Be Afraid…Be Very Afraid

They are everywhere around us, the sleep-walking zombies that inhabit the earth.

They come in many forms.

The person who stands in line at the fast food joint and when it gets to his turn is unsure what to order, confused by how much to pay, and uses a credit card for his $5 purchase; he is one of the walking dead.

The person who is told repeatedly to board the plane from the rear stairs, because he is sitting down the back, yet gets on the plane from the front, and is agitated he has to push and shove to get to his seat; he is one of the walking dead.

The person who spends her days texting and facebooking and emailing her friends and is confused about her lack of progress, the lack of business success and looks to blame others for her misfortune; she is one of the walking dead.

They are everywhere. They’re sins are many. They are amongst us. But one thing you must fully understand is:

They are your customers.

I remember a short story I read many years ago about a town struck deaf and dumb and blind because they drank from the town’s well which was poisoned by an unknown toxin.

It reminds me of the world we live in today.

Attention spans like those of a teenager on a high-sugar diet are the norm. The masses can stand almost anything except boredom. They crave constant stimulation like a crack addict craves his next hit. As I keep pointing out; it’s getting harder to get attention.

TV executives understand this. Tabloid news-style the order of the day. Each year the news is getting more like The National Enquirer. Is it any wonder it’s getting tougher for our marketing messages to be heard?

Over the years I’ve given you many ways to solve this problem. Today I want you to get just one thing and that’s creating interest and how to make your business more interesting to your customers/clients/patients.

Are your promotions fun?

Is doing business with you easy?

Do you strive to develop a relationship with your customers through a monthly newsletter and other communications?

Do you make a big thing out of new customers backed up with a strong stick campaign and up-sell?

There are so many ways to be interesting to your tribe. Spend time each week in quiet contemplation on what steps to take so you remain interesting and exciting to your customers. I’m sure you will come up with many ways on remaining relevant in your customers’ lives.

And don’t make the mistake of dismissing this advice because you got it for free at this blog. This is where I spend a lot of time with my clients; strategising ways to make them more exciting to their customers, more interesting and ultimately more valuable. They pay me a lot of money for this, so if you’re smart, you’ll spend some quality time thinking about this and how to create more interest in your business.

The important thing is to remain agile and quick to change.

Reinvention is the constant reality we all face.

But it isn’t as daunting as you may think. Yes, constant reinvention of your business is an ever-present reality of this new economy. However, most times, it’s not about total change or big change to the core business, but by changing processes inside the business to get better results.

Think about that one.

And, I’d love to hear your comments.

P.S. Next week: Shock Night! You’ll see a very cool way to snap your prospects awake and instantly get their attention.Related Posts:

• Info-Marketing Blunders & How to Avoid Them
• You Need Your Own Dynamic Story
• They Gotta Feel You’re Real…
• The ONE Simple Technique to Closing More Sales
• What It Takes To Get The Sale

In business, when you keep your eyes and mind opened and keep your eyes on the numbers, you may get two breakthroughs that can really add to your bottom line.

First is a Media breakthrough.

Second is a Market breakthrough.

Let me explain by giving you a couple of examples.

Media example: I have a client in Sydney specialising in children’s behavioural problems. Advertising is expensive and we were looking for a media breakthrough. We found Sydney’s Child magazine and this has been a big breakthrough for her, effectively slashing her advertising rates while honing in on a captive, targeted and highly motivated audience.

Market examples: Okay, here are a few market examples to get you thinking like a marketer, thinking like an opportunity-focused entrepreneur.

1: A client of Dan Kennedy’s offers Russian Brides to American men. After painstakingly going through his client list he realised many of his clients were long-haul truck drivers. Think about this! How can he use this information? Can you see what a goldmine this is for him?

2: I’ve got a client in the beauty industry and upon heavy questioning from me, he realised there is a subsection of his clientele that just laps up his services. I can’t give it away here what that subsection is… however; to get this lesson you don’t need to know. Just think about how important this is to him and his marketing. He can now actively seek these women out and make targeted, emotional offers to them with pinpoint accuracy, hitting the hot buttons that are already stirring inside this market.

3: I’ve recently come across a great market for my copywriting training. And if I wasn’t so lazy (and busy), I’d target them now. (It’s on my to-do list.) The only way I discovered this was by keeping an eye on my newsletter subscribers and customers, who they were, what they did for a crust.

It’s why I take care of all my white mail even though some days this takes 30 or more minutes… I wanna know what’s going on, what’s being said.

Think! This is GOLD. This forces you to think like a marketer!

Look, I thoroughly believe for any product or services there is a passionate subsection of your market, a sweet-spot that when found and targeted can open the cash flow floodgates.

So might pay to back up a little, read the above again and think about your own business.

What Media and Market breakthroughs aren’t you capitalising on?

Here’s another BIG POINT: A lot of times, we can get myopic, our money making antennas are only raised for opportunities inside our own niche. But opportunities are everywhere… that’s why you’ve gotta always be awake, keep your eyes and ears opened.

(Back in my working days, I used to get all of my jobs from the local hotel. I’d be there drinking a few quite beers, but also keeping my ears opened for job opportunities.  And basically, nothing has really changed… I still hear about some good deals over a beer or two.)

SIDE NOTE: A BIG lesson I got by working with a very savvy Direct Marketing client a few years ago, is always maximise your winners. Analyse your winners and see why they are working. According to my client and my own experience, the two BIG areas to look to for improvement and what you should be looking for are…

1: Media breakthrough and 2: Copy breakthrough.

And as you have seen, another BIG breakthrough can be found in your Market; those special folks who buy your products and or services. Within your list of customers are subsections of passionate buyers. When you micro-target each subsection with precision message-to-market- match marketing; your results will explode.

So your job is to find those subsections within your database.

If you’ve been in business awhile I can tell you, without even knowing you or your business, that these subsections of passionate buyers do exist in your database, they are there now just waiting to be discovered.Related Posts:

• Opportunities Are Everywhere
• How to Write Better, Faster Copy
• What’s Sitting Around Gathering Dust That Could Be Making You a Whole Lotta Money?
• The Illustrated Sales Letter
• The Amazing Power of the Dear Abby Principle

We’ve all been burnt before; having been seduced into buying something, we were left disappointed, frustrated and maybe even a little angry. It’s the same with our customers. None are virgins when it comes to being ripped off. As a marketer, as a persuader, you must never lose sight of this fact:

People are sceptical and they do NOT believe a word you say until a level of trust is reached.

Trust is the biggest barrier to any sale. This is what stands between you and the money.

Here’s a big point to keep in mind. They want to believe you; especially when your pitch is perfectly targeted. You’ve whet the prospect’s appetite and she desperately wants to believe that this time it will be different; that this time the product will be as promised and she will get the results on offer. If your copy hits her passionate sweet spot (as Carlton would say) she will suspend her disbelief and be compelled to order.

However, there is one over-riding factor burning away inside her that may stop her buying at the last moment. It’s a sales killer. A murderer of profits that must be overcome. You see, above all, she is scared about making the wrong decision. Especially if that wrong decision causes embarrassment or loss of face. It’s a powerful foe we as marketers must banish.

So, you have to tackle this head on. Proof, case studies, testimonials, guarantees, admitting slight flaws in the product, telling stories, all help build the trust needed to make the sale.

Remember, we never sell to virgins.

Our customers have been disappointed before and they expect to be disappointed again. This is what we are up against every time we make a pitch.

But it’s not insurmountable. Just keep in mind your customers are like frightened deer coming out to graze in the early morning sunshine. Any noise, anything out of place can cause them to stampede.

It’s the same with your prospects. It’s called their Bull Shit Detector and for most it’s running on high every time they think they are getting pitched. If they spot something not quite right then you’ve lost and they’re gone.

Your number one job is to build trust first, before you start selling. Keep it in mind.Related Posts:

• They Gotta Feel You’re Real…
• You Need Your Own Dynamic Story
• What It Takes To Get The Sale
• Going Down Into The Dank Underbelly Of Social Proof
• Association… Tarred With The Same Brush

While watching the local news the other night I was once again reminded of the prevailing attitude for never accepting responsibility of one’s actions and for laying the blame squaring on someone else. Hence, “It’s Not My Fault.”

As a copywriter, it reinforced in me the need to use this “copy click” more often. It validated my reasoning for using this click and I could clearly see how powerful it really is. (If you’re selling anything that improves your prospect’s life, taking your prospect to a better place whether physically, emotionally, financially and so on, you better use this click.

Basically, you’ve got to lift the blame from your prospect’s shoulders and let him or her know it’s not their fault. NOTE: Don’t you dare start thinking this way about your own life, not if you want to be rich and successful that is.)

Anyway, a bit of background.

I live in Mackay, a booming coastal town on the Whitsunday Coast. West of us out in the dry interior are dozens of coal mines bringing thousands of workers and families into Mackay each year. Now, even a rudimentary bit of research would tell you a few important facts about this town.

1. Rental property is scarce. There’s a 99.9% occupancy rate.
2. Getting a job in the mines takes more than rocking into town with a backpack and saying “here I am…give me a job.”
3. Property prices have soared in recent years. Some reports say 300% in the last few years.
4. Food and petrol prices are high compared to other southern cities.

Okay, that’s just a bit of background. Basically, if you’re a young family trying to buy a house in Mackay, and you’re on the average wage, you’re going to do it tough.

So here’s the news story that pricked my attention.

They had this guy on who had recently moved to Mackay with his family. He was seduced by the thought of BIG money at the mines, quit his job, and moved up here only to find his dream turning into a nightmare. He didn’t get a job… in fact, he and his family are living in a caravan on unemployment benefits.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Here’s just a taste of his comments during the interview.

“I heard it was easy to get a job up here so I quit my job. Now look at me. My family live in a caravan, everything is so expensive, I can’t get work. If they would have told me it was going to be like this I would have never moved. It’s just not fair.”

The angle taken by the interviewer was sympathetic, almost apologetic, and damning at the powers that be that have condemned this man to a life of poverty.

Wow! Can you believe it?

It’s no wonder this epidemic of “It’s Not My Fault-Itis” is sweeping the country. The media plays on this… pandering to the masses reluctance of accepting responsibility. And look, before you start wailing at me for being some unsympathetic snob, let’s look at the facts.

He chose to quit his job. He chose to move his whole family here.

He chose to ignore a little bit of research about the place he was moving to.

So who is to blame here?

Tell me, would you at least do some research before quitting your job and moving your family 2,000 miles away? Of course you would. He didn’t. And now somehow he has rationalised this as being someone else’s fault. Go figure.

Now while I feel for this man and his family, I am not going to pander to his lack of responsibility. This kind of thinking is insidious, running rampant throughout our society. People are looking for scapegoats, someone to blame, far be it from them to look in the mirror.

The key to your success is to take responsibility. Plain and simple. Basically we’ve all gotta grow up and stop blaming others for our lives.

Even the most fundamental of research would have told this guy that there are no houses to rent in Mackay, that rents are high, that getting a job in the mines requires a few critical skills and documents.

This guy did none of this. He heard a few stories, packed his bags, and when things didn’t turn out to be a bed of roses he gets on TV and says it’s not his fault!

Can you see this?

Good.

But it’s a good lesson for us marketers. This is how the masses think. So if you want to sell them, let them off the hook and tell them it’s not their fault. Just don’t start believing this nonsense yourself.Related Posts:

• The Price Of Petrol
• The Missing Money Component of the “Problem, Agitate, Solve” Formula
• How to Write Better, Faster Copy
• Do you really have to under-go a near-death experience to become a street-savvy Marketer?
• Going Down Into The Dank Underbelly Of Social Proof

When speaking from the stage, on a tele-seminar, face-to-face, or telling a story in your newsletter, blog, email or sales letter, one critical thing must occur for you to make an impact.

Without this critical occurrence, your sales will always remain flat.

What it is? Connection! Without connection, there is no trust, and trust is the BIGGEST barrier to any sale. So this means we have to strive, early on in our presentations to build trust. You do that with case studies, testimonials and stories. That’s what we do. But there is more to it than that. There must be a feeling of authenticity in you and what you’re saying.

It’s a hard thing to grasp, and to teach. So as usual, I’ve came up with a little saying that makes it easy. “They gotta feel you’re real.” Yeah I know, it’s brilliant! So just give me a second to wallow in your adulation. Okay, that was good. But I’m back, there’s work to do.

The lesson here is BIG so I’ll get straight to the point. They’ve got to feel a connection with you and feel that YOU believe your own rhetoric; that you believe in what you are saying; that you really are the person you portray, that you’re the real deal.

I don’t know about you, but I can spot a phoney a mile off. It’s hard to say what I don’t like; but it’s there, something nagging away at me. I feel it in my gut. Some say I’m intuitive and I guess in some ways I am. (My wife is even better, she IS an intuitive… and every time she has warned me about someone and I didn’t listen, I was burnt.) When I see a phoney, I get a feeling in my gut, a nervous quiver, and I know something is not quite right. It’s the same with your prospects.

So what’s the answer?

It’s a hard one. Kennedy puts it like this: “I realise that’s an intangible, so it’s hard to tell you how to mechanically manufacture it… but like art or pornography, you know it when you see it.”

Kind’a sums it up doesn’t it. But still, we have to answer the question, how do you make them feel you are real?

First up, you’ve got to be yourself. If you’re naturally outgoing and funny, fine. Be funny. If you’re an introvert, fine. Don’t do funny. Just be real. Don’t pretend.

Not everyone will like you; that’s a given. So be yourself, don’t go pretending you’re someone else. Let your prospects see the real you, tell real stories, let them into your life a bit, emotionally charged everything you say and write, and then, there will be connection… and only then will you have a chance at building trust and getting the sale.

SIDE NOTE: In October, I’m going deep into the art of storytelling at my Cash Characters Academy Workshop in Brisbane. I’ll keep you posted.

Related Posts:

• We Do Not Sell To Virgins
• What It Takes To Get The Sale
• How To Find The Right Tone & Voice For Your Market
• You Need Your Own Dynamic Story
• 7 Tips For Writing YOU Focused Copy

Wow, I got a lot of feedback from the last post and I appreciate it. Seems like a few readers have benefited from the advice by taking action and actually doing something with it. Well done! If ever there was a secret to success, there it is above.

Anyway, moving on…

The past couple of weeks have been one long slog. I felt like I was on a treadmill… jogging away and not getting any damn where. One job after another. Bang, bang, bang. Mainly seminar promotions. For myself and my clients. Frankly, I’ve barely had time to catch my breath.

But I made a vow recently about this blog.

I’m determined to get at least one post up per week. This way, every week you can tap into the power of Emotional Direct Response Marketing and Copywriting.

So I knew I had to get a post up today, not tomorrow.

But Monday is looming with two deadlines that have to be completed. And in the world I live in, you can’t get away with “the dog ate my lunch” kinda story, just won’t cut it.

Some deadlines are soft; meaning, they are not set in stone and you know you’ll have to make a few changes anyway.

Other deadlines are hard; meaning people are relying on you to get it done on that day and people are standing by, ready to implement. For Monday’s deadlines, my clients have got printers ready to print, web guys ready to upload my copy, and they are itching to launch their seminar promotions. The copy MUST be done!

So I compromised by reprinting a chunk from my monthly Emotional Ad Writing & Marketing Letter.

The way I see it, everyone wins. I can get back on to my deadlines and you get some great info taken from my paid subscription newsletter.

Anyway, here’s the article “The Power Of A Provocative Question”. I’m gonna go grab a coffee… I’m in for a long day.

To Your Success,Related Posts:

• What Are You Really Selling?
• Why Some Of My Best Friends Are People
• The Fear of Loss is More Powerful Than The Hope For Gain!
• Association… Tarred With The Same Brush
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The headline above has been drummed into my head since I first started writing copy over a decade ago. If you study guys like Kennedy, Halbert and Carlton, as I do, you know these guys really get it.

So if you’re a student of Emotional Direct Response, you know this.

You know in reality, people would much rather save something they’ve already got, than get something they want. It’s hardwired into our heads.

So if you’re a student, you know this already.

But do you really get it?

Is this undisputed fact of human behaviour permanently imprinted into your mind? If not, then this is my objective here. To show you how to always be aware of this fact, but also to show you how to craft compelling copy that targets this primeval emotion, what we call, the fear of loss.

(I hope by now, as an astute reader of this blog, you realise the BIG POINTS I make here, the ones I want to really ram home to you, are the exact same BIG POINTS I keep reminding myself on. By reminding you, I’m reminding me. And being astute, I bet you’ve got a notebook beside you, a BIG IDEA book you’re writing all of these lessons down in. You are, aren’t you?)

Anyway, I was going through an old Jerry Buchanan newsletter the other day (Jerry was a famous old info marketer from way back), when I came across an example of fear of loss that really struck home.

Jerry was commenting on an Advertorial by Tony Hyman for his book: “Cash for Unwanted Treasures.” (Tony’s book predates “The Antiques Road Show” shown on TV.).

This is going back to the early nineties but I’m told Tony is still going strong. Remember, human emotions do NOT change throughout time.

Anyway, if you read my previous post, you saw how every emotion is a two-sided coin.

Positive and Negative.

Good or Bad.

So Tony’s advertorial headline could easily have focused on the benefits of finding unwanted treasure. Something like:

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me my old vase was worth $2,500, but when he handed me the cheque…”

NOTE: A simple adaptation of Caples’ famous: “They laughed when I sat down at the piano… but when I started to play…”

Now this isn’t a bad headline. But Tony didn’t use this approach. Because he knew in his gut the fear of loss is more powerful than the hope for gain.

This is what his headline was…

“Have You Ever Put a $100 Bill in the Trash?”

Man that hits ya doesn’t it? It’s pure fear of loss!

Look, I don’t use this enough myself, hence this article. My mind is focused on wealth, on good things, on the positive side of life.

But as entrepreneurs we must realise many are not this way. It’s easier to motivate the masses with what they will lose, as opposed to what they will get.

MILLION DOLLAR EXERCISE: First, write out all of the things your prospects might lose by not getting your product or service. What will they miss out on? What will they lose?

Next, come up with all the Power Words that describe each one. (PAIN WORDS)

Might pay to print this post out. It’s a keeper.

Anyway, it’s a beautiful autumn’s day here in the tropics. About 17 degrees Celsius, the sun blazing from a clear blue sky with a faint whiff of salt blowing up from the beach on a gentle breeze.

That’s where I’m heading now, down the beach. And I won’t feel guilty either. I’ve done a 5 hour writing block from 5 this morning until 10. So I got a lot done. Two jobs actually completed and two more moved further along. So I’m happy and ahead of schedule.

Stay happy,Related Posts:

• The Missing Money Component of the “Problem, Agitate, Solve” Formula
• Shock Night! How to feed the fear
• Copywriting Salesmanship in Print
• The Power of a Provocative Question
• I’ve Got A Secret

People buy on feelings. And if you’ve been with me awhile now, you know you are really in the FEELINGS business… that’s where the real money lies.

And basically, there are two kinds of feelings, positive and negative.

Now I’m a positive person, so I’m always looking at the positive feelings, the positive benefits a prospect gets from the product I’m selling. It’s only natural, that’s the way I think. But here’s what I have to constantly remind myself of: In many cases, you get better results by manipulating negative feelings than you do positive feelings.

Fight this statement as much as you want. But it’s the truth. Here’s an example to prove this point…

Guilt
Love

Two sides of the same feelings coin.

Now let’s pretend for a minute I’m trying to sell you something and you’re a parent. I can go down the love angle and I would do this. I would stress in story form the love you feel for your kids. But this love angle would be my secondary priority.

Guilt would be my major emotion. I would hammer home the guilt angle. About not being around for your son’s soccer game, missing out on his graduation, not taking him fishing and so on.

It’s why the subhead I wrote below for a client specialising in children’s learning and speech difficulties worked so damn well. (It’s why the Special Report I wrote for her over two years ago is still bringing in the money.)

“Do You Ever Get The Feeling That Your Child Is Slipping Behind The Rest Of The Class?”

Sure it plays on the love angle, but it also rams home the guilt. The prospect starts thinking that maybe somehow it’s his fault for not spending enough time with his son or daughter… that’s the reason the grades are slipping.

Don’t ignore this advice.

It’s why in the lead up to our Federal Election here in Australia, the ALP started using negative ads: Because They Work! (The Liberals did the same.)

Just be clear you are in the FEELINGS business. You are selling feelings. Your customers are a seething mass of emotions and how they feel will determine whether they buy or not.

So sell with emotion. Sell with the feelings your prospects will experience once they get the benefits your product offers. And don’t forget the two-sided coin. Positive and negative… and many times, negative is the angle to take.

And now, I’m outta here and on to my next deadline.

Keep smilin’,Related Posts:

• The Fear of Loss is More Powerful Than The Hope For Gain!
• 7 Tips For Writing YOU Focused Copy
• The Missing Money Component of the “Problem, Agitate, Solve” Formula
• How to Turn Boring Facts Into Exciting Benefits
• What Are You Really Selling?