Sie sind auf Seite 1von 574

!!!

The Most
Effective
Articles
Ever
FROM THE
WORLD’S TOP
MARKETERS
COMPILED & EDITED BY MICHAEL CARNEY
DEDICATIONS

To my dear wife Celia,


Who means everything to me.

To my sons Matthew and Paul,


It’s a privilege to be your Dad.
.

The right of Michael Carney to be identified as the creator of this work has been asserted by Michael Carney
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The Most Effective Articles Ever -


By The World’s Top Marketers
This compilation is Copyright © 2002 NetMarketing Limited.
Individual copyright for each article remains with each author, whether expressly stated or otherwise.
All articles, and accompanying materials, are used by permission of the author or the author’s agent.

All rights reserved worldwide. First Edition February 2002


ISBN 0-473-08377-9

No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or reproduced in any way, including but not limited to digital
copying and printing, without the prior agreement and written permission of the publisher.

Text and images available over the internet may be subject to copyright and other intellectual rights owned by third parties. All URLs,
product names and/or logos may be trademarks and/or copyrights of their respective owners. Articles are reprinted in this ebook with the
express consent of each author or the author’s agent.

The author, compiler and publisher of “The Most Effective Articles Ever - By The World’s Top Marketers” have made every effort to
provide helpful and informative advice on marketing through the publication of this ebook. However they make no representation or
warranties regarding the completeness or accuracy of this resource, or its applicability to any specific circumstance. They accept no
liability of any kind for any losses or damages caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, from using the information provided.
This publication is a tool. It is not intended to be, nor should it be considered to be, business advice. Companies and individuals must
themselves determine their marketing activities based upon their particular circumstances, and upon all information available to them.

Published by NetMarketing Limited


P O Box 87 417, Meadowbank,Auckland, New Zealand

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com
info@WorldsTopMarketers.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 2
about
The Combined
Wisdom Of 71
Michael Carney is the
creator and producer
of this ebook.
Of The World’s
Top Marketers
This ebook features a truly unique marketing resource. 71 of the
World’s Top Marketers have agreed to share the Most Effective
Articles they ever wrote — and, in most cases, to comment on
the background behind that effectiveness. The ideas, tips and
techniques you’ll discover will give an amazing energy boost to
your current marketing efforts.

I know you’ll find these articles as enriching and rewarding as I


did when I had the pleasure of reading them for the first time.

Michael Carney

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 3
contents 01
71 Email Test
3 17

Of The World’s Reveals Best Ad


Top Marketers
AN INTRODUCTION to this collection of hot MARCUS ALLEN tested 10 similar emails - with
marketing and business advice from all around the surprising results.
world.

How To Power 19
Economic 28

Promote Your Slowdown?


eBooks
Where and how to promote your digital offerings.
No Thanks.
MICHAEL ANGIER will not be signing up to
EVA ALMEIDA lists the details any recession. Nor should you.

Sales Bookstore
33 41

Failure Now Earns


Is The Engine—
Marketing, The Fuel
MITCH AXELROD checks out the relationship
$144,000 p.a.
BART BAGGETT reveals how turning digital
between sales and marketing. created a bestseller.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 4
contents 02
The Entrepreneur’s Pricing
49 53

Prayer The Web Way


RICK BENETEAU shares a philosophy that has DANA BLANKENHORN applauds internet
touched many entrepreneurs. strategies for price-setting.

Tips 56
How To Succeed 64

About In Darn Near


Testimonials Anything
ROBERT BLY recommends seizing the day, How a new hire taught ANDY BOURLAND
when you find a client who says nice things about the secrets of success.
your work.

Copy 69
Judging An 75

That eBook By Its


Sells
Ten secrets of great communications collected and
Cover
MICHAEL CAMPBELL admits responsibility
reported by ALEXANDRIA BROWN. for 300% sales increases.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 5
Take The
contents 03 81
What Are 86

Kiss Test Affiliates


Thinking?
LINDA CAROLL on websites that just don’t SHAWN COLLINS identifies the loves and hates
work. of savvy affiliate managers.

Top Ten 93
Untold 98

Doorway Secrets
Pages Of Marketing
WILLIE CRAWFORD on getting to Number KLAUS DAHL endorses the Golden Rule — of
One with the search engines marketing and of life in general.

Follow-Up Perpetual
108 114

Marketing Secrets Marketing Strategies


KEVIN DONLIN whispers that this little secret LARRY DOTSON and the secret of marketing
can double your sales. that goes round and round, round and round.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 6
Specific
contents 04 116
Your 124

Guaranteed Direct Mail


Outcomes
BURT DUBIN guarantees specific results — and
Letter
GEORGE DUNCAN outlines the key elements
then more than delivers. of a successful direct response campaign.

Email 142
The 150

Marketing Booklet
Mistakes
BRYAN EISENBERG saves us from a trip
Journey
How a free booklet led PAULETTE ENSIGN
through the Looking Glass. into incredible new territories.

Search The
158 164

Engines And Storytelling


Supermarkets Of Sales
Why a bar of soap is like a website, according to RANDY GAGE illustrates the power of a tale well
DAVID FRIESLANDER told.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 7
Headlines,
contents 05 185
The Perfect 199

Titles & Revenue


Bullets
CARL GALLETTI provides a staggering list of
Sharing Program
ALLAN GARDYNE shares his discovery of the
possible headline templates. ideal affiliate program.

Ending Up
Richer After The
208

Seminars: 215

The Ultimate
Recession
DAVID GARFINKEL and his strategies for
Marketing Tool
FRED GLEECK makes money on seminars. Most
“getting over it”. people don’t.

Unleashing The 223


Target With 225

IdeaVirus Pinpoint
Accuracy
Don’t interrupt, argues SETH GODIN. It isn’t MARC GOLDMAN doesn’t believe in selling all
cost-effective anymore. things to all people. There’s a better way.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 8
contents 06
Niche Jump Start
231 259

Marketing Your Business Brain


STUART GOLDSMITH insists you must find Compelling facts and figures from DOUG HALL.
your niche, work your niche, focus on that niche.

Attracting Perfect 266

Little-Used 274

Customers Business Secret


STACEY HALL and JAN BROGNIEZ on JOHN HARRICHARAN demonstrates that
why you seem to attract the customers from hell. goodwill isn’t just a season.

The The Press


279 286

Magic Pill On Your Side


PAUL HARTUNIAN discovers the secret of a SHEL HOROWITZ defines PR paradise.
great life. Finally.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 9
contents 07
The 10 Qualifying
295 306

Most Costly Free Trialists


Mistakes
ROBERT IMBRIALE identifies 10 common DAN JANAL explores how to deflate the tire-
marketing mistakes and appropriate solutions. kickers.

Map Out 309


Driving 320

Greater Profits Traffic


BRIAN JUD demonstrates a valuable technique JON KEEL on effective use of Keywords and Pay
for defining your market. Per Click search engines.

Outrageous Can You


325 335

Marketing Revealed Count To 3?


AUDRI LANFORD shares outrageous results DR. JEFFREY LANT on making money online,
— such as the $50 spent to earn $500,000 in sales. if you can handle the math.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 10
Win Without
contents 08 345
Just Be 350

Price-Cutting Unreasonable
BOB LEDUC on how to avoid competing on PAUL LEMBERG on the price of progress.
price.

Get Rich 357


Awareness Of 364

On The Internet Self-Sabotage


Will Change Your Life
Actually, forget about getting rich, says MIKE The late DALE ARMIN MILLER reveals
McGROARTY. Just be all that you can be, and knowledge that will bring us a lot nearer to our goals
the dollars will follow. than just submitting to 12 million links pages.

Killer Making Hundreds


370 395

Of Thousands On A
Ad Copy In 7 Steps
RUSS PHELPS with a comprehensive writing
Talk Show?
RALEIGH PINSKEY shares her secrets of talk
course. and news show interviews.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 11
contents 09
Massive Questions About
411 417

Free Exposure Mail Order


JASON POTASH demonstrates that the writ- MELVIN POWERS reveals many of the secrets
ten word is still a vital success ingredient. of an outstanding 40-year career in mail order.

The Blind 428

7 Habits 433

CRMen Of Highly Successful


Entrepreneurs
STAN RAPP responds to Ad Age and discusses If we could just follow these principles, notes
individualized mass marketing. MARILYN ROSS, we could almost guarantee
success.

Denver Backend
439 445

Author Selling for Easy Money


Reveals Secret
JOE SABAH sold over $357,000 worth of books NEIL SHEARING shows us how he makes easy
without leaving his home. money online.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 12
If Everyone Ate One
contents 10 447
The Hidden 453

Hamburger Psychological
Trigger
KEN SILVER on wishful thinking and the basic YANIK SILVER says give reasons, because —
rules of business success. well, just because.

How To 459
Why Collect 472

Achieve Link Numbers


Popularity
SCOTT SMITH step by step to getting links to
And Not Use Them?
JIM STERNE observes that it’s wonderful to
your website. count and calculate and tabulate, but if you don’t do
anything with the numbers, why bother?

News Releases: Yes, But


479 483

7 Deadly Sins
If you really want to be ignored by the news media, ANTHONY STILLWELL delivers a tribute to
reports JOAN STEWART, try these tactics. perseverance.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 13
contents 11
What To Do Positioning
488 502

When You Have No


Testimonials
Many direct marketers emphasize the importance The original article by JACK TROUT, that
of testimonials. J.F. (JIM) STRAW has his own launched a book and a marketing revolution. Still valid
point of view on the subject. after all theseyears..

100,000 516
What Makes This
Emailed Sales Letter
520

Visitors In 10 Days
MIKE VAN NORDEN demonstrates how to
Hypnotic?
JOE VITALE emailed this sales letter to just 800
turn a hot topic into a web traffic phenomenon. people and saw an immediate sales boost. Amazon
even had to back-order the book he was selling.

Build Your A Deal


525 532

Business With
Every Day
Free Offers
RUSS VON HOELSCHER on using Free Get DOTTIE WALTERS discovers the secrets of
Acquainted offers to build a successful direct response Millionaire Achievers.
operation.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 14
contents 12
Linking Fast Selling
538 543

Opportunities In The New


For Your Website Millennium
ERIC WARD on more effective promotional Most prospects already know, if they want and can
methods for your website.. afford your product, argues JACQUES WERTH.

What Is Your 548


Creating A 553

Monster? Mini Affiliate


Website
SHAWN WHEELAND on not getting stuck Why PHIL WILEY chose halitosis as a business
where you started. opportunity.

Effective Around
559 564

The World’s Top


Marketing Messages
NAN YIELDING on Features vs. Benefits
Marketers
MICHAEL CARNEY reveals the marketing
processes behind this ebook.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 15
BOOK
SELLERS
WANTED

HOT AFFILATE PROGRAM!!!


SIGN UP TODAY AT
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com
markus allen
Test Reveals
For Markus Allen's
Your Best Ad
Last week, I zapped a test e-mail about my new EZ eMarketing
$10,000 Marketing Tip of
ToolBox. We tested 10 different versions of the announcement.
the Day, subscribe FREE
at www.markusallen.com The e-mail message itself was exactly the same ... only the sub-
ject line was different.

Can you guess the winning subject line?

#1 New report reveals how to put your marketing on autopilot


#2 From Markus Allen: "You have already won!"
#3 From Markus Allen: Finally, a way to make money
with your Website
#4 From Markus Allen: Beta testers wanted
#5 From Markus Allen: Beta test the new EZ eMarketing ToolBox
#6 From Markus Allen: Your own Web contest
#7 From Markus Allen: Your own Web contest in 60 seconds
(or less)
#8 From Markus Allen: "Did you just win a Palm(R)
m100 Handheld"
#9 Markus Allen's new system puts viral marketing
to work for you
#10 Markus Allen offer new Special Report

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 17
markus allen
Here are the top three winning e-mails:

#4 From Markus Allen: Beta testers wanted


17% response

#1 New report reveals how to put your marketing on autopilot


10% response

#2 From Markus Allen: "You have already won!"


9% response

It's interesting to note the best test e-mail outpulled the worst
almost 350%! And I thought the worst responding e-mail of-
fered one of the best subject lines.

Testing offers an amazing way to leverage your marketing dol-


lars. Once you test and analyze your results, roll out using the
best message. You generate higher response for the same money.

But, the best responding e-mail did NOT produce the most
profitable response. One of the worst responding test e-mails
produced the most profitable results.

Bottom line: The best test might produce high response but not
necessarily the most profit.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 18
eva almeida
Power Promote
After receiving a
bachelor's degree in
Your eBooks
pharmacy from the Everyone is taking advantage of free eBooks as a promotional
University of British
tool to drive traffic to their site as well as boost sales (or even as
Columbia, Eva moved up
to Kitimat, in Northern educational tools). Other authors are writing eBooks in a variety
British Columbia, Canada of genres ranging from science fiction to romance to "how to"
to practice community
books.
pharmacy. She lives
there with her husband
and two children. So, after you have created your eBook, how do you go about
promoting it? Some ideas include:

Signature Files Announcement Lists


Ebook Reviews & Interviews Search Engines
Download Sites (free ebooks) Directories
Press Releases Affiliate Programs
Resources (study epublishing) Web Sites
Awards Contests
Ebook Clubs Conferences
Chatrooms Bulletin Boards
Radio Shows (Online & Offline) Join a community
Link Exchanges Ezine Publishing
Bookmarking Post cards
Flyers Autoresponders
Web Rings Email Courses

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 19
eva almeida
The first thing that you can do to promote your ebook, is offer it
to people who you are in contact with via email. Include a men-
tion of your ebook in your signature file (examples here) in your
email discussion lists, especially those active groups that are
geared towards eBooks such as:
Eva went online in mid-
1998 to look for medical
information for her AnEbookChat-subscribe@onelist.com
pharmacy clients and Ebook_News-subscribe@onelist.com
noticed a huge amount
ebook-community-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
of misinformation online.
One of her goals was to
provide accurate medical Upload your free ebook or excerpt to your site using an FTP
information as well as
program such as CuteFTP at http://www.cuteftp.com or
counselling to people
interested in finding out WS_FTP. Then either give it away free to all your visitors to
drug interactions and increase your traffic, sell it for extra profits, or give it away as
other health-related
prizes to your ezine subscribers.
concerns.

Get reviewed... Offer reviewers a free copy in exchange for an


eBook Review on their site.

Several review sites include:

http://www.ebook-reviews.net
http://www.ebookconnections.com
http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com
http://www.wordweaving.com
http://www.blether.com
http://www.scribesworld.com

Create a page specifically for your eBook with appropriate Meta


Tags and submit the page to the top search engines and directo-
ries.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 20
eva almeida
Search Engines
http://www.altavista.com
http://www.excite.com
http://www.google.com
http://www.alltheweb.com (Fast)
Eva Almeida is also a
http://www.directhit.com
proud Founding Member
of the International http://www.hotbot.com
Association for Online http://www.lycos.com
Professionals at
http://search.msn.com
http://www.i-Cop.org
which strives to protect http://www.netscape.com
consumers from online http://www.webcrawler.com
fraud and poor business
http://www.canada.com
practices.
http://www.slider.com (plus a free encyclopedia)

Pay Per Click Search Engines


(PPCs) allow you to pay per visitor visiting your site and can
provide a low cost method of promoting your ebook. There are
dozens of these types of PPCs available and here is a list to get
you started (full list is at: www.payperclicksearchengines.com)...
http://www.Goto.com
http://www.FindWhat.com
http://www.Kanoodle.com
http://www.Ah-ha.com
http://www.Bay9.com
http://www.7Search.com
http://www.SearchHound.com
http://www.ePilot.com
http://www.NetFlip.com

Pay Per Click Promotion provides targeted traffic from all ma-
jor search engines with rates as low as $0.07 per click.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 21
eva almeida
Have a tough time choosing keywords? Here are 3 sites that
reveal the Internet's most popular keywords:
http://www.goodkeywords.com
http://www.wordspot.com
http://www.wordtracker.com
Eva's online passion and
current expertise is on
electronic books or Directories
ebooks, so she has Submit your eBook to as many major directories as possible in
dedicated an entire
order to have a positive impact on your link popularity in Search
collection of sites and
newsletters to this topic. Engines such as Google. First, purchase the paid submission for
She is the publisher of Yahoo! and LookSmart. Then submit your site for free to the
the popular, eBooks N'
Open Directory Project since it provides results for AOL.
Bytes Informer ezine,
the weekly eBook
Broadcast Bulletin and Yahoo.com (costs $299 per year!)
the eBook Reviews
Looksmart.com (costs $199)
Weekly. She also does
web design (Marketing Dmoz.org (Open Directory Project, free)
Edge Designs) creating
web sites, logos, ebook
eBook Directories
covers, and banners for
selected clients. Here are a few directories that you can start off with if your
eBook is free:
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com
http://www.free-ebooks.net
http://ebooks.searchking.com
http://www.ebookdirectory.com
http://www.e-bookdirectory.com
http://www.mcpromotions.com/e-books.htm
http://www.web-source.net/free_ebooks.htm
http://writers-bbs.com/inkspot/?forum=ebookpromo
http://www.ebookpalace.com
http://www.ebooksearchengine.com
http://www.ebookjungle.com
http://www.infopost.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 22
eva almeida
Download Sites
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.download.com
http://www.upload.com
http://www.tucows.com
http://www.davecentral.com
http://www.shareware.com
http://www.jumbo.com

Please note that many of the above sites are more for software
than eBooks, but you can still submit your free eBooks to them.
Check out the next site for many more places that may display
your eBooks:
http://www.euro-share.com/uplinks.asp

If you sell your eBooks, you can also apply to sell them at the
following eBook sites:
http://www.booklocker.com
http://www.ebookhome.com
http://www.mypublish.com
http://www.ebookmall.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.borders.com
http://www.bn.com (Barnes & Noble)

Most of these sites charge fees or percentages of your sales and


it is just a sample of the virtual bookstores available (see http://
www.ebooksnbytes.com/publishers.shtml for a larger list. Read
the fine print on any contract or terms of service since some
sites may require their publishing services for lower listing fees.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 23
eva almeida
Don't forget to create a press release on your new eBook and
first submit it to http://www.ebookbroadcast.com. Visit http://
www.gebbiepress.com for a list of other media contacts, http://
www.onlinenewspapers.com for a list of newspapers online and
http://www.newsbureau.com for extensive resources and serv-
ices for sending your release. Another effective press release
service that is worth looking into is InternetWire. You are wel-
come to refer to an article that I wrote on planning your press
releases at http://www.ebookbroadcast.com/resources/ as well
as the The Publicity FAQ - questions and answers about getting
media coverage found at www.yudkin.com/prfaq.htm.

You could also create an affiliate program, if your eBook is for


sale and there is a brand new service out that will get you set up
very easily at: http://www.simpleaffiliate.com/ You could even
use Clickbank, since it automatically comes with an affiliate fea-
ture as a benefit of using their third party payer services to ac-
cept credit cards.

Next, we will discuss some resources to examine to help you


promote your ebooks as well as other proven methods.

Resources
How to Publish and Promote Online by M.J. Rose and Angela
Adair-Hoy available at Amazon.com (Excellent!)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312271913/

e-Lectrify Your Sales: A Writer's Guide to e-Publishing $uccess


by Leta Nolan Childers from DiskUs Publishing
http://www.diskuspublishing.com/electrify.html

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 24
eva almeida
Practical Tips for Online Authors 2001 Edition by Lida E. Quillen
from Twilight Times Books
http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com/practical_tips.html

Electronic Publishing, The Definitive Guide. The 2001 edition


of Karen Wiesner's book http://www.avidpress.com/wiesner.htm

"Marketing and Self-Promotion" by Astrid Cooper is enlighten-


ing http://www.twilighttimes.com/ACooper4a.html

The July issue of eBook Ecstasy contains an article by Char-


lotte Boyett-Compo on "How Not to Promote Your Book." She
suggests some ideas on how to advertise on the net. First and
foremost, always include info on your books in your "sig" line.
Send press releases to ezines, appropriate web sites, newsgroups
and to your online friends who in turn will post the info other
places you might not think of. Submit articles to paying and
even non-paying e-zines and newsletters, especially if they will
include the url to your website. Join online communities such
as SFF Net if you write SF/F at http://www.sff.net

Web Sites
Authors Den offers great promo opportunities.
http://www.authorsden.com/

No doubt you have submitted your web site url to a number of


search engines and web sites. If not, check out Virtual Promote.
http://www.virtualpromote.com/

Lorna Tedder's "Your Free Book Promotion Countdown Check-


list" http://www.geocities.com/~lorna_tedder/virgins.html

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 25
eva almeida
AWARDS
Here is a small list of ebook awards that you can apply for...

Independent E-Book Awards


http://www.e-book-awards.com/indie-intro.shtml
A special thanks goes to
everyone from the
excellent email discus- Frankfurt E-book Award
sion called AnEbookChat http://www.frankfurt-ebook-awards.org
on the many ideas for
where to promote your
ebooks. Another special Eppie Awards
thank you goes to http://www.eclectics.com/epic/
Johannes Garrido of
KillerClassifieds for his
helpful list of sites to More awards are listed at:
submit ebooks to. And http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/awards.shtml
many thanks to Lida E.
Quillen, publisher and
author of Practical Tips I hope this gives you some ideas on how to promote your eBooks
for Online Authors since this electronic medium is very effective!
www.twilighttimes.com/
practical_tips.html for all
of her contributions to © 2001 Eva Almeida
this article.

Eva Almeida is the owner of eBooksnBytes.Com and is the pub-


lisher of eBooks N' Bytes Informer. Subscribe to her newsletter
by sending an email to ebooksnbytes-subscribe@topica.com.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


I was asked many times over the same questions about how an
author can promote his or her ebook online. It inspired me to
write an article for those who are new to internet marketing as
well as ebook promotion. It has now become an ongoing project
-- I add new articles to the series every few months as well as
keep the previous articles up-to-date as much as I can.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 26
Achieving Lift Off
at eBookCreate.com

Discover
“The Fast Road To Starting
and Succeeding With An
Online Business...
The SENSIBLE Way.”
Yours for only $27

Plus you get the complete rights to sell this great product and keep 100% of the profits... along with 19 other
bonus downloads that also come with full resale and give way rights. (Master Rights Option Available!)
http://www.ebookcreate.com/liftoff/
michael angier
We’ve Decided
Not to Participate
Michael E. Angier is the
founder and president
of Success Networks
International based in
in an Economic
Slowdown
South Burlington,
Vermont USA. He’s a
father, husband, writer,
speaker, entrepreneur,
coach and student.
He’s the publisher and
editor of Success Strate- Although I've been invited countless times by the media and a
gies™ as well as Success few gloom-and-doom economists, we here at Success Net have
Digest™—publications of
declined the invitations.
ideas, information and
inspiration. He is also the
author of Strategies for It's not a party we want to go to. The company isn't very good
Success, his latest eBook
and the conversation is negative. I doubt the food would be to
and a brand new
eCourse entitled Your our liking and certainly the spirits would be lacking.
Core Values.

Is it really a choice? Can we really elect not to participate in a


slowing economy? Isn't the economy something that happens
TO us? The answer is yes, yes and no.

The economy, like our money, is based on faith.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 28
michael angier
Here in the US, our currency bears the words " In God We Trust".
And we'd better—because there certainly isn't enough gold or
He was the publisher of
Creating Excellence— silver behind it to make it worth what it says it is. Instead, the
a magazine subtitled value is in the faith and trust that our citizens and the rest of the
Vermont’s Journal for
world have in our ability to deliver.
People in Growing
Businesses.
Our economy is also based on faith. If we have confidence the
The publication achieved
economy will grow and things are looking good, we buy more
the largest in-state
circulation of any goods and services. If we have doubts, we hold back, and the
Vermont magazine. economy suffers.

Michael's work has been


featured in numerous You could see it coming. The media (perhaps hungry for news
publications such as with a stalled election and fewer political scandals) started look-
USA Today, Selling Power,
ing for holes in our burgeoning economy. Any layoff, any busi-
Home Business Magazine,
Opportunity World, ness closing, any lower-than-anticipated-earnings-report got
Personal Excellence and widespread attention. Things had been going so well for so long,
Sales & Marketing
there just HAD to be a recession coming. It was just too good
Excellence as well as
dozens of electronic for the news media to believe it could be sustained.
publications. He's been
interviewed on both TV
The ebb and flow of our economy is a natural process. Nothing
and radio.
grows—or declines for that matter—in a straight line. There are
always plateaus and sometimes losses in the course of long-term
gains. One could argue that the stock market—being overval-
ued, especially in tech stocks—NEEDED a correction.

Ok, so much for the global view. What can we as individual


companies and people do about it?

I, for one, simply refuse to play. I don't talk about a down-


turn—except in this instance—and I don't BELIEVE in a
slowdown.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 29
michael angier
I'm not hiding my head in the sand. I recognize that the market is
down. I see our mutual fund's value decreasing or holding steady.
Michael Angier has
experienced personal I read about and observe that some businesses are eliminating
and professional success, jobs and some even closing their doors. But that's been happen-
but he’s also suffered
ing even during the so-called bull market.
bitter defeat. Although
certainly preferring the
former, he feels that However, I also see new businesses starting. New jobs being
he’s learned the most
created, companies becoming more efficient—and consequently,
from his struggles and
disappointments. He more profitable. I also see our own web site traffic and our busi-
feels that life’s greatest ness growing at over 30% a month.
lessons are learned
by overcoming the
obstacles in the path The media is in the news business and, unfortunately, bad news
of a challenging and sells better than good news. So be it. But fortunes are made in
worthwhile objective.
good economies as well as bad.
Michael’s passion is
human potential. He
believes fervently in the It all depends on where you want to place your focus.
indomitable human spirit
and revels in helping
people succeed in all And what we focus on expands. So watch what you say to your-
aspects of their lives. self and to others. Be mindful of what you think about and read
about. Keep your attention on what you want—not on what you
Michael is married
to Dawn Angier—his don't want.
partner, best friend,
mentor, teacher,
I'm choosing to focus on what works and what could work bet-
student and confidant.
They live in South ter. There are opportunities all around us. These times simply
Burlington, Vermont require more innovation, better perception and a keener eye to-
and have six children
ward change and how it affects our endeavors.
ranging in age from 10
to 30. He enjoys sailing,
tennis, traveling, reading Our current economic climate calls for us to bring out our best.
and helping people
There's no time for wallowing in past losses. The past does not
realize their dreams.
equal the future. We need to practice one of the slogans of the
Marine Corp—FIDO—"Forget it, Drive On."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 30
michael angier
No, I won't be attending any pity parties of the "gloom and doom
club". I'm too busy growing myself and my businesses.

© Copyright 1995-2001 I still maintain that the years ahead promise to be the brightest,
Success Networks
most prosperous economic times the world has ever seen.
International. Success
Net is a worldwide
association committed to We're celebrating every success, acknowledging every milestone
helping people become
and improving everything we find that's less than excellent. And
more knowledgeable,
productive and effective. we're having a blast.
Their mission is to
inform, inspire and
Make it a great day.
empower people to be
their best—personally
and professionally. For a related article, see The Top Ten Ways to Exploit The Roar-
Free subscriptions,
ing 2000s. http://successnet.org/topten/TTroaring2000s.htm
memberships, books
and SuccessMarkTM
Cards available at “One of the first and best things you can do to help the poor is
www.SuccessNet.org
to not be one of them.”
Win-Win Way, PO Box
2048 South Burlington,
Vermont 05407-2048,
success@SuccessNet.org

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 31
Our Business is Your Success!

If you want to develop the belief, the skills


and the passion to fulfill your dreams,
become a member today—FREE!

Our mission is to inform, inspire and empower


people to be their best—personally and professionally.

Become part of an exclusive


association dedicated to supporting you in being more
knowledgeable, prosperous and effective—to
creating excellence in all areas of your life. FREE!

By becoming a member of Success Net, you position yourself to operate at your personal and professional best. We’re
dedicated to supporting you in fulfilling your unique potential. We provide and unending stream of resources, ideas and
information to help you to achieve your goals—faster, with less frustration and greater satisfaction.

Visit us to today at
http://SuccessNet.org

Be sure to take advantage of our


Free Membership
Free Step Up to Success™ Course
Free Keys to Personal Effectiveness
Free Subscription to Success Digest™
Free Articles
Free eBooklet and more . . .

For help in doing business online, visit eComStrategies.com


There you’ll find our eCom Starter Kit—the Layman’s Guide to Online Marketing. It’s loaded with information
on how to start and run a profitable online business. Avoid costly mistakes and propel your business forward
with this valuable tool.

http://eComStrategies.com
mitch axelrod
Sales is
the engine
that drives
Mitchell Axelrod is
founder of Axelrod &
Associates, a business
consulting firm, Axelrod
Learning, a publisher of

your business
business and life skills
training, workshops and
materials, and Value
Profiles, Inc., the world-
wide distributor for the
Value Profile line of
assessment tools.
What’s one of the biggest investments and at the same time,
Consulting and speaking most under-utilized assets in almost every business?
since 1978, Mitch
has presented more
than 3,000 seminars, CUSTOMERS
workshops, lectures, Acquiring customers is a big investment for businesses of every
keynotes and clinics to
shape and size, from home business owners to mega-corpora-
one million people
from 25 countries on tions. But leveraging customers and generating maximum re-
business, sales, market- turn on that investment is costing even more. Customers are the
ing, entreprenuership,
most under-utilized assets of most businesses.
parenting and life skills.

Sales Alchemy™ is a process of turning customers into GOLD.


Sales Alchemy turns prospects into customers, customers into
lifetime buyers, and lifetime buyers into marketing associates.
Sales Alchemy makes you more effective at the holistic cycle of
business life - attracting, converting and keeping customers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 33
mitch axelrod
Rewind to 1990, the beginning of the marketing mania that has
gripped business for more than a decade. One year earlier, I had
invested an unheard of sum of $15,000 for one week of training.
When I got to the LA hotel and walked into the amphitheater, in
struts a guy with no socks (30 minutes late of course). He sits
Mitch consults
down on stage in a big comfy chair, people bringing him hot tea
with Fortune 500
corporations, banks, and lemon as if he were a king holding court.
insurance companies,
small businesses and
You might be thinking that $15,000 is LOT OF MONEY to pay
individuals on how to
increase sales and a guy for one week of training. You’re right. I’ve never paid that
profits, and derive more much before and I haven’t paid that much since. Thing is, I didn’t
fun, fulfillment and
pay $15,000 for him to consult with me 1:1. There were 200
satisfaction from work.
Mitch teaches technolo- other people in the room who also paid $15,000 to be in the
gies and shares philoso- room for that week. You add up the numbers.
phies for people to
enrich life, enhance
livelihood, and earn a The next thing that struck me after I walked in and said, “I am
more prosperous living. not the ONLY crazy man to pay this outrageous fee” was “I
must be in the right place.” I figured that anyone who could get
He hosted Success-
Abilities… 21 Life Skills 200 people to pony up $15,000 for one week had to know a
for the 21st Century, on whole lot about marketing. After all, who in their “right” mind
WEVD in New York, a
would even conceive they could do this, let alone believe they
prime time talk-radio
show about workplace were worth it?
success and prosperous
living. He currently hosts
C’mon. $3 million for one week? That’s beyond absurd. Well,
and produces Success-
Abilities on the Internet while we’re on the subject of beyond absurd, this guy did five
on the Success-Talk more of these and would up putting nearly 1,000 people through
Network.
this protégé training.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the guy is Jay Abraham. He


made a big contribution in the past decade to put marketing on
the map and into people’s minds.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 34
mitch axelrod
Why do I tell you this story? Because with all the marketing
know-how available, and the billions of dollars companies of all
shapes and sizes have thrown at it, more businesses failed in the
past decade than in any decade before it. As a percentage of
business start-ups, the Department of Labor reports that within
Mitch speaks at
five years about 90% will be out of business. Half of them are
universities, associations,
organizations and gone within the first 18 months.
corporations and has
been a guest on New
Many of them will close because they weren’t able to attract,
York's WABC, WQCD,
WXRK, and the Business convert and keep customers and generate high enough profits to
Radio Network. Mitch is keep the doors open.
featured on the cover of
the first anniversary
article on Columbine and With all the marketing know-how available...
American Values by
Newhouse News,
Why did Jay Abraham hire ME to train his proteges after they
and many national
publications including invested $15,000 and learned just about every trick in the mar-
American Express Your keting book?
Company, National
Underwriter, Selling
Advantage, Executive Simple. Marketing ALONE isn’t enough. Plus, marketing is an
Sales Briefing, Selling expense. Attracting customers is only the first part of the proc-
Power and Professional
ess.
Speaker, magazines. He is
quoted and mentioned
in articles on the SALES are what you take to the bank. Sales show up on the
Internet at
balance sheet as income. Converting customers is what counts.
CareerBuilder.com,
theWhiz.com, and
TheGuild.com. Turning prospects into buyers is the bottom line measure of busi-
ness success. Sales is the engine that powers a business; market-
ing is the fuel. The best marketing in the world may have people
beating a path to your door in record numbers, but if you don’t
convert them into customers, your “investment” in marketing
might just force you to close your doors.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 35
mitch axelrod
A lot of businesses go out of business after investing large sums
of money in marketing, because the marketing results in too few
sales, and not enough profit. Clearly, marketing that doesn’t “sell”
leads to red ink.

The Axelrod Learning


Most marketing is not designed to sell, but to attract and qualify
library of books, special
reports, seminars, audio prospects. Selling is where they are converted to buyers. Effec-
and video tapes, work- tive selling converts prospects into buyers. Delightful customer
books, courses and
service keeps customers coming back for more. Raving fans are
training programs
are used by tens of happy customers transformed into marketing associates.
thousands of people in
the U.S. and 25 countries
Marketing - sales – service is a continuous and holistic process.
around the world.
Mitch's selling skills Yet, they are also three distinct disciplines. Most companies treat
course has the distinc- them as three different departments and far too often, competing
tion as the only one in
units.
the world approved by
the legal departments at
Prudential and Met Life. No wonder 90% of businesses go out of business. The head,
heart and hands are all doing their own thing – separately and
As a past Board Member
of the National Speaker's independently from each other. Imagine if your body functioned
Association - New York that way? You would shut down also.
Chapter, in 1996 Mitch
was presented the
Golden Mike Award for Attracting, converting and keeping customers is the Holy Grail
speaking excellence and of business.
industry contribution. He
co-founded and is Past-
Chairman of the Mentor- Here’s a paradigm shift to consider:
Mentee program, which
has positively impacted
MARKETING is the FUEL that powers the engine.
the lives of hundreds of
professionals. He has
personally coached and SALES is the ENGINE.
mentored thousands of
people to enjoy life and
enhance market value. If you don’t have marketing (fuel), your engine won’t fire and
you go nowhere. You need fuel to propel an engine.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 36
mitch axelrod
On the other hand, you can have a full tank of high octane fuel,
but if the engine isn’t firing on all cylinders, your vehicle will
sputter.

Marketing and sales work best when they are integrated, not DIS-
Mitch has published
integrated. You don’t put jet fuel in a car engine, and you don’t
three books, Sales
Alchemy… Turning Your use lighter fluid for the Space Shuttle. You match the fuel with
Customers Into Gold the engine. Designing a marketing plan before your sales strat-
(salesalchemy.com), Get
egy is like buying a diesel engine car because you have some
Powerful Testimonials,
Ringing Endorsements extra diesel fuel in your garage.
and MEGA-Referrals
(axelrodlearning.com/
YOU BUY THE CAR YOU WANT, and use the fuel that works
get-mega-referral-
tapes.html), and Break- best for that kind of engine. Apply the same integrated strategy
through to Higher to your marketing and sales, and you can transform your com-
Performance and Boost
pany.
Sales Success! (available
for free at http://
valueprofiles.com/ First, decide YOUR method of converting customers. What is
freeebook). All are in
your SALES PROCESS? Then, design and develop a marketing
eBook format.
approach that matches your sales process.
His next book, Success-
Abilities… 21 Life Skills
If you convert by phone, you want lots of leads for people to
for the 21st Century, is
due to be released early handle.
in 2002. Future books
include, The Power of
If you convert face-to-face, you want as many qualified appoint-
Threes™ - How I Learned
My ABC’s (03/03/03 ments as you can fit in a day.
scheduled release), No
More Success B.S,™ The
If you convert on the Internet, you must have excellent copy-
Virtual Entrepreneur™ -
How to Be the CEO of righting skills, marketing and sales letters that both ATTRACTS
Your OWN Life, and Living and CONVERTS buyers. That’s why many businesses that rely
Spiritually in a Material
on the Internet alone go belly up. Instead of a human interaction
World!
they need powerful sales copy to do the converting for them.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 37
mitch axelrod
The toughest kind of sale is one in which the written marketing
piece must also do all the selling. Few people have that kind of
skill. Those who do, make a fortune and charge very high fees
to write copy.

Mitch will also be writing


a book on divorce called, The last part of this holistic process is the most important part of
Separate But NOT Apart - this equation. Service is an area too many businesses view as an
How to Keep Love Going
expense not an investment. The truth is...
After the Marriage Ends.

Axelrod Learning Serving IS the purpose of a business.


publishes newsletters
including, Life Skills for
Business, Business Skills You may be great at attracting prospects and converting them
for Life™, The Daily into buyers, but if you don’t KEEP them as customers, your
Bread™ and Value
business is built on sand.
Extra™… How to Bring
Your Highest and Best to
the Marketplace and Get Another paradigm shift: The customer (service) drives the bus.
Paid What You’re REALLY
Serving customers IS the best marketing you can do. It’s easy to
Worth!
romance people (attract them), and get them excited enough to
A single father, skier and buy in (convert them). But the rubber meets the road after the
travelling Little League
wheels start to turn on the relationship.
baseball coach, Mitch
lives with his 13 year-old
son Adam, in West Keeping customers is where YOU get the highest return on your
Orange, New Jersey.
investment. If you spend a lot of time and money to attract and
convert, but you don’t keep them, your ROI and profit will suf-
fer terribly. IF you invest to keep them, you can turn buyers into
lifetime customers, and lifetime customers into marketing asso-
ciates.

If marketing is the fuel, and sales is the engine, then serving


people is the gas pedal. How much pedal to the metal you put
into service ultimately determines how far your bus will go, and
especially in today’s world, how fast you get there.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 38
mitch axelrod
Word of mouth, relationship and “viral” marketing are most cost-
effective and highly leveraged.

Many successful businesses are built solely on word of mouth.


ALL successful businesses invest in service and aim to turn buy-
ers into lifetime customers. The most successful companies lev-
erage customers into marketing associates.

The best leverage, highest ROI and biggest profit is earned when
you invest nothing to get a customer.

If you serve well, it’s possible to get 50% to 75% or more of


your new sales from 100% of your existing customers. With that
kind of service, you just might find yourself saving a fortune in
marketing.The more you save on marketing, the more effective
you sell and serve, the lower your expenses and the higher your
profit.

Serving is the BEST investment. Sales powers your profits.


Marketing fuels the engine.

Tune up your marketing, sales and service. Your business will


run smoother when it’s firing on all cylinders.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This model shifts the paradigm that marketing is a stand alone
activity and the main engine of profit-ability. It reveals why so
much marketing fails when it is not integrated with sales and
service. Applying this model will dramatically impact top line
sales and bottom line profits, while minimizing and often saving
marketing investment, which is a middle line expense.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 39
mitch axelrod
If a company can generate more, new, spinoff and referral busi-
ness from its commitment to serving its customers as its highest
priority, it can invest less in marketing. Lower your marketing
costs reduce middle line expense, which delivers more profit to
the bottom line.
Subscribe to Mitch’s
newsletter at http://
axelrodlearning.com/ With this model a company can turn a customer service (ex-
currentnewsletter.html pense) center into a new business (profit) center. (That's one of
our areas of expertise).

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 40
bart baggett
How a bookstore
failure became a
Handwriting Expert
Author / Publisher
Popular Radio and
$144,000 per year
Automatic
TV Personality
Professional Speaker
Entrepreneur
Internet Marketing
Expert/ Consultant

Moneymaker
Bart Baggett has
become much more
than an internationally
recognized handwriting
expert. He is a speaker,
trainer, author, and
media personality. Author, publisher and handwriting analyst Bart Baggett hates
bookstores. In fact, he would rather give away a copy of his
lowest priced book for free (in digital format) than have you
walk into a store and buy a copy of it at full price. The reason is
simple: Baggett says selling books in bookstores is a quick road
to poverty for all but the most popular authors. It's a lesson he
This article first originally learned the hard way . . .
appeared in Book
Marketing Update.
Written by Bart Baggett, Back in 1993, before Baggett overhauled the way he markets
Chris Simeral, and Bill his books and products, he was like most authors traveling from
Harrison (rtir.com)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 41
bart baggett
bookstore to bookstore appearing at signings and selling a few
books here and there. One "successful" signing in St. Louis re-
sulted in standing room only crowd, but only 20 books sold that
generated a check from the distributor for about $120, 120 days
later. And he was already appearing on top radio shows. (Sound

In the role of author familiar?) Baggett realized it would be tough to get rich selling
and expert, Bart has his books the traditional way, so he started looking for alterna-
published two books. A
tives. His solution was to shift to direct-response marketing de-
graduate of Pepperdine
University, Bart is a veloping relationships with, and selling directly to, the end us-
certified therapist and ers of his products; resulting in profits few independent publish-
handwriting expert
ers ever get to enjoy.
incorporating his
extensive training in
Hypnotherapy, Time-Line His strategy has four components:
therapy, and Neuro-
1) Forget bookstores (unless they beg) and sell to the customer
Linguistic Programming
into a multi-dimensional directly;
approach to self- 2) Develop a relationship with your customers so that they like
improvement.
and trust you;
3) Offer a series of products that escalate the total amount spent
and lifetime value of the customer;
4) Turn as many of your traditional products in instantly
downloadable digital form as quickly you can. (Lower cost of
good sold)
5) Get tons of free publicity from Radio, TV, and print

Capturing contact information is key


Instead of concentrating on getting customers into stores, Baggett
focuses on "lead generation" from his free publicity: getting their
names, addresses and email addresses. As we mentioned earlier,
he'll even go so far as to give away a copy of one of his books for
free just to get that information. The reason is because he doesn't
want to sell you just one product ($12) he wants to sell you
everything he's got ($1200). (http://bartbaggett.com/collection)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 42
bart baggett
He knows that once he has your contact information, he can de-
velop a relationship with you through email newsletters and other
forms of contact and turn you into a repeat customer. And, be-
cause you're buying directly from him, he's going to keep all the
profits no cut for bookstores, no cut for distributors and no wait-
Bart is the Founder
ing for miniscule royalty checks from publishers. (He now gets
of Handwriting
University.com, which a 97% profit margin on most online sales.)
trains and certifies
handwriting students
The reason this is so successful is because it gets away from
worldwide. He is also
a highly sought after what might be called "one-night-stand marketing." You're going
professional speaker and to have much greater success selling to people who've bought
talk-show guest. Bart is
from you in the past and been satisfied with your products, than
the author of two books
The Secrets to Making you are if you constantly have to market to new customers.
Love Happen! (Using
Handwriting Analysis
Here's an example: As a result of one appearance on the Howard
and Neuro-Linguistic
Programming) and the Stern Show, Baggett sold 300 tape sets at $80 each ($24,000).
just released Success Each package included a sales letter promoting his other books
Secrets of the Rich &
and products. He followed that up with another sales letter two
Happy - How to design
your life with financial weeks later, and another two weeks after that. That effort re-
and emotional sulted in $12,000 in additional sales. If those 300 people bought
abundance.
his product in a store, Baggett would have no idea who they are,
and would lose the extra $12,000.

If those same customers had gone to a bookstore, they would


have expected to buy a traditional $20 "book," not the $80 pro-
gram. That is another loss of $18,000. $60 loss x 300 custom-
ers = $18,000 loss of revenue. Baggett swears it is just as easy
to sell an $80 program as a $20 book. In the worst case it is
never four times as hard!)

If you want to hear the $25,000 interview, just listen to it online


at: http://myhandwriting.com/audiofiles/

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 43
bart baggett
At the core of Baggett's new online strategy is a website de-
signed for selling, free special reports, and an email newsletter
that he says typically generates $1 in revenue every month per
subscriber. With a mailing list of 12,000 people, this one website
is pulling in, on average, $12,000 per month. And perhaps the
In addition to his writing,
most amazing thing is that he only spends about five hours each
lecturing, and training,
Bart has gained national week on the business. Here are the details behind Baggett's
attention by appearing "Online Sales Machine" book marketing strategy.
on over 1400 radio and
TV shows including CNN,
FOX NEWS, National Forget bookstores - Own your own distribution center
Public Radio, CNBC, When customers buy your books in a bookstore, you have very
Montel Williams, Leeza,
little opportunity to capture any information about them. (Even
Debra Duncan, the
Howard Stern Show, and if you fill your book with bounce-back offers and your telephone
many others. He is also numbers, there is not guarantee they will contact you.) This means
the inventor of the
you lose the opportunity to sell them one of your higher-priced
Grapho-Deck®, a card
game that uses hand- products (like a video or audiotape series), and no way to reach
writing to analyze them when you create new products. When they buy from you
personality traits. Since
directly, they can become a customer for life. Baggett feels that
then, Bart has become
a personality expert for every customer who buys a product from him could ultimately
talk shows and commen- be worth $1,200 (the sum total if they bought his entire "collec-
tators nationwide.
tion"). Of course, not everyone will wind up spending that much,
but customers who picked up his book in bookstores are worth,
at most, the cost of that one product minus all the overhead.
What is the "life time value" of your customer?

Drive people to join your mailing list, not the bookstore


Forget sending people to retail outlets to buy your book. Instead,
give out your website address, 800#, and encourage them to
sign up for your free email newsletter. In the long run it's going
to be much more profitable to you to possess contact informa-
tion than sell one book through a bookstore. Plus, when people
visit your site to sign up for the newsletter, you'll have the op-
portunity to sell them your books and products directly.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 44
bart baggett
Go digital
Although Baggett still sells traditional offline products like books
and tapes, the highest profits come from products downloadable
from his Web site because there's no Cost of Goods Sold what-
soever. Because there are no printing costs, a digital publisher
He has been featured in
keeps everything but the small percentage that your credit card
dozens of newspapers
and magazines world- merchant account charges (3%)
wide including the
Dallas Morning News,
Customers print it out or read it online. Another plus is that you
Biography Magazine,
Forbes Small Business, can enroll thousands of other Web sites to sell your books for
Family Life, Soap Opera you as part of your affiliate program.
Digest, Plano Star
Courier, Kansas City Star,
Vent, Stuff, London If you have a book to sell or are thinking about marketing books,
Times, Bangalore Times, visit onlinesalesmachine.com or bartbaggett.com/epublish
and many others. His
writings has been
published internationally. Repackage your information for higher profit
His first book has been Baggett says most authors don't realize that they're in the busi-
translated into Chinese
ness of selling information. This doesn't necessarily have to be
and is distributed
throughout Asia in both in book form. What you're doing when you make a sale is con-
languages. vincing the customer that the information you're going to give
them is important. Once you've established that you're offering
something of value, it only makes sense to deliver it in a format
that brings you the most money. While most people would balk
at paying $75 for a book, they'd be much more willing to spend
$75 for an audio course. "Simply changing the word "book" to
"home study course" has made me an extra $70,000 per year."
Baggett says.

Have a series of products


The key to selling to customers over and over again is having a
variety of products at escalating price points.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 45
bart baggett
For example, Baggett's introductory product is a set of hand-
writing analysis flash cards for $15.95. The prices for other prod-
ucts increase until you reach the Deluxe Handwriting Course for
$947. In between are products ranging in price from $25 to over
$400. The goal is to get customers "in the system" and continu-
In the role of marketing
ally upsell them on higher-priced products. Marketing guru Dan
expert, Baggett started
two internet companies Kennedy has an expression that sums up this strategy: "What's
e-onlinepublishing.com & next?" You should always be asking, "What's the next product I
onlinesalesmachine.com
can sell to this customer?"
These two companies
both create and sell
digital products and Test your pitch.
support authors and
There's no use spending energy getting people to your site if
publishers in duplicating
his success. you're not converting them into either customers or prospects.
Baggett says your website should have a conversion rate (the
Currently, Baggett is
percentage of people who visit the site who wind up buying some-
consulting with authors
assisting them in thing) of 2%. The percentage of visitors who sign up for your
marketing their books free email newsletter should be 10%. If you're falling below those
while he continues to
rates, change your pitch. Something quick and easy to do is to
build his own media
career. use pop ups secondary browser windows that appear when some-
one visits your site. These can contain a short message about a
free offer that encourages people to supply an email address.
Baggett has found that including pop ups increases response rate
by about 30%.

Use Free Publicity and Affiliate Programs to sell your books


Enroll other websites into selling your books by offering them a
generous referral fee. While Amazon.com pays a whopping 5%,
Baggett pays up to 50% to those who send customers to his
website. In addition to this, Baggett has appeared on over 1,400
radio and TV shows promoting his products. Free Publicity like
Radio TV Interview Report generates is the best way to drive
traffic to your site.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 46
bart baggett
Baggett has been featured on CNN, Court TV, FoxNews, Leeza,
Montel, Howard Stern, and hundreds of other top shows. To see
why "Biography Magazine" and "CNN" called him, view his
on-line press kit here: http://myhandwriting.com/media

For more information on


Now, Baggett offers comprehensive consulting, publicity, and
Bart Baggett and his
books, products and even website development for authors or publishers that want to
services for publishers, achieve financial success. Visit http://onlinesalesmachine.com
visit bartbaggett.com,
for more tips on publishing profitably. Take thirty minutes and
onlinesalesmachine.com,
e-onlinepublishing.com listen to the Real Audio file of a recent seminar for publishers,
and myhandwriting.com. authors, and speakers. All at his website.
You can also email
Bart Baggett at
bart@bartbaggett.com. WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
This article was so effective because it was filled with the "in-
side truth" of a real self-published author. It also contains real
numbers and real life experience that are not B.S. Most market-
ing experts talk about theory but are unwilling to share with you
cold hard facts about how many books they sell or how much
money they make per project.

Personally, I don't think $144,000 is THAT impressive for a sin-


gle website. However, considering most self-published authors
still have 90% of their books sitting in their garage, it strikes a
chord. Luckily for me, this is just one of many projects that
create income for me.

Another thing that makes the article effective is the credibility.


Being on CNN and 1400 other top media outlets tells them I've
walked the walk of an "author/expert".

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 47
Learn The
Success Secrets
of the
Rich and Happy
via Bart Baggett’s Latest
home study course.

Whether you are a business person looking for


that next big deal or an actor waiting on that big
break, the insights, tools, and techniques Bart has
assembled inside this unique course will change
your life. Take a sneak peak with three free
chapters and even listen to a seminar on-line,
before you buy.

http://myhandwriting.com/ssrh.html

http://bartbaggett.com/free

http://www.bartbaggett.com/epublish/
(A must listen to if you are an author)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 48
rick beneteau
The
Entrepreneur’s
Rick graduated high
school and went directly
into business managing a
drycleaning shop that he
eventually bought and
built into a successful
Prayer
As I awaken with the gift of yet another day and prepare for the
multi-store operation. tasks at hand, I offer up this most ardent prayer:
Involved in the
music and advertising
industries throughout I pray for continued clarity of purpose so that I may hold my
this time, Rick was vision steady and keep my focus on the needs and success of
responsible for the
creation of many
others, which in turn shall bring me my success.
national advertising
jingles and still consults I pray for the wisdom to expect abundance in my life, that it
larger companies on
convention production.
surrounds me and is available for the taking and to be shameless
An internationally and unapologetic upon its receipt, for I deserve abundance.
recorded and released
songwriter, he sold his
drycleaning business in
I pray for a cheerful countenance, be it clear or cloudy skies and
1991 to pursue these that I may radiate and infect others with my positive attitude.
other interests which
included overseeing the
start-up of Ocean
I pray for the trust of others that they may recognize my sincer-
Records Canada. ity and true intentions so that we may move forward together.

I pray for the strength to fend off adversity and use my desire
and determination as both weapon and shield.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 49
rick beneteau
I pray for the courage to carry forth my convictions during the
battle of business and to resist temptation to a quicker monetary
result when such temptation compromises these things for which
I stand.

In late 1996, Rick logged


I pray that I may be used as a lightning rod to collect the amaz-
on to the Internet for
the very first time. The ing ideas already present in the universe and when blessed with
challenge to conquer such inspiration, that I may be able to apply my talents and abili-
what he refers to as the
ties to turn the power of thought into measurable advancement
"Wild, Wild Web" was too
great to resist. 1998 of my goals.
found him one of the
pioneers of the 2-Tier
I pray to retain my childhood wonder so that I can recognize and
Affiliate Program now so
prominent on the revel in the small miracles of each day that others may miss.
Internet with the highly
touted and successful
I pray for an infinite supply of self-confidence for it alone forti-
I.D. IT! Plates Partner
Program. He also began fies faith, strengthens my resolve and conquers the largest en-
writing business articles emy I will ever face - fear.
in a style still not seen
very often on the
Internet. His friendly, I pray for a compassionate spirit and the patience to offer those
wit-driven articles soon who seek my advice and my help, my full and undivided atten-
filled the pages of most
tion.
of the prominent ezines
and newsletters.
I pray for good health and a feeling of well being, and the con-
tinued desire to improve those areas of my physical life I may be
neglecting in the name of my spiritual and entrepreneurial ad-
vancement.

I pray that today is a day of excellence and at its conclusion I can


acknowledge and be grateful for the forward motion I have made
and the growth I have experienced.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 50
rick beneteau
I pray most of all for the understanding and support of those
closest to my heart, my family, that they will equate what may
seem like endless hours of apparent pre-occupation with affairs
of business to what is at the very core of my being, that which
drives me, for once I achieve what I have set out in its fullest, I
Rick's first e-book
will become that more complete being I strive to be.
entitled "The Ezine
Marketing Machine" was
released October/99 and It is for these things that I pray, for I am an entrepreneur.
has since become an
Internet-wide best-seller.
Rick has just released WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
what is destined to Without exception, the article of mine that has had the most im-
remain another top-
pact on people is The Entrepreneurs Prayer, having appeared in
seller, Branding YOU and
Breaking the Bank. countless Internet publications, eBooks and in print books gar-
nering hundreds of the most amazing testimonials I've ever re-
The New Millennium
ceived. I received so many requests to make it available in a
finds the 46 year-old
busy with the growing of frameable printed form, that I eventually did just that. The En-
his Internet company, trepreneurs Prayer is not really an article at all, but more an
Interniche.net , his
'affirmation' of my belief system that was written in a 'rush of
"E-chievement" Ezine -
The Mirror, his two inspiration' nearly 4 years ago. It is my hope that you enjoy and
powerful 2-Tier Affiliate derive benefit from my 'Prayer'.
Programs - EZineMoney
and the I.D. IT! Plates
Partner Program as well
as the start up of 2 new
affiliate programs.

©1998 Rick Beneteau

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 51
Daily Inspiration Without Daily Email!

Stunning 11" x 14" Limited Edition Prints of Rick


Beneteau's life-changing Entrepreneurs Prayer and
inspirational The Legacy You Leave are now available!

http://www.rickbeneteau.com/prints/index.htm
dana blankenhorn
The Web Way
of pricing
For me the world's greatest expert on setting prices is Marty
Chenard.
Dana Blankenhorn of
www.a-clue.com has Marty's "Course on Advanced Direct Marketing" (http://
covered the Internet
www.dankennedyonline.com/advanced-direct-marketing-
non-stop since 1985.
(Click here for your free course.html) teaches a multi-step process based, not on your
subscription.) Now all his costs, but on what people are willing to pay.
insights into making
money and protecting
the Web have been You start with the fact that everything which succeeds in the
collected in "Living on market meets demand in an s-shaped curve. First the "early
the Internet: How to
adopters" accept it (slowly), then the mass market grabs it
Make Money, Live Right,
and Fight For the 21st (quickly) and finally you get the (slower) replacement market.
Century" Buy it now from
BookSurge.Com, for
At all points on this curve, Marty suggests, you ask people what
$29.99, or get the PDF
version for just $7.99. they think your product is worth. You ask them for a bargain
price, a fair price, and a premium price.

Then, early in the product's life cycle, you charge the premium
price and aim for maximum profit. At the end of the product life
cycle you charge the bargain price and aim for market share.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 53
dana blankenhorn
There's a bit of calculus involved along the way, and the way the
questions are asked represent Marty's "secret sauce" (he charges
for the questionnaires) but you get the idea. You set your price
by asking people what they'd pay.

The huge success of eBay (it's now worth (http://


finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ebay&d=t) almost six times more than
Amazon.Com ($2.762 billion) (http://finance.yahoo.com/
q?s=amzn&d=t)) should be your invitation to re-visit this vital
question of pricing.

Many big businesses have begun testing distribution through


eBay (and its fixed-price unit, Half.Com) in order to learn the
"auction price" of what they sell (http://www.forbes.com/2001/
10/04/1003amazon.html). You can do this too.

It's fairly simple. You go to eBay with one unit, preferably under
something other than your company name. You describe it at-
tractively, you work the auction process, and you do it several
times.

Maybe you tweak the description. Maybe you get an expert on


eBay to handle it for you, in exchange for a cut of the revenue. If
you're big enough you can offer the same product under several
names, in several types of trade dress, in order to test your entire
campaign.

The result is invaluable market intelligence. You learn the "auc-


tion price" of your product, and you can even learn how the
market reacts to various tweaks of the marketing.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 54
dana blankenhorn
If you like, you can then use this auction price to move quanti-
ties of the same product through Half.Com. This brings you buy-
ers who may be reluctant to play with auctions, and who prefer
the certainty of a firm deal. This also helps distributors move
clearance merchandise quickly, at the best possible price.

You can reverse this process, too.

When I read in a popular consumer magazine over Christmas


that the Technics SA-DX1050 receiver (made by Panasonic) was
a "Best Buy," I first sought its "auction price" by goingto
Half.Com.

Then I used shopping bots to find a merchant who could beat


that price (because they were using a "street price" or fixed dis-
count pricing model). I got a good deal.

The point is that, with the Web, price becomes a far more fungible
concept than it was before. Those merchants that price the old-
fashioned way, based either on costs or incomplete information,
aren't getting the best price.

Best of all, learning the "auction price" of your product costs


you nearly nothing - you can actually make a profit while you
do it. So don't just set a "street price." Learn the auction price,
and set yours dynamically based on it.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


In this article Dana teaches the most important lesson any busi-
ness needs to know—how to set the right price, every time, with-
out spending a lot of money on it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 55
robert w. bly
More Tips
on using
testimonials.
Whenever a customer sends a letter with positive comments about
Bob Bly is an
independent copywriter your company or product, immediately seek permission to use
and consultant with this testimonial in your ads, brochures, direct mail, and other
more than 20 years of
promotions.
experience in business-
to-business, high-tech,
industrial, and direct The easiest way to do this is to send a “release letter” to the
marketing.
client (along with a photocopy of the testimonial letter, with the
passages you want to reprint highlighted in yellow).

Your release letter can follow this basic format:

Mr. Mike Jones


Advertising Manager
World Enterprises
Anytown, USA

Dear Mike:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 56
robert w. bly
Thanks for your letter of 12/12/02 (copy attached). I’m glad
you’re pleased with our product!

I’d like to quote from your letter in the ads, brochures, direct
mail, and other promotions we use to market our product - with
Bob is the author of
your permission, of course.
more than 50 books
including The Advertising
Manager’s Handbook If this is OK with you, would you please sign the bottom of this
(Prentice Hall), Business-
letter and send it back to me in the envelope enclosed.
To-Business Direct
Marketing (NTC Business
Books), and The Copy- The second copy is for your files.
writer’s Handbook
(Henry Holt & Co.). His
articles have appeared in Many thanks, Mike.
Business Marketing,
Direct, Computer
Regards,
Decisions, New Jersey
Monthly, Writer’s Digest, Jane Smith
Amtrak Express, Science
Books & Films, and Direct
YES, YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO QUOTE FROM THE
Marketing.
ATTACHED LETTER IN ADS, BROCHURES, MAIL AND
OTHER PROMOTIONS USED TO MARKET YOUR PROD-
UCT.

Signed____________________Date________________

I always enclose a self-addressed stamped reply envelope plus a


second copy of the permission letter (for the recipient’s files).

Soliciting Testimonials
If your customers don’t send you letters of praise (and many
won’t), then you can ask them to give you a testimonial. How?
Simply send a letter to clients and customers who are happy
with your product or service and ask for their comments.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 57
robert w. bly
Here’s a letter I use (feel free to copy or adapt it):

Mr. Alex Samuels


XYZ Corporation
Anyplace, USA
Bob has presented
marketing, sales, writing,
and customer service Dear Alex:
seminars for numerous
organizations including
I have a favor to ask of you.
the Publicity Club of New
York, Women in Commu-
nications, and Independ- I’m in the process of putting together a booklet of testimonials -
ent Laboratory Distribu-
a collection of comments about my services, from satisfied cli-
tors Association.
ents like yourself. Would you please take a few minutes to give
He also taught business- me your opinion of my consulting services?
to-business copywriting
and technical writing at
New York University. There’s no need to dictate a letter - just jot your comments on
the back of this letter, sign below, and return to me in the en-
closed envelope. (The second copy is for your files).

I look forward to learning what you like about my service...but I


also welcome any suggestions or criticisms, too.

Many thanks, Alex.

Regards, Bob Bly

YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO QUOTE FROM MY COM-


MENTS, AND USE THESE QUOTATIONS IN ADS, BRO-
CHURES, MAIL AND OTHER PROMOTIONS USED TO
MARKET YOUR SERVICES.

Signed___________________Date_________________

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 58
robert w. bly
Note that I am asking for an “opinion” instead of a testimonial,
and that I urge Alex to give me criticisms as well as positive
comments. In this way, I’m not just asking for a favor, I’m get-
ting information that will help me serve my clients better in the
future. Thus, I’m not the only one who profits; we both do.
Bob writes sales letters,
direct mail packages,
ads, brochures, articles, If you solicit testimonials from your satisfied clients and cus-
press releases, newslet- tomers, and you always get permission to use any unsolicited
ters, scripts, and other
testimonials that people send you, you’ll soon build a thick tes-
marketing materials
clients need to sell their timonial file. Because you’ve gotten people to give you a “blan-
products and services to ket release” to use their comments any way you choose, you can
businesses. He also
use these testimonials in any or all of your marketing materials -
consults with clients on
marketing strategy, mail from ads and sales letters, to brochures and catalogs.
order selling, and lead
generation programs.
One quick and easy way to use these testimonials is simply to
type them up single-spaced and reprint them on an 8_-by-11-
inch sheet of paper. The headline reads: “WHAT THEY SAY
ABOUT (your company or product).” If you have a lot of testi-
monials, you can print on the reverse side or go to a second
sheet. Don’t forget to include your address and phone number
at the bottom of the page. Use the testimonial sheet as a hand-
out, as an additional enclosure in direct mail packages, or as a
supplement to your sales brochure.

Always give the sheet and a duplicate of your full testimonial


file to any ad agency, copywriter, or marketing consultant you
hire. It will be tremendously helpful to them when they create
ads, brochures, and direct mail packages for you.

On using testimonials
Using testimonials - quotations from satisfied customers and cli-
ents - is one of the simplest and most effective ways of adding
punch and power to brochure, ad and direct mail copy.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 59
robert w. bly
But how do you get testimonials? How do you use them?

Here are some tips for using testimonials:


1. Always use real testimonials instead of made-up ones. Even
the most skilled copywriter can rarely make up a testimonial
that can match the sincerity and credibility of genuine words of
praise from a real customer or client.

If you ask a customer to give you a testimonial, and he or she


says, “Sure, just write something and I’ll sign it,” politely reply:
“Gee, I appreciate that, but would you mind just giving me your
opinions of our product - in your own words?”

Fabricated or self-authored testimonials (those written by the


advertiser or their copywriter) usually sound phony; genuine tes-
timonials invariably have the ring of truth.

2. Prefer long testimonials to short ones. Many advertisers are


hooked on using very short testimonials. For instance:

“...fabulous!...”
“truly funny...thought-provoking...”
“...excellent...wonderful...”

I believe that when people see these ultra short testimonials, they
suspect that a skillful editing job has masked a comment that
was not as favorable as the writer makes it appear. In my opin-
ion, longer testimonials - say, two or three sentences versus a
single word or phrase - come across as more believable.

For example: “Frankly, I was nervous about using an outside


consultant. But your excellent service has made me a believer!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 60
robert w. bly
You can be sure that we’ll be calling on your firm to organize all
our major sales conferences and other meetings for us. Thanks
for a job well done!”

Sure, it’s longer, but it somehow seems more sincere than a one-
word superlative. Which brings us to....

3. Prefer specific, detailed testimonials to general or superlative


testimonials. Upon receiving a letter of praise from a customer,
our initial reaction is to read the letter and find the single sen-
tence that directly praises our company or our product. With a
blue pencil, we extract the words we think are kindest about us,
producing a bland bit of puffery such as:

“We are very pleased with your product.”

Actually, most testimonials would be stronger if we included


more of the specific, detailed comments our client has made about
how our product or service helped him. After all, the prospects
we are trying to sell to may have problems similar to the one our
current customer solved using our product. If we let Mr. Cus-
tomer tell Mr. Prospect how our company came to his rescue,
he’ll be helping us make the sale. For instance:

“We have installed your new ChemiCoat system in each of our


bottling lines and have already experienced a 25 percent savings
in energy and material costs. Thanks to your system, we have
now added an additional production line with no increase in
energy costs. This has increased profits 15 percent and already
paid back the investment in your product. We are very pleased
with your product.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 61
robert w. bly
Again, don’t try to polish the customer’s words so it sounds like
professional ad copy. Testimonials are usually much more con-
vincing when they are not edited for style.

4. Use full attribution. We’ve all opened direct mail packages


that contained testimonials from “J.B. in Arizona” or “Jim S.,
Self-Made Millionaire.” I suspect that many people laugh at
such testimonials and think they are phony.

To increase the believability for your testimonials, attribute each


quotation. Include the person’s name, city and state, and (if a
business customer) their job title and company (e.g., “Jim K.
Redding, vice president of manufacturing, Divmet Corporation,
Fairfield, NJ”). People are more likely to believe this sort of full
disclosure than testimonials which seem to conceal the identity
of the speaker.

5. Group your testimonials. There are two basic ways to present


testimonials: You can group them together in one area of your
brochure or ad, or you can scatter them throughout the copy. A
third alternative is to combine the two techniques, having many
testimonials in a box or buck slip and a smattering of other testi-
monials throughout the rest of your copy.

I’ve seen both approaches work well, and the success of the pres-
entation depends, in part, on the skill of the writer and the spe-
cific nature of the piece. But, all else being equal, I prefer the
first approach: to group all your testimonials and present them
as a single block of copy. This can be done in a box, on a sepa-
rate page or on a separate sheet. My feeling is that when the
prospect reads a half dozen or so testimonials, one right after
another, they have more impact and power than when the testi-
monials are separated and scattered throughout the piece.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 62
robert w. bly
6. Get permission. Make sure you get permission from your
customer to reprint his words before including his testimonial in
your copy.

I suggest that you send a letter quoting the lines you want to
reprint and ask permission to include them in ads, direct mail,
brochures, and other materials used to promote your firm.

Notice I’m asking for a general release that gives me permission


to use the customer‘s quotation in all current and future promo-
tions, not just a specific ad or letter. This lets me get more mile-
age out of his favorable comment and eliminates the need to ask
permission every time I want to use the quote in a new ad or
letter.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 63
andy bourland
How to Succeed
in Darn Near
Anything
Andy Bourland is
co-founder, and former
publisher and CEO of
ClickZ,acquired by INT
Media Group in
September, 2000.

Andy recently launched Every day, I get a bunch of emails from readers asking me all
his own Weblog and sorts of questions.
discussion site,
Bourland.com in which
he will monitor and "How do I get a job with an Internet start-up?"
discuss new business
models emerging in the
"How do I get the attention of a potential advertiser or spon-
post-VC/IPO online
business world. sor?"

Prior to launching ClickZ,


"How do I attract traffic?"
Andy helped launch the
Andover.net network,
later acquired by VA "How do I get on the speaker's list at various conferences?"
Linux. Before that, he
spent 15 years in high-
tech sales. I don't claim to have any intricate knowledge that transcends the
industry to give many of these people the answers they are look-
ing for. But what I can do is tell you about Jim Kelly and how he
got his job at ClickZ. If you take Jim's approach to darn near
anything you set out to do, you stack the cards in your favor in a
big way.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 64
andy bourland
The story began in the spring of 1999. We had decided to hire
our own sales rep after two years of exemplary service from one
of the top rep firms in the business. We ran ads in various places,
put an addendum to a publisher's letter we sent out to the list,
and put the word out on the street that we were in the market for
an account executive.

I remember two candidates in particular. One was a middle-aged


man with several years of online experience who talked himself
up quite well but clearly never took the time to get to know any-
thing about ClickZ. Another was a tall, handsome, charismatic
young man who — within minutes of sitting down for the inter-
view — guided the conversation to his demands: a 10 percent
equity stake in ClickZ, $150K minimum salary, plus an addi-
tional 15 percent commission. He was a bit fuzzy on what ClickZ
was all about, but he knew that we were a "dot-com company"
and had ambitious goals for a big payout in the not-too-distant
future.

Both of these guys were well qualified on paper, and I'm sure
that had I hired either one of them, they'd have done a fine job.

But then I got an email from Jim Kelly, who was a friend of a
friend of a friend of my brother and had heard about the oppor-
tunity. He was up front about the fact that – on paper – he wasn't
qualified for the job.

He had been in print advertising sales for some time and had
worked for several years selling ads for a marginal gay men's
publication with modest success. He was convinced he had a
great deal to offer us that couldn't be captured on paper, and he
asked if Ann and I would meet with him.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 65
andy bourland
What the heck... Why not? We set up a meeting with him in San
Francisco at the @d:Tech conference.

We were scheduled to meet at 10 a.m., but he showed up at the


hotel one hour early. He went to just about every exhibitor at
@d:Tech, spoke to its sales and marketing people, got its litera-
ture, came to an understanding of its business model, fished
around to find out if it was aware of ClickZ, and got an overall
education in the market that few of us would ever take the time
to do.

That's impressive. But what was more impressive was what he


did in the week prior to our appointment.

He took the time to read and digest all the articles that Ann and
I had ever written for ClickZ. He read a representative sampling
of the pieces written by all the major ClickZ writers. He looked
at all the ads and clicked on them, then explored around on the
web sites of our advertisers and sponsors in order to get a better
understanding of their business and why they might want to ad-
vertise on ClickZ.

So by the time Jim sat down to talk with us, he was a walking,
talking encyclopedia about ClickZ. He developed a detailed un-
derstanding of the business we are in and could articulate what
we were trying to do. He got a good handle on our culture. He
was able to discuss intelligently why an advertiser might benefit
by being on ClickZ.

All that to prepare for the first interview.

Needless to say, Jim got the job and has done quite well for us.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 66
andy bourland
But I have one complaint: He spoiled us rotten!

We get a steady stream of callers and visitors who want to part-


ner with us, sell to us, work for us, or whatever, and if it isn't
obvious within the first few minutes that they have done a Jim
Kelly research job on us, Ann and I give each other that "look"
(translated: that look we get when we're thinking, how do we get
out of this meeting?).

How does this translate to profitable online publishing, you ask?

When you are seeking to do business with someone — maybe


you're seeking an investor, a sponsor, an advertiser, a content
provider, or a technology partner — give yourself and that other
person the courtesy of doing your homework thoroughly, learn-
ing all you can about this person and his or her business. And do
so well before the meeting.

Look at the world through this person's eyes. Look at your busi-
ness from his or her vantage point, and see how you might ben-
efit him or her. Can you imagine how much this person will
appreciate the thorough preparation you've gone through for your
meeting? I can assure you, it feels great to have someone go to
that amount of trouble to prepare. When you're on the receiving
end of this type of treatment, you find yourself looking to find a
way to do business.

If you've really done your homework, you will make that deci-
sion as easy and painless as possible for your prospective client,
boss, partner, or advertiser as well.

Just like Jim did for us.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 67
andy bourland
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
So many marketing activities — whether they be ad campaigns,
mailings, events or even pursuing new career opportunities —
are planned and executed without the slightest consideration for
those we are seeking to persuade. We make it all about us: our
needs, our objectives, our quarterly goals, our desired results.

What I've discovered is that the truly successful put the needs of
others first. By thoroughly understanding THEIR needs, THEIR
objectives, THEIR goals and THEIR desired results and craft-
ing a solution that can help them do that, we are much more
likely to achieve our own.

This article struck a chord with ClickZ readers, many of whom


had forgotten this simple principle of success.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 68
alexandria k. brown
10 Keys
to Writing
Alexandria K. Brown
is president of AKB &
Associates, a marketing
communications
firm based in both
Copy That Sells!
Los Angeles & New York. Whether you're selling a product or service, the 10 tips below
are your keys to writing great copy that communicates and per-
Her FREE biweekly
e-zine, "AKB MarCom suades ... to get results! These guidelines can apply to most any
Tips," gives how-to tips form of consumer marketing communications: sales letters, bro-
on writing compelling
chures, Web copy, or direct mail. As long as your goal is to elicit
copy for Web sites,
brochures, and e-zines. a reaction from your reader, you've come to the right place.
Learn easy ways to
"write to sell" and attract
1. Be reader-centered, not writer-centered.
new customers today!
Subscribe now at Many ads, brochures, and Web sites we see talk endlessly on
www.akbwriting.com or and on about how great their products and companies are. Hello?
via mailto:AKBMarCom-
Customer, anyone?
On@lists.webvalence.com

Think of your reader thinking, "What's in it for me?" If you can,


talk with some of your current customers and ask them 1) why
they chose you, and 2) what they get out of your product or
service. TIP: To instantly make your copy more reader-focused,
insert the word "you" often.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 69
alexandria k. brown
2. Focus on the benefits — not just the features.
The fact that your product or service offers a lot of neat features
is great, but what do they DO for your customer? Do they save
her time or money? Give her peace of mind? Raise her image to
a certain status? Here's an example:
Alexandria is author of
the e-book, “Boost
Business With Your Own If you go buy a pair of Gucci sunglasses, you're not just looking
E-zine: 209 Secrets to
for good UV protection, are you? You're buying the sleek, styl-
Planning, Writing,
Publishing, and ish Gucci look. So that's what Gucci sells — the image. You
Promoting an E-mail don't see their ads talk about how well made their sunglasses
Newsletter That gets
are. Think end results. Now, what does an insurance broker sell?
Results.” Learn more at
http://www.ezine- Policies? No — peace of mind. (See? You've got it!)
queen.com. Her FREE
e-zine, “Tips from the
3. Draw them in with a killer headline.
E-zine Queen,” gives tips
on how to publish an The first thing your reader sees can mean the difference between
e-zine that gets you success and failure. Today's ads are chock full of clever head-
MORE BUSINESS.
lines that play on words. They're cute, but most of them aren't
Subscribe now at
www.ezine-queen.com. effective. There are many ways to get attention in a headline,
or via mailto:EzineQueen- but it's safest to appeal to your reader's interests and concerns.
On@lists.webvalence.com
And again, remember to make it reader centered — no one gives
a hoot about your company.

Bad: "SuccessCorp Creates Amazing New Financial Program."


Better: "Turn Your Finances Around in 30 Days!"

4. Use engaging subheads.


Like mini-headlines, subheads help readers quickly understand
your main points by making the copy "skimmable." Because
subheads catch readers' eyes, you should use them to your ben-
efit! Read through your copy for your main promotional points,
then summarize the ideas as subheads. To make your subheads
engaging, it's important to include action or selling elements.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 70
alexandria k. brown
Bad: "Our Department's Successes."
Better: "Meet Five Clients Who Saved $10K With Us."

5. Be conversational.
Write to your customers like you'd talk to them. Don't be afraid
of using conversational phrases such as "So what's next?" or
"Here's how do we do this." Avoid formality and use short, easy
words. Why? Even if you think it can't possibly be misunder-
stood, a few people still won't get it.

6. Nix the jargon.


Avoid industry jargon and buzzwords — stick to the facts and
the benefits. An easy way to weed out jargon is to think of dear
old Mom reading your copy. Would she get it? If not, clarify and
simplify. (This rule, of course, varies, depending on whom your
target audience is. For a specialized business audience, you should
upscale your words and “speak to them in their own language.”
In these cases, buzzwords can be crucial. Just make sure your
points don't get muddled in them!)

7. Keep it brief and digestible.


No one has time to weed through lengthy prose these days. The
faster you convey your product or service's benefits to the reader,
the more likely you'll keep her reading. Fire your "biggest gun"
first by beginning with your biggest benefit — if you put it to-
ward the end of your copy, you risk losing the reader before she
gets to it. Aim for sentence lengths of less than 20 words. When
possible, break up copy with subheads (see no. 4), bullets, num-
bers, or em dashes (like the one following this phrase) — these
make your points easy to digest.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 71
alexandria k. brown
8. Use testimonials when possible.
Let your prospects know they won't be the first to try you. Give
results-oriented testimonials from customers who have benefited
immensely from your product or service. Oh, and never give
people's initials only — it reminds one of those ads in the back
of magazines with headlines such as "Lose 50 Pounds in Three
Days!" Give people's full names with their titles and companies
(or towns and states of residence) — and be sure to get their
permission first.

9. Ask for the order!


Tell your reader what you want her to do — don't leave her hang-
ing. Do you want her to call you or e-mail you for more informa-
tion? Order now? Call to schedule a free consultation? Com-
plete a brief survey? Think about what you'd most like her to do,
and then ask her. It's amazing how many marketing materials I
come across every day that don't make it clear what the reader
should do. If you wrote interesting copy, your reader may forget
you're trying to sell something! Tell her what to do, and she'll be
more likely to do it.

10. Have your copy proofread.


Good. Now have it proofread again. Don't risk printing any typos,
misspellings, or grammatical mistakes that will represent your
company as amateurish. Hire a professional editor/proofreader
to clean up your work and double-check your grammar. Remem-
ber, you only get one chance to make a first impession! Oops —
*impression*.

© 2000, Alexandria K. Brown

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 72
alexandria k. brown
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
While I wrote “10 Keys to Writing Copy That Sells!” over two
years ago, it’s still one of my most-requested articles, simply
because it packs so much useful information into 10 concise
points.

Marketers, entrepreneurs, consultants, and professionals have


all told me they love this article and have found it very helpful
for writing their own promotional materials. If I do say so my-
self, it IS a great article. ; ) Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 73
BOOST BUSINESS
BY PUBLISHING
YOUR OWN E-ZINE
Let Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," show you how!
Her new e-book, "BOOST BUSINESS WITH YOUR OWN E-ZINE: 209 Secrets.," shows you, *step by step*, how to plan,
write, publish, and promote an e-mail newsletter (or "e-zine") that's GUARANTEED to help you gain business.

"Boost Business" walks you through the COMPLETE publishing process ... A to Z, soup to nuts ... with no hype or false
promises. Just easy-to-follow, practical tips you can begin using TODAY to dramatically improve your e-zine and begin
attracting new business.

You'll learn:
● How to target the EXACT type of subscribers you want. ● How to create a description that attracts subscribers
● The undisputed, most important factor in creatng like a MAGNET.
CONTENT that gets READ. ● Simple methods that will make your subscriber
● Ways to promote YOURSELF, your SERVICES, numbers SKYROCKET.
and your PRODUCTS without being "in your face." ● Where to find services that RECRUIT subscribers for you.
● The ONE WORD you should use as often as possible. ● How to find ADVERTISERS and accept ads and payments.
● How to write headlines that get (and hold) ● The one place you should NEVER put an ad in your e-zine.
your readers' ATTENTION. ● How to TRACK your ads and promotions to make sure
● What to write in the subject line so EVERY issue your dollars are well-spent.
gets opened and read. ... and of course, how to use your e-zine to *increase business!*
● The keys to "painless" LIST management.
● How to write dynamic ADS and where to submit them. (Complete table of contents at http://www.ezine-queen.com)

FREE BONUS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GROW YOUR SUBSCRIBER LIST -- QUICKLY AND EASILY
With your purchase, you get the FREE "E-Zine Queen Resource Report," featuring more than *268* instant e-zine re-
sources that will make your subscriber list *explode* with growth. (This list would take you DOZENS of hours to put together
yourself. It's truly the "mother" of all e-zine resource lists!) And of course, "The Queen" offers a COMPLETE MONEY BACK
GUARANTEE, so you buy with 0% risk.

Don't wait ANY longer to start your own e-zine — order "Boost Business" TODAY
at http://www.ezine-queen.com, and you'll be publishing by next week!
michael campbell
Judging
an ebook
by its cover
Michael Campbell
is a search engine
optimization specialist
and top internet
marketing consultant.
He has written a step by
step training system to Michael Carney asked me to provide you with the most effective
online success in the
article I've ever written. Having written nearly half a million
book called Nothing But
Net. It details how he words over the past five years, it sounded like a tall order.
generated over
$750,000 in internet
But then a moment flashed in my mind. I thought of an article I
revenues in less
than a year, with no wrote nearly two years ago. One that revolutionized the way
advertising costs, not that info products and ebooks were being sold on the web. I had
even so much as a
planned on saving it, writing an entire newsletter around it, but
business card.
decided instead to share it with you here.

It was February 2000 and my book Nothing But 'Net had been
out for about six months. I wanted to encourage my affiliates
and give them new tips for increasing their sales.

I had been testing and tracking, sales and click through, for doz-
ens of different types of ads. What I found was some startling
facts. I shared them with my affiliates, and little did I know, this
one email would change the way almost every guru sold their
products online.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 75
michael campbell
Hello Everyone,

Thank you doing such a wonderful job promoting Nothing But


'Net. Sales continue to do well thanks to people like you. If you
have a moment, please read about these sales tactics. You can
make a lot of money by using them.
In addition to writing
Nothing But 'Net,
Michael has produced I keep getting asked, "What's working right now? What style of
several internet market-
ads are working best? What's the best way to increase affiliate
ing and search engine
optimization products: sales?"

Internet Marketing
Without a doubt, still the best method of promotion, is a stand
Secrets Newsletter
This free newsletter is alone announcement to an opt-in list of regular readers. If you
for people who want to really like a product, endorse it, even rave about it a little, and
increase sales and
send the announcement to your readership, not combining it with
become better at mar-
keting, opt-in email, any other offer.
affiliate programs and
search engine rankings.
The people who know you, love you and trust you, will buy the
.InternetMarketingSecrets.com
product from you. Just be sure not to abuse that trust, or try to
Search Engine sell to too much, too soon, to your readership.
Commando
The first safe, yet auto-
mated, search engine Although this method works well, you can't use your list for
submission software every new product that comes along. If I had to pick a number,
package. It announces
I'd say no more than four special announcements to your list per
your web pages to the
search engines, so you year. So pick your products wisely and be sure they are good
don't have to. You'll have ones, that are well supported.
more time to run your
business.
SearchEngineCommando.com So if you can only "hit your list" four times a year, what else can
you do? Well, I'm having very good success lately with the prod-
uct review. I buy the product, work through it, find out every-
thing I can about it, and write a detailed review. I then post the
review in my Vault or Internet Marketing Secrets newsletter.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 76
michael campbell
It takes about a day to do each review but it's well worth it. Each
review means dozens of immediate sales, plus dozens more over
the next few months, as new subscribers discover back issues of
the newsletter.

Search Engine
The review also becomes instant content for my web site. It goes
Positioning
A series of revealing to work for me as a web page in the search engines. It's a win
articles and reports, win situation. A thousand times better than sticking up a banner.
detail exactly how to get
listed at the top of the
search engines and stay Third best is the endorsement style ad. This style includes a pic-
there. Apply these ture of the product, a headline, a paragraph of ad copy endorsing
strategies to your web
the product, a call to action, and a price. This is similar to a
site and watch your
positioning soar. catalog or flyer style ad. Usually for this style of ad, you don't
SearchEnginePositioning.com need to buy and review the product. Often you can glean enough
bullets and benefits by reading the sales letter for the product.
The Secret Vault They usually write a headline that you can copy and paste, but
Hundreds of pages of the graphic is something you might have to create for yourself.
internet marketing and
search engine secrets.
A private resource for <This is the real important part that changed everything.>
Michael's newsletter
subscribers and
I'm surprised at how few ebooks actually have a photo of what
customers
1-internet they look like. I often have to create a product logo or make the
-marketing.com/ cover shot myself. It means loading up the PDF, taking a screen
vault.htm
shot, dumping it into Photoshop, reducing the size and making a
drop shadow. Not too complicated, but it makes a BIG differ-
ence in sales.

I'm testing ads on several domains. The identical endorsement


ads with a graphic or cover shot are pulling 77% more clicks
than ones without a picture. Having a headline is sound advice,
but what I learned in 10 years of typesetting flyers is... the graphic
stops the eye for one second.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 77
michael campbell
One second is all you need! Once the graphic catches the eye,
then it moves the eye to the headline and into the text. Without
the graphic, there is nothing "arresting" on the page.

So if you want 77% more clicks and 45% more sales, put up a
Michael Campbell has a
graphic representation of what the product looks like, whether
background in the
printing trade, graphic its a virtual software box or synthetic ebook cover. People want
design and advertising. to feel like they are buying something tangible, even if its a dig-
Online since 1986, he
ital product.
began using the internet
in 1993 and was one of
the first people to realize So if you want more sales, PRE-SELL your visitor with a prod-
it was the most impor-
uct review or a product endorsement that includes a picture of
tant communications
revolution since the product.
Gutenberg's printing
press.
Here are some tested and proven sell through ratios. (Percentage
Michael has served on of people who bought after clicking the type of link listed.)
several university and
corporate advisory
Banner Ad = 2.2%
boards, given hands on
training seminars, Text Only Link (in related content) = 5.5%
spoken at lectures and Endorsement Ad (no graphic) = 18.1%
conferences. He is
Endorsement Ad (with product shot) = 63.2%
president and CEO of
Dynamic Media Corpora- Product Review (with product shot) = 85.9%
tion and currently
resides in Vancouver,
So if you're not making good money with affiliate programs,
British Columbia, Canada.
take a good hard look at your web site and your newsletter. Re-
consider taking down some of those banners, text links or classi-
fied ads that aren't working, and replace them with advertising
that works.

Best regards,

Michael Campbell
Author - Nothing But 'Net
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 78
michael campbell
Within 48 hours after the release of this email, my phone started
ringing and the email was flying. Could the simple presence of a
graphic create 45% more sales? In a word... yes, but no one be-
lieved me.

Sure they had graphics on their sites. Usually there was a banner
or logo at the top, a stock photo of a person, maybe credit card
logos at the bottom. But no one had ebook cover shots, I had to
make them all myself.

Even one of the internet's most famous copywriters phoned and


asked, "Surely the headline, price point or ad copy must have
been different? Something?" Being a text oriented sales letter
guru he just couldn't believe it.

No, the ONLY difference was the graphic. They were identical
ads, with identical headlines, copy, call to action and price. One
had a picture representing the ebook cover, the other did not.

Then I did it for his product. I took a screen snap of the first page
of his PDF ebook, reduced it in size Photoshop and threw on a
drop shadow. I then dropped the "cover shot" into the existing
review I had written for his product.

Sales for his product TRIPLED, in just two weeks. News spread
like wildfire.

Needless to say, the moral of the story was learned and within
14 days, every single ebook author, ezine writer and software
maker I mention on my site, had supplied me with freshly de-
signed ebook and software covers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 79
michael campbell
Bottom line is, people like clicking on pictures. People want to
feel like they are buying a box, even if no box exists upon deliv-
ery. Even if you just write a newsletter, create a graphic showing
several issues printed out and fanned out for display.

Hope you have enjoyed the "most effective" article that I've ever
written. This humble little email virtually revolutionized the way
digital products were being sold online. All it took was a single
lesson from the dirt world of advertising. (I knew those 10 years
of typesetting flyers would come in handy sooner or later. :-)

(Oh, and by the way, tests have shown that if the box or cover
looks 3D, it looks even more real and gets even more sales. And
if there is a picture of a person on the box - it gets even more
sales.)
Click the cover to buy
from Amazon.com
Hope you've enjoyed this article. If you would like to read more
like it, please sign up for my free newsletter at
InternetMarketingSecrets.com. Happy Marketing :-)

Best regards,

Michael Campbell

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 80
linda caroll
Does Your Site
Smell? Take
I have 20 years of
experience in graphic
design, copywriting,
marketing & business
the Kiss Test
and Find Out
administration. That's no
admission of age, I
stopped aging long ago.
I've been working in
advertising since 1979
and with computer-
graphics and desktop I was reading one of my favorite ezines the other day when an
publishing since 1986.
I discovered the internet
ad caught my eye. Now, that's rare! Having written ads for over
in 1995... and have been a decade, I'm usually pretty numb to them.
developing websites and
providing internet
marketing consultation
So, I clicked. Can you believe a blank white page loaded? Turns
since 1998. Remember out the site only "worked" in one specific browser. Sadly, the
external hard drives and company will probably blame the ad or the ezine for poor re-
DOS? I do!
sults- when the website was clearly at fault.

What's worse, there are a lot of websites online that have prob-
lems that the owners are simply not aware of.

There's the newspaper website that tests exactly how far a browser
can scroll to the right.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 81
linda caroll
And the lawyer's site that had empty spaces where content should
have been...

And the art gallery site that you can't get into because of javascript
errors and lack of any text navigation... and the list goes on.
I've learned that if you
study anything long
enough, it all boils down Do you know how your website looks to all your visitors?
to people. People like
you and me. People with
feelings like yours and The Internet has been dubbed "The Great Equalizer." It's true.
mine. We don't want to An effective website can put large and small companies on the
be conned, tricked, lied
same playing field. The operative word, of course, being "effec-
to or led down the
garden path. We just tive." On the Internet, what you don't know CAN hurt you.
want to be respected.
I believe that sincerity
Promoting a poorly designed website is like going to a business
still kicks butt like
nothing else. meeting in your underwear and wondering why no one will stop
laughing and take you seriously.
Despite the popularity
of all the "secrets of"
programs out there, Anyone can design a website. Designing a website that works is
I don't believe success another story. A website needs to load properly in all browsers,
is a secret. Success is a
screen resolutions and on both Mac and PC platforms. It needs
gift that people give you
in return for what you to look professional and be easy to navigate. And - it needs to
give them. effectively sell the product or service.

If your website isn't all that, it's probably kissing your customers
goodbye. That's not going to do your reputation or your profit
any good. On the Internet, you don't get a second chance to make
a good first impression.

Before you run even one more promotion, or one more ad, take
five minutes... try the Kiss Test. It's free!

To take the Kiss Test, click here:


http://www.lindacaroll.com/kiss.html
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 82
linda caroll
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
The article, "Does your site smell?" has been published under
several titles, including "The Kiss Test; Is your website kissing
your customers goodbye?" and "The Dick Test; What DO your
visitors think of you?" Along with title changes, the article has
I don't believe there is
been modified to keep up with current web standards with each
any one formula for
success. Neither business rerun.
or life comes in a "one
size fits all" package.
Regardless of title, I believe the article consistantly returns in-
Have you ever seen a run
of the mill success story? credible results for two reasons:
I do believe that when
you win people's hearts,
Reason #1: High Interest in the Topic
their minds will follow. I
believe that many people
have good ideas. They The article addresses an issue that is a concern to anyone doing
simply lack the knowl-
business online. Effective website design.
edge that would allow
them to propel their
ideas skyward. Dreams In the brick and mortar world, if a merchant ran a promotion,
without wings. My goal
they'd be sure their store was open for business when the ad
is to teach people what
works on the Internet went out.
and give them the wings
- with which they can
On the internet, many website owners simply do know have the
fly!"
knowledge base or tools at hand to know if their website is ac-
cessible - or what it looks like - to all potential customers.

For that reason, website usability, performance & design are


high interest issues.

Reason #2: The article develops familiarity through repeat con-


tact.

1. First, the reader reads the article via an ezine or article


database.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 83
linda caroll
2. At the end of the article, the reader is offered a link to a free
quiz to see if their site may have problems that would affect sales
and results.

3. At the end of the quiz, the reader is invited to request a free


Linda lives in the GTA
review if they would like a professional opinion.
(Greater Toronto Area),
Canada.
4. If the reader requests a review, it's offered with no strings,
You can visit her
no obligation and no cost. It's a friendly contact and a helping
websites at:
www.LindaCaroll.com hand amidst the jungle.
www.WebsiteMagic.tv
www.Swdomains.com
In the long run, I believe in the adage "Give first. Then receive."
Some of my best clients have come from readers that fared well
with their review, and passed the quiz on to a friend.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 84
Failure is optional.

Success takes guts. Passion.

Join our network of success stories.

We dare you.

Want proof? Our client portfolio includes...


KoaCoffee.com; listed in Forbes Top 50, Summer 2001...
Actress Laura Elena Harring, of Golden Globe winner Mulholland Drive.
International Model/Actress Alicia Arden...
The Lion Man of Chicago; featured in a New York Times article...
Rick Beneteau (need I say more?)
and many, many more!
shawn collins
What
are affiliates
Shawn is the Director of
Affiliate Marketing for
ClubMom, where he
thinking?
launched the affiliate
program in March 2000. We often read about the best practices in the affiliate marketing
Prior to joining ClubMom industry, but much of what we read has come from the pages of
Shawn served as the
Affiliate Manager for
textbooks, rather than from experience. While there is certainly
Refer-it.com, as well as value to being book smart, it's equally important to be affiliate
the Senior Marketing smart.
Analyst for Medsite.com,
where he worked on
their affiliate program. Along those lines, the first industry-wide benchmarking study,
Affiliate Metrix, was recently launched. This report combined
analysis of data gathered from affiliate managers by yours truly,
as well as best practices for the industry.

Recently, I called out to the ClubMom affiliates to ask them


about what they don't like about affiliate marketing. In general,
they love the concept, but they've still got plenty of gripes about
the state of things. With the bonhomie of a game show host, I
present their requests and comments for a better industry.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 86
shawn collins
The pesky 1x1 pixel
Many merchants require that affiliates use the 1x1 pixel (tiny,
clear graphic placed with an affiliate link to track link perform-
ance). Merchants want it because it tracks affiliate link impres-
sions. Meanwhile, a great number of affiliates regard the 1x1
Shawn’s columns on
pixel as the cockroach of affiliate marketing. Biggest affiliate
affiliate marketing have
appeared on ClickZ.com complaints: can't use the 1x1 pixel in text newsletters, as well as
and a number of other in banner rotation scripts and software.
marketing sites, and he
wrote a column for the
now-defunct SAM The check is in the mail
Magazine. One of the key decisions when starting up an affiliate program is
the frequency and threshold of commission payments. Will you
Shawn founded the
United States Affiliate pay monthly, or quarterly? Does the affiliate have to earn $25,
Manager Coalition, and $50, $100, or is there no minimum? Biggest affiliate complaints:
the Affiliate Webinar, as
not issuing checks per the schedule in the affiliate agreement,
well as co-founding
Affiliate Metrix, Inc., a and only sending out checks after a high threshold.
research, analysis, and
benchmarking initiative
Lack of communication
for the affiliate market-
ing industry. In order to operate a successful affiliate program you must com-
municate, so affiliates know what is happening with your com-
pany. What is the best way to promote your program? What
upcoming promotions will assist the affiliates in converting more
sales and leads? You can count on questions. When you do re-
ceive queries, appreciate them, rather than show disdain by click-
ing delete. Biggest affiliate complaints: never receiving a re-
sponse when e-mail is sent to the affiliate manager, no updates
regarding new promotions, sweepstakes, sales, offers, etc., and
no appreciation or acknowledgement for performance.

Uncreative creative
According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), there are
seven most commonly accepted banner sizes. But if you look at

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 87
shawn collins
the average affiliate program, you might see a few 468x60 ban-
ners. Biggest affiliate complaints: slow loading graphics, large
image sizes, lack of choice in size and style of creative, creative
that doesn't keep up with the seasons, no text links or content
(articles, news feeds and other relevant free info to compliment
the advertising), and the absence of direct product links.
Shawn has spoken at
the following affiliate
marketing events: The unkindest pay cut
AffiliateFORCE 2002
Foresight is key when setting the commission rate for affiliates.
Miami & the Bahamas,
March 2002 Using conventional wisdom, you could imagine that a company
IIR All-Star Performance will be more likely to retain employees if they increase, rather
Marketing
than decrease salaries. Just the same, show some restraint when
New York City, August 2001
i-Marq Partner Up: Affiliate setting those commission levels. Biggest affiliate complaint: re-
Marketing in Action ducing commission rates.
Web Conference, June 2001
AffiliateFORCE 2001
Miami & Bahamas, April2001 Lazy links
IIR Online Allies In the big picture of the merchant/affiliate relationship, the onus
San Francisco, January 2001
is on the merchants to provide the tools necessary for affiliates
Affiliate Webinar
Online, December 2000 to generate click throughs and conversions. When links don't
Affiliate Solutions work, affiliates don't stick around. Be sure to test and re-test
New York City, Sept 2000
your links before letting them loose on the world. Biggest affili-
Affiliate Solutions
San Francisco, June 2000 ate complaints: links for time-sensitive promotions that continue
Be Free's Semester at Sea to promote an offer after the end date, links that go dead with no
Boston, June 2000
notice from the merchant, and graphic link codes that leave the
Be Free's East Coast
Customer Briefing "alt text" blank.
New York City, April 2000
AffiliateFORCE 2000
Stamp of approval
Miami, March 2000
Affiliate Solutions There are two schools of thought when it comes to approving
New York City, Dec 1999 affiliates: automatic or manual. Affiliates tend to be rankled by
manual approval. But it's something you've got to do to limit
fraud and maintain a quality group of affiliates. Manually ap-
prove, but do it early and often. Biggest affiliate complaints:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 88
shawn collins
overly restrictive criteria for affiliate acceptance, taking too long
to approve sites, and setting minimums for affiliate output.

Limited viability
When a site joins an affiliate program, there is a partnership where
Shawn's first book is
the merchant is entrusting the affiliate to drive quality traffic
entitled "Successful
Affiliate Marketing for that will lead to conversions at the merchant site. That said, af-
Affiliates" (ISBN: filiates are inclined to exhibit their affiliation to increase the
0789725258) by Que
chance of a click. Biggest affiliate complaint: programs that do
Publishing. Shawn
received a Bachelor of not allow affiliates to use the name of the merchant anywhere on
Arts in Communications the affiliate site (site copy, meta tags, etc.).
from the University of
Maryland at College Park.
E-mail Shawn Collins at Switching affiliate solution providers
shawn@affiliatemanager.net The early decisions in starting an affiliate program are often the
for more information.
most significant. The choice of an affiliate solution provider
should be made once, so merchants ought to perform extensive
due diligence before getting in bed with any vendor. After all,
some of the best affiliates have domains dedicated entirely to
one affiliate program. This sort of endeavor can translate into
hundreds of links. Biggest affiliate complaint: merchants switch-
ing affiliate solution providers.

The merchant that wouldn't leave


Affiliates tend to test many programs, and drop those that don't
perform. This is an easy procedure with some affiliate solution
providers and a bit convoluted with others. Biggest affiliate com-
plaint: Be Free merchants that do not remove affiliates when
requested to do so, and not removing merchants that have gone
out of business or otherwise closed their programs.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 89
shawn collins
Dead letter office
Affiliates get lots of e-mail from merchants… mission critical
messages, random updates, newsletters, etc. The affiliates seem
to be receptive to most communication (minus unsolicited com-
mercial e-mail), but they want those messages sent to their e-
mail address. Biggest affiliate complaint: the internal e-mail sys-
tems of Commission Junction and LinkShare.

Innocent until proven guilty


Merchants are becoming increasingly vigilant when it comes to
affiliate fraud. One of the methods for detecting fraud is by de-
termining if the same IP address is used voluminously. Biggest
affiliate complaint: merchants do not realize that some honest
activity may have the appearance of fraud, such as the use of
Internet boosters, and the fact that AOL and WebTV users are
represented by a finite bank of IP addresses.

Ending Program With No Warning


Over time, we've seen the closure of a handful of big-name dot-
coms, and therefore the closure of some big-name affiliate pro-
grams. Other companies choose to close their programs. In some
cases, the companies don't bother to share this information with
the affiliates, or they do so at the eleventh hour, which is tough
for affiliates that do not make frequent updates. Biggest affiliate
complaint: closing a program without advance notice.

Poor tracking and reporting


Buggy systems are a way of life with new technology, but when
affiliates are trying to monetize their traffic, they want the prob-
lems to be fixed yesterday and persistent instances of incorrect
tracking and reporting could lead to affiliate defections. Biggest
affiliate complaint: unreliable tracking and reporting.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 90
shawn collins
Promote this
As it stands now, click through rates for banners are hovering
below a half of a percent. That is often for a decent promotion,
but branding banners… fuhgedaboutit! It's no secret (is it?) that
the affiliate programs that perform best are those that are tied to
offers and contests. Not offers of free e-mail accounts, but ten
percent off a purchase or the chance to win a free automobile.
Biggest affiliate complaint: no promotions or offers to incentivize
the conversions.

Affiliate solution provider errata


When a site is designed, one of the most important factors is the
ease of navigation. It stands to reason that if a visitor can't figure
out the navigation, they're going to click the "back" button. An-
other key component for a well-oiled site is intuitive functional-
ity. If it's too hard to apply to a program or find the correct link,
it simply will not happen. Biggest affiliate complaint: poor navi-
gation, product search that can never find products, and inability
to join programs through the merchant site with a current user
name.

Listen… if it was easy to run a great program, everybody would


be doing it. Thicken your skin; take this constructive criticism to
heart and the industry will be better for it. And remember, there's
no crying in affiliate marketing!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article covered a number of issues in affiliate marketing
that turn off affiliates, and what to do to rectify the problems.
This information is vital to affiliate managers, as many of them
are not affiliates themselves, and thus they are oblivious to some
of the basic wants and needs of affiliates.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 91
DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!

Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants is an affiliate marketing "How To" guide
that covers the history of the industry, and provides a roadmap for the planning, implemen-
tation, and management of a successful affiliate program.

Each chapter in the 352-page book contains information about affiliate marketing and how
to best optimize it.

Authors Shawn Collins, called "one of the Net's most astute affiliate program managers,"
and Frank Fiore, eBusiness Strategist and Affiliate Marketing Consultant, show readers
all of the essential components of an affiliate program in a simple to understand format.

"If you manage an affiliate program, you need this book"


Allan Gardyne, founder of AssociatePrograms.com

Check out the Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants website at

http://www.affiliatemanager.net/
willie crawford
How To Write
Top Ten
Doorway Pages
I was raised on a small
tobacco farm in
Fairmont, North Carolina,
by my grandmother. We
were relatively poor but

(An Actual
never lacked the real
necessities. My grand-
mother always had a
garden, and we raised
much of our own live-

Example)
stock. I went to work for
neighboring farmers
when I was six and
worked in the tobacco
fields practically every
year until I graduated
from high school. We read a lot about doorway pages and how they can be used to
get you top search engine placement. From the email and calls
While growing up, my
grandmother shared her that I get you would think they are pretty difficult to do. Actu-
basic Christian values ally they are fairly simple to do. All you really need to do is
with me and my two
create a short, simple page that targets 1 or 2 keyword phrases.
younger brothers. We
learned to be fair, To show you how simple it is, I created a doorway page target-
honest, & self-sufficient. ing the keyword phrases "professional webpage optimization"
We learned to live by the
and "webpage optimization." This page was specifically designed
golden rule of treating
others as we wanted to for Alta Vista but I considered how the Inkitomi index would
be treated. treat it too since Yahoo feeds from this index.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 93
willie crawford
This page probably took no more than 10 minutes to write and
refine. I designed the page using the doorway page feature of
Web Position Gold software. It took another 5 minutes to pub-
lish the page and submit it to the top 10 search engines. You
would want to design a different page for each search engine
We grew up relatively
since each weight the various factors differently. However, for
poor - but happy. My
mother and father the purpose of this "lesson" we will just look at the page de-
separated when I was signed for Alta Vista. First we will look at how it did, then we
about four. My grand-
will look at WHY it ranked as it did. All of my stats are as of
mother took the three
youngest boys so that when I wrote this article on August 18th, 1999.
my mother could move
to the northeast where
If you go to Yahoo.com and enter the keyword phrase "profes-
wages were higher.
sional webpage optimization" and then click on webpage
I was 16 before I ever matches you will find this page as the first of 1,404 pages that
tasted steak.
Yahoo returns. If you click on the Alta Vista link on the bottom
I was 14 before I ever of the Yahoo search page it will take you to the Alta Vista re-
went to a movie theater. turns for the same keyword search. You will see that this page
comes up number 1 out of 2,400,000+ pages. Not bad ;-)
We did not have a
telephone or a television
for most of my youth Actually, you got two different pages. You see I wanted to see
and teen years.
how a page without metatags would rank compared to one with
By the time I was in 11th metatags. The page listed number 1 at Yahoo has metatags and
grade, my teachers the one listed number 1 at Alta Vista does not. The pages are
noticed the potential I
identical otherwise. I believe in testing and experiment A LOT.
showed and steered me
towards college. I It's the only way to really grasp what given search engines like.
applied to and was I found these results interesting since Alta Vista uses metatags
accepted at 3 different
but listed the one of two pages I submitted that contained no
universities. I went to
the only one I had visited metatags. The listing just contains the top few lines of text from
– North Carolina State my webpage. This shows that if you don't use metatags to "tell"
University.
AltaVista how to list you, they just grab the text. The two pages
were submitted on different days so I would also expect the
other page to eventually show up in their index.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 94
willie crawford
These same 2 pages placed:

2 out of 3,000 at Yahoo for "webpage optimization"

2 out of 2,530 at HotBot for "webpage optimization"


I also enrolled in Air
Force ROTC in my junior
year, and was commis- 1 and 2 at MSN for "webpage optimization"
sioned an officer in the
USAF upon graduation.
The page also did well for several other keyword phrases at a
I was assigned to C-130
transport planes and got number of search engines but I just wanted to show that it did
to see much of the list number 1 at Alta Vista, since that's what it was designed to
world over the next two
do. Alta Vista is fun to work with because they get your page
decades.
into the index in 1 to 2 days. You get very quick feedback on
Near the end of my how your page did. Now let's look at WHY it did well. The se-
military career, I decided
cret to this page is that it contained my target keyword phrase
to pursue my dream of
owning my own busi- "webpage optimization" - in the title, in the metatags, and even
ness. It seemed natural in the webpage url. The phrase is mentioned on the page a number
to start something on
of times but not enough where the spam filters would kick in.
the internet since an
internet business was so The phrase is also in my alt text tag that goes along with my
portable. image. To the search engines this page is clearly about webpage
optimization.
I spent hundreds of
hours surfing the
internet reading every- A few people would look at this page and say that it looks rather
thing I could find. I read
plain. That's because I wanted to keep it simple. The more ele-
and I studied. Like most
of you, I was looking for ments you put on a page, the harder it is to balance all of the
the secret to success in factors that you know the search engines weigh. This page is
this business. I would
designed to get a visitor to click on the link found at the search
eventually discover that
they are no real secrets. engine. He finds this doorway page and from there clicks deeper
It takes hard work, into your site. Study this example and try a few of your own. In
persistence, and a
no time at all you should also be writing doorway pages that list
worthwhile product or
service. in the top 10 or 20 at your target search engine for your target
keyword phrase.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 95
willie crawford
This will bring in more targeted traffic for you and hopefully
more business.

If you would like to get a free trial version of Web Position Gold,
download it at http://williecrawford.com/wpgold/index.html
Copyright 1999-2002 by
Willie Crawford
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
Willie Crawford is a This was my most successful article ever. In the article I out-
marketing consultant,
lined exactly how I created a "doorway" page that many spidering
promotion specialist and
popular writer. His search engines would love. The article was written at a time
website at contains over when doorway pages were the rave. It was a big hit because I
160 articles on internet
gave my readers an example to investigate and study.
marketing as well as a
very active discussion
forum. Visit today and I ran the article in my newsletter, and then submitted it to over
begin learning what
300 ezines. About 40 of these ezines ran the article. I also sub-
really DOES work in
building your business mitted the article to Allen Says to post on his "Warriors Secret
www.williecrawford.com Site." All of the ezines generated lots of immediate traffic. Since
the Warriors were over 30,000 strong last time I checked, I was
assured lots of exposure there.

Since I first wrote that article, it has been posted on more


websites, run in more ezines, and included in more ebooks than
I can keep track of. Even though the article is somewhat dated,
it continues to drive targeted traffic to my website. Since this
article is so widely posted across the web it also pulls in a steady
stream of traffic via the search engines.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 96
Did You Know That You Can
Earn GREAT Money Selling

COOKBOOKS?
Our soul food cookbook is so popular that
we've put many other projects on the back
burner for now. Everybody eats, and a large
percentage of the population collects cook-
books.

I've used my marketing know-how to build a site that gets 10,000 - 15,000
unique visitors per day. I've used my secret family recipes to create a cook-
book that sells like hotcakes.

We know that we are reaching only a small percentage of the HUNGRY potential buyers.
That's where you come in. We'll pay you a nice 35% commission on each copy that you sell.
You just refer others to our site and the cookbook practically sells itself. We'll even give
you a personalized mini cookbook (ebook) that drives traffic and sales for you.

Check out the cookbook and our affilate program at http://chitterlings.com/affiliate.html

While at the site, spend some time studying it. It is a site that the search engines LOVE.
We are in the top ten at virtually every search engine for all of our target keywords. Our
SECRET is lots of relevant content. It's also incorporating many ways to keep visitors re-
turning over and over again. Even if you are not interested in becoming an affiliate, this
site is worth studying as a successful SELLING MACHINE.

Drop by today: http://www.chitterlings.com


klaus dahl
The Untold
Secrets Of
Klaus is first of all a
Christian who believes
in Jesus Christ as his
saviour.
Marketing That
For several years Klaus
has been engaged in
sales and marketing -
both online and offline.
Make Your
Customers Run
When he studied
theology, he worked
as a successful
telemarketing salesman.
Later on he went from

To And With You


door-to-door as a
salesman. The experi-
ences learned through
the hard business of
selling, taught him much
about what selling is,

- All The Way


what motivates people
to buy, and the
importance of having
integrity in one's
business.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com
To The Bank98
klaus dahl
Did you know that there is one thing that all successful Internet
entrepreneurs have in common?

It's not...

Klaus has studied


* technical skills
successful practical
Direct Marketing in * a high intelligence quotient
detail. Klaus soon got * a higher energy than all others
interested in the
* more money
Internet, and immedi-
ately saw the fantastic
possibilities on the net. ...or anything like that.
Today the World Wide
Web is an integral part of
his everyday life. Conse- All of these assets can be good and well, but none of them (in
quently he began work- themselves) turns a person into a successful Internet entrepre-
ing with websites and
neur.
webmarketing.

Klaus Dahl was educated What does characterize the really successful Internet entrepre-
as a theologian on the
neurs, then?
University of Aarhus,
Denmark. In addition, he
has studied marketing - The answer is...
both offline and online
Marketing - extensively
for years. They know how to market their products and services effec-
tively.
Klaus is married with
Anette and they have
three children: Majbritt, You can have the best product or service in the world, but if no
seven years, and one knows about it, you would still fail miserably, don't you
Joachim, ten years and
agree?!
Cecilia, 15 months.

So the question is...

What is the real key to successful marketing?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 99
klaus dahl
A VERY WIDESPREAD LIE ABOUT MARKETING THAT
WILL RUIN YOU

Whenever you read a book or an article on marketing, or listen


to one of the many tapes on the subject, you'l almost always see
and hear marketing reduced to a bunch of laws and rules.

"Do this, do that", "follow these seven steps", "use this particu-
lar software program", "buy this cgi-script" and so on.

And then you're promised that if you just do this and that, you'll
surely succeed.

The problem is just that...

* it doesn't work that way,


* you easily get very confused, and
* it often makes you go around in circles (never getting
anywhere).

The mistake almost all would-be-marketers make is that they


reduce marketing to a bunch of rules, techniques and techno-
logical tools.

And nothing could be more wrong!

Hear this...

Effective marketing cannot be reduced to clever techniques, smart


methods, tips, tricks, cgi-scripts, computer skills or anything like
that!!!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 100
klaus dahl
Now, I don't say that you shouldn't use all this as an effective
marketer. What I say is that you can't reduce marketing to all
this. Marketing is so much more than techniques and technical
skills.

But...

WHAT IS REALLY EFFECTIVE MARKETING ACTUALLY?

Do you want to know what true marketing is?

And I'm talking about marketing that really sets you apart from
all your competitors. Marketing that will make your business
very successful. Marketing that makes your sales go crazy.

Here is the golden "rule" of marketing (and life in general), the


best description of the basis of highly effective marketing that
I've ever heard:

"...IN EVERYTHING, DO TO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD


HAVE THEM DO TO YOU..."
-- Matthew 7:12

What almost all would-be-marketers forget, is that...

***MARKETING IS ABOUT PEOPLE.***

Marketing is about communicating with people, but it's even


more than that:

Marketing is about ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS


with other people!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 101
klaus dahl
Please read that again!

This definition of marketing is so contrary to most of what you


hear today, that you may be tempted to dismiss it as a misunder-
standing of marketing.

But I promise you, it's not a misunderstanding!

Believe me, the really, truly successful Internet entrepreneurs


practise their marketing according to this principle - even if they
are not all aware of it.

But how do you build that kind of relationship?

Just like the way all other healthy friendships are built - namely
by...
GAINING THE TRUST of your customer.

If your customer doesn't trust you, you can have the best product
in the world and still fail.

The way you earn the trust of your customers, is by following


the Golden Rule I mentioned above.

The Golden Rule means that you'll have to...

* Give before you receive


* Ask your customers what they want to get
* Listen to your customers' desires
* Be willing to go out of your way for serving your customers
* Keep your integrity, and don't compromise your inner
convictions

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 102
klaus dahl
This doesn't mean that you should not charge for your products
and services. Not at all! But it means that you would do wise to
GIVE your customers what they want the most - provided of
course that you can give them that. I don't mean that you should
compromise your moral or ethical convictions in any way.

But if you're willing to give people what they want, and in the
way that they want it, they will be willing to pay you a very
healthy return.

People are STARVING FOR SOLUTIONS TO THEIR PROB-


LEMS and HELP TO REALIZE THEIR DREAMS. If you can
help them do just that, you'll almost certainly succeed.

The problem with much so-called modern "marketing" is that it


tries to MANIPULATE the customers. It's often dishonest and
built on lies.

The CRISIS OF MODERN MARKETING is that PEOPLE


DON'T TRUST IT ANY MORE. They are so used to getting
cheated that they don't trust all the marketing messages that they
get thrown in their head.

On the one hand this is a problem for much of today's marketing


industry.

On the other hand it's YOUR chance.

Because if you give up trying to manipulate your customers


through the methods used by modern "marketing", you'll really
be noticed by your customers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 103
klaus dahl
The mistake that a lot of marketers do, is that they try to press
people to become their customers. But you can't force people to
buy from you. At least it doesn't work in the long run.

This doesn't mean that you shall not give your customers a very
good reason for acting fast, instead of postponing their buying
decision. But it does mean that you should never give your cus-
tomers a false picture of what they'll get through your product or
service.

In other words, be careful not to lose your customers’ trust by


NOT giving them what they want.

If you listen to your customers’ desires and wants, you can change
your own direction and begin to fulfil these desires and wants.

Again, this means that you'll have to really give of yourself to


your customers. Of course you can charge your customers for
what you're doing for them. But they should always feel that
they get MORE FROM YOU THAN THEY GIVE TO YOU.

At first your customers will doubt if you're really to be trusted.


Because it almost seems to be good to be true that anyone is to
be trusted today.

But when they find out that you really can be trusted, they'll
become your loyal customers - probably for life.

In short, if you want to become really successful at marketing


your products and services, just begin to apply the Golden Rule
to your life and business.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 104
klaus dahl
Ask your customers (and yourself):

"What do you want to get? What are your problems? What are
you dissatisfied with at the moment? What do you want to be
improved?"

This means that you'll have to actually listen to your customers


AND take the consequence of their answers.

Maybe you'll have to change a few, or maybe many, parts of


your way of doing business.

But the more you learn to listen to your customers and change
both your products (or services) and your marketing, according
to their desires, the more successful you'll be.

Marketing is first of all a question of UNDERSTANDING your


customers and becoming AWARE of both their fears and their
wants, and then act accordingly.

Marketing is not primarily a bunch of marketing "techniques"


and smart "methods".

No, as I've said repeatedly here, it's first of all a question about
establishing a relationship with your customers and gaining their
trust. You do this by giving your customers much more than
they pay for.

It is so simple (and yet so difficult) that very few marketers actu-


ally follow the Golden Rule. But those who do, usually are very
successful. Do this and I promise you that you will be successful
too!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 105
klaus dahl
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
The message in this article is so important to me, because it
goes beyond the superficial marketing "rules" and techniques
that you hear all over the Internet.

What very few people understand is the UNDERLYING basis


for successful marketing. And that's precisely what I've described
in this article.If you understand the core message of this arti-
cle, you'll be able to sort between all the many confusing bids
on what marketing technique or tool you should rely on in your
marketing.

If you understand the psychological principles that constitutes


the solid basis of successful marketing, you'll be able to make it
really big in your business. Then you'll understand that all the
other marketing "rules", techniques, methods, tools etc. are only
extensions of this basic principle.

I wish you much success in your business!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 106
Discover The Inner Secrets Of How To Earn Money And Get Personal Freedom

Through Getting And Marketing Your Own 1000% Profit Margin Information

Products! Unique articles revealing little aspects of running an Information busi-

ness. If you know the secrets, it's much easier that you think. ✣ Since 1996 I've searched

to find an answer to the question, How can you earn money on the Internet without

starting with a lot of money, and without spending all your time on doing it? After

years of intense study I've found the answer. And that solution is working in my

own life. The solution isn't some get-quick-rich-scheme. It isn't MLM. ✣ The best

solution is to sell INFORMATION PRODUCTS. There are several very, very good

reasons why information products are the best products. And it's important that

you sell unique products. If you sell the products that all the other would-be entre-

preneurs on the Internet try to sell, you will almost certainly fail. The solution is to

get your OWN information products. And you don't need to spend months or even

years on writing your own books. Not at all! There are other, much easier and faster

ways to earn more money than 99 percent of all authors do. ✣ In my newsletter, The

Direct Marketing Review, you'll learn the secrets behind getting and marketing

your own information products. The articles are unique, which means that you won't

get that bunch of articles which you'll find everywhere on the Internet. ✣ Sign up for

our FREE electronic newsletter today and get 2 very valuable electronic books by

Peter Sun who's been extremely successful in marketing information. Learn the

guerilla secrets that Peter Sun has used again and again to skyrocket the profits of

small businesses and other companies.

Subscribe to "The Direct Marketing Review"

by going to http://www.klausdahl.com/Ezine1.html

and you'll get two very valuable books by Peter Sun.


kevin donlin
How to Double
Kevin Donlin has been
Your Sales With
Follow-up
marketing online since
before there was a Web.
He first sold an ebook on
Usenet in 1994. From
1995 to 1997, he was a

Marketing
Webmaster for
FedEx.com. Kevin
personally answered
more than 11,000 emails
in two languages from
customers worldwide.
Since 1999, he's shared
Need more customers who spend more with you? Here’s a
his marketing methods
via the Guaranteed proven, profitable system for doing it. It’s called “Follow-up
Marketing site at Marketing.” And it helped me double sales for my small busi-
guaranteedmarketing.com.
ness, to more than $100,000. (To date, these principles have gen-
erated $313,235 for me -- and counting!)

Follow-up Marketing has two main parts. Chances are you’re


already doing one or the other. But if you do both, you can liter-
ally double your sales as I did. In one year ... or less.

To make the Follow-up Marketing equation work, you must do


two things:
1) Convert more prospects into customers and
2) Sell more to your customers over their lifetime

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 108
kevin donlin
Part I: Convert more prospects into customers

Here’s a cold, hard fact. More than 95% of your prospects will
never, EVER, buy from you the first time they see your offer
online.
He's been interviewed by
Entrepreneur Magazine,
CBS Radio in Minneapolis Just ask yourself this: when’s the last time you went surfing the
and Los Angeles, KMSP Net with one hand on your mouse and the other on your credit
TV, Home Office Comput-
card? Your prospects are no different. In most cases, making a
ing magazine, c|net
online magazine, Saint purchase is the last thing on their mind when they visit your
Paul Pioneer Press, and Web site.
others. A columnist for
the Minneapolis Star
Tribune, Kevin has Heck, I’ve tried GIVING away products online that had a real
written for the Wall value of $20 … and failed to interest as much as 75% of all
Street Journal's Business
visitors.
Employment Weekly,
Opportunity World
Magazine, and others. Various studies (and my own experience) have shown that you’ll
likely have to contact prospects 5, 6, 7 times -- or more -- before
they believe in you and your offer enough to buy.

How can you put the odds in your favor? By using sequential
autoresponders.

With a sequential autoresponder, people who give you their email


address in exchange for free info (such as a special report) will
automatically get follow-up marketing messages from you. You
determine what information they get and how often they get it.

You can easily contact prospects up to seven times, depending


on which service you use. Two of the most popular are
GetResponse (http://www.getresponse.com/) and Aweber (http:/
/www.aweber.com/). I use both myself and find them to be very
reliable.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 109
kevin donlin
Using sequential autoresponders can make your sales take off
like a rocket!

But what happens when a hot prospect replies to your


autoresponder message and asks you a question directly? If that
person fits the profile of your ideal client, someone with the de-
sire and money to buy from you, you should make a point of
following up with them personally.

And the best, most-effective tool for personalized follow-up is


contact management software. The two programs best suited for
small business use are GoldMine (now called FrontRange) and
Act.

To see which one you might prefer, why not download a free
trial version of each and try them out? You can do so at:
http://www.act.com/ and
http://www.goldmine.com/

I personally use GoldMine, but there are many satisfied users of


Act out there. In either case, your investment of less than $200
for one of these programs will more than pay for itself in new
customers for your business.

Part II: Sell more to your customers over their lifetime

Actively pursuing repeat sales, also known as backend sales, is


the second part of the Follow-up Marketing equation. And it’s
one of the most profitable things you can do for your business.

Here’s one easy way to encourage those repeat sales -- just say:
“Thank you.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 110
kevin donlin
When’s the last time you got a thank-you letter from a company
after giving them your money? Can’t remember? Good. See how
easy it is to stand out and generate good will?

I created an email template in my GoldMine software so I don’t


have to write the same thank-you email over and over. It takes
only seconds to send one to each of my clients.

A heartfelt “thank you” is all you really have to say, but you can
-- and should -- go a bit further, by doing the following:

● Reinforce why it was a good idea to buy from you in the first
place -- “resell” your company after the purchase to cut down on
buyer’s remorse and returns/refunds.

● Offer another product or service to complement the original


purchase. This can be a limited-time offer of your own product,
or link to an affiliate program. Since clients have trusted you
enough to give you their money once already, your conversion
ratios can be sky high on such offers!

● Anticipate frequently asked questions (FAQs) and tell cus-


tomers how they can get post-sale service. You can even email
them a document containing such FAQs -- I always do.

● Ask for referrals. Make absolutely sure you do this at every


opportunity, as clients who are referred to your business tend to
spend more and negotiate less than any other type -- referrals are
worth their weight in gold!

Sending a thank-you email after the sale will nip most service
problems in the bud, while turning satisfied customers into rav-
ing fans who recommend your business to others!
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 111
kevin donlin
So, those are the two parts of the Follow-up Marketing equa-
tion: converting more prospects into customers and selling more
to them after the first purchase. Ignore this at your peril!

But … if you take just a few minutes each day to follow this
Article by Kevin Donlin,
model, you can get more customers who buy more from you for
author of the best-
selling manual, “How to much longer periods of time. It’s truly a virtuous circle. And
Double Your Small who wouldn’t want that?
Business Sales in 20
Minutes a Day With
Follow-up Marketing.” To WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
learn more, visit http:// The article has been my most effective because it’s helped a lot
guaranteedmarketing.com/
of small business owners generate more sales and profits from
manual
the clients and prospects they already have. When you get more
sales using Follow-up Marketing, it’s like finding money in an
old pair of pants -- and requires just about as much effort.

Put another way, if you expect to make all your money on sales
to first-time visitors to your Web site or offline business, you’re
like a prospector who only wants to pick up gold nuggets lying
out in the open. While you might get rich this way, your odds are
about 1,000 times better if you get a shovel, dig up a bucketful of
dirt and start panning for the gold.

That’s what Follow-up Marketing is all about -- sifting through


your existing prospects and clients to find the gold that lies hid-
den there. And it works without fail.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 112
Kevin Donlin spent an entire summer writing his Guaranteed Marketing ebook to

share the marketing success secrets he uncovered as owner of Guaranteed Résumés

(http://www.gresumes.com ), a 95% virtual business he started in 1995.

And he’s giving away the entire book -- a $27 value -- FREE.

Why?

Guaranteed Marketing is an outgrowth of a desire to help other small business owners

find success and fulfillment. It’s a small way of giving something back to the bucket of

life. Corny? Yes. But absolutely true!

Claim your copy today -- just send a blank email to free-book@getresponse.com and

download instructions will arrive in minutes!


larry dotson
Larry Dotson is the
Unleash
The Power
author of five ebooks
and a fee based mem-
bership web site. He has
written over 150 articles
on business related

Of Perpetual
subjects and has been
published in countless
e-zines and magazines.
Larry first got online and
began writing in back in

Marketing
December 1995.

On his web site http://


www.ldpublishing.com
he offers free business
related e-books and
e-mail courses. I describe perpetual marketing as a large number of people pro-
moting one web site so they can all receive the traffic generated
by each other.

For example, you decide to create a free ebook that you will
give away to your web site visitors. You ask a large number of e-
zine owners to give away the ebook in exchange for their ad in
the ebook. You can just ask them to link directly to your web site
when they promote the ebook. You, of course, will have one of
your own ads on that web page.

Let's say you get 8 out of 20 e-zine owners that agree to givea-
way the ebook. The 8 e-zines total subscriber base is 75,000.
Now, you can ask more e-zine owners if they would like to pro-
mote the ebook in exchange for an ad inside the ebook.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 114
larry dotson
This time you can say, you already have 8 e-zines already pro-
moting the ebook with a subscriber base of 75,000.The next group
of e-zine owners you ask will be more tempted to promote your
ebook because there is a greater chance they will receive a lot of
traffic from the deal. It's win/win situation!
Get over 40,000 FREE
ebooks and more when
you visit: Do you understand the power of perpetual marketing? You could
www.ldpublishing.com have 20 or 30 e-zines promoting your web site at no-cost, very
quickly! You could create a new, free ebook every month and
repeat the process.

This isn't the only way to use perpetual marketing. You don't
just have to contact e-zine publishers you could do the same
with web site owners. You could use a total monthly visitor total
as motivation.

It doesn't have to be just an ebook either. It could be a contest


you're holding on your web site. You could place the other web
site's ads on the contest page in exchange for them promoting
the contest.

These are only a few ways to use perpetual marketing. You could
use your own imagination to create new ways to use perpetual
marketing that will increase your traffic and sales.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article was effective because you can have an unlimited
number of e-zines or web sites promoting your business without
starting an affiliate program.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 115
burt dubin
Guarantee
Specific
Outcomes
Burt Dubin, president,
Personal Achievement
Institute, 1 Speaking
Success Road, Kingman,
Arizona 86402-6543
Phone 928-753-7546.
Fax 9928-753-7554 Don't market your services or your program. Market the out-
burt@SpeakingBizSuccess.com
comes you and your program deliver.
SpeakingBizSuccess.com

Burt works with people Reach 'em where they live! Grab 'em where the hair is short.
who want to be speak-
Create a 2-prong penetration into your customer's conscious-
ers and speakers who
want to be masters. ness. Experience a double-edged blockbuster benefit. First, guar-
antee specific outcomes. Don't market your program. Instead,
market what your customers identify as their desired outcomes
of your program. Bingo!

Second, beat your promise, right from the gitgo. You gotta de-
liver when you market outcomes. So, give more than your pre-
vious best. Raise the bar again. And again. Raise the bar on you.

I've been doing this since Day One back in 1978. Promise a real,
measurable return on your client's investment in your service.
(Call it that. It's not a fee. It's an investment. It's an investment in
the outcomes of your work.)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 116
burt dubin
Why market outcomes instead of programs? Because programs
are commodities. Outcomes are not. Outcomes are far more valu-
able. For example, a $4000 program may easily expand to a
$25,000 intervention. Research the value of the desired outcome
to the client. Then, when you're with the person who can say
In the early 1980s, Burt
yes, rub salt in the wounds of the way things are. Make it hurt.
Dubin did a lot of speak-
ing for the Associated
Management Institute, Now, romance the outcomes you can deliver. Be an evangelist.
and learned first hand
Compare what they have now with what you are prepared to
what it means to be a
professional speaker. deliver. Ask which they prefer. The answer is obvious. (See Sell-
ing the Dream, Guy Kawasaki.)
In 1984, shortly after
joining the National
Speakers Association, How about your handouts? They aren't handouts any more. Now,
Burt heard Joseph they are Learning Guides. Prepare, for each person in your audi-
Charbonneau, CSP, CPAE,
ence, something bound with more than a staple. Or 3-hole
speak at a NSA conven-
tion. Joe said, "If you punched. Or even in a 3-ring notebook. Make it a detailed paint-
want to be a master, by-number System that, when wisely engaged, produces desired
study what the masters
outcomes. Title it The _______________ System. Or call it The
have done before you.
learn to do what they ______________ __________ Operating Guide. Make it easier
have done — and have and more natural to succeed in creating desired outcomes. Build
had the guts to do —
accountability for taking prescribed actions into this implemen-
and you will be a
master too." tation instrument.

(Details of how to evaluate-and to set your fees for-outcomes


are in my Addendum 3, How To Create Value for Your Corpo-
rate Targets. This is part of my Speaking Success Report #3,
How To Penetrate Rich Corporate Markets Now. For a copy of
this Report, see www.SpeakingBizSuccess.com or contact my
office.)

Some interventions may be beyond your skill level, beyond your


experience level. Be judicious.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 117
burt dubin
Before you accept an assignment, consider whether you can
guarantee desired outcomes. Don't go in over your head. Avoid
hostile Balkan entanglements.

Measurable outcomes:
This stimulated Burt to
Guarantee a real return. A measurable return. A bankable re-
initiate an intensive
study of what makes a turn.
speaker a master of
professional speaking
Here's an example. In the early 1980's I delivered a lot of sales
and started compiling
everything he learned. trainings. I guaranteed decision-makers a 12% increase in sales
Burt found that platform within 30 days of my program. If they didn't get this measurable
skills are only 20 percent
result I'd come back for expenses only and do some more train-
of success in the speak-
ing business. The other ing free. This promise cost me nothing.
80 percent is positioning,
packaging and promo-
That's because I not only showed my students how to paint
tion — plus conceiving,
committing to and living mouth-watering, alluring, seductive (and true) pictures. Pictures
a magnificent mission. of the benefits of the benefits their customers would enjoy after
taking recommended actions. Then I went well beyond that. I
Utilizing techniques
derived from his find- showed my students their personal benefits when they sold the
ings, Burt built up to way I modeled.
mid-four-figure fees.

When you speak or educate, always cause your audience mem-


bers to imagine, to picture, to envision, to visualize themselves
experiencing their life after they do what you want them to do.

Like this: See yourself, you, reader (and I do mean you,) after
you allow yourself to accept-and to don-the mantle of your true
power. See yourself lighting up the faces of your audience mem-
bers when you illuminate them with your how-to's and your why-
to's. See your audience members inspired. See them breathing
hard. See them eager to get out there and use the ideas you gave
them.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 118
burt dubin
That vision you hold inside you enlivens the inner you. It re-
flects on the outer you. You carry yourself differently. You stand
taller. You move more dynamically. The look in your eyes is
more steadfast. Your voice has a new and bolder ring. You reach
people at a deeper level of their consciousness. You vivify your
In November 1988, Burt
audience members.
shared his techniques
with an audience of
professional speakers at Non-measurable outcomes
a NSA meeting. After the
Some topics, (example: Managing Diversity), are hard to quan-
presentation, many in
the audience called and tify. Let success be as seen through the buyer's eyes. If the deci-
asked him to help them. sion-maker who brought you in does not see the desired differ-
To serve their needs,
ence in performance, effectiveness and results, be willing to re-
while he continued to
speak, write and travel, turn and do more of what you do for expenses only.
he created The Speaking
Success System, which
There's magic in this, real magic. You, having guaranteed your
has evolved to the huge
body of knowledge that work, go the extra mile. You do your advance research with more
it is today. care. You probe. You diagnose more deeply. You identify the
points of pain. Then you prescribe with more care.

In your early discussions with the decision-maker, you may ask,


How will we know this program is a success? What outcomes,
outcomes we can see and touch, will tell us you got the value
you desire? What will have improved after I do my job?

You then develop your program with even more care. The inter-
vention you recommend may expand to include one-on-one, in-
depth interviews with different management levels.

You, as the outside expert, may recommend an Executive Re-


treat to dig deeply into possible high-level policy changes. Why?
Brilliant Australian speaker, Ivan Frangi, says that without sen-
ior management buy-in, your training won't stick.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 119
burt dubin
This Executive Retreat requires your presence, of course, as
leader and moderator.

After your program for the troops, a Management Overview is


appropriate. Why? Because, as Ivan said in a program at NSAA,
it takes management/supervisors support after your program to
keep the troops on course. The Management Overview naturally
includes you as guide and facilitator!

Lavish your essence on delivering desired outcomes for all con-


cerned. Arrange to be available to respond to audience members
questions for a full year after you complete your work. And for
down-the-road consultations with management as needed.

Develop a fee for your intervention based on the value to the


client and not on the time you invest. This is called value-pric-
ing. It's the only way to go. After all, you're the Doctor. Your
client is investing in your experience, your know-how, and your
wisdom, not in your time.

"This is the most comprehensive (speaking) success system I've


ever seen...I wish it had been available 20 years ago! Anyone
who is not netting $250,000 a year, owes it to their career to
invest in Burt's wisdom."
Warren Evans, CSP, 905-858-0000, Founding Chairman,
International Federation For Professional Speakers,
former president, Canadian Association
of Professional Speakers,
Georgetown, Ontario, Canada

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 120
burt dubin
Blue-sky fantasy outcomes
Some problems are unsolvable at the level of the problem. The
roots of the distress may be at a higher management level. There
may be deeply seated philosophical challenges requiring major
management surgery. Intervention may be appropriate at the
Board level.

You may choose to recommend—or to bring in—a specialist to


share the challenge. You may choose to decline an all-but-im-
possible assignment.

Take these profit-boosting actions now:

1. Resolve that effective now you do not market programs. You


market outcomes exclusively. Outcome delineation is the source
and the root system of six-figure speaking and consulting.

2. Target senior management exclusively. This level has the


budget and the willingness to invest in the outcomes they want.

3. Pour your heart and your energy into in-depth pre-program


research. You uncover hidden causes; you discover new insights;
you create golden handcuffs; you get to know and understand
the key players. What's more, key decision-makers get to know
and appreciate your true value.

4. Expand your speeches or workshops into interventions. Once


you master this art form, you live your personal and profes-
sional life at a whole new level.

5. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Decline challenges
that are over your head.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 121
burt dubin
6. Produce graphic support tools that are works of art. Make
these too valuable, too dense with wisdom, too physically hand-
some to toss out.

7. Set outrageous penetration goals for each target client. Your


© Burt Dubin
goals are in the service of your mission. Your missions are in
To discover over 47 the service of your destiny.
more articles and about
150 pages of useful
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
insights regarding
people’s need for hope This places a sure blueprint for success in your hands. When
after September 11 you abide by this guidance, you simply cannot fail to reach your
2001, check out
objective.
www.BurtDubin.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 122
With this System Your Success As a Speaker Is Guaranteed!

Have you been harboring


the dream of getting paid
for speaking to groups of people?
Or perhaps you've tried to make it as a professional speaker and it isn't working the way you had hoped.
Let's face it. if being a high-paid speaker were easy, more people would be making lots of money as
professional speakers. The fact is that one-third of all would-be professional speakers do not survive
their first year!

LEARN THE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL SPEAKERS


Years of research and development have gone into the Burt Dubin Speak-
ing Success System. It is filled with information that you won't find any-
where else. We are so sure that this can work for you that we offer a full
money-back guarantee.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE:


* Three information-packed heavy-duty binders with over 77 sections.
Almost 800 pages of unique information.
* All of the special reports published to date PLUS all new reports pub-
lished during your Membership Year. (See a list of Special Reports)
* PLUS seven hours of telephone consultations with Burt Dubin! No
other resource gives you this personal & private coaching/mentoring time.
* A monthly 30-minute strategy consultation with Burt.
* The Inner Circle Letter -- a quarterly publication with smart moves, hot
news and fresh strategies.
* PLUS The opportunity to participate in Burt's Inner Circle Boot Camps,
Retreats and Mastermind meetings. (More information)
* PLUS: Unlimited phone time to help you create your Exclusive Market
Position, breakthrough Mission Statement and your Master Keys to Your
Success -- nine instruments that define your relationship with those who
hire you. To learn more about the
Burt Dubin Speaking Success System
. . . And all of this comes with a full Money Back Guarantee visit http://www.speakingbizsuccess.com
george duncan
Planning Your
Direct Mail
George Duncan is an
award-winning direct
mail writer and consult-
ant in Peterborough,
New Hampshire. He is
Letter
frequently numbered Part I: Anatomy of a Direct Mail Letter
among the top direct
Direct mail letters are not correspondence, though they may
mail copywriters in the
country. borrow some of its elements. Mainly the salutation and the sig-
nature.

The rest of a direct mail letter is quite different as we'll see in


this brief tour of a typical letter. Not every letter will have every
feature, (and this article applies to sales letters only. Lead gen-
eration letters, especially to top management, follow some dif-
ferent dynamics.) and e-mail letters are a whole other matter,
but for print direct mail you should have most of these elements
if your letter is to sell -- not just convey information.

The Headline
The first thing to consider in your letter is the headline. Yes,
Virginia, there is a headline. Usually. (Not always in lead gen-
eration letters.) Right away you can see that this isn't your nor-
mal business correspondence.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 124
george duncan
The headline focuses the reader's attention on one quick benefit
or promise (or two). It gives him or her a reason to spend his
valuable time reading this letter. It also helps close out other
random thoughts and provides a context for what is about to
George began his career follow.
as promotion manager
for Esquire magazine and
for the next sixteen
If your company letterhead is heavily designed or attention- get-
years held creative ting, you may want to consider putting it at the end of the letter,
management positions instead of the usual position at the top of page one. (Now you
with such leading direct
marketers as Ziff-Davis
know it isn't correspondence!) That way, your logo isn't fighting
Publishing Company, for attention with the headline. You're not selling your logo.
Columbia House (CBS),
Grolier Enterprises and
Xerox Education Publica-
I try to make a promise or allude to a key benefit, and refer in
tions. some way to the offer, perhaps in a subordinate line. The offer,
remember, is what the reader will eventually act upon. Avoid
negatives in copy, especially in headlines. (Don't say "don't." ;)

Create a "headline group."


A headline group consists of a headline, subhead, and one, two
or three short bulleted phrases that extend and expand on the
headline message. It provides more information – a stronger hook
– in that critical space and takes fuller advantage of that high
readership location. It promotes greater involvement than a head-
line alone.

The Opening
The opening is the first sentence or first two sentences follow-
ing the salutation. "I am writing to you about..." or "I want you
to know about..." are not openings. The reader, frankly, doesn't
care what you want. He cares about himself. This is a key place
to say something about him or his needs which your product
will gratify. The documentary film, The Ad and The Ego, makes

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 125
george duncan
the point that the purpose of all advertising is "the production of
discontent" in the reader or prospect. That advertising seeks to
"develop an inner sense of conflict" in people which the prod-
uct, of course, promises to resolve. We do much the same in
direct mail, but we address ourselves to one person, not multi-
George started his own
freelance copy and
tudes. Your opening should, therefore, seek out the reader's "hot
consulting business in button" or major problem and begin immediately to show how
1976 in Cambridge, your product or service can solve it.
Massachusetts.
He later relocated to
Peterborough where he Most letters are won or lost in the first sentence.The surest way
provides a full range of to lose is to begin talking about yourself and your organization.
direct marketing services
to a national roster of
publishers, software The phrase I use to keep my head straight on this is, "Talk about
developers, and my lawn, not your grass seed!"
marketers of business-
to-business and
consumer products Another famous ditty that speaks to this situation is –
and services.

Tell me quick
and tell me true
Or else, my friend
to hell with you.

Not how this product


came to be,
But what the damn thing
does for me.

Preview the Offer


After the opening, I like to make a brief reference to the offer.
"...and you can discover it, (prove it, enjoy it) FREE, without
obligation with the certificate enclosed."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 126
george duncan
Now the reader knows I'm not going to be asking him/her for
money. Maybe. So he/she can relax. And my early reference to
the response device begins to set up the response behavior.

It's also helpful to "merchandise" the offer by referring to it at

George's work has been


several points throughout the letter. "When you send for your
recognized nationally by free demo (free trial issue,30-day no-risk trial, etc.) and get it up
DMA's Echo Leader and running, you'll quickly see..."
Award, the John Caples
Award (twice), the Folio
Circulation Direct Mail Sell Copy
Award, The Circulation From the offer preview, get right into the benefits your reader
Management Award, and
MASA's John Howie
will realize when he/she tests, previews, examines your prod-
Wright Cup, plus regional uct. Stay in second person throughout your letter. You're talking
awards by the New to her (one person, not a market) about her, not you, and you're
England Direct Marketing
Association (NEDMA) and
talking about yourself and your product only in terms of what it
New Hampshire Ad Club. will do for her. Avoid the first person pronoun (I, we) except
when to do so would create an awkward phrase. Remember
you're selling the offer, not the product. It's much easier to sell a
30-day trial or a free examination than it is to sell the product
itself. You'll discuss payment terms later.

Try to lead off sentences and phrases with benefits.

(For a trade show):


"You'll increase sales and boost your career through first hand
contact with hundreds of the most active, most involved sales
prospects in the industry in just two short days..."

(For a pharmaceutical management software product):


"As one of America's elite "Million-Plus" pharmacies, you are
in a unique position to increase sales, slash operating costs and
grow your business rapidly with xyz..."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 127
george duncan
Use Subheads To Introduce New Thoughts
You want to avoid eye-glazing, mind-numbing, wall-to-wall copy,
so use subheads to introduce new thoughts and to move from
one part of the letter to the next.

Write in short sentences.


A graduate of Fordham
University, George
Duncan is a founder and Short paragraphs.
past president of The
Vermont-New Hampshire
Direct Marketing Group. Help your benefits or features stand out by presenting them in
He is a member of The list form,
New England Direct
Marketing Association
(NEDMA), and was a ● Each item
founding member of the ● Preceded by
Software Association of
● A bullet
New Hampshire
(SWANH). He is a past
Director of The New instead of closed up within a linear paragraph.
Hampshire High Technol-
ogy Council and chaired
the council's Marketing Use words of one syllable as much as possible. Don't assume
Forum. that the person you're writing to is as literate as you are. Even if
he is, he's distracted, and he's trying to extract the key informa-
tion he needs, often by just scanning your letter. Which is an-
other good reason to use subheads...bulleted listings...and... el-
lipses.

Be ruthless in editing out unnecessary words and phrases and


"write like you talk," assuming you can talk like a successful
salesman. In direct mail, clarity is more important than literary
merit and the ability to sell is more important than the ability to
write.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 128
george duncan
Articulate the Offer
When you've fully described the many ways your product will
benefit the reader, show him/her how he/she can acquire this
fabulous program/product/service. Or, rather, how he/she can
realize these benefits right now.

Spell out your offer in detail. What the reader gets. If you're
offering a premium, this the place to sell that a bit, too. You may
also feature it in the brochure if you have one, or in a separate
premium flyer.

If at all possible, and if appropriate otherwise, date your offer.


An expiration date helps to keep your package from going up
between the lamp and the tape dispenser for further considera-
tion. Again, agreement doesn't do it. Only acting on that agree-
ment right now results in sales.

The Guarantee
No one wants to make a mistake. Especially not an expensive
mistake. Relieve that fear with your guarantee. Mitigating risk
is an essential function of successful direct mail. By law you
must refund legitimate requests up to 30 days anyway, so why
not make it a virtue? Don't worry that your guarantee might some-
how shed doubt on your product. The guarantee speaks not to
your product, but to you as an honest and fair businessperson
they can trust.

But don't hawk it as a "Money Back Guarantee." or "Full Re-


fund If Not Satisfied" kind of thing. That's negative. A Free (or
Risk-Free or No-Risk) 30-day Trial is the same thing, expressed
in positive terms. "Examine it, try it, use it for a full 30 days
without risk." That's an invitation, not a warning.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 129
george duncan
Note that under FTC rules governing the use of the word "free,"
an offer is not "free" if the prospect must pay something to re-
ceive it. It may be called "risk-free" if you guarantee a refund.

If you can extend the guarantee to 60 or even 90 days, so much


the better. Longer trial periods allow prospects to become
acclimated to the product. They also get inertia working for you,
instead of against you. People forget.

The Call To Action


Even after all that, you can't assume the reader will do what you
want him/her to do, right now. But that's what he/she must do.
So spell it out. Does he detach and complete a reply card, call a
toll free number, complete a questionnaire, check a box? Punch
out a token? What? Is there a postpaid or self-addressed reply
envelope to use?

Ask him/her to do all that right now because that expiration date
will be here before he/she knows it. Because he really wants to
try this, but if he lets it go till "later," he'll forget. (that's inertia
working against you.)

The P.S.
Punctuate the call to action with the signature, then add a P.S.
After the headline and first sentence, the P.S. commands the high-
est readership in the letter. Use that important space to repeat a
key benefit, or add a twist or an another idea to something you've
already said. Also repeat your call to action here, in slightly dif-
ferent words.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 130
george duncan
The mnemonic for the basic function of all direct marketing, but
especially for letters, is AIDA. Get Attention. Arouse Interest.
Stimulate Desire. Prompt Action. And it ain't over until the fat
lady mails the order form.

Part II: Determining Your Package Format


As important as the letter is – if forced to choose, a letter alone
will usually outpull a brochure alone – it isn't the only compo-
nent in a direct mail package. Following are some additional
considerations you'll want to include in your creative planning.

1. Self-Mailer or Envelope Package?


Many small business owners and newcomers to direct market-
ing would prefer to use self-mailers simply because they’re usu-
ally less costly to produce and mail. Remember however, that if
they’re cheaper for you to produce, they’re likely to be perceived
as cheaper by your prospect or customer as well, an image you
don’t necessarily want to project.

The term "self-mailer" denotes any format that doesn’t require


an outer envelope. An oversized postcard is a self-mailer. So is a
double postcard. Beyond that, self-mailers can be designed in
any format which, when it’s in its final folded form, is legally
mailable. An 11" x 17" flat folded in half to 8 1/2" x 11" is a
common format. Another is to take that piece and fold it in half
again to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". The USPS requires self-mailers to be
wafer-sealed at least once, and other specifications apply to ad-
dressing areas, etc. Self-mailers are "look-at" pieces, not "read
carefully" pieces, so if your product pitch and information is at
all detailed or complex, you’ll need to support it with the more
robust real estate of a direct mail package.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 131
george duncan
Also, keep in mind that direct mail works as a selling medium
precisely because it is "mail!" It is essentially a letter. And it
borrows from the letter, all the personal attention and meaning,
the business importance and/or official significance that letters
hold in our culture. (On speaking trips to South America and
Asia, I found that this is not necessarily the case elsewhere.)
The further away one gets from the look and feel of the letter,
the more we reduce the impact of the piece. Self-mailers, of
course, don't have letters - except for one you might try to simu-
late on one of the panels. I've also seen a single-page letter folded
inside a self-mailer, but I have no idea whether that works as
well as a regular letter package. Like everything else in this
process, it depends on the product/offer/market mix.

Because of their "throwaway" and impersonal look and feel,


self-mailers, like Rodney Dangerfield, "don’t get no respect."
Or at least, not as much as a letter package. You wouldn’t want
to use them for fund raising, for example. They can’t carry the
depth of feeling and sincerity that successful fund raising re-
quires, and which is achievable with a letter. Likewise financial
services, which are considered too personal. All other factors
being equal, a self-mailer typically pulls in the tenths of a per-
cent response while envelope packages pull between one and
five percent. The self-mailer will likely be more cost-effective,
however, and naturally, there are always exceptions. I had a self-
mailer pull three percent for a professional book.

Further, since there is no reply envelope, any offer requiring


payment will be significantly more difficult to achieve with a
self-mailer than with an envelope package.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 132
george duncan
The Anthrax Exception
With the arrival in the mailroom stream of letters laced with
Anthrax following the September 11th attacks, self-mailers
quickly became the way to go for many offers that might other-
wise have been sent in envelopes. Suddenly, LARGE return ad-
dresses and BIG teasers became the way to distinguish legit di-
rect mail from the bio-terrorist's efforts. However, for all the
reasons offered here, this is a blip that's likely to have blooped
by the time you read this.

Effective Self-Mailer Uses


So what can you use self-mailers for? Lots of things. Impulse
buys like books, especially with a 30-day Free Trial offer, sell
well with self-mailers. Seminars and conferences can be impulse
buys as well, particularly for attendees, and they sell well through
self-mailers. Newsletters, where a Free Trial issue is offered,
can be marketed effectively to middle management, but less suc-
cessfully to top management.

Some pricey software products have used self-mailers success-


fully, mostly for lead generation.

Try self-mailers for products and events where your lists are not
well-targeted where others in the company might be equally good
prospects and might see the self-mailer around the office.

You can also leverage the impact of self-mailers by planning


them as a campaign of 3 or 5 pieces. The repetition can help
offset the credibility problem I mentioned above. A self-mailer
can work to a customer list, to cross-sell, upsell, or for aftermarket
sales where the same offer to a cold list would bomb.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 133
george duncan
You can also use a self-mailer to test lists cost-effectively, in
advance of a more expensive direct mail campaign. The self-
mailer "stalking horse" can help you get the package targeted
right, especially where the list universe is large and uncertain.

2. One-Step or Two?
If you’ve decided the envelope package is the way to go, the
next consideration is whether your product (including "service"
as a product) will require a one-step or two-step process.

Will you sell the item directly from the direct mail piece, or will
you use your direct mail to obtain leads or inquiries to be fol-
lowed up by phone, sales force or more direct mail (or all three!).
Or to put it another way, what’s the offer?

If the offer is the product itself, and it’s under $100, you’ll likely
want to keep it to a one-step process. Using a two-step or lead
generating process for a low-cost product simply costs too much
to be profitable. Remember that, especially in lead generation,
we sell the offer, not the product -- so the decision to go two-
step will inform the makeup of the package.

A pure product sell may dictate a "full" package: four-page let-


ter, four-page, four-color brochure (or larger), lift letter and or-
der form. A business-to-business lead generation offer may not
need a brochure at all, or may be kept to 2-color. Often a letter
and reply form is all that’s required.

3. Consumer or B2B?
Consumer packages tend to be larger and flashier, with more
"push" and therefore are more expensive than business-to-busi-
ness packages.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 134
george duncan
Consumer package range from slightly oversized #12 and #13
envelopes to 6" x 9" and 9"x12". Business-to-business packages
tend to be #10 "business" sized, or on occasion, a 9" x 12" First
Class business type envelope.

In business-to-business, your level of push will depend on what


part of the food chain you’re aiming at. The higher up the chain,
the more conservative your look and feel should be, and usually,
the less costly the package. The vice is also versa.

A rule of thumb I've basically followed over the years is, the
greater the commitment or involvement or purchase I'm expect-
ing from the recipient, the more "format" I have to deliver to
him or her to help them decide. A $5,000 direct purchase is go-
ing to require a series of mailings, and unless I'm basically aug-
menting a salesperson's efforts, I'll need to put much of what a
salesperson would deliver face-to-face into the package.

I'll have to show the product with a full-color brochure, sell the
product with a 4-page letter, and support both with testimonials
or other proofs (maybe in a lift letter). I'll need a response device
and a reply envelope to make ordering easy.

Give Your Recipient the Tools


One key reason is that purchases of this sort are rarely made in
isolation. The recipient must get buy-in from his or her boss,
probably, or from a team leader or supervisor, or from an evalu-
ation or selection committee if it's a big enough deal. So I try to
provide the tools he or she will need to make the case – in effect,
providing the materials he or she can use for presentation pur-
poses.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 135
george duncan
But what if I am augmenting a salesperson's efforts between sales
calls? Then I want him or her to do the heavy lifting (and he
does as well). I'm going to keep my mailings quick and to the
point with 1-page letters, maybe no brochure at all and at most a
fax-back form or reply card in case of a response. The salesper-
son is doing the selling and will issue the call to action when he
or she thinks the time is right.

What might I send the prospect in the case of a long sales cycle?

● A white paper
● Updates of product data sheets
● Press releases related to the product/process environment
● An article reprint with a short note
● A reprint of the new ad campaign
● A special, limited time price or bonus offer

These would be treated lightly with a single page letter, or note


attached.

4. Sell the Offer


As noted earlier, in direct mail, we sell the offer, not the product.
The free trial, the no-risk 30-day preview with money back guar-
antee, the free in-house consult or survey, the limited time 2-for-
1 deal, whatever.

We support the offer basically with benefits, product informa-


tion and "reason why" persuasions urging the prospect to act
now! We support that with testimonials, research and/or test re-
sults, wrap it all in a credible guarantee and punctuate it with a
call for action.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 136
george duncan
For most products, that's going to require what we call a "full"
package; outer envelope, letter, brochure, order form, perhaps a
lift letter, and reply envelope. The size of each of those compo-
nents will depend on how much real estate you need to get the
job done. In many cases, you won't know the answer to that
going in, so you should plan some tests.

Do you need a brochure? Maybe, maybe not.


Test it.
2-page letter or 4-page letter? Test it.
Lift letter? Test it!

But be sure you test the key elements first: lists and offer.

If for some reason you can't test all those components, then you
need to give yourself the best shot out of the gate and include all
the components in your early mailings. What you don't want is
to spend $x to launch a product (or to try direct mail for the first
time) and end up with more questions than answers. (Would it
have worked if we'd included a color brochure?)

5. Hot or Cold Lists?


Another important consideration is the list you're using. If you're
mailing house lists, you may not need as much "push" as you
would for cold lists. House names know you and, presumably,
trust you to some degree. I once sold a software program add-on
to a house list with a 2-color, four-page letter/brochure. The 2-
page letter was on pages 1 & 4, and brochure copy with screen
illustrations were in the center spread, pages 2 & 3.

But I'd never try that to a cold list.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 137
george duncan
For a cold mailing, I'd want a separate color brochure and a 4-
page letter, if I'm selling it out of the package, or a 2-page letter
if I'm getting qualified leads. The offer in that case might be a
white paper, if the software is pricey, or a no-risk trial if it's
under $200.

6. Complex or Simple?
If your product needs to be demonstrated via photos with callouts,
etc., naturally you'll need a brochure, probably 4-color. The func-
tion of the brochure is to "show the product in use," which is
often essential to robust sales. If you're selling a directory —
something everyone understands — you may need only show a
typical listing. You still may want a brochure (8 1/2" x 11", 2
folds to #10) to give the company some presence, and to show
the listing with appropriate callouts. (A "callout" is a line drawn
from a product element out from the illustration to a brief blurb
describing that element.)

Industrial products can usually benefit from "how-it-works" or


"how it's-made" illustrations. Also performance charts and test
results, maybe a case history or at least a testimonial, all of which
indicates a brochure, and hopefully something more interactive
than the usual deadly dull data sheet.

As you can see, there are no hard and fast rules for these deci-
sions, just general guidelines, and lots of exceptions. Test as many
options and variables as you can, and continue testing your pack-
age's elements going forward.

When you've tested your way to a profitable list, offer, and for-
mat, you'll have, in effect, a business-in-an-envelope.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 138
george duncan
It's a business that will take care of you for as long as there's a
market for your product. And remember, direct mail is back-end
business. However successful you may be, you'll be building a
list of responsive customers. Be sure you have something else to
sell them.
Copyright 2002, George
Duncan All rights
reserved. Additional WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
how-to articles are
available at his Web site,
George,
DuncanDirect.com, and
in his book, Streetwise "Your "Anatomy of a Direct Mail Letter" is one of the most
Direct Marketing, Adams cogent and immediately useful articles on the subject
Media, 2001, available at
I have ever read."
Amazon.com and book-
stores.
Kelly Dueck
Duncan Direct Associates
Circulation Manager ,
Copy, Consulting and
Creative for Direct Farm Business Communications
Marketing and Winnipeg, Canada
Interactive Promotion
In All Formats.

Voice: 603-924-3121 Hi George:


Email:
Your articles are easily the most rigorous, well-reasoned
DuncanDirect@pobox.com
Web: and intelligent available on the Internet on the subject of
www.DuncanDirect.com direct marketing. It's clear that you write from ample
experience on the front lines. In fact, I get the sense that
you've probably forgotten more about direct marketing than
your competitors will ever know. Thanks again for your
help with our campaign!

Brandon Toropov
Senior Writer
DEI Management Group
New York, NY

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 139
george duncan
Thank you George Duncan!

"Just a short note to let you know:


(1) I read several articles of yours on the Internet
about direct mail and tried to follow your directions
as closely as possible.
(2) I wrote a 4-page "self-mailer" targeted to professional
massage therapists.
(3) We tested several different versions.
(4) We rolled it out gradually: 1,000 pieces … 2,000 …
5,000 … 7,000.
(5) We sent a color version of the best performing
letter to 50,000 (a big commitment for us) and
the results are coming in just like the earlier
tests: a response rate of approx. 3%.
(6) We're thrilled! And I want to thank you for sharing
your good knowledge on the Web."

Sincerely,

Richard Gelb
Looking Glass Home Video

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 140
Get it right
the first time!

World-class, award-winning copywriter writes


response-driven marketing materials that get results.
Sales Letters, Brochures, Web Content,
Direct Mail & E-mail Promotion, Online & Print Newsletters
Call today: 603.924.3121 or visit http://www.duncandirect.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 141
bryan eisenberg
12 Common
One of the principals and
CIO of Future Now, Inc.,
Bryan is an expert at
Mistakes in
Email Marketing
bridging the gap
between technology and
the real world. He has
been helping companies
realize that to maximize
results it is essential to
incorporate expert
persuasion techniques Don't you simply adore these wonderful lists that spell out the
into website design,
potholes folks typically fall into when they set about accom-
development and
implementation. plishing a task? I do. Especially when I'm about to embark on
something as significant as an email campaign. A tidy collec-
tion of DONT's makes it hugely easier to catch yourself before
you take an obvious misstep and tumble down some weird rab-
bit hole just like Alice. Except Alice landed in an interesting
place and learned a few things.

I gotta tell you - when you fall into one of these holes, you don't
wind up in a very interesting place (although you certainly can
wind up learning from your mistakes, but who wants to waste
that kind of time and money?). So how do you keep your head
above ground? Just pay attention to these mistakes of email
marketing, and you'll find yourself smiling like the Cheshire Cat!

Several years ago, my clever friend Roy Williams created a list


of the 12 common mistakes advertisers make.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 142
bryan eisenberg
With his permission, I've taken his sound ideas and recast them
to apply to your email campaigns. Email marketing is, after all,
a form of advertising. But it goes beyond conventional advertis-
ing, because it is also your principal pathway to building a long-
lasting relationship with your customers. You really don't want
Bryan is the author of
Future Now’s award-
to mess that up, do you?
winning newsletter
GrokDotCom, is the I thought not. So let's look at these mistakes, one by one (you
author of the weekly
ClickZ column “Convert-
can remind yourself as you read each item, “This is a mistake -
ing Web Site Traffic”, has don't go there”).
been a featured speaker
at numerous e-business
events both in the
1. The desire for instant gratification
United States and Launching an email campaign is like trying get your car rolling
overseas . The applica- from a dead stop. You think you're going to manage it all in one
tion of his vision and
processes have helped
push? Nope. It takes time to work up some momentum. And
Future Now clients before you achieve a decent speed, you're gonna start wonder-
increase their conversion ing if you are even up to the task. Be patient!
rates not just by per-
cents but by multiples.
Studies have proved the only variable that influences the suc-
cess of any campaign is the power of your message. So make
sure you are saying the right thing. "Uncover the story that is
uniquely yours; focus your campaign; commit to your message."i
And be prepared to give it time.

Once you get your momentum, it will be hard to stop it! Sure,
along the way you're gonna have to give the occasional push,
but with the momentum established, the job becomes much easier.

2. Attempting to reach more people than budget will allow


This is the reach versus frequency issue. Let's say you are going
to buy inventory or place an ad in an email newsletter. You can
afford to make 100,000 impressions.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 143
bryan eisenberg
Do you go for 10 placements in one newsletter that goes out to
10,000 people, or do you opt for one placement that goes out to
100,000 people? Same number of impressions, but the first op-
tion exposes fewer viewers to multiple impressions.

In addition to his back-


ground in both e-
Think about it this way: Would you rather reach 100% of the
commerce and in tech- people and convince them 10% of the way of them, or reach
nology, Bryan also has 10% of the people and convince all of them all the way?
proven expertise in e-
commerce customer
service and support When it comes to maximizing your email marketing efforts, this
solutions as well as is a useful analogy: Your message is the nail, repetition is the
consumer psychology,
education and motiva-
hammer, and a block of wood is the customer. If the nail is sharp
tion. His eclectic back- and you hammer effectively, you will pierce through the wood
ground also includes and clinch the customer.
thought leadership in
the critical area of
website branding and For more information on this topic, check out "Email As Adver-
positioning and member- tising," written in ClickZ.
ship in the Usability
Professionals' Associa-
tion. And it doesn't hurt to remember this: "Retention fades with sleep."
Repetition has its rewards.

3. Assuming the business owner knows best


When it comes to stuff in which we you have a huge personal
investment (your kids, your homes, your businesses), you risk
losing your objectivity. Hey, it's a human thing. Too much knowl-
edge about your company and what you offer leads you to an-
swer questions nobody is asking. When you're inside the bottle,
it's hard to read the label. But that's also when you risk pushing
your own interests at the expense of your customers' interests.
Sometimes it helps to bring in an objective outsider to give you
some perspective.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 144
bryan eisenberg
4. Unsubstantiated claims
Folks make claims all the time that miss targeting their custom-
ers' needs and simply wind up turning them off. Specifics about
yourself, your way of doing business and your products are far
more persuasive and cut to the chase far more effectively than
A successful entrepre-
generalities. So get credibly specific!!
neur in his own right,
Bryan also has consulted
to and run seminars for 5. Improper use of passive media
numerous corporations,
Passive media are sight-based media - newspapers, magazines,
large and small, both on-
line and in the real billboards, direct mail, and yes, even email - that require the
world. He holds a B.A. user to sustain focused attention in order to process the message.
from Brooklyn College,
Intrusive media are sound-based - radio and television. Sound is
CUNY, and did graduate
work at The Wurzweiler heads above sight in its ability to get your message lodged into
School. Bryan is also a your customers' brains. The best use of passive media is as a
graduate of Roy William's
follow-up to intrusive media.
Wizard Academy and is a
contributing author of
Accidental Magic. This is a toughie, and there's not much you can do about it at this
stage of the technological game. It is largely one of those obsta-
cles you have to factor into your marketing equation. Trust me,
now is not the time to go lining your emails with .wav files - and
that misses the point anyway. The huge advantage of email mar-
keting, passive though it may be, is its relative low cost. It's worth
the effort, but be aware of the limitations.

Passive media is an effective way to reach those customers who


are actively in the market for your product or service. You'll
improve the effectiveness of your emails if you can use this to
your advantage. Exactness is the key attribute of passive media
- you can give a lot of specifics that your potential customers
can check as many times as they want, simply by revisiting their
online mail boxes.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 145
bryan eisenberg
6. Creating individual emails instead of campaigns.
Remember the hammer analogy from last time? Good. Now add
this: No single ad constitutes a campaign, Rome wasn't built in a
day, and friendship isn't a first-sight phenomenon. You have more
to say and more to accomplish than can be said and accomplished
in a single email.

A very important thing to do as you develop your campaign is


build upon your previous (successful) efforts. Your individual
emails have to be interconnected, with a logical flow and a united
presentation - after all, they are all pieces of that big “puzzle”
that is your company. In a way, it's like the old Burma Shave
signpost campaign … you want to keep your customers eager
and on the lookout for more of what you have to offer.

7. Obedience to unwritten rules.


Do you really want to be like everyone else? Do you want to
communicate the same message as your competitors? No, of
course not. You want to be unique, you want to stand out from
the crowd. So don't follow it! Dare to be different in a believable
way. That's how you get noticed. I'm not suggesting you go over-
board (commercial relationship-building requires tact and tends
toward the conservative end of the spectrum), but if your emails
sound, act and look like everybody else's emails, what's the value
in doing business with you rather than them?

8. Ignoring timing.
It should come as no surprise that you've got to think about tim-
ing your message. Who is your audience and when are they most
likely to read your email? Rebecca Leib presents some very use-
ful information on timing in her article Does Anybody Know
What Time It Is? Does Anybody Care?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 146
bryan eisenberg
Your goal is to give your customers the right message and send
it when they are apt to take the time to read it. This isn't the same
as suggesting you should time your message to exactly when
you think your customer is going to act on it. Seasonal situations
aside, an important tenet of advertising is this: "Tell the cus-
tomer WHY and wait for WHEN. Quit trying to predict the
moment of need."i

9. Overtargeting
Be careful to avoid over-segmenting your data base in your ef-
forts to reach your target audience. It's a myth that you only
need to get your message to the decision-makers. Truth is, deci-
sions are seldom made in a vacuum. Don't neglect the influenc-
ers!

10. Event-driven marketing


It's best to steer clear of designing an email campaign around a
single event (unless it's a major, well-branded event that strength-
ens your Unique Selling Proposition). When an event is over,
folks will immediately forget the marketing pitch behind it, and
besides, 99.5% of the people you've spent the effort to reach
won't be coming to The Do anyway. Where does your message
go when this happens? Up in tendrils of smoke.

11. Great production without great copy


"Slick, clever, funny, creative and different are very poor substi-
tutes for informative, believable, memorable and persuasive."
The name of the ebusiness game is persuasion; getting people to
take the action you want them to take. Don't even dream of ne-
glecting those magical words that are going to help you craft
your brilliant, perfect message.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 147
bryan eisenberg
12. Confusing "response" with "results"
"Slick, clever, funny, creative and different ads are most likely
to generate comment, or response." Buzz doesn't feed the bull-
dog and excitement alone won't bring in the cash. See the prob-
lem?

I recently heard a great saying: Intelligent folks learn from their


own mistakes; wise folks learn from the mistakes of others. Now
you've got all 12 of the most frequently made mistakes in email
marketing, and you're in a great position to learn from them. So
go, Grasshopper, and be wise!

i All quotes from "12 Common Mistakes Advertisers Make."


A Power Point presentation by Roy H. Williams.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


The “12 Common Mistakes of Email Marketing” became one of
our most notable and referenced article immediately upon pub-
lication in our newsletter, Grokdotcom. I wish I could take full
credit for the idea, but a good deal of it would have to go to my
friend and mentor Roy H Williams, a.k.a. The Wizard of Ads.
Roy has a wonderful presentation he used to share at his Wizard
Academy, the “12 Most Common Mistakes of Advertising.”

Recently, I explained to one of our consulting clients that email


marketing is just like advertising. You send one of four message
types in an email communication to your list: a message that
drives action (buy now), a message that builds relationships
(builds identity, or "brand"), a message that simply provides in-
formation, or a message that is sucked into the black hole of
cyberspace (the "Deleted" folder). We'll ignore the last two be-
cause they don't help your business results. The rest is history.
© 2002 Future Now. Inc.
Here is to hoping you don’t make the same mistakes.
& Grokdotcom.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 148
Are you Creating Emails
that Drive Action and
Build Relationships?
If email is an integral part of your plans for growth,
you need be sure that you’re doing the best job possible.

» Is your open rate high enough? » Are you achieving the response rates you would like?
» Are your unsubscribe rates too high? » Are your emails building on your brand or spending it?

An Email Messaging Assessment is a benchmark for how you’re doing today and a blueprint for how you can improve
your performance. Whether you want to do it yourself or have us help you; your assessment is an invaluable tool.

"The success of your online business depends on building relationships with your customers.
Because people prefer to buy from those with whom they have a perceived relationship, prospects and
buyers who interact with you via email are even more likely to become customers with a higher lifetime
value. The key is in developing effective techniques to communicate your vision with your clients, to
develop their confidence and trust in you and to cement the certainty in their minds that you can best fill
their needs." ClickZ.com

Our Email Messaging Assessment applies over 60 separate metrics to your campaigns, focusing on the key issues
that determine your overall success. This assessment process is typically applied to a group or campaign of five or more
promotional emails. The assessment will also work extremely well when applied to all those emails that are automatically
generated by your site in response to customer actions - from Welcome emails to Purchase Confirmation emails.

The report presents the following:


» Qualitative Metrics » Quantitative Metrics
» Additional Qualitative Metrics for Email Campaign » Landing Page Metrics
» Delivery Metrics - optional
By applying so many metrics, we build an incredibly detailed picture of the relative strengths and weaknesses of your
email campaigns. Your final, bound Assessment Report will include not only all the objective data collected, but also a full
interpretation and set of recommendations from a minimum of two of our email industry experts. You get the Data +
Interpretations + Recommendations.

YOUR NEXT STEP?


Request a more detailed outline of the Email Assessment ReportTM service
or call 877-643-7244 so we can discuss your particular needs.
paulette ensign
The Booklet
Journey
Way back in 1991, when my organizing business was already 8
Paulette Ensign has years old, I spotted an offer for a free copy of a booklet called
never taken a business
"117 Ideas For Better Business Presentations" . Well, because I
course in her life.
do business presentations, and because the price was right, I sent
She taught string for it. My first reaction was, 'geez, I could knock something like
instruments in public
this out about organizing tips.' Then I threw it in a drawer.
elementary schools for
eleven years. Visit
www.tipsbooklets.com Six months later I was sitting in my office, bored, baffled and
to see the menu of
beaten down by the difficulty of selling my consulting services
products and services
to support your and workshops in a slow economy. I had no money. I mean no
booklet success. money!

I remembered that little booklet. I had no idea how I was going


to do it, but something hit me, and I knew I had to produce a
booklet on organizing tips.

I started dumping all those ideas I ever had about getting organ-
ized onto a file on my computer. These were all pearls that came
out of my mouth when I was with clients or when I did a speak-
ing engagement or a seminar. I could do one booklet on busi-
ness organizing tips and another on household organizing tips.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 150
paulette ensign
Two 16-page tips booklets, each fitting into a Number 10 size
envelope. The first one was '110 Ideas for Organizing Your Busi-
ness Life' and the second one '111 Ideas for Organizing Your
Household'.

My first run was 250 copies. That was the most expensive per-
unit run I made, but I had to get samples to distribute to start
making money. It took a few months to pay the printer only $300.

The only way I could think of selling the booklets was by send-
ing a copy to magazines and newspapers, asking them to use
excerpts and put an invitation at the bottom for readers to send
$3 plus a self-addressed stamped envelope. I had no money to
advertise. Then the orders started dribbling in, envelopes with
$3 checks in them or 3 one-dollar bills. This was great stuff. I
remember the day the first one arrived. It was like manna from
heaven:$3! Of course, the fact that it took about 6 months from
first starting to write the booklet until the first $3 arrived some-
how didn't matter at that moment.

I cast seeds all over the place, hoping that some would sprout. I
found directories of publications at the library and started build-
ing my list.

Finally, February of 1992 'the big one' hit. A 12-page biweekly


newsletter with 1.6 million readers ran nine lines of copy ABOUT
my booklet. They didn't even use excerpts!!

That sold 5000 copies of my booklet. I distinctly remember the


day I went to my P.O. box and found a little yellow slip in my
box. It said, 'see clerk'.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 151
paulette ensign
There was a TUB of envelopes that had arrived that day, about
250 envelopes as I recall, all with $3 in them.

In April, that same biweekly newsletter ran a similar nine lines


about my household booklet, starting all over again. This time I
sold 3000 copies.

Round about June, I stopped and assessed what had happened.


Was I making any money? By then, I had sold about 15,000
copies of the business and the household organizing tips book-
lets one copy at a time for $3. When I checked my financial
records, I realized I had tediously generated not a ton of money.

And some of the lessons I had learned along the way were ex-
pensive ones. I didn't realize my bank was charging me $.12 for
each item deposited until I got my first bank statement with a
service charge of $191.

Some very wonderful things happened while selling those 15,000


copies though.

* A public seminar company ordered a review copy to consider


building another product from my booklet. They did, and I re-
corded an audio program based on the booklet. I can sell that
tape to my clients as well and it led to a 20-minute interview on
a major airline's inflight audio programming during November
and December one year.

* I was sorting through the envelopes, ...$3, $3, ,$1000, $3,.....


wait a minute. Well, a manufacturer's rep decided to send my
booklets to his customers that year instead of an imprinted cal-
endar.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 152
paulette ensign
* A company asked me to write a booklet that was more specific
to their product line.

* I got paid speaking engagements from people who bought the


booklet.

* I found out that the list of people who bought my booklet was
a saleable product.

Things were starting to pick up. So, back to June and taking
stock of where I was. You know those advertising card decks in
the mail? Well, that day in June I was so bored, I opened one.
Glancing through it, I said, 'jeez, here's a company that oughta
see my booklet. And here's another one, and another one.' I sent
booklets to each.

Less than a week later, a woman called. At first, it sounded like


a prospecting call. Fortunately, I wasn't too abrupt with her. She
was calling to ask me the cost of 5000 customized copies of my
booklet for an upcoming trade show. She wanted to know if I
could match a certain price.

I slightly underbid her price, she was thrilled and the sale was a
done-deal. I thought, 'oh, this will be easy to sell large quantities
now'. Wrong. It was another three-four months until the next
large-quantity sale. But, the trade show they were attending was
an organization I had contacted about getting my booklet into
their catalog. They rejected it because I wasn't in their industry.
So, my buyer had bought 5000 copies of my booklet, with my
company information in it, to distribute at that trade show. I loved
it!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 153
paulette ensign
One day, a guy I know from a major consumer mail- order catalog
company said, 'Why don't you license us reprint rights to your
booklet. We can buy print cheaper than you, so if you charged us
a few cents a unit, you wouldn't have to do production.'Well, 18
months later after lots of zigging and zagging that sale happened:
a non-exclusive agreement for them to print 250,000 copies.We
exchanged a ten-page contract for a five-digit check.

They provided the booklet free with any purchase in one issue
of their catalog and made a 13% increase in sales in that
issue.They were happy. I was happy.

I looked for other licensing prospects (even though it took eight-


een months for this sale to happen, and the five-digit check was
low five-digits, not enough to sustain me).

Round about spring 1993, I designed a class on how to write and


market booklets and wrote an 80-page manual. The class was
small and mostly people I knew. They paid me money, and I had
a chance to test-run the class. So now, I had another new prod-
uct, an 80-page manual, a blueprint of how I had then sold more
than 50,000 copies of my booklet without spending a penny on
advertising.

I like teaching and now I had a new topic besides the organizing
I had been presenting. I also like traveling. So I took the 3-hour
class on the road and had great fun doing it. I toured the country
for about 2 years, 6-8 classes a year. Many people have written
interesting booklets on all kinds of topics. Some have hired me
to write a customized marketing plan for their booklet or to coach
them by phone to develop their booklet business.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 154
paulette ensign
Midway through that year (August 1994), I discovered
Compuserve. My sole purpose for getting online was to market
my business. The third day I was online, I saw a forum message
from a guy from Italy who had a marketing company there. He
told me his client base was small businesses and companies who
served small businesses. I told him I had a booklet he might find
useful. I sent it to him, he liked it and we struck a deal. He trans-
lated, produced and marketed it, and paid me royalties on all
sales. That January he wired several thousand dollars to my
checking account from Italy. He made the first sale of 105,000
copies to a magazine that bundled a copy of my booklet with
one issue of their publication.

That meant I have sold more than 500,000 copies of my booklet,


in three languages, without spending a penny on advertising.
One slow week, I posted a message on some Compuserve fo-
rums about the story of the Italian booklet as an example of an
online success story. Even though blatant selling is not allowed,
creating mutually beneficial relationships is. I had received
money from someone I had never spoken to and had only com-
municated with online, by fax, earth mail and EFT.

Folks who read those postings replied that they would be inter-
ested in doing the same thing with my booklet, but in French
and in Japanese. This never even dawned on me. I've also dis-
covered licensing opportunities for my booklet content in other
formats.

* Two different companies who produce laminated guides (one


hinged, the other spiral bound) licensed my content. They are
also interested in other content so I expect to broker the content
of booklet writers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 155
paulette ensign
* I created a company called Tips Products International.

* I write tips booklets for clients based on their raw print mate-
rials.

© 2000, Paulette Ensign


* I've been writing customized marketing plans for people's book-
"Everyone has lets for a while now, which fits into the menu of services for this
something they company.
want the world
to know about.
An informational tips * I've developed two home study packages, How To Write and
booklet can help Market Booklets for Ca$h, and How to Promote Your Business
position you as
With Booklets. Both courses are now being distributed by resellers
an expert."
around the world.
Tips Products
International
* I've been invited to speak nationally and internationally about
12675 Camino Mira Del
Mar #179 how to write and market booklets.
San Diego, CA 92130
voice: 858-481-0890
I never could have written a business plan for how this has all
fax 858-793-0880
Paulette@tipsbooklets.com unfolded. Clients of mine are now surpassing my own sales re-
www.tipsbooklets.com sults, learning from all that has gone on since the original organ-
Visit All About Booklets
izing booklet was written in 1991.
Discussion Board and
E-BOOKLET CATALOG.
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
The Booklet Journey article was so effective because the writing
style was casual and 'real life,' and the content of the article was
seen as very do-able by the reader. There was a presentation of
the trials, tribulations, and process involved that made it clear
it was not a get-rich-quick situation. It reinforced the idea that
anyone can take information and experiences from their own
personal or professional life, create an information product, and
sell it, without having formal training to do it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 156
TWO Home Study Courses to
Support Your Success...NOW!
Surpass Paulette Ensign’s success in selling over 500,000
copies of her own tips booklet. She teaches you how!!

HOW TO WRITE AND HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR


MARKET BOOKLETS FOR CA$H BUSINESS WITH BOOKLETS
Overview of writing, producing, and 90% about marketing
marketing a great-selling tips booklet your booklet and your business

LEARN: LEARN:
• Selecting a Topic and Title • Pricing Your Booklet
• Creating Content • Promoting Your Services and Products
• Designing & Printing Guidance • Finding Large Quantity Buyers
• Approaching the Media • Licensing Opportunities
• Profitable Selling Methods • Marketing and Selling Online
• Creating the Cover Sales Letter • Success Stories of Other Authors
• Publicity that Sells Booklets...and MORE! • Resources to Support Your Success

YOU RECEIVE: YOU RECEIVE:


1) Video*— 2 1/2 hours of a 1) Audio — 6 tapes recorded
live “How to Write and by Paulette
Market Booklets” class 2) Manual — 100 new pages
2) Manual — 80-pages of of details
detailed how-to’s 3) Booklet — 16 pages,
3) Booklet — 16 pages, business organizing
business organizing 4) Disk — sample tips of booklets
5) FREE 1/2 hour consulting
*NTSC and PAL formats available coupon

How to Write and Market Booklets for Ca$h $99 plus $6 US/$12 international shipping ......... ______
How to Promote Your Business with Booklets $127 plus $7 US/$17 international shipping ...... ______
Order BOTH now for $197 plus $12 US/$30 international shipping ........................................ ______
California residents add 7.75% sales tax _______
TOTAL _______
Name__________________________________Email_______________________Phone___________________
Address_____________________________________________________City___________________________
State/Province_________________Zip/Postal Code____________________Country____________________
Credit Card#_______________________________Exp.________Signature___________________________
We accept US checks, money orders, VISA, Mastercard, American Express.
Payable to Tips Products Int’l. 12675 Camino Mira Del Mar, #179 San Diego, CA 92130
Phone (858) 481-0890 • (858) 793-0880 Fax • Paulette@tipsbooklets.com • www.tipsbooklets.com
david frieslander
An alternative
to the search
Having lived and worked
all his life in Manchester,
David Frieslander knows
engines
- A Supermarket
only too well what it's
like to climb the ladder
in the business world.
Described as radical,
innovative and a man
with the Midas touch,

Analogy
this lecturer, consultant
and business entrepre-
neur brings to an audi-
ence energy, enthusiasm
and original ideas.
He has appeared on
Imagine a supermarket.
BBC's Good Living
programme with Jane
Asher and as Dracula on Imagine that there is a new product on the market, let's say a
Granada TV, promoting
new bar of soap and that the manufacture is unknown and the
his themed catering
company. He has been name of the product also new.
in the press and on radio
numerous times.
To make matters worse the manufacturer has little or no market-
Having taken a path in ing budget.
catering, David eventu-
ally started his own
Then imagine my wife gives me a shopping list and says "David
business.
get what's on the list or whatever".

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 158
david frieslander
On the list is our regular bar of soap called Zest.

So I jump in the car and make my way down to the local Super-
market.
Not content with one
business, David quickly
diversified. Lateral On entering the car park I am still unaware that this brand new
thinking on his part saw
product exists.
opportunities where to
others there were none -
Crockery Hire company, I'll just stop and ask the customer services where the Baked Beans
Themed banqueting
are.
venue, computer busi-
ness, leisure activities,
sole distribution rights, Can you imagine the response. She'll tell me which isle and shelf
leather manufacturer
the beans are on but they'll be no mention of the new bar of soap.
and designer and much
more. After all why should she tell me, I never asked!

So I continue with my shopping, going up and down the isles


and eventually I come to the toiletries and there on the shelves
are the bars of soap. My usual brand is there, Zest and adjacent
to it is a brand new bar of soap.

Now be it the colour the packaging, the price the smell or even
the name, at this point I make a very critical decision.

Do I buy my regular bar, or do I buy this new product?

What you must ask yourself at this point is a simple question.

Would you buy that bar of soap if it were placed amongst the red
wine, the cheese, the kiddies underwear?................ I think it's
highly unlikely.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 159
david frieslander
The location of this new product of course is paramount to its
success. If it were placed among the frozen vegetables or the
breads, a sale would be unlikely.

In February 1995 despite


recovering from major You see, what I came up with is the "Supermarket Analogy".
back surgery, David took
over Worsley Old Hall
I decided that the reason why certain products sell in shops is
(former home to the
Duke of Bridgewater). very often due to their association, location features, benefits
In 1996, not content and price.
with his achievements,
David succeeded where
few had made any What I considered and assumed was that my product, unknown,
impact at all. Without unheard of and new, was in the same boat as the new bar of soap.
the use of search en-
I knew that if I could place my product amongst others in a simi-
gines, a secure server or
a domain name until lar market, what I call a community, then a sale was much more
recently, David re wrote likely.
the rules when he
achieved £600,000
turnover in 3 years on Now at the time when I first got involved with the Internet in
the internet, without the 1996 I designed and produced a leather case called the WRAP
use of search engines,
case for Palm Pilots. But I had a theory about the net and won-
secure servers or initially
a domain name. A dered if my new case, a little piece of leather could sell direct on
quarter of a million the Internet.
visitors later and David,
not content with his
success continues to set I decided to use the search engines for my idea.
up new business wher-
ever the opportunity
First of all I looked for sites that referenced Palm Pilots. After
appears.
all it was this market that I wanted to be part of.

My next move was to request links from these sites to my own


and in return provide links from my site to theirs.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 160
david frieslander
In some cases I even sent free samples of the cases and asked the
sites in question to post a review on their site.

Of course one new product meant plenty of announcements in


newsgroups and postings to other sites, but my next move was
Today David lives with his
to invite suggestions on how best to improve the case.
wife and two daughters
in North Manchester.
Anecdotes from this man From these comments I launched another case and another and
motivate and inspire.
another.
Where no opportunity
exists David finds it using
his Midas touch. All the time I added new lines with more announcements. Being
news worthy to those in my market created the momentum. Of
course I was only scratching the surface.

Within twelve hours of my site going live I received my first


order. My wife and I would pack packages for distribution all
over the world until the early hours.

Today I employ a full time staff to fulfill the orders daily.

Creating links was easier than it sounds. I would simply write to


the other web site owner. “I really was very impressed with your
web site when I came across it today. I was wondering if you
would like a link from www.i2iuk.com to your site and in return
perhaps you could oblige with a link from your site to ours.”

In the same way that supermarkets place goods on the shelves


and they do it so there are associations with other products, you
too must place your goods on the supermarket shelves and posi-
tion yourself so that you receive sales in the same way that I
would consider buying that alternative product.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 161
david frieslander
In order for you to place your products and services on the shelf
you must build up reciprocal links with other web sites that are
associated with your line of business.

To do this you must first create a links page.

A good links page must have some of the following properties.


It must be automated.

It should allow for a short description of the site that you pro-
vide a link to.

You must allow for the reciprocating site to place their web site
address on your links page.

Only provide a link out in return for a reciprocal link in. Better
to have more links in than links out.

From the success that I have experienced on the net I set about
putting my ideas down in a step by step format.

This manual, like no other is interactive and is literally a step by


step guide to making money on the net. Called 7PIMs because it
offers a solution to marketing profitably on the internet in 7 easy
steps. For more information please visit
www.profitableinternetmarketing.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 162
No more theory.

No more hype!

Just a practical
tutorial solution.
Take up the challenge with a special 7PIMs kit!! We’ll send you the 7PIMS
manual , 7PIMv (2 video tapes), the “How to be in the Right Place at the Right
Time ” double cassette, the “How to create a Profitable Internet Business ”
cassette,the ” Profitable Internet Marketing” 6 cassette set, the “How to cre-
ate Royalties ” manual and Netprospector 2000 (software to help you find sales
leads - no spamming).

All this for just $247


inclusive of P&P
(worth almost $600)
Just click here:
http://www.profitableinternetmarketing.com/specialoffer
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 163
randy gage
Once Upon A Time:
The Storytelling
of Sales
For more than 15 years,
Randy Gage has
been helping people
transform self-limiting
beliefs into self-fulfilling
breakthroughs to
I’m writing this from a rehearsal room, at level 6, in the com-
achieve their dreams.
Randy's story of rising plex underneath the Bastille Opera House in Paris. It’s a
from a jail cell as a teen, walkthrough rehearsal for The Magic Flute, the first time the
to become a self-made
lead actors are meeting the stage director. It’s the kind of event
millionaire, has inspired
millions around the never seen by the general public – one I’m experiencing as a
world. This compelling guest of the lead tenor, special dispensation from the Director,
journey of triumph over
and the grudging approval of the security desk.
fear, self-doubt, and
addiction, uniquely
qualifies him as an This will be a production of the Young Artists Studio, a scholar-
undisputed expert
ship program the Opera provides to the most promising young
in the arena of peak
performance and stars from around the world. These artists, the next generation
extraordinary human of Opera Superstars, come to the Bastille to learn from the finest
achievement. His story
coaches, Directors and Maestros the world has to offer.
and the way he shares it,
demonstrate the true
power of the mind over I’ve arrived here to spend a few days with Juan Carlos (the tenor),
outside circumstances.
coming by the Chunnel train, after conducting a one-day Mar-
keting War College in the U.K. That War College came just 48
hours after I had conducted by four-day, 17-hour-a-day Speak-
ers Institute in LA.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 164
randy gage
After crossing nine time zones in two days and the absence of
any meaningful sleep - the contrast of cultures and convergence
of experiences have conspired to provide me an insight into life.
Which, as is my nature – I immediately translate to marketing.
Randy captivates
audiences through his
unique and memorable The convergence of experiences:
personal stories,
teaching them the
lessons learned from The first of these were the “Showcases” I critiqued with Steven
his own rich life. Siebold at the Speakers Institute. In a showcase, a volunteer
comes on stage and delivers a short section of his or her speech.
His in-the-trenches
experiences in We then critique for them how they can better connect with the
direct selling, as an audience and get their message across. If there was one theme
entrepreneur, and
we came back to over and over, it was “tell a story – make a
in life - help your
people see how they point.”
can transform challenge
into choices, obstacles
Simply assaulting your audience with facts, statistics and infor-
into opportunity, and
tragedy into triumph. mation will never create a bond. You are simply a human com-
puter, downloading data at a much faster rate than the average
person can process. Give a speech on the “11 Steps to Success”
and quiz the audience 30 minutes later. You’ll be lucky if they
can name one or two.

But tell them a story of something that happened to you that


illustrates a point – and they’ll often remember the story (and
thus the point), five years later. The speakers who are extraordi-
nary communicators never download facts – they have a con-
versation with the audience.

They become campfire storytellers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 165
randy gage
His keynote speeches, The second experience that lead to my intriguing insight was the
books, tapes, and other
work I did coaching attendees on their copywriting skills at the
learning resources are
packed with take-home Institute. We worked together on crafting compelling, gut-
content you can apply wrenching stories that would capture the emotion of the situa-
immediately in your life
tion for the prospect.
and business.

More than just "rah-rah" And contrary to popular belief – elite copywriters and world-
rallies, an interaction
class speakers share many more similarities than they do differ-
with Randy provides the
true inspiration that ences. At their ultimate level – they both speak to the soul of the
empowers people into recipients.
self-motivation, and the
action steps to achieve
success. One of the insights I wanted the speakers at the Institute to get
was that they must bring more than their message to the audi-
For more information
ence. Their message must be heartfelt, in the moment, and spo-
on Randy, go to
www.gagedirect.com ken directly with their audience. Yet there still is an element of
or call 1-800-432-4243 & show business – a necessary element if they are to “get over the
(316) 942 1111.
lights,” and share their message in a way the audience hears it,
connects with it, and actually resonates it. You can’t do this
with facts and figures, but you can do this with stories. And
when you do it right – the recipient will not hear the story, or
read the story – they will experience it!

I got to practice this personally, 48 hours after the Institute. I


shared my “Shattering Your Self-Limiting Beliefs” keynote to a
typically stoic audience outside of London. The British “stiff
upper lip” is not a myth. Speaking to a U.K. audience, you’ll
notice a definite reduction in facial expression, laughter and in-
teractions. There were times in the talk that I wondered if I was
really getting through.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 166
randy gage
Yet when I finished, 80 people from an audience of 100 lined up
to shake my hand, look in my eyes, and tell me how moving and
life-changing my message had been.

The idiom and accents between us was quite different – not to


mention some of the audience members were from Scotland,
Ireland, France and Italy – yet the message of my stories tran-
scended all.

Now as I sit in the rehearsal room, nested under Place du Bastille


– I am watching the same process unfold. The Director, the
pianist and one of the women sopranos are all French. Juan
Carlos is from Colombia, the dramatic soprano is Greek, and the
metzo is Russian. They communicate in a convoluted mélange
of French, English and German.

They don’t share the same native language, the Director knows
very little German and English, and the metzo speaks almost no
French.

Yet the Director communicates the story he wants told and the
manner in which it must be done.

Looking authentically Bohemian in chinos, turtleneck and tou-


sled hair, he paces like a lithe lemur in a tight cage, as he sketches
out the facial expressions, motivations and emotions of the scenes.

“Project your intention with your eyes!”


“The play comes from the silence.”
“You finish the sentence, but not the intention.”
“The emotion is here!” (pounding his stomach)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 167
randy gage
At the level of skill and training these students possess, they
can, at the snap of a finger, hit and project a note like you expect
to hear from Patti Labelle or Joe Cocker as they belt out their
climatic finale. (All while they’re sitting down in a rehearsal
room holding a water bottle, playing to an audience of one.)

In the storyline they’re rehearsing today, the three women res-


cue our tenor from a deadly serpent. They have never seen a
man before, so they are a palpable mixture of awe, curiosity and
sexual tension. A harmonic argument ensues over who will re-
main with the man while the other two go to alert the queen.

One sings, the second follows, and the third replies. The bril-
liant Director teeters on the edge of his chair, turning to each as
they solo. His wide open eyes dance with electricity, his mouth
is agape with joy, as he caresses each soloist with energy as he
coaxes the emotion from each of them. He scowls, stomps his
shoe and snaps his fingers when they must be angry – he breathes
hard, emotes and waves his arms when they must show more
excitement. “Exactament!” he exclaims when the magic of the
moment is captured.

You need not speak the language to feel the passion of the story.
No matter your age, your country or your culture – the spider
web of the story ensnares you in its trap.

And weeks from now, when the production is performed,


Mozart’s story will come to life once again. Thousands more
will follow the lure of the magic flute, and be projected to a
different place and time.

So what’s the marketing message for you???

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 168
randy gage
Tell a story. Make a point. Make the story your point. Whether
you’re the lead in La Traviata speaking to an audience of 500, or
writing your next sales letter, brochure or catalog – your critical,
overriding responsibility is to connect with your audience on an
inter-dimensional, soul-to-soul level.

The medium may change – the pianist with her keyboard, the
singers with their song, or you with your pen on paper – but the
end result must not. You must reach each person, one at a time.

Even if your mail piece is going to 50,000 people, they are go-
ing to read it one person at a time. The more stories you tell that
the prospect will relate to, the more likely he is to continue read-
ing and get your message. And we’ve talked about this before -
- the more emotion you can bring to the situation -- the more
likely the message will resonate with the prospect enough to
cause him to take action.

Make the following your mantra:


People buy on emotion – and justify by logic.

They do not buy a Chagall painting because it’s a good invest-


ment. They buy it because they want it in their home; the beauty
and the joy it will bring them. Then they justify to themselves
what a good investment it will be. The emotion caused the pur-
pose – the logic justified it.

If you assault your prospect with all the rational, logical and
sensible reasons she should buy your product or service, she
might. More likely, however, she will make a mental note that it
sounds like a good idea and plan to do it later. Which she prob-
ably won’t.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 169
randy gage
Logic gives the reason to buy, but emotion creates the urgency.
Imagine if June Anderson or Luciano Pavarotti simply read their
lines from their opera performances out loud from the script.
You might say the plot was interesting, but it’s unlikely you’d
stay with it.

Music is just notes on a page, until Carlos Santana plays them


on his guitar. Movies are just words on paper until Robert DeNiro
brings them to life. Information is just facts, until a compelling
speaker transforms them into relevance. In all these cases, it is
the emotion that takes the ordinary and turns it into magic.

Copywriting is no different. The difference between an adequate


copywriter and a world-class one is the amount of emotion they
create. Now you may be saying to yourself:

How do I create emotion if I sell something plain like tires, bikes


or a restaurant?

Easy. You don’t focus on the product - but how the prospect
uses it. Which is always good advice in any case. For tires you
could sell safety as the prospect transports her children, the fear
she would face on a lonely road at night after she has a flat, or
the danger of a blowout as she hurtles down the highway at high
speed.

If you’re selling mountain bikes, you don’t sell gearshifts and


pedals. You sell the high of riding your bike through the Appa-
lachian Trail, the view from the top, the exhilaration of making
it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 170
randy gage
If you’re a restaurant, you can do the easy thing, which is offer-
ing early bird dinners and cents off coupons. But a great copy-
writer would paint a picture of a warm, tender and intoxicating
romantic dinner for two. Or in a family restaurant, the great
times the kids will have.

Yes, the food in your restaurant is important, just as the perform-


ance aspects and features of your mountain bike are. But the
best way to anchor the tangible benefits those features provide
to the prospect is to regale him with an emotion story how he
will use your product. Here’s an easy way to do that: Start your
copy with these words:

“Put yourself in this picture…”

This is something I do quite a lot. It’s a very unusual way to


start a sales letter (which I always like to do) and it immediately
gives me a chance to start painting a picture.

Here’s an example of when I did this. Imagine if you are a pro-


fessional speaker and you get a letter with the following open-
ing:

Dear Colleague:

This is not hype – this is the real deal. How one man’s making
millions – and how you can duplicate him.

Put yourself in this picture...

The owner of a speaker’s bureau tells you what you have to do to


get booked by her;

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 171
randy gage
A man who has sold over $500 million worth of books, tapes and
videos through direct mail, infomercials and space ads, teaches
you how to do the same thing;

A speaker who has worked in almost two dozen different coun-


tries shows you how she did that – and how you can too, if you
desire;

You learn how to get on TV and radio; how to publish stories by


you, and get stories written about you, from one of the world’s
premier experts;

You hear the man many consider to be the best platform pre-
senter alive today, up close and personal – and learn from him
what he did to get so good;

You learn marketing strategies from someone who came out of


nowhere – to build a million-dollar-plus speaking business in
only five years;

In this letter, I actually go on for over two more pages – painting


the picture of what I want the prospect to visualize.

This letter was directed to professional speakers to sell the Home


Study version of my Speakers Institute, so I painted the appro-
priate picture they could expect to experience if they attended.

You paint the right picture of what your prospect can expect
from your product or service.

Here’s a very interesting twist…

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 172
randy gage
Sometimes you don’t tell the story of what they will get when
they buy your products. Sometimes you tell the story of what
will happen if they don’t!

Let’s go back to our tire store analogy.

Dear Friend;

Put yourself in this picture...

You’re driving along the Interstate, in a blinding rain. An eight-


een-wheeler passes you by, sending a tidal wave of water across
your windshield. Your thoughts turn to the safety of your chil-
dren in the back seat. Suddenly – you hear a loud noise, and the
steering wheel lurches to the left. The car is out of control...

This can be a very effective way to market. You don’t sell the
benefits of your product as much as you do the bad things that
will happen if the prospect doesn’t buy your product.

Consider this if your product or service is one that can make a


strong difference in a prospect’s life or career. But let’s get
back to storytelling...

I love to open my sales letters in the middle of a story. This


takes prospects “behind the scenes,” and compels them to keep
reading, if only to find out what in the hell I talking about.

Here are a few actual examples from successful sales letters I


created:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 173
randy gage
Dear Friend:

Gangs. AIDS. Rampant drug and alcohol abuse. Tabloid trash


TV and the children who are being raised by it. Crime, corrup-
tion, insecurity and indifference. We are living in an age of dark-
ness.

And yet, one of great hope...

***

Dear Colleague:

I’ve got problems in my warehouse operation. Big ones. Edna


retired and Donna, my supervisor, moved on to other opportuni-
ties. Because of commitments to previous jobs, the new staff
members couldn’t start work until one day before Donna left.
The resulting havoc almost drove me insane. Databases were
lost, newsletters didn’t go out to subscribers and products were
out of stock, as well as a host of other mistakes.

One of which could prove lucrative and quite profitable for you...

***

Dear PBA member,

It was about 6:30 on a Saturday evening when the accident hap-


pened. The policeman’s injuries were by no means life threaten-
ing, but he was in acute pain.

***

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 174
randy gage
Dear Colleague:

Yes. It’s really true. The difference between you and your first
(or next) million dollars can be one sales letter. Or the right
display ad, or even a properly crafted infomercial.

***

Dear Colleague:

It’s only days away! The most complete, informative, action-


able, relentlessly detailed, specific, step-by-step, nuts ‘n bolts
book on how to get unbelievably rich published in decades.

This is the real deal.

***

Dear Colleague:

I just got off the phone with Dennis & Mella Shoebotham, our
first Emerald Executives, and the top distributors in the North-
west. They’ve agreed to participate in a fascinating new pro-
gram to take 8 people from Washington State and put them
through the most intensive success programming ever conducted
in Network Marketing.

This means you have an unprecedented income opportunity –


like none you’ve ever had the chance to cash in on.

***

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 175
randy gage
Notice how in each of these example, I just pick up a story at
some point. Oftentimes the letter’s recipient doesn’t know the
sender, and has absolutely no idea why they would be telling
them this or any story. Their curiosity forces them to keep read-
ing.

You notice also, I often immediately turn the conversation to the


prospect. Curiosity will only carry him so far. At some point, he
will say, “What does this have to do with me?” The better your
story is, the longer he or she will wait. But it’s always a good
tact to turn it to them as soon as possible.

By the way, all of these examples are from my book, The Mil-
lion Dollar Mailbox. It’s a collection of successful case studies
of mine, and absolutely required reading for anyone serious about
their copywriting skills.

(If you need one, call Prime Concepts at (316) 942-1111 and ask
for the ProfitLetter subscriber price of only $247. You’ll save
fifty bucks off the regular retail price.)

Here’s another look at the concept. Daniel Pagliari publishes a


magazine in the U.K. for network marketers. Like a lot of my
protégées, he keeps a file of successful ads and letter from the
past – which he uses as inspiration when he sits down to write
copy. He wrote a control letter, which is doing quite well, to
promote his magazine. The inspiration he used was the “tale of
two men” letter, which is still a control today for The Wall Street
Journal. It’s a good example of storytelling and probably one of
the most imitated letters of all time. I know of at least six dozen
variations of the original.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 176
randy gage
Here’s how Daniel started his letter:

Dear Network Marketing Professional,

On a bright summer afternoon, 3 years ago, Mark and Jake joined


The Average Network Marketing Company.

Mark and Jake were very much alike. They had more or less the
same qualifications to start their own business and they both
had similar backgrounds.

They were full of dreams and wanted to attain financial security


through network marketing.

Aah… the network marketing dream.

Recently they met at the annual convention of their MLM Com-


pany.

Although Mark and Jake are still very much alike (they are both
happily married and have two children) today, there is a differ-
ence…

Mark still works two jobs, has many debts and continually strug-
gles to meet quotas with his MLM Company.

And all he has to show for three years of hard work is a £306.18
monthly bonus cheque.

Jake, on the other hand, dedicates less time to his business than
Mark does. Yet, he has made it to the top position in his com-
pany.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 177
randy gage
Jake works only 3 to 4 hours a day on his business. He has
implemented systems that have turned his business into a com-
plete, turn-key, auto pilot operation. He knows that even if he
goes on holiday for a full month, when he comes back his cheque
will be bigger than the previous month. He has a constant stream
of qualified prospects joining his downline, has gained the re-
spect of his business associates and people follow him like a
magnet. Jake has gained the recognition of his company and at
the annual convention received the Top Distributor Award.

His cheque last month was for £46,568.77…

Why The Difference?

***

Now here’s what I did when I critiqued it:

Dear Network Marketing Professional,

At about nine o’clock on a balmy summer evening three years


ago, Mark and Jake joined the same network marketing com-
pany. They had more or less the same qualifications, and they
came from similar backgrounds. They were each full of dreams
and wanted to attain financial security through Network Mar-
keting.

Recently they met at their annual company convention. And


while Mark and Jake are very much alike (they are both mar-
ried and have two children) today, there is a very big difference
in what has happened in the last three years…

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 178
randy gage
For Mark, things are not going well. He still works two jobs,
has many debts and continually struggles to meet his quotas with
the company. All he has to show for three years of hard work,
hundreds of meetings and a lot of rejection, is a £306 monthly
bonus cheque. He has frequent arguments with his wife, most of
them about money.

She feels he should be spending more time with her and the kids,
but Mark is always attending another meeting somewhere. She
can’t understand why he’s missing their children growing up for
such a measly check each month. She resents it, and the bitter-
ness is tearing into the fabric of their marriage.

Jake, on the other hand, dedicates less time to his business than
Mark does. Yet, he has made it to the top position in his com-
pany. He quit his day job a year ago, so he has breakfast with
the family and takes his kids to school every morning. He takes
his family on several holidays a year and is able to provide a life
of security, without the stress of financial pressure. Because
he’s been there at the important times in his children’s life – he
has a wonderful relationship with them. His family is happy and
well adjusted, and they live in a beautiful neighbourhood with
good schools and nice neighbours.

Jake works only 3 to 4 hours a day on his business. He has im-


plemented systems that have turned his business into a complete,
turnkey, auto pilot operation. He knows that even if he goes on
holiday for a full month, when he comes back his cheque will be
bigger than the previous month. He has a constant stream of
qualified prospects joining his downline, has gained the respect
of his business associates and people follow him like a magnet.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 179
randy gage
Jake has gained the recognition of his company and received
the Top Distributor Award at the annual convention. His cheque
last month was for £46,568.

What happened?

***

Now of course I simply expanded the story, and I tried to con-


vey what these guys (and their family) might be feeling in this
situation. Remember not just to tell the stories – ask yourself
what is the emotion in the situation.

One of my all-time favorite examples of this was an ad written


by Nelson C. Metcalf, Jr., early in World War II. It was actually
selling in reverse. Most companies instead of advertising prod-
ucts – had to advertise to explain shortages and bad service to
customers, because of resources directed to the war effort. This
was an especially critical problem for the railroads, which were
often transporting troops. So Metcalf and his agency did a se-
ries of ads explaining the problem.

The first ad titled, Right of Way for Fighting Might went the
logical approach, citing impressive war freight figures. It help-
ing a little, but the railroad was still deluged with complaints.
Metcalf came back with Thunder Along the Line, an ad where
he tried to tell the story of the fighting railroaders and the hell
they were going through 24 hours a day, trying to keep the train
service working as normal as possible.

“Thunder” got some response and some editorial notice. But


listen to Metcalf as he explains what happened next:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 180
randy gage
“But three weeks after the ad ran, the typographer who set the ad
came to Boston by train. I met him shortly after he arrived.
Almost in the same breath, he praised the ad – and complained
about the train service! That was the beginning of “The Kid in
Upper 4. I vowed I would write an ad that would make every-
body who read it feel ashamed to complain about train service.”

I think he certainly did it. Take a read and see for yourself:

The Kid in Upper 4

It is 3:42 am on a troop train.

Men wrapped in blankets are breathing heavily.

Two in every lower berth. One on every upper.

This is no ordinary trip. It may be their last in the U.S.A. till the
end of the war. Tomorrow they will be on the high seas.

One is wide awake ... listening ... staring into the blackness.

It is the kid in Upper 4.

***

Tonight, he knows, he is leaving behind a lot of little things –


and big ones.

The taste of hamburgers and pop ... the feel of driving a roadster
over a six-lane highway ... a dog named Shucks, or Spot, or Bar-
nacle Bill.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 181
randy gage
The pretty girl who writes so often ... that gray-haired man, so
proud and awkward at the station ... the mother who knit the
socks he’ll wear soon.

Tonight he’s thinking them over.

There’s a lump in his throat. And maybe – a tear fills his eyes. It
doesn’t matter, Kid. Nobody will see ... it’s too dark.

***

A couple of thousand miles away, where he’s going, they don’t


know him too well.

But people all over the world are waiting, praying for him to
come.

And he will come, this kid in Upper 4.

With new hope, peace and freedom for a tired, bleeding world.

***

Next time you are on a train, remember the kid in Upper 4.

If you have to stand enroute – it is so he may have a seat.

If there is no berth for you - it is so that he may sleep.

If you have to wait for a seat in the diner – it is so he ... and


thousands like him ... may have a meal they won’t forget in the
days to come.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 182
randy gage
For us to treat him as our most honored guest is the least we can
do to pay a mighty debt of gratitude.

The New Haven R.R.

So what happened? This ad probably got more free publicity


than any ad ever created - before or since. The stars of the day
read the ad verbatim on the radio. It was reprinted free in the
leading magazines and newspapers in the States, and picked up
abroad. The Director of Defense Transportation asked it to run
around the country, and even competing railroads asked to make
it into posters for their stations. It was pinned on untold thou-
sands of bulletin boards, read from pulpits, and made into a song.
The railroad received more than 8,000 letters and MGM turned
it into a movie clip.

What was the difference between this ad and the earlier ones?
The story. And emotion. Tell stories. Use them to demonstrate
the benefit of your product. And do it with emotion, and you’ve
got a winner!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


I believe it's important because it reveals the secret of the most
compelling copy - storytelling and emotion. Stories are what
keeps people reading. Emotion is what gets them to pick up the
phone and buy.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 183
Can You Really Be One Sales Letter
Away From a Million Dollars?
Yes, it’s really true. The difference between you and your first (or next) million dollars - can be the
right sales letter! Or the right space ad, or even a properly crafted infomercial.
In fact, the fastest way for a person without a big bankroll to get rich is direct response
marketing. No matter what business you’re in – direct response marketing is the best way to raise
your sales exponentially. And when you raise sales this rapidly, a lot of the money falls to the
bottom line as profits.
A few years ago, a one-time-only, very special conference took place in the island country of
Bermuda. This landmark event was the first time two men – both self-made millionaires and
direct marketing icons – teamed up to conduct a four-day symposium on the strategies you need to
transform your ordinary marketing materials into order-producing, cash-generating vehicles that
stuff your mailbox, overload your phone lines, and assault your web site with new business.
Attendees paid $7,500, plus expenses, and they came from all over the world. These attendees
have since gone on to produce many millions of dollars in sales. Some have reached the pinnacle
of success in their industry. Fortunately, this amazing event was recorded live, exactly as it took
place. Now it is available to you...
The program I’m referring to is the Million Dollar Direct Marketing Institute, and it was con-
ducted by two of the most brilliant marketing geniuses in the world today - Ted Nicholas and
Randy Gage.
This is the first and only time these two direct marketing legends joined forces to present the most
intense, information-dense program ever offered in the science of direct marketing. It was four
days and nights packed with their million-dollar know how.
And I can tell you this. When they got together – it was magic! They started swapping headlines,
relating copywriting platforms, pulling out sample control ads, showing successful mail campaigns
and the sparks were flying! The audience – composed of dozens of highly successful marketing
consultants, copywriters and entrepreneurs – joined in, prodding, asking questions, participating
in Hot Seats and contributing their own experiences.
The result of all this was electrifying.
And we recorded every single second, on audiotape, exactly as it took place...

You MUST read on. Click here for


http://MillionDollarMarketingSeminar.com/
carl galletti
How To Create
Your Own
Carl Galletti is one of the
top direct-response
copywriters and market-
ing experts in the world.
Profit Producing
Headlines, Titles
The great ad man, Tom
Collins, had this to say
about him: "I was enor-
mously impressed by
Carl's direct-response

and Bullets
copywriting skills, his
poise and maturity, and
the solidity of his mar-
keting thinking...In my
experience, it is not
common to find all three
of these qualities in one Headlines are the most important part of any advertisement.
person." Tom is one of
David Ogilvy said:
the all time greats of
advertising copy and has, “Since headlines, more than anything else, decide the success
himself, been called "one or failure of an advertisement, the silliest thing of all is to run an
of the greatest copywrit-
ad without any headline at all -- a headless wonder.”
ers of all time" (by Ed
Nash in his book Direct
Marketing, McGraw-Hill). If headlines are that important to your ad, then you should know
how to write good ones. And if you know how to write good
headlines, you can also use that ability to write titles for your
books, ebooks,reports, email, autoresponder messages, websites
and advertising promotional materials.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 185
carl galletti
Another effective technique is to put “bullets into your advertis-
ing. Here is an example of a single bullet:
● 16 Secrets For Increasing Your Income

By putting a bunch of bullets into your ads you have an effective


In fact, many of the top
way to attract attention to what you are selling. And if a bullet is
people in direct response
advertising have turned not appropriate to what you are selling, maybe you can first sell
to Carl to write copy for or give away a special report first and use the bullets to promote
them. One of them is
the report.
direct marketing great
Gary Halbert. During his
past two marketing Here’s what you do. You create a report that is useful to the type
seminars in which sixty
of buyer your product or service appeals to. You know that any-
people paid $6950 each
to attend, one who requests your report is a good prospect for what you
are selling because they wouldn’t want the information if they
Gary selected Carl to be
weren’t. In other words, the report “qualifies” them as a good
a part of a handful of the
best copywriters in the prospect. That’s very valuable to know because it means they
world who would write are more likely to buy.
ads for the people
attending. Here is what
Gary told his attendees: Aside from a good headline and title, putting good bullets into
"CARL GALLETTI is, per- your ad for the report will increase the number of responses.
haps, the most serious
Which, in turn, will increase the number of sales.
student of the masters
of marketing I've ever
encountered. Tom I’ve been accused of being one of the best “bullet” writers in the
Collins, who is the co-
world. I don’t know if that is true but herein is the method I’ve
founder of Rapp &
Collins, the third largest developed to create them. It works very well for me and others
direct response agency have told me it works well for them, too. Your results will un-
in the world, considers
doubtedly be just as good. Here’s what it’s all about...
Carl a copywriting
genius. Now, after
reviewing a collection of Immediately after these instructions (which you are now read-
his work, so do I! "How
ing) there is a list of bullets.
good is he? Well, to give
you a clue, I've decided
to hire him myself!" A Bullet Is A Short, Punchy Item That Telegraphs Some Thought

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 186
carl galletti
I think of them as MINI-HEADLINES designed to stimulate
desire for the product and to well-up a craving for it in the heart
of the prospect (your reader).

The bullet should be enticing, almost seductive, in its effect. If


Jay Abraham is another
you’ve done your job well, then after reading a bunch of them,
to notice Carl’s talents.
Jay is considered to be your reader should be aching to order the product.
the top marketing
consultant in the coun-
Here is how you can tell if you’ve accomplished your goal: When
try. He charges $3000
per hour for his tel- you read your list, it should have the same effect on you. If you
ephone consultations feel a craving welling up inside you after reading your list of
and as much as $20,000
bullets, you surely have a good list and it should work very
for his five day seminars.
Carl has written several well. Be sure to read it from the viewpoint of your reader, not
direct mail sales letters your own personal viewpoint as a writer. This is important. If
for Jay.
you have trouble separating these two viewpoints, put your writ-
ing away and do something totally different. Come back to it in
a few hours or days. Then try again.

If you don’t have that much time, give it to some colleagues and
ask them to give you their reaction.The reaction you’re looking
for is how much it makes them WANT to read more about what
the bullets refer to. You don’t care so much about the grammar
or whatever else.

Another point to keep in mind regarding bullets is to make most


of them YOU oriented. That means you write it as if you are
addressing the reader. Here are a couple of examples of how
NOT to do it:

1. Why We Can Teach People Everything


They Need To Know About Selling On The Internet
2. All About the Service Award We Won

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 187
carl galletti
Here’s how you would rewrite them to make them YOU ori-
ented:

1. How You Can Discover Everything


You Need To Know About Selling On The Internet
Although Carl started
2. Why An Obscure Service Award We Won
writing copy back in
1968 (his first direct mail Means Lower Gas Mileage for You
letter pulled an incred-
ible 4% response!), he’s
There are times when you want to violate this YOU orientation.
really an entrepreneur at
heart. In 1976 he started For example:
one of the pioneering ● Why the Experts are Wrong About Marketing
personal computer
companies. Two of his
proteges went on to This may not work too well as:
make history in the ● Why You are Wrong About Marketing
personal computer field.
One was responsible for
putting Epson America There are exceptions of course. And that is one of reasons the
on the map in the United list is helpful. It demonstrates good bullets, some of which vio-
States (spear-headed by
late the rules and some of which follow the rules. It is only by
negotiating the deal with
IBM to use the Epson immersing yourself in these bullets that you get the “feel” for
printer for their first writing bullets that work.
personal computer). The
other was responsible
for igniting the IBM The list that follows is a list of bullet TEMPLATES. A template
clone market by being is a pattern which can be used as a guide. And these bullet tem-
the first to provide the
plates should be used as guides to creating or inspiring effective
critical software needed
to make non-IBM com- headlines and bullets.
puters compatible with
IBM personal computers
After becoming thoroughly familiar with your product’s features
- which resulted in his
acquiring a personal and benefits, you should scan the following list of templates,
windfall fortune of $48 visualize how the templates apply to your product and then cre-
million!
ate an appropriate bullet or headline. Write down the good ones.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 188
carl galletti
In making up your own headlines and bullets, you should freely
substitute your own words and phrases for the underlined words
and phrases. The underlining is merely a suggestion, a good place
to start your substitution. But don’t limit yourself. Feel free to
also vary the other words if that seems appropriate and strength-
Before becoming a
freelance copywriter and
ens the power of it.
marketing consultant,
Carl spent several years For example, for a diet product “11 Ways To Get Smarter Almost
working for the largest
oil company in the world,
Instantly” might become “11 Ways To Lose Weight Almost In-
as well as a highly re- stantly.” Or “3 Ways To Lose 10 Pounds Almost Instantly” or “6
garded market research Ways You Can Slim Down In The Next 30 Days.” Notice how
firm. And he also served
as Executive Vice-Presi-
the first two examples made changes to only the underlined parts
dent for a Madison of the template. Also notice how the third example made changes
Avenue advertising to the non-underlined parts as well, yet it kept the same magic of
agency.
the original.

The first example, “11 Ways To Lose Weight Almost Instantly,”


merely substituted “Lose Weight” for “Get Smarter.”

The second example, however, changed the number from 11 to


3 (there were only 3 ways not 11) and “Lose Weight” became
more specific (therefore increases believability) by using “Lose
10 Pounds” instead of just the general, “Lose Weight.”

The third example changed the number (11 to 6) but also took
out the “To” and replaced it with “You,” a wise choice since it
makes it more personal, more “YOU” oriented. So, “To Get
Smarter” first became “To Lose Weight” and then, “You Can
Slim Down.” And here, even the end part got changed, perhaps
because losing 10 pounds instantly is probably too much to be-
lieve (or achieve). So, it was changed to “In The Next 30 Days.”
Now, that makes it much more believable. See how it works?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 189
carl galletti
These bullet templates are most useful for bullets and headlines.
However, they may also be useful for inspiring titles as well as
captions for illustrations.

The Bullet Templates:


Carl has also worked
● 11 Ways To Get Smarter Almost Instantly
with some interesting
creative talent, such as ● 99 Sure Ways To Sharpen Your Golf Game
Ken Kerr, who has this to ● 16 Secrets For Increasing Your Income
say: "As creative director
● 21 New Ways To Motivate Any Athlete
of Epcot Center and all
the Disney theme parks, ● 23 Questions You Must Ask Any Job Applicant
I've had the good for- And The One Question That Will Separate
tune to work with some
The Serious Applicant From The Rest
of the best, including
Steven Spielberg, George ● 56 No-Fail Strategies For Achieving Success
Lucas, Jim Henson and ● 7 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Steps To Better Listening
other very talented,
● 9 Ways To Avoid The Most "Deadly" Advertising Mistakes
although lesser known,
people. Many of them ● A Discovery So Startling It Will Literally
are very talented writers Leave You Speechless
and marketing experts.
● A Little Mistake That Can Cost You A Fortune
But these days, when
someone needs a good ● A Little Mistake That Can Ruin Years of Your Savings
copywriter, the first one ● A Little Mistake That Could Ruin Your Health
who comes to mind is
Almost Instantly And What You Can Do About It
Carl Galletti. He knows
how to write the kind of ● A Shocking Uncensored Letter -- For Adults Only
copy that gets results. In ● A Startling Fact About The Wealthiest Man On Earth
my opinion, he's one of
● A New Way To Unlimited Wealth That Has Never Failed
the best you can get at
any price." ● Amanda Jackson's No Make-Up Make-Up
● An Announcement Of Unusual Importance
To Every Automobile Owner
● Being Lean: Japan's Secret Economic Weapon
● Ever Hear The One About The Farmer's Daughter?
● Five Simple Ways To Lose Weight
● Four Things You Have To Do
● Gilbert's Simple Sanity Test For Overworked Managers
● How Super-achievers Get it All Done

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 190
carl galletti
● How To Avoid The 10 Biggest Marketing Mistakes
● How To Become A Winner By Watching Television
● How To Bounce Back From A Devastating Loss
● How To Control Your Appetite
● How To Get Other People To Pay For Your Meals
These days Carl has
● How To Handle Sales Objections
retired from writing
copy for clients and ● How To Make The Most Out Of
now spends his time Your Current Financial Position
creating websites (see:
● How To Make Your Advertising
www.CarlGalletti.com),
putting on his Twice As Effective In Half The Time
Internet Marketing ● How To Make Yourself Twice The Person
SuperConference TM
You Thought You Could Be
every June in Las Vegas
(see www.ims4.com) ● How To Put Yourself On A Collision Course With Success
...teaching students of ● How To React To Criticism
his Copywriter Protégé
● How To Sell Against The Competition And Always Win
Program and, his new
found passion: directing ● How To Stop Smoking Almost Overnight
films. ● How To Think Like A Boss—The Three Things You Must Do
● How To Transform Your Crushing Failures
Into Spectacular Successes
● How To Transform Your Ideas Into Reality
● How To Win Over Any Opponent
● Latest Updated Information On Lifestyles
● Medical Breakthrough: A New Cure To Stop Smoking
● No More Aching Back
● Now Revealed For The First Time -- The Amazingly Simple
Technique To Earn $25,000.00 A Month!
● Prevention's Best Weight-Loss Ideas
● Secrets Of The Ancient Alchemists
● Seven Terrific Speakers and What They Can
Teach You About Self-Promotion
● Seven Terrific Speakers Tell You Exactly What To Do
About Stage Fright

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 191
carl galletti
● The “Rule of 7” and How It Can Make You Rich
● The #1 Most Effective Way To
Overcome Your Most Self-Destructive Thoughts
● The #1 Secret Of The Diet Doctors
● The (Absolutely) Last Word On AIDS
● The 10 Secrets To Professional Speaking
And Why You Should Never Use Them
● The 10-Word Rhyme That Will Help You Remember
Exactly What To Do When You Get Too Uptight
● The 11 Selling Secrets Of Million Dollar Sales Letters
● The 12 Strategies That Will Guarantee
You Get The Results You Want
● The 13 Reasons Why You Should Have
A Positive Mental Attitude
● The 201 Most Powerful Persuasion Statements Of All Time
● The 23 Ways To Turn Your Life Around
● The 90-Second Miracle
● The ABCs Of People Management
● The Amazing "M.U.D.D." Technique
● The Amazing 2,000 Year Old Secret
● The Amazing Diet Secret Of The Ancient Chinese...
Revealed For The First Time
● The Amazing Discovery That Will Change Your Life
● The Amazing New Diet Secret Of A Desperate Bride-To-Be
● The Amazing Secret That Brave Men Died For
● The Amazing Secret That Shocked the World
● The Amazing Solution To The Incredible Mystery
Of The Missing Profits
● The Amazing Winning Secret Of A Little-Known
New Jersey Billionaire
● The Amazing Winning Secret Of A Losing Athlete
● The Amazingly Simple Technique That
Almost Everyone Ignores
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 192
carl galletti
● The Amazingly Simple Technique That
Almost Everyone Needs
● The Best And Worst Diet Ideas From Prevention
● The Best Kept Business Secrets In America
● The Book That Took Forty Years To Write
● The Can't Miss System For Investing in Stocks
● The Can't-Miss System For Getting A Raise
● The Case Against Yelling At Referees
● The Case For Yelling At Referees
● The Complete Guide To Finding the Perfect Woman
● The Cosmo Formula For Looking Your Best
● The Crimes You Commit Against Your Mind
● The Crucial Factor That Determines
Whether Or Not You Get Promoted
● The Crucial Role of the Cassette in Mental Training
● The Crucial Step For Achieving Success
● The Crucial Step For Women Executives
● The Excellence Principle
● The Explosive Technique For Fighting Off A Mugger
● The F.R.E.D. Factor
● The Five Deadly Mistakes You Can Make
When Asking For A Raise
● The Five Direct Marketing Don'ts
● The Four Legendary Direct Mail Copywriters
And What They Had In Common
● The Four Reasons Why Using a Lawyer
May Be Dangerous To Your Wealth
● The Four Steps To Absolute Peace
● The Galletti Method For Super Success
● The Get-Rich Phenomenon And What It Means To You
● The GILBERT Technique For Managing Your Time
● The Instant Cure For Insomnia

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 193
carl galletti
● The Key Greatest Speakers Of All Time:
Who They Are And How They Succeed
● The Last Word On Buying A Home Computer
● The Last Word On Making Money
● The Machine That Changed The Advertising World
● The Mysterious Secret That Unlocks The Key To Success
● The Mystery To Motivating Athletes
And How You Can Solve It
● The New Discovery That Made An Average Athlete
A Superstar
● The No-Fail Way To Get Your First Job
● The No-Sweat Study Guide
● The Number One (#1) Most Powerful
Word In The English Language
● The One Greatest Resource On How To Make Money
● The One Key To Health That Almost Everyone Forgets
● The One Most Important Piece Of Business Advice
You'll Ever Get
● The One Most Powerful Way To Overcome Your Fears
● The One Phone Number That Can Change Your Life Instantly
● The One-Minute Test To Determine Your Potential
● The Pandora Factor
● The Proven Formula For Doubling Your Income in 90 Days
● The Proven Formula For Doubling Your Sales
● The Revolutionary New Discovery
That Was Forty Years In The Making
● The Secret Formula That Kept Cleopatra Young...
Revealed Here For The First Time
● The Secret Nobody Knows About
● The Secret Of Perfect Putting
● The Secret of the Ages
● The Simple Formula For Improving Your I.Q.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 194
carl galletti
● The Simple Four-Question Test You Have To Pass
If You Ever Want To Become A Winner
● The Simple Quiz For Men Who Are Considering Infidelity
● The Six Biggest Mistakes You Can Make
In Public Speaking And How To Avoid Them
● The Strange Reason Why Winning May Be Fatal
● The Super Go-Buy System for Saving Money
● The Technique That All Superstars Use
To Almost Always Win The Big One
● The Ten Best Books On Advertising
● The Ten Best Resources For Entrepreneurs
● The Ten Commandments Of Confidence
● The Ten Commandments Of Successful Advertising
● The Ten Major Reasons Women Get Divorced
● The Terrible Truth About AIDS
● The Three Books You Must Read About
● The Three Books You Must Read
If You Expect To Succeed in Life
● The Three Critical Questions To Ask Yourself
After Every Single Speech
● The Three Diet Secrets Of The Orient
● The Three Most Important Steps To Achieving Success
● The Three People You Have To Speak To
About Your Shaky Marriage
● The Three Plus One System For Advancing Your Career
● The Three Reasons You Should Never Give
When Buying A Car
● The Truth About Love Potions
● The Truth About Starting A Mail Order Business
● The Two-Hundred-Year-Old Mistake
● The Ugly Truth About Infidelity
● The Ultimate Way To Improve Your Memory

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 195
carl galletti
● The Very Best Advice Money Can Buy
● The World's Most Amazing Way To
Double Your Income Almost Instantly
● Three No-Nonsense Ways To Motivate Anyone
● Three Powerful Reasons Why You Should Never Tell A Lie
● Three Powerful Reasons You Should Always Tell The Truth
● Three Things You Must Do
● Three Ways You Can Turn A Hobby Into A Career
● TQP + CRM = QHP (Total Quality Management
+ CRM Films = Quality Human Performance)
● Wall Street's Best Kept Secret
● What Airlines Don't Want You To Know
About Buying Tickets
● What Every Good Nurse Should Know
● What Every Married Women Should Know About Sex
● What Every Speaker Must Know About
Researching A Subject
● What Everyone Should Know About
Buying Stocks in a Recession
● What It's Like To Receive Thousands of Dollars
in the Mail Each Day
● What Muhammad Ali Can Teach You About Success
● What Never To Eat On Airplanes
● What To Do When You Are Overwhelmed By Failure
● What Tom Seaver Can Teach You About Concentration
● What You Can Learn From
The Mentally Toughest Athlete Of All Time
● What You Can Learn From
The Things You've Been Overlooking
● Whatever Became of You Know Who?
● When To Use These Techniques And The Three
Critical Times You Should Never Use Them

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 196
carl galletti
● Where To Find The Greatest Motivational Stories Of All Time
● Why A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Can Mean Instant Success for You
● Why Everybody's Wrong About the Arabs
● Why Everyone Is Wrong About The Economy
● Why Everyone Listens When Joe Paterno Talks
● Why It Now Makes Sense To Buy Your Own Home
● Why Nobody Believes World Peace Is Possible
● Why Over 978 Smart People Have Paid $15,000
For A 5-Day Seminar
● Why Should Anybody Ever Buy A Home Computer
● Why Some Athletes Are Irresistibly Drawn Toward Failure
● Why Some Athletes Never Choke
● Why Some Athletes Never Win The Big One
● Why Some Athletes Self-Destruct in Crucial Situations
● Why The Old Coaching Techniques Don't Work Anymore!
● Why The Top Twenty High School Football Coaches
Use These Techniques
● Why You Should "Throw Away" Everything
You Ever Knew About Sport Psychology
● Your Amazingly Simple Guide To
The Most Powerful Techniques Ever Developed

This was taken from my “Marketing Made-Easy Workshop.” If


you liked these bullet templates, you will also like “ 2001 Of The
Greatest Headlines Ever Written.” It gives you many more ideas
and is specifically for headline writing. If you are interested, go
to the website: http://www.adsecrets.com/2001. Or contact me.
The best way to find my current contact info is to go to one of
my websites either AdSecrets.com or CopyCoach.com. Or you
can go to: http://www.CarlGalletti.com which has all of my
websites listed.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 197
carl galletti
Thanks for reading this. When you have successes with the bul-
lets you’ve written based on what you learned here, please write
or email and tell me about them. And for the latest updated info
on headlines, copywriting, advertising, marketing, etc., subscribe
to my FREE E-mail newsletter (Ezine) called AdSecrets. You
Copyright © 1993, 1999,
can do this by visiting the web site http://www.adsecrets.com.
2000, 2002 Carl Galletti,
PO Box 3934, Thanks. And good luck with your marketing projects.
Sedona, AZ 86340
Tel: (928) 203-4671
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
Fax: (928) 203-0013
Carl@AdSecrets.com “I suppose I picked it because it’s had the greatest impact on the
www.CarlGalletti.com most people. Not just because of the people who have read the
article directly but also the many who have indirectly benefited.

I’ve had requests from all the top marketing gurus to reprint or
distribute this, Jay Abraham, Gary Halbert, Robert Allen and
many others. These people taught thousands who then went on
to teach many more from what they learned in this article.

It went viral way back in 1993 before anyone used the term.
There are people who have benefited from this article who didn’t
even know it existed. Just look on the Internet and you’ll find a
whole bunch of good writers turning out great headlines, titles
and bullets. Most of them have either read this piece or learned
from someone who has. It’s the source document on the subject.
And that’s why I picked it.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 198
allan gardyne
The perfect
revenue sharing
Allan Gardyne lives with
his wife Joanna in a pole
home among gum trees,
palms and jacarandas at
Tuan, a tiny fishing
program
Dateline: 20 May 1999. For about a year I've been collecting
village in sub-tropical
facts in preparation for writing an article called "How to create
Queensland, Australia.
the perfect revenue sharing program".
Allan has turned an
internet hobby into a
I don't need to write that article now. Ken Evoy hasn't just writ-
thriving business, writing
about, promoting and ten the article - he's created the program, too.
operating affiliate
programs. His website:
Recently I've been calling Marlon Sanders' site which sells "The
AssociatePrograms.com
Amazing Formula" probably the most persuasive on the Net.
Well, Ken Evoy's new site leaves Marlon's for dead.

"We've studied every affiliate program out there," Ken says. "One
way or another, affiliates are basically building a house on a
foundation of sand."

Ken has set a standard against which all new revenue sharing
programs will be compared.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 199
allan gardyne
In a hurry? Rush on over to the magic URL:
http://makemy.sitesell.com/

Ken Evoy's 5 Pillar Program


Ken has created what he calls "The 5 Pillar Program", which is
built upon:

1. Outstanding product line.


Ken's book, "Make Your Site Sell", is merely the foundation for
an extensive product line. Every product is aimed at helping
entrepreneurs and small businesses sell on the Net.
Sign up, and you'll earn commissions on all of them.

2. High first commission.


It's as generous as any on the Net. As well, Ken offers amazing
value - his book costs only $24.95 (Canadian) – or $17.09 (US),
so it is guaranteed to sell strongly.

3. Lifetime commission for referred customers.


That customer "belongs" to you forever. Yes, the data is cap-
tured in every way imaginable, not just with cookies.

4. Lifetime affiliate team under you.


You earn commissions on all THEIR sales.

5. Long-term protection. Limited number of affiliates.


"We want you to make serious money, long-term - so we limit
the number of affiliates," Ken says. This rewards talented, hard-
working partners who dedicate time to succeeding. It discour-
ages the "short-term-burst then make-money-forever" approach.

Here's the URL: http://makemy.sitesell.com/

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 200
allan gardyne
Amazing stack of testimonials
I've read Ken Evoy's book and I've been waiting eagerly for Ken's
permission to tell you how good "Make Your Site Sell" is.

However, here's an opinion from an expert - someone who knows


a LOT more about marketing on the Net than I do.

"I just read the book and found that it is the BEST information
on the subject of 'how to make your site sell' that I have EVER
read," Matt Hockin of the highly respected Multimedia Market-
ing Group told I-Sales Digest.

"It's in Adobe PDF format and is full of helpful links to resources


on the Web. The book covers everything you need to know from
beginning to end about making your site sell. It's very thorough
and I highly recommend it."

It would be hard to find a stronger testimonial than that – but it's


just one of a series of rave reviews at Ken's site.

You've forgotten the URL already? Here it is:


http://makemy.sitesell.com/

Battlefield-tested system
Ken Evoy, author of "Make Your Site Sell", is a Canadian physi-
cian who formerly taught and practiced emergency medicine at
McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 201
allan gardyne
He and his wife designed toys and games and sold 23 of their
inventions to large companies around the world, generating mil-
lions of dollars in royalty revenues.

"Thanks to toys and games, medicine is my part-time hobby that


I still love," Ken says.

In late 1996, Ken "accidentally" became interested in the Internet.


He had begun writing a computer program for an investing hobby
that started from a rather unusual theory.

In the six years before that, he had developed a successful in-


vesting strategy in a highly specialized niche market. Despite
using the strategy only infrequently, he turned a $5,000 experi-
mental stake into more than $150,000.

So Ken gathered all his loose-strewn notes and rough database


and converted that chaos into the "ultimate software," originally
intended for his own use.

However, he was captivated by the Internet and decided to try to


sell his "niche-investing" software.

"I realized right from DAY 1 that my investing software would


be virtually impossible to sell!" Ken says. "You will never have
to sell a product as difficult-to-sell as my first Web product."

Here's why:

It was in a little known investing niche - not many people know


about it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 202
allan gardyne
Those who do know about it, have a negative impression about
it (rightly so).

Ken is an unknown in investing circles - "not only was I not


Warren Buffet, I was a doctor -- much worse!"

He could not even permit a trial download (due to the unique


nature of the niche).

He was selling it at a high price.

Despite all those difficulties, Ken designed a site to sell this "near-
impossible-to-sell" product and figured out how to attract tar-
geted traffic. Quite a challenge.

"That 'challenge' nets (after expenses, which are minimal) my


wife and I over $1,000 per day, up to $5,000 some days," Ken
says.

Convinced? Learn the rest at:


http://makemy.sitesell.com/

Ken wants to teach you how

Ken Evoy says he loves to teach.

"I have taught a championship Little League baseball team -


twenty years later, one of the stars from that team, a man who
has 'made it' by selling his successful Web biz to a major e-com-
merce company, writes the Foreword to my book! You can read
it when you take advantage of your free trial download."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 203
allan gardyne
He also taught a professional touring Canadian golf pro. "My
most exciting moment in sports came in the summer of 1996
when he won his first tournament and publicly gave me the
credit!"

Ken also taught medical students at a McGill University teach-


ing hospital, and he taught Tony Kwan, owner and president of
Pointsder Manufacturing, who says:

"Ten years ago, I was a struggling toy manufacturer. Ken and I


became friends through the toy business. Ken loves to help peo-
ple. I can honestly say that if I had never met him, I would not be
where I am today. And my company, Pointsder, would not be the
HK$200,000,000 success story that it is today."

Now Ken says that in keeping with his teaching inclinations, he


sees his latest venture as a terrific opportunity not to "sell tips,"
but instead to teach people how to do exactly what he does -
totally via the Web. So his site won't just supply you with prod-
ucts you can make money selling - it will teach you exactly how.

Want to be taught?
http://makemy.sitesell.com/

The bottom line


In any event, here's the bottom line, Ken says.

"While marketing that first product on the Web, a two-year trial-


and-error process developed into a tight, battlefield-tested sys-
tem that works . . . and will work for you, no matter what you're
trying to sell on the Web.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 204
allan gardyne
"That product forced me to become a battle-tested expert in at-
tracting targeted customers and making sites with SALES
POWER.

"Whatever it is that you are selling, your product will be easier


to sell than my first product . . .

... far easier."

http://makemy.sitesell.com/

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


For me, this article was special in several ways:

* It's much more of a hard sell than my usual writing style. I was
so enthusiastic about this new product and new affiliate pro-
gram, that I used stronger words than I normally would. I felt
that this program was a major breakthrough in affiliate market-
ing, one that would change the industry, and I tried hard to get
that feeling across. I even used the word "perfect", which was
most unlike me.

* It's repetitive. In fact, it's so darn repetitive that I received a


few scathing letters from readers telling me not treat them like
dummies. (What I repeated was the link for people to click.)

* I used more precise details than I normally would.

* It's much longer than I usually write.

* I sent it as a solo mailing to my newsletter subscribers - some-


thing I hardly ever do.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 205
allan gardyne
That article achieved a delightful 10% conversion rate. One in
every 10 people I sent to the site bought the book. (The low price
helped!)

However, what's really special about it is that although the arti-


cle was published back in May 1999, three years later I'm STILL
earning regular commissions from it.

That's because the affiliate program pays LIFETIME commis-


sions. Once the customer has bought one product from the mer-
chant, the customer is "yours" for life. Every time they buy an-
other product, you earn a commission.

For an explanation of how that works, see:


"How I achieved 71 sales in 2 days - by doing (almost) nothing"
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/search/sales.shtml .

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 206
“I've been earning
a good living online
since 1998.”

Let
Let me
me help
help you
you do
do the
the same.
same. Subscribe
Subscribe to
to my
my free,
free,

award-winning
award-winning Associate
Associate Programs
Programs Newsletter.
Newsletter.

Read
Read the
the glowing
glowing unsolicited
unsolicited testimonials...
testimonials...

http://AssociatePrograms.com/search/testimonial.shtml
http://AssociatePrograms.com/search/testimonial.shtml
david garfinkel
Do These Things
and You’ll End Up
Much Richer After
David Garfinkel helps
companies with high-end
business-to-business
products and services
increase sales and make
The Recession
Do you see the challenging times we’re in as a burden or an
bigger profits. If you’re
like most companies, you opportunity? Many people, when they hear that the economy
have generic advertising has slowed down, act like they are obligated to participate in a
that is not specific to
your strengths and
recession! You may feel that way also, but you don’t have to.
would work for your Once you realize that fortunes are made in bad times, you can
competitors just as well put aside your worries long enough to evaluate the opportuni-
as it would work for you.
ties in front of you.

What follows is a set of concrete actions you can take right away.
This is an action plan you can use to say, “The hell with the
recession – I’m cashing in!”

How did I come up with this information? Through experience,


over time. I make my living writing copy for businesses that
sell to other businesses. The copy I write either gets a response,

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 208
david garfinkel
or it doesn’t get a response. The copy that eventually works is
copy that helps people understand, in simple terms, what’s
uniquely valuable to them about what a company offers. I take
those simple words – the unique selling proposition of a com-
pany – and use them to develop an action plan and marketing
David has a powerful and
proven process that materials to use in executing the plan. My client executes the
ferrets out your unique- action plan in the marketplace to make sales.
ness and distills it down
to a unique selling
proposition – a few In the 17 years I’ve been testing the waters of the marketplace,
simple words that I’ve seen different people make essentially the same mistakes
powerfully assert your
over and over again. I’ve also noticed the habits and practices
competitive advantage.
From there, he develops of shrewd individuals who consistently make money. What fol-
marketing materials and lows is the best of what I have learned, organized into steps you
processes – sales letters,
can take. And, at the end of this report, you will learn about an
advertisements,
telephone scripts, additional free resource that tells you how you can get help turn-
postcards, Web pages, ing these actions into sales and profits for your business.
tag lines, trade show
promotions, press
releases, autoresponder What Not To Do
copy. In short, he comes The biggest mistake most businesses make in times like these
up with whatever it
can be summed up in two words: cutting back. Whatever you
takes to get you the
sales and profits you do, don’t cut back where it can hurt your business. That is, don’t
need to grow. And he cut back on your prices (which hurts your margins, and weak
gives you a workable
margins can push you out of business); don’t cut back on your
plan to use the copy and
strategy to increase your marketing (because marketing is what brings in new business);
sales and profits. and don’t cut back on product or service selection and availabil-
ity (which keeps you as a favorite in your target market).

However, there are areas where it can make sense to cut back.
It’s a good idea to keep your fixed costs low, so you may need to
cut back on staff. You should certainly cut back on whatever
debt you can, and cut back on frills. Make necessary invest-
ments – marketing, inventory, customer convenience – but go
easy when it comes to spending on non-essentials.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 209
david garfinkel
Cash In On Opportunities
In tough times, it’s more important than ever to keep an eagle-
eye on trends in the marketplace. Here are three things to look
for that can help you make money in the months ahead:

1. Security-related businesses. I have a client who provides a


Companies in 81 indus-
tries have increased their product that helps corporations remind their employees to prac-
sales by millions of tice safe and careful computer habits. Recently the term “Dig-
dollars per year using
ital Pearl Harbor” has appeared a lot in the news, as a way to
David’s strategies, tactics
and sales copy. describe the potential threat of cyber-terrorism. It’s real. I helped
my client re-formulate his marketing message to get the atten-
Every year, David takes a
tion of the major news media. Needless to say, my client’s busi-
select number of clients
and helps them grow ness has grown substantially. By the same token, anything you
their businesses can do to help people maintain or increase security (whether
exponentially. You can
computer-related or not) has a good chance of making a lot of
visit David’s Web site at
www.davidgarfinkel.com money in this economy.
or reach him by email:
GARFINKEL@aol.com. Or
2. Internet marketing. After the dot-com and NASDAQ crashes
call him in San Francisco
at (415) 564-4475. – and especially after the fall of Webvan – a lot of people started
to lose faith in Internet marketing. That trend reversed direction
in a hurry when anthrax started to show up in postal mail. When
I was writing an article for Sales and Marketing Management
about how to get more sales from Internet marketing, one pro-
vider of email marketing software told me orders skyrocketed
50% the month after the terrorist attacks. Anything you can do
to help people market better on the Internet has a lot of profit
potential at this time.

3. Helping people get more out of what they’ve already got.


A good friend is helping a Fortune 100 company take ideas its
creative employees have come up with and turn these ideas into
new, freestanding, highly profitable companies.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 210
david garfinkel
Why? Because the large corporation lacks the skill, speed and
entrepreneurial knack to launch its own start-ups. Suddenly many
other large companies are asking my friend to do the same thing
for them. If you can help people take better advantage of their
existing resources, in these times you will have limitless oppor-
tunities.

Your Survival Game Plan


I’m sure your first priority is keeping your own business going.
Here are 10 things you can do now to ensure that your business
will survive and thrive in the days, months and years ahead:

The Basics:
1. Get back in touch with old customers. The biggest cost
most businesses never take into account is the cost of acquiring
a new customer. Undoubtedly you have old customers who
would gladly give you more business if you gave them a little
more attention. Rekindle those old relationships and watch the
cash start to flow!

2. Make extra effort to keep current customers. Don’t be


surprised if competitors are gunning for your current customers
more than ever before. Go the extra mile with current custom-
ers to make sure they stay with you. Common courtesy – saying
“please” and “thank you” – along with punctuality and follow-
ing through on every promise, make up the glue that retains cus-
tomers, if for no other reason than it’s so rare!

3. Offer prospective customers a free sample. From a test-


drive in a new Mercedes to a food sample on a Saturday at the
grocery store, offering a free sample is one of the least expen-
sive and most effective ways to get a new customer.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 211
david garfinkel
When I convinced a business-to-business travel agency to offer
free samples of its services to CEOs, it added $5 million in an-
nual, recurring revenues. Ask yourself this question: What can
you do that you’re not already doing to help customers experi-
ence the value of what you offer before they commit to buy?

Advertising:
4. Only advertise where your prospects and customers are.
Take a very close look at the readership, viewership or listenership
of where you are advertising. Say you are trying to reach busi-
ness owners in your city. It could make more sense to take a
regional ad in the Wall Street Journal instead of an ad in the
local newspaper, because so many of the readers you’re paying
to reach in the local paper aren’t business owners.

5. Use a powerful headline in every ad you write. The same


goes for emails (use a powerful subject line); Web pages (use a
powerful title); and sales letters (use a headline or a powerful
first sentence). The most important thing about these first few
words is that they need to grab the reader’s attention and create
the expectation that the reader will learn how to solve a problem
or achieve a desire by reading further. By changing the headline
in an inexpensive ad for a one-person business, I increased ad-
vertising results from zero to $11,000 profit in one month.

6. Make a compelling offer that drives prospects to call or


visit you. Most advertising you look at is limp and lifeless – it
gives the reader no reason to respond. Make yours stand out by
offering a freebie, or a discount, or some other incentive to pick
up the phone and call you right away.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 212
david garfinkel
7. Synchronize the people who answer your phones with the
ads you’re running. It’s amazing how businesses spend thou-
sands of dollars to advertise, only to waste the qualified leads
that come in because the people answering the phone either don’t
know about the ad, or aren’t trained to close sales. Recently I
gave a telemarketer an eight-word sentence that turned stalls and
objections into sales. Don’t let your business get stuck in sales-
process limbo. Plan every step of the sale, from when the pros-
pect first contacts your business.

Joint Ventures;
8. Form joint ventures with non-competing companies that
have the same customers you do. One of my clients offers
Web sites to health-care professionals. A friend of his mails to
between 30,000 and 40,000 of these health care providers every
month. My client recently struck a deal with his friend to in-
clude an ad I wrote in his friend’s mailings. When we run the ad
in a trade journal, it costs $10,000 each time. When we include
it in the mailing as a flyer, all my client pays for is printing –
pennies per piece – and gives his friend a percentage of the new
business he gets. Joint-ventures like these are win-wins for eve-
ryone involved.

9. Combine resources with other companies to reduce costs


and risks. A friend of mine gets over 200,000 unique visitors a
month to her Web site. I have neither the time nor a strategic
reason to promote my Web site to get that many visitors. My
friend places ads free of charge on her site to sell some of my
products, and I give her a commission whenever there’s a sale.
Every business has excess capacity in one area or another. When
you combine your resources with someone else’s excess capac-
ity, you both can profit for very little additional cost.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 213
david garfinkel
10. Never do anything yourself that you can hire someone to
do for you. The secret of every millionaire I know? Focus.
They know what they do best, and that’s what they do. But
here’s the important distinction: that’s all they do. For example,
if marketing isn’t your strength, get some help. Every market-
ing consultant has a specialty. Mine happens to be working with
business-to-business companies offering high-end products.
What you should do is figure out who is the best provider of the
help that you need, and hire that person. I’ve put together a
special report called How to Succeed Working With A Marketing
Consultant . It’s available free online at:
http://www.davidgarfinkel.com/mktsuccess.pdf

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 214
fred gleeck
Seminars:
The Ultimate
Fred Gleeck has an
unusual background. He
was born in Japan and
raised in the Philippines
Marketing Tool
as the son of an Ameri-
can diplomat. As a high Seminars have been my single most effective means of market-
school student he won ing my products and services. I love doing seminars because
the Philippine Amateur
they're the only way I've found to get people to pay to be pros-
Golf Championship two
years in a row. Fred pects. I don't care what kind of product or service you're selling,
returned to the United seminars can help you make more money.
States to go to college.
He graduated with a
degree in marketing and Here are some ideas to help you make your seminars a smashing
psychology from the success. First, let me define success: the maximization of SHORT
University of Florida
and LONG term revenue.
(with High Honors). Fred
then got a masters
degree in International To be successful as a seminar promoter you have to understand
Management from The
the single most important formula: TR=SR+PS+CB. Total Rev-
American Graduate
School of International enue is equal to seminar registration plus product sales plus
Management, also consulting business. Most people who do seminars think that
known as "Thunderbird."
TR=SR. This leaves out two critical pieces of revenue. Let's take
a look at each component and how to maximize your effective-
ness in each area.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 215
fred gleeck
SR: Increasing Seminar Registration
Here are five "tricks" for increasing seminar registration.

Registration Deals
The crudest way to increase registration is to offer attendees a
After completing his
graduate degree Fred
"special" deal. These "deals" include a variety of bonuses for
moved to NYC where he attending and price reductions for early and multiple registra-
was promptly fired by 5 tions. Offer people a reduced price if they register by a certain
major Fortune 500
companies in a row.
date. Give them discounts for bringing more than one person
from their organizations.
This proved conclusively
that he should be self
employed. In 1984 he
Joint Venture E-mail Marketing
started his own market- In addition to your own in-house email list, find others who have
ing consulting business, a list that would be appropriate for your event. Find these "part-
Fred Gleeck Productions.
ners" by doing a key word search on-line. After you identify
Fred is the author of 8 what you feel would be an appropriate group, approach them
books including: Market- and offer them 50% of the registration dollars for each attendee
ing and Promoting Your
Own Seminars and
that comes in through their list. This costs them nothing and
Workshops, Publishing could generate them some serious dollars for VERY LITTLE
for Maximum Profit, work. Don't worry about "giving away" 50% of the registration;
Speaking for Millions, and
Selling Products from the
the big money is in the PS & CB.
Platform, among others.
He has also produced Targeted Publicity
over 100 audio and video
training programs for
No matter what kind of event you're looking to do, targeted pub-
himself and his clients. licity in your niche will help build your registration numbers.
Whatever you do, DON'T pay a publicity agent to help you. For
the most part, these people are thieves. I have never heard of
anyone, including myself, being satisfied with the work of a PR
agent. They're just not worth it. Check out
www.radiopublicity.com to help you getting coverage on radio.
Use the same "system" described there to approach magazines
in your field. Don't go after press coverage in the general media
for a very niche oriented topic, it's a waste of time.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 216
fred gleeck
Postcard Mailings
I spend very little money to promote my events. Those dollars I
do spend I use for postcard mailings to targeted lists. I concen-
trate on my own in-house lists, but I'll occasionally test well-
targeted prospects. I'll frequently mail to members of an asso-
Fred creates and sells
information products in
ciation that would have an interest in the seminar. I suggest you
15 separate niche TEST doing the same thing.
markets and maintains
over 100 websites.
He has sold over $12
Great Copy on Your Website
million worth of informa- Well written copy on your website is key to your success. Well
tion products for himself written is defined by how effective the site is at converting visi-
and his clients over the
last 17 years.
tors into registrations.

Fred has also done over Take a look at www.completeinternetmarketing.com as an ex-


1400 one-day seminars
or speaking engage-
ample of an effective site that promoted a recent seminar of mine.
ments on a variety of Make sure and contact me if you want the tapes for this event.
marketing related topics. They turned out great!
He has never lost money
on one of them.
Follow all five of the above suggestions and you'll make a lot
Fred runs a monthly more money at any event that you do. Ignore any one of them
coaching program for
those interested in
and your numbers will be adversely affected. Follow these steps
maximizing their profits EVERY time you do an event.
in the seminar business.

He splits his time


between a house in the PS: Increasing Product Sales
Las Vegas area (in the Successful seminar promoters make as much as 50% or more of
winter) and New York
City in the warmer
their total revenue from the sale of products. If you don't have
months. any products to sell at your events, you're crazy. At a recent event
in one of my niche markets a few years back I sold over $65,000
Feel free to contact him
via email at
worth of audios and videos to a group of about 450 people after
fgleeck@aol.com or by a 50 minute speech.
calling 1-800-FGLEECK
(345-3325)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 217
fred gleeck
Create Great Products
To increase your product sales numbers, you have to have great
products to sell. If you've got great "stuff" you can sell with the
zeal of a Baptist preacher. Your products should deliver very
specific, highly relevant, immediately implementable informa-
tion. Don't hold back in your products. Give people everything
and more that you've promised them. Follow this advice and
they'll come running back for more.

Your Guarantee
If you can't offer people a LIFETIME guarantee on your prod-
ucts, you need to go back and redo your products. Since I started
in 1984 I've had an unconditional lifetime guarantee on every
product I sell. Strong guarantees will substantially increase your
sales. You better make them good or you'll get a boatload of
returns.

Bundle Your Products


Create an A, B and C offer when you pitch products at your
seminars. I use two sets of prices, depending on the group I'm
speaking to. With one group I'll make an offer at $97, $197 and
$477. With another group that I feel can afford higher price points
I will use $197, $97 and $997. I'll usually give a big discount if
they go with the highest offer. I'll often drop the prices on the
low end offer to $347 and the

Make an Irresistible Offer


To get people to make a decision to buy at the seminar, give
them an offer they can't refuse. Lower your prices and then load
it up with valuable bonuses. You only get one shot to sell them at
your events. Give it your best effort.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 218
fred gleeck
Pitch Your Products Correctly
When it comes time to pitch your products, don't act like it's not
a pitch. Everyone at your seminar knows you're trying to sell
something. They will be happy to see you aren't trying to "dis-
guise" your pitch. Be direct. Show them WHY they should buy
the products you're offering. Build value and you'll have no prob-
lem getting people to pull out their credit cards and

If you're serious about making big money in the seminar busi-


ness, you're going to have to learn to sell products at your events.
Your success will come from practice and from learning what
works from the experts. If you need more help, pick up a copy of
my book: "Selling Products from the Platform."

CB: Increasing Consulting Business


Consulting business MAY not come in immediately. I gave a
seminar many years ago and one of the attendees contacted me 8
years later to do some consulting work. Look at the consulting
business that you generate as GRAVY. Don't count on it, but
enjoy it when it comes in. Here are some ideas to maximize your
chances.

Do a GREAT Job
To get people to ask for your help as a consultant, deliver a great
seminar. I had a well-known marketing expert as a speaker at
one of my bootcamps on publishing. He adopted a very arrogant
attitude. He walked in and out of the seminar room, paying very
little attention to what was going on. When he finally got up to
speak, he delivered his message lacadazically. This guy clearly
wasn't concerned about excellence. This is NOT the way to get
consulting business, or to get invited back to speak at one of my
events.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 219
fred gleeck
If people don't see your concern for excellence at your seminars,
what do you think they'll believe about your concern for excel-
lence with your consulting work? Deliver great information
quickly and in an entertaining fashion and the consulting busi-
ness you book will double or triple at your events.

Answer All Questions Fully and Completely


How many times have you seen someone answer a question this
way: "That's a complex question. If you were to work with me
one on one . . . " NEVER DO THIS. People have paid to attend
your event. They deserve to get answers. Do your best to answer
all questions fully and completely at your events. It will improve
your chances for getting additional consulting work. Withhold-
ing information does NOT work.

Mention, Don't Push Your Availability


During the course of your seminar, use a couple of targeted ex-
amples from other consulting assignments to illustrate your con-
tent points. Don't do this more than once or twice. People will
get the message that you do consulting work and approach you
after you speak.

Maintain Regular Contact


People who attend your events should be contacted a minimum
of once a quarter. Whether you contact them via email or snail
mail you have to concentrate on giving them solid content. If
you don't give them good content, they will ignore your corre-
spondence. I get a ton of email that I delete unread because I
know it will be nothing more than an extended sales pitch. My
suggestion is to deliver your sales messages only once in every
4 times you contact them.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 220
fred gleeck
Conclusion
Success in the seminar business doesn't come easy. You need to
follow the above suggestions if you're going to TRULY suc-
ceed. If you understand the formula, and follow my recommen-
dations, you'll be light years ahead of more than 95% of the peo-
ple out there doing seminars. If you need my help, please don't
hesitate to contact me. All the best for your success!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


Most people lose money doing seminars. People who do make
money make much less than they should. This article generated
three times more calls and emails than any other article I've
ever written. Why? I THINK because good information in this
field is hard to find. I suspect this is because successful seminar
promoters are worried about giving away their secrets.

I don't worry about letting people in on my patented secrets.


Why? Because success is dependent on three things. First, you
need great marketing to get people into the seats. Second, you
need to deliver great content. Material that is highly relevant
and immediately useable. Lastly, you need to deliver your infor-
mation in a lucid and entertaining manner. Few people can put
all of these together. Luckily I can, so I don't sweat it. Remember
there is a difference between knowing how to do something and
actually DOING it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 221
“Make BIG MONEY
Marketing and Promoting
Your Own Seminars and Workshops”
Dear Friend,

Doing your own seminars can be a lot of fun and VERY financially rewarding. IF you know
what you're doing.
The vast majority of people lose money when they promote their own seminars and events.
YOU don't have to be one of them!
For more information on how to make the most money possible with your seminars, go to
www.seminarexpert.com.
To receive my 7-day course (normally $37) on marketing and promoting your own seminars
and workshops for free, send an email to: tips@seminarexpert.com.
I also do a limited amount of coaching for those interested in marketing and promoting their
own events. If you have an interest, feel free to contact me at 702-617-4205 or email me at
fgleeck@aol.com for more details.
Please take a look at some of my other sites if you have an interest in the topic areas listed:
If you're interested in:

● Professional Speaking: www.professionalspeakingsuccess.com


● Self Publishing: www.selfpublishingsuccess.com
● Consulting: www.consultingexpert.com
● Automating Your Marketing Systems: www.webmarketingmagic.com

I look forward to seeing you at one of my events in the near future.

Sincerely,

Fred Gleeck
seth godin
Unleashing
SETH GODIN is a
bestselling author,
the IdeaVirus
This “article”, which is, in fact, a 197-page ebook, is included
entrepreneur and agent
of change. Godin is as a separate download, which Seth Godin has generously given
author of Permission us permission to offer with this ebook.
Marketing. Promo
Magazine called Seth
"The Prime Minister of If you don’t have time to read the whole book, here’s what it
Permission Marketing," says:
and in June Fortune
chose the book as one of
their Best Business Marketing by interrupting people isn’t cost-effective anymore.
Books. Permission You can’t afford to seek out people and send them unwanted
Marketing was an
messages, in large groups, and hope that some will send you
Amazon.com top 100
bestseller for a year, and money.
it spent four months on
the Business Week
Instead, the future belongs to marketers who establish a founda-
bestseller list.
tion and process where interested people can market to each other.
More than 100,000 Ignite consumer networks and then get out of the way and let
people received the
them talk.
digital version of
Unleashing the Ideavirus
during its first week of Now read on (UnleashingTheIdeaVirus.pdf included separately).
Internet publication.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


It is not only my best article, it's the most successful ebook of
all time.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 223
seth godin
BOOKS BY SETH GODIN
Click on a cover to order from Amazon.com

Seth is also a columnist


for Fast Company,
writing about change
and how corporations
and individuals can
successfully deal with
the massive rifts our
economy is facing.
Godin is a renowned
speaker as well. He is
ranked as the #1 speaker
of the more than 2,000
people who have pre-
sented at Internet World
over the last five years,
and was chosen as one
of 21 Speakers for the
Next Century by Success-
ful Meetings.

Seth was founder and


CEO of Yoyodyne, the
industry’s leading
interactive direct mar-
keting company, which
Yahoo! acquired in late
1998.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 224
marc goldman
How to target
Husband and wife
a market with
pinpoint accuracy
entrepreneurs Marc &
Terry Goldman started
their online business 6
years ago. "Since we met
8 years ago in college,
we had dreams of
running our own busi- The biggest mistake beginning marketers (and some veterans)
ness together." Further-
make is to try to sell something to a market that doesnt want
more, they realized that
financial freedom and what they are selling. The second biggest mistake they make is
personal satisfaction to believe that their product and service appeals to everyone under
were never going to
the sun.
come from working for
someone else for the
rest of their lives. While The truth of the matter is...you can make more money selling to
they were still in college,
a small niche market who is dying for what you have to offer
they started learning
everything there was to and will pay any amount of money for it than to try to sell a
know about Direct specialized item to everyone!
Marketing and Mail
Order.
Take this story as an example to illustrate my point. My cousin
loves 1976 Mercury Capri's. He loves them so much that he
once flew 3,000 miles from NY to Seattle to purchase one sight
unseen and drive it back to NY. I thought my cousin was insane
but apparently he is not the only one who loves this obscure
automobile. One day I came over his house and saw him online
talking to several friends in a chatroom. I asked who they were
and he said they were members of a "Capri club" he belongs to.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 225
marc goldman
I asked him how many members were in this club and he told
me the total membership of the club is close to 10,000. That is
for the entire country! This may or may not be accurate numbers
but imagine this: these are all rabid, slobbering at the mouth
fans of the Capri. They will buy literally anything to do with
"Shortly thereafter, we
their car!!! Do you think that someone who caters to this niche
began to sell information
products through the marketplace will make a lot of money? I think they will make a
mail. In 1996 we began fortune.
to see the internet as
the future of global
commerce, so we Here is why:
immersed ourselves in
the world of Internet
A Capri lover is in a specific niche. They love Capri's. They
Marketing."
share that common trait with a few others. They are not like
In January of 1997 average car owners who just want to go to work or school. They
www.goldbar.net was
LOVE their cars and they will pay any amount to build, main-
born. "It did not look
anything like it does tain, restore and care for their cars. This is a specific target mar-
today, but neither did a ket. Someone who went into business selling products or serv-
lot of other sites on the
ices that this market was interested in will make money simply
net." The Goldman's were
able to sell many of the because the marketplace (Capri enthusiasts) have a demand for
same products that they products and services related to their interest. This makes them
sold through Mail Order
an attractive audience.
successfully on the
internet.
Here is another example:

Kubota tractors. Ever heard of em? I would be very surprised if


you had. However, they are a very popular brand of tractors with
a very devoted audience. This market is a very tight, specific
niche and there are people who make millions selling after mar-
ket parts to Kubota tractor owners. That is all they do: sell parts
that are either out of stock or too expensive from the dealer and
they make millions!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 226
marc goldman
That is the power of targeting your market.

So how do you go about finding a tight, targeted niche market to


sell to?

Soon after they were


Well first consider this: it is easier to achieve success if you fo-
able to quit their day
jobs. Now their cus your business on something you like to do or are passionate
completely home based about. For instance, if you love skydiving then you could focus
business and the income
your business on skydiving products and/or services to others
it provides them, allows
them to live the lives who also love skydiving.
they want: jaunting off
to the Caribbean for
So therefore not only should you sell to a niche market, it would
three months at a time
while their business still be helpful (although not necessary) that you too are a member of
runs like clockwork. that market.

Why?

Being an insider gives you a keen insight into existing problems


in your field. This is important because you always want to sell
solutions to existing problems. However, not just any problem.
You have to know which problems people are willing to pay to
solve.

Lets say that you were a member of the Capri enthusiast group.
You know that it is very hard to get a particular headlight for the
1972 Capri. Everyone in the Capri newsgroups and the Capri
mailing lists is always saying: "I would pay any amount of money
for a set of headlights for my 72 Capri. One day you stumble
upon a wholesale source that sells aftermarket headlights for well
below the market value. You strike a deal with the company to
become a distributor and they will do the dropshipping and only
charge you the cost of the headlights.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 227
marc goldman
You could go into business selling those headlights to the Capri
enthusiasts for a reasonable markup (or go for the big profits)
and make a tidy sum of money.

You could do this for any market, anywhere! And the best part
The Goldman's believe
is, the smaller the market, the bigger the profits! Going after a
that starting your own
full time, home based, small market where there is little or no competition puts a good
online business is often bit of money in your hands.
much faster and easier
than people realize. The
key is to model after So how do you know what problems people will pay to solve?
hugely successful peo-
ple. The successful
Ask them using surveys. Surveys help you research your target
internet marketers
utilize ONLY TESTED and market to find out exactly what solutions they are willing to pay
PROVEN marketing tools for. Why spend the time and money to produce a product if no
and resources to grow
one wants to buy it? If you spend your time and effort in creat-
their businesses to six
and seven figure in- ing and running surveys to determine what someone wants to
come-generating profit buy you can confidently produce it knowing that it will be prof-
machines.
itable.

Find out what products are already being sold to your target
market and create a similar product. For instance, a relative of
ours is addicted to the new age industry. This individual pur-
chases hundreds of new age books, tapes and courses and also
attends seminars and motivational retreats. Every time we see
this person, she has yet another new age product in her collec-
tion. And the buying frenzy is far from over. What a goldmine!

So you see, there is still room for you even when competition
exists.

When you solve a problem try to do it fast. Everybody wants


results NOW! They don't want to wait for results.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 228
marc goldman
For example, if you were selling diet products, you would want
to offer a solution to losing weight that provides results in a few
weeks time, not 6-12 months.

Make it easy for people to put your solution to use. People want
The Goldman's flagship
the most for the least amount of effort. Sticking with our diet
product, The Ultimate
Marketers ResourceT has product example, people don't necessarily want exercise, most
been receiving rave people looking to lose weight would rather take a pill or drink a
reviews from both
shake. You get the idea. When you have these two ingredients,
newcomers to internet
marketing and web you have the formula for a successful product and ultimately a
marketing veterans alike. successful business.
The Goldman's describe it
as a complete package of
"tools, techniques and Instead of focusing on being everything to everyone, target a
strategies that are niche and sell to them, the smaller and tighter the better. Selling
guaranteed to increase
to a small niche market instead of to everyone under the sun is
your traffic exponentially
and boost your online actually easier and more profitable than trying to be everything
sales effortlessly and to everyone.
automatically"

"There's nothing else WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


even close to it on the Everything I have ever written on the subject of Internet Mar-
internet."
keting has been well received - but nothing so much as this arti-
The Goldman's web site, cle. It explains the down & dirty, nitty gritty of targeting your
www.goldbar.net keeps market - which is something very few authors ever do. Most ar-
you up to date on the
ticles are aimed at getting visitors to your website or they are
latest and most effective
methods to promote slanted towards promoting an affiliate program (all valid pro-
your business online, motional techniques by the way) but this article was written for
drive a steady flow of
the pure pleasure of explaining to people what they are missing
traffic to your site, grow
a huge opt-in ezine in their marketing. We love educating ourcustomers and sharing
subscriber list, and much in their triumphs and this article produced more than enough
more
feedback and positive vibes and that is why to me it was such an
effective article.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 229
If you could get all the marketing tools YOU need
to successfully grow your business for 66 cents a day - would you?
That's just $19.95 a month (in most cases this is less than what () Automate your subscribes and unsubscribes.
you'll pay for just one of the tools found at the UMR) () Help you easily sell, track and manage your advertisers
() Set up joint ventures with other publishers so you can quickly
If you answered yes - Then you'll want to take advantage ofthe Ul- skyrocket your subscriber numbers.
timate Marketers Resource. You'll have access to: () Automatically create archives of your newsletters.
() Add popup subscriber boxes and autosubscribe code to your site.
* The Ultimate Media Magnet - with this tool you will be able to () Send out text and/or HTML mailings.
() Write and format a press release like the pros. () Manage multiple lists from one interface so you can move sub-
() Press 1 button and submit your press release to hundreds of tar- scribers back and forth between lists.
geted media. () Unique recycle bin insures your lists are always safe - if you acci-
() Write articles for ezines and automatically submit them to hun- dentally delete your list you can automatically restore it with the
dreds of hungry publishers. click of your mouse.
() Start an ezine advertising campaign and easily find tons of af-
fordable, targeted ezines to advertise in. * Show and Sell Banner Advertising System - Add a lucrative
revenue stream to your website with this tool. You can have the most
* Pitbull Campaign Manager - The Ultimate Ad Tracker powerful banner advertising system ever up and running on your
With this tool you will be able to: website in just five short minutes.
() Track every link you ever place, whether it be in an ad, article, sig
file, on a website or anywhere else. You will be able to sell advertising on your site offer pay per click,
() Determine exactly how much money you made for every dollar per impression or monthly fee charges, all the banners will be hosted
spent in advertising so you can quickly and easily decide which on our servers to save your bandwidth and best of all your advertis-
campaigns to keep and which to drop. ers banners will open up in new windows keeping all your hard earned
visitors on your site.
You will be able to determine:
() What link caused someone to subscribe to your newsletter. * The Ultimate Recommend It Tool - This tool allows your visi-
() How many times a particular ad was clicked on. tors to recommend your site to their friends and contacts. With this
() How many times a file was downloaded. amazing viral marketing tool you can:
() and much, much more.
() Create as many forms as you like for as many domains as you
* The UMR Unlimited Follow Up Autoresponder - Use this tool wish.
to automatically generate a constant flow of targeted leads. () Customize them to perfectly match the look and feel of your site.
() Capture and view the email addresses of the people who use your
Our unlimited follow up autoresponders let you: forms so you can follow up on them and the people they recommend
() Send out personalized, sequential follow up messages. your site to.
() Custom generate html signup forms for your site () Integrate with the Mailbank Listserver so you can easily import
() Track urls in your autoresponder. the captured email addresses into new or existing lists.
() Find out what message is causing prospects to remove themselves
so you can tweak your ad copy. PLUS you also get The Ultimate ..
() Send out text and/or HTML autoresponder messages. * Site Tracker * Popup Window Maker
() Export your autoresponder list at any time. * Voting Booth * Domain Name Wizard
() This tool is guaranteed to increase your response rate, close more * Metatag Generator * Keyword Tracker
sales, maximize your profits and save you time. * The Search Engine Position Reporter
(This service alone from other companies costs more than the entire And much, much more!
price of the Ultimate Marketers Resource)
If you're ready to grow your business at a price that won't cost
* Mailbank Enterprise: The Ultimate Listserver - Mailbank En- a fortune to do so, I'd like to invite you to The Ultimate Mar-
terprise will not only let you create and run your list/ezine and send keters Resource...
out mailings, it will also:

http://www.goldbar.net/lsa/c.cgi/goldbar_worldstop
stuart goldsmith
Stuart Goldsmith
The Power of
Niche Marketing
graduated in Electronic
Engineering at Reading
University in 1973.
Destined for obscurity in
the echoing halls of
Television Centre, Stuart
fortunately met a man
who explained to him I once went to Bermuda where I attended the outstanding Ted
the principles of Million- Nicholas and Randy Gage ‘Million Dollar’ seminar. Seventy
aire Marketing Magic.
seven lucky people paid £5,000 each for the privilege of being

Stuart immediately there. That’s..um...let me see... oh around £385,000 for 4/5 days
resigned from the BBC of work. Okay, allow for hotel hire and the cheapskates who got
and started his own
in for £1,000 a time and that still leaves...gulp... £250K split two
successful electronics
design company. He sold ways. That’s... £125,000 for a few days work.
his 50% share to his
partner in 1987 and
Now who in their right minds would pay five grand to hear these
attempted to retire,
age 34! two guys? I’ll answer with a question. Who in their right minds
would miss out on this?

So what was so special about it?

Firstly, paying that kind of money and flying half way around
the world marks you out as serious about making or increasing
your fortune. So... there were 77 serious players in the room and
it was worth being there for that alone. Not all had ‘made it’. In
fact about half were ‘aspiring millionaires’ (that means broke),
about a quarter were running more or less successful businesses,
and the remainder were worth a few million or more. But all
were serious.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 231
stuart goldsmith
So here is the first unbeatable advantage I want to give you in
this article:

Serious people actually DO something; non-serious people


talk about doing something or plan to do something one day
Six months later he had
“real soon”.
started his first mail
order company and
written his best selling If you want to be wealthy, you must take action.
book “The Midas
Method” (100,000 copies
sold in 19 countries). Action really is the key. You can have the best ideas in the world
Other titles include or be the most talented person on the planet, yet still if you do
“Powertrans” and
not take action you will remain poor.
“Privacy.”

The following years saw A half-wit who actually does something will beat an inactive
Stuart learning the inside
genius hands down. There is no competition.
secrets of direct mail the
hard way, using his own
money to test each idea, Next, I was paying those big bucks to be told things I knew
thus building an invalu-
already but had been too stupid or lazy to implement.
able knowledge of the
real techniques for
success in this business. I have to tell you that I didn’t learn a single new fact at that
seminar, and yet I estimate the value of those four days to be in
excess of half a million pounds to me. How can this be possi-
ble? Easy. I was reminded of over two hundred amazing mar-
keting ideas, tips and hints and then given a good hard kick up
the backside. I already knew these ideas from a dozen books
and tapes but was I applying them all to my own business? No I
was not. Why? Because I’m a goddamned smart-ass know it all
who thinks he’s got it sewn up back at home. Wrong. There are
literally millions of pounds lying around in every business -
even a well-run one like mine - just waiting to be picked up
off the floor.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 232
stuart goldsmith
If you are just starting out in business or thinking about running
your own show, then the ideas you learn at these seminars will
save you decades of grind and grief - IF you attend the seminars
AND apply the ideas of course.

Nowadays Stuart divides


So here is the second unbeatable advantage for you:-
his time between run-
ning his highly successful Learn from those who have done it already. Do not spend
direct-mail publishing three decades learning the hard way. Even if you are at the
company (Medina Ltd),
top of your profession and teach others, you still need to learn.
lecturing, writing (forth-
coming titles for this
year include “The Truth” How do you learn? Easy.
and “Seven Secrets of
the Millionaires”) and
consultations with 1. Read at least one book a week, preferably on marketing or
aspiring millionaires. motivation. Apparently 40% of UK residents (US 65%) never
read another book after leaving school! Un-be-lievable.
Stuart is often called the
best copywriter in the 2. Listen to at least two motivational audio cassettes every week.
UK and the legendary 3. Go on as many seminars as you can possibly afford.
copywriter Gary Halbert
recently described him
as “The second best This is an investment in ‘YOU Ltd’.
copywriter on the
planet!” His sales letters
“Can’t afford” the tapes, books and seminars?
and adverts have made
him many millions of
pounds. Answer: afford them. Stop buying crap and spend that money
on improving your future instead. Waddya mean ‘you don’t buy
crap’??? Come on, it’s only you reading and me writing so who
are we trying to fool, huh? Also, I have the advantage because
I’ve been there, bought the crap, lied to myself and seen the Visa
bill so don’t try to out-idiot me!

I’m deadly serious about those three items, so get onto them
immediately.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 233
stuart goldsmith
A Million Pound Idea

The next unbeatable advantage I picked up in Bermuda and want


to share with you is this one: “Work your niche”.

What does that mean?

Well, 77 people were at that seminar, all in non-competing niche


markets, each with the potential of a hundred million pounds
apiece. That’s 7.7 billion pounds, or ‘pre-Euros’ as we should
perhaps start calling them. It could have been 77 thousand peo-
ple, and still you would not have had two in the same niche.

There is a vast array of possible niche markets - almost one for


every person on the planet - each of which can be worked like a
gold seam to a huge depth. I’ll explain more in a moment, but
first I want you to avoid making this mistake: Don’t work a niche
to some pathetic, shallow depth and then abandon that rich gold
seam for another, unrelated niche. The trick is to find your niche;
work the niche to its full depth and to concentrate your efforts
only on that one rich seam.

Here is an example of such a niche. There was a guy at the semi-


nar glorying in the name of Dr Batman. True. This man is amass-
ing a huge personal fortune from his books, audio tapes, video
tapes and seminars - all neatly packaged and well marketed. What
is this outstanding new message requiring hours of tape and hun-
dreds of thousands of words to explain? It is simply this: “Drink
More Water”. Yep. That’s it. Nothing more complex.

Drink Water!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 234
stuart goldsmith
Dr Batman reckons we don’t drink enough water and he would
like us all to drink some more. He’s probably right. But the clever
part is that he looks to clear ten million out of this, rising to
possibly 100 million if he gets his act together. And WOW, what
a really original idea this is, right? I mean, you have to be a
genius to figure out this one. You must need, oh, at least five
university degrees to come up with an idea like this!

Dr Batman is working his niche. He is not writing a new book


called ‘Vitamins For Health’ or recording a tape series on ‘Aero-
bic Exercises’ or even worse, writing a new book on ‘Cost Re-
duction Techniques For The Small Business’. These would be
other niche markets and Dr Batman would be diluting his ef-
forts if he were to abandon his own gold mine and go wander-
ing the hills in search of another. I hope you see this.

The good doctor’s book is called ‘Your Body’s Many Cries


For Water’ and is probably a good read. I haven’t read it be-
cause I don’t like this pseudo-medical ‘alternative’ stuff. I don’t
know if he is working on another book, but if he is I feel sure
the title would be ‘Water. The Miracle Cure?’ or a new audio
programme called ‘Washing The Toxins Away’ or some such
title. In other words, Dr Batman is setting himself up as the
acknowledged expert on....how to drink water, God help us! And
why not? Good luck to him.

Thinks.... is there a market for....nah, surely not? Breathing air???


‘Your Body’s Many Cries For Oxygen?’ Well, it sounds stupid,
but surely just as obvious as ‘drink water’ and we know our air
is polluted and almost unbreathable.... Is there a Dr Robin in the
house???

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 235
stuart goldsmith
Now I personally wouldn’t do that ‘breathe air’ idea. If you’ve
been paying attention you will know why.

It’s not in my niche. In fact it’s way, way off to one side. I will
explain my niche in a moment, but I want you to start thinking
about what YOUR niche could possibly be. If you find it then
you will have a golden doorway to riches which will open be-
fore you.

You are a unique person with a unique set of skills and expe-
rience. Really. This is not some ‘make you feel good’ stuff. No
other human being has been where you have, experienced your
life and gained your particular slice of wisdom. Let me tell you,
if Dr Batman can make ten million out of the message ‘drink
water’, then start getting your brain into gear to think what YOU
could do. I mean, you’ve GOT to come up with something
with more substance than that, right?

[Aside: Isn’t that ‘drink water’ idea really neat? For example,
the ‘challenge’ with the whole health industry is that people are
queuing up to sue you because they claim your product harmed
them or didn’t help them. But who would sue because they drank
an extra glass of water a day? Also, the product is FREE and
that’s a benefit for the customer. In other words, his message
isn’t “go out and spend a fortune on vitamin supplements”. In
fact Dr Batman advocates tap water, not bottled water! Also, we
all kind of know we should drink more water, so it makes sense.
We all want a ‘miracle cure’ and there’s something simple and
appealing to this one. A strong idea and I wish I’d thought of it
first, damn his eyes!]

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 236
stuart goldsmith
Each one of the 77 attendees had a niche just as interesting and
just as deep.

Work That Niche, Baby!

Next example. One “go get ‘em” lady of the sort who evange-
lise at MLM meetings had made a fortune selling a book. This
was a simple paperback with the title “Everything Men Know
About Women” or something similar. She had two very neat
angles. She sold the book in lingerie and fashion shops - a pile
of them would be on the check-out counter. This way her book
was not lost amongst ten thousand other titles at a book shop. (I
have always maintained that if you want to sell cameras, adver-
tise in a golfing magazine and if you want to sell golf clubs
advertise in a camera magazine, and she was applying this tech-
nique.) Women going to the check-out to pay for their clothes
would see the book on the counter.

The second neat thing was the product. The title is very catchy
and few women could resist picking it up to have a flick-through.
On the back of the book there are the usual quotes from The
Times, etc., saying things like: “This book really does expose
for the first time ever the shocking truth about men’s knowledge
of women.”

You pick up the book....open it....and... what’s this? Blank


pages??? Every page is blank!

“What the... Oh, I get it! Bwahahahah. ‘Everything Men Know


About Women!’ Blank pages! Nothing! Men know nothing about
women... Ahhahahahahahahahahh! What a laugh. I MUST get
a copy of this for Margerie, Jane, Tracy, Sharon, Susie and...let

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 237
stuart goldsmith
me see.. oh yeah, Dawn’s gonna LOVE this.... So... er..., that’s
one pair of size 18 knickers please (we guys have got to get our
own back somehow! I’m going to do a book like her and call it
‘The Complete Book of Non-Manipulative Women!’ Sorry,
did that sound bitter??? ) and, lemme see...yeah I’ll take eleven
copies of this great book for all my chums..”

Cost to produce such a book? Well, there’s no printing on the


pages, no collation....hmm... about 30p in bulk? Cost of the book?
£2.95. I LOVE those mark-ups.

Of course, you couldn’t possibly come up with such an original


idea as this, could you? I mean this is real rocket science. She
must have gone to marketing school for a decade to dream up
this complex little gem! Sorry, but she was a secretary before
she decided to stop playing around and make some money
instead. Also, the idea is not even new. It’s been around for years
in the form of “The Complete Book of Italian War Heroes' and
suchlike. The novelty was in the way she applied the idea and
the way she marketed the book. Note the huge market - every
woman on the planet. This title would have sunk without trace
in the ‘feminist issues and gender sociology’ section of the aver-
age book shop. Another niche, worked to perfection.

This one title alone could easily make 20 million pounds. She
could then expand her niche into novelty books if she wanted to,
but NOT into books on drinking water, or into pre-packaged
lingerie. There is almost infinite depth in her niche with this one
title! Think of the world market. Think of the cost of translating
a normal book into a hundred languages. Now consider the cost
of translating this one...

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 238
stuart goldsmith
A niche market does not necessarily mean a small market. What
is the potential for Dr Batman’s product? Every person on the
planet is a potential customer. The niche aspect comes from
the tiny sliver you decide to select from the vast array of prod-
ucts and services available. There are millions upon million upon
millions of products and services and each one is a niche. Some
people are making decorative plastic clothes pegs, others are
writing machine code for telecommunications routers. One per-
son is ‘the expert’ in Holistic Elbow Massage Therapy, another
sells Dr Who memorabilia.

Your key to a fortune is to find a good niche market, and work


it to death!

To help you to discover and define your niche, I want to intro-


duce or remind you of the concept called your Unique Selling
Proposition, or USP.

The Unbeatable Advantage of Having a USP

Each human being is unique. There really are no two the same.
Every one of five billion people has their own story to tell, their
experiences to share; their own ‘slant’ on this crazy world. And
each one is able to help his fellow humans in some way. The
key to becoming wealthy is to help others to achieve their
dreams. You know me well enough to realise that I am not talk-
ing altruism here.

People will PAY you good money to have problems solved or


their desires fulfilled. It’s that simple.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 239
stuart goldsmith
Every penny of your own money goes on dream fulfilment or
problem solving. The money goes to a huge queue of traders, all
jostling for your attention, hoping you will fling the cash their
way. In order to be noticed, the good traders stand out from
the faceless crowd of also-rans. They try to be different. They
try to be unique.

Everyone should have a unique selling proposition.

Why? Because everyone is in sales. And since the term ‘every-


one’ clearly encompasses all human beings alive today, then this
means YOU. If you run a business or are self-employed it is
obvious that you are in sales because if you don’t sell yourself
and your products continually, every minute of every day, then
your business is dead. But what about everyone else? Is the em-
ployed person in sales?

You bet!

Think back to your last interview. Wasn’t that a sales pitch? It


certainly was! You were pitching as hard and as well as you
knew how in order to sell your talents, enthusiasm and knowl-
edge to someone willing to pay you by the hour for them. Do
you think your selling job finished the moment you received an
employment offer? No. You are selling yourself hour by hour to
the company you work for, saying in effect: “Look at me! I’m a
GREAT product! Remember the benefits of buying me? Keep
buying - it’s a super product at a give-away price.” If you doubt
this for one second, then you are either currently unemployed
(not through choice) or are on your way to becoming so. Fact.

What about personal relationships?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 240
stuart goldsmith
If you are married or have a partner of any sort, think back to
when you ‘wooed and won’ them. Was that a sales job or what??
If ever there was a case for calling in Trading Standards it must
surely be on that pitch you made to your current partner (!) Do
you think your sales job stopped the moment he/she said “I do”
(in whatever form)? No. You are continually selling your tal-
ents, human qualities, ambitions and personality to your partner
- that means hour by hour, minute by minute. Keeping the deal
alive. This is not a ‘one time buy’. These goods can be returned
at any time if they don’t measure up to the brochure...

Did your selling process stop when you had them hooked? If so
you are either single (not intentionally) or heading that way rap-
idly. Fact.

What’s that? You live alone on a desert island with only a keg of
Cap’n Morgan’s Rum and a parrot named ‘Dead-eye’ for com-
pany? Bad news is - you’re still in sales! In our quiet moments
with no other pesky humans around, we are selling - to our-
selves. You know the phrase ‘to sell yourself short’? That means
doing something which doesn’t come up to the standards you
sold yourself on some time ago. You can’t escape it. You are in
sales. If you earn a living (no matter how) you are in sales. If
you have a boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband you are in sales.
If you interact with any human beings at any time, then you
are in sales. If you are a recluse, you are in sales (selling to
yourself).

I hope this is clear. Get rid of any stereotyped notion you might
have of a ‘salesman’ or ‘sales woman’. You ARE that person.
Start believing it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 241
stuart goldsmith
So what are you selling?

Tip: You are always selling YOU first and any ‘product’ sec-
ond. People buy people first, product and services second.

(By the way, when I give you a ‘tip’, this is not some margin
note in a cookery book telling you the best way of avoiding pas-
try sticking to your rolling pin. When I use the word ‘tip’, I mean
a life-changing, absolutely essential piece of information. Such
‘tips’ are to be implemented urgently if you want to become a
wealthy man or woman and have a wonderful, fun-filled life. So
here’s my next ‘little tip’...)

Tip: You had better not be selling the same trash that is being
sold by ten million losers around the country.

Why not? Because this would make you a faceless nonentity,


scrabbling for attention in a teaming crowd of bland third-raters.
And you don’t want that. What would it do for your chances
of:

1. Hooking and keeping a dream partner?


2. Hooking and retaining a top, well-paid job?
3. Hooking-in customers and clients who will stay with you for
a lifetime and make you wealthy beyond your dreams?

Ask yourself the following question: “What is it that dream part-


ners, top employers and fee paying customers all want?”

If this is hard to answer, ask it of yourself: “What do I want from


an ideal partner, and people I pay money to?”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 242
stuart goldsmith
Do you want mediocrity? Do you think a top employer wants
‘any old bloke with a pair of hands’ or ‘anything in a dress,
preferably female’? And what about customers if you run any
kind of business? You’re a customer. You buy stuff all the time.
You ‘buy’ people all the time as well. So ask yourself the ques-
tion. Do you want to buy from a company which is just like a
thousand others: no better, no worse? A company which is uni-
formly mediocre in everything it touches? Mediocre goods, av-
erage delivery, indifferent service? Or do you like to deal with a
business which has something unique to offer. A business which
continually sells itself to you by trying harder, doing better, go-
ing the extra mile?

Guess which businesses thrive and which wither.

Do you honestly think a brilliant, sexy, rich, warm and humor-


ous man or woman is seeking a dull, ordinary, featureless, drab
‘man down the pub’ or a woman indistinguishable from a mil-
lion other dreary specimens?

Do you like to associate with plain, ordinary people? Men and


women who are, let’s face it, simply dull, uninspiring and bor-
ing? Do you like to ‘hang out’ with people who are full of gloom
and “ain’t it awful” stories, who moan all the time and only talk
about themselves? Men and women who are interchangeable
units, indistinguishable from twenty million other nearly identi-
cal people the length and breadth of the country? Or do you like
people who make you feel special? People who seem unique,
interesting and who are upbeat, positive, full of the joy of life?
Men and women who stand out from the crowd?

Guess which people are in big demand socially.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 243
stuart goldsmith
I am now going to give you a major key to success. If you can
take this on board and understand its implications, the effect on
your life will be dramatic. You might have heard it before, but
you cannot hear it too often.

You must sell something unique - something not offered by


anyone else in your exact way. You must have what is called
a ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ or USP.

Why?

I hope the answer is obvious. One seller (you), many buyers,


means unlimited wealth, and happiness for you, forever.

Now that’s something worth having.

In contrast: a million sellers all trying to dispose of the same


identical trash (this means a product and/or THEMSELVES) lead-
ing to...guess what? A lacklustre, motley collection of tyre-kick-
ing punters who care nothing for quality and just want to poke
around in the junk you are trying to off-load in the hope of pick-
ing up some cut-price scrap. Any sales you make will be oppor-
tunistic and accidental. Customers will never return.

In human relationships, this means the ‘customers’ will be blokes


who want anything in a skirt as long as it shags, and women who
will accept anything in trousers as long as it doesn’t get pissed
too often and is in employment. (God, I love writing these arti-
cles...!)

To paraphrase Groucho Marx: “I would never marry a woman


stupid enough to have me as a husband.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 244
stuart goldsmith
So what is a Unique Selling Proposition?

It is a short statement of the benefits your customer will receive


through dealing with you instead of the competition. Your ‘cus-
tomer’ can be someone buying your goods or services, or a cur-
rent or prospective partner (they are ‘buying’ your goods and
services too).

I have highlighted the words ‘the benefits’ for a very good rea-
son. You must be able to distinguish between a feature and a
benefit and learn to talk in terms of benefits. What is the dif-
ference?

It is a feature of the car you are trying to sell that it has a sixteen
valve, overhead cam, ultra-torque dyno power cryo engine. Who
cares? What is the benefit to the customer?

The benefit is that it makes him feel like James Bond because it
does 0-60 in five seconds. It also pulls the chicks because of its
great looks and sex-appeal.

It is a feature that you are a Cordon Bleu cook. So what? What is


the benefit to your partner? The benefit is that she or he will feel
pampered, special and loved because of the time and care you
take in preparing meals.

It is a feature that you can type at 80 wpm accurately. Big deal.


We don’t care. The benefit is that the boss can get urgent, last
minute letters in the post and/or that employing you saves her an
extra half a person in wages.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 245
stuart goldsmith
If you learn nothing else from this article, remember this (thanks
to Joe Polish):

“Everyone’s favourite radio station is WIIFM. Also known as


What’s In It For Me?”

Believe it! People are interested in themselves morning, noon


and evening. Here’s a snappy little rhyme I invented to help
you remember this home truth:

“For Breakfast, lunch and tea it’s me, me, ME!”

Fully 90% of your thoughts concern you, you you. Other people
are an irritation at best, a bloody nuisance at worse. We are all
utterly self-obsessed. I am definitely the most important person
on the planet; no question. Trouble is, you think that YOU are
too (you’re wrong, of course! It’s me, me, ME). I do not see this
as ‘bad’ or ‘sinful’; it is simply an observable fact concerning
that quirky, strange ape-like creature called a human being.

To continue...

It is a feature that you have been to ‘Chantelle’s Joy Of Love


Finishing School’ and studied the Karma Sutra from cover to
cover. Whoopee! Have a certificate. The benefit is that you will
make your partner feel like the most special person alive when
you hit the sack running.

To make this even clearer, check out this feature-driven head-


line:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 246
stuart goldsmith
The Snap-O Pizza Way
Our staff are trained to make pizzas quickly
and efficiently using only the finest ingredients.
Our ovens are computer controlled to give a
constant 280F temperature. Try our quality,
reliable and cost-effective service. We deliver.

Feature, feature, feature. What’s in it for me? Why should I


buy from Snap-O and not from a hundred other identical out-
fits? What do ‘cost-effective’, ‘quality’ and ‘reliability’ mean?
Everyone says that stuff. It’s meaningless garbage. Where’s the
Unique Selling Proposition?

Compare with this benefit-driven headline:

The Snap-O Pizza Promise


A Sizzling Hot, Fresh Pizza Delivered
To Your Door In Ten Minutes – Or It’s Free!

Now THAT’S a benefit. When do I want a pizza? Right now!


I’m hungry now, not in forty minutes. Ideally I would have that
pizza stuffed through my letterbox before I managed to put the
telephone down. But Snap-O seem to be offering the next best
thing, so I’ll buy from them.

If you want to be in business, you must have a USP otherwise


you relegate yourself to the mass of near-identical businesses all
scrabbling for the same tiny slice of the pie.

If you want to excel as an employee, you must have a USP oth-


erwise you relegate yourself to the third tier of ‘mass employ-
ees’ who are little more than worker-drones to be hired or fired

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 247
stuart goldsmith
as conditions change. If you are in any kind of relationship, or
aspire to be in one, you must have a USP otherwise you relegate
yourself to the well-populated bottom of the heap with only a
dog’s chance of success.

Tip: Phrase your USP in benefits, not features. That is, benefits
to the customer, not to you!

Tip: Don’t sell on price only, if you can possibly avoid it.

This last point is important. Although customers the world over


seek a keen price, you should not make this your USP. In other
words ‘we are the cheapest’ is not a recommended USP. It is
dangerous in the same way that calling yourself the ‘fastest gun
in the west’ is dangerous - you are begging for someone to come
and outdraw you, and one day soon, some gun-slinging punk
will shoot you in the back. Any fool can lower the price. This is
not a marketing strategy, this is a route to going bust. If price is
all you have to sell on, then you are not really in the game. The
next guy will knock a few pennies off HIS price, forcing you to
shave even more off yours. Next you will be selling at a loss,
and still someone will be cheaper.

A keen price is important, but a strong USP is far more so. In our
pizza example, a headline ‘Cheapest Pizza In Town’ is, in my
opinion, a very bad headline. Who wants a ‘cheap’ pizza? Not
me. A far better headline would be: We Aren’t The Cheapest
Pizza But We Are The Fastest’.

Here, the USP is speed - an important USP in the fast food


market (note this would be a negative factor in, say, the oak-
matured sherry business).

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 248
stuart goldsmith
Also, the ‘not the cheapest’ tag gives the pizza a classy feel, so
you are getting good pizza AND fast delivery.

The Guru Business

Approach the cave, O seeker after truth. But still! Before you
speak, hear the confessions of the master within...

Although I have known about USPs for two decades, and been
constantly reminded of their importance over this period, the
USP concept drops straight into the class of ‘stuff I knew but
was too much of a smart-ass to implement’.

During that seminar they talked about USPs and I am ashamed


to admit that I thought: “Oh no, not that old stuff. Everyone knows
about this...” Then I sat bolt upright and thought: “Okay Gold-
smith, if you’re so smart, what’s your USP. Huh? Come on! I
haven’t got all day. If you can’t snap it out, I’m going to be sus-
picious.... I thought so. Can’t answer, can you?”

And I realised that I had never taken the trouble to consider my


own niche and USP. Of course like many successful business
people I have intuitively marketed to my niche, but that’s not
really good enough, is it? Knowing your exact niche and USP
allows you to do two things:

1. Avoid distracting side-markets - other gold mines on distant


hills which look tempting.

2. Focus on your niche because you have defined it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 249
stuart goldsmith
Now I could make a start and say that I was in the “Information
Business”. But so is half the planet, so I need to narrow it down.
(I’m doing this to help you with your own refinement process.)
Okay, so Stuart Goldsmith is in the human potential informa-
tion business niche.

Now already, that’s a very small niche compared to all the other
goods and services offered by people around the globe (e.g. pre-
stressed concrete lintels for bio/radio-hazardous installations...).
But I have hardly started! What the hell is the ‘human potential’
movement? It covers every sort of flake from wacky religions
through to dubious cure-alls masquerading as ‘alternative’ health.
It encompasses all major world religions, all cults, mysticism,
occultism and UFO watchers. It embraces every one of a hun-
dred thousand self-styled gurus. It also includes positive think-
ing, goal-setting, business gurus, marketing experts, manage-
ment advisors, NLP, memory courses, time management, wealth
building materials, mind-mapping, E-myth, etc. etc. Not forget-
ting all correspondence schools with subjects ranging from ac-
countancy to bat breeding; night schools, evening classes in
flower arranging, etc., etc. I think you get the idea of the size of
this so-called niche!

So let me narrow it down to a sub-niche.

I am in the business of helping people to achieve wealth and


happiness. Better. Okay, scratch all religions (they specialise in
poverty and misery) and most flaky stuff, but that still leaves a
huge number of people and businesses. What makes me stand
out from them? Why do people buy from me and not from
them?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 250
stuart goldsmith
Within my own sub-niche, there are dozens of players (possibly
hundreds), all working their own sub-sub niches to infinite depths.
To name a few people just off the top of my head you have on
the circuit: Dan Pena, Anthony Robbins, Jay Abraham, Peter
Thomson, Ted Nicholas, Randy Gage, Jim Rohn and Brian Tracy.

Each of these people are in the same business as me; that is,
using spoken and written words to train people to cut a bet-
ter deal for themselves. Okay, we’re getting close to a USP
here, but you still can’t distinguish me from a hundred other
players. If you know all or even some of these people you will
realise that their ‘gold mines’ are far apart from each other. They
are as different as different could be. Loyal fans of Dan Pena
would not be seen dead at an Anthony Robbins gig, and vice
versa. Jim Rohn isn’t Brian Tracy. Peter Thomson isn’t me. Yet
all are excellent in their niche. All have a huge following. They
have infinite-niche potential.

Hmm.... I’m hanging on to that one; I like the cut of its jib. Infi-
nite Niche Potential. INP... Hmmm.....

Experience the POWER of INP - Infinite Niche Potential. Mas-


ter motivator, Stuart Goldsmith, helps you unleash the force of
INP in your life. Yes, Infinite Niche Potential really is THE key
to undreamed of wealth, yahdiyahdiyah....

Nightingale-Conant, call me first thing Monday...

Now THAT came right off the top of my head as I was writing,
and there is a whole sub-sub-sub niche there with INP tapes,
INP videos, and INP seminars. (It’s MY idea, so keep your thiev-
ing hands off. Think up your own buzzy acronym!).

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 251
stuart goldsmith
Heck, if Michael Gerber (E-myth) can do it with the message:
“Entrepreneurs work too hard and ought to consider an exit strat-
egy” then I can do it with INP, right??

You bet.

Where was I? Oh yeah, right.... Still narrowing it down...

So if I’m not Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, or the loveable, cuddly


Danykins, then what IS my USP? What is the difference be-
tween them and me? Well I’ll give you an example of my guess
at some of these USPs. Many of these guys read my newsletter,
and so I hope they won’t mind if I have a go. These USPs did not
come from them:

Dan Pena: I show serious business people how to achieve Quan-


tum Leap growth in their businesses by expanding through ag-
gressive acquisition.

Is that me? Nah. No confusion there. Dan is Dan. His followers


worship him - heck, I’ll even give his boots a quick lick myself
because I admire the man’s energy.

Anthony Robbins: I show people how to unlock the infinite


power within each human being so that they can achieve their
full potential and ultimate spiritual destiny. (Not quite right, but
I’d have to ask Tony to improve it. It’s close though.)

Do you ever hear me talking about spiritual destiny? Infinite


energy? Power of the cosmos? Unlimited life force flowing
through people? Getting in touch with the infinite part of crea-
tion?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 252
stuart goldsmith
Not in this lifetime! Tony is ‘touchy-feely’ - group hug stuff.
No confusing him with Dan, right? No confusing him with me.
Tony is Tony. His followers adore him.

Jay Abraham: I teach business owners the dynamic marketing


tools they need to unlock the overlooked potential within their
business.

No group hugs there. No infinite human potential stuff. Noth-


ing about take-overs. Nothing about rational philosophy. No
mistaking Jay. He has a USP - in spades. This man wrote the
goddamned BOOK on USP, so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn
that he has one! He has a fanatical following. I have made a
small fortune by just listening to the ‘obvious’ stuff he says and
DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Are you getting the idea? Even within the sub-sub-sub niche
which I inhabit, there is almost infinite variety. In each case you
need a simple, easy to understand sentence which encapsulates
the uniqueness. Obviously each one of those USPs can be ex-
panded to fill a page, or a book.

Which brings me on to humble, self-effacing little ol’ MOI... I


am indebted to F J Hill for assisting me in working this out. It is
quite hard to reduce everything you do, say and believe into one
succinct, snappy phrase. Here goes:

Stuart Goldsmith: I show you how the correct use of your ra-
tional mind can lead you to wealth, freedom and true happiness.
I expose the mystical illusions which keep you poor, trapped
and powerless.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 253
stuart goldsmith
I could add: I demonstrate that a rational and coherent philoso-
phy of life is the basis for achieving ultimate human happiness.

Who else says stuff like that? Nobody I can think of. I’m the
only person on the circuit who:

1. Denounces mysticism in all of its forms, even speaking out


openly against the prime deceiver of mankind - religion, explain-
ing why it is unacceptable to ‘keep silent’ when faced with such
pure evil.

2. Exposes Big Brother government for what it is - a police state


set up to control and milk the docile masses.

3. Explains that the rational mind is man’s primary tool of sur-


vival, thus relegating emotions and intuitions to their rightful
place as reactions to events in the rational mind.

4. Exposes the lies, deceit and con-tricks used to keep you poor,
trapped and unhappy.

5. Explains that man is a unique sovereign individual and not a


member of some co-operative workers’ collective.

6. Exposes the con-trick of altruism.

7. Explains how to survive and prosper in an insane world popu-


lated by dangerous people intent on breaking you down into ser-
vitude.

8. Teaches you how to become guiltlessly wealthy.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 254
stuart goldsmith
Does any of that sound like Jim Rohn, Dan Pena, Ted Nicholas,
Jay Abraham, Joe Polish? Does it sound like anyone you know
apart from Stuart Goldsmith? Can you get that blend anywhere
else? No, you cannot. I am unique - the only seller; and this is
why I make a fortune. One supplier, many buyers.

Of course I got all the philosophy from Ayn Rand, mixed it in


with Wayne Dyer, added a smattering of Jim Rohn and Jay
Abraham, stirred in a sprig of Halbert and spiced it with Dan
Pena; cooked for twenty years and voila! Le Goldsmith Special.
But this is exactly what makes me (or you) able to have a USP
in the first place - our own absolutely unique life experience and
exposure to the ideas of others. If you think Jim Rohn or Brian
Tracy invented their unique style out of thin air you’re dream-
ing! Ask any of these guys and they will list their mentors, preach-
ers and people who influenced them early on.

To conclude this very important discussion. To make your for-


tune and/or be admired, loved and sought out you must have a
USP. Of course your business USP does not have to be your
personal relationship USP.

To make loadsamoney, find a niche market in line with your


USP. Niche doesn’t mean a small number of potential custom-
ers, it means the benefits you are offering to the customer base
are as unique as possible. Ideally your customers should not be
able to find these benefits anywhere else. This applies to human
relationships too. Ideally your potential partner should not
be able to find the benefits you offer in anyone else because
you are unique.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 255
stuart goldsmith
You are a special person. Nobody has quite your combination
of talents and abilities, coupled with your experience. Stop think-
ing you have to be a rocket scientist to make the big bucks. A
blank book and ‘Drink Water’ aren’t exactly Einstein level are
they?

Consider these simple but fortune-building ideas:

E-Myth
“Entrepreneurs often have their noses so firmly to the grind-
stone that they don't know where they are heading.”

NLP
“Visualise things and it will help you to achieve them.”

Mind Mapping
“Use pretty pictures instead of reams of notes.”

MacDonalds
“People want food when they’re hungry, not in an hour and a
half.”

INP
Infinite Niche Potential (just getting a plug in...) “Find a small
niche and work it deep.”

You too can come up with ideas like this if you understand what
I’ve been telling you about niche marketing.

Find your niche. Work your niche. Work it deep and don’t go
wandering the hills for a better gold mine.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 256
stuart goldsmith
Remember Earl Nightingale’s ‘ Acres Of Diamonds’ story where
the man sold his farm to go looking for diamonds, only to realise
years later that the farm he had sold contained a huge diamond
field. He had never thought of looking on his own farm.

I’m off to call Nightingale Conant about their next tape series
called INP - Your Personal Gold Mine.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 257
“Do You Sincerely Want to be Wealthy?”
It’s a simple question.

Think for a short while about the changes it would bring to your life. Imagine
winning several million pounds on the lottery. Would your life be better?

What makes a millionaire?

Why are some people wealthy and others poor?

Are there secrets which the ordinary person can learn which will improve
their chances of making a million pounds?

Stuart Goldsmith, author of The Midas Method, thinks so.

In this fascinating new book he talks about the seven ‘secrets’ to wealth.
He believes it is possible for anyone of moderate ability to become a million-
aire.

Stuart believes that if you can master each of the seven secrets you could
have an excellent chance of reaching your dream level of wealth. The book is
based upon hard-won experience gained during his own struggle to rise from
flat-broke to millionaire status. Stuart also researched other millionaires and
even one billionaire for this book.

You may have read other ideas on this subject and been unimpressed. Stuart
Goldsmith’s theories are all contained in this remarkable book for you to dis-
cover.

Millions of people have amassed a fortune in their own lifetime - why not
read Stuart’s fascinating account of how they did it and learn the secrets for
yourself?

Order your copy TODAY, before the moment passes.

154 pages, paperback. Sent under plain cover. 30 day full refund if not delighted.

Medina Ltd, 230 Peppard Road, Emmer Green, Reading, Berks, UK, RG4 8UA
Tel: +44 (0) 1189 462606 www.medina.co.uk

Price £9.97 inclusive of UK P&P Add £3 for overseas (US$20 inclusive of post)
doug hall
Jump Start
Your Business
Doug Hall is the Founder
and C.E.O. of the world
famous Eureka! Ranch
in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Brain
Clients such as Frito Lay, Part I: The Laws of Marketing Physics
American Express,
and The Ford Motor
Company come to the No doubt about it: The customer is always right. Anyone you’re
Eureka! Ranch to inspire trying to convince of anything is your customer. Maybe you’re
and identify BIG IDEAS
trying to persuade your brand manager to let you head up a mar-
that can help them
MAKE MORE MONEY. keting project. Or perhaps you’re trying to sell your best client
in Albuquerque to try a bold new sales strategy. Or you’re try-
ing to convince your significant other to make it a permanent
thing. If you can’t get the customer on your side, you don’t
have a deal.

The good news is that there are reproducible principles that can
dramatically increase your odds of success with any customer
and any endeavor. We call these principles the Laws of Market-
ing Physics. They’re based on a 6-year analysis of 4,000 new
products and services by a team of Ph.D’s.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 259
doug hall
Our research shows that what matters in the marketplace is what
you say, not where you say it. That’s the essence of the First
Law of Marketing Physics: Overt Benefit.

Benefits help make your customer’s life easier, more enjoyable,


Doug began his
entrepreneurial career
more exciting, more rewarding – that is, better in some fashion.
at the age of twelve. Benefits are the solutions to the customer’s day-to-day prob-
After earning a degree lems.
in Chemical Engineering
from the University of
Maine, he entered the Customers are creatures of habit. The only way to get them to
Advertising department change from what they are currently purchasing is by offering
of Procter & Gamble
where he rose to the
an Overt Benefit that catches their interest. Ed Eggling, Direc-
rank of Master Marketing tor of Sales for Hot Off the Press, explained it to me with this
Inventor. After ten simple analogy: “People only listen to one radio station: WII-
years, he "retired" to
pursue his version of
FM (What’s In It For Me).”
the American Dream.
Of course, the importance of focusing on benefits and not fea-
tures has long been recognized. The new news is how overt you
must be in today’s cluttered marketplace. Analysis of thousands
of concepts shows that, all other factors being equal, the odds of
success nearly triple when the stated benefit is unquestionably
clear.

Probability of Success

OVERT BENEFITS
LOW 13%
MEDIUM 26%

HIGH 38%

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 260
doug hall
Today’s customer is overwhelmed with marketing messages. The
average supermarket contains more than 40,000 different items.
The total of all printed knowledge is estimated to double every 5
years. The New York Times reported that humanity publishes as
many words each week as it did in all of human history up to the
With three credit cards
as his funding source,
year 1800. Whether the customer is the guy on the street or your
and his basement as his department head, he or she has fractions of seconds to evaluate
office, Doug founded your idea. So you have to be brash, bold and in-your-face OVERT
what has today become
the #1 corporate
about your benefit.
innovation and research
facility in the USA – Remember, it’s not boasting when you deliver! Let a customer
the Eureka! Ranch.
say no because what you offer doesn’t apply to her. But never
A national study found let a customer say no because she doesn’t understand what you
that the average U.S. offer. You’ve worked hard to create a great product or service.
home uses 18 products
or services Doug and his
Stand proud and let the world know the good news of the Overt
team have had a hand in Benefits you offer for them to enjoy. Now, to convert an overt
developing. benefit into sales, customers must be able to trust that you’ll
deliver. That brings us to the second law of Marketing Phys-
ics – Real Reason to Believe. Analysis of thousands of con-
cepts indicates Reason to Believe is as important as benefit. The
data indicates that, all other factors being equal, you more than
double your chances of success from 18 to 42% when you of-
fer a Real Reason to Believe:

Probability of Success

REASON TO BELIEVE
LOW 18%

MEDIUM 29%

HIGH 42%
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 261
doug hall
If Overt Benefit is "what" you’re offering, Reason to Believe is
"how" you’re going to make good on your promise. To succeed,
you need both the "what" and the "how."

And the greater the promise of your overt benefit, the stronger
Today, Doug is on a
your reason to believe has to be.
Robin Hood like quest to
share the wealth of
knowledge he has In today’s marketplace, Real Reason to Believe is the number
discovered in working
one weakness of new business concepts.
with some of the world's
leading corporations
with small to medium Credibility and reason to believe have long been understood to
sized businesses.
be important in the world of marketing. The new news is cred-
ibility has risen to an unprecedented level of importance. In the
early 1980s, when I worked at Procter & Gamble, reason to be-
lieve was thought to be probably only one-third as important as
benefit. Today, reason to believe is of equal importance to ben-
efit.

Why? Because confidence in marketing messages is at an all-


time low. We’ve all learned the hard way about so-called deli-
cious low-fat foods that end up tasting like cardboard, easy-to-
program VCR’s that end up blinking 12:00 forever and simple
instructions for assembling toys that read like Egyptian hiero-
glyphics.

Reason to Believe is about credibility and trust. It’s built through


clear and direct communication, enhanced by a multitude of small
acts that add and subtract from the customer’s perceptions of
your trustworthiness.

To paraphrase author Tom Peters, coffee stains on airline seat


trays make you wonder about airplane engine maintenance.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 262
doug hall
The best way to provide credibility is to tell customers the truth
about how you intend to accomplish delivery of the promised
benefit. The truth has a vitality that transcends hype and slick
marketing.

In his most recent book,


Let’s recap. You’ve articulated your Overt Benefit and you’ve
Jump Start Your Business
Brain, he takes you given your customers a Real Reason to Believe that you’ll de-
behind the scenes at the liver that benefit.
Eureka! Ranch to reveal
the data driven Laws of
Marketing Physics® and Now it’s time for the Third Law of Marketing Physics: Dra-
Capitalist Creativity® matic Difference. Uniqueness has also long been known to be
that make it possible for
important. The new news is that for it to be effective, the unique-
his team to regularly
craft business building ness must be DRAMATIC – and the drama must flow from your
concepts with double or combination of overt benefit and real reason to believe.
triple the probability of
success of the average
business idea. Again, people are creatures of habit. To change purchasing
behavior, you must offer a meaningful perceptible difference.
The data shows that enhanced dramatic difference levels increase
probability of success from 15 to 53%. This means that you
have a 353% greater chance of success when you have a high
level of dramatic difference. Net: Offering a Dramatic Differ-
ence gets you noticed, remembered, and acted on by customers.

Probability of Success

DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE
LOW 15%
MEDIUM 40%

HIGH 53%

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 263
doug hall
These results confirm an earlier study reported in the Harvard
Business Review that found a 370% greater chance of profit-
able success for ideas that are extremely different.

When you are unique, you stand out in the marketplace. Think
For more information on
back to your drive to work or home yesterday. What did you
booking Doug Hall and
the Eureka! Ranch, see? What do you remember? Probably not much. Now if for
please visit some reason an African elephant crossed the road in front of
www.eurekaranch.com
you, the odds are you would have remembered it. Seeing el-
or www.doughall.com.
ephants is a novelty that while noticeable doesn’t cause much
more than interesting dinner conversation.

Now imagine if on your drive home you saw the sign for a new
bakery named Muffin Madness, home of the Monster – the
World’s First Stuffed and Frosted Muffin! There is a decent
chance you’d be thinking of stopping the following morning on
your way to work. I don’t know what the Monster is, but with
its stuffing and frosting, I have reason to believe it could be one
fantastic experience. Be the first to claim something – and cus-
tomers will respond with enthusiasm.

As I said before, business success is not random. There are


reproducible principles that can help you win more, lose less
and make more money with your business ideas.

And they orbit around the notions of trusting in the power of


customers to respond to authentic offerings.

Excerpt from Jump Start


Your Business Brain, by Once you’ve focused your resources on customers’ true needs –
Doug Hall. Reprinted
whether the customer is the person surfing your web site or your
with permission. ©
2001, Eureka! Institute. boss – you can’t lose.
All Rights Reserved.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 264
doug hall
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
We have a saying at the Eureka! Ranch: "In God we trust, All
others must bring data!" The world of marketing is full of gurus
and their opinions.

For the past 6 years, while others were doing talk shows and
seminars, we spent our time (and about $20 million) doing real
scientific research into what types of communication work in the
Jump Start Your Business marketplace. It was a long road involving over 4000 new busi-
Brain is available at ness concepts, two Ph.D.s, and a lot of Brain Brew Coffee.
bookstores everywhere.
Or click on the cover to
order from Amazon.com. It paid off! This article (and the book it comes from) explain the
results of that research - a set of reproducible principles that are
statistically proven to help increase your odds of success. It's as
close to a sure thing as you'll ever find in the world of market-
ing.

The "Laws of Marketing Physics" have changed the way both


we and our clients do business. As far as I'm concerned, they are
the only path to marketing success because once again, "I've
seen the data!" - Doug

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 265
hall & brogniez
Strategic
Synchronicity:
Jan Brogniez

The Art of
Attracting
Stacey Hall Perfect Customers
Jan Brogniez and Stacey
Hall are CEO and Vice
President - Sales &
Marketing respectively
and Other
Stakeholders
of PerfectCustomers
Unlimited, whose
mission is to transform
businesses into powerful
magnets for attracting
only perfect customers ..
How many times have you thought "I need more customers!"?
and employees, too!
If you find that you often feel that you need more customers,
then consider this...

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 266
hall & brogniez
85% of new businesses fail within the first five years of opera-
tion, and, of those that survive, another 85% will fail within the
next five years? The major contributing factor for these failures
are that these business have focused their resources on finding
or "targeting" customers to serve.
Jan Brogniez's back-
ground includes more
than 20 years producing There is a common belief held by most business owners that all
millions of dollars of of their business problems would be solved if they could just
sales revenue in
figure out the secret to "finding and getting more customers."
Corporate America. Jan's
mastery of strategic
planning and her keen And, that is their biggest mistake!
business acumen led to
the development of
PerfectCustomers The never-ending search for more customers requires an abun-
Unlimited's proprietary dance of people, time, and money... resources which are usually
Strategic Design Session
in short supply in most businesses. In such an environment, the
process. This process has
successfully and effort put forth to "find" customers is actually depleting the busi-
effectively empowered ness of its energy, creativity, and enthusiasm...commodities re-
a wide variety of
quired to serve these customers in a satisfying way. And, since
corporate executives,
entrepreneurs, and sales dissatisfied customers do not return, the business must keep find-
and operations teams to ing more customers to replace those they have lost.
invent and achieve "Big
Hairy Audacious" goals
and create organizational
legacies in less time than So, with each repetition of the cycle, the business has less and
previously has been
less ability to provide the level of service that would satisfy the
possible.
types of customers it originally intended to serve. So, the number
of complaints the business receives continues to increase...and
eventually, the complaints outweigh the compliments. The word
spreads throughout the community. It becomes harder to find
customers to serve. Debts then exceed profits. The business
fails.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 267
hall & brogniez
Conversely, those 15% that succeed have structured their busi-
ness in a way that "attracts" only perfect customers and clients.

We invite you now to replace the thought "I need more custom-
ers" with the conviction that "I now attract only perfect custom-
Called a "pioneer in
ers."
experiential workshop
facilitation," Jan's
strength lies in designing What's the difference? It's the difference between a successful
and delivering custom-
business and one that struggles to survive. It's the difference
designed workshops,
corporate retreats, and between a profitable business and one that pinches pennies. It's
executive planning the difference between a thriving business and one that is hang-
sessions. As
ing on by a thread.
PerfectCustomers
Unlimited's CEO, Jan
provides the organiza- THE LIGHTHOUSE TEST
tional structure; building
the foundation that will
sustain the company's How can we tell if our business is structured to "attract" cus-
unprecedented growth tomers to serve?
and global presence.

There is a simple test. We call it the "Lighthouse Test."

Imagine a lighthouse standing strong and erect on the rocky


shores of a beautiful ocean. On this particular day, the water is
calm, the sky is blue, and there are many boats out to sea. Yet,
out in the distance, there is a storm cloud forming on the hori-
zon. It is coming closer to shore very quickly. The sky is getting
darker, the waves are getting rougher, and many of the boats are
being tossed about on the water. As the rains and the winds pick
up strength, so does the power of the beam of light emanating
from the lighthouse. Some of the boats, anxious to move quickly
to a quiet and protective harbor, are relying on this beam of light
to guide them safely to the spot. The darker the skies become,
the brighter the light shines.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 268
hall & brogniez
Please also notice that not all of the boats are in need of this
beam of light to guide them to safety.

Some have more confident captains and crew, while other boats
have equipment that can handle the storm effectively.
Stacey Hall, VP of Sales
and Marketing, is
credited by industry Now, imagine that the lighthouse gets upset because some of
experts as the inventor the boats are choosing not to come to its harbor. Because it wants
and the catalyst for the
to protect and serve all of the boats in the sea, it sprouts arms
new Strategic Attraction
Planning Process. and legs and begins running up and down the beach, waving its
Through this paradigm- arms, doing its best to catch the attention of all the boats. What
shifting methodology,
would be the result?
hundreds of corporate
executives, entrepre-
neurs, as well as sales Most likely, the boats that were depending on the light to guide
and training teams, have
them would by now have been destroyed in the chaos and con-
been transformed into
powerful magnets that fusion caused by the light moving up and down the beach Other
quickly and easily attract boats, led by their curiosity, may come closer to shore to get a
the most perfect and
better look at the spectacle of a lighthouse running up and down
profitable customers to
their doors and web the shore, and then head back out to deeper waters. While oth-
sites. ers would be perfectly content to stay where they are...out at
sea. The end result, very few boats are served safely and se-
Stacey's background
includes more than 20 curely.
years of designing and
implementing global
The test lies in asking ourselves when, as business owners and
marketing plans for such
organizations as FEDEX, managers, how often are we the lighthouse standing securely on
Budget Rent-a-Car the shore attracting the boats (customers) to us with our light
Corporation, and the
and how often are we running up and down the beach looking
University of Houston.
for boats (customers) to serve?

WHEN WE ARE LOOKING FOR CUSTOMERS TO


SERVE, WE FIND "CUSTOMERS FROM HELL"

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 269
hall & brogniez
When we are looking for people to serve, we must expend a lot
of energy. First, we have to figure out where we are most likely
to find the greatest number of customers. And, then we must
spend more time and money experimenting with the right way
to catch their attention. And, once we've caught their attention,
As PerfectCustomers
we then must convince them that we have what they want. By
Unlimited's VP for Sales
and Marketing, Stacey the time we have actually found someone who is willing to try
keeps the organization what we have to give them, we are exhausted!
attracting perfect
customers and opportu-
nities that are steering So, when this customer tells us that they are not completely sat-
the company to success isfied with our products, our policies, or our pricing, we are
and greater levels of
more than willing to make compromises to satisfy them ... truth
profitability.
be known, we are simply too tired to put up a fight. Thinking
Together, Hall that we have won the war, we feel we can afford to let them win
and Brogniez speak
these smaller conflicts...especially in light of what it would cost
internationally and
facilitate "strategic us to go out and hunt down another customer to replace this one.
attraction" workshops
on the subjects of
Yet, if we had more strength and solvency, we might be more
"Strategic Synchronicity:
Mastering the Power of willing to listen to the tiny inner voice that says, "Be careful...this
Attracting Perfect one could be more trouble than their worth. This is a customer
Customers and Employ-
from hell."
ees," "Attracting Your
Perfect Self-Expression;"
"Attracting Acknowl- Yet, we ignore the voice because we need to make back the money
edgement & Accomplish-
we spent on our marketing and sales program. Or, we convince
ment," "Attracting
Perfect Partnerships," ourselves that these customers must be perfect for us because
and "Attracting Your they responded to our advertising or clicked on our hyperlink, or
World Vision"
we are afraid that the competition will serve them if we don't.
Inevitably, though, the voice turns out to be right. By the time
we end our tortured relationship with this customer, we feel that
no amount of money in the world would have been enough to
compensate us for the cost of the experience.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 270
hall & brogniez
We blame the customer for the poor quality of the interaction,
but the truth is that, as business owners and managers, we are
solely responsible for who we chose to serve.

And, when we create advertising campaigns or promotional strat-


egies that fail to clearly convey the bright light of our unique
business distinctions, we find customers that other businesses
should be serving.

As soon as we hear that tiny inner voice warning us that we have

Their book, "Attracting found a "less-than-perfect" customer, it's a signal that our own
Perfect Customers...The distinctive light has gone out. It no longer has the power and
Power of Strategic
brilliance to attract only perfect customers and clients.
Synchronicity," is avail-
able in bookstores,
through on-line Take a moment to picture one of your most perfect clients -- the
booksellers (click on
one person with whom you most enjoy working. If you're like
the cover to order
through Amazon), and at the majority of business people, the client you describe as per-
www.perfectcustomer.com fect is the one who respects and values your time, trusts you to
have his or her best interests at heart, comes to you with realistic
expectations, happily pays what your product or service is worth,
is intelligent, trustworthy, and sincere, and refers your business
to their friends and family.

Perfect customers make you feel needed, appreciated, respected,


and understood. Even more, they reconnect you with the pas-
sion and purpose that puts joy in your workthe very reason you
got into your business in the first place. And, when you think
about it, these perfect clients often come to you easily; there was
an immediate spark of attraction and connection with this client
as if synchronicity brought you together at the perfect time and
place.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 271
hall & brogniez
So are all of your clients or customers perfect? If your answer is
"no," then consider a new marketing model... one that transforms
your approach, attitudes and behavior to create the synchronicity
that easily attracts perfect clients and customers to your busi-
ness.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article has proven to be a catalyst for a new sales and mar-
keting reality. People are instantly attracted to the concept of
transforming their business from a search light to a lighthouse.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 272
DO YOU HAVE
THE PERFECT CUSTOMERS
OR ARE YOU
MARKETING YOURSELF
RIGHT OUT OF BUSINESS?

ATTRACTING PERFECT CUSTOMERS TELECLASS

How many times have you thought "I need more customers!"?

We invite you now to replace the thought "I need more customers"
with the conviction that "I now attract only perfect customers."

Are you ready to create your first Strategic Attraction Plan, or take
your current one to the next level? Both opportunities are available
to you when you participate in our live two-hour global teleclass.
We guarantee that by the end of this call you will create your own
custom plan for attracting your most perfect customers, employees,
or partnerships.

Teleclasses are conducted on the first Thursday of each month from


3:00 - 5:00 p.m. CST. The participation fee is $95.00. For more infor-
mation, please send an email to info@perfectcustomer.com or visit
www.perfectcustomer.com .
john harricharan
A Little-Used
Outstanding business-
Business Secret
Sometimes, the simplest things are the most profound. Many
man, lecturer and award- times, the most obvious things are often ignored. A good per-
winning, best-selling
author, John Harricharan, centage of the time the most common sense principles are the
is a unique blend of East ones most disregarded. Perhaps, it's because we are so intent on
and West. Coupled with making a living that we forget about making a life.
his professional back-
ground is a rare
sensitivity and charisma, One of the most forgotten principles for personal success is a
which have earned him word ignored by almost everyone—Goodwill. It is a principle
well deserved respect
and acclaim. so underused, yet so powerful that it could take us to the heights
of success. It remains underused because people overlook the
However, he was to disarming power disguised in subtle terms such as compassion,
know failure as well as
success. The events that kindness, empathy, unselfishness and caring.
led to both are
incorporated in his In marketing classes in MBA school, we learned many useful
lectures and are
chronicled in his books, things about advertising strategy, marketing to consumers, study-
which, rather than being ing statistics of a sales campaign and getting the order. To this
stories of loss and day, I use the tools of the trade to help me in my business. But
sadness are, instead,
inspiring tales one thing that hardly anyone touched upon was the concept of
of courage, strength "Goodwill."
and the dignity of the
human spirit.
Goodwill is not just a number on the accountant's balance sheet,
but an invisible, little-used tool that all of us have at our dis-
posal. Let me explain.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 274
john harricharan
Most of us could help solve someone else's problems, either with
a telephone call, an introduction or referral, a signature or other
John has shared the
lecture platform with obvious means. But we refuse to do it. Why? Let me tell you
such well-known speak- why. Because we feel there's nothing in it for us!
ers as Deepak Chopra,
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross,
Og Mandino, Gerald Let me tell you a true story. It was many years ago. A young
Jampolsky, Foster woman walked into my assistant's office. She was looking for a
Hibbard, Eric
job, but we had none to offer. Just the week before, all job va-
Butterworth, C. Everett
Koop and others. cancies had been filled.
His transformational
message stems from his
At the request of my assistant, I spoke with the young woman.
challenging personal
growth experiences. As She only wanted to work for the summer and then would com-
Harricharan says, "I know plete her last semester of graduate school and return home to her
what it feels like to have
country. She had been looking for a summer job for almost four
my car repossessed and
my house foreclosed; to weeks. No one wanted to hire her and train her to work for such
watch my wife die of a short period of time.
cancer; to lose all earthly
possessions and start
again from ground zero. I remembered my days as a graduate student and felt her anxi-
I also know what it feels ety. Although there was no good business reason to do so, I told
like to write an award-
my assistant to create an office job for her. After all, she needed
winning book, to be
written about in others' help and it felt good to help someone without figuring what was
books and to be featured in it for me.
in the same book with
His Royal Highness,
Prince Philip of Great I hardly saw her until the last day when she came into my office
Britain, the Dalai Lama to say goodbye. She thanked me again for the job and handed
and Sir Paul McCartney.
me a business card.
The contrasts bring
compassion and
sensitivity to one's life." "This is my father's card," she said, "If you ever visit my coun-
try, call my dad, he'd be very happy to meet you. I've told him all
about how kind you and your employees were to me. In my coun-
try, my dad is a government minister."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 275
john harricharan
And that's how I ended up having lunch with the mayor of Nai-
robi, dinner with the Vice President of Kenya and making busi-
Bright, well-educated
and professional in ness alliances that brought my company profits hundreds of times
demeanor, John brings a greater than the salary we had paid for summer help. On top of
welcome, pragmatic
that, I enjoyed going on photo safari to the Serengeti Plains of
approach to his lectures
and consultations, as an East Africa, walking along the beaches of Mombassa and sip-
outstanding example ping Pimms #3 at the Mount Kenya Safari Club.
where the message and
the messenger are one.
Not only does he share This is not an isolated case. It's just one of the more obvious
his personal tragedies; ones. You never can tell who will lead you to that next contact,
he shares the extraordi-
that profitable contract or the added financing you were looking
nary tools he uses to
overcome his challenges. for. It is important that we treat everyone with dignity and re-
He meets his audience spect. Remember, business does not do business with other busi-
filled with energy and
nesses. People do business with people.
enthusiasm. His
approach is inspirational
and motivational, The Internet is not about computers, technology or even market-
contagiously so and
ing. That would be like saying cars are about the internal com-
always, always
memorable. bustion engine and the laws of thermodynamics. The Internet is
about people and communications. If we communicate with hon-
esty and feelings, we'd find that most others respond in kind.

So whenever the opportunity arises, do something for someone


else who is powerless to do it alone. Don't worry about what you
are going to get out of it. The Universe has a way of repaying in
ways far too strange to understand. Earn "goodwill" and you'll
prosper beyond belief.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


I didn't realize what an impact it would have with the readers
until I started receiving tons of email. I suspect what happened
was very simple. Most everyone resonated to the theme of the
article.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 276
john harricharan
More than that, readers told me that they could see the power of
such a simple step.

Readers didn't only get the message in their heads, but also in
their hearts as well. The principle could be applied, not only to
marketing in specific, but to business and life in general.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 277
A new and formidable weapon in your search for success.

http://www.EnterprisingSpirit.com

A Place Where Business and Spirit meet.

FREE download of the electronic version of the award-winning bestseller,

"When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat." http://www.waterbook.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 278
paul hartunian
The Magic Pill
That Will
“Every person on
this planet can get
Guarantee You
A Great Life
tremendous amounts
of free publicity for any
product, service cause or
issue. They just have to
be taught the simple
steps to take...and then
take them”, according to
Dr. Paul Hartunian.
I finally found the magic pill. I've heard about it (and searched
for it) for over 30 years. It's that one 'thing' that can make you
Paul Hartunian is a wiz at wealthy, famous, independent or whatever else you want.
showing people how to
get mountains of free
publicity for their online I found it last week - last Wednesday at 2:15 PM to be precise.
and offline businesses.
He has shown thousands
of people how to use
And no, this isn't a joke. It's the real thing. Here are the details.
publicity to make sales,
get leads, rocket Last Wednesday I met a friend for lunch. I've known this guy for
businesses to all time
highs, and even
years. He's got tremendous talent, a great work ethic, a knock-
become celebrities. out of an IQ, drive, motivation, personality, marketing savvy
and smarts - everything you would expect you need to be a huge
success.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 279
paul hartunian
But he's not successful. By his own admission, he's broke...and
he's floundering, with little hope in sight. How can this be?
His techniques require
no special skills, no
"insider contacts," and We met for lunch at noon. From noon until 2 PM we talked about
little or no money.
each of our situations.
Paul and his publicity
students have been
featured on the Phil Here he is with everything...and he's broke.
Donahue Show, the
Jenny Jones Show,
To Tell the Truth, the Here I am with a lousy work ethic (I'd much rather be walking
Regis Philbin Show, with my 4 dogs than working - and if I work more than two
Johnny Carson’s Tonight
hours in a row I get cranky and whiny), a less than wonderful
Show, Smart Money,
CNN News, Forbes, personality, talent greater than some, less than most, but I'm
Changing Times, wealthy and free. How can that possibly be?
Redbook, New Jersey
Monthly, Money maga-
zine, USA Today, the Wall We finished lunch and were right in the middle of saying our
Street Journal, the New good-byes when it hit me. I know why I'm wealthy and free.
York Times, and over
1,000 other radio and TV
talk shows. I know why over 98% of the people on this planet are not (and
never will be) wealthy and free.
And yes, he really did sell
the Brooklyn Bridge!
I have the magic pill. I have the secret ingredient. I have that one
thing more important and more valuable than all the others. And
it's just one word...

FOCUS!

That's it. That's the secret of the universe. If you can focus, you
can get anything - fame, fortune, freedom, whatever. If you can't
focus, you'll always flop around like a hooked catfish on the
bottom of the boat.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 280
paul hartunian
My mind started racing. I thought about everyone I knew, one at
a time. I thought about the 3 friends I have who have it made. I
“Anyone can duplicate
what I’ve done. Not only thought about the 100+ friends I have who don't have it made.
will I prove that state-
ment, I’ll teach people
Without fail I saw that the people who had it made were the ones
exactly what to do and
how to do it, so they can who were able to focus - focus on whatever it is they had to
prove it to themselves.” focus on.

In his talk “How to Get


$1 Million Worth of When I was a Paramedic in Jersey City, I treated well over 10,000
Publicity...FREE!”, Paul patients. I interacted with thousands and thousands more. Who
teaches his audience,
were the patients who were solving their health problems? It
step by step, how they
can get mountains of was the people who could focus. They focused on finding a so-
free publicity. He reveals lution to their problems. They focused on getting their treatments
the secret to getting on
on time. They focused on learning what they had to learn.
the Sally, Oprah and the
other “majors”. He tells
the audience how to I thought about the students I teach at the University. Who were
conduct themselves
the ones who did the best? Was it the ones with the highest
during an interview so
they not only make a I.Q.'s? No way. It was the people who could focus on getting
substantial amount of the job done in my class, regardless of what it took.
money, but they’re also
asked back to do it
again! He tells them I remembered a video I had seen about a woman who cured her-
how he made $400,000 self of a vicious form of cancer TWICE!!! She took no medica-
with just one hour of
tion, had no surgery, but now, over 20 years later, is completely
work, thanks to the
media. But, more cured.
importantly, he shows
the audience how to
During her interview, she made a statement that will live with
duplicate what he’s done
by teaching them the me forever. When she was asked why she thought she was able
special method he’s to beat the cancer that has claimed so many people before her
developed for getting
she said
media coverage.

'My attitude was that I will fight for my life and nothing else
matters.'

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 281
paul hartunian
And nothing else matters. That's focus!!! And she was rewarded
with her life, while milxxlions of others are in their graves.

“I don’t care if a person Then I thought about the people throughout history who have
has a little ice cream
had tremendous success. People in science, sports, literature,
shop in a tiny town or if
he has a huge, multina- business. Why did they succeed while others who tried the same
tional corporation. I can thing failed?
teach them how to get
publicity that will boost
their bottom lines while Yeah, right - they were able to focus.
making them mini-
celebrities.”
I have a reputation at the University where I teach of being a
royal pain of a professor. But every one of my classes is sold
out, year after year. How can that be?

The people who sign up for my classes know that life won't be
easy for the 16 weeks they're with me. But they also know that
at the end of the semester, they'll be able to focus like they've
never been able to before. And they'll take that with them for the
rest of their lives.

So, I have that pain-in-the-butt reputation, but I'm also one of


the highest rated professors in the University.

It's all about focus.

So what does this have to do with you and publicity?

When I was thinking of all the people who've made it and who
haven't, I also thought about you folks. This whole focus theory
holds just as true for you.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 282
paul hartunian
Some of you have had tremendous success getting publicity. Lots
of you have been featured in this newsletter.

I thought back at the letters you faxed me, the e-mails you sent.
I realized that you were having such great success because you
followed the formula I gave you - but just as importantly, you
focused on getting lots of publicity...and nothing else mattered.

Some of you haven't had great success getting publicity. I looked


over the letters and e-mails I got from you. So many times you
would talk about how you were going to get those press releases
out 'soon'. How you had a lot of other things going on, but you'd
start going through the course 'in the very near future'.

Lack of focus.

There is a phenomenal technique known as 'modeling'. Modeling


simply means that you find someone who's accomplished what
you want to accomplish, and then you do the same thing.

So, if someone's made a fortune in the same business you're in,


do exactly what that person did. If you want to play major league
sports, pick a major league player who has done what you want
to do, find out exactly what he did, then do the same thing.

Does modeling guarantee success? Certainly not. But it does


significantly increase your chances of reaching the goal.

The principle is very simple. If someone has already achieved


the goal you want to achieve, they must know how to do it.

Why reinvent anything? Just follow what they did.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 283
paul hartunian
One of the most dramatic uses of modeling is in health care. If I
were to develop pancreatic cancer, I know full well that main-
stream medicine has absolutely nothing that can help me. The
survival rate is less than 1% - pretty dismal.

Instead of going to mainstream medicine, I would focus on find-


ing the 1% of pancreatic cancer patients who have survived...
then I would do exactly what they did!!!

After all, they survived. They are my best hope.

The exact same principle holds true with your publicity efforts.
You can try to reinvent a publicity system and see how you make
out. Or you can follow the one I've set up for you and use the
success stories in each issue of my newsletter as your models.

I have a final formula for getting lots of great, money-producing


publicity. Here it is:

My Publicity System + Modeling + Focus =


Dollars-In-The-Bank Publicity

We can take that same formula and apply it to your life:

Knowing What You Want + Modeling + Focus =


A Magnificent, Exciting, Fulfilling Life

There is no other way.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


I live by the words in this article. Without focus, success only
comes by chance. I'm not willing to bet my future on chance.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 284
Be sure to sign up for Paul Hartunian's free pub-
licity ezine ‘Million Dollar Publicity Strategies’ at
http://www.PRProfits.com/ezine. Each issue is
packed with specific strategies, tips and tech-
niques you can use to get free publicity for *any*
product, service, cause or issue.
shel horowitz
How to Get
the Press
Shel was still a teenager
when he started doing
publicity and marketing
for grass-roots commu-
on your side
nity organizations with It's easy: make yourself newsworthy.
zero promotional
budget. There wasn't
News is anything that other people are interested in. And being
even money available for newsworthy consists of letting editors and reporters know you're
stamps, so he used to doing something of interest to other people—having an event;
hand-deliver press
releases on a three-
telling a story; creating or participating in any occurrence; sup-
speed bicycle, Trained as porting, opposing, or even merely observing a trend or activity.
a journalist, he first Editors & producers have the tremendous challenge of coming
became aware of the
power of the news
up with new stories to fill their pages and air slots-day after day,
media when a local week after week, month after month, year after year. It isn't al-
paper refused to print ways easy to fill all that space. Therefore, you become their ally.
meeting notices he
wrote for a controversial
group--but gave exten- Your achievements—along with your ability to publicize them
sive news coverage to properly and work cooperatively with media people—will cause
its refusal. Now, for over
twenty years, he's
local editors to welcome you with open arms. Not only will you
helped businesses, have a very good shot at getting your press release printed (per-
nonprofits, and commu- haps several times in different sections of the paper), but a re-
nity groups get their
message out to the
porter might even arrange a more in-depth story. And that is
public with little or no pure gold for you!
expenditure.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 286
shel horowitz
Stanley D. Friedman, who produces public affairs programming
for WWOR-TV (serving NYC and northern New Jersey), notes
that—even in one of the top markets in the country—he has to
seek out people to fill up his allotted airtime. Editors and pro-
ducers, therefore, will be delighted to hear from you—but only
if you are articulate and can present yourself as serving the com-
After finishing Antioch
College at age 19, Shel munity, rather than just trying to seek publicity and make a profit.
had to come to terms
with his own work
Here are some events or situations that often lead almost effort-
history: career paths not
only in writing and lessly to lots of free publicity:
marketing/PR, but also
in radio, teaching, arts,
* Organizing an event open to the public
food service, office
systems, community * Achieving significant recognition in your field
organizing, and environ- * Release of a book or record, opening of an exhibit, etc.
mental issues. Putting
* Performing an important service to the community
together his own first
résumés led to a new * Running for office
career direction: résumé * Writing legislation, testifying at hearings, etc.
writing and career
* Inventing, manufacturing, or offering a new product
services. Shel quickly
realized he had the * Being present at—or involved in—major news events
ability to discover a job * Joining or taking leadership in a professional or
candidate's best
community service organization--especially one
strengths and present
them so those are with membership standards
highlighted while weak- * Offering apprenticeships, training programs, classes,
nesses are downplayed.
or opportunities to volunteer
In short, he turned
résumé writing into a * Lecturing, or presenting at a professional conference
marketing function. * Winning a contest, sweepstakes, or lottery
* Offering franchises of your business

But you can also get some coverage of far more mundane events.
You may not get followed around by a reporter, but you might
well get your releases in the paper—and reap all the benefits we
discussed earlier. Here are a few examples:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 287
shel horowitz
* Moving or opening a new branch
* Educational achievements (including attending work-related
seminars) or other accomplishments by staff members
* Hosting an open house
* Hiring or promotion of employees
A native of New York
* Annual meetings
City, Shel returned to
that city to work at two * Issuance of any publication available to the public
literary agencies as a
manuscript reader, and
Use your imagination. You only risk a stamp, and may gain ex-
then worked for a year
and a half as a VISTA posure to thousands of people. The media that promote you have
Volunteer community something to gain as well; they need endless fresh material.
organizer with the Gray
Panthers. Pursuing
poetry on the side, he But don't expect the media to drop everything and report on you,
became very active in just so you can get some free publicity. Remember their goals of
the New York open
reporting news and serving the community; you must blend with
poetry scene, and met
Dina Friedman at an that. Many editors shy away from blatantly promotional pieces.
open reading in Green-
wich Village.
Make Life Easier for Your Editorial Allies
The two left New York in Another aspect of thinking like an editor is presenting yourself
1980, spending a year in as the kind of person editors want to deal with. In any oral or
Philadelphia before
written communication with a media outlet, you should be
settling in Western
Massachusetts in 1981-- friendly and approachable, articulate and concise. Be willing to
and founding Accurate answer reporters' questions, even if you have to research the
Writing & More with an
answers and get back to them. (Don't be afraid to say you don't
initial marketing cost of
$12 and a total start-up know but can find out, and never give an answer you're not sure
under $200 (most of it is accurate.) If you're running an event or a tourist attraction, let
for a 13-year-old IBM
the press in for free to cover it. Finally, know the deadlines and
Selectric typewriter).
They married two years publication schedules of the media you deal with, and under-
later. Daughter Alana was stand their importance.
born in 1987--the same
year Dina joined the
business--and son Rafael A deadline is the day and time a reporter has to get a story in if
was born in 1992. it's going to be printed or broadcast in the next edition.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 288
shel horowitz
Except for very hot last-minute news, those deadlines may as
well be written in stone. Get your stuff in on time and don't try to
wheedle a journalist into bending a deadline for you—the bad
reputation you will get among the press is a far worse disease
than being left out once. And don't forget that a reporter needs
Drawing on the market-
some time to work with your material, and is balancing your
ing he'd practiced in and
after college, Shel began story against many others.
marketing his own
business locally, and
Typically, morning daily newspapers close the edition around
grew it to the largest of
its kind in a three-county 10 p.m., afternoon papers at around 10 a.m., weeklies two to
service area. In 1985, he four days before publication. Some sections may close earlier
published the first of
than others. A large metropolitan Sunday newspaper may close
three books on low-cost,
high-impact marketing. the magazine, comics, arts, living, and classified sections as early
Gradually, he expanded as Monday, and have them already printed and collated as early
his practice to marketing
as the previous Thursday. This frees up the presses for news and
for other businesses and
nonprofits. He began sports sections that get printed Saturday night. TV stations tend
using e-mail as a market- to like to do the camera work at least two to four hours before
ing tool in 1994, set up
the newscast.
his first website in 1996,
and quickly developed a
reputation internation- Give daily and broadcast journalists a minimum of a couple of
ally as a skilled copy-
hours before their deadline to write their story—several days if
writer and marketing
strategist who knows you're dealing with weeklies, and even longer for monthlies—
how to stretch a market- and don't call any reporter or editor right at deadline, when he or
ing dollar. His client list
she is frantically trying to get all the stories out.
now includes accounts in
Europe, Asia, and all
across the U.S.; his books Feature departments, including community calendars or letters
have sold to dozens of
to the editor, may have a deadline that applies to you, rather than
countries, and one of
them has been trans- the reporter. In my area, the newsweekly and the most popular
lated into Korean. commercial radio station both want calendar notices two to three
weeks ahead! Again, respect the deadline and be on time.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 289
shel horowitz
The Event: A Cornucopia of Publicity Opportunities
The easiest way to turn the press into your publicity bureau is by
having an event. An event gives the press a handle; they under-
stand how to treat events as news, and as promotable calendar
items. Having any kind of event makes you automatically news-
Shel now offers not
worthy. So a good trick for you as the publicist is to phrase your
only copywriting and
strategic marketing activity as an event. Yes, the same techniques apply to other
planning, but also promotable activities, but so many more doors are opened by
speaks on affordable,
linking your publicity agenda to some kind of event that I'd en-
effective marketing to
national audiences. His courage you to do them whenever possible.
most recent marketing
book, Grassroots Market-
For instance, don't just have a sale; a sale is not a news event,
ing: Getting Noticed in a
Noisy World, was a but a commercial device to increase business. But a sale can be
finalist for ForeWord rolled into something more newsworthy, such as: charity dance-
Magazine's Book of the
a-thon with reduced prices on dancing shoes and leotards; ap-
Year Award.
pearance by a local person who is known for using your prod-
uct, with concurrent sale on the product; craft demonstration by
an artisan who uses materials that you sell, with price cuts in
those supplies; foot race from a central point to your food shop,
with free refreshments for participants; old shoes trade-in: de-
duct 10% off the price of a new pair of shoes by bringing in an
old but still usable pair for donation to charity; food sampling
fair, with discounts on all the participating foods; plain, old party
with store-wide clearance sale; concert in a music store, with
sales on the instruments the band plays; downtown cleanup with
free brooms to participants, as well as a sale on trash bags, rub-
ber gloves, etc.

Of course, it's not necessary to have a sale as part of your event.


Many wonderful events can happen without a sale. But if you
want a sale, you can get a lot more publicity if you focus on the
event.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 290
shel horowitz
Toward the bottom of your release, mention the sale: "To honor
Emma Lazarus' reading and book signing, Great Books is hav-
ing a sale on every book that contains any of her poems," or "In
conjunction with the charity skate-a-thon, Alfredo's is offering
reduced prices on all skates and skating wear."

The Community Service Tie-In


You will notice many promotable events involve charity or com-
munity service. This is not coincidence. It is always easier for a
business to get free publicity if it's also promoting a cause. Food
donations, community projects, and raising/donating money all
attract publicity—and help something you genuinely believe in.
That last part is key: if you try to do charity insincerely, it will
show, and boomerang back at you. But your firm can get com-
mercial mileage out of its good deeds! The donation can be small
or large, but must be genuine and heartfelt.

Here's a large scale example pioneered in my area by Stop &


Shop supermarkets: They worked out a deal with a computer
manufacturer to donate computers to elementary schools, then
invited schools to participate. For every hundred thousand dol-
lars or so in register receipts, the school got a new computer. It
was a brilliant move; the promotion was much talked about in
the community. Many people switched to Stop & Shop for the
duration of the campaign. It cost the store nothing, and also ben-
efited the computer company. Not only did the manufacturer
get good will, but also trained a new generation of students in
using its products—a classic win-win scheme.

Get the Media to Invest in You


For community service or entertainment events, enlist newspa-
pers and broadcast stations as cosponsors.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 291
shel horowitz
Typically, media cosponsorship means you do the work and spend
whatever money is necessary; the station or publication gives
you oodles of free publicity, reports on it, and/or broadcasts por-
tions of the event.Electronic media are required to provide pub-
lic service programming as a condition of their license, and pub-
lications have a vested interest in maintaining their credibility as
the eyes and ears of the community. Because cosponsorship dem-
onstrates the media outlet's community interest and also lets the
public hobnob with media personalities, a suggestion for
cosponsorship will often be greeted enthusiastically.

What's the difference between the ordinary free publicity you


can garner and bringing the station in as a cosponsor? Jordi
Herold, of the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Massa-
chusetts, uses cosponsorship several times a month. Asking for
radio cosponsorship "is not asking for something for nothing,
but raises the estimation of the station in [the eyes of] its audi-
ence--makes it possible to hear the same music live. It does a lot
to contribute to the positive image of the station." Ideally, "it
becomes a priority at the station. That's not measurable in times
of mention, but it becomes part of the dj's patter on the air—you
can't log that, you can't buy that."

Newer, smaller media are good bets, says Herold. "We have a
station that's new in the area and is competing for market share.
If I do a copromotion, I'm likely to get up to 50 free mentions in
addition to my paid advertising. With a station...that doesn't have
a relationship with the club, I may only get a one-to-one rela-
tionship between the spots I buy and promotional mentions. With
a college radio station, you can be all over the map without any
expenditure of money."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 292
shel horowitz
For live music, radio cosponsorship is an especially valuable
endorsement, because the station's promotional spots will give
listeners the chance to hear a little of an artist they may not
know--and because the station's role as an arbiter of music car-
ries over to readers who see the cosponsorship listed in the news-
papers and on posters. It's even okay to have several media
cosponsoring an event—if they don't compete. For instance, I
organized a candidate forum and got sponsorship—and public-
ity—from one newspaper, one radio station, and one cable TV
station. If I'd wanted to get two radio stations, I would have
needed to check with both stations that it was all right to have
direct competitors cosponsor the event.

Consider cosponsorships for political candidate forums, live


entertainment, fairs and festivals, auctions, and special events.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


Because I've "worked both sides of the street" as a journalist
and marketer/PR guy, I have an inside window on what it is that
journalists look for—and how to use that information to craft
material that actually makes it into print. In fact, much of my
copywriting practice focuses on contacting the media with re-
leases that walk the tightrope: they are interesting and newsy
enough to catch the journalist's eye, but not so "salesy" that
they turn them off. My clients have used my work to get cover-
age in the New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, and many other
major outlets. The overselling turnoff is something I see hap-
pening a lot—because many people don't understand that mar-
keting copy for journalists is different than marketing copy for
end-users). This article explains in very clear language what
journalists need, and how to give it to them. Therefore, it helps
people get into print.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 293
“How Shel Horowitz’s Book,
Grassroots Marketing,
Helps You Succeed
—Online or Off”
320 oversize pages…a Finalist
for ForeWord Magazine’s Book
of the Year Award…$22.95
• Take advantage of the Internet’s powerful, effective secret
marketing weapons (NOT Spam!)
• Pay less than five cents per envelope for direct mail
• Get tons of free media publicity in both local and national
markets
• Make terrific contacts at trade shows, without the expense of
a booth
• Have your prospects eagerly look forward to your sales
presentations and marketing materials
• Write copy that works for its audience…and for you!

And much, much more!


Preview/order: 877-FRUGALFUN
http://www.frugalfun.com

“What Else Can Shel Do For Me?”


Shel offers affordable high-ROI marketing services. He will:
• Write powerful, effective press releases, pitch letters, direct mail, web page copy, print and radio
ads, and other marketing copy
• Make an informative and entertaining presentation to your group or conference, on either low-
cost marketing or low-cost fun
• Develop marketing plans that combine great results with low costs
• Consult on the best ways to publish books, in either print or electronic versions
Contact Shel: mailto:shel@frugalfun.com, 877-FRUGALFUN (US/Canada, toll-free), 413-586-2388.

Please visit Shel’s websites, frugalmarketing.com and frugalfun.com for hundreds of FREE articles to

help you run your business better, make more money, and have more fun—and while you’re there,

sign up for Shel’s FREE Monthly Frugal Marketing Tips.


robert imbriale
The 10
Most Costly
Marketing
Robert Imbriale is an
Internet Marketing
Expert who has helped
sell over $100 Million in
products and services

Mistakes
over the Internet.
He has been published
internationally in more
than 16 languages.

and How to
Every month, his articles
are read by more than
2.5 million people
worldwide. They are
published in thousands
of magazines, newslet-

Avoid Them
ters, and web sites. He is
an accomplished
Speaker, Author, and
Internet Marketer.

I am constantly hearing the same dilemma over and over again:


"what can I do to sell more of my products/services?". Look
around; you'll immediately see what you shouldn't do. Look at
the very next ad you see. If you're like me, what you'll see are
business communications that are self-centered, braggart, loaded
with unnecessary information, and just plain ineffective mar-
keting tools.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 295
robert imbriale
In essence, a waste of the marketer's time, the company's money
and a failure to gain the prospect's interest.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of ads never accomplish their


main objective: to sell the product! Just because an ad costs a lot
Robert's destiny began
of money doesn't mean it is any more effective than one that
forming at the age of 16
when he bought his first costs thousands less.
personal computer. He
got his first taste of the
The following 10 items are the most costly mistakes you can
online world in 1984
when he connected to make as a business owner or marketing manager. So let's get
an online service known serious and help you to avoid these all-too-common mistakes
as "Q-Link" which has
before they cost you your job or your business!
now become America
Online. He began selling
online in 1989 when he 1) Centering Your Focus on Your Company, NOT On Your
set up a simple online
Prospects
bulletin board system
selling market research
reports. It is all too easy to focus all your advertising on you or your
company and not on your prospects. We all do it, just look at any
Little did he know his
computer "hobby" would ad and ask yourself who the ad is really talking about. Is it talk-
later lead him to the top ing about the prospect or about the company? You must focus
of the Internet market-
ALL your marketing communications on the prospect...period!
ing world as he finished
his formal schooling
and pursued what he To overcome this common mistake is the single most important
thought would be a
step to selling more of your products or services. Remember the
lifelong career in
photography. prospect is interested in one thing and one thing only: what's in
it for them! Forget about how great your company is, how long
you've been in business, etc...

Save that for later. Instead, begin with your focus on your pros-
pects and their concerns.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 296
robert imbriale
2) Not Knowing Everything About Your Prospects And Their
Problems

The more you know about your prospect, the easier it will be to
convince them that they need your product or service. Every
Robert completed his
qualified prospect has a problem that your product can easily
schooling in Montreal,
Canada and was the first solve to ultimately make their life easier in some way. Your job
student in his school's is to uncover this problem, or set of problems, and show your
20-year history to open
prospect, (using facts based on benefits) that they must buy what
his own photo studio by
the time he graduated. you are selling in order to immediately solve their problem and
His success as a commer- lead a happier, more productive life.
cial photographer
resulted in accounts
with large corporations To see what I mean, simply ask yourself why someone should
which gave him his first buy what you are selling. Use your answers in all your market-
glimpse of the advertis-
ing communications. It's that simple, yet how often is it just not
ing industry. Soon after
relocating to New York done? Remember this fact. People buy because they have a prob-
city, he left his photogra- lem, rarely do they buy just for the sake of buying or because
phy career to pursue his
you've been in business over twenty years. Think about your
passion for marketing.
own personal reasons for buying anything and you'll see what I
By the time he was just mean.
24 years old, he had
served as Director of
Marketing for a national 3) Not Knowing What Specific Benefits Your Product/Serv-
multimillion dollar direct ice Provides.
marketing firm in New
York where he increased
sales by more than $20 Study the true benefits of using and owning your products or
Million in just 10 weeks. services. A true "benefit" differs greatly from a "feature". Fea-
tures are about the product: benefits are about the prospect.

You will sell far more of your products or services if you focus
on what is important to the prospect (benefits), not on the fea-
tures of your product.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 297
robert imbriale
Your prospects are only interested in the benefits they will re-
ceive by owning your products or services. In other words, your
prospect is interested in your product mostly because of the
problem(s) it solves and not much else.

He served as Director of
4) Not Taking the Time to Qualify Your Prospects BEFORE
Marketing for 2 other
major direct marketing You Spend ANY Money Marketing Your Products to Them
firms before deciding to
leave the corporate
It astounds me to see how many times I get expensive promo-
world in 1995.
tional mailings sent to me without EVER having first been quali-
Robert combined his fied as being; A) interested in the product, B) able to afford the
years of experience in
product or C) having ANY need, currently or in the future, for
corporate marketing
with his passion for the product!
computers and has since
become one of the
I know that I will never buy anything from that company, no
world's top Internet
Marketing minds. matter how glitzy a promotion they present me with because I
have no need for what they are selling! So why don't they know
that? Simple, they never took the time to qualify me as a poten-
tial customer!

There are many ways to qualify a prospect, the most simple


methods being things such as having the prospect return a busi-
ness reply mail card from a card-deck, calling an "800" number
to request your information or catalog, or by buying a related
product from either yourself or a similar business.

If you don't take these simple steps to qualify your prospects,


your marketing efforts are being wasted on people who will
NEVER buy what you are selling for any number of reasons.
Smart marketing starts with qualifying leads.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 298
robert imbriale
5) Focusing Your Marketing Communications To The
Masses-Not Speaking Directly To Your Prospect

All too often, marketing communications try to satisfy all the


people all of the time and as a result end up alienating most
He has appeared on both
prospects most of the time. Face it, you will never be all things
nationalradio and televi-
sion and currently to all people all the time so focus on a specific prospect. De-
delivers live seminars to scribe to them a specific situation where your product could di-
people around the
rectly make their life easier.
country on the topic of
Internet marketing. He is
currently President and Your marketing communications should speak directly to me,
CEO of Ultimate Wealth,
your prospect. Ask yourself what problems(s) your prospect is
Inc. a San Diego, CA
based company he trying to solve and why is it very important that they solve them
founded in 1999. Robert with your products or services. Stop wasting your precious mar-
is a passionate and
keting dollars talking over your prospects! Focus, focus, focus!
entertaining speaker as
well as a true friend to
those who know him 6) Not Stating The Specific Problem Your Prospect Has And
best.
What That Problem Is Costing Him/Her Every Minute It Is
Left Unsolved.

Selling on fear is a powerful, yet widely misunderstood, mar-


keting tool that is the most effective and most important element
to any marketing communication you will ever write. In order to
get your prospect to take notice of what you are selling, you
have to blatantly tell them what it is costing them for ignoring
your message.

This can be done as a headline, followed by a sub-headline ex-


plaining the solution: your products or services. (Remember
explain the main BENEFIT of your product as the SOLUTION
to the problem you have just stated). For example:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 299
robert imbriale
Stop Wasting Your Valuable Time And Money Waiting For blah
blah blah....

Use <your product/service> and get <specific benefit> imme-


diately!

7) Not Using the Most Powerful First Line of Your Docu-


ment to Attract Attention.

All too often we get caught up in a very common marketing


trap. Look at your marketing materials, what is the first thing
you see?

Is it your fancy company logo, your address, something about


how good you think you are?

Chances are that is exactly what you will see. The problem is
that the prospect doesn't care about your logo, or how good a
company you think you are. All they really care about is what's
in it for them.

Begin any marketing piece you write with a strong statement


that will capture attention immediately. The first thing your pros-
pect must see in order to attract their attention is a statement of a
specific problem they have followed by the solution you have.

You might also back up your headline by stating the cost of not
solving the problem immediately.

Once you capture their attention, then you can take the time to
explain your product in greater detail. Gain attention first, spell
out details later.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 300
robert imbriale
8) Not Giving Your Prospect a Compelling Reason to act im-
mediately: While You Have Their Attention!

Now that you have created a need for what you are selling, you
have to motivate your prospect to take immediate action... while
they are still excited about your products or services.

Wait too long and you know what will happen: the average con-
sumer will soon forget all about what you can do for do for them
and quickly move on to the next exciting offer.

Convincing a prospect that you have a great solution to a prob-


lem they have is only the first step to making the sale. It will do
you no good to have the prospect ready to act and not have a
compelling reason for them to act immediately!

This can be accomplished by using special "limited time" offers,


two for one sales, cash discounts, etc... You have to tell your
prospect that you have a solid solution to their problem and if
they order today, you will add some FREE bonus, grant a dis-
count of XX%, double the order at no charge, pay for shipping,
etc...

It is of no value to you to get your prospects motivated to buy


and not give them ANY compelling reason to act TODAY!!!

9) Not Using Testimonials in ALL Your Marketing Commu-


nications

To a prospect that is receiving your marketing materials for the


first time, your company may have little or no credibility. You
may well be totally unknown to your prospect.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 301
robert imbriale
Getting around this hurdle and convincing your prospect that
others with similar problems HAVE truly benefited in a positive
way from your product is the fastest and most effective way of
gaining your prospect's confidence.

Every time you get ANY positive feedback from a prospect, ask
them if you can quote them, even if it is just on the telephone.

Keep a file of these quotes and have it handy the next time you
sit down to create a new marketing piece.

Failure to use testimonials will result in undue difficulty in gain-


ing a new prospect's confidence and will directly impede your
sales.

My personal rule of thumb is to use about two testimonials per


page.

10) Not Offering a Guarantee of Satisfaction

The common belief that offering a guarantee will simply entice


more returns is false. By offering a guarantee of satisfaction you
will invariably sell more of your products or services without
necessarily increasing your net percentage of returns.

Your prospects will be converted into customers more easily and


will be less likely to return your products because your guaran-
tee implies faith in the product or service by your company.

This may be the final step in getting many stubborn prospects to


commit to purchasing your product.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 302
robert imbriale
Not Simplifying the Purchasing Process As A Final Step

All too often ordering a product is difficult, if not at all worth the
effort. All the marketing in the world is useless if purchasing
your product is not made easy.

If you are selling through the mail, include an order coupon that
is large enough to fill out without having to crunch too much
information into too small an area.

Provide an "800" number with responsive people to answer ques-


tions and take orders. Provide a "postage-paid" return envelope
so that orders can be returned to you immediately without mak-
ing the prospect search endlessly for a stamp!

These response devices go a very long way into closing the sale
while the prospect is still excited about it. We are a people ac-
customed to immediate gratification and it is not only necessary,
but it is expected.

Conclusion

As you can see, marketing is a multi-faceted process that re-


quires a great amount of preparation and is often over-looked as
being nothing more than a nuisance to the person responsible
for creating the marketing communications. I can promise you
this: if you follow the 10 guidelines I've just presented to you,
you will immediately increase you response rates and ultimately
your sales. How high a response rate depends on how well you've
applied the concepts to your marketing. I have personally
achieved response rates as high as 77% on a direct mail cam-
paign - a figure unheard of in today's marketplace.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 303
robert imbriale
You can increase your sales, lower your marketing budget, and
ultimately sell more of your products or services! Just follow
these steps, and let me know how it works out for you. I'm al-
ways available to help you out and I do enjoy hearing your suc-
cess stories!
Robert Imbriale is an
internationally known
Internet Marketing
Expert who has written
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
several books including,
"Internet Marketing This article was the first I've ever written. I spent weeks research-
Secrets" which you can ing the content and when I finally composed the article, it was
get FREE by going to
picked up by magazine after magazine in markets in the US and
www.ultimatewealth.com.
Robert is personally 16 other countries! To this day, this article is still being printed
responsible for more in publications around the world.
than $100 million in
Internet sales and holds
seminars nationwide
where he teaches
entrepreneurs how to
make money on the
Internet.

You may e-mail Robert at


Robert@ultimatewealth.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 304
FREE
EBOOK

Discover the secrets of making money on the Internet


with top Internet Marketing Expert, Robert Imbriale.
Get your FREE COPY of Internet Marketing Secrets and
learn how to make big money on the Internet now!

Go to http://www.ultimatewealth.com
dan janal
Qualifying
Daniel Janal is Founder
and CEO of PR LEADS,
Free Trialists
Thanks for your interest in PR Leads, PR Leads provides timely
the fastest, easiest and story leads from national media to experts, authors and speak-
most economical way for ers. PR Leads is your fastest, easiest and most economical way
experts to get publicity
to get publicity!
in the U.S. He is an
internationally-recog-
nized speaker, Internet You might be eligible for a one-week free trial subscription to
marketer and best-
PR LEADS! Please read this note to see if you qualify, because
selling author.
PR LEADS isn’t for everyone. Since we are committed to our
With more than 20 years members’ successes, you must agree to these actions:
of PR experience, Dan
was on the PR team that
launched America Online, 1. You must be an expert who can talk knowingly to the press.
the 1 online service and 2. You must be willing to read our messages from the press
personally directed the
and respond to them in a timely manner, and use our reply guide-
PR launch of Grolier's
Electronic Encyclopedia, lines to prepare your messages.
the first consumer 3. You must notify us when reporters contact you.
software program ever
4. You must treat us as a partner in your success, not as a
produced on a CD-ROM.
faceless vendor.
He is the author of
several best-selling
If you agree to these terms, simply reply to this e-mail along
books on marketing and
the Internet including with:
Dan Janal's Guide to 1. Two sets of times when we can interview you by phone.
Marketing on the
State your time zone.
Internet, which has been
translated into six 2. Topics or keywords on which you are an expert.
languages. 3. A two or three sentence description about what you do.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 306
dan janal
I will let you know by e-mail if you are a good candidate for PR
He has been profiled in LEADS and if PR LEADS can help you. We don’t want your
many periodicals, money if we can’t help you. This process saves time.
including The New York
Times, USA Today and
Success Magazine. He Finally, you agree that if we can provide you with quality leads
has been quoted in to reporters in the trial period that you will order PR LEADS. Of
numerous publications
including the Los Ange-
course, you are under no obligation, but we will put in a lot of
les Times, Investor's time to help you during this week and the least we can expect is
Business Daily and The that you are sincerely interested in working with us.
New York Times. The Los
Angles Times called Mr.
Janal "an online market- We hope we have provided you with the information you need
ing expert." to make an intelligent buying decision. If you have any ques-

Before starting a career


tions, please let us know.
in public relations and
marketing, Mr. Janal was We look forward to working with you!
an award-winning
newspaper reporter for
the Today newspaper in WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
Cocoa, FL, and business I was spending too much time giving people free trials. It took as
news editor for the
Rockland County (NY)
much time to set up a trial account as it did a paid account. Plus
Journal-News. He has I found that people didn't take the trial period seriously. They
won writing awards wouldn't use the service. In a way, I can't blame them for apply-
from the National
Education Association
ing since they can get so many things for free on the net, like
and the Hearst Founda- trial software. They can use it or not so no big deal. That's their
tion. He holds bachelor's mindset. The trouble is that software is scalable (you can send it
and master's degrees in
journalism from North-
to hundreds of people at no cost) but PR LEADS required man-
western University's power to open the account and service the account. They weren't
famed Medill School of aware that a free trial cost us time, which is money! So the letter
Journalism.
cut the number of tire kickers. The result was that people who
Contact Dan Janal at took the trial after reading the letter usually signed up for the
952-380-1554 or service.
dan@prleads.com. For
more information,
please see: http://
www.prleads.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 307
Finally, a PR System for Intelligent People!
"Thank you PR Leads! The reporter from the New York Times just called, asked lots
of questions, and is including me in an article she is doing for the “Executive Life”
section on February 10th. PR Leads strikes again!"
Patricia Wiklund Ph.D., Wiklund & Associates

"The Chicago Tribune wants to send out a photographer!"


Eva Rosenberg, Taxmama.com

"I got into Business Week the first week I had your service!"
Joe Vitale, legendary copy writer

"I saved thousand of dollars by using PR Leads! And I made my money back the first
day when the Wall Street Journal interviewed me. Imagine not wasting time
writing press releases or spending a fortune on a PR firm. You've imagined PR Leads.
It’s a dream come true for speakers and authors who need publicity to sell more
books and speeches!"
Tom Antion, speaker and publisher

You don't have to be rich to see your name in print!


Do you need publicity to:
! Give you visibility
! Position yourself as a leader
! Build your brand
! Create marketing materials to sell books and speeches
! Gain credibility
! Outflank your competitors

PR LEADS could help you if you are:


! An expert in your subject area
! Passionate about what you do
! Verbal and articulate
! Aren't afraid to take charge of your future

Then You Need PR LEADS!


The fastest, easiest, most economical way
for experts to get press attention!
PR Leads provides timely story leads from national media to experts!

See how we do it -- and find out if you qualify to become a PR LEADER!


http://www.prlead.com

Free newsletter full of PR tips -- free!


http://www.prleads.com

Not ready for our full service? You can attend our PR Seminars by phone!
http://www.prleads.com/html/seminars.html
brian jud
Map
Your Course to
Brian Jud is an author,
book-marketing consult-
ant, seminar leader and
television host. He
received his undergradu-
Greater Profits
ate degree in Marketing Independent publishers can become more profitable more quickly
from the University of
by marketing their titles to non-bookstore markets. These sales
Cincinnati in and was
graduated from Xavier are usually non-returnable, are paid in 30 days and require smaller
University with an MBA discounts. The question is, “Where do I find these markets?”
in Marketing. In 1990 he
founded and became
the president of A system called market mapping will help you do this. It is a
Publishing Directions. two-step process that helps you discover these lucrative,
nontraditional markets. The first step is to discover the new
markets and the second step is to map how you are going to
market to them.

Conducting a market-mapping session can be as much fun as it


is productive, and is best performed in a group of two or more
people. Begin by asking and answering questions among your-
selves and recording your answers. Four rules will help your
creative sessions become more productive.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 309
brian jud
1) Ask questions properly. Do not say, "Where else can we sell
this title?" The first response may answer the question but it
might not be the best answer. Instead, ask, "In how many ways
can we..." thereby generating additional possibilities. You can
always eliminate impractical ideas later.

Brian has written and


published four books on 2) Stimulate as many responses as possible. Think quantity,
career transition which not quality at this point. Do not judge any idea at the time it is
are distributed interna-
offered, so people feel free to contribute. This also encourages
tionally: Job Search 101,
Coping With Unemploy- far-fetched responses, many of which will not be practical. How-
ment, The ABCs of ever, an implausible idea may lead to a more realistic one.
Finding A Job and Help
Wanted: Inquire Within.
Job Search 101 has been 3) Create a graphic marketing plan. Use a flip chart, chalkboard
translated into Spanish. or some other means of recording all the responses that is visible
He is the author, narrator
to everyone.
and producer of the
video program The Art of
Interviewing. Brian also 4) Discard unusable ideas at the end of the session. Once the
wrote and published a
idea-generating portion of the meeting is finished, go back and
series of eight, 32-page
pocket-sized booklets. decide which of the responses is not applicable at this time.

Step One
Begin your market-mapping session by trying to think of all the
possible markets in which a particular title could be sold. The
key word is could. Do not limit your thinking to markets in which
you traditionally sell books.

Given no restrictions, how many different people could be inter-


ested in this title? You might come up with a chart that looks
similar to that overleaf.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 310
brian jud
Rights
Special Retail
Sales

In addition, Brian is the


author, narrator and Government Title Libraries
producer of the video
program You're On The
Air. He also wrote and
Internet Academic
published the books It's
Show Time and Perpetual
Consumers
Promotion.

Instead of writing the word bookstores in one circle, write the


word retail. This is a larger niche in which bookstores compose
only one segment. Given this broader definition, you might add
new categories including gift stores, mass-merchandise clubs and
specialty shops related to the title. For instance, a book about
golfing might be sold through pro shops. A book on bicycling
could be sold in country inns, an art book in craft stores and a
book about dinosaurs in museums. Continue thinking of other
retail venues. Could your title sell through book clubs or catalogs?
What about home-shopping networks, public television or the
Internet?

Make a category for special sales. Businesses use books as pre-


miums, gifts for clients and incentives for salespeople. and foun-
dations might consider your title as a candidate for an educa-
tional fund raiser. Perhaps it could be sold to organizations or
associations. What about sales to federal, state or local govern-
ment agencies? Is it suitable for translation into other languages?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 311
brian jud
Always consider selling directly to consumers. This could be
done in conjunctions with personal presentations or media ap-
pearances. You may have your own web site or be able to link
with others. Direct mail is always a possibility, particularly with
nonfiction titles.
Brian is a prolific writer
of articles about book
publishing and market- The academic category leads to many subsets. Could your
ing. He is a syndicated title be sold to elementary schools? What about high schools,
columnist and a regular
colleges, special-education or vocational schools? If you think
contributor to the PMA
Newsletter. it might sell to colleges, draw a line from the circle and write the
word Colleges on it. Then think of all the places in which you
could sell this title at colleges. For instance, most have their own
bookstores and libraries. Could it be sold as a text or reference
book? If it is sold as a textbook, is a teacher's manual required?
Apply this thinking to each category until its map looks like
this:

Academic Colleges
Book- Libraries Textbook
stores
High Trade Teacher’s
Schools Schools Manual

Have fun. Be creative and outlandish. Once you discover a mar-


ket, dig deeper to find ways to develop it more fully. You will be
surprised at the opportunities you uncover. Once you feel you
have listed as many choices as possible, begin to apply judg-
ment and eliminate those in which you have neither the desire
nor the means to exploit.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 312
brian jud
Step Two
Once you decide where you are going to sell your books, it is
time to map how you are going to market them. Using the same
rules and techniques you employed in step one, investigate pos-
Brian is the host of the
sible forms the product could take and how it will be priced,
television series The
Book Authority and has distributed and promoted.
aired over three hundred
and fifty shows. He is
also a veteran of the
touring circuit and has Product Distribution
appeared on over five
hundred television and
radio shows.
Sales Promotion Market

Promotion Pricing

Publicity Advertising
Personal
Selling

1. Product development. There are many forms in which the


information in your book could be disseminated.

Could you publish the same information in a booklet, an audio


series or video program? Would a CD or software package meet
the needs of this particular market more effectively and efficiently
than a book?

Or could you bundle one or more of these in a package includ-


ing a book?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 313
brian jud
If you decide a book is the best way to reach this market, there
are still many decisions to be made if it has not yet been pub-
lished. For example, what about the binding? If you expect to
sell directly to consumers while conducting seminars or work-
shops, a spiral-bound book might excel. Perhaps a saddle-stitched
He is the founder
booklet might suffice. Obviously these bindings would not go
and president of the
Connecticut Authors and over well with bookstore buyers.
Publishers Association.
Since March 1994 CAPA
2. Distribution. There are three general distribution channels
has grown to almost two
hundred people. available to you: indirect, direct and a combination of the two.

Indirect distribution uses one or more companies to help you


bring your books to the ultimate readers. These could be dis-
tributors, wholesalers, bookstores, sales representatives or book
clubs, and they perform one or more functions that make it easier
for you to distribute your books. However, they exact a fee for
their services that could approach 70%.

Direct distribution is the process of marketing your books di-


rectly to the consumers. This is accomplished through direct mail,
direct-response advertising, via the Internet or during personal
presentations. You may choose to fulfill the orders yourself or
use a fulfillment service.

A combination of indirect and direct distribution may be appro-


priate. For example, a fiction title may be sold via the traditional
distributor ➠ wholesaler ➠ retailer channel. It could also be
sold through wholesalers to libraries, or to the general public
through your web site, media appearances, personal presenta-
tions and booksignings.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 314
brian jud
3. Pricing. There are many theories on how to best price your
products. The major factor influencing your retail price is the
distribution system you choose. If you utilize an indirect distri-
bution network, your retail price must cover their discounts, your
production and administrative costs and yield a reasonable profit.
Brian is an adjunct
lecturer of sales and
marketing courses. He Pricing is affected by your promotion plans, too. For instance,
instructs both graduate there are promotional-pricing techniques to consider, such as
and undergraduate
dollar-off coupons. These could be distributed via direct mail,
students at the Univer-
sity of Hartford and the your website, at trade shows or even printed in your books to be
University of Connecti- applied to other, similar titles in your product line.
cut. Brian is a regular
speaker on marketing
topics at PMA-University 5) Promotion. There are virtually thousands of ways in which
and for PMA affiliates you could promote your titles, limited only by your budget and
around the country.
your imagination. Direct your thinking to the most practical op-
portunities by categorizing promotion into four general areas:
sales promotion, publicity, advertising and personal selling.

A) Sales promotion includes useful items that serve as a con-


stant, favorable reminder of your company and title. Typical
examples are bookmarks, giveaways (key chains, pens, etc.),
brochures, games, point-of-purchase displays and coupons for
generating awareness and stimulating demand through short-term
price campaigns.

Sales promotion techniques can be adapted to a variety of mar-


keting objectives and can easily be tied in with other promo-
tional tools. Conversely, they usually have short-term impact,
overuse of price-related offers may hurt your profits and com-
petitors can easily copy effective promotions. Think strategically
while creating sales-promotional items, and plan ways in which
they can augment other marketing strategies.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 315
brian jud
For instance, if your objective is to introduce a new title you
might consider sampling (a sample chapter on your web site)
couponing, bundling with another proven item or offering a
money-back guarantee to consumers. If your objective is to en-
courage repurchase you might consider bonus packs, contests,
sweepstakes, coupons good on the next purchase or multiple-
proof free premiums.

B) Publicity is perhaps the most economical element of the pro-


motional mix. It increases awareness and credibility through a
third-party testimonial. On the other hand, you have no control
over what is printed in a review or article about your book.

Most publishers define publicity as press releases and reviews.


While these are important pieces of publicity, there is more to it.
Good publicity positions your firm and titles appropriately. It
creates positive awareness, informs, instructs, announces and
corrects a mistaken perception. This can be accomplished through
the use of endorsements, letters to the editor, backgrounders,
case histories, newsletters, bill stuffers and all the elements of
effective brandstanding.

C) Advertising can reach many consumers simultaneously with


the same message, with a relatively low cost per exposure. It can
increase awareness of your titles and educate people about the
benefits of buying them. In general, the return on your advertis-
ing expenditure is not immediate. One ad will not pay for itself,
since the benefits of advertising accrue over time as readers are
reminded repeatedly about your titles.

There are different types of advertising to consider.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 316
brian jud
Awareness advertising alerts consumers that your title is avail-
able and directs them to bookstores to purchase it. Direct-re-
sponse advertising provides a means to purchase your books di-
rectly. Cooperative advertising can reduce your costs, but it usu-
ally reduces your exposure, too. For example, you may partici-
pate with other publishers, advertising your titles in a special
insert in Publishers Weekly. While this is less expensive than
advertising on your own, your title may be lost among all the
others.

Also included in this category is direct mail. This is a highly


targeted form of advertising and is most efficient when you
choose the right list, create compelling copy and mail your let-
ters at the proper time.

Advertising can be a strategic, supportive part of your promo-


tional mix if it is implemented properly. The headline must be
provocative and the layout attractive. Each promotional piece
must be written with the needs of potential customers in mind,
informing and reminding them of the benefits your title offers.

Remember to create copy that is applicable for each target mar-


ket to which you are communicating. Librarians, bookstore buy-
ers, distributors and ultimate readers all buy a book for different
reasons.

D) Personal selling occurs during person-to-person interaction.


It is a persuasive selling tool because it allows two-way commu-
nication, giving you the ability to answer questions, overcome
objections and close the sale at the same meeting. The major
disadvantage is its high cost per contact.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 317
brian jud
Personal selling does not necessarily mean that you go out and
call individually on all the retail outlets in the country. It means
that you set yourself up to have some personal contact with pro-
spective buyers. This could occur at trade shows and
booksignings, during media events, through personal presenta-
tions, networking at BEA or other association meetings and by
participating in an online discussion group. Use your market-
mapping sessions to think about how each of these may or may
not become part of your strategic plan for each market segment.

Use all these examples to stimulate your market mapping ses-


Brian Jud is an author,
publisher, book-market- sions and you will find them to be an enjoyable yet strategic
ing consultant and host way to kindle your creativity and plan your marketing efforts
of the book-marketing
for each of your titles. At the end of each session you will have
seminars jointly
presented by Publishers flip chart pages full of circles and lines that define the markets
Weekly, PMA, iUniverse in which you will participate and the ways you will distribute,
and Writer’s Digest.
price and promote your products in each. You can use this infor-
Contact Brian at mation to write your formal marketing plan, but keep the visuals
P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT posted as a reminder of actions you can take every day to in-
06001; (860) 276-2452;
crease your sales and profitability.
brianjud@msn.com or
www.strongbooks.com

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


Market Mapping (TM) is a system that I created, based upon the
process of mind mapping. It shows how any publishing firm can
stimulate sales to special sales markets -- sales that are typi-
cally made with no returns and 30-day payment terms. It has
been hailed as a practical way for anyone to increase their books
sales. Since this appeared several months ago I have been asked
to speak on this topic to publishing groups around the country.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 318
Are you Getting
Your Share of
Special Sales?
We can help you sell your books
to dozens of willing buyers

• Discount Stores • Warehouse Clubs • Catalogs

• Book Clubs • Colleges • Corporations

• Associations • Governments • Military

Your Success is our Business


• We will create a Book Market Map for you
and send you regular updates with more contact names.

800•562•4357

BOOK MARKETING WORKS, LLC


P.O. Box 715, Avon, CT 06001• brianjud@msn.com
jon keel
Drive Traffic
Jon Keel has developed
To Your Site
Without Breaking
a local and national
reputation as a
performance-based
online marketing expert,
having been actively

The Bank
involved in this arena
since January, 1997. In
addition to running his
successful online
marketing consulting
business, Improved
Results, he is an adjunct Driving traffic to your web site at a reasonable cost is one of the
professor at the Xavier
biggest challenges you'll face. It makes no difference how good
University Williams
College of Business. a site you have; no visitors, no business. But, if you pay too
His MBA course, much for your visitors you will either lose money or not gener-
"Online Marketing and
ate enough profit.
E-Commerce," gets rave
reviews as being "hands
on" and is regularly This article outlines a relatively inexpensive method of quickly
oversubscribed.
driving targeted visitors to your web site. At the same time,
understand that the methods we'll discuss are only one step of a
multi-step process to accomplish your goal of getting qualified
visitors to your site at a cost at or below your Visitor Target
Acquisition Cost (VTAC).

This step, however, is generally the first step you will want to
take.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 320
jon keel
Why is that?

If you do it correctly, you can generate targeted traffic to your


web site in less than a week. That’s right, in less than seven
days. Plus, you can quickly determine the metrics of your web
Jon had an integral part
site, which as a business owner you absolutely have to know.
in co-developing the
E-Business MBA concen-
tration at Xavier, which Your Visitor Target Acquisition Cost
began in January, 2001.
He frequently speaks to
local, regional, and Let's first discuss your Visitor Target Acquisition Cost, or VTAC.
national audiences about Your VTAC is unique to your web site. It’s a function of how
Performance-Based
well your web site converts visitors to customers (presuming
Marketing for online and
offline businesses. you're attempting to sell something from your site).
He has also written
numerous articles and
Here’s a simple example:
has appeared on several
TV news programs.
Let’s say you’re selling an item that has a selling price of $100
and a gross profit of $50. Plus, let’s say it takes 100 visitors to
your site to generate one sale. Your Value Per Visitor (VPV) is
then $.50 ($50 gross profit/100 visitors).

The VTAC is the percentage of your VPV that you will spend to
get that visitor multiplied by the VPV. Ranges of 25% to 100%
are common; you’ll have to decide the percentage for your indi-
vidual business.

In this example, assume you’ll spend 50% of your VPV; then,


your VTAC will be $.25 (50% x $.50). This will be the maxi-
mum you’ll spend to get one visitor to your site.

If you’re just beginning and you don’t know your VPV or VTAC,
you’ll have to make some assumptions, quickly test your as-
sumptions, and make any necessary adjustments.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 321
jon keel
The Background of Quickly Driving Traffic to Your Site

The technique you use to quickly drive traffic starts with pay-
per-click search engines. PPC search engines are a tool in which
you as an advertiser (web site owner) bid on your search engine
Jon has developed
ranking for specific keywords.
several online
businesses, including a
very popular web-based When your keywords are typed in the search engine by the visi-
tool used with GoTo.com,
tor, your results are shown ranked according to how much you
a pay-per-click search
engine. bid on the various keywords. The highest bid for a keyword is
ranked first, and so on.
With bachelors and
masters degrees in
Engineering, Jon moved You’ll only pay when a visitor actually clicks through to your
to Cincinnati in 1971 as web site. In other words, you only pay for performance.
an environmental engi-
neer with the Procter
and Gamble Company. He As an advertiser, you gain several advantages:
left P&G in 1973 to work
for The Henry P.
1. You only bid on the keywords you believe visitors will use to
Thompson Company, a
privately held regional find you – targeted keywords.
sales and marketing firm
in the water and
2. You decide how much you bid based on your VTAC – you’ll
wastewater treatment
capital equipment never pay more for visitors than you know you should.
market. Over a 22-year
period he became the
3. For very competitive keywords (those that are very popular
owner and President/
CEO of HPT. He sold his and tend to have higher bid prices), you have the option of find-
interest in the company ing related but less popular and less expensive keywords – if
in 1995. In 1987 he
you do this right you can drive equivalent traffic at lower costs.
received an MBA from
Xavier University.
4. You can gain top ranked positions at a number of conven-
tional search engines by letting the PPC search engines do your
work for you.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 322
jon keel
Which PPC Search Engine To Use

As of late September 2001 you have over 140 PPC search en-
gines from which to choose. Your choices are simplified by the
fact that one PPC search engine, GoTo (now Overture.com),
Jon presently lives in
stands well above all the rest.
Hyde Park with his wife,
Colleen. He is a member
of the Operating Board Estimates vary, but Goto.com says that you can be seen by 75
of Main Street Ventures,
per cent of all web searchers by using GoTo.com. We recom-
the Board of Mentors of
Madison E-Zone, the mend to our consulting clients that they begin their PPC bidding
Business Advisory with GoTo and expand to some of the other PPC’s if the results
Council for the Williams
warrant it. The ultimate resource for finding out about PPC search
College of Business at
Xavier, and the Dean's engines is PayPerClickSearchEngines.com.
Advisory Council for the
College of Engineering
The Process of Quickly Driving Traffic To Your Site
at the University of
Arkansas.
You can drive traffic to your site in as little as five days if you’ll
follow these steps:

1. Develop a list of at least 50 (200 is better) relevant keywords


– keywords that relate to content on your site.

2. Use a PPC bid management tool to save yourself time and


money both before and after you begin actually bidding at the
PPC’s – the best tool we’ve found for the beginning to interme-
diate web site owner is the Keyword Bid Optimizer The KBO
will even help you develop your list of keywords).

3. Open an account at GoTo with your first keyword bid (Note:


If you use the Keyword Bid Optimizer and open your account
from within this tool, GoTo will add an additional $5 to your
account).

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 323
jon keel
4. Once you’ve opened your GoTo account (and submitted your
first keyword bid), add additional keyword bids until you have
at least 50 bid keywords. GoTo offers several cool spreadsheet
tools to help you do this, along with saving you time.

Discover how you can


5. Track your keyword bid submittals and follow up with GoTo
quickly drive targeted
traffic to your web site in case any of your keyword bids are rejected – typically this
and get top placement happens for non relevance.
at the major search
engines…in as little as
five days. Jon Keel 6. Monitor your bids to achieve your desired position without
shows you how with exceeding your VTAC.
“Instant Web Site Traf-
fic”. Get a FREE 5-part
mini-report, “Quick Ways By the way, this complete process along with a large number of
To Drive Targeted Traffic tips and tricks is spelled out in step-by-step detail in my newest
To Your Web Site from
E-course, “Instant Web Site Traffic” along with a FREE month’s
instantwebsitetraffic.com
subscription to the Keyword Bid Optimizer.

Using PPC search engines is more complicated that what I’ve


shown here. At the same time, if you will focus on learning how
to use pay per click search engines, you can and should be able
to quickly drive traffic to your web site at costs below your VTAC.
Or…as the title says,

(You will) “Drive Traffic To Your Site Without Breaking The


Bank.”

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article was written as a soft marketing way to pique peo-
ples' interest about my new book, "Instant Web Site Traffic." It,
in fact, did drive a large number of people to the site. Addition-
ally, it was picked up by a number of ezines.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 324
audri lanford
“Outrageous
Dr. Audri G. Lanford and
Marketing”
for Outrageous
her husband, Jim, have
created three very
different businesses: one
of the fastest growing
private companies in the

Success in 2002
US, an Inc. 500 company,
the oldest and largest
direct results Internet
marketing company, and
now WZ.com, the
#1 online company
connecting busy people
with what they love to In this article, I'm going to show you three strategies that re-
do.
sulted in:

1) Selling $100,000 of software in two weeks -- for a marketing


cost of $50.

2) $400,000 of revenue as an unexpected result of a promotion.

3) Three books becoming best sellers.

Each resulted from a different application of

"Outrageous Marketing."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 325
audri lanford
A Very Brief Introduction to Outrageous Marketing

How do you get attention for your marketing message when your
potential customers are bombarded by approximately 2500 mar-
keting messages every day?
Audri has been honored
with many awards,
including Forbes Best of In other words, how do you get past the blinders we've all built
the Web, and has been up to screen out the junk?
interviewed for hun-
dreds of publications,
including BusinessWeek, You need to be outrageous.
The Wall Street Journal,
The New York Times,
Now, I don't mean being outrageous just for the sake of being
Wired magazine,
Entrepreneur, Upside, outrageous. And I don't mean just being off-the-wall. It's impor-
InfoWorld, The Chicago tant that your approach is consistent with your marketing mes-
Tribune, and many
sage. And that you test and track the results to see what works
others. She is a founder
and co-editor of Internet —and what doesn't.
ScamBusters, the #1
publication on Internet
Instead, I'm talking about being outrageous—to produce outra-
fraud.
geously successful results.

I've identified nine different ways to be successfully outrageous.


We'll talk about the three most powerful ways here:

1. The outrageous offer.

2. The outrageous headline.

3. The outrageous claim.

As you read this article, think about how these examples can
apply to your business.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 326
audri lanford
1. The Outrageous Offer: Turning Premiums on their Head

Using premiums is hardly outrageous, but here's how to use them


in a very unique way to make an outrageous offer.

For a limited time, you


Bundling software to sell hardware is a classic, very effective
can get a free copy of
her new $30 ebook technique used every day. However, the reverse is very rarely
called "43 Specific Ways done.
to Make 2002 Your Best,
Most Profitable Year
Ever!" You'll get specific Let me give you an example of how my first company sold
advice from 43 experts, $100,000 of software in just 2 weeks -- with marketing costs of
including: Ken Blanchard,
under $50 -- using this approach!
Jay Abraham, Audri and
Jim Lanford, Joe
Sugarman, Dan Poynter, Here's how we did it:
and Bob Bly.

Visit: http:// We sent each of our clients a two-page letter (at a total cost of
make2002great.com/ $50). However, rather than focusing the letter on the software,
w42.html
we made them an outrageous offer: they received free desirable
computer hardware when they bought our software!

Our software cost $20,000 for a 25-user license so we could


afford to bundle a computer. Since the hardware cost us about
$30,000, we made $70,000 profit in just 2 weeks.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this example is the reaction


of one of our most savvy customers. He called and said, "I just
got your promotion, but I've already got the software you're pro-
moting. Can I get this state-of-the-art hardware if I buy some
other $20,000 software product from you now?"

"Of course," I said. (The answer is always yes.)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 327
audri lanford
He asked me, "What software don't I have?"

I pulled up our database to find the software of ours he didn't


already own. He asked me how much it was, and luckily it was
$20,000.

His instantaneous reaction was, "I'll take it!"

Then he paused and asked, "What is it?"

Here's a customer who spent $20,000 because he wanted the


hardware for free -- that is, he wanted to take advantage of our
powerful outrageous offer.

This customer was the Director of Technology for a very pres-


tigious company, and he bought millions of dollars of computer
software and hardware -- and he was known in the industry for
his excellent negotiating skills.

This illustrates the power of an exceptional offer.

You just have to ask yourself: "What can I bundle with my prod-
uct that will make it incredibly attractive to my customers?"

Premiums don't have to be expensive. They just have be per-


fectly matched to your market and they have to have very high
perceived value. The important point is to make sure that the
offer is outrageous.

Here is an area where your imagination can really go wild. Just


make sure the premium is tied into the product that you're sell-
ing, and that it is something your market is dying to have.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 328
audri lanford
Adding these outrageously great offers is probably the best way
to increase your sales and profits quickly.

An irresistible offer can pull two to three times as many sales. It


will usually increase your sales by at least 30%.

Now, I'd like you to think: "How can I apply this to my busi-
ness? What can I give away as part of my bundle?" Write this
down now.

2. The Outrageous Headline: Sometimes Outrageous


Promotions Get Different Results Than You Expect

In 1990, my first company, Micro Dynamics, was looking for a


Chief Operating Officer. We were an unconventional company,
and weren't getting the results we wanted using conventional
recruiting methods. So, we ran a full-page ad in our local re-
gional edition of the Wall Street Journal that started like this:

Fast-Growing, High-Tech Company Looking For The Right


COO To Move To MARS

Are you a successful, dynamic executive who would like to help


grow an exciting company in an exploding market? To really
make a difference? If so, read on.

Our name is Micro Dynamics, and we are looking for a very


special Chief Operating Officer who would like to share the ad-
venture of growing an exciting company. Someone who has the
knowledge, experience, temperament, focus, energy, "band-
width," values, creativity, and desire to make a significant con-
tribution.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 329
audri lanford
Are you that COO? We'll briefly describe our company, and you
can see if we sound like the kind of company you'd want to join.

The ad then goes on to describe our company. A bit later, it asks:

What Do You Mean -- Move to MARS?

Sorry, you don't get to move to the planet MARS. We meant move
to our company, and to our product, Micro Dynamics MARS(R).

The idea of this ad is to put a little "science into the search." We


hope to spark the interest of the right COO for our company --
possibly someone who isn't even looking for a position. We're
presenting a lot of detail to both filter and to excite.

Then we go on to explain Two Reasons NOT To Respond To This


Ad and Five Things Micro Dynamics Is Looking For In A COO
and then a brief description of Qualifications Needed and About
The COO Position. We ended the ad with the following PS:

P.S. Even if this position is not right for you, since you've read
this far, something caught your interest. Why don't you call us
today for information about how MD MARS can help solve your
document management problems. If you mention this ad, we'll
also send you a free copy of our book, 'Choosing the Right
Imaging System.'

We got a tremendous response from this ad. We got lots of com-


panies calling and asking for a copy of our book. Although un-
fortunately, we didn't hire a COO from this ad, we did get two
excellent employees and we sold over $400,000 of software from
this one ad -- and it ran just once.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 330
audri lanford
The point is we used an outrageous headline and we got the un-
intended benefit of selling $400,000 of software from an ad that
cost just a few thousand dollars.

Note: This example illustrates another important principle that


we didn't follow. When something works, do more of it. At the
time we were myopic. Since we were looking for a COO, we
failed to notice that this ad generated a tremendous response --
and had a terrific return on investment. So, any time you do some-
thing that works -- do more of it.

Again, I'd like you think: "How can I apply this example — and
use outrageous headlines — in my business?" Write this down
now.

3. The Outrageous Claim

Another great way to be outrageous is to make an outrageous


claim -- and back it up with evidence.

For example, Bob Allen made his first book, Nothing Down, a
best seller by making an outrageous claim. He offered the fol-
lowing outrageous challenge: "Send me to any city in America,
take away my wallet, give me $100 for living expenses and in
72 hours, I'll buy an excellent property using none of my own
money."

The Los Angeles Times took him up on his challenge. They (not
surprisingly) selected Los Angeles as the city. The results? With
an L.A. Times reporter at his side, he bought six properties worth
$622,000, all in less than three days using none of his own money!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 331
audri lanford
The publicity from his outrageous claim and the fact that he met
the challenge led to his book Nothing Down quickly becoming a
best seller.

Bob used a similarly outrageous challenge for another book. He


made this challenge on national television: "Send me to any city
in America; let me select an individual who is out of work and
discouraged; let me teach that individual for two days the prin-
ciples of wealth and in 90 days that person will have $5,000 in
the bank, well on his way to a life of financial freedom."

The results? Mary Bonenberger was selected and made $5,000


in just ninety days. She then went on to buy $1,800,000 in real
estate.

Another example is from my friend Dr. Paul Hartunian. He wrote


a book on dating with the claim that he could help anyone find
the love of their life in 90 days or less.

One of the interesting things about Paul's claim is that he be-


lieves that if you use his techniques, you will actually find the
love of your life in 30 days or less. However, he knows that if he
made that claim— that you could find the love of your life in 30
days or less — no one would believe him. So he extended the
time to 90 days in order to be believable. He's done hundreds of
radio shows and helped countless people find the love of their
lives in 90 days or less. It's another great example of making
an outrageous claim and being able to back it up.

Think about it: "What outrageous claim can I make that I can
support in a dramatic way?" Then go for it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 332
audri lanford
My goal in writing this article is to expand your thinking.

Think out of the ballpark -- not just out of the box!

Take these examples of people using outrageous marketing and


having phenomenal results -- and apply them to your business.
You can do this too!

Copyright (c) 2002 Audri G. Lanford. All rights reserved. Re-


printed with permission.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article was excerpted and updated from my very popular
report for software marketers called "Being Outrageous: Lead-
ing-Edge Software Marketing Technologies To Skyrocket Your
Results." My goal with this article was to get business owners to
do more than just think out of the box -- to do what I call "think-
ing out of the ballpark."

The original results were tremendous, and the response to the


updated version (just released) is at least as strong. We have
gotten more unsolicited testimonials about the breakthroughs
that business owners and marketers are having -- and how it is
affecting their success -- from the ideas in this article than from
just about any other article we've written.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 333
NEW: FOR A VERY LIMITED TIME ONLY...
Get Your Copy of 43 Specific Ways to Make 2002
Your Best, Most Profitable Year Ever -- Free!

Imagine having 43 of the most successful business leaders, innovators, and


experts share with you their best advice on how to make this year your most profit-
able, successful year ever.
That is exactly what you'll find in this ebook.
We asked each expert to take the perspective of advising someone they really
Outstanding
care about and share the one most important thing they would recommend to do now
advice from: that will have the most impact on our readers' level of success.
Jay Abraham Getting this type of exceptional advice from experts who are living these ideas,
Rob & Terry Adams
strategies, concepts and perspectives every day is difficult. Getting it for free is al-
Rick Beneteau
Ken Blanchard most unheard of.
Dana Blankenhorn However, for a very limited time, you can receive a copy of this $30 electronic
Bob Bly
book (ebook) in PDF format -- FREE.
Patricia Bragg
Bob Burg To receive your copy, just visit http://make2002great.com/w42.html and provide
John Cantu your first name and email address. The instructions for downloading the ebook will
Alex Carroll
be emailed to you within a few minutes. There are no strings attached.
Randy Cassingham
Marty Chenard
Kevin Clark Why are we offering you this ebook -- Free?
Don Crowther
Jim Daniels First, because our mission is to help business owners become outrageously
Declan Dunn successful. Having created three very different businesses -- including an Inc. 500
Adam C. Engst company -- and honored in Forbes Best of the Web, we'd like to help you make
Allan Gardyne
David Garfinkel 2002 a truly exceptional year, both personally and for your business. We believe this
Fred Gleeck book can have a tremendous impact on your success.
Joan Gustafson You'll also receive a free subscription to our " Make 2002 Great Newsletter." Until
John Harricharan
Paul Hartunian now, the only way you could receive the tips offered in this newsletter was to pay
Anne Holland $149 per year to be part of our private business membership program. Now, we've
Brian Jud decided to make these tips available to readers of this book. You'll get very specific
John Kremer
action tips you can implement quickly that will give you even more ideas, strategies
Audri Lanford
Jim Lanford and techniques to make 2002 your best year ever.
Paul Lemberg Second, we believe when you see how extraordinary this ebook and newsletter
Steve Manning
truly are, you'll be interested in checking out the other products we offer.
Jonathan Mizel
Paul Myers So, click to go to http://make2002great.com/w42.html to get your free ebook on
Kevin Nunley how you can gain the secrets to making 2002 your best year ever!
Wayne Porter
Dan Poynter You'll be downloading your ebook within minutes!
Ben Prater
Noah St. John Cheers,
Bob Serling
Yanik Silver
Jim Sterne
Joe Sugarman
Joe Vitale Audri G. Lanford, Ph.D.
Eric R. Ward CEO, WZ.com Inc.
Mary Westheimer

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 334
dr. jeffrey lant
If you can
count to 3
you CAN make
Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the
author of 14 books,
including:
E-Mail El Dorado
Web Wealth

money online!
Cash Copy
The Unabashed Self-
Promoters Guide
The Consultant’s Kit
How To Make At Least
$100,000 Every Year As A
Successful Consultant In
You are reading this report because you want to make money
Your Own Field
Multi-Level Money online. Good. I can help.
How To Make A Whole Lot
More Than $1,000,000
Before getting into the meat and potatoes of this report, it would,
Writing, Commissioning,
Publishing and Selling I think, be a good idea for me to share a little of my background
“How-To” Information with you.
Development Today
Money Talks
No More Cold Calls I am the CEO of a well-known Internet company, Worldprofit,
Money Making Marketing Inc. at http://www.worldprofit.com. I set it up with my Co-Found-
ers George Kosch and Sandi Hunter back in 1994 after it be-
came obvious to me that the Internet was the transforming tech-
nology of my lifetime, that it was going to change the way busi-
nesses worldwide did business and that in this situation literally
trillions of dollars would be made. Worldprofit has been profit-
able since 1994, itself something of an online rarity.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 335
dr. jeffrey lant
I want to make it clear to you that I wouldn't be on the Internet if
it didn't work, if there wasn't money to be made, and if I wasn't
getting my share of that money. I came to the Internet expecting
to work hard, study the business, perfect products and services,
and profit. I never expected a free lunch or to "get rich quick." I
When not engaged in
one business endeavor wanted a long-term means of producing wealth, and I was will-
or another, you will most ing to do what was necessary to get it. I remain as enthusiastic
likely find him poring
today about the prospects for smart people using the Internet to
over auction sales
catalogs looking for make money, indeed more so, than I was back in 1994.
additions to his
collection of Old Masters,
Having said all this, I have watched since 1994 as literally hun-
English silver and
French furniture. dreds of thousands of people have jumped onto the Internet with
dreams of wealth and glory, only to find themselves at the end
of the day poorer, frustrated, clueless about what went wrong.
This waste has sickened me. I am a frugal New England Yan-
kee. I cannot bear the thought of waste and the waste I have seen
over the last years online has been nothing short of appalling.

During these years, my Worldprofit colleagues and I have cre-


ated a system that does work, does produce online profits and
can be worked 100% at home, full- or part-time. This system is
the result of years of effort, considerable expenditure of both
treasure and intellectual capital, and endless testing. The goal of
the system was and is to allow people like you to make a good
return on your investment by following a SIMPLE, PROVEN
system. It is not for people who believe that wealth can be pro-
duced without effort and that you never have to lift a finger on
your own behalf. As a grizzled business veteran who has earned
his money the old-fashioned way, by working for it, I find such
ideas ridiculous. The way to make money is to work a proven
system that makes you a good return on your investment and to
invest as much of what you get as possible and so create capital.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 336
dr. jeffrey lant
Towards this end, we at Worldprofit have created a compelling
system that delivers systematic profits to people willing to do
just 3 things. That's why I say if you can count to 3, you can
profit online. I warn you: this system, while straightforward, sim-
ple and effective, takes

* focus * determination, and * regular effort.

If you are unwilling to invest these three things in the develop-


ment of your own wealth, you better stop reading this report
right now, since you won't like the rest of it!

#1 Know The Stock

Before reading this section, I am going to ask you to visit


www.trafficcenter.com/properties and review the E-Properties
you find there.

The first rule of business success online and off is KNOW THY
STOCK. The plain truth is, you cannot sell what you do not
know. People who are successful are the masters of detail.

At Worldprofit, we sell what I call "core" services, that is the


services people must have to do business online. Our market is,
for all intents and purposes, unlimited, helping as it does people
worldwide who plan to do business online.

At www.trafficcenter.com/properties you'll see the heart of what


we sell, our popular E-Properties. No other company in the world
has them. They provide exactly what companies need to do busi-
ness online. As such they are very popular and sell FAST.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 337
dr. jeffrey lant
People come to Worldprofit for two main reasons: to get the
services they need to do business online and to profit by selling
these services.

How does Worldprofit help you sell these services?

First, and most importantly, by enabling you to focus on selling


them, for that is where the money is at!

When you work with us to sell our services, you are not respon-
sible for setting up the products. We do all that.

You are also not responsible for designing them, operating them,
maintaining them. ALL that is done by Worldprofit support staff!

Your job is simply to SELL them, for sales is where the money
is at, pure and simple. You can make up to $1,000 per sale (20%).
What's more, you make an additional 5% on everything sold by
people you sell to.

Contrast this with the profits you make on what you are selling
now! If you want to make money online, you must sell things
that people must have in their lives, things which generate a good
commission; things, in short, like those produced by Worldprofit1

#2 The Prospect Leads You Need

In 99% of the business "opportunities" existing online today,


people in those opportunities are forced to hunt high and low for
prospect leads. Instead of focusing on SELLING, which is where
the money always is, they have to search all over the Internet for
prospects to sell their opportunity to. This is ridiculous!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 338
dr. jeffrey lant
You make money when you make a sale. That's the way busi-
ness is. That's why we don't want our dealers doing anything
except focusing on making SALES. This means working with
prospects!

One reason for Worldprofit's success is that we created and own


Lead Source at www.worldprofitleadsource.com Go take a look.

We know that human time is precious and that nowadays people


have very little of it to spare. Thus, what they do have must be
strictly focused on where the pay-off is, making SALES.

Towards this end, we created Lead Source which enables all peo-
ple in all business opportunities to get solid prospect leads 24
hours a day, 365 days a year for prices no one online or off can
touch.

Whenever you want leads, you can have them in just a MINUTE
or two! What's more, by becoming a Lead Source affiliate, you
can actually get unlimited prospect leads FREE and can sell them
to people in any business opportunity and make extra money!

Lead Source is obviously not exclusively for people associated


with Worldprofit. Anyone in any business opportunity can profit
from it. However, we recommend that all Worldprofit Associ-
ates and Dealers join and use these leads.

Again, if you want to make money online, you MUST focus all
your time and resources where the money is, and that is SALES!
Lead Source enables you to do just that!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 339
dr. jeffrey lant
#3 Contacting Prospects, Closing Deals, Makes Sales

It has been obvious to me for some time that lots of people try-
ing to do business online are drawn to the Internet because it
seems to suggest that you can profit automatically with email,
with autoresponders, with anything other than actual human con-
tact. Again, this is ridiculous!

If you want to earn real money online, you must represent prod-
ucts and services which sell for a goodly amount of money, by
that I mean items of over $1000. Only then are the commissions
worth the effort. When people are paying this amount for what
they're buying, they want to talk to and otherwise be in touch
with a real person. That's only natural.

Thus, the third part of our simple three-part system is contacting


your prospect (either by email or phone), talking to her, making
an offer, and closing the sale. How hard is this? Well, when you
use prospect leads from Lead Source it is easy.

Everyone there has completed the form at


www.worldprofitleadsource.com/information.cfm so we know
they want a business opportunity.

Thus, when you contact this person, all you're doing is assisting
someone who has already told you she wants to succeed online.
Such prospects are happy to hear from you and eager to learn
what you've got to say!

Can YOU count to 3? Will you follow a simple, effective,


proven system to profit online?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 340
dr. jeffrey lant
These days Worldprofit has dealers worldwide, smart people who
are on the Internet to profit, not to tinker with their website, search
the web for traffic, or do anything other than profit. These peo-
ple are doing three simple things to achieve the results they want.

* learning the Worldprofit products at


http://www.trafficcenter.com/properties

* getting the prospect leads they need at


http://www.worldprofitleadsource.com

* contacting these leads by email and telephone, working them


and making money themselves by selling them the e-properties
they need to profit!

It's a fantastic system, neat, clean, immediately understandable,


simple and PROFITABLE!

What's more, at NO time, are you ever abandoned to "sink or


swim." Our goal is to have all our representatives succeed. To-
wards that end, we maintain a detailed Online Resource area at
http://www.worldprofit.com/esuccesstips And even personal one-
on-one consulting at http://www.worldprofit.com/consulting
Daily dealer emails from me keep our reps focused and fine tune
the system so that more people achieve more sales and make
more money. It's just as simple as that.

Worldprofit Wants You!


What's missing from this system? Nothing but YOU! If you're
ready to join a real company, with real products at fair prices, a
company interested in your long-term success and not just push-
ing some "get rich quick" scheme certain to fall apart, we're stand-
ing by to hear from you NOW!
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 341
dr. jeffrey lant
We are NOT for everyone. But we are for smart people who
want the time they put in on the Internet to produce distinct,
measurable, profitable results. In other words, a good return for
reasonable work. If that's you, contact us now:

Harvard-educated Dr.
mailto:drjlant@worldprofit.com with your name, address, phone
Jeffrey Lant is Co-
Founder of Worldprofit number and whether you have had previous successful sales
and the author of some experience.
of the best known and
most practical business-
building books ever To become a FREE Worldprofit Associate, go to
written. Subscribe to his http://www.worldprofitassociates.com
free newsletter at
worldprofit.com/ezines
and visit his catalog at At Worldprofit you will find that we have created a simple, ef-
www.jeffreylant.com fective, profitable SYSTEM for making money online, a SYS-
TEM that enables you to spend the maximum amount of time on
selling (which is the only way to make money online) with the
fewest possible distractions. We're looking forward to having
you become part of it!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


I wrote this article because I was angry -- and because of "Gone
With The Wind." I was laid up with a virus and rereading a book
I love. At one point Rhett Butler, the quintessential entrepreneur,
turns to Scarlett O'Hara, another entrepreneur if there ever was
one, and says, "I hate waste and all this is waste," meaning the
chaos, confusion, and destruction of the war. Instantly a lightbulb
went on, in my case concerning the chaos, confusion, lost money
and destroyed aspirations of people who don't "get" the Internet
and aren't using it properly, of the colossal waste that the 'net
has been for so very many people.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 342
dr. jeffrey lant
Despite all the usual virus symptoms, I got up and wrote this
article fast, hardly having to change a word. When I was done, I
was covered in sweat and glad it was done. I instantly sent it our
to our Worldprofit newsletters -- and went back to bed.

When I got up a few hours later to check my email I found I'd


been deluged with warm, responsive emails from people who
had failed online, and failed online, and failed online -- and
wanted, finally, to succeed.

They responded to what I was saying, how I was saying it, and
got over right away to http://www.trafficcenter.com/properties
where they could see just what to do about it. Sales of our SYS-
TEMATIC approach to online success soared!

Since then I have resent this article from time to time, each time
chalking up a huge response. What this tells me is that people,
millions of people, not only want to profit online but are able
and willing to rise above their previous cyber-failures IF they
see a responsible, sensible, proven system to follow.

They know, with Scarlett, that "tomorrow is another day!" and


they want to do everything to make it profitable, including fol-
low the system that makes it all possible, the system that starts at
http://www.trafficcenter.com/properties

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 343
IMPORTANT MESSAGE
FROM DR. LANT
FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT
JUST AS MUCH TRAFFIC
AS THEY CAN GET FREE!
We at Worldprofit have now added tons of new free traffic
and free traffic resources to the most amazing list we keep.
We use these resources to build our own huge traffic.

There are now over 1,000,000 (that is right OVER ONE MILLION) FREE traffic
and FREE Advertising Resources on this list.

We will give you this amazing list FREE if you are one of the first 250 people
ONLY visiting http://www.worldprofitleadsource.com/information.cfm TODAY
and filling out the form you will find there. As soon as you do, I will be notified
and you will be sent something you can use for years to come.

Think of it: more FREE traffic and FREE advertising resources in one place
than you have ever seen in your life; so many you probably never will get
through them all.

We at Worldprofit have always made good use of these kinds of free traffic and
free advertising resources and now, if you hurry, you can get a list of all the
incredible resources we have found... and which we are going to GIVE YOU!

We are standing by to hear from you now!


bob leduc
Beat Your
Competition
Bob Leduc retired
as one of the top sales
producers for a major
Without Cutting
Your Price
insurance company he
was associated with for
over 25 years. During
that time he learned
how to generate a
steady supply of sales
leads from highly inter- One way to beat your competition is to charge less for a similar
ested prospects for a product or service. But you can also beat your competition when
very low cost.
your price is higher. One of the best ways to avoid price compe-
Bob is now a Sales and tition is to become a specialist in a narrowly defined targeted
Marketing Consultant market.
living in Las Vegas,
Nevada. He also writes
marketing articles for RELATING IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN PRICING
numerous trade maga-
zines, web sites and
I recently spoke with the creator of a marketing program for
newsletters.
new business owners. He could have confronted the established
competition and competed with a lower price. Instead he de-
cided to target prospects in 2 types of businesses he had worked
with before -- insurance sales and MLM marketing. He knew a
lot about the operation of each business and the people who
worked in them.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 345
bob leduc
He created a separate web site for each type of business and
customized the content to appeal specifically to prospects in that
business. The site for insurance sales people looked the same as
the site for MLM marketers. But the content was totally differ-
ent.
In addition, Bob wrote
and published several
marketing manuals for His plan worked. Sales are running almost 50 percent ahead of
small business owners
projection ...even with a price that's 15 percent higher than simi-
to help them build
successful businesses lar programs. He built a successful business in a highly competi-
and prosper. tive market by becoming a specialist.

Bob can be reached at:


CUSTOMERS LIKE TO BUY FROM A SPECIALIST
Bob Leduc 7575 Rome
Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89131
People like to do business with a specialist who has a unique
Bob@BobLeduc.com
Web site: BobLeduc.com insight into their situation. They feel confident about getting what
Phone: (702) 658-1707 they expect from a product or service when it is proposed by
After 10 AM Pacific Time/
somebody who understands them and their unique needs.
West Coast USA

Most customers or clients will even pay a little more to buy from
somebody who thinks like them. It's worth it to avoid the risk of
being disappointed because they bought from somebody who
didn't know anything about their special situation.

YOU'LL SELL MORE AS A SPECIALIST

Targeting a niche market enables you to design your sales mes-


sages with great precision. You can cater to specifically defined
interests of prospects and communicate with them in their own
style. More people will buy when they feel you are talking di-
rectly to them about their individual needs.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 346
bob leduc
SPECIAL BENEFIT: When you deliver results as a specialist
you also establish yourself as an expert in your field. Customers
will automatically refer other prospects to you. They value what
you did for them and they're confident you can deliver the same
results for others.

3 SIMPLE STEPS TO BECOMING A SPECIALIST

Becoming a specialist is easier than you may think. You can


accomplish it in 3 simple steps:

1. Divide your primary market into several narrowly defined


markets.

2. Take each market, one at a time, and learn everything you can
about the prospects in it.

3. Revise your marketing approach and selling materials to ap-


peal to the specific needs of prospects in each new market. Use
their own unique language and style of communication.

TIP: Existing customers who match the profile of prospects in a


market you've targeted can help you develop your sales approach
for that market. Contact some of them and ask why they bought
your product or service.

What do they like best about it? Why did they choose you in-
stead of a competitor?

They'll give you a lot of information you can use to develop


your appeal to other prospects who are like them.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 347
bob leduc
You'll always have competitors. But you don't have to lower your
price to compete with them. Instead, become a specialist and
cater to prospects in a narrowly defined targeted market. Your
understanding and insight into their unique situation will estab-
lish you as the expert in your field. They'll want to do business
Copyright 2001 By Bob
with YOU even if you don't offer the lowest price.
Leduc

Bob Leduc is a Sales WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


Consultant with 30 years
My clients and customers tell me this is my most effective article
experience in generating
low-cost sales leads. He because it provides a simple solution to one of their biggest prob-
recently wrote a manual lems. I consider it one of my most effective articles because it
for small business
reveals a marketing tactic that works for any business in any
owners, "How to Build
Your Small Business Fast stage of growth.
With Simple Postcards",
and several other publi-
cations to help small
businesses grow and
prosper. For more info:
Postcards@BobLeduc.com
or Visit BobLeduc.com
Phone: 702-658-1707
After 10 AM Pacific Time/
Las Vegas, NV

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 348
“Generate a Flood of Web Site Traffic
and Sales Leads — with Postcards”
Fast – Easy – Very Low-Cost
• Never again have to worry about finding customers or clients!

• Instantly generate a constant stream of hot prospects ready to do business with you
TODAY!

• Double or triple the number of interested potential customers you work with every
week!

• Gain control over your flow of business to eliminate “feast or famine” periods of
business activity.

• Guarantee as much new business as you want — whenever you want it!

“How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards” reveals a Fast, Easy, and
Very Low Cost way to generate an endless stream of hot prospects ready to do business
with you today!

This simplified “workshop on paper” includes full-size, exact reproductions of success-


proven postcards you can copy and use any way you wish.

Presented in simple, easy to understand language, you’ll discover exactly how to copy
these postcards to produce the same constant stream of live qualified prospects for you in
your business — day after day after day — regardless of what product or service you offer.

For More Information and a Special Price Offer


http://BobLeduc.com/wtm.htm
paul lemberg
How to be
unreasonable
Paul Lemberg, author of The reasonable man adapts himself to the world;
Faster than the Speed
of Change, works with the unreasonable one persists in trying to adopt
companies to grow the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends
faster and more profit- on the unreasonable man.
ably than they ever
considered possible, to George Bernard Shaw
increase their value in
the marketplace and the Insanity is doing the same thing over and over
world and to do it while
enjoying greater satis- expecting different results. So what else is new?
faction. He helps fast- Paul Lemberg
growing entrepreneurial
companies understand
the future of their Being reasonable
industries and their
unique business and My dictionary defines being reasonable as being rational. Ra-
create breakthrough
strategies which take tional, it says, means being reasonable. Uh-oh – circular 'rea-
advantage of that future soning.' Going further, reasonable also means being governed
and realize the greatest by reason – duh! - which in turn means explanations, justifica-
value.
tions, underlying facts, good judgment, normalcy, plus the ca-
pacity for logic and analytic thought. Being reasonable also
means being within the bounds of common sense, as in arriving
home at a reasonable hour, and lastly it means not excessive or
extreme.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 350
paul lemberg
I'm all for logic and analytic thought, but does following the
dictum "be reasonable" sound a good way to build a breakthrough
business?

The very idea of "being reasonable," prescribes something re-


Paul has worked with
strictive. It exhorts us to remain "within the box," to do what
thousands of people to
have more profitable, sensible people would do: not to over commit ourselves, to be
productive and satisfying cautious, to avoid risks, to hold onto our trump cards.
businesses: to be more
effective executives,
leaders, managers, What is the alternative?
strategists and entrepre-
neurs.
To be unreasonable, of course. Being unreasonable, like its more
Paul founded Lemberg & cautious cousin, suggests multiple meanings. Here are seven
Company in 1995. His applications of being unreasonable.
past and present clients
include companies and
individuals in software 1. Think beyond what is normal, proper, and appropriate.
and other information Typically, one of the first things prospective clients say to me is,
technology, financial
“But you're not from our industry. How can you solve our prob-
services, market re-
search, manufacturing, lems?” My response is always the same: "Another industry ex-
retail and management pert is the last thing you need. You already have plenty of people
consulting.
thinking the same, warmed-over ideas." What you need is mar-
keting un-bounded by the traditional logic of your industry; ideas
that can bring an un-reasonable perspective.

2. Eliminate the reasons why.


There are reasons why we have to do things a certain way. There
are reasons why certain marketing approaches are going to work
and others will not. There are reasons why things should be the
way they are and not some other way. Challenge the reasons
why and ask people to set them aside. Ask, “Well, what if we
did. What would happen then? Would that work? What would
work better? What would really rock you?”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 351
paul lemberg
3. No more excuses.
When someone in your company doesn't produce the desired
results--results to which they have committed themselves--they
always have a reason why not. Because you always have one or
the other: desired results or reasons why you don't have them.
As a marketing and
The funny thing is, people act as if those reasons are almost as
corporate strategy
consultant, Paul worked good as the results. How do I know this? Because they always
with a number of For- say something like, “Well, that campaign didn’t work, but here’s
tune 500 information
why not,” or “We didn’t get the response rate because…” Or,
technology companies.
Previously, Paul founded worse still, “ We didn’t even try because…”
two international bank-
ing software companies
Remove people's option to resort to reasons why not. Take away
(Henco Research Interna-
tional and Vertex Busi- their ability to make excuses. I think the entire marketing world
ness Systems), a multi- would shift if there was no recourse to the “reason why not”
media production
option--if all you could do was deliver the goods, or try another
company (Meta/4
Multimedia) and a sales way to deliver the goods, or try another way, and so on.
training company called
Peak Power Unlimited.
4. Set unreasonable expectations.
Ask people to go beyond what they think is reasonable or nor-
mal, Ask them to go beyond cautious commitments that hedge
their bets, to make risky pronouncements that exhilarate them
but might threaten the natural order of things.

Place big giant stakes in the ground--then find a way to deliver.


Figure out how to turn those unreasonable expectations into re-
ality. This approach will dramatically increase your effective-
ness and productivity--and ultimately cash flow, if it works
nicely--in any business. Why should you settle--why should your
customers settle--for what is reasonable and predictable? Why
accept the norm, the average, the median? Apply unreasonable
thinking. Set unreasonable expectations.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 352
paul lemberg
5. Make unreasonable requests.
This approach will aid every executive when working with ven-
dors, contractors and employees. Remember "just say no?" Try
"Just ask for more." Keep asking for more, better, sooner. Up the
ante. Ask people to perform beyond their best.
Paul's monthly executive
letter, Extraordinary
Results, is read by over Don' think of this as a negotiating tactic. It is not “nibbling.” It is
ten thousand executives asking people to perform beyond their own sense of what is rea-
and entrepreneurs in
sonable. Often people will fail to meet these unreasonable com-
more than fifty coun-
tries. He is a popular mitments—but don't beat them up for it; most likely you got
speaker at conferences more than you would have originally. And sometimes you will
in the US and Canada,
get stellar results you wouldn’t have dreamed of.
focusing on topics
relating to forecasting
the future, executive 6. Make unreasonable plans.
leadership, marketing
Does this sound like an oxymoron? Most companies plan to
and corporate strategy,
creating breakthroughs achieve reasonable results relative to past successes and fail-
and managing the high- ures--or even worse--relative to questionable industry lore. In-
tech/high-performance
stead of setting these kind of goals, begin with a more profound
work force.
question: what would make a really big difference? What would
cause a marketing breakthrough for the company? What would
dramatically increase return on investment or shareholder value?
What would be "worth doing?" The answers may not be reason-
able; may instead take you down a path towards huge success.

7. Forecast unreasonable futures.


Most businesses forecast their results--revenues, growth rates
and so on, based on prior year’s results. But in the twenty-first
century, driven by the incredible rate of change in all aspects of
our culture, industry, customer’s businesses, our workforce, avail-
able technology--to think that anything dating from last year re-
mains the same in this one--this isn’t just not reasonable, it's
totally ridiculous.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 353
paul lemberg
Take into account all the factors--bring everything you know
about the situation up-to-date, add to it all the future changes
you predict--and use that to forecast unreasonable results and
make unreasonable plans.

Paul was educated in


So what to do?
fine arts at the Univer-
sity of Buffalo, and in
international finance and Should you give up all pretense of rationality and logic? Should
marketing at New York
you step outside the norms and ignore the accumulated wisdom
University's Stern School.
In 1975, Paul helped of your industry? "That would be great if it works out," you say,
found the Hallwalls "but if it doesn't my job is on the line." Right? Well, yes, but…
Contemporary Arts
Center and worked on
pioneering computer- Unreasonable thinking does not mean un-thinking. It means chal-
generated video and lenging the boundaries. Pushing the envelope. Cross pollinat-
music. Since then, he has
ing. Intuitive inventing. It may be that the line separating unrea-
been a software de-
signer, market re- sonable ideas from ridiculous ideas lies where thinking is left
searcher and technology behind. Or perhaps the line lies only in hindsight.
forecaster, international
marketing and sales
director, corporate I think the fear of failing and jeopardizing your future is the
strategist, technology biggest obstacle to creating great results. The only way to create
guru (long ago), and
big giant marketing breakthroughs is to take the road less
CEO. He is a founding
member of the Interna- traveled--to create ideas and programs that are unreasonable--
tional Consortia of and going for it. If you fail people will--with perfect hindsight--
Business Coaches (I-CBC)
call your ideas ridiculous. But if you succeed… wow!
and is also a member of
American Mensa.
If you'd like a worksheet for aiding your practice of making un-
reasonable requests, send an email to request@lemberg.com with
the word "unreasonable" in the subject (no quotes) or click here
mailto:request@lemberg.com?subject=unreasonable.

(c) 2001, Lemberg & Company, Inc. and Paul Lemberg

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 354
paul lemberg
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
I've always liked the George Bernard Shaw quote at the start of
the article. There are a few chapters in my book dedicated to
being unreasonable. In fact, Joe Vitale told me he thought they
were the most exciting part. I had been toying with the idea of
Paul is available for
forming the Organization for Unreasonable Thinking, and wrote
keynote speeches and
executive workshops. this article to promote that.
Paul can be reached by
phone at 760.741.1747,
OUT didn't pan out. About 200 people wanted to join, but I never
and by email at
paul@lemberg.com figured out what exactly it would do. But the article was a great
success. I got lots of print play with it, about 20 trade journals
and one national magazine. It led to a good number of book
sales, and hundreds of e-zine subscribers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 355
An incredible new resource for entrepreneurs
who are serious about astonishing performance…
Dear Friend,

Every day I meet entrepreneurs who want to get more out of their business. Who wouldn't? They want to increase sales,
profits and cash flow. They'd also like to be stronger leaders and managers. They even want to take time off for themselves,
once in a while…

But the sad truth is that most of them never get there. Instead they just drift along, making the same mistakes over and over
and never getting the kind of advice and insight that could put them on the fast track. What about you?

I've just written a book that can take years off your learning curve and help you achieve the kind of success that would make
it all worth while. It is filled with ideas and action steps distilled from my exclusive coaching and training programs. Hundreds
of executives-in seventeen industries with sales ranging from one million to 23 billion dollars used these methods to earn
millions of extra dollars-and to increase their quality of life immensely.

In Faster Than the Speed of Change you'll discover the simple yet powerful master secrets of entrepreneurial leaders.
Every one of the 84 chapters contains detailed, how-to, common-sense techniques, strategies and tactics, including:

How to unleash the spirit that puts you in overdrive;


Learning to spend your precious time and energy only on things that matter;
How to trust others with your most important tasks and freeing yourself to do what nobody else can do;
3 keys to knowing what will give you the greatest financial returns, and 5 steps to acting on what you know;
Four methods to achieving laser-pointed, single-minded focus;
Knowing exactly what tactics to use in any situation;
A guide to finding your true purpose, so that you spend your life fulfilled;
How to stop making excuses and constantly deliver results instead;
The secret to motivating yourself, every single day;
Focusing on your strengths and eliminating everything else that is holding you back;
Creating an excellent balance between work and personal life, without guilt;
Using your mind, for a change;
How being unreasonable leads to unreasonable results; and,

If you applied just one of this book's 84 simple secrets, it would quickly improve your business and, add considerable cash
to your bottom line. But imagine - what if you took the time to master two, three, or more. What if you piled secret on top of
secret on top of secret - the impact on your business could well be incalculable. And while many of these ideas are different
from the things you've done until now - none of them are difficult.

However, I feel it is only fair to warn you...

This book is not for everybody. While the chapters are short - most are one or two pages, none is more than five - to get
the most out of it you will have to do some work...

There are checklists to follow, questionnaires to fill in, and some of the chapters even contain exercises for the reader. So
if you are looking to be spoon-fed some tired, old business pablum which isn't going to make a difference anyway, you
probably don't want to get this book - since it will just end up gathering dust on your bookshelf…

On the other hand, I don't think you can find a publication - of any kind - that will be more intriguing, informative, and
profoundly profitable…if you are willing to make it work for you. I don't care how successful you are right now - this book will
help you massively grow your business.

I hope you'll read the book and let its secrets work for you.
Order it from www.lemberg.com/bookopt.html or call 888-854-6526.

Paul Lemberg

PS, This book only contains solutions. It does not have any war stories, mini-biographies or tales of corporate derring-do.
I didn't think you had any time to waste, so I left them out. If you still would like to order a copy,
link to www.lemberg.com/bookopt.html
mike mcgroarty
Get Rich
on the Internet
Mike McGroarty has been
successfully making
money on the internet
since 1999. Starting with
a simple gardening site,
in 7 Easy Steps
he has built an internet
Step 1.
business that pulls in
tens of thousands of Forget about getting Rich. Instead concentrate on establishing a
dollars, and he runs the cyber business that you can be extremely proud of. A business
entire operation from a
that you will be happy to tell your neighbors about. A business
single computer in his
living room. that truly helps people in some way.

Look around you, in your hometown. How many millionaires


do you know? Look closely at how they made their money. Many
people who are wealthy today got that way through small busi-
nesses they started years ago.What do you suppose they were
they thinking when they started out? Was their goal to get rich?
I doubt it. It is my guess that they had an idea for a business they
could start. Maybe it was something they were good at, and just
thought it would be fun to make money doing something they
enjoyed. Maybe they always wanted to own a business of their
very own, and once they got that opportunity they poured their
heart and soul into that business.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 357
mike mcgroarty
How did they treat their customers when they first started? Did
they treat them like some kind of a machine that's only purpose
was to bring them cash? Or did they bend over backwards deliv-
ering world class customer service to make sure those custom-
ers kept coming back year after year?
McGroarty does not have
any kind of a background
working with computers. I think you know the answer. The millionaires in your home-
He has worked in land- town did not get wealthy because they set out to get rich from
scaping and meter
the onset. They got wealthy because they did a lot of good, and
reading, so learning how
to use a computer was a provided their customers with the best service they could. They
challenge, let alone treated those customers with respect, and went the extra mile
learning website design
every single time they got the chance.
and internet marketing.

Forget about getting rich, and concentrate on establishing a busi-


ness that helps as many people as possible, and you will eventu-
ally become rich. You may never have a million dollars, but you
will be rich in ways you never thought possible.

Step 2.
Discover your passion. What is it that you are passionate about?
There is one thing that you enjoy doing more than anything else.
What is it? Baking bread, fixing cars, decorating mailboxes?
There is something that you are passionate about. Take that pas-
sion and give it a unique twist and turn it into an on-line busi-
ness.

My passion is landscape plants and landscape gardening. I'm


really good with plants and landscaping. I own the worlds small-
est, most famous nursery. It's only 1/20 acre, but because I am so
passionate about this little tiny nursery, people all over the world
not only know about my little nursery, but they are trying to
duplicate what we do in our backyard nursery.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 358
mike mcgroarty
How did our little nursery get so famous? I made it that way. It's
my passion! I created a website about it, I write articles about it,
I get magazines and newspapers to write about it, and I even
managed to get it featured on a television show. I love my little
nursery, and I tell everybody about it!
McGroarty began study-
ing marketing back in
the eighties when his Through my website and all this publicity I find other people
landscaping business was that share my passion. They gladly pay me good money to learn
failing, and he has since
what I do, and how I do it. I wrote a little book and a few reports.
become very proficient
in the area of marketing I made some homemade videos about it. And I do mean
and advertising, and he "homemade".
attributes much of his
internet success to these
skills. He now teaches My customers love the videos, even when the screen goes blank
those skills to others for a few seconds because I really don't know how to make vid-
who aspire to achieve
eos. They don't care. They love the videos. Why? Because my
success on the internet.
home brewed videos teach them how to develop their passion
into a small business. My customers are extremely grateful for
what I do.

Forget about trying to get rich. Instead find your passion, and
turn it into an on-line business. No matter how much or how
little money you make, you will be rich in a way that most peo-
ple never get to realize.

Step 3.
Start writing about your passion. Take a stack of 3 by 5 index
cards, and start writing ideas on them. One idea on each card.
Write as fast as you can. Just keep putting one idea on each card,
until you have at least 200 cards, 500 cards, or whatever number
you can come up with. What kind of ideas should you write?
Write an idea for everything you know about your passion. Every
little detail that you've learned over the years.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 359
mike mcgroarty
For instance. Did you know that the best wheelbarrow in the
world is a "Jackson"? A Jackson wheelbarrow is designed in
such a way that you can load it so that the bulk of the weight
rests on the wheel and not the spine of the "wheelbarrow pusher".
I'll bet you didn't know that did ya? I know it. And if I include
that one little tidbit along with a hundred others, I've got a sale-
able product that others are willing to pay me money for.

Your brain is packed full of little tidbits about your passion. Write
them index cards. Once you have completely exhausted every
possible topic for your index cards, begin sorting and organiz-
ing your cards. When you are done you will have the outline for
a product that others will pay you money for.

Step 4.
Create a website about your passion. Make it the best website on
the net about your subject. Make it a fun and friendly place for
people to visit. Make it so good that people who share your in-
terest will stop by at least once a day. On my http://
www.homemadebooklets.com website I've posted an article,
"Internet Secrets Revealed". This article contains 51 tips that I
believe can make any website successful. Print a copy of this
article and use it as your guide.

Step 5.
Offer a few products for sale from your website. On my garden-
ing site, http://www.freeplants.com I offer a wealth of garden-
ing information free of charge. I sell my book, but the products
that sell the best are the products that teach people how to make
money selling plants. Design your site in such a way that each
page gently leads your visitors to your sales page.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 360
mike mcgroarty
My http://www.homemadebooklets.com is a great example of
how this is done. This entire website is designed to sell one sim-
ple product. But it is done in such a way that the visitors learn
plenty about selling on the internet as they are introduced to my
sales message.

Many people just browse, learn what they can, and leave with-
out spending any money. Others want to learn every detail they
can about how I sell tens of thousands of dollars worth of my
homemade products on the internet so they buy my e-book, "The
Step by Step Internet Success Formula". I offer plenty of free
advice from the message boards at both of my sites. That's what
keeps people coming back day after day.

Step 6.
Make your product digital. Create a simple information product,
a 25 page report is great for starters. My best selling product is a
25 page report that sells for $19.95. Then convert it to a digital
format that can be delivered electronically. This sounds really
complicated, but it's not. I was really intimidated by the idea of
creating a digital product. When I finally looked into it, I couldn't
believe how easy it was using Adobe Acrobat.

Step 7.
Set up an affiliate program so that other internet marketers can
earn money for helping you sell your digital products. This is
much easier than you think. As a matter of fact, it is as simple as
can be.

I use ClickBank. They handle the complete sales process for


me, including processing the credit cards. They even pay my
affiliates for me.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 361
mike mcgroarty
All I have to do is let other internet marketers know that I have
an affiliate program, and that they can earn money simply by
putting a link on their website. You can learn more about
ClickBank at my website.

This is the most incredible business in the world. 24 hours a day,


7 days a week, 365 days a year, people can visit your website,
order your digital product, take delivery immediately, and the
entire process is fully automatic. You never lift a finger, except
to answer a few e-mails when people have questions.

You can have hundreds of other internet marketers sending you


customers. They get paid for their efforts automatically, and you
just keep selling more and more products. Business has never
been this easy!

The secret to making it work? Pay a generous commission. I


give my resellers 50%. To learn more, visit http://
www.homemadebooklets.com and sign up for my free newslet-
ter, "How to Really Make Money on the Internet" and get "37
Secret Money Making Strategies"-FREE!!!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


The success of this article can be attributed to the truth it shares
about the secret of getting rich, as well as the simple approach it
lays out for achieving success on the internet.

It really is that simple, but many people insist that making money
on the internet has to be more complicated than this, but it's not.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 362
WOULD
YOU
LIKE TO
MAKE
MONEY
ON THE
INTERNET?
Then sign up for Mike McGroarty’s Free Report
Series, 37 Secret Money Making Strategies.

These FREE reports have been praised all over


the internet as being some of the most powerful
marketing information ever shared. Don’t cheat
yourself out of this free offer!

Just visit http://www.homemadebooklets.com


and sign up on any page.
dale armin miller
A Real ‘Secret’
Of Success:
Dale Armin Miller was
engaged in sales and
marketing for nearly 40
years - everything from
Self-Sabotage
Awareness
door-to-door greeting-
card salesman in elemen-
tary school to (more
recently) chief executive
officer for marketing
companies and non- Here's something that will thrust you a whole lot nearer your
profit organizations.
goals than submitting to 12 million links pages, classified sites,
Fascinated by the
Internet, Dale made his and search engines.
living exclusively online
since 1998. He was the
Example
only recipient of the
Association of Certified It says this immediately before the application for my affiliate
Internet Business Con- program (in bold type):
sultants's Presidential
Award..
"Automated notices of your sales and your new affiliates will be
Sadly, Dale passed away sent to the email address you enter; if it is incorrect oran
on February 3rd 2002,
autoresponder, your account will be terminated."
just before this ebook
was completed. We
include his most So, a portion of affiliates enter an autoresponder address.
effective article in
tribute to his many
talents.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 364
dale armin miller
And at least five-percent of affiliates enter an incorrect email
address. (In case you're thinking, "Well, email addresses can be
hard," the 'mail' part of 'hotmail.com' is frequently misspelled.)

A new affiliate recently wrote to ask if I would review the link


she put on her webpage to see if it broke any rules ...and if I
could make any suggestions about what might maximize her
sales.

The last thing I suggested is that the link actually lead some-
where!

Which is easier: Clicking on a link ... or opening your email


program and composing a message to me?

A hard thing to do, a typo in a link? Of course not.

But which is better: Losing sales ... or just clicking on a link, or


testing the URL in an ad, to see if it works?

The Hidden Power


Am I suggesting that you be perfect? Not at all. (Even if I knew
what that meant, I don't think anyone can do it. I know that I
don't limit myself just to simple typos -- I can identify at least
three varieties of dyslexia when I type.)

It might seem I am talking about bad work habits since, well, I


am.

But what I am trying to get at is what's lurking BEHIND those,


and a thousand other, 'bad work habits.'

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 365
dale armin miller
I could be eating a pizza and watching a video right now. But
I'm not. I'm writing this. Is that because I love writing? Because
I hate myself? Because I was trained with good work habits?

No. It's simply because I've been rich and I've been poor, and I
prefer being rich.

But there's a cost. For example, right now I am not eating a pizza
(which I like a lot) nor watching a video (which I would find a
whole lot more interesting than staring at my blank word proc-
essor!).

I just finished reading Trading Tactics of The Pros.

Don't worry: This *is* about you and is *not* about trading ...
nor even about affiliates.

There's a couple dozen pages by a man who was a floor trader


for 30 years, owner of his own brokerage firm, and Chairman of
The Chicago Board of Trade. The Chicago Board of Trade is to
commodity futures what the smaller New York Stock Exchange
is to corporate stocks. (I'm afraid you may not take my word for
this, so I'm hoping you'll take his.)

He writes about the fear of success:

"This fear is related to entitlement -- which is our internal sys-


tem for what we feel we deserve .... This accounts for the sur-
prising fear you may have felt in the past when achieving per-
sonal goals that carry a large reward -- either job achievement, a
large promotion affording a wealthier lifestyle, or the accom-
plishment of actually taking off 50 pounds

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 366
dale armin miller
“ .... a trader [entrepreneur] is only going to allow himself as
much money as he feels he is entitled to
-- REGARDLESS OF HIS CONSCIOUS INTENTIONS."

I am not suggesting that you be perfect.

If I could tell you how, I might suggest you overcome your un-
conscious fear of success.

What I am suggesting is that you become CONSCIOUS of where


you --Yes, even you!-- tend to sabotage yourself, of where your
unconscious fear of success tends to express itself.

Because most of the POWER of your unconscious fear of suc-


cess depends on it being hidden, unconscious.

Notice
So I suggest you notice where you tend to sabotage yourself:

Is it entering email addresses incorrectly? Not even testing links?


Procrastinating about implementing your plans? Procrastinating
about even making any plans? Eating pizza and watching videos
when you should be writing an article? NOT eating pizza and
watching videos when you are just too tired to adjust that nu-
clear reactor? Driving when you're drunk? Actually marrying
that woman all my friends warned me about -- oops!, I mean
"your friends warned you about?"

Becoming conscious of how you tend to sabotage yourself does


not in itself overcome your unconscious fear of success. (Al-
though it may become less a source of tragedy and more a source
of humor.)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 367
dale armin miller
But being aware does allow you to notice when and where you
tend to sabotage yourself. And it allows you opportunities to
STOP.

In my experience, stopping self sabotage takes you a very long


© Dale Armin Miller
way toward success, toward getting what you want!
This is from the
members-only ebook, And “stopping” is no more complicated than copying 'n' pasting
Real 'Secrets' Of Success
your email address (if that is a way your unconscious fear of
at the Internet Market-
ing Success Arsenal! success tends to express itself). Or sticking to a well-thought-
www.SuccessArsenal.com/ out schedule of daily activities (if procrastination is a problem).
wow/reprt1a
Or setting firm goals (if misdirection is a problem). Or heeding
your friends' advice about mate candidates (if ignoring that ad-
vice usually results in your unhappiness). And so on.

Where do you tend to sabotage yourself?

Taking safeguards against just one self-defeating habit will bring


you a whole lot closer to your goals than submitting to 12 mil-
lion links pages, classified sites, and search engines.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 368
You want people to see your webpage.

New people. More people.


A lot more people.

You’ve explored ads, banners, links, and on and on –


all just trying to get people to your webpage.

Now you can bring your webpage to them!

Why bother showing people how to find your website


... when you can just show them your site?

How?

It’s simple. It’s fun! It’s free. Just plug in to


TrafficMultiplier[sm]

http://TrafficMultiplier.com
russ phelps
Russ Phelps is a
Seven Steps To
Killer Ad Copy
master copy writer and
marketing consultant.
www.russphelps.com,
(858)831-1668

Introduction
Welcome to this course “7 Steps To Killer Ad Copy” My name
is Russ Phelps, and I’m your “Tour Guide” through the world of
killer copy writing. Before we begin, a few words about what to
expect.

First, you won’t get any fluff, airy theory, or re-hash of old con-
cepts that don’t work any more. There’s already too much of
that floating around these days.

Second, what you will get is the truth about what I’ve learned
from my actual experience of writing thousands of marketing
pieces for more than 600 clients since 1978. I’ll take you inside
the actual 7-step process I personally use to write killer copy.
This process actually works, as proven by the results from my
confidential client files, and my own experience with my per-
sonal projects.

STEP #1) Do Your Homework.


Almost nobody does enough homework before they write a word
of ad copy, make a marketing plan, or start selling.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 370
russ phelps
And that’s the main reason why most ad copy and marketing
tactics are anemic, weak and ineffective. Frankly, about 80% of
the ad copy I see is:
● full of puffery instead of power;
● loaded with generalities instead of specifics;
● full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Here’s what I mean by “doing your homework”. Before I write


a word of copy for a client, I have them fill out a 25-question
Client Questionnaire. In its original form, it runs to 5 pages!
Below is a list of those 25 questions you can also use to get your
thinking focused. Feel free to print out these questions in your
own form, and use it for your own projects.

Make sure you do the research necessary to get the answers to


these questions before you write the copy.

Now here are the 25 questions:

1) CLIENT (Company name)


Address:
Phone number:
Fax number:
Email address:
Website(s) URL(s):

2) DESCRIPTION of product/service. (In 50 words or less, what


are we offering?)

3) PURPOSE of product/service. (What does it do? How does


it work? How is it used?)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 371
russ phelps
4) PRICE. (How much does it cost?)

5) What is the OFFER? (Special introductory savings? Pre-


mium? Limited-time offer? Buy one, get one free? Free infor-
mation? Guarantees? Etc.?)

6) What are the FEATURES of the product? (All facts and speci-
fications.)

7) What are the main BENEFITS? (What will it do for me?


What specific problem(s) does it solve? What need(s) does it
fulfill? How will it make or save me money? Save time, work
or worry? Make my life easier or better?

8) OTHER SELLING POINTS? What will it give me that I can’t


get anywhere else? How and why is it new, better or different
than what’s already available? What is unique or exclusive about
it?

9) What is our ASSIGNMENT? Direct mail package, sales let-


ter, display ad, brochure, press release, insert, catalog, self-mailer,
postcard, information kit, TV spot, radio spot, web site, com-
plete campaign?

10) What is the OBJECTIVE of the project? To generate leads


or inquiries, make a direct sale, answer inquiries or leads, make
an announcement, build image, etc.?

11) What is the BUDGET?

12) What is the SCHEDULE? When do you want it? Any dead-
lines or project schedules we should be aware of?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 372
russ phelps
13) Who is the MAIN PROSPECT? In business, what is his
title/responsibility? What are his biggest goals, concerns, fears,
hopes and dreams, attitudes, possible objections? How will he
use your product to get ahead or keep from falling behind? For
consumers, what main interests/desires/fears/hopes and dreams
does it appeal to?

14) Who (if any) are your SECONDARY PROSPECTS Are there
enough prospects in this secondary niche to create specially tar-
geted copy versions that appeal directly to them?

15) What MAILING LISTS/MEDIA have you used in the past?


What worked and what did not? What is the actual sales per-
formance by source?

16) What TESTS do you wish to conduct? What copy, price,


offer, mailing list, media, etc.?

17) What selling points MUST be included?

18) What TABOOS do you have? What must never be said or


promised?

19) Who are your COMPETITORS? How to you compare on


product, service, price, terms, features and benefits, etc.? Where
are you strongest and weakest by comparison?

20) Any IN-HOUSE COMPETITION that might affect position-


ing, copy approaches, etc.

21) Any operational RESTRICTIONS? (e.g., no 9” X 12” enve-


lopes, 4-color, etc?)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 373
russ phelps
22) What is the METHOD OF PAYMENT? Cash with or-
der; bill-me later; purchase order required; Credit cards – VISA,
MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Discover?

23) How do you receive ORDERS? What percentage of your


sales comes in by phone? Internet? Mail? On-site retail?
Through distributors? Etc?

24) What GUARANTEE do you offer? (100% money-back


any time? 30-day free trial? Refund of unused portion upon
return? Other?)

25) What is your COMPANY PROFILE? Company history,


personality or bio of the owner, founder, main spokesperson;
position of prominence in the marketplace; special achievements;
public/community image; industry awards or kudos; or anything
else that might enhance sales or goodwill?

PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:


1. Product sample if possible.
2. Any testimonials or endorsements – letters from happy
users; media coverage; publicity; celebrity endorsements;
industry/peer reviews.
3. Any complaints – letters from unhappy customers, etc.
4. Copies of your past advertising/marketing efforts.
5. Copies of competitors’ advertising/marketing efforts.
6. Any other research or background material you can supply.
7. Recommended background reading and names of key
resource people I should talk with.

Pretty thorough beginning, ain’t it?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 374
russ phelps
WARNING: If you try to weasel out of getting the answers to
these questions, you might be a “marketing accident waiting to
happen.”

Sure, some of these questions might not relate exactly to your


project. If so, fine -- omit them or modify them to fit your situ-
ation. However, make sure you are not kidding yourself, or try-
ing to cut corners. If you are, it will come back to haunt you!

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS: If you do this homework, you


are 50% of the way to having killer ad copy that can make you
lots of money for years to come – maybe even set you up for
life! So, then, I ask you – is it worth it? Of course it is!

How does this work in actual practice?

Here’s an example from my own client files:

In 1993, I started working with Laughlin Associates, Inc. of


Carson City, Nevada. They have a wide product line (books,
tapes, seminars, newsletter, consulting services).

But their target customer is very well defined – they cater to


business people and investors who are concerned about reduc-
ing taxes, protecting their assets, and maintaining financial pri-
vacy.

My first assignment was to create a direct mail piece to sell their


flagship product, a 500+ page book titled “The Corporation
Manual.” Before I wrote a word of copy, here was the “home-
work” I did:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 375
russ phelps
1) Got the completed Client Questionnaire from the client.
2) Interviewed three key people at the client company and took
careful detailed notes on every aspect of their business.
3) Got copies of every ad, mailing piece, brochure, press re-
lease, etc. they had ever used, with data on how they used it,
what the results were, etc.
4) Got copies from them of every competitor ad they had col-
lected.
5) Contacted six of their competitors, acted like a prospect, col-
lected all of their marketing literature, talked with their sales
people, and took copious notes on how they acted, what sales
approaches they used, what I learned, etc.
6) Bought and read the four best books I could find on the same
subject as The Corporation Manual.
7) Called and interviewed five of the client’s key customers.

After that, I took the next step, which I will reveal to you in Step
Two.

By the way, you may ask, what was the result of my ad copy for
Laughlin Associates? Well, I’ll let them speak for themselves:

“We tested you against seven other copy writers and our own
in-house control (which we had used for more than five years).
Your mailing piece beat second place by more than 3 to 1 in
sales! Since then, the only one who has been able to beat your
control is YOU, with your steady stream of new copy ideas and
marketing innovations. Not only that, the series of 17 back-end
sales letters you wrote has been converting leads to paying cus-
tomers in droves -- and the direct mail pieces you wrote promot-
ing our seminars have been filling the room consistently.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 376
russ phelps
“We’ve been successful in business since 1972, but you increased
our customer base by more than 50% in just three years! You’re
a genius! Keep it up!”

Lewis Laughlin, CEO, Laughlin Associates, Inc,


Carson City, Nevada
Phone: (775) 883-8484
www.laughlinassociates.com

STEP #2) Make An Offer They Can’t Refuse

In Step One, I taught you how to “Do Your Homework.” Now,


let’s focus on making an irresistible offer to your prospect. The
Offer is, simply put, your statement of what you offer to the
buyer in exchange for what you want from them – in most cases,
their money.

In making your offer, you have to make them want what you
have so much more than the money they have to pay you to get
it, that they will quickly do what you ask them to do in order to
“seal the deal” and buy from you. Simple as that.

In the 25-question Client Questionnaire I gave you in Lesson


#1, your answers to questions #2, 4, 5, 22 and 24 will give you
some of the raw material you need to create your offer.

But, before we do that, think about, then answer, these two ques-
tions:

1) What’s the biggest promise you can make, that you KNOW
you can fulfill?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 377
russ phelps
2) What’s the MOST you can offer for the price you are asking,
without hurting yourself?

It’s vital that you answer these two questions, because, as a seller:

1) You might try to get away with making a smaller promise


than you could. Maybe you’re afraid, and you want to play it
safe. Or maybe you are giving in to your greed, and trying to get
more than you deserve in the deal.

2) You might be trying to get as much as you can from the buyer,
while holding back what you could be giving in return. You’re
not really “going the extra mile.”

If so, don’t worry. You’re just being human. (We are amusing
creatures, aren’t we?)

Now that you know that about yourself, also please realize that
if you act on these impulses, you will lose sales and profits!

So get over it, OK? Here’s how:

1) Make the biggest promise you can, that you KNOW you can
fulfill

2) Give as much as you can for the price you are asking, without
hurting yourself. In other words, give until just before you say
“Ouch – I’ll LOSE money if I do that!”

There are exceptions to number #2 above – for example, “loss


leaders.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 378
russ phelps
These are offers you make to “buy business”, in which you in-
tentionally take a loss on the front end in order to get a customer
that will make you profits on the back end.

For example, record and book clubs give you tons of product for
peanuts when you join. They happily lose money on the first
order, because they know they will make money from your back-
end purchases. Another example is giving away something for
FREE in order to introduce yourself to a prospect.

If that’s true of you, fine. Create your offer accordingly. But


most business people I know would like to make money on the
front-end, back-end, in-between and forever. You can too! But
I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up a bit.

Here are the 4 key components of the offer:

1) Product & Bonuses

2) Price

3) Terms

4) Guarantee

Each of these four key components have many elements that


you must test in order to find the most profitable offer for your
product or service.

Now let’s look at each key component in turn, and I’ll give you
some suggestions you can test to jump-start your thinking.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 379
russ phelps
1) Product & Bonuses:
Basic Product or Service
FREE gift – for inquiring, trial order, or basic purchase.
FREE bonus – multiple bonuses for basic order
FREE bonus – more bonuses based on size of order
Surprise FREE bonus for bigger purchase

2) Price:
Discount introductory offer
Discount for paying cash
Refund or rebate after trial
Early-bird discount – price goes up the longer they wait
Quantity discount

3) Terms:
Cash or charge in advance
Bill-me later
Charge my card in 30 days unless return for refund
Cash, check, credit card, barter
Time limit – this entire offer expires within 10 days
Time limit for bonuses – order within ten days and get this extra
free bonus

4) Guarantee
Promise refund for any reason at any time
Unlimited, unconditional lifetime guarantee
Time limit for refund – 30-day, 6-month, one-year, lifetime
Keep the bonuses just for trying even if you request refund
Double or triple your money-back if not satisfied
Performance guarantee – money back if you don’t make at least
$____ within one year using our system

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 380
russ phelps
Now create your “Offer Architecture.” This means you make a
series of offers that create a relationship with the prospect, then
build the relationship through making a series of offers to up-
grade them to a long-term buyer of your product/service.

Here’s an example of Offer Architecture you might want to emu-


late:

1) FREE offer
2) Introductory offer for your “flagship” product
3) Upsell to your next back-end product
4) Offer your complete product line, catalog, etc.
5) Offer back-end support services such as consulting
6) Create joint ventures so that you offer the products/services
of other companies who serve the same market you do.
7) Create joint ventures/affiliate programs whereby you offer
your products/services to other companies’ customers in order
to further build your customer base.

Orchestrate your Offer Architecture so that it proceeds in a se-


ries of logical steps as outlined above.

In doing this, you are creating a money machine, in the form of


a customer base to whom you continually make offers through-
out their life time.

As a baseline goal, you may want to create 10,000 prospects/


buyers in your database. For example, you have 10,000 people
who responded to your FREE offer; 3,000 bought your basic
product; 2,000 bought your upsell; and 1,000 buy your various
back-end offers, including joint venture offers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 381
russ phelps
Do the math for your business. You may find, that if you get
10,000 prospects, and orchestrate your Offer Architecture prop-
erly, you are well on your way to creating a fortune. Hooray!

STEP #3) Sell The Benefits

Sell the benefits.


Feature the features.

Simple as that.

Unfortunately, most people try to sell the features. They bore


the reader, miss the point, and lose sales as a result. Don’t do
that!

This is a Feature:
* briefly put, it’s a fact about your product – size, shape, color,
specifications, performance, durability, maintenance required,
etc. – as well as what it does and does not include in its basic
package, if applicable.

This is a Benefit:
* it’s the favorable result(s) the buyer gets, enjoys or derives
from buying and using your product! This includes both tangi-
ble and intangible benefits.

For example, some benefits are: making or saving money, feel-


ing happier, more powerful, more joyful, sexier, healthier, smarter
or wiser, more attractive or energetic, safer, more secure, more
personable or likeable, more respected or rewarded, etc.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 382
russ phelps
So here’s your homework:

1) Make a list of product features.


2) Make a list of the benefits the buyer will enjoy as a result.

In your copy, you will write selling sentences that weave the
two together.

For example:

“This widget will save you tons of time and money, because of
the state-of-the-art chip that out-performs the next best model
three to one according to the latest independent research tests.”

People buy benefits that will satisfy the two prime motivators
that drive all people.

The Two Prime Motivators:


1) Get More of what you want (Greed)
2) Avoid Losing What You Have (Fear)

People Want More:


Profit: money, property, possessions
Passion: sex, love, joy, happiness
Power: mastery, spiritual attainment, magic, mystery, wonder

People Want To Avoid:


Loss of Profit: lose money, lose property, lose possessions
Loss of Passion: lose sex life, lose love, lose joy, happiness
Loss of Power: lose mastery and ability, lose spiritual
status, lose magic

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 383
russ phelps
You must promise that they will:
Get more of what they want,
And/or avoid losing what they have,
And/or avoid losing the opportunity and/or promise of getting
more in the future

The key is to get the reader to focus the prime motivators onto
your offer, and to become convinced that buying from you is the
next thing they must do before anything else in order to move
ahead in life.

People are motivated by emotion, and justify it by logic.

So you sell them the benefits, and justify it logically by explain-


ing how the features will give them the benefits they crave.

STEP #4: Hit ‘Em With a Headline

You may have heard that 80% of the success of any ad is de-
pendent on the headline. This may be true. No matter what, if
the headline doesn’t hit ‘em between the eyes, and arouse enough
interest to keep them reading, you will not sell them.

Simple as that.

Tests have shown that one headline will outpull another by up to


18 times! Would you like to get 18 times as much sales revenue
than you are now getting with your weak headlines?

Then read on.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 384
russ phelps
Here are some of the most powerful headline types you can use:

1) Benefit Headline

Communicate your strongest benefit(s). For example:

“Here’s How To Avoid Probate -- Pass On Your Estate


Quickly To Your Heirs - And Keep The Government
From Taking 70% Of Your Estate When You Die!”

“Here’s How You Can Triple Your Reading Speed


In Ten Days Or Less Without Losing Comprehension
Or Recall”

“Here’s How To Cut Your Taxes To The Bone,


Protect All Your Assets With An Iron Fortress,
And Maintain Complete Financial Privacy & Anonymity”

2) Offer Headline

Simply State Your Offer in the headline. For example:

“Enjoy A Delicious $99 Steak Dinner For 2 For Only $1


If You Reserve It Before Friday, March 13”

“You’ll Get This New Eye-Opening Internet


Marketing Course Worth $495 For Only $97 –
Plus Five FREE Bonuses Worth $1497 –
But You Must Act Within The Next Ten Days!”

“Take 30% Off Our New Stock of Designer-Label


Men’s Suits! But Hurry! Sale Ends Monday, April 7!”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 385
russ phelps
3) Testimonial Headline

Take a customer testimonial that sells your best benefit(s) and


feature it in quotes in the headline. For example:

“Your Ad Copy Tripled Our Response!”


(from one of my clients)

“I Saved $35,676 In Federal And State Taxes Last Year,


Thanks To Bob Smith’s Advice! It Was The Best
$1500 I Ever Spent!”

“I Was Lucky If I Could Please My Wife In Bed


Twice A Month – After Using Your Prostate Health
Formula, Now We Have Great Sex
At Least Three Times A Week!”

4) Problem/Solution Headline

Take your target reader’s biggest problem that you can solve,
and build a headline around it that offers your solution. For
example:

“Termite Problems? Here’s The Quickest, Cheapest


Way To Get Rid Of Termites Once And For All!”

“Tired Of Slow Internet Connections?


Get Lightning-Fast DSL
For Only $29.95 Per Month!”

“Jock Itch?
Cruex.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 386
russ phelps
5) Guarantee Headline
Make your guarantee right up front in the headline.
For example:

“Get Rid Of Back Pain Forever


In Six Weeks Or Less – Guaranteed!”

“If You Earn Over $100,000 A Year,


I’ll Show You How To Pay Zero Taxes Next Year –
Or Else I’ll Pay Your Tax Bill Myself!”

“New Natural Remedy Cures Insomnia


Or Your Money Back”

Now here’s your homework:

Write at least one headline for yourself using each one of these
models.

Then, test each one to see what pulls the best response.

Then, keep testing new headlines to keep increasing response.

Think of how much more profit you will add to your bottom line
with only a 10% increase in response.

How about double the response?

It’s worth the work! Now go to it!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 387
russ phelps
STEP #5: Weave The Web

By now, you have done your homework. You have crafted an


offer the buyer can’t refuse. You have made a list of your key
features and benefits. You have written at least five headlines
for your ad, sales letter, web page, or other marketing piece.

And now, you’re ready to write a first draft of your piece.


In this part of our 7-Step course, I’ll show you how to weave the
web that captures the reader, and gets them to buy from you.
Here is a basic outline of how to structure your ad:

1) Headline
2) Subhead(s) that elaborate on the headline
3) Opening or first paragraph that elaborates on the headline
and/or subhead(s).
4) Benefit – Feature – Testimonial cycle. Here you state a ben-
efit, tell the feature that delivers the benefit, and include a buyer
testimonial that proves they enjoyed that benefit. For example:

“This widget will double or triple your assembly-line speed


[BENEFIT], because of the state-of-the-art proprietary chip de-
veloped by our engineers [FEATURE]. In fact, Bob Adams of
TechHound Systems says ‘our production capacity is up by 217%
since we installed your widgets in our plant – and my controller
tells me that increased our bottom-line profit last quarter by 32%!
Best investment we made in the last 5 years!” [TESTIMONIAL]

5) More benefit “bullets”


6) Re-statement of your offer
7) Reasons why you can make this offer
8) Credibility and proof

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 388
russ phelps
9) Scarcity – offer won’t be “on the table” for long, because…
10) Call to action – ask for the order NOW
11) P.S. Here you can restate the offer, add on another bonus
for ordering within the next ten days, warn the reader of what
they will miss if they don’t order NOW, use another killer testi-
monial, etc. Many readers scan the letter and see the PS before
they read the entire letter, so make your PS count!
12) Order form or other response device. Elements to include
here are: re-statement of your headline, offer, guarantee, call to
action, payment information, all ordering options, your contact
info, etc. A good order form will tell the reader everything they
need to know to buy from you even if they never read the rest of
the ad!

And there you have it! There are many other variations and
options you can use in an ad, but this basic outline will work in
many of the cases you will confront in your advertising efforts.

STEP #6 - Copy Checklist

In Step Five, I showed you how to Weave The Web of copy so


you can produce a first draft of your ad. Now here’s a Copy
Checklist I use to make sure I haven’t missed anything that
should go into the final ad.

1) Have you done all your homework in Step #1?


2) Have you created the best offer you can afford to make?
3) Have you listed all Features and Benefits?
4) Have you collected testimonials that are specific, believable,
and related to your key features and benefits?
5) Have you written a collection of headlines and subheads?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 389
russ phelps
6) Have you listed all the credible reasons why a buyer should
buy from you NOW?
7) Have you listed all the reasons why you are a better choice
than your competitors?
8) Have you chosen what elements to TEST – price, offer, me-
dia, guarantee?
9) Have you chosen the format? Sales letter, space ad, web page,
email, postcard, insert, TV, radio, press release, etc.?
10) Do you have a clear mental picture of the buyer? Do you
really know what makes them tick?
11) Are you set up to receive orders in the way(s) the buyer
wants to buy from you?
12) Have you overcome all the weak points, if any, in your offer,
and introduced and overcome any objections in the copy?
13) Have you had someone read your copy OUT LOUD to hear
how it flows in the buyer’s mind when they read it? And have
you smoothed out any rough spots, so it flows like a greased
slide from opening to close?
14) Is your call to action as strong as it can be?
15) Have you used all the appeals to Greed and Fear that are
appropriate?
16) Have you introduced scarcity and urgency?
17) Have you created a “self-contained” Order Form or Response
Device with all the elements from Step #5? Could the buyer get
all the key info here even if they never read the whole ad?
18) Is your copy full of enthusiasm, passion and promise?
19) Does the worst skeptic you know really believe your ad?
20) Are you sincerely proud of what you are doing?

If you have passed the test in this checklist, then go back and re-
write your final draft. Then run the ad and get ready to count the
money!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 390
russ phelps
STEP #7 - Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing

Many people feel they are just not creative. It’s true, some peo-
ple are more talented and creative than others, and some have
their creative muscles in better shape than others. But, let’s face
facts. Writing ad copy is not writing a Shakespeare sonnet, paint-
ing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, or composing a Bach fugue.

It’s darn hard work, with a practical application – to help you


make more money.

And sometimes it’s a challenge to keep the creative juices flow-


ing. Here’s what I do personally, and what some other “Idea
Generators” do, to stay sharp and creative. Take what works for
you, and go with it.

1) Collect and study ads in your field, and many others. Create
a “swipe file” of ads, sales letters, bookmarks of URLs of key
web sites, etc.

2) Read books and publications in your field, as well as general


publications, and even a few kooky ones. I like the tabloids,
women’s and men’s magazines, financial news, health publica-
tions, self-improvement and how-to stuff, expose and scandal
pubs, and culture-sensitive magazines like Vanity Fair, Cosmo-
politan, Rolling Stone, etc.

3) Cruise the Internet. Start with a keyword search on a cool


search engine like Google, AskJeeves, GoTo.com, etc. Input
key words related to your field, and start cruising and
bookmarking sites. Do this regularly, as there are new sites com-
ing on line every day.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 391
russ phelps
4) Visit and participate in discussion forums and newsgroups in
your areas of interest, and a few that you have NO interest in.
It’s amazing how one idea or approach in an odd field can be
applied or modified to solve a challenge you face in your own
life and business.

5) Think outside the box, then bring those ideas into your exist-
ing box in order to enlarge it. Keep growing your box, and you’ll
grow too.

6) Take a hike - literally, as in spending time in nature. Nature


is one of my greatest teachers. Not sure how to explain it, but if
you spend enough time in nature, I don’t have to explain it to
you. It clears my head, renews me, and gives me fresh juice.

7) Maintain a Sense of Wonder. That’s where you kind of wan-


der around all day going “Wow, look at that! What’s going on
over there? What’s that? How does that work? Why did that
happen? Why are they doing that? What is the meaning of this?
What is emerging or unfolding regarding this or that?” And so
on. Get involved with life by asking focused questions.

8) Stay crazy. Most copy writers I know are at least a little ec-
centric (including me), and some of them are downright crazy
compared to most people who have “real jobs” or wear suits all
day. That’s good. I guess it goes with being creative, but don’t
quote me on that or I’ll go crazy.

9) Laugh, sing and fool around a lot. Humor, music and play
somehow get the creative juices flowing, and help disarm the
left brain logic to let good ideas bubble up from the unconscious.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 392
russ phelps
10) Get physical. Besides hiking, get fresh air, exercise, dance,
make love, move your body. It keeps your brain fresh, fed with
oxygen, and flowing with “happy chemicals.”

11) Cultivate a spiritual practice such as meditation, prayer, yoga,


chanting, visiting the world’s sacred sites and “power spots”,
studying sacred texts, feeding the poor, becoming a Big Brother,
or serving humanity in some form. It will expand your perspec-
tive, and just might transform your life.

12) If nothing else, cultivate the practice of what I call “Active


Compassion,” which is simply finding what others need the
most and giving it to them. This is a direct reflection of what
smart marketers do, which is “find a need and fill it.”

13) Immerse yourself in popular culture. Keep up on news,


events, controversies, scandals, issues, people’s problems, hopes
and dreams, etc. It makes you better able to love and serve the
market you are selling to.

14) Get out of your ivory tower if you find yourself stuck in
one for too long. Mix with people. All kinds of people. Ask
them open-ended questions. Act like a journalist from time to
time. Ask: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

15) Spend at least one day a week NOT writing copy or think-
ing about business. It helps you stay fresh and avoid burnout.

16) Travel. Experience the “Otherness of Others”. You will


expand as a person, and your creative capacities will expand at
the same time.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 393
russ phelps
17) Once in a while, break a habit or a routine, and/or substitute
a new one. Adopt a whole new way of doing something you
normally do. Ultimately, be willing to change anything and eve-
rything about your life if you find it serves your “Higher Life
Purpose.”

18) Keep your heart open, even if it hurts sometimes. If you


close down in order to avoid pain, you’ll stop the flow of joy as
well. And your creative well will dry up, too. Let the joy AND
the pain in and out as quickly as possible. Don’t hold on to
anything for too long. Experience yourself as a Creative Vessel,
through which flow all the forces of this thing we call “Life.”
As a result, your life will become a mighty river that never stops
flowing.

Well, my friend, I hope you have found “7 Steps To Killer Ad


Copy” helpful.

Good luck, have fun, and make lots of money!

And send me an email once in a while to let me know how you’re


doing, OK?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 394
raleigh pinskey
What? I Really
“15 minutes of fame?”
Can Make
Hundreds of
Believe me, you’re
entitled to so many
more! If you want to
brand your company,
service, product or

Thousands of
yourself locally, nation-
ally or to the global
media village, Raleigh
Pinskey will get you all
the “15 minutes of fame”

Dollars a Year
that you can handle!

Raleigh is the queen of


No cost – low cost ways
to “Maximize Your Biz-
Ability With Viz-Ability™.”

from Talk Show


Interviews? You’re
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com
Kidding, Right?
395
raleigh pinskey
It was a small town, and I was passing through on my way to a
speaking engagement. Not one to pass up a media opportunity, I
had booked myself on the local morning news segment, an in-
terview of one minute and twenty nine seconds in length.

P.T. Barnum said, “With-


It was 6:42 AM, and there I was, bleary eyed and chalk white,
out promotion some-
thing terrible happens, extolling the virtues of how talk show interviews where great
NOTHING,” and Raleigh lead generators, a topic based on my new book, 101 Ways to Get
Pinskey is all about
on Talk Shows, the Untapped Marketing Goldmine.
stamping out that
nothingness. CEO of
The Raleigh Group PR& You can give a lot of information in one minute and twenty nine
Marketing, Raleigh
seconds, but the most important piece of information after your
specializes in “Helping
You Use The Media On five benefit driven tips is your toll free number.
and Off The Internet For
Your Business and Book
I gave my toll free number and a half hour later my cell phone
Marketing Bottom Line
Success” rang. The man had a product to sell. What he realized from my
talk was, that despite the fact that he was in rural America,
airwaves could carry his message around the world.

My thirty minutes of effort to book me on the show and my one


minute twenty nine seconds of info burping attracted $5,000
worth of consulting business.

The next two shows I did from my cell phone. I sold one hun-
dred and sixty books and three hours of consulting at three hun-
dred dollars an hour. I took the rest of the day off. Not bad for a
days work, wouldn’t you say?

I have been on one hundred and twenty radio and television talk
shows around the country, as a result of which I have made hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars in book sales, consulting fees and
speaking fees.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 396
raleigh pinskey
Yesterday, a listener to my Internet radio show at Success
Talk.com emailed me an offer to come to Austria to teach a mar-
keting course at the University.

Do people really make money on a talk show?


She’s a guest presenter
on the seminar platforms
of Jay Abraham, Dan *Did you know that there are thousands of people each day who,
Kennedy, Ted Thomas, while still in their bathrobes, bathing suits sweats or nothing at
Bob Allen, The Antion
all gross well over $100,000 each year by talking to hundreds of
Brothers, Mark Victor
Hansen, Jack Canfield, thousands of people each day on the telephone… and don't pay
David LeDoux and over a for one call?
hundred organizations
and associations. Her
highly successful *Did you know that you could make all that money, reaching all
Be Your Own PR Expert those people with very little time and effort on your part just by
Bootcamp and Protégé
participating in radio talk show interviews.
Program shows you how
you can use the media
and viz-ability marketing How many hours of individual telephone time would it take to
strategies to effectively
call hundreds of thousands of people just to make $100,000?
get in front of your
buying audience… over How many hours does this compute in one-on-one visits? How
and over again. Hun- much money would you have to spend on lists and direct mail?
dreds of thousands of
A lot! That’s how much.
people have improved
their viz-ability and
bottom line as a result of If you have product to sell or a service to offer and are prepared
her in person, tele-clinics
with a toll free phone number, you have the potential of making
and aftercare program
presentations. oh so many thousands of dollars more, all in less time than it
takes some people to drive to work.

And if you have a fulfillment house take those toll free numbers
you're ready to move on to the next interview as soon as you
hang up. No muss, no fuss and no hassle. Now do you see why
talk shows are such a fantastic, untapped marketing tool?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 397
raleigh pinskey
Why do they call getting on talk shows free advertising?

Radio and television advertising, depending on the market, time


of day, and the popularity of the show can cost you of hundreds
of dollars up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for 30 or 60
Raleigh is the author of 8
seconds. Prime time can go into the millions.
“jump start your viz-
ability” success products.
101 Ways to Promote The average on-air, on-camera guest segment time can be as
Yourself (Avon, 80,000
brief as one minute and twenty-nine seconds to six minutes, or
copies)
101 Ways to Get on Talk you could get lucky and be the only guest on a half-hour or hour
Shows show.
101 Ways to Write
Foolproof Media Releases
101 Ways to Sell Your Even at the low end of $500 for 60 seconds of advertising, if
Books and Info-Products you're on-air for one hour— actually fifty-four minutes because
On The Internet
of commercials— this translates to $30,000 in hard advertising
101 Ways to Promote
Your Books costs. But they are not charging you for your message, you’re
101 Ways to Forgiveness getting on for free. Look at it this way, by going on and talking,
The Zen of Hype, an
they are paying you $30,000. So you’re getting FREE ADVER-
Insider’s Guide to the
Publicity Game TISING!
You Can Hype Anything

Just think of it. All those hundreds of thousands of dollars you


101 Ways to Promote
Yourself is published in would have spent on a direct mail campaign. The postage, sta-
Polish, and distributed tionary, printing, copyrighting experts, mailing lists and labor.
internationally in English.
How about the cost of print ads? Even just classified ads? Not to
There are free PR articles
and a newsletter at mention local market radio, TV and cable buys.
www.promoteyourself.com.

Yikes! Just thinking of those costs makes my checkbook sag.


But thinking of those savings makes my checkbook sing.

I advised a client with an environmental products store to speak


out on the issue of chemical products for the home that eventu-
ally end up in drains leading to the oceans, rivers & water table.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 398
raleigh pinskey
Her crafted pitch letter got her on three radio talk shows lasting
20 minutes each, six minute segments on two community ori-
ented TV shows, and a feature in the Lifestyle Section of her
local newspaper. Six free interviews which would have cost her
over $100,000 in advertising costs.
The Raleigh Group ~ A
Viz-Ability Marketing &
PR Company, in business Her well designed interview brought her a $250,000 salary to
since 1980, specializes in spearhead a cleanup campaign project in a neighboring town. It
all facets of Online and
also increased the foot traffic into her store, raising her business
Offline PR and marketing
needs. She’ll make a by 15% in a period in six weeks.
household word out of
your name or brand. She
*It’s a fact – talk and news shows will sell your product or serv-
provides insights into
image building, brand ice or book.
recognition, and public
relations. And she gets
*It’s a fact – talk and news shows offer you a great branding
you much more than just
your 15 minutes of vehicle.
fame.

*It’s a fact – talk and news shows add credibility, and credibility
Her client roster history
is filled with entrepre- sells what you offer.
neurs, books and musi-
cians--including Sting,
*It’s a fact – talk and news shows provide you with the third
KISS, Paul McCartney and
Blondie—the first party endorsement that prospects need to solidify their decision
Chicken Soup for the making process.
Soul book, comedians
Robert Klein and Richard
Jeni, thousands of small Remember what P.T. Barnum said: "Without promotion some-
business people and The thing terrible happens, NOTHING." Well the follow up to this
Bronx Zoo’s A Great
could be: "Without a great interview something terrible happens,
Snake named Jake.
no one will know about your promotion."

I’m not convinced. Why expend the effort to send out pitch
letters and make the follow up calls? What are the benefits?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 399
raleigh pinskey
A radio interview I set up for a client lead to a full page newspa-
per article in the Los Angeles Times, worth $35,000 in "free
print advertising" costs. But that wasn’t all. With proper data-
base romancing that story attracted hundreds of thousands of
dollars in new clients and product sales.
Raleigh breathed life
into the $5,000 Marilyn
Monroe and Elvis Doll, I was able to generate new and meaningful foot traffic for both
launched the interna- a bakery and a hardware store, saving them from going under
tionally respected QLink
with an aggressive talk show and print interview campaign based
Electro Magnetic Field
protective pendant, around in-store lifestyle events with music, tasting and sampling,
Callanetics fitness lectures.
regime, and the original
singing telegram com-
pany Music Box. The radio station liked it so much they agreed to my request for
a weekly food show, broadcast live from the bakery shop. Peo-
She fed samples to
ple loved to stop by and talk about their business and issues and
Grand Central Station
rush hour railroad recipes.
commuters to promote
Gourmet To Go, a
How many talk show stations are there?
take-out menu book,
businesses, cult movies,
magazines, daytime There are over 10,000 commercial and non-commercial radio
players, and jingle
stations in the United States. 1,000 of these stations are full time
writers.
talk radio, and even the morning music shows take guests.

These 1,000 talk shows need over 1,000,000 qualified guests


each year to fill their programming. Realistically there are 700+
Talk Radio shows that cover broad based, general information,
and maybe another 200 whose formats are topic specific, such
as automotive, gardening, home improvement, etc. Everyone
wants to learn about how they can make money, reduce stress,
organize their time, conquer fear, increase their lead generation,
and improve on their networking. So don't second-guess the pro-
ducer's motive. Contact them!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 400
raleigh pinskey
Don't turn away from these topic specific programs until you've
determined that you have nothing to tell or sell them. And actu-
ally, you should leave that up to the station to decide that.

There are 1,084 commercial television stations, and 1, 021 local


Raleigh walks her self-
cable stations, and all have talk shows.
promotion talk. She has
appeared on over one
hundred and fifty TV and Where do I get lists of talk shows?
radio talk shows, written
articles for fifty-four
magazines and countless Lists of talk shows come in many shapes and sizes and from
newspapers, is a many sources. I got so tired of buying bad lists for my clients
frequent host on chat
and myself, that now I compile my own and have begun to offer
rooms including the AOL
Business Lunch Forum it for sale as part of my 101 Ways to Get on Talk Shows Kit.
and iUniverse. She
created, produced and
The best and most up to date is Standard Rate and Data,
hosted the successful
airline in-flight business srds.com, which is used by the advertising industry, but it’s pretty
audio program Pipeline pricey. Bacons.com and Burelles.com have great directories and
For Profits for
lists, but buyer beware.
AmericaWest and Mid
West airlines, and
currently has an As for email services, I recommend ImediaFax.com.
Internet radio show.

How accurate are the guides?

The guides have good intent, and with all the market changes
the list is often obsolete before it is printed. The best list is one
that guarantees updates within the year.

As to services that send emails, the keyword here is delete. You


take your chances with an unsolicited email. I would do both,
send the email and back it up with hard copy. Faxing is too iffy,
unless they request it by fax, and you know they are waiting for
it as you send it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 401
raleigh pinskey
What’s more important, listeners or wattage?

*Did you know that it is the numbers of listeners that is what’s


important? Listeners are king. Make sure any list you buy is
based on listeners, not wattage. Oh sure they'll tell you the mar-
Raleigh is a faculty
ket ranking is king. Big deal. Market rankings are only a meas-
member at
YouAchieve.com, ure of the size of the city that a station is in, not of the number of
eWomenNetwork.com, listeners that the station actually has.
Self-Publishing.com, and
UCLA Extension’s Satur-
day Entrepreneurship *Did you know that station ranking is meaningless? Every sin-
Series. Training Scape’s gle station in New York will have a #1 market ranking ... every
Emotionally Charged
single station in LA will have a #2 market ranking, and so on. So
Learning Programs holds
a non-exclusive license what if New York's polka station has a #1 market ranking. They
for her 101 Ways to don't have enough listeners to fill your pantry! And they'll jump
Promote Yourself Long
up and down about 50,000 &100,000 watt stations.
Distance Learning and in-
person seminar program.
One New York station with one of the weakest signals in America
... 6,000 watts ... has over 3 MILLION listeners. That's because
their transmitter sits on top of the Empire State Building! On the
other hand, many 100,000-watt stations have less than 10,000
listeners. That's because these stations are out in the middle of
nowhere and they need a lot of wattage so they can pull in a few
listeners.

*Work smarter not harder. Wouldn't you rather just hit the big
ones and reach way more people? Do you really want to spend
valuable time & money on all the little stations that are inevita-
bly in there? Drive time, daytime, overnight, all the top rated
shows in the market. Save time and money and most of all, save
your energy wrapped up in doubt when you have this disk to
work from.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 402
raleigh pinskey
How important is it to have a Web site?

The number of internet users worldwide will rise from 445.9


million in 2001 to 709.1 million in 2004, according to a new
eMarketer report, eGlobal: Demographics and Usage.
Professional affiliations
include National Associa-
tion of Women Business Think of it, if you have a Web site set you up for ecommerce,
Owners, Association of people can order globally from you 24/7. If you don’t have a
Women in Communica-
Web site, at least have an email address. Make sure you give that
tions, International
Coach Federation, to the talk show host so when he or she announces your toll free
National Speakers number they will also give your Web site and email address.
Association Florida,
Entertainment Publicity
Professional Society, How important is it to accept credit cards?
Book Publicists of
Southern California,
Very important. In fact, I would go so far as to say mandatory.
Publishers Marketing
Association, Small Again you can have your own merchant status, or use the
Publishers Association of fulfillment house service.
North America and the
Public Relations Society
of America. How do I go about getting merchant status?

Slogan: Maximize Your


Go to your bank first. If the bank won't give you charging privi-
Biz-Ability with Viz-
Ability….Promote leges, and you don't want to use a fulfillment house, look in the
Yourself…& Prosper! yellow pages under the heading Credit Cards and you'll find list-
ings of services that provide the card and the equipment.

I use PracticePaySolutions, who will get you a merchant.

Call Natalie at (800) 326-9897 or click on


http://www.professionalcartsolutions.com/app/
aftrack.asp?AFID=21898

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 403
raleigh pinskey
OK, I’m set and psyched. Can I just wing the interview or
do I need to prepare?

Before you go pick up that phone and write that pitch letter, I'd
like you think about this. Giving a great interview is not a fly by
Contact her for a free 15
the seat of your pants thing. You need to know how to give a
minute-15 Minutes of
Fame consultation and great interview. It's worth the knowing how to give a great in-
see how you can help so terview, it's worth knowing the ins and outs, it's worth the aggra-
many more people.
vation to prepare, it's worth the time you'll spend preparing.
The Raleigh Group ~
A Viz-Ability Marketing
& PR Company serving UCLA winning Coach John Wooden was very serious and very
your Online and Offline
committed to practice. He would imprint his feelings about prepa-
branding needs.
3524 Poinciana Place, ration for the game with what became a much quoted Wooden
Suite 605 legacy. " Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
Lake Worth FL 33467
561-967-0447,
800-249-7322 What the practice will do will get you this compliment from the
www.promoteyourself.com media: "You gave a great interview, I'll use you again when we
raleigh@promoteyourself.com
need a spokesperson on the subject." These are the words you
should long to hear. This should be the music of more sales that
you want your ears to hear. To be told you give great interview is
definitely a goal to have.

I hope you'll do many interviews. And I hope that before you do


the interviews that you'll take these field proven pointers into
consideration. Embrace them as yours and I guarantee you a
great and prosperous interview:

1. Prepare for an interview - one on phone or conducted in per-


son - as you would for an important client presentation. Know
the facts. Be able to clearly articulate your position. Write down
what points you want to get across, and never lose sight of them.
This is your agenda.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 404
raleigh pinskey
No matter if the host strays, if you have written copy you can
always go back to any point you feel is necessary.

If you're doing a telephone interview, make note of any materi-


als that support or illustrate the story being discussed. Get them
to the reporter immediately after the phone call. This courtesy is
particularly appreciated when a reporter is on a tight deadline. If
it's a live, what we call an in-person interview, have material
ready to illustrate or support your points. Give them to the inter-
viewer before the session so they can take time to acquaint them-
selves with them, and be able to insert them into the interview at
the proper moment, sometimes with your help.

Write out all the questions you want them to ask you during the
interview and make sure you give i, mail it or fax it to them.
Many will be grateful; others will think you're trying to lead
them. But as Ghandi said, "If you don't ask you don't get."

2. Always be honest and direct. If you're free to give an answer,


do so. If you're not free to comment - if you're asked for infor-
mation that is privileged - say that you are not free to comment.

If the interviewer asks a question and you're not certain about


the proper answer, tell them you'll check on the information.
Always make the follow-up call. It strengthens your integrity
and solidifies your relationship with the media.

3. Never reveal anything you're not prepared to see in print or


hear on the air. Comments made "off the record' often appear
attributed to another spokesperson," but can be made to look
very much like they came from you.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 405
raleigh pinskey
What happens when a comment is made "off the record" is this.
The interviewer puts it into his cerebral computer and really in-
tends never to reveal your confidence. Time passes and he/she
remembers the information but doesn't remember who said it,
and the "off the record" memory has also gone by the wayside.
So they repeat the information as if it were an OK thing to do.

Most times "off the record" memory is innocent, but can be det-
rimental to ones health nonetheless.So be very careful of "off
the record" comments. Remember it this way: The interview
really begins when the microphone is turned off and the note-
book is put away.

4. Keep your ego under control. Don't volunteer unconsidered


opinions or information. In other words, don't give answers to
questions unless you are asked. Keep in mind the objectives of
the interview. Do not amplify or illustrate. Never digress into
areas that are not relevant to the objectives of the interview.

5. Never lecture an interviewer on the misdeeds of the journal-


istic profession or the past sins of his/her media. Nothing can
get an interviewer angrier than being told how unfair he/she or
their media has been to you or a colleague. Whatever the valid-
ity or the sincerity of your statement, it will only serve to create
a hostile atmosphere, which will probably influence the tone of
the outcome.

Unless of course this is exactly the tack you wish to take to make
your point. But then again, even an activist's have been known
to exhibit class. Remember, you catch flies with honey. And the
media won't ask you back if they hate you as an interview. They
will if you're controversial yet cooperative to their needs as well.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 406
raleigh pinskey
6. Good media people have highly developed interviewing skills
and know how to uncover a newsworthy story. Many thrive on
gossip and will try to set you up to comment on rumors or to
give credence to hearsay. They will sometimes make an outra-
geous statement to stimulate an unconsidered reaction from you.
Always be alert and aware of why you are talking to the re-
porter. There is a tendency to ingratiate yourself with a reporter
during an interview because of the pressure that results from the
interview situation. Don't go overboard to be friendly and help-
ful, particularly if you don't know them well. You are there to be
helpful to the cause....not to please them.

7. If you're doing a live, personal appearance, in-studio inter-


view, take along a cassette tape (you've already asked how long
the segment is going to be and noted it on the tracking sheet).
Give it to the producer to tape the interview as it is being con-
ducted. If you're being interviewed over the phone, or what is
known as a phoner, make sure you tell the producer ahead of
time, during your initial screening interview and remind them
again when he calls you 5 minutes before the show that you
want a tape copy of the interview.

(If it's a print interview you should always bring a tape recorder
to your interview. That way, having a record of what you say
can be a great protection to you, and peace of mind. When doing
an in-person radio show ask them to record it simultaneously to
give to you But always be prepared by bringing your own cas-
sette, just in case. But if a journalist is interviewing you over
the phone it's usually fruitless to ask for a copy. So go to your
local appliance store and explain that you want to tape a phone
interview.)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 407
raleigh pinskey
Be aware that tape recorders can be a friend or a foe. Think care-
fully before you answer. You can't tell a tape recorder to forget
that, nor can you claim to be misquoted, nor can you claim you
never said that. And remember not to say anything off the record,
even if they shut it off.
Raleigh Pinskey, media
consultant and PR to the
stars for 22 years is the 8. Knowing the personality and modus operandi of the inter-
author of 101 Ways to viewer is crucial. No two work the same the way in an interview.
Get on Talk Shows,
You must be prepared to adapt to each. Read their writings,
complete with killer
pitch letters, tracking listen to the radio show and watch the TV segments. Remember
sheets, pitching scripts what Coach Wooden said.
and a database of
1,364 Top Stations with
incredible listener 9. Never argue with the person interviewing you. Never lose
numbers updated every your composure. You may be interrupted in mid sentence, not
6 months to keep up
because he/she is being rude - but because there is a deliberate
with constantly shifting
radio personnel. technique to let you know they're dissatisfied with the answers
Available at you're giving, just to provoke you into giving an unconsidered
www.promoteyourself.com,
response.
800-2HYPE22 , 561-967-
0447
The solution: respond more directly and clearly. Keep on track.
Never challenge them out of anger and frustration. Never an-
swer a question with a question.

10. Don't allow the interviewer to put words in your mouth.


This is a trap. Answer questions using your own words so that
anything that is quoted is your statement, not what they were
trying to elicit.

Never exaggerate the facts. Most interviewers are sensitive to


what they perceive as puff. Understatement is always the best
policy. Actually, the truth is the best policy.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 408
raleigh pinskey
Before or after an interview, be wary of engaging in friendly
conversations. These are usually designed to provide them with
more information than you are prepared to provide at the time.
It is also another way to get you to give them exclusive quotes.
Good interviewers know that you are more likely to respond
spontaneously when you are in a distracted state of mind, and
they will exploit the moment. Keep in mind that the media lives
to Carpe Diem....Seize the Moment, and you should live to Ca-
veat Emptor....Let the Buyer Beware!

But most of all, remember that the person conducting the inter-
view is only doing his/her job, which is to ask questions they
know will make a more interesting story for their audience. He/
she will report and utilize anything you say that will help ac-
complish this objective. Your responsibility is to say only those
things that help you achieve your objectives, while meeting the
needs of the reporter.

Always send a thank you note. One interviewer told me it was


their job to report…but that they did like getting a thank you
nonetheless.

P.S I'm interested in knowing about any promotions you do that


get you interviews, and the business you get because of the in-
terviews. I'd like to include you on my Promote Yourself.com
Consulting Web Page, Viz-Ability Marketing Case Studies; The
Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


It was effective because it sold thousands of books, thousands
of Top Radio Station databases, brought me several big ticket
speeches and thousands of dollars in consulting. Also, it con-
tributed to my credibility and recognition factor as a PR expert.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 409
* Earn stacks of cash by booking Yourself On Radio Talk Shows With The

1364
TOP RADIO
Most Comprehensive Database Of TOP Radio Shows Ever Compiled

*Get DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH SHOW and directly target the right shows

*SORT THE SHOWS BY TOPIC with a single keystroke

TALK & NEWS *Know HOW MANY LISTENERS these shows really had

SHOWS ON DATABASE! *Be able to SORT ALL THE SYNDICATED SHOWS with a single keystroke.

Here's What You Get In My Database:


You get the names of hosts & producers of EVERY talk show You get ALL the big stations … Every station in America with
on EVERY major station in America ... A total of 1,206 talk at least 100,000 listeners ... If a station has less than 100,000
shows on the top 153 stations. listeners you WILL NOT find it in this database. This means
you don’t waste time on stations in Bend, OR & Booneville,
You get descriptions of ALL shows, and many host bio’s with AR.
the guest types they want ... Now you can target your
client to the right shows. No more shotgun approach! This You get a list of EVERY market that EACH station reaches …
will save you a fortune in time, wasted phone calls and frus- not just their home city ... For example: WTAM in Cleveland
tration. also reaches Akron, Canton & Youngstown giving them an-
other 200,000 listeners.
Each show is divided into one of 21 categories ... Sort by
the category you want: General Interest, News, Sports, Gar- You get the names of the Program Directors, News Directors
den, Money, Computers, Home Improvement, Travel, Food, & Public Affairs Directors
Legal, Auto, Health, Entertainment, Pets, Outdoors, Real Es-
tate, Psychology, Miscellaneous and several others. You get websites for EVERY station (except for the couple
that don’t have one yet)
You get the time slots for EVERY show ... You’ll know ex-
actly when producers are available and when to call them. You get addresses, phone and fax numbers, frequencies and
formats for every station
The database is current … It is updated every 6 months ...
This is critical in the high-turnover radio business. All syndicated shows are specially tagged … many have lists
of their major affiliates ... This allows you single out the syn-
You get EXACT listener numbers for EACH station based on dicates and hit them first.
current ratings ... No more of that nebulous market rank-
ing or station wattage hogwash. Now you’ll know exactly * And you even get the time zones! ... This enables you to
how many listeners you’ll reach. sort by time zone and maximize your phone call efficiency.

You get direct e-mail addresses to the majority of the hosts Quality, Not Quantity No-Risk, Lifetime Money Back Guar-
or producers ... DO NOT use this for SPAMMING! antee

FREE VALUE ADDED 5 BONUS TOOLS: Worth a whopping $333.98


Bonus #1. You Get 1 Free Database Update (a $99 value) The Price for the incredible disk of 1,364 Top Stations with
incredible listener numbers and $333.98 of bonus tools to
Bonus #2. You Get a Free half-hour Phone Consultation With
help extend your 15 minutes of fame? Only $350. That’s
Raleigh (a $150 value)
right, a $683.98 deal for the price of only $350. A bargain in
Bonus #3. You Get a Copy of Raleigh’s Media Kit (a $24.99 anyone’s eyes. But more importantly, a bargain that will help
value) A tool that has gotten her on over 200 radio and TV you sell more!
interviews.
Order at: http://www.promotebooks.com on my secure
Bonus #4. Show Tracking Log Template Disk (a $10 value) server, or call 800-249-7322 (2HYPE22) order by phone,
and you’re on your way to getting more than just your
Bonus #5. You Get a Copy of Raleigh’s famous “101 Ways to
15 minutes of fame.
Get On Talk Shows!” (a $69.99 value).
jason potash
Jason Potash has spent
How To Get
MASSIVE, Free
the last 10 years in the
software business and
has been involved with
several start-up compa-
nies in successfully

Exposure For Your


bringing their software
products to market. Like
many Internet marketers
today, he is an avid
direct mail marketer who

Website,Ezine or
has made the transition
to marketing online. His
latest software product,
EzineAnnouncer, has
received praise from

Affiliate Program
ezine publishers across
the globe.

NO exposure = NO sales

It doesn't matter if you're promoting a product, ezine, e-book,


affiliate program (or whatever); without constant
exposure...you're doomed from the start.

So, what's your approach to getting the word out -- search en-
gines. . .FFA links. . .sit and wait?

I have a better idea. How about getting your name in front of


hundreds of thousands of people each month for free?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 411
jason potash
There's one catch. It requires 30 minutes of your time.

I'm not talking about submitting to search engines, posting online


ads, or using free for all sites.

EzineAnnouncer is an
The technique I'm referring to is 100 times more effective and
automated submission
product targeted to- doesn't cost you a cent.
wards those that want
to take advantage of
So what's the secret?
promoting their own
opt-in newsletter, and
marketing their ezine Writing articles.
articles, as a means to
generate mega
subscribers and profits. The concept is simple. First, you write an article about a topic
that you feel comfortable with. Then, you blast the article out to
other ezines and request that they publish it.

A ton of ezine publishers are always on the lookout for fresh


and interesting content. The best part is, some of these ezines
have upwards of 50,000 subscribers.

You could easily spend a hundred bucks or more on a one-time


ezine ad. Or, write an article, and get your "ad" published for
free.

Are you beginning to see the picture?

Just imagine getting your article picked up by 8 or 10 large ezines.


Your name, product, ezine, or affiliate program is instantly broad-
casted to hundreds of thousands of readers.

Over time, you'll hit millions of readers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 412
jason potash
What's the key to making this work?

Well, first of all, it helps if your article is interesting and directly


relates to your target market.

For example, if you sell an e-book about gardening, it would be


a great start to target ezines on the same topic.

What topics would interest your target audience?

"How to Get a Gorgeous Garden in Only 1 Week" "Are You Kill-


ing Your Garden By Using The Wrong Soil?" "7 Easy Steps to a
More Lush And Vibrant Garden"

Subscribe to a few ezines about gardening. Read some articles


and analyze the format and flow of each article.

What makes each article interesting or a total bore? What keeps


you reading through until the very end?

"But I can't write!"

Nonsense. If you made it to Grade 9, you can write. And here's


an important tip -- be yourself. Inject some of your personality.

Your readers will appreciate a little "color" in your writing. You


don't have a personality? Well, then invent one!

"But where do I start?"

The easy part is, you're already connected to the most powerful
and robust research tool in the world -- the Internet.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 413
jason potash
Simply hit the search engines on your chosen topic (i.e. garden-
ing) and you'll instantly get hundreds of ideas.

The goal is not to plagiarize here, but gather facts, inspiration


Jason Potash, the crea-
and stimuli from a variety of sources.
tor of EzineAnnouncer
software, makes it easy
to promote and market "Okay, so how is my article going to sell my product, e-book,
your ezine and articles.
ezine, or affiliate program?"
Get his free 4-part mini-
course, "The 7 Keys to
Creating an Instant Ezine Once you've finished writing, editing, and revising your article,
Subscriber Vacuum".
it's time to create your reference box or signature file.
Click here to receive
your copy now:
www.ezineannouncer.com The reference box or sig file refers to what appears at the end of
your article or e-mail. You'll see a good example in the left hand
column on this page (though it normally appears at the end of an
article) ;-)

Your reference box is really a mini sales message. You'll notice


that my reference box includes all the necessary components of
a solid reference box. Don't forget to include your name, website
URL or e-mail, and something for free. Get that reader to re-
spond NOW!

Where can you promote your articles?

This is the easy part. Once you've written your article, 80% of
the hard work has been done.

Start by submitting your article to the top article directories. Al-


together, these directories receive millions of hits each month.
Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 414
jason potash
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.certificate.net/wwio
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.netterweb.com
http://www.articlecentral.com
http://www.dime-co.com
http://www.zinos.com

Next, visit various online Ezine Directories and locate a few


ezines in your target market. Contact each ezine editor (by send-
ing them a PERSONALIZED e-mail) and request that they run
your article.

It's as simple as that.

Now, go on and get writing!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


There are a few reasons why I feel that this article is so effective.
First of all, the title appeals to a wide audience and addresses a
big challenge that Internet marketers can relate to. Who doesn't
have a website, ezine or affiliate program these days, right? And
who isn't interested in learning how to gain some massive, free
exposure?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 415
The World’s Top Marketers Use The Power
Of FREE Advertising ...

Do YOU?
What FREE advertising system are we talking about here?

HINT: This eBook is full of them ;-)

That’s right, I’m talking about writing articles. By using


articles as your own “silent salesman” you can quickly:

* Build an Affiliate Program in record time


* Catapult the popularity of your eBook
* Instantly increase your sales
* Send a stampede of traffic to your website

Here’s how it works ...

You write one new article per month (takes 1 hour), and blast it
out to other ezine publishers. Many ezine publishers are always
looking for fresh new content.

Just think ... get your article published by one ezine (elec-
tronic newsletter), and your message is instantly broadcast to
thousands of readers!

And here’s the best part ...

Your advertising cost = $0.00

So, how do you get started? Where can you begin promoting your
articles right away? How can you locate hundreds of ezines that
want your articles?

To learn all about how to market your articles, launch an ezine


cash machine and begin hauling in big bucks from your own opt-
in list, click below:

Click here to receive


this FREE 4-part
mini-course
melvin powers
Questions About
Mail Order
Rather than supply us with a specific article, Melvin Powers
Melvin Powers publishes
books. Not just any kind invited us to interview him. His answers to the questions below,
of books, but special which include some FAQs from his website, provide extremely
interest books. Books
valuable insight into the world of Mail Order.
about bridge, chess,
pets, sports and hobbies.
But his Wilshire Book Q. What was the most effective technique you ever used in
Company is best known
mail order?
for its line of self-help
and inspirational books. Running full-page ads in magazines and newspapers. Also run-
The world headquarters ning 30-minute infomercials on Melvin Powers Mail order Mil-
for Wilshire Book Com-
lionaire Course. I ran for several years and sold thousands of
pany is located not in a
fancy New York City courses at prices from $99.00 to $299.00. I also sold thousands
high-rise, but in an of bottles of Slick 50, an engine treatment, using a 30-minute
attractive office/ware-
infomercial.
house building in North
Hollywood.
Q. What mail order principles translate best to the internet?
I put my Web address http://www.mpowers.com on all corre-
spondence plus putting the address in all of my classified and
display ads, direct mail, and every piece of mail that goes out
from my office. The Internet is another vehicle to put your mail
order skills into practice. The surprise every week is getting sub-
stantial orders from all over the world.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 417
melvin powers
Q. In the 40 years you have been in the business, what has
had the greatest impact on your career?
Reading the book How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor
O. Schwab. I scan the book for ideas before I write any advertis-
ing copy. I taught mail order seminars for many years at most of
In an age of million-
the colleges in the Los Angeles area. It kept reminding me what
dollar advances and
lavish book tours for I should be doing in practice as well as in theory. Advising my
superstar authors, Melvin students what to do were good lessons for me.
Powers's Wilshire Book
Company inauspiciously
sells more than half of its Q. Have response rates for Classifieds dropped away over
books by mail. Mail order time, and, if so, to what level?
selling is Powers's first
The response has dropped but we still get excellent results from
love, and it's how his
multi-million dollar our direct mail that we send out from the readers requesting our
publishing empire began. material. Currently our bestselling mail order book is Making
Money with Classified Ads by Melvin Powers. The book is highly
As a teenager in Boston,
Powers subscribed to motivational and contains a wealth of practical information based
Popular Science maga- on my running thousands of classified ads over the years. Inter-
zine and occasionally
estingly, it is the only book on the subject of making money with
read the classified ads in
the back. An avid chess classified ads. That's finding a niche and taking advantage of it
player, he noticed an ad by filling that void. We run classified ads just referring the reader
for a chess book and
to our Web site address. It works perfectly.
sent away for it. When it
arrived, he decided he
should sell books by mail, Q. One of the secrets of successful Direct Response TV is
too.
buying the airtime at a significantly discounted price. Is this
also a key factor in successful classified advertising?
It's not a factor in my advertising. You can usually get so much
of a discount for a 12 time run. That isn't going to make the
difference in the success of the ad. Remember the first sale is the
beginning of the customer buying other books in the same genre.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 418
melvin powers
Q. What's your favorite mail order trick, tip or technique?
Before I write a new book, I write a four-page letter testing the
results with some else's book. I did that before I wrote my book
How to Get Rich in Mail Order. When I had sold 3,000 of an-
other mail order book, I knew my ad copy was sound. All I had
"I started in the mail-
to do when my book was published was to substitute the title in
order business when I
was 16 years old," says the ad.
Powers. "It was my hobby,
running classified ads in
Q. How regularly do you communicate with your mail or-
the same magazines that
I was reading—Popular der customers, and by what means?
Science and Popular Whenever we have a new book of interest. We do it by e-mail.
Mechanics. I began selling
books on chess and then,
one-by-one, added new Q. If you were about to launch a new book, in a totally new
titles and new subjects." category, what steps would you consider essential to that
book's success?
At first, he bought books
from publishers at Write an ad for the book and see if it sells. See previous answer
wholesale and sold them about favorite techniques.
for retail. As he got each
order he sent it out with
a flyer advertising the Q. Do you test different cover artwork for your books, and,
other books that he had. if so, are the results meaningfully different?
And he's still basically
Yes, you can get a great difference because of the cover. I write
doing the same thing—
running almost the same forewords for many of the books that I publish. Because my
ad. "The formula is still name is on millions of books, many readers know my name and
working after all these
that helps to launch the book. They will read the foreword in the
years," he says with a
chuckle. bookstore or I'll include the foreword in my literature that I send
out. That usually gets them hooked.

Q.How can I find products to sell?


My How To Get Rich In Mail Order book contains numerous
sources for suitable mail order products. Simply zero in on some-
thing you would like to sell.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 419
melvin powers
Q. Can the average person make money in mail order?
Yes. There is nothing unique about the thousands of individuals
who are successfully making extra money in mail order. They
are following sound mail-order techniques--techniques you can
learn from my book How to Get Rich in Mail Order or audio
His first venture into
publishing was a book
cassette program Mail Order Millionaire, which includes a copy
called Hypnotism of my book. If you are willing to invest the time necessary to
Revealed, which he attain your financial goals, I'm willing to help you.
wrote himself. "There's
no money in having
someone else publish Q. Do I need an office?
your book," Powers No. Conduct business from your home until your volume neces-
explains. "I was a bud-
ding entrepreneur, so
sitates moving into business quarters. Keep overhead to a mini-
instead of getting a mum.
small percentage as a
royalty from another
publisher, I decided I
Q. How do I know how much inventory to order?
might as well publish Initially, whenever possible, make arrangements to have mer-
the book and sell it chandise drop-shipped until you can estimate how much inven-
myself."
tory to carry. Drop-shipping means that orders are shipped to
It was a good decision. your customer by your supplier upon receipt of your instruc-
Now, 40 years after tions and payment. This is done only after you receive payment
moving to Southern
California, where he
from your customer. Thus, you avoid spending money on inven-
started Wilshire Book tory and can concentrate on sales.
Company, Powers
publishes all of the
books he sells. Wilshire
Q. Can you recommend a gift supplier who will drop-ship?
Book Company, which I enthusiastically recommend Specialty Merchandise Corpora-
began on Wilshire tion. This company was founded in 1946 and has supplied mail
Boulevard near down-
town Los Angeles (hence
order dealers with a reliable source of products from all over the
the name), is privately world. You can select from over 3,000 items. Write to: Specialty
held by Powers. The Merchandise Corporation, Mail Order Dept. 322, 9401 De Soto
company employs 21
people and sells about a
Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311. If you are in the Los
million books a year. Angeles area, you can visit the showroom and see merchandise
on display. The showroom is open Monday through Saturday.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 420
melvin powers
Q. In which magazines should I advertise?
The same ones that other mail order companies use to sell prod-
ucts similar to yours. These magazines, which consistently run
the same ads, are the survivors of the trial-and-error method of
choosing media employed by successful advertisers. That doesn't
Powers's first big pub-
lishing success came in mean you can't experiment. Hunches sometimes pay off. But
the early 1960s with customers, by habit, have become programmed to look in par-
Think and Grow Rich by
ticular publications for specific types of merchandise. I advise
Napoleon Hill. Even
though it had been you to take advantage of the publication's ability to attract a
published in hardcover large audience that is interested in the type of merchandise you
years before, it was
have to sell. Then your challenge will be to attract the attention
Powers who first asked
the question, "Why isn't of potential customers and sell them your product or service
this book available in from the ad, or motivate them to send for further information.
paperback?" He bought
the paperback rights and
has since sold millions of Q. I have heard that some magazines will run a free adver-
copies of the book. He tisement on a product. Is this true?
published it in a trade
Yes. In my book, I devote a chapter on how you can get free ads
paperback format—a
larger size than the mass to put you on the road to riches. You should also try to get free
market paperbacks that publicity in your local newspapers.
fit into racks in super-
markets and drugstores
—the format that Q. Should I run a classified, or display ad?
accounts for virtually all My advice is to begin with a classified ad.
of Wilshire Book's sales.

Q. Should I sell directly from the ad, or offer free literature?


I suggest you offer free literature. It takes too many expensive
words to write a classified ad that will convince people to send
money. Once you draw the inquiries, send advertising literature
to do the selling.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 421
melvin powers
Q. What should I include in the advertising literature?
As much concise information as possible about your product or
service. Stress the benefits to be derived and support them with
testimonials from authorities in the field or from satisfied cus-
tomers. Include illustrations and specifications, if the items call
His biggest coup,
for it. State price, postage, and guarantee. Don't forget to ask for
however, was
snatching up the trade the order!
paperback rights to
Psycho-Cybernetics by
Q. I'm using the two-step approach to sell my product. What
Dr. Maxwell Maltz.
Psycho-Cybernetics is the optimum sales literature package?
wasn't doing anything in The literature that comprises the classic response to an inquiry
hardcover," says Powers.
is a sales letter, advertising literature that includes photographs
"Zero." But I read a
couple pages of the book or art work of the product, testimonials, guarantee, credit card
while standing in a option, toll-free 800 telephone number, postage paid reply en-
bookstore and said to
velope, and an incentive (such as a gift) for prompt response.
myself, "This is a multi-
million bestseller." However, it may not be necessary to use the optimum literature.
This is something you need to find out because of the expense
He was right. The
involved in printing, envelopes, and postage. Your objective is
Wilshire Book trade
paperback edition of to develop a mailing package that will generate maximum re-
Psycho-Cybernetics, sponse at the lowest cost. Keep testing until you are satisfied
jumped onto the
that you have achieved this. For example, you might not need
bestseller lists, and to
date has sold more than four-color circulars to sell your product or expensive coated stock
5 million copies. It's still for your mailing pieces.
one of the company's
steady sellers.
Q. Can you recommend a source that has non-fiction books
And ever since the and will drop-ship single orders?
mega-successes of
My own Wilshire Book Company drop-ships and can supply
Think and Grow Rich and
Psycho-Cybernetics, self- beautifully illustrated brochures advertising 300 books on a wide
help and inspirational range of subjects, such as astrology, chess, cooking, gambling,
books have been the
health, hobbies, humor, hypnotism, marriage, sex, parenthood,
company's primary
editorial focus and metaphysics and occult, self-help and inspirational, sports, pets
biggest selling line of and horses.
books.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 422
melvin powers
In my book, I tell in detail how I created a bestseller that took
exactly one day to write and 50 cents to produce. Following my
instructions, you could do the same. I also give you sources for
out-of-print books, records, and tapes in perfect condition at a
fraction of their original cost. These items are excellent for mail
order as they are highly profitable.
Powers still goes to
bookstores every week
or two looking for his Q. What is the best way to get started selling books?
next big find. He knows
Choose a category and contact publishers selling that particular
that the big New York
publishers, with hun- type of book. You'll find them in Subject Guide to Books in Print ,
dreds of books on their a reference guide found at all public libraries. Inquire whether
lists, sometimes let a
the publishers will drop-ship books for you. If not, order the
good one slip through
the cracks without being books as you receive the orders. When you determine which
properly promoted. books are selling well, order small quantities and gradually build
your inventory. Advertise the same way you would for a prod-
Of all the books he's
published, he's proudest uct.
of How to Get Rich in
Mail Order. "It's helped a
Q. I think I have a good mail order idea and want to run a
lot of people leave their
jobs and start a business display ad. How many ads should I run to begin with?
for themselves and Run one advertisement in the best of the publications that you
become financially
think would logically produce orders for your type of product.
independent," he says.
He also mentions Although you would get a better advertising rate by committing
A Guide to Rational Living to running three times in succession, I advise against it. If your
by Drs.Albert Ellis
first ad doesn't pay off, you'll be wasting money by running the
and Robert Harper,
and of course, next two. Generally, ads do not pull better with repetition. Run-
Psycho-Cybernetics. ning one time gives you the opportunity to revise and strengthen
your ad as soon as you have determined that it needs to be im-
proved. The rule in mail order is to keep testing to minimize
your losses and maximize your earnings. If you have written an
ad that pulls well, your potential customers will still be there
when you run your ad again.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 423
melvin powers
Q. What are the best months to advertise?
The best mail order months are September, October, November,
January, February and March. The first three months of the year
are great because people are home much more during the winter
than at other times of the year. That means more time for read-
"I'm happy with the
ing and activating New Year's resolutions for self-improvement.
books I've published
because every week Many companies do the greatest percentage of their business
people tell me how their during the months of September, October, and November. These
lives have been changed
months produce a great volume of orders, as people buy gifts for
by them," says Powers.
"It's a nice feeling." the holidays. Some products have a well-established seasonal
period. If yours is one that does, accept it, and advertise accord-
ingly.

Q. I have found a product and have written an ad. How do I


know I've written a good one that will pull?
Do market research on it by asking friends and family what they
think of the ad. In time, you'll develop a sixth sense about what
works. Keep in mind that your success depends not only upon
finding a product, but in developing and recognizing copy that
will sell it. Advertising copy is the catalyst that makes your op-
eration go. Spending small amounts of money on good ads will
lead to success. Spending a fortune on ads that don't have a chance
will spell disaster.

Don't fall in love with your advertising copy. Be willing to change


it to make it better. My favorite book on advertising is How to
Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab. If your local
library or bookstore doesn't have it, you can obtain a copy from
my office for $22.00 postpaid.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 424
melvin powers
Q. How can I further develop a sense of what might be a
good mail order product?
By studying the repeat advertisements in publications, analyzing
the direct mail that you receive, reading success stories in pub-
lications, and reading books dealing with all phases of mail or-
der. Eventually, you'll develop that indefinable sixth sense for
knowing what is right.

Q. What are some of the reasons people are not successful in


mail order?
I have found the common denominators to be a lack of informa-
tion and conviction as to what makes a good mail order product.
People often have perfectly good products, but lack persuasive
advertising copy. Poor returns cause them to doubt their prod-
How to Get Rich in Mail
ucts and give up before they find out they have winners.
Order. $20.00
(CA res. $21.60)
Melvin Powers Mail Order Q. What's the first step to start making money in mail or-
Millionaire Course, which
der?
includes the book How
to Get Rich in Mail Order, Read my book How to Get Rich in Mail Order published by
11 cassette tapes of Wilshire Book Company. It is carried by B. Dalton, Walden,
practical instruction and
Crown, and most independent bookstores. It's 8" x 11" and con-
the special bonus tape,
50 Proven Mail Order tains 352 pages and 200 illustrations. The book is jam-packed
Products. $75.00 (CA with details and examples of my own successful and not so suc-
res. $81.00) plus $7.00
cessful media advertising and direct mail campaigns--all used
S&H
Order from as teaching aids that give you the benefit of my 40 years of mail
www.mpowers.com order experience.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 425
melvin powers
Q. What was the biggest lesson you ever learned in the mail
order business?
Love what you are doing and keep at it trying to learn from your
successes and failures. There are no secrets in the mail order
business. Read all the books you can, attend seminars, subscribe
to magazines of interest, attend trade shows, and keep up with
the successes and failures in your particular area of interest. Keep
a file of successful ads that you see running continuously. Buy
books or products from you competitor. Get on their mailing list
to see what they doing. Concentrate on marketing on the Internet.
That's where there's lots of action and immediate results if you
have a winner. Best wishes for your success.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 426
READ
AND
GROW
Lifetime Money-Back Guarantee
$12.00 (CA residents $12.96)
Order from
http://www.mpowers.com

A Personal Invitation & Message From the Publisher, Melvin Powers...


I am pleased to be publishing the original, unabridged, classic edition of the world famous book Think and Grow Rich by
Napoleon Hill—just as he wrote it in 1937. It has been an international bestseller for many years, selling millions of
copies in its various editions. Of all the motivational bestsellers I have ever published, Think and Grow Rich remains the
closest to my heart—and the most responsible for my own success in life.

I Owe My Success to This Book


My enthusiasm for Think and Grow Rich began when I first read it as a boy of 16 years. Its message had a profound
influence—and still does—on my psyche. At that time I was living in Boston and, as a hobby, started a mail order
business at the kitchen table. Using the principles of Think and Grow Rich, I set a goal of making $1,000 a month selling
how-to and motivational books, including Think and Grow Rich. Within a short time I met my goal and then exceeded it.

Many Refer to this Book as Their Success Bible


During my long career teaching motivational seminars, I have had hundreds of people tell me how Think and Grow Rich
has helped shape their lives. Many refer to the book as their bible. What a compliment! Because Wilshire Book Com-
pany is a source of numerous well-known motivational and inspirational books, people often visit our offices to buy
them. I enjoy talking to these individuals, as we share a common philosophy. Invariably, when discussing books, Think
and Grow Rich comes up in conversation as one of their all-time favorites.Many of the motivational books of today
borrow from the tenets of Napoleon Hill's work, and all of the motivational authors I know have his book in their library.
stan rapp
The Blind
Stan Rapp is Chairman,
CRMen
The recent Ad Age front-page story “poking holes in the CRM
McCann Relationship hype” brings to mind the famous Indian legend of the blind men
Marketing and author
and the elephant. Remember?
of “Max-e-Marketing
in the Net Future”
It was six men of Indostan
The five books Rapp
To learning much inclined
co-authored with
Thomas L. Collins Who went to see the elephant
and his latest book, (Though all of them were blind.)
Max-e-Marketing in the
Net Future, co-authored
with Chuck Martin trace You know what happens next. The first man stumbles against
the shift from mass the elephant’s side and thinks it’s very like a wall. The second
marketing to individual-
touching the tusk thinks it’s very like a spear. And on and on and
ized marketing and
from early predictions on.
of a great marketing
turnaround to the
The proverbial poking at the elephant is very like poking at the
imperatives for success
in today’s networked vast dimensions of CRM with one’s eyes closed. What you think
economy. More than is there is what you choose to touch. What would work better is
500,000 copies have
to stand back, open your eyes and view the whole phenomenon
sold worldwide with
translation into a in its true form.
dozen languages.

CRM is important because it represents a fundamental change


in thinking about the customer as a long-term business asset rather
than simply as a target for buy-sell transactions.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 428
stan rapp
CRM is not just a fancier term for more focused communica-
tions or the latest incarnation of “going direct.” It represents a
recognition that the customer herself or himself is the deposi-
tory of the future value of the enterprise to be leveraged and
For 23 years, Rapp was
CEO of what has become managed for optimum results over time. It is where customer
Omnicom’s Rapp Collins knowledge and customer interaction join forces to drive growth
Worldwide, the world’s
and enhance profitability.
largest direct response
agency group with
reported capitalized Thinking of the customer as a business asset makes a significant
billings of $3 billion. In
difference. It drives the contrast between planning based on the
1988, he left the agency
for a career as author, lifetime of a brand vs. planning for a specific communication
public speaker and program and between developing a vehicle for continued seller-
consultant to top
buyer interaction vs. generating a specific response. This is why
companies on four
continents. what you do for the customer in managing the relationship (CRM)
encompasses a wide range of disciplines including direct mar-
keting, loyalty marketing and one-to-one marketing rather than
being only another term for any of these practices.

Almost overnight at the start of the twenty-first century, info-


tech software took CRM to new heights of direct customer in-
volvement while the rush to the web was changing the mind set
of executive management from an arms-length customer rela-
tionship to unlimited vistas of personalization and customization.
Hard-sell call centers were suddenly being transformed into real-
time Customer Interaction Centers. Advanced data analytics and
predictive modeling was making an affordable, responsive, mu-
tually rewarding relationship possible for the very first time.

Today, gaining an ultimate competitive advantage comes down


to moving the fastest and being the smartest at taking advantage
of the new CRM tools and the new rules of engagement.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 429
stan rapp
We are in a new marketing environment as different from the
past as the change ushered in two generations ago with the ar-
rival of TV in the home. It was the time when Marshal McLuan
proclaimed that henceforth “the medium is the message.” There
In 1997, Rapp was
recruited by IPG to serve were those in denial who were slow to change but what followed
as CEO of a young and is mass marketing history as recorded in the pages of Ad Age.
talented McCann Direct
with $200 million in
capitalized billings. Our marketing communications world is once again being turned
upside down. In this new era, we realize that “the process is the
Four years later, the
message.” While the process becomes the message, we must not
name has changed
twice, the business has lose sight of the continuing importance of the creative articula-
grown seven-fold and tion in everything we do. It’s all about how efficiently and effec-
Rapp has assumed the
tively we manage the customer relationship, how we use what
Chairman’s role. Now
known as MRM Partners we know to drive what we do, how we erase the line between
Worldwide, this leading product and service, how well we move from being solely fo-
CRM marketing commu-
cused on the bottom-line each quarter to becoming truly cus-
nication agency has a
global network of 50 tomer-satisfaction focused.
offices in 35 countries.

CRM is about improving the performance of the entire enter-


Its distinguished list of
blue-chip clients includes prise, not simply about how we communicate with the market-
Sprint, MasterCard, Coca place. It’s much more than just loyalty. It’s much more than the
Cola, Microsoft, Hallmark,
latest version of direct marketing. It’s much more than the latest
GM, Dell, Nestlé and UPS.
example of one-to-one interaction. It’s much more than the next
wave of systems architecture efficiency. It’s all of the preceding
– and very much more.

Make no mistake about it. This CRM heavyweight is one smart,


humongous elephant. Be careful. Spending your time poking at
it, instead of learning how to tame and ride it, can be very dan-
gerous to your health.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 430
stan rapp
Remember how the legend ends:

And so the men of Indostan


Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Rapp has been elected to
Exceeding stiff and strong,
the prestigious Hall of
Fame of the U.S. Direct Though each was partly in the right,
Marketing Association And all were in the wrong.
and is the first American
admitted to the
Freedom of the City of WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
London as a Freeman of The media mightily enjoys building up "the next big thing" and
the British Worshipful
then tearing it down.
Company of Marketors.
He has been named by
Advertising Age maga- Remember TQM? Remember One-to-One? Remember "In
zine and the Advertising
Search of Excellence"? When it came to CRM the backlash to-
Club of New York as one
of the 101 “stars” that tally missed the point. The emergence of CRM is the latest evo-
shaped the history of lution of the fundamental turnaround from Mass Marketing to
advertising in the
Individualized Marketing.
twentieth century.

Rapp is a member of the The preceding piece I wrote for AdAge in response to a front-
Board of McCann-
page story belittling CRM was important in restoring a balanced
Erickson WorldGroup,
the world’s foremost view. It is useful to speak up for CRM, the latest iteration of the
multi-national marketing customer experience in building brands and the incredible new
communications com-
tools available to profitably manage customer relationships.
pany; and serves on the
Board of iSKY, an innova-
tive leader in Customer No single article closes a dialog. My hope is that the article was
Care Teleservices as well
effective in presenting the point-of-view I share with many oth-
as a number of other
rapidly growing entre- ers in marketing today.
preneurial companies.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 431
Visit
www.mrmworldwide.com
See the next turnaround in the evolution from
Mass Marketing to Direct Mass Marketing

Phone: 646-865-6230

Stan Rapp, Chairman

Pam Larrick, CEO


marilyn ross
The 7 Habits of
Highly Successful
Marilyn Ross, called a
“trend tracker” by
Entrepreneur magazine,
has written or co-
authored twelve books.
Entrepreneurs
Her Big Ideas for Small These principles can make a huge impact on your bottom line.
Service Businesses was
Whether you are just starting a business, or are a veteran entre-
selected as one of the 30
best business books of preneur, the concepts outlined here can pave the road to great
the year by Soundview success.
Executive Book Summa-
ries. In her new Shame-
less Marketing for Brazen 1. Have a passion for what you do. Uncover your personal
Hussies-which is raising “gift” or embark on a business journey you truly love. The hours
eyebrows and ringing
will seem less, the rewards greater if you get up each morning
cash registers from coast
to coast-she again jazzed about what you do. And your customers or clients will
preaches about realize your commitment to deliver excellence and place a higher
what she practices.
value on your work.
In addition to writing
award-winning books, 2. Own your niche. Decide what major area you’ll flourish in
articles, and newsletters,
and concentrate on it exclusively. Know all about it. Join rel-
Marilyn is in demand as a
professional speaker. evant associations, subscribe to all the trade journals and news-
letters, get to know the movers and shakers in your industry.
Become the authority, the place where others turn for assistance
or information.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 433
marilyn ross
3. Make it easy for people to do what you want. We live in a
frantically busy world. The person who makes it simple and pain-
less for us to accommodate them will probably get their wish.
Create a list of interview questions a harried radio host can use
A member of the to interview you. Put together a panel of experts (yourself in-
National Speakers cluded, of course) so a TV producer has a canned show ready to
Association, Marilyn
presents seminars and
go. Get a tollfree phone number and credit card merchant status
training workshops for so consumers can easily order your merchandise.
associations, organiza-
tions, and corporations.
She speaks about
One political candidate distributed promotional videos to peo-
marketing, writing, ple’s front porches. A recipient reports watching the candidate
publishing, and on VCR for 12 minutes as she conveyed her persuasive diagno-
entrepreneurship.
sis of the city’s problems, her vision, and qualifications. She
Marilyn has been noted even included an office and home phone number in case of ques-
and quoted in publica- tions and ended with a reminder about when to vote. The home-
tions across the land:
The Wall Street Journal,
owner noted the date and the woman’s name on her calendar.
U.S. News & World This clever political aspirant made it easy to get informed.
Report, The Los Angeles
Times, and The New York
Times have all written
On a totally different level, during a recent trip to Home Depot,
about her and their I was intrigued to notice they now offer pick-up truck rentals.
work. Additionally, she For just $19.00 for 75 minutes customers have no waiting for
has been featured twice
on NPR’s “All Things
delivery, no wear and tear on their own vehicles, and no fuel or
Considered,” on hun- mileage charges. Home Depot makes it easy to be their customer.
dreds of radio stations, Be as flexible as a willow tree. Bend in the wind to accommo-
and dozens of TV shows
from coast to coast.
date others and you’ll experience a rush of goodwill yourself.
Recently Marilyn was
also spotlighted in a lead 4. Cultivate word-of-mouth. Getting a buzz started - people
story on CNN financial
news on the Internet.
talking about your company - is the result you desire. Do it by
soliciting testimonials and referrals; by getting publicity every-
where; then constantly recycling it. Send copies to your pros-
pects, current customers, board of directors, banker,
accountant...you get the idea.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 434
marilyn ross
By tenaciously positioning yourself as THE expert, THE place
to shop or eat, THE source for the best merchandise, you save
on advertising budgets and reap tons of free publicity.

5. Ask for what you want. Sure you’ll be told “no” sometimes,
Bitten early by the
entrepreneurial bug, at
but that’s been happening since you were a year old. If you make
nine years old Marilyn it clear to others when you desire something, you’ll also get “yes”
was making and selling a lot. Take your courage in hand and approach neighboring busi-
potholders door-to-door.
By 18 she was managing
nesses, catalogs, other professionals, or large corporations. Don’t
a women’s ready-to- feel like you need to genuflect when you suggest a strategic alli-
wear store. This led to ance. Tell them why it’s to their benefit to partner with you. When
her being the first
woman ever hired by the
you’re writing sales material ask for the order - over and over
Mervyn’s Department again. During print interviews, request that the reporter include
Store chain to be a your tollfree number and send you a tear sheet of the published
night/Sunday manager.
Marilyn has also owned
piece.
and operated a hotel and
restaurant, and previ- Just be sure to ask for exactly what you want. A stranger entered
ously headed her own
advertising/PR agency.
an apartment building and asked a young desk clerk in the lobby,
Since 1978 this savvy “Can you tell me where Max Smith lives?” The boy smiled and
business leader has replied, “Yes, sir. I’ll show you.” Six flights up, the clerk pointed
focused her energies on
the publishing industry.
to a door with the name Smith on it. The stranger pounded on
the door for a while, then commented, “Guess he’s not here.”
Through their consulting “Oh, no, sir,” answered the clerk. “Mr. Smith was downstairs in
firm, About Books, Inc.,
www.About-Books.com ,
the lobby.”
Marilyn and husband
Tom offer turnkey help 6. Apply the 80/20 rule. It all started with Italian economist
to busy professionals
who want to package
Vilfredo Pareto in the nineteen hundreds. He observed that the
their specialized knowl- wealth in Italy was controlled by 20 percent of the people. J. M.
edge in book form. Juran, one of the fathers of the Total Quality Management move-
These clients gain
greater visibility and
ment, applied the Pareto Principle to inventory management in
credibility with an 1950. The rest is history.
expertly-produced book
from the Rosses’
company.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 435
marilyn ross
This formula applies universally. You’ll get 80 percent of your
results from 20 percent of your efforts: 80 percent of your orders
from 20 percent of your customers, 80 percent of your publicity
from 20 percent of your PR contacts, 80 percent of your sales
from 20 percent of your merchandise. Your only challenge is to
In 1996 Marilyn and Tom
launched a nonprofit
identify that powerful 20 percent then concentrate all your en-
trade association for ergy there! Address the vital few versus the trivial many. Our
authors and publishers. ability to multi-task can be both a blessing and a curse. If we try
The Small Publishers
Association of North
to do many things at once, our focus - and our results - get di-
America (SPAN) has since luted. Pick your battles to win the war.
become the second
largest such organization
in the world.
7. Follow-up, follow-up, FOLLOW-UP. Do you want to call
the tune instead of paying the fiddler? Then you’d better be pre-
She was a founding pared to monitor the progress of your projects. While diligent
member on the board of
directors for San Diego
followup increases your odds for success in all aspects of busi-
Women in Business and ness, it’s especially crucial in promotion and sales. Many sound
served her local Rotary marketing plans flounder for lack of followup.
Club as president.
Marilyn is a Senior Fellow
of the Center for the Perhaps the busiest of all recipients are the media, particularly
New West, a Colorado- radio and TV producers. They are inundated with literature about
based think tank. Her
areas of specialization
prospective guests. No news isn’t necessarily bad news. We’ve
are rural entrepreneur- had things go astray here more than anywhere else. Followup
ship and home-based calls, faxes, & e-mails often net big dividends. Be persistent.
businesses. She is a
contributor to the
Stay in touch with the contacts you make at major conventions,
National Foundation for trade shows, & regional workshops. Properly worked, connec-
Women Business Owners tions made at these events can have an impact for years to come.
and a member of the
Authors Guild, the
American Society of The importance of this concept was etched in my brain many
Journalists and Authors, years ago when I was representing a client’s book. It was about
the National Association
of Female Executives
raw foods and I strategized that if I could get it carried in health
(NAFE), and the National food stores around the country, it would be extremely success-
Association of Women ful.
Business Owners
(NAWBO).
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 436
marilyn ross
So I tracked down the primary wholesaler, made my pitch, and
was promptly turned down. But I didn’t give up. Every time I
got a sizeable purchase order, I scribbled a note across the bot-
tom: “This could be coming to you, Dan.” Whenever a new re-
view broke, I sent him a copy. This continued for about six
Marilyn is listed in the
months. Then one day, here came a purchase order for a case of
23rd edition of Who’s
Who in the West; Who's the books. Two weeks later he ordered two cases of books. Long
Who of American story longer, that guide went on to become their bestseller for
Women; Men and
several years! Plus the author wrote more books that Dan quickly
Women of Distinction;
Working Press of the ordered.
Nation; Who’s Who in U.S.
Writers, Editors & Poets;
No matter what facet of marketing you explore, the squeaky
Contemporary Authors;
and The International wheel gets more attention. Be politely persistent. Stopping be-
Authors and Writers fore you get results-or a firm “no”-is like ordering an ice cream
Who’s Who.
cone, then letting it melt onto the floor. Persistence + passion =
The Rosses-along with a success. Don’t be like the two cows grazing by the freeway. Stain-
Samoyed husky named less steel milk trucks kept whizzing by sporting signs that read
Peaches and a Siamese
“Homogenized.” “Pasturized.” “Fortified with Vitamin C.” The
cat who answers to
Pookey-have traded one cow looked at the other and said, “Sure makes you feel in-
southern California for a adequate, doesn’t it?”
small Colorado mountain
town surrounded by
14,000-foot peaks. Here You can accomplish anything you put your mind, and your en-
they and their staff meet ergy, to! Follow-up will get you across time zones, across bor-
the book production and
ders, across oceans, across finish lines.
marketing needs of
clients from all over
North America. WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
The points covered in this article are ones I often make in my
speeches as well. While not especially unusual, as a group, they
seem to resonate with businesspeople. If we were to run our com-
panies using these 7 guidelines as key principles, I could almost
guarantee success. They are ideal for newcomers, as well as
serving as potent reminders for veterans.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 437
Need a Book, But Don’t
Have Time To Do It All Yourself?
We Provide Full ● Book evaluations to be sure you
are headed in the right direction
Self-Publishing ● Editing or rewriting to hone and
polish your message
Services Customized ● Cover design that wows buyers
and sets your book apart from the
Just for YOU! herd
You maintain total control and reap all the profits— ● Interior design and typesetting
while we do all the work. Why fool with the dozens of to attract and hold readers
book details, when you can be making more money ● Printing from 500 to 10,000
marketing yourself or speaking? Benefit from our 25 copies to meet your individual
years of experience producing quality books that needs
enhance speakers’ images, credibility, and incomes. ● Marketing/promotion that makes
You want to avoid costly mistakes, save time and thousands of $$$ beyond back-of-
energy, and position yourself as THE expert in your the-room sales
field. Right? We’re here to make that happen!

Some of your NSA colleagues we’ve helped


Tony Alessandra, Jeff Tobe, Barbara Sanfilippo, Vince Lombardi, Dan Burrus, Jim Hennig, Kathryn Volin,
Phil Wexler, Frank Bucaro, Dick Biggs, Jennifer de St. Georges, Fred Holden, Art Cornwell, Rick Gilbert,
Valerie Wiener, Kevin O’Connor, Don Panhorst, Twyla Dell, Joe Black, John Schuster, Lynette Sheppard,
Rick Page, Rogena Walden, Nate Booth, Bill Byrne, Howard Wallin, Kay duPont, Jim Ziegler, Michael
Ruth, and Tom Winninger.

About the Founders: Marilyn and Tom Ross have been considered
the gurus of self-publishing for 25years. Their perennial best-seller The
Complete Guide to Self-Publishing is considered the classic on the sub- “We do 95%
ject and their Jump Start Your Book Sales is the perfect companion of the work . . .
book. The Rosses—veteran authors, speakers, and consultants—prac-
tice what they preach. In additional to helping hundreds of writers, small
you keep 100%
presses, and speakers produce and successfully market thousands of of the profits!”
books, they also self-publish their own work. They truly understand this
industry. You can trust their judgment, experience, and integrity. They
will treat your book project as if it were their own.

Contact us today!
Marilyn and Tom Ross • 800-548-1876/719-395-2459 • marilyn@about-books.com
Learn more about self-publishing at: http://www.About-Books.com
joe sabah
Denver Author
Joe Sabah is a nationally
recognized speaker,
Reveals Secret ...
trainer, consultant,
If letters had headlines . . . this one would read:
author and publisher.
He is based in Denver,
Colorado where he Denver Author Reveals Secret
operates a speaking/
He Used to Sell Over $357,000 Worth of Books
publishing/consulting
business. Without Leaving His Home

That's right: Over 23,250 books sold, (on 652 talk shows) all
without leaving home, and ALL at FULL RETAIL PRICE! Over
$357,000.00 worth of books sold.

First, let me share with you a basic fact of life. There are some
things in our business and personal lives each of us like to do
and some things we don't like to do.

Early on in business I discovered one of the things I DISLIKE. I


don't like to collect money. This includes billing people (and
businesses) and following up on these accounts receivables.

When I co-authored and self-published my book: How to Get


the Job You Really Want and Get Employers to Call You
, I
checked with bookstores and distributors about how to get my
book into the "mainstream."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 439
joe sabah
I learned the shocking truth: the average length of time book
sellers and distributors take to pay their invoices is 104 days.

Wow! Over 3 months. And, remember: I'm the guy who doesn't
like to follow up on accounts receivables to collect money.
As a member of the
National Speakers
Association, in 1982 Joe That's when I discovered a little known secret to
served as co-founder (1) Sell books without leaving home and
and first president of the
(2) Have the money in the bank before we send out our books.
Colorado Speakers
Association (a chapter of
the National Speakers Now, how can you and I turn that valuable truth into a Gold
Association, now with
Mine?
over 140 members. He
is also a member of the
Publishers Marketing Here's My Secret
Association and the Small
Publishers Association of
North America. Joe is the One of my habits is reading magazines from the back to the front
past president of the and I did so one night. This magazine had several pages of Clas-
Colorado Independent
sified Ads in the back, so I started to read them hoping they
Publishers Association,
now with 365 members. would make me drowsy and I could fall asleep. They almost did
until I came across an ad which grabbed my attention. I couldn't
believe my eyes. I read it again and again. I wanted to call this
number at 1:30 a.m., but I held off until morning.

Here was the answer to my question: "How could I market our


book to the rest of the people in the United States and help them
get the jobs they really wanted?" ... and not worry about collec-
tions.

The ad?

"AUTHORS WANTED FOR RADIO TALK SHOWS, Call


212-xxx-xxxx."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 440
joe sabah
That morning, I called the number and reached a publicist in
New York City. He told me he booked authors for radio talk
show interviews and charged $60.00 per show. I was ready to
say "Give me 3 shows." When he said: "20 show minimum."

Joe served the American


After I gulped, I answered: "That's $1,200.00! Let me think this
Motivational Association
as Regional Vice over and check out your references and get back to you."
President in Northern
California, Portland,
His references checked out, and I sent him my check for
Oregon and Denver,
Colorado. His Sales $1,200.00 plus 20 copies of my book. He did his job. He booked
Congresses traditionally me on 20 talk shows. (I'm glad he didn't let me book only 3
exceeded 1,200 seminar
shows . . . because it takes 10 to 15 shows just to learn what to
attendees.
say.)
He sponsored and
promoted congresses
After 20 shows, I was selling 40 books per show (Over $550.00
that included: Dr.
Norman Vincent Peale, at full retail). Then I received a second call from my New York
Cavett Robert, Og publicist asking: "Do you want to do it again?" I said, "Of course."
Mandino, Ira Hayes,
That's when he hit me with $75.00 per show. I blurted out, "That's
Marilyn Van Derbur and
Dr. Morris Massey. $1,500.00." But it was worth it financially, so I sent him my
check for $1,500.00.

There's Gotta Be a Better Way

The third time he called and said, "Do you want to do it again?"
I asked "How much?" His reply: $100.00 per show.

That's when I said to myself "Joe, you've learned a lot about


doing Radio Talk Shows in the last 40 shows. There's got to be a
better way, an easier way, a less expensive way." And there is!

I discovered there really wasn't as much mystery to getting on


radio talk shows as I had first imagined.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 441
joe sabah
So over the next 4 months I invested nearly $4,000.00 calling
radio stations to find which had a talk format, and which ones
are willing to interview me by phone.

And, with every radio talk show interview I was perfecting my


presentation. I had also found an answering service who could
He has been associated
with the Dale Carnegie take calls and orders from anywhere in the United States.
Courses in Ohio, Wash-
ington DC, Northern
You might wonder, Would I use a publicist again? You bet! When
California and in Denver,
Colorado. I want to do something and I don't have the answer or knowl-
edge, I find it's smart to find a specialist in the field and pay him
During the past 54
or her for their expertise and experience. Then I learn from it.
months Joe has been a
guest on over 638 Radio
Talk Shows. Now, let's talk about how you can get started. These principles
work for me each day and they can work for you, too.

Over $357,000.00 In Book Sales Without Leaving Home

Incidentally, I just finished Radio Talk Show interview #652.


Results to date: 23,250 books sold at $17.95...Over $357,000.00

As people started asking: "How do you do it?" That's when I sat


down at my Macintosh computer and decided to share with other
authors and publishers everything I learned about "How to Get
on Radio Talk Shows All Across America Without Leaving Your
Home or Office."

I've put together a Radio Talk Show System which includes

1 - A 21 Chapter book "How to Get on Radio Talk Shows All


Across America Without Leaving Your Home or Office."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 442
joe sabah
2 - Database on computer diskette (either pc or Mac) of 980+
Talk Shows with call letters of the stations, their addresses and
phone AND FAX numbers, the number of Watts and the name
of the talk show, the name of host and producer in charge of
each show.
Joe is the author of:
"How to Get On Radio
Talk Shows All Across 3 - 60 min. audio tape: "How to Get On Radio Talk Shows..."
America Without You are just 7-10 days away from being a guest on your first
Leaving Your Home
radio talk show...promoting yourself, your books, your tapes.
or Office"
P O Box 101975 DO IT NOW!
Denver, CO 80250
303-722-7200
Everything you need to be your own publicist is in my Radio
FAX 303-733-2626
JSabah@aol.com Talk Show System. Only $198 which include shipping and han-
dling. I'll send the system to you via U.S. Priority Mail, and it
will be in your hands in only 2 or 3 days. To request your Radio
Talk Show System call me toll free at 1-800-945-2488 (9am-
9pm Mountain Time). You can be booked on radio talk shows in
7-10 days.

Joe Sabah

P.S. Does this system work? Steve Wilson wrote: " The Giant PR
postcard gets triple the response at less cost." Steve is one of
those special people who "puts into practice what he learns . . .
immediately after he learns it."

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


Are you tired of letters that all end the same way 'Sincerely yours'?
Truly 'boilerplate', aren't they? Well, try a Startling Statement
or Magic Words or Headlines... they not only work... THEY GET
RESULTS! This letter has sold more than half a million dollars
worth of Radio Talk Systems ALL by direct mail.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 443
Three ingredients that will guarantee
your success in promoting yourself,
your books, your tapes:

1 Database of 980+ Radio Talk Shows


Who Interview Guests By Telephone Includes:
● Call Letters of the Station
● Host's and Producer's Names
● Name of the Show
● Address, City, State and ZIP
● Phone and Fax numbers ● Watts (power of the station)
Available on 3.5" PC OR Mac disk in ASCII format which can be imported into any program with an import feature

2
The Book:
How to Get On Radio Talk Shows All Across
America Without Leaving Your Home or Office
A 21 chapter book, which includes the following topics
● Who Needs Radio Talk Show Guests and Why ● Deciding What to Talk About
● Product: Book vs Tape vs ??? ● A Press Kit that Gets Outstanding Results
● Using the Mail to Book Radio Talk Shows ● Using the Telephone to Book Radio Talk Shows
● Structuring a Successful Talk Show Interview ● Getting the Most from Your Talk Show Interview
● Leaving Listeners With Something of Value ● Finding and Setting Up Your 800 # Service
● Getting Invited Back on the Same Show ● Becoming a Credit Card Merchant
● Using Your Computer/Fax to Book Talk Shows ● plus many more good ideas

3
ALL THREE
The Audio Tape:
How to Get On Radio Talk Shows
from Your Home or Office

Pick up the phone. Call toll free 1-800-945-2488 now or


FOR ONLY Fax your order to 303-733-2626.
$198 Your package will go via USPS Priority Mail the same day you call.

Joe Sabah Author: "How to Get On Radio Talk Shows All Across America Without Leaving Your Home or Office"
P O Box 101975 Denver, CO 80250 PH 303-722-7200 FAX 303-733-2626 email JSabah@aol.com
neil shearing
“Backend Selling”
... Easy Money?
That's me with my wife
Linda and Adam, our new Sometimes you have to celebrate and share your little victories,
arrival :-)
and this is something I'd like to share with you...
I met Linda in Ohio
(where she's from) and I've just made the easiest money of my life!
we now live in England
(where I'm from) with
Adam who weighed in at Click here to see how much...
7 lbs 1 oz on 4th August http://www.scamfreezone.com/clickstats.html
2000. What an incredible
experience that was!
That screen shot is of the commission I earned through ClickBank
I am currently putting in the last 14 days.
the finishing touches to
my Ph.D in Cancer
Research, specifically And I *don't* sell anything using ClickBank!
how human breast
cancer cells become
Those sales were made by "backend selling" to my lists.
resistant to anticancer
drugs. I studied for my
Ph.D at Ninewells Hospi- I didn't have to write salescopy, provide a payment mechanism,
tal in Dundee, Scotland.
ship product or provide customer service.

All I did was send out an endorsement, and watch the money
roll in!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 445
neil shearing
I want to stress, this did not happen overnight. I built my lists
slowly, carefully and spent time on customer service so that my
customers trust me to only give recommendations of excellent
products.

I've always been fasci-


But it does illustrate the potential of backend sales!
nated by the Internet.
It's an amazing tool for
writing and selling And the incredible power of the Internet to earn money out of
informational products
thin air!
(e-books) and software.
You can make a lot of
money when your Keep nurturing your lists, and they'll reward you for years to
product costs nothing to
come.
produce and nothing to
ship! I've been doing just
that since 1996!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


I wrote the "Internet
Success Blueprint" to It was written with two aims in mind...
share the success I've 1: To show people that it IS possible to make great money
discovered with people
online...and to do it quickly...and to do it as an affiliate! But
who want to use the
power of the Internet to also...
earn money online. 2: To indicate that even though money can be made easily, I
spent years building and nurturing my lists.

This article provided by


Neil Shearing. Links to
many useful resources at
InternetSuccessPortal.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 446
ken silver
“If Everyone
The main influence in
my online career has
been as owner of two
community newspapers
Ate One
Hamburger ...”
for about 12 years. These
gave me the essential
qualities of meeting
deadlines, copywriting,
layout skills... practically
everything I needed and
still use now on the There's a quaint theory often brought up in business schools and
internet. The only lecture halls. It's the assumptive clause, and for a new business
difference is that 15
idea it goes something like this: "If everyone in our city/coun-
staff I needed to run the
papers turned into one try/world ate just one hamburger a week, we could make $...(fill
for the net... me, a one- in the amount with many zeros!)"
man band. But the good
thing is - even now, my
sales and income have The assumption is that everyone will eat your hamburger (buy
exceeded that from the your ebook or product).
newspapers, and I don’t
have the worry, fuss and
bother of all that the In the past this statement wasn't even at the starting gate for
offline business of this realistic projections.
kind entails.

But now, it is!

What has made the difference? How do we get everyone in the


world to eat our hamburgers, buy our products?

You know as well as I do. The internet.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 447
ken silver
KEYNOTE: The world's best hamburger-maker is Bill Gates.
He comes pretty darn close to business school hamburger heaven
with 90-something percent market penetration.

How are you and I going to get people to try, then buy ours?
I started direct mail
selling back in early Here's what you need to do:
1990. My first product, a
lotto system I had spent
1) Keep In Constant Contact With Your Prospects
2 years developing, was
mainly to self-test my Nowadays it's oh-so easy to lose your market share because your
written persuasive skills. market doesn't hear from you. And war news, weather, TV, en-
I figured it would be the
tertainment... all are competing for their attention too.
hardest kind of product
to sell given that the
majority of lottery It only takes a day or two to get forgotten, blocked out. Unless
buyers are suspicious of
you can get to your prospects on a regular basis, you're sunk.
any new kind of system.
So successfully selling
this would really be a You know what my answer is for this problem, especially if
trial of fire. To my
you've been with me a while. And yes, it's the Online Newsletter
surprise it succeeded
immediately and sold - the Ezine. If you don't have a regular newsletter today, set to
extremely well. The best and get one started. Even if it seems you're making no headway
part was the lack of
at all, keep going. Sooner or later your effort will be recognized
refunds - I had barely a
handful of returns over with sales, especially if you...
many years. I paid great
attention to that part of
2) ... Make An Offer Every Time
the process because
while it's easy to sell Day after day I troll through well-meaning ezines that offer noth-
anything once with sales ing but information. So what? - you say. Isn't that the purpose of
copy, the secret is in
an ezine - to disseminate information? I say no. It should in fact
keeping it sold.
be a marketing vehicle... an information source of substance that
carries advertising offers.

Forget being Mr Nice Guy and Gal. You've put an hour or two
each week into your ezine, and what do you get back?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 448
ken silver
If it is a series of emails from readers thanking you for your
information, you've wasted your time. If it's a pile of orders,
then all power to you!

3) Make The Right Offer At The Right Time


Having proved my
A few years ago I was wandering around St Mark's Square in
abilities to myself, I then
wrote another manual Venice, Italy. It was the rainy season, and as I was about to make
based on the success of my way across the square, the heavens opened up. And didn't
this one (the secret to all
look like stopping either.
my manuals). Called
"How To Make $100,000 A
Year Part-Time Creating If you've been to Venice, you'll know that much of the Square
Your Own How-To Manu-
has overhead cover from balconies and walkways, but the rest
als At Home" it sold well
by mail. But it really took of the city does not. I needed an umbrella to get around. So I
off when I started stopped at a shop on the perimeter selling bags and gifts.
advertising it on the
internet at the beginning
of 1996. There, tucked away in the middle of the shop was an umbrella
display. But the big surprise came when I enquired about the
price - the equivalent of about $3.

So here was the marketing boo-boo of my trip... badly placed


AND poorly priced merchandise.

Big Lesson #1:


You won’t sell umbrellas unless they're out on display where
people can see them. That means your products should be out
where they can be touched, prodded at and questions asked about
them.

Newsletters do this by providing a great first contact and re-


minder. Then you can use forums, autoresponders and personal
replies to follow up your offer.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 449
ken silver
Just imagine it as the shopkeeper chasing you down the road,
waving the umbrella and offering better prices with a smile.

Big Lesson #2:


Match your price to the circumstances. If it is raining, your um-
As one of the first web
brellas shouldn't be $3, they should be $10. If your product is
marketers with very little
competition on the net, I suddenly in vogue, like a new virus protection program against
had a competitive the latest bug, raise the price. You'll never get the chance again.
advantage. But once
again, growing sales
figures for the manual - Super-marketer Jay L. Abraham (http://www.abraham.com) has
even as more writers just come out with ways to recession-proof your business. He's
and marketers started
on the ball - matching his market with the current conditions!
realizing the potential of
the internet as a selling
medium - proved that it Big Lesson #3:
was more than a match.
Think outside the Square (intentional pun!) When the sun comes
out, why not sell your umbrellas as dual sunshades/rain shades?
Thinking of your umbrella as a one-only solution restricts your
income. Adapt and grow.

For example, I built an ready-made, turnkey online business from


my Ezi-Site Pro templates normally selling for around $500, to
sell a one-off for $1290 (www.art-for-sale-online.com). Have
you got a product, ebook or service you can adapt in this way?

Hamburgers or umbrellas, software or ebooks, services or sub-


scriptions... they all need constant contact with your market to
sell them.

Keep doing it - even though your responses may be dwindling


now. When business picks up again, you're well established.
Guess who will be remembered then - you, or other absent busi-
nesses?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 450
ken silver
Have a hamburger to celebrate!

To your success!

Ken Silver
So after a year or two
*Full-time online since 1996*
I wrote the highly
successful "eBook
Secrets" (http:// Copyright © 2001 Ken Silver Publishing. All rights reserved.
www.kensilver.com)
which has been
recognized by many
thousands as the bible WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
of ebook creating and
Of all the articles I write for my regular Ken Silver Online ezine,
marketing. Written as
a highly personalized this one far and away received the most comment. For some
account (again, the reason it touched a nerve, rung a bell, or simply made internet
secret to all my manu-
marketing more appealing for my readers. Though it was prob-
als), it took off - all 420
pages of it! Both books ably one of the simplest kind of article I've written for a long
have sold about 50,000 time, it appealed to a good cross-section of readers.
copies.

Now I have re-released I think its success was due to several parts of the newsletter
the lotto manual (http:// which dealt with basic rules for business that are often forgotten
www.honestlotto.com)
in the heat of the business day. And the stories brought it to life.
which is rapidly becom-
ing my best-seller, and
I'm writing a further It also uses everyday language and doesn't talk down to the
ebook on mini-manuals
reader. This was probably why it appealed to some of my more
to be launched in March
2002. experienced marketers as well.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 451
How To
Write For Profit
On (and Off) The Net
Can you still make a fortune on the internet? What products should you choose to get
there? Of all the top-selling digital items on the net, information still vies for the number
one slot. It sells well alongside software products. Information? Software?

Which should you choose?

If you're like me, you'll find software devel- Both "eBook Secrets" and "How To Make
opment a lot of work if you're not a natural $100,000 A Year Part-Time Creating Your Own
programmer. And software needs continual How-To Manuals At Home" have sold over
upgrading and support after the sale. 50,000 copies so far.

Information is a powerful selling product with- The "how-to" book segment on the internet
out these problems. There is no limit to continues to get bigger and better, but there
number of books you can write and sell. And are secrets you need to know to start and fol-
the best form of info-product is still "how-to" low the same path. Today's net is different.
material from your own head.
Go to http://www.kensilver.com to get your in-
I've been selling and specializing in this kind formation on this market, and to start down
of profitable writing since the early 90's, and the road to selling profitably. And keep an eye
I was one of the first marketers on the internet out for my new manual round March 2002.
in the mid-90's to make serious money from You can join my mailing list to be the first to
my skill. know:

Ken Silver Full-Time Online Since 1996


Ken Silver Profit Tools Page: Ken Silver Online Forum:
http://www.kensilver.com http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/11488
yanik silver
How a hidden
psychological
Just 28-years old, Yanik
Silver is recognized as
trigger makes
prospects
the leading expert on
creating automatic,
moneymaking web
sites…and he’s only
been online full time
since February 2000!

He believes almost
everything people have
been taught about
making money online is
practically line up
and beg to do
completely wrong.
His Internet success
techniques only require
a simple web site and
you don’t even need to

business with you


know how to put up
your own web page.
(In fact, Yanik still
doesn’t know HTML).

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 453
yanik silver
Do you remember the stupid beer commercial a few years back
with the tagline “Why Ask Why?” Well, completely unknown to
the ad agency — they had almost stumbled onto a breakthrough
marketing concept.

Yanik is the author and


Telling people the reason why you are doing something is one of
publisher of several best-
selling marketing books the most powerful influencers of human behavior. Robert
and tools including: Cialdini, Ph.D. in his book “Influence: The Psychology of Per-
InstantSalesLetters.com
suasion” talks about an experiment by Harvard social psycholo-
InstantInternetProfits.com
MillionDollarEmails.com gist, Ellen Langer, that concluded people like to have a reason
AutoresponderMagic.com for what they do.
33daystoonlineprofits.com

Yanik specializes in Her experiment consisted of people waiting in line to use a li-
creating powerful brary copy machine and then having experimenters ask to get
systems and resources
ahead in line.
for entrepreneurs
to enhance their
businesses. The first excuse used was "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I
use the Xerox machine because I'm in a rush?" This request cou-
When away from the
office Yanik enjoys pled with a reason was successful 94% of the time. However
playing volleyball, ice when the experimenter made a request only: "Excuse me, I have
hockey, skiing and
five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?" this request was only
working on his terrible
golf game. His most granted 60% of the time. A significant drop.
important project
right now is trying to
Okay, now for the shocker.
convince his wife, Missy,
to move to the beach
so he can play beach It may seem like the difference between those two requests was
volleyball all day!
the additional information of "because I'm in a rush", but that's
just not the case. Because in a third experimenter, the experi-
menter asks "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox
machine because I have to make some copies?" There's no rea-
son mentioned or new information presented, just the words "be-
cause".

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 454
yanik silver
This time a full 93% of the people said yes simply due to the
word 'BECAUSE'! And it didn't even matter that there was no
reason given. Just the word because triggered a magic response.

Using this psychological 'trigger' can massively increase your


Marketing success.

Here's an example: John E. Powers, one of the top copywriters


in the 1900's, wrote this ad for a Pittsburgh department store in
severe financial trouble:

"We are bankrupt. We owe $125,000 more than we can pay, and
this announcement will bring our creditors down on our necks.
But if you come and *buy* tomorrow, we shall have the money
to meet them. If not, we shall go to the wall."

Instead of yelling 'SALE' like so many other stores would, there's


a legitimate reason given why people should spend their money
at this store. And this ad was said to be responsible for saving
the store.

Another ad written by Powers, for a different merchant, pro-


claimed "We have a lot of rotten raincoats we want to get rid of."
This sold out the entire inventory of raincoats by the next morn-
ing.

Max Sackheim, famous for the long-running ad "Do You Make


These Mistakes In English" and originator of the book-of-the-
month concept, says this: "Whenever you make a claim or spe-
cial offer in your advertising, come up with an honest reason
why, and then state it sincerely. You'll sell many more products
this way."

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 455
yanik silver
And this powerful strategy works just as well today.

Using this secret weapon for a medical equipment company, I


helped them produce a massive 1,073% return on investment
simply using "reason-why" copy.

The premise was how can we sell a product for the incredibly
low price of only $477? (Regularly this product sells for about
$695 - $895.) Then the ad went on to explain that the reason
why the price was so low was because the manufacturer wanted
to gain market share and get nurses and doctors accustomed to
using their product. It was a huge winner and a big money-maker
for the client.

So how can you apply all of this to your business? Easy. Let's
say you have a slow time of year and you want to increase your
business during this period. Well, write a simple letter to your
customers making a special offer, only good during your slow
period.

Maybe you'll throw in an extra free bonus, an extra service, or a


special discount simply because it is your "slow time" and you
need to pay your staff anyway.

Let people in "behind the scenes" at your company...

* Are you overstocked on merchandise because for some reason


customers only want the deluxe widget - but you ordered tons of
the basic one?

* Did you have a flood and you need to liquidate (pardon the
pun) your inventory?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 456
yanik silver
* Do you need to raise cash so you can pay for your nosejob?

Whatever the reason. Tell them the truth.

For some reason everyone wants to be mysterious about their


©2000 Surefire
business. If you're lowering the price nobody thinks you're do-
Marketing, Inc.
ing it just because you're "such a nice guy". So let people in on
the reason why.

I know this probably goes against every grain of business sense,


but I promise if you give people a good, believable reason why
they'll respond with open wallets.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


The reason this article was so effective was because it's about a
"hidden psychological trigger" - everyone wants to know how to
persuade others.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 457
How Much Is
One Good Sales Letter
Worth To Your Business?

Yanik Silver has created the ultimate no-brainer, fill-


in-the-blank sales letter writing resource. In less
than 3 minutes you can create a winning letter guaran-
teed to sell your product or service...WITHOUT WRITING!
Check out http://www.instantsalesletters.com
scott t. smith
Put a Powerful
Link Popularity
Scott T. Smith runs
LinkageXpress -
www.linkagexpress.com
Campaign
into Action
- the unique, hand-
tailored link popularity
service for commercial
business Web sites. His
experience covers more
than two hundred
campaigns in four
dozen industries, with
In a series of progressive action steps, I'd like to give you the
businesses ranging in
size from one-person specific information you need to put a powerful link popularity
shops to multi-national campaign into action for your commercial business Web site.
corporations in Africa,
Asia, Europe, Central
America and extensively I. 'The Keys to Planning Your Link Strategy'
throughout North II. 'The 3 Essentials of Your Successful Linkage Campaign'
America. Scott's articles
III. 'The 4 Fastest Ways to Build Your List of Link Sites'
on marketing have
appeared in over one IV. '9 Tactics for Getting MORE Links to Your Site'
hundred online and print (and Measuring Your Success)
publications including
V. 'How a Targeted Link Popularity Campaign
ComputerEdge,
Internet Day and Compares to an SEO Campaign'
Sales & Marketing
Executive Report.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 459
scott t. smith
I. THE KEYS TO PLANNING YOUR LINK STRATEGY

Taking an active, targeted approach to your Web marketing cam-


paign is key to your success. And one of the most fundamental
methods of promoting your Web site today is through strategic
Scott is co-developer
of PromoMinder -
linking.
www.promominder.com
- the Internet's 1st The link building process involves finding Web sites that fit well
personal marketing
manager.
with your own business, product line and services, but are (of
course!) not in direct competition with you.
He holds an MA in
Communications degree
from Northwestern
By getting other targeted Web sites with high volumes of traffic
University, and is a to link to you, a percentage of their traffic will become your
Certified Search Engine traffic.
Positioning Analyst.

This can increase your sales exponentially.

In fact, strategic links can generate more traffic to your site than
anything else (other than getting - and keeping - a top 1-5 posi-
tion on a major search engine or directory).

The drawback to the link-building process is that it's plain hard


work.

Automated systems (such as free-for-all FFA links pages) are


not the answer. They deliver inferior and generally useless re-
sults, unqualified tire-kickers, endless spam and in today's search
engine environment can negatively impact your rankings.

Don't go the FFA route - it will NOT build your business be-
cause it isn't targeted.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 460
scott t. smith
The truth is that links to get targeted, qualified site visitors -
your potential customers - can ONLY be generated through one
on one contact with other site owners, one email at a time.

Your successful linkage campaign will require plenty of hours,


effort and relationship building skills, but the benefits include...
More traffic.
Better search engine positioning
More profits and sales.

Even with these benefits, are you wondering if your efforts will
be worth it? Here are 3 useful incentives to keep in mind:

1. You will make your site a destination of choice


You will add lots of value to your site and become a 'favorite' by
creating a carefully targeted reciprocal links page. Build strong
bonds with sites that already have lots of exposure. Give your
visitors the quality they seek, and they'll return again and again.

2. You will improve your search engine rankings


Quality links are essential. The more high traffic sites you have
linking to your site, the more popular you become. The more
popular your site appears to the search engines, the higher your
site will be ranked.

3. You will boost your credibility


You will boost your exposure and your credibility. Having sites
link back to you is as good as an endorsement, and direct mar-
keters know that endorsement marketing generates a LOT more
sales.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 461
scott t. smith
II. THE 3 ESSENTIALS OF YOUR
SUCCESSFUL LINKAGE CAMPAIGN

These are the essential elements of a successful linkage cam-


paign:
1. Your high value site
2. Your linkage strategy
3. Your email letter of introduction

We'll look at each in turn.

Your High Value Site


People like to associate with value, so it's important that your
site delivers valuable content. If all you have on your site is a
sales pitch, that generally is not reason enough to link.

So if you feel you may need more value, here's how to get it...

Content is information of high value or entertainment, and can


make your site stand above the crowd. Generally it falls into
five categories:
a. Free "how-to" articles or reports
pertinent to your clients
b. Topical information such as local news
or updates on your particular industry
c. Downloadable software
d. Clips: video, photos, graphics or sound
e. Links to other value-added sites
(that's right: links bring you more links)

If you need to enhance the value of your site, then add addi-
tional, valuable content from the list above.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 462
scott t. smith
If you believe your site already has what it takes for your niche
market(s), apply for the 'Link Friendly' Award here:
http://www.linkagexpress.com/link_award1.html

Your Link-Building Strategy


The goal of your linkage campaign is to seek out partners in-
cluding vendors, suppliers and providers of complementary prod-
ucts and services.

Write up a list of potential businesses with whom you can link,


and for whom you will NOT be direct competition. Ask for links
on sites that relate to your industry as well as cover your indus-
try, including industry-specific portals and business associations.

The easier you are to find for your niche market on the Web, the
more profitable your site will become.

Your Email Letter of Introduction


Unless you know everyone in your market niche personally, let's
assume you're going to have to get out there and do some 'cold
calling' by email. If you email a personal message to each site
owner and make specific reference to the contents of their site,
this will not be mistaken for spam.

But here's a WARNING...

If you harvest email addresses and send everyone the same let-
ter, you will be making a very serious mistake and potentially
ruining your chances to develop growing business relationships
with other sites. DON'T do this - it is NOT the right way to ask
for links, and can be fatal.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 463
scott t. smith
There are two 'right' ways to proceed:

1. Write each Webmaster or site contact individually. Tell them


how much you like their site, and why you ought to be included
as a resource.

Specify which page you'd like to be on, as well as what you feel
is the right placement on the page (don't be obnoxious, but do
make it as EASY as you can for them).

If it's appropriate, attach a button or small gif. Write the line of


text to go with your link, modeling the length of text and 'feel' of
the other links on the site.

Specify your URL and contact information. If possible, give them


all your information in HTML. If not, use plain text.

2. Offer a link trade or reciprocal link on your site. This requires


setting up your own site resource center of complementary busi-
nesses not in direct competition with you.

Which is a VERY good idea, because you can build traffic to


your site by becoming a resource center for the audience you
seek to target.

This how we do it as link popularity service providers - we AL-


WAYS develop a reciprocal links page for our clients, deliver-
ing it in HTML so it's very easy to integrate with the design of
their site. Today most site owners know the value of linkage,
and DO ask for a return link.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 464
scott t. smith
III. THE 4 FASTEST WAYS TO BUILD
YOUR LIST OF LINK SITES

There are four quick ways to build your list of potential link
sites.

A. Use a meta-search engine like http://www.ixquick.com or


http://www.dogpile.com. Each one delivers results from multi-
ple top search engines and directories.

B. Use a niche-specific search engine, or 'Vortal'. Enter "your


industry and seach engine" in Dogpile as a good starting point,
or look around Search Engine Watch (searchenginewatch.com)
to see what you can find for your niche.

C. Search newsgroups, online communities, and Web Rings that


interest your visitors.

D. Use Alexa, a free Web navigation service you can download


to work with your browser here:
(for PC) http://www.alexa.com/download.html
(for Mac) http://www.alexa.com/download/mac.html

IV. 9 TACTICS FOR GETTING


MORE LINKS TO YOUR SITE

Here are 9 more ways to jumpstart your linkage campaign and


get quick results:

1. Offer other Web sites free content to post on their Web sites,
and include your link on all content you give.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 465
scott t. smith
2. Write a review of a Web site, then tell the site owner it's theirs
to post in exchange for a link.

3. Allow others to publish your ezine on their Web site.

4. If you are a writer, add a free article directory to your Web


site and let others in your niche market know about it.

5. Do you have a discussion board? Invite other related sites to


link to it.

6. Do you have a members-only Web site? Offer targeted site


owners free membership if they link to you.

7. Join a Web Ring at http://www.webring.org, where each mem-


ber site links to the next member site along the chain. NOTE:
should you choose to get involved in a Web Ring, link to this
from an internal page of your site only.

8. Create an Award for 'best in your niche market' - require that


your award graphic link back to your site.

9. Join a Banner Exchange, and use it specifically for the oppor-


tunity to trade links with sites inside your target market. In other
words, don't just join a random banner network - do a keyword
search for "your niche market" and banner exchange. Otherwise
you'll only dilute your link relevancy in the process.

Measuring Your Success


Here are two simple ways to measure the success of your link-
age campaign:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 466
scott t. smith
1. Whenever you want to check on who is linking back to you,
you can use this handy online reciprocal link checker:
http://www.linkpopularity.com

However, note that this will only pick up links popping up in


four major search engines that are pointing back to you.

2. Monitor how many Web businesses are recommending your


site free at Google in 3 easy steps:

1. Go to Google at http://www.google.com

2. Type in the search box link:www.YOURSITE.com/, substi-


tuting your domain name for 'YOURSITE'.

3. Click the search button, and you'll get a comprehensive list of


sites linking back to yours.

V. HOW A TARGETED LINK POPULARITY


CAMPAIGN COMPARES TO AN SEO CAMPAIGN

You may want to compare and contrast targeted linkage with


search engine optimization (SEO). Both campaigns require an
investment, and you'll need to know where you'll get the most
bang for the buck.

'The answer is...'

Let's say you've got a search engine optimizer working to get


you great search engine positioning. This is important to do, but
even when you're #1 on Excite, you still have to wait for people
to find you through that particular search engine.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 467
scott t. smith
But let's say you're not #1 on Excite, or even #100. In fact, your
site is nowhere to be found on Excite. You've got to start from
scratch, and as of 1/02 your listing on Excite can take up to 10
full weeks to appear.

And then, this could happen: after waiting 10 weeks you dis-
cover that you didn't get a satisfactory ranking on Excite. Obvi-
ously you'll need to adjust, then submit again. Then wait up to
10 more weeks...

That's as long as 5 months of fiddling around with your Excite


rankings to get the results you want - IF you get the results you
want.

There's no guarantee, which is why most search engine optimizers


don't like to be locked into your positioning on any one particu-
lar search engine. Instead they'll work to get you top 10-30 posi-
tioning for x number of listings on x number of major search
engines.

Because of the time involved, a realistic SEO campaign needs at


minimum a 3 month window of opportunity. Your SEO must
have this flexibility to deliver quantifiable results. So if time is
an important factor, you'll need to take this into account.For a
targeted link popularity campaign, count on 30 days to begin
seeing measurable results. With proper followup, the traffic flow-
ing into your site from these links will only continue to grow.

There's one other thing to consider: although search engines are


used by around 83% of the population online to find resources,
currently they index less than 30% of the Internet overall. Which
means that more than 70% of all Internet resources cannot be
found through the search engines at all.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 468
scott t. smith
That's worth thinking about, and it raises this question: 'If peo-
ple can't find resources through search engines and directories,
how DO they find them and where do they look?'

The answer is, 'through links'. After search engines, this is the
2nd most popular way to find anything online, and opens the
door to a much higher percentage of the Internet's resources than
search engines can offer.

These are a few key contrasts between targeted linkage and SEO
work, but here's the REAL difference:

Targeted link building reaches out to the online community to


find your target audience and build your network, where an SEO
campaign is to do with the enhancement and effective submis-
sion of your Web site assets.

Targeted link building finds the sites where your target market
gathers, then establishes a direct link from that site to yours. In
this way it brings you one step closer to reaching your market -
people frequenting sites in your market niche can find your site
there, and no longer have to use search engines to find you.

It's a more direct approach, and there's another benefit: where


search engines change their ranking algorithms regularly which
causes your position to fluctuate, a link on a high traffic site can
stay posted for months or even years. If your site offers valuable
content, it delivers real value to a linking site because it enhances
what they offer to their visitors. That's why they want your link.

Are we saying 'the heck with search engines, concentrate on


links'? Not at all - some of our best friends are SEOs.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 469
scott t. smith
These search engine experts have driven substantial traffic and
paying customers to our sites. We thank them and highly recom-
mend them!

What we are saying is... 'Do BOTH'. Invest in your online mar-
Article by Scott T. Smith
keting today and you are investing in a bright future, because
of LinkageXpress, the
hand-tailored link your Web site is an asset that continues to grow.
popularity service for
commercial business
Targeted links enhance your listings with the top 19 search en-
Web sites. Effectively
announce your site, get gines today, and you'll be more visible and a recognized 'player'
properly linked within in your niche market if you place well on the major search en-
your niche market,
gines and directories. There's a symbiotic relationship here. Use
attract pre-qualified site
visitors prone to buy it to your advantage.
what you offer, and
improve your placement
with the major search
engines and directories. WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
For a FREE link popular- The reason I've included this particular article is simple: al-
ity consultation visit
though building link popularity for your site is something any-
www.linkagexpress.com
one can do, it's hard work! Presenting this simple, step-by-step
approach to the process gives people the tools they need, but
they still have to put them to use. That's where we come in: after
qualifying ourselves by providing this information we save site
owners blood, sweat and tears by doing all of this for them, then
following up their link popularity campaign to a successful con-
clusion. In the words of Terry Dean: "The fee I paid is a one
time fee. The traffic is forever. Overall Opinion: Highly Recom-
mended." This makes sense to business site owners, and that's
why this article has proven to be so effective in generating new
leads and sales.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 470
Get a FREE Link Popularity Consultation by LinkageXpress

Now you can announce your site, get properly linked within your niche market,

attract pre-qualified site visitors prone to buy what you offer, and improve your

placement with the major search engines and directories.

For your FREE link popularity consultation visit

http://www.LinkageXpress.com

LinkageXpress is endorsed by the Academy of Web Specialists, Terry Dean, Jonathan Mizel, Robin

Nobles and Planet Ocean’s Stephen Mahaney, who states LinkageXpress is "the professional solution

to building link popularity that gathers the blessings of search engines in the making!"
jim sterne
It’s wonderful
to count and
Since 1994, Jim Sterne
has devoted all of his
attention to the Internet
as a marketing medium.
calculate and
tabulate, but
His insight and currency
are assured by his
experience as a founding
partner of a regional
Internet access provider

if you don’t do
and his activities as a
consultant to some of
the world's largest
companies and most
innovative start-ups.

anything with the


numbers, it’s as if
you had them not
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 472
jim sterne
Heaven doth with us as we with torches do,
Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues
Did not go forth of us, ‘twere all alike
As if we had them not.
Measure for Measure, Act I, Scene I
On Monday, September
27, 1993, the National
Center for Super- The bloom is off the rose when it comes to the Internet, and
computing Applications knowing what works and what doesn’t is a necessity. We’re no
(NCSA) released the first
longer looking at hits as a viable indicator of our Web marketing
public version of its
graphical World Wide prowess. Pageviews have given us the most consistent, yet deeply
Web browser, Mosaic. On unsatisfying, look at our success.
Tuesday, September 27,
1994, Jim Sterne
launched the world's With so many options, there has to be a way to focus on what
first "Marketing on the provides you with the best return on your investment. Unfortu-
Internet" seminar series.
nately, there are as many ways to measure things as there are
This eight-city tour
introduced the United things to be measured, multiplied by the business goals of those
States to the possibilities doing the measuring.
of using the Internet for
advertising, marketing,
sales, and customer In May 2000, Matt Cutler of NetGenesis ( www.netgen.com) and
service. I published a white paper called "E-Metrics, Business Metrics
for the New Economy". We interviewed 20 leading Web manag-
ers from sites you’d recognize including, Barnes & Noble, BBC
Online, Charles Schwab, iVillage.com, Microsoft - you get the
picture - in order to find out what they were measuring and how
they were measuring and what they were doing with the results
they got.

When we took the E-Metrics white paper on the road and per-
formed an around-the-world series of seminars, we started out
with the same questions you’ll have to ask yourself when you
want to start recording a baseline against which to test your
progress: What are you trying to accomplish?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 473
jim sterne
What challenges do you face? What are you trying to learn? Why
do you need to know? How will that help you in your business?
What are your most important business goals at the moment?

The answers we got were many and varied. Take a quick look at
In November, 1995, Jim's
these, and see if you can spot a few that are worth a tick-mark
book, World Wide Web
Marketing was published for your organization:
by John Wiley & Sons
and his second book,
Increase repeat visits
Customer Service on the
Internet, was published Understand user behavior
in October, 1996 (second Identify E-Metrics focused on VC/investor interest
edition, 2000). His third
Integrated view of customers
tome: What Makes
People Click: Advertising Identify key metrics appropriate to business
on the Internet was How do we establish a baseline to work from?
released in September,
How much impact is traditional marketing having on the site?
1997 and the fourth:
E-Mail Marketing in 2000. ROI - where to spend on promotion and infrastructure
The third edition of his How to continuously learn from ongoing data
widely acclaimed World
How can an offline business measure effectiveness on the Web/
Wide Web Marketing was
released in June, 2001. branding?
How do we optimize banner rotation?
Compare E-Metrics with industry/competition
Measure the value of personalization for e-mail marketing
Do we have effective customer segmentation?
How do we define unique users and move to personalization?
How do we identify real people versus unique users?
How do we get to details about users?
How do we understand shopping cart abandonment?
How do we measure traffic flow?
Understand how customers navigate to deliver the best user ex-
perience
Conduct clickstream analysis
Understand content freshness

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 474
jim sterne
Understand where customers are coming from
Understand reach
Metrics for customer intelligence relevant to our business model
Understand loyalty of users
Define patterns for loyal customers, understand lifetime value
Jim Sterne has presented
Identify action for insight gained about users’ behavior
his unique perspective
on Internet marketing at Understand and optimize acquisition of customers
conferences around the Understand how to track conversions
world, and has lectured
Measure customer satisfaction
at the University of
California, Stanford Predict future purchases
University, and MIT. Get buy-in and have senior management understand the impor-
tance of E-Metrics
He stays active as a
public speaker and as a Identify measurement standards
consultant, helping each Process for establishing objectives for measurement
client set Internet
Get everyone on the same page, fix communication breakdown
marketing goals and
determine customer Cost justify investment for measurement software/services
relationship strategies. Get agreement on what to measure between staff and upper man-
agement
Process for developing custom reports for individual users within
organization
Integrate multichannel offline data
Correlate e-mail data to Web-derived data
Using consistent methods for measurement across business
Data accuracy - getting consistent, accurate numbers
Identify correct tools and methods for measurement effort
Track Flash and media content applications
Track data collected from mobile-commerce
Get real-/near-real- time data
Understand sampling as an option
How do we deal with privacy/security?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 475
jim sterne
If you’re feeling a little woozy right now, it’s OK. Most people
get a little lightheaded at these altitudes - it’s perfectly normal.
Just sit down, put your head between your knees, and breathe
into this paper bag. Good. The room will stop spinning in just a
moment.
Jim Sterne
Target Marketing
of Santa Barbara The best approach is to take this a step at a time:
jsterne@targeting.com
www.targeting.com
Somebody comes to your Web site.
Author, Speaker,
Consultant Your Web site responds.
+1 805-965-3184 The visitor wanders your site looking for things.
Web Marketing,
The visitor leaves or buys something and then leaves.
Customer Service &
E-Metrics Consulting The visitor leaves footprints all over the place for your analysis.
The visitor comes back or not.
Subscribe today to the
You try to determine if the visitor thinks you’re doing a good
mostly monthly "Full
Sterne Ahead" job.
You try to determine if the public/industry thinks you’re doing
a good job.
You try to determine the visitor’s lifetime value to the company.

It’ll take some doing. Where do you start?

Here’s where I prove that I’m a consultant... It depends.

From World Wide Web Marketing, 3rd Edition by Jim Sterne

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article acts as a wake-up call. This is the art of showing
potential clients where it hurts, so you can rush in and provide
the pain relief.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 476
jim sterne
Most companies know there's something wrong with how they're
going about managing their Web sites. I put a fine point on the
fact that they don't know well enough.

The article obliquely offers a solution - consulting - and people


come to *my* Web site to find out more.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 477
Jim Sterne offers best practices and insight into how the most successful compa-
nies identify goals and measure the impact their Web sites have on their busi-
ness. A private workshop can speed you on your way to making the most return
on the investment you've already made.

Web Metrics: Proven Methods for Measuring Web Site Success


This latest Jim Sterne book covers measuring the success of your Web site from
advertising to customer service.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471220728/targetmarketingA
joan stewart
The Seven
Deadly Sins
Joan Stewart, a former
newspaper editor, is also
known as The Publicity
Hound. She is a media
relations consultant who
of News Releases
works with companies, A news release is often your only chance to make a great first
non-profits, government
impression.
agencies and anyone
who wants to use the
media to establish their Newspapers, magazines and trade publications receive them by
credibility, enhance their
the truckload. That means sloppy, inaccurate, pointless releases
reputation, sell more
products and services, are the first to hit the newsroom wastebasket. To make sure yours
and position themselves isn't one of them, avoid these Seven Deadly Sins:
as the employers of
choice.
1. Providing insufficient or wrong information, particularly
phone numbers. Releases must be complete, accurate, specific.

2. Writing too long. They should be no longer than two pages.

3. Sending it too late. Mail or fax it at least two weeks before an


event, preferably three or four. Major magazines work four to
six months ahead of time.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 479
joan stewart
4. Sending a release with no news value. News is what hap-
pens that is different. If it isn't different, it isn't news.

5. Blatant commercialism. Avoid hackneyed words and phrases


such as spectacular, incredible, the only one of its kind, break-
Joan also works as a
through, cutting-edge, unique and state-of-the-art.
speaker and trainer who
teaches organizations
how to establish strong 6. Omitting a contact name and phone number. At the top of
relations with the media,
the first page in the left corner, let editors know who they can
when they want
coverage and when they call if they have questions.
don’t. She publishes The
Publicity Hound, a bi-
7. Calling after you send a release. Questions like "Did you
monthly subscription
newsletter, as well as get my news release?" or "Do you know when it will be printed?"
“The Publicity Hound’s will brand you as a pest. Don't follow up with a phone call to see
Tips of the Week,” a free
if the media got your release, unless you are absolutely sure that
weekly ezine loaded with
tips, tricks and tools for someone will check for you. Most reporters and editors don't
free publicity. have time. If you do follow up, make sure you have a reason to
call. Suggest a particular angle to your story, or the media peo-
Joan has also published
more than three dozen ple if they need any other information.
in-depth reports and
other educational
Other bonehead mistakes to avoid:
products designed to
help Publicity Hounds
solve their toughest ● Using outdated media reference books. Double-check to see
publicity dilemmas.
if the person to whom you are sending the news release still
They can be found at
PublicityHound.com, works there, and that the address is the same. A news release
where you can also read sent to an editor who died 10 years ago eventually will be routed
many free articles on
to the right person, but they'll think you don't care about the
how to generate
publicity. Joan lives in paper or who works there.
Saukville, Wisconsin. ● Sending a photo that lacks identification. The back of each
Contact her at
photo should have a sticker that includes the person's name, ti-
jstewart@PublicityHound.com
or Ph 262-284-7451. tle, company and telephone number.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 480
joan stewart
● Forgetting to give the booth number if you're writing about a
new product that is being featured at a trade show.
● Sending the same release to more than one department at the
same media outlet without attaching a note that tells the editors
you are doing so. I worked at a newspaper that unknowingly
Joan Stewart, a.k.a. The
printed the same news release three times in different sections
Publicity Hound, offers
more great tips on news of the paper, on the same day.
releases in her free ● Sending the news release by e-mail when the media outlet
weekly electronic
prefers snail-mail.
newsletter called “The
Publicity Hound’s Tips of ● Failing to specify what the news release is about in the subject
the Week.” Sign up at line. Don't just type "news release."
her web site at
● Sending news releases as an attachment. Opening attachments
PublicityHound.com
and receive free by is time-consuming, and many companies these days are wary of
autoresponder the attachments because of viruses.
handy list called “89
● Sending news releases as a zipped file that must be
Reasons to Send a News
Release.” A variety of downloaded, unzipped and read into a word processor.
other articles on how to
get free publicity are
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
also at her web site.
I get more requests to reprint this article than any other article I
have written. That’s because most people see news releases as
the basis of their public relations and marketing campaign. News
releases cost next to nothing. If done correctly, they can virtu-
ally guarantee you publicity. They’re quick and easy.

Yet they’re loaded with potential landmines. Make one minor


mistake in a news release and an editor might throw it in the
wastebasket. Send a news release as an e-mail attachment and it
might never be opened. Mail it to a reporter whose name you
misspell and she will think you are clueless about working with
the media. Following several simple rules for writing and send-
ing news releases will turn even the most pathetic media mutt
Copyright 2000.
Reprinted with permis- into a smart Publicity Hound.
sion from Joan Stewart

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 481
SPECIAL
REPORTS 3930 Highway O Saukville, WI 43080

Ph (262) 284-7451 Fax (262) 284-1737


Fax-back http://www.publicityhound.com jstewart@publicityhound.com
Order Form to
262-284-1737 Generate Thousands of Dollars in Publicity
with These 37 Special Reports—Only $7 Each
❏ #1—Damage Control: How to Keep the Media from Making ❏ #24—How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and
a Mess of Your Story Conferences
❏ #2—Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an ❏ #25—How to Pitch Reporters Over the Telephone and
Interview Make Every Second Count
❏ #3—How to Use Free Publicity to Attract and Keep ❏ #26—How to Make Your Story Pitch Stand Out in the E-
Qualified Employees mail Jungle
❏ #4—How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor ❏ #27—How to Get Booked on Radio Talk Shows, Give a
❏ #5—How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Great Interview and Get Invited Back
Organization ❏ #28—The News Conference: When to Hold It and How to
❏ #6—How to Write “How-to” Articles that Position You as Do It Right
an Expert ❏ #29—Fly High with Publicity in In-Flight Magazines
❏ #7—How to Write the Perfect “Pitch” Letter that Con- ❏ #30—Briefs, Fillers and Quizzes: The Shortest, Easiest
vinces an Editor to Write About You Articles You’ll Ever Write
❏ #8—Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them ❏ #31—Sell More Products and Services by Getting and
Without Spending a Bundle Giving Powerful Testimonials
❏ #9—How to Snag Free Publicity for Your New Business ❏ #32—On the Air: How to Create Valuable TV Coverage
❏ #10—Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or ❏ #33—How to Win the Support and Respect of Newspaper
Special Event Editorial Boards
❏ #11—Secrets for Building Your Celebrity Image ❏ #34—Secrets to Becoming a Columnist in Newspapers
❏ #12—52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases (and Bonehead and Magazines
Mistakes to Avoid) ❏ #35—How to be the Local Angle to National Stories
❏ #13—How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity ❏ #36—How to Clinch a Media Sponsorship for Your Fund-
Hounds Only) Raiser or Special Event
❏ #14—How to Piggyback Your Story Ideas onto Holidays ❏ #37—How to Tie Your Product, Service, Cause or Issue to
and Anniversaries the Weather
❏ #15—Publicity Tips for Schools, Colleges and Universities
❏ Yes—Send me the Reports I’ve ticked, for $7
❏ #16—How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media’s
each. I enclose/charge my credit card $_______
Attention
❏ Value Pack—I’ll take all 37 for $187 and save
❏ #17—Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw
$72.00!
Traffic & Boost Sales
❏ #18—Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call
Name ________________________________
❏ #19—How to Use Polls and Surveys That Brand You as an Address ______________________________
Expert ______________________________________
❏ #20—How to Write and Market Profitable Special Reports
State _____________ Zip ________________
❏ #21—67 Great Publicity Tips for Professional Speakers
Credit Card Details:
❏ #22—How to Set Up an Online Media Room—and Keep
‘Em Coming Back ❏ Visa ❏ Mastercard Exp _____________
❏ #23—Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-Start Your Consult- Card No. _____________________________
ing Business Signature _____________________________
If paying by check, make check payable to The Publicity Hound and mail to the address at the top of this page.
Or order at www.PublicityHound.com. Wisconsin residents add 5 percent sales tax.
anthony stillwell
“Yes, But What
Are You Doing
About It?”
Anthony Stillwell was
born and raised in
Houston, TX where he
still lives today.
He started out as a
Machinist before he
realized that his true
You're being done a great disservice by a few marketers who are
calling was the Internet.
afraid to tell you the truth... Afraid to let you know the real story...
“The first time I got Afraid to tell you how hard things can be.
online in 1997 I was
hooked! I knew instantly
that the Internet The Basic Truth About Success
where I was meant to
be.”
Being successful at anything you do requires WORK. I know
that in the marketing field use of that word is a BIG no-no, but
it's a word you have to hear. Without that ONE "four-letter" word
you would have an unrealistic expectation of success.

Success doesn't always come easy. I could tell you it does and
you would have NO IDEA what it took for me to get to this
point. You wouldn't know that I started at the age of 19 with no
money, no computer knowledge, no business background and
no computer.

Not the easiest way to start an online business... Is it?

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 483
anthony stillwell
Now, consistently making money online isn't a dream for me
anymore simply because I refused to let anything stand in the
way of what I wanted. It did take me two years to start making
money however.

Anthony started out


I'm 24 now and the most important thing I've learned about what
with no computer, no
business background, no it takes to be successful is that you CAN'T give up. Success has
products and no money a way of waiting until 99.9% of the people who were looking for
for advertising. All he
it give up in frustration and leave before it decides to show up.
had was a strong desire
to shape his life the way
he saw fit. Instead of Something You Already Know and Sometimes Ignore
letting ‘obstacles’ that
stop so many others get
in the way he used them "Perseverance is a great element of success.
as motivation to press on If you knock long enough and loud enough at the gate,
and help others learn
you are sure to wake up somebody".
from his efforts.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
He is known as the “Free
Advertising Guy” because
You want to have a better business... You want to make more
of a simple step-by-step
system that he uses to money... You want better things for yourself and for your family
get thousands of but "What Are You Doing About It?" Sitting back and wishing is
website visitors every
easy. Sitting back and complaining that no one is around to help
single month using the
simple, but extreme you is easy. Criticizing others for having the kind of success
power: L-E-V-E-R-A-G-E. you want for yourself is easy.

Doing everything you can to make your dreams a reality and


humbling yourself to ask for help when it's needed are where
most people fall flat. I didn't get the things I have alone. When I
couldn't get support and understanding from my family I turned
to marketers who understood this "crazy need" I have to work
for myself and were willing to help.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 484
anthony stillwell
When I didn't have a computer I found someone who would let
me use theirs. When I didn't have a clue how to write HTML I
took every tutorial that popped up in the search engines. When I
didn't even have $10 to spare for advertising I learned how to
get thousands of visitors a month to my sites for free.
Anthony is the author of:

Unlimited Free Traffic: You have obstacles in your way, which may seem insurmount-
How To Generate All The able at times. They aren't.
Targeted Leads You Want
Without Risking A Single
Penny On Advertising! You may have family or "friends" who give you a hard time
because they don't understand why you would want to put your-
Get Free (BOO): How To
self through all frustration of trying to be your own boss. But in
Automate Your Market-
ing Efforts And Get More the end... Most of them admire you for trying.
Done In Less Time!

The Myth Of Effortless Success


5 Steps To Instant Online
Profits!
How many money-making, life-altering packages have you
How To Ethically “Steal”
bought in the last few years? More than your share? Do you now
Traffic Away From Sites
That Rank Higher Than have the success you bought those packages to achieve?
You In The Search En-
gines
Maybe... Maybe not.
Affiliate Marketing
Magic: How To Get More I'll let you in on a little secret. Almost anyone can make money
Sales For Any Program
using any of the money-making packages you'll find on the net.
You Promote!
People do it every day. The reason is because they understand
Anthony is living proof that nothing magical will happen just because they bought the
that if you never lose
latest and greatest do all/be all product of the century.
sight of your goals and
don’t let anything or
anyone stand in the way These people understand that effort is what will set them apart
of what you want… You
from the thousands who get nothing from the very same prod-
can achieve anything.
ucts they use to make more in a month than most people make in
a year.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 485
anthony stillwell
You would be surprised to know the kind of money some people
are making with simple products that others say are worthless.
It's your mentality that counts. You CAN get what you want.
Success requires a sustained effort and a belief in yourself to
become a reality.
Anthony Stillwell is the
author of "Unlimited Free
Traffic" and publisher of There's a time for making excuses and there's a time for making
the “EnterNet PROFITS” money. So the next time you're faced with an obstacle that's stand-
newsletter where you'll
ing in the way of something you want and know you deserve...
get the hottest tips
and the best online Don't get discouraged... "Do Something About It!"
resources to give you
the advantage.
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
getfreeadvertising.com
This article wasn’t chosen at random. It was chosen because of
the feedback it generated from my subscribers and others who
read it. It seems that many of the people who read my article
were becoming frustrated at not achieving their goals quickly
enough so for them the article really hit home. My mother for
example recently got promoted in the network marketing com-
pany she’s involved with. The promotion that means she won’t
have to go back to a 9-5 ever again.Took her 4 years to achieve
that goal.

Thousands of people gave up on the exact same business oppor-


tunity in the past 4 years while she pressed on. Seeing that is
what kept me going and still gives me motivation today. So…
“Yes, But What Are You Doing About It?” was written to help
people get past the frustration of not getting immediate results
by seeing that not everyone achieves “instant” success. I know
from my own experience and from the experience of others that
perseverance in the face of adversity pays off. Hopefully a few
people got the message that always works for me… “Never Give
Up!”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 486
“UNLIMITED Free Traffic Reveals How You Can Get
Hundreds Of Webmasters To Send You Their Most
Qualified Traffic For Free Every Single Month!”

If you’re tired of spending more money


than you make online then this may be
the most exciting message you’ll read all year. . .

Discover how your business can use effective Free Advertising to generate a con-
stant stream of leads without risking a penny. Now instead of pouring money down
the drain trying to get new customers, the Free Advertising I will show you how to
put in place will go out and “hunt down” new business for you!

In just minutes you’ll see how to…

Start an affiliate program for products you don’t own. I do it all the time and
the best part of it is the owners of the products are fine with it. I’ll admit this
takes a little work upfront, but the payoff is well worth it. Are you willing to work
for two to three weeks to get thousands in Free Advertising that lasts for
months? If not, you can always pay for advertising.

How to get complete products to sell that already have proven sales letters
and order-taking in place! Still looking for a great product to sell or looking for
a proven product to add to your line? I’ll show you how you can find products to
sell all over the Internet. And the best part is that you can usually get them for
Free just by asking. You’ll see why this works and where you can find these
products.

How to get reprint rights to digital products without paying for them. If you
have the money to buy reprint rights then by all means go for it, but if you don’t
you need to know this simple strategy. I just recently used this tactic to get
reprint rights to a product that sells for $199.00... Free.

Plus much, much more…

If you bought one Solo Ad a month for the next 3 months you’d spend over $350.00.
In just minutes you’ll see how you can get that same amount of advertising for Free
this month. Stop spending money for advertising you can easily get for free by
following my proven, step-by-step system.

http://www.getfreeadvertising.com
j.f. (jim) straw
What to do when
you don’t have any
testimonials
The eldest son of a
farmer/aircraft worker,
born in Oklahoma and
reared on farms in
Oklahoma, Missouri, and
Kansas, Straw began his
long, successful career in This article was prompted by a question I received from a Busi-
business at the age of
ness Lyceum Attendee, when she asked ... "Dan Kennedy always
nine; when he sold his
first cans of Cloverleaf emphasizes testimonials. What if you are new to the business
Salve and copies of "GRIT" and don't have any?"
newspaper. Even at that
early age, he had the
unique talent of recog- Although Dan is an old friend of mine and one of the finest
nizing an opportunity, Mailorder Marketers alive (second only to myself), like all of us
implementing a plan,
ol'pros, he is always right and always wrong!
and making a profit.

If there were only one technique, method or application that


would work, every marketing program would be identical to all
the others. So, anything an ol'pro in marketing (even me) es-
pouses as a viable marketing method must be taken in the con-
text of your own product or service.

The only way to tell if any marketing technique, method or ap-


plication is right for your product or service is by Testing, Re-
testing and Testing Some More. -- Whatever works is right ...
whatever doesn't work is wrong.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 488
j.f. (jim) straw
Anywho, the question I was asked is almost the same as a ques-
tion I received from another one of my readers over a year ago ...
Jim Straw's career has
progressed through for one of my paper and ink publications. – He decided to chal-
direct selling, service lenge the ol’Mailorder Master (me), by asking ...
contracting, wholesale
merchandising, enter-
tainment (he was a “All the copy writing gurus and experts stress the vital impor-
professional Trumpet tance of testimonials in a winning direct mail sales letter or ad.
player, vocalist & Radio
How are you going to get a true, uncontrived testimonial when
Announcer), freight
forwarding, import/ you’re offering a product or service for the first time? This is
export, retail merchan- especially problematic when you’re offering a new money-mak-
dising, warehousing, real
ing program or home-study course that takes some time (3-12
estate, electronics
manufacturing, months) before a client would actually see significant financial
finder's fees, closeout results from using your system.”
merchandising, financial
brokerage, business
consulting, steel Then, he gave me four possible alternatives for consideration:
fabrication, gold & coal
mining, offshore
“(1) A personal referral from people who think you, as the au-
banking, mailorder,
writing, and publishing. thor of the program, are a knowledgeable, talented and honest
guy.

“(2) Results of your own experience in using the system. In this


case, it’s simply your own testimonial.

“(3) Engage in a joint venture with someone who is in a related


field and has a strong following similar to your target market. In
this case, your sales letter would be mailed to that person’s cli-
ents, along with his testimonial letter as to the quality of your
system. Of course, this is not always feasible.

“(4) Ignore testimonials completely and pray that your ‘copy-


writing genius’ will save the day.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 489
j.f. (jim) straw
Well, to begin with, not ALL “copy writing gurus and experts
stress the vital importance of testimonials.” -- I know I don’t.
Over the past 30 years,
J.F. Straw has written
well over 300 books, On page #11 in the mailorder bible (my book; “Own Your Own
booklets, manuals,
Mailorder Business”), you will find my experienced observa-
reports, courses and
articles about doing tions about the use of testimonials. -- Pay close attention to the
business – all based on two schools of thought on the subject.
his own personal, hands-
on experience. His
writings are "specific" Note: “Own Your Own Mailorder Business” ... the 'bible' of the
methods, techniques and mailorder industry ... is available at:
approaches to doing
http://www.businesslyceum.com/mailorder.html
business that anyone can
use to start or expand
their business. When I wrote the book, I had discontinued using testimonials in
any of my sales pieces ... I even explained ‘why’ in the book. -
- Since then, I have added “true” testimonials to my sales letter
for my “WorldWide Business Exchange” - but – I did it my way
... which is different from the way some of my contemporaries
use testimonials. -- I used them as a 'qualifier.'

In choosing the “testimonials” for my sales letter, I used testi-


monials that would appeal to “real” business people ... as op-
posed to “wannabes.” As a matter of fact, I used testimonials
that would “turn-off” the majority of ‘hype’ customers because
the testimonials were purposely chosen to make those kind of
people feel inferior to my readers.

Note: You can read those 'testimonial' in the information about


"WorldWide Business Exchange" at :
http://www.businesslyceum.com/wwbx.html

Now ... back to the question at hand:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 490
j.f. (jim) straw
What Do You Do When You Don’t Have Any Testimonials?

As a mailorder
marketer...with over Although all four of the alternatives my reader offered are vi-
700,000 customers able, #2 and #4 are the methods I have used consistently - but -
worldwide ... Straw has
#1 and #3 touch upon some other methods I would use if I abso-
sold over two-hundred
& fifty-million dollars lutely wanted to use “testimonials” in my sales material but didn’t
($250,000,000) worth of have any.
products and services by
mail. Everything from
Beauty Supplies to Heavy First. Instead of ‘referrals’ from people who know and like “ME,”
Equipment ... Burglar or ‘joint ventures’ with other notables in the industry, I would
Alarms to Sleeping Bags
try a ...
... Fishing Lures to
Women's Wigs ...
Automobiles to Wheel- Celebrity Endorsement Approach
chairs ... Investment
Opportunities to Seafood
... Consulting Services to Referrals from your friends may be ego-building, and may even
"How To" Courses ... all by inspire your potential customers - but - your potential customers
mailorder.
may too easily see through them. After all, ‘friends’ have a way
As a member of "Mensa," of expressing their friendship with more sentiment than ration-
with a lifetime of proven ality.
success in marketing,
Straw justifiably
identifies himself as a Joint Ventures, on the other hand, while being a viable ‘market-
"Marketing Genius." ing’ ploy, could be considered ‘suspect’ by your potential cus-
tomers because of the obvious profit motive.

So ... why not use a “celebrity” endorsement instead.

For many years, our ol’friend, Gary Halbert (another ol’pro in


the mailorder industry), espoused the use of underpaid, over-
exposed, minor TeeVee and Movie Actors as “paid” endorsers
for your products or services. In his material, Gary detailed the
methods to use to contact those minor celebrities; told how to
approach them; and recommended how much to offer them.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 491
j.f. (jim) straw
Even though these are “paid” endorsements, they can carry a
great deal of weight because your potential customers recognize
and, thereby, think they ‘know’ the person making the endorse-
ment. -- It’s all the better if you can afford to ‘hire’ Rush
Limbaugh, Cher, Charlton Heston, Alex Trebek, or some other
super-well-known celebrity to do the endorsement.

Note: Since I’ve never used “paid” celebrity endorsements ...


like Gary Halbert ... I would be remiss in trying to relate the
methods to use in contacting and compensating those celebrities
- but - if’n you look around, you might be able to find some of
Gary’s writings on mailorder marketing to help you. - Unfortu-
nately, I haven’t heard from Gary in too many years and the last
letter I sent him came back undeliverable, so I don’t even know
how to tell you where to get ahold of him or his materials.

Of course, using “paid” celebrity endorsements costs money ...


even if it is just a few hundred dollars for a very minor TeeVee
or Movie Actor - but - there is a cheaper and more effective way.

In many industries ... not all; or even most; but many ... there are
notables (industry celebrities) who are well-known to the peo-
ple who may want or need your products or services. -- Instead
of using ‘testimonials’ from people who know you, try to get
‘quotable comments’ (indirect endorsements) from people your
customers know.

As an example: When I finished writing “Own Your Own


Mailorder Business,” one of the first things I did was to have a
bunch of bound manuscript copies put together. Then, I mailed
those copies ... with a personal letter ... to all of my old friends
and acquaintances in the mailorder industry.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 492
j.f. (jim) straw
These were people who knew me but, they were also well-known
to my customers.

My purpose in sending the advance review copies to those peo-


ple was to get their input. I wanted to know if there were things
I should have included in the book but didn’t ... or things I had
included in the book that I shouldn’t have.

Even though my intention was not to gain ‘quotable comments’


from those people, almost every one of them told me I could
quote them ... if I wanted to. -- But ...

Had I chosen to ‘quote’ any of those mailorder notables, I would


have first written up the ‘quote’ exactly as I would be using it in
my sales material. Then, I would have sent a copy of the ‘quote’
I proposed using to the person who had made the comment to
get their approval and permission to use the quote as written. --
I really wouldn’t have had to do that because almost all of the
letters I had received told me I could quote them but it is some-
thing I have always done. As a matter of fact, that little practice
once saved me from a lawsuit.

You can use a similar approach to create your own ‘celebrity’


endorsements.

Just select a list of well-known people ... people your potential


customers will recognize and respect ... in your industry. Then,
send them a ‘sample’ of your product (or service) for their use
and comment. You can do that even if you don’t know them and
they don’t know you, as long as your product is something that
they should, would or could comment on within the industry.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 493
j.f. (jim) straw
Hey ... don’t be chintzy. -- Send them the most valuable sample
of the product you have. No matter how much it costs you, it
beats the cost of a “paid” endorsement. -- The most favorable
comments you get can be used ... after getting permission ... in
your sales material.

Note: Some of the ‘comments’ you get back from the notables
in your industry may not be quotable ... even uncomplimentary
or derogatory. -- Use those comments to refine, revise and im-
prove your product. -- In other cases, the comments you get ...
while not necessarily usable as indirect endorsements ... may
provide key-phrases, buzz-words, motivational buttons, or other
marketing ideas you can use to enhance your sales material.

Beyond that, you might want to ...

Create a Board of Advisors

Invite well-known people ... people your potential customers will


recognize and respect ... in your industry to serve on your Board
of Advisors. -- If you have received some favorable ‘comments’
from notables in your industry ... comments you might use as
‘celebrity’ endorsements ... when you ask their permission to
use their quotes, also ask them to serve on your Board of Advi-
sors. Then, print your Board of Advisors in a side-bar on your
company letterhead. – Use that letterhead in all your correspond-
ence to lend credence to your company.

This works well even if there aren’t any well-known, recogniz-


able authorities in your industry.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 494
j.f. (jim) straw
How many times have you received a letter with a “Board of
Advisors” or “Advisory Board” (or some other such nomencla-
ture) listed on the company’s letterhead? – The names on that
board are such people as the company’s Banker(s),
Accountant(s), Attorney(s), etc. — Any ‘professional’ who
serves the company. -- Sometimes they even list the organiza-
tions the principals belong to, degrees the principals hold, and
awards the company and/or principals have received.

Using a Board of Advisors (Advisory Board; whatever) on your


letterhead ... even if you don’t have any ‘testimonials’ or ‘en-
dorsements’ ... can lend the ‘credibility’ of your ‘advisors’ to
your company ... enhancing the “image” of your company in
your customers’ eyes.

By the way, it is easier than you might think to put together a


Board of Advisors.

Some years ago, I helped a young company put together an


Advisory Board made up of some of the most recognizable
names in the Financial Industry. -- All I did was write to each of
those people explaining the financial “service” the new com-
pany would be offering. In the letter, I also asked if the com-
pany could call upon them; personally, on occasion for advice
in their field of expertise.

Once I had a response from those people ... most of them gra-
ciously agreeing to provide advice ... I wrote back and advised
them that I was putting together an “Advisory Board” for the
company and would like to list their name on that board. -- You
wouldn’t believe the big, Big, BIG names I finally ended-up
with on that board.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 495
j.f. (jim) straw
Remember, all people like to think of themselves as giving and
caring - and - they also like to have their egos massaged ... so,
being on an “Advisory Board” massages their ego and makes
them feel caring and giving.

Then again, even if there aren’t any well-known people your


potential customers will recognize and respect in your industry,
you might want to ...

Use Professional Endorsements

Some years ago, a small company that marketed a patented air


purification device was preparing their very first mailorder sales
campaign. -- They, too, had read all about using ‘testimonials’
in their sales materials but they didn’t have any.

At first, their sales materials focused on “cleaning the air in


your home or office.” So, they had some friends use the de-
vices in their homes and report the results. – Those reports ...
although not very convincing ... became their very first ‘testi-
monials.’ But, they did make enough sales of the device to start
getting some ‘real’ testimonials from buyers.

One of the ‘testimonials’ they received was from a Doctor who


had bought one of the devices for his asthmatic daughter ... to
clean-up the air in her bedroom. – That ‘testimonial’ made the
company refocus their sales message.

Having learned that their device was helpful in the treatment of


asthma, the company decided they could sell more units by of-
fering it to asthmatics. But, they only had the one ‘testimonial’
from one Doctor about the device’s effectiveness. So ...

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 496
j.f. (jim) straw
The company sent a letter to a list of Doctors around the country
who treated asthma patients. -- In the letter, the company of-
fered to provide one FREE air purification device to an asthma
patient of the Doctor's choice IF the Doctor would agree to docu-
ment any beneficial results to the company.

Of course, they limited the offer to the first 100 Doctors and
required the Doctor to complete a survey form about the patient
who would received the device ... along with the Doctor’s signed
agreement to provide feedback about the applied use and effec-
tiveness of the device. (They enclosed a copy of the "one" doc-
tor's testimonial as initial evidence of the effectiveness of the
device in the treatment of asthma patients.)

Within 3 months, the company had enough ‘real’ testimonials


(endorsements) from ‘real’ Doctors to fill a full-page. -- That
page of Doctor’s testimonials became the foundation for their
mailings to lists of asthma patients across the country. -- A year
later, the owners of the company were ‘real’ millionaires.

If you are marketing a product (or service) that can be most ef-
fectively tested by some profession, why not create a ‘survey’
for members of that profession (doctors, lawyers, accountants,
indian chiefs) and have them ‘test’ the product or service on
their clients? The resulting ‘testimonials’ can give you a
ho’bunch of Professional Endorsements to use in your sales
material.

Then again, if you can’t find any ‘celebrities,’ don’t know who
to put on your Board of Advisors, or don’t have a product or
service to get some ‘professionals’ to endorse, try ...

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 497
j.f. (jim) straw
Using Article Reprints

Usually, when most business people think about getting a News


Release published, they do so with the intent of having the re-
sulting article generate inquiries for; or even sales of, their prod-
uct. But, there is an even better use of those published articles.

When I finished writing my book, beyond sending bound manu-


script copies to other giants in the mailorder industry, I also sent
out a ho’bunch of “Review Copies” to book reviewers. — Along
with those review copies, I sent a very brief (two paragraph)
description of the book to give the potential book reviewer an
idea of what the book was about ... with a copy of my bio-sheet;
so the reviewer would have some idea of who I am. (You can
see it in the “About Us” section of the “Business Lyceum.”)

Of all the reviews that were written about my book, the very,
very best was written by the book reviewer at “Jackpot.” -- As a
matter of fact, where the reviews in other publications did pull
some inquiries about the book, the review in “Jackpot” eventu-
ally pulled a total of 17 “paid orders” for the book. (At $50 per,
that ain’t bad fer a Freebie.)

To be quite honest with you, since I had sold over 1,000 copies
of my book without any testimonials or endorsements, I really
wasn’t looking for anything to enhance my response - but - when
I saw the number of paid orders coming-in from that review, I
decided to reprint the article and make it part of my sales letter
offer. -- The results were phenomenal ... still are. -- That reprint
increased my response rate by from 50% to 200% ... meaning
lists that pulled a 1% response without the reprint pulled from
1.5% to 3% with the reprint.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 498
j.f. (jim) straw
Having said that, you now have an even bigger reason to get
some News Articles printed about yourself, your business, and
your products or services. -- It isn’t just the inquiries the articles
can generate, it’s the potential use of reprints of some of those
articles to build your business image.

Now, following up on what I just said, here’s ...

How To Get A Good News Release Written

Most Journalists are on the low-end of the pay scale. For that
reason, they are always looking for “freelance” writing assign-
ments.

When you want to get a news article (Release) written about


yourself, your business or product, go to your local newspaper
office and talk to some of the reporters. Ask if any of them
would be interested in earning a few bucks on a “freelance” writ-
ing assignment.

Once you have the reporters’ interest ... which will happen al-
most instantly ... tell them you want a dynamite news article
written about (whatever).
-- Tell them they don’t have to offer the article to their newspa-
per for publication ... just write it.
-- Ask them to suggest or recommend ideas, publicity stunts,
gimmicks, tricks or anything else you can do to give them a
‘story’ to write.
-- Offer to pay the reporters from $100 to $500 for each ‘story’
you accept.
-- Buy the articles that have the most punch to them. – Use those
articles as News Releases.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 499
j.f. (jim) straw
Hey ... it works! I’ve done it myself ... to the tune of millions of
dollars.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article was exceptionally effective because it answered a
J.F. (Jim) Straw is the
publisher of the
very specific question from my readers ... a question of great
“Business Lyceum importance to all of my readers ... with very specific (tested &
e-Letter” - a monthly proven) answers; with examples the reader could employ in their
“how-to” e-Letter
providing tried and
own business.
proven business meth-
ods, applications, tech-
niques, and insider
secrets. - It’s FREE! -
Sign-up, today! – Just
‘click’ in the “Free
Newsletter” box, at:
BusinessLyceum.com

Copyright 1999 -
PHLANDER Company.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 500
FREE!
FREE!
FREE!
Seventeen (17) “Real”
HOME-BASED BUSINESSES
You Can Start & Operate From Your Home!

No MLM. — No envelope stuffing.


Real businesses you can operate from home.

Also tells you how to get other people to do the work


while you make the money.

It is our pleasure to be able to present these plans


to you ... FREE! ... for your use and profit.

——————————————————————————————
Request your FREE copy of “Seventeen (17) Real Home-Based
Businesses You Can Start & Operate From Your Home” at:

http://www.businesslyceum.com/freereport.html
jack trout
Instrumental in develop-
“Positioning” is a
game people play
ing the vital approach to
marketing known as
“positioning,” Jack is
responsible for some of
the freshest ideas to be

in today’s me-too
introduced into market-
ing thinking in the last
several decades.

Jack Trout is president of

marketplace.
Trout & Partners, one
of the most prestigious
marketing firms with
headquarters in Old
Greenwich, Connecticut,
USA and offices in 13
countries. Jack Trout
manages and supervises
There’s an old story about a traveler who was asking a farmer
a global network of
experts that apply his for directions to a nearby town. The farmer replied, “Well, you
concepts and develop go down the road for a mile, turn left at the fork. No ... that
his methodology around
won’t work.”
the world. The firm has
done work for AT&T, IBM,
Burger King, Merrill “You turn around and drive for half-a-mile till you hit a stop-
Lynch, Xerox, Merck,
light then turn right. No ... that won’t work either.”
Lotus, Ericsson, Tetra
Pak, Repsol, Hewlett-
Packard, Procter & After a long pause, the farmer looked at the confused traveler
Gamble, Southwest
and said, “You know what, son, you can’t get there from here!”
Airlines and other
Fortune 500
companies. That happens to be the moral of this article.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 502
jack trout
For today you spend millions of dollars on great advertising and
still fail miserably if you don’t play the rules of a game called
“positioning”. In other words, “You can’t get there from here.”

Today’s marketplace is no longer responsive to strategies that


Jack Trout started his
worked in the past. There are just too many products, too many
business career in the
advertising department companies and too much marketing “noise”. We have become
of General Electric. From an over-communicated society.
there he went on to
become a divisional
advertising manager at If you have any doubts, just count the number of media that
Uniroyal. Then he joined carry your communications. There is television (commercial,
Al Ries in the advertising
cable and pay). There’s radio (AM and FM). There is outdoor
agency and marketing
strategy firm where they (posters, billboards and spectaculars). There are newspapers.
worked together for Direct Mail. There are mass magazines. Class magazines. En-
over twenty-six years.
thusiast magazines. Business magazines. Trade magazines. An-
With Al Ries he co- nuals. Semi-annuals. And on and on. And, of course, buses, sub-
authored the industry ways and taxicabs. Generally speaking, anything that moves is
classic, Positioning:
usually carrying a “message from our sponsor”.
The Battle for Your Mind,
which was published in
1980. In 1985 he and Al Thousands of commercial messages compete daily for a share
Ries wrote a second
of the prospect’s mind. And, make no mistake about it, the mind
best-selling book enti-
tled Marketing Warfare. is the battleground.
Positioning and Market-
ing Warfare are now
To better understand what you are up against, consider the mind
published in 14 lan-
guages. In 1988 Bottom- as a memory bank. Like a memory bank, the mind has a slot or
Up-Marketing was “position” for each bit of information it has chosen to retain. In
published. In 1993 their
operation, the mind is a lot like a computer.
book, The 22 Immutable
Laws of Marketing
became the marketing But there is one important difference. A computer has to accept
bible. It outlined the
what is put into it. The mind does not.
basic reasons why
marketing programs
succeed or fail in the
competitive nineties.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 503
jack trout
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The mind, as a defense against the
volume of today’s communications, screens and rejects much of
the information offered it. In general, the mind accepts only that
which matches prior knowledge or experience.

Jack Trout closed the


In other words, the mind will accept only new information which
circle with the sequel to
Positioning in 1995. fits its previous pattern of slots or positions. It filters out every-
Entitled The New Posi- thing else. And it doesn’t make much difference how “creatively”
tioning it takes the
the new information is presented.
world’s No. 1 business
strategy to a new level.
It became a Business For example, when General Electric tells you its computers are
Week best seller and has
better than IBM’s computers, you don’t believe it. That doesn’t
already been translated
into 16 languages. This fit what most people think about IBM. You would accept new
was followed by The information on light bulbs from GE, but not on computers. This
Power of Simplicity – A
explains the difficulty that GE or any other company faces when
Management Guide To
Cutting Through the they try to take their established position into a totally new field.
Nonsense And Doing
Things Right. Then it was
The computer “position” in the minds of most people is filled
Differentiate or Die –
Survival in Our Era of with the name of a company called “IBM”. For a competitive
Killer Competition which computer manufacturer to obtain a favorable position in the pros-
presented the keys to
pect’s mind, he must either dislodge IBM or somehow relate his
survival in a killer global
economy. This has also company to IBM’s position.
become a best seller.

Yet too many companies embark on marketing and communica-


tions programs as if the competitor’s position did not exist. They
advertise their product in a vacuum and are disappointed when
their message fails to get through.

The successful companies play a game called “positioning”. They


are aware not only of their own position, but of their competi-
tors’ positions as well. They know when they can get there from
here and when they can’t.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 504
jack trout
It wasn’t always this difficult. A quick look at the history of the
communications business might give you a better understand-
ing of how we got to the “positioning” era.

Back in the 1950s the communications and marketing business


Jack’s latest book,
was in an era marked by what Rosser Reeves called the USP or
released October 2001
is entitled Big Brands. “Unique Selling Proposition”. Marketing people disregarded
Big Trouble. feelings people had towards companies and focused their atten-
tion instead on products and their differences. In a lot ways, these
It analyzes the failures
of some of America’s were the good old days where the “better mouse trap” and some
biggest corporate icons money to promote it were all you needed.
and draws from their
experiences “lessons
learned the hard way.” But technology started to rear its ugly head in the late 1950s
It’s a must read for and, as we entered the ‘60s, it became more and more difficult to
companies who want
establish that unique selling proposition.
to get big in a hurry.

Your “better mouse trap” was quickly followed by three more


just like it. All claiming to be better than yours.

It got so bad that one product manager confided to me, “Wouldn’t


you know it. Last year we had nothing to say, so we added ‘new
and improved’ to our package. This year the research people
came up with a real improvement in the product and we don’t
know what to say.”

It was the avalanche of “me-too” products that ended the USP


era.

The next phase saw the rise of the “image” concept. Successful
companies like General Electric and DuPont found that reputa-
tion or “image” was more important in selling a product than
any specific product feature.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 505
jack trout
The programs of the new technology companies (Xerox, IBM,
etc) were spectacularly successful. Those of older, established
companies were less successful.

The architect of the image era was David Ogilvy. As he said in


his famous speech on the subject, “Every advertisement is a long-
term investment in the image of a brand.” And he proved the
validity of his ideas with programs for Rolls-royce, Hathaway
Shirts, Schweppes and other products.

Just as the “me-too” products killed the USP era, the “me-too”
companies killed the image era. As every company tried to es-
tablish an image for itself, the noise level became so high that
relatively few companies succeeded. And most of the ones that
made it, did it primarily with spectacular technical achievements,
not spectacular advertising (eg Xerox and the dry copier).

Today, we are entering the positioning era. This will be an era


that recognizes the importance of product features and the com-
pany image, but more than anything else stresses the need to
create a “position” in the prospect’s mind.

Positioning is a game where the competitor’s image is just as


important as your own. Sometimes more important. The famous
Avis campaign, “We’re only No. 2. So why go with us? We try
harder.” was a classic example of establishing a position against
the leader.

The recent Transamerica program, where they established a po-


sition as the service company, was another excellent piece of
work. And notice how a typical opening sentence in an ad re-
lated to what was already in the reader’s mind:

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 506
jack trout
“Most people think we’re an airline. If we wanted to be known
as an airline we would have bought one.”

In the positioning era, the name of your company or product is


becoming more and more important. Take airlines, for example.
As more route structures overlap, a thing like your name can be
an anchor. No matter how much money you spend.

Consider the plight of an airline I’ll call “Airline X”. It is in the


middle of some difficult times. It has some unprofitable routes,
but some good ones as well. And it certainly has tried. Airline X
was among the first to “paint the planes” and “dress up the stew-
ardesses” in an effort to improve its reputation.

Its advertising has been beautifully done. And Airline X hasn’t


been bashful when it comes to spending money.

If you’re not in the airline business, you probably wouldn’t guess


that “Airline X” is Eastern – right up there spending with the
worldwide names.

For all that money, what do you think of Eastern? Where do you
think they fly? Up and down the East coast, to Boston, Washing-
ton, Miami, right?

Well, they also go to St. Louis, New Orleans, Acapulco, etc. But
Eastern has a regional name and their competitors have broader
names which tell the prospect they fly everywhere. In Eastern’s
case, it would appear that their name has put them in an uncom-
fortable position. And the more they promote “Eastern”, the more
they “can’t get there from here”.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 507
jack trout
This brings up another important point in regard to positioning.
Your program has to go beyond just establishing a name. Too
many programs start there and end there. To secure a worth-
while position for a corporate name, you need a thought to go
with it.

One of the best executed programs around is the one for Olin.
The ads are beautifully done. But what is Olin? What is their
position? They haven’t left me with anything. In fact, I’m a little
confused. How about you?

One thing that’s worse than a “just a name” program is one with-
out a name. That sounds like it could never happen, doesn’t it?
Well, it does when companies use initials instead of a name.
And you see this happening quite often in today’s marketing
arena.

What companies like ACF, AMD, GAF and TRW fail to realize
is that initials have to stand for something. GE stands for Gen-
eral Electric. And everyone knows it. These companies were
given their nicknames by their customers. This is why they are
so valuable.

When a company gives itself a nickname, it doesn’t work as


well. When General Aniline & Film changed its name to GAF,
all they caused was confusion. And confusion is something the
mind rejects, making it impossible to establish a position.

To test this point we performed an awareness study on a matched


sample of both “name” companies and “initial” companies. The
survey was conducted over a Business Week subscriber list and
companies were selected that had corporate programs running.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 508
jack trout
The “name” companies had an average recognition score 19%
higher than the average score of the “initial” companies.

In the first ten, the “name” companies had seven positions and
the “initial” companies only three.

The results show that if you start with initials, you’ve got a long
way to go.

The toughest marketing problems usually occur when a com-


pany competes with another company that has a strong, estab-
lished position. For the best example, let’s return to the world of
Snow White and the seven dwarfs, i.e. computers. IBM has be-
come a state of mind. They have established a position that is
unrivaled in the history of marketing.

How do you advertise and market against this kind of overwhelm-


ing position> Well, first you have to recognize it. Then you don’t
do the thing that too many people in the computer field do – act
like IBM. A company has no hope to make progress head-on
against the position that IBM has established. And history, so
far, has proved this to be true.

The small companies in the field probably recognize this. But


the big companies seem to feel they can take their strong posi-
tions against IBM. Well, as one disgruntled executive was heard
to say, “There just isn’t enough money in the world”. You can’t
get there from here.

A better strategy for IBM’s competitors would be to take advan-


tage of whatever positions they already own in their prospects’
minds and relate them to a new position in computers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 509
jack trout
Recently, General Electric has begun to make progress in the
computer field by establishing a position in “time-sharing”. This
is an especially appropriate move because they happen to be one
of the biggest users of computers. And time-sharing is a user-
oriented idea.

RCA is a leader in communications. If they positioned a compu-


ter line that related to their business in communications, they
could take advantage of their own position. Even though they
would be ignoring a great deal of business, they would be estab-
lishing a strong beach head.

Obviously, these are over-simplified examples, but the point is


that it’s almost impossible to dislodge a strongly dug-in leader
who owns the high ground. You’re a lot better off to open up a
new front or position – that is, unless you enjoy being shot-up.

Another problem that occurs fairly often is represented by the


one B. F. Goodrich faces. What do you do when your name
(Goodrich) is similar to the name of a larger company in the
same field (Goodyear)?

Goodrich has problems. Our research indicates that they could


re-invent the wheel and Goodyear would get most of the credit.
If ever a company could benefit from a name change, they’re
one.

Some of the best practitioners of positioning today are to be found


in the consumer goods world. Which proves that the concept is
applicable to products as well as companies.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 510
jack trout
Ask anyone who out the first 100-millimeter cigaret on the mar-
ket and most people will say “Benson & Hedges”. Wrong. The
answer is “Pall Mall Gold”. Benson & Hedges was first to es-
tablish the position.

A product that put the “benefit” in its name was able to dislodge
a product that had the “means” in its name. Carnation’s Slender
vs. Mead Johnson’s Metrecal. The name “Slender” had a great
deal to do with Carnation’s successful positioning.

These programs point to a very important benefit that your com-


pany can derive from positioning. It’s the fact that your pro-
grams will become cumulative. You can keep them up, year af-
ter year. The high cost of media today demands this. If all your
great ads aren’t building you a strong equity or position, I’m
afraid all you’re getting for your money is ads. And you’re not
going to get there from here.

If I’ve moved you to possibly consider your position, I’d like to


offer you four simple rules for playing the game:

1. Find the people in your own organization and your agency


who understand it. It’s tough work and it’s not played well by
amateurs or non-believers. It is played well by people who have
good marketing sense - and by people who have “vision”.

Positioning is a concept that is cumulative in nature. Something


that can take advantage of advertising’s long-range nature. Be-
cause of this, the people who work with you will have to be able
to understand what you are trying to build. Top management has
to make decisions as to what the company will be – not next
month or next year, but in five years.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 511
jack trout
They have to have vision. There’s no sense building a position
that’s based on a technology that’s too narrow. Or a product that’s
becoming obsolete. When you’re betting on the outcome, it takes
a lot of understanding, faith and good teamwork.

2. Be brutally frank about your product or company and its repu-


tation. Try to eliminate all ego from the decision making. It clouds
the issue.

One of the most critical aspects of “positioning” is being able to


evaluate objectively your products and how they are viewed by
your customers.

As a rule, when it comes to building strong programs, trust no


one, especially product managers. The closer people get to prod-
ucts, the more they defend old decisions or promises.

Get your information from the marketplace. That’s the place


where your program has to succeed, not in the product manag-
er’s office.

3. Change what you have to change. Take advantage of what


you can take advantage of. Base those decisions on what’s in the
marketplace, not what’s in the company.

Nothing in this marketing game stays the same for very long.
Technology sees to that. To succeed in taking advantage of op-
portunities, you have to be sensitive to this change.

Even something as basic as a corporate name is under fire today.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 512
jack trout
A corporate name may be geographically restricting, too long,
outmoded in terminology, too limiting in scope, misleading, dif-
ficult to remember, hard to pronounce, or associated with past
failures. Any of these may be a marketing millstone. In other
words, you are starting with two strikes against you.

On the other hand, you might have a great corporate name, but
too many brand names, too many programs, too many graphics,
no uniform treatment of corporate identity, no corporate direc-
tion. In other words, you are not putting your best hitters at bat.

Whatever your situation, before you can build a strong position


you have to build a strong foundation.

4. Establish your position and build a program around it that’s


big enough to get noticed.

The noise level today is fierce. There are just too many “me-
too” products and “me-too” companies vying for the minds of
your prospects. Getting noticed is getting tougher.

With this noise level you just have to be bold enough and con-
sistent enough to get noticed.

The first step in a positioning program normally entails running


fewer programs but stronger programs. This sounds simple but
it actually runs counter to what usually happens as corporations
get larger. They normally run more programs but weaker pro-
grams. It’s this fragmentation that can make many large adver-
tising budgets just about invisible in today’s media storm.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 513
jack trout
One of the largest business paper advertisers today is General
Electric. Think of the last three ads they’ve run. If you can, you
are either an employe or a competitor.

These four points are a start. Put them all together and I’ll guar-
antee you’ll get to where you want to go from here. And do
some great work on the way.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


This article was published in 1969 and was the first time the
word “Positioning” was put into the business language. Since
then the word has traveled the world and become the most popu-
lar concept in the marketing world. Other concepts have come
and gone but “Positioning” is as popular as ever.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 514
jack trout
BOOKS BY JACK TROUT & CO-AUTHORS
Click to purchase from Amazon.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 515
mike van norden
The Power of
FREE Publicity ...
For more information
about Mike Van Norden,
and to receive his FREE
new ebook, "77 Hot Tips
How I Got Over
100,000 Visitors
for Massive Publicity", or
to subscribe to his FREE
weekly online newslet-
ter, please visit his web
site at prmillions.com.
You can also get FREE

To My Web Site
information on Mike's
new free advertising,
publicity and promotion
audio program. Also, you
can get free information

In 10 Days ...
about Mike's Publicity/
Promotion Mastermind
Dream Team when you
subscribe to Mike's FREE
Publicity/Promotion

EXPOSED!!
ezine. In each issue, Mike
reveals more of his
"amazing" tips and
strategies on getting
"Millions" in FREE Public-
ity, and how to properly
leverage your marketing
How I Turned the Battle to Rename Texas Stadium In Dal-
efforts!!
las, Into Over 100,000 Visitors, 50,000 Opt-In emails, and
Thousands of Dollars In Product Sales!!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 516
mike van norden
In the fall of last year, there was a huge story about whether
Texas Stadium (Home of the Dallas Cowboy's) should be re-
named Tom Landry Stadium. Tom Landry, as many of you know,
was the former head coach of the Cowboy's, and is considered
an "icon" here in the Dallas area. Due to the fact that I live and
breath to get FREE Publicity and promotion for my clients, I
was pondering a way to turn this story, into a "Media Event". As
I was sitting at my desk around 7pm one evening, I got a call
from my computer "wiz"...Mark. Mark and I did some brain-
storming for a few minutes, and then it hit me! I could have our
web master create an online "petition" that would be used as a
forum for people to VOTE "Yes" or "No" to rename Texas Sta-
dium to Landry Stadium. We also ask them for their email ad-
dress, so we could "UPDATE" them on the vote! This led to
over 50,000 Opt-In emails. WOW!!

So, I immediately got on my computer and cranked out a press


release announcing the online petition, and what it was about. I
knew that this had a tremendous potential, because it was al-
ready being covered to some extent by the media. BUT, I wanted
to be the FIRST person to capitalize on this event. AS you can
imagine, my wheels were spinning a thousand miles per hour, as
to the quickest way to drive people to the Landry Stadium Online
Petition! I knew that my SOLE purpose as to drive people to the
web site, and the quickest way to do that was through FREE
Publicity! It took me less than 10 MINUTES to write my press
release! The next morning, I blasted my press release out to all
media outlets in the DFW area, as well as the state of Texas.

By 9am that morning, we were already "THOUSANDS" of hits


to our web site, people were "voting" by the thousands, be-
cause of several mentions of our site on a local sports radio show.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 517
mike van norden
By mid afternoon, we had to upgrade our server because several
more radio stations were encouraging people to visit our web
site. By the 2nd Day, we were getting 30-40,000 hits per HOUR,
to check on the latest VOTE totals!! It was truly an incredible
event. I had not paid ONE Penny for all of this FREE Publicity!

But It gets even better...

On the 3rd Day after my press releases were sent out, the Ft.
Worth Star Telegram newspaper did a HALF PAGE story about
the online petition, and what we were doing! As you can imag-
ine, after that article ran, we had thousands and thousands more
visitors coming to our site. Now, many of you are asking your-
self what "benefit" I got out of this other than a bunch of people
visiting the web site. Well, let me tell you what I did to generate
thousands of dollars in product sales for me and my clients.

I Put Banners For My Products On the "Voting" Results Page...

Ok, let me explain. Our voting results page was getting 30-
40,000 visitors per hour at one point ! Everyone wanted to know
what the voting results were on an hourly basis. Of course, 99%
of the voters wanted to rename the Stadium (Landry Stadium). I
knew that tens of thousands of people would continue visiting
the voting page, to check the results.

So, I put "banner" ads for ALL of my and my clients products


just under the actual vote totals. This meant that EVERY person
who visited the voting page, got to see MY BANNER ADS!! I
was getting *thousands* of click thru's to my products, without
spending ONE CENT on advertising.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 518
mike van norden
I sold "thousands" of dollars in products for both myself, and
my clients. Also, I set up multiple joint ventures, and took 50%
of the profit! It was a "sweet" deal for all parties concerned, but
best of all, it cost me NOTHING! This is the power of FREE
Publicity, and seeing opportunities that NO ONE else sees!

The Lesson To Be Learned: THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

I ALWAYS think outside the box, and so should you. Please,


take a moment, extrapolate my thinking process from this true
story, and ponder how it could be used to benefit you in some
way. First, look for a media event of local or national scope. Tie
this event in to a press release to promote your product or serv-
ice. Fax your press release out various media outlets, and have
systems in place not only to capture opt-in emails, but to make
immediate sales! I realize the example I used is "big" numbers,
but I've sent out a plethora of press releases that only got 20-50
visitors to my sites. But you MUST understand that it's FREE
Publicity! Even if you're only getting 50 visitors per day through
FREE Publicity, that's 50 visitors that MOST people would have
to PAY for!

This is truly powerful stuff, and I hope your creative juices are
flowing by now!!

Mike Van Norden

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 519
joe vitale
What makes this
emailed sales
Joe Vitale is the world's
first Hypnotic Marketer.
He is the author of way
too many books to list
here, including the new
letter hypnotic?
"Spiritual Marketing," I sent the following short sales letter by email to my own list of
the best-selling ebook
some 800 names. There was an immediate boost in sales.
"Hypnotic Writing,"
and the best-selling Amazon.com had to back-order the book I was selling in the
Nightingale-Conant letter. My publisher's online server went down due to all the
audioprogram, "The
orders they got at once. But something even more shocking hap-
Power of Outrageous
Marketing." You can still pened.
have Joe's proven
marketing e-course— Many people wrote to me and actually asked how I was able to
"Recession-Proof Market- *make* them read the letter. They said they couldn't stop read-
ing”—delivered to your
ing it! Others said they felt compelled by some unseen force to
e-mail box every day for
a week—-for FREE—by read every word of it. Still others just mindlessly read the letter
sending a blank e-mail to but then automatically---as if obeying a subliminal command--
class@aweber.com
-went to amazon.com and ordered the book I was selling. After-
wards, they wrote me and confessed they felt they had been "hyp-
notized."

What in the world makes this letter so hypnotic?

Read it and see what you think.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 520
joe vitale
I was nearly in tears...

Dear Friend:

I was just in the bathroom, reading a letter from my sister, when


I got to the line...

"I got your book and I read it and I thought it was great. And
after I read it, I went out and got myself a new car."

I thought she was kidding. My sister has been on welfare, strug-


gled to raise three kids, been wrestling with health problems,
and has fought toe to toe with poverty for years. I wrote my
latest book,Spiritual Marketing, for her, to try to help her.

But it wasn't until moments ago that I discovered that my book


had such a profound impact on her that she not only read it, and
liked it, but she went out and made a dream of hers come true.

Later in the same letter she wrote, "Dad read your book before I
did and he knew I wanted a new car and he told me that once I
read your book he would guarantee that I would buy a new car."

That's even more unbelievable. My father has never even ac-


knowledged receiving any of my books, let alone taken the time
to read them. But he read Spiritual Marketing, and it appar-
ently had an impact on him, too.

I'm sharing all of this with you today because you are someone
on my personal email list, and this is personal news which I
think can inspire others to go for, and get, their dreams. Whether
it's a new car, a new house, more money, real love, or happiness
in this moment, it's all possible.

Just ask my sister.

Joe Vitale
PS -- Amazon.com now carries Spiritual Marketing.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 521
joe vitale
Well, what do you think?

Why does this letter hypnotize people?

Here's what I think:

1. The headline, "I was nearly in tears...", which was the subject
line on the email I sent out, is riveting. People want to know
why I'm nearly in tears. Did something bad happen? Or some-
thing good? Was I crying? Or laughing so hard I cried? Your
headline has to be a gun in a prospect's face. While most head-
lines have to be benefit-oriented, curiosity-invoking headlines
are proven to grab readers, too.

2. The opening sentence, "I was just in the bathroom, reading a


letter from my sister, when I got to the line...," not only compels
you to read the second sentence, it is actually impossible to com-
plete the first sentence---because it doesn't end! Those dashes
are grabbing your nose and pulling you into the next sentence,
which happens to be the next paragraph.

3. The letter weaves a story. Stories sell. Stories compel. Stories


pull people into the drama unfolding and make them a part of
the action. As this letter reveals its story, it also conveys selling
messages to you hypnotically---messages that urge you to get
this book now.

4. The letter reeks of sincerity. I learned that sincerity sells. Sin-


cerity is hypnotic. Don't lie or mislead or gyp people. Tell your
story in the most hypnotic way possible and the people most
interested in it will respond.

5. The ending PS, "Amazon.com now carries "Spiritual Market-


ing," is a subliminal call to action. While I'm still known for
writing fiery PS's that warn you of dangers if you don't act now,
my PS above works in a soft-sell way.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 522
joe vitale
The story in the letter says "Buy my new book." The PS simply
tells you where.
Joe Vitale is the author
of too many books to list
You can take my tried and tested emailed sales letter above and
here, including Hypnotic
Writing and Advanced use it as a model to write your own hypnotic letter. Here's how:
Hypnotic Writing. His
website is at http:// Just think of a story---a true one, remember---of someone who
www.mrfire.com benefited from your product or service in a record-breaking way,
and write the event up following my formula and my letter. It
may help you to remember these key questions:

1. How can you make your headline so curious that people can't
help but read your letter?

2. How can you begin your next letter in such a way that it actu-
ally forces people to keep reading?

3. How can you tell a story about your product or service that
compels people to want it?

4. Are you telling the whole truth in your letter?

5. How can you more softly let people know how to buy your
product or service?

Finally, I think the greatest secret to making any sales letter or


email message truly hypnotic is in being genuinely excited. My
sales letter above is based on what actually happened to me. My
sister DID write me. She DID buy a new car. It WAS a result of
reading my new book. I was so moved by her news that I con-
veyed my joy in my sales letter---and that joy became hypnotic
to my readers.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 523
Joe's long awaited new book—"Spiritual Marketing"-— is now available in softcover,
hardcover, and e book formats. This is the book that blows the socks off everything
ever done in the spiritual-material world before. In it Joe reveals his behind-the-
scenes stories to success, as well as describes-–hypnotically—his own personal
growth. This is the little book that explains how to have real magic and real miracles
in your life. It's a joy to read and casts a spell on every reader. Mind-expanding, too!
If you want to experience more in your life, this is the book for you! www.mrfire.com
russ von hoelscher
How to Build Your
Business with
For nearly 30 years,
Russ von Hoelscher has
been a leader in the
arena of direct response
marketing, including
the promotion and sales

Free Offers
of money-making
information.

Russ is the author of


over 50 business, invest-
ment, marketing, and
motivational books and For nearly 30 years I’ve been preaching the gospel of using “Free
manuals in which two
get acquainted offers” to build a successful direct response mar-
titles have sold over
100,000 copies each… keting business. I also practice what preach. I’ve given away
“How to Achieve Total over a million copes of books, reports, and sample newsletters.
Success” and “Stay Home
On the “backend” I’ve reaped sizable profits. It continues to
and Make Money”. He
has also written zillions work like a Rolex!
of reports, sales letters,
ads, and now writes a
In the mail-order/direct response business you absolutely need
regularly published
newsletter called “The to attract new potential customers to survive and thrive. Every-
Russ von Hoelscher body loves free. A solid free offer is hard to resist, if you are
Profit Report” with over
targeting your free offers to the most likely marketplace, and
7000 subscribers world-
wide. with “Free offers” you must be in the media that reaches your
most likely prospects.

The best four-letter word in advertising/promotion is still FREE.


Giving away anything of value (and the value is in the mind of
the receiver) is a big turn-on. It can also be your most potent
direct marketing sales weapon.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 525
russ von hoelscher
I’ve written over 50 books (over three million copies sold) and
the name Russ von Hoelscher has some clout in small business,
advertising and marketing circles. But, to the majority of Ameri-
cans it is unknown and just a rather difficult name to pronounce
(actually it’s easy to pronounce: von whole-sure!). My point is
Russ is highly regarded
this; even after writing more than four dozen books, appearance
as one of the best
copywriters in the world on scads of radio talk shows, and even some television inter-
of direct response. His views, I’m no household name. It takes a constant and massive
ads and letters have sold
media blitz to achieve true star celebrity status in this nation.
over $200 million dollars
worth of products and Very few business and marketing people, or authors, ever achieve
services. One of his it. We need help to convince either business people or consum-
copywriting clients
ers that they should do business with us.
hauled in over $55,000
from just one insertion
of one full page ad. Since it’s unlikely either our personal name or our business name
The cost to run the
is powerful enough to entice the masses to respond to give us a
ad…... only $2,900!
try, we must resort to compelling marketing strategies to be suc-
This may be the all time cessful. I have found no better tactic than the “free sample.”
record for the largest
percentage return from
one insertion ad in a I don’t care what you want to sell, there is a “freebie” you can
business opportunity choose that can bring in a steady flow of new people. All of
magazine.
whom are likely future buyers of your products or services. Trust
me, this works like crazy. The more you give stuff away free,
the more money you’ll ultimately make! First you give, then
you receive!

Here are some examples from real life marketing experiences


(mine) on how to build a business using free offers.

Over the past few years I’ve given away more than 525,000 books
and booklets (from 12 to 120 pages) to promote other books and
tapes I want to sell. This in turn has enticed business opportu-
nity seekers into becoming distributors of my books, manuals,
and tapes. This has resulted in millions of dollars in sales.
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 526
russ von hoelscher
I helped a client in Minnesota develop a free “ Bass Fishing Guide
Book” that helped sell over 200,000 fishing lures.

Another client markets real estate investment seminars. A free


booklet, and later a free cassette tape, worked like a charm, and
Although Russ von
resulted in doubling attendance at his seminars.
Hoelscher’s ads and
sales letters pull like a
missouri mule, he is the I finally convinced a chiropractor in San Diego that she should
master at getting scads
advertise free examinations. It took a long time to convince her
of prospects with free
offers. Russ says… “the that this would sky rocket her practice. When she finally took
really big money comes my advice and placed ads, she was flooded with new patients.
from turning prospects
into buyers, and buyers
into steady customers. A credit repair service needed a steady stream of new clients.
It’s all about back-end My suggestion was to offer a valuable “freebie.” In this case, a
marketing.
small folio entitled “How to Obtain a Free Copy of Your Credit
For a free sample copy Report” worked wonders.
of “The Russ von
Hoelscher Profit Report”,
Another client offered a novelty catalog free. However, this was
you can phone
619-588-2155, not producing enough inquiries. I convinced the owners to send
fax 619-588-9103 the catalog along with a free sample novelty that added only 7¢
or you can send
to their package. Inquiries tripled, and sales quadrupled!
an email request to:
rvhmedia@aol.com
My list could go on and on. Regardless of what you wish to sell,
there is a “free offer” that can work gangbusters for you. Start
thinking about what you can offer!

In most cases, I believe your “freebie” should be just that – Free!


However, when your overall cost, plus mailing expense, is sub-
stantial, I have been able to get a small sum, usually one dollar
or two to offset costs for my clients or myself.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 527
russ von hoelscher
Beware of requesting S.A.S.E. Many mail dealers are fond of
requesting a self-addressed stamped envelope. This often back-
fires. People often dislike hunting for two envelopes, two stamps,
plus the addressing of both, even when you offer a free sample
of this or that. I remember testing the requesting of a S.A.S.E.
against requesting just a loose stamp, on a promotion years ago.
The loose stamp offer beat the S.A.S.E. by a 5 to 3 margin!

Unless you absolutely must offset costs, your response will al-
ways be much stronger when you request nothing but a simple
no-cost reply.

On my own 120-page free book offer, I felt it was important to


ask for $1.00 postage/handling. However, recently on another
24 page booklet offer, I found that “absolutely free” outpulled
$1.00 for postage by almost 4 to 1.

I have also discovered a dollar is not a big “qualifier.” Not only


will “completely free” greatly outweigh requesting a buck for
postage and handling, sales closing percentages are often almost
the same. A recent test that I made brought a sales close of 7.3
percent on a completely free sample, as opposed to only a slightly
better 7.8 percent to those who were asked to send $1.00 for
postage.

Your free offer need not be expensive. In fact, it should not be.
What is important is that it rings a responsive bell, with the type
of person who is mot likely to respond to your main offer.

I’m particularly fond of “paper and ink” free offers. Valuable


information can be packaged in a report, booklet, or book at
modest cost, if printed in quantities of 5,000 or more.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 528
russ von hoelscher
Many people are greatly surprised when I reveal to them that my
120 page book, “How to Make $2,000 A Week Selling Informa-
tion By Mail” costs only about 25¢ a copy, in quantities of 25,000
or more. Although I have given it an attractive high-gloss cover,
using newsprint for the inside pages saved substantial money.

Although I usually favor “paper and ink” for a free sample, al-
most any type of inexpensive gizmo can work well. All that is
vital is that it must offer high perceived value to your target au-
dience. Tease them with the free offer, then please them with
the freebie you send or give away.

Your main offer must be sent with the freebie, and your strong
sales message must convey the message, “if you like what I just
gave you free, just imagine how much you’re going to enjoy
what I have for sale!”

Since some people will request almost anything “free,” without


even considering future purchases, you must carefully select the
media you choose for your free offers. We want to give our
samples only to the most highly interested people. Ads must be
placed in the media that best represents our target market.

Another big advantage of offering a free sample is that you should


be able to obtain substantial free advertising in the form of pub-
licity. It’s not always easy to receive free publicity for a book,
product, or service, which is offered for sale. Far easier to re-
ceive unpaid for plugs for something that we offer free of charge.
An all out free publicity campaign can often be launched in con-
junction with a legitimate free sample offer. This can really cut
expenses, and build a large in-house list that will yield future
profits.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 529
russ von hoelscher
To receive maximum benefit from your free offer, make certain
that you are offering something that is not just free, but also
something that is valuable and wanted. If it is not “perceived”
as valuable, the impact of your freebie will be lost. Your free
sample should be viewed as a powerful selling tool for the ulti-
mate sale you wish to make. Foolish is the direct marketer who
wastes the power of a free sample by carelessly throwing out a
booklet or report that offers no true value, or some type of little
product, novelty, or service, that will be regarded as cheap and
of little or no use. This is a big mistake! Yes, we must do every-
thing possible to find or develop an inexpensive item to offer
free, but it must fill a need. It must offer value, regardless of its
low cost. The goal is to make responders happy with what we
have given them. We want them pleased about what they re-
ceive free, and thinking good thoughts about our company and
us. Our free sample must build confidence, and make people
eager to continue a business relationship with our firm.

Do not choose the free sample you will offer in any haphazard
fashion. Think about exactly what type of product will be wel-
comed and helpful to your potential customers. Like any good
“loss leader” used by retailers (grocery stores, department stores,
etc.), we want our freebie to attract and please our responder, so
that he or she will be inclined to make future purchases.

For best results, your free sample offer should be directly re-
lated to those items that you wish to sell.

Almost every advertiser is telling people “buy my product, you’ll


like it.” People are skeptical. It’s so much easier to say, “try it –
it’s free!”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 530
russ von hoelscher
If it sounds good, and interesting, and there is no obligation,
(always mention that there is none) people are motivated to re-
spond. Everybody likes to receive something of value free.

Who doesn’t like FREE? Everyone likes something for noth-


ing! Isn’t it high time you cash in on this tremendous sales tool?

Only a handful of direct response and Internet marketers are ac-


tively using this fantastic selling tool. Many companies do offer
“free details,” but this usually means they will simply send their
sales literature free. Big deal! Far better to offer a real free
sample.

Only a relative few offer free samples. Several of these street


smart marketers have been influenced by yours truly. And many
of these have been successful.

The right little widget or paper-and-ink freebie could make your


sales soar. Think about it.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


The reason I chose the "most effective article" on "FREE OF-
FERS" is that it's so important for marketers to generate a steady
stream of good leads at a reasonable cost per inquiry.

I have found that "Free get acquainted Offers" can work like
magic to build a strong Direct Response Marketing business.

Although many different kinds of "Freebies" can be used, most


of my successes have come from paper and ink reports, or cas-
sette tapes.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 531
dottie walters
Dottie Walters CSP,
A Deal A Day!
Secrets Behind
International Profes-
sional Speaker, Author,
Consultant To Speakers
and to Speakers Bureau
owners Publisher/Editor:

The Amazing
SHARING IDEAS MAGA-
ZINE, 24th year Presi-
dent, Walters Interna-
tional Speakers Bureau
Publisher International

Success of People
Directory of Speakers
Bureaus Founder:
International Assn. of
Speakers Bureau Owners

Who Start With


Dottie@walters-intl.com
www.walters-intl.com

Ph 626-335-8069

Nothing & Become


Millionaire
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com
Achievers
532
dottie walters
"Dottie Walters, How does it feel to have blown a handful of
stardust to the world?"
Napoleon Hill, author "Think & Grow Rich"

Because I publish and edit our large international Marketing


magazine, SHARING IDEAS, and began my business career by
starting a marketing column in our rural weekly newspaper, I
have met, interviewed and consulted with thousands of people
who have gone from ground zero or below to achieve huge crea-
tive, successful, businesses. I noticed that they were unbeatable.
That if they were knocked down, they promptly got up again.
And especially, that they concentrated on solutions, not prob-
lems.

In addition to current people who have created something bril-


liant from nothing, I have made a study of people from the past
who began with little or no education, no loans, or capital, and
often with no families or other help. Yet they became leaders,
millionaires and great achievers. How is this possible? How did
they do it?

My conclusion is that they did not let a single day go by without


doing something to move ahead in their career. By offering bet-
ter service, new ideas, different ways to communicate, they
looked for, listened for, and thought about how to create "A Deal
A Day." And I also noticed that they loved doing it!

Confucius’ teacher, LaoTsze was right when he told me at the


public library, "When you find the work you love, you never labor
a day in your life!"

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 533
dottie walters
Great Marketers Are Waiting For You at the Library
I have always loved reading biographies, and have especially
found kindred minds in their life stories. Albert Einstein told me
in one of his books: "I look at things others see, then I think of
new things no one else has yet thought of." Mr. Einstein also
advised me (and you) "not to fuss about problems. Instead, con-
centrate on solutions." Solutions!

I began my own business career on foot, with cardboard in my


shoes. I pushed my two little children before me on a rickety
baby stroller with a wheel that kept coming off. I had no car,
baby sitter, money, college or other business training, but I did
have a great asset. My public library card. Within two years I
built my first business into 4 offices, 285 employees, and 4,000
annual advertising/marketing contracts. I have begun and now
run several other businesses as well and am world famous in my
marketing field.

Impossible? If you had seen me pushing that rickety baby


"stroller" made for one child, with a bed pillow tied on the back
with clothes line rope to make a 2nd seat -- if you knew I had
borrowed my neighbor's typewriter, and some precious typing
paper to create a sample marketing tool, a "Shoppers Column"
to take into the local weekly rural newspaper in the small town
of Baldwin Park, California where our tiny tract home was lo-
cated; if you knew my sweetheart had returned from nearly 4
years in the South Pacific with the United States Marines, that
we were married and had purchased a little veterans’ tract home
and a dry cleaning franchise, what would you say our odds of
success might be when recession struck? (Dry cleaning is one of
the first things people do without when times are tough.)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 534
dottie walters
Without Pause
I made up my mind to do something positive and creative to
help the finances of our little family -- every single day. When I
walked by the "No Help Wanted" sign on the Baldwin Park Bul-
letin newspaper door with my babies, my sad baby stroller, and
my typed column and asked for the Publisher, I was shaking.
But I told him I wanted to create a Shoppers Column Marketing
Feature for him. I proposed to buy ad space, at wholesale, then
sell it as my interesting column to the merchants. The difference
between wholesale and retail would be my profit. His profit
would be an interesting marketing feature from the view point
of the customer, and a steady advertiser. Me!

Then I laid out in front of him my little high school Press card.
He smiled and okayed the placement I asked for: Front page of
the 2nd section, right hand column. I held my breath, then he
agreed! He said afterwards that he never expected to see me
again. But I had my column in early, and had cut little cartoon
mats to illustrate the items I wrote about . Listen to your Cus-
tomers

Teachers are all around you when you determine to create a new
"Deal-a-Day." Some of the merchants wanted. First place or last
place position in the column. They asked me how much those
positions cost! Wow! I had not thought of that yet. Some said
they wanted to "Nail down that spot" and insisted I write an
annual contract for them which they paid in advance! (With that
first big "Deal a Day" I bought a model A Ford and retired the
baby stroller.)

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 535
dottie walters
Help is At Hand
When one of my merchant clients asked me to speak for his
Kiwanis club luncheon, I had to think of a title and subject for
my program. Speaking is a wonderful marketing road to new
clients . I traded baby sitting with my neighbor and borrowed
her car. (If you had seen me drive off that morning, would you
have believed that I would speak for high fees all over the world?
Write books that people found helpful and useful worldwide too?)

I had thought about what I knew, who I was, and decided that I
was a home owner, wife and mother, and most of all I was the
customer of the Kiwanis members who all owned local busi-
nesses. So I decided to call my luncheon talk, "What Does Your
Customer Really WANT?" The answer, of course was, courtesy,
kindness, interest, assistance and caring. I used the fingers on
my hand to illustrate these customer cravings.

At each luncheon place I put a copy of our Baldwin Park Bulle-


tin with my column turned up, so that I could talk about the
importance of welcoming new customers by giving them the
great gift of their full attention. Then I asked them to each put
their business card in a little basket I brought, and told them that
I would have a drawing for a prize from their cards.

Then I used their business cards to follow up and sell my Shop-


per's Column ads over the phone.

A few months later a group of local merchants knocked at the


door of our little home. They had come to talk to me about start-
ing my own marketing/advertising business. They each pledged
to become my commercial sponsor. Thus opportunity not only
opened my door it lighted up my life.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 536
dottie walters
Within a year I had opened 4 offices, had taught my 285 em-
ployees how to market and sell advertising, and we had 4,000
annual advertising contracts on our books.

Watch for the Sunrise:

"When you have darkened your room and closed your eyes-

Never say that you are alone.

Love dwells within. God dwells within-

and they have no need for light at all--

to see what you can do." - Epictetus

As my friend of the mind Will Shakespeare said to me (and you)


"The sun will not be up as soon as I - to grasp the fair adventure
of TOMORROW!" Keep your eyes and ears open for news of
your community. Think of new ways you can create new prod-
ucts and services and improve old ones. Think of new ways to
promote and market them. "Fill every precious moment EVERY
DAY" as Rudyard Kipling told me "with 60 seconds worth of
distance run!"

Make a DEAL-A-Day!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 537
eric ward
Linking
Opportunities
Eric Ward is President of
for Your Site
– Look Beyond
NetPOST and URLwire

Eric Ward founded the


Web's first service for
announcing and linking

Your Homepage
Web sites back in 1994,
and he still offers those
services today. His client
list is a who's who of
online brands. Ward is
best known as the
person behind the Getting your site listed and linked in the many search engines
original linking campaign
for Amazon.com Books.
and directories around the Web is not a trivial task. But most
people short cut this process.

It's easy to convince yourself that it's only the top 10 or so search
engines and directories that matter, but this is not the case at all.

For content sites, the biggest missed opportunity I see from a


linking perspective is focusing only on the site's main URL, or
home page.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 538
eric ward
Depending on your site's content and features, you may have
many linkable content elements beyond your home page URL.

Below is a sample of the content types that are themselves link-


able and for which there are content-specific search engines, di-
Eric also helped link
rectories, and Web guides. The goal from these is not to get mil-
The Link Exchange,
Microsoft.com, Rodney lions of new visitors, but rather to seed and integrate all of your
Dangerfield, Warner content throughout the Net, maximizing links where they can
Bros, The Discovery
have a strategic value for you.
Channel, the AMA,
PBS, and The Weather
Channel. His services E-Newsletters, E-Zines
won the 1995 Tenagra
Do you offer an email based newsletter at your site? There are
Award For Internet
Marketing Excellence, several excellent directories of e-newsletters that will list yours.
and he was selected as A couple include newsletter-directory.com and paml.net. I found
one of the Web's 100
one site that will sell you a list of the top forty newsletter direc-
most influential people
by Websight magazine in tories for $10.
1997. Eric also writes the
Link Building column for
Streaming Media
ClickZ, the NetSense
column for Ad Age If your site hosts a live event, or features streaming audio or
magazine, and is a 4-star video, there are Web guides that will give you a link to it.
speaker for iWORLD,
StreamSearch, at http://www.ss.com/newshome.asp is just one
Fawcette, and CNet.
example. There's even a guide run by Microsoft that links to
anyone streaming an Internet radio station with Windows Me-
dia. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/
mediaent.asp

PDF Files
If your site has a lot of Acrobat files, you can get links to these
files at PDF search engines like Adobe's at http://
searchpdf.adobe.com Google will also index PDF documents if
it knows where to find them.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 539
eric ward
If your site has music in MP3 format, there are many excellent
MP3 search engines that will list your files. Examples include
MP3 Finder at http://www.emp3finder.com/ and MusicSeek, at
http://www.musicseek.net/ Most of these content specific search
engines have an "add your files" link.
Eric and his wife Melissa
split time between
offices in Knoxville, Software Downloads
Tennessee and Santa If your site offers downloads of software or other applications
Rosa Beach Florida.
like plug-ins or games, you can get links to them at the many
www.ericward.com software search engines. SoftSearch at http://
www.netpost.com www.softsearch.com is an example.
www.urlwire.com

Images
If the majority of your site is made up of images (e.g., if you sell
artwork or other products requiring users to view large images
on your site), then submit your image files to places like Ditto at
http://www.ditto.com

Sweepstakes and Contests


Do you run contests or sweepstakes on your site? There are search
engines and announcement venues just for online contests or
sweepstakes. Some examples are the SweepsTalk Announcement
List http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SweepsTalk/ and About.com
- Contests and Sweepstakes http://contests.about.com/

Search Engine
If you run a niche search engine where you have indexed sites
just in that niche, you should make sure your engine itself is
linked at sites that catalog topical search engines, like CNET's
at http://www.search.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 540
eric ward
Web Cams
Any site that operates a web cam, like a hotel, travel destination,
zoo, landmark, museum, et., can submit the Web-cam for a link
at link guides like WebCam Central at http://
www.camcentral.com/

Headlines
Do you provide a daily news section on your site about a par-
ticular industry or niche? Sites like Moreover will index your
headlines and link to your articles/news items. http://
www.Moreover.com

These above represent just some of the potential linking oppor-


tunities for each content type. The key is these links are separate
and in addition to your standard basic search engine and direc-
tory listings at Yahoo! or Google.

Look at your own site from a content perspective. Which ele-


ments of your site are linkable? When I research and write link-
ing plans, I find that some clients' sites have the potential for
hundreds of links, others the potential for fewer. But almost every
site has linkable content beyond the home page.

Good linking!

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


It covered a topic that nobody writes about but which every web
marketer needs to know about. Also, since I'm a practioner of
the techniques the article discussed, readers were able to act on
the articles suggestions.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 541
Get an Online
Marketing Audit
from Eric Ward
Let me analyze and audit where your site stands across the larg-

est search engines, directories, and web guides. I'll also perform

an inbound link study for your site, and compare all findings to

your competitor's site. I'll use my findings to prepare a 20+ page

Marketing Strategy Report with Recommendations specific to

your site. See the below URL for details.

http://www.ericward.com/strategyreport.html
jacques werth
Fast Selling
in the New
Jacques Werth is
the President of High
Probability Selling of
Dresher, PA, the sales
Millennium
training and sales
consulting organization
It’s a New World out there. We want to get there faster and do it
founded in 1989. faster when we get there, lest somebody else get there first. In
sales, this translates to: see as many prospects as you can—fast.
High Probability Selling
(HPS) is the new sales
Close as many as you can, nurture the relationships, and repeat
paradigm developed by with more prospects.
Werth after observing
hundreds of the top
salespeople (the top
But those sales practices don’t work. Only nineteen percent of
one-percent) in 23 those attending the average sales training course show any sus-
different industries. tained improvement—because most of those trainings still teach
Werth holds an MBA and
has been a top sales
sales methods developed twenty to fifty years ago—that don’t
producer for over 30 work today. Those obsolete sales tactics simply can’t keep up in
years. His company today’s business climate.
offers sales training to
individuals and corporate
groups via On-Site or The average American now receives over eleven thousand in-
Distance Learning formational messages per day. From all of those messages, we
workshops.
decide how to meet our needs and wants. Thus, most prospects
who want and can afford your product or service already know
they want it.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 543
jacques werth
Yet, most salespeople still chase those who are merely inter-
ested—instead of genuine prospects!

But you can now choose to utilize a new, more effective sales
process! Don’t struggle with your old selling methods; learn how
to find the prospects who already want to buy what you’re
selling!

Conversely, you need to courteously, but quickly, disqualify the


Low Probability Prospects, for now. In the new millennium, this
“heresy” actually works.

In the obsolete “Art of Persuasion” paradigm, salespeople put


enormous time and effort into enticing, persuading, convincing
and cajoling prospective customers into buying—because it is
The book “HIGH PROB-
ABILITY SELLING” has bigger, smaller, flashier, classier, more tasteful, or cheaper. It
been on Amazon.com’s doesn’t matter whether the prospect actually wants the item. Most
list of best selling sales
salespeople strive for the sale at all costs, even sacrificing eth-
books since February
1998. The book and the ics, dignity and self-respect—and salespeople and prospects ex-
book on audiotape are perience extreme tension, stress, and frustration.
also available directly
from the HPS website or
their office (see below). Persuasive sales methods consume a lot of time and effort; yet,
success rates are dismal. Sales resistance and frustration are the
natural outcomes. Customers are reluctant to talk to “pushy”
salespeople. Meanwhile, well-meaning salespeople try to do as
they were taught—and have to deal with negative—even an-
gry—reactions. No wonder traditional prospecting methods yield
prospecting reluctance and fear of rejection.

You'll achieve a win–win outcome only when the prospect genu-


inely wants your product or service. Though this may seem like
common sense, salespeople rarely “get it.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 544
jacques werth
For instance, traditional sales methods stress “selling the appoint-
ment.” Supposedly, a face-to-face meeting maximizes the chance
of a sale.

But that’s far from true! You still have to try to establish “rap-
High Probability Selling
port,” demonstrate the product, perform needs analyses, put to-
is a radically new and
highly effective way to gether charts and handouts, do presentations, devise and revise
sell without all of the proposals, attend multiple meetings, handle objections, and try
angst of traditional
multiple closes. It’s a colossal waste of time when— eighty-three
manipulative selling
methods. Visit the HPS percent of the time —the customer says no, or worse, has to “think
website at: http:// it over.”
www.highprobsell.com
or contact Werth at
jacquesw@highprobsell.com. Tradional selling is an extremely stressful and uncertain endeavor.
The phone number is Most sales people face daily rejection and hostility—which they
800-394-7762.
unknowingly cause. Many feel trapped or burned out; sales has
the highest turnover of all major business functions; over sixty-
five percent leave within the first few years. In insurance and
real estate, the failure rate is around ninety percent. It’s not sur-
prising that salespeople need frequent injections of external
motivation!

Yet, selling can be highly rewarding and satisfying—for those


who use the new sales paradigm. Rather than put extraordinary
effort into getting a prospect—any prospect—top-notch
salespeople seek out prospects who have the highest probability
of buying their products and services. At the appointment they
quickly create a relationship of mutual trust and respect—not
subtle or blatant manipulations.

Most people buy major purchases from the salesperson they trust
and respect the most. This new selling process generates trust
and respect.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 545
jacques werth
Traditional selling systems use manipulative tactics such as “es-
tablishing rapport” to get prospects to like them. However,
likability has nothing to do with trust and respect.

Traditional selling sets up an adversarial relationship from the


start: hunter (salesperson) and prey (prospect). The hunter wants
to bag the prey, by whatever means necessary—even slick, un-
ethical methods. The prey wants to elude capture.

However, when the prospect wants to buy, hunting down and


overwhelming isn’t appropriate; the salesperson and prospect
should be partners in accomplishing a common goal. With an
eager customer, there’s no need to cajole, flatter, convince, ma-
nipulate, or persuade. In other words: goodbye, sales resistance—
hello, sales!

With the High Probability Selling paradigm, closing rates typi-


cally increase by one-hundred to four-hundred percent.

This process eliminates rejection. Example: in the cold-calling


phase, you identify high probability prospects through a short,
simple offer, then ask whether the prospect wants it. “No” is met
with a fast, courteous “Okay, goodbye”— nothing more. You
follow up “yes” answers to quickly determine whether you have
a mutually acceptable basis for doing business. If not, you end
the sales process immediately—though not permanently, since
prospects can remain prospects indefinitely.

Once you’ve established a solid basis for working together and


created a relationship of mutual trust and respect (often during
the first meeting)—amazing things can happen.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 546
jacques werth
Often, you’ve eliminated the need to make glitzy presentations,
educate the prospect, demonstrate the product to many other
people, and respond to objections; you and your customer al-
most immediately draw up the “Conditions of Satisfaction”
(terms of sale). Then the order follows—without ever asking for
it!

You gain numerous advantages from High Probability Selling:


1. Eliminate pain, rejection, negative impressions, half truths,
and sales resistance;
2. Enhance dignity and self-respect;
3. Conduct business in harmony, not as adversaries;
4. Greatly increase your return-on-investment.

Then, your sales career becomes both financially and emotion-


ally rewarding—and fast! You can usually reduce the sales cy-
cle by 30 to 50 percent, and thus do more business in less time,
with less effort, and at lower costs.

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


The effectiveness of this article is a direct result of the effective-
ness and power of High Probability Selling. The article describes
how the radically new High Probability Selling process has
quickly turned-around the careers of salespeople who were strug-
gling to make a living, and those who were quite successful, but
felt burnt-out due to the high levels of stress caused by tradi-
tional selling systems. It also shows how High Probability Sell-
ing can restore dignity and self-esteem to people who sell for a
living. The effectiveness of High Probability Selling is being
validated every day by salespeople in over 70 different indus-
tries.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 547
shawn wheeland
Are you stuck
where you
Shawn joined Network
Marketing as a pioneer in
January 1994. The new
started?
What is your
company had the best
training systems known
in the industry. He
listened to tapes, he
read books, and he

monster?
listened to more tapes
until he had internalized
the material. He trained
his organization so well
that he had established a
six figure a year income
with the smallest organi- This past week I was a guest speaker on a conference call. On
zation of any National
that call I was asked, "how do people motivate themselves?"
Director in that com-
pany. "How do people become self-starters?" I thought the answer to
this question was most appropriate for this time of the year when
Shawn was honored at
we reflect back counting our blessings.
the January 1996
National Conference
with a 1995 Leadership The first step to becoming a self-starter is recognizing where
(Golden Eagle) Award.
you have brought your life to this point. I know that may not
This was the only award
given for leadership in make sense, stay with me. Mr. E. James Rohn encourages each
the history of that of us to occasionally visit the less fortunate side of town. I call it
company.
life appreciation day.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 548
shawn wheeland
I have found by stepping into the world of the less fortunate and
then returning to my world it becomes vividly clear how truly
fortunate I have been. The reminder that poor money manage-
ment, under developed leadership skills, greed, dishonesty, un-
ethical business practices, and being dollar focused as opposed
In early 1999, Shawn
to value focused could land me in the world of the unfortunate
developed a website for
his organization for keeps me focused.
prospecting and recruit-
ing. (Homebusiness.to,
How these people move throughout each day, what they do, when
Inc.) The night that
Shawn introduced they do it, and how they do it, their philosophical approach to
Homebusiness.to to his the decisions they make and how those decisions effect their
organization is one that
lives also work as a constant reminder that it is each person's
will be remembered in
the pages of Network personal philosophy that determines their outcome in life. Many
Marketing history. people approach life's challenges blind and with no direction.

The huge conference


room was full of people We should learn from those who have gone before us, period.
with anticipation. They Those who have accomplished and those who have not, both
knew that what they
provide valuable life direction. Those who design their lives pro-
were about to see was
going to change the vide proper direction. Those who allow life to design them pro-
course of their lives, but vide information on what not to do. The philosophy of those
little did we know that
who do not achieve is just as influential as those who do achieve.
Homebusiness.to the
original prospecting and In it's own form it could be a monster. Do not allow it to catch
recruiting site online, you and persuade you to follow its philosophy.
would leave that room
and turn an entire
industry upside down. When I was a very young fellow I raced dirt track and flat track
motorcycles. I almost always won. The secret to my constant
winning is the same monster philosophy I am teaching you. Do
you remember Godzilla from the old Japanese movies or more
recent the box office smash? While racing I created a vivid im-
age of a Godzilla monster. I convinced myself that the monster
was chasing me. The spans of his stride were thirty feet. With
each step his big claw would almost crush me on the spot.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 549
shawn wheeland
I made this very real in my mind. I know you think I have lost it.
Trust me when in this zone I was not aware of the other racers. I
was not aware of those watching. Really, I was not focused on
winning. My sole purpose was to go faster NOW so the big guy
did not consume me.
Homebusiness.to, Inc.
skyrocketed to listed one
of the top 10,000 sites What is your monster? Do you have a monster? If you think
on the Internet. Word of everything is going to remain trouble free in your world and
mouth and the offline
without challenge, you are wrong. Let September 11, 2001 be
techniques taught by
Shawn had taken this an example. The most powerful nation in the world shaken,
number one prospecting woken to the fact that uncertainty is part of life.
and recruiting site to the
entire industry. Shawn
was now in touch with Before I let you go I want to share two of my personal monsters
some of the top leaders with you. I hope by sharing this information you will realize my
in the industry. Always
sincerity. Leadership is action not position so here we go.
listening he realized that
all the top leaders in the
industry were doing the I believe that eventually the world will be made up of two groups
same thing. He listened
of people, those who are in debt, and those who are debt free.
and added things to the
site that the industry Those who owe will pay an unbelievable price. They will NOT
needed. be allowed to control their lives. They will report to the slave
master sacrificing their entire mind, body, and soul in order to
Homebusiness.to is used
worldwide with corpo- survive. Their desire to have material things immediately will
rate contracts in Europe, plague them with large debt demanding large sums of interest.
and currently translated
They are damned and will never escape the gloom of this dark
in German with future
plans to introduce cloud. Their children will be subject to the demands of the world.
versions in Spain, Japan, Each day will be life taking and full of wistful regret.
and Australia.

Those who are debt free and have invested well will control those
who have not. The rest of the society will be one hundred per-
cent at their disposal. These smart self-educated people will be
in total control of their lives. They will lead stress free lives and
their children will be protected from the scourges of the world.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 550
shawn wheeland
They will be wistful regret free and the memories of their lives
will be extremely positive and life giving. They will be free to
design their lives.

So, DEBT is one of my monsters. Never owing any man any-


Shawn teaches that
thing is very important to me. I will be the person who loans as
you must find your
prospect's unwanted opposed to borrows. Immediate satisfaction is a monster. Obtain
conditions. These are the material items as you can purchase them. Do not go into debt for
heartstrings, as he calls
anything. Understand the difference between a need and a want.
them that make the
person go that extra mile
when they feel they just I have got to share this with you then I'll let you go. I picked up
can't go on.
my daughter from her private school early last year. After my
He doesn't just throw "Hi girly, girl" greeting and as she settled into the seat I told her
the information out and to buckle up. I was in a hurry and I NEEDED to stop by Stan's
expect everyone to get
office (my CPA) before I took her to Wendy's for a snack then to
it. No, he goes through
the complete process of dance.
the interview in an
awesome audiotape
She turned to me and with emotion and conviction she told me
series that he published
called "Explode Your something that opened my eyes. You know one of those ah has.
Business". He takes you My wonderful daughter delivered a message to me and here it is
through actual live
for you. "Daddy you need to learn the difference between a need
interviews that he did
and teaches you how and a want. A need is Shelter, Clothes, Love and Care, Food,
to properly use the and Water; everything else is just a want."
interview to determine
if the prospect is really
serious or not. During this Season of reflection and remembrance take time to
establish your monster. Keep it in front of you, never let it fade.
You can review this
Make it vivid and alive while focusing on this lifestyle you want
information at
ExplodeYourBusiness.com. to design. Remember we get what we expect not what we want.
Create a high expectation, work daily to that expectation, and
you will arrive there unexpected in common hours.
Copyright 2001
Homebusiness.to, Inc.
All rights reserved

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 551
shawn wheeland
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
This information provided in this article has made a major dif-
ference for many people then most Leadership Tips I have writ-
ten. Everyone has a Monster. The tragedy is very few people use
it as a positive tool to drive them toward a worthwhile goal.

The information provided in "Are You Stuck Were You Started"


taken seriously, and utilized with commitment, will remove pro-
crastination from your world forever. At the end of the day you
will have accomplished more and in themorning you will spring
to the floor embracing each day will enthusiasm.

Life is full of anticipation when you know your monster.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 552
phil wiley
Creating a
mini affiliate site
from scratch
Phil Wiley is editor of
All the Secrets, a free
weekly newsletter about
growing your own home
business on the web.
Writing from a moun-
tain-top home in a
remote part of Australia, Here's a quick step by step guide to creating a mini affiliate site
Phil always says that he's from scratch. You can do it today in just a couple of hours or
living proof you can live
anywhere and make a less. Here's my diary from earlier today (Aussie time)
very good income on
the web. Phil's book, 11.45am: Logged into Commission-Junction to find a replace-
Mini Site Profits, which
shows how to quickly ment cell phone program for my mini site http://www.cell-phone-
build a network of small, free.com ( the affiliate program I linked to has been de-activated
direct response web because of chargebacks)
sites to make affiliate
sales is a best seller.
I glanced at the new affiliate program listings and one jumped
out as being a perfect subject for a quick new mini site.

"Amazing Cure for Bad Breath".

Tons of people have bad breath. Great topic for a mini site. Or is
it? Depends on what products there are to sell, and how many
potential online buyers there are.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 553
phil wiley
11.47am: Followed the CJ link to http://www.orasweet.com/
which sells a new product called a tongue scraper, and pays 30%
commission. Dismayed to find the product only sells for $3.50,
which means it only pays a little over $1 per sale. But then I
followed the sales links to find the site does an upsell on the
order form, which makes it much more attractive for people to
buy a $14 package or a $27 family package. This is more like it!

11.55am: But do many people look up bad breath in the search


engines? Booted up Good Keywords http://
www.goodkeywords.com and discovered that last month 3659
people looked up halitosis on GoTo and 5176 searched for bad
breath. Not too bad a number. Should be able to do something
with those figures.

12noon: Visited GoTo to see what people are willing to pay for
high rankings on these search terms. If people are paying for
ranking they must be making money from it. Discovered that 6
cents will get you 10th spot in GoTo for halitosis, and 40 cents a
click will take you to number 1.

I wouldn't recommend paying 40c a click for a possible $1 com-


mission but 6 cents should be fine. It's hard to tell until the site
has been running a while and you can analyze the stats. Bad
breath will cost you 74 cents for top spot, so that's out, but bad
breath cure will only cost 21 cents. So that's a possibility, though
3rd spot is yours for only 6 cents so that's much more attractive.

12.10pm: Spend the next 30 mins checking out the opposition.


Discover a site called tongue scrapers selling a similar but far
more expensive product. It has no affiliate program that I could
see.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 554
phil wiley
But more importantly found a number of other items to sell, or
upsell from a mini site, including BreathAlert, an electronic
palm-size monitor that "detects and measures the presence of
annoying or embarrassing breath odors."

Now I'm sure that lots of people who think they might have bad
breath would love to be able to find out for sure with this prod-
uct.

About to kiss someone? Check your breath...though preferably


not in view of the person you're about to kiss ;-) Walking into an
important business meeting? Check that breath.

In 2 minutes I discovered 2 affiliate programs you can sell it


through. One at www.themall.com was terrible offering only 2
cents a click-though and no further commissions on sales. It also
only pays you quarterly and then only if you've generated over
$50 at 2 cents a time. The other at iGadget www.igadget.com
didn't look great paying only 7% commission on a $37 sale.

But it has possibilities. Ran out of time to look further. But odds
are there are some much better affiliate programs around for this
product.

While looking for an affiliate program for the BreathAlert I also


found an Australian mini site selling both this and the tongue
scraper. They're probably missing out on a lot of Internet sales
because the products are priced in Australian dollarshttp://
www.freshkiss.com.au/index.html , includes 10% Australian
GST tax, and there's no order form for people outside Australia.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 555
phil wiley
12.40pm: Look up available domain names, and ideas for do-
main names by using Name Boy. http://www.nameboy.com which
lets you enter both bad breath and halitosis. Available names, at
the time of writing on 2nd Aug 2001) include:

breath-fresh.com
awful-breath.com
bad-breath-cure.com
bad-breaths.com

A search at http://www.betterwhois.com revealed these avail-


able names:

my-bad-breath.com
problembreath.com
betterkissing.com

Incidentally the 2nd magazine article I ever got commissioned


to write, back when I was 16, was about why people kiss. Took
a lot of hands on (mouths on?) research.

12.55pm: Quick search on Google reveals plenty of info about


combating bad breath, and researching then putting together
enough content would be easy enough. There's also lots of info
and some good graphics on the Orasweet tongue scraper site.

1.10pm: Lack of time means I'm not going to build a mini site
on this subject. But YOU can, which is why I've written this
article for you.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 556
phil wiley
If you'd like to read a lot more about building mini sites, includ-
ing much more detailed step-by-step help, you need my Mini
site Profits book. http://www.minisiteprofits.com

WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE


I'm sometimes accused of only seeing the big picture, without
showing people how they can get there.

This article shows how to wake up one morning without an idea


in your head and by the end of the day have a product to sell, a
web site to sell it from, and a target audience to market it to.

Because I wrote it as it actually evolved on my computer screen,


readers can easily see how they can follow the same steps to
plucking ideas out of thin air and turning them into direct re-
sponse mini sites that bring a quick income.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 557
“The Easy Way to create a stream of fast,
low-cost, mini sites that create an incredible
cashflow 24-Hours a Day, Non-Stop!”

If you’ve been struggling to make a fortune promoting affiliate programs you’re not alone. It’s
not as easy as some people make out... as you’ll know if you’ve been trying.

But what if I told you that I’ve discovered an easy way to affiliate success? A way that will
help you make more affiliate sales every day than most people make in a month.

If you promote affiliate programs or if you are thinking about building a site to promote affiliate
programs, here’s a hands-on Action Guide that can save you lots of time, money and energy. It
contains everything you need to know to create incredible profits with affiliate programs.

Here is what you’ll discover:


# You’ll learn how you can easily choose any affiliate program
and put together a mini site to promote it in 1 hour or less.
# You’ll learn how to pick the affiliate programs that will
bring you big profits, and build a fast site that will run on
autopilot and fill your bank account with cold, hard cash.
# You’ll find out how to create a stream of profitable affiliate
sites that presell like crazy.
# And best of all find out exactly how to create your mini site
fortune with sites that cost as little as $8.88 to build and run
and that includes the domain name and full, ad-free, hosting.
You can easily have 20 or more sites bringing in affiliate profits!

Click here to learn more at http://www.minisiteprofits.net


Phil: Just a quick note to tell you your new mini-sites product is awesome!
The great thing about this is, anyone — and I honestly believe that —
virtually anyone can take your idea and make money with it in relatively
short order. It’s simple. It’s practical. And it really, really works. Genius.
Just sheer genius. MARLON SANDERS
nan yielding
The “Secret”
In 1997, I finally broke
away from being a
Of An Effective
Marketing
"wage slave" and started
my own writing busi-
ness. My first major
project was to rewrite/
edit a 300-page book

Message
manuscript, and my self-
employment ventures
took off from there.
I've always had a
penchant for writing
marketing copy, so it
was right up my alley People hear or read over 2,000 marketing messages each day
when clients began and their response to a vast majority of them is: So what? Who
asking for assistance in
cares? Says who?
creating their web
pages, brochures, sales
letters, newsletters, etc. What’s the reason for this indifference (other than they’re turned
I have written articles
off by the sheer number)? It's because more than 90% of all
for a local business
journal, conducted marketing messages concentrate on the product or the service
workshops on marketing instead of its benefits. Little wonder that so many brochures,
communications, done
flyers, direct mail, and other promotional materials end up in
some consulting work
on marketing, and the trash.
written two E-books.

Instead of reading a marketing message that tells how to solve


their problems or make their life better, consumers learn the com-
pany offers “quality service or products,” “free estimates,” “life-
time guarantee,” or “15 years experience.”

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 559
nan yielding
While these features may bring added value, does any one of
them give the consumer a compelling reason to part with his or
her money?

In one of my earlier attempts to find a way in which I could


Along the way, I
leave the Corporate World (and yet not go hungry or lose my
completed some
assignments for a home), I started a small, part-time, service-oriented business.
couple of Fortune 500 Knowing how important it was to present a professional, com-
companies and was
petent, and successful image, I met with a Marketing Consultant
proud to add them to
my list of clients. whom I’ll call Linda.

I'm very passionate


After two or three meetings, Linda came up with an image for
about my work and my
primary desire (outside my company that was exactly what I wanted. Then we began
of making a comfortable discussing the creation of a brochure. Because I had a writing
income) is to help small
background, I asked if I could generate the text. Linda was re-
and home-based busi-
ness owners to succeed. luctant, but finally agreed to let me give it a try. I went home and
started putting together information about my business. When I
finished, I returned to Linda's office and proudly presented my
written message. I was confident she was going to be surprised
and amazed at my talents. As it turned out, I was the one who got
the surprise.

Although Linda felt I did have a flair for writing and had done a
fairly decent job of putting my information together, she pointed
out that I had not given my potential customers any reasons to
do business with me. I didn't understand. I thought that every-
thing I had written was telling how great it would be to use my
service. Not so, said Linda, and during the next hour or so, she
gave me valuable instruction about the most essential part of
any marketing message.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 560
nan yielding
What I Learned

If you want prospective customers to be motivated to do busi-


ness with you, it’s vital that you stop thinking about what you
want to sell and focus on what the consumer wants to buy.

In the world of marketing, two words are regularly repeated:


Features and Benefits. The success of your marketing efforts
revolves around your understanding of these two terms. Not just
the definitions, but the difference between the two.

The Distinguishing Difference

Features inform. Features are what you offer to the customer.


Features describe your product or service -- they're the facts,
figures, and statistics of your business. They tell how a product
is made, where it's made, who made it, what it’s made of, etc.
Features inform consumers that you accept credit cards, that you
have extended hours, or that you offer free consultations. And
while these are all things that help consumers make their deci-
sion to buy, their primary interest is in knowing "what's in it for
me?"

Benefits answer that question. Benefits tell customers what they'll


receive from using your product or service. Benefits create the
desire to buy. They solve problems, answer questions, and im-
prove the customer’s life or business.

My downfall when I wrote that first draft for my brochure was


that I could only see what I had to give to my clients. I failed to
show them what they would receive from doing business with
me.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 561
nan yielding
Wants vs. Needs

Studies have shown that people will buy what they want rather
than what they need. In other words, if there is a conflict be-
tween emotion and intellect in the buying decision, emotion will
win. What this means to you is that your marketing program
needs to directly address the inner aspirations and yearnings of
your prospects.

So what do people want? Without exception, people want to feel


secure, be liked, make money, save money, be happy, feel sexy,
be healthy, save time, be attractive, have fun, be accepted, gain
knowledge … they want things that will make life easier (offer
convenience), more enjoyable, safer, etc. Most of all, they want
help in solving their problems.

It’s Them, Not You

As you develop your marketing message, always remember that


people buy for their reasons, not yours. Their immediate con-
cern is what they will get from what you’re offering. Everything
you do or say must be geared toward answering their “unspo-
ken” questions: How do I personally benefit? What’s the payoff
for me? What exactly do I get as a result of buying from you?
This means that every fact or figure (feature) you give must be
tied to a benefit of some kind for the prospect.

Keep your prospective customers in the spotlight and they will


become interested, curious, receptive, and open to your product
or service. When you begin talking about yourself and your com-
pany, your product and its features, you have put the spotlight
on yourself and placed your prospect in the shadows.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 562
nan yielding
His or her personal concerns have become secondary and your
message quickly loses its impact.

Once you help your prospective customers to clearly see the


advantages of what you're selling, you have given them a reason
Nan Yielding is a
to buy. And … you have discovered the "secret" of an effective
professional copywriter
and owner of marketing message.
Writing..Etc. She helps
small and home-based
WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
businesses to grow and
prosper through copy- This article was printed in a local Business Journal and brought
writing services, writing me several inquiries about my service and also resulted in a
& marketing tips, ebooks
couple of new clients. It clearly explains the core elements of an
and a FREE newsletter.
Visit her website: effective marketing message.
www.writing-etc.com

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 563
michael carney
Around The
World’s Top
Michael Carney has
spent the last 30 years
in advertising and
marketing.
Marketers
In 30 Days
He began his career as a
radio copywriter at the
tender age of 17, before
being lured to advertis-
ing agencies for the next
20 years, predominantly
in media management My most effective “article” has undoubtedly been the series of
and media director roles. emails that led to the creation of this ebook, over a 30 Day Pe-
riod. The project didn’t exist until the 15th of January 2002. By
In 1991, he set up his
own independent media the 15th of February, this ebook was completed, produced and
shop, planning and ready to rock.
placing advertising
campaigns for a wide
variety of clients. Most of my time, in the first few days of the project, was spent
searching my bookshelves and the web, identifying, and then
finding email addresses for those who might qualify as “The
World’s Top Marketers.” The first email, on the 15th of Janu-
ary, announcing the project, was sent out personally addressed
to each marketer.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 564
michael carney
Subject: An Invitation To The World's Top Marketers

Dear [name1]

I'm writing to you in your capacity as one of the world's Top


In 1998 Michael - who
Marketers - you may quibble over that title, but I'm sure your
had been online since
1987 - set up readers and clients won't - with an invitation which I hope you
NetMarketing Limited to can't refuse.
concentrate on the
marketing potential of
the internet. I'd like to invite you to contribute one of your existing articles -
including, of course, a full page of sizzling promotional credits
Michael lives in New
for your current business offerings - to be included in an awe-
Zealand with his wife
Celia and their two sons, some new eBook.
Matthew and Paul.

But not just any article.

I need YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE ARTICLE - the single arti-


cle that's had more effect than anything else you've published.

That article is desperately sought for the new eBook entitled

THE MOST EFFECTIVE ARTICLES EVER - FROM THE


WORLD'S TOP MARKETERS.

And each and every copy of this sensational eBook - destined to


become an instant hit - will be a dynamic testimonial and a liv-
ing advertisement for your products and services!

Will you join us? I don't want to namedrop, but you'll be in ex-
alted company, as you'd expect when you're mixing with "the
world's top marketers".

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 565
michael carney
Some find it easy to choose their most effective article — others
of you have a tough time selecting from their power-packed col-
lection of great stories.

Can you spare a moment to think over the articles you've writ-
ten, and choose the most effective of them all? Thanks.

Oh, one other thing. Readers love to know the background be-
hind the story. Why was this article so effective? How did you
decide that?

So will you take a few minutes to write a paragraph or so ex-


plaining your choice? It'll make your selection that much more
powerful. I know it's an imposition, but your readers will love
you for it.

COPYRIGHT
Naturally, you'll retain full copyright on all your materials -- I'll
include a notice to that effect in the ebook. Was the article origi-
nally published by some other publisher? Then you'll need to
confirm that the rights have reverted to you -- a wise move for
any of your articles, of course.

DEADLINE
Deadline? Must have a deadline.

I'm aiming to publish sometime in February, so need your arti-


cle, your ad (one full page) and a bit of a bio by the end of Janu-
ary. That shouldn't be too tough, should it?

EBOOK FORMAT
To be published in Acrobat .pdf format, standard US letter size.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 566
michael carney
AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Yes, OF COURSE you'll have the opportunity to promote and
sell this eBook to your customers. You'll receive a generous
Commission on every sale you make.

MARKETING
If the world's top marketers can't sell this ebook, who can? As
we move towards publication date, every marketer will be in-
vited to toss in a marketing idea or two, to promote the ebook.

On the other hand, as a marketer with more than 30 years expe-


rience in real world and virtual world marketing, I have an idea
or two myself!

WHAT TO DO NEXT: SEVEN STEPS TO STARDOM

** NOW **

1. Please just Reply to this email, with the word 'YES' in the
Subject line, indicating you're ready to take up the challenge.

** BEFORE JANUARY 31 **

2. When you get a few moments, think about and then select
your most effective article ever.

3. Write a few lines explaining why it was effective.

4. Dust off your bio (or list an URL where it can be found),
including a .jpg photo (optional).

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 567
michael carney
5. Email the article, e x p l a n a t i o n and bio to me at:
topmarketers@shoestringmarketing.net

6. Prepare your free Full Page ad and email to:


topads@shoestringmarketing.net

** SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY **

7. Sit back and enjoy the adulation!

That first email, on the 15th, went out to just 22 recipients – the
first batch of marketers whose email addresses I could find.
Within a few hours, two of them (Joe Vitale and Yanik Silver)
had agreed to take part.

I quickly amended the email, adding in their names as “the first


to respond, within a few hours of receiving this email”. Then, as
more and more marketers signed up, their names were added.
All in all, 229 marketers were contacted for this project. Those
who didn’t respond to the first email were sent a personalized
follow-up a week later:

Subject: The World's other Top Marketers Need You!

Wow! When the World's Top Marketers move, they move fast!

One week ago, this project didn't exist.

Now, thanks to the fantastic willingness of many of The World's


Top Marketers to sign up for the new eBook —THE MOST
EFFECTIVE ARTICLES EVER - FROM THE WORLD'S TOP
MARKETERS — it's going to be awesome!

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 568
michael carney
Already, more than 20 [then 25, then 30, then 40, 50, 60, 70] of
today's hottest marketers have signed on, including -

[the marketers’ names were listed here, as they signed up]

... and more joining up all the time!

- I've mentioned these Top Marketers in the order they signed


up, most within a few hours of receiving this email.

I haven't yet received your OK, so forgive this follow-up email


- but time's running short, and I didn't want you to miss out.

A reminder about the eBook:

I'm inviting you to include YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE ARTI-


CLE - the single article that's had more effect than anything else
you've published. Plus, if you can, a paragraph or two on the
background behind the story. Why was this article so effective?
How did you decide that?

Naturally, I want to tell our readers all about you - though, as


one of the World's Top Marketers, you'll need little introduction
- so please include a Bio and a photo.

And, of course, this is a promotional opportunity for your cur-


rent projects, so I've set aside a Full Page ad space for you to
work your marketing magic!

The response rate to this follow-up email – helped, undoubt-


edly, by the ever-growing list of names of those who had already
agreed to take part – was far better than to the initial mailing.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 569
michael carney
By now, I had more than enough contributors to create an excel-
lent ebook. But the deadline, January 31st was fast approach-
ing, and I wanted to give late-comers one last shot.

Subject: [name1], 76 of The World's Top Marketers Are


Waiting For You!

76 of the World's Top Marketers are waiting for you to join them
- but they can't wait much longer.

They've already signed up for the new eBook —THE MOST


EFFECTIVE ARTICLES EVER - FROM THE WORLD'S TOP
MARKETERS.

Quick to recognise a great marketing opportunity -

[Again, the ever-growing list of contributors was included]

This is basically your last chance to sign up – the material dead-


line's ON THURSDAY - and I really hope you can join us.

The email went on to restate the specific requirements for the


ebook.

The final result: 86 marketers agreed to take part. If you’re do-


ing the math, that’s a 37% conversion rate from a mailing to
229. Spectacular success, by any measure.

You’ll have noticed that this ebook contains 72 contributors, not


86. Well, the World’s Top Marketers are very busy indeed, and
14 of them simply couldn’t provide their material in time to meet
the admittedly short deadline.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 570
michael carney
But that’s not a problem. The way I see it, I now have 14 pre-
committed contributors to the sequel:
More Of The Most Effective Articles Ever –
From More Of The World’s Top Marketers!

Apart from this ebook,


and the other resources
at the project website WHY THIS ARTICLE WAS SO EFFECTIVE
WorldsTopMarketers.com I believe that the emails were effective because they were per-
Michael Carney is closely
involved in online
sonally addressed, provided direct benefits to the recipients (pro-
training and tutoring in motional opportunity, tacit acknowledgement of their status as
marketing topics at The one of the World’s Top Marketers) and required only limited ef-
eLearning Institute.
fort. Contributors used existing material for their articles and
Michael can be only needed to write a paragraph or two about the effectiveness
contacted via email at of their work.
info@shoestringmarketing.net
www.shoestringmarketing.net
As is often the case, each marketer who signed up increased the
appeal of the project to all those who hadn’t yet signed up. And,
as each email arrived, the holdouts could see the list growing
and growing. If I’d only sent out one email, and not named names,
this ebook would have attracted only a few contributors.

http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com 571
MarketingON A
A 10 Part
Home Study

Shoestring Budget
eCourse

Introducing a new concept in eLearning - a 10 Part eCourse delivered through


the internet, focussed on what you need to know to market your products -
Marketing on a Shoestring Budget.
Each lesson covers key elements in the Marketing process, with explanatory
notes, strategies & systems,supplemented by assignments through which
you'll be able to apply the lessons learnt to your own business. Then you'll
submit your assignments to your eCourse Tutor for feedback and advice.
At the conclusion of the 10 Part eCourse, you should have developed or
revised a Marketing Plan based on your expanded knowledge, and be in a
position to implement that Plan, or to propose it to your organisation.
FOR COURSE DETAILS SEE OVERLEAF

How Does An eCourse work?


eCourses are conducted by email. Each week during the eCourse, you'll receive new
Lesson Notes and Assignments by email. After you complete each assignment, simply
email it to your eCourse Tutor, who will respond by email with feedback and advice. So you
can take your eCourse from anywhere in the world.

THE eLEARNING INSTITUTE


Marketing on a Shoestring Budget is pre- Who should take this eCourse?
sented by The eLearning Institute, a divi-
sion of NetMarketing Limited. All eLearning
Institute courses are personally moderated ✓ Small business operators
who need to do it all themselves
by highly experienced tutors. The eCourse
Marketing on a Shoestring Budget is
overseen by Michael Carney, a marketing ✓ Employees in Marketing roles
in large organisations
professional of over 30 years experience.
THE eLEARNING INSTITUTE
a division of NetMarketing Limited ✓ Any companies looking to market
their products with limited resources
Email: info@shoestringmarketing.net
Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
eCOURSE CONTENT
Lesson #1: Know Your Prospects Lesson #6: Brainstorming
The single most important component of any marketing pro- So far, we've mostly been collecting information that already
gramme is understanding your existing and prospective custom- exists somewhere out there. Now it's time to think outside the
ers, understanding their values, mind-sets, problems, needs and sphere. In this lesson, we unwrap your synapses, dredge up a
interests. How can your products or services benefit them? few brainstorming tools and get you thinking about your busi-
Of course, your prospects are NOT just the end-users. Your ness, your products and your markets in totally unexpected
prospects are also the distributors, the wholesalers, the retail- ways. This is no lesson for the fainthearted! Could your product
ers, the sales agents - collectively, the resellers of your products. have 101 amazing, undocumented other uses? Leson #6 re-
In Lesson #1, we'll show you how to get close to your resellers moves the boundaries and takes you to bold new worlds where
and end-users, wherever they are in the world. We'll talk none have gone before!
demographics, psychographics and common sense! We'll be
Lesson #7: Using Traditional Media
identifying tools such as the Mackay 66 - 66 pieces of informa-
Even for the most budget-challenged, traditional media can
tion that you should know about each of your resellers.
still play an important role. There are thousands of radio sta-
And we'll be exploring ways for you to profile potential end-
tions around the world, eager to feature talkback guests who
users. We'll even show you how to track down highly valuable
are fluent, interesting and original. Local TV channels in many
info on resellers & end-users ... from your competitors.
countries will run intriguing tales if they have the right pictures.
Lesson #2: Know Your Product And newspapers and magazines are crying out for decent, news-
Yeah, sure, you already know your product. But how recently worthy content. Lesson Seven shows you how to really use the
have you looked at your product from a customer perspective - media.
especially from the perspective of resellers and end-users? What
Lesson #8: Using The New Media
value does your product add to reseller offerings? What problem
At last - Nothin' But Net - using the internet to market your
does it solve for end-users?
products. Do you have a website? How are you promoting it?
Lesson #3: Know Your Competitors Should you scatter a few ad banners on highly expensive sites?
What do you know about your competitors? Who are they? Spend up large on search engines? We don't think so. We'll
Why do customers use them? We explore dozens of sources of show you a host of shoestring marketing tactics that'll build up
competitive information, and show you how to find facts and fig- a qualified, interested-in-your-product audience, without resort-
ures on your competitors, what competitors say about themselves ing to big spending, tech-wreck-inducing strategies. And then
and what other people say about them. (Assignment #8), we'll force you out on the web to try out a few
smart attention- getting tactics for yourself.
Lesson #4: Know Your Marketplace
You've probably got a pretty good grasp of trading conditions Lesson #9: Refining Your Marketing Plan
in your own area. If you've lived there most of your life, you'll Now it's time to integrate your most recent lessons into your
have absorbed its cultural imperatives, its legal system, com- Marketing Plan. Time to start putting down a few Critical Path
mercial expectations and all the general aspects of doing busi- Milestones, and setting some targets. Yes, we know it can be a
ness there. But what holds true at home ain't necessarily so in daunting task, but, after this lesson, you'll be ready and rarin' to
Anchorage, Australia, Argentina or any of the other areas where plunge into your Plan, setting objectives, developing a market-
you can now do business. ing calendar, identifying the resources you need and preparing
In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the internet and other for action.
sources to gather info on any city state or country.
Lesson #10: Haggling, Hustling, Monitoring, ROI
Lesson #5: Beginning Your Marketing Plan OK, time for some real-world wheeling and dealing, as you
By now, if you've been doing your homework diligently, you'll put your marketing plan into practice. Did you think those won-
have a handle on some of the key facts you need to know to start derful ratecards were immutable? With many dotcompanies
your Marketing Plan. In this lesson, we'll identify the elements turning dotcoma, the deal's the thing. Of course, to make the
that make up a marketing plan, show you how to develop a tem- right sorts of deals, you need to know a few things about your
plate for your business and start to fill in some of the bits and bottom line - what sort of performance is acceptable, the Re-
pieces you'll need before you start planning. Then Assignment turn on Investment you should expect from your marketing dol-
#5 will set you loose on the marketing plan template, ready to lar, those sorts of things. Assignment #10 will put some num-
customise it to your own needs. bers to your Marketing expectations.

register now at http://www.shoestringmarketing.net/ecourse.html


BOOK
SELLERS
WANTED

HOT AFFILATE PROGRAM!!!


SIGN UP TODAY AT
http://www.WorldsTopMarketers.com

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen