Posted by:
Daniel Levis
March 10, 2010
Issue #881
Dear Web Business-Builder,
It’s never wise to rely on conventional wisdom – assuming something is true because everyone else assumes it to be true. That’s no wisdom at all.
Did you ever play the telephone game when you were a kid?
That’s where the kids all line up from left to right. And the kid on the far left whispers something in the ear of the kid to their right … who whispers it in the ear of the kid on their right … and on it goes down the line.
And the phrase the last kid in the line blurts out has almost no resemblance whatsoever to the initial phrase. The kids all laugh. And it’s good fun.
Trouble is, most of them love the telephone game so much they keep playing it for the rest of their lives. And some of them grow up to be marketers.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
March 3, 2010
Issue #876
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Sometimes when I’m sitting around talking shop with a few of my copywriting buddies, I’ll start raving about online video. I get the distinct impression they get a little defensive – like I had made some slur involving their mothers and army boots.
Sure, placing a video at the top of a long form sales letter to encourage readership can increase conversion, they’ll say.
And video testimonials are obviously killer.
But at the end of the day, video is just window dressing. What really sells people is the copy.
And I say that’s total B.S.
Let me ask you a question …
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
February 24, 2010
Issue #871
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Pop quiz for you today …
What do these eight headlines all have in common?
Mayor, Secret Drug Addict
Sean Penn Charged in Brawl
Tiger Speaks, Says Nothing
Whitney Houston Collapses: World Tour Tragedy
Susan Boyle Meltdown
Swayze Widow Secret Sorrow
KEVIN BACON, who revealed that swindler BERNIE MADOFF made off with a huge chunk of his savings, admits: "I need to work!"
Chynna Phillips in Rehab
That’s right, they all show people of high social status falling on their swords or suffering in some way.
There is a perverse element of human nature that’s irresistibly drawn to such things. The masses love to read about the indiscretions and tragedies of the rich, famous, and powerful because it makes them feel better about themselves.
They can look at somebody who has achieved much more than they have and say, “of course, rich people are all cheats and liars” … or “look what success gets you” and excuse themselves from putting forth the effort.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
February 17, 2010
Issue #866
(And five more ways to bust through
the biggest sales stumbling block
that’s keeping your profits low)
Dear Web Business-Builder,
In my travels from office to home to office, and back again, I often stop in at the local Tim Horton’s Donuts for a cup o’ the black juice from hell.
If you’re a foreigner, Tim Horton’s is the Canadian equivalent of Starbucks – sort of …
The coffee is much better (IMHO) …
And instead of a bunch of debonair dudes and dudettes lounging around with laptops, spouting hip phrases like "so,” "like,” "oh my god,” and "get out" … all you’re likely to see for wildlife are a bunch of lumberjacks and Mounties grunting at one another.
Timmy’s – as it’s affectionately known – is THE dominant donut franchise here in Canada … by a country mile.
Within a 10 block (or so) radius of my office, there are four of them, all owned by a genteel retired executive, and run by he and his equally genteel son.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
January 13, 2010
Issue #841
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Over the holidays I did a little informal survey of my subscribers, asking, “What’s the most influential book you’d ever read?”
75 of my readers responded with a list of 63 titles. And I proceeded to read the top 12 by number of mention.
For any of you interested in gaining additional insights into your file, I highly recommend this little exercise.
Here is the list of books my readers deemed most influential:
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
- Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
- The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles
- Influence, The Psychology Of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
- Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale
- Winning Through Intimidation by Robert Ringer
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
- A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh
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