblockable" pop-ups I use on my many websites.

Granted, they are not 100% foolproof, as pop-up blockers are becoming more and more sophisticated. However, not everyone has them, and therefore your chance to take advantage of these response boosters are immense -- at least for the time being.

There are 3 types...

1. Window Layers (Or "Pop-Overs")
The first is to create DHTML (dynamic HTML) windows, which uses layers (also called "pop-ins" or "pop-overs," and sometimes called "hover ads" or "drop-in windows").

These windows are not windows per se but in fact are actual HTML mini-pages created "on top" of regular HTML. When they close (such as by clicking the "X" in the upper righthand corner), they don't really close. They simply become invisible.

These scripts are free.
ScriptAsylum.com
DynamicDrive.com
CodeLifter.com
You can also use their cookie function to disallow pop-ups from showing up with returning visitors, thus reducing annoyance.

Let me show you some examples.
There's my client Chet Womach at BirdTricks.com (notice the "close window link" in the window, which I discovered by myself .) There's my own website at SuccessDoctor.com.

2. Modal Windows
The second one is the same as a standard pop-up window. But instead of lauching the window when the page loads or closes (traditionally using the body tag "onload" or "unonload" function), this script launches the window within the code itself -- rather than when page loads.

These scripts are also free.
forums.HotScripts.com
Here's the same one but in a downloadable zip file.
PageResource.com
WebReference.com
Let me show you a more specific example.
There's my own website at TheCopyDoctor.com (you may have seen the "exit" survey that pop-ups when you leave the website, asking for your feedback as to why you didn't order today).

3. Scrolling/Draggable Layers
The third is somewhat like #1. But instead of a window, you can create a linked image or a set of links (with no frames) that follow you around on a web page.

This one is becoming more and more popular. It was once used for providing feedback, but with the advent of pop-up blockers, this technique is fast becoming the "pop-up" of choice.

These scripts are also free.
EchoEcho.com
Codelifter.com
Dyn-Web.com
(Click on gliding "layers always in view.")
Here are some examples.
For links, you can purchase a software that creates them for you, like Dave Brown's WebsiteResponseBooster.com (not an affiliate link). But when you visit the site, look in the corners of your browser window.

As for images, go to About.com and click on any one of their content pages, then scroll down -- and look at the top of your window. Here's a screenshot:

Click picture to enlarge.

One Final Resource
Many of the scripts I use comes from a freeware site, which offers a downloadable "javascript vault." It's a great reference tool. Goto:

http://davidpye.com/freeware/

... and scroll down to "Javascript Vault.

Posted by ralph at 11:42 AM | Permalink

"Joe Vitale's Unspoken Marketing Secrets" by Joe Vitale

I showed the below list to two marketing consultants. They both asked me not to publish it. I then showed it to a non-marketing person. He said he was going to print the list and tape it to his computer, so he could refer to it every day. Apparently there is real dynamite here. It scares some people. It inspires others.

After writing eleven books on marketing, reading several hundred other books on persuasion and psychology published over the last century and a half, and spending more than twenty years creating advertising and publicity to convince people to do what my clients wanted, I sat down and compiled this list.

You could probably build an entire marketing campaign or improve an existing one with any one of the below insights into human nature. Each week for the next year I will take one truism from the list and quickly explain how you might use it. If you want to receive the weekly memos, just sign-in at my website, http://www.mrfire.com. (If you're already on my email list, you will automatically receive the memos.) For now, here's the list:

People can be persuaded to your side with a good story.

People only do things for the good feelings they get.

People will pay any amount of money to have their inner states changed.

People only buy from people they know, like, and trust.

People make snap decisions about you and your business based on little things you usually overlook, even the paper stock of your business card.

People pick up on your energy, more than on what you say or do, and decide to work with you or not based on what they sense.

People know when you are lying, though some may mistrust their own instinct.

People want you to do what you say you will do when you say you will do it; they will reward you if you go one step further and deliver more than what they expect sooner than when they expect it.

People only act for self-serving reasons, no matter what they say or you think.

People will never change their human emotions or basic desires, only their dress and their tools will change.

People never question their own beliefs, so don't try to change them.

People cannot tell you why they buy anything or predict if they will buy something.

People always respond to free offers of something interesting to them.

People will believe a wild claim if it is just this side of unbelievable.

People will spend their last dime to be entertained.

People respond to flattery.

People want to be happy. Period.

People want low prices while still wanting the best deal.

People can tell if you don't believe in your product or service.

People respond to enthusiasm.

People will follow commands that make them feel superior.

People buy for emotional reasons and justify their decisions with whatever logic they can find or create, no matter how ridiculous.

People idolize the past, complain about the present, and fear the future.

People will never argue with you if you never make them wrong.

People are deeply affected by what others think.

People always act for positive reasons, even if the behavior is negative.

People will read any length of sales copy as long as it is interesting to them.

People become information junkies when they are interested in buying.

People will respond to you if you get out of your ego and into theirs.

People want to be recognized.

People want to be loved.

People are interested in other people.

People are interested in the new, the off-beat, the unusual.

People are always interested in women, babies, and pets.

People love food and will read a recipe stuck in a sales letter.

People universally feel deprived.

People do not care about you or your business until you show them how you can help them.

People will mentally fill in holes to complete a story or sales pitch.

People will deny that advertising works while responding to ads.

People will read an ad if it doesn't look like an ad.

People will believe a news story over an advertisement hands down.

People are collectors of something, whether of books or thimbles or recipes, though they may deny it.

People will continue with a bad habit until it hurts.

People will do whatever you want as long as they don't have a counter-thought to your request. Handle the objection and they will comply.

People unconsciously respond to your unconscious intentions.

People feel that something or someone else is in control and desperately seek ways to have power again.

People think about sex far more than they will ever admit.

People will deny that this list is entirely true.

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 10:42 AM | Permalink

October 07, 2005

"Are You Ready To Become Self-Employed? " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

If you are interested in starting a business, or taking over one, you face a daunting task that carries a level of risk and excitement not possible in the 'employee' world.

If the financial independence of self-employment appeals to you - no boss, no income limits as to time and wage, and the ability to let your personal drive determine your compensation - then you will no doubt be eagerly going over the many options available to release you from your current job.

However, the rush of financial excitement must be tempered by the necessary cost of time, money and effort in properly setting yourself up independently.

Despite income claims made by business opportunity companies, or competing businesses, you must be ready to accept the reality of not seeing personal income for several months - or even years.

Starting a self-employed business on the side, while keeping regular employment as your financial security, is a wise method of ensuring your income.

Another option is to have substantial savings that permit you the freedom to pursue your dreams unencumbered with other employment. However, the savings must also be capable of carrying the costs of developing a business along with providing for your material needs.

Do you also recognize the time that is required in starting your own business? In some ways it is almost unnecessary to bring up the point since your passion will likely drive you to spend many hours in your pursuits. If you have other obligations; family, job, social etc. then you will have to consider if you CAN devote the time needed to get your business off the ground.

Having discussed both money and time, you must recognize that there is much more effort extended BEFORE a business is profitable than at any other time in your business. Yes, once you are getting work and are satisfied with the income level you may be very busy indeed but you will then be compensated for it. When you are still cultivating your business - marketing, doing free jobs, searching for clients and customers - you may not be seeing any income, or a very meager one, which makes your EFFORTS seem immense.

Do not falter! If you come to the point when you are working your hardest and doing everything your business requires but still not seeing monetary results, you may hit a psychological wall. This is where truly entrepreneurial individuals see an obstacle to overcome as opposed to a dead-end to their hard work. Passion for their work and the strong desire to work for themselves overcomes any perceived barriers and moves them to keep going and ultimately becoming very successful.

By persevering you will certainly see the fine fruits of your labors and prove to yourself and others that the benefits of self-employment far outweigh the mediocre status quo of the typical worker's daily grind.

Posted by ralph at 05:40 PM | Permalink

"Happy Clients Are The Enemy " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Clients who are happy with what they have are your worst enemy.

Happy clients don't complain. Happy clients aren't looking for new solutions. And, happy clients will not spend their money on something they don't need.

'But client satisfaction is the foundation of my business,' you exclaim.

So true! Your client's complete satisfaction should be your ultimate goal. Here is the key question: If a client is satisfied with your product today, will your product meet their changing needs tomorrow?

Change is the only constant in the business universe. Your client's needs change every day and your challenge is to identify those needs that are causing dissatisfaction in their life. Finding and solving these elusive needs will lead to more sales for your business.

Ask yourself, are you searching for new areas of client dissatisfaction for your product or service to solve? Are you focusing your marketing on their needs and desires? Are you positioning yourself as a solution to their problems?

Clients and prospects are always looking to improve their personal condition as they travel through life. It's a natural quality of the human condition. What they currently possess may satisfy them today but that is sure to change. Within this change resides opportunities for you.

Your growth and prosperity will come from the unsatisfied and the needy. These are the people who may or may not know they need a solution. It is your job to uncover their hidden needs and supply the solution.

So you ask, 'If they are satisfied now, I need to create a new dissatisfaction?'

No, you are not necessarily creating the dissatisfaction but uncovering it for them to see. When you think about it, we all live in a state of ignorance throughout our daily lives. We don't realize that we need what we don't have. Simply put, you cannot satisfy a need until you know that you have one in the first place.

For example, not too long ago there was a time when computers did not exist. We were unaware of the influence and benefits that these machines would have on our daily lives. Yet we survived without them in blissful ignorance as we plodded through the workday. Today, you can't run a business without a computer on your desk!

The computer industry uncovered a whole host of reasons that we were dissatisfied: streamlining document processing, efficiently transferring data, communicating instantaneously anywhere in the world, and having vast amounts of information available at the click of a mouse. Indeed, these needs always existed somewhat, but the marketplace didn't know it needed the productivity a computer offered.

The catalyst to discovering these unknown needs are imagination and innovation. You must find the dissatisfaction and creatively communicate your solution to the client. Until you make this discovery, happy clients are not interested in purchasing more from you. Your goal must be to find an offering that fills a need, solves a problem, or improves their condition.

Creating the products and services that put an end to their current dissatisfactions is the best way to insure continued business growth.

Become a leader and innovator within your industry. With this strategy you will position your business as a valuable resource that is trusted and looked on as the best choice in the market. This makes sales much easier, decreases your enemies, and greatly increases your success.

Posted by ralph at 12:44 PM | Permalink

"Basic Tutorial On Split-Testing" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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This is pulled from my post on CopywritersBoard.com.
A script (like SIMA or Split Test Gold, etc) serves 2 versions of the same page. The 2nd version should be a carbon copy of the first page (your control), but with one variable changed -- perhaps a change in headline, price, graphic, copy, offer, guarantee, etc.

So page "a" may be your existing control while page "b" is exactly the same with one slight change. (Always test just one variable at a time.)

Scenario of "a" versus "b" split test.
The script serves one page, alternately, with each visitor. It measures the response rate per page. Say, page "a" gets 100 hits, 2 sales (2% response). Page "b" gets 100 hits, 3 sales (3% response). The difference between "a" and "b" gives me the change. It's a 1% difference. Based on the original 2%, that's a 50% increase.

Let me show you a more specific example.

First, you install the script. You then set your 2 pages. Page "a" is your current control. Page "b" is an exact carbon copy of page "a," but with a slight change. One variable, whatever it may be. Now...

Page "a" 213 hits, 2 sales, 0.9% conversion
Page "b" 188 hits, 3 sales, 1.1% conversion
Increase from "a" to "b:" 1.1 - 0.9 = 0.2% difference
To calculate the increase 0.2% represents:
Multiply it by 100, like 0.2 x 100 = 20
20 divided by 0.9% = 22% increase
Thus, page "b" with the slight change represents a 22% increase over page "a." Thus, 0.9% (page "a") x 1.22 (22% increase) = 1.1% (page "b"). In other words, add 22% of 0.9% to 0.9%, which equals 1.1%.

Now, is this empirical? No.

The amount of traffic above is very small. This example should not be considered as across-the-board numbers. But, it gives you a good indicator. (Don't forget that a modification to your control may decrease your response, too. That's fine, since it gives you the knowledge of what DOESN'T work -- and not repeat it.)

Here's a great site that teaches it to you is http://testandtrack.com/.

Posted by ralph at 11:39 AM | Permalink

October 06, 2005

"I Have My Manuscript, Now What? A Look at the World of Publishing" by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

You’ve spent endless nights hammering away at your book. You’ve rewritten it, you’ve edited it, and you had it professionally proofed. Your baby is finally done and you’re ready to send your precious manuscript off to a publisher, thinking that writing it was the hardest part. Wrong!

Actually, getting your blood, sweat and tears published may be the hardest part of the whole process. You’ll need to determine if a publisher will be required, or if you’d rather self-publish your book. There are pros and cons to both sides, some of which are discussed below.

To work with a publisher, you’ll need to send out query letters and/or a book proposal. This is a letter or a few pages briefly describing your text, why it is unique, characteristics of your target market and how you can help market the book. Most publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, so you’ll need to convince them to read yours. If they request that you forward your entire manuscript, you have one foot in the door. Be prepared to send more than one query and don’t expect a response next week.

There are writer's guides that serve as excellent resources to find publishers who specialize in your particular genre. These guides list the percentage of new authors published as well as the percentage of sales they pay. You may find pay rates ranging from 5-10% of sales. Some pay on wholesale sales and others on the retail amount. Do the math. Perhaps your book will retail for $14.95 and the publisher will pay 6% on retail. This means you will earn 90 cents per book sold. Of course don’t forget that the publisher is doing all the printing, distributing, and marketing of your text.

Another route you may want to consider is self-publishing. You will be responsible for all the printing, distributing and marketing costs involved, but you will also get to retain all the profits. There are book printing companies as well as companies that specialize in assisting the self-publisher through every step along the way.

Finally, there’s age old debate about which method is better; using a publishing company or self publishing your own book. You know your situation and you know what will work best for you. You’ll want to consider how much time or money you have to invest in the project. That should give you an idea which route to take. Using a publisher takes less time on your part, but you’ll forfeit some of the royalties by using this method. If you self publish, you’ll have to pay "up front" and do the initial work to get the ball rolling on sales of your book.

Either way, publishing is your call. With a little persistance and hard work you CAN get your book to Market. So, go for it!!

Posted by ralph at 06:11 PM | Permalink

The Strange Story of the "Crackpot" Mail-Order Prophet (or Five things you can learn about advertising from Dr. Frank B. Robinson) by Joe Vitale

Are you having trouble selling your product or service? Are you feeling like the chaotic state of the world prevents you from succeeding? Are you wondering how you can increase your sales in the most cost effective ways? Are you feeling like your competition is breathing down your neck?

Many of my clients feel the same way. They want to succeed, to make a nice living in their business, but they feel overwhelmed, uncertain, and even despondent. They feel they have too much competition. They feel marketing doesn't work, or takes too much work. They feel people don't have enough money today to spend on what they are selling.

And that's why I think it's time to reveal the strange story of the long forgotten "crackpot" mail-order prophet.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s the average person didn't have enough money to feed themselves or their family, let alone enough extra cash to order books through the mail. Yet during those lean years one man made a fortune selling books and courses entirely by mail. His name was Frank B. Robinson. He founded "Psychiana," the world's eighth largest religion and the world's largest mail-order religion.

You may never have heard of him or his movement before today. But during the 1930s and 40s, Robinson's name traveled around the world. Millions of people read his books, studied his lessons, and practiced his methods. The press called his positive thinking, new thought religion a "media business" because Robinson advertised so heavily.

In 1928 Robinson wrote an ad for his new philosophy that began with the headline, "I TALKED WITH GOD." An advertising agency in Spokane, Washington said the ad would never work. But Frank believed in his message and trusted his hunches. He borrowed $2,500 from people he barely knew, spent most of it on printing his lessons, and invested $400 to place his ad in "Psychology Magazine."

That ad pulled 5,300 responses. Robinson ran it in numerous magazines and it always pulled a 3% to 21% response. Within a year he had a full-time job fulfilling requests for his books and lessons, soon shipping a million pieces of mail a year out of his office in Moscow, Idaho. The post office in that little town had to move into a bigger building to handle all the mail.

Robinson's ads appeared in 140 newspapers, 180 magazines, and on 60 radio stations, all at the same time. His postal bill in 1938 amounted to $16,000 and his printing bill hit $40,000. He received 60,000 pieces of mail a day, reached more than two million people, and sent his message to 67 countries---all within one year of running his first ad.

"Advertising is educating the public to who you are, where you are, and what service you have to offer," Robinson wrote. "The only man or organization who should not advertise is the one who has nothing to offer."

What can we learn from Frank B. Robinson?

He believed in his product. When you don't believe in what you are trying to sell, it shows. It'll show in your lack of commitment to your marketing, in poor advertising, in poor service, or in other ways. As I mention in my book, The Seven Lost Secrets of Success, sincerity is one of the "lost secrets" to success. Robinson had sincerity. While his movement made tons of money, Robinson accepted only $9,000 a year as his salary. Whether you call him a crackpot or a savior, he believed in his product. He knew he had something people wanted. In fact, Robinson sold his religious lessons with a money-back guarantee.

He advertised relentlessly. If you don't tell people that you exist, they won't know it. The reason you aren't aware of Robinson or his movement today is because he's dead. (He died in 1948). No one is advertising his message. Without consistent and persistent advertising to educate the public, the world won't know of your business.

He tracked his results. Robinson believed in the spiritual world, but he also knew he lived on the earth plane where numbers matter. He tracked responses from his ads to know what worked and what didn't. For example, astrology magazines brought him an 18% response to his ads while national weekly papers brought 3%. Knowing that, Robinson could invest more money in larger ads in the better pulling magazines. Find out where your business comes from and focus more advertising in that area.

He continued to create products. Robinson knew once people tasted his goods, they would want more. He wrote 28 books during his short lifetime. These, along with his correspondence courses, gave him a deep product line. Your current satisfied customers will always be your goldmine. Create more for them to buy.

He remained optimistic. Despite the harsh reality of the Great Depression years, and despite competition from religious institutions that had been around for centuries, Robinson flourished. He didn't believe anyone or anything could stop him. When you have that strong of an inner conviction, nothing CAN stop you. If you think you have competition with a similar business in the same town, consider what it must have been like for Robinson to have such empires as the Catholic Church, the US government, and famous ministers and politicians trying to close him down!

Whatever you may think of Robinson or "Psychiana," you have to admit he knew how to advertise his business.

"After all, it's the results in human lives that count," he wrote in his 1941 book, The Strange Autobiography of Frank B. Robinson. "Talk is cheap."

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 03:23 PM | Permalink

"Use Scarcity To Sell, Not Scare" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Takeaway selling, for the uninitiated, is a way to limit the supply of a product or service in some way to increase scarcity of an offer. Because it's a proven fact that scarcity sells. It's the age ol' law of supply and demand. The less the supply, the greater the demand, as people don't know how much they want something until it's about to be taken away from them.
As Jim Rohn once said, "Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value." Why? Because procrastination is the biggest killer of sales -- particularly online where the chances of a prospect staying on or returning to a website (in order to think about buying), in today's click-happy world, are scarce.

It's like the time you walk into a department store and check out a new shirt you're interested in. Since there's none in your size, you ask the sales representative if one is available. The clerk goes into the backroom, and emerges a few moments later, saying, "I found one in your size, but it's the only one we have left in stock."

Now, how much more desirous are you in that shirt?

I'm a firm believer, and I've grown even more convinced over time, that great copy is not meant to induce action, especially online -- it's really meant to prevent procrastination. Why? Because copy should not sell people and pressure them per se. It should help them buy what you sell and prevent them from making a wrong decision.

And procrastination is a decision in itself -- a bad decision at that.

Online, people find your site through research, searching for specific information. Or they were propelled to visit your site through some affiliate promotion, ad or offer made elsewhere. So to a large degree, and unlike the offline world, they're pre-qualified. They're interested. They're in the market. (Granted, not all the time. But again, they are to a great degree -- at least to a greater degree than a bunch of people on a direct mail list you have no knowledge of, other than some basic demographic data.)

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, "People don't like to be sold. But people love to buy." So scarcity, used properly, helps them buy -- and not pressure them to act.

Look at it this way: if you give a chance for your prospects to procrastinate, they will. Guaranteed.

So use takeaway selling in order to stop people from procrastinating rather than getting them to take action now. In other words, shape your offer -- and not just your product or service -- so that it is time-sensitive or quantity-bound. More important, give a reasonably logical explanation to justify your time-sensitivity or else your sales tactic will be instantly discredited as it appears disingenuous.

How do you do that?

I've always used one of three ways...

In my experience, there 3 types of takeaways you can use:

Limiting the time
Limiting the quantity
Limiting the offer
The first is done by adding a deadline on the offer. A realistic deadline, and not some script that changes everyday. For instance, how many times have you come across a salesletter where the offer had a deadline, which seemed to "magically" bump ahead each time you visited the website? That's what I mean. (People are not stupid!)

This is done very well when the product or the price is changing after the deadline, or simply no longer available or temporarily inaccessible. Take Thomas Pierce's BlogMasterSecrets.com, for example, which is no longer for sale. Well, for now at least.

(By the way, Thomas reported on an interesting take on the use of takeaway selling. There's a site that's holding a rabbit hostage, on its way to a slaughterhouse by a certain date -- unless you donate money or buy merchandise, the rabbit will die. Personally, I'm not too keen on the approach. It's crude. But creatively, and as an example of takeaway selling, it's brilliant. See Thomas' blog post here.)

The second is limiting the number of units (stock) or openings (clients) available. Again, back it up with a realistic reason. Something logical. Something justifiable and real. Perhaps it's "fire sale" (products discounted because of minimal cosmetic damage, for example), or perhaps it's a way to deplete old stock and to make way for the new.

Whatever the reason, as long as it's credible and logical, scarcity can become a powerful too. Remember, people buy on emotion first and then justify their decisions with logic. In fact, if you give them logical explanations in your copy further down, many will actually use your suggestions -- whether consciously or unconsciously -- as a way to back up their purchasing decisions.

You make the excuses for them. You make them feel as if they "own" your reasons for buying now, in other words.

In terms of services, this is done by limiting the number of people for a number of reasons -- such as a service provider who can only take on a certain number of clients because there are so many hours in the day, or because it would dilute the value of the service. Etc, etc, etc.

Also, even making the offer something that's secretive, exclusive or otherwise unavailable to the general public, can arouse stronger motives in the psyche of your readers. People are intrinsically curious. And people always love to get some kind of "insider's edge" over the rest of the world.

Take my friend Ryan Deiss' Nicheology.com private site, for example. They currently have an extensive waiting list and only open their "doors" every so often for a very specific number of new members. Once they've reached that number, the offer is "closed."

The third is the offer. And this is done through limiting other elements that are part of the offer, such as the guarantee, the bonuses/premiums, the price (not a discount, but perhaps an imminent increase in price, perhaps to cover the extra costs in dealing with more customers), the packaging (perhaps since the product is bundled with other products or components that won't be available after "X" amount sold), the extras (perhaps as in free support, free installation or free shipping, etc), and so on.

I like them all, especially when the product is truly limited, such as Frank Kern and Ed Dale's recent Underachiever Mastery course I wrote the copy for, which was strictly limited to 700 packages, and the site was taken down once they've reached the limit.

(The reason? The course helps people make money with tiny, ultra-targeted niches, where very little competition if any exists. But if too many people bought the course, then chances are that the competition in any given niche will grow and thus lessen the potential profitability of people buying and applying the techniques in the course.)

But for convenience and flexibility, I prefer the "fire sale" as well as the third (which is limiting the offer, especially with bonuses and extras). Because often, bonuses can be limited and changed, without limiting the sales of the core product or service.

This not only creates more believability (because it reduces the perception of the owner's "control" over the limitation, which may appear as self-serving or manipulative), but also reduces skepticism as the bonus may actually have been sold elsewhere or is currently being sold elsewhere, and therefore the 3rd party may put a limit on the quantity to distribute.

For example, I did this with Stephen Pierce's copy I wrote, where Stephen was giving away a software program that complemented his infoproduct he was selling -- one that was truly being sold by someone else on another website at a real price. Stephen managed to secure permission to distribute only a certain number of copies from the 3rd party as a free bonus to his infoproduct, making the offer truly scarce and valuable.

In negotiation skills training, they call this approach the "higher authority" or "third party" gambit, where the limitation is outside of the owner's control -- making the takeaway truly a takeaway, and not some manipulative ploy.

This is crucial, because too many people use takeaway these days as a tactic, not as a reason.

So add a deadline to your offer, limit the number of products you sell (or the number of new members you allow to join), or shape your entire offer so that one of more elements are limited.

Again, there is a caveat: to make sure that people believe your need to limit the offer, give a reasonable and logical explanation to justify your time-sensitivity, or else your tactic will be instantly discredited.

Here are some examples.

If you add a deadline or limit the number of members you accept, you must explain why you're doing so. But you can also be vague, too. (Although a real, tangible deadline is best.) Here's an example of what I put on some sales letters I've written -- they sell memberships to private sites and offer personal consulting to their members:

Example #1:

(In the above case, it is very true. The author sells access to a limited number of "hot" real estate opportunities that he finds through his unique system, which he also teaches his members. If too many people join and get their hands on the opportunities or the system, it will surely lower the value of the information to the member-base, and contradict the whole purpose of the site, which is to gain access to hot, insider's information. Otherwise, why would one join?)

Example #2:

"We're only human, and there are only so many hours in a day and so many people we can physically attend to! So, in order to limit the number of hours of coaching we do provide, we must put a cap on the number of new members for obvious reasons. We can only guarantee that people who sign up through [date] will qualify for membership, completely custom-tailored support and this incredible set of free bonuses worth over $[amount]! 'You snooze, you lose'. So, join today. I'd hate to put you on a milelong waiting list!"

Example #3:

"If you act by midnight, Friday on [date], you will get the 3 bonuses included with your special offer. But keep in mind, however, that these bonuses come from various third parties, including [3rd party name], over which we have no control, and can be removed at any time without notice. I've only secured permission to give away [amount] copies of this bonus bundle. So the time to act is now!"

(The above is an example of the 3rd approach, where the offer is limited through a bonus. You can also accomplish this by tailoring your offer, or even making a special backend or alternative offer to an accumulated list of non-buyers, after they've seen the original offer.)

So, add some kind of constraint, such as a time-limited or quantity-bound offer. Such limitations implore at some unconscious level, "You better read this and take action now!" But above all, always make sure to back up your limitation with a logical, genuine and easily justifiable reason in order not to appear misleading or disingenuous.

For the more you make them feel that procrastination is a bad decision, the more people will feel compelled to buy of their volition -- and not pressured into buying.

Posted by ralph at 11:38 AM | Permalink

October 05, 2005

"The 10 Laws for Writing Letters that Get Results!" by Joe Vitale

The following is a letter in response to a question about how to write sales letters. This is something you could model in layout, tone, and ideas, to write your own letters. By the way, this is where your letterhead should go.

Dear Fellow Chicago Seminar Attendees,

Jerry Jenkins asked me to tell you how to write letters that get read and get results. That's a tall order! Well, here's what I think the "laws" are:

1. Know what's in it for your reader.

Get out of your ego and into your reader's ego. Complete this sentence: "Get my book so that you can...(fill in the blank)." Your book (or whatever you are selling) is the feature. What people get as a result of having your book is the benefit. Focus on benefits. Always! Without this, your letter will bomb.

2. Write a headline that telegraphs the key benefit to your reader.

ALWAYS use a headline. There is only ONE exception to this rule. When you personalize your letter, the "Dear (whoever)" opening becomes your headline. There are few headlines more powerful than the reader's own name. The headline is THE most important part of your letter! Spend nearly all of your time on it. (See 30 ways to write a headline in my book, The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising.

3. Be brief.

Say what you have to say in terms of the reader's self interest and shut up. This does NOT necessarily mean a short letter. If you are trying to make a sale, and the reader has never heard of you or your item for sell, you may have to write four or more pages to get your message across. If all you want is a return call, a one page letter may do. Don' be afraid of length. People will read any length of copy AS LONG AS IT'S INTERESTING! For proof, check out the long letter that got a 100% response in The Seven Lost Secrets of Success.

4. Always use a PS.

Always. Why do copywriters who charge upwards to $15,000 to write a sales letter and have weeks to draft it always use a PS? They are always read. Always.

5. Look good.

Visual attractiveness accounts for 70% of your letter's impact. Use short sentences, short paragraphs, bulleted points, indented paragraphs, subheads, etc. Some people will just skim your letter, so engaging subheads and bulleted points help reach them instantly.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't be afraid to break a sentence at the bottom of a page to make the reader have to keep reading on to the next page.)

6. Outline first.

Use a planning tool such as the program Project KickStart to help you think through your message. Or talk to a friend. Or to a tape recorder. Or to yourself. This also helps you get comfortable with speaking your letter rather than writing it.

7. Write first, edit last.

Turn your inner editor off. You can rewrite later. For now, write spontaneously and quickly to get your ideas on paper.

8. Ask for something.

Why are you writing? You want a call. Or an order. Something. Say so!

9. Get a reader.

Find one person to read your letter OUT LOUD in front of you. If he (or she) has trouble reading your letter, if he wrinkles his brow or stops to reread a sentence, rewrite those places. Don't skip this step! It's the secret of many professional writers.

10. Rewrite your letter again.

Is it the best you can do? Be honest! If not, throw it away and call the person instead. Or hire a copywriter to write it for you. Why waste your time or your reader's with something that doesn't communicate in a persuasive and interesting way? (I rewrote this letter 24 times!)

Well, there you have it. Of course, there are more rules, laws, ideas and suggestions for writing letters that get results. You should always guarantee whatever you are selling, for example, and always offer proof for all of your claims. But the above will get you rolling.

If you want more free information, see some of the other articles here at The Copy Writing Profit Center or send me e-mail at joe@mrfire.com.

Sincerely,

Joe Vitale
Marketing Specialist
(Identify yourself. People look here to see who the letter is from.)

PS -- Notice that you read this PS?

PPS -- Notice that you read this one, too?

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Posted by ralph at 10:18 AM | Permalink

"Are Your Prospects Ready To Take An Oath?" by Michel Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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One thing in copywriting that I often see as a problem is the fact that the audience is not targeted for the offer. An untargeted, unqualified prospect won't buy, no matter how good the copy is. (Or at the very least, they will ask for a refund once they smell the coffee.)
But that's not the topic I want to discuss.

It's the second biggest copywriting problem. And that is, the copy doesn't speak to the customer at the stage of awareness at which they happen to be. This is pivotal to ensure that the copy is long enough, or strong enough, to qualify, educate and sell the prospect.

What are these "stages of awareness?" There are four.

I've used these before I ever learned about their existence. (Mostly unconsciously through researching a target market while writing copy.) For example, I know that Eugene Schwartz talks about this at great length in his amazing book, "Breakthrough Advertising."

But I prefer to use my own version of these stages, and an acronym so it is easier to remember and follow.

I call it "OATH." As in, "Is your prospect ready to take an oath?"

Here's what I mean.

You see, depending one where your reader is at, the level of education, credentialization and agitation you need to do (and the length of copy you need to write, to a certain extent) depends very highly on how knowledgeable and aware your market is.

Maybe they're hurting right now. Or maybe they're not there yet. "Not there yet" means not only how much are they hurting but also how much do they KNOW they are hurting.

That's what their awareness level of the problem means. And it's also how educated they are about the solution -- let alone your solution.

Granted, this is answered to some degree by how targeted your audience is. The first problem I mentioned earlier. But the copy should flow from, and follow with, that stage of awareness in order to bring them to a successful outcome.

I like to look at it this way...

To me, if they're ready to take an oath, meaning they're ready to buy, is based on any one of those 4 stages. Here's what "OATH" means...

O - They're oblivious.

They're unaware about the problem let alone a need for a solution. They don't know they're hurting or could be hurting (i.e., that there's a potential problem they don't know about and should prevent with your solution).

So in this case, you need to educate them a lot -- educate them about the problem or potential problem. You need to bring it to the top of their minds. If you hit them too hard and too fast with the solution and particularly the benefits of the solution, without knowing they have a problem in the first place, you're going to confuse the heck out of them.

Often, this is what happens with copy that's too short or too presumptive. Do they really know they're hurting? Even if they simply have an unmet desire for something (and not really a problem), they're still hurting at some other level.

As my friend and copywriter Craig Perrine once said, "An unmet desire is also a problem to be solved."

A - They're apathetic.

They know they have a problem, but they're indifferent about the solution. Any solution. They simply don't care for whatever reason. Perhaps the problem is not important enough in their minds. Perhaps the problem is not urgent enough. Perhaps they're not hurting enough.

So you need to blow up the problem (or the risk of the potential problem, which is a problem in itself). You need to aggravate it. Make it more real, more present, more urgent, more vivid.

You need to make them feel the consequences of their inactions. Because, you see, good copy doesn't really induce action. Good copy, in reality, is meant to prevent procrastination -- the biggest killer of sales!

And this is even more true with the subsequent stages of awareness, since the more aware they are and the less they act, then the more it's about procrastination than it is about the lack of desire.

T - They're thinking.

They know they have a problem and that there is a solution, but they don't know about your solution. They're shopping around, they're considering other offers or they're just thinking about whether they should be doing something about their problem in the first place.

So at this stage, you don't need to sell them too much on the problem or the solution. But you need to sell them on YOUR solution.

What is it? Why is it a good solution? Why is it important to them? What makes it so unique, different, valuable? What makes your offer so compelling above over all other choices, including unrelated ones?

With the latter, I mean indirect competitors. For example, an indirect competitor maybe a totally different solution -- even a totally different product or service -- that soothes the same pain. So you need to build value in your solution, too.

H - They're hurting.

They're desparate! They know they have a problem and how bad it is, and they even know about your specific solution. But they haven't gone ahead for whatever reason.

Perhaps they don't know how to go ahead, why they should go ahead or why they should go ahead now. Perhaps they've used other solutions unsuccessfully in the past and are afraid. Their inaction, in this case, is because they've seen other offers or been burnt by other, substandard solutions.

Think of it this way: if they're desperate, then they're already 60-90% sold. So why haven't they bought yet? What do they need to get over the remaining "hump?" What's stopping them from going ahead? What objections do they have left or what questions remain to be answered?

So here, you need to increase proof, urgency and the value of your specific solution. No need for a lot of education here. Just sell them on reasons why and getting your solution now. Build perceived value, proof and scarcity.

At this stage, procrastination (more often than not, based on fear) is the culprit. You need to allay that fear. And to do so, you really need to look at your copy and your offer; to understand your customer at a deeper, more intimate level; and to learn why they haven't gone ahead yet or what they need to go ahead. (And finally, to give it to them.)

In a nutshell, that's my OATH formula.

So bottom line, your audience may be more in the oblivious stage, the apathetic stage, the thinking stage or the hurting stage.

This will tell you a lot about not only how much information you need to gather and provide, but what kind of information, and what kind of offer, that will stimulate them and transition them into buying your solution.

And remember, it all starts with knowing your audience and helping them to buy, more than it is about knowing your product and selling it.

Posted by ralph at 06:37 AM | Permalink

October 04, 2005

"Carl Turner In Search Of Heroes Interview" by Ralph Zuranski

Ralph Zuranski: Hi, this is Ralph Zuranski and I have the opportunity to interview Carl Turner, who is a nuclear engineer. He’s applying online and offline marketing systems that would make any nuclear engineer happy in contrast to developing ingenious but effective joint ventures, which he also does. He has worked with Jay Abraham for almost 9 years and now he’s working on his own. How are you doing tonight?

Carl Turner: Fantastic. Nice to talk with you this evening Ralph.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, I met you at Joel Christopher’s Double Birthday Bash and I was impressed with your presentation and your wonderful spirit. I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about heroism. Do you have a dream or vision that sets your course in your life?

Carl Turner: Yes, I’ve always had dreams Ralph. I don’t know how people can really exist without them. I grew up in a very poor part of central Mississippi and my first dream was to get out of there and experience life in the mainstream, so I pursued engineering. I’ve progressed down the years from working on nuclear power plants and having my own consulting companies to learning marketing and finally developing the marketing technology that allows entrepreneurs all over the world to benefit from more effective marketing.

Ralph Zuranski: Why did you shift over from working on nuclear power plants to working on marketing?

Carl Turner: Well, I really loved engineering. And then I decided that, after working with almost all the big companies, I wanted to have my own consulting company. And when I did that, I found the most fun part of engineering consulting wasn’t actually doing the consulting; it was doing the sales!

The most amazing experience I had was when I had my little company (which was in Texas) competing with the 17 biggest engineering companies around the United States and I got the work! It was so much fun to actually do that, and I figured that if I love marketing (which I did) then I should do it full-time.

So I went to find the best marketing consultant in the world, who was Jay Abraham, and I actually went to work for him initially and eventually did joint ventures with him toward the end. For me it was a natural progression, even though it was a strange one.

Ralph Zuranski: Now it’s interesting, how does nuclear engineering relate to internet marketing?

Carl Turner: Well, everything in life can be optimized if you use the right system. And all nuclear power plants are really is a series of systems. The systems are integrated together using certain feedback equations processed by computers. So, it’s very systematic. If you apply the same thing to marketing, you can get systematic, repeatable results. If you don’t use a system, then you can’t really optimize anything, so you are at the mercy of the world. By using systems, you can test, track, optimize, and essentially create whatever you want in your life.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, you had some pretty incredible success with Jay Abraham. I think that you guy’s did $12 million in sales of his instructional material.

Carl Turner: Yes, well what we did there was essentially five different programs in three years that generated a little over $11 million in sales.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s pretty amazing. I imagine that through working with Jay, and just in life itself that you’ve had some setbacks and misfortunes and made some mistakes. Is it important to take a positive view on the things that didn’t go right?

Carl Turner: Oh yes. One of our big successes was a program we called the PEQ, which was the “Performance Enhancement Quotient”. In that program, we made a little over $3.5 million in sales. The ironic thing was that the first letter we sent out on the subject, we sent it out to over 14,000 people and we got zero sales – which is a miracle… in reverse!

Ralph Zuranski: How is that? How could that be?!

Carl Turner: Well, in Jay’s list, if you sent out a letter to the top 14,000 clients, they’ll buy just about anything, or at least 5 or 6 will. So it was amazing that when we had a fantastic product, no one bought! So we knew that we had just articulated the offer the wrong way. We then wrote it the right way and people bought it in droves.

Ralph Zuranski: So obviously, you had to be an optimist when that massive failure occurred. Did you have a positive view on trying something different?

Carl Turner: Well, sometimes it’s hard to have a positive view! *laughs* But what we had to do was when we were about three weeks from the program and we had zero people signed up, we had to determine if we were essentially going to write off the whole thing or come up with an alternate strategy. So we dug in and came up with an alternate strategy and then made it pay off.

Ralph Zuranski: Did you believe at that time that your dreams had become true?

Carl Turner: Yes definitely. I wasn’t sure that they would come true in that particular program, though!

Ralph Zuranski: I imagine so. When you’re working with people that are such high-powered individuals, do you readily forgive those who upset, offend, and oppose you?

Carl Turner: Definitely. Most people when they do something that offends you or hurts you, they’re not really trying to. In general, they’re focusing on their problems and sometimes they lash out at you because you’re the only thing in front of them. And if you don’t take people’s reactions personally, you don’t have their problems. It’s only when you react personally to what they’re doing that you not only have your problems but theirs too.

Ralph Zuranski: How important is it to experience service to others as a source of joy?

Carl Turner: Well, I think that in life we have certain joys, and one of the things is to do something really good for someone else. I loved working in the marketing field, especially when I was selling marketing-training products for entrepreneurs because I knew that the people who bought the programs from me were going to have much more success in their lives; They were going to be able to give to the community, to their families, and to the world at large. So, it really makes a big difference – when you can go home at night and feel good about just life in general, and especially what you’ve done.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, in working with entrepreneurs, they’re a pretty unique group of people. Do you think a sense of humor is really important in facing the serious problems that you come across in dealing with those people?

Carl Turner: Oh, yes. Entrepreneurs are really the life-blood of the world. And when you consider 9 out of 10 go out of business their first year, you really have to have a sense of humor and view life as a fun process.
Ralph Zuranski: I know that Ted [Nicholas] thinks that heroes are really the entrepreneurs who are making a difference in the world. Do you believe that’s true?

Carl Turner: Oh yes, definitely. If you think about all the little things that you do, whether you order pizza at night, you get food at a restaurant, you go to the grocery store – no matter what you do, you are dealing with entrepreneurs. They really provide the quality of life for you. And that’s what really makes the world go “round”; it’s not the Fortune 500 companies that make the cars and things like that, but rather the little guys that work with the Fortune 500 companies and make it possible for those companies to be there as well as do all the things which help us make our lives better.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, you’ve been extremely successful in business and in marketing. Were there any heroes in your life that helped you obtain the level of success that you’ve attained?

Carl Turner: Yes, I think everyone has heroes, whether they admit it or not. When I was growing up my grandfather, who had cotton gins, saw mills, stores and farms, was one source of the belief that I could achieve my goals because I had him to model. Then on my mother’s side, her mother (my grandmother) was really an inspiration because she was a very busy person, but she always took time out of her busy life to give back to the community. She was another role model for me.

And then I’ve had different role models in business and different things. For instance, when I was trying to change my life from being negative to positive…. when I was an engineer – I was sort of like an engineer’s engineer. I was one of the best. But you don’t want a positive engineer designing a bridge for you! You want a very negative engineer that will think of everything that can go wrong.

And so, when I got into business, I realized I needed to think positive, because you want to think of everything that can go right. So I met Tony Robbins and adapted his technology to change my life from being negative to positive, so he’s one of my heroes simply because of what he provided for me.

And other people – like Jay Abraham, who I worked with, is still a hero because he provided the marketing technology that I first learned. Everyone has heroes in their life that make their life enjoyable. Having heroes allows you to reach for something higher.

Ralph Zuranski: So it was your grandma and grandpa that were the heroes in your life? What about your mom and dad?

Carl Turner: Mom has passed on and dad is, happily, still alive. They provided a great home, loved and cared for me and my sister, and gave me a good environment to grow up in. They were great people but they never really understood life the way that it could be experienced. They did the best they could, but they never really saw what was possible.

Ralph Zuranski: How did your grandma and grandpa make a positive difference in your life other than the example that you gave of their entrepreneurial success?

Carl Turner: Well my grandfather on my father’s side, he was always doing things. He would buy foreclosed farms and sell them to people who couldn’t otherwise buy them for a bail of cotton per year! So he made it possible for many people in the community to move forward, and when they needed to plant crops, he loaned them money.
So he was a person who really helped the community. For example, when the local school house burned, he and the two doctors in the community essentially rebuilt the school. So, he was a giver. And when you’re a giver and you understand business, you can really achieve a lot in your life.

Ralph Zuranski: You think that’s really important to be in business today – to be a giver and to help other people obtain great value through what you do?

Carl Turner: Oh yes, I think it’s important in anything, especially if you’re in business for yourself. If you’re in business for yourself and you’re a giver, you get back so much more than you can ever give.
Ralph Zuranski: There are a lot of people in our society – you have the sports stars, you have the movie stars, the rock stars… who are the real heroes, do you think, in our society today?

Carl Turner: Well I think I’ve already alluded to it, Ralph. I feel the entrepreneurs are because they make things happen. And sure they work long hours, but they give - and by giving they get so much back. So I think they are the unsung heroes of our society today.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, you look at the moms and the dads and the grandmas and the grandpas… they really do make a big difference in people’s lives. Why are heroes so important in the lives of young people today?

Carl Turner: Well, young people tend to focus on themselves, especially during the teenage years when they’re trying to discover what they’re all about. And if they don’t have someone outside themselves to look up to, they tend to look inside and they get very confused because it’s not about what you want, it’s about what you are and loving yourself. And by seeing a hero or a person they look up to, they can finally understand this better and find a way that they can give back too and as such, become a valuable member of the human society.

Ralph Zuranski: Who do you feel are the real heroes in our society today?

Carl Turner: Again, I think it’s the entrepreneurs. And it’s also the moms and dads that help their kids grow and learn more about what they can achieve.

Ralph Zuranski: Why are heroes so important in the lives of young people?

Carl Turner: Again, it’s about what they can do to help the outside world. When they have people that they look up to, they have people they can model. And they can reduce the focus on themselves because when you look at yourself, you can always see pain, see things you don’t have, you can see lack; When you look outside yourself, you can see what other people are doing and get values that you can instill in your own life to become a hero and enjoy life.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, a lot of times people are trapped in jobs that they hate, you know, and kids are just thinking, “What am I going to do with my life?” What advice would you give them?

Carl Turner: Well I would advise them to find heroes and mentors, people that they admire - look outside themselves. And if it’s not someone in the community, maybe they can find people in literature as far as biographies because there are so many heroes out there that can give people what they don’t have, and that’s a positive outlook on life. They can see the joy of giving and the joy of creating something for other people.

Ralph Zuranski: How are you making the world a better place?

Carl Turner: I’m doing my little part to help entrepreneurs. The idea is if I help entrepreneurs be more successful, they can give more to the world in general, they can give more to their employees (because most of the employees in the world work for entrepreneurs, not the big companies), they can give more to their families.

And so in general, by helping entrepreneurs, I can help the world overall without really touching the world but only touching the people who make your and my life much better.

Ralph Zuranski: You know marketing, marketing is the life-blood of any business; it’s where the sales actually occur; it actually brings in money so a company can employ other individuals. How important do you feel marketing really is in the scope of what’s going on in our community today?

Carl Turner: Marketing is in everything, as far as the commercial aspects of it, and even the non-commercial aspects. You’re always marketing to the other individuals around you. If you’re with your wife, you’re marketing the fact that you’re a fantastic husband, or maybe you’re doing “sales” as far as “I’d rather have this particular meal than that particular meal”.

But marketing is about creating value there so that people can enjoy things. If you just had the necessities in life, you’d have a very bland life and the world economy would grind to a halt because all the world really needs is just food, water, and a minimum amount of shelter.

And by working with entrepreneurs, you get a lot more in life; you get cars, you get electronics, you get movies… you get all the pizzazz. But even if you had the pizzazz without the marketing, you really wouldn’t appreciate it as much as you do because the entrepreneurs spend a lot of their time marketing those products so that people can enjoy them even more.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, this program: the In Search of Heroes Copywriting Program is about copywriting, and copywriting is about getting people to basically invest in things that are beneficial to them. How do you feel that copywriting can make a big difference in the lives of young people in trying to create ideas that make a difference in society?

Carl Turner: Well, I believe it was in the early days that people called marketing “salesmanship in print”. Somehow that salesmanship has to get to print, and that’s the job of copywriters. So if you have copywriters trained in the principles you were talking about, they’re going to be able to help provide the world access to the goods and services that they really want. Because if you don’t have someone to help you understand what you want, then you don’t have commerce and you don’t really enjoy it as much. You know, if you had all this money in the bank but you didn’t understand what you could do to enjoy it, you wouldn’t have real value in life; you wouldn’t enjoy a first-run movie or maybe going to a museum; or maybe climbing up a mountain. So copywriting is the method of allowing those ideas to get captured in print.

Ralph Zuranski: You know, when I was talking with you, you mentioned the sales letter that you wrote that helped bring a lot of people into Jay’s training seminar. What do you think are the most important aspects of copywriting?

Carl Turner: In copywriting – well, in marketing there are three things: there’s the list, then the offer, then the copy. I would say that the most important thing in copywriting is the attempt to bring those three things together. You have to understand what your target market’s looking for and then you have to have a valid offer. There has to be an offer they can understand. That’s where copywriting comes in.

So it’s the combination of those three factors that allow people to go from the “paralysis of analysis” to enjoy a good or service. That’s where they exchange their hard-earned dollars for a feeling. That’s all that sales is – exchanging hard-earned dollars for a feeling. But those feelings really make the world go “round”.

Ralph Zuranski: What do you think are the things that motivate people to actually invest in things that will be beneficial to them?

Carl Turner: Again, I think it is successful marketing. Because otherwise, they would have to do all the research on their own and if you had to research every product you buy, you wouldn’t buy very much! So you wouldn’t have a chance to enjoy very much. So if you have good salesmen or good marketing people, they allow you to determine what you would like to have and to ultimately have it.

Ralph Zuranski: Everybody talks about the importance of emotions and how every sale is basically based on the emotions of the customer. What do you think about that?

Carl Turner: Well that’s true. You don’t buy a product; you buy a solution to a problem or an emotion. And all that does is allow you to understand what that is so you can again, exchange your money for that emotion.
It’s not about having a car; it’s about having the admiration of your neighbors. It’s not about having a life-insurance policy; it’s about having the comfort of knowing that your family is being taken care of. Someone needs to bring these things out in order to allow people to really experience them.

Ralph Zuranski: You know it’s interesting that you as a person would be an engineer, especially a nuclear engineer! And the left-brain activity that’s required for that, as far as logical judgment, mathematic and verbal skills; How hard has it been for you to switch over to the other brain hemisphere that has the creative spontaneity, the intuitiveness, the emotional aspects that are so critical to marketing?

Carl Turner: Well it was a little harder than I thought it was going to be!

But the thing that we tell people is, “find what you love in life and do it. The money will come.” See I knew I loved marketing, though I didn’t have the skill set. That was relatively apparent. It was highly dormant!

But I was able to develop that over a six year period, and by developing that, I was able to achieve tremendous success in the last three years that I was working with Jay. So, I would say that, yes it was a pretty dramatic change. It was not very easy. But since I loved it, it was fun – and life is about having as much fun as you can stand.

Ralph Zuranski: What were the techniques that you used? I know that there are a lot of people that are trapped in the left side of their brain in the logical area. You know, but everybody realizes that you have to appeal to the emotional desires of the people that you are marketing to. What were the techniques that you used to shift over to the other side?

Carl Turner: Well I tried to put myself in the other people’s shoes, and that’s highly crucial in sales. So I learned how to sell to my target market. My target market was entrepreneurs, and luckily I was one too so all I had to learn was marketing. I didn’t have to research my target audience. So basically I learned what I needed to do in sales, and then I was able to turn and take those same techniques and apply those to marketing.

Ralph Zuranski: You know it’s funny that a lot of people think that sales is a dirty word and people that are salespeople, they’re despicable; they’re almost below politicians! What do you feel about the value of salespeople?

Carl Turner: Well, salespeople allow us to enjoy the standard of life that we have. If we didn’t have salespeople, we’d all be probably out on a farm and basically eating what we produce ourselves. And our quality of life would be very minimal. So thanks to the fact that we have effective salespeople and marketing people, we are able to enjoy the standard of life that we enjoy today.

Ralph Zuranski: Do you feel that marketing is one of the crucial aspects to the success of any business?
Carl Turner: Oh yes, if you don’t have successful marketing, nothing else you do matters. The example I use all the time is the difference between Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft realized that how easy it was to use a computer was based on the operating system. And so that’s what they provided and they were able to achieve 90% of the market because of it.

Now Apple, who had a better product (especially the software), thought they were selling hardware and not solutions to people’s problems and as a result, they are struggling to keep 4% of the computer market. So it’s really about marketing. You can have an inferior product, as Microsoft had, and eventually gain 90% of the market or you can have a superior product and have only 4% of the market. So it’s not about having a superior product; it’s about having superior marketing (as long as your product or service works!).

Ralph Zuranski: And that’s an integral part of the In Search of Heroes program – to help kids market businesses in their local community – the individuals who are really helping in the community and giving back to the community. What’s one word of advice that you would be able to give those kids that are going to help in the marketing of those businesses?

Carl Turner: “Don’t be afraid to dream”, and then “allow yourself to think big” – have big goals. There’s no such thing as a goal that is too big, but there are goals that are too small. So you want to dream, dream big and go for it.

Ralph Zuranski: If you had three wishes for your life and for the world that would instantly become true, what would they be?

Carl Turner: Well, the first thing I would say… you want to learn to love yourself. And that’s easier said than done. Most people really don’t love themselves. If you love yourself, then you can love other people, and without reservation.

The second thing is to understand that you make your world. It’s not about the world impacting you. No one can hurt you or make you happy, either one. What happens inside your world is between your ears, and once you understand that and are able to apply that, you can have a good time anytime you want to just by realizing that you control the way you feel.

And the last part then is to know that if you want to enjoy the zest in life, go for your goals. That way you have a good time and even if you fail, you still have a great time trying for it. But if you don’t go for your goals, then you’ll work for someone who is working for their goals, and you won’t really have the value in your life that you could have. That’s the reason entrepreneurs are so successful in life: they’re willing to go for their goals, and the average people aren’t.

Ralph Zuranski: So you feel that failure is an important aspect of becoming a better person and in the process of attaining your goals.

Carl Turner: Oh yes. If you experience mistakes and you learn from them, that’s really what life’s all about. If you look at little companies versus big companies, the little companies are solving the problems that the big companies have solved a long time before. So as you progress in the world, you have bigger and bigger problems.

Some of the small companies have problems making payroll, whereas when you get up to the Microsoft area, then you have problems with anti-trust. Well these are still real problems. What you want to do is to move up in the world and have bigger and better problems – by having problems, by failing, and then solving those problems, and then finally to bigger problems.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, I really appreciate your time Carl in answering those questions and I was wondering if you had any parting words that you would like to share with the young people about how to become as successful as you have in marketing.

Carl Turner: I would say: dream big and then go for your dream, not somebody else’s.

Ralph Zuranski: So it’s important just to follow your own path and believe that it is possible to attain them.
Carl Turner: Yes, because it is.

Ralph Zuranski: And the only way you can do that is how?

Carl Turner: By first, daring to dream. And then saying that, “I really want this” and going for it. Otherwise, you’re essentially living someone else’s dreams for them, or providing their dreams for them.

Ralph Zuranski: Now I did an interview with David Garfinkel the other night and he was just talking about the ability to fail and not consider yourself a failure, but to just learn the ways that things don’t work, do you believe that’s true?

Carl Turner: Yes, especially in marketing. If you meet a marketing consultant that tells you he’s never had a failure, either he has a bad memory or he’s not telling the truth.

All marketing people have failures, but as you fail and learn from those failures, then you become better and better. And the differences between the real successes in life are the people who have made mistakes and learned from them, and the people who haven’t made those mistakes yet.

Ralph Zuranski: I’ve talked to a fair number of people so far and they just seem to believe that the faster you fail, the sooner you become a success. Do you believe in that?

Carl Turner: Yes that’s true. Now you want to do everything you can to avoid failure: learn from other people, model other people… but once you do that, then you want to experience and go for what you want as fast as possible. But do it conservatively. An example of conservatively: you test. Especially in marketing, you test small and then go for the gusto once you know what it is. Life is the same way: you test small and see what you can do, and once you understand that, then you go for your dreams.

Ralph Zuranski: So you think that testing your abilities is crucial to being successful?

Carl Turner: Oh yes. You don’t go out and run a mile the first time you go out for the track team. You want to try maybe a hundred yards, then maybe a quarter mile, half a mile, three quarters of a mile and then a mile. So you want to develop the skills, test, and then go for the gusto.

Ralph Zuranski: Everybody seems to have certain abilities that make them unique. How important is it, do you feel, to create relationships with others that have abilities that you don’t have?

Carl Turner: In life, it’s about strengths. You want to go with the strengths that you have and then find other people to handle the things that you’re not strong at. Because you never really become successful if you do all things well.
What you want to do is develop a few things really well, and then find other people to handle the other items. For instance, when I did the $11 million in sales in three years, I did it with one assistant (toward the end of the third year I had two). And what I did was I delegated all the things other than the selling, and then I kept track of it. And so I was able to do that with one assistant. Before that, the company that had done the same thing I was doing had 16 employees. So by going for the strength I had (which was selling), I was able to do the same thing the other company did, and essentially do it with one other person.

Ralph Zuranski: So you feel it’s important to find people that can compliment the strengths that you have.

Carl Turner: Definitely. Also, as John Assaraf says, “find people that love to do the things that you hate to, and hire them to take care of those things.”

Ralph Zuranski: *laughing* That seems to be a peculiar perspective on life, I mean there’s so many things that everybody hates to do, and I guess it’s hard to figure out what you do that’s good.

Carl Turner: You know what you hate to do – it’s the thing you put off until last. Like, I hated paperwork and so I had an assistant that loved paperwork. As I was doing the sales, if I were to ask her to do a sale over the telephone, she would have froze up! She’d have probably quit! But she loved the paperwork.

She loved what she was doing and I loved what I was doing and we would have both hated doing what the other person was doing! That’s the secret of life, I think. I guess the unspoken secret to “success” in life is to find the things that you don’t like to do, find the ones who love to do those things, and then work in a complimentary relationship.

Ralph Zuranski: So you would say that throughout your life, the people who gave you the greatest vision of being successful were your grandpa and your grandma, who were really entrepreneurs.

Carl Turner: Yes, my grandfather had all the stores with all of the cotton gins and saw mills and farms, yet he didn’t do most of the work to run them; He found other people to do it for him.

He had the vision. And he had the strength of being able to pull everything together.

My grandmother, she did a lot of the things herself as far as helping neighbors and things, but the fact that she gave to them allowed them to enjoy a better life and really appreciate it.

Ralph Zuranski: So you think that really, it’s the grandmas and the grandpas and the moms and the dads who are the people that have the greatest impact on the kids?

Carl Turner: Oh yes, the people who really believe in themselves. See, you can’t give something you don’t have. If you don’t have love for yourself, you can’t give it to someone else. If you don’t have the belief in yourself, you can’t give it to someone else.

Ralph Zuranski: Well Carl, I really appreciate your time in answering these questions. I know a lot of people will find it very inspiring – what you’ve been through and your suggestions on how to be successful. So again, I just want to thank you for your time and I really appreciate you being involved in the Heroes program.

Carl Turner: Well thank you Ralph. I think you are one of the unsung heroes too because by finding out what other people can do, you can then let the young people of this world know so they can avoid some of the learning curves that you and I have experienced.

Ralph Zuranski: Isn’t that the truth?! Nobody needs to have to go through and re-experience the failures that we have had!

Carl Turner: Yeah, you try to avoid that as much as possible!

Ralph Zuranski: Well again, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time.

Carl Turner: Thank you Ralph.

Posted by ralph at 07:56 PM | Permalink

"Three Tips For Magnetizing Your Copy" by Michel Fortin

My friend John Reese, a master at simplifying what we often tend to unnecessarily complicate, says it best. He says the only metric you should ever really count on is this: "Yes" or "No."

That's it.

Now, what makes great copy nudge people into action requires a variety of different things -- things I often find missing with most of the copy I critique.

So let me share with you three powerful elements that can help you turn your not-so-good copy into good copy, and your good copy into outstanding copy.

1. Give Reasons Why.
Great copy proposes a series of benefits that the prospect will enjoy once they respond. But this is the area most people struggle with. What makes a good benefit? Heck, what makes a benefit in the first place?

A feature is what the product has. An advantage is what that features does. But a benefit is what that advantage means to the reader specifically. It's the specific motive to which that feature caters. In other words, a benefit is the reason why the feature exists and why it's important to the reader.

Look at it this way: a benefit is what a person intimately gains from a specific feature -- not what YOU think the customer will gain from it.

Granted, trying to figure this out can be a little challenging.

So here's a tip: whenever you describe a feature (or what you may think may be a benefit), say this: "What this means to you is this," followed by a more personal benefit your reader gets from the feature.

Keep asking until there are no further reasons to give. Here's an example (and keep in mind that I'm repeating myself, here, for the sake of illustration only):

"This stereo has a 14-band equalizer. What this means to you is, you can adjust the frequencies of the sound to your liking. What this means to you is, you can add depth and dimension to your music. What this means to you is, you can make your music sound as rich and lively as if you were at the concert listening to your favorite band. What this means to you is..."

Tell readers why they must read, why the product is important and why they must buy (and buy now). The more reasons you give, and the more specific and personal those reasons are, the more compelling your copy will be.

2. Tell a Good Story.
Good copy makes a good case. But great copy tells a good story. Keep this in mind: a great copywriter is also a great salesperson. However, all great copywriters AND all great salespeople also have one thing in common...

... They are also great storytellers.

I just returned from Ken McCarthy's System Seminar in San Francisco. And one of the surprise speakers was Gary Halbert. Now Gary, on a topic that at the time seemed totally unrelated to copy, sales or Internet marketing, began to talk about this newfangled anti-wrinkle cream he came across.

He went on to talk about how the product came about, how it was made and even how the product worked. While all these things seemed irrelevant, he did make a great point: he told a great story that captivated the audience.

He translated features into benefits, such as the fact that the cream contained special hydroxies formed during the crystallization process. The analogy was that these hydroxies were like millions of microscopic prisms that reflect light.

He went on to describe that it was those "prisms" that helped to make your wrinkles invisible. It was a terrific story -- and while some people missed it, Gary indirectly provided the greatest lesson of the entire seminar.

Because in his story, Gary provided several powerful lessons.

A key component of telling great stories is to relate them to the reader. Often, this can accomplished with the help of analogies, examples, metaphors and case studies. Why? Because the mind thinks in relative terms.

Here's an example (of both stories and analogies). When people object to long copy, I often argue that long copy is like a good Stephen King novel. If you were a diehard Stephen Kind fanatic, and if his latest book was, say, over 600 pages, would you stop reading it because it was too long? No.

In fact, most Stephen King lovers I know often read his books in one sitting. They tell me they simply can't seem to put the book down.

Dan Kennedy calls this "message-to-market match." Like a Stephen King fanatic, when your copy is targeted and your audience is interested in your offer, they will read it. All of it. No matter how long it may seem to you.

3. Think For The Reader.
Sales are largely based on faith. Faith in the company, faith in the product and faith in the delivery of the promised benefits. And sales trainers often tell you that, like a good fiction story, you must temporarily suspend all disbelief.

And belief requires the suspension of critical thinking.

It is important to understand that people first buy on emotion and then justify their decisions with logic. Even the most analytical types buy on emotion, whether they express (or are aware) of their emotions or not.

Conversely, critical thinking causes the suspension of feelings. If your reader starts to think too much, then fundamental fears, doubts and concerns take over, eventually leading to the greatest killer of sales: procrastination.

Why? Because if we focus on logic first, we tend to think about other needs, concerns and preoccupations at that time. And more important, we may think about other, more important things we can do with our money.

YOU must do the thinking for your prospect. Don't stop short of describing the benefits, offering reasons why and telling stories simply because you're afraid of insulting your audience's intelligence. You're not.

Clients often say, "My clients are not idiots," "the benefits are obvious," "they can think for themselves" or "they can figure it out on their own."

Technically, that's true. But leaving the copy to the reader's own devices will also open up a can of worms, since they will also think of all the other things that may be irrelevant, untrue or unnecessary, which will negate the sale.

And unlike a face-to-face sales presentation, you're not there to answer any questions or objections. So your copy must do that for them. In fact, my friend and copywriter David Garfinkel says it best:

"You must do the thinking for your reader and tell them why your offer is so valuable. Of course, they may 'get it' in the abstract. But going from the abstract to the reader's specific situation requires thinking on their part. A prospect considering your offer wouldn't dare do that thinking. You have to do it for them."

So here's a tip: use the "so-what" acid test. If at any point in your copy your reader asks "so what," then that part needs to be more personal. It needs to be more specific to the reader. And it needs to give more reasons why.

Otherwise, delete it because it's irrelevant.

If you don't, your copy will not speak to your reader. It will make your long copy seem long. And above all, it simply will not drive your reader to act.

Posted by ralph at 04:21 PM | Permalink

"How I Made $68,000 Teaching E-Classes (Or, What I Learned From Wanting A Z3)" by Joe Vitale

One day I pulled up beside a truck delivering new cars. One of the cars on his flatbed made my heart leap and my blood dance. I had never had a piece of machinery turn me on before. This one did. I fell in love.

It was a BMW Z3. A Roadster. A hot-rod. One of the sexiest cars ever known to man and made by gods. Okay, maybe I'm overplaying it. But the point is, this car spoke to me. I wanted it. And wanted it bad.

I also knew BMW's are pricey. So the first thing I did was try to win one. I entered two contests where Z3's were the big prizes. I knew I would win. I was destined to have that car. But I didn't win. Alas. So much for the laws of chance. It was time to create my future.

So I decided I would just buy the car, and that I would pay cash for it. I had just completed a book on how to create miracles, called "Spiritual Marketing," and I figured I would prove to myself that I could create a Z3. So I used my own five-step method to get the sexiest car of my hottest dreams.

I began by setting an intention for getting that car. Oprah once said that "Intention rules the Earth." I know it. My car's license plate holder says, "I am the power of intention." Once you declare that something will be so, you send a signal into the universe that begins to move that something to you, and you to it. Call it Real Magic. I call it one of the most powerful steps in the Spiritual Marketing process. From that step alone, miracles can happen.

After I set my intention to have that car, I then acted on the hunches that bubbled up within me and the opportunities that came my way. To be more exact, here's what happened: One day it occurred to me to offer a seminar on the subject of my new book. I could rent a hotel. Write a sales letter. Invite everyone I knew on my online and off-line list to it. I could make a killing in a weekend. That's the ticket!

But then it occurred to me that I don't like to market seminars, that I didn't know if it would sell, that postage and printing to promote it would cost a fortune, and that I'm not such a big fan of speaking in public, anyway.

And here's where the shift occurred:

I began to play with the idea that I could hold the seminar online. I would simply announce the "Spiritual Marketing" e-class to my email list. It would cost me zip. If no one signed up, so what?

But---BUT!---if they *did* sign-up, I could teach the entire class by email. Every week I would send out a lesson. I would give assignments. They would complete them and email them back. I would then comment on their homework. It would all be nice and neat, easy and convenient. Sounded good to me.

I decided to teach five weeks of classes, mainly because there were five chapters in the "Spiritual Marketing" book. I would send out one chapter a week as a lesson. I would add assignments to each one to make it more of a legit course.

Then I wondered, "What do I charge?" I spent a lot of time on this question. Most people give away their e-classes, if they teach them at all. A few charge low fees. But I wanted a BMW Z3. They cost $30-$40,000 each. Yikes!

Well, I decided I wanted 15 people in my class. That was an arbitrary number. I just figured if 15 people actually did their homework over a 5 week period, I would have my hands full reviewing it. So, like everything else in the developing of this first e-class, I simply "made up" the class size.

I then divided 15 by how much I wanted to raise for my Z3. If 15 people paid me $2,000 each, I'd have enough to pay for the car in cash. But two grand a person seemed a bit high. So I settled for $1,500 a person.

I then issued a sales pitch/invitation to sign-up for the class to my email list. I have about 800 good names on my list. Sixteen of them immediately signed-up for the class.

Talk about easy money!

The class was easy to do, too. The students loved the lessons, my assignments, and my feedback. Only one person immediately asked to bow out, saying the class wasn't for him. So I ended up with 15 people after all. I made $22,500. I was happy.

But I didn't stop there. A few weeks later I announced another e-class. This one on how to write, publish and promote your own e-book. I just followed the same model that already worked: I issued an invite to my email list, I went after 15 people, I charged $1,500 per person for a 5-week class. I got 12 paying customers. I made $18,000. Boy, am I loving this!

At this point I had been thinking about writing a sequel to my best-selling e-book, "Hypnotic Writing." But I didn't want to write it and hope it would sell. I wanted *paid* to write it.

So I created yet another e-class. This one would be on "Advanced Hypnotic Writing." It would be three weeks long, rather than five, because I wanted to take it easy this time around. (I was getting lazy.) I still charged $1,500 and I still went after 15 people. I then announced the class to my email list.

Here's where something wild happened:

Almost 18 people immediately signed-up for the class. But when I asked them to pay the $1,500 fee, every single one of them said they thought the class was free! I was stunned. I re-read my invite. It clearly said there was a hefty fee. All I can figure is that people skimmed the letter, got excited, and just shot back emails to enroll in the class. Or maybe they read the word "fee" as "free." Go figure.

But that's not the only odd thing that happened with this class: I had trouble filling it from my own elist. So I went and asked a person with a giant email list if he would promote my class to his people. He would---for fifty percent of the pie. Yowsa! That was a lot, but I wanted to get paid to write my sequel to "Hypnotic Writing," and I'd still end up with good money, anyway. So I agreed.

Well, twenty people signed up. And the really oddly wonderful thing is that no one---no one!---did their assignments. So I got their money (half of it, anyway: $15,000), I got paid to write my "Advanced Hypnotic Writing" ebook, and I had no homework to review or grade. What a cool business!

Most recently, I announced yet another e-class. I was about to buy a large country estate and wanted more money fast. This new class is on my new proprietary marketing formula, called "Guaranteed Outcome Marketing." I raised the price on this 5-week e-class to signal its value. I asked for $2,500 a person. Since I normally charge $25,000 to create a Guaranteed Outcome Marketing strategy for someone, asking for only $2,500 to teach someone how to do it seemed very fair.

I lowered the class size because I wanted to be sure to give each student personal attention. I promoted this class to only my own email list. I got five students. Which meant I raised $12,500. Not bad for a month's "work."

And yes, I bought the country estate. I'm writing this article from it. The moral here? There are several:

1. Intention rules: You can float with the circumstances life brings you or you can create you own direction and your own circumstances. It begins with a decision. What do you want? Decide. Choose. Declare.

2. Break the model: Just because others are selling their services for a song doesn't mean you have to, as well. Respect yourself. What are you worth?

3. Go for something other than money: Wanting my Z3 caused my mind to stretch in new ways to raise the money needed to get the car. If I were just going after money for money's sake, I might not think so boldly in my ideas or my pricing. What do you REALLY want?

4. You can do this, too. Just look at what you know that others would pay you to learn. Then turn it into an e-class, complete with lessons and assignments. After the class is over, you might even compile the material into a book. Or a tapeset. Or--? Think big! What would you teach if you had no fears?

5. The spiritual is not separate from the material. Since I've focused on money in this article, it may be easy to declare my focus was only on the dollar. Not so. I used spiritual principles---as outlined in my new book---to create wealth. Once you realize that the spiritual and material are two sides of the same coin, you are free to have happiness as well as cash. As it says on the dollar bill in your pocket, "In God we trust." Do you trust?

Finally, yes, I got my Z3. It's a 1999 Montreal Blue stunning piece of rolling beauty. I've never had so much fun in my life driving. In fact, I think I'll aim it up and down some Texas country roads right now...

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
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This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 12:31 PM | Permalink

"Build a System for Freedom " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Every entrepreneur knows that setting goals is crucial to business success. If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you've arrived? Or, more importantly, when you're heading in completely the wrong direction?

If you're the owner of a small business, what is your goal? To make it to the end of the month with enough money in the bank to cover the payroll? To take a holiday for the first time in five years?

Every small business owner should have the same goal - sooner or later, to become independent of the business. Small businesses turn into big businesses only when they are able to operate smoothly without the owner being present. When you can stay away for a week, or a month, or a year, and return to find the business running better than before you left, you have the opportunity to do whatever you like - sell the business and start a new one, retire, buy a yacht and sail around the world.

True financial independence is the ability to live your life doing what YOU want to do. Do you really want to show up for work an hour early every day, leave late at night and never take a holiday, for the rest of your life? Surely not.

What is the key to being able to walk away?

It's simple. You need a system in place so that everyone in your business knows exactly what's expected of them.

When you take on a new employee, how do they learn what they're expected to do? Does an existing employee take them in charge, explaining how things work? How can you be sure that the new employee is learning what you want them to know?

As the owner of the business, it's your job to ensure that a system is put in place as the business grows. The system will ensure that everyone knows what they need to know to do their job effectively.

How do you think companies like McDonald's are able to manage thousands of restaurants across the planet? McDonald's Head Office doesn't sell hamburgers. They sell franchises, and their customers are the franchisees. The most valuable asset they have is their system. It regulates what employees wear, the words they say to customers, how many seconds a patty is left on the grill. to variables within their business, every contingency is dictated by the system.

The system makes it possible for new employees to fit in. They are educated on 'how we do things around here'. They are taught the specifics of their job. They may be required to sign a performance agreement.

In a well-designed system, there is still space for individual creativity. Better ways of doing things should always be sought out and encouraged - and written into the system for the future.

The system provides the framework for ensuring that the business is never entirely dependent on any one person. If you own the business, your future depends on the quality of your system.

Posted by ralph at 07:01 AM | Permalink

October 03, 2005

"The Benefits Of A Home Based Business " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Taking advantage of a home-based business opportunity can afford you many benefits. There are not only the monetary benefits, but lifestyle benefits as well. Whether lifestyle or monetary, these benefits can be far greater than the benefits you receive working for an employer. If you are already working in your own home-based business or just entertaining the idea, be sure to evaluate your options and consider the value of the benefits you will receive. Home-based business opportunities can provide you with independence and financial freedom if you make smart decisions.

It is not always money that motivates people to start a home-based business. Sometimes the intangible benefits are more important factors when considering home-based business opportunities. One of the more powerful draws to working from home is the sense of freedom you gain. You can set your own schedule, work the hours that are most convenient for you, and have time available for family obligations and leisure activities. Parents with children in school often think about what home-based business opportunities may be available to them. Teacher conferences, after school activities and the ability to be home when the children are out of school are strong motivators in making the decision to start a home-based business. Working from home gives you the benefit of flexible hours and the freedom to adjust your schedule according to the needs of your family.

Stress reduction is another benefit of operating a home-based business. Any business will likely produce its own kind of stress, but certain stressful factors can be avoided when you take advantage of the more promising home business opportunities that are available to you. You will have no daily commute, you will save money on gas and automobile expenses, and you will have the extra time in the morning and evening to relax and interact with your family instead of spending that time getting to and from work. If you plan properly and budget your time wisely, being your own boss can reduce the stress you feel due to constant demands and co-worker interruptions.

A home-based business opportunity cannot only give you the benefit of earning money while working from your home it can give you many other benefits as well. A home-based business is the perfect chance for you to attain financial and personal freedom. There are numerous home-based business opportunities available to you. Research each one carefully and make sure you are willing to put forth the effort that will be required in order to succeed.

Posted by ralph at 08:01 PM | Permalink

"The One Hypnotic Command That Always Works" by Joe Vitale

I learned about the one hypnotic command that always works from hypnotists. A good hypnotist will never give a subject a choice or offer a list of "reasons why you should fall asleep right now."

Instead, a good hypnotist will simply issue a command, "When I count to three, you will close your eyes," or, "When I snap my fingers, you will bark like a dog." The subject responds because they want to please the hypnotist and because they don't have much of a choice.

Your prospects are nearly the same. Give them too many "reasons why you should buy" and you risk boring them, overwhelming them, or irking them. Give them the "one hypnotic command that always works" and they will do your bidding.

Want proof? Okay. Answer me this: Why are you reading this article?

I'm betting the title for this article promised you something you felt would be worth your reading to get. You want to know the one hypnotic command that always works so you can use it to increase sales, get more dates, or in some way get more of what you want from people. Right?

But note that I didn't have to tell you all those reasons to read this article. I gave you *one* sentence---the title to this piece---and you decided to read it based on it alone. Any further reasons for reading this were supplied by you, not me.

What you just did was illustrate the very point of this article. You are reading this for *one* reason. There may be subcategorizes to that one reason, but the bottomline is that you are here, absorbing these words, because I've promised you one main benefit: The hypnotic command that always works.

The trend with the best copywriters today is to pile on the reasons people should buy the product being offered, and to give an avalanche of testimonials to prove others love the product. There is nothing wrong with this approach to creating sales letters that work as long as it ALSO contains the one hypnotic command that works.

And what I want to suggest here is that the hypnotic command alone---when done right---is so powerful that you may not even need that long list of reasons to buy. You could feasibly write a hypnotic headline and follow it with a story and end up with some terrific sales. (Believe me, I've done it!) I know this may be a radical thought, but stick with me.

Just what is this "one hypnotic command that always works"?

It depends on your audience. When I was considering writing this article, I asked myself, "What is the one thing my readers will want to know?" Since I know many of you have read my two e-books on "Hypnotic Writing," and you consider me a "Hypnotic Writer," that some deep insights into those subjects might intrigue you.

I further speculated that if I titled this piece "the ONE" command that always works, you would subliminally know there is one very powerful thing to learn here. And of course, the "one" in the headline refers to the one thing I am trying to get across here. Follow?

Okay, okay. Here's my one point in a nutshell: Know the exact one thing your prospects want and tie everything you say to it.

Let me explain: If you are selling laundry soap, you might list numerous benefits and features, everything from "smells good" to "protects colors" to "gets out stains" to "cheaper than the other brands" to "works in cold or hot water" to who knows what. But what you want to focus on is the ONE thing that your laundry soap buyers want the most. Whatever that is, create your hypnotic command based on it.

In other words, if the one thing laundry soap buyers want is "allergy free soap," then pack all your hypnotic writing power into one line that says THAT is what they will get from your soap. Even "Allergy Free Soap Here" would work as a hypnotic line in that scenario. Anything else you say may be weak and even annoying compared to telling your prospects the one thing they want to hear.

Here's another example: Say you are selling a magic trick of some sort. You can list everything from "easy" to "new" to "inexpensive" to "amaze your friends" to "add it to your collection" to any number of possible selling statements.

But what is the ONE thing your audience of budding magicians want? Whatever it is, focus on it. That will be the one hypnotic command that will explode sales. Since I am a magician, I know "Easily Amaze Your Friends" would be a great single hypnotic command for the magic audience. In fact, I know of one magic supplier who uses the slogan "Working hard to make you amazing." He's on the right track. He knows magicians want to be amazing, and he's got a hypnotic command to convey that message. He'll capture the right audience and get them itching to buy from that one line alone.

Right about now you should be asking yourself, "But how do I find out what the one thing is that my prospects want?"

Good question. The answer is to first ask them, and second, test them. In short, call, email, and visit some people from your audience of prospects. Talk to them. Find out what the one thing is they want from your business. Too many bad copywriters just trust their hunches on what their audience wants. Don't do it. As much as I believe in intuition---after all, I wrote a book called "Spiritual Marketing"---the only way to know with any certainty what your prospects want is to question them.

But even that isn't good enough. After you question them, test them. Write ads, letters, and email campaigns with your prospects revealed "one desire" dominate. If you've truly hit on the one thing they want, sales will roll in. If you miss, try another "one desire" and see if that pulls better. Again, what you are looking for is the one hypnotic command that will make your prospects buy buy buy.

Now let me assure you that you might still give a long list of reasons why people should buy from you, BUT be sure that long list stems from your key "one hypnotic command." If you don't use the key command that activates the buying impulse in your prospects, your long list will be a grab bag of odds and ends that may confuse people. You need the one command to grab their attention and maybe even close the deal right there, yet you may still need your list of benefits to help convince them to buy. Don't dismiss your list. Just don't rely on it.

Finally, how do you write a hypnotic command?

That would take a book to explain. In short, write it the same way you do a good headline: Short, engaging, relevant to your audience. Think of what your prospects want and give them one tight line that suggests you have it for them.

Look at the titles for articles in "Reader's Digest" magazine, for example. They are intriguing, short, and vibrant. Write your "command" the same way. And for motivation to get yourself to work at writing a hypnotic suggestion, remind yourself that it only takes one good line to make someone buy.

After all, my one hypnotic command got you to read this entire article, didn't it?

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Posted by ralph at 03:43 PM | Permalink

"Fine Tuning Your Ad Copy! " by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

If you spend any time online, you have probably seen something like this: "ARE YOU SURCHING FOR A GAURANTEED BUSSINESS OPPERTUNITY? DOWNLAOD HERE" That may be extreme. Unfortunately it's not at all unusual.

One of the first lessons we're taught is to "wash behind your ears".

We also "don't air our dirty laundry in public".

Who hasn't heard the axiom: "You never get a SECOND CHANCE to make a GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION"?

Why then do so many Internet Marketers insist on ignoring these simple guidelines?

Instead of an attention grabbing introduction, that offensive headline simply sets off all the bells, whistles and sirens which proclaim: "dirty ears, dirty laundry and a lousy first impression---probably a lousy product". Nearly all serious prospects will instantly surf away from such flagrant carelessness.

Proofreading isn't all that difficult. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, find a friend.....or HIRE someone. Writing good copy is a challenge. Creating an effective website can take weeks or months.

Can you afford to throw away all that work over a few "typos", misspellings and missed punctuation marks?

Spell checkers are not the final answer either. Although they would have corrected the offending headline, they don't differentiate among "their", "they're" or "there". "Too", "two" and "to" are treated equally; so are "your" and "you're".

There is no substitute for intense and accurate proofreading. You also must realize that your own "proofing" becomes less effective with each read through. Your brain and eyes are already conditioned to see what you meant, and not always what you actually created. It is much more effective to have someone who is not familiar with your copy do additional proofreading for you.

Don't hesitate to call on friends and family. My ten year old granddaughter is one of my regulars. She loves to help in any way that she can; and I suspect that she gets a certain thrill out of catching "Poppy" in yet another "goof". Once she is finished proofing the copy, there is the bonus that I can then ask her to explain what she has just read. All too often, what seems so clear to me when I write it turns out to be not nearly so understandable to the reader.

I then ask "the light of my life" to read the copy aloud. Actually hearing what I have written turns out to be one of the most effective ways of finding the need for additional editing.

Nearly everything I publish these days goes out with the disclaimer: "Dear Reader, I spent eight years in a Catholic grade school. I am accustomed to having my knuckles smacked with a 12 inch wooden ruler for making spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. When you find the errors that my proofreading crew and I have missed, please bring them to our attention. A gentle reminder from you won't hurt a bit, and it beats the hell out of bloody knuckles."

So much for my methods. There are professional proofreading services available. Just consider them a necessary part of doing business. A quick "Google" for "proofreaders" just returned 304,000 possibilities. (Make that 304,001 if you want to include my granddaughter.)

A quick recap: PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD. Then PROOFREAD AGAIN........

.....and don't forget to wash behind your ears.

Posted by ralph at 08:38 AM | Permalink

"How to Craft Cash-Creating Climactic Copy" by Michel Fortin

Do you remember how you flipped each page with an almost excruciating curiosity because the story was so tantalizing, you became increasingly riveted to the book with each subsequent chapter?

Copy is, or should be, the same.

Good copy makes a good case. But great copy tells a good story. A great copywriter is also a great salesperson. But all great copywriters AND all great salespeople also have one thing in common...

... They are also great storytellers.

Each header, each paragraph and each word crescendos and prepares you, step-by-step, for the climactic "twist" in the story's plot.

The climax, of course, is the offer.

The platform you choose to present your offer is critical to the offer's success — hopefully the offer is good, but getting there is the job of the platform.

It could (and often should be) be your USP. It could be what copywriter John Carlton calls your "hook." It could be some major advantage or benefit.

If they DIDN'T end up buying that affiliate product, no problem. That list can now be followed-up with, or even monetized in other ways!

What has that got to do with copy? Here's my point.

Originally, Ray had one of those hackneyed headlines: "Discover how to explode your income... Blah, blah, blah." Bland. Hypey. Boring.

The result is here. Check the headline out and you'll understand what I mean. Also, you'll notice another strategy I used.

In other words, try to look beyond the story.

Pinpoint where certain characters, ideas and phrases were introduced in specific locations of the book — and see how they relate to the whole plot.

Look at the flow of ideas. Is there a crescendo? Are there small "valleys" along the way (until you reach the "summit," i.e., the climax)?

In between the nested loop is therefore a great place to insert a key idea or critical point you want to drive home.

Why are "nested loops" so powerful?
In 1927, Bluma Zeigarnik, one of the early contributors to Gestalt Psychology, found that people have an intrinsic need for closure. Often called the "Zeigarnik Effect," she discovered that we remember interrupted tasks best.

For example, have you ever watched the news on TV or one of those tabloid shows, where they begin with the following introduction:

"Tonight, Hollywood superstar escapes blazing fire while filming her new mega-budget movie. More on that later. But first..."

(Take, for instance, the show "Dallas" in the 80's with the famous "Who Shot J.R.?" plot. After the show's culmination when they finally revealed who did it, ratings dropped dramatically. Same thing with Twin Peaks.)

Look at soap operas and cliffhangers as an example. As an aside, even a few Internet marketers are doing exactly that. For a great example of marketing with a "twist," check out the Joe And Mable Show.

Posted by ralph at 07:22 AM | Permalink

October 02, 2005

"Prevent Procrastination With Positive Pressure" by Michel Fortin

It's currently being built and moving day is slated for December. So we decided to buy some furniture in order to fill some of the "extra space." (Our new home is double the size of our current one.)

Now, something really interesting happened.

The story is a little long, and almost unbelievable, but let me cut to the heart of the matter. (I'll tell you the whole story some other time. You'll cringe!)

After shopping around a few stores, we came across a big chain department store that carried what we were looking for — a bed, a couch, a dinner table and chairs, all at reasonable prices.

(In fact, they were all on special. Hey, call me stingy.)

We walked in, spoke to a salesperson and asked if they had a layaway plan that extended beyond their normal wait (i.e., since we were in August, we're talking several months). Not that we needed it, but a layaway plan could help us temporarily store the furniture until we move into our new home.

And once we asked him about the layaway plan, he used the "good cop, bad cop" routine on us, a common sales tactic I'm all too familiar with.

"Let me check with my manager," he said. He left, spoke with someone in the electronics department who obviously didn't look like a "manager." And five minutes later, he returned. "Sure," he added, "but only if you buy today."

I used to be a salesperson. (I still am.) And I use urgency tactics in my copy all the time. But I hate pressure tactics when they are glaringly obvious.

We didn't care so much for the layaway plan as we did the special. So, realizing the salesperson's tactics, I looked at my wife, gave her a nonverbal cue, she nodded and we decided to leave in order to "think about it."

The salesperson made a valiant effort to get our money that day. But knowing he was deceitful, the pressure he used only pushed us away even more.

Needless to say, we never asked to see "Gerry" again. And we made several trips to the store, where each visit had its own remarkable story. If you only knew what we went through, you'll understand what I mean by "remarkable."

However, we finally did get our furniture after we met "Jim."

Jim was truly the epitome of great customer service.

He truly empathized with us. He was apologetic, never once mentioned anything about him or his product (the conversation was entirely focused on us), and even even asked us to pull out our floor plans so we can correctly measure the space and appropriate layout for the furniture.

He then extended the layaway without any so-called manager's approval, gave us free furniture shampoo, free polish, free installation and free delivery — all as a gesture of appreciation, according to Jim.

"Mr. Fortin, look at it as our way of saying 'thank you' for giving us a second chance... Other people would have never returned like you did. I'll extend your layaway without question since you're kind enough to give us that chance."

Thank you indeed.

The lesson? This situation says a lot about how to write good copy. Being empathetic, being concerned and, above all, being interested in the prospect.

But the greatest lesson, that I want to pull from this, is this:

When writing copy, use scarcity and add a sense of urgency. As Jim Rohn once said, "Without a sense of urgency, desire loses it value." But NEVER use underhanded tactics, and NEVER make it so blatantly obvious.

(For instance, how many times have you come across a salesletter where the offer had a deadline, which seemed to "magically" bump ahead each time you visited the website? That's what I mean. People are not stupid!)

Here's the lesson: never pressure people to PUSH them into purchasing...

Instead, use pressure to PREVENT them from procrastinating.

There is a fundamental difference between the two.

Of course, you can and should use pressure tactics in your copy. But not to pressure the prospect into buying but to prevent her from procrastinating, which is a typical, "knee-jerk" reaction to any offer... Money means security to most people, and they don't want to part with their security.

When you use pressure and scarcity tactics, be truthful. Make your offer quantity-bound or time-limited. Not your product or service. The offer. And always — always! — back it up with a real, genuine and logical explanation.

People are becoming more and more educated. So using obvious and deceitful tactics, such as a script that modifies the date, or a quantity that seems to remain the same for ages, is going to work against you. Hard.

Each time you use pressure in your copy, always back it up with a logical explanation as to why you're doing so. Tell your reader why you are limiting the offer. And don't just be genuine and truthful, but also be unique. Place a limit on your offer using a tactic that's not duplicated all over the Internet.

For example, say you add a bonus from a third party. You can explain that the bonus comes from another source and you only secured permission for a certain quantity. Or put a deadline on your offer — a real date! — and explain why. Then change the offer once that date has arrived.

Procrastination is the biggest killer of sales — particularly online where the chances of a prospect staying or returning to a website (in order to think about buying), in today's click-happy world, are scarce.

Takeaway selling is in fact based on the concept of supply and demand.

As the saying goes, "People don't know how much they want something until it's about to be taken away from them." Look at it this way: if you give a chance for your prospects to procrastinate, they will. Guaranteed.

So, add a deadline or some kind of constraint, since such limitations implore at some unconscious level, "You better read this and take action now!"

But always make sure to back up your limitation with an logical reason in order not to appear misleading or disingenuous. That's the REAL key. (In fact, what will push them will not be the limitation in itself but its justification.)

Adding a deadline or a cap on the number of new clients, or even making the offer something that's secretive, exclusive or otherwise unavailable to the general public, can arouse stronger motives in the psyche of your readers.

But give your added sense of urgency some level of credibility. For example:

"We were overshipped on these cassette tapes and, in order to clear out inventory, we are discounting them by [X] dollars... However, we only have 541 left in stock, so please act soon."

"One of the bonuses includes [X] hours of individualized coaching worth $[X]. But there are only so many hours in the day... So I must limit the number of coaching students to 50. Therefore, I urge you to act now."

Or, "During our recent move we slightly damaged 178 pieces of our stock — while the damage is hidden and insignificant, I can't sell them as new and must let them go at a one-of-a-kind discount."
It's all about customer service. Because, if you use pressure to prevent prospects from procrastinating, they will thank you for it. You reduce buyer's remorse, get less refunds and returns, and increase repeat sales.

Plus, they will believe more in you and your product, they will feel happy with their purchase and they will even use the logical explanations you gave them to justify THEIR own decisions to buy.

As you know, customers like to buy. They don't like to be sold.

Remember, people buy on emotion first and then justify their decisions with logic. If you give them logical explanations, many will in fact use your suggestions as a way to back up their purchasing decisions.

As Brian Tracy once noted.

"A man convinced against his will
is of the same opinion still."

Posted by ralph at 04:18 PM | Permalink

"Captain Tony Gonzales In Search Of Heroes Interview, Photographs of the Naval Base Change of Command and the Grand Reopening of the Oceanview Room" by Ralph Zuranski

Captain Tony Gonzales, the Former Commander of the Naval Base In Point Loma, Is the First Hero Interviewed For the In Search Of Heroes In the Military Series Because Of His Lifelong Career of Serving and Protecting Those Under His Command. Click Here to see the videos interviews.

Click Here to see thephotos of the Naval Base Point Loma Change of Command and Retirement of Captain Tony Gonzales.

Click the links below to see the photos of the Celebration of the Re-opening of the "Oceanview Room.

Commander Gonzales

Ribbon Cutting

Inside Oceanview Room

Patio of the Oceanview Room

Food and decorations

Captain Anthony J. Gonzales was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert A. Gonzales. He entered the Navy following High School and commenced his first sea duty in July 1969, aboard USS RUFF (MSCO 54) in Long Beach, California. Following this tour, he then served onboard USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64) and was selected for the Navy Nuclear Power Program as an Electrician's Mate. Following Nuclear Power School and Prototype training, he sailed on USS SKATE (SSN 578), USS PHILADELPHIA (SSN 690) and pre-commissioning unit of USS OMAHA (SSN 692).

Following commissioning as a Limited duty Officer, he served as Electrical Technical Assistant and Electrical Officer onboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) from June 1980 to July 1983 in Alameda, California. He then served as a Nuclear Ship Superintendent and as the Assistant Nuclear Repair Officer at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington from July 1983 to February 1987.

Captain Gonzales completed his Department Head tour as Auxiliaries Officer onboard USS NIMITZ (CVN 68) from March 1987 to March 1990. From March 1990 to March 1993, he served as the Assistant Material Officer for the Pacific Fleet Trident Submarines on the Staff of Commander, Submarine Squadron 17.

Selected for command, Captain Gonzales took command of the WATERFORD (ARD 5) in Groton, Connecticut, from May 1993 to April 1995. During his tour, WATERFORD was selected as the COMSUBLANT Battle Efficiency "E" recipient for 1994, and the Medical & Supply "E" recipient for 1993 and 1994.

Following his command tour, Captain Gonzales stood up the Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and served as Production Officer for the Navy's first and only Integrated Surface and Submarine Maintenance Facility in May 1995. During his tour, he established the baseline for regional maintenance in the Navy, and NAVIMFAC was the Secretary of the Navy's nomination for the Department of Defense Maintenance award 2 years consecutively.

Captain Gonzales then served as Executive Officer of USS MCKEE (AS 41) from March 1998 to September 1999. During this tour the MCKEE completed a 6-month MIDPAC Deployment to support regional maintenance and a subsequent homeport shift of the ship from San Diego, CA to Norfolk, VA for decommissioning.

Captain Gonzales then reported to the staff of Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific Fleet where he served as the Deputy Ship Material Officer from September 1999 until March 2000. Captain Gonzales then served onboard USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) as Chief Engineer from April 2000 to June 2003. He completed two extended deployments including a combat deployment for Operation Enduring Freedom. He assumed command of Naval Base Point Loma in August, 2003.

In addition to the Surface Warfare Insignia and the Submarine Warfare Enlisted Insignia, Captain Gonzales is authorized to wear the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (five awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and numerous campaign and unit awards.

Posted by ralph at 03:21 PM | Permalink

"In Search of Heroes Interview with Randy Charach" by Ralph Zuranski

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Ralph Zuranski: Hi, this is Ralph Zuranski and I am on the phone with Randy Charach. Randy for over 20 years has been helping people achieve their goals and he’s done it in memorable, meaningful fashion. As a professional mystery entertainer and speaker, he’s made over 5,000 presentations worldwide since graduating from high school in 1981. Randy is uniquely qualified. He is the consummate professional entertainer and expert in the area of communication, marketing and success. I’ve seen Randy at some of the different Internet seminar presentations. At one he did his magic show and it was just incredible. I mean it was mind-boggling.

In addition to his stage and platform skills, he has authored 18 audio learning programs ranging from topics from goal setting to problem solving. His book titles include Fifty Ways to Leave Them Laughing, Synergy Talent, Secrets of a Millionaire Magician, and Niche Magic: How to Maximize Your Net Profits in Small Niche Markets.

Randy has the ability to quickly achieve an unusually high level of success in his chosen fields and he shares his methods in his entertaining, inspiring and practical presentations. As a rising star in the Internet marketing world, Randy is in demand at the different seminars across the United States as a speaker. He explains in detail how he made over $100,000 in his first five months as an Internet marketer and the principles that he now applies to propel multiple and equally profitable and diverse ventures by harnessing the power of the Internet.

Randy, how are you doing today?

Randy Charach: I’m doing great, Ralph. And thank you very much for having me participate in this program which I know that you’ve worked very hard on for many years. It’s a fantastic effort that you have put forth.

Ralph Zuranski: I appreciate that and I know that you appreciate my desire to help kids because you’ve got a lovely wife, [Tana] and daughters [Leilani, Shera, and Kyla], and you know how important it is for kids to have some type of future.

Randy Charach: I love children. I always have. In fact, I remember thinking as a child how weird it was how much I loved children and I was a child. Usually, it’s more, you know -- and that hasn’t changed. I just always and still am quite childlike with my family and friends and sometimes with strangers as long it won’t get me locked up if they think I’m a loony. I love fooling around and being childlike and keeping that childlike mind. I don’t know if you know this, but when I was 20 I was hired to be Ronald McDonald the clown and I did that for six years.

Ralph Zuranski: Wow!

Randy Charach: Yeah, and that was a really great opportunity. I had the privilege and the honor of visiting sick children in hospitals and at the Ronald McDonald House and just really being able to connect with children at a level which was quite dynamic. Ronald, put all the corporate stuff aside for a moment, is loved and highly revered by many children and definitely recognized by children all over the world. So instantly, it made it easy for me as a person behind the mask to go in and connect with the children and brighten up their day. So I had that walking in with my big red shoes.

That was a big part of the job and that was the part of the work that I enjoyed the most, actually. The meet and greets at the restaurants were okay. I did that because that was part of the job. But really going to the telethons and the hospitals and the schools and Ronald McDonald House was something that I really appreciated.

Another thing is as a child I spend a lot of time in hospitals, too. I gained a great appreciation of children and suffering that children experience that sometimes adults who haven’t gone through the same path have trouble understanding. It’s much different for a child than it is for an adult to deal with things which may seem trivial to adults.

Ralph Zuranski: Boy, that’s absolutely true. You know a lot about heroism being Ronald McDonald. He is sort of a hero to a lot of kids. What is your definition of heroism?

Randy Charach: My definition is very simple. It’s a selfless act. I don’t know if that requires a lot of elaboration, but I’ll offer some.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah.

Randy Charach: A selfless act can be anything that somebody does for the good of any other sentient being, whether it be an animal or a person. The degree of heroism I think is completely relevant to the individual themselves. So heroic acts for me may not be for someone else and it works both ways. A selfless act for somebody, for anybody, falls into the realm of heroism, the degree of which a person goes beyond their comfort level and their means to help other people. That’s where I think other people start recognizing and noticing different people and categorizing them as heroes. But I think that almost everybody in the world does heroic acts on a daily basis. It is just that it is not widely recognized by most people.

Ralph Zuranski: I know. I totally agree. One of the heroes in the original program, Gregory Allen Williams, who is a star on Bay Watch, he actually saved a man’s life during the L.A. riots and pulled an Asian guy out of a car that was being beaten to death by the mob and a Mexican guy stepped in take the beating that he would have gotten trying to save the Asian guy’s life. It’s just amazing in those moments when somebody steps up and does something that they don’t have to but they are motivated to help save somebody else. I think that that is just incredible when people do good things every day that nobody sees, nobody recognizes them for, in fact. What is your perspective on goodness, ethics and moral behavior?

Randy Charach: Well, again, I think that’s also something that’s actually a good segue from the other question. It’s all relative to the person doing the best they can at that time. So just like the hero, if somebody -- let me give you an example. If somebody has just crawled out of jail who has spent most of their life in jail for some heinous crimes and have been surrounded by miserable situations their entire life and everything going against them, and they get out and they open a door for somebody. In my mind that still falls under heroism. That’s kind of an illustration of the point that I was trying to make when I answered that question, the first question about the definition of heroism.

That same thing isn’t a heroic act for somebody else who jumps into the fire and saves people like a firefighter, that sort of thing. It’s the same with the question about goodness and ethic and moral behavior. Anybody who does something -- and of course it’s always based on their individual circumstances at that given moment -- they do something that is categorized as the best they can do at that moment, whatever that best might be. I think that they are living ethically and under moral standards that are within their environment, within their capabilities.

Randy Charach (con’t): Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that somebody who -- this person who got out of jail -- if they went and did something bad to someone but it wasn’t as bad as what they’ve done before, I’m not saying that’s good, ethical or moral. But I am really a strong believer that we all come from different places. We all have different situations at any given moment. So goodness, ethics, morality, it’s all going to come back to us one way or another.

I do believe in karmic consequences. If somebody acts unethically or immorally or in a damaging, harmful way to others, it is going to directly hurt themselves and they will suffer those ramifications sooner or later, in one way or another.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s absolutely true. It’s funny. Gregory Allen Williams said that there’s a little bit of bad in the best of us and a little bit of good in the worst of us, and that when a person steps forward and does something good at that moment in time they become a hero. I believe that’s absolutely true.

There is a real dichotomy as far as what heroism is these days. It’s like a question, well, what would you be willing to sacrifice your life for? We had the heroes like the firemen, the policemen. Those people are getting paid to sacrifice their lives, to be in dangerous situations. What do you think is the difference between people that are actually getting paid to do heroic things and people that just do heroic things on a daily basis, like somebody that takes care of the sick family member?

Randy Charach: I think most people, the firefighters, the policemen, the military, etc., who are getting paid for doing things where their life is at risk to help others are not doing it for the pay. I think that’s something that it just happens to be how they earn their living. I don’t even consider that really a factor as far as comparing or judging those acts to someone who is doing something where they are not getting paid. The same with -- here’s kind of a new argument that I hear people say. Oh, well, so and so donates $10 million to charity but he’s worth $100 million or $3 billion and he just does it to promote his company or he’s an egomaniac, whatever.

I say, well, okay, so? The point is let’s look at the result. This person donated money to charity, which was helpful for the charity. It’s a separate issue if they go and they need to flaunt it or if they have ulterior motives. I look at the good that’s done. I would say the same answer for this one, that whether you’re getting paid or not, it’s all circumstantial and it doesn’t really matter. It’s just a matter of if they are doing good or not.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s absolutely true. Everybody has low points in their lives. They have low points and high points. What was the lowest point in your life? How did you change your life path so you would have victory over any of the obstacles that you were facing at that time?

Randy Charach: I can offer a couple of different -- I don’t which one was lower. I’ve had several low points in my life. Let me discuss the first one that came to mind.

When I was 20 years old I started waking up routinely, like clockwork, in the morning -- I forgot the exact time, and it wasn’t exactly to the minute, but around four or five in the morning -- with excruciating pain down my left leg. This went on for some time. I went to see my general doctor and he thought maybe it was like from exercising and weights, a slipped disc or something. I went to therapy, physiotherapy, chiropractors, all sorts of different things. Nothing helped, even pain killers. The pain was excruciating. This went on for probably for about half a year.

Finally, I don’t know how or why, but I tried using just plain aspirin instead of Tylenol 3s and this sort of thing, because it was affecting my life, being medicated and being in pain all the time. And that worked. It was interesting. I mentioned that to him and he said well, you know what? I want to send you for an X-ray because maybe it’s something else. I went for the X-ray; that didn’t show anything. I started inquiring more with the X-ray technician and started doing a little research. My doctor was on to something. The aspirin was related to a rare bone tumor which we discovered I had, which was benign, fortunately. And that was discovered through a CT scan.

It wasn’t so bad. It might have been a year into it by the time we actually found out what it was. When I found out what it was, I was relieved because I honestly didn’t want to live any longer. The pain that I was having was so intolerable and the drugs that I had to take to live with it were creating other side effects. So I was relieved. All I cared about was can you fix it? And, yes. And is it cancer? No, it’s benign. They explained what that meant, the difference. And no big deal; simple situation.

It’s funny, Ralph. You know how whenever you go to a doctor they’re always the best? Have you ever heard anybody say I went to a doctor and I had this done and he’s the best? You ever hear them say and he’s like second best or the worst or for them to leave out the part that he is the best. Everybody goes to the best. It’s quite funny that way.

Anyway, I went to this guy who is supposed to be the best. He removed the tumor and then I was okay but only for five or six months and then the pain came back. I recognized this pain, this very distinct pain. It was like something hitting the nerve. Not just a regular pain; I knew the difference. So I had it re-X-rayed and it was discovered that he didn’t quite get it all. And so far we haven’t hit the lowest part. I am just building up to it, because this part wasn’t all that bad comparatively to what you’re going to hear, although it doesn’t get that much worse, either.

Then my father, who is a very loving father, he looked at this with me and said, you know, if you really want to take care of this, I will take you to Mayo Clinic in Rochester because they are supposed to be the best. And obviously the first guy wasn’t because he didn’t get it all for whatever reason. Let’s just go to these guys. So we went to Mayo Clinic.

I woke up from the surgery and there were two types of pain. There was the pain from the surgery where they cut open my leg. They removed some bone. They did some bone grafts, this sort of thing. Can you imagine how -- think about this -- that pain was like 5 percent compared to the other pain that I had been living with. The other pain was overriding it, so I knew when I woke up from the surgery they didn’t get it. I just knew it. They just, oh, no, no. You’re confused, dah, dah, dah. They sent me back home and I was right, they didn’t get it.

What happened was they didn’t re-X-ray and it had shifted a little bit, so really they went in and just sort of took out the wrong piece of bone.

Ralph Zuranski: Oh, man!

Randy Charach: It was horrible. So I had to recover from the next six months and then found another doctor locally in Vancouver where I live. He said, look, I can guarantee that this can come out. And what I would have to do is remove a bigger chunk of bone, put a metal plate in there to make up for that lost of structure. I’ll get it out. And I said, okay. Now, by the way, right now, just before talking to him, I’m at my low point.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, I guess so!

Randy Charach: Now to end that story and then come back to the lesson, he did perform the surgery and it was successful and I’ve been more or less fine ever since.

The lowest point was at that point after Mayo Clinic being unsuccessful, just thinking this is now going on like two years. I had to drop out of college for it and that’s a bit of excuse. I probably would have done that anyway. I went for one year of college while this was happening and I didn’t go back. I could have gone back, and again, there were different reasons I didn’t. I couldn’t go to school.

What it did do, and your question is how did I overcome this obstacle, is I had a change of attitude. The low point, the manifestation of my feeling, though, was like throwing food at people and swearing and hating doctors, people and just being a miserable guy, right? I was horrible.

That didn’t last too long. That lasted about a couple of months until I realized what I was doing. All of a sudden, and I’m not sure what it was, what I read or listened to or what somebody said to me, but it clicked that this is not a way to live, I should be happy. There are people with way worse. It was benign, I’m okay now or I’m going to be okay now. And I came back with vengeance.

I overcame it. It was just a simple like switch in my mind, that’s all it was that I switched. Just turned -- okay, forget it. I’m just going to do whatever I can. And I went out on crutches after that. In fact, that Ronald McDonald job, they hired me for it based on seeing some of my magic shows prior to me being laid up. I did some shows in between surgeries as well. When they approached me for the job, I said, well, yeah, but I have a surgery coming up and it’s going to be a few months recovery and then I will do it.

My very first Ronald appearance was the very first time I walked without crutches after quite a while and it was on stage at the Variety Club Telethon for the children’s hospital, walking on stage on this televised program as Ronald. So that was something that really did change, truly did change my life, to be able to do that and overcome that obstacle and turn it around and come back with a whole different attitude towards people and life and challenges. It was something that, although I wouldn’t wish it on anybody and of course I’m not happy it happened, but a lot of good came from it.

Ralph Zuranski: So you believe it’s important to take a positive view of the setbacks and misfortunes and mistakes that occur in your life?

Randy Charach: I believe that when people don’t do that, that’s when depression sets in and all sorts of other physical manifestations, other illnesses. When your mind is not easy, then you get dis-ease, that’s what disease is. Sure, there are physical things. I don’t think that my tumor was caused by a bad attitude because it wasn’t really bad before that. It was only temporary. But I do believe that we can go out and create real physical problems for ourselves that manifest from negative attitudes.

From that accumulation of what we talked about earlier, which in my mind is relevant to everybody’s life, and that is the karmic consequences of our actions. And that’s why when somebody who does something which is unethical or immoral or when they do anything that’s going to hurt somebody else, that it’s going to affect their ability from there on and forever to live a life in which they are going to be at their fullest potential. They are directly hurting themselves.

Ralph Zuranski: How important was it for you to have a dream or a vision that set your course of life?

Randy Charach: It was and continues to be really important. For some reason, I don’t know why, but I started off quite young as an entrepreneur. It was not really a family thing. I’m kind of odd that way in my family. One of those things, when I came out of that final operation for my leg, I wanted to make money. I had a vision to make a lot of money. I thought, well, here’s an opportunity. Gee, I can use the pity thing here now. I’m on crutches. And I have an idea.

Have you seen those big hockey games? They are almost like a video game but they are like foosball, the big bubble and then the sticks. It’s like Chexx is the manufacturer, Chexx Hockey. Do you know what I’m talking about?

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah.

Randy Charach: They’re coin-operated. I saw that, and they were just coming out back then and we’re going back now about 25 years. I somehow saw that somewhere in a small business magazine or something. I’ve always been reading those Entrepreneur magazines and biz-op things. I’ve always been reading those and interested in that kind of stuff as even as a kid. So I saw that and I was one of the first people to actually buy them. I remember they were like $3,500. I had already made money at that point as a magician, so I had money to invest.

I bought a few of those plus a few other machines. I went down in my crutches -- and I had my mom drive me around -- I’d go to different bars and Laundromats and donut shops, that sort of thing, thinking I’d put these games in here, kind of like the whole video game thing was just starting. Pac Man was a little bit before that. They said sure and, you know, the deal was 50-50 on the coins. Then I would come along with the bag and the coin wrappers and my mom and collect these coins. The vision that I had was to go out and be successful and to make money and have a little business and I didn’t let anything stop me.

Right now at the moment, as you are aware, and it’s been going on now for a good six months, I’ve been restructuring my business and I have a vision for my business. But my vision wasn’t that clear up to maybe a couple of months ago, so for those first four months it was really hard because I was running around trying to fix things but I didn’t know why or where I was leading. I just knew things weren’t working that well in certain areas. I wanted to fix them, but until I sat down and really had a clear vision of what I wanted to do in the near and in the long-term, it’s really difficult to take strong, positive action that’s going to be effective.

Ralph Zuranski: Do you think that it’s important to have courage to pursue the new ideas once they pop into your mind?

Randy Charach: Absolutely. Courage for one person, again, is different for another person. For me, it takes courage, and my wife -- for everybody it takes courage -- but my wife has, [Tana], she has different viewpoints on things, which is good. She encourages me and that offers courage for me to try new things and take risks in areas that I may not. And courage to try new things outside of business to improve your physical health, to help others, to step outside your comfort zone, anything. Really, an idea is something that always starts with a thought and then we take these thoughts and we evaluate them and we decide do we want to invest the time, money, energy to pursue this idea?

Then typically what we do is we turn that idea into a vision, a goal, a target or destination. Then we commit to that idea and then we follow through with the critical tasks that will lead us to that destination. All along the path, it requires courage to continue because any worthwhile idea is not going to be a completely clear, easy path. It’s important to realize that and to have the courage to continue or not continue, as you go along to continue to evaluate. It all involves courage.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, and of course in what you’ve done over the years, it was pretty uncomfortable to go through a lot of the stuff that you did. How important is it to realize that people are going to experience discomfort in pursuing their dreams?

Randy Charach: Accept it. Understand that discomfort in your dreams and all areas of your life will be present. I and others that I know in work -- I will speak for myself. I’m not comfortable sitting at a computer and typing. Physically it bothers me because I don’t have proper typing skills. Now, that’s something that I can and am scheduling into change, to learn how to type, but I end up cramping up my back and this sort thing. But I do it because it’s something that I need to do to pursue my dreams. I do way less than I use to because now I’ve understood the concept of delegating, and I delegate what I can, and also using alternatives to getting my thoughts to other.

For example, right now this conversation is being recorded instead of being written. It can then be transcribed by somebody else and then edited. I’ve done similar things now when I am creating articles or contributing to books or even writing books where I use other ways that are more comfortable for me. But the point is there is some discomfort involved and there was definitely during the beginning of starting writing my first book where I didn’t have as many luxuries, although I did find ways around it, too.

Moving away from business, there’s discomfort in all sorts of things, with my children. I have a lot of dreams for my children. To help me in my pursuit to assist in my dreams for them, and of course they are going to adjust these dreams and change them and have their own as they grow. Right now they are infants. That requires discomfort at many different levels.

So discomfort is part of our human condition. It’s something that we have to accept, that without pain and suffering, it’s really hard to live a fruitful life. And that sounds really negative, I know.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s true. That’s just the facts of life, though on the other side of that coin there are doubts and fears. Everybody has doubts and fears. There are so many things to fear. That’s the reason I created the Heroes program is to try and get some good news out there compared to all the bad new and the doubts and fears created by the conventional media. How do you overcome your doubts and fears?

Randy Charach: Well, that’s where it helps to have people around you that you love. When I have doubts and fears, I am very fortunate that I have a very loving wife and parents. I am very close with the rest of my family, even my uncles, cousins, friends. I have some really wonderful friends. So I am in a terrific situation where when I have doubts and fears, I have someone that I can talk to and share them with.

I also have a -- how do I say this? -- it’s not always another person that I go to to help me with my doubts and fears. When I meditate, go beyond myself and beyond the human condition into a realm which I won’t even try to understand or explain. I get help there overcoming my doubts and fears.

Ralph Zuranski: How important is it to forgive those who upset, offend and oppose you. It seems that there as so many people that just take any opportunity to make you have a bad day. How important is forgiveness?

Randy Charach: It is right up there at the top of importance on that importance ladder. The only person you are hurting when you hold grudges is yourself. When you have hatred or when somebody’s actions personally offend you in your mind, because that’s really the only place it exists, all you’re doing is hurting yourself. You’re not hurting that other person. You might be hurting other people around you who love you. So it’s very important.

The way around that is to have compassion for the person and understand that they are doing the best they can at that given moment. Whatever they are doing really has nothing to do with you. It may appear to be pointed towards you, it may appear to be directed towards you, but it doesn’t have anything to do with you. It only has something to do with that other person.

That’s where the compassion lies, to look at this other person and to feel for them and forget about yourself. If you are walking in a hospital for people who have mental illnesses, somebody walks out, maybe they have Tourette’s and they start swearing at you and that sort of thing. Are you going to take it personally? Probably not. So that’s an extreme example, but take that and look at every situation with people. Look at somebody who honks at you when you cut them off, whether it’s intentional or not. Does it really have anything to do with you?

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, all that’s true. How important is service to others? Is that a source of joy for you?

Randy Charach: It is. It is something that -- I think it’s a source of joy for everybody. I don’t think anybody could answer no to that. I believe it would be a source of joy at some level, whether conscious or not, for everybody.

Ralph Zuranski: How are you able to maintain your sense of humor in the face of all the serious problems that you’ve had?

Randy Charach: Well, first of all, you don’t know the half of it as far as the serious problems that I’ve had. Again, that’s all relative. Somebody else might be listening and go, oh, you want to hear my problems? You’re lucky! And I am lucky, actually. I am a very lucky person.

How do I maintain my sense of humor is what you asked? It goes back to that whole childlike attitude that I have towards life. It’s true that I had lost my sense of humor in many situations and I will continue to do so, which is good because that keeps reminding me that I’m human. I usually need, in order to regain my sense of humor of a situation where I’ve lost it, which has happened very recently. I’m talking like in the last 48 hours, I need to actually step away from the situation for a little while and then come back to it and put it in perspective. And I ask how serious is this problem?

And here’s the question I ask myself, literally. Did somebody die? I’ll go did somebody die? No. If the answer is no, then I start going down the list until I realize how trivial it is that I’m belaboring over and affecting the people around me and my ability to move forward. That’s pretty much the exercise that I use and it’s worked well for me.

Ralph Zuranski: Who are the heroes in your life?

Randy Charach: My wife, my children, my parents. I look at a lot of public figures who I think are very, very -- doing a great job for humanity and for others. I’d rather not mention who they are. A lot of them are commonly acknowledged; some aren’t. None of them are evil, that’s for sure. Well, I will give you a hint of where I am going. You know, I happen to think Elton John is a hero, and that’s why I kind of want to avoid not naming people because people would go, what? I look at the way he -- well, certain things stand in my mind. I will use him as an example and then you can just imagine what other sort of quirky examples are in my mind.

There was like a musical award program, it was within the last couple of years, and Eminem, the rapper who was on it and he had been widely criticized for anti-gay lyrics in his songs. Of course, Elton John is homosexual and is quite open about it. They were performing together, which was really, really nice to see. Whatever the reasons for it, whether it’s for someone to prove a point or not, it doesn’t matter, I don’t even think about that stuff. The fact that they would work together on this I attribute the heroism in that respect mostly to Elton John and not so much to Eminem. Not that I am saying anything negative about Eminem.

Then when they came out for their applause, which was plentiful, Eminem stuck both hands out, gave the finger to the audience. Elton John went to hug Eminem. Eminem kind of like shrugged him away. But Elton John didn’t react negatively to any of that. He instead was probably coming from a place of compassion to this Eminem guy.

Let me give you one more similar example in case this one, people don’t -- some people are wondering what I am talking about. There is a fellow who is a Canadian well-known business man named Jimmy [Patterson]. I have happened to actually met him many times. I know him. Every time I’ve met him, he’s been a really nice man. I’ve only heard things about him that, other than nice, which are just things him about being eccentric. Nothing really bad, right?

But where he really gained my respect, not so much with my personal interactions with him, but during 1986 in Vancouver, he led -- he was like CO of Expo 86 -- that may not be 100 percent; maybe he wasn’t CO, but he was huge, definitely right up there in organizing it or a figurehead for it. Somebody actually, some sort of a protester or whatever, threw an egg at his head. You know, this guy is worth, I don’t know, billions or hundreds of millions or whatever. He is one of the richest men in Canada. He didn’t even flinch. All he did was just, nothing. I don’t even think he took his hand and wiped it off. He just kept going. It wasn’t important. What was important was the task at hand and what he was there to do, whatever it was, cutting a ribbon or something.

Again, same idea; same concept. They are doing what’s important to them, they’re doing what they think is right. They are not taking things personally. They are not letting other people’s problems -- they’re not making those other people’s problems their own.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Why are heroes so important in the lives of young people?

Randy Charach: Well, because the young people are the future older generation. Well, not so much anymore, but it depends on where you cut off the age thing because now a lot of 20-year-olds pretty much run the entertainment industry and a lot of other industries as well, high tech and that sort of thing. So if we’re talking teen, pre-teen type of thing, they are going to be the next leaders shortly. Those are the people who are going to have the control -- the politicians, the head of media, this sort of thing.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s hard to believe, isn’t it?

Randy Charach: Well, yeah, they get younger and younger. Ralph, maybe we’re just getting older and it just seems that they are younger because, well, maybe when I was 10 and looking up and looking at all these people, maybe they were 20 then, too, and they just seemed like they were 100, but I don’t know. It’s important because it’s our responsibility to set good examples for them so when they come into more power they handle it responsibly and also as youngsters as they live their life that they do good, they don’t do harm, and they have good role models. So the heroes are real important.

You know a whole other category of heroes? It’s a generalization because there will be people within this category who certainly aren’t, certain types of individuals who do horrible things crawl into all sorts of different organizations. But when I look at people like Big Brothers, you know, those are heroes. That’s a heroic act to help young people. And I think that’s great. It’s important because they are the future of our civilization.

Ralph Zuranski: I agree. How does it feel to be recognized as an Internet hero and gratitude for offering to help with the program?

Randy Charach: Well, Ralph, I in my mind think that the only person who recognizes me as an Internet hero is you, simply because you asked me to be part of this program. I don’t consider myself, and I don’t know that anybody else does, consider me an Internet hero. I do appreciate the acclamation from you, definitely.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, I created the HERO as an acronym of somebody who helps enthusiastically, responsibly, optimistically, exceptionally, socially and/or spiritually. And you are definitely doing that. So it goes back to the idea of Gregory Allen Williams, that there is a little bit of bad in the best of us and a little bit of good in the worst of us and that anybody, whenever they help in any way possible, that that is a heroic moment.

You’ve entertained so many people as Ronald McDonald. I’ve been to your magic shows. And you really encourage people and you entertain them and that makes a big difference in people’s lives because it just makes them happy, you know, they love to laugh. I think that your magic programs and just some of your presentations are inspiring. And so I think it makes a big difference in the lives of other people when you actually make it better; better for them just at that moment in time.

Randy Charach: Well, since you put it that way, it feels great. Thank you.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, good. I’m glad that you realize that. I know you’ve helped a lot of people along the way and helped them be successful, also. Do you have any good solutions to the problems facing society, especially racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people?

Randy Charach: Prozac.

Ralph Zuranski: Prozac?

Randy Charach: Oh, gee. Yeah, I do have one. I know it helped me a lot and it was a big turning point in my life. Also, going back maybe 10 years is when I discovered meditation and that really helped a lot. It actually, without consciously doing anything, by meditating and by simply calming my mind on a daily basis, it did develop within me a more compassionate being and a less egocentric person. That was a great, positive byproduct of the meditation. There have been many positives.

I think that if those people in the situations that you just asked me about, and the prejudices and all these things, I think if the people who fell into those categories were to sit quietly for twenty, thirty minutes a day every day, relax their mind, it would make a huge difference in the world.

Ralph Zuranski: I’m sure that’s true. Well, if you had three wishes for your life and the world that would instantly come true, what would they be?

Randy Charach: One would be that everybody would meditate. The other one would be that we would all study the great, various, great and only the ones that fall into a legitimate category, not cults for example, religious scriptures like the Dhammapada of the Buddhists and the Bhagavad-gita which is referred to as the Hindu Bible. Of course the first and the second testaments. I’ll stop listing, but you get the idea. Studying that and looking -- and finding and recognizing the commonality among all these great sages and great scriptures. That would be the second one. The third one. That’s a good question. Those two alone--.

Ralph Zuranski: That would do it, huh?

Randy Charach: That would do it. Can I just go with two? I’m sure tonight at 5 in the morning I’ll wake up and I’ll go, oh, there is third good one! Why didn’t I think of that? Of course!

Ralph Zuranski: What do you think of the impact of the In Search of Heroes program will be on youth, parents and business people?

Randy Charach: I thought of a third one.

Ralph Zuranski: Okay, give it to me.

Randy Charach: And this won’t be possible for everybody living in all parts of the world. If we treat ourselves well, if we eat healthy foods and exercise and don’t abuse our bodies and our minds with chemicals and drugs, this sort of thing, that would be my third. I think that would also make this world a much better place to live in.

Okay, and I’m sorry. What was your last question? I knew I had to have--.

Ralph Zuranski: The last one was what do you think about the In Search of Heroes program and its impact on youth, parent and business people?

Randy Charach: I think it is absolutely wonderful, I really do. I’m happy and honored to be part of it. I know that other people that you’ve categorized as heroes and have invited into this program who are participating, I am fortunate and blessed enough to be friends and acquaintances with many of them and I know that they are well-meaning people who are successful who are going to have a great impact on the lives of others. I am really happy about it and I fully support you and your efforts and the entire program.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, thank you, I appreciate that. As a final question, what are the things parents can do that will help their children realize that they, too, can be heroes and make a positive impact on the lives of others?

Randy Charach: They can be heroes. That’s what they can do. They can lead by example. If they do all the things that heroes do, their children will likely follow suit.

Ralph Zuranski: Boy, that’s true, isn’t it? The examples of the parents have such a big impact on the kids.

Randy Charach: Absolutely. I believe that parents who set good examples and love their children unconditionally, treat themselves and their children and all the people around them with the utmost kindness and respect and compassion and who understand the laws of unity, of all sentient beings and karmic consequences, I believe that most of the children of those types of parents will turn out to be real great contributors to society.

The flip side of that, children who are born into families where their parents are not spiritually evolved, who are maybe living lives that are selfish and harmful to others, still have an opportunity to live life in which they do selfless acts and where they live compassionately and help other people. I don’t think we are locked into it as people when we are born.

There is genetics and there is environment. The genetics is something that people can’t necessarily change completely. Our environment we can as we grow up, as the children grow up and become thinking individuals. Of course they’re thinking right away before they are born, I realize that. But as they get older in the world and they can make decisions and understand concepts and realize they do have the ability to change. They don’t have to be like their parents.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, I totally agree with that. Well, Randy, I really appreciate you taking your time and answering those questions. I just thank you and ask you if you have one parting comment?

Randy Charach: Yeah, Ralph, keep doing the great work you are doing and any time I can help you, I’ll be there for you.

Ralph Zuranski: I appreciate that. Thank you so much, Randy.

Randy Charach: Sure.

Ralph Zuranski: I appreciate your help!

Posted by ralph at 02:00 PM | Permalink

"Want Better Copy? Go On A Quest!" by Mike Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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Writing copy is usually the easiest part of my work. But figuring out what to say is often a whole lot harder than knowing how to say it. That requires a lot of research, creativity and, of course, "sales detective work," as copywriter John Carlton calls it.

But when I know what to write, then the question I'm often asked is...

"Mike, do you start with the headline, or do you work the headline last?"

When I write new copy, I tend to start with the copy itself, then create the headline and headers (some people call them "subheads").

With existing copy however, it's the other way around: I start with a better headline (after reading the copy and questionnaire replies from my clients), then the rest.

Why? Because sometimes (in fact, a lot of times), my client's copy is already pretty good. The culprit for a poor response, almost 9 times out of 10, is a poor headline. (And it's often the one element I test the most, too.)

So I tend to try to find a good hook for the headline.

After a little bit of detective work, this usually comes to me after tinkering with the headline a bit, sometimes writing several of them.

(Or I rewrite it several times until I come up with the one I think will pull best. You've probably seen me do this on my critique videos at TheCopyDoctor.com as an example. Or check out this brief 15-minute video sample where I reconstruct a headline.)

The headers are usually parts of the copy -- either pulled out from the copy where they make sense, create curiosity, and force the reader to stop scanning and start reading.

With new copy, I usually start with an outline, but I really don't write the actual headers. I often start with the concept or idea I want to introduce in specific sections of the letter, but then write copy and use headers at that point, all based on the flow of ideas.

Here's how I do it. Most of my salesletters focus on 5 core components. What I usually do when I write or rewrite copy is follow this format. It's my 5-step guide, if you will.

It's sort of my own take on the AIDA formula. (Well, it actually complements it, as I still follow AIDA.) I'm sure you've heard of AIDA (i.e., grab their Attention, arouse their Interest, build their Desire and ask for some kind of Action).

My formula is this: I call it going on a "QUEST."

Qualify
Understand
Educate
Stimulate
Transition
It's like traversing a mountain, so to speak, when you start climbing the mountain on one side, reach the summit, and start climbing back down on the other side. Almost all my salesletters take on this quality. Here's what "QUEST" means:

Q = ualify the reader and/or disqualify non-prospects, tire-kickers, etc. That's why it's good to ask questions at the beginning, or talk about how terrible things are with "this" or "that" problem, or how nice it would be to solve "this" or "that" problem.

You also try to denominate who usually has this problem (I often incorporate this into a story), who this solution is for and/or who it is not for. The aim is not only to create awareness, but also and more importantly to qualify the reader.

This is especially true where there's a bit of an education involved -- where the prospect doesn't really know (or is not fully aware) there is a problem. In fact, this is why the next part is crucial. Because, the next step is to...

U = nderstand the reader by reaching out to them. You empathize with them. You expand on the problem. You not only get the reader to identify themselves with you, but also magnify the problem by making it more real and vivid. You "add salt on the wounds," so to speak.

In other words, you share their pain, and tell them how more painful it is either because there is no solution, or because competing or previous solutions are not as good for whatever reasons.

You can also use this section to tickle their curiosity about a potential solution, and insert specific benefits other solutions don't have, but without fully introducing or disclosing "your" solution yet -- i.e., a unique selling point, superior "nice-to-have" benefits, something new or different that will be linked with the offer later on, the story behind the product, etc.

(In fact, if the creator of the product used to be in the same situation, I would include a story behind the product based on that fact. It's also a great place to build credibility and give the reader reasons why they should keep reading.)

When you introduce the solution later on, you can tie it in with all of these. It's like telling the reader: "Wouldn't it be great, if..." (And later on, "Well, there is a solution that...") And that leads to the next step, which is to...

E = ducate the reader on the fact that there is a solution. Your solution. And that your solution is unlike all the others, as well as the reasons why it is different. This is where you introduce the product or service (but not the offer). Usually it's in the middle of the copy. It's "the summit of the sales mountain," if you will.)

Also, it's a great place to add a lead-capture form. (We tested locations, and this seems to be the highest pulling one.) It's also a great place to build on and emphasize credibility introduced in the "U" portion of the formula. You should include a lot of proof, here, and build on the believability element.

(I tend not to add any testimonials until this section. Why? Because testimonials too early tend to scare off people. Of course, this depends at what stage of the buying process the market is in. But in tests, removing testimonials early in the copy actually increased response.) Once they know, the next step is to...

S = timulate the reader on the offer. This where the offer is made and the value buildup really starts. You list and expand on the benefits. (In "E," I start to talk about features and describe the product. But in here, I talk benefits, benefits, benefits... And I link them to the features described in "E.")

It's the place where the offer really starts taking shape. Also, it's a great location to add value to the offer, such as offering premiums, making guarantees and inserting value boosters, such as adding scarcity and making apples-to-oranges comparisons.

("Apples to oranges" means to compare the value of your offer not with the value of a similar or competing product but with the value of all possible alternatives, including potentials losses, value of unique benefits, "true" costs of not using the product, etc.)

And you use this section to link the offer to the rest of the formula. That is, you restate some of the problems mentioned in "Q," how the solution answers the greater problems talked about in "U," and how it links to all to the features and benefits described in "E." Once you build enough value, you then...

T = ransition the reader from prospect to customer. The famous "let's wrap this up" or "call to action" section. The close, in other words. This includes the order form, the price, a special offer, the P.S.'s, additional testimonials (especially results-based testimonials), making the reader feel as if they already own the product, etc.

It's a great place to summarize the offer, and perhaps introduce new points not discussed to this point to spur action, such as adding an as-of-yet undisclosed benefit or bonus -- also called "pot sweeteners."

(I also tend to add a liftnote in this section, usually a linked pop-up window, which says, "Click here if you decided NOT to order today," and so on. Take a look at how I did it with John Reese's TrafficSecrets.com, for example.)
Now, I don't follow this formula precisely as I just explained.

I usually start with QUEST as an outline first, and refer back to it later.

Once the outline is made, I expand on each point and "go with the flow" of what I think is best for the offer throughout the salesletter.

I also write header ideas in that outline, too. But first, I expand on the copy, and if needed, I re-arrange ideas around for better flow. And then, I write the headers as I see how they fit in the QUEST formula, all keeping the following in mind:

The header introduces a new piece of information. It's specific and descriptive. Best of all, it has a benefit inherent in it -- whether it's a benefit of the offer or a benefit in reading what follows. (Usually, it's the latter.)

It helps to introduce the following section in the copy. In fact, it should read as if the person never read the preceding copy. So, it somewhat explains it as to not confuse and push people away. (But it doesn't explain it entirely, as the next point reveals.)

More often then not, it also piques their curiosity in order to force them to stop scanning and go back to the beginning of the copy (as people usually scan and read the headers when they hit a salesletter for the first time).

The third one is the one I use the most.

The header introduces a portion of an idea (like a half-statement), or some kind of "newsy" statement that pulls them into the copy.

It's like using headers as "knots" or "hooks" in rock-climbing rope, so to speak. Why? Because it forces people to stop -- and ultimately pulls readers back into the copy (or keeps them reading and clinging throughout the copy).

For example, in the copy for Lou Vukas at RealEstateFortunes.com, I wrote a header that said, "(I tried everything. I felt...) Hopeless... Frustrated... Broke... I Said to Myself, 'There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This'!"

The copy that followed slowly introduces the "wouldn't it be great" concept, until the next header, which says, "I Found It!" "I Cracked The Code!" "It Hit Me Like A Ton Of Bricks!" And so on.
Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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Posted by ralph at 12:24 PM | Permalink

"Forget Benefits, And You Will Sell More" by Mike Fortin

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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What's the single, most important element in copywriting?

Let me say it another way.

You've done your research. You found a starving market. Your product fills their needs. And your sales copy shines with benefits. If so, then why is your product still NOT selling? Is it the price? The offer? The competition?

Maybe. But not necessarily. The fact is, these things are not always to blame for being unable to sell an in-demand product, even with great copy.

It has more to do with one thing: FOCUS. (Or the lack thereof.)

In fact, the greatest word in copywriting is NOT "free." It's "focus."

And what you focus on in your copy is often the single, greatest determinant of your copy's success. Similarly, the most common blunders I see being committed in copy is the lack of focus in a sales message on:

The individual reading the copy; and,
The value you specifically bring to them.
In my experience as a copywriter, I find that some people put too much emphasis on the product, the provider and even the market, and not enough on the most important element in a sales situation: the customer.

The individual reading the copy at that very moment.

Don't focus your copy on your product and the features of your product — and on how good, superior or innovative they are. And don't even focus on the benefits. Instead, focus on increasing perceived value.

Why? Because perception is personal. It's intimate. It's ego-centric.

Let me explain.

When you talk about your product, you're making a broad claim. Everyone makes claims, especially online. "We're number one," "we offer the highest quality," "it's our best version yet," etc. (Often, my reaction is, "So what?")

And describing benefits is just as bad.

Benefits are too broad, in my opinion. You were probably taught that a feature is what a product has and a benefit is what that feature does. Right? But even describing benefits is, in my estimation, making a broad claim, too.

A claim always looks self-serving. It also puts you in a precarious position, as it lessens your perceived value and makes your offer suspect — the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish by making claims in the first place.

Therefore, don't focus on the benefits of a certain feature. Rather, focus on how those features specifically benefit the individual.

There is a difference. A big difference.

The more you explain what those claims specifically mean to the prospect, the more you will sell. It's not the features that counts and it's not even benefits. It's the perceived value. So how do you build perceived value?

The most common problem I see when people attempt to describe benefits is when what they are really describing are advantages — or glorified features, so to speak. Real benefits are far more personal and intimate.

That's why I prefer to use this continuum:

Features Advantages Benefits

Of course, a feature is what a product has. And an advantage (or what most people think is a benefit) is what that feature does. But...

... A benefit is what that feature means.

A benefit is what a person intimately gains from a specific feature. When you describe a feature, say this: "What this means to you, Mr. Prospect, is this (...)," followed by a more personal gain your reader gets from the feature.

Let me give you a real-word example.

A client once came to me for a critique of her copy. She sold an anti-wrinkle facial cream. It's often referred to as "microdermabrasion." Her copy had features and some advantages, but no benefits. In fact, here's what she had:

Features:

It reduces wrinkles.
It comes in a home kit.
And it's pH balanced.
Advantages:

It reduces wrinkles, so it makes you look younger.
It comes in a home kit, so it's easy to use at home.
And it's pH balanced, so it's gentle on your skin.
This is what people will think a benefit is, such as "younger," "easy to use" and "gentle." But they are general. Vague. They're not specific and intimate enough. So I told her to add these benefits to her copy...

Benefits:

It makes you look younger, which means you will be more attractive, you will get that promotion or recognition you always wanted, you will make them fall in love with you all over again, they will never guess your age, etc.

It's easy-to-use at home, which means you don't have to be embarrassed — or waste time and money — with repeated visits to the doctor’s office... It’s like a facelift in a jar done in the privacy of your own home!

It's gentle on your skin, which means there are no risks, pain or long healing periods often associated with harsh chemical peels, surgeries and injections.
Now, those are benefits!

Remember, copywriting is "salesmanship in print." You have the ability to put into words what you normally say in a person-to-person situation. If you were to explain what a feature means during an encounter, why not do so in copy?

The more benefit-driven you are, the more you will sell. In other words, the greater the perceived value you present, the greater the desire for your product will be. And if they really want your product, you'll make a lot of money.

It's that simple.

In fact, like a face-to-face, one-on-one sales situation (or as we say in sales training, being "belly to belly" with your prospect), you need to denominate as specifically as possible the value of your offer to your readers.

In other words, express the benefits of your offer in terms that relate directly not only to your market, but also and more importantly:

To each individual in that market
And to each individual's situation.
Don't focus on your product. Focus on your readers. Better yet, relate the benefits of your offer to the person that's reading it. And express how your offer benefits your prospect in terms they can intimately relate to.

Look at it this way:

Use terms the prospect is used to, appreciates and fully understands. (The mind thinks in relative terms. That's why the use of analogies, stories, examples, metaphors and testimonials is so important! Look at "facelift in a jar" I mentioned earlier, as an example.)

Address your reader directly and forget third-person language. Don't be afraid to use "you," "your" and "yours," as well as "I," "me," "my" and "mine." Speak to your reader as if in a personal conversation with her.

Use terms that trigger their hormones, stroke their egos, tug at their heartstrings and press their hot buttons. You don't need to be hypey. Just speak to your reader at an intimate level. An emotional level.

Because the worst thing you can do, second to making broad claims, is to express those claims broadly. Instead, appeal to their ego. Why? Because...

... We are all human beings.

Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising (one of the best books on copywriting), once noted we are not far evolved from chimpanzees. "Just far enough to be dangerous to ourselves," copywriter Peter Stone once noted.

He's not alone. My friend and copywriter Paul Myers was once asked during an interview, "Why do people buy from long, hypey copy?" His short answer was, "Human beings are only 2 feet away from the cave."

(Speaking of Eugene Schwartz, listen to his speech. It's the best keynote speech on copywriting. EVER. You can also get a copy of his book, too — just scroll about halfway down to the clip entitled "Hear legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz teach his proprietary system for writing breakthrough advertising copy.")

People buy for personal wants and desires, and for selfish reasons above all. Whether you sell to consumers or businesses, people are people are people. It's been that way for millions of years. And nothing's changed.

Your message is just a bunch of words. But words are symbols. Different words mean different things to different people. Look at this way: while a picture is worth a thousand words, a word is worth a thousand pictures.

And the words you choose can be worth a thousand sales.
Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
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Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
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Posted by ralph at 08:23 AM | Permalink

October 01, 2005

"How to Control The "Command Center" In Your Prospect's Mind (Or, Another Lesson From The Secret Notebook of a Hypnotic Copywriter)" by Joe Vitale

Here's a million-dollar secret I've never shared with anyone before. When you use it, you will get inside your prospects' heads and manipulate their thinking to get them to do what you want---including sending you money right now for your product or service. Sound hard to believe? Keep reading and I'll prove my point to you.

Right now, as you read these words, you are practicing the very thing I'm going to describe. Centuries ago people read books by moving their lips. Over time---and probably due to complaints from the family---people learned to close their mouths. But virtually all people still read the letters you send them by saying the words in their head, almost as if they were speaking them out loud, but in reality speaking only to themselves. You're probably doing it right now.

You are, aren't you? It doesn't reflect anything about your intelligence. It's how most of us read. I read more than most people and I still read the same way you do, "mouthing" the words in my head. It's how most of us humans accept the written word. Relax. You're normal.

Why is this important?

Because this is a way for you to plant hypnotic commands right into the skulls of people. This is staggering power. When people read your sales letter, you are, in essence, right INSIDE the head of the very person you want to persuade. They are speaking your words---your commands, if you do this right---to themselves. You are in their "command center."

Think of the power you have!

Unless you've taken a speed reading course---which teaches you to scan pages and avoid seeing single words---you are like everyone else: Hearing what I want you to hear right now, in your own mind. In reality, I'm in your head! What am I going to make you do?! Buy my books? Hire me to write copy for you? Make you go out with me and do my bidding? Hmmmmmm.

You can imagine the kind of power this gives me, and can give you once you learn how to do it, too. And that's what I am going to give you a quick-start lesson in: How to control your prospect's mind.

First: You need to accept that people are reading your sales letters (or ads, memos, email, web copy, etc.) by pronouncing your words in their heads. This means you are in the "forbidden zone" and ready to re-wire their brains.

Second: Keep in mind that as people read, they think. You are doing it right now and you have been doing it throughout this article. You are talking to yourself as you read. You are thinking.

People read your words and also ask questions, as if you were there to answer them. Your job as a Hypnotic Writer is to anticipate those questions and answer them. Do so and people will follow your commands.

Are you with me? As I mentioned earlier, I've never discussed this concept before because I felt it was too damn powerful to release. But when Mark Joyner asked me to expand on the material in my best-selling "Hypnotic Writing" series of books, I figured I owed the man my ace in the hole.

Here it is!

And here's how it works:

You write your sales letter with all the hypnotic writing skills you learned from my books. You use every trick you've learned to grab and hold attention, build desire, and lead to a strong close, because you know that's how you create truly hypnotic writing.

And AS you write, you are also asking yourself, "What is my reader thinking right now?" This is much like trying to handle objections in a traditional sales call. The difference is, you are doing this in writing. Your customer isn't standing in front of you. He or she may be thousands of miles away.

But that person is reading your words---voicing those words of yours in their head---and that person is asking him or herself questions. Anticipate them and answer them and you will up the odds in creating a sales letter that easily persuades.

Let me explain this another way: Hypnotists know that you will obey their commands as long as you don't already have a counter-suggestion in you to the contrary. They can tell you to "Go open the window," and you will do just that UNLESS you have a counter-thought, such as, "But it's cold outside" or "I don't have a good reason to open the window."

This same dynamic goes on inside your readers. You can tell them to "Send me money now for my new gizmo," and they will do exactly that UNLESS they have counter-thoughts (read objections) in them. As you probably know, most of your readers will have counter-thoughts. Your job is to anticipate them and answer them and THEN give your command.

I use this little known hypnotic skill in all my sales letters.

I work hard to create a headline that relays a benefit in a curious way. I sweat to write an opening that yanks attention from wherever it was, to my words. And then I use this "hypnotic dialogue process" to write the letter.

In other words, I write my letter while pretending to talk to one person about my product or service. In a real way, I'm talking to myself. As I "talk" on the page, I imagine what my prospect will ask next. It's a dialogue in my mind. But the truth is, that same dialogue will end up in my prospect's mind if I do this right. You've been doing it throughout this article. You've been reading my words and asking yourself questions. Right?

Throughout the writing of this article, I kept asking myself, "What will he ask?" By anticipating your questions, I could handle them in a persuasive way. I could, in short, lead you to my way of thinking and to doing what I want.

For example, right after my opening paragraph, I wrote, "Sound hard to believe?" I placed the question there because that's probably exactly where you ASKED the question in your own mind. You read my opening lines---about my big promise to show you how to get people to send you money---and inside yourself you said something like, "That's pretty hard to believe. Prove it."

And right there, right on cue, comes my question. I anticipated your thoughts and answered them by using the dialogue process. And what did I install in your mind while you were reading?

Go back through this article and see if you can find this "dialogue process" at work. And then notice what you do next, because that action will reflect the command I secretly embedded in you. And now that your objections are handled, you have little choice but to act on it, or not.

HypnoticLibrary.com
By Joe Vitale
This is a complete collection of Joe's most popular products.

HypnoticMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale,
This ebook book shows you techniques on how to make your publicity, emails and websites hypnotic. It also includes Joe Vitale's 3-step marketing strategy called "Guaranteed Outcome Marketing," which can increase your business by 70% -- in less than 90 days

HypnoticWriting.com
By Joe Vitale
This course, by Joe Vitale (recognized by many as the best copywriter in the U.S.), shows you how to use "hypnotic" tricks in your writing to get people to more easily agree with you. A must for anyone who wants to write persuasively.

AdvancedHypnoticWriting.com
By Joe Vitale
This ebook is the unparalleled sequel to Joe Vitale's blockbuster "Hypnotic Writing." It reveals how to use the phenomenon of hypnotic suggestion to turn your words into cash.

HowToWriteHypnoticArticles.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook tells you how to get free publicity by writing hypnotic articles for e-zines and Web sites -- in 7 minutes or less.

HowToWriteHypnoticEndorsements.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This ebook shows you how to write persuasive endorsements that can help you increase sales.

HowToWriteHypnoticJointVentureProposals.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
An ebook that tells you how to get free advertising for your business by writing hypnotic joint venture proposals.

HypnoticSellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to influence your prospects' subconscious minds with these 1739 hypnotic words, phrases and sentences.

HypnoticWritingSwipeFile.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
This is a collection of over 1,550 copywriting gems that took Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson years to compile. This is their personal swipe file that they use to create world famous sales letters responsible for generating millions and millions of dollars of revenue.

ImpulseInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Dr. Scott Lewis
This ebook tells you how to use 49 psychological tricks Las Vegas casinos use, to make your business pay off like a slot machine.

SubconsciousInternetMarketing.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson
Learn how to bypass your prospects' unconscious minds and get them to buy anything you sell

CreateAdvertisingThatSells.com
By Joe Vitale
An interactive online video advertising course featuring book, workbook, and video instruction that has been one of our bestsellers. And since we can all learn from the masters, it also features several reproductions of hugely successful ad campaigns.

HypnoticTrafficTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Hypnotic SellingTools.com
By Joe Vitale and Larry Dotson

Posted by ralph at 08:32 AM | Permalink

In Search Of Heroes Spreads Good News About Everyday, Real-Life Heroes Who Deserve Recognition For Their Good Works

The In Search Of Heroes™ Program Honors Those Special Individuals Who Help, Encourage and Inspire Others One Person or Child At a Time Without Any Expectation of Personal Reward or Publicity

October 31, 2005

"11 Secrets Of A Successful Ad" by Ted Nicholas

"How To Create Powerful Offers That Drive Your Sales Through the Roof" by Yanik Silver

October 30, 2005

"How to Become A Successful Self-Publisher" by Ted Nicholas

"Inside Secrets to Writing News Releases!" by Joe "Mr. Fire!" Vitale

"My Eight-Step Formula for Writing Long Copy" by Michel Fortin

"Interview Your Subconscious! : 9 Steps to Unique Articles" by Ralph Zuranski

October 29, 2005

"How to Avoid The Seven Biggest Causes Of Business Failure" by Ted Nicholas

"Forum Frenzy Fumigates Online" by Michel Fortin

"Perfectionism & What You Can Do About It " by Ralph Zuranski

October 28, 2005

"The Top Ten Mistakes In Preparing Sales" by Ted Nicholas

"Getting Published " by Ralph Zuranski

October 27, 2005

"Boost Sales the Easy Way" by Ted Nicholas

"Private Minisites Pave Paths To Profits!" by Michel Fortin

"Checklist For Writing Effective Articles " by Ralph Zuranski

October 26, 2005

"How to Make A Great Flyer for Marketing Online and Off " by Ralph Zuranski

"How to Name a Product, Service or Company" by Michel Fortin

October 25, 2005

"Fail Forward" by Ted Nicholas

October 24, 2005

"Business Networking puts More Money in Your Pocket " by Ralph Zuranski

"Cutting-Edge Internet Marketing" by Ted Nicholas

October 23, 2005

"How To Get A Job During All Economic " by Ted Nicholas

"The Secrets of Joe Sugarman Revealed!" A review of three new marketing books by Joe "Mr. Fire!" Vitale

"Ad Copy Secrets for Online and Off " by Ralph Zuranski

October 22, 2005

"Make Your Ad Copy More Effective " by Ralph Zuranski

October 21, 2005

"A Headline Can Earn You A Fortune" by Ted Nicholas

October 19, 2005

"Removing The Biggest Success Obstacle" by Ted Nicholas

"Make it Easy for People to Find You" by Michel Fortin

"Is This Business Right For You? " by Ralph Zuranski

"Lost Genius Reveals How to Write Sales Materials that Sell (or Bruce Barton's 6 Points for Writing Ads)" by Joe Vitale

"Estimating an Item’s Value for Sale on eBay " by Ralph Zuranski

October 18, 2005

"Advice to Ted Nicholas's Grandchildren Follow-up" by Ted Nicholas

"Press Releases That SELL!" From an article by Joe "Mister Fire!" Vitale

"A Business Strategy That Cannot Miss" by Ted Nicholas

October 17, 2005

"Are Long Copy Salesletters Scams?" by Mike Fortin

"Ted Nicholas, One Of The Greatest Copywriters in History, Volunteers to Help With The In Search Of Heroes Copywriting Program" By Ted Nicholas

"Help for the Home Based Business " by Ralph Zuranski

October 16, 2005

"To Brand or Not to Brand?" by Michel Fortin

An Open Letter To Ted Nicholas's Grandchildren" by Ted Nicholas

October 15, 2005

"A Surefire Tip That Always Increases Sales" Ted Nicholas

"How to Hypnotize People into Reading Your Sales Materials! (or, The Amazing Robert Collier Technique Revealed)" by Joe Vitale

"Don't be the Best… Be the First!" by Michel Fortin

"Three CyberAd Types!" by Joe Vitale

"Tips For Designing Your Home Office " by Ralph Zuranski

October 14, 2005

"How to Make Your Name Stick" by Michel Fortin

“Success on the Internet” by Ralph Zuranski

October 13, 2005

"Hidden Selling: A Secret Way to Make Money (or, What I Learned from Muscle Builders, P.T. Barnum, and the Color Green)" by Joe Vitale

"Does Your Copy Have Personality?" by Mike Fortin

October 12, 2005

"How Mark Twain Might Write Online!" by Joe Vitale

"Make Your Benefits Clear!" by Michel Fortin

October 11, 2005

How to Craft Cash-Creating Climactic Copy" by Michel Fortin

Homage to John Caples -- or -- "I laughed when I heard the greatest advertising book in history had been revised, but when I saw the book! --" A book review, by Joe Vitale

October 10, 2005

"Paul Colligan's In Search Of Heroes Interview Was Very Informative and Inspiring" by Ralph Zuranski

"Learn How You Can Overcome Procrastination Immediately" by Ralph Zuranski

"How to Use Subliminal Advertising on Your Resume!" by Joe Vitale

"Triple Your Response With This Google Adwords Trick" by Michel Fortin

October 09, 2005

"Forget Benefits, And You Will Sell More" by Michel Fortin

October 08, 2005