Boost Your Internet Sales 1,000%
In 90 Days or LESS
In this issue:
- Why the Internet will at least DOUBLE in size in the next four years …
- Why that’s not necessarily a "good" thing for Web marketers …
- Three "Waking Nightmares" stalking Internet marketers now …
- The one missing ingredient that can easily multiply the response to most Web promotions today …
- A one-second IQ test for Web marketers …
- And much, MUCH MORE!
Dear Business-Builder,
Hiya. Hope you’re doing great.
Me? Well, it’s 3:45 AM on a Saturday morning and I just woke up, made my way to the office and sat down to write this issue for you.
What a guy – right?
So what would you like to talk about today?
What’s that you say? "The Internet?" OK, what about it?
"… How business owners, marketing execs and copywriters could be – should be – making about ten times more money than they are now?"
Amazing how great minds think alike, isn’t it? That’s just what I was thinking about!
Alrighty then – here goes …
Internet gurus – especially the hypesters who want to sell you a book on "How to Make a Gazillion Bucks by Noon Tomorrow on The ‘Net" – will tell you that the Web is a godsend for anyone looking to get rich quick.
They shout about how hundreds of millions of people browse the Web and read their e-mail every day – and that thousands of them are just dying to buy the product you’re selling.
Well, there’s no doubt that the World Wide Web is huge. According to the CIA World Factbook, 223 million Americans – roughly 74% of the U.S. population – now have Web access.
Throw in the rest of the English-speaking world – and millions more around the globe who are fluent in our language – and it’s a pretty good bet that well over 300 million consumers and business people can read and respond to your English-language sales messages.
300 million prospects not enough for you?
Ok …
- If you translate your e-mail blasts and websites into Spanish, you’ll pick up about 76 million more prospects in the U.S., Mexico, Central America, South America and, of course, Spain.
- Add French, German, Russian, and Portuguese sales messages and you can talk to 116 million more future customers.
- And if you can figure out a way to make your sales messages readable to Web nerds in China and India, you’ll pick up another 313 million prospective customers.
That’s about 805 million prospects in all – and still, the Web is just getting warmed up …
2 Billion Web Users by 2010
Altogether, about ONE BILLION people on the planet have Web access at this very moment: That’s one out of every 6.5 human beings alive today.
In 2005, about 136 million new folks joined the Internet community for the first time. That’s 248 new Web users every minute … more than 15,000 per hour … and more than 372,000 per day, 365 days a year.
At that rate, the number of people on the Internet will DOUBLE AGAIN – to about 2 billion users – in the next 2 years!
And even that "2-billion-by-2010" number may prove to be a gross underestimation.
The wildest wild cards? China and India: Nearly half of the world’s population lives in those two countries – about 2.4 billion souls. And so far, only about 13% of those folks have found their way to the ‘Net.
If you asked a roomful of 100 Chinese and Indian folks, "How many of you use the Internet?" – well, my guess is that almost nobody would understand a word you said – because they all speak Chinese or … uh … Indian or something.
But even if you went the extra mile and asked them in their native tongues, only about 13 of them would stand and be counted.
Ask a roomful of 100 Americans the same question, and 74 of them would jump to their feet. The way I figure it, that’s only slightly less than would jump up if you’d asked, "Who wants free beer?"
My point is: Internet use is 12 times greater per capita in the U.S. than in China and India. But that’s changing – and FAST.
See, when it comes to economic growth, China and India are punking us – big time.
Here in the good old U.S. of A., our economy is expanding at the sedate, "civilized" rate of about 3.8% per year. But India’s economy is growing nearly TWO TIMES FASTER … and China’s is exploding by double digits – nearly THREE TIMES FASTER.
That means every day of the year, millions of Chinese and Indians are packing their knapsacks … leaving the farm for the big city … getting jobs … opening bank accounts … becoming consumers … and discovering the incomparable joys of something called "disposable income."
And every day, millions of these new consumers are using a part of their newfound disposable income to join the Internet community.
The thing is, the combined population of China and India is more than EIGHT TIMES LARGER than ours – so …
- When per-capita Internet use in China and India reaches just 25% of what it is in America, they will have 380 MILLION users online – nearly half as many surfers as exist in the entire world today.
- When Internet use is only half as widespread as it is in the United States, China and India will have 760 MILLION consumers online – almost equaling today’s entire Internet community.
- And when they finally catch up to the U.S. – with 74% of the people in these countries finally joining the World Wide Web – there will be a staggering 1.8 BILLION Chinese and Indian people on the ‘Net.
That’s more than one and a half times the number of Internet users in the entire world today!
So when folks tell you that the number of consumers on the Web is huge and getting huger – and that any self-respecting business owner, marketing exec and direct response copywriter would be certifiably insane not to make their Web-based marketing a big, BIG priority – they are NOT blowing smoke up your skirt.
Especially since reaching those hundreds of millions of prospective clients on the Web is unbelievably cheap …
Just like direct mail
– but with no printing or postage costs!
Twenty years ago, if you had told me that one day, I’d be able to reach all the prospective customers I wanted to without paying a penny in printing, postage or letter shop fees … and without paying through the nose for print space or TV and radio time … I would have probably smiled and backed away from you v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.
I would have instantly pegged you as a raving lunatic. But I would have been wrong. Thanks to the Internet, you actually can reach millions of prospects without spending a dime on any of those things – and that’s huge …
When I write a direct mail package, I know my client is going to have to cough up an average of $550 to mail it to every 1,000 prospects in his universe. That’s $55,000 to send it to 100,000 potential customers … and $550,000 to send it to 1 million prospective customers.
On the Web, you can post a website that millions will see for five hundred bucks – and then blast a million e-mails to drive folks to your site for next to nothing!
So yeah – the Internet is huge and cheap, just like the hypesters say it is.
And yes, marketing products and services on the ‘Net can make you a bundle. I know lots of Internet marketers who make tens of millions – even a hundred million or more – every year on their Web promotions.
But there is just a little bit more to it than that …
What Internet Hypesters Don’t Tell You
Wouldn’t it be great if the guys trying to sell you ridiculously expensive books, courses and seminars on Internet Marketing were right?
I mean – how great would it be if all you had to do was toss a site up on the ‘Net, send out a bunch of e-mails for free or nearly free and then go goof off on the beach while the Web filled your bank account to overflowing for you?
Unfortunately it’s not quite that easy. Before you can become the world’s next Internet mogul, you’d better get used to dealing with the three waking nightmares that plague more and more Internet marketers every day …
Nightmare #1 – Delivery Disasters: Because direct mail, print, and TV and radio advertising cost serious money, marketers are extremely careful to send solicitations ONLY to people who have demonstrated that they are ready, willing and able to buy the product or service being promoted.
Not so on the Web: Due to the fact that e-mail marketing is cheap – or even free in some cases – Web marketers have filled our e-mail boxes with far more junk mail each day than the U.S. Postal Service has ever delivered in a week.
As a result, all the major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now screen your mail and block as much of the obvious spam as they can. And if you’ve bought a new computer or upgraded your software in the last few years, it’s a good bet that your own machine is blocking even more.
Nevertheless, we all still get dozens of junk e-mails every day – and at the same time, these automated spam filters are often guilty of throwing out the mail we want along with the junk!
I, for example, sometimes have trouble getting an issue of THE TOTAL PACKAGE to people who have asked to receive it – even after my issue has passed our own spam-checking programs with flying colors.
Heck, I’ve even had personal e-mails from good friends blocked or re-directed to my junk e-mail folder!
Needless to say, if you’re marketing a product on the Web, this kind of wildly erratic delivery can KILL the response to your promotions.
Nightmare #2 – The Competitive Challenge: Remember when Amazon was the ONLY major bookseller online? Google the word "books" now and you’ll get 1.5 BILLION hits!
Remember when eBay was the only major online auction? Google that word now and you’ll get 409 million hits!
Remember when Yahoo was the only major search engine? Type "search engine" into a search engine today and you’ll get 277 million hits!
I remember when I could search for "Copywriting" and see only a handful of hits. These days, I get 10.7 million – and another 767 million for "marketing."
Plus "weight loss" gets 91.2 million hits … "hair loss" gives you 17.2 million hits … "erection?" 26.6 million hits … "real estate:" 667 million hits … even "rutabaga" gets 720,000 hits!
Sure – you can spend a fortune on search engine optimization and Pay-Per-Click advertising on Google and the others – or maybe spend big bucks in other media to send people to your site.
If you’re very good and very lucky, your prospective customers might find you on, oh let’s say … the first five or ten pages that get served up.
The point is – the days when Internet marketing was cheap or even free are gone forever. The cost of getting your site noticed is rising – and will only get costlier as the number of websites on the ‘Net continues to explode in the years ahead.
Nightmare #3 – The Credibility Catastrophe: To me, this is the biggie – the monster that, unless some computer geek somewhere has a flash of inspiration and SOON – has the power to forever KILL the Internet as a marketing tool.
See, all direct mail, print, TV and radio advertising in this country is closely regulated by the Federal Trade Commission as well as other government agencies. When they catch someone lying, cheating, or stealing (or even "misleading"), regulators can shut them down in a heartbeat.
Not so with the Internet. It doesn’t give a flying fig what regulators or politicians say or do. If Washington proclaims something they’re doing is illegal, they can just pull up stakes and move to another country where the laws are more lenient, or the officials more bribable, or both.
And so, the Internet has become the sleaziest of all the channels available to marketers – with armies of scam artists filling your e-mail box with fraudulent promotions and other swindles.
- Like the jerk whose e-mails look exactly like an official communication from an eBay member, asking you to "sign in" – provide your user name and password – to answer a question.
Once you do, he has full access to your account, enabling him to re-route money due you to him!
- Or like the creeps that put out official-looking e-mails from Amazon.com telling you that your credit card is no longer valid and asking you to "log in" and give them a new one.
Fall for that one, and you can bet someone else will be living the high life on your money in no time flat!
- And like the hordes of swindlers who fill your inbox with unsolicited e-mails swearing that they can make your bank account, your hair and your male member grow while making your waistline shrink.
Listen to any of those swindlers, and you might as well flush your paychecks down the toilet along with the very, very expensive urine you’ll be producing!
No wonder more and more consumers only believe about half of what they see on websites – and nothing that they read in their e-mail boxes!
Needless to say, this is NOT a good thing for honest marketers.
BOTTOM LINE: With spam filters and other problems depressing e-mail delivery rates … with skyrocketing competition on the Web lowering individual website traffic … and with rising skepticism among consumers hammering readership rates, click-thru rates and conversion rates …
… The cost of making sales on the Web is rising and many promotions – even ones that once brought big bucks to marketers – are flagging.
In short …
The Web is Growing UP;
It’s Time Web Marketers Did Too!
Frankly, most Web marketers have been spoiled rotten.
Sorry guys, but you know it’s true!
For more than a decade now, the fact that your medium was brand-new and your prospects were wide-eyed has allowed you to get rich without ever having to think much about the strength or weakness of your Web-based sales copy.
So, you’ve written the copy yourself – or cheaped out by hiring neophytes to write for you.
And the fact is, the copy in 99% of the e-mails you blast and 99% of the websites you build is so weak, it would have long ago sent any direct response mail, TV or radio marketer into bankruptcy.
Now, with the Internet maturing and becoming more competitive … with the costs associated with driving prospects to websites rising … and with the average ‘Net consumer growing older, wiser and more skeptical – amateur night is over.
Suddenly, many Web marketers are beginning to find themselves in the same boat as their peers who use other advertising media – desperately searching for ways to boost response.
This simple fact of life
presents a truly dazzling opportunity
for every business owner, marketing exec
and copywriter reading this!
The other day, I was studying a series of landing pages hosted by one of the nation’s most successful Internet marketing companies.
Now, this company has it all. It has hundreds of wonderful employees who are experts in all the nuts and bolts of Web marketing. One word from the Prez, and the company’s Web division can conceive a new website before 10:00 AM … have it written by lunch … and have it designed, programmed and making sales by quitting time.
In short, the owners have built a Ferrari of a company – with all the high tech talent and infrastructure they need to dominate their industry …
… But instead of paying for high-octane fuel – powerfully compelling sales copy created by proven professionals – they’re pouring cheap kerosene into the gas tank!
Fact is, if they ever try sending their Web sales copy out via snail mail, they’ll be lucky to recoup 10% of the money they spend on postage!
Nevertheless, on the low-cost Web, the company’s lousy copy generates nearly $100 million a year in sales – and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.
The fact that they’re getting rich doesn’t mean that they’re smart. To the contrary: It’s proof positive that ignorance truly is bliss.
Because if their copy didn’t suck, they’d be making $1 billion a year instead of a lousy $100 million. And since everything else is already in place, that 1,000% increase in sales could happen in the twinkling of an eye.
Unfortunately though, the company’s copy will probably continue to suck – and the owners will continue leaving 90% of their sales on the table – because they just can’t quite bring themselves to pay a top copywriter a commission on the increased sales he or she could produce for them.
And so in hopes of helping any reluctant Web marketer reading this to see the error of your ways, allow me to offer this simple, one-second IQ test …
What would YOU Rather Have?
100% of $100 Million?
… Or 90% of $1 BILLION?
If you said, "100% of $100 million," you may as well stop reading this now, go get your resume in order and prepare to go to work for one of your competitors.
Because your company is about to get its head handed to it on a not-so-silver platter.
But if you instantly recognized that paying a top copywriter 10% of sales and settling for 90% of the $1 billion increase that stronger copy could bring you is the smarter move … because IT WOULD MAKE YOU NINE TIMES RICHER … then do this:
- Go to the head of the class, and …
- Call one. NOW!
And if you’re a copywriter looking for a way to make big bucks fast, do this …
Spend a day surfing the Web. Find a site that’s obviously making money, but the copy is stinking up the room. Call ‘em up and tell them you’ll multiply their sales in 90 days or less – and all you want is 10% of what you produce for them, or better yet, 20% of the increase in net revenues that you generate.
Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,
Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
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15 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by Robin Lee — August 21, 2009 @ 10:25 am
Wow Clayton,
Sure made me wake up 100% faster thank my morning coffee!
Thank you for expanding my “box”!
Comment by Steve Newdell — August 21, 2009 @ 11:21 am
JUST EXCELLENT. what a guy…. smart (with research no less!) and funny at 3AM
So….the next time I see that stupid unwashed kid on line telling me “hey man you aughta check this out” and promising me I can make oodles by noon, I’ll know only fools waste their money with him.
Get Smart
Get Clayton!
Comment by Steve Newdell — August 21, 2009 @ 11:23 am
by the way, that’s quite the persona of you sitting on your motorbike and them calling you “the bad boy of copy writing.”
Does that mean we have to dress you in a black tux with a white carnation to call you “the best boy of copy writing?”
hehe
Comment by Andrew — August 21, 2009 @ 12:13 pm
The Elephant has left the Room..
Geeezz Clayton , don’t do that, you scared the bejeezis out of me.
For a while there it felt like the golden age of internet marketing was slipping away before my eyes. Very true the fact “all that glitters is not gold” in the marketing realm, yet somehow equates to “sold “.
Half way through the article it felt like I had been punched in the stomach, while at the same time my head was spinning around like a trapeeze artist holding on with only their teeth! Fortunately the Ringmaster put a safety net in place as I felt my grip on my ticket to the county fair slipping away.
Great golden nuggets of wisdom and a timely tome of soothsaying for us prospectors panning in the rivers for our dreams. Your unwavering direction and pace in maintain the gold standards of hard copy is ..beyond commendable!
‘…a hue and cry can still be heard amongst ambitious ramblers everywhere , ” There’s GOLD!!in them thar Hills!” ‘.
Klondike Joe
Comment by Mr. Twenty Twenty — August 21, 2009 @ 2:04 pm
Clayton,
A+
Well worth printing out and nailing to the wall.
I hear the printer running!
Mr. Twenty Twenty
The exhostage who changed his name to the number of perfect vision, because living your vision matters.
Comment by Kevin B — August 22, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
While “gurus” boast about making six figure incomes per year, both you and Ted Nicholas have sold over 1 BILLION dollars worth of product in your careers. And I’m sure you’re both going to double that amount before you retire.
Fact: Give quality content instead of hype and you’ve got a customer for life.
Comment by Randall Shelton — August 23, 2009 @ 6:04 pm
Gadzooks Clayton !
You make me wish I’d paid much closer attention in English in both High School and College.
Thanks for making your expertise available, young man.
I say “young man”, as I am your senior
and still learning boo-kue
thanks to gentlemen like you.
cosmic scribe
Comment by Terrance Charles — August 23, 2009 @ 8:37 pm
Wow Clayton, you don’t stop do you, you just keep hammering out the VALUE my man, great post and intersting facts to look at. Thanks
Comment by Adam Gordon — August 23, 2009 @ 10:48 pm
Clayton,
I suspect that you are a little astray on the languages spoken in India. You will have noticed all the Indian accents in Call Centres and IT support areas. That is because English is an official language in India. And anyone with any education at all will speak English,
Comment by Adam Gordon — August 23, 2009 @ 10:50 pm
Just to add, there are many millions of well educated Indians.
Comment by Warren Cottis — August 24, 2009 @ 8:55 am
Thanks Clayton for the phenomenal research and great advice.
I have just added a copywriting section to my website.
cheers,
Comment by Georjina — August 24, 2009 @ 11:14 pm
Great post Clayton, and English for a US market is much different than the English we hear at the call centers.
Anyway, any suggestions on where to find a good copy writer without giving up your first born or donating an organ?
Comment by George — August 24, 2009 @ 11:43 pm
Yep Clayton,
Everywhere we look on the internet, it is pouring in bucks, big bucks. It is great to see how people are getting so interested in this medium, which is so much fun to use. The internet is very addictive, indeed.
Bye.
George
Comment by Warren Little — August 27, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
Clayton,
This content & wake up call to grow up is a real eye-opener for those of us serious about leading by example in the internet marketing business.
Thanks for your leadership.
Warren Little
Comment by John Zajaros — January 15, 2010 @ 2:25 am
Great stuff!
I worked for an advertising and marketing/direct sales company in the early ’80s and made a ton. The stuff being cranked out today wouldn’t pass the first rewrite. In fact, most of the garbage passing for copy today would get a fella canned back then. And still should!
From someone who lived, and spent real dollars in the days before the Internet, one thing is for sure:
Nothing but nothing went out unless we knew it had a good shot of being opened, read, and acted upon.
The shotgun method of today has indeed spoiled some marketers…it has also spoiled the entire mix!
People are doing the same thing today with email they got to the point of doing with direct mail…they are trashing it without even opening it. Too late for email marketing to be salvaged? Only time will tell. But if something isn’t done soon, it will be as worthless as yesterday’s S. Dakota Gazette!
Interestingly, snail mail seems to be making a comeback! A recent snail mail campaign generated a 18.75% response rate in 30 hours from drop off at the USPS. That I can live with! Interesting turn of events, perhaps?
Great blog post Clayton! Gotta love the “old days!” Not to mention the “old timers!”
John Zajaros