Posted by:
Carline Anglade-Cole
August 2, 2007
Issue #193
Do you know what I hate more than gyms?
GOING to a gym!
But when I finished working on a recent project about osteoporosis, I knew I needed to take action now to build my muscle strength and protect my delicate bones.
I run 3 miles a day with my dog, Jaws. So I’d give myself a “10” on the cardio scale. But as far as building muscle strength, I’m a big, fat ZERO.
And now that I’m in my forties – ok fine, LATE forties – I don’t want a “hump” in my future!
My fitness plan came together at a recent graduation party. My friend Anissa, a mild-mannered, very toned woman in her early 30’s, told me she decided to put her Masters degree in Exercise Fitness to work by starting her own in-home personal training business.
PERFECT!
I could kill three birds with one stone: Strengthen my muscles … give the economy a boost by supporting a home-based business … and help out my friend Anissa.
(more…)
Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
July 2, 2007
Issue #166
How Those Lowly Dots & Doodles,
Scrawls & Squiggles
Can Ramp Up Your Response
Dear Business Builder,
If you’ve been reading The Total Package for any significant amount of time, you’re keenly aware of three of the most important Copywriting Commandments we teach:
- Write to prospects using the language they use every day: Using the same colloquial words, phrases, sentence structure, jargon and figures of speech your prospect uses helps you communicate faster. And because it also helps him see you as a “regular guy” just like he is, it also boosts the credibility of your sales message.
- Never make your prospect work to understand your meaning: Having to read a sentence or paragraph twice to figure out what it says is work. Every confusing chunk of copy costs you readership and response points.
- Always make sure your sales copy triggers your prospect’s most actionable emotions: In direct response, a delayed sale is a lost sale. The last thing you want your prospect to do is “think” about your offer or to “shop” your price. Since the vast majority of purchases are made to satisfy an emotional need, your sales copy must trigger the actionable emotions required to move your prospect to immediate action.
Now, we’ve written reams on the strategy and tactics of writing colloquially … making copy clear and precise … and on techniques for triggering prospects’ emotions. But in two years, not a whisper on how the punctuation you use can help you accomplish all that.
And that’s a shame — because I’d be willing to bet that I could take a strong control and cut response by 50% or more just by balling up the punctuation.
And if that’s true, the converse is also true: Improving the use of punctuation in your sales copy could help you keep prospects reading, better activate their motivating emotions and ultimately, put extra dollars into your pocket.
(more…)
Posted by:
John Newtson
June 23, 2007
Issue #159
Plus, in this issue:
- Jim’s client made a funny without knowing it …
- Joe made $26,480 in one month from one letter as a rookie copywriter …
- And Mr. X made $3.6 million in a weekend off of this deal …
- And much, MORE! (Like some cool additions for your swipe file)
Dear Business Builder,
Famed copywriter Jim Rutz made a proposal to a client once that changed the way copywriters made money ever since.
He asked:
‘How about instead of my regular fee, I give you another option, you can pay me a little less than my normal and a half-a-penny royalty for every package you mail … or even less and a full penny royalty …
‘Or, pay me nothing at all up front and give me .03 cents a package.’
It took all of three seconds for the client to say, “We’ll take the free one.”
Hah!
And that’s when he learned clients are much happier to pay out of cash-flow than out of pocket. And this royalty deal made it much easier to get work, and get paid MORE money than a straight fee deal.
And that’s just a taste of what’s possible.
One very well known copywriter (I’m not supposed to give out his name – who knows when the IRS is watching) once made a cool $3.6 million in a weekend off just one such deal – from writing one letter.
He came up with high-dollar backend product to promote to a client’s list.
He pitched the product idea to the client … wrote the copy … and sold somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 million right out of the gate.
Not a bad couple of days.
And it’s not just big name copywriters who are making a lot of money on royalties.
(more…)
Posted by:
Daniel Levis
April 18, 2007
Issue #102
Introducing Web Marketing Heroes, a brand new Web Marketing Advisor Periodic Feature, Guaranteed to Inspire You, Enlighten You, and Rocket Your Response to Dizzying New Heights…
Web Marketing Heroes:
TOTAL PACKAGE subscribers,
kicking serious butt on the Internet front lines,
taking no prisoners.
Today's Featured Member:
Qigong Instructor, Copywriter, and Web Marketer Extraordinaire,
Mr. John Du Cane
Dear Web Business Builder,
Every so often, in Web Marketing Advisor, I plan to feature the outstanding work of a TOTAL PACKAGE subscriber. Because in my book, the kind of people who read the TOTAL PACKAGE, are today’s real heroes …
You tend to be fiercely independent, tough-as-nails individualists, with the hearts of lions… and a steel willed competitiveness… ready to take on the world, and WIN!
That’s exactly how I describe my new friend John Du Cane, this inaugural edition’s Web Marketing Hero.
Actually, I’m bursting with childlike exuberance over this. I feel like Howard Carter, dazzled by the golden splendor of King Tut’s tomb. Why?
I’ll tell you the story …
A couple of week’s back, I met John at Yanik Silver’s Underground III seminar in Washington. Yanik invited John to speak about Dragon Door Publications, John’s info publishing business which sells health and fitness related products.
There were perhaps a dozen or so speaker’s at Yanik’s event. They were all good, but John’s presentation was the one that knocked my socks off. Afterward, I congratulated him on it, and John told me he was an avid Web Marketing Advisor, and TOTAL PACKAGE reader.
We hit it off like long lost brothers. So much so, it inspired me to create this new feature.
Now, I can’t tell you a bit about what John revealed about his business at Yanik’s seminar. On that, I am sworn to secrecy.
But what I can share with you is this: John is one helluva copywriter, and today, I’m going to dissect some of his amazing headlines and leads that appear in his catalogs. They will simply blow you away!
Are you ready? Here we go …
This first example is aimed at fitness trainers who have already purchased at least one Dragon Door product. This ad’s goal is to graduate these existing customers to an enhanced level of investment (and evangelism) by offering them a certification program.
HOT huh? John’s copy absolutely rocks. It’s one of the main reasons Dragon Door has become such a huge success.
This headline has everything going for it. First, your eye is drawn to Pavel’s picture. Not only is this image a great attention arrester, it provides a strong identification for the prospect. He doesn’t see Pavel’s sinuous, powerful physique, he sees his own. This is a direct assault on the right brain, and it immediately captures the prospect’s interest in reading the main headline.
How to Dominate Your Competition, Boost Your Income and Attract More Customers with Kettlebells — The Nation’s #1 Tool for Strength, Conditioning, and Resilience
This copy is full of powerful verbs. It’s vibrantly active. In the main headline, John exhorts the prospect to action, “Dominate”, “Boost”, and “Attract”, and gives him a vehicle to do it: “Kettlebells”. Then John immediately validates this vehicle by identifying it as the nation’s #1 tool for “Strength”, “Conditioning”, and “Resilience”.
That’s six powerful benefits, plus credibility in the main headline with just 23 words. It fires off a punchy right brain volley to be sure. But there is strong left-brain food here too. Do you see it?
The last three benefits actually pull double duty. “Strength”, “Conditioning” and “Resilience” are benefits, but they are also reasons why the first three benefits are within the prospect’s reach.
There is an implied if/then statement: If the prospect can give his prospects and customers superior “Strength”, “Conditioning”, and “Resilience”, then he will “dominate his competition”, “boost his income”, and “attract more customers”. Brilliant example of packing huge selling power into just a few words! And that’s just the main headline.
Look at what John does with the sub head that follows…
Pavel’s Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certification and Workshop Gives You A Crash Course in Advanced Strength Skills… Ignites New Business Opportunities… And Propels You Into The Front Lines of Physical Excellence
Three more benefits and three more power verbs. But these verbs are different. I call them “sloth” verbs, because the “s”— “give(s)”, “ignite(s)”, “propel(s)” — implies zero effort. All you need do is attend the workshop, and it’s all done for you. AUTOMATICALLY, advanced strength skills… new business opportunities… and physical excellence are yours.
Again, tremendous economy of words, delivered in a super potent, 1,2,3 punch.
And finally, a results-based testimonial to cap it all off: “My income has nearly doubled since taking my RKC cert, all without any extra investment in time” - Jason C Brown, RKC Rosalyn PA. There’s your social proof, and the gist of the message summarized beautifully. That headline is a work of art.
OK, check this one out…
Note the yellow box above the main headline. This is a great example of a skillfully executed lift note. John gives the expert (Andrea Du Cane) in his ad a “lift” with an endorsement from a recognized authority figure (Pavel). This short, pithy intro allows the main headline’s pure, hard driving benefits to really hit home.
What I just love about this ad (you can see it in it’s entirety plus dozens more at Dragon Door [dragondoor.com]) is the theme that John’s used to bring these benefits to life. Every woman — deep down inside — wants to feel like a Goddess. Ladies, this ad shows you how.
John’s lead is pure genius …
Isn’t that something? Consider the power of the analogy John used in that tight, compacted two-paragraph lead. Talk about a shameless — yet totally forgivable — appeal to sex and vanity that sets up the product pitch to perfection!
John has been a serious student of direct response marketing for years, and it shows. Not only is his copy brilliant, his marketing skills are simply phenomenal. Together, these priceless abilities have allowed him to pursue his passion for helping people become physically fit, and triumph over obesity, injury and physical disability.
Today, Dragon Door is overflowing with incredible success stories of people reaching unbelievable levels of physical conditioning… losing over a 100 pounds without drugs or surgery… bouncing back from cancer… recovering from serious strokes, and more. As John says, “I’m here for only a short time on this planet. I’m here to make a difference.”
We are proud to have him as a TOTAL PACKAGE subscriber, and thrilled to be able to showcase his copy here in Web Marketing Advisor, for all to learn from.
Will You Be The Next Web Marketing Hero
To See Your Name In Lights?
I hope you enjoyed this first ever Web Marketing Heroes special feature as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please take a moment to let me know what you think by posting a comment.
Also, if you know of any TOTAL PACKAGE subscribers kicking serious butt on the Internet front lines, please drop me a note at feedback@makepeacetotalpacakge.com. Tell me who I should be featuring next.
It could even be YOU.
Until next time, Good Selling!
Daniel Levis
Editor, The Web Marketing Advisor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
P.S. For a limited time, you can now cram your hard drive full of control busting copy at a $100 savings with the Steal These Secrets Swipefile. Stop racking your brain needlessly for creative ideas when you can have a treasure trove of proven winning concepts at your fingertips – guaranteed to open the profit floodgates – or your money back! Check it out!
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