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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Posted by:
Gary Bencivenga
March 17, 2009
Issue #631
Dear Marketing Top Gun,
In this Bullet I share the secret of how to sell anything. It’s a simple secret, and it works universally, no matter what business you’re in
But before getting into it, I want to make …
An Important Announcement
About These Bullets
I have always advised my clients to build their products, newsletters, books, and e-zines squarely on their strongest proof elements, namely their most persuasive and impressive credentials – including their strongest case histories, endorsements, testimonials, "reasons why" they offer better results and solutions, success stories, proven outcomes, expert status, areas of specialization, reputation within their industries, and especially a spirit of candor and integrity that never fails to delight clients and confound competitors.
When you make your credibility an essential, highly visible part of your marketing, persuasion can flow like silk because your most commonly encountered enemy – skepticism – is largely swept aside.
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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.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
December 10, 2008
Issue #564
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Staying abreast of what’s happening in the world right now is a double-edged sword for us marketers.
On the one hand, keeping your finger on the pulse of your market is crucial to “operation money-suck.”
On the other, it can become a dangerous diversion that seeps poverty consciousness into your noggin.
You need to choose your perspective wisely …
And that means remaining a dispassionate observer, personally immune to the perverse mental masturbation that captivates the masses, in times like these.
In the foyer of the communal office space where I hatch my evil marketing plots to rule the world, hangs a huge flat screen TV tuned to the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for you foreigners).
It’s all news, all of the time … one economic doomsday scenario after another. There is another TV in the interior of the complex tuned to the same channel. And all day long the banter rages on like a bad horror movie.
On the radio, bubble-heads babble nonstop. In my in-box, Chicken Littles’ galore accost me with their inane yak. Even the water cooler gossip is filled with idiotic blather about the economy.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
December 3, 2008
Issue #559
“If you can channel the tremendous force of belief behind only one claim, no matter how small, then that one fully-believed claim will sell more goods than all the half-questioned promises your competitors can write for the rest of their days.” – Gene Schwartz
Dear Web Business-Builder,
When planning a promotion, there are always things you need your prospects to believe before they will buy.
The idea that not buying your product or service right now would be the epitome of dumbness is just one of them.
On the way to that end goal, there are always supporting conclusions that must be hurdled …
- You may need to convince your prospect that a certain process or method is superior to all others when it comes to solving his particular problem.
- You may need to prove to him that even though your company is small, you can meet his needs.
- You may need to lead him to the conclusion that despite what he perceives as his own limitations, he can succeed with your help … and so on.
Every selling situation has its own unique supporting conclusions.
I think we’re all familiar with the idea of substantiating claims with proof, in the form of testimonials, customer success stories, expert endorsements, the credentials of the seller, and so forth … but these are just a few of the factors that impact belief.
Indeed as I sat down to write this article I counted 20 different mechanisms for getting your prospects to believe what you need them to believe … on the road to buying your product.
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