Go CSI on Your Product or Service

Many marketers say to work on a killer offer first, then the rest of the ad. I do agree that an urgent and motivating offer can make an ad wickedly effective but, it needs to hook them first.

Offers lose to a hook because the offer is the action inducer, not the attention and interest getter. Most will not get to your offer.

What’s a hook? A hook is simply something interesting/unique about you or what you are selling.

If you sell online memberships, what is it about you or the site that is interesting? If you clean carpets, what makes you different from anyone else.

A hook to me is a spiced up USP. Something that makes you or your offer unique mixed with dramatic appeal. John Carlton is one of my favorite copywriters and a hook finding genius.

Let’s take a headline that Carlton did for a mundane and rather boring financial newsletter. Rather than write the typical sterile "Make Better Investments Using Our Proven Methods", he decided to go Columbo.

What he did was research all the material he could find. Buried in the material was a little quote from Money Magazine referring to this mutual funds wizard as a "human computer". I am sure you’re thinking that was all that was needed.

No, the hook was justified because this "human computer" in a typical quarter could crunch the numbers of 14,000 different companies offering stock… IN HIS HEAD!! So he could now talk about that in the copy.

The Headline?

"Mysterious Arizona "Human Computer" Humiliates Wall Street "Experts" For 21st Consecutive Year!"

I guarantee that grabs attention

That hook can now be the base for the entire ad. Now you are thinking that your carpet cleaning business is different. I have no super computer article to use. Maybe not, but you do have something.

Maybe the way you clean carpets destroys 96% of all allergens within the carpet. Maybe your a single father of three kids…

"Single Dad Protects His Children From Allergens And Now Offers to Keep Your Kids Safe Too"

Put that up against "Get $50 off Any Full Service Carpet Cleaning" and see which one gets more attention.

The single dad headline is true and now has a human interest side. How will the other generic ads out there compete with this guy?

You have a hook, I guarantee you do. You may need to dig into you or your product/service to find it. Write down a list of things that come to mind in your search. As you can see it could be very simple.

Make sure the copy in the ad resonates with the hook. Keep that interest intact. As soon as you get generic they’re gone.

The less interesting you find your product or service, the less interesting your ad will be. Get fired up about what you’ve got. In that aroused state of mind is when you want to start digging and writing.

Go get some

Paul

If you offer a service to businesses or consumers, you are likely leaving A LOT of money on the table. Take the bull by the horns, or….

You’re probably unaware of how easy it is to get the #1 most stupendous way to get new business; referrals.

Being that I have worked with so many local service businesses, it never ceases to amaze me how many are clueless.

Every time I get into a conversation about their referral method they hand me the "I am trying some gift cards", "I will take $xx off their next purchase" or something like that.

I can DESTROY any method you will ever think of and it is EASY as hell. First you will need to get over yourself and feel around in your shorts to see if you have a pair.

At the time you are completing or signing someone up for some work, hit them with it! Not some bullsh-t passive mailer or even worse, an email offer-

"Hi Jodi, we would love some more customers just like you! If you send us 3 referrals we will give you ____________"

Instead of that flaccid attempt at motivating them, why not go for the throat from the get go? Let’s say you are a carpet cleaner. You show up at the job and ring the door bell. Rather than saying "hi, I am here" then proceed to get your stuff… throw in an offer!

"Hi Jodi, are you ready for some clean and fresh carpets? Before I go out and get my equipment I would like to leave this for you to look over. This is our Refer a Friend program. If you jot down 3 names of people you know that may be interested in our service, I will give you $xx off today"

Jodi takes it and she jots down 3 or she does not. I PROMISE you it is easier to get a referral this way than passive attempts.

3 good leads coming from a person they trust is gold. They are less price resistent and there is already some trust.

The vital thing to know is you do not need to give away the farm. Keep the freebie relative to the cost of your service. Would you take $20 off carpet cleaning to get 3 solid leads?

If you change it to "you can take $20 off of your next cleaning" that seems like a crappy deal. Wait, I need to hire you again and give up 3 of my friends?… I don’t think so.

Advertising is EXPENSIVE. I would pay $20 all day every day for 3 hot leads. I would be the busiest carpet cleaner in town. Not only that, your tree of customers stay rooted as they are together. (unless you do crappy work)

This can work in a lot of businesses, but really well with consumers.

Create a one page Refer a Friend sheet of paper and give it to them once you arrive. Now they will be thinking about it while you are working and there is a VERY good chance they pick up the phone and get some referrals for you.

When the payoff is immediate and they are in a elated state because their carpets look bright and smell great, you are in a great position. They get a mailer form you a week later and they do not care.

If you are dealing with businesses you will need to know your customers well. What is it you can offer now that they will respond to and does not cost you much?

Before you go create your next referral program (that will tank like the rest), try it.

Business is not for the timid. That’s why there are bosses to kick peoples asses. You are the boss so it’s on you.

go get some

Paul

Dear Reader:

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both—as young college graduates are—were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.

Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion.

They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and were still there.

But there was a difference. One of the men was manager of a small department of that company. The other was its president.

What Made The Difference

Have you ever wondered, as I have, what makes this kind of difference in people’s lives? It isn’t a native intelligence or talent or dedication. It isn’t that one person wants success and the other doesn’t.

The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of that knowledge.

And that is why I am writing to you and to people like you about The Wall Street Journal. For that is the whole purpose of The Journal: to give its readers knowledge—knowledge that they can use in business.

A Publication Unlike Any Other

You see, The Wall Street Journal is a unique publication. It’s the country’s only national business daily. Each business day, it is put together by the world’s largest staff of business-news experts.

Each business day, The Journal’s pages include a broad range of information of interest and significance to business-minded people, no matter where it comes from. Not just stocks and finance, but anything and everything in the whole, fast-moving world of business. . .The Wall Street Journal gives you all the business news you need—when you need it.

Knowledge Is Power

Right now, I am looking at page one of The Journal, the best-read front page in America. It combines all the important news of the day with in-depth feature reporting. Every phase of business news is covered. I see articles on new inflation, wholesale prices, car prices, tax incentives for industries to major developments in Washington, and elsewhere.

The Journal is also the single best source for news and statistics about your money. In the Money & Investing section there are helpful charts, easy-to-scan market quotations, plus “Abreast of the Market, ” “Heard on the Street” and “Your Money Matters, ” three of America’s most influential and carefully read investment columns.

If you have never read The Wall Street Journal, you cannot imagine how useful it can be to you.

A Money-Saving Subscription

Put our statements to the proof by subscribing for the next 13 weeks for just $44. This is among the shortest subscription terms we offer—and a perfect way to get acquainted with The Journal.

Or you may prefer to take advantage of our better buy —one year for $149. You save over $40 off the cover price of The Journal.

Simply fill out the enclosed order card and mail it in the postage-paid envelope pro-vided. And here’s The Journal’s guarantee: should The Journal not measure up to your expectations, you may cancel this arrangement at any point and receive a refund for the undelivered portion of your subscription.

If you feel as we do that this is a fair and reasonable proposition, then you will want to find out without delay if The Wall Street Journal can do for you what it is doing for mil-lions of readers. So please mail the enclosed order card now, and we will start serving you immediately.

About those two college classmates I mention at the beginning of this letter: they were graduated from college together and together got started in the business world. So what made their lives in business different?

Knowledge. Useful knowledge. And its application.

An Investment In Success

I cannot promise you that success will be instantly yours if you start reading The Wall Street Journal. But I can guarantee that you will find The Journal always interesting, always reliable, and always useful.

Sincerely,

Publisher

 

P.S. It’s important to note that The Journal’s subscription price may be tax deductible. Ask your tax adviser.

 

 

© 1994 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This letter is estimated to have brought in $1 billion in sales. When writing a sales letter (or any ad) you should look at extremely successful letters/ads.

Notice how personal the letters tone is. Also notice how it starts with a story. That is gold! (to the tune of one billion bucks)

Print this out and write it over and over. Soon you will get a feel for writing engaging ads. Whether you are in advertising or a carpet cleaner, you can learn to make your ads very effective. Whether you are doing a sales letter, website content or even a postcard THIS WILL HELP YOU.

Stop surfing the web and grab a pen and paper. Learn these techniques and you will be too busy to waste time.

If you need any other winning sales letters to learn from, just contact me.

Go get some

Paul

Sorry peeps, no marketing mayhem today….

It’s pretty weird. When we stand back and look at the world and all the glorious parts of it, what do we focus on? Some bs Peace Prize, Jon and Kate, A-Rod and his latest hump. I mean, what about the good stuff?

We live vicariously through others while droning through our real lives. Every day I feel more and more disconnected and complacent.. thank God for Twitter! oh wait, that has turned into another place of celebrity obsession and self serving promotion.

Social my ass

What do you do to be a part of the world? I am not talking about cyber world where you are an avatar with a big mouth and no substance. What is it you do to partake in the world in a meaningful way?

Write a list of things you do that betters you and those around you. I bet you can’t write 3. If you can you are better than most (me included). I was at such a loss for my contributions I wrote down a list from people that I knew.. could not get 1 out of any of them.

I turn on the tv on Sundays to watch Home Makeover. 99% of the time me and my wife are in tears and we IMMEDIATELY talk about helping out somewhere, somehow.

Then Monday morning the alarm goes off and we get back to nothing. Now it is money, bills and the negativety our minds create because of our day. That negativity seems appeased at times with a celebrity meltdown. Maybe I can blame Obama or Rush Limbaugh for my meager existence.

I have all sorts of stuff I want to do like help abused animals, become a Big Brother to nurture a fatherless child (that I can relate all too well with). What do I do with those feelings? They disappear with the sunrise. They come back when I see a movie like Seven Pounds or watch Ty help a desperate family.

I am sick of it. I am sick of being sick of it.

Next Monday I am setting aside time to call Big Brothers and toss my name in. It’s time I do more in life than think about how to improve my situation.

My cup is empty and it has been for a long time.

Pick something that you want to do that will impact someone else in a good way. Let’s get addicted to a healthy soul

go give some

Paul

What do you want out of life? (besides more money)

This week I am going to get off topic a little because sometimes you just need to stop and take a look around.

Add to that daily marketing tasks for clients and myself (yep, I still run my window cleaning company). So I need to market Onslaught and window cleaning, help people with projects, read and keep up to date, research… that was just today!

Then there is this blog and forums I participate on…. where is me time? Where is family time?

Why do you want to make more money? These days it’s to pay bills, what a passion killer. What are your personal goals right now? Name 3 out load. How did you feel calling out your goals? Did it get the fire burning or was it like calling for the cat?

So many of us drown in the daily minutia. Hopes and dreams become "not another Monday". The smiles fall from our face, but most importantly the flame inside is dim.

I sit and think about results all day- Mailing results, flier results, website results. What about Paul results? How is Paul right now? I’ll tell you how I feel, I feel like I live in a vacuum. I feel every time something gets me stoked, something else sucks it right out of me.

So when I sat here working on my vast array of projects, I had a revelation. I am going to focus on the people I work with as well as help them grow their business. I will not only focus on excellent marketing tactics and strategies, I will focus on people and their personal goals.

Sometimes our business needs to take the back seat so we can see where we are heading. I am tired of working for empty promises and flat-lined dreams.

So as I see this mountain of work all around me. As the phone never stops ringing. As the emails keep coming, for once in a long time I feel excitement. Like being 12 years old and going to Disney Land. When is the last time you felt that type of excitement, pure and clean.

Be sure to write a down list of your personal goals, in fact take time to do it right now. If you do not mind I would like to share some of mine.
 

• Take my family to Rome for a week
• Build a complex on my land for homeless/mistreated pets and find them homes
• Buy a Mercedes sports car (I am still debating which one
• Get to my final rank in my mixed martial arts school (about 3 years of hard work)
• A cruise for me and my wife (that is what I call "go get some")
• Get buff ( I want muscles!.. my wife does too lol)
• Participate in a marketing seminar, live and onstage

These are not just passing thoughts anymore because I wrote them down, and I told you. These are goals that I will be working hard for. So when I am burning the midnight oil and I am fried, I will look at my list and know that because of what I am doing now, Rome is just around the corner 

My focus now is finding ways to create more "me time". I will cut down on all this stuff I do because it is literally never ending. Everything I am involved in is a living changing thing. Everything is hands on and needs to be handled daily… that is coming to an end soon.

My real business goal is to create enough income to outsource as much as possible. Put others in charge of tasks. I am 40 now and I will wake up and be 60 soon. I don’t think I will be satisfied looking back at a million hours behind a keyboard. All the while trying to figure out where 20 years went.

If you really want to step up, leave a comment with your personal goals for us to see. Start empowering yourself right now.

Have a great week

Go get some

Paul

Were you talking to me? Sorry, I fell to sleep…

Are your ads, sales letters and emails boring?

All too many times do I see business owners create ads that are completely void of personality. Let’s face it, most people lack personality in general.

That my friends is why adding some charisma to your piece is HUGE… even if you are a schlump.

People naturally gravitate towards charisma. The great thing about using it in marketing is that we can fake it if we don’t have it. I am not talking about being a clown with a bunch of doppy ba-da-bing jokes. I mean chat like you would with your buddys at the bar (if you’re like me, leave out the cussing)

I feel in marketing that when we approach our prospects in this way it becomes direct non directness. Usually when we appear in front of someone it is our letter, postcard or email screaming BUY ME!

Now the force field goes up and they have initiated warp drive to get the hell away from it. By adding a little personality and a more passive intro to your ads you can bring them in at yellow alert. They are still cautious, but because you are using a "you aint going to believe what happened to me" type of feel, you buy some time.

I am not saying to be funny. I am not saying to be tongue in cheek. Those are very hard to pull off and you REALLY need to know your market well. Just be more of a matter of fact type.

Let’s do an example for a….. um, Twitter ebook (boring)

Are You Kidding? This Guy Got Only 200 Followers And Converted 33 of them into Customers Within 72 Hours

Isn’t that crazy? Tom Wopat opens a Twitter account and three days later he makes $2200. He then blames my Twitter course!

"If it were’nt for your course I would have had more time to prepare"

Tom being new to online marketing did not have his Paypal verified or his auto responder set up yet. He thought he had a few more days to get his first sale… instead he he has 33 ready to buy customers to add to his list. Poor guy

Do you see how making the ad more personable makes it more interesting? You do not need to be a copywriting genius to connect with readers. (however, if you need one I’m here

This type of ad can be used for online as well as offline. Let’s do one for… um, carpet cleaning (boring)

What’s That Smell? If a Neighbor 200 Feet Away Can Smell Your Carpet–You need Help

Summer is full of sun, fun and aroma. Our Florida humidity feels like about 1000%, doesn’t it? If you own a pet you really know how odors appear out of no where.

That stinks! No matter how clean you keep your home pet smells hide deep in the carpet, festering. Then you open a window for 5 minutes and there is a party taking place between your carpet and your nose.

I spent no time on writing these (as you can see). If I were to take these basic ideas and polish them a little, I would have some effective copy. I have done this for a long time with great results.

Can you see how people may read a little more because it does not sound like an ad? Just get their interest, add some bullets and finish with a good offer and a call to action.

Try it on your next ad

Go get some

Paul

The Genie in the Bottle…

Here is a very interesting direct mail campaign aimed at a very cherry picked target list.

Some company in the computer electronics field tried a very nifty tactic. They bought a couple cases of bottles, created a sales letter, rolled it up and shoved it in the bottle. Then they mailed it to the prospect like that!

You must be thinking that is too crazy, maybe kinda dumb. I guess it was a bad idea since they only got a 98% response!!! Talking about the "power is in the list"

Maybe they were "lucky", maybe the gods felt sorry for them that day. Well, the gods were in a real good mood with this mortgage business too. They sent out bottles to a cold list of 50 Realtors and had 34 calls!!

Do you see ways an idea like this could work for you? Did you think that the mortgage and computer prospects would bite on such a weird approach? If they bit, anyone can bite.

I would try something like this with high end residential prospects, property management companies. I would try it to any prospect that would yield a good profit margin. Maybe even try it with a company you would like to partner up with.

You need to put together a 1 page, 2 sided sales letter (take your time on it). You want personallity AND facts/reasons about who you are and why they need you. Make an offer at the end. Tie a piece of ribbon around the letter (make sure the letter is wound tight so it comes out)

I guarantee you this, you will have their total attention; so use it wisely.

The goal of my blogs is to crack open your skull and allow you to see marketing like you never seen it before. This is not about mailing bottles to people, it is about opening your mind to possibilities.

Whether you do business over the internet or to a local market, always try to be interesting while remaining relevant. As to you online businesses, START UTILIZING DIRECT MAIL!

Go get some

Paul

Abused Great Dane Teaches Me a Lesson

This weekend me and my wife had the unique experience of adopting a 4 year old Great Dane named Reuben (we call him Roo).

As you can see he is a magnificent animal. Sadly he had a hard life. He had a life that makes most of our problems look like a winning lottery ticket.

He was saved from a place where the dog is not considered a part of the family. He was nothing more than a burden.

Roo has abandonment issues because he found his home as being locked in a garage. Alone in the dark without very much contact, and that contact not being much better.

This horrid human being decided to crop Roo’s ears, himself. Looks like with a scissors as they are different shaped and have ridges like little stairways going down them.

He arrived at the rescue extremely underweight and showing signs of abuse with fresh wounds on his snout. He had a tumor a little bigger than a softball on his chest. The tumor was outside the ribcage so it was VERY obvious.

He is a loving animal but is aggressive with strangers at first. Danes are not known to be like this so it shows what his life must have been like.

Now he follows us everywhere and plays with our other 2 dogs. Well, he plays with our other Dane as the smaller dog is not interested in getting stepped on

Roo is an amazing dog. At times as I stare in his eyes I can feel the pain he has been through. Both physically and mentally. Part of me wants to cry and the other part wants to beat the crap out of someone.

As I sit here with my daily issues, I only need to look over at my giant friend and know this is nothing. I just imagine what a day must have been like in his 4 years there. His only break from solitude was pain.

As you wake up tomorrow and think about all your problems, remember Roo and what cards he was dealt. Then get off your ass and do what he could not.

Go get some

Paul

 For Whom The Bell Tolls

"I like this offer. I could really use that right now. I will bookmark this page and come back to it later…"

Do you ever think about that? Do you know how often that happens in all forms of advertising? Think about how you handle interesting product or service offers.

How many times have you ended up with 50 expired grocery store coupons in the junk drawer? (aka Drawer Monster). How many times have you got a flyer or postcard for a local service and filed it somewhere to call later?

How many times do you stumble across something online and click away even though you are interested?

Far too many businesses pussyfoot around closing the sale

So many of us worry about the graphics or the presentation that we overlook an immediate reason for them to not wait another second. How do we avoid the bookmark or the drawer?

Scare them!

You have seen the deadlines on ads, normally buried and unnoticable. Sometimes they are bold but uninteresting. If the deadline does not get their attention or the freebie for acting sucks, you’re sunk.

A believable deadline is something that makes the offer the most important part of the ad. Think about the stuff you wanted before and shelved it to come back to later. I bet there are MANY of these.

Life is happening. Not only do we have a nationwide crisis we also have our own personal crisis every day. I am astounded that we think that people will be dreaming about our offer. Most have forgotton it totally 10 minutes after it is out of sight.

Again, look at your own past behavior.

Get them to act now

• Time- Put a real date the offer ends and make sure they see it
• Dates are good, but quantity is effective also- "Only 47 ebooks will be given out", "We will only be able to offer this service to 25 people due to time constraints, act now"
• Tell them what they will lose if not acting by that date. Give a dollar value to each item

Make the deadline sound authentic by giving a reason, not just a date. Why are you only giving out 47 ebooks? Maybe you are keeping the saturation low so more money can be made with a bigger market. If you offer a service, this is easy. Could you handle 1000 calls and give them immediate service? Not likely.

It may also be very possible that even 50 calls at once would be a lot to deal with. State that! It makes sense on the other end.

You can do this with any product or service, just make it bold and believable.

Go get some

Paul

Don’t Be a Butt Head

When it comes to advertising, most businesses have their head up their ass. I had my head so far up mine I noticed I needed two cavities filled.

What happens is we do not realize that we need to create an interest in our product/service. We actually think the product/service sells itself.

Most are lucky if they create ads that have prospects say "that looks like a good service". The problem is that is where it usually stops.

What you want people to say is "wow, I have to have that!"
 

Your ad looks awesome!

There is a big difference between "looks good" and "gotta have it". We forget we are salesman and need to push our prospects, more so with a service or product that can cost them hundreds of dollars.

If I told you how many business owners come to me with "people say my flyer/postcard/ad looked great"…

Both people? Tell me about how many sales came from it. I truly believe that these guys will feel a little disheartened if they quadrupled their response but had less back slapping for their ad. Advertising’s sole purpose is to make money. If you feel you need a reach around for your creative abilities, join an art class.

Most flyers, postcards or any ad usually mimics a business card. It is more like a "here we are, buy some!". We know the quality of our service. Maybe we know/think we are much better than the competition. We feel if we raise the flag they will salute… Sadly the customer does not know or care how good you are UNTIL they buy. We got to usher them to buy first.

All of your ads are your sales force, not business cards. Business owners always tell me "too many words in an ad turns people off". Horse bagels! If that be the case why hire me" It’s  because the 20 word ad they had is not working. Shouldn’t they be saying "less words, less sales", due to past experience?

Too many or too little meaningless words kill an ad

If you were going door to door to sell your service would you read off 12 words? Good salesman cut the crap and overwhelm people with benefit driven sales speak. Your ads need to be conversational in order to keep interest. It is vital to remember that if you keep spiking their interest you will garner more psychological presence. (which repeated exposure can ignite branding)

**A little side note about branding- Most think that branding is due to repeated exposure to a company name. We all sort information and file it away for quick reference. In these files we add meaningful content to associate with the company name. If you think that a business card style ad is pounding your brand into people, you’re wrong. They may file the name but what would they tie to your name? You need to make sure you are the company that can help them_______**

The other guys are just plastering their name everywhere while you are working the prospect from the inside. It is far, FAR more profitable to give people good reasons to use your service.

Don’t follow inline with your competitors; use smart and well planned tactics.

Start separating yourself right now! Go to your biggest competitors websites and write down what makes you different or, redefine something ordinary to sound extraordinary. Emphasize something meaningful that everyone does but does not talk about.

If you are just another _________, you are nothing.

Go get some

Paul