Posted by:
Daniel Levis
April 30, 2008
Issue #407
Dear Web Business Builder,
Today’s my birthday. I’m 39 again this year. Accolades … condolences — both welcome in the comment box below.
But I’m fit to be tied!
In fact, in true Taurus the Bull fashion, I’ve got fire blazing out my flared nostrils this year. Why?
Because amid the balloons, confetti, and wanton overindulgence, I’ve got to stop and send a check to the snake farm in Ottawa that could easily put a top-of-the-line Lexus in my driveway.
Yes, today’s the income tax filing deadline in Canada once again. But what I’m about to say is relevant on both sides of the border, and many other countries around the world as well.
This may offend — so fair warning …
Is it just me, or does anybody else notice how “left” the world seems to be leaning these days — no I’m not talking about Communist or Socialist dictatorships that openly coerce their citizens — I’m talking about places like Canada, the US, Australia, the UK, France and dozens of other countries who claim to be democracies or republics operating under the free enterprise system?
In Canada, we pride ourselves on a kinder, gentler kind of capitalism. Take “free” access to medical care as an example. A noble concept perhaps, but when you and your family move to a new town, there’s a very good chance you won’t find a family doctor for love or money.
Doctors and nurses are overworked, underpaid, grumpy, terse, and insensitive — if you can get access to them. The good ones have either left the country or quit medicine in favor of selling stuff on the Internet.
Canadians routinely go south for elective surgery, while our government spends with reckless abandon delivering sub-rate care. And poor suckers like me foot the bill!
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
April 29, 2008
Issue #406
In this issue:
-
The proven model for marketing breakthroughs …
-
8 unusual ideas for a specialty chocolate business that can and should be applied to your business …
-
7 Loyalty building breakthroughs to transform a niche retail store …
-
And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
As I mentioned last week, one of the big areas for breakthrough marketing ideas comes from completely unrelated industries.
So, if you are a realtor - - find ideas from the restaurant business.
Or if you are a restaurant owner, look to the information marketing business for ideas.
Now, at first glance, the businesses above seem to have absolutely NOTHING to do with one another … but that’s the beauty of it.
If you have to think about it, put it on paper, and actually stretch to find ways to make them fit – then you are most likely doing something 99.99% of the population (i.e. your competitors) would NEVER even think of doing.
Which is where breakthroughs happen.
Let’s have a look at two different industries who filled out the survey.
Now, before you read the industries chosen and start thinking “That’s not what I do … this doesn’t apply to me …,” remember to think far outside of the box here – it DOES APPLY TO YOU.
Make it fit – real breakthroughs do not come from within your industry – they come from far removed businesses from your own.
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
April 28, 2008
Issue #405
The Redhead says I need to do a little housekeeping this week — and what The Redhead wants, The Redhead gets …
First, If you haven’t yet watched The Secret of The Golden Ladder video — and discovered the strategy I used to multiply a client’s sales revenues 43 times over in a single year — you’re almost out of time. It’s going offline in just over 48 hours — on April 30. It’s only about eight minutes long, so why not watch it now?
Second, as I’ve mentioned here before, we’ve spent the last year building a great little direct response marketing agency here in Western North Carolina.
ResponseInk™ now boasts a top-notch product development manager, five excellent copywriters, four web designers, a world-class art director, two affiliate/new business managers, a crackerjack fulfillment/customer service department, an excellent traffic cop whose job it is to make sure every project moves through our pipeline quickly and efficiently, and other great support people.
We’re pretty much doing it all for our existing clients — product development, overall marketing strategy, copywriting, online and offline design, PPC, SEO, media selection — the whole shootin’ match. It’s a turn-key deal, all masterminded and directed by yours truly. Kind of like strapping a super-charger onto your marketing department.
And the great news is, we ARE finally — finally — ready to accept one new client or joint venture partner.
We are not accepting one-shot freelance assignments and our exclusive arrangement with Weiss Research means we cannot work with other investment newsletter publishers. Other than that if you’re willing to pay us a portion of the sales we generate for you, the sky’s the limit.
So if you’d like to explore the possibility of partnering with us, just click here and use the handy form to tell us about yourself and your company or product idea.
Or, if you prefer, click here to send us an e-mail.
Or, if you just want to check out the ResponseInk™ site and learn more about our agency, click here.
We can only accept ONE new client in 2008 and we hope to begin discussions with our new prospective client 14 days from today — on Monday, May 12th.
So if the thought of having my team and I working full-time to explode your business is appealing to you, I’d strongly suggest that you let us hear from you soon.
Third, I need a vacation. So Wednesday night, The Redhead and I are boarding a flight bound for Vegas — where, for seven glorious days, I vow to purge all thoughts about marketing and copywriting from my fevered brain.
As you can imagine, my head really isn’t in the whole “How to write a world-beating control” place today. In fact, pretty much all I can think about is climbing on that plane Wednesday night and having The Redhead’s undivided attention for a whole week.
But I do have a couple of insights I think could make you a bundle (while I lose one), so here goes …
(more…)
Posted by:
Julie McManus
April 25, 2008
Issue #404
Dear Business Builder,
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend Yanik Silver’s Underground Internet Marketing conference in Los Angeles. There once was a time when I attended several conferences a year … hitting the big names in my industry like the Direct Marketing Association and the Newsletter Publisher Association (now called Special Information Publishers Association) every year. But times have changed, and for me the conferences come fewer and farther between … especially with two little girls at home.
But there are so many things I love about conferences and this one was no different.
The networking opportunities are by far the biggest reason to go to conferences. In a strange twist of fate, I met two important people that I needed for upcoming initiatives, and a short three weeks later, I’m already discussing implementation … plus scores more that I will contact when the right moment (or need) arrives.
The inside marketing secrets can’t be beat. The unique aspect of Yanik’s conference is he brings in real business owners … this year Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com (nearly $1 billion in sales), and Mike Faith, the CEO of Headsets.com ($30 million in sales), were the keynote speakers, and that’s just two of among half a dozen other online business owners that spoke. I walked away with dozens of great ideas – that are working in the real world – I’ll implement this year that will make an immediate impact on my client’s bottom line.
You get to see the latest trends. Of course, video continues to be huge … especially as technology makes it easier to not only get your video on the web but for users to watch it. Podcasting is also hot, especially video podcasting, which is considered to be one of the best ground floor marketing opportunities available. And buzz marketing is growing in popularity like a house on fire.
And lastly you get to see the frustrations. Although frustration was few and far between at this conference (it was a really optimistic crowd), there was one question that kept cropping up. It came up several times during open panel discussions … and it’s a question I’m seeing on a regular basis …
How do I get traffic to my website?
Now at first glance, this seems like a crazy question (especially from people already making a living online) and a really huge question all at the same time. And since I know there are so many new entrepreneurs entering this space all the time, I’ve always just assumed it was newbies asking the question.
But when it kept cropping up at this conference, it had me wondering about the education level of people entering the Internet marketing space. And it got me really mad!
(more…)
Posted by:
John Forde
April 24, 2008
Issue #403
"It is best to do things systematically, since we are only human,
and disorder is our worst enemy." - Hesiod
"abab cdcd efef gg" is, technically, the right formula for writing an English Sonnet.
But just because you know the formula …
… that doesn’t make you Shakespeare.
Likewise in copywriting.
For instance, you know "AIDA." It stands for "Attention-Interest-Desire-Action."
And it’s the granddaddy of marketing formulas.
Presumably, goes the legend, use it and you’ll get blockbuster advertising time after time.
Yet, all too often, the formulas alone are not quite enough.
What then?
I regularly work with new copywriters, pounding said formulas into their heads. Sometimes, even after they can recite the theory in their sleep, the copy still comes up short. So I recently put together a checklist to help flush out that extra "something" that they seem to miss.
Here’s what it looks like …
(more…)
