Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
June 29, 2009
Issue #463
- The hard truth "get rich quick" gurus never tell you …
- What it really takes to hit the big time …
- Why what you do the rest of today matters …
- Much more …
Dear Business-Builder,
My mom’s cousin married Ty Cobb’s son, Herschel. Since I’m not good at math, I can’t really tell you what that makes me. Ty Cobb’s grand nephew once removed? I dunno.
But still, I’ve always been proud to be related — even distantly — to the man who invented modern baseball. So a few years ago, I read Cobb: A Biography by Al Stump and later, watched the movie starring Tommy Lee Jones.
Great book; good flick. Not because they heralded Cobb’s exploits on the field, but because they painted a crystal-clear picture of the man behind the legend.
(more…)
Posted by:
Daniel Levis
April 29, 2009
Issue #662
“A man should learn to detect and watch for that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dear Web Business-Builder,
From a young age, we are appointed.
Appointed by our parents … old enough to stay home alone. Appointed by our institutions … educated enough to enter the full-time work force. Appointed by our employers … responsible enough for promotion.
Important question: Have you become mentally conditioned by all this external appointment?
Have you given your power to someone or something outside of yourself?
Could this be the invisible Great Wall of China that’s blocking you from rocketing toward your goals and reaching your full potential?
For most of us, to one degree or another, the answer is “yes." Take a look at this note I received from one of my subscribers:
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
April 9, 2009
Issue #279
- How to hone your copy skills to razor sharpness in no time flat …
- How business owners and marketing pros can get better sales copy faster …
- And much, Much MORE!
Dear Business-Builder,
This issue will make you money if you’ll let it …
If you’re a copywriter, the secrets I’m about to reveal will help you grow your skills faster – and prime you for plumb assignments from Agora Publishing and every one of its competitors.
And if you’re a business owner or marketing exec, you’re going to discover a better way to work with your writers – or even create a world-class in-house copywriting team from scratch – and get better copy faster than you may now believe possible.
What’s that you say? “Not a bad way to spend the next five minutes or so?”
Great! Here goes …
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
March 26, 2009
Issue #112
The Five Most Common Blunders
My Copy Cubs Make
And How to Avoid Each One
Dear Business-Builder,
On a recent gorgeous Saturday, I made the excuse to take my new Porsche 911 Turbo out to slay The Dragon.
Never heard of The Dragon? Most people haven’t.
It’s a humble, shoulderless, two-lane blacktop – officially designated US 129 – that snakes up through the North Carolina Smokies from Robbinsville … around the West end of The Great Smoky Mountain National Park … past picturesque lakes and cliffs with 100-mile views … to a mountain pass they call Deal’s Gap.
All the way to The Gap, you’re immersed in breathtaking scenery — and as the road winds up the mountain, increasingly radical curves.
Near the top – where US 129 collides with US 28 — you’ll find The Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort.
If it’s a weekend, you’ll see hundreds of GSX-Rs, Hayabusas, ZX 14s, ZZR 1400s and other scorching-fast sport bikes – and more Corvettes, WRXs, Austin Minis and Miatas than you could possibly shake a dipstick at.
You’ll also see The Tree of Shame – decorated with parts from the motorcycles and cars that “almost” made it through the next 11 miles unscathed.
… Because this is where Highway 129 sheds all pretense of being merely a “challenging” road and becomes The Dragon.
The next few miles down the mountain into Tennessee boast 318 of the tightest, most vicious curves anywhere in the world. One-hundred-eighty-degree curves. Off-chambre curves. Blind, decreasing-radius curves.
Every 183 feet or so. For eleven heart-stopping miles.
And many of them run right along the edge of a cliff.
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
December 29, 2008
Issue #57
Three Powerful Persuasion Strategies And How to Use Each One To Rocket Your Response
In this issue:
- How to structure a logical argument that will have your prospects ready, willing and even eager to buy …
- The astonishing response-rocketing power of the “scientific demonstration” – and how I used it to sell more than $7 million-worth of products in a single DM package…
- 8 Ways to turn ordinary testimonials into profit-pulling powerhouses…
- And MUCH MORE!
Dear Business-Builder,
Over the years, I’ve tried to teach lots of folks to write sales copy – and (have I mentioned this before?) not all of them have gone on to be stellar successes.
One of my most spectacular failures had a Ph.D. in English Lit. Another was a crackerjack newspaper reporter. Still another had penned a best-seller and now wanted to try her hand at writing sales copy.
All three of these guys and gals were great word-jugglers. But as direct response copywriters, every one of them was hopeless. Not one of them could have written a winning sales letter if you’d held a .44 magnum to his or her highly educated head.
Looking back, though, it wasn’t their fault that they couldn’t “get” it. It was mine.
I should have been flogged for hiring these “great writers” in the first place.
See, I didn’t need great writers. I needed great salespeople – experts in the art and science of persuasion – who could also write.
They didn’t have to be Shakespeares, Longfellows or Hemmingways. They just needed to have a knack for helping others see things their way … and for persuading others to take a particular action – i.e. to look at their headlines, read their sales messages and for god’s sake, to order the doggoned product!
Put simply, I needed PERSUADERS.
So much is written today about the technical, nuts-and bolts aspects of writing great sales copy: How to structure a headline. How to use power words. How to find the right tone. How to write a fascination. How to close with conviction.
Too little, in my opinion, is written about how to be persuasive. And I mean to remedy that.
(more…)
