Posted by:
Daniel Levis
July 30, 2008
Issue #470
- How to jostle your way into hotly competitive, seemingly impenetrable traffic sources …
- How tackling a market “in detail” explodes your traffic and fattens your bottom line …
- Some fun examples to inspire your thinking …
- Plus more!
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Civilization is the result of abject terror.
Imagine our primordial forefathers and foremothers cowering in the shadows of the hostile environment of our early world.
Without the advantages of fangs, claws, fur, and sheer brute strength enjoyed by the saber-toothed tigers, mastodon and woolly mammoths who shared the planet, we must have felt utterly defenseless, exposed, and alone.
Doubtless we would have perished from the face of this Earth as a species had it not been for our remarkable ability to form groups and unite against the common enemies that surrounded us on all sides.
Only by banding together were we able to successfully defend against attack … hunt successfully … and leverage the great human invention — the division of labor.
Eventually, organized groupings of human beings came to dominate the world. And God said it was good.
There was just one problem …
Having become such a dominant force in the world, our natural enemies became scarce. And since humans need a steady supply, rival groups formed and began to rape and pillage one another.
Funny thing is, it wasn’t always the largest group who did the lion’s share of the raping and pillaging.
Very early in the history of warfare, shrewd military and political strategists understood the power of “divide et impera” — divide and conquer.
They discovered that by forcing the enemy to divide its forces and then dealing with those forces “in detail,” a small highly organized group could defeat a much larger one.
And so it is today, on the battlefield of traffic and conversion …
Yet few online marketers understand or appreciate this.
They send a single, solitary campaign out in to the marketing melee — attacking the tidal wave of traffic head on — full frontal. And then they wonder why it’s so darn hard to make a buck.
What should they be doing?
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
July 23, 2008
Issue #465
Dear Web Business-Builder,
There are three things that will slaughter response rates on your Web pages.
If you could recognize them, and banish them from all of your Web pages, your response rates would instantly soar.
What are they?
Savage response rate killer #1 — Boredom
If your website visitors can’t get excited about what they find on your website, your response rate will suck.
Remember, there are only two reasons people visit your website: To obtain pleasure or avoid pain. If what they find there fails to promise one or both, it is by definition, boring.
You’d think this would be obvious, but it’s not.
Most of the websites I visit online are like the actor who said, “Enough of me talking about myself. What do you think about me?”
Your website is NOT about your company or your product. It’s about your prospect. Keep him at the center of the dialog. Appeal to his self-interest. And you’ll have his attention.
Once you’ve got it. Keep it. How? By continually foreshadowing what comes next, slowly lifting the veil on all of the juicy secrets your prospect needs in order to obtain the object of his desire.
Self-interest and curiosity are critical to maintaining your reader’s interest. But there’s more to the boredom banishing formula …
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
July 16, 2008
Issue #460
“A man should learn to detect and watch for that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dear Web Business-Builder,
From a young age, we are appointed.
Appointed by our parents … old enough to stay home alone. Appointed by our institutions … educated enough to enter the full time work force. Appointed by our employers … responsible enough for promotion.
Important question: Have you become mentally conditioned by all this external appointment?
Have you given your power to someone or something outside of yourself?
Could this be the invisible Great Wall of China that’s blocking you from rocketing toward your goals and reaching your full potential?
For most of us, to one degree or another, the answer is “yes." Take a look at this note I received from one of my subscribers earlier this week:
“I have a few questions re: your material …
- Is this setup as a correspondence study course or is it just ideas to use for implementation? Does the material guide you on how to write good, strong copy? Is there anyone who critiques you on your assignments? Or is it all up to one’s own imagination and assumptions?
- How does your material compare to the American Writers and Artists Institute – 6 figure copywriting? Or to the Institute of Copywritng course? Or to any other course out there … ?
- Is it possible to become a successful copywriter without prior experience in finance or marketing? Without a college degree in journalism, finance, marketing …?
- Do your materials also include how to improve one’s writing skills, language usage …?
“I’m very much interested in the field of copywriting. I believe I have a flair with words as well as a good way of expression. However, I’ve done extensive research online as well as perused the copywriting opportunities available, and I keep coming to the same conclusion.
“It seems the only way to truly succeed in the copywriting field is to have an accredited history in finance, journalism, or/and marketing as well as experience in the aforementioned fields. Being familiar with Web design and computer graphics doesn’t seem to hurt either. Many accomplished copywriters have refuted the idea of being able to master copywriting and succeed in the field by simply taking a copywriting course whether online or by correspondence (which doesn’t even seem to be what you’re offering).
“Therefore I question you, as well as other courses, which claim that after completing your/their material one can become a successful copywriter and earn …
“How can you distort reality just in order to sell your product or promote your course? How can you convince people of unbelievable, unattainable goals? Is this another marketing gimmick? Since you guys are the masters of copywriting, perhaps you’re pulling the wool over the consumer’s eyes and convincing them of twisted truths … all for your benefit. UNLESS … perhaps you can convince me otherwise.”
If it weren’t for the rather cheeky last paragraph, I might have sent this woman a constructive response. As it was, I simply replied: “Thanks for writing. With all due respect, I don’t think this is for you.” Who needs customers like this?
I can only imagine what kind of “research” could have possibly led her to these erroneous conclusions. I mean honestly, “an accredited history in finance, journalism, and/or marketing as well as experience in the aforementioned fields.” I can’t think of more onerous liability, can you? Where do these self-defeating delusions come from?
I’ll tell you …
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
July 9, 2008
Issue #455
Dear Web Business-Builder,
The other day, my wife came home from shopping at Costco Wholesale. She saves so darn much money there it ends up costing me a bloody fortune.
This time, one of the bright shiny objects she couldn’t wait to take out of the box was a brand new water cooler. Not any old water cooler, mind you …
This one dispenses cold water … boils it … takes pictures … and turns the outside lights on and off while you’re away on holidays. And that means there’s a lengthy owner’s manual and endless instructions to follow before you can take a drink.
My grandson put it together, but before we could plop one of those big plastic jugs of water on top — dilemma.
Seems before you can install said water jug, you’ve got to clean the unit with a special cleaning kit available online at the manufacturer’s website.
I’m thinking, hey, now there’s a way to drive follow-on sales. Until I visit their website …
The link we’re given in the owner’s manual takes us to the company’s home page (first of three screenshots pictured at right) where we are confronted by a cornucopia of attractions. The cleaning kit, however, is nowhere in sight. We are forced to dig for it.
This is annoying to say the least. Why couldn’t they have sent us directly to the page with the item for sale so we could buy the darn thing?
Finally we find the page about cleaning kits (third image) and are presented with two choices. Trouble is, they seem identical except for the packaging. Confused … we become distracted … no order. Do you think it’s the first time this has happened? What a shame to lose sales so needlessly …
The lesson should be clear. When driving traffic to your website, don’t force people to navigate to find the item you’ve promised or leave them guessing about what they should order. Take them directly to the page that satisfies their needs, and tell them what to do and why to do it. This should just be common sense. But how often do you get this kind of runaround online? A lot!
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
July 2, 2008
Issue #450
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Yesterday, being Canada’s 141st birthday — I got to wonderin’ …
What would life be like up here in Canada if we hadn’t wupped you Yanks in that war?
… Would the Russians have gotten away with invading Chechnya and Saskatchewan?
… Would VCRs be legal?
… Would baby seals still be clubbed to death on the Toronto ice flows?
I guess we’ll never know …
What I do know is that to celebrate this Canada Day, instead of giving you the usual 13-gun salute, fireworks, and double ration of rum … here I am doling out Web marketing advice.
I know everybody hates it — advice that is — but think of it as a gift from the Great White North … right up there with Captain James T. Kirk, Tommy Chong, and Pamela Anderson.
Now where was I … before fantasizing about being a lifeguard?
Oh right — advice. Well here it is: Every day — come hell or high water — make it a point to reach out to at least one other business, trade association or publisher to set up an interview.
Here are just a few of the many benefits a steady flow of promotional interviews can bring to your business:
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