You’ve tried to make a life change: grow your business, boost your career, lose weight, quite smoking, increase your income, improve your relationships.

Sometimes you’ve had limited success, and sometimes none at all.

Oh, you can make a temporary change, but it never seems to last.

Until…

You read that one book… or attend that one workshop… or hear that one piece of advice from a friend… and something clicks.

You make the shift instantly.

How do you do that?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the ability to replicate that experience so you could just draw on it whenever needed?

I think I know why it happens, and I think I have at least part of the key to replicating the experience.

What finally makes the shift for you, and gets you to make the change you desire… is not that you discovered some long-sought “secret” that had always held you back.

No, it’s much simpler than that.

It’s this: you finally found a story that you believed deeply enough, and then the change became effortless.

That’s why we can read 10 books on getting our financial act together but make zero progress; and then something about book #11 sparks us to action and suddenly we’re doing what we should have been doing all along.

And that’s another key thought: usually we knew what to do all along, we just couldn’t get ourselves to do it. For instance, most people who want to get rid of that extra fat around their midsection know what to do: eat less, exercise more. Yet there’s a new diet book, plan, or pill every day. The reason is, we’re all looking for that story that will finally make a believer out of us… and spur us into action.

The message to consumers: don’t feel bad that you bought 20 books on marketing before you found the one that got you to actually do something… celebrate the fact that you took action until you found the story that worked for you.

And the message to marketers is: the story you tell your prospects is crucial to your success. Find a story that connects with your audience, one that gets them telling the story to their friends (Zappos, Disney, Four Hour Workweek, Trust Agents)… and you can transform your business.

Story. More important than you thought.

I wanted to share something with you I just read from President Roosevelt.

Stick with me, Hoss – it’s worth it.

If you’ve ever been falsely accused…

If you’ve ever had anyone spread lies or deceit about you…

Celebrate!

Vocal critics are sending you a signal…

The signal is: you’re on the right track.

Don’t take my word for it – here’s what Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt had to say about critics:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Now don’t get me wrong.

I’m talking about UN-JUST criticism.

I’m assuming you’re doing good things, with right intentions, and you’re being honest and fair in your dealings.

If you’re doing BAD things, you have bigger problems than being criticized.

So let’s say you’re creating value.

You’re being honest and fair.

And then for some reason – WHAMO! Somebody you never even met starts criticizing you.

Congratulations!

The only reason you’re a target for these trouble making complainers is… you’re DOING something.

Most people never do ANYTHING.

Especially the critics.

In fact, in my mind, the letters of the word “C.R.I.T.I.C.” actually stand for:

C – an’t
R – eally
I – nvent
T – hings
I – nstead
C – riticizes

And rest assured, the only way to be sure you’re never criticized is: don’t do anything.

CERTAINLY, if you’re having any success at all, you’re going to get criticism.

Welcome it.

And remember the business twist on all this that President Roosevelt certainly understood.

Your place “shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

’nuff Said,

Ray Edwards

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Every piece of your website is a link in the sales chain.

Each link leads to the next, and at the end of the chain is the sale – and profits for you and your business.

Of course, as we all know, any chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

One way to get quick sales boost is: find the weak or broken links in your sales process and strengthen or repair them. And almost every website has at least a few week or broken links. I’m not just talking about hyperlinks, here… I’m talking about any crucial part of the sales process.

No website is perfect – no website is ever optimized fully. There’s always room for improvement. In most websites I look at for clients, there are some basic fixes that can pay off in a big way.

Here are three examples of things you might want to do on your own website:

• Fix Broken Links. The most obvious example is actual broken links. These are frustrating at best for your visitors, and for many it will kill the sale instantly (“if they can’t get their links fixed, what must their product be like?”).
• Remove Inconsistencies. In the world of direct mail, there’s a proven response boost when the message on the outside of the envelope matches the message on the headline of the letter inside; the reason this is so is, we are wired to respond positively to consistency. We like getting what we expect. Even seemingly small inconsistencies send a subconscious signal to your prospects that all is not right. Some specifics to look for: different typefaces or look & feel on your pages; lack of consistent layout from one section of your site to the next; jarring differences between your major sales pages (opt-in page, salesletter page, order page, thank you page). Get fanatical about consistency.
• Remove “Mind Stoppers”. Some things just cause us to “stop our mind” when reading a website. For example, strange or unnatural wording can cause us to stop in the flow of reading and ask “What? Huh?” Even though these “Mind Stoppers” may only cause a pause of 1 or 2 seconds, they interrupt the flow of your sales message. Avoid “Mind Stoppers” at all costs. The best way to find them: read your copy aloud, to another human being, in a natural tone and at an easy pace. Then have them read it aloud back to you. In each case, mark any section that causes you to pause or stumble. Re-write those sections and remove the “Mind Stoppers”.

When you forge stronger links in your “Sales Chain”, you’ll increase your sales results. And that means more profits for you and your small business.

Back in my radio days, one of the shows I was in charge of was a morning radio team.

And this particular morning team had a regular feature where a couple of psychotherapists woud come on each week.

When I say a “couple”, I mean it. They were actually a COUPLE, and they were both actually THERAPISTS (can you imagine the dinner table conversations?).

Anyhow, I knew this couple only as characters on this particular morning show. “Judith and Jim” was how I knew them. And I knew only their voices.

Fast forward a few years later.

I had left the radio business, and was at an Internet Marketing seminar.

During one of the presentations, I noticed this couple sitting near the front, and I noticed  they were asking lots of questions. And their voices sounded familiar. And their names were… Judith and Jim.

We connected for the first time in person, and we’ve been friends ever since. (Okay, so it was “funny” as in “coincidence” and not funny as in “LOL”).

To continue my story…

I discovered that Jim and Judith ventured into online marketing just four years ago. Along the way, they had to overcome their technical deficiencies and learn to make friends with their computer. Even more so, they had to, in their own words, “open our minds to an entirely new way of being in the world, a whole new and very different mindset-a marketing/business mindset”.

But there was a problem. As they attended lots of marketing conferences, they felt something was wrong.

According to Judith and Jim, “We always felt a sense of displacement, a feeling of not belonging, of somehow being outsiders.”

As they connected with people at those same  conferences they learned that others had the same complaint. And they noticed a pattern: All those who voiced this kind of discomfort were service providers, care-givers, change agents of some kind, men and women who had dedicated their lives to helping others-heart-to-heart.

“It became clear that there was a segment of the Internet marketplace that was not being served,” says Judith.

Jim chimes in, “That segment is peopled by soft sell marketers-all of us who are care-givers and life-change artists as distinct from accumulation artists whose focus is money first and foremost.”

And now these two friends of mine have written a book on the subject of soft sell marketing for service providers… and for people who don’t like hard-sell approaches. I recommend you get a copy of The Heart of Marketing.

So I was not thrilled when my wife called to me from our home office saying I just had to come watch this video on YouTube.

Yet, a few minutes later, I was watching it with tears in my eyes.

I decided I would write a post about the video today, only to find my colleague Clayton Makepeace beat me to the punch. Read Clayton Makepeace’s post on Susan Boyle here.

And watch the video for yourself by clicking here.

But is it?

Not really.

Online retailers do much better.

Check out Futurenow’s posting on “the top 10 converting websites for December 2008“.

Here are the top five:

1. ProFlowers 31.1%
2. LL Bean 25.7%
3. Amazon 23.7%
4. VitaCost 23.0%
5. Coldwater Creek 22.4%

Hmmm.

What do they know that you don’t? Something to think about.

If you’re not already getting at least 10% conversions, I suggest reading this site.

Where is this money – and how do you get it?

Most businesses have many hidden opportunities for discovering “windfall profits” – but I want to focus on just one of those opportunities in this article.

That “opportunity pocket” is: marketing and advertising.

In my experience, almost every business – whether it be retail, service, professional practice, or “business to business” in its nature – is unconsciously letting profits slip away.

Your biggest opportunity most likely lies hidden inside your underperforming sales copy (copy that isn’t selling as many units/contracts/ memberships as it potentially could be).

If you want to make more sales without spending a single dime in additional ad costs, this article might be the most important document you read this year…

Make Piles of Money With “Upside Leverage”

“Upside Leverage” is a concept I learned from marketing genius Jay Abraham.

We all know what leverage is: using other people’s money to build your business, or other people’s efforts (through delegation, for instance) to increase your own productivity.

“Leverage” involves using one asset (the lever) to increase the value or power of another. The only problem with using “leverage” is the potential downside: if you use financial leverage to borrow money for a business project, the project could possibly fail, and you would be forced to pay back the money. If you use the leverage of delegation in order to make yourself more productive, there’s a chance the person you’re relying on might let you down.

“Upside” leverage is leverage that involves little or no potential downside.

It’s my belief that underperforming sales copy is the most potentially profitable of all forms of “upside leverage”.

Please read that sentence again, because it’s too easy to let the profound meaning it contains slip past you:

Underperforming sales copy is the most potentially profitable of all forms of “upside leverage”.

Think of it this way: any ad or promotion costs the same whether it performs well or not, right? If you spend $100 on an ad, and you get $500 in business as a result, you made a 5-1 return on your investment. That’s a good return. You did what you set out to do, you made a profit.

But… what if you could take that same ad, and change it in some way that made it 10 times more effective?

What if now it returned $5,000?

You spent the same $100 for the ad… but you got back $5,000.

Instead of a 5-1 return, now you’re getting 50-1! That, my marketing friend, is “upside leverage”!

Change Your Copy, Change Your Income

There is so much bad copy on the web, it’s almost laughably easy to be better than most of your competitors.

Why is that?

I believe there are a number of reasons, but here are a few of the common ones:

1. Some people just don’t realize their copy is bad. They wrote it themselves, or their brother or their niece wrote it. They think it’s wonderful – but in reality it stinks like a dead skunk.

2. Others don’t realize how important their sales copy is. This is a naive belief, and it astounds me that so many people hold it – but they do. Some people seem to think that as long at the copy has “just the facts”, that’ll be good enough. It never is.

3. Some people are just cheap. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to start a business, buy furniture, hire staff, provide benefits, etc., but when it comes to the one piece of communication that might actually cause someone to buy from them – they don’t want to pay for it. They “delegate” this crucial task. Big mistake.

Are you making any of these mistakes? If you are, this is your wake-up call.

Take advantage of the potential “upside leverage” that exists in every ad or promotion. Make sure you ads are performing – that they are making you sales every day. And that they are making you more sales this week than they did last week, etc.

You do this through constant improvement and testing/tracking.

You also do it by either hiring a copywriter, or investing in educational materials that will teach you how to write your own copy. Either one can work – it’s up to you. If you love to write, and you think you have a knack for it, then by all means get a good home-study course on copywriting and do it yourself.

Don’t put it off – do it right now. Otherwise, you’re throwing money away that rightfully belongs to you.

It means that as a salesperson, if you don’t take time to relate to your potential customer, to get to know them and their needs…

If you just jump right in and hit them with your cheesy, canned sales presentation right off the bat…

…it’s like saying “hi” by throwing up on their shoes.

Gross analogy, I know. But apt, yes?

Jeff Sexton wrote a great little piece on how to avoid this phenomena at GrokDotCom (and that site should definitely go into your RSS reader).

Check out their post on web copy that makes you sick.

He really is offering some discounts on his products that are just… well… crazy. But hey, don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of him.

]]> http://rayedwards.com/stu-mclarens-pre-wedding-video/feed/ 4 http://rayedwards.com/first-get-their-attention/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=first-get-their-attention http://rayedwards.com/first-get-their-attention/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2007 09:12:37 +0000 Ray Edwards http://rayedwards.com/blogging/first-get-their-attention/ The Story: If your copy can’t cut through the clutter, you never be able to make the sale.

The Point: The reason the old formulae are less effective is: it’s harder to get people’s attention these days. Time to step up your game.

The Resource: Attention Age Doctrine

3 Keys To Grabbing Their Attention:

1. Change Their State.
2. Stop Their Inner Chatter.
3. Appeal To Their Greed, Lust, Or Moving-Away Values.

Click for the Podcast Audio:

Click Here

The Story: Follow Ernest Hemingway’s Four Simple Rules to improve your copywriting (or any writing, for that matter).

The Point: The more effusive and melodious your prose, the greater the certitude you will obfuscate the concept you are laboriously attempting to elucidate; eschew obfuscation.

The Resource: The Elements of Style

Hemingway’s Rules:

1. Use short sentences.
2. Use short first paragraphs.
3. Use vigorous language.
4. Be positive, not negative.

Note: I have written about Papa’s rules in the past. This time I decided to do a little research before doing the podcast, and found different versions. So who is right? I don’t know. My favorite version, though is at Brian Clark’s Copyblogger site.

Click for the Podcast Audio:

Click Here

Stories are attention magnets.

The Point: Too many online marketers adhere to the “just the facts” approach — or worse, they engage in “hype”.

This costs these unfortunate marketers sales and profits.

Integrate a powerful story into your copy and test the results.

The Resource: All Marketers Are Liars, by Seth Godin

3 Ways To Use Stories In Your Marketing:

1. Attention grabbers that draw people into the copy.
2. Rapport builders that mirror your reader’s dominant emotion.
3. Proof elements that create mental images of your product working for the reader.
Click for the Podcast Audio:

Click Here

His name is Ben Settle, and if you don’t know about Ben you should. He has one of the best copwriting blogs on the ‘net.

Anyway, the interview was supposed to be a one-hour interview. It ended up being well over 2 hours.

After listening to the finished product, I realized it was pretty darned good (Ben is a great interviewer).

Here’s some of what we covered in the interview:

• Why studying successful ads can actually hurt your copywriting!
• How to use an ordinary copyright notice to instantly banish “writers block.”
• A free piece of software that can realistically nab you well over an 80% opt-in rate on your squeeze pages!
• What to do if you’re starting from scratch online and need to make a lot of money—fast!
• How to set up profitable online joint ventures—even if you live in a cave with no friends, contacts or business connections whatsoever.
• A little-known way to build a hyper-responsive email list without turning on your computer!
• How to use dopey little ad “jingles” to drive thousands of qualified leads to your websites.
• An almost unknown way to make a TON of money from your email list… without sending them any emails!
• How to make more profits from your sites by purposely getting a lower opt-in rate.
• A secret trick (even an “SEO dummy” can use) to almost instantly get top google rankings on any key words you choose!
• How to use video on your sites for little or no money and without any big learning curves.
• A little-used “loophole” in the Warrior Forum that lets you quickly add a few thousand cash-in-hand subscribers to your email list—without spending even one thin dime.
• Why your telephone is your #1 most profitable “tool” for making money online!
• The secret of getting world-class marketers (with gigantic lists of buyers) to joint venture with you—even if your list is puny and they have no idea who you are.

Grab your copy of the interview by clicking here.

The Point: Writing copy that sells without using hype is easy to do.

The Resource: The Copy Doctor

3 Ways To Eliminate Hype In Your Copy:

1. Talk about the reader’s pain.
2. Tell relevant stories.
3. Use detail, not description.

Click for the Podcast Audio:

Click Here

A "squeeze page" is one that forces your site visitors to give you their name and email address in exchange for some kind of bribe… an audio training, a special report, or piece of software.

Making a free offer to your site visitors in exchange for their name and e-mail address is a great way to grow your e-mail list, but it has to be done carefully so that you don’t also drive away potential customers. 

Here are some things to think about…

You know it’s important to grow your e-mail list. The bigger the list, the more people will see your offers, and the more money you will make. 

The challenge in today’s internet marketing world is it’s harder than ever to convince people to opt in.  A squeeze page is probably the best list building tool available, but you must be careful.  Using a squeeze page the wrong way can hurt your business more than it helps. 

It’s best to use a squeeze page on a site that is built to sell one product.  For example, if you have a site that features a sales letter selling a particular product or service, placing a squeeze page in front of the information about that product or service is a good idea.  This keeps readers from being distracted; it sifts and sorts potential buyers by level of seriousness; and it gives you a list of interested parties that you can go back and market to repeatedly. 

One of the biggest mistakes I see being made online is putting a squeeze page in front of the wrong kinds of sites. 

Don’t put a squeeze page in front of your portal site, your branding site, or your blog.  Putting a squeeze page in front of  those kinds of sites does not make sense.  Those sites have a very different purpose than sites that are intended to sell one targeted product or promotion. 

Remember that your squeeze page is a gate. 

It keeps people out of your website and it can potentially scare off your customers. 

If you have a strong enough offer, a video, an audio, or special report, you may be able to get people to opt in and build a very targeted list using a squeeze page. 

The growing problems of spam, viruses and spyware have made people more reluctant than ever to give up their name and e-mail address. 

Squeeze pages can definitely build your list fast. These pages are a powerful tool that I recommend to all of my clients; just be sure to use them in the appropriate situation. 

What do you think? Are squeeze pages more or less effective than they once were? Post your comments below.

It’s about how to leave your 9-5 grind (whether that means you have a job working for someone else… or a "job" working for yourself!).

And Ferriss claims he works just 4 hours per week.

Did I mention he makes over $80,000 per month?

Of course, that was before his book was published. If he hits the best-seller lists, which seems inevitable, I’m sure that number will go up. Way up.

I would think that whole business about "$80,000 per month" was just a load of bull if I didn’t know a handful of people who work 10-15 hours per week and make over $100,00 per month.

 So I know it’s possible… And it blows my mind.

As a result of all this, I’ve set some new goals for my own work life. I’d suggest you get the book and do the same. No affiliate links or anything like that – just a recommendation you go get the book.

I will have more to say about this very soon. And I have a couple of new projects lined up that will help you along your way to that "4-Hour Workweek".

More about those in the next couple of days.

For now… off to the bookstore with you! Grab a copy of "4-Hour Workweek".

You’ll thank me.

There are only a few simple things you need to get started making money with your own internet-based business.

It’s not complicated, really.

Let me break it down for you. I’ll tell you the basic items you need, and Google can tell you the rest (just search for information on the areas where your knowledge is weak or incomplete). Here’s what you need:

1. A Product. Obviously, you need something to sell. This could be software, or items you sell on eBay, or a service, or an information product. People get hung up on how to come up with a product — and the truth is that products are the easiest thing in the world to get. It’s taking action that’s tough.

2. A Domain Name. This seems obvious, but you need a name for your business. You can get one at http://NewHostingPlan.com.

3. A Web Page. I say “page” instead of “site” because a “site” seems complicated. A “page” seems easy, doesn’t it? You can get one through http://NewHostingPlan.com.

4. Web Page Software. You need to build a page with content on it. You can do it yourself with free software from http://nvu.com, or you can use a paid product like Dreamweaver (which is available at http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/). If you don’t want to do it you can get a designer at http://sitepoint.com.

5. Graphics. You need a logo and a “look and feel” for your products or services. Again, you can use free software (like that at http://www.gimp.org) or you can buy something like Photoshop (at http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/compare/). Or you can get someone to do it for you at http://sitepoint.com.

6. Autoresponder Account. This is an account that allows you to build a mailing list so that you can mail to your customers or prospects. It can also do this for you on an automated sequential basis, so once someone signs up they get an email from you on a regular basis (automatically). The service I use and recommend is http://RaysAutoResponder.com.

7. Shopping Cart Software. You need to be able to take payments somehow, right? My advice is to get a nice, proven, all-in-one solution. I use http://newmarketingautomation.com.

Now, each of these are somewhat complex discussions that we could probably spend a one-hour teleseminar talking about each of them. Do a quick search on Google – there are plenty of online resources that will teach you more about each of these subjects.

You now know the basic building blocks needed to build your online business.

Can you spend years learning to master it all? Yes. But is it simple enough to get the basics in just a few minutes (as you just did)? Yes.

Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Just remember these basics, figure out which pieces you already have… and figure out what the next logical step might be. Then just do it!

Seth Godin: “Often, more effort goes into circumventing a system then it would take to just do a great job in the first place…”. This makes me think about an experience I had at McDonald’s (yes, sometimes I eat there. I can’t be the only one.) Recently I noticed that the folks who run the drive thru window at my local McDonald’s have strategically placed a sign in the window so that, when they slide it open, it blocks the timer that shows how long you have been waiting. How’s that for circumventing the system? I never thought about that timer… until they tried to hide it from me.

Roberta Rosenberg: “After 25 years of writing copy, I must admit I get a little pissed-off (okay, maybe a lot) when my hard-learned, hard-earned craft gets lumped in and categorized as yet one more bogus ‘get-rich-quick, anyone-can-do-this’ enterprise…

Bob Bly’s ‘Copywriter’s Handbook’. This really is the gold standard that gives the best overall explanation of what copywriting is all about. It covers not only direct response copywriting which, is primarily what this blog is devoted to, but all sorts of copywriting. Whether it’s for radio, brochures, or even business cards I think you’ll really get a lot of value out of Bob’s book.

Dan Kennedy’s ‘The Ultimate Sales Letter’. He’s one of the deans of copywriting… and this book is pure gold. Dan lays out a good basic system for writing copy in this brief and highly-readable book.

Claude Hopkins, ‘Scientific Advertising’. This is one of the classics of direct marketing advertising, especially for copywriters. It’s a little bit tougher read just because it was written not long after the turn of the previous century, so the language seems a bit archaic and a bit more formal than what we’re accustomed to, but the principles stand clear and true as ever.

Eugene Schwartz’s Breakthrough Advertising. Not the kind of “light and easy” read you find in the business and marketing books of today, this volume will yield wealth to those who study it. Gene managed to squeeze the most “content per paragraph” into his work I think I have ever seen. Read it and see if you don’t agree. Yes, some of the examples and copy seem dated, but like Hopkins work the principles remain true.

That ought to keep you busy for a few days!

1. It’s good for business. It wasn’t always this way. When I started blogging it was more about self-expression. It didn’t take long for me to realize blogging was building my business, too. I get a steady flow of new business from people who say something like, “Well, I started reading your blog and finally decided I would call you.”
2. Self-expression. Once upon a time, I was a radio DJ. Highly-rated, successful, and loving it. Being on the radio was my own personal megaphone. It was my way of being heard. Now I get that same satisfaction from blogging. You can too. Now everyone’s a DJ!
3. Building a relationship with my readers. There’s nothing like a blog to build a relationship with your readers. My blog is the source of most of the conversations I have with my readers. Why? I have some theories, but the fact is they don’t matter. It just works.
4. Marketing. I know there are many who say you can’t “monetize” a blog. Really? My own blog has brought me… well, let’s call it “a substantial amount” of revenue. And I don’t even use Adsense (as of this writing). One of the very best Internet Marketers is a guy name Dave Winer. And you’d never categorize him as a marketer… but last year he made over 7 figures using his blog as the primary marketing medium. Even as as I write this, he’s in the beginnings of a “product launch”, though most of his readers probably don’t realize it.
5. Research and testing. The quickest way I know to test a new idea, get some feedback, or get an answer is… make an appropriate post on my blog.

Okay, those are my 5 reasons for blogging. And now, I tag:

• Ben Settle
• JP Maroney
• Stu McLaren
• Jeff Mills
• Alice Seba

At first it was heartbreaking.

Watching him bump into things, and then seeing him withdraw, sit still for long periods of time…

It made me wonder what he must be thinking.

If it was even worth still being around, when he had once been so fiercely independent.

He’s always been a cute little guy, but also kind of grouchy and self-centered.

He’s about 99 in people years, but that hasn’t slowed him down too much.

Until he went 100% blind over the last few months.

Then our vet said something that really stuck with me: “You know, Ray, Scooter’s not feeling sorry for himslef. Dogs don’t do self-pity.”

Guess what?

The minute we realized that, Scooter’s attitude improved 100%!

Was he listening?

No.

But Lynn (my wife) and I started treating him as if we didn’t pity him — we just started loving him more.

And because of his “helpless” state, he was more open to receiving our help.

We started working with Scooter, teaching him new commands, helping him learn his way around again, and taking him for walks.

He still has his moments, but he’s adjusting.

Most of the time you’d never know he was blind.

And now he seems the happiest I’ve ever seen him. He’s not grouchy.

He’s not self-centered.

He’s more affectionate, more loving, and more playful than ever.

Why is that?

I think it’s because his blindness opened him up to accepting the love and the help of those who care for him, instead of trying to do everything himself.

And this is why I’m telling you about my blind dog…

No, I’m not physically blind. And I am of course more grateful than ever for the gift of sight. When I say “I too am a blind dog”, I’m speaking metaphorically.

You see, I’m trying to be more like Scooter – to take that same approach to my life and my business as I contemplate a new year.

The “same approach” meaning: learning, like Scooter has, to be open to the wisdom, the love, and the knowledge of those around me.

Those wonderful, intelligent, sage beings who are part of my life.

Like you, for instance.

(In the latter part of this post, I’m going to ask you to take a few moments and share your opinion and wisdom with me.)

But what I hope you’ll take from this story about my bling dog is this: don’t wait for some tragedy to make you open to others.

Go ahead and open yourself up to the people in your life who can help you. The people who WANT to help you.

Let them in.

Live with the same joy that Scooter does — by moving from “fierce independence” to “joyful INTER-dependence”.

Now here’s the part where I ask for your thoughts. If you want the full story you can keep reading. Or you can skip the rest of the post and just…

Give Your Opinion. <--- Click That To Take The Survey

I recently conducted a survey of my readers about what you need most to learn about, and how you would prefer to learn it.

I gave away a free “Q&A” teleseminar for those who chose to participate.

And I promised I would share the results of the survey with you…

Here’s what we discovered together:

1. What do you most want to learn about?

- 50% of you said you want to learn “how to write your own copy”. This was by far the biggest reauest.

- The next biggest response was 39.4% who want to learn how to make money from home online.

Add them together: 89.4% of subscribers to this newsletter want to learn how to make money from home, online, by writing their own copy.

2. How to you like to receive information?

- 68.2% prefer email.

- 45.5% prefer video.

- 26.5% prefer teleseminar.

3. As far as getting email from me…

- 62.9% prefer a weekly newsletter (the other responses were all less than 1/3 of this one!).

I’ll start publishing a new weekly newsletter the first week in January. This will be 100% content, dirven by your feedback and requests, with no selling anything in the newsletter.

4. 77.3% of you have invested in either a live seminar or telesemsinar.

5. 90.4 % of you would be interested in online coaching about how to make money with your website by writing your own copy!

You’re going to get what you want.

I’m creating an online course that will teach you how to make money from home, online, by writing your own copy.

So yes, this us part of a sneaky “launch”.

Hmmm.

I guess now the “cat’s out of the bag”.

Oh well.

It’s not so sneaky after all. I hope you’re okay with that…

So… can I enlist your help one more time?

So that I am absolutely sure that I am teaching what you truly need and want to learn, will you answer just a few quick questions for me?

I need you opinion on one more survey — about the SPECIFICS of what will be in the course.

Just click here to take the survey.

There’s no obligation on your part.

It’s just you giving your opinions.

And you get to create the details of the course with me.

This myth has always struck me as false — or at least only partially true.

I believe that when it comes right down to it, you must have some writing talent. If you don’t, your copy will not be brilliant. It may not even be good. In most cases, it will just be bad.

I see plenty of evidence that the last is the most common result.

There is another myth that if one studies enough of the right manuals, or attends enough of the right seminars, one can learn to write well. Frankly, if you don’t have some native talent — a “knack”, if you will — I don’t think all the classes, courses, or seminars in the world can help you much.

Stephen King would agree with me, I suspect. In a recent article he penned for the Washington Post, King wrote: “The only things that can teach writing are reading, writing and the semi-domestication of one’s muse.”

So there it is, then.
My opinion is that not everyone can learn to be a great (or even good) writer. Everyone is born with a certain aptitude (or lack of it), and they’re pretty much stuck with that aptitude. They can take classes or be taught to make the most of it, but they are always limited to a certain range in the development of their craft.
What do you think?

1. Focusing On You, Not Your Customer. In the context of an ad, your prospects don’t care about you. They care about themselves, and whether your product can help solve their problem(s). Look for and eliminate phrases like: ‘our friendly staff’, ’20 years in business’, ‘for all your [INSERT PRODUCT HERE] needs’. Those are about you. Use phrases that speak to the solution to your prospect’s most pressing problems.

2. Using Cliche Language. Cliches are like wallpaper, nobody notices them unless they’re so bad they can’t be ignored. Some cliches to look for: ‘giant blow out’, ‘explode your sales’, ‘save like never before’, ‘savings throughout the store’… There are too many advertising cliches to list here. You probably recognize them when you hear them. Get them out of your copy.

3. Speaking Inappropriately. No, this doesn’t mean correcting your grammar – unless your intended audience is English Teachers. Speaking inappropriately means using language patterns that cause your audience to disagree with you on some minor subject. Once that happens, it will be much more difficult to get their agreement on a more important topic (such as buying your product). For example, if you are selling to English Teachers and you use poor grammar in your copy, it will be much harder to make the sale (even if the sale has nothing to do with grammar). Why? Because you have lost credibility with your audience – you are not ‘speaking their language’.

His mother and I were not thrilled to hear this news, but Sean is a mature, level-headed young man. He’s also an adult and we couldn’t stop him (our favorite parenting tool, absolute authority, expired when Sean became 18).

So without warning I developed a keen interest in all things South American. And you know what I learned?

The world is a personal place.

We often don’t care about people and locations because they don’t seem to have any personal bearing on our lives. All it takes is an announcement from one’s child to change all that.

We’ll be paying attention to the news from South America for the next 3 weeks. And if you’re a praying person, perhaps you’ll remember Sean Edwards in your prayers, asking for a safe trip for him and his friends.

We’ll call him Drew (not his real name). Drew seemed tentative, nervous, and naive. I immediately classified him in my mind as someone who was not a client for me. I fully expected to scare him away with my requirements for my clients, the intricacy of the process and what I expected in the way of information to write his copy…and if none of that worked, I was certain my price would end the conversation.

Turns out I was wrong.

Drew was curious as could be about the process, excited about gathering the required information I would need, and didn’t blink when I quoted him a price for his project (it was in the five figure range). He immediately sent payment and we set off to work.

What did I learn? Only the same old lesson I need to revisit from time to time: don’t pre-judge people, and be open to what life brings your way. You never know who the next big client will be, what the next big opportunity might look like…and you just might be surprised when you find out.

Dictionary.com defines “hype” as: “an ingenious or questionable claim, method, etc., used in advertising, promotion, or publicity to intensify the effect.”

One of the additional definitions is: “a swindle, deception, or trick”.

I rather think the second one is what we have in mind when we say a copy is full of hype.

There is a place for the kind of hype that is “an ingenious…claim, method, etc., used in advertising, promotion, or publicity to intensify the effect”.

There is not a place in a respectable copywriter’s toolbox for the kind of hype that is “questionable” or that uses “deception or tricks”.

The most reliable test for whether your copy is filled with the “bad” kind of hype is simple: is the claim being made in the copy true? If so, and if you can prove that it’s true, then it’s not the “bad” kind of hype.

What’s more, if your copy is presented to the true prospects for your product or service, it won’t be perceived as hype.

Here are three ways to grow your list:

1. Pay per click advertising: Take out a Google Adwords ad that leads subscribers to a landing page. On that landing page, offer visitors something of value in exchange for their name and email address. The trick is, this is harder to do that it once was, for a variety of reasons. The biggest key: make the “something of value” a TRUE value. Just putting up a page that says “sign up for my newsletter” will not produce many subscribers.
2. E-zine ads. Buy ads in e-zines that are mailed to people who are likely to be interested in your offer. Test the results carefully; while this method can bring you subscribers, it can also be a quick way to lose money.
3. Do “swaps” with other e-zine owners. You run their ad in your ezine, and vice versa. Often you can do this at no cost, and gain subscribers in the bargain.

I am doing a teleseminar next Tuesday night with the person who may be the very best list-builder in the “Internet Marketing World”…if you want to join us for the call, register at:

http://whatrayuses.com/myfirstlist

I’ve found that I get much better results if I use some “jump starters”–they keep me focused, and get me started on the right track with a copy project.

Here are 3 “tricks” I use–maybe they’ll work for you, too:

1. Write the benefit bullets. Don’t worry about writing body copy just yet. Just start banging out all the benefits of owning the product. This will be more extensive list than the one in the order box (which is our next “jump-starter”).
2. Write the order box copy. This is the part of the copy where you clearly spell out the price of your offer, and the bullet points of all the main benefits of owning the product. Select the MAIN benefits (the one with the most “persuasion power” for the order box.
3. Write 10 possible headlines for your copy. Don’t worry if they’re not “good enough”. You can even use some of the bullets you’ve written as starting points. Use a headline “swipe file” to spark ideas. Just get 10 headlines written.

Once you’ve finished the 3 “jump-starters” above, you will have written quite a bit of copy. It will be focused on the benefits of owning the product. You’ll be off to a good start on your copy project.

Right. Me too.

Well, let me save you some money and time. Forget the gurus for a moment.

Here is the real, true, ‘Master Secret of Success’:

Just get started!

Don’t laugh.

The problem most business people, entrepreneurs, and companies have is that they spend far too much time coming up with new buzzwords and management systems — and almost zero time just getting down to the work that needs to be done.

For the individual or entrepreneur, I offer this tactic that will help you ‘get started’ on something that will generate new revenue…

Think carefully about your answer to this question: If you could only do one thing to generate revenue immediately, what would that one thing be?

I really want you to think about this.

If it was a “must” – for instance, if it meant being able to pay the mortgage on your house this month – what one thing
would you do right now? Some possible examples:

• Write a letter and mail it.
• Make a phone call.
• Send an email.
• Drive to see a prospect in person.
• Complete and deliver a proposal.

Okay, do you have your “one thing”? Great. Write it down. Then…

JUST GET STARTED!

When it’s done, do the whole exercise over again.

I know that right about now you’re thinking, ‘Ray, this is the most elementary, simple, stupid thing I’ve heard all week.’

That’s okay. Try it anyway – and after you have tried it, I’d love to hear from you with your success story.

And remember, you heard the Master Key To Success right here. In case you forgot already, it’s this:

Just get started!

The Holy Grail of online marketing is getting the prospect’s email address (so you can start building a permission-based marketing relationship with them).

In the not-too-distant past, you could generate leads online simply by offering a free newsletter or special report. This doesn’t work so well anymore. Why?

The reason is simple: there’s too much ‘junk’ being offered, and prospects are wise to this. People just won’t give up their email address for a junky ‘special report’ like they used to.

So what’s a marketer to do? Here are three ways to break through skepticism and get your prospects to give you their email address:

1. Offer Superior Premiums

Offering a superior premium will help you “cut through the clutter”, but to be effective your premium must be clearly superior.

Commonplace and boring: “Special Reports” and “Free Tele-Seminars”.

Better: software that performs a specific task, a free telephone consultation (make it clear this is not a sales pitch), or a free membership website.

2. Use Video Testimonials

There’s a reason infommercial producers make their 30-minute ads over 70% testimonials: testimonials overcome skepticism.

These days, it’s cheap and easy to make video testimonials for your website. Get your best customers singing your praises on video, and put these snippets on your website. Lots of them.

3. Use The “Reciprocity Sequence Method”

You’ve no doubt heard of the ‘Reciprocity’ principal:
If I give you a gift, you feel compelled to reciprocate.

The trouble is, your prospects often have heard of it too, rendering it somehwat less effective.

I use a technique I call the “Reciprocity Sequence Method”… which is simply giving your prospects a series of gifts so that the “Reciprocity Impulse” becomes almost overwhelming.

It sounds elementary, but few people do it. And it’s very powerful.

Think about how you can ‘stack’ a sequence of 3-5 gifts in a short period of time, and THEN make an offer to your prospect.

Key points to remember: keep the sequence confined to a short time period, make the gifts relevant to (and an enhancement of) your core offer, and make the offer immediately after giving the final gift.

While it’s true that skepticism is at a higher level than ever, it’s also true that breaking through is easy when you know how.

What do you think? Have you run into increased skepticism in your marketing – and if so, how have you successfully over come it? Post your comments below!

It’s a full seminar put on by Inc. Magazine and the link above will take you to a place (once you register) where you can watch the whole thing for free.

One of the presentations I especially like was Bernie Marcus (Co-founder of Home Depot). His story of how and why he started Home Depot was inspiring but what was more intriguing was the advice he gave for entrepreneurs in today’s marketplace.

You’ll also be able to watch a presentation delivered by President Bill Clinton.

To get the video, just click here.

It’s not your fault.

Most business people are not trained as copywriters. But once you’ve read this article, you’ll know exactly what to do to correct the problems that are killing your sales and lead generation efforts.

This is “Part 2” of a 2-Part series; while this post stands on its own, I urge you to read my previous post, and also learn about the first “5 Deadly Mistakes”.

And now, “5 Additional Deadly Copywriting Mistakes You’re Probably Making…”

Deadly Mistake #6: Sentences and Paragraphs That Are Too Long

Keep your sentences and your paragraphs short.

A paragraph in a sales letter should be no more than 3-4 sentences long – and they should be short sentences.

People will read more of your copy if the sentences are and paragraphs are short. This is especially important on the first page (or the first screen, if it’s online) of your sales letter, when you are trying to draw them into your story.

Don’t scare people off with big blocks of text.

Deadly Mistake #7: Not Enough Testimonials

One of your first tasks as a copywriter is to break down that skepticism, and get them to believe you – even just a little bit.

Once that initial barrier of skepticism comes down, you have a chance of making a sale. How do you break through that skepticism?

Testimonials.

You need lots of testimonials in your copy. How many? As many as you can get.

Here’s a good rule of thumb: however many you have now, get 25% more.

Deadly Mistake #8: Offers That Stink

If your offer stinks, the best copy in the world won’t help you.

By your offer, I mean the bundle, widget, or information as presented for sale. This includes your price, and how you demonstrate the value of your offer versus what you’re charging for it.

It’s best if you’re in the position of “selling dollars for dimes”. Then it’s easy to show the value of your offer.

For instance, if you sell a device that causes a 20% increase in a car’s fuel efficiency, you might frame the offer like this: “The FuelSaver is $99 – but you’ll save ten times that amount per year in fuel costs. So you get back more than TEN TIMES YOUR INVESTMENT in just one year!”

Is your offer good? If not, figure out how to make it good!

Deadly Mistake #9: Forgetting To Ask For the Sale

It’s one of the most common mistakes in all forms of selling – not asking for the sale. Hard to believe? Maybe. But it’s true anyway; people just don’t want to ask for the order.

There comes a point where you’ve presented all the benefits of your offer; you’ve demonstrated its value; you’ve supplied lots of credible testimonials; you’ve shown your iron-clad guarantee… and you just need to ask for the sale.

On the Internet, this can be as easy as putting in a link that says “Order Now”.

Online Marketer Armand Morin often has 5-7 order links on each of his sales pages; he says that the more “order links” he adds, the more sales he makes.

Deadly Mistake #10: Pricing Before Benefits and Offer

Sometimes business owners want to use price point as a selling feature, and so you see lots of web pages that right near the top will say something like “Now Only $24.95!”.

That’s a deadly mistake.

First, you are signaling readers that this page is an ad, not a page of information. That will cause you to lose readers before you’ve had a chance to tell them your story.

Second, you haven’t had a chance to elaborate on the benefits of your product or service, or to show the value of your offer.

Long before the price ever shows up on your page, you need to make the prospect feel that they must have the benefits that your product offers. They must desire those benefits in a strong and intense way.

Don’t reveal your price before you spell out the benefits of your product, and the value of you your offer. If you do this well, and you do it in the correct order, price will never be an objection; your offer will always seem like a bargain.

What to Do Now

Here’s your “takeaway” from this blog post: it’s the same advice I gave in Part 1 of this series.

Grab your own sales copy, this list of copy mistakes, your favorite beverage, and go through your copy line-by-line. Ferret out these mistakes and eliminate these mistakes.

Do it now.

Don’t put it off.

You’ll be glad you did.

And if writing is “not your thing” – hire a professional. Having great copy is the single most important tool you have at your disposal to sell your products or services.

Let me make you a bold promise: examine your own sales copy and eliminate these copywriting mistakes, and you will see an instant improvement in your sales.

Let’s get started…

Deadly Mistake #1: Being Focused On You, Instead Of On Your Market

This is the easiest mistake to make, and the most common. Most ad copy is focused on the advertiser, not on the consumer. Big mistake.

When you read copy that says things like, “We’re the best in the industry… we’ve been in business since 1979… we have the most well-trained associates… our facility has won many industry awards…” what is your reaction?

Most likely, your reaction is, “So what? What does that mean to me and my life?”

If you’re using copy that says “we”, “us”, and “our” a lot – find a way to change that copy so that it says “you”, and “yours”. Speak about the things that matter to your customer.

Here’s a hint: those things are probably not what you think they are. Why not ask your customers? They know the answer, and they’ll be glad to share it with you if you’re wise enough to listen.

Deadly Mistake #2: Using a Weak, Wimpy, or Just Plain Bad Headline

In the beginning, you only have one chance to grab the reader’s attention. That chance is the headline. Make sure your headline is strong, aggressive (without being pushy), and compelling.

Think of your headline as the sales pitch to get the prospect to read the whole ad. It has to be compelling enough that the reader thinks, “Hey, if this is true, I need to know about it…”

You get one shot. You can’t afford to blow it.

A poor headline for an automotive shop: “Our Experienced Staff Can Tend to Your Every Automotive Need, And Are ASE Certified with the Guaranteed Lowest Prices.”

A much better headline for the same client: “Are Hidden Mechanical Problems With Your Car Threatening The Health And Safety Of Your Family? Our 9-Point Safety Inspection Could Save Their Lives – And Give You Peace of Mind…”

Deadly Mistake #3: Not Using Enough Bullets

Bullets break up your copy into short, readable bursts. Especially on the web, people tend to scan copy before they read it; breaking your benefits into bullets increases the chances your copy will “catch the eye” and thus get read.

To recap the benefits of bullets:

• They break up copy (just like this) into short pieces.
• They make the copy easier to scan.
• They make it easier to pick out key words and phrases.
• They get more of your copy read.
• They make you more sales.
• The more bullets the better (usually).

Deadly Mistake #4: Using big words and jargon.

Copy should read like conversation; it should flow naturally and be easy to process.

Using big words and jargon might sound impressive, but it won’t get you sales. Which would you prefer?

Use strong, punchy words. Write simply and clearly.

Read Strunk & White’s Elements of Style – and follow its advice.

Avoid jargon.

Deadly Mistake #5: Using Weak, Wimpy, or Just Plain Bad Sub-Heads

You should use subheads every 3-4 paragraphs in your copy.

Make subheads strong and compelling; think of them as headlines for each section of your copy.

If read in sequence, your subheads should sound like an abbreviated version of your sales pitch (which is what they are). Sub-heads done correctly are a way to “stop the eye”, catch the reader’s interest, and get him to slow down enough to read that section.

What to Do Now

Here’s your “takeaway” from this article: Grab your own current sales copy, this list of copy mistakes, your favorite beverage, and go through your copy line-by-line.

Ferret out these mistakes and eliminate them from your copy.

Do it now, and don’t put it off.

You’ll be glad you did.

And if writing is “not your thing” – hire a professional. Having great copy is the single most important tool you have at your disposal to sell your products or services.