The Copy Maverick

In Defense of the American Oil Companies.

An open letter to the media and the United States Congress

In the heated atmosphere currently surrounding the subject of gas prices and the cost of oil there is little reasonable thinking being done by the media and our leaders. I will attempt to bring some logic to the situation at hand.

First there is the very real fact of congressional inaction over the past 30 years which has contributed to the current run-up in oil prices. In the late 70’s when oil prices spiked we could have done more to increase domestic supply from our own sources. The country then would be better able to stand on our own in the world market and weather the ups and downs being caused by the increased global demand versus the current supply situation.

While it is true if we begin drilling now it will take years for the effects to be felt in the market, but to not do so would be to repeat the errors of 30 years ago. Due to pressures from special interest groups and environmentalists Congress has refused to act for the protection of the American public. Now they are threatening the oil companies with windfall profits taxes. In light of this I am going to offer some information to the public which is not being brought out by the media and politicians who are pandering to the outcry for a villain.

First take a look at the taxes the local, state and federal government add to the price of a gallon of gas. According to
The Tax Foundation as of September 13, 2005 the average amount of taxes added 45.9 cents per gallon to the price of a
gallon of gas. Realize now this was 3 years ago when gas was
about $2 a gallon. The fact is the government takes in more
money per gallon of gas sold than the oil companies make on a
gallon. Now the government is looking to increase the tax burden by passing a so called windfall profits tax which will only increase the burden on the American taxpayer.
Let’s look at some figures on an objective basis. The first thing we should know is that the amounts being reported in the media are as large as they are due to the sheer volume of oil products onsumed in this country. To understand the figures better you must understand profit margins. As reported in SEC filings and some of the media the oil companies profit margins range from 8.5% to !0% per gallon of gas sold.

So let’s look at figures. If you own a vehicle that has a 20 gallon gas tank and gas costs $4.00 a gallon and the oil companies make $.40 a gallon.

Using these figures it would cast you $80 to fill up your car and the oil companies would make $8.00 profit
on your fill up. Assuming you fill up once a week you are spending $960.00 a year on gas at $4 a gallon.

Suppose by a profit cap the profit margin is reduced to 5% and you actually receive the benefit of a 5% reduction in price then the following would occur. Your fill up would cost you $76 based on $3.80 a gallon gas. The oil companies would only make $3.80 on the decreased profit margin of 5% per gallon.

So what would this mean to you in a year’s time? You will save a whopping $208 in a year. Yet consider that the government will make ( assuming $.55 a gallon in taxes) $572 in tax revenue from you in that same year. And I am not sure $.55 a gallon in taxes is accurate.

in remembrance of those brave men who fought their way ashore in Normandy 64 years ago today as well as in remembrance of my father who served his country for 30 years.

The All-Time Best Way to Get (and Keep) a Customer

by Paul Lawrence (04/26/2008)

If you can’t sell your product or service, you don’t have a business. Plain and simple. So, as Michael Masterson has said in ETR and in Ready, Fire, Aim, your primary concern has to be making sales. Even if you have a good product or service - one that is in demand - you can’t force people to buy from you.

The customer has the advantage. And if she wants to ignore you and spend her money elsewhere, you can’t stop her. But what you can do is give her a reason to choose you over your competitors.

As a small-business owner, you don’t have a whole lot of business-building tools at your disposal. In terms of resources, a small business just can’t stand up to a mega-corporation. But you don’t need a lot of money or employees to find - and keep - customers. You just need a few easy-to-come-by strategies.

In fact, being small can actually work to your advantage when it comes to one of the all-time best strategies: establishing a relationship with each customer. It can:

• Get the customer to trust you enough to take the chance of doing business with you that first time.
• Build loyalty - so the customer wants to continue to buy from you rather than your competitors.
• Get the customer to refer you to other potential customers.

You develop relationships with your customers the same way that you do it in your personal life. In big part, that means caring for them.

Think about the people you consider to be friends. Aren’t they people you genuinely care about - and who seem to genuinely care about you?

And think about your relationships with companies - big and small - that you deal with on a fairly regular basis

You must admit that it’s awfully hard to believe that the mega-corporations - General Motors, for example - care about you. They are nameless, faceless conglomerates. It’s a lot easier to believe that your local car salesman has a sincere interest in you. After all, he lives in your community. His kids go to school with your kids. You meet him face to face when you step into his dealership. That’s why, unlike General Motors, he can - if he chooses - establish real, caring long-term relationships with you and his other customers.

And that’s why you, too, will have any easy time proving to your customers that you are concerned about them and their problems… and that you’re there to help.

With blogs and social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook, there are more ways than ever to communicate with your customers - and allow them to actually interact with you. You’ve been reading articles in ETR about how to use these new channels to increase your profitability (and will be reading more in the near future). Meanwhile, try this classic three-step method for establishing those all-important customer relationships:

1. Focus on a narrow niche market.

I publish informational programs for wannabe entrepreneurs who want to start up and run one or more businesses on a shoestring. Since I’m not trying to cater to all entrepreneurs, I can focus very specifically on what my customers want and need. Because it is obvious that I am devoting my time and energy to helping only people like them, it is clear that I sincerely care about their success.

Customers will believe that you genuinely care about them when they have a reasonable basis for that belief. By specializing in delivering a product or service that is aimed directly at them, you take an immediate step in that direction.

2. Take the time to understand your customers and their problems.

Only by putting yourself in your customers’ shoes - taking the time to figure out not only their wants and needs but also their worries, fears, and hopes - can you develop products or services that will truly help them.

When you do that - when you give them something that will make their lives better or easier in some way - you’re sending a very strong message that you care. This is especially true if you continue to develop new products or services for them.

I’ve got a catalog of about a dozen different programs that I offer my customers - covering a wide range of businesses they can get into with little capital or experience. That way, I’m able to give them exactly what they’re looking (and hoping) for.

3. Make your promotional messages personal.

Building close relationships with customers is all about communicating on a personal level (as it is with family and friends). That’s true of any direct contact you may have with your customers in person or over the phone - and it’s just as true of the indirect contact you have with them in your marketing materials.

Here are a few suggestions for making your sales copy more personal:

• Write your sales message in a conversational tone, as if you’re talking to a friend. For example, instead of saying “This business program can help entrepreneurs earn substantial profits,” say “You know that new car you’ve had your eye on? Well, check out this program. It will help you get it.”
• Share information about yourself. When people feel that they know you, they’re more inclined to trust you and want to do business with you.

In my marketing copy, I frequently admit what a slow starter I was… how I was in my late twenties and was pretty much broke before I started my first successful business. When my prospective customers hear things like that about me, they sympathize with what I went through. And that makes them feel closer to me.

• Be honest. Say what you really think, not what you think your customers want to hear.

For instance, instead of sugarcoating my sales pitch, I come right out and tell my prospects to stop feeling sorry for themselves… to stop blaming their past failures on bad luck and, instead, to take responsibility for whether they will succeed or fail in the future. I’m sure that turns a lot of people off. But, hey, you can’t please everyone. And those who see things your way will become profoundly loyal to you - and rightfully so.

You can’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Your sincerity - or insincerity - will always shine through.

These three steps will help you quickly establish real rapport with your customers. And not only will they willingly pull out their credit cards to make that first purchase… they will be loyal customers for years.

[Ed. Note: Michael Masterson calls Paul Lawrence “the best guy in the business for starting a business on a shoestring.” Paul is the creator of the Quick and Easy Microbusiness System, ETR’s program for starting a business for under $100. He is also the publisher of the Street Smart Business program, which has dozens of “no nonsense” tactics for the small-business entrepreneur. Check out the details here.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

This is a memorial post today. I am reminded that one
of the greatest copywriters and marketers of this era
passed away a year ago.

I am speaking of course of the great Gary Halbert. He was
one of the best marketers around. His sons have kept his
sit going as a tribute to him. As Bond said in an e-mail
today one of his Dad’s favorite past-times was to give
away free stuff on his site. He loved to write and he loved
to know people were reading his material.

So in his memory Bond asked Gary’s last protege to wrote
a letter giving invaluable information in it on marketing.
You can read the letter at www.theGaryHalbertLetter.com
and if you are a copywriter or marketer I highly recommend it.

You can also read more of his work at www.theGaryHalbertLetter.com

Have you ever wondered where you can find marketing lessons in real life at work? Well today let’s look at the marketing being used in the current presidential race. If you have watched any of the press coverage on one of the questions being asked of the candidates then you have seen marketing at work enlisting voters on the candidates side.

The question I am referring to is the one about the government’s role in bailing out the homeowners who are in trouble with their home mortgages. Both of the Democrats are positioning themselves as follows:

“It’s not your fault that you’re having trouble paying your mortgage. It’s all the fault of those crooked lenders who misled you into taking out the loan. It’s not your fault you didn’t read and understand the loan documents about what could happen with the teaser rate when the adjustable rate adjusts to market levels. ”

If you don’t think this is working with the voters then you need only watch some of the business programs coverage of the race and how the voters are responding to this rhetoric.

The lesson here is the one of convincing the customer that his problem isn’t his fault. Once you ahve him believing that the fault lies elsewhere then you can offer a solution which will change the way the customer perceives the problem. Restating the problem where you absolve the customer of responsibility for it allows you to offer a solution acceptable to them.

As a marketer you are constantly seeking ways to increase your sales without Increasing the costs associated with obtaining those sales. The best way to increase the sales to your customers is to understand exactly what you are selling to them.

So can you answer the question posed of what are you selling to your customers?

To give you an idea of answering the question let’s play a little game. Suppose you are in the hardware business and a customer comes in and says they need to purchase a ½ inch power drill. After a small amount of investigation you find the customer wants to be able to drill a ½ inch hole. So the answer here is the customer wants ½ inch holes not a new power drill. Therefore you will find a way for the customer to get the ½ inch holes he desires and wants. Now this may mean some other solution than a new power drill but by solving the customers problem in an efficient manner you will earn the trust of the customer and the right to their future business.

Thus you are selling them what they want not necessarily what they say they need,

Take another example. Suppose you are marketing to the business opportunity niche. In setting up your site you concentrate on how much money they can make by using your product or joining your opportunity, Yet by doing this you may be making a huge mistake. A prospect in this niche may say they want to make a lot of money or be their own boss but is this correct? In the case of my own marketing efforts I have found this to be incorrect. The real desire here I have found is the prospect wants to have more freedom in their life. They also want to have more control over what happens in their lives.

These examples show why it is important to drill down and find the real desires and wants of a person you are trying to make a sale too. So keep these examples in mind when you are designing the next marketing program you put together.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? is a Latin phrase from the Roman poet Juvenal, variously translated as “Who watches the watchmen?”, “Who watches the watchers?”, “Who will guard the guards?”, “Who shall watch the watchers themselves?”, or similar.

The essential problem was posed by Plato in the Republic, his work on government and morality. The perfect society as described by Socrates, the main character of the work (see Socratic dialogue), relies on laborers, slaves and tradesmen. The guardian class is to protect the city. The question is put to Socrates, “Who will guard the guardians?” or, “Who will protect us against the protectors?”. Plato’s answer to this is that “They will guard themselves against themselves. We must tell the guardians a noble lie. The noble lie will inform them that they are better than those they serve and it is therefore their responsibility to guard and protect those lesser than themselves. We will instill in them a distaste for power or privilege, they will rule because they believe it right, not because they desire it.”

This is an intersting item for us to be concerned with as copywriters yet it is important for us to consider it. The reason this subject came up is due to my reading a post by Craig Garber on his blog .He was discussing the use of deceptive marketing practices in advertising. You can read the complete article at Craig’s blog

As he stated in the article sggressive marketing is fine but we should not practice deceptive marketing. We should always be aware of what we are writing and using in our writing in order to sell our products. If we practice truth and honesty in our practices we will always be able to work our trade anywhere we want to.

Today it’s back to the world of politics as we learn from that field about knowing who we are marketing to.

Let’s examine the Democratic race for president. Six months ago Senator Clinton was the perceived nominee for the democratic nomination. She had name recognition(brand identity) and the political machine behind her. Yet today she is falling behind with each primary and is losing by large margins in the most recent contests. She is being outdone by a relative newcomer who didn’t have the name recognition or the political machine behind him. Only recently has Senator Obama picked up endorsements from long time heavyweights in the Democratic party.

So what happened? In my opinion, there is one major factor standing out between the two. I am basing this observation on my experience as a marketer, copywriter and salesman. In spite of what all the pundits are saying it boils down to one major factor. The Clinton campaign forgot who their customer is. In a political race your customer is the person who gets out in 20 degree weather with snow and ice and goes to vote in the caucus or primary. That person is the one you must connect with in order to win a political contest of any kind. It doesn’t matter about endorsements from hollywood elites, political pollsters or party bigwigs, if you don’t connect with the customer you will lose.

So how does Senator Obama overcome the advantages that Senator Clinton obviously had. The over-riding one that I see come thru is that he connects with the customer. Look at one of hi socalled negatives which some people tried to use against him in New Hampshire. In one of his books he mentioned that as a teenager he had used drugs and in one of his appearances at a school he talked about it and how it was a mistake. One person tried to make am issue of it but the customer didn’t buy it. The customer(the voter) listened and thought he’s just like me. He admits to mistakes and not being perfect. That resonates with people.

As the race goes forward keep your eye on the process and study it as to the marketing of the candidate. There are some fascinating lessons to learn here.

As a marketing world comparison take a look at what happened to Yahoo search marketing when Google first appeared on the scene.

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Well Super Tuesday is over.

Are you following the primary races for the Presidential
nomination? I have been doing so and while I have my
favorites I won’t reveal them as I believe it is up to each
person t o make up their own mind as to who the nominee
should be. With that said I am going to touch the third rail of
marketing and make some observations on politics.

I know we are told that the items a marketer should never talk
about are politics and religion. However, in light of what is going
on in the so called main stream media I will make some comments
today.

You should follow the campaigns as a lesson in marketing and learn
from them. For a lesson in how to use social media on the internet take
a look at Ron Paul and his fundraising efforts where he made
phenomenal gains recently. You  will note how he has marketed
himself through the social networking sites and when we study
his efforts we also learn how to market our own products.

Take a look at the Obama and McCain campaigns and see how they
have positioned themselves to advance their campaigns. Senator
Obama has positioned himself as the person who will change
the way politics is done in Washington while Senator McCain
has positioned himself as the experienced candidate who is
ready to Commander-in-Chief from day one,

As you study these campaigns as examples of marketing don’t
neglect anyone. The ones I have mentioned are the ones which
have changed the way the candidates are perceived. At the
start Senator Clinton had a massive lead and yet she is now
in a tight race for the nomination. Suppose as a marketer you
are going up against the big guns on the internet, what would
it mean if you got the results that McCain and Obama have
obtained in your marketing efforts. You can see that their
advisers have studied the niches and marketed to them.

So as the campaigns go forward keep your eye on the
marketing lessons that are being played out before our
eyes.

Finally I leave you with this thought. As Robert A Heinlein
stated in his books “There may not be somebody you
want to vote for but there is bound to be somebody you
want to vote against.” Examine your own beliefs and
principles and vote the way you believe.

Subject line: If you answer yes to two or more…..

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