Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
January 5, 2009
Issue #51
How to Crawl Inside Your Prospect’s Skin
and Find Emotional Hot Buttons
that Virtually Guarantee
Maximum Attention-Getting Power
and Readership for Every Promotion You Create
Dear Business-Builder,
At our Power Marketing Summit, an attendee remarked on how ethnically diverse my staff and closest friends are.
“Is that by design?” she asked?
The question caught me completely off-guard. I honestly hadn’t thought about it before.
But yeah, now that I do think of it … Carline – my cherished friend – is half Haitian. My ex-wife is Hispanic, which (unless my math is off) makes my older kids exactly one-half Hispanic.
… And yep, I’m whiter than rice: Half English and half French. Nothing more than a boring old flat-assed, white-bread honky who really, really looks idiotic trying to dance.
“No,” I assured her. “No design. It just kind of worked out that way.”
I had to smile to myself, though: “Dad must be tumbling in his tomb.”
See, my dear old dad was a racist – and proud of it.
Not merely a lukewarm, garden-variety racist, mind you: In the 60s, Dad was actually a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan.
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
January 1, 2009
Welcome, Business-Builder!
Last week we spent some time with my good buddy, and copywriter extraordinaire – Kent Komae.
And without further fanfare, let’s go ahead and jump right in … (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…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
December 25, 2008
Issue #30
Part One
Welcome, Business-Builder!
Nothing does my heart more good than to see a young copywriter take root and blossom. And of all the copy cubs I’ve worked with over the years, NOBODY has blossomed bigger or better than Kent Komae has!
Kent’s hard-selling direct mail packages are legendary in the health supplement industry. His fabled controls for Sun Chlorella, Healthy Directions, Health Resources and many other major mailers have made Kent one of the top two or three choices for supplement companies looking to grow – FAST.
I first hooked up with Kent back in the 1990s – when he was an eager younger writer, looking to make a name for himself (and, of course some truly obscene royalties). I hired him to help me on several health promotions for a favorite client – and on his very first draft, it was clear to me that this guy had what it takes!
Since then, Kent has gone on to fame, fortune and a jamb-packed dance card as one of the half-dozen or so most in-demand copywriters in the alternative health industry. I’m proud to count him as one of my closest friends.
A few days ago, Kent took time out of his insane schedule to talk copy with me – here: Listen in …
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
December 22, 2008
Issue 572
(Plus six cool gifts to help make 2009
YOUR most profitable year ever!)
Dear Business-Builder,
I just figured out what’s been keeping you up nights.
You’ve been waking up in a cold sweat worrying about what you’re going to give me – Clayton Makepeace – this holiday season.
And why not? After all; I’ve given you nearly 600 zero-baloney articles packed with money-making insights, ideas and advice on this blog so far – nearly 300 articles this year alone.
And each one of those articles is jammed with brainstorms other online coaches charge a freaking fortune for – all for free.
I mean, when you think about how much time and money my staff and I invest to give you all this great free stuff — and especially about how much the help you get here will earn you every year for the rest of your natural life … WHO ELSE would you be shopping for right now?!
In my book, the fact that you’ve recognized the value The Total Package brings to your life — and that you want to thank me for it with a nice holiday gift — makes you a good person. (Not like folks who greedily snark up all the free stuff they can get and then complain when offered something to actually buy!)
And since you are obviously a quality individual … since I am NOT an easy guy to buy presents for … and especially since my mission here is to make your life easier; not harder … I’m going to solve your problem for you.
Now, if you’ve been reading The Total Package for a while, you probably already have some gift ideas for me. You know I love Grey Goose and Cohibas … $30,000 Harley-Davidsons and $130,000 Porsches. And the fact that you’ve actually considered giving me such thoughtful gifts touches my heart. Sincerely.
But frankly, I’m good in all those areas. Besides; there’s something I want from you that will give me more holiday cheer than all of those things combined – and it won’t cost you a red cent …
(more…)
