Posted by:
Michael Masterson
August 11, 2008
Issue #478
We all have dreams. We all carry movies in our minds about how life could be for us in a better world. Sally dreams of a big house with a built-in pool. Harry dreams of an eight-car garage filled with vintage Porsches. Jill fantasizes about painting pictures at the seashore. Jack wants that corner office with the view.
Chances are, Sally and Harry and Jill and Jack will never get what they dream about. They will go on playing those mental movies for themselves or talking about them to friends and family members.
Failing to live your dreams is not necessarily a bad thing. Lots of people are perfectly happy dreaming of one life but living another. The problem arises when the gap between fantasy and reality results in unhappiness or even depression. When this happens, it’s time to master plan a new life. And the first step is to establish goals.
Goals are different from dreams in four ways. They are specific, actionable, time-oriented, and realistic.
Specific: Being rich is a dream. Developing a $4 million net worth is a goal.
Actionable: Winning the lottery is a dream. Winning a foot race is a goal.
Time-Oriented: Developing a $4 million net worth is a goal. But developing a $4 million net worth in five years is a better goal.
Realistic: Developing a $4 million net worth in five years is probably reasonable. Developing a $4 million net worth in four months is not.
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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:
Clayton Makepeace
July 21, 2008
Issue #463
- The hard truth "get rich quick" gurus never tell you …
- What it really takes to hit the big time …
- Why what you do the rest of today matters …
- Much more …
Dear Business-Builder,
My mom’s cousin married Ty Cobb’s son, Herschel. Since I’m not good at math, I can’t really tell you what that makes me. Ty Cobb’s grand nephew once removed? I dunno.
But still, I’ve always been proud to be related — even distantly — to the man who invented modern baseball. So a few years ago, I read Cobb: A Biography by Al Stump and later, watched the movie starring Tommy Lee Jones.
Great book; good flick. Not because they heralded Cobb’s exploits on the field, but because they painted a crystal-clear picture of the man behind the legend.
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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
June 25, 2008
Issue 445
Dear Web Business Builder,
Whether you’re an established or aspiring freelance copywriter looking for an edge … or an independent entrepreneur trying to hone your copywriting chops and light a sales bonfire under your business … you’ll never reach your full potential in sales, profits, and personal satisfaction until you wrap your head around this:
Killer Copy = 20% writing, 80% strategy
Creating the conversion breakthroughs you’re looking for as an online marketer … or making your career take off like a ballistic missile if you’re a freelance copywriter … begins long before a single word hits the page … and ends well after the first sale is made.
It’s a process. And because most copywriters don’t understand this process, they end up blowing it. Freelancers get bullied by fee-balking, dumb ass clients who neuter your copy with endless revisions. And do-it-yourselfers throw up their arms in frustration because their copy falls flat.
So let’s cut to the chase, and I’ll give you that process …
Successful online marketing and copywriting is nothing more than effective communication. It’s simply a matter of positioning the right person … communicating the right message … to the right audience … at the right time … and in the right way.
That’s it.
If you’re struggling with your marketing … if you’re not having the success you deserve selling your products online … if you feel you’re not making nearly enough bling bling as a freelance copywriter … it’s because you’re missing something in one or more of these five areas.
Either you’re targeting the wrong market … your message is wrong … you’re not positioning yourself properly … you’re saying the right things in the wrong order … or your copy is boring, confusing, and people just don’t believe it.
If you can systematically strengthen a promotion in these five areas, it almost always leads to blockbuster results. I call that my 5R System.
Suppose you’re a fledgling freelancer copywriter. I want you to STOP RIGHT NOW and ask yourself something:
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