Just came across the following offer and decided to pass it along to you. ANd yes it is an affiliate program. To get a hard copy of Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich just go to :
You will have to pay a shipping and handling charge but that is all. The book you will receive is a soft cover hard copy of the classic work.
In a recent decision on rules concerning testimonials and endorsements the FTC has set a standard for their use. The result is your copy is going to be more important than ever before. The ruling is designed In my opinion to tone down the hype which abounds in so much of the internet marketing.(note: I am not an attorney don’t consider this legal advice.)
To read the ruling for yourself go to http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm ,
And you might want to take a read of Frank Kern’s take on the ruling. You can read it at: http://masscontrolsite.com/blog/?p=59
While this will cause some to try and find ways around the ruling in the long run it will provide more opportunities for skilled ethical copywriters and marketers. I am looking forward to seeing how many of the marketers who are dependent on hype to promote their products remain around.
What are your thoughts on the rulmg and what the fallout will be.
In a recent decision on rules concerning testimonials and endorsements the FTC has set a standard for their use. The result is your copy is going to be more important than ever before. The ruling is designed In my opinion to tone down the hype which abounds in so much of the internet marketing.(note: I am not an attorney don’t consider this legal advice.)
To read the ruling for yourself go to http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm ,
And you might want to take a read of Frank Kern’s take on the ruling. You can read it at: http://masscontrolsite.com/blog/?p=59
While this will cause some to try and find ways around the ruling in the long run it will provide more opportunities for skilled ethical copywriters and marketers. I am looking forward to seeing how many of the marketers who are dependent on hype to promote their products remain around.
What are your thoughts on the rulmg and what the fallout will be.
Here are two courses to enable you to learn copywriting at a reasonable cost to you. The first features Ted Nicholas and Joel Sugarman teaching.
To get the program click here.
The second program is a program to enable you to earn six figures annually from copywriting. It also allows you to enter a challenge and earn money before you finish the course.
To get this program go here.
I am an affiliate for both programs and will be compensated if you buy the program.
Here are two courses to enable you to learn copywriting at a reasonable cost to you. The first features Ted Nicholas and Joel Sugarman teaching.
To get the program click here.
The second program is a program to enable you to earn six figures annually from copywriting. It also allows you to enter a challenge and earn money before you finish the course.
To get this program go here.
I am an affiliate for both programs and will be compensated if you buy the program.
I just came across this article on magnetizing your copy and what it can do for you. Tke a moment and give it a quick read.
Enjoy the article as it is a good copywriting tip.
I am an affiliate for the advertised program and will be compensated if you make a purchase.
Today’s copywriting tip is to give you a resource for learning copywriting. The road to becoming a successful copywriter is learning the trade and art involved. You cna learn it by trial and error on your own with persitance and determination but to have a mentor to help you is invaluable.
The problem is to hire someone to be your mentor is usaully expensive when you can find someone willing to do it. The truly successful writers are booked months in advance and their time is valuable. The available coaching programs are also costly to get involved with and take a lot of time to get results from.
If only there was a reasonably priced home study course to get started with. Well there is one available to you . This course is recommended by some of the top copywriters in the business.
For you to get started with it click here to sign up. Again you should go to this page to get started on your new career.
I am an affo;oate fpr the [rpgram and will be compensated if you purchase the program.
As I look back on the bumps and humps along the path I have chosen one item stands out. In spite of all the turmoil and strife in my life I have kept learning more about copywriting each day, month and year I have been on the journey,
So the copywriting tip for today is to keep going regardless of anything occuring in your life. If you have goals then it is up to you to persevere in the achievement of your goals. Consider my own case. I am currently 62 years old. To start on a new path to learning a skill which will someday allow me to be responsible for myself is daunting in itself. But if I do nothing then nothing changes.
As a side note of my main goals is to develop a business of my own where I can be responsible for myself and assist my family.
After all if I do nothing for the next ten or twenty years then what happens? Answer is nothing happens. All I will have done is watched time pass and wasted it in the process so I have chosen to invest the time in building for myself and my loved ones.
Along the way I plan to inspire and help other people get off their butts, achieve their dreams and become responsible for their lives and well being.
Ok you’re writing a sales letter for a product and are trying to decide how to sell the offer in print. To learn the steps to take read the following article by Carline Anglade-Cole. The copywriting tips she shares in the article are invaluable in learning how to craft an offer.
Man, I just got a SCREAMIN’ bargain!
My oldest daughter is getting married and I needed to find a dress for the wedding. One thing I knew for certain: I’m not wearing a traditional mother-of-the bride sequined jacket/gown combo!
It’s scary enough that my daughter is turning me into a mother-in-law. I’m definitely not going to LOOK like one! In other words, I needed a dress that says …
KABOOM!
And my cousin Sandy found it for me online!
It was at Nordstrom’s and the gown cost $508!
But I went to the mall to try on the dress anyway. Well, they didn’t have it at my local Nordstrom’s – but I did find an identical dress at Macy’s – and it cost $200! Now, we’re getting closer to my comfort price zone. But wait …
… While trying on the dress, I noticed a few dirt spots at the hemline. It was the only dress in my size. Surely I shouldn’t have to pay the regular price! So I asked for a discount to cover the cleaning cost and the sales lady agreed to take 10% off. Hmmm … that’s good, but I think I can do better …
Macy’s was having a 20% off sale that weekend. Although I didn’t have the coupon, I talked the sales lady into “finding” one for me. Ok, now, we’re cookin’ … I’m up to a 30% savings – and feeling pretty good about myself. But then I got another surprise …
… When I stepped up to the register, I saw the sign for a Macy’s credit card. I get 15% off just by taking a few seconds to open an account. Then, I’d get ANOTHER 15% off everything I charge in the next 48 hours. Sign me up!
By the time I walked out the store, I got a $508 dress for $77 – that’s 85% off the original dress price! Woo-hoo! My adrenaline was PUMPING!
When I got home, I turned on the TV and lo and behold …
… There’s the slimmed-down Valerie Bertinelli in her new Jenny Craig ad – wearing MY gown (in a different color)!
Wow – I got a dress that a movie star wears –and I bet Valerie’s cost WAY MORE than $77! Yee ha!
I just love a GREAT bargain! Well guess what?
So does your prospect!
And that’s the lesson to learn (or relearn) today:
Create for your prospect an offer they can’t refuse!
Let’s use my shopping experience as an example of what to do:
Come on, anybody in their right mind would agree getting a $508 dress for $77 is a GREAT deal! So how can you make your offer a fantastic opportunity for your prospect? Simple.
Let him know the original price of the product. In newsletter sales, this is often more than TWICE the “introductory” price. But if it’s a legitimate price, let your prospect know that some unfortunate soul paid that amount – but he won’t!
Then show him any discounts he can get during this offer. And finally, let him in on the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE during this “limited time opportunity!”
Reveal this savings in stages and build up to the HUGE total discount. Remember, my dress started at $508 … then $200 … then 10% off … and then 20% off … and finally 30% if I ACT RIGHT NOW!
Ever see a newsletter promotion offer 7 … 12 … even 24 FREE gifts just for trying out a $39 newsletter?
Want to know why they do it?
BECAUSE IT WORKS!
If you add up the costs of all these gifts, it could be 5 … 10 … or even 20 times the value of the product! WOW that’s a bargain! Remember, in direct mail – bribing is not only ethical – it’s downright essential!
This tactic is discussed more thoroughly in the book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Robert Cialdini, Ph.D, explains the power of reciprocity. In other words …
… We’re trained from childhood when someone gives you a gift, you say thank you and show your appreciation. Often times, you feel a need to do something special for that person. As a copywriter, you want the prospect to feel grateful enough to buy your product!
Give your prospect the BEST price … load him up with a bunch of FREE gifts … and give him a DEADLINE to act! Do you think my dress would be waiting for me if I decided to think about the purchase and come back in a week?
Heck no!
And even if it was – I would’ve missed out on the 20% off sale!
So you’ve got to trigger your prospect’s impulse to buy now! Here’s an easy way to do it …
Offer a fast response FREE gift when he orders within the next 7 days. Or create any other kind of urgency deadline, such as “For the first 100 customers who call in their order”. Bottom line: If he doesn’t ACT NOW, you’ll probably lose the sale.
Let the prospect know he’s making the best decision he could make today! Tell him how smart he is!
Create an “elite” group and put him in it! He’s one of the folks who’ve made this wise decision and he’s feeling better … getting richer … or is downright smarter than the average guy.
Remember my dress? Not only did I get a terrific deal – but I’m in a movie star category. Me and Valerie Bertinelli have great taste!
This is a common mistake I see with many copy cubs and I don’t want you to make it, so listen up …
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU’VE WRITTEN YOUR COPY BEFORE CREATING YOUR OFFER!
A smart writer will start weaving the idea of good things to come early in your sales letter.
Tease your reader by telling him, “in a moment, I’ll show you how to get this amazing special report, absolutely free! But first … ” Or …
“You’ll get 7 amazing gifts – valued at $xxx.xx – absolutely free. I’ll tell you how to claim yours in a minute, but first … ”
That simple line of copy is already setting up your offer!
And as you reveal your offer – make your prospect salivate for the gifts. That brings me to another common mistake …
DON’T FORGET TO SELL THE FREE GIFTS!
Just because it’s free, doesn’t mean it’s valuable to your prospect. You have to create value for the gifts! For example …
If you’re going to give him 3 free reports, build up a desire for the first report. Make it a MUST HAVE for him. Use bullets to tell him what he’s getting in this special report. Pull out an interesting item in the report and turn it into a story. Then, tell him the regular price is $19.95 but you’re going to show him how to get it absolutely FREE!
After you’ve sold him on the first report, pile it on!
Reveal that you’ve got a 2nd special gift to send him. Again, create a desire for that report just like you did for the first and then wow him with the FREE opportunity!
And finally, you may want to save the 3rd report for the P.S. section of your letter.
Use it as the ACT NOW Fast Response Bonus. “I’ve got another FREE gift I want to send you when you respond within the next 7 days.” Then, write powerful sales copy as if he has to buy that report too!
Creating an unbeatable offer isn’t rocket science. Just tap into the basic desires of your prospect. Show him how he’s going to save money … boost his ego … and reward him with gifts and lots of praise!
Here’s to Creating Success Your Way!
Carline Anglade-Cole
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
Carline Anglade-Cole writes multi-year controls in the alternative health field for clients including Healthy Directions, Health Resources, True Health, Soundview Publications and Sun Chlorella USA. She also provides phone consultations and “mini-boot camps”. Put her 20 years of direct mail experience in mailing list strategies, new product development and creating kick-butt controls to work for your company!
Contact Carline directly by visiting her website at www.CarlineCole.com
This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.
In today’s post is a discussion regarding mega headlines from Michael Fortin and gives you several copywriting tips on headlines.
There’s an interesting debate going on in my copywriting forum, about copy cosmetics and specifically the formatting of headlines and sub-headlines.
My post here is not to discuss those issues directly. I’ll reserve that for another article.
However, I do want to add my thoughts on one issue that seems to keep coming back in the forum — the issue of using long-winded, excessively wordy headlines that are prevalent on websites nowadays.
One extremely talented member, JayKay, is a graphic designer with a flair for direct response. His thoughtful—and often thought-provoking (and sometimes controversial) — posts are a wonder to read. And, a breath of fresh air.
Here’s why.
He’s a solid proponent of clean, pithy headlines. An Ogilvy and direct response enthusiast, he often makes sarcastic remarks about (and often creates parodical graphic caricatures of) these long mega-headlines, in an effort to ridicule the already ridiculous nature of these chapter-sized headlines.
(And he does so while many others argue that long, mega-headlines are the way to go. “They’re proven,” they say, “because they’re taught to be so according to the ‘guru du jour’.”)
So JayKay often refers to Ogilvy, in which he states that headlines should be no more than a few words only. He also added this timely (and brilliant, I might add) comment:
It’s interesting to note what is considered a short headline and what is considered a long headline. Less than two decades after Ogilvy On Advertising some (Internet?) “guru” who read his book comes up with the idea that if long headlines (six-twelve words) are better than short headlines (one-five words) ergo MEGA-headlines of 30, 40, 50 or 60 words have to be three, four, five or six times better! This “guru” (or “gurus”) forgot what the basic purpose of a headline is supposed to do.
Well, I agree with him. But since I’m a proponent of long headlines, I felt the need to explain because there’s room for misinterpretation.
A lot of what people are told to do in copywriting is based on hearsay and/or interpretation, such as assuming that a rule enunciated by some guru (or a test result, for that matter) is universally applicable.
As a result, a lot of rules and tests are erroneously extrapolated to other industries, markets or media.
Granted, some of them are tested numerous times, and the likelihood that the results are statistically significant enough to be applicable to other areas is quite high.
(But never universal.)
For example, I’m not only a copywriter. I’m also a fanatical tester. And a lot of what I teach stems from the results of those tests.
Not one test. Not two. Not one type of test or two.
But the result of many, many tests.
However, some of these tests are very specific and have too many variables that, making assumptions and cross-pollinating their results to other areas, may be premature or misguided.
For instance, my tests show that long headlines do work. But my tests are not, and should never, to be treated as gospel. Every market, every product, every offer and every piece of copy is different. (And every manner in which a market is targeted and qualified before they hit the copy is different, too.)
I write copy primarily for top marketers who have devout, eager lists of people who will read and gobble up anything they say. It would be different than copy for a brand-new website visited for the first time by a new market.
Dan Kennedy is the one who talks about, and extols the virtues of, long headlines, to which JayKay vehemently and skillfully protests.
But what I think has been misinterpreted is not the fact that long headlines are bad (or good, for that matter), it’s that they’re overused. And more often than not, they’re grossly misused, too.
Kennedy is a self-professed technophobe. And he’s referring to sales letters for direct mail or to prequalified lists. (He often talks about “gathering the herd.”)
Thus, he’s not referring to newspaper display ads like Ogilvy did. Nor does what he say applies to the Internet and all websites, especially first-time visited websites.
Based on my tests, I truly believe that “backend” websites (selling to an audience or a list that’s prequalified, targeted and presold), long headlines do work. (Kennedy often refers to this as “message-to-market match.”)
Why do they work? Because people expect it. And people want to read what the sales letter says because they are told — and sold — to do so, often even before they hit the website in question.
(Take major product launches, for example, by some top marketers out there. Mike Filsaime’s Butterfly Marketing is one of them, whose long headline I wrote, incidentally.)
Agora, the large publishing and direct mail company who does a lot of Internet promotion, uses long headlines all the time with their lists. (And they are fanatical testers, too. So if they use long headlines, then it tells you they’re profitable.)
However … and it’s a big HOWEVER …
… Brand-new, first-time visited websites, especially those whose audience’s frame-of-mind is to strictly gather information, as most first-time audiences are, I am of the opinion that long headlines are bad.
First, they scream “sales letter!”
When you visit a website for the first time (for information or browsing only, and without the intent to buy or considering buying what it offers, which applies to 99% of websites out there), then long headlines are going to kill your sales.
More importantly, the vast majority of these long headlines, when they are used, are done all wrong. I mean they’re terrible. Often, back-asswards. They blabber on and on. They say too much. They’re not just long, they’re long-winded.
Why? Is it because the copywriter did a poor job? Is it because the copywriter doesn’t know any better? Not entirely.
Quite often, and in my experience, the copywriter is trying to say as much as possible to cover all the bases. But doing so stifles readership. They tell rather than sell. Specifically, a headline is meant to sell the reader on reading the copy in the first place. It’s meant to CREATE readership.
(I’ll come back to this later, as it is important.)
There’s a difference between being pithy and being brief. A difference between being straightforward and being curt.
You can be pithy in a long headline. Being pithy means being relevant and straight to the point with the least words possible. Using long headlines is feasible only if it’s proven to be the optimal approach for the market, and there’s no other way to say the same thing with less words.
(Often, it is not the optimal approach, or it is simply untested. In fact, 99.9% of marketers out there don’t test. And that’s the real shame.)
My friend and top copywriter John Carlton said it best: Pithisize.
In other words: Edit. Edit. Edit.
As my friend Peter Stone, another top copywriter, said: “Write fearlessly, but edit ruthlessly.”
Look at your headline and ask yourself: “Can I say the exact same thing in less words?” (And do so only after you decided on the headline, which is in itself a strategic and thought-intense task.)
If you can say what you need to say in the least amount of words, then do it. But if you can only say it in 20 words or whatever, use 20 words. The point is not to be short or “not long.” The point is to be pithy or “not long-winded.”
There is a big difference.
Another top copywriter and friend, Clayton Makepeace, said it best: “Be newsy rather than benefit-oriented, since benefit headlines create lackluster response rates.”
In other words, rather than saying:
“How to Lose 40 Pounds In Just 6 Weeks!”
(Or worse yet, “How to Lose 40 Pounds In Just 6 Weeks Using My Accidental Diet Discovery That Took Me From An Overweight Blob of Fat To a Fit, Trim and Toned, Never-Go-Hungry Mother of Three (And It’s Easier Than You Think When You Learn How) …”
Say:
“Most Americans Are Only a Hamburger Away From A Major Heart Attack, Doctor Reports.”
The reasoning is simple: Benefit-oriented headlines scream “sales letter!” They drive people away. More importantly, they sell the reader on topic of the sales letter, rather than selling them on the need to read it. (Again, big difference.)
The idea of the headline (well, its very job in fact) is only to do one thing: To get people to read the first paragraph. That’s it. That’s all. No more. No less. End of story.
If accomplishing this requires three words, then great. But if it really does require 20 words or more, then fine.
But the question is, do you really know? And that’s the rub: People don’t test. Or they mimic other websites and copywriters, or listen to what some guru said, and assume that the application of one strategy in one medium is applicable to another.
Whether it’s Ogilvy or Kennedy, or any other guru for that matter, people take their advice at face value and apply them to other industries, but do so prematurely or, as JayKay stated earlier, erroneously.
When their response rates tumble (or when the results seem to be good but are less than what they can truly achieve), they often blame the copy, the offer, or the market.
Sometimes, the problem is the market, the offer, or the copy. But more often than not, the problem is the headline (and just the headline).
Just testing and tweaking headlines, I’ve seen dramatic boosts in response; anywhere from 40% to 700%. Why? Because headlines can either induce readership or deter it.
I see this all the time when I do critiques. Some of the sales letters, I see, have awesome copy. But their response rates are low simply because the headline is weak and what causes the bottleneck.
If people can’t read past the headline in the first place, then who cares about the rest of the copy?
If the headline doesn’t get the reader to start reading, then they won’t read the rest of the copy, no matter how good the product is or how well-written the rest of the copy is.
Now, I’m about to make a controversial statement.
Hang on tight.
You see a lot of copywriters say that online copy is no different than offline copy. They say that the Internet is just another medium, and that writing copy for the Web is the same as writing copy for offline media.
Well, that’s bull.
I don’t buy the notion that they’re the same. I do believe that the principles of direct marketing and direct response are the same, yes. But not the writing itself, the cosmetics and, more importantly, the psychology and state of mind of the reader.
Online copy in many ways is VERY different. Sure, the Internet is just another medium. Sure, most of the rules of copywriting apply to the Internet. But there are some important and critical differences.
For one, the state of mind one has while online is different than the offline world. People watch TV to be entertained, not to be informed. People may read the newspaper to be informed, but they often do so almost exclusively, reading one thing at a time.
People browse the Web to be informed, too. But they do so as their first and often only goal, and not to buy. Buying online is almost always an afterthought.
Moreover, they’re click-happy, and they search for information online at the speed of electrons all with the attention span the size of a subatomic particle.
Look at it another way:
You don’t show sales letters on TV, do you?
You don’t read out a sales letter, exactly as it’s printed, on the radio, do you?
You don’t open and read e-mails the same way you open and read direct mail sales letters, do you?
And that’s my point.
People online surf. They browse. They skim, scan and scroll.
And on top of that, they’ve got 12 browser windows open. They’re downloading and skimming 53 e-mails. They’re responding to the two or three instant messages they’ve received from a friend on Skype and AOL Instant Messenger. They’re sifting through 118 feeds in their RSS feed application for some interesting piece they feel is worth reading.
And on and on.
Plus, they do all this at the same time. Some simultaneously, others consecutively, yet in a piecemeal, scattered fashion.
Above all, people don’t go online to shop or to buy something from the onset. They want information, first and foremost. So they search for it. They browse for it. They unconsciously scurry through hundreds of different online messages, only to quickly stop and glance at one that catches their attention.
That’s why the Internet is different than, say, TV or radio or direct mail. Any kind of marketing message in those types of media are interruptions at best. Often, forced interruptions.
But online, however, they’re more than just interruptions. They’re easily ignored “negligible nuisances.”
So if small headlines increase readership because they’re easier to skim and catch people’s attention, then great. But when targeted to an already identified, selected and pre-qualified market, that’s a different story.
However, a caveat.
Some copywriters write long headlines in an attempt to increase readership, when this often backfires. Their long headlines are ostensibly weak, even though they are filled with seemingly benefit-laden, power-packed statements and promises.
Copywriters resort to long headlines when they fail to use headlines properly or ignore the goal of a headline in the first place. And that’s where I have a HUGE problem with long, mega-headlines—because they are often done wrong, and not because they are too long.
You see, poor, long headlines exist for 2 reasons:
1) Copywriters are lazy.
2) They attempt to tell the entire story in trying to cover all the bases in the headline, hoping to capture as much of the audience as possible.
I know this. I’ve been guilty of these.
As far as #2 is concerned, here’s the thing: copywriters try to put all the big benefits in the headline with the hope that one of them will hit the target.
Problem is, it never does, or such long headlines obfuscate the one benefit hidden deep within the headline that might be the one trigger that’s needed to get them to start reading in the first place.
Remember the rule: The headline is meant to create readership that leads to a sale. Not increase it. And certainly, not create the sale itself, as well. Get people to start reading your copy. That’s your job. And once they do, then — and only then — you can tell them what they need to know by covering all the bases.
But not until you’ve got them reading first.
In fact, #2 is often the fallback position because of #1.
Copywriters are lazy.
They say what they want to say without too much thinking. They ignore other variations of the headline that can be used, namely how less wordy they can be to say the exact same thing they want to say.
Granted, finding out what to say that forces people to start reading the copy is a tough job. It requires a lot of work, a lot of research, a lot of thinking and a lot of creativity.
And perhaps, a lot of headlines, too, to finally discover the one that truly works.
(Stories are plenty of many a top copywriter who would spend days on the body copy, but then spend weeks on the headline itself. Ogilvy was one of them. Gene Schwartz was another.)
While coming up with the best possible headline first is tough, pithisizing and trying to edit your headline ferociously to bring it down to the least number of words possible is even tougher.
The job of coming up with a great, solid headline is onerous, which is why many copywriters are lazy and tend to flake out.
Brian Keith Voiles once noted that you should write 50-100 headlines or even more before you choose the headline for your ad. I agree. Coming up with the first 10 or 20 is easy, because you’ll write down what comes to mind right away. The next batch, however, is what requires a lot of work.
And often, it’s where the best headlines are found.
This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage
Additional tips and reading:
