Category Archives for Uncategorized

The Scariest Moment Of My Life

Awhile back I was making lunch in the kitchen while listening to some marketing material.

I heard my wife call me and something in her voice seemed “off”.

Now before I go on, there are two things about my wife you should know…Continue reading

You Don’t Know Squat!

I can remember the day as vividly as the day I got married.

I was about 8 years old… and my Mom and I had been arguing about something.

I, of course, thought she was wrong about whatever we were arguing about, and I remember stomping my little feet up the steps in a fit of rage. As my temper tantrum hit it’s peaked…Continue reading

Is Internet Marketing A Dirty Plague For Marketers?

For over a decade now, thousands of marketers around the world have been switching their businesses over to an “Internet” business…

Thousands of other people finally made their dream come true by creating themselves a nice home-based business where they could finally “work in their underwear” and never have to deal with a boss again…

… and yet…

in my opinion, I think for some people Internet Marketing is a dirty plague!

Here’s why.

Before the Internet, you actually had to put WORK into creating a successful business.

• You saved up for years so you could afford the rent.
• You spent weeks, months, sometimes even years developing and planning out a business strategy.
• And when you finally launched your business…
• … it took YEARS to build it up to the point where you were actually making real money.

That is – if you were one of the 3-5% of “lucky” ones who actually succeeded.

Compare that to many of the Internet businesses you see today.

• They’re setup on a wing and a prayer, without any pre-planning.
• It takes anywhere from $0 – $1,000 to setup a real business.
• It’s “sold” on the fact that it’s EASY!

In other words… these days… starting up a business online is too easy.

And I don’t know about you… but this scares me.

The problem is – 95% of people who start businesses on the Internet have absolutely NO idea what real marketing consists of. They don’t care about the customer, they don’t understand what it’s like to spent weeks, even months at a time developing a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and researching their target customer… and they create low-life businesses that nobody cares about!

Here’s How To Be Different

Listen, I know that it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking Internet Marketing is so easy.

Fortunately the cure for it is pretty simple.

All you have to do… is keep your customer in mind.

I realize this sounds ridiculously simplistic, but it’s true. If every thought, every action, every step you take is taken to benefit the customer you’re about to sell to – you simply can’t fail.

Why?

Because over time, people flock to those who help them and have their interests in their minds… instead of only thinking about the money.

People have way too many options these days, and the marketing game is changing fast.

So fast… in fact… that if you don’t change the way you’re doing business NOW – you’ll be out of the game in the next 5 years.

So what are YOU going to do differently?

How are you going to become one of the “clean” marketers instead of one of those who fall victim to the dirty Internet plague?

How To Smash Past The Inevitable Brick Wall

Ahh…the brick wall…gotta love it.

You’re working on a project… burying your nose into mounds of research, studies, statistics and facts…writing out dozens of headlines to choose the best…brainstorming the best lead…

…eventually, you even begin writing the letter.

You start writing and maybe 1-3 days later (if a rough draft takes you any longer than 2-3 days…you might want to consider figuring out how to shorten your writing time)…you finally have a rough draft written.

Hooray!

After writing the rough draft and getting your mind off it for a few days, you head back to work and start polishing it up.

And everything is going well…until…the brick wall smacks you in the forehead.

All of a sudden – you don’t care as much about the product or service as you did when you started. It’s not “new” anymore. It’s getting old, you have a new exciting project…and you’re now dragging your feet just to try and finish the one you started.

Because I don’t know about you…but I know that for me personally…the real “magic” happens on about the 3rd edit or so. That’s when the black chunk of raw coal starts getting cut and polished into a sparkling diamond!

So…how do you do it?

My 3 No-Fail Ways To Smash Down The Brick Wall Like A Wrecking Ball

Listen, this happens to everybody. It’s NOT your fault if you aren’t quite as excited about a project as you used to be. Hell, I bet your CLIENT isn’t as excited about his or her product as they used to be – so don’t “feel bad” if that’s the case.

But in order to do the best job you can, and write a kick-ass promotion… I suggest you follow the 3 tips below which have personally helped me jump past the brick wall and write promotions that convert like crazy.

1) Re-evaluate The Product – First of all if you’re not studying the product you’re writing about like your life depended on it..shame on you. I see this way too often – copywriters try to take the “easy” way out and simply glance over it once and be done with it. STUDY whatever it is that you’re selling! Many times (as long as it’s a good product) you’ll begin to get re-excited about the project.

2) Think About The Money – I’m not doing much freelancing anymore (I’m using my skills for my own businesses lately), but when I do take on a client – I’ve been doing a few deals lately where I get a percentage of the increase in business I give my client. In my opinion – EVERY copywriter needs to do this. Why? Because it FORCES you to write to the best of your ability. If you don’t – you don’t make money!

3) Take Some Time Off – If your schedule/client allows (and it/they should)…take a friggin day off for Pete’s sake. If you don’t feel like working on a Wednesday afternoon and want to curl up on your couch with a bowl of ice cream, a beer, and a full season of Lost (I just started watching Lost – and LOVE it!)…then DO IT! Although society wants you to believe that working non-stop is how you should be living life…trust me, taking some time off can do wonders for both your creative mind as well as your motivation levels.

Before I end this post I want you to know that yes, I realize these concepts are pretty simple and elementary. But…have you tried them?

If not…I suggest you do.

And by the way – I’ll most likely be doing #3 today (minus the beer/ice cream) and working until about noon…then taking a few hours off to watch Lost. If you’re a fan and remember the first season…you know why this is more of a necessity and not a choice 🙂

P.S. (Who uses P.S.’s on blogs?) – I’m starting a new and more “personal” blog about my life and basically how to achieve more health, wealth and happiness in your life. If you’re in to that sort of thing and want to become a better person overall…shoot me an email – I’d love some ideas for the new blog!

Would You Rather Company A…Or Company B?

If you had your choice…which would you rather?

A) A company grossing $500,000,000 per year (500 million)
B) A company grossing $1,000,000 per year (1 million)

Think about that for a second.

Have your answer yet?

Ok good…now let me tell you MY answer.

Personally…I can’t choose either of those based on that information. I don’t care about GROSS sales – all I care about is net profit.

If company A is grossing 500 million but only bringing in $200,000 in profit per year…and company B is grossing 1 million and bringing in $200,000 in profit per year…

…it’s the same sized company!

Don’t be deluded into thinking you “need” huge gross sales to make a lot of money. You can either have a lower number of overall profits with a huge profit margin, or huge overall profits with a teeny-tiny margin.

You almost never get both.

Yes…it’s possible, but not very often.

So how about you…which company would you rather pick and why?

Make sure you think of this question in terms of lifestyle, headaches, legal issues, workload, and everything else…not only by the profits.