Posted by:
Troy White
July 25, 2008
Issue #467
Fellow Business-Builder,
Thanks for all the great comments from last week.
Actually, as you read this, I am sitting on the beach in beautiful Shuswap Country in British Columbia.
In an hour, we are headed out on the water on Sparkles (the affectionate name my twin 7-year-old daughters have given our boat).
One thing I learned last year, that continues to benefit me and my family, is that sometimes you just have to take the plunge and do something you have always wanted to do, even if it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Living in Calgary, I am land-locked.
There are no real lakes or water around here for a boat.
Which explains why I have always wanted a boat – the “grass is greener” thing applies everywhere.
So last year we bit the bullet and bought a ski boat.
Most people thought I was CRAZY owning a boat in a city not even remotely close to water.
Thanks to my purchase, I took more time off last summer (three weeks) than I took in the previous three years combined. Buying my toy forced me to get out and enjoy it more …. And I loved every second of it along the way.
I am not alone either …
Get this … Calgary, a city of 1 million people with no water to be found, has the highest boat sales per capita than any other city in – are you ready - - NORTH AMERICA.
We buy more boats here than those who live ON the water!
Crazy.
But understandable.
There is a lot of money in Calgary (big oil town – and you know what is happening with the price of oil) … and people here like to spend their money on toys … boats being the #1 choice.
My point here is …
… Find that motivation … then take the plunge and just do it!
… Second, NEVER think you know a market, until you have done the research. Imagine a boat dealer never researching Calgary as a place to hang up their shingle … because there is no water. Meanwhile, their smaller competitor does the research, sees the proof, moves to Calgary and HAS THEIR BEST YEAR EVER.
All with knowing the truth.
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Posted by:
Troy White
July 18, 2008
Issue #462
Fellow Business-Builder,
Having just wrapped up my Wild West Marketing and Wealth Summit, I have been reflecting on what made it good – and what needs improvement.
I host two seminars a year of my own, and I usually attend two others, hosted by others.
On top of that, I run a local monthly marketing group that meets once a month in Calgary.
Why would I do all this?
To me, it is the quickest and most effective way to enhance my knowledge and grow my revenues.
Surrounding yourself with like-minded, success-driven entrepreneurs is a MUST.
Constantly learning and evolving is also just as important.
That said, I have been reflecting back on some of my greatest lessons learned from both hosting and attending business building conferences.
For the next two weeks, I am going to share with you some of my greatest lessons, condensed into some bite-sized nuggets you can use.
On with it …
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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:
Bob Bly
July 1, 2008
Issue #449
"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain and most fools do."
Benjamin Franklin
Many years ago, I taught a class at the Learning Annex in New York City on how to make a six-figure income as a freelancer. One student, JR, wanted to break into writing TV commercials for Madison Avenue, and he had devised what was (according to him) a brilliant self-marketing strategy for getting hired.
In actuality, it was the second-worst self-marketing idea I’d ever heard in my life.
JR told the class that he had written some "brilliant" TV commercials.
The Super Bowl was only a few weeks away at the time. JR’s strategy was to show up at the offices of Madison Avenue’s biggest ad agency and show the copy for his commercials to the creative director.
The creative director, he reasoned, was under tremendous pressure to produce great Super Bowl commercials for the agency’s clients. By bringing those great commercials with him, JR would save the day - and be hired at an enormous salary.
This was a terrible idea for all the obvious reasons:
- All the commercials for the Super Bowl had been written and shot months earlier.
- The creative director had never heard of JR. She didn’t know who JR was or whether he had any qualifications or talent. So the chances of her agreeing to see him were miniscule to none.
- JR had no idea which of the agency’s clients were going to be running Super Bowl spots. Even if he did know, he hadn’t been briefed on the product positioning or the campaign strategy … so how could he possibly write commercials that achieved the clients’ marketing objectives?
I gently told JR - and the rest of the class - that doing work on spec for a client who hasn’t asked you to do so is an absolute waste of time. However, stupid as it is, there is a self-marketing strategy that’s even worse: giving an unsolicited critique of something a potential client has done - a new product design, an ad campaign, a website - in the hopes of being hired to fix it.
Why is giving an unsolicited critique even worse than doing unsolicited work on spec? Well, think about it.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
March 31, 2008
Issue #385
Clayton is slammed with deadlines, so he’s not going to be able to post an issue today.
But he had a brilliant idea.
Many of you have written in on his blog, looking for advice on selling yourself as a copywriter and landing good clients.
It just so happens, Clayton wrote on that very topic over a year ago. And he asked me to re-run it today for you.
So pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee, sit back … and enjoy.
– Wendy Makepeace
My Six-Step Campaign to Get Your Phone
Ringing Off the Hook with New Clients
Finding clients who'll pay you millions of dollars is NOT impossible.
You just …
- Start with small fish …
- Live like a pauper for years …
- Write your butt off every day of your life …
- Create a legendary winner or two.
Do these four things, and I guarantee great clients will pursue you, huge advances in hand.
… Eventually.
Or, you could do it the smart way …
New copywriters write me all the time, asking how to get a high-paying gig. A desperate few just want to know how to get any assignment.
Sometimes I have to resist the urge to leap through the computer screen at them. I want to grab 'em by the shoulders, shake 'em till their eyes rattle and shout, "Hey - wake up - you're one of the chosen few: You're a COPYWRITER!
"You've been blessed with the gift of persuasion: The single greatest super-power on the planet. Compared to you, Batman and Wonder Woman are wimps!
"You are a modern-day Obi-Wan, master of the Jedi Mind Trick.
"You are (tatataDAAA) PERSUASION PERSON!!!
"Mere mortals fall helpless, wallets in hand, before your considerable persuasive powers.
"Great clients are mere mortals, too … so go ahead - persuade them to hire you!"
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