Funnily enough, it was only 36 hours ago I was reading Rich\’s material about getting attention, and his blog entry about his recent dismay watching buyers at an internet seminar.

That\’s why I love Rich\’s stuff, and the \”over-delivery\” of value. That\’s also why I love what YOU and the Total Package team give as well. And there\’d be less than 4 people that I can think of that I\’d say that about.

To me, a lot of this is about the levels of \”awareness\” that Tony Flores covered in your Easy Writer\’s newsletter a few months back, on Eugene Schwartz\’s Breakthrough Advertising.

When someone gets it right, they have an open invite to the top of my inbox. Most of the other stuff is just noise. Even with social communities, the same techniques will still be effective, and eventually the same filters will keep out the BS.

Quite often I get emails from people asking me why I have so many spelling mistakes on my websites. So today I put the most recent letter on my webpage, which was written by a „Tiefenpsychologe“ and asking me why I do overlook these spelling mistakes including my answer to the letter. I put it up to establish credibility – “here is someone who has nothing to hide”. The answer is quite easy – if the content is all right, spelling mistakes do not matter! Perhaps it even seems more authentic. Like the „Bill Gates out of the garage real thing“.

Same with a short Camtasiavideo I put up for an ebook in the salesletter, splittesting it against the identical salesletter without the videolink inside the salesletter. It was a bit unprepared, I was stumbling along, I jumped over words like I normally do – but sales more than doubled with this video. It was a bit embarrassing, but the numbers were right. I guess because it seems so much more authentic. Then sales dropped to the old level, but I did not pay attention. Months I found out that my unprofessional flashfilm was damaged and didn\’t work anymore. Duh!

I think it was all about authenticity. That sixth sense - people feel, see or whatever you might call it, if something is for real or not.

Just today I listened to an interview by Bob Bly and Daniel Levis. It really hit me when they pointed out the difference between long sales letters for a product and the capture of a name and email. I really shortened the salesletter for the email capture to a few lines – an opt-ins drastically increased – today! It just seems so much more serious to not write a long salesletter to capture an email. After all its just an email in the prospects eyes! Anything too long would look suspicious – wouldn\’t it? I mean it already feels dumb to write a long salesletter to capture an email?!? But I did it over and over again. Actually seems obvious that having a long salesletter - just to get an email address - looks like you are desperate or trying to fool someone.

But the word „actually“ implies it is not actually obvious.

Rich Schefren gave out a list few days ago – „472 phrases that keep attention“. Plain outright valuable. I lies here printed out, dog-eared and needs to be reprinted. I have used a whole number of phrases for a salesletter I am writing now.

I guess the plain forward „what you see is what you get and a bit more“ is what will get response in any market. And establish credibility.

What I am trying to say. A big Thank You !!! from my side for all the valuable information I get from your website. As someone who is just starting out as a copywriter the content on your website, and those I got to know over your website, is so practical and down-to-earth useable.

Markus Trauernicht from Berlin

I\’ve always wondered why I kept those kinds of magalogs. They\’re supposed to make up your swipe file but they\’re sooooo boring even on topics I\’m otherwise interested in. I got tired of looking for the USP.

And then they offer all these premiums and I\’m wondering what\’s wrong with the product that they have to give away all this extra junk.

It seems like several physical book sellers learned this lesson a couple of years ago. They learned it more quickly than the mailers.

I still have files full of downloads I was \”bribed\” to take to help make someone\’s book a best seller. I noticed they quit doing that. That was shortly after I quit buying books marketed that way. Go figure.

I\’m looking forward to more marketers figuring this out so we\’ll have better advertisements to read and write.

I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to see a pro such as yourself drop the pants on an industry that has practiced some short on character techniques

Rich didn\’t invent this idea btw.

He\’s just championing it.

It\’s called honesty

I have the utmost respect for your honesty today. You are an inspiration.

The best article you have ever written

and you are right this concept will make you FILTHY rich

Words cannot describe how happy you made me today

I cannot wait to see what your talent does with this