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 …
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
July 11, 2008
Issue #457
Fellow Business-Builder,
With The Ultimate Desktop Copy Coach now out, you have seen the immense potential of the right words to the right market.
This is an incredible program for those who want to take their marketing to a new level.
Today, I want to discuss an area that many small business owners struggle with – yet it will instantly add to the results you are getting.
Case in point …
A while back, a company hired me to write some sales copy for a seminar promotion – some autoresponders for the drip campaign and a landing page for teleseminars.
Which I did.
I also gave them a marketing plan and some copy to recruit joint venture partners.
A few months later, I got a call from them claiming the copy wasn’t working.
When I pressed them on the stats, here is what I got: 22 signups for the seminar at $2,497 each = $54,934 in revenues - a very healthy return on the copywriting investment.
So what was their problem?
They thought they should have 50 people.
Upon further investigation:
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
July 4, 2008
Issue #452
Fellow Business-Builder,
Again, thank you for all the fabulous comments around the last two weeks’ lead generation articles.
Some of you had questions I wanted to help address. The way I see it, if I can help you double or triple the amount of leads you are getting, then convert them to sales, my articles have done their job.
First, lead generation ads done simple.
I am not a graphic design person (if you can’t tell :o) - - but I do appreciate an ad that is laid out properly. It helps draw in eyeballs and get them to at least start reading the headline. If the design is poor and the ad doesn’t stand out, your job just got harder.
Kari does my graphic and ad design, but I have picked up a thing or two about simple ad layouts for the average small business. The following references are from Word 2003 - they changed everything in the 2007 version, and I have not taken the time to figure out the differences.
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
June 27, 2008
Issue #447
In this issue:
- The easiest way to win over your prospects and convince them to buy from you for the first time …
- Small Business Mastery readers speak out …
- Templates and samples to use for creating your own sales system …
- And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
Thank you for your excellent response to my article “How to Write Lead Generation Display Ads”. Some of your comments hit a note with me and I first wanted to address these before moving on to the actual templates for creating your display ads.
Steve had said “I never even thought of doing non-traditional small display ads. I feel like a fool.”
My thoughts to you Steve are – don’t feel like a fool – feel like an awakening! Most people look at display ads in a certain way, and it can be difficult to see new ways of looking at them. Which is the problem. After seeing hundreds of display ads in a day or week, all following the same useless format, it’s no wonder we have a tough time seeing the alternatives. This approach works really well for small businesses. It is simple to implement. And it gets you solid results. Try it out and please let us know how it goes.
Olan said “Great article Troy. One question: Where is the Ad for the house painter that you wrote? I don't see it in this article.”
Hi Olan. As Mr. Burns (from the Simpsons) would say – eeeeexxxxxcellent! My house painter advertisement was so deceptive you didn’t even notice it was an ad! The point to running this type of ad in the Yellow Pages is to make it look like an article or warning notice. In the middle of all those same-old-same-old type of ads – yours will be the one and only that looks like something useful to those in need.
Carolyn said “I just finished writing a space ad for a company using this approach. I suggested they offer five free special reports, thinking that at least one of the five would hit a hot button and get the phones ringing. You can tell me if you think that was too much.”
Hi Carolyn. My personal thoughts are for you to space out all the reports and send them individually. Rather than receive all five at once (which chances are they won’t read them all) – send them 7-10 days apart. The overwhelm factor may kick in with too many at once, so this gives you multiple opportunities for follow up. But, this is something you need to test. With 100 of the leads – test sending each separately. With the next 100 send two at a time. The next 100 – all at once. See which version works best. (You must track everything you do to ensure the winner.)
Great questions and comments – thank you!
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
June 20, 2008
Issue #442
In this issue:
- The Small Business ATM Machine - or the curse of the advertising sales rep?
- Silliness 101 and why most small businesses are fed up with their marketing and Yellow Pages efforts
- The 3 proven rules for writing a money churning display ad for any business
- And Much More!
Fellow business builder,
Over the past 5 years, I have noticed a very scary thing with small business owners. They tend to believe the people who are selling them advertising space! Considering that most advertising sales reps know very little about direct response (or even how to spell it), and that they are paid on the space they sell - not the results their clients get … there couldn’t be a worse place to get advertising advice.
Yet, a decent Yellow Pages ad or small display ad can bring in a constant stream of paying clients.
Today I want to discuss how effective display ads can be used for the average house painter, massage therapist, Laundromat, restaurant, printing company, etc.
These are not the type of ads that Clayton would be writing - these are much easier for the typical small business owner to write, and run themselves.
Small display ads …
You see them everywhere!
They are plastered all over the local newspapers.
They are in the phone book.
They are on the Internet.
They are used as brochures.
They are used in e-mail promotions.
They are used on eBay listings.
They are used on web pages.
They are used as handouts.
(more…)
