Posted by:
Daniel Levis
September 17, 2008
Issue #505
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Authority is a potent weapon in your persuasion arsenal when you’re creating info-products. There’s no doubt about it. The more you have, the easier it is to get people to buy stuff.
But what is it — really? And how do you get more of it?
That is the question we ponder this week. Buried somewhere in this article I, promise you an answer – really I do.
In the beginning …
… Once upon a time, it was the biggest, brawniest Neanderthal who had all of the authority. That much we know.
Nevermind he didn’t know a damn thing more than any of the other blockheads in the tribe. His physical prowess and temperament meant he made all the rules and you obeyed them or else.
But as civilization progressed, it became more and more difficult for one person to have all of the answers. And so the big galoot began to delegate some of his authority to others … grudgingly at first.
If someone had knowledge about when to plant crops or how to ensure the supply of wildlife remained plentiful, then he was useful.
A bright leader could easily see that by anointing a “shaman,” he could transfer some of his own responsibility for natural phenomena to someone else. Then if something went awry, it would be the shaman, not he, who’d get pelted with rocks by the rest of the tribe.
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Posted by:
Michael Masterson
September 16, 2008
Issue #504
If you’re lucky, loving your job is its own reward. But when it comes to satisfying your sense of self-worth - and building wealth - the size of your paycheck can have a big impact. In fact, a 2006 study commissioned by the American Business Collaboration found that 49 percent of respondents listed salary as the factor that’s most important to their satisfaction at work.
So if you’re not making as much as you think you should be, is it time to start looking for a new job?
Before you start scanning the "Help Wanted" section of the newspaper, take a good hard look at what you do. Is your work really worth what you think it is?
I had a conversation yesterday with a writer - a friend I’d hired to work on a newsletter I consult on. It was contract time, and I had promised him "the best deal possible" - which is exactly what he got. He wasn’t satisfied. "Let’s face it," he told me, "The success or failure of the newsletter’s renewals depends on me - and my writing is good."
"I agree that your writing is good," I told him, "but in the business of newsletter publishing, my opinion doesn’t count."
What does? As JDG, a colleague of mine likes to say, there are three sacred letters when you are in business - ROI (return on investment) - and they are the jury when it comes to determining the quality of what you’re selling.
Writers - screenwriters, novelists, magazine writers, and advertising writers - are valuable in business if and to the extent that they can generate positive ROI.
Writers who understand that can become very skilled very quickly and make a ton of money. Writers who refuse to believe that are doomed to spending the rest of their careers unhappy and underpaid.
But it’s hard to explain this to a writer who’s new to the business world. He feels, understandably, that since he’s smart and clever and works so hard, his writing is - or has to be - supernal.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
September 8, 2008
Issue #498
Stuff we’re doing to make an upcoming product launch as successful as possible —
and that could help you hit your next online promo
out of the park …
Dear Business-Builder,
It’s no secret that direct response marketing gives us a huge advantage: The opportunity to scientifically measure response to every part of a sales campaign and to constantly refine and improve our headlines, copy and offer. And that, in turn, empowers us to drive our response, revenues and profits ever-higher.
So, unsurprisingly, as a 37-year veteran of the direct response wars, I guess you could say I’ve become addicted to post-mortems; studying not only the numbers I produce, but also the thought process behind both successful and not-so successful launches.
That’s coming in mighty handy today. Because right now, I’m just a few days away from launching a new product. This one is a first for me. It’s not a copywriting or marketing product for my Total Package friends. Nor is it a promotion I’m creating for a client.
This one is for me; the first “house product” my agency, ResponseInk, has ever introduced. And boy, are we learning a lot! In fact, my guess is, a lot of what we’re learning could put a bunch of money into your pocket …
Now, I can’t tell you much about the product quite yet. That’ll have to wait until next week when the sales pages are live online and available for your review. Suffice it to say it’s a health product; a natural supplement.
So I figure it could be helpful for you copywriters and for you business owners and marketers to think about some of the things we’re doing to help make our new baby as healthy and successful as possible …
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Posted by:
Bob Bly
September 2, 2008
Issue #494
Many marketers, both large and small (and I include myself among the latter) go bonkers when customers return products for a refund.
As BK, an executive with one of the biggest and most famous direct-marketing publishing companies, told me, "Our books contain great information, incredibly valuable. Why should we allow someone to read the book, benefit from all that great content, and then cheat us by sending it back for a refund?"
If you feel the same way, let me share with you a few important facts about refunds:
1. First of all, a refund request doesn’t mean your product is bad or the customer doesn’t like it.
Example: A customer returns your $300 DVD set on investing in foreign currencies. "It actually seems like a great program," the customer says in his refund request. "But after watching it, I’ve decided this isn’t a business I want to get into. It’s just too much work!"
To me, this is a perfectly legitimate - and reasonable - position for a customer to take … don’t you agree? In this case, offering a refund is not only a legal requirement but also eminently fair: Why would you want your customer to be out of pocket $300 for something he can’t use?
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Posted by:
Troy White
August 15, 2008
Issue #482
Fellow Business-Builder,
Can you believe August is almost gone?
Yeesh! That kinda flew by.
In between dealing with the insurance companies, estimators and police with our recent break-in, I found myself knee-deep in a brand new project for an exciting new client.
She has a program being released in a highly competitive field and hired me to help her find ways to grow her sales as fast as humanly possible.
Now a few details on the project:
- She is in Canada – and wants to focus on Canadian buyers (but the content applies to those who live pretty well anywhere).
- She has an amazing story (she went from $0 to $3 million in her first 6 months), and then another $3 million in the next 12.
- She is selling training in a field that is oversaturated with “gurus” – but she has no goal to be one. All she wants is to share the formula she used to create speed wealth like she did … rather than feeding people a little here – then upsell them to a little more – another upsell – a little more content, etc. She wants to give it all at once – for a sizable premium.
- She is the real deal and has proven to me time and time again she over-delivers.
- She is only offering the program three more times and then is out of it.
So, the foundation is set and I need to find out how to market her services, and who to market to.
We had discussed using online and offline media for maximum results in the timeline we set … and I think she really needs print materials mixed in to stand out from all the others.
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