Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
May 29, 2006
Issue #45
PLUS …
- The “luxury” no business person can afford …
- How to double your commitment to (and chances of) success …
- My first rant in months (actually, there are two) …
- The best premium you’ll ever offer …
- The essential ingredient most ads leave out – and how it multiplies response for smart marketers …
- And more!
Dear Business Builder,
Evidentially, I rock.
Or so it would seem, judging by the blizzard of complimentary emails TOTAL PACKAGE readers fire off to us each week.
But please – don’t worry – I am NOT getting the big head. Couldn’t if I wanted to. I’ve got The Redhead to keep me humble. All it takes is a roll of her big blue eyes and a hearty “Hooo boy!” and my illusions of grandeur suffer severe shrinkage.
Plus, the work I do each day for Response Ink – my direct response marketing agency – constantly reminds me that:
- Nothing always works …
- Nobody always thinks of everything, and …
- Nobody’s infallible (least of all, me!).
That’s good. Because if I’ve learned anything from the last thirty-something years in this direct response racket, it’s that the minute you get cocky – the second you get lazy or allow yourself to sleepwalk through any marketing or copywriting decision – you’re making a date with the spank-monster.
Don’t get me wrong: I am NOT saying you should obsess on the possibility of failure. Taping a picture of spectacular success to your mental refrigerator – and looking at it often – is absolutely essential to creating winners.
But realizing that an inflated ego is the costliest of all luxuries … and that success is not an entitlement – that it always must be earned through arduous effort, long hours and meticulous attention to detail – will both energize and incentive you.
Let fear of failure be the rocket fuel in your engine. And let your desire for success be the spark plug that ignites explosions of energy and creativity for you.
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
May 22, 2006
Issue #44
A Candid Conversation
with Web Genius DANIEL LEVIS
- 3 major differences between writing for the web and direct mail …
- The single greatest moneymaking opportunity available to web copywriters today …
- The #1 secret for creating max readership in web promotions …
- Why web advertorials blow straight benefit leads away …
- The 3 costliest blunders web marketers make …
- How to make your first web promotion a homerun …
- And Much, MUCH MORE!
Happy Tuesday, Business Builder!
When I began writing THE TOTAL PACKAGE about a year ago, Brad Petersen rang me up: “A guy named Daniel Levis is creating a book called, Masters of Copywriting,” he said, “and he asked me if you’d consider contributing a chapter.”
At the time, I had exactly zero subscribers (we hadn’t even published our first issue yet) and Levis was willing to include a link to our sign-up page in return for my contributing a chapter to his book. “Well alrighty then …” says I.
Next thing I know, Julie McManus (official title: “Goddess of Affiliate Relations”) fired off an email to me saying, “Hey! There’s a guy using your name and your picture on his website promoting his product!”
So I clicked the link and sure enough, there I was – on an ad for Daniel Levis’ Masters of Copywriting – sitting on my Screamin’ Eagle ElectroGlide under a headline yelling …
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
May 15, 2006
Issue #43
… And How Avoiding Each One
Can Take Your Response To The Moon!
Greetings, Subscribers!
I honestly don’t know if it was the monumental task of preparing for the Summit …
… Or the monumental effort of flapping my gums for nearly 20 hours straight …
… Or the monumental quantities of Grey Goose I quaffed on our victory lap around the Caribbean afterwards …
… But for the first time in weeks, I finally feel human again!
Not only have I made peace with my long-suffering liver … my body seems to have replaced most of the brain cells I left at Carlos 'n Charlie's!
Yay me!
So let’s dive right in … with the 3 most common mistakes I see even experienced writers make (including me!) – and of course, how to avoid each one …
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
May 8, 2006
Issue #42
Dear Subscribers,
Sometimes, words fail even an old copy dog like me …
It’s been a little over two weeks since our first Power Marketing Summit ended and my mind is still reeling … my heart is still warmed … and Wendy and I still get all teary-eyed and blubbery when we talk about it.
The love we felt from every single attendee was palpable. The compliments for The Total Package and the “Thank Yous” for the Summit blew me away.
You couldn’t cut the mutual admiration and respect in the room with a laser. Everyone – and I do mean EVERYONE – left their egos at the door.
Superstar attendees like Carline Anglade-Cole … John Carlton … David Deutsch … Matt Furey … Greg Grillot … Kent Komae … Parris Lampropoulos … Brad Petersen … Andy Scholberg … Kim Schwalm … Peter Stone … and so many others I’ve admired over the years graciously encouraged and even critted work by less experienced writers.
A star-studded panel consisting of my good friends John Carlton, Parris Lampropoulos, Carline Anglade-Cole and Kent Komae helped me give some great response-boosting ideas and advice to growth-obsessed business owners in our Hot Seat session.
At the Thursday evening cocktail reception (and at every break), old friendships were renewed, new frendships forged, and deals were made that launched dozens of new copywriting careers – and that I’m sure will make many businesses grow like crazy in the year ahead.
The Friday evening Banquet was a blast. Harvey MacKay, the New York Times #1 Best-Selling Author of Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and three other #1 bestsellers, had us on the edge of our seats …
… I had the privilege of awarding $55,000 in copywriting assignments to Copywriter’s Challenge First Place Winners John McCrea and Andrew Owen – and to our Grand Prize Winner John Newtson …
… And I had the pleasure of awarding $150,000 in direct mail and website makovers to our Marketing Challenge First Place Winners Lee Bellinger (Independent Living Over 50), and Mark Kwasny, Paul Elliott and Beirne White (Motley Fool) – and to our Grand Prize Winner Jack Barber (Waterwise).
For my part, I yammered on for 2 ½ days straight, presenting nearly 400 PowerPoint pages, each one illustrating one, ten, up to 17 direct response techniques that have made me rich and my clients richer.
And through the entire event, The Redhead and her staff made sure everything went off without a hitch.
At noon on Saturday as I began to thank everyone for making it a greater success than I could have possibly dreamed, (and got all choked up in the process), I was treated to the first and only standing ovation of my entire life.
Afterwards, the accolades just kept on coming …
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
May 1, 2006
Issue #41
Glad you’ve joined us for Part II of our interview with
Gary Bencivenga. Let’s jump right in where we
left off last time.
(more…)
