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

And now for today's tip: Down in Knoxville, Tennessee,
(home of the newest Food City Superstore) there's a very
nice lady named Tammy Burkhart.

Tammy also happens to be a subscriber of mine, and she
recently sent me in this nice note:

"I just wanted to let you know that I absolutely love the
way you end your emails with, "now go sell something"! It
always gives me a chuckle, makes me feel like getting busy,
and also makes me feel like you are talking directly to
me!

How do you come up with endings to emails, or what qualities
can we instill in our minds to make our ezines more
personal?? I have such a hard time with this. I thought
maybe you could touch on this for us?

Thank you, I always look forward to your email..."

Thanks Tammy. I think your question is a good one and it's
probably something that loads of other people wonder about
from time-to-time.

The truth is, the number one mindset you need to have
whenever you're writing something to a "list" or to a group
of "subscribers", is that the person reading your message,
doesn't care about the rest of your list, and for the most
part, at that exact moment when they're reading or
experiencing whatever it is you have to say... they aren't
even "aware" that your correspondence is even part of any
kind of "broadcast," or what-have-you.

See, all your reader is aware of, is your message... and
themself. And that's why sales copy is so effective -- it's
one of the most intimate forms of communication you'll ever
have with your prospects and customers.

After all, how else could you ever communicate with your
reader, one-on-one like this?

So the mindset you need to have, isn't that you're writing
to your "list", it's that you're writing to each one of your
list members, individually.

Make sense?

I was on a consulting call yesterday, as a matter-of-fact,
and a client was asking me about this exact same issue.

One thing I suggested is that he have a picture of his prospect
sitting right there in front of him to make his mindset and
his writing just a little more "intimate".

Hope this helps you out, and thanks again for your question.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserv

Posted by ralph at 08:33 AM | Permalink

You know, Tom Cruise has been all over the television and
newspapers lately.

Yeah, he's got a big blockbuster movie out right now that
he's trying to promote (War Of The Worlds), but he's also
been getting a little "out there" going on about his newest
love, Katie Holmes, and of course -- he's been in
"preacher" mode about his cult / religion, scientology.

Now whether you like this kind of stuff or not, there's a
very simple lesson you can learn from Tom Cruise, that can
make a HUGE difference in your business, and therefore in
your life.

Any idea what that lesson is?

No... it's not that you should go around getting publicity
by being a nut...

And n-o-o-o... it's not that you should profess your love
for your newest flame, shouting it out from every rooftop
in town at the top of your lungs, so we can all hear about
it, either.

It has to do with "action".

More specifically, it has to do with "taking action".

Napoleon Hill, the incredible author of "Think And Grow
Rich", once said,

"Do not wait. The time will never be "just right".
Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you
may have at your command, and better tools will be found
as you go along."

And it's true: Things happen once you're in motion.

See, regardless of whether you love Tom Cruise or whether
you think he's an a-hole, the fact of the matter is...

At least he's out there doing something!

Many people just sit around waiting... and waiting... and
waiting...

Until their timing is "just right".

And before you know it, what happens is, you wind up moving
on to another project because all that enthusiasm you once had
over your idea, is long gone, just like all the other hopes
and dreams you once had but didn't "get to".

I can't tell you how many people call me for consults -
www.kingofcopy.com/consulting - and for sales copy reviews
- www.kingofcopy.com/salescopyreview - and then tell me
"Gosh, I don't know why I waited so long to get moving on
this."

Bluntly, I don't either.

Let me tell you a somewhat embarassing story:

I didn't grow up in what you'd exactly call a... "loving
environment".

As a result, I had a lot of negative programming shoved down
my throat from an early age.

And it's taken me loads of time to reverse all that and to
sort of "re-program" myself with "good messages" instead
of "bad" ones.

Anyway, when I was a kid, my father had a favorite expression.
He used to tell me "You're no effin' good Craig."

For a while there, I used to believe him.

So I got myself in lots of trouble... and I did a lot of
negative things... and I really was sort of wandering
around aimlessly.

If I'm 100% honest about things, I didn't really "snap out"
of that mode, until I was around 30 years old.

Around that time, I made some "key" decisions, that I may
tell you about later, but for now... just know that I
started making some good strategic moves in my life, for the
very first time.

A few years later, in late 1998, I decided to go into
business for myself.

Was my timing right?

Absoluetly not.

I had a very close family member that was just recovering
from a serious illness, and that was pre-occupying a great
deal of my time, both physically and emotionally... we were
working on having another child... and lastly, it wasn't
exactly like we had a huge amount of free cash to play
with.

In fact, we had a little stash for the first time in a
while, and I was about to invest the lion's share of it
into getting my new office set up.

On top of that, mind you... this was all new to me:

After all, I was the son of a toll collector and a bank
teller... so it wasn't like I'd had years of formidable
training in running a business, and I'd certainly NEVER seen
entrepreneurial "spirit" in action before in my entire
life.

But I did it.

With my wife's support, and with both of us never even
thinking things wouldn't work out, I started my own
financial planning firm after spending time working in
the corporate world doing this for someone else.

Shortly after that, I got into direct-response, used it to
really explode my sales... and then of course... the rest
is history.

My point is not that I succeeded. And frankly, until I
stumbled across direct-response mrketing, we had a lot more
stress, anxiety and bad times, than good.

My point is, that I did... "something".

Overall, my story has a really nice ending -- at least as
far as I'm concerned, but what I want you to know is that
nothing would have EVER happened if I'd waited until the
timing was "just right".

Fast forward the clock again, to just last week. My wife
and I took our younger son Casey along with our daughter,
out to our local Barnes & Noble Bookstore for a couple of
hours of reading fun.

I saw a "Comic Novel" there (that's a novel, written in the
comic-book style -- very popular nowadays) by someone
called "Seth".

I absolutely loved the title. It was called...

"It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken."

And it's an even better life, as long as you don't sit
around waiting for the "right time" to get your stuff done.

Try it, you'll immediately find out for yourself.

Have a great fourth and talk to you on Tuesday.

Now go sell something,

Craig Garber
www.KingOfCopy.com

P.S. Want to know the one secret, literally 99.9% of all
business-owners are completely missing out on? It's easy
to find out -- just go here --
www.KingOfCopy.com/consulting

P.P.S. If you know someone who could benefit from this
information, then do the right thing and forward this
tip on to them, right NOW!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:24 AM | Permalink

Are you giving your prospects crystal clear directions about
what you want them to do, all the time?

Is there any way, what you're saying can possibly be taken
out of context, and you wind up losing a sale as a result?

I'd double check if I were you, because here's a real-life
example about how NOT to communicate.

On our way back from New York City a few weeks ago, I
noticed this sign while I was taking my daughter to the
bathroom, on the inside of the door, and I did a
double-take.

The sign said:

'Close Door Immediately When Not In Use'

Now, do you have any idea what in the hell this means?

When is a bathroom door NOT in use?

When it's opened and swinging madly to and fro?

Or maybe when it's closed and your inside taking a stinker?

You tell me.

Sounds simple right, but most marketing is littered with
confusing directions and midleading statements throughout.

Remember, you can never ever go wrong by communicating too
clearly.

And if you have some connection to Jet Blue Airlines (a
great airline to fly, by the way), tell them to change those
signs to read,

'Keep Door Closed At ALL Times'

Because this... would make... much... more... sense!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserv

Posted by ralph at 03:33 PM | Permalink

Today I want to plow through some more of the "5 Ways To
Give Your Prospects A Much-Needed Break!"

Yesterday, we talked about using sub-headlines throughout
your sales copy, and how to leverage them to boost your
sales -- taking advantage of both the "aesthetic" component
of them -- and the "psychological" component of
sub-headlines as well.

Let's take a look at some more techniques you can use:

2. Use Bullets!

Listen, bullets do a LOT for your sales copy.

First of all, they give your prospects some more "eye
relief", by breaking up long-form text into shorter, and
more easily digestible "bites".

Second, they're also catching those "skimmers" -- readers
who are just "skimming" through your sales pitch, trying to
dig around for all the important information they want.

And lastly, they give you a great opportunity to sort of
"summarize" certain aspects of your sales copy, in a "bottom
line", point-by-point list.

Your prospects tend to give more credibility and pay a lot
more attention to your bullets, so don't waste your words
there.

Be punchy... be direct... and make sure you're showing a ton
of benefits ("reasons to buy") in them.

3. Alternate your bullets, making one bold... and the other
not bold.

Or, alternatively, make your first sentence in each bullet
bold, and keep your second sentence "normal".

This gives your prospects even more eye relief, allowing you
to emphasize certain aspects of your text, in each bullet.

If you want to see an example of what I'm talking about,
just look at this tip, online:

www.kingofcopy.com/tips/062805_5_ways_to_give_your_prospects_a_break_2.htm

Tomorrow we'll wrap this up and move on to something else.

Now go sell something,

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:28 AM | Permalink

You do?

O.K., then here it is.

What you want to do, is to go out and "clone" yourself.

Create another company that's selling the exact same thing
you are, change something about your marketing or your
service or product, and then start marketing it.

For example, if you're a personal trainer, change your
marketing to target a certain niche group of people to train
("Fitness For Grandma")... or position yourself as the guy
who only works with Baby Boomers recovering from injuries.

Or maybe in this new business, you're the gal who only works
with post-partum women, and you're known for your magic
touch at whipping new
moms right back into shape.

The point is, reinventing yourself and creating another
company just makes you yet "another" player in your
marketplace.

And if you've got an abundance mindset, as opposed to a
scarcity mindset, than you already know, the population of
your prospects is infinite.

So have at 'em -- they're waiting for you.

Now go sell something,

Craig Garber
www.KingOfCopy.com

P.S. Need help figuring out "how" to reinvent yourself?
Ask me here: www.KingOfCopy.com/consulting

P.P.S. If you know someone who could benefit from this
information, then do the right thing and forward this
tip on to them, right NOW!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 03:30 PM | Permalink

Today we're going to wrap up our discussion about these 5
critical copywriting techniques you must be using in "5 Ways
To Give Your Prospects A Much-Needed Break!"

O.K.?

Let's just go over the 3 items we've already discussed:

1. Writing compelling sub-headlines, strategically placed
throughout your sales copy!

You must use at LEAST one per written page.

2. Using compelling bullets to firmly and confidently state
or re-state the benefits of your goods or services!

3. Making sure you're alternating bold copy with the
"normal" copy in your bullets, to provide your prospects
with "eye-relief" and to emphasize the critical parts of
your sales copy!

And finally...

4. You must be writing in short sentences, made up of basic
ideas!

See, you DON'T want to be delivering more than one point at
at a time when you're talking to a prospect -- because in a
sales letter, if they haven't had time to digest your first
item... and they you hit 'em up with the second item
anyway...

They're going to be confused.

And confusion, like "delay"...

Is The Death Of A Sale!

If you're prospect's confused, they'll bail on you faster
than a lawyer bails on his client as soon as he's ran out of
money!

You should even use very short sentences when you need to.

Like this!

Make sense?

5. And lastly, use short paragraphs as well.

Just think about it for a second: How annoying is it when
someone strings sentence after sentence together when
they're talking to you? Without any interruption. And
without making any kinds of pauses. Even for breathing. Or
to ask you if they're making sense? Doesn' that just drive
you nuts?

That's as irritating as nails grating across a chalk board!

By using short sentences and short paragraphs, you're making
it as easy as possible for your reader to digest what you're
saying and get on with it.

Listen, the bottom line is... if you're writing sales copy
and you don't consistently use all these little "tricks"...
you're going to end up writing... a lot MORE sales copy...
in exchange for...

A lot... less... sales!

Now go sell something,

Craig Garber
www.KingOfCopy.com

P.S. Want to find out which parts of your sales letter are
"clogging" your prospects buying cycles up and making them
"shut off" instead of ordering? It's easy -- just go here
-- www.KingOfCopy.com/salescopyreview

P.P.S. If you know someone who could benefit from this
information, then do the right thing and forward this
tip on to them, right NOW!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:27 AM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: Yep, you know I really believe that, that’s true. If you had three wishes in your life that would instantly come true what would they be?

Craig Garber: Well they would probably be, number 1 and 2 like you asked me before, is for people to take responsibility for themselves, love their fellow man and start accepting people.

I think that immediately people would chill out a lot. I guess end suffering from poor health -- watching someone suffering -- that’s got to be brutal, and emotionally agonizing. Suffering because of poor health is terrible, it’s brutal. I’ve gone through some of it myself. That would be my third wish I guess.

Ralph Zuranski: What do you think about the search for heroes program and what it’s done for kids, parents and business people?

Craig Garber: Ralph: I think it’s a great program, any time you raise awareness about children’s needs for heroes is fantastic. Getting people talking about those things is great.

Like my son yesterday, he came home from the bus, and he said kids were arguing about the war, or the presidency, and I said look, even if you guys disagree, at least you guys are talking about it, being aware about it.

Either way if you and these kids vote at least you’re getting involved in a positive decision in your life. So, raising awareness is important. Look, you’re trying to save peoples lives, especially young people, as I said before you’re the hero here, not me. You’re the one setting all this up, and making a positive approach to things. I think it’s fantastic.

Ralph Zuranski: We’ve got tell kids that they can change the paradigm that was something great once. Either they were surged on by adrenaline, or make that one act, that it’s more of a daily action, of choosing the way that you’re going to act.

As Gregory Allen Williams said ‘there’s a little bit of good in the worst of us, and there’s a little bit of bad in the best of us.’ The hardest thing about that is finding the equilibrium, I think we all suffer from that.

Craig Garber: Absolutely, absolutely.

Ralph Zuranski: What are the things that parents can do to help their children realize is that they to can make a positive impact on the lives of others?

Craig Garber: That’s a really good question, it’s something I’ve given a tremendous amount of thought to, because having three kids, and knowing all the wrong ways to raise kids I had to because I didn’t want to make those same mistakes with my kids, my own children.

I would say that, my oldest son is fifteen so I would have a bit of experience about this, so if had to sit and reflect, and say the most important thing is let your kids be kids. You only get one childhood, there’s no do-over. Okay, let them be kids. You ask a six year old, why are you doing this, I’m six.

I’ve got a five year old and a fifteen year old, and one in the middle, so believe me, I’m much more realistic of that with my five year old than I was with my fifteen year old, because you’re older and you’ve made these mistakes, so you realize these things. Don’t judge them, don’t judge your kids let them be who they are.

Some kids will not be good students, that’s okay you’ve still got to love them, that’s just the way they are. They’re not into school, are they good people that’s what’s important.

Don’t set expectations for them either, like I said before, your kids are separate individuals from you. I coached all my kids, and my daughter’s five so she’ll be starting to play sports soon.

I coached them in soccer, my wife and I actually coached, and then I coached one or two years after that. And then with my middle son in basketball for years. I see these parents and they live or die with these kids, about foul shooting. It’s almost like the kid is definitely more well received when he’s doing well, than when he’s not.

The parents hang onto their kids. I was the oddball, I could care less of what my kids do. I just wanted them to have fun. They were playing sports, not for me, I could care less of how they did. My kids are in karate, and now I know they’re red belts, but there was a time there when I was sitting in karate one time and someone asked me what belt my kids were, and I didn’t know.

It’s not that I didn’t care about my kids, it’s just that I didn’t care what ranking they were. I think one was orange, I didn’t even know. That’s not why I was there, I was there for them to have fun, and maybe something good would come out of it for their lives.

Ralph Zuranski: So you think that parents are just pushing their kids to hard, and they’re just forcing them to achieve the level of success that they never achieved in their lives?

Craig Garber: Yeah, I think they’re pushing them too hard for the wrong things. These same people that push their kids hard to score another soccer goal, or make sure they make 90% of their lay-ups. Then when the kid’s rude he doesn’t say hey, you know, why don’t you say thank you or please.

In the long run, they’re going to have a lot more easier time getting along in this world learning how to say thank you and please than learning how to make foul shots or getting lay ups in. So, I think they’re looking for things to put on the wall, and I think the mistake that most parents make are looking for tangible signs of evidence of success in your children’s life, I don’t think tangible signs of evidence measures their success.

Now, if you have seen people say ,oh that guy’s lazy, or his kids aren’t performing well, I have wall-fulls of stuff, I don’t care about that stuff though, what means a lot more to me is that when a parent comes to me down the block and says, your son Casey is so polite, all the other kids come to the house, he is such a nice kid, so nice to deal with.

That to me says that Anne and I did a pretty good job of what we’re doing with our kids. It happens with all three of our kids, and I see how they interact with others, they’re polite, they say hello, they care about other people, they don’t step on other people. They care about other kids.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s one of the reasons why I created the In search of Heroes program, is because to honor the moms and dads, and the kids that act that way. I’ve talked a lot with professional sports stars here in San Diego and some of the stars up in L.A., I’ve found that their just absolutely the worst role models possible. You see the kids taking on the same activities that the sports stars that are on steroids or have attitudes that are anything but inspirational for kids.

Craig Garber: Right, because your kids, you know, you don’t realize the role you play in their lives, they will imitate everything you do. You don’t realize this because it’s going on behind the scenes. The other thing that’s really important is that you’ve got to give your kids confidence, and the way to do that is letting them be independent, not doing everything for them.

My son’s working, one of my weekly tips was about the job that I helped him get, he’s almost fifteen, he’s been working almost a year. He’s doing real well. I think it’s important, he’s earning quite a bit, he’s going to get his permit soon, we’re going to have to deal with that, it’s the thing to do, I don’t feel safe putting him on the road, but I do feel safe teaching him how to drive. It’s better to sit out there with me for a year, so I know what he’s got, rather than, “Here’s your license.” -- we’re both screwed then.

I’ve always tried to be there for them, so we can talk about it, but, now they’ve got the courage, the more things you do the more things you think you can do. You just build on that, you build on it, and build on it.

All my kids are extremely independent and I’ve let them fail, as long as we’re here for them that’s all that matters. It’s important to know what’s going on in the world, letting your kids know. Good times, and bad times. My kids have come to me and said they heard me saying that we can’t go out to eat tonight or something like that. They always say if you need any money we’ll give it to you.

Ralph Zuranski: Thank you for contributing your time, I know you’re very busy, and have a tremendous amount of clients that really respect you and appreciate what you do, once again thank you very much.

Craig Garber: Ralph:, I appreciate your time and I appreciate being part of the program, I’m just looking to contribute and help out and I think what your doing is a great thing, thanks very much for including me. Thanks for asking me all these questions. If I could help you out with anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.

Ralph Zuranski: Thanks, I’m really looking forward to looking at your sales letter to promote the In search of Heroes book, which contains the best of the best of what I’ve found in marketing, copywriting, and technology, and just ask for promotion for the foundation thing that will help every community to be successful. I’m just thankful to you and for all the help you offered.

Craig Garber: No problem, take care Ralph.

Posted by ralph at 07:48 AM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: How do people become heroes? From your definition.

Craig Garber: Giving hope to others. You introduce hope into other peoples lives, and sometimes, you know where I grew up it was hard to be a hero.

You’ve got to attract those people to you, you can’t go and seek them out because, looking at marketing, you’re talking to an audience that’s not interested. The people who want hope, you’ve got to put that out there and let people come to you, because it’s hard to find people who have hope in those areas.

Ralph Zuranski: You know I’ve been on the internet for the past three years, taking photos of all the seminars, of all the speakers doing their power points, and just to see what kind of people they are and to see who would help out the heroes program. I’m finding out who has followed through with their promises. How does it feel to be recognized on the internet as a hero, because you’re following through in a big way?

Craig Garber: Well, I’m flattered, I really appreciate it. The good thing is, I don’t know what it’s going to do for my life. That’s the beauty of life, and I’m ready for the adventure, I’m ready to find out. Then contribute what I can, and something will come out of it in some way, shape, or form.

Ralph Zuranski: Why do you think you were selected for this unique honor?

Craig Garber: I was thinking about that Ralph:, I met you and we talked real briefly, I would suspect either we had good chemistry, or you saw something in me, or I my voice, or the way I held open the door for somebody, or something in my body language that said “hey I think this is somebody that I might want to get with to help me with this good cause”. I don’t know, why was I selected Ralph?

Ralph Zuranski: You were selected because you volunteered to help, you heard what the program was, to recognize moms and dads, and the people that don’t get the recognition that they deserve, and the impact that they make on the lives of their kids and other people in the community, just by offering, and following through, and that was the reason why I gave you this unique honor, you are a person that follows through, you are a person with integrity, and you do respond to my e-mails, you wanted to give your best on this interview, and you want to do it even when you’re tired, you are a person that should be recognized as a hero, you do love your family, you do love your kids.

You work hard for your family, you take care of your body. That’s the example that I would like to hold up as a role model for young people. You are actually making the world a better place.

Craig Garber: Well I don’t blush too easily but I’m blushing now, and I really appreciate all those things you said. I’m just doing my thing you know, doing what I can to make this little world a better place.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, I know that you’ve been through a lot in your life, and I know that you’re from the projects, and there is always problems facing society. How do you have or do you have any ideas on how to get rid of the problems in the society?

Craig Garber: Okay, well I probably have some thoughts on that, but they’re going to be hard to do.

Number 1, people have got to start taking responsibility for their own actions. It’s so easy to write sales copy, you know, “it’s not your fault”. It’s kind of a funny drop back amongst copywriters. “It’s not your fault”, but it is your fault, it is 100% your fault man.

The sooner you take responsibility, the sooner your life’s going to become better, in everything. “It’s not my fault that I have a low paying job, it’s not my fault that I’m late paying my bills.” So, the first thing, is taking responsibility.

The second thing to deal with some of those problems, child abuse, racism, is just be open-minded a little bit. Understand that not everybody’s going to agree with you. You don’t have to agree with anybody, you don’t even have to like anybody, but you know what? There would be so much less stress in the world and so much less stress in your life if we accepted everybody.

I don’t like all my neighbors, they probably don’t like me, in fact I know they don’t like me. I don’t sit there and obsess about it, hey people are different, you know that’s the way it is, you’re going to disagree with people in your own household sometimes. Just accept that everybody’s got a different opinion and that’s okay. You don’t all have to agree. I you could do those two things, if people can be open-minded, except that things are different, not judge them, and then just take some responsibility, I think you’d eliminate almost all those problems.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, I agree, that’s one of my dreams of the heroes program, once it starts going to every community that the kids would realize that, that reading the blogs, from other kids in other communities that they have an open mind and are able to allow new information, and accept that and ponder it, and try to believe that they are good, but may not have the same perspective on life as they do.

Craig Garber: Yeah, see why is it, kids are a perfect example. Kids, you tell a kid hey man would you like to interact with this kid over in England, or this kid in Japan, or Vietnam, or Denmark and kids are like yeah, what’s going on, what’s their world like?

Why is it that adults are like, screw that, I just want to stay in my little corner, or my little block, my neighborhood, or my street, or myself in my house?

Kids are definitely more open and into accepting things, so if we can implement your program, to the kids, that’s where we’ve got to get it. You got to get them open, because they are open minded, they are very open minded, and wide-eyed with anticipation of what the world has top give them, and it’s just... Why do people beat kids? They beat them because they had a rough day, and they can’t handle it, and they don’t know how to deal with the energy.

They’re miserable, and, “It’s not my fault that it happened”, but it is, just fix the freaking problem.

Posted by ralph at 07:46 AM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: That’s great, who do you feel the real hero is in our society today?

Craig Garber: Okay, the real heroes are not Oprah and Doctor Phil, not that they don’t do heroic things. To me I think the real heroes are good parents.

Ralph Zuranski: I do to.

Craig Garber: See, there’s a big difference, Ralph:, and as a parent I know this, it’s not easy.

There’s a huge difference between giving your kids things and giving your kids a sense of independence, the sense of responsibility, and being able to hit the pause button, if you want to call it that, whenever they need to of things going on right then and there and help teach them a life lesson.

Ralph Zuranski: Boy, that’s so important.

Craig Garber: Yeah those are the real heroes, the little, the people doing those little random acts of kindness in your life, especially when they’re being consistent with your kids. Those are the true heroes.

Ralph Zuranski: That is so true. So, why are heroes so important in the lives of young people?

Craig Garber: Well, like I reference myself when you don’t have a guide post when you don’t have someone you can model yourself after, I think a lot of people have role models, but they’re not comfortable with them, like me.

You sort of feel like a sailboat out in the middle of the ocean, without a sail, you’re just going along with the waves, and you’re just trying to figure out what’s going on trying to figure out what is what.

So if a child can get an anchor and someone to help them steer their lives, they’re going to grow much quicker, they’re going to be much more successful people, much earlier, and therefore they can contribute positively to themselves and other peoples lives in their world.

Ralph Zuranski: Why do you think that heroes like the moms, and the dads, and the grandpas, and the grandmas, and the coaches, and the teachers, and the spiritual leaders, that they’re not getting the recognitions that they deserve today?

Craig Garber: You don’t want to see them on the T.V.

Ralph Zuranski: I would, I’d like to see it.

Craig Garber: I’d like to see it to, but it won’t sell.

Ralph Zuranski: Why do you think that is? One of the great people I interviewed, Gregory Allen Williams, was a cop on Baywatch, he said that ‘If it bleeds it leads’.

Craig Garber: Yeah, right, it will sell as a tail end of a show, tonight’s closing story we have grandma Essy, who is 97 years old and takes care of fifteen kids. Yeah, I think that’s too mundane and people discount it. I think that people don’t acknowledge that that’s the way the world goes round. Whether you have different opinions, or similar opinions, but that’s the thing that makes the world a great place to live in. It’s to mundane, people want to see sensational stuff. They’re not going to stop and consider stuff like that.

Ralph Zuranski: Do you think that people’s emotions are so jaded that they need one catastrophe, after another catastrophe just to feel stimulated?

Craig Garber: I think people are busy, I think that people are so caught up in their lives, we talked before about taking action, most people don’t want to take action.

I think that the hustle and bustle of today’s world is so draining on most people that not only do they not have time for other people, but that they don’t have time for themselves, few people take time out during the day to sort of do something for themselves, do something good for themselves, read a book, I mean watching T.V. is not good for you. So, I just think that people are too involved in their lives.

Ralph Zuranski: Watching the shows on T.V. puts fear into a lot of people’s lives, and it’s a fear that they absolutely cannot overcome, why do you think that people have such an addiction to T.V.? I know that some people watch it 40, 50 hours a week.

Craig Garber: I have no idea; I watch 2 hours of T.V. personally, that’s a lot. But, it’s escape, again most people, I think Thoreau said most men lead lives of quiet consternation, quiet desperation, and I think that’s true.

People want to escape, it’s nice to turn to T.V., and imagine, I mean I can’t believe these reality shows, it cracks me up, I see USA TODAY everyday, who got thrown off American Idol or something like that, and to me how you can be preoccupied by other peoples lives that have nothing to do with you, it’s funny, not funny but people do lead lives of desperation.

Too many bills, not enough money to pay it, to much on their plate, schedules are hectic, too many kids, blah, blah, blah. And so hey, I get to watch hot half-dressed women on T.V. or I get to see how someone’s new car is getting pimped, you know.

Posted by ralph at 07:44 AM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, that’s the truth in relationships and I’m sure this is true in your relationship also. How important is it to forgive those who upset and oppose you?

Craig Garber: It’s very important, but I got to be honest with you for me very few people upset, offend, and oppose me.

As long as I’ve got my wife and kids, there’s really nothing outside of that nobody can really rub me the wrong way that I’m going to be all up and on them about anything.

Look, in business sometimes people accommodate you and sometimes they don’t, that’s just business, I don’t take any of that stuff personally. You just figure out another way to do things, or you work around it or you work with someone else.

You got to compromise to, you know that’s part of life, you don’t get everything you want, you got to compromise.

Ralph Zuranski: Do you experience service to others as a source of personal joy?

Craig Garber: Yeah man I love helping others, I don’t just like helping people out, I like showing people that they could do things that they thought they couldn’t.

Like when it comes to marketing for example people call me and we’ll have consults, you know they say, I’ve given up, I can’t do this, this, and this. Sometimes it’s a real simple answer, have you ever thought changing x, y, and z.

Or, change your headline, it really puts a spin on it, you see the light go on in peoples lives then. You see them walking around their house and the shades are drawn, and the windows are taped up, and all of a sudden, boom! It’s sunny like it is here in Florida, the windows are open, it’s bright, the house smells good all of a sudden, so yeah I love doing stuff like that.

Ralph Zuranski: How important is it to contain a sense of humor in the face of serious problems, because you know that everybody has serious problems in their lives and, how important is humor in that?

Craig Garber: It’s tremendously important, I mean, people who know me well, know me, I love to cut up and crack jokes at people, I do it with my kids, I do it with my wife, sometimes when you’re down in the skids, that’s the only thing that gets you through, poke fun at your situation and, I think the other thing that gets you through is having a high energy level.

A can-do attitude, a humor, and a high energy level, that’s the kind of thing that gets you through.

Ralph Zuranski: We know your wife’s a hero in your life, who are some of the other people that you consider a hero in your life?

Craig Garber: Other people that are heroes in my life... My older son is probably one of my heroes, he had to deal with some stuff when he was a kid that certainly wasn’t fair, I say that he shouldn’t have had to deal with it, and he did, how he handled himself, I’m real proud of all my kids, but he’s taught me a lot, and he communicates real well, he tells me ‘Dad your screwing up’, you know, I respect that he’s a together neat kid.

Like you said, my wife’s a hero of mine, and she’s definitely been a guiding light for me and has been a huge catalyst for change. That’s probably about it, as far as that goes.

If I use my definition of heroes, to some extent Gary Halbert was a bit of a hero of mine, he came in and gave me the confidence, he took me under his wing and gave me the confidence, switched what I was doing, I owned a financial planning business for 9 years, he told me that I was the greatest copy writer he’d ever met.

That wasn’t a testimonial, he sent me that after I did a couple of jobs I did for him, I thought he was winding me up, I thought he was giving me a bunch of crap.

I called him up and I said I got this e-mail from you, and he said ‘yeah, I meant every word.’ That gave me the confidence to make a change in my life and so I could live the lifestyle that I wanted which was for me, was spending more time with my wife and kids.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s really great so those people have made and continue to make a positive difference in your life.

Craig Garber: Yeah, well I’ll tell you what there’s another guy that, again going by my definition of heroism, is someone who’s unselfishly given from himself, a client of mine, this guy came to me about six or eight months ago, a guy named Chet Roland, you might have heard of him he’s a, Dan Kennedy’s always talking about him.

Anyway he lives down here. He’s a client of mine, and he’s turned out to be, using that definition of a hero, he’s a hero, he’s promoted me, and just so influential in my career with a lot of other things, and a lot of prominent information marketers, and he’s just a great guy to be around, he’s just inspirational, he’s a high energy guy like me, and just a good guy to be around, so I’d have to say Chet’s you know not only a friend, but to some extent using that definition of heroism, a hero as ell.

Posted by ralph at 07:42 AM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: How important to you, was it to believe that eventually your dreams would turn into reality?

Craig Garber: I had to, I had no choice, what was my choice?
The pain of living in the reality I was, was much greater than the pain of these setbacks on the road ahead. It was easier to go with these wacky thoughts going through my head. I thought, I was put on this Earth to do something a lot better than where I am now, I don’t know what that something is, I don’t know what it’ll be, I don’t know what it will look like, but let me go and find it.

I always believed that.

Ralph Zuranski: You’re paralyzed by doubts and fears and they just won’t let up, most people are afraid and that fear keeps them from being successful. How were you able to overcome your doubts and fears?

Craig Garber: Look, I still have fears when I do things, but they’re not fears of failure.

Like I said that I’ve never had fears of failure. In fact to be perfectly honest with you, I struggled for years and years with fear of success, again because of that programming I had as a kid, that failure, that scarcity mentality, that failure programming, and you know what happens is every time you’re about to embark on a new adventure that can turn out positive that old dodgy, rusty tape recorder in the back of your head flips that play switch.

Flips that negative programming play switch in your head, and it spills that garbage out. So, you have to know, and it takes place now once in a while, but now I’m aware of it, now I’m aware of what’s going on, now that it’s just, I think Steven Pressfield said in the book I don’t know if you’ve read it, “The War Of Art”, he said that’s just resistance coming up, but now I’m aware of it, again as supposedly I’m a mature adult guy and I can talk myself through it, acknowledge it, and recognize it, and I think to some extent it might be healthy because it keeps me hungry.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, yeah, I understand that.

Craig Garber: And also the other thing is I’d be lying if I didn’t say my wife had a really big role in this, because there were times I did want to give up, she stuck with me and said Craig: I don’t want you doing this, I don’t want you giving up, I’m willing to hang in no matter how desperate or no matter how bad times get, I’m willing to hang in there as long as you will.

I want to you to do this I believe in you, I know what you can do, and so quite often, there were times where I did want to give up and fold up when things weren’t going well in business.

I said God, I don’t know if I can do this anymore, what a loser I’d be if I didn’t at least try. She deserves this, at least. That got me through a lot of tough times to be honest with you.

Ralph Zuranski: So, she’s the one that gave you the will power to change the things in your life to make it better?

Craig Garber: My wife has been a real strong catalyst for change in my life, and I think we’ve done that with each other, we’ve been real lucky.

I’m one of those one in ten jillion people that actually finds a soul mate, I mean I like hanging out with my life, I mean she’s my best friend, she’s always my first choice of people to hang out with, she’s been a tremendous influence of me, and support of me, my cheering section.

She’s a strong woman too, because I’m the kind of guy, I’m a pretty strong personality, when I’m down I need someone to be there for me. She’s always done that, and I think we’ve done that for each other.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, I feel the same way about my wife also. She won’t let you get over on any of your you know what.

Craig Garber: Yeah, I mean look you know, it’s good, if you get something like that, you truly are blessed, you’ve hit the lotto.

Posted by ralph at 10:41 PM | Permalink

Listen to this.

"John Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman, a resident
of Hawaii. Chapman purchased the gun he used to kill
Lennon on Young Street in Honolulu, exactly six weeks before
he shot Lennon in cold blood, right in front of Lennon's
apartment building, The Dakota, on New York City's Central
Park West."

"Americans have been shattering sports records because
athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, and in much better
physical condition than ever before."

"Did you know that chocolate contains phenyl-ethyl-amine
(PEA), a natural substance that stimulates the same
physiological reactions in the body that falling in love
does?"

Interesting, no?

Sometimes, the best way to open up your sales letter is with
a curiosity-provoking eye-opening statement or fact that's
going to intrigue and engage your prospects.

Then, you continue taking them down that greased slide with
more compelling facts until they're so engaged with what
you're saying... that by the time they've finished reading,
they're like putty in your hands, and...

The sale is yours!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:32 AM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: You know that’s interesting because the scope of the in search of heroes program is to give those people in the communities that you grew up in hope, that they can compete with the profits in drugs and in crime by marketing the products in their local community on the internet or just come up with products on their own.

Craig Garber: There’s a huge need for that, no doubt about that, if you can reach out and change some lives, you really will be changing the course of the world for these people, because there is a shortage of hope in places like that, I know there was in my neighborhood, in my house, and you know there still is for the rest of my family, I was just fortunate.

Ralph Zuranski: How did you become an optimist? Because, to be able to get out of that situation you had to actually have a positive view of the future and you could change your life.

Craig Garber: I have no idea, I don’t know, I thank God every day to tell you the truth.

I just beat the odds, I really don’t know how I became an optimist, I think how I became an optimist was I had faith in me. I knew I was better than where I was living. Not that I was a better person than the people that were living there, but that I could do better.

I just didn’t know what was out there, I had to know what better looked like, so that was the pain and the growth process for me was how to act in better, how to act when your in better, what does that mean.

The other thing was I realized how little I knew and I always sought out information, I realized the importance of information. I was schooled in everything what “not to do”, which is a valuable lesson, but I had know idea what “to” do.

Ralph Zuranski: Well, obviously it took a lot of courage to pursue new ideas, because most people are trapped in the place where there at for fear of doing anything new, or disrupting their peer group that they hang around with.

Craig Garber: Well, in a way I had it easy that way because I’m a risk taker and I’m at the bottom, so what if I fail at this, where am I gonna’ go? There’s no way that I can be worse off than I am now.

You know, there’s no way that things can be worse than they are now. If I screw up, then just go on to the next thing and maybe that’ll screw up, so you know I think in a way from the fear of failure, you know some people are to lazy to take action, that stuff never bothered me because I had always known that there’s only up. It may not work, but you know I probably couldn’t get further down.

Ralph Zuranski: So you were willing to experience discomfort in pursuit of your dreams?

Craig Garber: Oh yeah, Look you have to, you know everybody sees the end result of people, you know, ‘you’re a success, you’re this, you’re that.’ It’s like a band, these guys came out of nowhere, you don’t know the ten years of sleeping in vans, and laying in vomit in hotel rooms with fifteen other guys.

You have to be willing to sacrifice a little bit, it’s a misnomer and it’s something that people don’t want to believe, but nobody has it easy. Everybody’s had a struggle, some people have to struggle more than others, some have to struggle a lot more than others, but there are very, very few people that are actually given something.

Posted by ralph at 07:40 AM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: So you’d say that it’s sort of a moment by moment thing, so you’re saying that if somebody’s in danger of being run over by a car or somebody’s in a burning house it would be hard to do it at that time, like a lot of people look at heroes as firemen and soldiers and stuff that are actually being paid to do those types of things, and I think that this person is a much greater hero if they’re not being paid to do a job, but actually you’re willing to sacrifice your life in a moment to save the lives of others.

Craig Garber: Yeah, I think that people who sacrifice their life, most of the time don’t go into something thinking that, Okay, I know I’m going to sacrifice my life for this. So, that’s kind of a hard question to answer, I think about 9/11 for example.

I think in that situation that a lot of the firemen and the cops, and the guys who ran in there, they probably had a conscious level of awareness of, I’m probably going to be sacrificing my life to do this. But that situation doesn’t happen to often, when it’s, ‘I know I’m going to be giving my life up for this cause.’

I think you do things that are important to you and, Hey, Who knows what the outcome of anything is going to be, what actions are going to be taken.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, I think that those guys are real heroes because you can just walk off the job, to have the courage to basically go in and know that that may be your last day on Earth, I think that that is real heroism. That’s the same with our troops.

Craig Garber: Absolutely, that’s balls.

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah, so did you have a dream or a vision that set the course of your life?

Craig Garber: I did, but I guess I had two different, you know as you age and evolve or should I say mature instead of age, as you mature, your vision, and what’s important to you changes. That has evolved like that for myself as well. I guess when I was younger my dream or vision was just to get the hell out of where I was.

I had a pretty miserable childhood, I guess. I just wanted to get out of where I was. I grew up in a violent and abusive household with a lower income, you know, you see the projects on T.V. in New York City that’s where I grew up in, the Bronx, that’s where I grew up. I didn’t know the rosy side of the world. I had a sense that better stuff existed out there, but I was never exposed to it, but people will often say, how can these guys in the ghetto be holding people up and be so violent, that’s all they know.

They don’t know that if I work hard and I study, that I can go out and make a million dollars.

No, all they know is that they live in poverty, my mother lived in poverty, my mother’s mother lived in poverty, and my kids will live in poverty. So they’re programmed for all that negative stuff, so I was programmed for that, but in the back of my head I knew that my dream or vision at that time was to get the hell out of that place.

I didn’t know how to do it, I didn’t know what it looked like, didn’t know where it was but I knew I had to do it, and I knew that’s what I wanted.

Posted by ralph at 11:38 PM | Permalink

Ralph Zuranski: Hi, this is Ralph: Zuranski, creator of the in search of heroes program; I’m interviewing Craig: Garber today, the King Of Copy.  He was a protégé of Gary Halbert for about six months, and is probably the hardest working man in internet copywriting and offline copywriting for a lot of business people that are looking for the best and are wanting a fair price, Craig: how are you doing today.

Craig Garber: Great Ralph:, thanks it’s real nice to be here and real good to be talking to you.

Ralph Zuranski: I appreciate the opportunity to interview you, I wanted to ask you a couple of questions, what is your definition of heroism?

Craig Garber: The definition of heroism, well to me it’s someone who makes life better either by eliminating some of the existing pain your going through or by giving someone a chance to enhance their life in some way, shape, or form.  An unexpected opportunity also.

Ralph Zuranski: What is your perspective on goodness, ethics and moral behavior?

Craig Garber: Goodness, ethics, and moral behavior.  Well, I guess to me the definition of integrity is doing the right thing when no one’s looking, if you know what I’m saying, so if you maintain your level of integrity, that covers all of it.

Ralph Zuranski: What principles are you willing to sacrifice your life for?

Craig Garber: That’s a good question, I think that’s the kind of question that is really easy to answer on the surface because it’s easy to say ‘well I’d give My life for this’ or ‘I’d give my life for that.’  But I think when your pressed up against the wall in real life situations I don’t think the knee-jerk answer you’d have is the reality. 

I think if your pressed up in a situation like this that people who do sacrifice their lives for things, they’re probably not the things that they would’ve imagined they’d be sacrificing their life for.  Whether it’s to jump in front of a complete stranger and push him out of the way of a car or something like that that you end up sacrificing your life for. 

I think it’s those things you wind up sacrificing your life for.  So as far as principals I think that it would be really hard for me to tell you what I would sacrifice my life for, I would say without a doubt that, unquestionably I would always sacrifice my life for my wife and kids, to protect them and keep them safe.  So that’s the only realistic answer that I can give you.

Posted by ralph at 08:36 AM | Permalink

Want to know how to use direct-response in your personal
life, for your next romantic "Hook-Up"?

I saw this posted somewhere on a marketing board a long time
ago and I thought it'd give you a good laugh going into
your weekend.

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and
say, "I'm fantastic in bed."

That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome
guy. One of your friends goes up to him and, pointing at
you, says, "She's fantastic in bed."

That's Advertising.

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get
his telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi,
I'm fantastic in bed."

That's Telemarketing.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. You get up and
straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a
drink. You say "May I?" and reach up to straighten his tie,
brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then
say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."

That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to
you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."

That's Brand Name Recognition.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. You talk him into
going home with your friend.

That's a Sales Rep.

Your friend can't satisfy him so he calls you.

That's Tech Support.

You're on your way to a party when you realize that there
could be handsome men in all these houses you're passing.
So you climb onto the roof of one situated toward the
center and shout out at the top of your lungs, "I'm
fantastic in bed!"

That's SPAM!

Have a great weekend.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:34 AM | Permalink

Today we're going to wrap up our discussion about these 5
critical copywriting techniques you must be using in "5 Ways
To Give Your Prospects A Much-Needed Break!"

O.K.?

Let's just go over the 3 items we've already discussed:

1. Writing compelling sub-headlines, strategically placed
throughout your sales copy!

You must use at LEAST one per written page.

2. Using compelling bullets to firmly and confidently state
or re-state the benefits of your goods or services!

3. Making sure you're alternating bold copy with the
"normal" copy in your bullets, to provide your prospects
with "eye-relief" and to emphasize the critical parts of
your sales copy!

And finally...

4. You must be writing in short sentences, made up of basic
ideas!

See, you DON'T want to be delivering more than one point at
at a time when you're talking to a prospect -- because in a
sales letter, if they haven't had time to digest your first
item... and they you hit 'em up with the second item
anyway...

They're going to be confused.

And confusion, like "delay"...

Is The Death Of A Sale!

If you're prospect's confused, they'll bail on you faster
than a lawyer bails on his client as soon as he's ran out of
money!

You should even use very short sentences when you need to.

Like this!

Make sense?

5. And lastly, use short paragraphs as well.

Just think about it for a second: How annoying is it when
someone strings sentence after sentence together when
they're talking to you? Without any interruption. And
without making any kinds of pauses. Even for breathing. Or
to ask you if they're making sense? Doesn' that just drive
you nuts?

That's as irritating as nails grating across a chalk board!

By using short sentences and short paragraphs, you're making
it as easy as possible for your reader to digest what you're
saying and get on with it.

Listen, the bottom line is... if you're writing sales copy
and you don't consistently use all these little "tricks"...
you're going to end up writing... a lot MORE sales copy...
in exchange for...

A lot... less... sales!

Now go sell something,

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:28 AM | Permalink

The worst should be behind us -- thanks for being patient.

David Dutton, a subscriber of mine from Nashville,
Tennessee, wrote in and asked me to 'touch on prospecting
with direct mail'.

As you probably know, I love direct mail for loads of
reasons, but mostly I love it because you can use it to say
anything you want or tell any kind of story you want.

There's no limit to the number of pages or words you have to
use, and frankly, it's also a very intimate form of
communicating with your prospects and clients.

After all, when your prospect is reading your message, it's
just you and them, one-on-one.

How cool is that!

Anyway, here's a little story about my younger son Casey.
Pay close attention to it, and see if you can guess the
'moral' of the story here.

When Casey was younger, I always used to say, he'd be
'the perfect salesman'.

Whenever he asked for something, if the answer was 'No',
he'd ask you the exact same question in a different way.

He'd figure out some way to come at you from behind... or
around the sides... or down from up above.

To put this in 'selling' perspective, when Casey asked for
the order, in his mind, 'No' didn't mean he couldn't get it,
it just meant he had to ask for it again... a little
differently.

And see, one of the most critical mistakes people make,
is... they don't ask for the order again, using second and
third (or more) mailings.

You should keep mailing offers, until your mailings aren't
profitable.

For the most part, from a numbers standpoint, you'll get
whatever response you got on your first mailing, on your
second and third mailings combined.

So if you're selling a high-ticket item, or if the lifetime
value of your client is high, you can see how, in some
cases, you can certainly afford to do a dozen or more
mailings, right?

Thanks for your question David.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:40 AM | Permalink

In the movie, Samuel L. Jackson told you it came from
the bible, Ezekiel 25:17, and it went like this:

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the
inequities of the selfish, and the tyranny of evil men.
Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and goodwill,
shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness
for he is truly his brother's keeper... and the finder...
of lost children.

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengence and
f-u-u-r-rious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy
my brothers, and you will know, my name is The Lord when I
lay my vengence upon thee.

Yeah!"

Immediately after reciting this passage, Jackson then proceeded
to violently unload several rounds of bullets into the person
he was talking to.

So you soon discovered, whenever Samuel L. Jackson recited
that passage, you knew he was getting ready to blow someone
away.

I guess you could say, that passage was his "brand".

And while "branding" is definitely NOT the best way to go as
far as marketing goes, at least, if by "best" you mean,
"making you money"...

You won't ever go wrong branding yourself, your guarantee,
or your processes, to give your marketing an edge.

In fact, if you get it right... it'll give you...

A HUGE EDGE!

Over the last 6 months alone, I've created the following
people:

The PCO Millioniare... Mr. Math... and, most recently, The
Titan Of 100% Income Tax-Free Real Estate Deals.

And believe me, those identities are a lot more likely to
catch your reader's eye and your prospect's curiosity and
interest, than using your "real" identity.

Call me stupid, but those identities sound a lot more engaging
than Chet, Rick, and Dick.

Don't they?

Plus, who'd you rather buy stuff from: A former teacher, or
Mr. Math?

Is there an amazing identity, process, or guarantee you're
overlooking inside your business?

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:31 AM | Permalink

Here's a curious dilemma -- see if you can figure out the
best thing to do in this situation.

You're single and successful, busily driving home from work
one Friday evening, alone in your car on a somewhat spooky
and stormy night.

As you slowly pass by a bus stop, you notice three people
waiting for the bus:

One, an old lady who looks as if she is about to die.

Two, an old and dear friend of yours who once saved your
life.

And three, the perfect man (or) woman of your dreams.

So here's your dilemma: Which one of these three people one
would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing you can only
have one passenger in your car.

THINK before you answer.

You could pick up the old lady, because she's about to keel
over, and you'd be saving her life.

Or, you could give your friend a lift, because you feel
indebted to him forever.

On the other hand, you may never ever be able to find your
perfect dream lover again if you pass this person up -- and
Lord knows nothing would be worse than a lifetime of regret
-- especially over this decision.

What would you do?

Think this through before I give you the "correct" answer.

Ready?

O.K., here it is:

You toss your car keys to your friend and tell him to take
the old lady to the hospital, while you stay behind hanging
out at the bus stop with the woman (or man) of your
dreams.

Most people would never have answered the question this way,
because it's an "Outside The Box" kind of an answer.

The biggest problem most entrepreneurs have when I'm
consulting them -- www.kingofcopy.com/consulting -- is their
inability to look inside their own world, and come up with
a similar "Outside The Box" kind of solution, to their own
marketing problems.

Yet, outside your box is where all the critical answers to
your marketing problems are.

Right?

Listen, it's the 4th of July weekend here, and that means
one thing, and one thing only -- especially here in sunny
Florida: It means I'll be cooking barbecue... smoking a
good cigar... and hanging out with my wife and kids this
weekend.

So in case I don't catch up with you until next week, after
the fourth -- take care of yourself and have a safe
holiday weekend.

And don't forget to continuously start thinking TOTALLY
Outside The Box, when it comes to your marketing.

Now go sell something,

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:26 AM | Permalink

Remember that old TV show, Hawaii Five-O?

I used to love it.

My favorite part was when they'd catch the criminals, and
Jack Lord would say 'Book 'em Dano.'

One reason I still have such fond memories of that show is
because Anne and I were actually married in Hawaii, on the
island of Maui.

And unless there's some major upheaval in my life, we're
going to be living there, at least part-time, some time in
the future.

Anyway, yesterday my little girl caught her first 'big'
fish.

How'd she catch it?

Simple: She 'hooked' it by using the right bait.

The thing is, NOT using the right bait, is probably the most
common problem I see when I'm consulting clients -
www.KingOfCopy.com/consulting.htm .

And in fact, that's why your existing prospects aren't
biting as much as you'd like, and that's why you're not
getting as many NEW prospects to bite as you'd like.

You've simply got the wrong bait on your hook.

Tomorrow I'm going to tell you the 3 things you must avoid
doing, if you do in fact, want your prospects to bite a
lot more, and... a lot more often.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:37 AM | Permalink

Yesterday I promised I'd tell you 3 things you must avoid
doing, if you want your prospects to 'bite' on the bait
you're feeding them, and since I'm a lot of things, but a
liar isn't one of them, here they are:

These are a few of the situations I see most often when
I'm consulting clients - www.KingOfCopy.com/consulting

1. Avoid talking about yourself. Bluntly, your prospects
could care less.

Sure you need to credentialize yourself, but they really
don't need to know about the weird relationship you
had with your mother... your first bi-curious experience...
or that time you got drunk and 'accidentally' spent
the night up in the hills with that 'friendly' little
goat.

Just stick to the what's relevant.

O.K.?

2. Don't focus on what your product or service 'is' --
instead, focus on what it 'does'.

In other words, sell the solution, not the ingredients.

Selling a teeth-whitening system?

Dwell on all the embarrasment your system is going to
allieviate, not all the crap you're going to have to put on
your teeth every night before you go to bed.

3. And lastly, don't hide your flaws -- because we've all
got 'em. Instead, if there's a weakness in your product,
expose it, and justify it.

Your prospects will trust you more for doing so, and that's
nine-tenths of the battle anyway.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:35 AM | Permalink

Because that's what happened to the new Coldplay CD that
just came out over in the UK this week -- it was
immediately handed its first setback -- by a frog.

Seems that neither 2 years of pent-up demand from fans nor
several million dollars worth of promotion by Parlophone
records (in the UK) or Capitol EMI (here in the U.S.) could
save X & Y (the new Coldplay CD) from being knocked off
the top of the charts... by a mobile phone ringtone.

According to mobiletracker.net, 'A ringtone made its way to
the top of the British singles chart this Sunday, topping
Brit-rock group Coldplay. Ringtone Crazy Frog Axel F
outsold Coldplay's Speed of Sound 4-1, making for a
disapointing opening weekend for the popular band.

Crazy Frog Axel F is based off the revving sound of a
Swedish mo-ped. It marks the first time a ringtone made it
to the singles chart for conventional music sales.
Interestingly enough, most of the ringtone's sales have
come from a CD, not from digital download.'

'This song is incredibly irritating and puerile and we're
still trying to understand why people like it,' said
Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesman for (British retailer) HMV.

This just goes to show you, you must sell to 'wants' and
not to 'expected wants' or 'needs' if you want to come out
ahead.

And remember this: You can't 'create' demand. It's already
out there, all around you -- and believe me, there's
plenty of it.

All you can do is tap into it, and then use your sales copy
to 'build' this already existing demand, into a hot sweaty
frenzy.

So hop to it.

That'll wrap it up for the weekend, so have a good one.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 06:39 AM | Permalink

Last week I met up with an old friend of mine at one of the
local cigar retailers.

The store was having a little get together for their
customers, which basically means they had one of the
manufacturers reps there, and they featured a discount on
that brand of cigars, for anyone making a purchase that
particular evening.

I hadn't seen this guy in a long time -- we used to do a lot
of business together years ago -- and even though he's a
lawyer, it was still nice to get together with him again.

Anyway, when I walked into the store, I was immediately
given a ticket for the evening's drawing, and then straight
away into the sales pitch.

It went something like this:

'If you buy La Gloria Cubana cigars, you get one fre.e, and
then you'll get another ticket for the drawing... But if
you buy a box, you get 10% off, and then you'll also get a
discount on your next purchase, plus you'll get 8 or 9
coupons extra, depending on what box you buy... The fre.e
cigar isn't available here, you get it from the girl behind
the counter over there when you pay... now if you buy one
of these 3 boxes over here, you get 9 coupons and a...'

Ay..yai..yai!

At this point, I told the guy he needed to make things
simpler for me, that he was giving me information overload.

I felt like a country boy who had just been dropped off in the
middle of times square!

And see, sometimes, that's exactly what happens when you
give your prospects too many choices to choose from, instead
of, for example, offering them 'This' or 'That'.

Period.

Because when your prospects become overloaded with more
information than they need, you know what happens?

Exactly -- they get put off and then wind up doing nothing.

So whenever your closing, remember to make it short...

And sweet.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:40 AM | Permalink

“At first, I found these results very surprising, but since that time, I've spoken to other people who've tested the exact same thing, and found the exact same results to be true...”
Today I'm going to reveal an eye-opening secret, about the ONLY time shorter sales copy will produce better results than long-form sales copy.

If you know anything about direct-response marketing, you're already "convinced", either through testing on your own projects... or hearing from others who've tested it, how long-form sales copy always outpulls shorter copy.

The quick, "cliff notes" reason why this is so, is... if someone wants to buy something from you, they want to know as much as possible about it, before buying.

Assuming of course...

You're Saying Something Worth-While In The First Place!

If you're not, that's another problem altogether, and... it's one a simple little conversation between the two of us right now, certainly won't solve.

Anyway, there is one time, when testing has shown using less copy is actually more effective.

And that time is, when you're setting up what's called a "name-squeeze", or "fly-catcher" web page, as the "entrance," or portal, to get into your web site.

Here's the deal:

If you go to my "main" page, www.KingOfCopy.com, you'll see it's a "name-squeeze" or "fly-catcher" page.

Meaning, it's designed to capture the name and address of people who are interested in getting to your content "inside" your web site.

I tested using long-form sales copy on my namesqueeze page, like this (you can click on this page and it will open up in a new window so you can print the page out, if you want):

Over the period I tested this long-form sales copy, I got a 29.45% "conversion" rate.

Meaning, 29.45% of the people who saw this page, opted to sign in, entering their information and becoming a subscriber of mine.

While I was running this long-form sales copy, I was also testing a shorter version, like this (again, you can click on this page and it will open up in a new window so you can print the page out, if you want):

This shorter-form sales copy, had a response rate of exactly 1% higher, converting visitors to subscribers at a 30.45% rate!

And a 1% boost in your conversion rate, every single day... 365 days a year... for the rest of your life....

Will Make You A King’s Ransom!

And the good thing is, both of these tests were ran over a large enough population, to make their results valid.

(As an aside, depending on how people find out about me, nowadays my usual "conversion rate" varies widely, from 30% to 50%.)

At first, I found these results very surprising, but since that time, I've spoken to other people who've tested the exact same thing, with the same exact results:

Unlike sales copy that is selling something, where (good) long-form sales copy always outpulls shorter copy, when you're using a namesqueeze page...

Shorter Copy Is The Way To Go!

I can't say for sure exactly why this is so, but I do have a theory:

If someone lands on your page, at a minimum, they at least want to get more "information" on what you're offering, and they want it as soon as possible -- longer sales copy delays their access to your information -- and... as you know...

Delay Is The Death Of A Sale!

And that's why the shorter copy works -- it gives you faster access.

The bottom line on all of this, and I hope you're taking this message away from me today, even more than the actual results of my testing, is...

The Most Effective Advertising Is Always Measurable!

Otherwise, how in the hell are you supposed to know what you're doing... why you're doing it... and whether or not you should do it again... change it... or stop it altogether?

Make sense?

P.S. If you've tested long-form versus shorter copy, in your namesqueeze page, and found that your long-form copy actually outpulled your shorter copy, let me know -- I'd love to tell the rest of my subscribers.

Thanks!

P.P.S. Last week, a subscriber of mine phoned me up to let me know she enjoyed my website. She didn't leave her name... or her number.

So if you happen to know who this mystery woman was... or if it happens to be you... know this:

I Really Appreciated Your Call!

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:44 AM | Permalink

Sometimes all you need is a simple "shift" in your thinking
and that missing "link" you've been needing, all of a
sudden appears, clear as day.

Here's what I mean: A common problem I see with clients of
mine, especially my consulting clients -
www.KingOfCopy.com/consulting - is that they've got a
"decent" product... "decent" marketing... but their target
audience is slightly "off" a bit.

And the thing is, even if you've got an AWESOME product...
and AWESOME marketing... if your target marketplace isn't
spot on...

You're Always Going To Be Sucking Wind And Struggling!

So here's a brief example of what I mean: Let's say you're
selling some kind of accessory that truly improves the
quality of a children's outdoor sporting activity, giving
them a better experience.

At $19.95, you're selling enough so you're not "losing"
anything, but when it comes down to it, you've got little to
nothing left over for yourself.

Now what if you make some minor adjustments to your
thing-a-ma-jig... and you changed your marketing... and instead
of selling this to 8 to 14 year-old boys...

You start selling this "new" product to adult
men who play softball, at a very feasible $79.95!

Seems like a better idea, right?

So take a look at what you're actually selling.

Can you kick your marketplace up a notch without too much
effort?

If you think about it, I bet you can.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:32 AM | Permalink

“If you want to "grasp the reins" and gain control over your life... if you want to be successful beyond your wildest imagination... and if you want to really start living... ”
Do you know who Roger Waters is?

No?

Yes?

I'll tell you a little story about Roger in just a minute, but first, let's talk about the very best way to kick-start your new year into high gear, straight away.

One early January, many years ago when I owned a financial planning practice, I was listening to a motivational tape.

It was more "institutional" or corporate-oriented, and less "let's actually get something done" oriented, but hey, you've got to start somewhere, right?

The guy on the tape was telling me how I needed to have a "business plan" for the year, detailing all of my strategic moves, or else I wasn't going to be successful.

I really had no clue what this guy was talking about. I mean, I took a look around my office -- which consisted of me and an assistant -- and I said to myself, "This isn't freakin' Microsoft here, what's he talking about?"

The only kind of "strategic move" I wanted, was to make money. I wasn't planning any "mergers and acquisitions" activities this coming year... no initial public offerings... and I certainly wasn't adding any new board members either.

So what on God's green earth could this guy be referring to, that I was totally missing the boat on, about being successful?

Well, fast-forward the clock a few years... after several hundred more hours of listening to cassette tapes... and several dozen more books about success... I now understand, what this bloke really meant was... to be successful...

You've Got To Set Goals!

Not setting goals for yourself is like getting into your car and going on vacation without having a map... or going fishing without knowing where the fish are biting or what kind of bait to use -- you can sit there casting your line out over the water all day long, but reality is -- it's going to be hit or miss whether or not you catch something, isn't it?

Now, far be it for me to give you advice on what kind of goals you should be setting -- Lord knows, I'm not qualified to do that.

But I do want to tell you 3 things you must consider, if you want any chance at making your goals become a reality.

First of all, you've got to write your goals down, and set yourself some kind of reminder to go over them on a very regular basis -- at least weekly.

You see, doing this makes you accountable to them, it lets you modify them along the way... and it keeps you on track for how you're progressing... how far you're moving forward... and even more important,

How Far You Aren’t!

And sometimes, the discord and discomfort of seeing "How Far You Aren't" moving forward, is just what you need to force you to get off your duff and start taking some action!

Remember, you don't usually do something until the pain of not doing it is greater than the pain of taking action and moving ahead. I call this, the "Law Of Action".

And I don't care whether you're talking about losing weight... starting on a new project... or tying up all the loose ends of an existing project that's been nagging you, the "Law of Action" is always going to ring true.

So you must write your goals down, regardless of what they are, and then you must re-commit yourself to achieving them, by going over them on a very regular basis.

The second thing you should do when you're setting your goals, is to...

Shoot for the moon!

After all, is there any reason why you shouldn't "be all you can be, " and live out your dreams?

What are you waiting for?

Do you really think you'll be more "prepared" or more "deserving" for that big house by the lake 10 years down the road, than you are right now?

What Are You Thinking?
And What Can You Possibly Be Waiting For?

And if you're a little anal retentive, and you need to look at things from a more practical standpoint, then consider this: It's going to take you as much work to launch a project that'll make you $100,000 Dollars, as it will to launch a project that will make you $37,000 Dollars, so why not go for the big numbers?

Let me tell you a little story: In March 1973, the powerhouse band Pink Floyd released a ground-breaking album called "The Dark Side Of The Moon".

If you're into rock music at all, no doubt you already know this.

The process of creating and releasing the album was extremely difficult, because the band's leader, Syd Barret, had just been institutionalized because of a nervous breakdown and a serious drug problem.

Nevertheless, with David Glimour (the band's new lead guitarist) and Roger Waters (the bass player) splitting the writing and vocals, the album was a major coup, staying on the Billboard Top 200 charts for 724 weeks, a record at the time.

And to date, the album has sold well over 41 million copies.

Anyway, I recently saw Roger Waters being interviewed and he had some very revealing and insightful things to say, that sort of sum up what I'm talking about.

The Waters interview took place in 2003, while he was discussing the 30th anniversary of "The Dark Side Of The Moon".

What you may not know, is when Waters made the album, he was just about to turn 30, and this is what he had to say about what was going through his mind at that time:

“I suddenly realized then, that year... that life was already happening.
I think it was cause my mother was so obsessed with education... and... the idea that childhood and adolescence, and well... everything, was about "preparing" for a life that was going to start... "later".

And I suddenly realized that life wasn't going to start later, that it starts at "dot" and it happens all the time.

And at any point, you can just grasp the reins and start guiding your own destiny.

And that was a big revelation to me.

I mean, it came as quite a shock.”

I don't believe Waters is alone in his thinking -- every successful person reaches a point in time when you realize, "the future really is now" sort of thing.

It also seems, once you do realize, and then fully embrace the freedom that comes along with this realization, you begin a very prolific and long-lasting period of creativity and success.

I mean, think about it: If you're no longer "preparing" for the future, you're no longer "auditioning" for it either, and there's a tremendous sense of "letting go" once you realize this.

Here's another thing I've noticed, time and again:

Everybody wants to get in on the
action... but nobody wants to TAKE any action!

So lastly, if you want to have an amazing year, you simply... must...

Take Action!

Because you can have the most ambitious goals... written down and reviewed weekly... and the highest level of motivation to succeed, but if you don't ever get out there and actually put the key into the ignition, you're never going to get your car moving.

Listen, I talk to new people almost every week, and for whatever reason, people feel pretty safe and comfortable speaking with me, and they're usually compelled to share a lot of their innermost feelings and secrets.

And one thing that's fairly consistent amongst almost everyone I talk to is that we're all scared of something.

Some are scared of failure, and some are scared of success.

And some may be scared of being "less than perfect", so they wait... and wait... and wait... and things ultimately never get moving, because it's never perfect.

But What Is?

The problem is, although all of these fears are kind of "noble" in their own way -- when it comes down to it -- they're also all very self-destructive.

And so what usually happens is, most people obsess over their fears and freeze themselves into a state of paralysis...

And Never Do Anything!

I guess, for some people, that's a safer comfort zone than taking action and failing.

A friend of mine once told me "People are born, their cord is cut... and then they spend the next 50 years looking for a place to plug their cord back into."

And it's true: Lots of folks spend their days scurrying around looking for a new womb to cozy up in. Like M. Scott Peck said in "The Road Less Traveled" -- "Life is difficult" -- so some of us do retreat.

And yes, life is difficult, but it's also very very exciting if you dive into it!

And I'm no genius, but one thing I do know is this: If you do want to "grasp the reins" and gain control over your life... if you want to be successful beyond your wildest imagination... and if you want to really start living...

The only person to plug your cord into, is yourself!

See, you've got 2 choices: Either live in fear and let that fear hold you back from living your dreams, or... overcome your fears... do what you need to do... get busy, and start enjoying all the wonderful experiences life has to offer you.

Remember, the future -- YOUR future -- is out there waiting for you to change it, and your future... really... is...

Happening Right Now!

So get moving.

I don't know how you're feeling, but I'm coming out of the starting gate for this new year, like never before!

I'm feeling as excited and carefree about my life, as a 5-year old child running across the grass in the park on a warm Spring day...

So Watch Out!

See you next week.

P.S. Now you know the evolution of Roger Waters' lyrics, "Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time. Plans that either come to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines."

Next week: Some direct-response testing results you can immediately start using to sell more.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:42 AM | Permalink

“If you roll out some kind of marketing campaign, be it a long-form sales letter... a newspaper insert... a door hangar... a display ad in a newspaper or trade magazine... or even a website, and... if your ad doesn't work once...”
You probably weren't expecting this when you opened up your e-mail and decided to check out today's tip, but in the next few minutes, I'm going to save you a LOT of money, and... a lot of heartache.

Listen, no one is more romantic than I am.

I'm actually madly in love with my wife -- totally head-over-heels. I buy her flowers every once-in-a-while, and I even still send her love notes after umpteen years together.

Frankly, she's one of the "secret weapons" I have, that accounts for my success. When ever the world seems dark, she's always able to light it up for me.

I hope you too, have a strong shoulder to lean on when you need it, and...

THAT’s the kind of “romance” you should be enjoying!

But there are times, when falling in love can be dangerous to your health, and... to your wallet!

See, one thing you must avoid, if you want to save yourself a lot of aggravation as well as a lot of money, is this:

It's O.K. to fall in love with women... men... small battery-operated rubber and silicone toys... or whatever it is that floats your boat.

However... it will destroy your business and break you in half, financially, if...

You fall in love with your advertising!

Meaning, this: If you're rolling out some kind of marketing campaign, whether it's a long-form sales letter... a newspaper insert... a door hangar... a display ad in a newspaper or trade magazine... or even a website, and... it turns out your ad doesn't work the first time...

It Won’t Work The Second Time...
The Third Time... Or The Tenth Time Either!

This same thing holds true, by the way, if you already have a successful marketing piece, and it's starting to outlive itself and you're seeing a reduction in your response rates -- it won't all of a sudden go back up, just because you decide to keep running it.

You know, there's an old saying that says:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over
and over again, and expecting different results!”

That makes sense, right?

Yet, I meet loads of business owners, every week, who are consistently running the same ads that aren't generating ANY business, because...

Their advertising sales rep told them
they need “more exposure” for their ad to work!

Look, running your ad over-and-over again, "hoping" it will work, doesn't make any more sense then trying on a tight pair of jeans over and over again... and "hoping"... all of a sudden...

They'll fit!

Simply "Hoping" they'll fit, will definitely not make 'em fit. (Even if you really really really "hope" -- with all your might.)

And yet, people are re-running bad ads "hoping"... "praying"... and "wishing" their ad will miraculously work "this time".

Well, here's a newsflash for ya:

This Time Really... Won’t...
Be Any Different Than...
The Last Time!

It might "sound right", that people need to see your ad more than once to get some attention, but that's only if you're ad doesn't have any kind of dramatic and attention-getting headline... any kind of compelling offer in it... or any kind of reasons for your prospects to take action now (your "call to action").

And who wants to take chances running ads like that?

If that's what you're doing, you really are leaving your success up to "hope", because "traditional" ads like that, with cute logos or phrases, with headlines like "Spring Sale" (that was in today's paper) will deposit about as much money into your bank account, as the easter bunny will.

And if that's what you're doing, it's also outright destructive, because then you really are drifting nowhere on a slow boat to China.

You need to run ads that automatically and hypnotically compel your prospects to grab their phones, or walk through your doors, and you must be willing to think outside the box to do this.

You've got to ignore conventional advertising traps and use direct-response marketing that works.

Oh, one more thing: We've talked about this before, but it's important enough, that it's worth me mentioning again:

Make sure your advertising is measurable or "trackable".

Meaning, you've got to have some way to measure the response to your ads.

Otherwise, how do you know if your ad is working... or if you should change some of its components (like your headline, your offer, your sales price, or whatever)...

Or if you should drop it like a hot plate!

Typically, conventional advertising results are not measurable, and that's just one other reason why...

You Should Never Ever Bet The Farm...
On Conventional Wisdom!

Just something to think about.

See you next week.

P.S. Next week I'll tell you what to do if you already have a successful ad, and it's starting to peter out and you need a jumpstart -- I'll show you how to give it a good "kick" in the pants.

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:44 AM | Permalink

"Thank goodness, the most profitable product in the world you can ever sell... also happens to be the easiest product to create."
Thank goodness, the most profitable product in the world you can ever sell... also happens to be the easiest product to create.

Can you guess what I'm talking about?

Give up?

Well, that product is...

"Information"!

Let me give you some examples of what I mean: Most information is sold either through written words (books, e-books, magazines and newspapers)... pictures (DVD's and VHS tapes)... or through computer programs (like software).

And can you guess how much it costs to burn a DVD once your product is made? Or what it costs to assemble a book?

The exciting truth is, in most situations it costs literally less than $2 dollars. And... if you're selling stuff online, it gets even better, because...

Your disribution costs are even less!

Because if you're selling information that can be downloaded online by your buyer, outside of a few pennies on the dollar for your merchant account and maybe $25 to $35 dollars a month to keep your website going, your costs are virtually "ZERO"!

That's why selling "information" is the most profitable product in the world, you can ever sell.

Plus, the amount of money you can make selling information isn't limited to your store hours... your billable hours... or your inventory.

Just look at Microsoft. Last year they did over $32 Million Dollars in gross annual sales. Not a big deal, other companies are bigger. But... there are few (if any) companies this size, that also have over $49 Million Dollars of cash on-hand, and only a hair more than $1 Million Dollars in long-term liabilities.

I don't know how familiar you are with asset-to-liability ratios, but this is virtually unheardof.

Reason why?

It's because of how much cash their products generate and how little it costs them to make it. Just think about it: It costs you $199.99 to buy the new Windows XP Home system at Office Max. How much do you think it cost Microsoft to burn a few CD's and toss in a manual or 2?

Maybe $10 bucks?

Not bad, hey?

So...

How can you use this to make money in your business?

Well, let's say you sell software. Most software isn't very easy to use, right out-of-the-box. And most of the manuals that come with software programs are horrible.

So how about if you produce an e-book or a DVD showing your customers how to use the software? Even if you only sold the book for $19.95 each, at almost 100% profit, it sure doesn't take long for this project to start lining your pockets with some serious extra cash, right?

And it's not like you need to do research to write the book or produce the DVD either. That's the beauty of this.

What if you're a massage therapist?

A book about "Top 10 Ways To Keep Your Back Nimble And Pain-Free" surely would be something your customers would want.

Maybe you could couple it with "5 Ways To Make Sure Your Golfing Game Doesn't Cost You More Than A Day Out: How To Eliminate Back Pain While Golfing"

Collect flowers as a hobby? How about a book identifying different flowers in different areas of the world? Or maybe you can reveal "The Secret Locations Of Rare Wild Flowers!"

What if you sell industrial-sized turbine motors? I bet a good VHS or DVD showing your customers how to use those motors, and how to keep them running maintenance-free, would be a big hit.

Maybe this is the way to go with it: "3 Ways To Avoid Costly Repairs To Your Turbine And How To Extend Its Life By As Much As 7 Years!"

You can pretty much come up with a related product for almost any business you have.

What's that you say -- you've got a land-based dry cleaners so you can't use this idea?

Not True!

How about a book that explains how to remove certain stains from a variety of materials and carpeting, or maybe a video that explains the caring and storage of high-end wedding dresses.

Or even better, how about a book along with some software, for the dry-cleaning industry about how to increase profits and streamline losses, directed at other people who own dry-cleaning businesses?

You see, the possibilities are endless.

And remember, nothing is ever set in stone. Even if you can't sell your products, you can definitely give them away as premiums to your customers, to enhance the value of your goods and services.

For example, don't you think if you owned a pet shop, you'd have a better chance of selling your kitty litter if you gave away a FREE report along with every single purchase, called "7 Ways To Eliminate Cat Odor!"

Or, let's say you're an accountant -- wouldn't your clients love to know "How To Beat The IRS At Their Own Game!"

You could even use this technique if you're doing something that really makes everyone's hair stand up on the end of their arms: Like... what if you sell cemetery plots?

I bet you're customers would love to know, "Everything You Must Know, About Buying Cemetery Plots"

So before we wrap up, let's recap what you learned today:

First, the most profitable product to sell is information.

Second, you can sell information directly or indirectly related to what you do, to your customers and to new prospects.

And lastly, another thing you can do with information products is to start using them as premiums or bonuses to either entice new people into doing business with you, or to bundle along with your "real" products, enhancing their perceived value. This gives you the "edge" in selling for higher prices than you are now.

Remember, there's not a product you can sell that's as easy to put your hands on to develop, as information... and there's no product that's worth as much to your customers and clients as information, either.
P.S. There's also no "limit" on what people will pay for information. And the truth is, the more "niched" your information is... the more it'll be worth!

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:51 AM | Permalink

“And if you're still struggling with your back-end sales, and you can't seem to nail down "what" to sell as your back-end product, I'm also going to give you a unique mind-set to use, so that by the time we're finished... coming up with a back-end product should be a cinch!”
First of all, get your mind out of
the gutter -- I said "back-end", not "rear-end", O.K.?

You see, today I'm going to teach you about getting "back-end" sales and why you must make them.

And, if you're still struggling with your back-end sales, and you can't seem to nail down "what" to sell as your back-end product, I'm also going to give you a unique mind-set to use, so that by the time we're finished... coming up with a back-end product should be a cinch!

We're going to talk about 3 things:

What is a "back-end" sale?

Some specific examples of back-end sales! And...

How to make a back-end sale even when you think you can't get one! (And why there's ALWAYS a sale to be made!)
O.K., so without any further adieu...

What’s A Back-End Sale?

A back-end sale is, your "sale after the sale". Meaning, it's what you sell one of your clients or customers, after you've sold them you're "main" service or product.

You see, most people are so possessed with just "getting" a new customer, once your sale is made and your euphoria is gone... you're so excited, you just start thinking about your "next" piece of business and you leave a bunch of money lying on the table by not helping this new customer of yours out, even more.

The truth is, you're not finished with that first customer yet -- not by a long-shot.

What you should be thinking about, is... your "back-end" sale.

In fact, you shouldn't ever think of selling anything unless you've got a back-end sale behind it.

Why?

Well, just think about it: What's the toughest time to get money out of someone?

The first time, right?

And what's the easiest time to get money out of someone?

Either the same time they're giving you money or after they've given you money, right?

Back-end sales are the sales you make just after your customer gives you money.

Listen, in business there's very little "low-hanging" fruit to pick off the trees. So please don't leave one of the few opportunities you have to make some "easy money" left lying around unattended, O.K.?

And sometimes, the only low-hanging fruits you get to stretch your arm out and snap off that beautiful bountiful fruit-tree, are called a "back-end" sales or "upsells".

Whenever you sell someone something, always think about another logical sale you can make to your customer, either at the same time (an upsell)... or shortly afterwards (a back-end sale).

Just start getting yourself into that mindset -- re-programming, or re-training your thinking so this becomes your "norm" -- and over time you will become SERIOUSLY wealthier because of it.

Let me show you some specific examples here so you can see what I mean:

Here Are Your Back-End Samples:

A few weeks ago I took my older son to the Incubus concert.

Aside from having a fantastic time, sharing some quality father-son "bonding", we were able to teach see some solid back-end marketing being done at the show.

For example, after forking over $70 bucks for the tickets... once we were at the show, I also got the pleasure of droppinganother $35 Dollars on a t-shirt for my son.

If I wanted, I also could've bought a $25 Dollar baseball cap... a $15 Dollar program... and a $20 Dollar CD.

Lucky Me!

My point is... each of these related items being sold at the concession stands are "back-end" sales to the up-front ticket sale. And in actual fact, when it comes down to it... the concert itself, is a back-end sale.

The original sale was made when I bought the Incubus CD in the first place.

As an aside, you want to hear some curious differences between going to a concert today, versus going to one in 1981, which was the year I graduated high school?

Well for starters, when I went to concerts at Madison Square Garden, kids were passing around loose joints.

Now, they're passing around their cell phones and capturing pieces of the concert "live" to show their friends in school tomorrow morning.

Another difference I noticed, was... I never had an opportunity to sit in the "good seats" when I was a kid, and so of course, back then I rationalized... "It didn't matter -- I was there for the music."

But you know what? The truth is, 4th row center really is better than the nosebleed section!

Anyway, let's take a look at a couple more "back-end" examples.

Here's one: Ever buy something online, and then a week-or-so later, you get a coupon e-mailed to you, or a notice about a sale on a "similar" item?

Of course, right?

Well, that's your "back-end" sales pitch?

And it works because you have a tendency to "want" in droves.

For example, if you buy some bodybuilding supplements, chances are you're going to be very open to buying some more "amazing new" supplements or some "unique inside secrets the Russians have been hiding about their strength training", soon after that.

Make sense now?

This all has to do with the 3 Magical Elements you should be using to nail down your offer list, but we'll talk about that next week.

Another example would be when you buy retail items, especially when your sales person gets paid a commission, as opposed to... let's say an hourly department store employee, where you're lucky if they're even conscious or civil.

When you go up to the counter, don't the best sales people try to accessorize your outfit?

Scarf with your blouse ladies? Handcream with your perfume? Tie with your shirt fellas? Appetizer with your frozen margaritas?

Each of these items (the scarf... the handcream... the tie... and the appetizers) are all upsells to your original purchase.

Are you starting to get this concept here a little better?

Good.

And what about when you buy a book or a CD on Amazon.com?

You know how, once you put your book into your shopping cart, they show you "people who bought this book also bought..." and then there's a bunch of titles listed?

Well, that "pitch" is a back-end pitch, and it's following all the rules:

They're pitching to you when you're already agreeing to pay them some dough...

They're pitching you a similarly-priced item...

And, they're pitching you a relevant item! If you bought a book on parenting, they're not going to recommend something that has to do with the history of rubber tires in lower Slovenia. They're going to recommend another book to help you raise your little guys.
Think those back-end pitches don't work?

Au contraire...

Let me tell you a little story about those Amazon back-end pitches.

Back in 1988, Joe Simpson wrote a book called "Touching The Void".

Joe was a British mountain climber and "Touching The Void" was his story of the near-death experience he had, while climbing up the Peruvian Andes mountains.

Now even though Joe's book got pretty good reviews, it didn't really sell very many copies, and in fact, 10 years later it was nearly out-of-print.

O.K., now roll the clock forward 11 years later to 1999. Jon Krakauer writes "Into Thin Air", another book about a mountain-climbing tragedy -- this time about a climb that took place in 1996 along Mount Everest.

(And by-the-way... did you know Mount Everest is located in Nepal, which is a small country about half the size of New Mexico, just in between India and China? I didn't know that.)

Anyhow, for whatever reason, Krakauer's book becomes a hit.

All of a sudden, from out of nowhere... Joe Simpson's 11 year-old and for all intents and purposes, "dead" book "Touching The Void"... starts selling again.

But this time it's selling...

Like Hotcakes!

How well did "Touching The Void" start selling?

It sold so well, Random House (the publisher) had to crank out a whole new edition, just to keep up with the demand for the book.

Then because of all the new online activity, offline booksellers began a flurry of new in-store campaigns... and before you know it, it's on the New York Times Bestseller List...

For 14 Freakin' Weeks!

Not bad for a book that was all but written off 6-months earlier, is it?

And how did this happen?

The answer is simple: Amazon.com recommendations to buy "Touching The Void" as a back-end sale to people who bought "Into Thin Air".

Incredible, huh?

The moral of the story is... back-end sales and upsells may be the easiest money you're not getting if you're not doing this right!

You must start training your mind to always think of selling, like a "1-2" punch from a heavyweight boxer.

You tag 'em with your jab, and then immediately afterwards, send 'em an solid uppercut, like this: "Front-end, back-end... front-end, back-end... front-end, back-end."

O.K.?

Lastly, let's take a look at...

How to make a back-end sale even
when you think you can't make one!
(And why there's ALWAYS a sale to be made!)

There are some professions where you think, "Hey, I can't get a back-end sale here -- I can only get one sale because nothing's "left" after that."

Well ye of little faith... come hither... settle down... and listen very closely to what I'm about to say... because what you really need to do is just start looking at things differently.

Sometimes, you need to look at your business, as a series of little "mini-systems" all put together.

When one system ends, another one begins...

Each of your systems are going to have different end-results, but the overall goal is always going to be...

To Stuff More Greenbacks
Into Your Fat Little Piggy Bank!

Make sense? Comprende? Comprenez-vous?

Good. I was running out of languages to use.

Anyway, here's an example of what you'd probably think is a traditional "one-shot sale" kind of business, and how you're going to get a back-end product out of it.

I'm talking about the proverbial real estate broker.

Imagine you're a real estate broker. You're probably thinking, "After I sell someone a house, what could I possibly sell them after that?"

Well, you've got a few choices here:

If you look at your business a little differently, you don't look at what you can sell them. Instead, you look at "What other sources of income can you get out of them?"

Like...

Referrals for example!

Let's look at the numbers here to see what I'm talking about.

If you sell a home or a condo for $200,000 and you split your 6% commission evenly with another realtor, you wind up making $6,000 Dollars, right?

Right.

Now what do most real estate brokers do after their transaction is over?

After they help you buy or sell your home, they send you a nice fruit basket that costs $50 bucks, and then every Christmas after that, they send you a cheesy calendar with their picture on it.

And usually when you get the cheesy calenday, you look at it and then you toss it in the garbage.

(Or else you give it to one of your older relatives that either lives in another country, or that you don't really like very much. True?)

But what if instead of doing this, you take 10% of your commission, and buy your clients 2 round-trip airline tickets to Las Vegas, or somehwere else they'd really enjoy going?

And then, instead of the cheesy calendar you send out at Christmas, what if you sent them a monthly newsletter called "Craig Garber's Low-Cost And Easy Two-Minute Tips To Keeping Your Family Home Looking Like A Million-Dollar Estate!" (except you'd put your name on your newsletter and not my name, of course)

Don't you think if you did these 2 things alone, you'd have your clients endorsing you all over town emphatically, each-and-every single opportunity they could?

These folks wouldn't be clients, they'd be hard-core members of your fan club, and ANY time they heard someone wanted a realtor, they'd do absolutely EVERYTHING in their power to make sure it was you.

Plus, what if you reminded them every month in your newsletter, you'd pay them $500 Dollars for every person they referred to you, who ultimately either bought or sold a house using you!

How much of a raving fan would each of your clients be in THAT case?

So you wind up spending $1,100 Dollars to get a new client that's going to put at least another $6,000 Dollars in your pocket!

Sounds like a winner to me, doesn't it?

And, these new clients will be much better than your average run-of-the-mill clients, too. Remember, these clients called on you for your expertise, and they don't need to be "sold" on anything.

They've already been "pre-sold" on you. You've been so heavily endorsed by the people who referred them, they're going to do everything you tell them to do, including working with you exclusively, and you're going to love it.

And here's yet another way you could make some back-end sales. What if you had articles in your monthly written by local people like designers... furniture store managers... pest control operators... caterers... landscape artists... insurance agents... accountants... and other people who could help your clients.

And each of these articles contained a special offer, only for people who read your newsletter.

Then, whenever someone called and used one of those coupons, you'd have an arrangement with the vendor that says you get "X" percent of the gross purchases, or a flat referral fee, or free pest control, or whatever.

See the back-end potential of this "one-shot" business now?

Remember, with a little thought... a hell of a lot of ambition... and a willingness to take action...

Everything’s Possible!

Till next week.

P.S. Have you ever made an incredibly smart (or foolish) back-end sale?

Tell me about it, and maybe I'll publish your answers next week. Thanks!

P.P.S. Taking my son to the Incubus concert was one of the most rewarding things I've done for us in a while. We both had a great time and I know I'll have some life-long memories.

If you've got an opportunity to experience something with one of your children, that's not part of your normal daily routine -- go ahead and seize that opportunity.

Only good things will come from it -- I promise!

And hey, if there's any chance you can help me get some good seats to see Pearl Jam the next time those guys come down here to South Florida, please let me know -- I'll need 3 tickets -- this time I'm bringing my younger son along with us. He's definitely ready... and very willing.

I'll be very greatful and I promise I'd be more than generous in giving you a very hard-hitting and super-productive FREE marketing consult, in exchange for the opportunity to buy some primo seats to that show!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:06 AM | Permalink

There are some people who will absolutely never ever
succeed.

Let me tell you a little story about one of them:

I was going through some feedback forms from one of my
client's recent seminars.

My client's a successful info-marketer in the real estate
area... a VERY sharp guy when it comes to knowing how to
completely avoid paing income taxes... and he also owns a
bank.

No doubt, when this guy opens his mouth -- if you're smart
-- you're going to be paying very close attention to what
he's saying, because it's going to pay off for you in
spades.

Anyhow, one of his seminar participants was complaining on
his feedback form, because -- and I kid you not -- my
client's seminar wasn't "Atkins Friendly".

I'm dead serious.

The guy said "Your seminar breaks are not Atkins friendly.
You should have cheese and club soda."

Now I would bet you a dollar to a hole in a doughnut, the
person who wrote that complaint is one of those types of
people who complains about absolutely everything... who
never takes action on anything because nothing's ever
"right"... and of course, it goes without saying, that all
this stuff is everyone else's fault.

But here's the thing: You are always going to have a few
petty and annoying customers like that. Just don't spend
any of your time worrying about them when you're planning
out your marketing or your sales copy.

People like that are going to be "looking" for something to
aggravate them, so regardless of what you end up doing,
you're going to be doing the "wrong" thing as far as they're
concerned.

When it comes to people like this, there's never any way
you, or ANYONE else, will ever make them happy.

Your job, with PITA's like that (Pains In The Asses), is to
deliver a good service or product... take their money in
exchange for it... and then... completely eliminate any
thoughts of them from your mind, forever.

What I'm saying is, don't sweat the PITA's -- focus on what
matters -- the 99% of your marketplace that's "normal" --
or... at least... "sort of" normal.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:34 AM | Permalink

“Because if you want to make money using your sales copy, you must get your prospects feeling as relaxed and comfortable as a grizzly bear, all snuggled up and hibernating in his nice warm cave.”

Here's a fast... easy... "no-brainer" way, to make more money by improving the selling power of your sales copy... "pulling" your prospects closer to you... and upping your credibility.

Many years ago, I was riding the subway downtown to work one morning, and I overheard a woman saying she felt "naked" because she forgot to wear her earrings that day.

Since then, I've heard that expression used on other occasions, if someone's forgotten to wear their wedding band... their watch... or even their pantyhose.

Now of course, when you say you're feeling "naked", what you really mean, is... you feel "incomplete".

And whether you know it or not, you may be leaving your prospects feeling "incomplete" in your sales copy.

Here's why: Listen to each of these very familiar phrases, and tell me what they all have in common, O.K.?

Here you go:

"A B C"

"on your mark... get set... go" (in the UK, that would be "ready... steady... go")

"first, second, third"

"3 blind mice"

"3 wise men"

"The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"
O.K., that's enough.

You see what each of these expressions has in common, right?

They each contain a sequence
of three items, stated back-to-back.

Why is this important to know, and how can you use this to improve your sales copy?

The answer is simple: Because of all these common references you've heard over-and-over again throughout your life, your brain's been programmed to accept and understand things, when they're given to you in "threes".

You just feel more "at ease" processing information that's given to you in blocks of "three".

So make sure to use this
“power” of three... in your sales copy!

Because if you want to make some money using your sales copy, you must get your prospects feeling as relaxed and comfortable as a grizzly bear, all snuggled up and hibernating in his nice warm cave.

Think about it: Whenever someone starts giving you a list of things, once you hear the second item on that list, don't you automatically anticipate, there's going to be a third?

Here's an example of what I mean: Let's say you own a hotel, and you're listing some of the benefits of staying at your hotel, and you present them in bullets.

If you say this...

75 over-sized comfy rooms that each face the ocean! You'll want to make sure you've got your video camera handy as you're unwinding on your private balcony watching the daily sunset, listening to the waves roll up against the shore right outside your window!
3, 5-Star restaurants! And each one of them offers you a minimum of 27 tasty meals and 11 local desserts, all prepared fresh, daily. (Plus, you get our "If you don't like it -- you don't pay for it, guarantee!")
If you stop here... and then you move on with some other copy... it somehow leaves you with that "incomplete" feeling we just talked about, right?

However, if you said this:

75 over-sized comfy rooms that each face the ocean! You'll want to make sure you've got your video camera handy as you're unwinding on your private balcony watching the daily sunset, listening to the waves roll up against the shore right outside your window!
3, 5-Star restaurants! And each one of them offers you a minimum of 27 tasty meals and 11 local desserts, all prepared fresh, daily. (Plus, you get our "If you don't like it -- you don't pay for it, guarantee!") And lastly...
2, sun-drenched swimming pools! Both complete with waterfalls... heated jacuzzis... and an in-pool tropical bar, and each landscaped with their own beach and tropical theme. Also, with a snack-bar and grill located within a half-minute walk, you won't ever have to worry about going hungry (or thirsty) while you're enjoying all your outdoor activities!
See, when you use 2 examples, you're not able to process what you heard, as quickly and naturally as when you're using 3 examples.

What happens is, inside your head, things just aren't computing right.

Instead of focusing on the information, in the back of your mind, you're expecting that third item to come tumbling out, and you're left wondering, "Did you not get your third item delivered to you because the person couldn't think of one... they didn't know what it was... or maybe they just forgot to tell it to you?

Who Knows?

You just can't figure it out, but the bottom line is, you didn't leave feeling confident, "at ease" and satisfied. Instead,

You Left... Feeling Incomplete And... “Naked”!

So make sure, whenever you're talking about a list of items, you deliver that third item -- don't just stop after 2.

This "power of three" holds true even if you're saying something in a sentence.

For instance, saying "If you've ever experienced any kind of severe back pain or soreness in your shoulders, our intense 7-minute executive massage, is guaranteed to give you complete and thorough relief, throughout the rest of your day"...

Leaves people feeling less complete than saying...

"If you've ever experienced any kind of severe back pain... stiffness in your neck... or soreness in your shoulders, our intense 7-minute Executive Massage, is guaranteed to give you complete and thorough relief, throughout the rest of your day."

See what I mean?

Use this curious power of three to make your sales copy read smoother.

P.S. You may be interested to know, this "power of three" also applies to the total number of fonts you use in your sales copy as well.

You see, testing shows, once you have more than 3 different kinds of fonts on your page, you start scrambling your prospects minds a bit and you begin to lose them.

And as you know...

That's the last thing you ever want to do!

And by the way, an italicized font, is considered to be a separate font for these purposes.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:59 AM | Permalink

Ever hear about someone eating something spicy, and once
they get the spices down, it makes them start sweating?

Well, the other day I was eating lunch with a friend of mine
-- Mexican food -- and immediately after gobbling down some
hot salsa, sweat starts pouring down my buddy's face, like
he was a fat man in a sauna.

The truth is, sometimes in anticipation of you crossing the
finish line on a project you're working on, your mind
becomes filled with anxiety and fears -- and suddenly YOU
start sweating.

Some of your fears will be real ('What if your project
fails?')... and... some of them will simply be perceived
('What will my significant other think of me?' and...
ironically, 'What if your project fails?').

Steven Pressfield, in his book, The War Of Art, calls these
fears, thoughts and worries, 'Resistance'.

And 'sensing' Resistance, is actually a good thing.

See, when you feel resistance slowly creeping its way into
the back of your mind, it usually means you're about to do
something with explosive potential -- maybe something that
will even change your life forever.

Hockey great Wayne Gretsky once said, 'You miss 100% of the
shots you never take.'

So start shooting, and don't be afraid.

My mentor once told me, most of the fears that spend their
time preoccupying your thoughts (and wasting your time),
have all been created, from the ground up, by you -- all
inside the walls of your own mind.

And if you think about it -- it's true. After all, what IS
fear?

It's not something you can touch... and it's certainly NOT
something you can predict with great certainty.

It's simply 'resistance' let loose up inside your head.

So don't let all these silly notions... all that other
negative B.S... and of course, 'resistance', hold you back
from anything.

I know, just as well as you do, the tough thing is, these
'energy-sucking' thoughts usually start playing themselves
over-and-over again in the back of your mind, like some kind
of vicious broken tape recorder... usually, at the times
you can LEAST afford to hear them.

But like I tell my kids, 'Whoever said life was easy? If it
was, everyone would win.'

Don't worry though.

When Resistance beckons, that's your cue, that you're
getting a little out of your comfort zone, and that you're
on the right track.

So dive in and don't be so afraid -- even if you are
sweating like the fat guy over in the corner of your sauna.

Now go sell something.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:41 AM | Permalink

“...here’s a little-known trick to making your copy sound as clear as a bell, and feel as comforting as a warm fireplace in the winter.”
Have you ever wondered how your copy sounds to your prospects when they're reading it?

If you have, here's a little-known trick to making your copy sound as clear as a bell, and feel as comforting as a warm fireplace in the winter.

The very best way to figure out how your copy sounds to your prospects, is NOT to read it, but to read it out loud. And actually, if you can have someone read it to you, preferably a child, that's even better.

When I first started writing copy, my 2 sons were in elementary and middle school. They were excited about my new career and were more than happy to read back my copy out loud to me.

Fortunately, my career progressed pretty rapidly, and it wasn't long before I was writing 13-page long-form sales letters.

Well, needless to say (and understandably so), my kids weren't as excited about reading their dad's 17-page "FREE Reports" and long-form sales letters, as they were about reading half-page newspaper display ads.

But luckily, I found a little tool that comes in handy, exactly for situations like this.

And, the price is right -- it won't even cost you a penny!

There's a software company out there called Read Please (www.readplease.com), located in Ontario, Canada, that's come up with the perfect tool for writers.

Not surprisingly, the program is also called "Read Please" and here's what it does: You copy the text from your document and paste it into the Read Please program.

Then, in any one of a number of different voices, the program reads back your text out loud over your computer's speakers, word-for-word.

You get to choose the voice you like, and you can even slow-down or speed up the pace of the voice.

So what happens is, you have your copy in front of you while the Read Please program is reading your text back to you out loud, and then you start making all the corrections you need to, whenever you hear a mistake. All you do is "pause" the program using your mouse, when you have to do this.

You'll be able to see exactly where your errors are as you go along, and it'll be crystal clear whether or not your copy is flowing smoothly, and whether or not you're communicating clearly and saying what you need to.

Using this tool makes your copy much more effective.

If you want, there's even an upgraded version of the software you can buy for a few bucks, that has some nice bells and whistles added.

Consistently using Read Please helps me discover loads of errors I never would have ferreted out on my own -- at least not without a 12-year old reading the piece back to me.

P.S. The number one error you'll find yourself making, is not speaking clearly enough to your prospects. Remember, your prospect isn't "inside" your head -- they really don't understand what you're trying to sell them. So be crystal clear in what you're saying -- no one ever lost a sale for speaking too clearly!

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:51 AM | Permalink

“No matter how well any particular ad or marketing program is pulling... no matter how high your return on investment is... and no matter how many leads you're generating, at some point in time, the response of your ad's going to start slowing down. Here's how you can fix that...”
Ever get back together with an old flame of yours after you broke up?

In the beginning it's pretty good: You've been missing each other's company... you're comfortable with each other's quirky habits... and hey, let's face it:

“Make-up” sex is usually VERY exciting.

But then what happens?

Those same old behaviors that used to irritate you, start flaring right back up again.

And then, well... I think you know the end of the story here, but, the thing is... so many people get attached to their marketing....

As If It Was An Old Flame!

And just like old relationship, they keep on coming back for more: Trying to squeeze those last drops of business out of an ad -- even though it's clearly going nowhere doing this.

Here's the deal: No matter how well any particular ad or marketing program is pulling... no matter how high your return on investment is... and no matter how many leads you're generating... at some point in time, the response to your ad's going to start slowing down.

See, in marketing, as George Harrison once said, sadly...

All Good Things Must Come To Pass!

So today I want to give you 5 techniques you can use, to boost the response of a once-mighty and once profitable display ad.

Understand, there are loads of other techniques you can use to give an old ad, new life, but here are a few easy ones you should be considering, at a minimum:

5 Ways To Breathe New
Life, Into An Old And Dying Ad!

1. Consider using a different source of media, or a different media entirely!

If you've been using display ads exclusively, consider using direct mail, or vice versa. This'll give you access to that portion of your marketplace who isn't reading the trade magazines or niche newspapers, you're currently advertising in.

Also, talk to some of your existing customers -- as many of them as you possibly can. I'll bet there are are other, very accessible, and very reasonably-priced places where you should be running your ads, you don't know about.

Also, if you've been selling direct, maybe try using 2-step lead-generating instead. You may have to add bonuses or a back end, to justify your extra marketing costs, but if you're at the end of your rope with your existing situation, anyway... then what've you got to lose?

Believe me, "failure" has been the launching pad for more successes than you'd ever imagine.

2. Start Cloning Yourself!

Listen, if you started another company, doing the exact same thing you're doing now, marketing your new business the exact same way your marketing your existing company, you'd find your new company would start growing, with only a minimal loss of business (if any) to your existing business.

And why is that?

The answer is simple:

If you're selling something
people want to buy... they'll buy it!

So one of the easiest things you can do, is set up another company and knock yourself off, trying to sell a cheaper, or slightly modified version of what you're selling now, and marketing those "different" advantages to your prospects, of course.

You see this all the time in the fitness industry.

Someone's selling an ab-flattener for $97 dollars, and it's flying off the shelves.

Anyway, let's say you now create another one of those do-hickey's, but this one's priced cheaper -- it's only $47 dollars.

Don't you think you can use the same marketing savvy you used to sell your higher-priced item, to now make these ab-flatteners, "At only half the price of the other expensive models," start flying off the shelves too?

I'll bet you can.

3. Add testimonials to your ad.

Sometimes, adding a few testimonials to your display ad (make sure they're real) is all you need to give it a boost in response.

Remember, testimonials -- used the right way -- go a long way towards enhancing your credibility.

4. Strengthen Your Guarantee!

First, if you're not giving a guarantee, it's going to be nearly impossible to make sales, anyway.

But since this particular piece is pulling well, I'll assume you're already offering one.

Want to improve your response?

Try upping your guarantee.

Here's what I mean: If you're offering a 30-day money back guarantee, make it 60 days... 90 days... 6 months... 1 year... or, if you've got some real moxy in you, make it a lifetime guarantee (just like those sets of knives you see them selling on television infomercials).

Or, you can do like Boardroom Reports and Jerry Baker does, when they're selling books: Offer a "trial use" period -- send out your product and then charge your customer's credit card -- 30 days AFTER your sale is made.

And why is this going to boost response?

Simple: Anytime you're shifting more of the purchasing risk onto your shoulders, you're making your prospects more comfortable, and you're easing their resistance, to buying from you.

5. Add New... More... Or Better Bonuses!

Listen, if you think you're getting something extra, especially for free, you're much more eager to make a purchase and part with your hard-earned ducats.

True?

Well, I've got news for you:

Your Prospects Feel The Same Way!

And adding bonuses, especially low-cost bonuses with high perceived values (like special reports... audio CD's... or hard copies of books), are perfect things to use.

In fact, many times, you'll find adding these bonuses -- as long as your customers or clients really are getting good value and good use out of them -- not only will bump your sales, they'll also give you a great opportunity to boost your prices.

And how do you know the value of using any of these response-boosting techniques?

Easy:

Test, Test, Test, and then...
Measure Your Responses And Your Results!

See ya next week.

P.S. Don't forget, if you're adding bonuses, you've got to sell those bonuses, just as hard as you're selling your "main" product.

Otherwise... how are your prospects ever going to know the real value... importance... and benefits of these amazing and extra, FREE life-changing gifts you're giving them?

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

You can reprint, or link to this article, or to any article on this web site, as long as you include the following text-box:

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 11:46 AM | Permalink

"... it's more like the old-style fonts you used to have on your typewriters (Remember those?) -- but, it works like a charm... and you won't ever get in trouble for making your ads easier to read, right?"
Do you know what Howard Stern... Oprah Winfrey... and Paul McCartney all have in common?

Well, the simple truth is... they're all... "Baby Boomers"!

The "Baby Boomer" generation accounts for all of us born between January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1963.

Here's a few interesting facts about the baby boomers in general:

First, they control 70% of the entire net worth of the United States!
Second... they represent 27.5% of the population according to the last census, taken in 2000.
And third... once they start hitting 40... many of them...
Start Having Problems With Their Eyesight!

It's true!

According to the National Eye Institute's 2002 Report called "Vision Problems In The U.S.", there are 3,406,280 people over age 40, who have some kind of visual impairment!

And generally, for many folks... the older you get, the worse your eyesight gets.

So here's a little tip if you're selling goods or services to older folks: Since you're likely to have a higher percentage of them who do have vision problems...

Make Sure Your Ads Are Easy To Read!

So, here's what you should do: Studies have shown, using a font called "Courier 10 BT" produces a larger ad response than other fonts.

Now be careful, Courier 10 BT, is NOT the same as the "Courier New" font, you may already have on your computer.

Not at all!

See, the Courier 10 BT font, is a little darker. And this darker font, is easier to read... and this lifts the response to your ads.

Here's an example of the Courier 10 BT Font in action:

"If you can read this,
you're still doing fine sonny boy!"

It's sure not the prettiest font in the world -- it's more like the old-style fonts you used to have on your typewriters (Remember those?) -- but, it works like a charm... and you won't ever get in trouble for making your ads easier to read, right?

Anyhow, if you want to guarantee your ads are easy to read, and you're working in a marketplace that may be visually challenged, use the Courier 10 BT font.

And if you don't already have this font installed on your computer, feel free to download it here from me -- my gift to you for being a subscriber of mine.

Download Your Courier
10 BT Font By Clicking Here

This is a great font to use, especially in you Direct Mail sales letters, and... I've even seen it used effectively online.

Don't, however, use it in your newspaper or magazine display ads, unless it happens to be the same font, articles are printed in.

When you run display ads, you must use an editorial-style format using a font that matches the font "normal" articles are printed in (which for many papers is Times New Roman -- this font).

P.S. Want to hear a few more facts about the Baby Boomers?

They have an estimated annual spending power of $1 Trillion Dollars!
They have a higher divorce rate, and a higher rate of "staying single" than prior generations...
And... over 50% of them are living in the following 9 states: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey.
And... according to the latest stats... it looks like they'll be living to 79.5 years of age. Which is...

Not Long Enough, If You Ask Me!

Later.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 12:50 PM | Permalink

"If you're doing these things, you've got the makings of a sure-fire winner on your hands... each-and-every time, and back-end sales won't ever be a problem for you."
Now I really have seen everything.

The other day, I saw a television show with a very curious premise: They found a good-old Southern boy who was such a charmer, 6 of his ex-girlfriends (some, who had been flat-out "dumped" by him) were willing to line themselves up in front of a camera for 120 minutes, and go through various and sundry interviews, to see whether or not they could pass muster with him, the second time around.

The one's who got dumped (again) were heart-broken and their eyes swelled with tears. And the winner? You'd think she was happy, but she was bawling her eyes out too.

So, what's all this got to do with you making money?

Well, what about all your "ex's"?

Your "ex-customers" that is. You know, people you've sold something to, but you haven't kept up a relationship with?

In my article "The Most Profitable Product In The World You Can Ever Sell", I talked about the different additional (and insanely huge and cash-generating) information products you could offer to your customers, either as part of their initial purchase, or on the "back-end", after their first sale has been made.

And it got me thinking: I just finished working with a client who has 2,000 people on his list (and at least he's smart enough to capture his customer's information -- many business owners aren't). He's been in business for 3 years at this particular location and guess what?

After each one of these 2,000 customers came into his store...

They Never Heard From Him Again!

Yep, he's never sent them anything!

Then this morning, I got off the phone with a prospect looking to hire me to write some copy. I asked him how many of his business opportunity products he's already sold.

His answer: "A little over 2,000."

While about 7 or 8 different thoughts were racing through the back of my mind, about all the back-end products he should be offering to these 2,000 people on a regular basis, I asked him if he's stayed in touch with any of them.

His answer: "No. But I guess I should have, right?"

Come here and listen very closely to what I am about to say: NOT staying in touch with your existing customers is...

A Cardinal Sin!

Do you know how much easier it is to sell something to someone who's already lined your pockets with cash, then it is to try and get someone to give you money the first time?

And without staying in touch with your clients regularly, do you know what happens?

Well, like most things you're not thinking about regularly, you become "yesterday's news" to them. And this is...

Not Good!

Now maybe you feel "awkward" about contacting someone just to try and sell them something, when you haven't spoken to them in a while. (And you should.)

So what I'm going to do right now, is show you a simple and easy way to get back in touch with your "ex" clients and customers, so you're not seeming to be "pushy"... "offensive"... or more to the point:

Using Them Just To Get Money!

Anyhow, without further adieu, here's the letter I'd send them:

Wednesday, 11:18 a.m.
Plantation, Florida

Dear Gil,

A few days ago I was rummaging through some papers scattered across the top of my desk, when suddenly I stopped-dead-in-my-tracks, right where I was.

A thought came to me: I haven't heard from you in a dog's age.

So I called out to my overworked assistant Stella and I said "Hey Stella! What the heck ever happened to Gil Stevens?

As far as I know Gil, you're still alive and kicking. But because I hadn't heard from you in a while, I was wondering, "What's going on with Gil?"

The answer's important, because right now, I'm giving you a FREE "Daily Newspaper Retriever" that'll bring your paper in from outside your house, every morning like clockwork, as part of a limited-offer I've got going on.

What's this all about?

Here's the deal:

blah-blah-blah, yakety-yakety-yakety...

Then you go on and talk about what you're selling and give old Gil more benefits and reasons to buy from you than he would've ever thought existed, in his wildest imagination.

And just in case you're confused, the FREE "Daily Newspaper Retriever" is just something I made up to give you as an example.

In your letter, obviously you put in whatever you want.

You see, the thing is, if Gil had been hearing from you consistently, since the day he first became familiar with you, this wouldn't have been so difficult.

That's why you must stay in front of your customers and prospects at least every month, more if it's appropriate.

Anyway, the point is... if some sleazy man-bait on TV can get his ex-girlfriends to come crawling around him like wolves circling a wounded deer in the forest, an upstanding ethical business-owner like yourself shouldn't have any problem doing the same thing with your existing customers.

Provided...

You've done an outstanding job of making them happy the first time around...
You've been staying in front of your existing customers on a regular basis, giving them good solid quality information and enriching their lives whenever you can... and...
You've actually got something to offer them, that's worthwhile in the first place.
P.S. If you're doing these things, you've got the makings of a sure-fire winner on your hands... each-and-every time, and back-end sales won't ever be a problem for you.

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:52 AM | Permalink

"...there are many other subtle "little" tricks you can use to increase the responsiveness of your mailings, which is what it's all about, right?"
Making money using direct mail isn't easy. And anyone who tells you it is, is lying.

To run a successful direct mail campaign, you must have a compelling offer... amazing copy... and most important... the right list to mail to.

And even if you have each of these things running at their peak, there are many other subtle "little" tricks you can use to increase the responsiveness of your mailings, which is what it's all about, right?

Because this means...

You'll Be Increasing Your Cash-Flow As Well!

And remember, in whatever you're doing: All you need is 5-or-6 little steps that each increase your response rates 1 or 2 %, and before you know it, you've got a lot more money pouring in than you did before.

So don't start neglecting the subtle differences -- this is usually what separates the people who are marginally successful, from the people who are wildly successful.

First, always hand-address your envelopes. Why? As my mentor Gary Halbert taught me from "Day 1", you'll always open a hand-addressed letter because you think its "personal" mail -- as opposed to a sales letter or a bill.

Make sense?

Remember, if your letter never gets opened, I promise you... you'll never make the sale.

Second, in your corner card (which is the upper left-hand corner of the front of your envelope, where your name and address goes), DON'T put your company's name!

Put your name and then your address.

See, your prospects are programmed into thinking as soon as they see the name of a company, even yours... your letter's either trying to sell them something, or collect their money -- neither of which is good for you if you want that envelope to get opened. And,

Third, use "live" postage stamps and NOT a "bulk" rate indicia. Again, when your prospects see a "bulk" rate, or even a metered stamp, they know right-away... you're trying to sell them something.

Also, try to use the "decorative" postage stamps the post office has and not the "standard" stamps with a U.S. Flag. I always tell my clients to use the ones that say "Happy Birthday" on them.

After all, who doesn't like opening a personal letter that says "Happy Birthday" on it?
P.S. I know having your letters hand-addressed is a pain. Honestly, I do.

And I have seen some software out there that is "almost" close to human handwriting, but the amount of variation from letter-to-letter isn't quite there yet.

If you see software that can simulate "real" handwriting, I'd sure appreciate you letting me know so I can tell the rest of my subscribers.

Thanks!

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 12:53 PM | Permalink

You know, some jobs just stink, and no matter how hard you
try, there's just very little to no redeeming value in them.

For example -- the guy who splits the peas that go into
split-pea soup.

That can't be too much fun, now can it?

Or how about the guy who collects the tolls on the highways,
bridges and tunnels.

That job sucks!

I know -- I used to do that while I was going to college.

And you know what's different between the first car you give
45 cents change to, at 11 pm... and the last car you give 45
cents change to, the following morning at 7 am?

Absolutely... NOTHING!

Anyway, there's a man named Donald Lau, who's vice-president
of Wonton Food, Inc., in Long Island City, New York.
(that's just outisde of Manhattan)

Donald is the guy who's responsible for writing up all the
fortunes that get wrapped up inside the fortune cookies at
your local Chinese restaurant.

In fact, Donald's company cranks out 4 million fortune
cookies a DAY, so Donald just might be the most prolific
writer in history.

Whatever.

Donald never expected to be a fortune-cookie writer, of
course, things just happened that way, as they sort of
do for most people.

Needless to say, now-and-again, Donald suffers from 'writers
block' (No doubt, the thrill is probably 100% gone for
Donald.), and so he's constantly looking around his
environment to pick up little gems he can put on the
fortunes that go inside the cookies his company
manufactures.

Like when he rides the subway to work, for example: 'Beware
of odors coming from strange places.'

My favorite fortune-cookie fortune of all time, is... 'He
who eats jellybeans, farts in technicolor.'

I wonder if Donald wrote that one -- maybe you've cracked
open a fortune-cookie or two and found that one as well?

Donald recently came up with 2 gems I wanted to pass on to
you, about writing, because they are very very relevant to
writing your sales copy.

And here they are:

One, 'Don't have too complicated a mind.'

The simple truth is, the easier you can say it, the easier
your prospect can understand it.

And two, 'Think in ten word sentences.'

You should never go on and on in your writing, just like you
should never go on and on when you're talking to someone.

Ancient Chinese wisdom from Donald, sure makes good sense to
me, no?

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 10:38 AM | Permalink

“Whenever you can, try to relate what you're selling to an "experience" as opposed to a "thing". Remember, your prospects have feelings about "experiences", not about "things".”
Listen, if you want to be able to write sales copy that's got any chance of making you more than just a few bucks, there are many critical things you must know, before you start writing your sales pitch.

And one of the very most important things is...

What Are You Really Selling?

Because most of the time, it's not what you're "actually" selling.

Here, let me give you a few examples taken from a random selection of ads I've got here in front of me, from today's paper:

Credit Repair:

What it says: "Save your credit rating"

What you're really selling:

“Cash... Now!”

Think I'm kidding?

Think again: Do you really believe people who have bad credit, are looking for a good credit rating?

No, not at all -- what they really want, and they want it right now... is cash!

They want to be able to start borrowing money again, and buying things like cars and houses and boats, at "normal" interest rates, and not at prime + 14.95 % like most people with bad credit have to pay.

Singles Dating Service:

What it says: "Find the love of your life."

What you're really selling:

“A marketplace simply filled with single people just like you who are ALL looking for a relationship. You see, when you're walking down the street and you pass an attractive person, you have absolutely no idea whether or not that person is "available"... "just looking"... or "horny as a toad"!

Every one of the singles registered with us, WANTS a relationship and they're yours for the picking!”

See the difference?

Divorce Attorney:

This next one may be a little rough, but it's right on target:

What it says: "Amicable Divorce"

What (most) people want: "Get away from your spouse and dissolve your unpleasant marriage immediately! I'll show you how to get custody of your kids, and collect as much child support as possible, and... if your eligible, you'll get to put the screws to your spouse and really stick it to them, for as much alimony as you can get, and... for as long as possible!"

Now I know that last one sounded harsh, but who would you call if you were in that situation - you had kids... you were absolutely miserable... you wanted OUT, yesterday..., and... you wanted blood for all your tireless years of underappreciated service and loyalty?

The lawyer that says "Amicable Divorce", or the second one?

May not be pretty, but life's not pretty sometimes, is it?

So how do you figure out what you're really selling if you're stumped? Well, just like I told you a few weeks ago, in “How To Uncover Everything You Want To Know About Your Customers!”, and just like I'm always telling you -- you've got to go back to the only source that counts -- your customers.

You've got to ask them "why they buy".

Either you ask them, or better yet, have someone else anonymously ask them. Your customers will be more candid and lot less concerned about offending you, or giving you a "wrong" answer if they're talking to someone else besides you.

Here, let me give you an example:

A while ago I was working with a client who sold unusual retail items in a specialty store.

One of his big things was the low price of these items. I told him he was competing using the wrong variable -- price, especially low price -- and if anything... he should be charging higher prices because of the unusual "twist" his items presented, versus the norm.

Anyway, he said his customers had come to expect this from him and that they wouldn't be willing to spend more.

Ha-ha!

So I'm on the phone with one of his customers and they casually mention to me, they just saw another similar item in a competitors shop and they bought it because of the "pretty label" on the outside.

And how much did this gal pay for the item with the "pretty label"?

Make sure you're sitting down for this one.

O.K. Are you ready?

She gladly forked over...

Ten Times What She's Giving My Client!

So what did you learn from that? You learned, what my client is really selling, in this case, isn't "low prices" but unique items!

And he wasn't taking advantage of this.

What he "thought" he was selling, was a low-priced retail specialty. What he's "actually" selling, is a unique retail specitaly item.

Market research is so important -- I can't over-emphasize this point too much.

It's more important than good sales copy and it's more important than what kind of offer you're going to make... and it's certainly more important than what kind of envelope you use and whether you put teaser copy on it or not.

You will never ever know what your market wants (or if what you're selling even has a market) unless YOU take the time to find out!

Before I go, here are a few more examples of "what you're really selling".

Goods or Service
Photographer
Personal Injury Attorneys
Weight Loss or Fitness
Log Cabins
Business Opportunity

What You're NOT Selling
pictures
justice
better health
"a new home"
A career path or a way to make a living

What You're Really Selling
memories that last a lifetime
MONEY!
feeling and looking sexier... younger... and more attractive
Rustic "do-it-yourself" life-style
A Money Machine! Also, freedom from your jughead of a boss.

One more thing: Whenever you can, try and relate what you're selling to an "experience" as opposed to a "thing". Remember, your prospects have feelings about "experiences", not about "things".

And whenever your prospects can relate a positive feeling to what you're offering them...

You're In Like Flynn!

P.S. I've been speaking with a lot of my subscribers lately and one of the common themes I keep hearing, is about the "mental" aspect of success.

So over the next few weeks, just in time for all the warm and positive feelings you should be having around this time of year, as the holidays start approaching... I'm going to be talking about the "head trip" issues we ALL have to deal with from time to time.

Listen, I'm no shrink, that's for sure... but I've seen good times as well as my fair share of bad times, and I've been up-and-down enough times in my life to know...

Bouncing Back Isn't As Easy In Real Life...
As It Looks On T.V.!

Have you had a situation where you were able to turn around a marketing campaign of yours by changing your marketing to more accurately sell "what you were really selling"? If you have, let me know -- this way I can share your experience with all my subscribers.

Thanks!

And here’s how you can do that:

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:08 AM | Permalink

“... the real reason this letter worked so well is, it evokes an emotional response throughout, especially in... the list of benefits... ”
Sometimes you reach a milestone in your life, that causes you to sit back and think about the circumstances leading up to it, and everything it took to get you there in the first place.

If you're lucky, you can look at your milestones with some sense of pride and accomplishment.

Other times, you might feel a sense of "melancholy"... or "sadness".

I recently had an experience that made me feel both pride and melancholy, and I'd like to share it with you.

Oh, and in case you're beginning to think this week's tip doesn't have anything to do with marketing...

Shame On You!

Because in a minute, I'm going to write a simple sales letter and show you how to use it to make as much money as you want!

O.K.?

Alright then, let's roll up our sleeves and dig right in here.

I've got 3 children.

And I don't know your situation, but if you have any children yourself, I'm sure you'll agree, as your children reach different milestones in their lives, you start reflecting on things.

Anyway, my oldest son Nicholas is 14, and... he's a pretty sharp cookie.

He's been a great help to me on a lot of my projects, and the truth is... he's picked up a thing-or-two along the way, about direct-response... and about writing copy.

So when Nick recently applied for a job at our local Publix Supermarket (his first part-time after-school "real" job), I asked him what he was going to do, to make himself stand out head-and-shoulders above the crowd.

After all, there were 297 other kids applying for the same job he was.

And of course, Nick being a chip off the old block, said...

“I'll Send 'Em A Sales Letter Dad!”

And so here's a copy of the letter my son sent to the store manager, immediately after he applied for his job:

August 10, 2004
Mr. Thomas Peters
Publix Supermarket

“How To Prevent Your Competition From Stealing Your Best Employee, Right Out From Under Your Nose!”

Dear Mr. Peters,

As you can see, I have attached a nice, crisp one million dollar bill to the top of this letter.

Why have I done this?

Actually, there are two reasons:

First, I have something extremely important to tell you, and with all the junk you get in your mailbox, frankly I needed some way to make sure I caught your attention.

And second, since what I have to tell you concerns making money, I thought using a million-dollar bill would be an appropriate "eye-catcher".
What's this all about? Let me tell you.

If you want to hire an eager and enthusiastic entry-level employee, who spends more time looking for things to do, than wondering what to do, then this is the most exciting and important message you will ever read!

My name is Nicholas Garber. I'm a 14 year-old student, and life-long Plantation resident, about to enter Faber High School (the public "Faber", not the "private" Faber).

For the last 10 years or so (at least that's how long I can remember anyway), I've been going to your store with my mom, usually... at least once a week.

And ever since I was 10, I've been telling my mom, "Mom, as soon as I'm able to work, I'm going to get a job working in Publix."

Well, needless to say...

That Time Is Now Here!

You see Mr. Peters, last Friday my dad drove me over to your store, and I spent a half-hour or so, filling out your electronic job application.

I realize your staff has loads of applications to sift through in addition to running your store, but I wanted to take this brief moment of your time to let you know, why you'd be losing the employee of a lifetime, if you passed my application by.

Here's what I can do, that most other people my age, can't do... and more importantly... here's how it can benefit you:

First, I'm a hard-working person! My dad works harder than anyone else I know. He's always taught me how important this is... and he's made sure all of us (me, my brother, and my sister) have earned things along the way.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not afraid of hard work, and I'm not going to be one of those kids who's always looking for a break. I know, working hard will help Publix make more money, and this will help me get better positions and more money as time goes on.

Second, I know how important it is, to always accommodate your customers! I realize, if your customers are unhappy... and if they stopped shopping at your store... everyone would be out of a job.
And that would not be good!

So don't worry -- even though some of your customers may be cranky and frustrated, I don't really take things like that too personally, and I'll make sure to always do my best to make them feel good -- especially the ones who are "having a bad day". And...

Lastly, I’m really excited about the opportunity to earn money! So, if I'm scheduled to work... outside of serious illness or an act of God, I promise you...
I'll be there, and... I'll be there on time!

If I sign up to work a shift, you won’t ever have to worry about me not showing up! This means you'll never be short-staffed and having to run around asking someone else to work late... pay overtime... or banging out the phones to hopefully find someone who can come in early or on their day off, on my account.

Anyway, if you want to bring me in for an interview, please call me right now. My phone number is 954-xxx-xxxx (actually, that's my dad's cell phone), and if I'm not around when you call, I promise to call you the moment I get back.

Thank you for reading this letter and I hope to see you, and start working for Publix, really soon!

Sincerely,

Nicholas Garber

P.S. Since school's starting on the 16th of August, I'm in the process of applying to a few different places to work, so I can get my schedule sorted out. But the truth is... Publix really is my first choice.

Then, my son stapled the million-dollar bill to the top of his letter, and next we tucked this little gem safely away in a flat-rate U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail Envelope.

After this, we watched "Starsky and Hutch" with the rest of the family.

Monday morning we dropped the letter into our mailbox, and we waited.

Wednesday afternoon around 2:00, I got a telephone call from Mr. Thomas Peters, the manager of our local Publix. He was looking for Nick.

He mentioned to me how amazing this letter was... that he had never seen anything like this before... and how impressive my son was.

I agreed on all counts, and after thanking him for his call, I handed my son the phone.

Mr. Peters (a very nice man, by the way) told my son, he really was looking to hire people who could work evenings. Unfortunately, Nick can't work past 6 p.m., because Publix won't let kids do this until they're 16 years old.

But because of the letter Nicholas sent, Mr. Peters said he just had to speak to him and bring him in for an interview anyway.

He told him...

They would create a position for
someone who was this impressive!

The next day, Nick went on his very first job interview and "bam", just like that, he's got his first job and he starts training next week!

Now, let's get to what's really important here. And that is...

How you can use a simple letter
like this, to make you a fistful of rupees!

So let's get right to it!

First of all, the real reason this letter worked so well, is because:

It really did make my son stand out. Trust me, no one else sent in anything, and if they did... it certainly wasn't like this.

It evokes an emotional response throughout, especially in the list of the "3 ways" Nick can benefit Publix.

And lastly, it works on the "fear of loss" emotion. If Publix doesn't grab this kid, they're going to get some other lethargic 14 year-old instead!
You'll notice, I've pointed out the 7 Critical Components Of Your Sales Message, in the margin to the left of Nick's letter... to coincide with the list I gave you on your “Now At Last, Here's A 100% Risk-FREE And Guaranteed Way To Take All The "Guess Work" Out Of Your Sales Copy!” web page.

Also, I've highlighted some of the text in yellow.

Let's take a look at each of these components, and see how, with very little modification... you can use a letter almost exactly like this, to sell whatever it is you want to.

O.K.?

Your Headline: Let's say you're my friend Neil Stafford, and you're selling subscriptions to your internet newsletter.
Maybe you'd have a headline that says something like...

“5 Proven Ways To Make Money Online In 31 Days
Or Less, Without Working Yourself To Death... Without Having To Be A Computer "Geek"... And Without
Having Any Products Of Your Own To Sell!”

That would be O.K., wouldn't it?

Your opening Line: First of all, you should know, that the famous "dollar bill" opening, was developed and perfected by my friend (and the world's greatest living copywriter), Gary Halbert.
And in fact, using a "grabber" attached to your sales letter, along with an opening line like this, is a sure-fire way to dramatically improve your response rates (and your cash-flow, of course).

Here's another thing you can use, if for example... you're one of the best video cameramen around, like my friend Steve Beverly (telephone number 954-771-1607), who's shot footage for the Fox Network... ESPN... and QVC?

Maybe your opening line could say something like:

“If you want to use network-ready video footage that sells like crazy... with edits that are literally seamless... and... that makes you look as attractive on T.V. as a supermodel on the runway, then this is the most exciting and important message you will ever read!”

And what about...

Your actual story or sales message: A client of mine, Ian Kelly, is the owner of an English Candy distributor called "English Delights".
Ian distributes English "Rock" (which is shaped like a candy-cane here in the U.S., but tastes like no other hard candy of it's kind -- it's simply "lovely" as the British say) and he could open up with something like this:

“Did you know, since 1816 when the first roll of rock candy slid off the old sugar-boiler's press... 14,237,612 rolls of rock have been sold, and each-and-every one of them have been made the exact same way that very first roll was?

It's true!

Each stick of Coronation rock is individually hand-made using the same recipe the Queen once called, "sweeter than the morning dew"” blah... blah... blah...

That's not a bad way to start a pitch for a somewhat mundane product, now is it?

See, this stuff is easy once you get rolling!

All you need to do is apply a little creativity to your marketing, and before you know it, you've got something to work with!

Here, let's press on before I get thrown totally off-track.

Your offer: What if you sell Petroleum Gas to heat people's homes, like the company my brother works for?
Your offer may say something like this:

“Why should you switch your gas company? After all, doesn't each one of us seem to be exactly the same as the last one -- when we want your business, we're smiling ear-to-ear.

And then when you need us, we're nowhere to be found, right?

Well, we're a little different. See, first of all... we don't pretend to be something we're not.

For example, we don't claim to have the best gas, not by a long-shot. After all, "gas" is "gas", right?.

That's like saying the tap water on 57th street is better than the tap water on 55th street -- and that just doesn't make any sense, does it?

But, here's where we are a little different: First of all, when we tell you we're going to make your delivery between 9 and 11...

We're actually there between 9 and 11!

And we also guarantee, if your heater breaks, one of our 23 "Mobile Service Squad" cars, will be there within 24 hours -- or else your next month's gas bill is on us!

And finally, we're so confident you'll be pleased with our service, we're willing to make you the most irresistIble offer you've ever heard!

In fact, my boss over at corporate wanted my head on a platter, the first time I offered this -- but now, he calls me twice a week to congratulate me! And here it is:

"Use our service for 3 months. If we don't hold up our end of the bargain, we'll go away and never bother you again...

Plus... we'll reimburse you for all
the gas you've paid for during that time!"

Sounds nuts right?” Yadda, yadda, yadda...

See, that's the kind of knock-you-off-your-socks offer that's going to attract new customers like a brand new attraction at Disney World attracts visitors.

Make sense?

Good then. Let's move on.

Your compelling reason to act now: Let's say your my client Ewen Vile, over in Auckland, New Zealand... and you're trying to get people to use your lawn-service.
Maybe your compelling reason could be this:

“If my offer sounds even remotely appealing, I urge you not to hesitate signing up. Right now, I've got 5 time slots left open in your area, and once they're gone...

That's it!

You'll have no other way of taking advantage of this offer ever again! (I've had a 100% customer retention rate since 1998, so no time slots in your area are very likely to be open for quite some time, if ever.)”

See, that's a very believable reason, and by backing it up with "reason why" copy as well, you make your case an iron-clad one.

Your call to action: This one's easy:
“To order our famous ex-spouse repellant, grab your Mastercard, Visa, or American Express credit card, then pick up your telephone and call my toll-FREE 800 number (1-800-xxx-xxxx) right now. Operators are standing by to take your order anytime, 24 hours a day - 7 days a week.

And don't forget to ask for your FREE book, "How To Make Sure You Never Ever See Your Ex Mother-In-Law, Ever Again!", if you are one of the first 17 callers.”

And lastly... your P.S.: One of the safest things to do when you write your P.S., is to re-state one of the strongest benefits of either your offer... your guarantee... or your actual service or product you're selling.
Sort of like this:

“P.S. Remember, time is not on your side here. You will not "magically" lose weight simply by thinking about it... hoping for it... or praying for it to happen.

And remember, with your 6-month 100% better-than-risk-FREE money-back GUARANTEE, you have literally absolutely nothing to lose -- except your anxiety... your fears... and your sense of powerlessness! But...

Ordering this package, may very well... change... your life!”

Anyway, like I said... if you want a more in-depth and candid explanation of the 7 Critical Components Of Your Own Sales Message, check out this web page, right now: “How To Dramatically Boost Your Sales Copy: A Risk-FREE And Guaranteed Way To Take All The "Guess Work" Out Of Your Sales Copy And Give It An Instant "Overhaul"!”

As far as my son goes, I'm really proud of him. He's taking his next step and going off into the world, learning how to make his own way in life... and in business.

Of course, at the same time... I'm terrified because of all the bumps in the road I know he's going to come up against.

But, if I were a betting man... I'd bet heavily, he's going to handle things just fine.

The exciting, and yet somewhat "sad" part of this is, I know Nick will be around the house a little less now.

And for all the excitement that goes on around here (and Lord knows some days I wish it were less), I'm really going to miss that he's not here as much, very dearly.

P.S. Remember, if you do want me to review your sales copy (it's 100% risk-FREE and Guaranteed), your $200 dollar cash savings will expire in just 26 more days. After that, I do NOT envision running another special like this for quite some time -- I'm simply way too busy.

P.P.S. I still haven't finished going over the figures, but as soon as I get the final results in, I'll explain why I needed you to re-sign up as a subscriber to my website the other week.

P.P.S.S. I'd like to thank one of my subscribers, Olga Farber-Becker. Olga's a very bright young lady and a rising star who's living in Israel now. And she was nice enough to point out several spelling errors on my website.

If you'd like to see Olga's website, you can check it out here: www.notrivia.com.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:59 AM | Permalink

“See, what this does, is... it makes you more "real" as a person. And don't kid yourself -- your prospects are buying YOU -- NOT your goods and services.”

Here's why you really should sweat the small stuff -- at least... the important small stuff.

According to the "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996), the saying "The Devil Is In The Details", is a variation of a quote made by French author, Gustave Flaubert (1821 - 1880).

Flaubert said (in French, of course) "God is in the details - Whatever one does should be done thoroughly -- details are important."

The thing is,

It's True!

It's the small details that transform "greatness"... into... true "excellence!"

Think about it: The people in the gym who train like machines, and keep their diet clean, 100% of the time, don't look 10% better than the same hard-working people who do it 90% of the time,

They Look... 10 TIMES Better!

Right?

So if you want your sales copy to be "excellent" and not simply "great"... assuming your copy's already good... the path to excellence travels across these small details.

For example, in a few different places on this website, I list my contact information, like this:

I've highlighted part of the text in yellow, because that's the part I want you to pay attention to.

It's the part that reads, "(that's just behind the Walgreen's on the corner of Nob Hill and Sunrise)".

Not a big deal -- just tells you more specific details about where I'm located, right?

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

See, what this does, is... it makes you more "real" as a person. And don't kid yourself -- your prospects are buying YOU -- NOT your goods and services.

How effective is this?

Well, it's pretty damn effective. One client, told me the sole reason he hired me was because I was smart enough to include this little, seemingly insignificant, specific subtle detail.

I'll tell you exactly what he said, in fact: "I've hired literally every single copywriter out there, and few, if any... ever pay attention to ALL the little details, like you do.

I'm saying this NOT to brag about myself, but hoping you'll take away this very important message about, how... just like in the gym... and just like when you're cooking... it's these subtle, seemingly unnoticed small enhancements, that...

Will Take Your Marketing From Great... To Excellent!

And excellent marketing (meaning, marketing that makes your prospects buy)... lines your pockets with mucho dinero.

Here's another example:

The headline of this week's tip is:

“Why The Devil Really Is In The Details!”

Which is a LOT more compelling than,

“The Devil Really Is In The Details!”

Isn't it?

That's another instance of how subtle little changes, make all the difference in the world.

Oh, one more thing, and this is something you really can't find in the details: If you're not passionate about what you're selling... if you're not excited about what you're doing... or how you're doing it... or, if you don't feel great about the impact you're having on your customers or your clients lives... then you can sweat over all the small details in your sales copy, from now, until kindom come...

But You Still Won't Sell Very Much!

Because that's something your prospects will "sense" in you.

And even the best sales copy in the world can't make your prosepcts believe there's hope for a better tomorrow... unless... you're excited... about that... too!

P.S. Remember, when thinking about the small details:

"Little Hinges Swing Big Doors Open!"

See you next week.

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:46 AM | Permalink

“See if you can pick up on the changes and how they draw you into the copy, getting you much more involved...”
There's one thing you should never ever talk about with your prospects when you're trying to sell them something.

Why?

The answer is simple -- they're just not interested in hearing about it.

And yet, well over 99% of all the marketing out there, uses this "sales killer".

Listen, come over here and sit down -- I'm going to tell you a little story about "you".

Do you know what your prospects like to hear about most?

More than how you can save them money... or your state-of-the-art new offices... or why you're so cool to deal with?

Give up?

More than anything, your prospects
want to hear about... themselves!

And, they want to hear about all the ways your goods and services are going to make their lives better -- not how they've already made your life better.

See, in a nutshell... regardless of what you're selling... your prospects are all asking the same question -- they all want to know one thing:

Your prospects want to know, “What's in it for me?”

Make sense?

And one of the easiest ways to communicate this in your sales copy is by using the word "you", instead of the word "I" -- talk about your prospects, instead of... yourself.

Let me show you what I mean.

Last week, my wife picked up an unusual little package of snacks from the grocery store. Apparently, my daughter loves these things -- they're called "Maple French Toast French Twists", and they're made by a company called "Barry's Bakery", out of San Diego. (And no, that's not a typo... the word "French" is actually used twice in the name of the product.)

Anyway, my wife, knowing how anal I am when it comes to looking at marketing information, showed me the little bag of treats (which are quite tasty by the way).

And here's what the back of this little bag of "Maple French Toast French Twists", says:

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU
HAD SOMETHING HEALTHY
THAT TASTED GREAT?

GREAT TASTE AND HEALTHIER

At the age of 42 I suffered a major heart attack. After bypass surgery my doctors instructed me to limit my cholesterol intake, to exercise more, and to stay within the Heart Association's recommended diet.

TWISTS FIT INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE

To stay committed to a healthier lifestyle, my diet needed some excitement. As a sweet lover, I searched for a treat I could enjoy without guilt. After months of experimentation, the Original French Twist™ was born. Layer upon layer of puff pastry dough sprinkled with cinnamony sweet goodness. The only things we have left out are cholesterol, eggs, butter, and yeast.

HANDMADE AND OVEN BAKED

I can now share this exciting taste treat with you. I've found that my new lifestyle, which combines lower fat intake, lower cholesterol, and healthier ingredients in general combined with a routine exercise program has resulted in me feeling the best I have in years.

Barry Yellen
Founder and President

There are several things right with this copy, and many things wrong with it.

But what I want to show you, is how a quick re-write of the ad copy might look, changing the copy around, to put the emphasis on "you", the prospect.

I want you to think about how the sales message changes, and how the story-teller sounds, with the focus on "you" as the interested buyer, instead of on the story-teller himself.

See if you can pick up on the changes and how they draw you into the copy, getting you much more involved:

“Amazing New Tasty Snack Lets You Live
Longer (And Healthier)... Without Having
To Eat Like A Bunny Rabbit!”

"At Age 42, I Was Lying
Face-Up On A Gurney!"

3 months after my 42nd birthday, I suffered a major heart attack.

After my surgery, the doctors read me the riot act and told me to take some precautions: You know, limit your cholesterol intake... watch what you eat... and keep your diet in check.

No doubt, these things are important. But reality is, it's nearly impossible to maintain a routine like this... and still get excited about eating!

At Last, A New Tasty Snack That
Fits Right In With Your Doctor’s Plans!

You want to stay committed to your healthier lifestyle, but how can you do this, and at the same time... find foods to eat, you actually enjoy?

What usually ends up happening, is... if you're a sweet-lover (and who isn't), you end up searching high-and-low trying to find something that tastes good, but doesn't make you feel guilty whenever you eat it!

Well, after 8 months of experimenting day-in and day-out, I finally found the hidden key to the secret healthy snack vault! I've discovered the Original French Twist!

This amazing little puffy pastry is a heatlhy treat you can actually enjoy! It's coated with crunchy sweet cinnamon, and it tastes out-of-this-world.

"Right here, I might add a testimonial. It would be from either a very credible 3rd party, like a doctor... or maybe even from a celebrity who's had heart problems."

But... (and here's the crazy part, both you and your doctor are going to love), this amazing tasty treat...

Contains No Cholesterol... No
Eggs... No Butter... And No Yeast!

And this fits right in with the official guidelines of the American Heart Association's recommended diet for you!

Plus, the Original French Twist comes in 6 different flavors, and each one of them let's you enjoy this healthy new lifestyle of yours, without having to give up any of the excitement of snacking!

And eating like this leaves you feeling better than you've felt in years!. And this of course, helps you...

Avoid Any Unnecessary
Office Visits To Your Doctor!

Oh, one more thing: The Original French Twist even comes with a 90-day no-risk guarantee! Try The Original French Twist. I guarantee you'll enjoy these one-of-a-kind healthy snacks, but... if for any reason, you don't... just send them back to me, along with your receipt, and I'll gladly send you a prompt and courteous refund -- no questions asked!

Bon Appetit!

Barry Yellen
Founder, and former cardiac patient.

© 2004 Craig Garber.

Do you see the difference between these 2 sales messages?

Not only does the re-written copy flow smoother, but what I really want you to notice, is how much more the second copy gets you involved... how it draws you into the sales message... and how your concerns are weaved into the story.

And this makes your prospects a lot more excited about your product, and...

A Lot More Excited About... Buying Your Product!

You see where I'm going with all this?

Listen, getting someone to buy something from you is one of the most difficult challenges you're going to face.

But, you leverage your odds up significantly, when you constantly make the focus of your sales messages revolve around your prospect, instead of you.

How they feel... what they're thinking about... what they're going through in their daily lives... why they'll benefit from your product... how they'll feel after using it... and how their lives will be so much better after they buy your widgets.

That's what your messages should be all about!

Not your story, or your feelings -- tell your spouse those things -- or if you really want some sympathy, tell your mom.

Remember, what's most important to any prospect, is their situation and how what you're selling, can make it better.

Legendary direct-marketer Joe Sugarman (the man responsible for bringing Blu Blocker Sunglasses to market) was very fond of getting his prospects involved in his ads -- and in my opinion, it was one of the great reasons for his success.

In fact, if you want to learn more about getting your prospects involved in your selling process, a great place to start would be to read Joe's classic book, "Triggers: 30 Sales Tools You Can Use To Control The Mind Of Your Prospect To Motivate, Influence and Persuade."

I think Amazon may still carry this book, but act quickly -- last time I checked, supplies were low. You can click on the picture of the book below, and if they do still have it, you'll be taken directly to their site so you can order it.

P.S. Sometimes, if you're telling a story... your situation, or something you've experienced, will help give you credibility, and posture you as an authority in whatever you're trying to sell.

In this case, you should talk about yourself, and your experiences. But keep talking in terms of "you"... and never "me" or "I", whenever possible.

Later.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 12:57 PM | Permalink

I'm writing today's tip from over on the west coast of

Florida, just outside of Tampa, where my family and I will

soon be relocating.

Sometimes it's refreshing to be looking at the world from a
different vantage point -- you don't see things the same way.

You know what I mean?

Are you consistently looking at your business from your
customers and your clients point of view?

And even more important, are you looking OUTSIDE your
business for new ideas, trends, and ways to market your
business?

For example, purchasing goods and services from your
competitiors is one of the most basic things you can do, to
get new ideas for upselling... cross-selling... and back-end
products.

Investing your time and money in this incredibly easy way of
"spying" on your competition, is a sure-fire way of keeping
you on your toes... staying "hungry"... and making sure you
aren't doing anything stupid.

How's that?

Simple: Because you really DO see things differently when
you're on the outside looking in.

Now go sell something,

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:29 PM | Permalink

“And if you think about everything you've already been through, and everything left that life's going to throw at you... "Easy"... "Stress-free"... and "Uncomplicated!", doesn't sound too bad now, does it?”
I just got this message in from one of my subscribers and I wanted you to know about it, immediately.

You know, you never "really" know who's on your list.

It turns out, one of my subscribers is none other than Karol Gajda. Now you may not know who Karol is, but I do so let me tell you.

Karol's a bright young guy who basically took his 100% computer-geek background, and learned every single thing he could about direct-response, and used it to make himself a small fortune online.

Karol's niche is in making little-known but hugely profitable moves on e-bay, and I recently got this e-mail from him.

He was referring to last week's tip called "How To Uncover Everything You Want To Know About Your Customers":

Dear Craig,

In your last newsletter you shared the following piece of information: Test your market! If you've already got something you "think" would be a good back-end, then test it, using an offer to a small sample of people from your customer list.

I'd like to share my own experience and how I twisted this a little bit.

I released a backend product based on what I thought my customers would want without actually creating the product.

What I did was offer an upsell for one of my current products and stated that the upsell would be delivered via e-mail in 7 days. :) That way I'd have at least a few days of a cushion to create the product (which took about 2 days).

My intuition worked out well.

I've made 19 sales of this upsell at $33/sale in the past 8 days. Now I know I have a product I can really roll out -- on its own, and with a larger price tag -- and it only took me a few minutes to figure it all out.

If I didn't make any sales (or maybe just a few) all I'd have to do is "create" a new upsell to test until I hit on something my customers wanted.

Just another way to figure out a backend product I thought would interest you and your subscribers. :)

Karol Gajda
www.WholesaleSearchProfits.com

And, being the smart marketer he is, Karol's offering you a down-and-dirty, 5-step educational class you can take if you go to his link.

See, as Karol showed you, testing your market gives you very accurate feedback... and in this case, he also got to line his pockets with a nice wad of cash too.

Can you do the same thing with your customer base?

Yes, I bet you can.

All you need to do is...

Take Action!

And now, on to this week's tip.

Yesterday I had a near-perfect day.

It was one of those days weather-wise, when you're really thrilled to be living down here in South Florida.

The sun was out, but it wasn't too hot -- maybe 75° degrees or so. There wasn't an ounce of moisture or humidity in the air -- in fact, there was a mild balmy breeze blowing across the coast all day long.

Early in the day I was busy writing some copy on a project I'm extremely excited about. It's the last leg of a rather large project for a client who's about as perfect as you can get.

Not only is he a sharp and successful business-owner, but he's also a helluva nice guy.

What more could you ask for?

Anyhow, after that I spent the afternoon with my wife and kids -- we went for a nice long drive over to the Pumpkin patch and grabbed a couple of pumpkins to carve up and decorate for Haloween.

And then, before grilling up a few steaks for dinner, I finished the day off by washing my car while I was listening to my iPod (those things rock!).

Just a prefectly relaxing day as far as I'm concerned.

Now you might be thinking "Boy, it doesn't take much to make that guy happy. He seems pretty easy to please."

And as a matter of fact, you're right. I really do enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer.

In fact, if truth be told... I feel lucky to enjoy them!

Now some people may call this life-style "boring", but I call it...

Easy! Strees-free! And Uncomplicated!

And if you think about everything you've already been through, and everything left that life's going to throw at you... "Easy"... "Stress-free"... and "Uncomplicated!", doesn't sound too bad now, does it?

So what does this have to do with marketing?

Only this: Whenever you're selling something, always speak clearly... and always...

Keep it simple... easy... stress-free... and uncomplicated!

Along those lines, I recently stumbled across a FREE software tool that completely (and very easily) cleans up the presentation of your e-mails, lickety-split.

It's called EZ Text Formatter and it was developed by Dave Brown.

What's so good about it?

Simply this: Presentation is everything when it comes to selling. True?

And if you haven't noticed, just like "advertorial" style display ads get you more attention (and much more credibility with your readers), there's a standard format you need to be using when you're sending your e-mails as well.

You want to keep the character length of your e-mails (that means how many "spaces" of text going across your screen) to no more than "60".

Why?

Well for starters, more and more people are using smaller hand-held and portable devices to connect to the internet and check their e-mail.

If you're using one of these devices, you simply can't see as many characters as you can on a "traditional" desktop or laptop monitor.

And even when you're using a desktop monitor, the appearance of an e-mail with only 60 characters is clean, neat, and it makes for easy reading -- as long as what you're saying is interesting, of course -- there's not a software program in the world that can save you from boring sales copy.

The thing I like best about EZ Text Formatter is, once it's running... all you have to do, is literally right click on the EZ Formatter Icon in your tray, and "BAM!" -- your text is formatted right there-and-then on the spot!

Then you just hit "paste" in whatever application you're using (doesn't necessarily have to be your e-mails only), and you pop your text in wherever you want.

Easy as a drive through the park on a lazy Sunday afternoon in autumn, hey?

Think paragraph size and the length of your text doesn't really matter?

Think again: Go back and look at the size of each of the paragraphs in this little article, or in any article I write for that matter.

You'll notice, they're ALL...

Simple! Easy! Stress-free And Uncomplicated!

P.S. If you want to download EZ Text Formatter right now, head on over to this link here: EZ Text Formatter

Have you found any differences in response rates, either online or offline, depending on the length of your sales message... or the size of your character width? If you have, let me know - maybe I'll share your reply with the rest of my subscribers.

And here’s how you can do that:

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 10:07 PM | Permalink

“... at least now you have a working formula to use, so you can figure out what numbers you need, to make this sweepstakes of yours work!”

Last week I pointed out how John Kerry was successfully using direct-response marketing to generate qualified leads, to pick up supporters for his campaign.

As I promised, today I'm going to reveal another lead-generation selling formula, you can make a fistul of dollars with.

It's a lot of fun to use, but it's often over-looked.

Want to know what it is?

O.K., I'll tell you. It's...

Sweepstakes!

And here's how you can start using sweepstakes as a lead generation tool, to build your list of prospects:

Let's say you own a retail furniture store. Here's what you do:

You run a display ad (or even better yet, you use several press releases) that says you're going to be giving away a brand new set of living-room furniture valued at $10,000 Dollars, delivered to the person who comes into your store... registers for the contest... and comes closest to guessing how many square feet your entire furniture showroom display area is.

The person who guesses closest, gets the furniture delivered straight to the front door of their home.

You should film that entire delivery, by the way, and have that video clip playing on a television monitor over-and-over again at the front of your store, to build enthusiasm up for your next sweepstakes.

Also, if you're really clever... team up with a local interior decorator and tell people you'll be giving away a professionally designed custom layout as well, courtesy of this interior decorator.

Let your sweepstakes entrants know, the charge for the interior designer alone is worth "X" dollars.

Or, you could even team up with one of your furniture suppliers, and instead of having a "Guess how many square feet our showroom is" contest, you can have a "Tell me how many king size [insert your furniture supplier's name here] beds we have in our showroom" contest.

See which of your suppliers would be willing to share the cost of your contest with you, or maybe they'd spring for the whole shebang.

Anyway, you call your lead-generating contest:

"The $10,000 Dollar Sweepstakes!"

Then, you promote the living daylights out of it!

You do a direct mail piece promoting it (postcards may even work in this case)... use your local val-paks... run display ads... have banners announcing your sweepstakes all over your store... and you give every single interior decorator and moving company you know, brochures about it, to hand out to their clients.

This does 3 things for you:

First, it gets people interested in you.

Second, it forces people to come into your store to sign up and register to win the sweepstakes. You automatically get foot-traffic, and the names and addresses of qualified leads, you wouldn't have had without the sweepstakes.

And third, since your prospects have to guess how large your showroom is, it forces them to walk around your entire store in order to make any kind of accurate "square footage" guess, right?
And do you have any idea what each-and-every one of these qualified leads will be doing when they're browsing up and down each of your lovely furniture showroom aisles?

They'll be checking out all your furniture!

Mom's will be thinking "Oh, this would look so nice in the baby's room."

And seniors will be saying "Wow, that would look great outside on our patio."

And crooked CEO's like Ken Lay from Enron will be licking their chops, saying "Hey, I can use a bunch of my shareholder's money to buy all those brand new top-of-the-line Herman Miller chairs, for all the guys back at the office!"

Whatever.

The point is, people aren't just going to come in, see your "$10,000 Dollar Sweepstakes" sign-up booth at the front desk, fill out the form, toss their entry into the box, and then leave.

Now at first blush, you might think giving away $10,000 Dollars worth of furniture is a lot to give away for FREE.

But au contraire... let's look at the numbers here. Remember, before you ever make any kinds of marketing decisions, you must look at your numbers.

Because...

You are in the numbers business
first, NOT... the marketing business!

So... here are some numbers:

Let's say, over a 90-day period, you get 1,500 people to sign up. That's an average of 17 people a day, which... between you and your interior decorator, and maybe a local moving company (who will do the delivery)... should be very do-able, especially with all the "weekend" traffic, furniture stores tend to attract.

(Oh, and by the way -- depending on the sweepstakes rules in your state, you may even be able to say up front "This sweepstakes is only valid if we receive 2,000 entries.", or whatever numbers work for you.)

And... let's say your average customer sale is $1,000 dollars.

This means, you'll need to make 10 sales to at least break even on the deal -- now. Plus, whatever it costs you to promote your sweepstakes, so... let's say you need to make 12 sales to make this promotion break even.

What you have to ask yourself, is... will you make 12 sales, to the 1,500 people who've come into your store and signed up for your sweepstakes?

That's one sale, to every 125 people who come sauntering through your front doors.

Can you do this?

Honestly, I don't know.

It depends on what your conversion ratio of prospects-to-customers is. Meaning, how many of your prospects, do you actually convert into paying customers?

But at least, now you have a working formula to use, so you can figure out what numbers you need, to make this sweepstakes of yours work!

Plus remember... you're using this sweepstakes to generate leads for future sales, not for making sales today, right?

So what you also have to take into consideration, is...

How many sales will you make over the next 12 months, by sending out a monthly marketing piece to all these 1,500 qualified new leads you've now got?

After all, isn't that what you're supposed to be doing with your qualified leads, anyway?

And this translates into, "Will you be able to make a sale to 1 out of every 125 people who came through your doors, sometime during the next 12 months?"

Well, even if you're only a halfway decent copywriter... as long as you're consistently making these prospects a compelling offer each-and-every-month...

You Should Be Able To Do That!

Sweepstakes are especially good for retail stores, since they seem to have a hard time building their prospect list up.

It's tough to get people's name and address when they come in your store, especially if they're just browsing and they don't buy anything.

And why are sweepstakes so effective at generating qualified leads for you?

The answer is simple: For the most part, people don't go out of their way to enter sweepstakes for items they don't want, or wouldn't buy at some point in time, on their own.

And really, almost any business can run a sweepstakes.

Like if you're a hotel, raffle off an overnight stay in one of your better rooms. Then you do the same thing the furniture store owner did -- you make a consistent offer to each and every person who signed up to win the overnight stay.

When you're running a sweepstakes to generate leads, you must remember the purpose of "lead-generation". And that is, sometimes it's easier to build up your list of leads, so you can make consistent offers to your prospects, than it is to just try and sell them something directly.

(For more information on using "2-Step" lead-generating selling formulas, see my article and "2-Step" writing samples here.)

And running a sweepstakes is a fun and exciting way to get your prospects motivated and all fired-up about your business.

P.S. Do you know the most popular sweepstakes ever ran? (Yes, even more popular than "Ed McMahon's Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes!)

Well, the most popular sweepstakes ever ran, was put on by AOL in April, 2004. Over 1 Million people entered the contest to win a Porsche Boxter seized by federal authorities, from a major internet spammer.

And let me ask you this: Do you think AOL did just a "little" marketing to those 1 million entrants?

Did you know, if AOL only got a 0.25% conversion rate, of entrants who eventually became AOL subscribers (that's 1 out of every 400 people)... even at the lowest AOL subscriber plan of only $24 Dollars a month, this turns into...

$60,000 Dollars A Month... or...
$720,000 Dollars A Year... Forever... For AOL!

Ka-ching! Not bad, hey?

Later.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 11:56 PM | Permalink

“these are the same concerns consumers have always been preoccupied with...”
Dan Kennedy recently identified 5 keys to consumer behavior, based on the results of current ad research. And here they are:

Speed

Time/Convenience

New

Service Guarantees

Celebrities
First, you need to realize that with the exception of #5, these are the same concerns consumers have always been preoccupied with.

Haven't you always wanted the newest things... delivered immediately... that make your life convenient, especially when there's no down-side risk in it for you?

Of course!

So let's take a look at each of these keys to consumer behavior, and let's see how you can use them in your sales copy, to make more sales and put more money in your pockets.

O.K.?

1. Speed!

Anytime you can say your product works right away... produces immediate results... or gives you instant relief... that's good.

And here are some other words or expressions you can use to show "speed":

lickety-split

in a New York minute

at the drop of a hat

in no time flat

faster than a speeding bullet

in a heartbeat

as fast as lightning
Oh, one other thing: One of the best ways to identify the swiftness of your product is by being specific about how quickly your deal works, like this:

“Completely eliminates back pain in 7 minutes or less!”

“If you follow these step-by-step
instructions, you'll be up-and-running in less than 7 days!”

“Tests show, this new mystery guide,
reduces the amount of time it will take you to
finish reading any book by at least 21.4%.”

2. Time/Convenience

Saving time (and effort) are HUGE hot-buttons.

Your life is so busy nowadays and you're always hustling and bustling all the time -- any opportunity to "ease" that burden is truly welcome, isn't it?

And many times, saving time and convenience is especially good to market because that's what you're "really" selling.

Here's what I mean: There are many "How To Play" an instrument classes out there.

And while on the surface... it may seem like "teaching you how to play the guitar" is what you're selling...

This isn’t necessarily true.

"Teaching you how to play the guitar in the privacy of your own home... without forcing you to commit to weekly lessons... and in less than 3 weeks" is what you're really selling here.

The convenience and time-savings, of learning how to be little Jimi Hendrix, the easy way, is what you're really selling.

Make sense?

See, your prospects don't want to hear, you've got to practice several hours a day... at least 5 days a week... and sound like garbage for a few months, before you start getting anywhere.

They want to hear fast... easy... and convenient!

That's why weight-loss ads... fitness commercials... and information reports for business opportunities do so well.

Your prospects are all looking for a "magic weight-loss pill"... or a "push-button money machine"... or "a 5-minute razor-sharp ab program".

Now don't misunderstand me: I'm NOT telling you to say things in your marketing that aren't true.

Never EVER Do This!

You simply don't need to: Frankly, you can make plenty of money being honest as long as you're using the right direct-response marketing tools to "attract" pre-qualified prospects.

But... here's what I am saying: Any time you can emphasize a savings of time (specifically saying "how much time" is best), or greater creature comforts and convenience... your promotion is simply going to pull a higher response and get you a greater return on your investment.

Ask yourself if there any promotions you're working on right now, where you can go back and re-work your sales pitch and do a better job emphasizing speed, time savings or convenience?

If you're honest, I'll bet there are.

Next week in part 2, I'll tell you how to use "new"... "service guarantees" (possibly the very most important psychological trigger to pull)... and "celebrities" in your marketing, to boost your sales.

P.S. Last week, you were duped!

Apparently, part of the Michael Moore/Bill Timmins Aladdin Casino incident, was a fraud!

Here's what happened: Michael Moore's letter was fine, but Bill Timmins letter was an internet hoax!

You can read the truth about the hoax here:

Alladin Hotel And Casino Hoax Letter

Apparently, the Aladdin was having financial problems, and was recently sold to Planet Hollywood (I thought THEY were having problems too, but hey... this is America and anything's possible) shortly after the Linda Ronstadt incident.

The new owners of the Aladdin, Planet Hollywood... have invited Ms. Ronstadt back to the casino, along with Michael Moore to perform "America the Beautiful" together on stage.

Planet Hollywood issued this statement: "We respect artists' creativity and support their rights to express themselves. We were very sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances of this past Saturday night and want to make it clear that Planet Hollywood has never, in our 13-year history, restricted any artist's right to free speech, and we will continue with that policy once we take ownership."

And you can read all about this here:

Michael Moore and Linda Rondstadt perform together.

First, thanks to my subscriber Ken Forman for this information. I normally don't like attorneys but Ken's an exception. In fact, he's someone you can speak to if you have any immigration concerns.

You can reach him at his telephone number in Miami: 305-249-7734.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:03 AM | Permalink

“Thousands of miles away from Cleveland, however, a struggling actor bought himself a television set with 100 dollars he had as a birthday present, so he could watch the Ali-Wepner fight. This simple and innocent act, was a turning point, that would alter his life forever...”
Here's a curious story:

On March 21st, 1975, in Cleveland, Ohio... Chuck Wepner, a relatively unknown and unimpressive heavyweight boxer... went nearly a full 15 rounds with legendary heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.

What was scary about this, was... Wepner was referred to as "The Bayonne Bleeder" because of the incredible amount of punishment he took...

Even when he was winning!

In fact, in September 2003, in a piece honoring Wepner's career... Tom Donelson of Inside Boxing had this to say: "Wepner was what one would call "a catcher", a fighter who often used his head to block the other guy's punches - not the kind of strategy that leads to long careers."

At 6-foot 5-inches and over 220 pounds, Wepner was a giant, with a plodding and awkward style. He constantly pressured his opponent until he either won or was knocked out. He never gave a second thought to how many shots he would absorb before landing his telling blow."

Before that Ali fight, Sports Illustrated boxing writer Mark Kram had described Wepner as, "a wide, long slab of heart and dreams who is one of the last club fighters, the kind who gives you what he has, who turns a ring into a red-wine sea and keeps coming on for more."

And Wepner trainer Al Braverman once described Chuck as "...the gutsiest fighter I ever met. He was in a league of his own. He didn't care about pain or cuts. If he got cut or elbowed, he never looked at me or the referee for help. He was a fighter in the purest sense of the word."

After training for the Ali fight like he'd never trained before, a confident Wepner gave his wife a pink negligee on the morning of the fight, and told her she would "soon be sleeping with the heavyweight champion of the world."

And for one fleeting moment, Wepner must have felt like that heavyweight champion, as he knocked Ali down with a right hand to his chest.

Unfortunately though, this wasn't the way the movie finished. Ali scored a technical knockout of Wepner with just 19 seconds left in the fight.

"When Ali was down, I remember saying to my ringman Al Braverman, ‘Start the car, we're going to the bank, we're millionaires.' And Al said to me, ‘You'd better turn around, because he's getting up, and he looks pissed off." After the fight, Wepner's wife pulled the negligee out of her purse and asked, "Do I go to Ali's room or does he come to mine?"

Ironically, in defeat, Wepner remains one of the few men who actually went the distance with the greatest heavyweight who ever held the crown.

Now here's the rub: At the very same time this fight was taking place, thousands of miles away from Cleveland, a struggling actor bought himself a television set with 100 dollars he had as a birthday present, so he could watch the Ali-Wepner fight. This simple and innocent act, was a turning point that would alter his life forever.

After watching the fight, the actor, named Sylvester Stallone became inspired to write the script for a Hollywood movie you may have seen, called "Rocky".

Rocky went on to win the Academy Award for best picture in 1976 and launched Stallone's very prolific and successful career.

Because of the movie, Wepner also earned the nickname "The Real Life Rocky".

Here's Stallone's version, from an interview he had with James Lipton of The Actor's Studio: “I saw this Chuck Wepner character who was just this fighter of really very, very little skill, but you know, kind of like a real American working-class stiff who just takes it on the chin and comes back and is just a very symbolic kind of character.

And I thought, "There it is. There… it… is." He was fighting Muhammad Ali who was like, you know, the perfect fighter, and he knocked him down -- and that validated his entire life. He didn't expect to win, but he knocked him down. And you could never take that away from him.

I went, "There… My God. Now if I can get that onto the page..." So I went home and I started writing. And I wrote for three days straight…”

Several producers offered to buy Stallone's screenplay, because they wanted to cast a big name star in the title role. In fact, the movie studios offered the struggling actor, an incredible amount of money at the time - $400,000 Dollars, to buy his script.

Stallone refused however, and instead took $20,000 Dollars for the script, along with the right to play the part of Rocky himself. For this, he was paid the actor's minimum wage - a paltry $340 dollars a week.

The studio then offered Chuck Wepner a similar choice - a $70,000 Dollar flat fee, or one percent of the movie's gross profits. Wepner, thinking about today and not looking at tomorrow, and not even bothering to work out the numbers, took the guarantee...

A Decision That Wound Up Costing Him...
$8 Million Dollars!

Chuck Wepner still lives in Bayonne and works in a liquor store.

The moral of this story, as it relates to your marketing efforts, is... you've GOT to know your numbers.

It doesn't matter if something can sell... it doesn't matter what your sales copy can do for you... and it certainly doesn't even matter if you've got a wildly excited marketplace, if...

You Don't Know Your Numbers!

Meaning, how many units do you have to sell to make any money?

And, how many units do you have to sell just to pay for your ad costs?

Will enough people get to see your ad so that you can even make any money in the first place?

What about your fixed costs? Things like rent, overhead, and employees salaries?

How about your variable costs? Like postage... or pay per click advertising... or display ads?

Can you use remnant advertising to reach your marketplace and save yourself a bundle?

If you don't know this information before you start your marketing plan, you're likely to come out on the same side of the equation as Chuck Wepner did, and not on the side Sylvester Stallone did.

Knowing your numbers is the real bottom line, when it comes to being a street-smart savy marketer.

In my next tip, I'll give you a nice and easy spreadsheet I've created to help you figure out how to price your products, at least when it comes to online marketing.

Look for it then -- you'll be able to download it and start using it, immediately.

And the following week, I'm going to give you an end of year special you'll benefit from, for years and years to come, if... you're smart!

I won't be sending out any tip next week -- I'm taking the week off and celebrating Thanksgiving with my family. If you're doing the same thing, I hope you and your family have a lot of fun with each other.

And if you're not, and you live here in America or Canada (to the best of my knowledge, the only places where Thanksgiving is celebrated)... then why aren't you?

P.S. Last week I talked about using stories in your marketing to get your message across. Are you starting to see how effective stories are?

And are you starting to see how you can "hook" your readers with all sorts of visual and emotional tie-ins?

Good then.

Now go and start thinking about how you're going to re-vamp your marketing pieces with some cool stories.

P.P.S. Stallone could never in a million years, have invisioned how watching the Wepner-Ali fight, would ultimately change his life.

Just the same way you're sitting here reading this Tip Of The Week right now, and you have no idea what action step you’re going to take, that dramatically changes your life. The moral of the story: get out there and start taking action... NOW!

Later.

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:09 AM | Permalink

“It's a simple fact, yet not many people leverage this behavior to their best interests, when it comes to their marketing.”
When my kids were little, whenever they lost a tooth, they'd put the tooth under their pillow... knowing full well the tooth fairy would pay them a visit overnight, taking their tooth, and leaving some money in its place.

Interestingly enough, I find many clients of mine and other independent business-owners I speak to, are also waiting for a fairy.

A very unusual... very imaginary... fairy.

Today's tip is going to stray off the beaten path a bit. I want you to know a little about some of the psychology that goes into writing copy, and maybe open your mind to new ways of looking at your marketing.

Here's what I mean: There's a fundamental rule of human relationships, that says...

People will treat you the way you ask to be treated.

For example, if you're passive and meek, and you're the kind of person who's basically a bleeding heart and takes on everyone's chaos, then guess what?

You're going to consistently get dumped on and everyone's going to make their problems...your problems.

May not be fair, but that's the way it works.

On the other hand, if you're a kind and compassion person, but it's clear you don't tolerate any nonsense, then for the most part... people will respect your generosity and not take advantage of what you have to offer.

These are simple facts, yet not many people leverage this dynamic to their best interests, when it comes to their marketing.

For instance, guess what happens, if... in your marketing, you position yourself as an "expert" in your industry?

What happens is, exactly what you'd expect under the "People will treat you the way you ask to be treated", theory: Your credibility goes w-a-a-y up, and your prospects believe in you. You're perceived as having more knowledge and more insight than your competitors.

Instead of looking like a sales person, you come off like a highly valued asset with a wealth of information to offer.

Your prospects will look to you for answers, and they'll listen very... very closely whenever you speak.

And most important...

They’ll Pay You A Bundle For Those Answers As Well!

You see, NOT positioning yourself as an expert, is one of the biggest shortcomings people have in their marketing.

Look, if you start off your sales pitch saying something like (and you see things like this all the time): "Here at Lawyers-R-Us, we're friendly and courteous, and... we put your needs first."

Guess what's going to happen?

Absolutely Nothing!

Your prospects are going to shut down and stop reading before they even get through that sentence.

True?

You're not positioning yourself as an expert, and... you're certainly not inspiring any confidence with that statement.

As opposed to: "When you work with the attorneys here at Lawyers-R-Us, you get an army of powerful legal experts on your side. Last year alone, we represented over 217 clients across 37 different industries.

And the good news is, only 20 of these clients (that's less than 10%) were forced to go to trial. And, our firm won 8 of these cases.

That's an 80% win ratio, which has been consistent for us, over our 17-year history..." blah, blah, blah...

Big difference, hey?

So what inspires your prospects to feel safe and confident working with you, in your marketing?

Remember, you can be the nicest person in the world... but when it comes to money...

Your prospects are dead serious about where they spend it!

How nice you are (or aren't)... doesn't even enter into the equation until after your prospects become your clients.

But what do you do, if... you're either not that confident, or you're too shy... or, you're just not comfortable holding yourself out as an expert?

The answer is simple: In the long run...

You Starve!

You must position yourself as an expert, regardless of what you're selling.

If you feel "awkward" about positioning yourself like this, yet you're willing to try and get out of your comfort zone and change, there are a few things you can do.

To figure out the best direction to move in, you've got to uncover where your source of discomfort comes from.

Sometimes it comes from childhood messages you heard over-and-over again, like:

"Don't brag -- be humble."... or...

"Why can't you just be thankful for what you have?"... or, at the very extreme end...

Shut up you moron - what makes you think you're so special!
See, regardless of which of these messages you heard, each of them... especially when heard repeatedly, "programs" you into feeling uncomfortable with self-promotion.

And overcoming this programming so you can start touting yourself as an expert, well... frankly, it's just not that easy.

In a minute I'll tell you a few of the things I've done, that have worked for me... and maybe some of them will work for you too.

But first, let's talk about "positioning" a little more.

"When" should you start positioning yourself as the expert?

You should start...

Immediately!

After all, what are you waiting for?

If you don't anoint yourself as an expert today, who else is going to do it for you?

Do you think, once you really are an "expert", the "Expert Fairy" is going to come flying in through your front door, with her wand in her hand and her crown on her head...

To Appoint You As An “Expert”?

Well... in case that is what you're waiting for, I've got some very very disappointing news for you:

She Ain't Comin’!

And here's another way you don't become an expert: You don't fill out the "Expert Application Form" and submit it to your industry's regulatory body... or to your competition, asking them for permission to call yourself a pro.

Some people actually feel, "If I go around saying I'm the best CPA in town... all the other CPA's are going to get really really pissed off, especially since they have bigger offices than me... more clients... more hair... " blah, blah, blah.

Listen, unless your competition is paying your mortgage and feeding your family, as long as you're not disparaging anyone...

How you market yourself is your business!

There's only one person responsible for your marketing and how it's done -- YOU!

So start positioning yourself as an expert right now, and you'll see a noticeable shift in how you're perceived (and how you're treated) by your prospects and clients.

O.K.?

Oh, before I go... let me get back to what I was telling you a few minutes ago. Here are a few of the things I've used over the years, to overcome being uncomfortable with positioning myself as an expert:

At times, I've been really really broke. And that... totally... sucked!
And when it comes down to it, the pain of positioning yourself as an expert, is a lot less than the pain of being broke!

In fact, it beats being broke by a long-shot.

I've also have used the visualization principles of psycho-cybernetics. I've found them to be very helpful as far as addressing the "re-programming" you may need.
Sometimes it's hard to keep that old tape loop ("the critic within") that's stuck in your head, from automatically re-playing itself when you can least afford to hear it.

The New Psycho-Cybernetics book by Dr. Leonard Maltz, and updated by Dan Kennedy, does a good job of addressing how to reverse these messages.

The thing is, and you've got to understand this... your past really has very little to do with your future -- unless you let it.

You can buy the Psycho-Cybernetics book on amazon.com by clicking on this bookcover -- it's now in paperback.

My friend Neil Stafford, publisher of the Internet Marketing Review, recently was kind enough to turn me on to Dr. Robert Anthony's set of CD's. I have no clue where he got them but I'm sure if you offer Neil a small bribe, he'll tell you.
These CD's offer scientific proof that being "negative" really is bad for you, along with a "formula" for eliminating negative thoughts.

The 1911 classic book "The Science Of Getting Rich" really opened my eyes, and my mind, to a very exciting (and deserving) new way of looking at accumulating wealth.
It's a very easy and practical book to read -- you can probably knock it off in less than an hour -- and, you can download the whole book, FREE of charge, from my website, right here:

Download The Science Of Getting Rich Right Now

At a minimum, you must read this book -- it changed the way I look at wealth accumulation, dramatically.

Finally, the thing that really helps me "shed" any fears I have, is simply living in the moment: Thinking about what I have instead of what I don't have... enjoying my family... and taking care of myself, outside of business.
Doing things like exercising, getting out of the house, taking a break to laugh with my wife, and playing with my kids. Heck, even enjoying my dog when I walk her, lets me live in the moment.

If you've got any other ways to "release" negative programming and bring out the "expert" in you, let me know about them, and with your permission, I'll put them in next weeks tip, along with a link to your site.

Next week, I'll give you a few ideas on how to position yourself as an expert. In fact, next week's tip will be called,

“How To Position Yourself As An Expert!
(Even If You Really Aren’t One)”

And with a little luck, I'll have an incredible guest to introduce you to.

And the week after that, you're going to get back to some more eye-opening hard-hitting copywriting secrets you can use.

P.S. I’ll create 3 headlines for you to use, if you’re the first person who can tell me where this quote came from. I heard it in a movie I saw last week:

"It’s not your strongest attributes that
show who you are... it's the choices you make."

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:01 AM | Permalink

"...if you’re using pictures -- whether in newspaper or magazine display ads... online... or in sales letters -- make sure, no matter what, you're using real-live photographs and not drawings."
There should only be one, over-riding reason why you're doing anything in your marketing.

Know what that reason is?

Of course! To increase the response rates of your sales promotions!

Because that leads to...

Making Yourself A Nice Little Boat-Load Of Cash!

Today I'm going to let you in on a little-known secret about how to use "pictures" in your sales promotions, the right way... and the wrong way... so you can start turbo-charging your existing promotions, immediately!

First of all, if you’re using pictures -- whether in newspaper or magazine display ads... online... or in sales letters -- make sure, no matter what, you're using real-live photographs and not drawings.

People "bond" better to other
people, not to "drawings of other people".

Think of any picture of a little infant you may have seen. You can't help but smile, right?

The truth is, you wouldn't have had that same reaction if you were thinking about a "drawing" of an infant now, would you?

Second, if you're going to be using photographs of your goods or services, show your products or services actually "being used".

See, assuming the people who want your products are reading your ads in the first place... action-shots draw your prospects "into" your sales messages, making your prospects visualize themselves using your product.

For example: Most of the time, when people are selling swimming pools, they show you a beautiful empty pool surrounded by an immaculately clean deck.

But wouldn't you be a lot more likely to picture yourself drifting lazily on the surface of your pool, with a cool drink in your hand... the sun beating down on you from up above... beads of sweat pouring over your eyebrows and dripping onto the edges of your sunglasses... if you saw a picture of someone doing that exact same thing in that photo of the swimming pool you were looking at?

And don't you think you're a lot more inclined to buy a pool if you can actually see yourself in that pool relaxing, right now?

Here, try something: I want you to close your eyes right now and totally immerse your thoughts with nothing else but that picture of yourself relaxing in your pool... without a care in the world.

Your kids are having fun close by (and not fighting with each other for a change)... your partner's on their way in, wading over to you with a fresh cold icy drink... and there's not a cloud in the sky.

O.K... Now... Snap out of it!

How did you feel?

Refreshing, right?

So you understand then, you want your prospects visualizing themselves using your products, so they start getting involved with your product in their own minds.

This brings them much closer to buying your products.

Here's an example of what can happen when you use pictures of your product in use, in your marketing. First, go to this website and look for the picture of the couple using the wine-cabinet, about a third of the way down the page.

I had my client use this exact same photo offline, using this web copy as a long-form sales letter.

Want to know how the sales letter did?

O.K., I'll tell you: We sent out 40 letters to a cold list, at an average cost of $2.25 for each letter: it was a $1.38 each for the printing, 83 cents for the postage on each letter, and another 4 cents for the envelope.

The first mailing, my client got 10 orders worth $20,970 Dollars, and since your second and third mailings will usually give you at least the same number of orders your first mailing produced... we're expecting another $21,000 Dollars worth of business from this mailing.

Not bad, hey?

There was one tragic thing, though. The painful part of this was...

He didn't have 400 names instead of only 40!

So remember:

If you're going to use pictures, use photographs... and nothing else.

If you're going to show a photo of your goods and services, show your product or service actually being used.

And lastly, I didn't tell you this before, but I'm going to tell you now: Always put captions underneath your photos. People tend to look at photos with captions, and then read the caption itself, but many times, photos without captions get ignored.
Why?

It has to do with your early programming from way back in elementary school when you were trained to read using textbooks, and then later on, newspapers.

All the photos always had descriptive captions underneath them, didn't they?

And think back... what was the first thing you did when you saw a photo with a caption?

Chances are, you looked at the photo and then you read the caption.

Well... just like bakery bread-slicing machines... some things never change.

What's going to happen is, your prospects will be doing the exact same thing when they're reading your sales promotions: First they'll look at your photos, and then they'll read the captions underneath.

Good pictures always lift your response rates. Start using them the right way, immediately... and you'll guarantee this.

P.S. Here's something else I bet you'll find unusual: Did you know, studies show men actually prefer seeing pictures of men using your product, and women actually prefer seeing pictures of women using your products? Yes, it's true!

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Posted by ralph at 08:53 AM | Permalink

“You’ll find a number of great ideas, especially for marketing and product development, come from doing what you should already be doing, constantly. And that is...”
Last week you and I talked about making back-end sales and how important that is to your bottom line.

A number of my subscribers asked me "How do you figure out what to sell on the back-end?"

Here are a few ways you can do this:

Find out what your competitors are selling! Few of them are going to be clever enough to have a back-end offer in the first place, but of the ones that are, you'd be smart to see what they're doing and how they're doing it.
You'll find a number of great ideas, especially for marketing and product development, come from doing what you should already be doing, constantly. And that is...

Market Research!

Go out and order your competitors products, get on industry trade lists and carefully review all the offers you get in your mailbox.

There's some hidden gems in there, believe me.

Test your market! If you've already got something you "think" would be a good back-end, then test it, using an offer to a small sample of people from your customer list.
Listen, I know how you are.

You're the kind of person who wants to get everything "just right" before you roll out a product. Believe me, I understand.

But I've also learned, nothing's going to happen...

Until You Do Something!

So even if your offer (or your product) isn't "perfect", send it out anyway.

You'd be surprised at what you're going to learn, and the kind of feedback you'll get, just going through this testing process.

See, the thing is... even when you fail at something, you're always going to learn something positive from your experience.

If you don't think that's true, you either haven't done it yet, or you just like seeing the glass half-empty instead of half-full.

Which is another challenge I'll help you overcome in another Tip Of The Week.

And the last way you can find out what your marketplace wants, is by...

Asking your customers!
This is always the smartest market to research -- your own!

And how can you do this?

Simple. Just use a letter like this:

Monday, Feb 21, 2005
Dear Friend,

May I ask your opinion of something?

I've been approached by a few people who want to interview me.

What kinds of things will I be talking about?

The truth is...

I have no idea!

And frankly, that's why I'm writing you this letter.

I figured, since any interivew I give is going to benefit you, you'll get much more out of it if you decide what questions you want me to answer, and not some silly interviewer.

Along those lines, here's what you need to do.

If you want me to answer your questions, then fill this form out right now.

Quickly write down up to 3 specific questions you'd like me to answer, that have anything to do with direct-marketing or writing copy.

I'll even answer "some" personal questions -- but keep it PG rated, of course.

Maybe you're always stumped with trying to figure out "The best way to develop a USP"... or maybe you always have "headline problems"... but whatever your questions are... here's your opportunity to get them answered.

And you know me: When I answer something, I don't hold back -- no beating around the bush here.

I'll let you know when the interviews are going to take place, and where you can listen to them, once they're ready.

Just put “Interview” where it says "subject". This way I'll give your e-mail immediate attention and your questions will have great shot at being used.

Your full name:
Your e-mail address:

Subject:

Your Interview Questions (up to 3):

Anyhow, next time you want to know how to get information out of your marketplace, now you know the real secret to doing this effectively:

Just Ask Them!

P.S. The gates are going to close on this survey, this coming Friday. So if you've got some questions you want answered, you only have the next 3 days to get them in.

Sorry, but after that, no more questions will be allowed and your input won't be considered.

P.P.S. Also, I'll personally respond via e-mail to the top 3 most clever questions I get asked -- so dot your i's and cross your t's and put your thinking caps on!

Have you used any other creative ways to get information from your customers, or from your marketplace? If you have, let me know.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:07 AM | Permalink

“If you're not telling your prospect what to do... and if you're not continuing to "grease the slide" along the way, so their efforts at getting through your entire sales letter go as smoothly as possible... your prospect simply won't do it on their own.”
You know, I always say sending someone a sales letter is like crashing a party.

And when you crash a party, you've got about 5 minutes to convince your host why they should let you stay, instead of tossing you straight out the front door.

One way you can appeal to the host of the party, without actually "doing" anything... is by "looking good".

Let's face it, if you're attractive and you present well, people go out of their way to accomodate you a lot more than when you look like you just woke up from a night out, right?

Well... this same concept applies to your sales letters: If they look good... if they're easy on they eyes... and if they're "attractive"... your prospect's going to be significantly more inclined to listen to what you have to say in that letter.

But if your sales letters look like those incredibly confusing property tax bills your local government sends you... or if they look like the paper version of a used car salesman... you can bet your next month's mortgage payment...

Your Letter's Going To Hit The Back Of
Your Prospect's Trash Bin, Almost... Immediately!

So without any further ado, today I'm going to show you 5 fast and easy ways you can make sure your sales letters look more like something off the cover of GQ magazine... and less like some pre-formatted insensitive sales letter template, like 99% of all the garbage you find inside your mail box looks like.

1. Use wide, clean margins!

Listen, I know you want to jam as much as you can into your sales letters, but don't do this at the expense of alienating your prospects because your margins are too close to the edge of your papers.

When there's no "white space" in your sales letter, your prospect feels overwhelmed, the same way you're feeling when you look at your desk and there's no "desk space" because it's all cluttered with papers... books... magazines... unopened mail... and what-not.

I always use at LEAST a 1 inch margin on the left and right sides, and on top. My bottom margins usually go no lower than a half inch.

2. Use Serif Fonts

Studies show serif fonts -- fonts with edges -- make reading much much easier and less strenuous on the eyes.

That's why newspapers and magazines use these fonts.

Now I know you may be thinking, you've seen online studies that show arial fonts (like this) are easier to read online, and this may be true in small doses, like in menu headings... category titles... or sub-headings.

But if you're writing a full-blown long-form sales letter, believe me... using a font with a serif, is much easier for you to digest.

Like this:

Georgia
Times New Roman, or
Courier 10 (click here to read "How To Sell To Howard Stern... Oprah Winfrey... And...
Paul McCartney!” and to download this font)
For offline sales letters, I usually use Times New Roman for my headlines and actual text, and Courier 10 for testimonials and lift letters (click here for samples), or... if I'm sending the letter to an older marketplace and I want to make sure visual impairment doesn't affect response.

3. Use nice clean white paper!

Unless you're going for a certain "upper-crust" feel, don't use anything too thick (more than 20 pound weight) and don't use any fancy colored paper either.

You want your prospects to feel as "comfy" as possible, as if they were reading a letter from an old friend.

And your old friend isn't going to send you a computer-generated or typewritten letter on flashy paper or pastel-colored paper, are they?

So make sure you don't do this to your prospects either.

4. Make Your Headline Stand Out!

If you're smart enough to put a headline on your sales letter (and if you're not, don't bother sending your letter out at all), make sure you don't go and waste all that time and effort you went to, by making your headline...

Too Small To Get Noticed!

You want to make your headline BOLD... you want to use first caps (start each and every word with a capital letter)... and you want to put your headline in quotes.

Also, you want to use at least an 18 to 20 point font, or maybe even larger if you can.

Doing each of these things will boost your response.

Like this:

“How To Play Killer Lead Guitar
Like Jimi Hendrix... In 31
Days Or Less!”

(By-the-way, I just bought one of my sons a guitar, so if you know where I can buy this course... and if the results are guaranteed... please let me know.)

Here's a headline I'd like to test one time. It voilates the "first caps" rule, but I'd bet it would do well:

“If you give me 10 minutes a day... I'll show you how to completely eliminate back pain -- but only if you can answer "Yes!" to each of the following questions!”

And lastly...

5. Put A Page Number At The Bottom Of Each Page!

This way, if the pages that make up your sales letter get torn apart, you don't have to worry about your prospect getting lost, or wondering where to go... or where they left off.

Also, at the bottom of each page, along the right-hand edge of your footer, make sure you put something like "Please turn to next page"... or "next page please"... or... "go to page 7".

Why do you need to do this?

The answer is simple: If you're not telling your prospect what to do... and if you're not continuing to "grease the slide" along the way, making it easier for them to get through your entire sales letter as smoothly as possible... your prospect simply won't do it on their own.

And that's just too much of a risk to
take... when you're trying to sell something!

Remember, they're going to be distracted and preoccupied with all the other things going on in their lives at the time, so keep them moving along in your letter, as best you can.

Look at it this way: Doing any single one of these things, in and of itself, may only add "this" much value.

But doing ALL of them...

Goes a very long way towards making your
cash register go ka-ching... over-and-over again!

See you next week.

P.S. Just a quick thanks to one of my subscribers, Andrew Cavanagh, who runs www.HelpHomelessKids.com.

Andrew was kind enough to send me some additional information about Name Squeeze pages, which I discussed in last weeks tip, “When Long Form Sales-Copy Doesn't Outpull Short Copy: An Eye-Opening Inside Secret Finally Revealed!”

Any comments?
Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 10:50 AM | Permalink

“... and is there any better way to get your prospects involved with you than this?”
Last week we talked about self-promotion and the danger of not doing it, regardless of your personal comfort zone.

Today I'm going to give you 3 ideas you can use to promote yourself.

Before I do this though, here's another way to promote yourself... but I DON'T suggest you use it.

Recently, the Aladdin Casino in Las Vegas "tossed out" singer Linda Ronstadt right in the middle of her performance, because she dedicated her song "Desperado", to film-maker Michael Moore (the producer of the movie Farenheit 911).

As a result of this incident, because Rondstat's name has been in the news so much lately, you know it's created some additional sales of her CD's.

Here's some interesting follow-up to this event: It's a copy of Michael Moore's letter to Bill Timmins, president of the Alladin Hotel and Casino:

July 20, 2004

Dear Mr. Timmins:

I understand from the news reports I've read that, after Linda Ronstadt, one of America's greatest singers, dedicated a song to me from your stage on Saturday night, you instructed your security guards to remove her from the Aladdin, which they did.

What country do you live in?

Last time I checked, Las Vegas is still in the United States. And in the United States, we have something called "The First Amendment."

This constitutional right gives everyone here the right to say whatever they want to say. All Americans hold this right as sacred. Many of our young people put on a uniform and risk their lives to defend it.

My film is all about asking the questions that should have been asked before those brave soldiers were sent into harms way.

For you to throw Linda Ronstadt off the premises because she dared to say a few words in support of me and my film, is simply stupid and Un-American. Frankly, I have never heard of such a thing happening.

I read that you wouldn't even let her go back up to her room at your hotel! Are you crazy? For crying out loud, it was a song DEDICATION! To "Desperado!"

Every American loves that song! Sure, some people didn't like the dedication, and that's their right. But neither they nor you have the right to remove her from your building when all she did was exercise her AMERICAN right to speak her mind.

Of all the things that go on in Las Vegas, this is what creates the need for serious action? What about the other half of the crowd at the Aladdin who, according to the Las Vegas Sun, cheered her when she made her remarks? Did you throw them out, too?

I think you owe Ms. Ronstadt an apology. And I have an idea how you can make it up to her -- and to the millions of Americans you have offended.

Invite her back and I'll join her in singing "America the Beautiful" on your stage. Then I will show "Fahrenheit 9/11" free of charge to all your guests and anyone else in Las Vegas who wants to see it.

Mr. Timmins, as the song "Desperado" says -- "Come to your senses! " How can you refuse this offer? I await your reply.

Yours,
Michael Moore
Director, "Fahrenheit 9/11"

And, here's Bill Timmins reply to Michael Moore. As you can see, he wasted no time in getting back to Moore:

July 21, 2004
Attention: Michael Moore,

In response to your letter dated July 20, 2004: You are correct that I had security remove Linda Ronstadt from Aladdin Casino and Hotel where the fun never ends and everybody wins.

How very interesting to learn you are such a fan of Ms. Ronstadt. You questioned where I live and surprisingly knew Las Vegas is in the United States.

You should visit it sometime. There are thousands of wonderful ' All You Can Eat' buffets.

There are also a lot of casinos who's owners don't f%@k around.

I am aware of the First Amendment and you have the right to talk about your hatred of America but once you are on my property and you are upsetting my guests, you will quickly learn about my rights.

I can't remember if it was Jesus or George W. Bush that said, "Freedom is a two-way street."

Ms. Ronstadt learned this long before I had her thrown out of my casino.

You question my actions?

If you come onto my property and upset my guests, you will receive the same, if not worse, treatment than Ms. Ronstadt received. I am sure your mere presence would upset my guests.

You claim your film, "...is all about asking the questions that should have been asked before those brave soldiers were sent into harms way." I think your film does nothing but aid the enemy and hurt our troops. You have betrayed our troops, our leader and America.

I have no respect for you or your vision of what America
should be.

I paid Ms. Ronstadt to entertain my guests, not divide them. The half that did not leave probably thought the verse you mentioned, "Why don't you come to your senses" was addressed to you.

Maybe she should have dedicated her song, 'You're No Good' to you. I would have asked her back, had she done that.

Regarding your request for me to apologize to her, have you and her on my stage singing anything about this Country and then playing your piece of shit film is ludicrous!

One of my workers is currently throwing away every complaint letter from brainless followers of you, claiming they will never visit my Casino.

I could not be more pleased to know my casino and hotel will always be void of the kind of people who support you.

Meanwhile, my hotel has been quickly booked solid for the rest of the year with true Americans who love this Country and support our efforts overseas.

They will see a framed copy of your letter and my response in the lobby to ensure they begin their experience with a laugh.

Sincerely,

Bill Timmins, President
Aladdin Casino and Hotel
Las Vegas, NV

Again, while I don't suggest you go and do something like this, there's no doubt, both Michael Moore and Linda Rondstat have benefited "promotion" and sales-wise, from this escapade.

Anyway, here are 3 EASY things you can, and you should do... if you're looking to self-promote:

Sometimes promotion is easier than you think. For example, have you ever received a personal thank-you note from someone you've done business with?
If you're like most people, your answer's probably "No."

So imagine, for example, if you got a thank-you note that also included something "extra" in it, you weren't expecting?

You’d be blown away, right?

In fact, if you do it right, you'd even be able to use your "thank-you" letter as a platform for a back-end sale.

That's the exact premise of what a "stick" letter like this does:

If you want to download a copy of this letter for your files, head on over to my "Writing Samples" webpage and click on the "stick letter" tab.

It's called a "stick letter" because this thank-you letter is designed to reduce refunds -- helping your orders "stick".

Here's another simple way to promote yourself -- and you can even have your spouse or other family members helping you with this one.
How about getting a nice fat rear-window or bumper-sticker with the name of your business pasted across it?

That's easy, cheap, and after you put the sticker on, it requires literally no additional work.

Here's a place I used to order a www.kingofcopy.com clear transparent sticker: Signs By You

I've had several people on my list tell me they signed up because they saw the sticker on the back of my window.

Not a bad investment for $15 bucks, hey?

Lastly, in another Tip Of The Week:
“Finally, An Exciting Way To Generate Qualified Leads... And... Get Your Prospects
All Fired-Up About You!”
I talked about how to use a contest sweepstakes to sell more.

Another option you have is to create an "event" and use the event to sell for you.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

Run a seminar
Sponsor a community parade
Create an awards ceremony and have a presentation. For example, if you own a dry-cleaners, run a "Which 7th grader can best explain the importance of having a clean environment?" awards contest.
Host a book signing. If you're self-publishing, you can run it in a library or in a business that sells something related to your book.
Sponsor a charitable holiday or weekend dinner for people who can't afford to feed themselves
Run a presentation at an animal shelter or retirement home
Host an exhibit at a mall
Have a grand opening for your store
Sponsor a community 5K race, and give the proceeds to a local charity related to your product or service
Sponsor or put on a free Lunchtime Concert
Display your products or service at a store or mall, or offer free health or legal check-ups
One example of this that's used all over town, is when you have chiropractors and massage therapists setting up in a store or mall, giving away free exams or free 2-minute back-rubs.

These events are extremely effective.

How do you know?

I've asked a number of chiropractors and massage therapists and they've told me so.

Plus, they come back week-after-week to run these events -- so you know they're not doing this for their health -- they're doing it because it works.

Whenever you're giving your prospects the opportunity to see you in action and take a "test drive", what you're doing, is giving out "samples" of your product.

And is there any better way to get your prospects involved with you than this?

No Way!

Of course, whatever event you plan, make sure your participants are part of the targeted demographics of your prospects.

If you have a regional law practice that operates in Oakland, California, don't feed the homeless in Manhattan -- I'm not so sure how far that'll get you with respect to promoting your practice locally.

This is the same thing food distributors do, handing you small tasty bites of grilled chicken, or cheese and crackers, as you walk up and down the aisles of your local supermarket.

And did you know, advertising legend Claude Hopkins, the author of Scientific Advertising, was really big on giving out samples and coupons for samples?

It's true.

Want to know why?

Because it's a fantastic way to measure the results of your marketing.

You can find out how, yourself -- I'm going to put up a copy of Scientific Advertising on my website this week, for you to download and read yourself.

I'll let you know, as soon as it's up.

If you haven't yet read this copywriting and marketing classic, I'd encourage you to do so at once.

Hopkins is a brilliant writer.

You'll have no problem following anything, and you won't feel "pressed" to understand his conversational tone, even though the book is nearly a century old.

If you have any questions about some promotional ideas you're thinking about using, give me a holler and I'll be happy to talk about them with you.

P.S. The answer to last week's mystery quote:

“It’s not your strongest attributes that
show who you are... it's the choices you make.”

Believe it or not, this quote came from Richard Harris starring as Professor Dumbledore in the movie Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets.

I'm not really a Harry Potter fan, but at the suggestion of my daughter, we watched it together and they're actually really brilliant movies and a great way to spend a rainy afternoon with your kids.

A few people sent in some guesses, but unfortunately no one guessed correctly.

P.P.S. Next week... a very hard-hitting copy tip about how to tap into the newest trends in consumer behavior!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 11:02 AM | Permalink

“My hope is though, by raising your level of awareness about MMTS, you'll be more attuned to it's symptoms and you'll also discover how to prevent yourself from becoming infected.”
Here's a scary example of what can happen if you get infected by a business-destroying condition called "MMTS."

Although not extremely common, in marketing circles, getting infected by the MMTS virus isn't that uncommon either.

In fact...

I see it FAR more often than I should.

My hope is though, by raising your level of awareness about MMTS, you'll be more attuned to it's symptoms, and you'll also discover how to prevent yourself from becoming infected.

MMTS happens usually after you've been running a successful ad for a while and your cash-flow is finally consistent... and large. The problem is, for many people, MMTS completely takes over your mind, once you finally achieve that "on auto-pilot" business system you've been after all this time.

All your years of struggle and all your memories of strife, just seem to somehow fade away, and all of a sudden you have...

More Money Than Sense! (MMTS)

Today I'm going to give you a specific example of a well-known company that recently reached the "More Money Than Sense" critical-mass standpoint, and was stupid enough to go "public" with this information.

The good news is, there are many ways to defend and protect yourself against MMTS, and I'm going to reveal 3 of them to you today. This way you can prevent yourself from ever succumbing to MMTS.

By-the-way, what kind of car do you drive?

The reason I ask, is because many people out there seem to be driving a Lexus nowadays, especially people in their mid-40's and up, in above-average income brackets.

True, no?

Now me, I don't particularly like Lexus cars -- but there again, what do I know -- I'm from the Bronx. They're a little too "smooth-riding" for me.

I prefer more of a "European" ride -- closer to the ground, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, last month the L.A. Times ran an article about how Lexus went from literally "zero" to becoming the leading luxury car seller in America in only 15 short years, because they "astutely targeted a customer base of baby boomers entering their peak earning years."

In other words...

They Identified A Marketplace
And Exploited The Hell Out Of It!

So now that Lexus has done so well... what do they do for an encore?

They Blow It All
On A Severe Case Of MMTS!

Here's the deal: Believe it or not, the article says that Lexus now plans on re-vamping their entire product line so it appeals to -- get this...

“A Younger, Less Boomer Market!”

Right?

Now call me stupid, but... who the heck's been buying Lexus cars for the last 15 years?

Yuppies and Baby Boomers!

NOT twenty-somethings club-hopping on weekends!

See, this is what happens to many people, once you start making some serious dough. You can't just sit back... relax... and enjoy things.

You've got to go and adapt some "new" strategy to screw things up royally.

Now that things are finally running smoothly, you start feeling bored... unchallenged... and basically, "the thrill is gone".

Or whatever?

The thing is, THIS is when MMTS is most likely to strike!

Anyway, the article went on to say "To keep the marquee fresh and draw younger buyers, Lexus is re-designing its entire lineup over the next four years. You'll see sportier cars, more powerful cars and trucks, and a wider range of engines."

"First up early next year is the RX400, with a base price expected to top $45,000 Dollars."

Now maybe I'm totally "out-of-it", but... if you had to sell a car that costs $45,000 dollars, who would you sell it to?

Kids just out of college?

Young families with babies? Or maybe...

People who watch "Jackass" on MTV?
Sorry, but I don't think so.

To figure this out, let's look at the 3 rules of "finding your market"... and since these rules apply regardless of what you're selling... pay attention here and listen closely, O.K.?

Here they are:

Recency: Who's buying your product now and who recently bought it?
In the case of Lexus, the answer is aging baby boomers with money.

Frequency: Who's purchased your product more than once before?
Multiple and repeat product buyers are a great choice to sell to again. After all, if someone's bought something more than once, it's a safe bet they're open to buying another one from you, right? (As long as you have the right sales pitch, of course.)

In the case of Lexus, it's existing Lexus owners.

Dollar Value: Sell something to people who've paid the same price (or more) for it in the past.
For example, if you're selling a $197 dollar a year investment newsletter, you'll want to market it to people who've already paid $197 dollars or more for investment newsletters.

Make sense?

And in Lexus' case, you want to market to consumers who've bought Lexus or other luxury cars that cost at least $45,000 Dollars and up, right?

So let's think about this for just a moment here, and take a good hard look at how Lexus is screwing themselves:

Lexus doesn't want to sell their high-priced luxury cars to aging baby boomers with money anymore. Instead, they want to sell high-priced luxury cars to single people who are out partying, and young families struggling with their bills and trying to get their careers jump-started!

Hmmm...

Do you think there are a lot of people in that bracket who can even afford $45,000 Dollars to drive a Lexus?

It doesn't seem like Lexus stopped and hit the "pause" button for even a second, to consider this though, does it?

Lexus clearly has a case of MMTS -- and they've got it bad. But...

Here Are 3 Ways You Can
Avoid MMTS, If... You Catch It In Time!

If your marketing is finally running on its own and doing well, and if you feel like you may be starting to come down with a case of MMTS and you're getting restless... then here are 3 things you can do to occupy your time instead:

Clone youreslf! Create another company that sells a cheaper version of what you're successfully selling now. This way, you can scoop up the remaining nickles and dimes you're leaving on the table.
If you think this doesn't make sense, then think again: How is it that another company can set up shop and compete against you and make money?

Why shouldn't you be that "other" company?

You've already got the systems and the product in place.

Run a larger ad! If your half page ad is making you a million dollars a year, then run a full page ad -- it should increase your revenues by at least 50% or more. (Ad size increases are NOT always proportional.)

Add a photograph to your ad! Photos have been shown to increase response to your ads. Want to know how to add a photo, or the best kind of photo to add? Check out my Tip Of The Week called “How To Use Pictures To Immediately Start Increasing The Response Rates Of Your Marketing”
As far as Lexus goes, it's going to be interesting to see what happens here. If they go ahead with this plan, they're essentially going out and re-inventing another car company.

Only this time, it seems like someone's got their head stuck up their rear-end!

Not only are they going to struggle with attracting a newer crowd, they're going to wind up alienating their core buyers today.

What's provoking these insane changes, is... Lexus has been slowly losing market share to Cadillac, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

But instead of using better marketing to attract more buyers and sell more cars, or creating a better product for their current buyers and charging more money, (both of which would be very effective things to do) they're basically doing something completely stupid because of an acute case of MMTS.

Better them than you, hey?

P.S. What Lexus is completely forgetting, is... the baby boomer market (the one they've already been wildly successful selling to) controls over 70% of the wealth in this country!

What they're doing is like trying to market motorized mini-scooters to senior citizens! And...

It Ain't Gonna Work!

If you want more facts about how to sell to baby boomers, make sure you check out my Tip Of The Week called “How To Sell To Howard Stern... Oprah Winfrey... And... Paul McCartney!”

Have you ever suffered from MMTS? Or do you know someone else who has? Let me know about it and I'll publish your comments in a future Tip Of The Week.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:05 AM | Permalink

“And if you want to consistently be able to crank out one strong marketing piece after another... that get your prospects excited and involved, while completely avoid boring them to death, like most marketing does... and if you want a never-ending supply of ideas to use, regardless of what you sell or what kind of business you're in...”
What's the best way someone can get you interested and attracted to them, when you first meet?

And I don't mean sexually interested, or physically attracted, I mean "mentally" intrigued... motivated... and captivated?

Think about it -- how can someone get you to like them -- when you've just met?

Give up?

Well of course, there's charisma... charm... and "energy" levels you can "sense", right?

But if you think about it, aren't you most attracted to those people who "engage" your brains... draw you into them... and get you "involved" with something you care about, or something that's already on your mind?

The thing is, you want your sales copy and your marketing to be doing the exact same thing -- getting your prospects involved and interested in you.

See, when your prospects feel closer to you... they're a lot more likely...

To Give You Money!

Along those lines, today I'm going to show you a few clever ways you can get your prospects "involved" with you, by using some "unconventional" marketing tricks.

When you're writing sales copy, you call these little tricks to get your prospects involved with you, "involvement devices".

One of the most prolific involvement devices you've probably seen, is the clip-off "postage-like" stamps that come inside those magazine and CD offers you get in the mail.

What's most surprising, is... the involvement devices we're going to be talking about, are being used by mainstream companies.

“Wake Me In The Morning Honey!”

Oddly enough, a very mainstream retailer, Target Stores, came up with a great promotion, used effectively over the Thanksgiving Day shopping weekend.

Here in America, the Friday after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. You're out hustling and bustling back-and-forth getting ready for your year-end holiday season, buying gifts for your loved ones... toys for your kids... and, decorations for your home.

It's often called, "Black Friday."

Target had a telephone number you could call: You'd tell them what time you wanted to be waken up on Black Friday, so you could get out there and beat the crowds early Friday morning... get in all your shopping... and finish up your day nice and early.

They even had several celebrity voices you could choose from, to wake you up.

What was the benefit to Target?

Simple: Under the "reciprocity" concept ("I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."), loads of people felt "obligated" to go out and shop at Target, or order from Target online... because they felt "obligated" to Target for getting them up and out of bed that morning.

Surely, you could offer your customers a similar service, couldn't you.

For example, even if your prospects don't need a wake-up call, couldn't you regularly notify your customers about new products... updates to old products... new versions of existing or related products... and important product information that's been in the news or on TV lately?

Your customers would be thrilled to get this information, especially because you know how often most business-owners communicate with their customers?

Never!

Here's a perfect example of what typically happens: Last Christmas, I bought my wife and kids, some TastyKakes. We had been watching the Food Network and they were doing a profile on them -- and all their mouths began watering -- so I went online and ordered some right after that.

And... I never... heard... a thing from TastyKakes, ever... again!

Then, lo and behold, last week... what do I get in my inbox?

An e-mail from TastyKake, pitching their "Holiday Collection Giftbox." Now don't you think, I might have ordered TastyKakes again, sometime in the past 11 and a half months before this -- had I been...

Contacted With Some Kinds
Of Special Offers And Information?

So don't be like TastyKake -- communicate with your customers... get them involved with you... and do it regularly.

And one more thing -- don't sit there thinking "But ALL my customers or clients aren't going to enjoy this."

You're right -- they're not.

But you know what?

You don't care about those people who aren't going to enjoy hearing from you -- you only care about the one's who do. And, if you're giving out good information... most will.

“What's Coming To The Movies This Week?”

Amazon.com, the leading online retailer, is running a very slick marketing campaign right now.

If you go to their home page, you'll see they're showing a series of short (5 to 10 minutes) movies, starring mainsream Hollywood actors and actresses... 1 a week, for the next 5 weeks.

That sure is getting your customer involved, isn't it?

Keeping someone on your web site for 10 minutes straight and captivating their attention the whole time?

Darn right it is.

But Amazon's pretty sharp -- they don't just stop there -- they go one step further: Right beside the movie screen, they've got links showing merchandise from the movie for sale... related merchandise for sale... and... they've even got links to the favorite items of the stars of these movies.

So let's see what's going on here: By using this movie as an "involvement device", Amazon's captivated your attention and got you glued to their site, for 10 minutes at least, and next you're clicking around like crazy checking out item after item.

And don't you think...

They’re Going To Be Selling
A LOT More Merchandise Because Of This?

No doubt!

So why can't you come up with something similar to do on your site?

If you're selling goods and services to the hospitality industry, for instance... don't you think your customers would be interested in seeing the kinds of quality control inspections you perform, to make sure what you're distributing is only top-shelf and 100% germ-free stuff?

If you're a realtor, don't you think you could offer a video showing the "Top 3 Ways To Boost The Selling Price Of Your House?"... or, a video clip showing the "Top 3 Mistakes Sellers Make When Trying To Unload Their Homes Quickly!"

And see, then... since you've already loaded your prospects up with great information, they're that much more inclined to listen to more of what you have to say.

And please... puh-lease... don't tell me, "Well, what about the people who don't like movies?"

Because like I said before...

You Don’t Care About Them Right Now!

You'll run some other kind of promotion or use some different kind of involvement device to attract those folks, later on down the line, right?

I'll even give you some more ways you can get your prospects involved, next week.

And listen, be realistic here: you simply can't make every single one of your customers happy ALL the time -- that's just not possible.

Gosh, you can't even make all your kids happy ALL the time, so why would you expect this to be even a remote possibility, with total strangers?

But figure out what your customers or prospects want to know most from you, then give them a little taste of that information... and deliver it using audio... video... or some other kind of appropriate media that catches their eyes... ears... and most important, engages their brains... and you'll be in a great position to boost your sales from it.

And now I'm going to show you...

How To Build An “Instant” Swipe File... How To Legally... And Ethically “Cheat” In Your Marketing, Regardless Of What Industry You’re In, And... Discover A Quick, Easy, And Proven Way To Put Your Hands On Literally Hundreds Of Marketing Pieces You Can Start Using In Your Own
Business (Without Worrying About Copyright
Infringement)... Almost... Immediately!

If you want to be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan, you're going to have to practice and listen to hundreds, no... make that thousands of guitar solos.

If you want to be the next Donald Trump, you're going to have to eat... sleep... and drink nothing but big-city real estate for the next few years.

And if you want to consistently be able to crank out one strong marketing piece after another... that get your prospects excited and involved, and completely avoid boring them to death, like most marketing does... and if you want a never-ending supply of ideas to use, regardless of what you sell or what kind of business you're in...

Then Listen, And Listen Good!

One of the best marketing packages ever developed (and believe me I know, since I buy almost everything that comes out), is Dan Kennedy's "Magnetic Marketing" Toolkit.

Thousands of these kits have been sold world-wide, and with good reason!

There's Something In It For Literally
Everyone, Regardless Of What You're Doing For A Living!

In fact, before I complete nearly all of my copywriting jobs, I still go through my Magnetic Marketing Toolkit, scrounging around for that one last copywriting secret I can use... that one final "spin" I can put on my promotion... or that last valuable drop of "juice" I can find, to squeeze out of the orange.

Frankly, it's one of the founding pillars that make up my swipe file.

Through a special arrangement with one of my subscribers, you can now get your hands on a copy of this Magnetic Marketing Toolkit, plus listen to what Dan has to say himself, by clicking right on the link below.

And listen, if you order Dan's toolkit directly from this link, I'll give you something very very special, that makes your purchase worth much more than what you paid for it... perhaps... worth even thousands more!

Here's the deal:

“If you order the Dan Kennedy Magnetic Marketing Toolkit by clicking on this link below... and... you'll get $100 Dollars worth of FREE consulting from me, to help you implement any and all of the strategies you learn, from this Toolkit, or from any other project you're working on.

Here's what you need to do: Order your Magnetic Marketing Toolkit -- then, whenever you’re ready... fax me your receipt, along with your e-mail address, and you can buy an hour of consulting, for $100 Dollars off my regular price.

This way, you can avoid making some of the most common marketing mistakes, nearly every single business owner screws up on... and... instead, spend 100% of your time focusing on making maximum money in minimum time!”

So without any further adieu...

Click Here To Grab Your Copy Of
Dan Kennedy’s Magnetic Marketing Toolkit!

It's 100% fully GUARANTEED, and... if you're smart... you won't ever... let it... get...

Too Far From Your Side!

P.S. Next week I'll show you some more "involvement devices" and how to get your prospects attracted to you, and motivated by you, using some little-known, but incredibly powerful copywriting tricks.

Comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:10 AM | Permalink

“... the results showed 7 out of every 10 people, answered “Yes!”...”
Here's a proven, and truly easy way to start increasing your sales, immediately.

All you need to do is add these 2 words to your selling system, and you're good to go.

In fact, this trick's so good, I wish I could take credit for coming up with it, but the truth is, it comes from a little-known marketing legend.

Here's the deal:

In 1947, Elmer Wheeler was one of the best-known salesmen of his time. His "Wheeler Institute of Words" developed a "best practices" of selling, by testing a variety of words in over 19 million selling situations.

I'm right in the middle of reading one of Elmer's most famous books, "Tested Sentences That Sell".

And here's a great little selling trick that comes straight out of this book:

Ever go into a restaurant and order a drink?

Of course you have.

And what does your server usually ask you, right after you place your order?

They usually say "Small or large?", right?

Well, imagine for a moment... you're the owner of this restaurant.

Do you have any idea how much your sales would increase over time, if... instead of saying "Small or large?" after your customers ordered their drinks ... you told your servers to instead, say...

“Large one?”

Let me take the guess-work out of this and make your job easier for you.

Elmer Wheeler tested this experiment out in five-thousand separate selling situations. And the results showed, when your server asked "Large one?"...

7 out of every 10 people, answered “Yes!”

So, let's say a large soda costs you 35¢ more than a small soda -- are you with me on this? This means, by saying "Large one?"... 7 out of every 10 customers that walk through your door, end up giving you an extra 35 cents!

Now you may be thinking, "So what?... It's only 35 cents."

A-h-h-h, but remember....

Little Hinges Swing Big Doors Open!

Follow me here for a minute: If you've got 5 servers... and each of them does this with 100 customers a day, this means each of them will be serving large sodas to an extra 70 people a day.

That's an extra 350 large soda sales a day. (5 servers x 70 large sodas each).

350 extra sales, at 35¢ each, is $122.50 a day in extra gross sales for you... which translates into $857.50 extra a week, and over 52 weeks, this turns into...

$44,590 Dollars A Year... With
ZERO Extra Marketing Costs Involved!

Not bad, hey?

And if your large sodas cost 50¢ more than your small sodas, in that case, your annual bump in gross sales would be $63,700 Dollars!

70¢ more? O.K., that one's easy -- just double the 35¢ figure -- now you're selling $89,180 Dollars more!

See how easy this stuff is?

It's insane, isn't it?

But what if you don't have a restaurant?

How can you use this trick in your business?

Well, let's say you own a photography store. When people are filling out their forms to get their pictures developed, instead of saying "Singles or doubles?", you can say "Doubles?".

If you own a landscaping company, instead of asking "Shrubs and lawn?", you'd say "Whole yard?"

And if you're a hairdresser, instead of asking "Cut and shampoo?", you just say "Shampoo?"

Make sense?

When it comes down to it, the basic premise of this selling trick, is...

If You Don't Ask... You Don’t Get!

But polishing your request up so it's "benefit-oriented" to your prospect... makes this work smoothly... effectively... and without looking like you're trying to "sell more".

Notice how you're not asking "Do you want a large soda?" -- you're just saying "Large one?"

See, you'll have to experiment a little bit to find out what works best in your situation, but not you've at least got one helluva head start on things, no?

And can you think of any easier
way to make this kind of extra money?

Elmer Wheeler really was a "selling genius" and you'll pick up quite a bit from him.

And, from the excitement and enthusiasm he comes across with, you know he enjoyed his work.

Here are a few of Elmer's famous quotes:

"Your first 10 words are more important than your next 10,000."

"People seldom want to walk over you until you lie down." And...

"Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle."
Unfortunately, Wheeler's books are all out of print. You'll find them showing up pretty consistently on e-bay though, and, you can also find some of them on www.abebooks.com or www.alibris.com.

P.S. Several of my readers asked me whatever happened to Joe Sugarman, who I mentioned in last week's Tip, “What Never Ever To Say To Your Prospects...”.

Joe's living on Maui now, and he publishes the Maui Weekly newspaper. He's also still involved with Blu Blocker sunglasses, and I'm sure, a number of other things as well.

Later.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:58 AM | Permalink

"...if you’re using pictures -- whether in newspaper or magazine display ads... online... or in sales letters -- make sure, no matter what, you're using real-live photographs and not drawings."
There should only be one, over-riding reason why you're doing anything in your marketing.

Know what that reason is?

Of course! To increase the response rates of your sales promotions!

Because that leads to...

Making Yourself A Nice Little Boat-Load Of Cash!

Today I'm going to let you in on a little-known secret about how to use "pictures" in your sales promotions, the right way... and the wrong way... so you can start turbo-charging your existing promotions, immediately!

First of all, if you’re using pictures -- whether in newspaper or magazine display ads... online... or in sales letters -- make sure, no matter what, you're using real-live photographs and not drawings.

People "bond" better to other
people, not to "drawings of other people".

Think of any picture of a little infant you may have seen. You can't help but smile, right?

The truth is, you wouldn't have had that same reaction if you were thinking about a "drawing" of an infant now, would you?

Second, if you're going to be using photographs of your goods or services, show your products or services actually "being used".

See, assuming the people who want your products are reading your ads in the first place... action-shots draw your prospects "into" your sales messages, making your prospects visualize themselves using your product.

For example: Most of the time, when people are selling swimming pools, they show you a beautiful empty pool surrounded by an immaculately clean deck.

But wouldn't you be a lot more likely to picture yourself drifting lazily on the surface of your pool, with a cool drink in your hand... the sun beating down on you from up above... beads of sweat pouring over your eyebrows and dripping onto the edges of your sunglasses... if you saw a picture of someone doing that exact same thing in that photo of the swimming pool you were looking at?

And don't you think you're a lot more inclined to buy a pool if you can actually see yourself in that pool relaxing, right now?

Here, try something: I want you to close your eyes right now and totally immerse your thoughts with nothing else but that picture of yourself relaxing in your pool... without a care in the world.

Your kids are having fun close by (and not fighting with each other for a change)... your partner's on their way in, wading over to you with a fresh cold icy drink... and there's not a cloud in the sky.

O.K... Now... Snap out of it!

How did you feel?

Refreshing, right?

So you understand then, you want your prospects visualizing themselves using your products, so they start getting involved with your product in their own minds.

This brings them much closer to buying your products.

Here's an example of what can happen when you use pictures of your product in use, in your marketing. First, go to this website and look for the picture of the couple using the wine-cabinet, about a third of the way down the page.

I had my client use this exact same photo offline, using this web copy as a long-form sales letter.

Want to know how the sales letter did?

O.K., I'll tell you: We sent out 40 letters to a cold list, at an average cost of $2.25 for each letter: it was a $1.38 each for the printing, 83 cents for the postage on each letter, and another 4 cents for the envelope.

The first mailing, my client got 10 orders worth $20,970 Dollars, and since your second and third mailings will usually give you at least the same number of orders your first mailing produced... we're expecting another $21,000 Dollars worth of business from this mailing.

Not bad, hey?

There was one tragic thing, though. The painful part of this was...

He didn't have 400 names instead of only 40!

So remember:

If you're going to use pictures, use photographs... and nothing else.

If you're going to show a photo of your goods and services, show your product or service actually being used.

And lastly, I didn't tell you this before, but I'm going to tell you now: Always put captions underneath your photos. People tend to look at photos with captions, and then read the caption itself, but many times, photos without captions get ignored.
Why?

It has to do with your early programming from way back in elementary school when you were trained to read using textbooks, and then later on, newspapers.

All the photos always had descriptive captions underneath them, didn't they?

And think back... what was the first thing you did when you saw a photo with a caption?

Chances are, you looked at the photo and then you read the caption.

Well... just like bakery bread-slicing machines... some things never change.

What's going to happen is, your prospects will be doing the exact same thing when they're reading your sales promotions: First they'll look at your photos, and then they'll read the captions underneath.

Good pictures always lift your response rates. Start using them the right way, immediately... and you'll guarantee this.

P.S. Here's something else I bet you'll find unusual: Did you know, studies show men actually prefer seeing pictures of men using your product, and women actually prefer seeing pictures of women using your products? Yes, it's true!

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:54 AM | Permalink

“Last week I ran across a great example of a sweepstakes being used, and I wanted to share it with you. What was surprising about it, was... a well-known "real" publicly-traded company was running it.”
My mind is literally bursting with so many ideas to share with you, I don't even know where to start!

But let me begin with a specific example of something we talked about a few weeks ago. I think this is a worthwhile idea you should at least explore for your own business.

If you remember, in my article “Finally, An Exciting Way To Generate Qualified Leads... And... Get Your Prospects All Fired-Up About You!”, I showed you how to use sweepstakes to generate leads and sell your goods and services.

Well, last week I ran across a great example of a sweepstakes being used, and I wanted to share it with you. What was surprising about it, was... a well-known "real" publicly-traded company was running it.

Here's the deal: If you hop on over to www.delta.com/nyc, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

Delta Airlines is running a contest to win a trip around-the-world, and how they're running it, makes it very effective as a lead generating tool.

It's a trivia game sweepstakes, and it's very well done.

In fact, it makes you wonder, if they can do this... how come they've had an abysmal net loss literally every single year for the last umpteen years?

But... I digress. So let's get back to what's important here.

The first thing you notice when you enter their contest web page, is an opportunity to visually check out your winning prize, including watching a video of some of the hotels where you'll be staying if you win.

And believe me, if the sound of a "trip around the world" alone doesn't whet your appetite...

These pictures will!

Next, when you go to the page to actually play the game, you'll see there are 2 separate places to enter: one entrance for Skymiles members, and the other for "non-members".

Notice how they say Skymiles "members" and not Skymiles "account holders"? See, there's a reason for this:

First, "members" get privileges... but "account holders" usually have legal responsibilities.

The bottom line is, being a "member" is a "feel-good" experience, but being an "account holder" isn't, necessarily.

If you're already a Skymiles "member", you feel good Delta's recognizing you, and you go off on your merry way and enter into the contest.

But if you're not a Skymiles member, you immediately start seeing how "members" are treated differently and you begin thinking things like "What's this membership thing about?" and "How can I become a member?" and "What's behind the member's door that's different to mine?"

Which...

Is Exactly How They Want You To Feel!

See, showing exclusivity for your members is good, because it gets non-members wanting to join. So right away, you start having good vibes about Delta, because they can offer you a membership to some kind of an exclusive club.

So now Delta starts going from being just another airline to an airline that's willing to give you special treatment if you affiliate yourself with them in some way by joining their Skymiles program.

And right there, at that very instant, a paradigm shift has occurred: It started off that Delta wanted you to enter their contest...

And now you want to enter Delta's contest!

Which is absolutely great from a marketing standpoint! What's going on here is a subtle re-positioning of Delta, from "someone else who wants your hard-earned money" to "someone who's got something you want ".

And by-the-way, this subtle difference is the essence of the difference between direct-response marketing, and "traditional" advertising -- "attracting" prospects versus "pursuing" them.

At this point, non-Skymiles members can register to become a Skymile member, and both members and non-members get to register for the contest and sign up for loads of goodies including special travel offers from Delta.

Now remember, this whole premise works in the first place because you don't enter a contest unless you'd want to use the prize they're giving away. In this case -- if you're willing to fly around the world for free -- it's a fairly safe bet you're willing to pay to fly somewhere else.

And you can bet your bottom dollar, after you enter this contest, Delta's going to consistently send you travel... vacation... and flight offers, like clockwork.

The other thing Delta does is they even have a "tell a friend" box so you can refer your friends straight to this contest as well.

And, even the format of the contest is great -- it's a trivia contest -- and the way your points increase the sooner you answer the question, makes you very competitive. And,

This gets you involved in the contest!

Then, just like a performance scoreboard in a sales staff room, they post the top scores as well. This way you can see how well you're doing versus everyone else in the contest, and where you stand (I'm in 82nd place right now - whoopee!)

And this, too...

Gets you involved in the contest.

Plus, one of the contest questions has you scrounging around an entire web page as fast as you can in a race against the clock, looking to find some hidden pictures somewhere inside a big giant mural.

And of course, you know what this does, right?

It gets you involved in Delta’s contest!

And do you remember what happens the more involved you get your prospects in your promotion?

You got it -- the more you get your prospects involved in your promotion, the more successful your promotion is going to be!

(If you need a refresher on getting your prospects involved with you, go check out my article called “What To Never Ever Say To Your Prospects... And... The Secret Weapon You Must Always Use Instead!”)

So now that you've seen another situation where a business is using a sweepstakes as a lead generation tool, you're probably thinking "O.K., great... but how can I use a sweepstakes in my business?"

Right?

Well, the first thing you need to do is, you need to clear your mind about your business. Stop thinking you're in the "widget" business, and start thinking you're in the "marketing" business, and right now you just happen to be marketing "widgets".

And just like a painter has many different mediums to paint on (like paper... canvas... or poster-board for example), you as a marketer, also have many different forms of media you can use to market in. For example, you can use newspapers... trade magazines... direct mail... and the internet.

But of course, the best thing to do, is to use a combination of all these media... constantly testing different kinds of promotions against each other, in each one.

So now let's look at some examples here: Do you not think, if you're selling broadband service for example, you could do the very same thing?

You know, run a sweepstakes that gives away a few months of free service, so you can collect names and addresses (physical or e-mail) to use for lead generation?

Easy, right?

Or how about if you're selling bathroom accessories... or financial services... or pots and pans?

Wouldn't your prospects want a free bathroom makeover... or a free 5-step retirement audit... or a new set of the latest in kitchenware?

Can't you see how using the Delta sweepstakes model as a template, you could easily run a sweepstakes for your business?

And listen, if you do this right, you'll also look like a superstar, especially compared to your miserable competition -- they're not giving anything away to your prospects, are they?

How about a "basket of books" contest-of-the-month giveaway? Or maybe a quarterly vacation blast-off giveaway sweepstakes?

Or maybe... maybe even... a free half-hour consultation from your favorite direct-response copywriter?

Hmmm... that'd be a good one, hey?

Always practice what you preach -- that's what I say anyway.

P.S. When it comes to running a sweepstakes, there are a lot of legalities involved and you don't want to make a mistake here. But where do you turn to make sure you're on the straight-and-narrow?

Well, one of my subscribers, Sharon Rush, was talking to me about the company she reps, called "Geiger". They're a privately-held promotional services company, and apparently they've been in business for 125 years.

And one of the things Geiger does, and they do this nationally, is.. they oversee and run employee incentive programs, golfing tournaments, and...

Sweepstakes!

(In fact, they recently completed a successful national contest for Shasta, a well-known national beverage company.)

So if you need this kind of expertise in running a contest, and you want to make sure you work within the parameters of the law, give Sharon a call -- it may just be one of the most important calls you ever make.

You can reach her at 352-324-3474 -- that's in "Howie-In-The-Hills" in central Florida (yes, that's the real name of the town), or you can e-mail her at slrush@geiger.com. Just tell her you're a subscriber of mine and she'll take good care of you.

Till next week.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 04:04 AM | Permalink

“... before you do anything, you've got to evaluate your numbers... test your pricing models... and figure out what kind of response you need to make your promotion work.
Today, I'm going to help you out with all this planning, by giving you an instant "edge".

There's a famous line from one of my favorite movies, "The Graduate"... when Mr. Robinson says to Benjamin Braddock (played by a young Dustin Hoffman), during Benjamin's graduation party... "Ben, I have one word for you... "Plastics."

Do you remember that scene?

Well even if you don't, or in case you haven't seen that movie, one thing's for sure... Mr. Robinson was right on track, even today, 37 years later: Because this year alone, over 50 Million tons of plastics will be produced!

And here's something else you'll be surprised to hear: You know the "hot chocolate" and candy bar company, Nestle's?

Oddly enough, less than 3% of Nestle's gross sales are actually related to chocolate!

It’s true!

Most of their income comes from baby foods... dairy products (like Carnation instant milk powder)... breakfast cereals... bottled water (like Deer Park, Perrier and Zephyrhills)... and a whole host of other products, sold world-wide.

And still another "global" piece of information you should be storing in your mental "inbox" is this:

You share your birthday with
at least 9 million other people around the world!

And that's important for you to realize, because most people have a very hard time understanding "where" all the people are, who want to buy your product.

You see, just because you can't visualize them... and just because they don't live around the corner from you... and just because you won't be bumping into them at the mall this weekend, doesn't mean they're not out there!

Remember, you're not selling your products to you!

You Are NOT Your Customer!

So where am I going with all this... and what't the "bottom line" in this week's tip?

Simple:

You Must Know Your Numbers!

For example, I was having a conversation with a client yesterday and he suggested using direct mail to promote one of his products.

After all, he's got a very good product... he's in a marketplace that's excited and passionate... he's sold to them before (rather easily)... and, he's well-known in his sector.

So on the surface, you'd think direct mail sounds like a pretty good way to go, no?

But it's not.

See, the problem is, even at the high-end of his price range, after we've added in a bunch of bonuses and done a few other things to increase the perceived value of his product, this particular product doesn't sell for enough money to make a direct-mail promotion worth-while, unless you're assuming a very high response rate.

And in my books, that's a risky assumption to make.

It's much better to know ahead of time , you've got a promotion that's going to make you some cold hard cash, even using conservative numbers. This way, there's no downside.

As opposed to running your promotion, and then "hoping" you're going to make a bundle, assuming some kind of aggressive, but perhaps far-fetched response rate.

This way, you're only got upside (and more money) to look forward to, instead of a downside filled with painful surprises and unrealistic expectations that end up getting blown away, like leaves during a gust of autumn wind.

The bottom line is, before you do anything... and before you roll out any project... you've got to evaluate your numbers... test your pricing models... and figure out what kind of response you need, to make your promotion work.

"Knowing your numbers" will often be the difference between overwhelming success and the trappings of wealth that come with it, and... dismal (but predictable in advance) failure.

Gosh, I knew that CPA certificate I earned way back when, would come in handy some day!

And right now I'm going to help you out with all of this, by giving you an instant "edge".

I've developed an excel spreadsheet you're going to find invaluable when trying to figure out how to price any of your projects you may be selling online.

You can download this spreadsheet, by placing your mouse on the picture of it right below, and then clicking on it.

It's yours for FREE, but you'll have to figure out how to save it on your computer, and how to use it, by yourself.

Here's the file, along with a brief explanation of how it works. Once you click on it, it'll automatically download itself straight onto your PC, inside a zipped file.

O.K., so let me walk you through this thing.

Let's take a good hard look at the 4 moving parts to this spreadsheet:

A - As you can see, the title of this spreadsheet reads "To break even, you must sell 1 item in "#" of clicks at a price point of"... and so let me tell you what this means:

Basically, this spreadsheet's designed to help you figure out how many sales of your product you must make, in order to break even... giving consideration to the selling price of your product, and... how much you're spending on pay-per-click advertising.

If you're not familiar with pay-per-click advertising, then this isn't going to make much sense to you, so either skip this information, or try and follow along, and maybe things'll fall into place for you.

Also, if you're selling anything other than information, these numbers aren't so cut-and-dried, because you're going to have to consider the hard costs of your products as well.

B - Column A shows how much you're paying for online advertising, which is usually expressed in terms of your "cost per click."

On your spreadsheet, you can change these amounts and enter whatever amount you want.

C - This number represents the price of your item. In this example, I'm using a price of $24.95.

You can change this price to whatever you want, and as you can see, the spreadsheet is designed to compare 4 independent sets of pricing and pay-per-click costs, across the board.

If you're good with Microsoft Excel, you should have no problem copying these formulas across, horizontally (and vertically as well, for that matter), so you can compare as many independent sets of data as you want.

Underneath the price, is data that's automatically calculated for you. These numbers represent the total number of clicks you can afford to get, and only make ONE sale, yet still break even with your project.

Why is this number useful?

Simple. Let's look at row 11 for example.

In row 11, it assumes you're paying 30 cents a click on Google... or on Overture... or on any other pay-per-click system.

At a $24.95 price point, it says you need to make one sale out of every 83 clicks, for you to break even.

Looking at the next column in row 11, this translates into a response rate of 1.2% (1 divided by 83), as shown in the column marked “D”.

If you keep on moving across the row to your right, you'll see, raising your price by $5 dollars, to $29.95... lowers the response rate you need to break even, from 1 response every 83 clicks, to 1 response every 100 clicks, or from 1.2% to 1%.

And, if you go completely across to the very end of the spreadsheet, you'll see... at a price point of $37 dollars, you only need to sell 1 unit every 123 clicks, a 0.81% response rate, for you to break even.

It's important you start using this spreadsheet as soon as possible. This way, you can make well thought-out and educated "guesses" about how successful your project is going to be, before you start rolling it out, and also, so you have some kind of method of determining how much you should be charging for your products.

Obviously, you can use this spreadsheet for larger projects -- all you need to do is plug in your pricing numbers as you see fit. I just used the smaller numbers here, for illustration purposes, and so you could get a "sense" of how this thing works and what you can use it for.

P.S. I hope you had as much fun over Thanksgiving as I did, and that you got to spend some free time with the people you love. Here's a little picture of just some of what I was doing over my holiday:

I caught this bass (a 3-pounder, "plus") over in Tampa, while visiting a friend of mine, who also happens to be a client.

In fact, I'll be telling you more about this client soon, because if my "gut feelings" are right... the 72-page sales letter I just finished writing for him may easily be...

The deadliest sales letter... ever... written!

I'll let you know either way, soon!

P.P.S. Next week, I'll show you how you can build an "instant" swipe file... how you can legally and ethically "cheat" in your marketing, regardless of what industry you're in, and... a quick, easy, and proven way to put your hands on literally hundreds of marketing pieces you can start using in your own business, almost immediately.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:43 AM | Permalink

“I'm going to let you in on a little secret to making your copy as fresh and compelling as possible, and... it's also a sure-fire way for you to completely avoid falling victim to "The Law Of Diminishing Returns"...”
A few weeks ago I ran in my first 5K race, which is about 3.1 miles long.

I actually finished in about the time I thought I would -- 31 minutes and 58 seconds.

Not bad for a 40 year-old guy running in 90 degree heat, and on 2 knees that are about as stable as a few decks of playing cards stacked up a foot-and-a-half high.

And especially since I didn't even start running until a few months ago.

One thing about running though, or any physical conditioning for that matter -- you can't overtrain or else your body starts feeling the effects of...

“The Law Of Diminishing Returns”

The Law of Diminishing Returns is actually an econimic theory that was developed in 1798 by Thomas Malthus, a political economist concerned about what he believed, was the decline of living conditions in nineteenth century England.

Basically, this theory says if one factor of production keeps being increased while all the others are being held constant... your overall returns will go up at first... but ultimately, will decrease after a certain point.

The law was originally developed in response to studying agricultural production, so let me show you what I mean.

Let's say you keep adding more and more laborers to harvest your wheat field.

Now of course, growing up in the Bronx, as you'd imagine... I know squat about harvesting wheat. In fact, I don't even know if I've ever seen wheat (outside of my cereal box that is). But... even I know this:

In the beginning, you're obviously going to get better production:

2 workers can harvest more than 1 worker...

3 workers can harvest more than 2 workers...

And 4 workers can harvest more than 3 workers.
At some point in time though, each additional worker is going to add relatively less to your outcome, than his predecessor did... simply because he has less and less of the fixed amount of land to work with.

Make sense?

This law, first thought to apply only to agriculture, was later accepted as an economic theory that applies to all kinds of productive enterprises...

Including writing your sales copy.

Listen, writing good copy isn't easy -- for anyone -- regardless of what level you're at.

But I'm going to let you in on a little secret to making your copy as fresh and compelling as possible, and... it's also a sure-fire way for you to completely avoid letting "The Law Of Diminishing Returns" screw up your sales pitch.

Here's the secret to getting all you can out of all you've got:

Sometimes, it's good... to NOT finish your project!

Why?

Simple. Because just like a fresh cup of coffee needs time to brew... and time to percolate until it's "just right", without "forcing" it...

Your Copy Needs Time To Brew
And Then Settle As Well...
Without Forcing It Either!

And one of the best ways to let your copy settle, is just that: Let your copy settle.

“Do Nothing”

After a hard day or two (or more) of writing furiously on-and-off, you've got to take a "breather" for a day or so.

Lay off, and leave it alone.

Going at it over-and-over again without stopping for a day or so, puts you too close to your writing... it removes your objectivity... and trust me on this one, you're definitely going to subject your copy to "The Law Of Diminishing Returns".

So once you've "had it" with writing and you're completely shot...

Give It A Break!

Continuing to hammer away at it, is only going to make you less effective.

This way... once you come back to your copy, you're filled with a new energy and a fresh outlook and perspective you didn't have before.

And this lets you attack whatever's on your plate with an intense passion and a laser-sharp precision you'd never have had without your break.

So relax after you've done your fair share of work. Take some "me" time.

Your mind will enjoy it... your body will appreciate it... and if you're on top of your game, you'll make loads more money because your sales pitch will end up being a lot stronger... more specific... and more compelling.

Till next week.

P.S. Next week I'd like to ask you for some help with a little project I've been invited to participate in. It's important, and I'd really appreciate your contribution.

Do you find taking a break is good for the quality of your work or the quality of your life? Let me know.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:05 AM | Permalink

“For starters, don't wait too long to start enjoying your life and bathing in the things that are really important to you.”
Last week I told you I was going to start talking about the "mental" side of success. So let's cut to the chase and get right to it.

We're going to begin with a simple but very powerful story about 2 young brothers... the bond between them... and the power it wields. Maybe they're like my sons, and maybe they're like yours too.

The story is called...

“Whisper, Or A Brick?”

And it goes something like this:

A young and very successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar.

As his car passed by a street corner, from out of nowhere... a brick smashed right into the side door of his Jag.

The executive slammed down on his brakes, spinning the Jag around, and immediately raced back to the spot where the brick had been thrown from.

He jumped out of his car, and then grabbed a hold of the young kid that was standing by the side of the road, pushing him up against another parked car, and began shouting, "What do you think you're doing, boy?"

Building on an already explosive head of steam, he then went on:
"That's a brand new car and that brick you threw is going to cost me a TON of money in repairs. Why'd you do that?"

The boy, now shaking with fear, timidly said "Please sir, please. I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop."

As the boy confessed to the executive, tears were dripping down both sides of his face. He pointed around the parked Jaguar and said "You see... it's my brother sir. He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Then, he continued sobbing and began hugging the executive -- half out of fear and half out of mercy.

"Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair, sir? He's hurt... and... he's ever too heavy for me."

Moved beyond mere words could express, the busy executive tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump inside his throat. Then, he lifted the young man back into his wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and began dabbing the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be O.K.

"Thank you and may God bless you sir," the grateful little child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother down the sidewalk towards their home.

For the overachieving executive, however, it was a long walk back to his Jaguar. A very... l-o-n-g... slow... walk.

Although this happened some time ago, to date, the busy executive never did repair that side door of his. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.

God whispers into your soul and he speaks to your heart. And sometimes, if you're not listening -- he has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.

In the end, it's your choice:

Listen to the whisper, or... wait for the brick.

***

I found this story very powerful on many levels.

For starters, don't wait too long to start enjoying your life and bathing in the things that are really important to you.

No one is promised tomorrow, and sadly, there are no exceptions to that rule.

You don't need permission to start living out your fantasies... or waiting until "the time is right".

After all, what are you waiting for?

Do you think you'll be better able to enjoy things when you're 10 years older?

Will you be "more ready" then? Or perhaps more deserving?

Why not enjoy them today?

Do yourself a favor: write yourself out a permanent "permission slip" to start living your life to its fullest -- right now.

Second, there's a very important copywriting message here. And it's this: Use stories to sell your items.

Always Tell 'Em A Story.

Listen, didn't you feel compelled to get through that story I just told you, once you already started listening to it?

You're not alone, because everyone loves a good story.

And using a story to make your sales pitch, cuts right through the heart of all the B.S. that people normally get when they're being sold on something... and actually captures your prospects attention.

And do you know how difficult that is to do?

It's damn near impossible when it comes down to it!

Look, like I've said before, sending someone a sales message is like crashing their party. And if you can't give them an REALLY GOOD excuse to let you stay, within about 5 seconds... you're getting tossed out the door on your rear end.

And what better way to get someone to listen to you, than by telling them a good old fashioned, heart-to-heart story.

So use stories in your sales messages, whenever you can.

That's the very best way to teach someone something and it's surely the absolute best way to sell them something too.

Lastly, don't ignore whispers -- in fact, be on the lookout for them. If you're closed to hearing them, you're only going to listen (and learn) by getting hit on the head with those heavy bricks.

And if you ask me, that's a difficult way to be learning things.

Because usually when those bricks come, and believe me, we've ALL felt them... they come very hard... very furiously... and typically, with a very loud THUD!

And the last thing you need when those bricks do come, is a pile of regrets to mop up. You usually won't be able to at that point.

Sometimes, when you're pushing too hard to get something done, and you constantly find you're up against resistance, each-and-every step of the way...

You need to stop what you're doing and listen closely, because that resistance you're getting, may in fact be your...

Lucky Little Whisper.

I say lucky, because if the messages you're getting are telling you to stop -- then most of the time, you should listen to those messages and do exactly that.

And as I'll explain in a minute, sometimes failing is actually good.

Here in America, we often mistake "giving up" for "giving in", and that's just NOT the same thing.

"Giving up" when everything around you is telling you you're moving in the wrong direction -- in spite of what you originally expected -- is a very wise decision. It doesn't mean you're not persistent... it doesn't mean you can't handle adversity... and it certainly doesn't mean you're a failure.

It just means that particular project, wasn't meant for you. At least, not at that particular time.

"Giving in" on the other hand, is different. "Giving in" means jumping ship without even giving yourself a fair chance. And that's not the same thing at all, is it?

Never give in.

Instead, be optimistic and hopeful, but try and have realistic expectations about things.

For example, here are a few that've helped me keep my sanity:

Remember, it’s very unlikely things will go exactly as you planned, straight out of the starting gate.
Why?

Simple, you have no way of knowing what's ahead of you, especially when you're traveling down a new road for the first time.

So expect to hit a few bumps along the way. This way when they come, you'll be prepared and your expectations won't get shot down.

Be open to hearing those gentle whispers blowing in your ear. If you're not open in the first place, then expect to get hit with a lot of bricks.
And Which Of Them Would You Prefer?

Think you're having a tough time? Feeling down? Frustrated because your life's not in order?
Here's a GUARANTEED way to fix that, and I mean it. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but keep an open mind and try it.

Seriously though, don't just listen to me and take my word for it -- you must actually DO this, for it to really work.

Go to tvguide.com, and find out the next time your local television station is running the Jerry Springer show.

Then mark it down on your calendar to remind you when it's going to be on.

Set your alarm, or record it on your VCR or your TiVo or whatever you use.

Then, sit down and watch it.

I know sometimes things seem bleak and you're feeling low and everything around you seems to look muddy, but...

Those people... the one's on Jerry's show... are the ones with problems.

THEY are truly going nowhere.

YOU, on the other hand, are just in the middle of a very temporary (albeit painful... frustrating... and deep) rut.

THEY, however, will be scraping along the bottom rung of life's murky ladder, for a very... very... l-o-n-g... l-o-n-g time.

But YOU, will be back to full speed in a little while.

Make sense?

Good.

Do Something!
In spite of all the difficulties you'll encounter, whenever you're actually taking action, 5 times out-of 10... new things will pop up that you never expected to happen, and many of them will open bright new doors for you to walk through, filled with fresh ideas and incredible new opportunities!

Things happen when you're in motion, not when you're sitting around in front of your computer "thinking" about being in motion.

So Get Moving, NOW!

And lastly, always assume you're destined to succeed -- whatever your definition of success is.
Then, just look at obstacles you encounter, as "redirects", keeping you on the path to success. This way, it's always a win for you, regardless.

Here's an example of what I mean: Remember before when I said sometimes it's "good" to fail?

Here's where I was going with that.

The truth is, if not for a very unusual series of events that subsequently happened, I wouldn't be one of the top freelance copywriters around, if I hadn't have failed on something else I was working on way back when.

The entire course of my life would have been different.

And while I have no idea where I'd have been or what my life would be like if this particular task had succeeded, I know one thing for sure:

I'm literally happier than I've ever been in my entire lifetime, and I wouldn't trade what
or who I am now, for anything.

I hope some of these ideas at least give you some food for thought.

And if you liked that story, "Whisper - Or A Brick", you can find it in a book, a friend of mine wrote.

His name is Dr. Mani, and if you occasionally get stressed about things -- even a little -- I'd encourage you to order his book right now.

Dr. Mani is a cardiac surgeon in the beautiful beach-side town of Chennai, India.

He works with newborn children who are experiencing critical heart problems, and so he deals with life-or-death, daily.

Imagine how powerless you'd be feeling, holding tiny lives in the balance, and they slip right through your hands, only days... weeks... or months old.

Mani's come up with a pinpoint system for effectively eliminating stress and anxiety.

And since you probably don't encounter anything nearly as traumatic as this in your life, his system will work even easier for you.

Mani's book is called "The Emotion Prism."

It shows you 3, simple and proven ways of looking at things you're coming up against, and explains how to handle them so your outcome is both natural and acceptable to you.

And in some ways, more controllable and a helluva lot less frustrating.

If you want to order Mani's book, it's dirt cheap, especially considering the life-lessons you're going to discover in it. These are answers to questions some people spend a lifetime looking for and never find, and you can order your copy right here:

Grab Your Copy Of The Emotion Prism, Right Now!

Thanks for listening. See you next week.

P.S. If you've ever listened to a whisper and found yourself benefitting from it, or... if you've ever ignored a whisper, and instead got slammed by a brick, do me a favor and drop me a line. I'd love to hear about it and I promise to keep it just between us -- confidential.

And here’s how you can do that:

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:09 AM | Permalink

“Figure out how the dynamics of relationships are dealt with in their writing, and how YOU can use these same skills in making your sales pitches.”
If you want to improve your writing, you probably spend a fair amount of time reading a variety of "How To Write Good Sales Copy" kinds of information.

True?

You probably subscribe to a handful of newsletters like mine... you've read a few of the classic copywriting books by Claude Hopkins... John Caples... or Victor Schwab, and... you may have even read some "modern-day" books by guys like Dan Kennedy... Gary Halbert... and Joe Sugarman.

And this is good -- you're definitely going down the right track here.

Keep doing this, because knowledge applied in the right direction, really is powerful.

And in case you missed it...

The key word here, is... "applied"!

Anyway, what I want you to do right now, is to...

Completely Stop Reading These Books!

At least for a while anyway.

You see, you may not know it, but you could learn just as much -- if not more -- about writing effective sales copy, by reading fun stuff too, like fiction.

No, I'm not kidding, and let's face it, you also get a lot more involved and emotionally attached to the characters in a good novel, then in a good "How To" book, any day.

Right?

See, I just finished up a few AWESOME novels, and I'd like to show you what to look for when you're reading a good novel, and how to use this information to easily learn how to improve your sales copy.

Ready?

O.K. then.

The first book I want to tell you about is called "Motherless Brooklyn", by an author named Jonathan Lethem, who's actually from Brooklyn.

If you like a good old-fashioned murder / mystery / adventure and suspense book, only one that takes place in modern times, then grab yourself a copy of this book -- you won't be sorry.

It's like a spy thriller, only there's no spies in this one -- just petty thugs and slick Brooklyn street hustlers.

Anyway, here's why I loved this book: Check out how well this guy writes, from page 155:

“The four of them wore identical blue suits with black piping on the legs, and identical black sunglasses. They looked like a band that plays at weddings. Four white guys, assortedly chunky, pitched in the face, with pimples, and indistinct. Their car was a rental. Chunky sat in the backseat waiting and when the two who'd picked me up crushed me into the back beside him, he immediately put his arm around my neck in a sort of brotherly choke hold. The two who'd picked me off the street -- Pimples and Indistinct -- jammed in beside me, to make four of us on the backseat. It was a bit crowded.”

WOW!

I mean, how much cooler do you get than that?

Notice how Lethem's writing:

Short, stacco sentences!
Lethem's writing exactly the same way he'd be talking, if he was telling you this story in a conversation, instead of writing it.

Descriptive as all get out!
He tells you what the guys looked like... he gives you a visual and psychological anchor, by telling you they also resembled a band that plays at weddings... and... he also gives you an overview of their physical characteristics.

And the thing is, the physical attributes he's describing, are vivid and stereotypical enough, that you can start picturing other visual, physical, and personality characteristics typically associated with people who share these same "trademarks".

This guy's simply brilliant!

He’s specific!
They're not just "blue suits", they're "identical blue suits with black piping on the legs, and identical black sunglasses".

Being specific makes the entire scenario much more believable and life-like. (Just the same way it does when you're writing your sales copy.)

Do you see what my point is, about all this?

If you don't, then you're really missing out on a very valuable lesson here.

See, each of these techniques Lethem's using in his fiction writing, are the same techniques you should be using in your sales copy.

They get your prospects more involved with the message you're trying to deliver. And, if your prospects are actually taking time out of their lives to devote some mental "shelf-space" to you and your message... it brings them closer to you, and... closer to...

Buying From You!

Another book I just finished reading, is "Holes" by Louis Sachar.

My older son had been after me to read this book, and the truth is, I'm sorry I waited so long.

This was an easy book to digest... a fast read (maybe 2 hours of your time)... and boy-oh-boy, what a joy it was.

The sense of empathy (using very plain-and-simple English), Sachar was able to stir inside you, over the main characters plight, was heartfelt and simply wonderful.

If you can stir up emotions like that in your sales copy...

You've got a rock-solid
money-making machine on your hand!

And when you can show a "struggle to success" story the way he did, taking you by the hand and letting you walk alongside his characters as they overcome obstacle after unjust obstacle, your outcome's going to be fantastic!

Can you do the same thing in your sales copy?

Of Course You Can!

For example, whatever you're selling, has got to be the solution to some kind of problem... so tell your prospects stories about how you developed your product... or, how your product or service has changed someone's life.

Either of those stories can be made into "rags to riches" or "struggle to success" stories, no?

I definitely shed a few tears after I finished reading the uplifting and pretty ironic conclusion of "Holes", and... if you can move your prospects the same way, believe me you'll make more than your fair share of ducats.

So read as much good fiction as you can get your hands on.

Start thinking about how your authors are painting their characters and bringing them to life for you.

And begin figuring out how the dynamics of the characters relationships are handled, and how YOU can use these same dynamics in your sales copy, to make your sales pitches compelling and "real".

The bottom line here is, if you do the following three things, you'll be able to use your fiction readings, to leverage your creative juices so they start flowing like the roaring rapids of the Snake River in Colorado, and not the Black Muddy River of folklore.

Here are these three simple things you must do:

Read!
Read voraciously and read like your life's depending on it. Pretend each book you read is like a juicy thick sirloin steak, and then imagine...

You're Freakin Starving!

And start devouring those books!

Think!
As you're reading, s-l-o-w-l-y digest every single morsel you're taking in. Discover what's making your characters tick, and... even more important, figure out what it is about what's making them tick...

That's Going To Make Your Prospects TickToo!

Do Something!
You know, last week I saw this bit on one of those prime time television news exposés, about some poor gal who was just so desperate to lose weight.

The only problem was... she was eating enough food in a day...

To feed a small farming country in the mid-east!

Now what's up with that?

Do you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that's NOT the road to losing weight?

I'm not saying it's easy for someone in her position -- NOTHING good is easy.

Anything worth while, is usually worth fighting for, and... it's also usually incredibly difficult to achieve.

Period.

Sorry, but there's just no getting around that one.

So if you think simply "reading" and "understanding" everything you must know about "how to write", is going to make you even one thin dime, then you're sorely mistaken.

To do this, you've actually got to go out and...

Write something!

Be, as Teddy Roosevelt said, the "man in the arena". Feel the sweat pouring down the sides of your head... bounce back from your mistakes... and then... emerge victorious, baby!

Before I go, check out what Rod Argent said, back in 1968. (Do you know who he is?)

"Really, music is a very personal thing. It's the product of a person's experiences. Since no two people have been exactly alike, each writer has something unique to say. That makes anything which is not just a copy of something else, worth listening to."

So listen to music that moves your soul... read good books that quench your thirst for becoming whole, emotionally... and enjoy creating and basking in the "non-real" things life's imagination is offering you.

And then, use these gifts to go out and create the very best damn sales letters you can, and... start...

Enjoying... Your Results!

Take care.

P.S. No tip next week, I'll be on the road -- but I'll see you in two weeks for sure.

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 03:00 PM | Permalink

“And if you're putting something like this together -- using questions to get your prospects to "qualify" before buying -- here's a sneaky little trick you should be using...”
O.K., first I have a couple of quick "housekeeping" items you must know, and then we'll dive right into this week's tip.

For starters, if you haven't taken advantage of last week's FREE offer that comes with “How To Build An “Instant” Swipe File... How To Legally And Ethically “Cheat” In Your Marketing, Regardless Of What Industry You’re In, And... A Quick, Easy, And Proven Way To Put Your Hands On Literally Hundreds Of Marketing Pieces You Can Start Using In Your Own Business (Without Worrying About Copyright Infringement)... Almost... Immediately!”, remember that this FREE offer will ONLY be available for 7 more days.

If you want to see what I'm talking about...

Click Here For More
Information About This FREE Offer

And second, if you've been thinking about having me go over your sales copy, but you've been busy... or you've been sitting on the edge of the fence for whatever reason, know this:

As of January 1st, 2005, you’re going to have to pay
$100 Dollars more to have your sales copy reviewed...
than you'll have to pay to have it reviewed right now!

Why?

Simple: Supply and demand.

The demand for this service has been seriously increasing... and at least as far as I can tell, unless one of my kids comes up with a way to clone me or something, the supply of "me" that's available, is decreasing.

Bottom line is this: I'm absolutely swamped with work, so it's going to cost more for me to give you my time... and 100% of my attention along with it.

Oh, and by the way, this sales copy review is 100% GUARANTEED -- in fact, I'll even pay you $50 bucks if you're not happy with it -- no kidding!

So if you want to save yourself a fast and easy $100 bucks, make sure you order your “7-Step Meticulous (And Brutally Candid) Sales Copy Overhaul” right now by going here:

How To Dramatically “Boost” The Results Of
Your Sales Copy! Here’s A 7-Step Meticulous
(And Brutally Candid) Sales Copy Overhaul
GUARANTEED To Do This!

Even if you don't book your actual review until after January 1st, as long as you order before December 31st of this year, you'll get to save yourself the $100 Dollars.

In fact, if you've spoken to me about any kind of work at all, this is your official notice that any prices I've given you, are going up as of January 1st (that's in 18 more days).

So I urge you to get your payments in NOW, before the end of the year, or it's going to cost you.

Anyway, that's it for housekeeping, and now let's dive right into this weeks tip!

Last week, we started talking about "involvement devices" and how important they are to getting your customer "engaged" in your sales copy.

Drawing your prospects into your sales message... bonding with them... and making them become part of the message you're pitching to them, increases their desire to have your products and services.

And remember, you're NEVER EVER going to get someone "involved" with your product, or your sales pitch, who's DOESN'T want to buy what you're selling, so don't worry about them.

Using direct-response means you've given up the "convincing" business and traded it off to be in the "attracting" business instead -- and that's a good thing.

So here are 3 ways you can get people involved in your sales copy, regardless of what you're selling.

Are You Experienced?

That's not just the title of Jimi Hendrix' first album he released, in 1967.

See, giving your prospects and customers an "experience" they can remember, is one sure-fire way of getting them involved in your product or service.

For example, here's something taken from a recent sales letter I wrote:

“Order either of these systems. Once they arrive, lift the 18 pounds of information up onto your desk. Then, rip open the boxes and start pouring through all your manuals and listening to all your audio CD’s... and then start checking out all the winning sample ads in your system (there are literally hundreds of them stuffed in there and organized for you).”

At another place in the sales letter (later on, once we've gone over the ordring instructions), it says:

“Be prepared, because when you get your PCO Multi-Millionaire’s System delivered straight to your home or office, here’s what you’ll be treated to, once you finish heaving your packages up onto your table, and start tearing them open.

First, make sure you’ve eaten your Wheaties for breakfast, because there’s a LOT of information here. (After all, it takes more than a few simple tips to become a PCO Multi-Millionaire!)

Weighing in at a hefty 18.34 pounds, give or take an ounce, here’s what you’ll find inside... the whole kit-and-kaboodle:”

See how you start visualizing the packages... and how they're becoming more and more real to you, as they start getting inside your mind, almost "forcing" you to picture them?

This is what I mean by getting your prospects "involved" with your product. Using words, you're giving them the experience of owning your product, so they can start feeling what it's like, before they order.

And getting what you have, as deep into their mind as possible... in as many ways as possible... and using as many senses as possible... makes them want to buy, even more.

And remember the cardinal rule of selling:

Your Prospects Buy What They
WANT... Not What They Need!

And all your "wants" come from feelings you're having, not "practical and rational" thoughts you may be thinking, right?

Exactly, so let your prospects "experience" owning or using your product, before they buy it, and you'll move them closer to buying it.

Next, let's talk about...

Questions... Questions... And More Questions!

Don't you love getting asked questions about a subject you're interested in, and maybe even a bit of an expert in?

And isn't it exciting to be able to "qualify" for something because you've "passed" a quiz by answering the right amount of questions?

Well, another way you can get your buyers involved with your product, is by doing just that: Asking them questions.

For example, here's something I wrote for a weight-loss product. I'm not going to show you the entire list -- there were originally 20 items to review -- but you'll get the gist of what I'm saying using these examples here, anyway.

Again, you can use something like this for virtually anything you're selling, and in any kind of media -- either online or offline:

“Print this page out and review it. Then mark the items that apply to you. If you check off more than 5 out of the following 20 items (and please be as honest with yourself as you possibly can), then you qualify as someone who'd benefit tremendously by ordering this package.

And remember, with your 90 day better-than-risk-FREE money-back GUARANTEE, you have literally absolutely nothing to lose -- except your anxiety... your fears... and your sense of powerlessness!

Here Are Your Choices:

Do you find yourself constantly preoccupied with your weight problem, or are you possibly even "depressed" about it?

Do you feel, if you felt better about your weight, you'd be more successful in other areas of your life, like work or parenting, for example? In other words, is your weight problem holding you back from really "living" and "seizing the day"?

Do you have other medical problems that have been caused by your excess weight? Things like diabetes... high blood pressure... high cholesterol... high triglycerides, or sleep apnea?

Do you find yourself using humor as your self-defense mechanism to overcome your feelings about your weight problem?

Are you at the point where you don't think anything will work (and so far... nothing else has), and now you're considering doing something that's a little more "involved" than just taking a pill... skipping a meal... exercising... or eating less?

Are you sick and tired of wearing sweat pants, baggy t-shirts, elastic waist band pants and other "fat person" clothing? And, do you feel you never just look "normal"?

Have you often tried, and then given up on diet after diet?

Do you overeat just for the sake of it? For example, do you eat "extra-sized" meals instead of ordering "regulars" or 2 slices of cake when you know darned well, 1 would do?

If most of all, you never truly feel "comfortable"... if you feel life "stinks", and you don't really know why... but deep down inside you just "know" in your heart of hearts, it has to do with the shame you're feeling over your weight and your physical appearance... then you definitely should order...”

See where I'm going with all this?

If you're overweight, you're going to be carefully scanning each-and-every one of these items to see if this is describing "you".

Because if you've read this far into the ad -- believe me -- you're going to want to qualify.

And when you're putting something like this together -- using questions to get your prospects to "qualify" before buying -- here's a sneaky little trick you should be using:

Make Sure Nearly ALL Your Prospects Will Be Able
To Check Off “Yes” For Nearly ALL Your
Involvement Checklist “Questions”!

Otherwise, there's no point in even doing this in the first place.

Right?

Lastly, I want you to think about this:

How To Make Your Prospects Feel
You’ve Got Something In Common With Them!

One way you can do this, is by asking a certain type of question. Joe Sugarman calls these... "Head-Nodding Tags".

"Head-Nodding Tags" are rhetorical questions you ask your prospects, that cause them to "nod" their heads in agreement with you.

For example, go back through today's Tip and find each of these "Head-Nodding Tags" I've used:

See how you start visualizing the packages... and how they're becoming more and more real to you, as they start getting inside your mind, almost "forcing" you to picture them?

And all your "wants" come from feelings you're having, not "practical and rational" thoughts you may be thinking, right?

Don't you love getting asked questions about a subject you're interested in, and maybe even a bit of an expert in?
See where I'm going with all this?

Right?
The purpose of each of these questions, is to get you and me in "sync" -- to show we're both in agreement on each of these points, bonding us closer together along these unified lines.

Don't be afraid to use these kinds of questions in your sales copy, but again... make sure the answer to each of them will be "Yes."

Also, in case you didn't realize it, asking you to go back over this Tip and start looking for these questions (and yes, there were more), is another great involvement device.

P.S. Next week, we'll finish up with involvement devices. I’ll show you some more outstanding ways a few companies out there are going out of their way to get their prospects involved with them.

P.P.S. And don’t forget - after the 21st, the opportunity for you to get your FREE bonus with your Magnetic Marketing Kit, will disappear like... a snowman in the Florida sunshine!

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:11 AM | Permalink

Craig Garber is a role model for parents who want to help their young children become everyday heroes.

I just finished interviewing Craig Garber. He is one of the freshest and sharpest minds in the world of direct marketing. Craig has been called "America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter and Direct-Marketing

Consultant" by his clients and many of peers in the industry.

Craig's probably one of the most grounded and humble guys, you'll ever speak to.
You would be hard-pressed to find someone with a stronger work-ethic, or more committed to your success, than Craig. He really knows what the important things are in life. He has the ability to connect with those who read his copy that is a rare gift.

Craig has an uncanny "sixth sense" about making a positive difference in his family life and the world today.
He has the unique ability to get "under the hood" of what's really important in life. His advice about how to raise young people with heroic potential is very inspiring.

Craig was raised literally on the mean streets of the Bronx, in New York City.
His early experiences quickly honed his street-wise survival skills. He was forced to understand human nature and anticipate human behavior, to successfully escape the death-grip of grinding poverty and extreme hopelessness.

No one's 100% certain where his "magic" comes from.
I believe it is a combination of his winning and energetic charisma, combined with his zest for living life to the fullest. His love for his wife Ann and three children provides an insight into family life that is invaluable. Their love for him is his rock and strong foundation.

Craig is also a genius in his own right.
He has an uncanny intuitive perception. When this is combined with a 157 genius I.Q. and his "school of hard knocks experiences," this guarantees a perspective that is unique and definitely worth listening to.

Craig's family, clients and the world benefits from his integrity, hard work and desire to give back to the community.
He has volunteered to be the initial copywriter to create a sales letter for the first "In Search Of Heroes Program" inspirational and educational book, "How Everyday Heroes Think and Grow Rich." This incredibly valuable book will teach everyone the secret wisdom that comes from the life experiences of all the inernet and health heroes.

You will learn the secrets of how each hero changed their though processes to overcome fear and doubt, to achieve physical and emotional health and financial wealth beyond their wildest dreams.
You will discover who were the heroes in their lives that helped them become incredibly successful in their chosen fields. You will be amazed at the astounding emotional, physical and financial obstables they had to overcome to achieve the life of their dreams.

Knowing the secrets of the heroes recognized by the "In Search Of Heroes Program" will help young people be successful in all areas of life at an early age.
Once they learn the closely guarded secrets and techniques for copywriting, marketing, asset protection, public relations and health, the sky is the limit. Armed with this knowledge and the correct internet tools, be ready for miracles that will blow everyone's minds.

These secrets are worth their weight in gold.
Happiness is a choice. Health, wealth and great friendships are the elements that can make life even more enjoyable.

It has taken me 55 years to learn these secrets.
If only I had known them when I was a teenager...I would not have had to suffer form all the health problems and experience so many financial disasters! I would now be living the life of my dreams.

Posted by ralph at 08:48 AM | Permalink

"... it's more like the old-style fonts you used to have on your typewriters (Remember those?) -- but, it works like a charm... and you won't ever get in trouble for making your ads easier to read, right?"
Do you know what Howard Stern... Oprah Winfrey... and Paul McCartney all have in common?

Well, the simple truth is... they're all... "Baby Boomers"!

The "Baby Boomer" generation accounts for all of us born between January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1963.

Here's a few interesting facts about the baby boomers in general:

First, they control 70% of the entire net worth of the United States!
Second... they represent 27.5% of the population according to the last census, taken in 2000.
And third... once they start hitting 40... many of them...
Start Having Problems With Their Eyesight!

It's true!

According to the National Eye Institute's 2002 Report called "Vision Problems In The U.S.", there are 3,406,280 people over age 40, who have some kind of visual impairment!

And generally, for many folks... the older you get, the worse your eyesight gets.

So here's a little tip if you're selling goods or services to older folks: Since you're likely to have a higher percentage of them who do have vision problems...

Make Sure Your Ads Are Easy To Read!

So, here's what you should do: Studies have shown, using a font called "Courier 10 BT" produces a larger ad response than other fonts.

Now be careful, Courier 10 BT, is NOT the same as the "Courier New" font, you may already have on your computer.

Not at all!

See, the Courier 10 BT font, is a little darker. And this darker font, is easier to read... and this lifts the response to your ads.

Here's an example of the Courier 10 BT Font in action:

"If you can read this,
you're still doing fine sonny boy!"

It's sure not the prettiest font in the world -- it's more like the old-style fonts you used to have on your typewriters (Remember those?) -- but, it works like a charm... and you won't ever get in trouble for making your ads easier to read, right?

Anyhow, if you want to guarantee your ads are easy to read, and you're working in a marketplace that may be visually challenged, use the Courier 10 BT font.

And if you don't already have this font installed on your computer, feel free to download it here from me -- my gift to you for being a subscriber of mine.

Download Your Courier
10 BT Font By Clicking Here

This is a great font to use, especially in you Direct Mail sales letters, and... I've even seen it used effectively online.

Don't, however, use it in your newspaper or magazine display ads, unless it happens to be the same font, articles are printed in.

When you run display ads, you must use an editorial-style format using a font that matches the font "normal" articles are printed in (which for many papers is Times New Roman -- this font).

P.S. Want to hear a few more facts about the Baby Boomers?

They have an estimated annual spending power of $1 Trillion Dollars!
They have a higher divorce rate, and a higher rate of "staying single" than prior generations...
And... over 50% of them are living in the following 9 states: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey.
And... according to the latest stats... it looks like they'll be living to 79.5 years of age. Which is...

Not Long Enough, If You Ask Me!

Later.

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Posted by ralph at 08:45 AM | Permalink

If you're a man, you just "can't" imagine what it's
like to be pregnant.

If you've never had to do this before, you really just "can't"
imagine what it's like to put your old pet dog down to sleep
for good. Trust me, it's one of the saddest things you'll
ever have to do.

And if you're heterosexual, you just "can't" imagine what
it's like being gay.

But one thing you can imagine, is... if you do enough leg-
work, that is... you really CAN imagine what it's like to
stand in your prospect's shoes.

And if you're selling something, I hope you're trying
to imagine this, harder than anything else.

Because therein lies the key to your future.

That's why 40 to 50% of my time and "energy" goes towards
"researching" whatever project it is I'm working on.

Another 40 to 50% is spent on the actual writing... and 10%
is spent on... "whatever".

And in case you're not too good with math, this means a HUGE
part of my life is spent learning.

Thank goodness I like to read and learn new things that are
going on out there in the world today.

So make SURE you know every single detail about who you're
selling to... and "what" you're really selling -- it's
where all your money is buried.

Imagine that.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:31 AM | Permalink

There's an old joke that goes something like this:

A man is walking down 7th Avenue in Manhattan and he asks a
stranger 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?'

The stranger tips his hat and politely says, 'Practice...
Practice... Practice.'

Now there are a couple of things I know about:

First of all, I do, in fact, know exactly what it takes to
get to Carnegie Hall, because I played there in 1976, at
the tender age of 13.

Back then I played lead tenor saxophone in the Bronx
Borough-Wide Band, and believe you me, we practiced our
butts off!

The cool thing about Carnegie Hall, is that everything you've
ever heard about the acoustics there, is 100% true.

For instance, a bunch of us kids stood on the stage, speaking
to some other kids who were standing W-A-A-Y back up in the last
row of the highest balcony, and in a voice just slightly louder than
your normal speaking voice, we were able to hear one
another just fine.

It was almost unbelievable!

The other cool thing was, you got to sign your name into a
'history book' when you played there.

I guess they keep records of every performer who entertains
on their stage, and that made you feel pretty special --
especially when you're 13 years old.

Anyway, the other thing I know about, is how to write
winning sales copy.

And what you need to know, is that writing winning sales
copy is a learnable skill you get better at, by
repetition.

The simple truth is, the same way you become a better foul
shooter in basketball, and the same way you become a better
musician, is the exact same way you become a better
marketer, and... a better copywriter.

Practice... practice... practice.

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:38 AM | Permalink