Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
April 12, 2010
Issue #904
Dear Business-Builder,
My dad was old-school all the way. As a male chauvinist of epic proportions, he firmly believed that men were created to give orders and that women and children were created to take them.
And because Mom was an old-fashioned gal, she was pretty much OK with that.
And by “pretty much,” I really mean, “NOT AT ALL.”
Sure – she’d follow Dad’s lead so long as she agreed with him. When she didn’t agree, Mom used what she called “psychology” on him, exercising copious amounts of persuasion and a fair share of stealth tactics to get her way.
And every once-in-a-while, when all else failed, she’d get “that look” in her eye. There would be a certain inflection in her voice and a set to her jaw that made it clear to everyone – Dad included – who was really in charge. (What can I say? She was a redhead!)
I called that look “The Eye of The Tiger” – and whenever I saw it, I knew I was just one false move away from seeing a mild-mannered, middle-aged minister’s wife go ninja on my ass.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
February 19, 2010
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…
- Eight 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.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
November 20, 2009
Issue #473
Dear Business-Builder,
You could write faster.
Scratch that: You SHOULD write faster. Especially your first few drafts.
Because the quicker you get a solid first draft into your greedy clutches, the more time you’ll have to get to draft #21.
You know; the draft that actually makes your copy good.
Plus, as a general rule, the faster you write, the more money you make. Write twice as fast; make double the money.
Simple — right?
So are you ready to get greasy-fast?
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
July 17, 2009
Issue #508
Dear Business-Builder,
Not long ago, The Redhead and I hopped into the 911 and went tear-assing down the mountain to Atlanta for Carline Anglade-Cole’s Copywriting Boot Camp.
The object of the exercise was twofold: 1) To spend an all-too-rare evening with Carline Anglade-Cole and her amazing family and 2) To rub elbows with a gaggle of Total Package readers who happened to be in attendance.
We had a ball.
Not only did I get lots of nice, warm hugs from my friend and her daughters Milan and Tiara … a manly hug and a slap on the back from Mick … and a hearty handshake from their son Chatham … I also got to meet a bunch of other family members (all drop-dead gorgeous, of course).
Plus, I also got to spend time with some of our readers. And as you might expect, to answer some of the most pressing questions they have on their minds now. Since we also get these questions in our feedback box almost daily, I figure it might be a good thing to tell you what I told them.
For instance, one attendee who was still training to become a copywriter was already thinking ahead …
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
April 22, 2009
Issue #657
In this issue:
- Why almost everybody marketing online today has targeting wrong, wrong, wrong …
- An innocent little mistake that once corrected, instantly spikes the response to virtually any webpage …
- How to determine the intent of Web searchers who insist on using “ambiguous” keywords — so you can sharpen your message-to-market match and grow your business faster …
- And more!
Dear Web Business-Builder,
When Gene Schwartz wrote Breakthrough Advertising, back in the 60’s, the Internet was just a glimmer in some computer scientist’s eye.
Little could Gene have realized the massive implications this new media would have for the craft he loved so dearly and plied with such mastery.
Yet, most of what Gene wrote in that watershed book is just as applicable in today’s fast moving wired-world as it was then in the cumbersome days of typewriters and typesetting.
Some of what Gene had to say is even more applicable today than it was then. The chapters on market awareness and sophistication in particular …
Gene observed that different states of market awareness and sophistication required markedly different approaches to copywriting.
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