How to Turn 10 Bucks into One Million Dollars

million dollar marketing How to Turn 10 Bucks into One Million Dollars



Something quick for you today…

Troy White opened my marketing mind with his rewrite of a Bad Marketing Email message.

Some months ago I downloaded and read Troy’s Million Dollar Lobster Report… and promptly saved and filed it away on my computer hard-drive.

Do yourself a favor…

If you’re grappling with how to use the Internet to boost your local business sales, grab Troy’s Million Dollar Lobster Report.

It’s an entertaining story. Troy isn’t kidding… in the right hands, the information in the report is GOLD.

You just might catch an idea you can use in your local business… and turn it into a Million Dollars.

Or…

You’ll become a card-carrying member of the Ready brothers Lobster Club.


Enjoy!




Photo Credit:Flickr




3 Ways to Engage your Website Visitors

copy talk to prospects 3 Ways to Engage your Website Visitors


Here’s Daniel Levis on the 3 ways to engage your visitors to your website…

And…

Gain more opt-ins, phone calls, and sales.


Does Your Online Copy Talk?
THE UNSPOKEN DIALOGUE

When it comes to online copywriting, it’s not the words you use that count. It’s the reaction to those words in the mind of the reader, as he reads them on the screen…

And it’s your ability to anticipate and plan out those reactions that spells the difference between being able to get your web site visitors to opt-in or buy your product in sufficient numbers to make your business a success.

It’s like a dialogue between two people, divorced in time and space. You are feeding your reader images, ideas, and emotions across the continuum, in a carefully planned sequence… and he is feeding you back reactions.

You plan for certain reactions, and do your best to make them come about. You hope your reader will understand and agree with the assertions you put forward, and that he will share in the emotions you are suggesting he feel.

Included among these reactions are demands, questions, and anticipations, which must be answered, or your copy will fail…

When you’ve successfully aroused your prospect’s interest, his reaction may be to demand more information, more image, and more desire from your copy, as if to say… hmmm, tell me more? Where you have inflamed his desire, he will demand proof. And even when you demonstrate proof, he is likely to demand to know how those results are to be achieved, so he can judge for himself whether or not the product will work for HIM.

CREATIVE SCHIZOPHRENIA… So your challenge is to play a dual role. You must be copywriter and prospect at the same time. You must walk in his shoes, sense his reactions, feel what he feels at each point in the copy… so you can switch direction at the precise moment his demands arise, and answer them. This fracturing of your mind is one of the most difficult skills to master in copywriting. And naturally it demands a great deal of research into the product, and the market you’re working with. This sensitivity is one of the key distinctions between writing “good enough” copy… and writing grand slam home run copy that pulls in obscene returns.

Those anticipation points are crucial. If you miss them, you lose the interest of your reader.

Let’s examine one of these demands in more detail. At some point in your copy, your prospect generally will ask this question. “How does your product do all these good things you say it does?” First you must anticipate where this question will arise, and then answer it.

“REASON WHY”

Notice this a very specific kind of proof. It’s not a testimonial or an authoritative endorsement. Your prospect is asking for an explanation of the “reason why” something works, which may or may not be included in the aforementioned. It is an explanation of the mechanism behind the magic.

I have seen ads that included every conceivable proof element under the sun fail, because they left this simple device out. They failed to demonstrate the ‘reason why’ the product delivered the promised results.

Of course John E. Kennedy and Claude C. Hopkins are well known for popularizing the importance of this idea at the turn of the last century, and today many direct response ads make use of it to some degree. But how much ‘reason why’ is enough, how much is too much, and where in the copy does it belong?

WHEN TO USE LOGIC AND REASONING IN YOUR COPY

The answer to these questions comes from your market. Are you writing to those who already understand the reasons why your product can do what you claim? Do they accept those reasons as valid? If so, there is not much point in wasting the reader’s attention with a lot of ‘reason why’ copy. For example, if you are writing a car ad today, and the car you are writing about has ABS brakes, all you need do is name this mechanism. Millions of dollars of advertising, perhaps hundreds of millions that has gone before you, has distilled the logic and workings of this technology down to a three letter acronym that just about everyone with a license to drive understands. You simply name the feature, tie it to a benefit, and then move on.

But what about the vast array of products that present a new promise, but where the prospect does not yet understand the mechanism behind the claim? Here it is a simple matter of building a strong promise, backed up by a ‘reason why’ the product delivers on the claim. In the early days of ABS for example, the pioneers made the promise of greater safety, and then backed up that claim with a reason why. Safe, because you could now steer while braking in slippery conditions, and so on.

Of course, the cardinal sin is to make your ‘reason why’ copy dull and boring. It is not scientific discourse. It should sell the mechanism, just as hard as the opening sells the promise, and it must continue to captivate and engage the reader’s interest and build his desire.

In the later stages of product competition, where the market is sophisticated, and it seems that everyone has the same technology, the same promise, the same price, a new strategy is in order.

At this stage your ‘reason why’ should take center stage. Move it up from the anonymity of the body copy, and put it in your headline. It is now just as vital as your promise, no longer just a proof element, but a new, fresh incentive for your prospect to read your ad.

Another place in your copy where this reaction commonly arises is where you offer a special price or discount. Your prospect is suspicious. Many advertisers ignore this fact, and are shocked to discover that a price reduction does nothing to increase sales.

What you must realize is that a price cut, like a promise or a claim or a benefit is only as good as the words you use to describe it, and the strategy you use to present it. Price cuts should be justified. There must be a reason for them. A ‘reason why’ you are doing what you are doing. Without it, you are selling with only a fraction of the power.

About the Author
Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada and publisher of the world famous copywriting anthology “Masters of Copywriting” featuring the marketing wisdom of 44 of the world’s greatest copywriters, including Clayton Makepeace, Joe Sugarman, Joe Vitale,Bob Bly, and dozens more! For a FREE excerpt, click here.(affiliate link)

 3 Ways to Engage your Website Visitors



Photo Credit:Flickr

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The Referral Engine: “Tune Up” Your Small Business Marketing

The Referral Engine The Referral Engine: Tune Up Your Small Business Marketing

Is your small business “Referral Engine”…

… a sputtering, oil-leaking, smoke-spewing, back-firing, about to blow a gasket wreck?

Or…

… a fine-tuned, high-pitched, ear drum busting, screaming, turbo-charged, world-class racing machine?


Yes, as Chris Brogan says, it’s hard to believe John Jantsch could top Duct Tape Marketing

But he has!

Indeed, John puts you in the drivers seat of your word-of-mouth marketing with The Referral Engine.


referralenginebook The Referral Engine: Tune Up Your Small Business Marketing


Buckle up, put on your helmet. Get in the race to win the hearts and minds of clients who know, like, and trust you… and Teach Your Business How to Market Itself with the The Referral Engine as your new Word-of-Mouth Owner’s Manual.



This Ain’t Grandpa’s Word-of-Mouth World

Sure, movers and shakers back-slapping over 3-hour, 3-martini lunches at the Club, mid-week, mid-day rounds of golf, volunteering on charity boards, and attending private big-wig cocktail parties still grease the skids of business… always will.

And, keeping your head down, minding your business, delivering good service at a fair price… well, that’s kinda expected in today’s New Economy.

You’ve no doubt noticed that newspaper ads, your Yellow page ads, Val-Pak mailers, Trade Shows, TV and Radio ads don’t seem to work the same magic as in the “Good Old Days”.

Yep, even getting a steady, consistent stream of quality referrals… the bread and butter of nearly all local small business marketing…  is different now a days.


The Internet has Changed the Referral Race

Forever. And, for businesses who plug into John’s advice in The Referral Engine, for the better.

Yes, in the back of the book, John shares tons of real-world, practical “Snack-sized Suggestions” on how to get your clients and business community spreading the word about you that have little to do with SEO, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, or cutting a YouTube video.

But, before you get to John’s “Snack-sized Suggestions” and his Action Plan Workshop, John “refers” you to…


112 Online Case-Studies, Resources, and Tools

Throughout The Referral Engine, John points you to Case-Studies, Business Examples, practical SEO Resources, Social Media Marketing Resources and Tools, Business Blogging and Content Creation- Text, Audio, Video, Tools to Monitor and Spread the Conversation about your business, and Time-Saving Productivity Tools.

To help you take ACTION, implement, and build your race-ready Referral Engine, here are the links: (pretty much in the order as they appear in The Referral Engine)


  1. isisforwomen.com
  2. tammyredmon.com
  3. voodoodoughnut.com
  4. Biznik.com/members/nona-jordan
  5. zappos.com
  6. freshbooks.com
  7. sweetriot.com
  8. ryanlawn.com
  9. newbelgium.com
  10. zingermans.com
  11. zingermanscommunity.com
  12. paragonremodeling.com
  13. centraldesktop.com
  14. hubspot.com
  15. 43folders.com
  16. squidoo.com
  17. ning.com
  18. tekkbuzz.com
  19. trunkclub.com
  20. toughjobs.carhartt.com
  21. 37signals.com
  22. Biznik.com
  23. referralenginebook.com
  24. js-kit.com
  25. youtube.com
  26. viddler.com
  27. gotomeeting.com
  28. surveygizmo.com
  29. surveymonkey.com
  30. workspace.officelive.com
  31. docs.google.com
  32. mindmeister.com
  33. emailcenterpro.com
  34. jott.com
  35. cheeseboardcollective.coop
  36. aflac.com
  37. tomsshoes.com
  38. shattomilk.com
  39. constantcontact.com
  40. geeksquad.com
  41. terracycle.net
  42. stevensaviation.com
  43. pbworks.com
  44. sites.google.com
  45. syms.com
  46. e-myth.com
  47. allfacebook.com
  48. whyfacebook.com (See MariSmith.com)
  49. helpareporter.com
  50. delicious.com
  51. twitter.com
  52. bing.com/xrank
  53. oneriot.com
  54. http://www.google.com/sktool/#
  55. bx.businessweek.com
  56. smartbrief.com
  57. enthusem.com
  58. SendPepper.com
  59. hellomynameisscott.com
  60. WordPress.org
  61. copyblogger.com
  62. google.com/reader
  63. freekeywords.wordtracker.com
  64. tools.seobook.com
  65. yoast.com
  66. wptavern.com
  67. WordPress.tv
  68. WordPress.org/extend/plugins
  69. digitalnomads.com
  70. skype.com
  71. apple.com/support/garageband/edit
  72. audacity.sourceforge.net
  73. libsyn.com
  74. ducttapemarketing.com/blog/category/podcast
  75. audioacrobat.com
  76. vimeo.com
  77. tubemogul.com
  78. reelseo.com
  79. dimdim.com
  80. ilinc.com
  81. google.com/alerts
  82. search.twitter.com
  83. tweetbeep.com
  84. BoardTracker.com
  85. BackType.com
  86. socialmention.com
  87. radian6.com
  88. trackur.com
  89. buzzlogic.com
  90. filtrbox.com
  91. mybloglog.com
  92. fleck.com/lite
  93. stumbleupon.com
  94. mixx.com/popular
  95. mrtweet.com
  96. prweb.com
  97. more-for-small-business.com
  98. remodelagain.com.Schlogel_Design_Remodel/Home.html
  99. batchblue.com
  100. act.com
  101. infusionsoft.com
  102. swiftpage.com
  103. aweber.com
  104. omahasteaks.com
  105. VerticalResponse.com
  106. jobing.com
  107. affordableconcretecutting.com
  108. referralnetworker.com
  109. outskirtspress.com
  110. artfulthinkers.com
  111. vistaprint.com
  112. goldnetreferralmarketing.co.uk



The Referral Engine.

Buy it. Read it. Drive it. Use it to Build Your Business.


Disclosure: While, yes, I do have affiliate relationships with some of the links on this post and an affiliate relationship with Duct Tape Marketing, none of the links on this post are affiliate links. John was kind enough to give me a copy of The Referral Engine in return for this review.



Appeal to These Two Emotions in Your Local Marketing

marketing emotions Appeal to These Two Emotions in Your Local Marketing


Is your marketing flat?

Many local businesses “play it safe” with same and lame marketing.

Here’s Daniel Levis on the Two Emotions you MUST trigger to put a spark into your local marketing efforts.


Do You Market to These Emotions Online?

What can Mother Theresa and Charles Schwab teach you about marketing online?

Certainly these two historical figures saw two vastly different worlds in their lifetimes.

Mother Theresa spent hers with the poorest of the poor, while Charles Schwab spent his with the richest of the rich.

But look at these two famous quotes.

“There is more hunger in this world for love and appreciation than for bread” Mother Teresa

“I have yet to find a man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.” Charles Schwab

Do you see the underlying thread?

Regardless of who you are selling to, from one end of the social spectrum to the other, and everywhere in between, human beings are looking for appreciation, and approval, above all else.

Show your customers how the use of your product yields a sense of importance, and recognition, or how it helps them avoid embarrassment and indifference, and you will make many more sales than if you simply describe the qualities of your product.

But it takes a certain kind of selling to pull this off.

While your advertising can speak directly about the features of your product, and explain what those features do for your customer, it is much more difficult to transfer emotional meaning with the same directness.

Yet it is the emotions that trigger desire in the buyer. As an advertiser, it is your job to bring those desires that already exist in the buyers mind to the fore. To stir them to life, so to speak. And the best way to do that is through indirection.

By wrapping your sales message up in a story, you give your prospect permission to imagine. You’re not telling them how they should feel. They instinctively project themselves into the tale. They can’t help themselves. It’s what we all learnt to do as little children.

Remember this.

Without imagination, there is no desire, and without desire, there is no action.

When someone comes to your website and reads your copy, do they see themselves using your product? Do they see themselves living the results of using it? Even more importantly, do they see others approving of them, and appreciating them for having done so?

That may sound like a strange way of thinking about a product, but let me give you an example of what I’m talking about.

Let’s say you’re selling a diet plan. How do you use indirection and storytelling to trigger your prospect’s desire for it?

You might talk to your overweight potential client like this…
—————————————————————————————-
Imagine yourself walking briskly along a hot, sandy, sun drenched beach. An azure haze hangs over the skyline as the warm wind caresses your bare skin.

As you stride confidently to your favorite spot, your breathing is normal, and your body relaxed. You smile to yourself, knowing you could walk for miles like this without becoming fatigued.

The beach is busy, and as you glance around you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex. They smile at you, and you smile back.
You walk assuredly into the water, and swim a couple of hundred yards out and back with ease. Lying back on your towel you can’t help but think…

‘Life Has Never Been So Good’

OK, now stop dreaming, and answer this question. Did you have a little trouble seeing yourself in that picture? If so, then take heart.

A slim, sexy figure and abundant self-esteem can now be yours, thanks to the amazingly simple and easy to follow…
——————————————————————————————

Do you see how indirection works?

You don’t have to come right out and tell your potential client people will appreciate them, and approve of them as a result of what your product can do. You don’t have to tell them they’ll no longer feel embarrassed by their weight in social situations.

The story does it for you.

Now you’ve got their undivided attention, and a real chance to prove your product is unique and that it works.

About the Author
Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. He is also the editor of THE STEAL THESE SECRETS SWIPEFILE, a compilation of master direct mail sales promotions that raked in over $200 million in sales. For a FREE excerpt, click here. (Affiliate Link)

Photo Credit:Flickr

 Appeal to These Two Emotions in Your Local Marketing

Mari Smith’s Free Facebook 3-in-1 Report

Mari Smith Facebook Free Report Mari Smiths Free Facebook 3 in 1 Report



With all the recent changes, lots of small, local business owners have questions about Facebook.

How do I get started on Facebook?

How do I avoid making stupid, costly and time-sucking mistakes?

How can Ii use Facebook to attract more customers to my local business?


Muhammed Saleem, a leading social media consultant, shared this Facebook Factbook on Mashable to illustrate the explosive growth of Facebook in 6 short years.

Notice…  more than 700,000 Facebook Pages for Local Businesses!


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Get answers to all your Facebook questions TODAY.

Mari Smith is one of the THE leading expert on how to use Facebook to grow your business.

Mari has put together a Special Free 3-in-1 Facebook Tips Report.

Ten Steps To Getting Started on Facebook
The 5 Mistakes Newbies Make on Facebook

Mari’s Five Success Secrets for Using Facebook
Effectively to Grow Your Business

Get Smart… Get the Info You Need… Learn the Tips and Tricks to using Facebook to Grow Your Business

(Click the link below… Yep, it’s an affiliate link. To grab Mari’s Free report, you must opt-in. If you buy any of Mari’s products down the road to help you with your Facebook and Social Marketing efforts, I’ll make a couple bucks)


Grab Mari Smith’s Free 3-in-1 Facebook Report





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