That is, taking more of a risk from the sale than the purchaser of your product.

Risk reversal is a powerful method to increase sales by easing the buying decision and allaying fears consumers might have.

When people are considering an offer, and if the offer is “too good to be true,” they will invariably seek out more secure means to benefit from it. Otherwise, they will have a tendency to think, “What’s the catch?”

The greater the guarantee, the greater the sales. This has been consistent in almost every industry in which I’ve worked, and with every split-test I’ve conducted.

For example, a 30-day guarantee will outsell no guarantee. A 90-day guarantee will outsell a 30-day one. And so on and so forth.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

Sometimes, shorter or more creative guarantees can outperform longer ones.

Why? Perhaps this is because, in a promise-filled industry oversaturated with, and burned by, over-the-top hype, long, unrealistic guarantees make the offer suspect.

People might be left scratching their heads wondering if the guarantee is an attempt to pull the wool over their eyes.

Guarantees that are too strong (like one or even multiple years, lifetime, etc) can unconsciously convey that the product is so poor that either the purchaser will forget about the promise during the guarantee’s extended lifespan, or the seller is trying to build perceived value in areas other than the product itself to make up for the lack.

But length doesn’t always mean strength.

In other words, the strength of a guarantee is not limited to its timeframe.

Creative guarantees work extremely well, especially in an industry where people encounter typical money-back guarantees. These include guarantees that don’t necessarily have anything to do with refunds or money. By being different, a unique guarantee can provide a powerful twist to an offer.

Notwithstanding the legal requirements to offer a money-back guarantee, think of guarantees that include gifts, discounts, credits, vouchers, etc.

For example, just recently a friend of mine launched an intensive and pricey classroom-style training program, but with a very interesting angle. Whether you succeed or not, or whether you like the program or not, you get your money back.

It sold out in just a few hours.

Ultimately, guarantees exist because we fear making bad decisions.

And a purchase is a buying decision.

But remember that a guarantee’s job is not to remove fear. Not in a direct sense. It’s to increase the customer’s confidence that the product will do as promised.

In fact, in an article titled “The Great Customer Service Hoax,” the author, Belinda (who is also a copywriter), said it perfectly. “The simple truth about customer satisfaction,” the author writes, is this:

You might think that to maintain awesome levels of customer satisfaction you need to have outstanding products and services, diligent processes and reports and excellently trained staff who know when to make a decision that’s right for the customers. Well, you do need those things but the truth about consistently good customer satisfaction is much simpler.

Customers are satisfied when you met their expectations.

Guarantees help to communicate this important promise. A guarantee communicates not only that the product has value (e.g., “it’s so good, I guarantee it!”), but also that the product will meet their expectations.

A guarantee encourages sales and profits. (Sales is self-explanatory. But profits? Yes! Guarantees can also decrease refunds. I’ll come back to this in a moment.)

So objectively, add a guarantee that’s easy, strong, and reasonable (that is, it’s not far-fetched). If it has the appearance of being too long or unbelievable, either reduce it or add copy to justify your attempt.

Just like the power of “reasons-why” advertising, don’t forget to back it up. Provide a logical, commonsensical explanation behind your guarantee to justify why it’s so strong. The more you do, the more believable your guarantee will be. Otherwise, an overzealous guarantee will make it questionable.

(For example, with a “lifetime guarantee,” people will often ask, “Whose lifetime?”)

But in the majority of cases, if you failt to offer a guarantee let alone a strong one, you’re losing a great percentage of potential sales.

In addition to communicating value of and confidence in a product, a guarantee can also become a powerful positioning tool.

Take for instance the story of the Monaghan brothers. The two ran a small business in order to pay their way through college. While one worked the day shift in order to attend school at night, the other did the converse.

After about a year in the money-losing venture, one of the brothers sold his share of the business for a beat-up old car. The other, however, with a good dose of stick-to-it-iveness, decided to make something of his fledgling pizzeria.

According to some interviews he recently gave, Tom Monaghan said that, at the time, he wasn’t quite sure that his decision to put a guarantee on his pizza delivery would change much. But obviously, history tells us that his decision was a good one.

By simply marketing the strength of a guarantee (i.e., “Pizza delivered fresh in 30 minutes or it’s free”), Domino’s Pizza became the multimillion-dollar franchise operation we know today.

Online, strong guarantees are more than just sales tools.

The Internet has opened many doors, including those to many unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Scams and snake oils are rampant online. Millions (if not billions) of dollars are lost to these scamsters each month.

The Internet is rife with fraudulent offers, phishing attempts, and shoddy products. Even laws and anti-scam tools won’t stop crafty entrepreneurs who are determined to bypass the systems to scam the unsuspecting.

So people are understandably leery, skeptical, distrusting, and cautious.

Obviously, the use of testimonials, demos and tours, statistics, laboratory tests, clinical trials, case studies, free trials and samples, real pictures of the product in question, and so on are all incredibly important.

But in addition to these methods and elements of proof you can and should add to your copy, strong and creative guarantees are equally powerful proof elements and probably some of the most underutilized.

Why? Mostly because business owners are leery themselves of adding, extending, or creating guarantees because they fear the onslaught of losses from returns.

If the product is mediocre, then this fear is sadly justified. But most products are good. (Granted, there are just as many fraudulent consumers out there as there are scams. Businesses fear them equally as consumers fear buying from fraudsters.)

But generally, guarantees will increase sales.

Chris Ayers, former publisher of Unlimited Traffic!, gives an astonishing real-life example. Writes Ayers:

“One of my first direct mail products years ago was a self-study program. When I first offered the program in a magazine, my sales weren’t even enough to cover the cost of the ad. I changed my ad and sales letter to include a guarantee. The number of responses to the same ad increased by a factor of 20 and my conversion rate from my sales letter rose from 10% to almost 40%.”

Remember that adding a guarantee might increase returns and refunds. But try it and do the math. In some cases, a small increase in refunds might be greatly overshadowed by a disproportionately larger increase in sales.

For example, in one test I’ve conducted with a consulting client, we raised the guarantee from a 30-day guarantee to a 6-month, double guarantee.

(The “double” included a 100%-money-back guarantee within six months, and a double-your-money-back within the first 30 days.)

The result? During the test, there were no refunds within the initial 30 days. But refunds within the first six months increased from about 4% to 6.5%.

Of course, that’s significant.

But look at the increase in sales…

Sales conversion went from a little less than 3% to 7%. Mathematically, it means refunds increased by 62.5%, while sales increased by over 133% (i.e., twice as many more sales as the increase in refunds).

The lesson is this: while a guarantee might increase refunds, the increase will be negligible when contrasted by the more significant increase in sales.

This is true in the majority of cases. But in other cases, net profits can increase quite substantially. Even more than the norm.

Why? Because, unbeknownst to many marketers, one of the most important benefits of using a guarantee is the fact that it can actually reduce returns.

If you have a professionally-looking website, an ethical sales approach, and a proven product or service, the lack of a strong guarantee will still, particularly on the Internet, cause most prospects to perceive your offer as questionable in the very least.

But adding a guarantee — particularly a strong one — not only increases sales because it removes the risk from the buyer’s mind, but it also increases perceived value and therefore overall confidence in the product and the seller as well.

Guarantees also grant you an almost instant credibility with potential customers.

And finally, strong guarantees also help to raise tolerance levels.

Customers are more apt to ignore or even accept a few flaws, thereby reducing the need to return the product at the slightest imperfection.

This is because they feel they are in good hands, whether they know this experientially or not. The confidence level that the guarantee created acts as some sort of psychic security net.

In other words, a guarantee not only reduces the skepticism around a purchase, but also contributes to what psychologists refer to as “The Halo Effect.”

Ultimately, add a strong guarantee to your offer. But don’t stop with just at increasing its timeframe. Be creative with your guarantee.

Think about multiple-money-back guarantees, add-on guarantees, gift certificates, credit or discount vouchers, the ability to keep bonuses if they return the main product, keeping the product even if they ask for their money back, etc.

Bottom line, guarantees will increase sales. The stronger the guarantee is, the larger the increase will be.

Risk-Reversal’s Role Reversal originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

“Too many times,” he said, “I’ve known what I needed to do, and I always end up waiting weeks on end to do it.” He asked, “How do you cope with procrastination?”

Procrastination is indubitably the copywriter’s most stifling problem. Since our job is fraught with deadlines, procrastination can be one of the costliest problems in the copywriting business. It can murder your reputation…

… And your career!

So, how do you cope with procrastination? Even better, how do you overcome it? Here are six tips I use, which helps me to get more done faster.

1. Take Responsibility

Procrastination plagues even the best of us. We all do it from time to time. We wait, make excuses, get distracted.

Some people blame it on ADD. Others blame it on the freedom of being a self-employed freelance copywriter without any of the usual work rules we see in a corporate job.

But whatever the reason may be, they are no different than the excuses we use to keep putting off until tomorrow what can — and needs to — be done today.

As Dr. Robert Anthony said: “Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait. The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don’t count.”

Admittedly, there are some deep-seated, psychological factors behind procrastination — such as low self-esteem, anxiety, fear, addiction, even depression.

But these often refer to chronic procrastination, which is a whole other ball of wax and beyond the scope of this article.

Some people will blame it on being a perfectionist. While perfectionism is a challenge in itself, it’s often just another excuse to procrastinate.

The more we focus on trying to perfect whatever task is at hand, the less we need to concentrate on getting it done on time.

(I submit that writer’s block falls in the same category, and probably does so more times than we care to admit.)

Nevertheless, I’m a copywriter for the better part of two decades, not a psychologist. So my advice here is limited to the more practical workarounds to defeat the most common form of procrastination in our business.

And that’s laziness.

Admittedly, we are lazy for different reasons, too. Perhaps we hate the project or the client we’re working with. Perhaps we fail to plan and prioritize properly. But again, these are reasons, not results.

Once you stop making excuses and start taking action, even if they’re little steps, you will be a step closer to your goal. And taking little steps is a lot better than taking no steps at all. Which leads me to my next point…

2. Understand The Law of Contraction

C. Northcote Parkinson once said, “Work either expands or contracts in order to fill the time available.” This is often referred to as “Parkinson’s Law.”

Also known as the Law of Contraction (or the Law of Forced Efficiency), it means that activity will expand or contract to meet its imposed deadline.

In other words, you will either take your time or hurry up depending on the deadline you have and the time you have at your disposal. (Take students who cram just before exam time, for example.)

If you have seven weeks to write a salesletter, chances are you will take all seven weeks. You will take your time because there’s plenty of it.

But if you have only four days, you will do what you can to get it done within those four days. You will cut out irrelevant tasks, outsource the rest, focus strictly on that letter, work double time, even pull allnighters if you have to.

In short, you will do whatever it takes.

In fact, I noticed that my best sales letters (the ones that produced the best results) were those done working under very tight deadlines.

Why? Because a rapidly advancing deadline not only kicks me into gear, but also forces me to tune out distractions… clear my environment… organize other work around it… ignore the phone and e-mail… avoid interruptions… prioritize my tasks… and truly concentrate on the work at hand.

With this heightened sense of awareness and focus, I’m “in the zone” and kick my creativity up a few notches. Like a sponge that’s squeezed under pressure, a looming deadline squeezes out my best ideas, writing, and strategies.

Now, I don’t recommend to purposefully wait until the last minute. (Admittedly, I do that sometimes.) But you can still benefit from this extra boost in creativity and efficiency. Here’s how…

3. Break It Down

The idea is to turn a potential nightmare — a deadline — into your best friend.

The way to do that is to break down a major deadline into smaller deadlines (or “mini-deadlines”). In other words, the goal is to break down larger projects into smaller, easier-to-digest, bite-sized chunks.

Basically, you cut up the project into smaller pieces and add deadlines to each piece. This way, it makes each piece more urgent and real.

These mini-deadlines also act like milestones throughout the course of the project, enabling you to see, at a glance, where you’re supposed to be, what you’ve done so far, and what needs to be done at any given time.

As the Confucian saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” But in this case, the journey is not a thousand miles but smaller, one-mile journeys of a thousand steps each, so to speak.

Each small deadline reached is just one step closer to the ultimate deadline. And each step becomes much less intimidating, too.

But the best part is, by placing shorter deadlines on smaller, bite-sized steps, you allow Parkinson’s Law to kick in. The deadlines become closer and more urgent. And work, therefore, contracts to meet them.

(And it happens almost unconsciously, too.)

Plus, each mini-deadline is a constant reminder that, if you don’t meet the smaller deadline, you’ll have two or more to contend with if you keep waiting.

I personally dread this “piling on” effect, so doing it this way helps me to kick myself into gear. If I’m late and miss one mini-deadline, I force myself to complete it so I can start — even hurry up to finish — the next one in line.

However, there’s an important, more positive reason in doing it this way, too.

After accomplishing each step, it makes you feel good about yourself knowing that things are indeed getting done and the project is advancing. Which brings me to my next point…

4. Document The Process

Write it down. Don’t just think it up. Make sure it’s printed somewhere.

The reason is, creating a visual interface allows you to see, at a glance, where you are and what you need to do, at any given time — rather than dealing with a single, intimidating deadline that’s constantly menacing you.

Whether it’s on paper, in your agenda, on a calendar, or on your computer with the help of software, your mini-deadlines visually prod you along the way.

(Personally, I use BaseCamp as my project management software.)

Each milestone is like a small reward in itself. Knowing where you are, how far you’ve gone and what you’ve accomplished along the way gives you both momentum and motivation to keep going.

Plus, it’s a easier to deal with the small rewards from reaching milestones than it is with the threat of a larger punishment from not reaching a deadline.

When you begin, chunk your project into as many small pieces as you wish.

For now, let’s call them “phases” rather than “steps.” Why? Because at first these steps will appear specific to you when in fact they can be broken down even more. Which brings me to the next tip…

5. Be As Specific As Possible

Once you’ve broken your project down (i.e., by separating your project into phases), go back and try to break it down some more, and denominate all the steps required for each phase.

Give each step a mini-deadline — a specific day on which the task will be carried out (rather than a specific time by which it needs to be accomplished).

That way, you instantly know what tasks need to get started on a specific day rather than by when they need to be done. (That’s why I prefer to call them “milestones.” It’s easier to reach a milestone than it is to meet a deadline.)

Remember the previous tip: document it!

It doesn’t matter what you use, whether it’s software or plain-old pen and paper. Just remember that you need to be specific.

A task like “write letter” is not enough. Even “writing initial draft.” These are phases, not steps. Each step must be as clear and as specific as possible.

Let me give you an example:

Major project: Write sales letter for client.

Major phases: Research, create rough draft, finalize initial draft, revisions per client, and final draft and delivery.

For this example, a final deadline may be, say, one month. The next step is to add a deadline for each major phase of the project. Using the same example above:

• Week #1: Research
• Week #2: Create rough draft
• Week #3: Finalize initial draft
• Week #4: Revisions per client
• End of Week #4: Final draft and delivery

Put differently, you’re breaking the larger deadline down into smaller, mini-deadlines. (Or as I mentioned earlier, “milestones.”)

Now, break down each phase into smaller, bite-sized chunks. For example, let’s take “research” to be done during the first week, and break it down some more:

• Day #1: Compile client questionnaire
• Day #2: Review and clarify answers
• Day #3: Initial product run-through
• Day #4: Interview client or principals
• Day #5: Perform competitive analyses
• Day #6: Brainstorming session

… And so on.

Then you repeat the process for each phase of the project. Above all…

6. Take It One Step At a Time

The above is just one example and not the example.

Keep in mind that many steps can be accomplished in the same day, while others can take several days. So don’t pigeonhole yourself. Be flexible, and be prepared to make course corrections along the way.

For example, let’s say you need several days to come up with a good headline. If so, then break that down to, say, writing 10-20 headlines a day, or take an extra day for doing additional research and brainstorming new ones.

Do what you feel comfortable with. Don’t overwhelm yourself to the point that following this process becomes a nightmare in itself. It’s only a tool to help you get more done faster. It should never be a bottleneck.

The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter how you tackle a project. What matters is that you apply the Law of Contraction, and break down your project into smaller, easier-to-digest, bite-sized chunks.

That way, you have closer deadlines to work with, with more manageable tasks at hand. You will be focusing on putting smaller things into action, one step at a time, rather than on getting everything done by a specific deadline.

This may take a while the first time, I admit. But do this again and again, even for smaller projects, and you’ll soon get the hang of it.

As Jim Rohn once said, “Life asks us to make measurable progress in reasonable time. That’s why they make those fourth grade chairs so small.”

Get More Done Faster With These 6 Tips originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

In other words, a pen name.

That is, is it legal to write the copy in the voice of a fictitious character, or telling the story of a fictitious character enjoying the benefits of your offer?

Using an alias in business is a common practice. However, if you’re considering using an alias or already are using an alias, there are a few things to know to keep your head above water with the law.

I’m not a lawyer so this is not legal advice. But with my years of research and experience in writing copy, I know enough to say this…

Using an alias or pseudonym is generally fine, as long as within the intrinsic nature of the alias there’s no false or misleading information, mentioned or implied, meant to induce the consumer to buy based on that information.

If the alias is used to misrepresent the facts, or indirectly does so by its mere existence, you’re breaking the law.

It’s like the difference between making a promise versus making a claim.

If your story implies what your clients will get, then you’re making a promise. And a promise made by a fictitious character is fine since the character represents the business making it. As long as you deliver on your promises.

(And keeping promises is a different legal ball of wax.)

But if it states what your past clients have done (results they have achieved by using your product or service), then it’s a claim. Because the fictitious character represents an implied testimonial, or presents information as fact. Therein lies the difference.

So ask yourself, does your alias make a promise? Or a claim?

If the latter, is the alias a part of that claim? In other words, is the claim fake, too?

Here are two examples to clarify.

1. Alias as Narrator

Your marketing material tells a fictitious or dramatized story of a person who benefits from your product or service.

The story shows your prospects what they should do, and what kind of results they should expect, by watching the story play out. The teller of the story, or the person in the story, is completely fictitious.

This is fine as long as what is promised is true, and you deliver on your promises.

For example, remember this commercial? John Doe gets into a car accident. He picks up the phone and says, “Uh oh, better get Maaco!”

And then the screen fades to a scene with John, with his now repaired car in the background, shaking hands with a Maaco mechanic and a huge smile across his face.

How many times have you seen commercials like that?

Now, here’s the exception…

The fine line is when the story doesn’t imply what one should do to benefit from your product or service, but what one has actually achieved, which represents or implies what the person will get based on what was represented as fact.

In other words, it’s no longer a promise.

It’s a claim.

Stated differently, when the advertisement states or even just implies that John is an actual client, a real person who got that exact service, in that exact way, with those exact results, you are misleading the public.

The story implies people will get the same. Specifically, it is no longer a story but a testimonial. And testimonials, by law, must be true.

The subsequent sale, should any occur, is therefore acquired fraudulently, because people believe that John is a true client and offering a real testimonial for Maaco. The story is presented as fact when it is not true.

And that’s illegal.

Remember the story of the Wal-Mart couple who drove their trailer across the United-States, going from Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart, camping out in Wal-Mart parking lots, and blogging about their (seemingly only) positive experiences?

The backlash was massive. And merciless.

Legality aside, it became a PR nightmare. Some argue that the stunt would have been safe — and even that’s arguable, too — if the blog had a proper disclosure informing readers that the characters were fake.

(In fact, the massive backlash inspired the popularity of the terms “flog” and “flogging,” which means “fake blogging.”)

2. Alias as Provider

If you call yourself a pen name to tell or narrate the story in your copy, and this pen name doesn’t mislead, you’re OK — as long as it is clear that people are not buying from your fictitious character but from the business it represents.

They are buying from a real business with a real business name. For example, you don’t buy burgers from Ronald McDonald himself, right? You buy it from McDonald’s restaurants, the business Ronald represents.

Here’s a scenario.

When a sales letter is signed by “Mr. X,” if Mr. X is telling the story and plays the role of a narrator (not a business entity), then you’re fine.

Mr. X (or any other alias) is telling the story, or even making the promise, on behalf of the commercial entity you’re doing business with.

The fine line, in this case, is when you state that Mr. X is a real person, and that person makes claims or presents information as fact on behalf of the commercial entity, such as past experiences, clients, or results.

Generally, this is OK too, as long as the facts are true, and the alias is not the provider with whom you’re doing business.

But if you do this, you not only need to include real facts in your story (as always), but also be fully prepared to prove them when asked by either the public or government.

If the FTC ever comes knocking at your door, you better have proper documentation and real proof to back up your claims and save your anatomy!

What about a business name?

Having a business with a fictitious name is definitely legal, provided that you have filed the proper documentation (such as registering your business, incorporating, or filing a “doing business as” statement), and carried out the proper trademark searches.

This is a normal part of doing business, even vital for branding purposes.

The issue is not with the name but when the existence of the business, its actual clients, or any results achieved are works of fiction.

Ultimately, the question to ask is, does it tell a story to make a point? Or does it mislead and deceive to make a sale? Whether intentionally or not, the latter is fraud.

Ultimately, using an alias is fine as long as you are not making claims as that alias.

You, using your real name (or your real business name), can make claims until the sun goes down. You own them and people know who to turn to if the claims are false.

And if you use an alias to tell a story, whether dramatized or written in a sales letter, you’re generally safe. However, if you make claims under an assumed name, then it is illegal when the assumed name is presented as fact.

Of course, before you ultimately decide to use an alias, particularly if you’re concerned about whether or not you’re crossing a line, consult with an attorney.

I’m not a lawyer and the above should not be construed as legal advice. Plus, this article should be viewed only as a partial or general opinion and commentary, as every individual case is unique.

It is based on my years of experience, especially working with doctors and lawyers in my early career when I first established my company, The Success Doctor, Inc., which used to focus strictly on doctors and service professionals.

(Hence, the name “The Success Doctor.”)

Finally, props go out to my friend Mike Young, Esquire, an Internet marketing lawyer who reviewed my response. (Thanks, Mike!)

When And How To Use An Alias In Business originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Satyagraha was popularized by Mohandas Ghandi in his fight for Indian independence and became synonymous with the use of civil disobedience as a political tool.

Ghandi believed that truth had great moral power to galvanize resolve against an oppressor, while also garnering support from the rest of the world. And history proved him right.

A young black minister in America studied Ghandi’s struggle and ideas and was profoundly influenced by them. He used Ghandi’s Satyagraha precepts to achieve a similar human rights triumph here in the West. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.

In both cases, people from around the world with no direct interest in the conflict sided with the freedom fighters. Unyielding non-violent revolt in the face of violent counter-reaction was shocking. It seized global attention and sympathy.

Eventually, these outsiders — bound to the protestors by nothing more than their humanity – put unbearable pressure on those they perceived to be outside of the realm of truth. And justice was served.

These watershed moments in history prove that human nature has a built-in recognition and appreciation for what’s right and just and true.

Ever since the motorcycle accident I’ve found my brain has a weird way of associating things. As such, it seems to me this core kernel of Satyagraha has broad application to sales and marketing as well.

In times of over-communication and intense battle for consumer mindshare…

… Brutal, uncompromising truth has enormous attention-getting power.

One of the father’s of direct response advertising built his entire career on this fact.

His name was John E. Powers, arguably history’s first hired gun copywriter. In 1880 Powers was earning $100 a day as a freelance copywriter, an enormous sum at the time. And his ads often worked like gangbusters. Why?

This was the first golden age of advertising. The industrial revolution was sweeping the developed world. All manner of time and labor saving conveniences were making their debut. And John Wannamaker had just invented the department store.

By the late 1800s, newspapers and magazines had become so stuffed with advertising that an arms race took hold with each advertiser trying to out-gun, out-claim, and out-hype the next.

Power’s approach was so novel and rare it was shocking — Tell the Truth.

One of his headlines read: “We have a lot of rotten gossamers we want to get rid of…” Another famous Power’s ad announced, “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.”

The sad truth is that most marketers lie through their teeth. Somehow, this has become accepted, part of the game. It’s just what marketers do.

Clever flim-flam artists know what their customers want to believe, and they twist the truth into a mangled wreck to give it to them. The even sadder truth is that in many cases this actually works, at least in the short term. And the saddest truth of all is the toll this approach takes on the trust of the consumer. The honest eventually get tarred with the same brush as the abusers. And everyone loses.

The answer is of course: Tell the Truth. The truth the flim-flam artists are so cleverly hiding. The truth that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re here to create real value for people and win/win relationships capable of withstanding the test of time.

Let there be an arms race of truth.

Here are a few practical ideas for cutting through the clutter, gaining attention, and inspiring trust in today’s cynical, over-communicated world:

Amp up the Transparency — Show your customers the inner workings of your business, the good, the bad and the ugly. If the truth is untellable, fix it. Rectify what’s wrong with your business. Trust is such a rare commodity these days. Start looking at it as a competitive weapon.

Reveal Your True Motivations — Tell people the real reasons you created this product… why you priced it the way you have… why you need them to order right now… and so on. Don’t be afraid to reveal what’s in it for you as well as what’s in it for them. A sale is a transaction where both parties should win.

Avoid Unsubstantiated Hype and Exaggeration — There is a difference between delivering honest, heart-felt enthusiasm and spouting baseless, over-the-top claims. The former, when backed up with sound reasoning, leads to conviction. The later demands even more lies and obfuscation to maintain.

And as we all know, sooner or later, a business built on lies falls down like a house of cards. If your product or service doesn’t make your heart race with breathless excitement about what it can actually do for your customers, work on it until it does.

Commerce is a relationship. When you harness Satyagraha — openly revealing your vulnerabilities, imperfections, and limitations as a seller in an interesting and dramatic way – you quickly build a bond of trust, even affection with your market.

Can you think of a better way of sweeping aside the number one obstacle to acquiring a new customer?

Until next time, Good Selling!

Photo: Wikipedia

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Satyagraha, Your Secret Marketing Weapon originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Resources are finite. There is only so much time, money, and energy to invest.

One of the keys to increased conversion, customer value, and retention — and the increased profits they bring you — is the strategic application of your resources.

If you can deploy them with surgical precision… obtaining the highest possible return on resources invested… while avoiding their squander in places where they have negligible or negative contribution to your bottom line, you have a decided competitive advantage.

So why do so many online marketers pursue the quick fix, churn and burn school of marketing that treats all customers alike? Chalk it up to ignorance… temporarily too easy pickings… shoddy products that are anathema to repeat business… laziness… stupidity… pick your poison…

Despite the obvious logic and benefit of the surgical, systematic strike, few entrepreneurs have even considered it… still fewer pursue it. And as a result, billions of dollars are left on the table. Worse, businesses that flourished in cushier times are now floundering on the rocks of extinction.

The first step to avoiding this fate is to start tracking the behavior of your customers… and using that intelligence to take specific actions that encourage continued and increased spending…

Doesn’t it make sense to spend more money marketing to people with a proven propensity to buy from you?

What do you think might happen on your next product launch or promotion if you were to separate your best buyers from the great unwashed? What if instead of just sending them a series of emails you send these VIPs a series of print pieces as well?

What do you think might happen if you were to send your very best buyers a surprise gift in the mail once a year? Or your bread and butter buyers a free printed catalog once a quarter?

Do you think that might increase sales far and above your mailing costs?

Do you think it might also make these customers more responsive to your regular email promotions?

Does the Pope wear a beanie?

But here’s the real million-dollar question:

How do you know which customers are likely to respond enthusiastically to this special attention?

Here’s what I told one of my brightest coaching students who asked this question just the other day…

Your first step is to create an RFM value for each record in your customer file.

R stands for RECENCY (customer purchased within the last x days). F stands for FREQUENCY (customer purchases on average every x days). M stands for MONETARY VALUE (customer’s total purchase volume).

So let’s say Jill Customer made her first purchase a year ago. Her most recent purchase occurred 7 months ago. In between she made 2 additional purchases. And her total spend with your company is $2,780.

How do you compute Jill’s value in order to make a resource-leveraged decision about how much you should be willing to spend to convert her into a customer for your latest offering?

First, you need to create a few simple rules that make sense for your particular business. DISCLAIMER: Every business operates around different purchasing patterns and customer lifecycles so this is a purely an illustrative example…

Recency Rules:

• Customers who last purchased within the last 30 days get an R value of 5.
• Customers who last purchased within the last 30 to 60 days get an R value of 3.
• Customers who last purchased within the last 60 to180 days get an R value of 1.
• Customers who have not purchased within the last 180 days get an R value of 0.

Frequency Rules:

• Customers who purchase every 60 days or less on average get an F value of 5.
• Customers who purchase every 60 to 180 days on average get an F value of 3.
• Customers who purchase every 180 to 360 days on average get an F value of 1.
• Customers yet to make their second purchase get an F value of 0.

Monetary Value Rules:

• Customers who have spent $2,500 or more with your get an M value of 5.
• Customers who have spent between $1,500 and $2,500 get an M value of 3.
• Customers who have spent between $500 and $1,500 get an M value of 1.
• Customers who have spent less than $500 with you get an M value of 0.

You now have a system for ranking the relative value of your customers on a scale of 0 to 15. So what kind of customer is Jill?

Well she hasn’t purchased for 7 months. That pegs her R value at 0.

During her 1-year history as a customer she made 4 purchases. That gives her an F value of 3.

And her total spend with your company is $2,780. That gives Jill an M value of 5.

You now add these figures together to determine Jill’s RFM value — 8. This is Jill’s relative value as a customer.

Your next step is to decide what action you will take in order to maximize that value. Maybe you sub-divide your buyer’s list into three groups — 0-5, 5-10, 10-15. And on your next product launch you send all three groups a couple of postcards inviting them to consume your pre-launch content online.

The 5-10 and the 10-15 group have proven by their past buying behavior that they are quite responsive to your offers. So in addition to the postcards, you send them a sales letter and a couple of follow up reminders by mail counting down to the deadline.

And the 10-15 group — your most responsive and therefore highest value customers — also receives an amazing shock and awe package that includes all of the launch content on DVD, an audio CD they can listen to in their car, and beautifully printed transcripts.

Result: More sales, more profits, more loyalty and retention!

Parting comment. This is not rocket science to pull off. You don’t need high priced consultants or fancy pants CRM software to do this.

Anybody with elementary school math can download a .csv file from their shopping cart and perform the above calculations in a simple spreadsheet.

Will you give it a try?

Until next time, Good Selling!

Customer Relationship Management for IM Dummies originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Safe, secure, benefits — the whole bit.

How things change. Today, manufacturing in the developed world is dead, toast, gone.

And so called "knowledge work" is now carried on by independent consultants, freelancers, and other entrepreneurs who come together virtually from the four corners of the earth. It’s cheaper, more efficient, and involves far less risk than the traditional everything-under-one-roof business model.

In this brave new world, only idiots still believe employment equals security. The average tenure in a J.O.B. is now, what… eighteen minutes?

The big, lumbering, vertically-integrated companies are failing like the dinosaurs they are, spitting out long-suffering employees like so much mulch. Since the vast majority of these employees were educated for a business world that no longer exists, they are now left twisting in the wind, clutching at straws.

And sooner or later — with the help of web wolves in sheep’s clothing — it dawns on these poor souls: Make Money on the Internet. It’s a fabulous idea. You absolutely can make money on the Internet, though most people who try don’t make a red cent.

Why?

It all boils down to a mindset that buys into these three big myths…

Myth #1:

Push Button, Make Money

From what I can tell, most newbies approach online business with the exact same mindset they bring to their jobs. They give no thought to the purposes of their labor, save a paycheck at the end of the week.

And this flawed thinking makes them prime suckers for every add-nothing-of-value-get-rich-quick scam that comes down the pike.

Multi-level schemes… auto-blogging… PPC arbitrage… software that automates some almost-useless function to such a degree that it squirts a little money… the exploitation of temporary loopholes that allow you to inject yourself into somebody else’s value chain, but without bringing anything useful to the equation.

These are the kinds of things that attract the employee mindset. Just give me some mindless activity — I don’t want to know the motivations or interests of anybody else — the less thinking I have to put into this the better.

The flimflam artists who dream up these schemes know that the less they explain about what it is they are actually selling, the more suckers they’ll enlist. No thinking person would buy from their sales copy because it fails to answer the fundamental business question: What value does this bring to anybody but me?

Contrary to popular opinion, the purpose of business is NOT to make money. The purpose of business is to fulfill unmet needs and desires — to add value to other people’s lives in some way. Making money is a byproduct of that process.

Myth #2

You Need a System, Blueprint, Roadmap, Formula, Method to "Duplicate"

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with modeling. The problem is mindless modeling. The kind of modeling where Joe Newbie takes said model and applies it out of context and without adaptation.

In today’s world, there is no such thing as context. Things change much too quickly to expect that by the time a particular system, blueprint, or roadmap comes to market it’s still entirely optimal — even to the exact same situation it was originally developed for.

Let alone the inevitable differences of situation that exist between where it was developed and where it will be applied.

Yet this is exactly the expectation. The average employee expects his or her employer to show them step-by-step how the job is to be done. If the output is less than ideal, it’s the employer’s fault. And this idea gets carried over into the entrepreneurial world. If it doesn’t work, it’s the guru’s fault.

And so yet another disillusioned newbie begins wandering aimlessly through the Internet marketing streets like a hapless vagabond in search of something that actually works. There is no such thing as a plug and play business. Doesn’t exist, never will.

It’s up to YOU come up with your own system, blueprint, or roadmap that solves the specific problem that defines your business.

Myth #3

You Don’t Have to Sell, Just Make "Friends", "Followers", and "Connections"

The promise of social media marketing is this: Make fans, they’ll do your selling for you.

It’s all about authenticity and connection and interacting with your public on the same stage, where everybody gets an equal voice. While it’s certainly true that liking is important to persuasion, it’s just part of the equation.

The social media marketing game is at best foreplay that can never succeed without getting down the "ugliness" of direct marketing and actually asking people to buy stuff. It is this fear of selling that causes newbies to flock to social media marketing in the first place.

At its worst, social media marketing is prostitution. What was supposed to be a pristine oasis of authenticity and a sanctuary from blatant commercialism is turning into a cesspool of disingenuous opinion and endorsement — a media that is inherently unreliable, and therefore destined to devolve in value.

Case in point: Twitter now offers a revolutionary new suite of pay per click advertising services. With Promoted Tweets you can now buy celebrity endorsements at the push of a button.

The service is only available to large advertisers at present, but pretty soon the little people should be able to log on and use their plastic money to get plastic people to tweet about them.

It’s incredibly genuine. They’re keepin’ it real.

Or how about Promoted Trends? Yes, you can actually buy your own trend. Who’d have thunk it?

Or the ultimate in pimposity, Promoted Accounts. This is where Twitter will help you turn a quick trick by soliciting followers on your behalf.

The wonders money can buy. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned, honest direct marketing?

Until next time, Good Selling!

Web Wolves, Whores, Vagabonds, and Fools originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Given a choice between 100 visits driven by social media and 10 from email marketing I’ll take the 10 any day of the week.

My professional opinion is that traffic is only as valuable as the conversion (leads and sales) it brings you. “Buzz” should never be a primary aim, rather a by-product of generating leads and making sales. And in most markets, email driven traffic is 15 to 20 times more likely to convert than social media traffic.

So why are so many marketers struggling these days to make email marketing work?

One reason is because they’re wasting too much of their time with social media.

Here’s the pop theory…

Social networks are like backyard barbecues. You head on over and sit around the barby sippin’ a few proverbial wobbly pops, chatting up the locals, making friends, talking about the weather and the game and other idle gossip. And sooner or later somebody is sure to ask: So what do you do?

And that’s your chance to invite ‘em over to your place — your blog, I mean. And on your blog you’ve got plenty of hearty hospitality that proves you’re a swell guy or gal definitely worth knowing the next time your new-found friends ever need what you’re selling.

Now, even a hair-on-fire social media fanatic will tell you your next step in the long and winding road to revenue is to try and get these visitors to sign up to your email list. So you’ve got an email sign up box on your blog with a delicious free gift your new friends can take home with them. That way you can market to them on demand — well into the future.

Just one problem with all this awesomeness: Way too much work for too little return. You have to sift through far too many of these social media butterflies to find a serious prospect. I mean, why do people go on social media sites? To socialize! That’s why they’re called “Social” networks.

Why not start with quality traffic in the first place…

… People who are actively searching desperately for an answer to the problem you solve. Duh!

Beware the social media cool aid that says you can get all of the traffic you could ever want for free. Nothing’s free. You got into business to leverage yourself, not to become a $2 an hour social media slave.

Go out and buy yourself some decent traffic, or do some good old-fashioned joint ventures, or publicity. And build you list on a solid foundation.

Another reason marketers struggle with email these days — even those who understand that you need quality traffic to begin with — is what I call the curse of voluntary anonymity.

I see this all the time and it breaks my heart.

What am I talking about?

Simply this: Business owners hiding behind their “brand”… or their “product” instead of interacting personally with people.

There is an epidemic of distrust on the Internet…

Unless you’re a known brand like Apple or Amazon, the first thing a new prospect does when they come to your website or blog is try to figure out who the heck you are.

Before they engage with your promise and sign up to your email list, they want to know if you seem honest, competent, and sympathetic. And if they do decide to connect with you via email they want to be subtly reminded of these qualities each time you drop in to say “Hi”…

Yet you’ve seen it a thousand times before… flashy html emails from [insert catchy company or publication name here] waxing poetic about [insert product name or topic here] — the whole piece written in disembodied voice.

This kind of an approach might work fine in the offline world, but it’s just not how email works. Think about it: email is the most personal marketing medium on the planet. You trade emails with your friends and family. And you do it in plain text. You read those emails. You trust those emails.

If you send flashy looking html masterpieces, instantly you go in the spam folder of your prospect’s brain. Your email looks and feels like an intrusion.

Even if someone does open your email, they’re ten times more likely to trash it. You failed to make a human connection. Email is a one-to-one medium. Get personal, or go home.

One more reason email doesn’t work (the last one I’ve got time for today)…

It’s when marketers become extremists. Instead of walking the middle road between providing valuable information and asking for a purchase, they’re either all content or all pitch.

You need both. If you run your list like a soup kitchen you’re just training people not to buy from you. On the other hand, if you’re emails are just pitch, pitch, pitch — nobody’s going to open them.

Mix it up for heaven’s sake.

Email may not be the idiot proof marketing money machine it once was, but make no mistake, it’s still the cornerstone of Internet marketing.

With a little ingenuity, it’ll work for you just fine.

Until next time, Good Selling!

Why Email Marketing Doesn’t Work… originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

The man’s chops are clearly massive, yet oh how he plays… with such exquisite humility. Not the slightest need to show off… preferring to surrender himself totally to the music… allowing his audience to shower him with never before revealed inspiration.

74-year old Guy has been noodling around the same three-chord blues progressions for almost 60 years. Imagine how terribly easy it would be to fall into a million ruts over them kind of eons.

Yet with each new album this guitar legend seems to find an ever-widening expanse of fresh, new and exciting truths to explore.

I think the same can be said for the honest practitioner of sales and marketing. The more experienced we become, the more we should realize we don’t know, and the more there is to discover…

To the genuinely inquisitive, the mysteries of the universe expand in direct proportion to our efforts to unravel them.

Like Buddy Guy, we should be continually murdering the predictable, finding ways to combine things that don’t seem to go together, and discovering the new and exciting hiding within the familiar.

Useful as they may be, the rules of thumb and best practices we live by as marketers should never become lodged in our minds to such a degree they crowd out critical evaluation, simply because they satisfy a desire for certainty.

The list of marketing truism is long and comforting. But the truth is: Long copy doesn’t ALWAYS out pull short copy. Video sales letters don’t ALWAYS out pull text. And the fear of loss does not ALWAYS trump the desire for gain. Insert your favorite doctrine here.

Such dogma – even when arrived at through valid testing and experience in our own private marketing sandboxes – should always be questioned within the context of the situations we find ourselves in. Shop worn theories should be tested against other less accepted ideas. Indeed, we should demand that they prove their validity every time out.

The curse that kills higher response is marketing-on-auto-pilot …

If a given strategy works in one place, there is no guarantee it will work in another. Even within the same context, there is no guarantee that if something has worked in the past that it will work the same way now. The very fact that something works well means it will be overused in the marketplace. Eventually people become resistant. And response drops like a stone.

I say none of this to discourage you or to dissuade you from adopting those things that work in one contest and applying them in another. Just keep an open mind. Accept little as gospel. Experiment tirelessly. And let YOUR market be your guide.

Of course, it is difficult to see things from different perspectives, isn’t it? Bringing new concepts and ideas into your marketing is difficult.

Think back to the process of creating your last campaign. You began with a reasonably blank slate. Your mind was open, actively inviting new ideas. But sooner or later you had to commit to developing one of them. And pretty soon, the forest began obscuring the trees. And you lost your objectivity.

How do you get it back?

The ultimate creative exercise …

Give this a try. Before you finalize your next piece of sales copy, put it in front of somebody whom you know is a good prospect for whatever it is you’re selling. And ask them to read the copy out loud. Don’t email them the link. Go to their house or office and give them the link to type into their computer while you’re sitting there with them. Pay them to do this if you have to.

Now, as they’re reading your copy out loud, sit quietly with a print-out of the page they’re reading. Watch and listen as they read while you make notes on the print-out.

Do they smile here? Sound confused there? Do they add extraneous comments under their breath in different places as they read? Do they ask you questions when they come to a certain point? If so, engage them in dialog about their questions, concerns, and skepticisms? And mark up your printed copy with notes.

Find several more qualified prospects and repeat this process to see if there are common reactions that need to be addressed… that fly in the face of accepted sales and marketing dogma… and that lead you to some new angle or approach.

I promise you this simple little exercise will open your eyes to things you can’t possibly see on your own, either because you’re too close to your own business, or because you’re not part of the target market. In either case, you’re likely to find some popular marketing truisms shattered.

Try it on for size with your next important project. Feed off your audience like the father of screamin’ guitar blues.

Until next time, Good Selling!

Marketing Lessons From a 74-Year Old Blues Legend originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Let me say it another way.

You’ve done your research. You found a starving market. Your product fills a need. And your sales copy shines with benefits. If everything is so perfect, then why is your product still not selling? Is it the price? The offer? The competition?

Maybe. But not necessarily.

The fact is, these things are not always to blame for being unable to sell an in-demand product, even with great copy. Too often, it has more to do with one thing:

Focus. (Or should I say, the lack thereof.)

In fact, the greatest word in copywriting is not “free.” It’s “focus.” And what you focus on in your copy is often the single, greatest determinant of your copy’s success.

In my experience, copy that brings me the greatest response is copy that focuses on:

1. One messsage
2. One market
3. One outcome

Here’s what I mean…

1. One Message

The copy doesn’t tell multiple, irrelevant stories. It doesn’t make multiple offers. It doesn’t go on tangential topics or provide extra information that doesn’t advance the sale.

Copy should make one offer and one offer only.

Too many messages confuse the reader. And as copywriter Randy Gage once noted, “The confused mind never buys.” It confuses them because they don’t know which offer provides them with the best value for the amount of money they are ready to spend.

Prospects want to spend their money wisely. Lose focus, and it is harder to think clearheadedly as to make a wise decision in the first place. Remember this axiom:

“Give people too many choices and they won’t make one.”

You don’t want to do what my teenage daughter does to me. When we go shopping for a dress, after hours of flipping through hangers and racks, she finally pinpoints one she likes, goes to the changing room to try it on, looks at me and asks, “How’s this one?”

“Perfect!” I say. “You sure, dad?” She asks. “Yes,” I add. “I’m positive.” So we head to the cash register when, suddenly, she stops along the way, picks up another dress off the rack, and says, “How about this one? Or maybe this one? Oooh, look at this other one!”

We came really close to walking out of that store without buying any of the dresses.

2. One Market

I don’t want to spend the little space I have for this article to extoll the virtues of niche marketing. But when it comes to writing high-converting sales messages, it goes without saying: trying to be all things to all people is next to impossible.

When it is possible, then your sales message must be generic enough to appeal to everyone, causing the majority in your market to feel you’re not focused on them.

(There’s that word “focus,” again!)

In order to appeal to everyone, your sales message will be heavily diluted. It will lose clarity. People will feel left out because you’re too vague. You will appear indifferent to their situation, and to their specific needs and goals, too.

If you cater to a large, diversified market, I highly encourage that you segment your market and target each segment separately, and write copy that caters to each one.

That is, write copy for each individual and targeted group of people within your market. If your market is made up of two or three (or more) identifiable market groups, write copy for each one — even if the product is the same for everyone.

3. One Outcome

“Click here,” “read my about page,” “here’s a link to some testimonials,” “call this number,” “fill out this form,” “don’t buy know, just think about it,” “here are my other websites,” “here are 41 other products to choose from,” and on and on… Ack!

When people read your sales copy, and if your copy is meant to induce sales, then you want one thing and one thing only: get the sale! In other words, there’s only one thing your readers should do, and that’s buy. Or at least your copy should lead them to buy.

In other words, the ultimate outcome should be to buy — every call to action, every piece of copy, every page, every graphic should revolve around this one outcome.

Remember K.I.S.S. (i.e., “keep it straightforwardly simple”).

You would be surprised at how many salesletters I critique where the author asks the reader to do too many things, to choose from too many things, or to jump through so many hoops to get the very thing they want in the first place.

Your copy should focus on one call to action only, or one ultimate outcome. Forget links to other websites or pages that are irrelevant to the sale. Forget irrelevant forms and distractions. Why invite procrastination with too many calls-to-action?

In fact, I believe that the goal is not to elicit action but to prevent procrastination.

Because when people hit your website, whether they found you on a search engine after searching for information, were referred to you by someone else, or read about you somewhere online, then they are, in large part, interested from the get-go.

So your job is not to get them to buy, really. They’re already interested. They’re ready to buy. Your job (i.e., your copy’s job), therefore, is to get them not to go away.

Ultimately, focus on the reader. One, single reader.

This is probably the thing you need to focus on the most. The most common blunders I see being committed in copy is the lack of focus in a sales message, particularly on the individual reading the copy and the value you specifically bring to them.

In my experience as a copywriter, I find that some people put too much emphasis on the product, the provider, and even the market (as a whole), and not enough on the most important element in a sales situation: the customer.

That is, the individual reading the copy at that very moment.

Don’t focus your copy on your product and the features of your product — and on how good, superior, or innovative they are. And don’t even focus on the benefits.

Instead, focus on increasing perceived value with them. Why? Because perception is personal. It’s intimate. It’s ego-centric. Let me explain.

When you talk about your product, you’re making a broad claim. Everyone makes claims, especially online. “We’re number one,” “we offer the highest quality,” “it’s our best version yet,” etc. (Often, my reaction is, “So what?”)

And describing benefits is just as bad.

Benefits are too broad, in my opinion. You were probably taught that a feature is what a product has and a benefit is what that feature does. Right? But even describing benefits is, in my estimation, making a broad claim, too.

The adage goes, “Don’t sell quarter-inch drills, sell quarter-inch holes.”

But holes alone don’t mean a thing to someone who might have different uses, reasons or needs for that hole. So you need to translate benefits into more meaningful benefits.

You see, a claim always looks self-serving. It also puts you in a precarious position, as it lessens your perceived value and makes your offer suspect — the opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish by making claims in the first place.

Therefore, don’t focus on the benefits of a certain feature. Rather, focus on how those features specifically benefit the individual. Directly. Personally. Intimately.

There is a difference. A big difference.

The more you explain what those claims specifically mean to the prospect, the more you will sell. It’s not the features that counts and it’s not even benefits. It’s the perceived value. So how do you build perceived value?

The most common problem I see when people attempt to describe benefits is when what they are really describing are advantages — or glorified features, so to speak. Real benefits are far more personal and intimate.

That’s why I prefer to use this continuum:

Features ► Advantages ► Benefits

Of course, a feature is what a product has. And an advantage (or what most people think is a benefit) is what that feature does. But…

… A benefit is what that feature means.

A benefit is what a person intimately gains from a specific feature. When you describe a feature, say this: “What this means to you, Mr. Prospect, is this (…),” followed by a more personal gain your reader gets from using the feature.

Let me give you a real-word example.

A client once came to me for a critique of her copy. She sold an anti-wrinkle facial cream. It’s often referred to as “microdermabrasion.” Her copy had features and some advantages, but no benefits. In fact, here’s what she had:

Features:

1. It reduces wrinkles.
2. It comes in a do-it-yourself kit.
3. And it’s pH balanced.

Advantages:

1. It reduces wrinkles, so it makes you look younger.
2. It comes in a kit, so it’s easy to use at home.
3. And it’s pH balanced, so it’s gentle on your skin.

This is what people will think a benefit is, such as “younger,” “easy to use” and “gentle.” But they are general. Vague. They’re not specific and intimate enough. So I told her to add these benefits to her copy…

Benefits:

1. It makes you look younger, which means you will be more attractive, you will get that promotion or recognition you always wanted, you will make them fall in love with you all over again, they will never guess your age, etc.
2. It’s easy to use at home, which means you don’t have to be embarrassed — or waste time and money — with repeated visits to the doctor’s office… It’s like a facelift in a jar done in the privacy of your own home!
3. It’s gentle on your skin, which means there are no risks, pain or long healing periods often associated with harsh chemical peels, surgeries and injections.

Now, those are benefits!

Remember, copywriting is “salesmanship in print.” You have the ability to put into words what you normally say in a person-to-person situation. If you were to explain what a feature means during an encounter, why not do so in copy?

The more benefit-driven you are, the more you will sell. In other words, the greater the perceived value you present, the greater the desire for your product will be. And if they really want your product, you’ll make a lot of money.

It’s that simple.

In fact, like a face-to-face, one-on-one sales situation (or as we say in sales training, being “belly to belly” with your prospect), you need to denominate as specifically as possible the value your offer brings to your readers.

In other words, express the benefits of your offer in terms that relate directly not only to your market, but also and more importantly:

1. To each individual in that market
2. And to each individual’s situation.

Don’t focus on your product. Focus on your readers. Better yet, focus on how the benefits of your offer appeal to the person that’s reading them. And express how your offer benefits your prospect in terms they can intimately relate to, too.

Look at it this way:

• Use terms the prospect is used to, appreciates and fully understands. (The mind thinks in relative terms. That’s why the use of analogies, stories, examples, metaphors, and testimonials is so important! Like “facelift in a jar,” for example.)
• Address your reader directly and forget third-person language. Don’t be afraid to use “you,” “your,” and “yours,” as well as “I,” “me,” “my,” and “mine.” Speak to your reader as if in a personal conversation with her.
• Use terms that trigger their hormones, stroke their egos, tug their heartstrings, and press their hot buttons. You don’t need to use puffery with superlative-laden copy. Just speak to your reader at an intimate level. An emotional level.

Because the worst thing you can do, second to making broad claims, is to express those claims broadly. Instead, appeal to their ego. Why? Because…

… We are all human beings.

Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising (one of the best books on copywriting), once noted we are not far evolved from chimpanzees. “Just far enough to be dangerous to ourselves,” copywriter Peter Stone once noted.

He’s not alone. My friend and copywriter Paul Myers was once asked during an interview, “Why do people buy from long, hypey copy?” His short answer was, “Human beings are only two feet away from the cave.”

(Speaking of Eugene Schwartz, listen to his speech. It’s the best keynote speech on copywriting. Ever. Click hear to listen to it. You can also get a copy of his book, too, called “Breakthrough Advertising.” I read mine several times already.)

People buy for personal wants and desires, and for selfish reasons above all. Whether you sell to consumers or businesses, people are people are people. It’s been that way for millions of years.

And nothing’s changed.

Your message is just a bunch of words. But words are symbols. Different words mean different things to different people. Look at this way: while a picture is worth a thousand words, a word is worth a thousand pictures.

And the words you choose can also be worth a thousand sales.

Forget Benefits, And You Will Sell More originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

After completing all of these steps, you then quickly glance at the letter to decide if the letter is worth reading.

If not, you throw it in the garbage.

But if the envelope looks like junk mail, there’s copy on the envelope and it screams “hype,” or the printed address label just says “dear occupant” as the addressee, chances are you won’t even think about opening it and you’ll just throw it away.

However, let’s say the envelope works, curiosity takes over, and the letter does get opened at this point. Once unfolded, though, if it looks like some kind of sales pitch at first glance, not even a single word will likely be read. So into the round file it goes!

Your website is the envelope. What does it say about you?

In offline direct mail marketing, the message is not the first element to be read. There are several extra steps one must go through in order to finally reach, react to, and ultimately read the sales message. However, all of these occur in a matter of seconds.

Actually, studies show that it’s less than one.

There are many aspects, beyond copy, that will cause a letter to be opened and read. Does it look “cartoonish,” with garish-looking typestyles and colors? Does it look like a typical salesletter? Does it seem to come from a trustworthy source?

In other words, is there a logo? A real address? Maybe even a picture of the author? Is there any eye gravity, such as attention-capturing photos or graphics? How does it make you feel? Does the letter make you feel good? Or does it make you feel uneasy?

All those things are important in a direct mail salesletter.

But once you’ve passed that hurdle, then in order to capture and keep people’s attention, one of the important elements of direct mail copy is the headline.

Albeit a crucial component of sales copy, the headline is the last in a series of attempts to get the reader’s attention and “pull them in.” Scientific tests have proven that people make a decision (often called the “halo effect”) within a quarter of a second.

It means that, within literally a fraction of a second, people will make a decision whether to open, read, believe, and buy from your sales message. And that’s true, regardless if the letter is targeted, the copy is topnotch, and the offer is fantastic or not.

That’s why the envelope, the label, the picture, the fonts, the quality of the letter, and any “grabbers” (such as any inserts, liftnotes, gifts, etc), even the overall appearance of the package, are all elements that often precede that all-important headline.

Online, those things are still there.

It’s more than just the look of your website. It’s also the “feel” of it. When people say “the look and feel,” people don’t quite appreciate the latter. Looks are important, true. But how does it make people feel the moment they hit your website? You can’t ignore this.

People make an unconscious decision about you, your website, and your products based on many things — from the logo, the photos, the layout, the color scheme, the typography, even the loading time, to the ease of navigation. And everything in between.

I’m not saying copy is not important. Of course, it is. What I am saying is that the headline, which is the first element to be read and the most important element in copy, is really the last in a series of things they see in this brief attention-getting process.

But when people click on a link or visit a website, and after they’ve gone through this extremely rapid appreciation process, then they immediately see the headline. If you’ve managed to keep them there to this point, then and only then is the headline important.

Online, it happens even faster. There are no mailboxes to go through, no envelopes to tear open, and no unfolding to do before reading it. These steps are nonexistent. The sales message and especially the headline are right there, in their faces.

Those same tests I mentioned earlier discovered that the “halo effect” occurs not within 1/4 of a second, as originally thought, but on the Internet it happens within 1/20 of one.

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Look at websites as newspapers instead of unsolicited direct mail pieces. Most often, you actually seek the newspaper out. You see it on the newsstand, glance at the headlines, and make the effort to pick it up. The web is the same to a large extent.

Whether you’re visiting a website by intentionally clicking on a link or entering the address into your browser, you are directly visiting the message with the full anticipation of reading it once you’re there. You’re eager if not at least curious to digest it.

You’re in a different state of mind when reading the newspaper than when reading a direct mail piece. (Even when the piece is solicited, the steps one must go through, from mailbox to sales pitch, is the same. In other words, there are more of them.)

A newspaper, on the other hand, is already open, with the front page, above-the-fold message right in front of you. It’s filled with photos and bold news headlines, ready to grab your attention, build your interest, and persuade you into buying it.

Like the newspaper, if the first-screen, uppermost section of a website’s home page doesn’t pull you into the copy (or cause you to scroll further), you will click away.

And you would do so faster than you would throw a direct mail piece into the garbage!

And like newspapers, you don’t read websites. Instead, you scan. If you’re like most people, you skim through the newspaper to look for stories that interest you. And you do so by quickly checking the headlines, pictures, and any headers the newspaper contains.

Plus, you can manipulate a print publication in order to fit your reading style. You can spread it out on a tabletop, where stories that interest you are easily and quickly accessible. That way, you can scan an entire piece or newspaper at a single glance.

Online, to read further you can only do one thing: scroll. So the desire to skim and scroll a website is greater than a printed piece. Therefore, once you’ve passed that important “envelope” hurdle, the need to capture the reader’s attention is exceedingly faster.

Crafting a great headline that immediately captures the prospect’s attention is critical to your message’s success. It may be the last in a series of attention-grabbing steps, but since there are less of them it is therefore important your headline works harder online.

In other words, online the headline’s role is ostensibly greater.

If the prospect hits your front page and does not immediately “feel” a need to read any further, she’ll leave at the single click of a mouse. No second thoughts. No wasting time. No hesitation. The rest of the AIDA formula goes straight down the tubes.

Writing headlines is the most important — and oftentimes the hardest — part of salescopy to write. There are as many ways to write great headlines as there are salesletters. So for the sake of brevity, let’s stick to the top three most important ones.

They are three sets of human qualities to which you can cater in order to increase the attention factor in your copy. Use them, and your readership will increase. They are…

The Three Greatest Human Goals

Everybody wants more time, money, and energy. From the headline to the opening copy of the letter, one effective way to capture attention is to focus on three core goals almost all humans have, which are to either save or make 1) time, 2) money, or 3) effort.

If your headline instantly communicates something that can help your reader to make money, save time, work less, make things easier, get things done faster, spend less energy, and so on, your chances of having your copy read will be greater.

The Three Greatest Human Desires

This should be the most important one of the three, but it’s second since it may not appeal to everyone. However, this particular set of “three’s” is very potent. And that’s not an understatement at all. Reason is, it appeals to dominant emotions, desires, and fears.

For example, take supermarket magazines. You’ll notice headlines on the cover or front page almost always cater to any of these three. Take a moment to read the cover of Cosmo, Men’s Health, Vanity Fair, National Enquirer, etc to see what I mean.

Headlines and even ads in these types of newspapers, which are often long copy advertorials, more often than not cater to the three human desires. They are 1) greed, 2) lust and 3) comfort. If you incorporate any of the three, you will boost your attention-factor.

Here are some examples:

• “How to make $1,678 with my system!”
• “How to save thousands usually wasted on utilities.”
• “How to melt away those ugly, unwanted pounds fast!”
• “How to make him/her fall in love with you all over again!”
• “How to build a web business in only 14 days.”
• “How to write breathtaking copy in minutes!”

By the way, you may ask, “Mike, isn’t ‘comfort’ similar to ‘less effort’ you mentioned earlier under ‘goals’?” In terms of desires or feelings, look at comfort as the opposite of fear. Avoidance of fear is a powerful desire. Think of it as a need for security and safety.

Your aim is to instill fear in the minds of your readers, or to bring it to the top of their minds, in order to offer them a solution that will comfort them and allay those fears, such as the fear of loss, the fear of death, the fear of failure, and so on.

Granted, there are other core desires. These are simply the top three. Plus, these three may seem somewhat general and categorical, but there are also many variations, too. Don’t limit yourself the direct definition of these three. Think about what they imply.

For example, “greed” may not necessarily involve money. It may include prestige, ownership, pride, options, etc. “Lust” may be to feel good about oneself, such as a lust for life and not just sex — like health, well-being, advancement, sociability, esteem, etc.

Nevertheless, if your headline contains a hint or a slant of any of these three, you’re a step ahead. You can cater to any of these three in a number of different ways. If you want some help, simply think about Maslow pyramid of human motives to get you started.

Finally, the last three are…

The Three Greatest Human Teasers

Of all the attention-capturing devices out there, these three are often the most effective. Why? Because the first three cater to human needs, and the next three to human motives. But these three cater to human nature. Good ol’ human psychology.

I call them the three provokers or arousers, if you will. These three elements stir. They pique, push, and prod. They mesmerize and hypnotize. They fire up hormones and tug heartstrings. Why? Because they cater to three fundamental human characteristics.

They are: 1) curiosity, 2) controversy, and 3) scarcity. Try to add an element of any of these three and you will boost your chances that the reader will be sucked into your copy will increase substantially. Even better, mix them with any of the above six.

In terms of curiosity, don’t mention everything to your readers at the beginning — give them ample information to pique their curiosity but not too much so that it pulls them in. People are intrinsically curious. So use this to your advantage.

Leave some interesting tidbit out or keep them on the edge of their seats, hanging onto every word, eager to read further. Be intriguing, fascinating, puzzling, etc.

For instance, say, “Discover these nine most closely guarded secrets for tripling website sales in less than 26 days!” People will then wonder, “What are these nine secrets? I want to know what they are!” And they’ll read your sales letter, intently, to find them.

Second, controversy is something that works extremely well. If your copy addresses something that stirs people’s emotions or causes certain “lights to go off” in their heads, you can pull them into the copy just as effectively as any of the other elements, above.

Howard Stern, a well-known radio “shock jock,” was one of the first to break many of the rules while on the air. In his semi-autobiography, “Private Parts,” the story goes that people who loved him had a tendency to listen to his show for about an hour.

But people who hated him listened up to two or three hours, or more.

Maybe it’s because they wanted to see what he’ll say next. Maybe it’s because they wanted more ammunition to bring the guy down. But whatever the reason is, Stern’s highly controversial approach undoubtedly made him extraordinarily rich and famous.

While you may want to stay away from the more sensitive topics (politics and religion come to mind), you can use milder forms of controversy — such as piggy-backing on current events, hot issues, popular trends, newsworthy topics, etc.

Using a bit of controversy in your approach will help build your case and create an almost instant desire to read your copy. You can add a shocking news item, make an outrageous claim, offer an unique twist, or make an unbelievable statement.

There are many ways to be controversial without being rude, condescending, or unethical. The key is not to make people hate you or love you, but to get people to read your copy. The body copy is where you can substantiate, explain, clarify, etc.

Often, brilliant copywriters will tie their copy to a recent event or some controversial subject. Sometimes, the angle they choose has nothing to do with the overall topic discussed in the letter. Not directly, anyway. But it’s quite effective to pull them in.

Now, I’m not talking about those infamous ads that start with the headline that says “SEX!” And the first line goes on with, “Now that I have your attention, keep reading…”

No. I’m talking about a headline that’s relevant but not necessarily the focal point.

Not long after 9/11, many ads, commercials, and websites have surfaced that capitalized on that recent, tragic event to sell security equipment, self-defense products, public transportation other than air travel, home alarms, and the like.

Another caveat: I’m not talking about profiting off the misery of others. I’m talking about using copy ethically to take advantage of your market’s current level of awareness about a certain hot topic. As the blacksmith says, you hit the iron while it’s hot.

Controversy can also be something significant or slight, or simply funny or different, such as with the use of a personal story, a unique angle, or an original twist.

Think of the times you’ve seen a story about someone starting an online business. While that may sound a little trivial (and usually, it is), it isn’t if that person suffers from some kind of disability or is raising 10 children at home. The odds seem to be against them.

Years ago, a client of mine, an inventor, was trying to promote a backpack with special straps he created. These straps made carrying backpacks a little more comfortable, distributed the weight more evenly, and were less strenuous on the shoulders and back.

After some research, I realized that his invention was born from a personal need. He was an amputee and lost one leg in a car accident. But he didn’t want that seeming disadvantage to hinder his love of hiking. So he created his special backpack straps.

I told him to use his lack of one leg as being the inspiration behind his creation. So, the copy’s headline opened with: “One-legged man lightens people’s loads!”

Finally, adding an element of scarcity to your copy is to somehow limit the offer by making it time-sensitive, quantity-bound, urgent, or scarce in some way. Naturally, the easiest way to do this is to add a deadline or put a cap on the number of sales.

But don’t just limit yourself to quantities or time. You can even make the offer something that’s secretive, exclusive, unheard of, inherently scarce, or otherwise unavailable to the general public, which can arouse stronger motives in the psyche of your readers.

It’s about adding a realistic sense of urgency, and not making it urgent in itself.

But in order to give your added sense of urgency some credibility and believability, never just leave it as a plain limit. Always back up your deadline, limitation, or scarcity with some kind of logical, commonsensical justification, lest it make your claim suspect.

Ultimately, remember that your headline is the most important element in your copy. Try infusing it with any of the three elements above, and you will improve the attraction factor, instill credibility, and increase your copy’s readership and response.

How to Capture and Captivate Attention originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Not only has it become a customary practice, but also everyone expects a free estimate from mechanics.

However, here’s an interesting scenario. Let’s say your car broke down at the worst possible time, and you are in a terrible hurry. (If you’re like most people these days, you are.) Plus, you specifically wanted a free estimate.

If you had to choose a garage quickly, which garage would you choose? Would you go to the one you only think that offers free estimates? Or would you go to the one you know for sure that does? Especially if you don’t have much time?

As simple as it may sound, by communicating something that’s usually taken for granted by your target market, you will be chosen more often. Rather than claiming superiority, like “we’re #1,” you’re implying it by demonstrating what makes you superior.

A mentor once told me, “Implication is more powerful than specification.” In marketing, it means that you should imply your superiority rather than claim it outright.

If you claim superiority, your claim appears self-serving and whatever you do say is suspect at best. But if you imply superiority, your claim, although not directly stated, is accepted as more credible, genuine, and, paradoxically, concrete.

People will unconsciously assume that you are superior. You are communicating your superiority, not in some marketing piece you wrote or paid for, but in that most elusive yet vital of places in all of marketing…

… Your target market’s mind.

So, rather than outright stating that you are superior (e.g., that you’re the “best,” that you have a product of superior or high quality, that you offer greater service, that you provide better rates, etc), explain specifically why you are superior.

In fact, the most critical word in marketing contains only three letters. It’s the word “why.” It is much better to communicate why you are original, special, or unique, or why you are better, different, or superior than your competitors, and not the fact that you are.

In other words, the point is that you should imply your superiority by specifying, as much as possible, what exactly makes you better than anyone else and not that you are superior. This approach is far more powerful, and the effect lasts longer.

By implying your value proposition, it pierces through your market’s natural psychological barriers, as people hate to be sold to. They hate making a bad decision. They hate being patronized. And more importantly, they hate being taken advantage of.

Realize that what makes you special, unique, or superior doesn’t have to be your product in itself, although it certainly can be. But the easiest way to make your product unique is by what you add to it — specifically, to its value — as to appear superior.

Simply stated, you may offer something that everyone else does. But you could also offer something more, above and along with your product, than no one else does.

Let me explain. Your product is composed of three distinct levels:

1. There’s the core product (the product’s main benefit),
2. The actual product (the product itself and its features),
3. And the augmented product (the product’s value, such as the added value — additional features and benefits — you specifically bring to the table).

The latter of the three is probably the area most marketers fail to adequately communicate. It’s also the easiest area you can use to develop or enhance your USP (or “unique selling proposition”). And it makes your product or service stand out among the crowd.

Here’s an example. People may or may not know that you provide a certain value-add. A value-add is an extra product benefit or service added to your core offer. And, more often than not, they only assume that you do, especially if it’s the norm in your industry.

Claude Hopkins, author of Scientific Advertising, revealed how he dramatically boosted Schlitz’ brewery sales by making their beer appear unique using this method.

In the early 1900s, a beer’s purity was important to consumers. Knowing this, most breweries claimed — but never really proved — that their beers were the purest available.

But instead of merely claiming purity, Hopkins would trumpet the reasons why Schlitz was purer than the rest. After a tour of the brewery, he began writing his sales copy describing in meticulous detail Schlitz’ vigorous purification process.

According to Clayton Makepeace, Claude Hopkins described:

“The 4,000-foot-deep artesian wells from which Schlitz drew its water… the wood pulp filters that ensured the water was 100% pure… the spotless plant and “clean rooms” with their filtered air… how Schlitz’s bottles were sanitized with germ-scalding steam… and more. But Hopkins did leave out one little fact: Pretty much every brewery made its beer just like Schlitz did!

By being the first to tell the public about Schlitz’ generally assumed (or in this case, ignored) purification process, everyone was convinced Schlitz really was the purest beer anywhere. It’s the main reason why it became the top-selling beer at the time.

Plus, the copy did double duty. Competing breweries’ purity claims simply made them appear as copycats — or at the very least, it would remind the public of Schlitz.

By turning the assumed into the assured in the consumer’s mind, even with a name in which people are assured that you do offer that particular service or benefit, your market will choose you over your competition many times over. Almost unconsciously.

And this is true, even when the value-add is the norm.

If I were Hopkins, I would have put a name on this purification process. That name would make the process appear unique. Even proprietary. It would help to instantly communicate this value-add, or at least cause people to want to learn more about it.

Using the earlier free estimates example, you might choose a garage offering “Hassle-Free Formulas” “Free Fix Finders,” or “No Greater than Guesstimate Estimates.” You might even choose one whose tagline is: “Where Smiles and Estimates are Free!”

In short, what you are doing — in this case, with a name, tagline, or marketing message — is turning the “assumed” into the “assured” in your market’s mind.

In this day and age where people no longer have the time to shop around and are bombarded with commercial messages, then when they’ll need the kind of service or product you provide, your name will pop into their minds — and will do so almost instantly.

On the Internet, time is a even scarcer commodity for most people. Click-happy online shoppers no longer have time to sit through countless, irrelevant search engine results, and pages upon pages of websites, to find exactly what they want.

Therefore, since people usually search the web by topics, interests, or benefits, and if the term “free estimates” was specified in your marketing efforts and especially on your website, then when people search for free estimates they will likely find your site.

In fact, many new Internet business models have emerged and became wildly successful — and profitable — based on that simple premise.

For instance, while one website may offer the same product with the same features at the same price as other websites, what makes that one site any different is in the way it adds value to its clients’ purchase decision. Its value proposition, in other words.

And it does so in the way it brands, packages, presents, or sells its product, even the way it delivers it to its customers. But above all, it does so in the way it communicates it.

You can certainly apply the same principle in your business.

If there’s something that’s a part of what you offer (such as free support, free delivery, free installation, etc), even if you must manufacture your USP by adding an extra feature or service to your product to make it unique, then put a name on it, too.

Once you do, you then need to communicate it clearly — with every promotional breath you take! You must make your value proposition your core marketing message.

This is the one area on which most businesses fail to capitalize. Why is that? In my experience, it’s because too many people think that a standard, conventional, or customary part of their business or product is too simple, unimportant, or unnecessary to market.

(You would be amazed to know how much such simple value-adds have become the pivotal elements upon which a large number of businesses have prospered and profited!)

Additional or complementary bonuses, features, or services are part of what is called the “augmented product,” simply because they augment the product’s value. More important is the fact they should be communicated and have benefit-based names just as well.

Remember that a product is more than a bunch of tangible features — it has three levels. In fact, the third level (i.e., the value) is where most competition occurs!

Here’s a greater description of each level:

• Your core product is the benefit — your product’s relative purpose. It’s what people are really buying, in other words. If the name, packaging, or any of the features change, the core product remains the same. It comprises of the benefit (if it’s a product) or the solution (if it’s a service) that people seek.
• The actual product consists of attributes, qualities, and characteristics — such as features, design, model, form, function, style, dimensions, name, package, label, ingredients, product mix (i.e., the breadth and depth of the product line), etc. In essence, the actual product consists of what makes the product or service.
• But the augmented product includes complementary services or features – like warranties, guarantees, terms, financing, delivery, installation, discounts, toll-free customer service, reports, shipping and handling, after-sale service, consumption education materials or training, quickstart guides, etc. On the web, they also include things such as reminder services, search capabilities, email newsletters, online technical support, personalization, customization, information, and so on.

By adding a benefit-based name on your augmented product, it could actually become — or become part of — what is called your “positioning statement.”

A positioning statement is one that communicates your value proposition and specific position (i.e., what places you or your product above your competition in the mind).

Even if your product is similar to the competition’s, then your augmented product can isolate and differentiate your actual product from those of others. Your message should indicate so, although names and taglines can do this quite efficiently.

For example, remember that Domino’s Pizza, with its once popular tagline that said “delivered fresh in 30 minutes or less or it’s free,” is known more for its augmented product (i.e., home delivery) than its actual product (i.e., pizza).

In your case, do you offer an augmented product that’s not offered elsewhere?

Here’s an example. Say your website sells software.

• Do you offer free delivery of the CD?
• Do you offer a free upgrade reminder service?
• Do you include a quickstart guide on how to use it fast?
• Do you provide a special toll-free support line?
• Do you have a unique money-back guarantee?
• Do you provide any kind of payment plan?
• Do you offer extended warranties or download times?
• Do you have a special trade-up program?
• Do you publish a best practices newsletter?
• Do you give access to a private community of users?

The possibilities are endless! Regardless of what you do offer, these should be named and/or communicated as well. Sure, they might seem like standard practice. But don’t let people assume that you offer a certain additional benefit or service. Assure them!

If a competitor steps in and assures your market before you do, it might be too late. Thus, turning the “assumed” into the “assured” heightens perceived value and implies superiority over competitors who may offer the same, nameless services.

More important however is the fact that doing so also turns ordinary products into memorable ones. They become effective mnemonics. Or simply stated, one value-add can easily become your “hook.” Just like Domino’s delivery guarantee, for instance.

Finally, if you don’t offer anything that’s unique or special, then you might want to look at manufacturing your USP. Stated differently, you might want to define your position by simply adding something to your actual product in order to augment its value.

For example, while your product or service may be similar to the competition, you can be the first to cater to a specific market, the first to cater to a market in a unique way, or the first to customize a general product or service for a specific market.

Sure, you can have a superior product or service, and have either its core or parts of its actual product level different than your competition. If you do, then great. But keep in mind that, if your product is totally new and untested, it’s a huge risk.

But more often than not, the augmented product is the level at which many products create astonishing, memorable, and highly profitable USPs. The goal, therefore, is to communicate it in order to imply your superiority rather than directly competing with others.

Don’t claim it. Frame it in the consumer’s mind, in other words.

Superior Value Equals Superior Sales originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

But I’m fascinated when I see where some people think we’re headed. There are some bloggers whose predictions fascinate me. Two have captured my attention: ReadWriteWeb and the Manhattan Marketing Maven.

And yes, even yours truly loves making them, too.

As with all predictions, it’s no different than flipping a coin. The law of averages kicks in. But it’s not a 50-50 ratio. A third will come true, usually dead on the money. Another third won’t at all. And the final third may come true, but not exactly as predicted.

I’m subjected to that same law, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Nevertheless, in keeping with that sacred tradition of new-year projections, prognostications, and picayune pontifications, here are two major areas I believe we will see happening in the new year, if not the near future. Are you ready? Here goes…

1. Internet Marketing Will Grow Up

Web 2.0 is essentially a sign that the Internet is growing up. It’s not fully an adult, yet. But I guess you can say it’s now a “teenager” rather than an “infant.”

As it went through puberty, it was an authority-challenging, angst-filled, hormone-raging, know-it-all, rebellious, moody, maturing, coming of age of sorts. It wants all the benefits of adulthood but without all of its responsibilities. It prefers to remain a child.

Internet marketing is an example. It’s growing, and will continue to grow, but not without its growing pains. It will explode, but the old way we used, and used to look at, Internet marketing is going to radically change. We’re seeing a lot of evidence of this already.

Yes, the industry is going through a major shakeup.

(As an example, our recent major announcement explaining the drastic change in the way we teach Internet marketing is a reflection, and the result, of this evolution.)

This shakeup will involve many different things. It’s partly due to new regulations, partly due to the recession, and partly due to people’s growing level of sophistication with the web. That’s why I believe Internet marketing will no longer be considered a “niche.”

In fact, Internet marketing will be less and less about…

• Internet marketing;
• Making money;
• And gaming systems.

The industry has grown to the point where mass markets are crossing what Geoffrey Moore calls “the chasm.” In other words, it’s no longer a hot new niche exploited merely by geeky innovators and early adopters who wish to use the web to make a few bucks.

We’re going to see Internet marketing entering the mainstream. We’re going to see more and more people trying it for the first time — newbies to Internet marketing who want to find work or start a real business online. One that’s not about Internet marketing itself.

Stated simply, the landscape of Internet marketing — and the people in it, both the market and the marketers — is radically changing and will continue to change in 2010.

Take a look at all the major Internet marketing players online these days. One can instantly see how the roster has dramatically changed, even in just a few years. Many new faces have emerged, and many old ones have disappeared or gone underground.

By the way, I know some pundits claim otherwise — often to counter the many rumors that the Internet marketing industry is saturated, overpopulated, or dying altogether. They do so, particularly if they have a vested interest in it or a product related to it.

These pundits claim that the Internet marketing market is still a perfect niche to get into. I agree it’s alive and well, but I don’t agree it will be the perfect niche. At least, not the usual “Internet marketer selling Internet marketing to Internet marketers” niche.

(I often quote Paul Myers, who once said that the Internet marketing industry is made up of a bunch of incestuous cannibals. I think that quote is quite befitting, here.)

We’re going to see more and more diversification. More and more actual marketing principles, strategies, and tactics applied to the Internet. More and more strategies outside of Internet marketing, particularly outside the bizoppy, make-money arenas.

I’m talking about real businesses selling real stuff using real marketing strategies. And by “real” I don’t mean just physical products and hard goods. I include digital products, too.

I’m talking about businesses that sell non-Internet-marketing stuff. To me, too many products appear like ponzi schemes, where someone teaches how to make money online, and the way they make their money is by selling… their make-money product.

No. I mean real stuff. Not snake-oil. Not “secrets.” Not “how to game [technology, system, or website] to get a gazillion visitors or make a gazillion dollars overnight.” And certainly not circular, “Make money by becoming an affiliate of my make-money product!”

(OK, I know this sounds more like a rant than a prediction. But hear me out.)

True, when something new enters the scene, eventually we see its misuse, overuse, and abuse. It’s sad but inevitable. There’s the abuse of systems as well as the abuse of the people using them. Internet marketing is by no means any different.

But novelty usually wears off and the newness becomes lackluster over time. Any new tactic and market, as well as their abuse, have a shelf life. They die or they change.

You can only trick search engines, social networks, CPA networks, or whatever for so long, until these get wise to such tactics, change their algorithms, or become so saturated they kill off a large number of abusers in one vast, merciless cleanup attempt.

(Like the many “Google slaps,” for instance. Or the recent FTC changes.)

James Allen, author of “As a Man Thinketh,” wrote: “Circumstance does not make the man: it reveals him to himself.” It’s a beautiful quote, but to me it has a lot more meaning.

I think it’s a lot like another famous saying by Dr. Wayne Dyer, who once said, “If you squeeze an orange, you get orange juice.” In other words, when someone is under pressure, what comes out is really what’s inside. It’s who they are at their core.

The recession is one such pressure. Probably the biggest one.

When times are great, questionable tactics and borderline businesses tend to easily slip under the radar. People are not paying that much attention. And it makes perfect sense, since we have more disposable income to take risks trying new things.

But when times are tough, a marketer’s true colors start to shine through. Good, decent, honest, and ethical marketers stand out. Equally yet conversely, scammers, spammers, and smarmy snake oil peddlers seem to come out of the woodwork, too.

More importantly, when hit with financial stress, people are either extremely desperate and vulnerable, or extremely cautious and cynical. People’s bullshit detectors are on high alert. And it makes either side conspicuous, self-evident, and easier to spot…

… Be they good or bad, be they white hat or black hat, and be they market-focused or money-focused (i.e., selling at the service of others versus at the expense of others).

We’re going to see that dividing line getting thicker, and gray areas becoming less and less gray. And we’re going to see solid, long-term, real businesses selling real stuff becoming more distinct from the drive-by, one-hit-at-a-time, serial marketers.

Bottom line, don’t expect apple juice when squeezing an orange. If you squeeze an orange, you get orange juice. You get what’s truly inside, at their core.

Marmalade, anyone?

2. There’s a Cloud Hanging Over Us

One of the most recent developments going on with the Internet is the idea of cloud computing. I submit that cloud computing will become more and more popular, if not the norm. Whether you know it or not, you’re probably using it already.

Are you using an online backup service? Are you transferring files from one computer to another using a filesharing service, or perhaps a webhost? Or simply, are you using an autoresponder service rather than sending emails directly from your computer?

What cloud computing means is, rather than having all your files, software, multimedia, links, even peripherals, all centrally located on your computer, you can access, and work from, applications, files, and peripherals on, or distributed through, the Internet.

There are three levels of cloud computing:

1. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
2. Platform as a service (PaaS).
3. Software as a service (SaaS).

Infracstructure is where computers and hardware connect with each other via networks or, more significantly, the Internet — secure channels on the Internet, to be specific.

You may have heard of things like “Intranet.” Today, we are seeing an increase in VPNs (i.e., virtual private networks) and RDPs (i.e., remote desktops), where we can access other computers through the Internet, and do so remotely, privately, and securely.

Even in the home, we are seeing less of a need to buy multiple peripherals like printers, hard drives, and multimedia players, and using “servers” instead, within the home using Wi-Fi, to share those resources among multiple computers.

Secondly, cloud computing as for platform is the realm of the operating system and OS core services, like Windows for example. More and more operating systems and services are available on, and distributed through, the Internet as well.

For example, when you had no choice but to buy, download, or install Microsoft Office or some other compatible software to print a simple Word Document, now you can simply use Google Documents or ZoHo online. I even use it to convert documents in a snap.

Of course, Microsoft is not taking this sitting down. They are converting much of their software to a web-based format as well, such as the upcoming “Office Live.” Google is coming out with its own operating system, which will be almost completely web-based.

As for software, it’s self-explanatory. Just like Google Documents mentioned earlier, many programs, which used to be available in standalone executables, are now available online — either as pay-for-access, ad-supported, or password-protected services.

Even email clients are slowly becoming dinosaurs in a world where POP accounts are being converted into IMAP (where email is read, sent, stored, and manipulated directly on the server, without the need to download them, and no matter where you are).

If you’re a marketer, then you’ve likely encountered some form of cloud computing…

… From using Gmail for your email and using an online autoresponder service for building your lists, to communicating with staff, clients, or freelancers using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, BaseCampHQ, or other similar collaborative tools.

For example, ever since Sylvie and I have started using Amazon S3 for storing our multimedia files, we have saved a ton of money, bandwith, and resources by serving the files from a larger-capacity and much more robust service such as Amazon.

The key benefits, of course, is the intra-operability and cross-platform compatibility of working in a cloud environment. It doesn’t matter what kind of computer you have. All you need is a browser and an Internet connection, and you’re off to the races.

Sure, there are risks, such as exposing ourselves to hacker attempts — both while in transit through the Internet and once it’s saved in the cloud.

Granted, powerful encryption protects the information in transit. The safety of where the information resides is a bigger risk, in my estimation. So it’s doubly important to ensure the information is protected on high-quality, highly secure servers.

Above all, the biggest risk, of course, is your connection to the Internet itself. If you lose it or work on a poor connection, your ability to work via the cloud will be hampered. But as broadband becomes ubiquitous, this is becoming less of a concern.

Another big benefit are cloud-managed updates and upgrades.

Rather than forcing you to download the latest updates, the software or application can be centrally updated, behind the scenes in one fell swoop, for all its users. Just one flip of the proverbial switch, and bam! Everyone has the latest version. Instantly.

No need to wait for an update to propagate to all the users, or for users to uncover bugs as their systems and software configurations vary so significantly from one and other.

But the one area I want to focus our attention on is SAAS, that is, software as a service.

This area, I believe, will explode in the coming months if not weeks.

We are seeing more and more of this already: membership websites, online training courses, streaming multimedia programs, dynamic content, and web-based software — with ad-supported access, password-protected access, or full access at a recurring fee.

Take online photo editing services, like Picnik or Photoshop Express, for example. Rather than forcing you to buy a $800 gorilla like Photoshop, or its cheaper alternatives, you can easily upload, manipulate, and store photos online, either for free or a small fee.

Bottom line, if there’s something that needs to be done on your computer, chances are there’s an online application for it somewhere. Somewhere on the Internet, that is.

So my tip to you is, keep a watchful eye on what people are looking for.

If there’s a need somewhere or a problem that can be solved, don’t immediately jump to the idea of building a standalone software, infoproduct, or multimedia piece.

Instead, think of building a centrally located, password-protected, one-time signup or recurring-fee service model. Because there just might be a silver lining beyond that cloud — one you own that could potentially make you a lot of money.

The Future of The Internet is Cloudy originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

I realized some of these tips were particularly powerful. So I wanted to reprint some of my answers here for you.

If you know my personal story, you know how niche marketing played an important role in my career.

Long story short, as the child of an alcoholic I feared rejection immensely, which led to a reclusive childhood. We all fear rejection to some degree. But for me, it was debilitating.

I wanted to overcome my fears and decided to dive into the world of sales in order to fight them head-on. Years passed and many failures ensued until I finally became the top producing salesperson in Canada for a major Fortune 500 company.

How did I accomplish that?

Since I hated prospecting, I found more effective marketing strategies that caused high quality prospects to come to me instead of the other way around. I no longer had to prospect. I no longer had to be rejected. I no longer had doors slammed in my face.

In short, I went from prospecting to positioning.

In other words, I decided to specialize in a specific niche and deal with only a small percentage of the market — even though my employer did not require it of me. I positioned myself as an expert for a specific target market within that company’s larger market.

Even though I could sell everything to everyone from this employer, I decided to specialize in only one product line for one particular category of prospect.

The result? I appeared as a specialist. (I’ll come back to this later.)

Realize that doing so helped me to attract pre-qualified prospects to my door. I didn’t have to do cold prospecting anymore. I didn’t have to “bother people” to listen to my pitch. I attracted higher quality prospects who wanted me to help them.

People today are bombarded with so much information, commercials, and competition. Especially online. Prospecting, especially cold prospecting, is not only difficult but also next to impossible. (Unless you have a million-dollar advertising budget to risk.)

Thus, you have to market in such a way that causes those kinds of people to come to your business or website, and not the other way around. Like a magnet, if you will.

Therefore, rather than prospect for clients you must position your business as unique in a particular category or industry, or for a specific audience or market. By being unique and focused on a core market, you will naturally become the leader in that market.

With all the competition out there vying for your market’s attention, it is no longer possible to be better than the competition. The goal is to be different, not better.

In other words, don’t duplicate. Instead, differentiate! It’s better to be the leader in a small niche than an alsoran in a general one. You will naturally dominate that market as a byproduct rather than spinning your wheels trying to corner a market by brute force.

Being a general copywriter when I first started out would have pitted me against all the copywriters in the world, particularly all the top copywriters who were far better than me.

However, being a copywriter specializing in cosmetic surgery, which was my niche at the time, I naturally dominated that niche. I called myself “Success Doctor” because I helped doctors become successful. Through better copywriting and marketing, that is.

Today’s world has become overcommunicated, overadvertised, and hypercompetitive, it all appears as just one huge blur of sameness. If you attempt to be too general or too wide in your marketing approach, you will only dissipate among the blur.

People won’t see any greater value in buying from you than in buying from others.

One of the greatest errors committed by most new businesses is that they fall into a trap: they try to be “all things to all people.” And they do so because they are mislead by the notion that, by offering more (or by serving more people), they will generate more sales.

That’s understandable for the survival of any new business depends on the number of sales it makes. However, the more general you are or appear to be, the more indifferent you will appear to your audience. Indifferent to their specific needs, goals, and problems.

Based on the law of averages, you will have to advertise and market yourself quite heavily to be in front of as many eyeballs as possible, with the hope of attracting an adequate amount of prospects that will in turn translate into a certain number of sales.

Undeniably, this requires a gigantic advertising budget. Or a heck of a lot of time. For most new and especially smaller businesses, this is obviously quite a challenge.

It’s true that, the greater your reach is, the greater the potential quantity of responses will be. But what about quality? Would it matter if your business or website generates a large quantity of uninterested, tire-kicking visitors that will simply never buy from you?

Let’s look at the web. If your online business targets everyone, then your marketing message must be painted with broad brushstrokes as to appeal to everyone. The challenge with such an approach is the fact that you will lose a large percentage of visitors.

Some may fall into your target market, but most visitors will leave your website because they likely feel left out or have no interest. Others simply choose competitors that might provide them with greater perceived value. Even if they offer the same thing.

In other words, the broader you are in your appeal, the less relevant you will be to any and every individual visiting your site. Guess what becomes the deciding factor?

If you’re like (or perceived to be like) everybody else, then the least common denominator they have to work with is price. Price becomes the only metric of comparison. If there are no other points of differentiation, naturally the cheapest alternative wins.

Why? Because generalists have too many things in common. Therefore, pricing seems like the only difference. It will be the only metric used in comparing your value to others.

Sales will increase dramatically if your site is centered on a specific theme, product, industry, people, or outcome. A niche, in other words. (A niche can still be, or be a part of, the mass market. A large yet underserved mass market is still a niche, by the way.)

It’s about focus. For the more focused you are, the less you will need to produce a sufficient quantity of visitors to produce similar results by appealing to everyone.

A good niche is one that has three major qualities:

• It exists already;
• It’s easily identifiable;
• And it’s easily targetable.

Let me explain why this is important.

The most common question I receive from aspiring entrepreneurs is: “What product should I sell?” (Or “what sells well on the Internet?”) Quite frankly, everything sells and can sell well — from pet food to travel packages — in some way, especially online.

In fact, everything is being or can be sold, somehow, in some form or another, on the Internet. But that’s not the problem. It’s not what you sell that matters. It’s to whom.

In other words, don’t look first for a product to sell. Look for an easily targetable market with an easily identifiable need or problem, and fill their need or solve their problem.

In order to achieve this, you need to be observant and listen to the needs of the marketplace. Conduct some market research. If people seem to be asking for a specific solution to a problem, obviously it is because a niche exists that has yet to be filled.

Look at some of the questions people ask or the complaints they have. These are very good indicators that a need exists. Otherwise, the marketplace would be silent.

Once you find a viable niche, learn as much as you can from it. Everything will flow from that point. Follow this tactic and you will constantly find products to sell.

Simply put, don’t carve a niche. Rather, find one and fill it. Consequently, your marketing will naturally help to solidify your position and thus dominate that niche, rather than trying to “get more clients” by trying to appeal to and go after everyone.

Sure, there are ultra-targeted niches that are very small and limited. In such cases, the only way to remain profitable is to dominate several of them. Some people will go after a multitude of small niches. Others will go after smaller ones within a larger market.

This is called “market segmentation,” where you segment your marketing to cater to a wide variety of small niches. But for the scope of this article, let’s just say that narrowing your focus will attract not only more prospects but far more qualified prospects, too.

How do you dominate a niche?

It doesn’t need a lot of work, really. When you position yourself as the expert in a niche, you naturally dominate it through the power of leadership. Leadership is not the result of an action or an event. It’s a position, one based on the power of perception.

If you offer a customary product or service, or if your competition offers the same thing you do, catering to a niche helps to project an aura of uniqueness and superiority instantaneously by virtue of the fact that it doesn’t appear as customary.

Rather than copying your competition, you isolate yourself from them.

For instance, if you required brain surgery, would you choose a dentist? Of course not. More importantly, would you choose a general, medical practitioner, even a general surgeon? No. You would probably choose a neurosurgeon. A brain surgeon, in other words.

It’s the same thing for direct marketing. If you owned an imported car that needed new brakes, would you choose any general mechanic? Or, if one existed, would you choose one that not only specializes in brakes but also specializes in imported cars?

Expertise is in the eyes of the niche.

You become the leader not because you are superior but because you are different. You’re going from being indifferent to your market to being different to them.

Specialization is in itself a powerful marketing process that, as a byproduct, generates the perception of expertise. It’s amazingly effective in creating top-of-mind awareness.

Contrary to popular opinion, focusing on a seemingly smaller niche doesn’t lessen your chances of making sales. Quite the opposite. For example, an accountant specializing in car dealerships will acquire more clients than a general accountant will.

An advertising salesperson specializing in home furnishing stores will sell more ads than a typical salesperson will. A photographer specializing in weddings will get more photography bookings than a regular photographer will. And the list goes on and on.

As more businesses get started, and the more inundated with marketing messages our society becomes, then the less time, energy, and money people will have to spend in choosing the companies or websites with which they will do business.

Thus, specialization helps to solve that problem by projecting an aura of expertise.

Take a mechanic. Rarely would you call a general mechanic an “expert,” unless she has invested a considerable amount of resources in branding herself that way, or in educating herself deeply in the world of mechanics backed by many years of experience.

On the other hand, it would be easy to dub a mechanic — even a new one, with no experience — that specializes in imported car brakes as an “expert mechanic.”

Similarly, by finding, filling, and dominating a niche, you can become an expert by default — not by design. You become an expert as a natural byproduct. In other words, a generalist is just a marketer. But a specialist is an expert. That’s the difference.

Carve Your Niche By Dominating One originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

It was an interesting and at times spirited discussion.

After some talk about content and copy (or should I say, writing content versus writing copy), the show’s host, Mike Sansone, asked each panelist if we would individually respond on our blogs to this question:

“Writing for the visitor is more important than writing for the search engines. Can both be met without sacrificing quality?”

Ryan Healy posted his answer on the subject. Good answer. I agree with him, because he makes some great points. But I also disagree as I think there are ways around it.

So I guess my answer is both “yes” and “no.” Here’s why.

First off, I’m not a search engine optimization (SEO) expert by any stretch. However, I do know enough about SEO to know that it’s primarily based on three major factors:

Code, links, and content.

Let’s take a look at each one…

1. Code has to do with ensuring the content is presented in a way that makes it more appealing to the search engines. Said in a different way, the code is optimized so that the search engines can find your content and read it more easily.

Why is this important? Because, in reality, your code not only helps search engines to find, crawl, and properly index your content, but also helps them present that content, when searched for, in a way that appeals to their users. Human beings.

2. Links are links within your content, as well as links to your content — the latter being more important, of course. When people link to you, they are indirectly telling the search engines your content is of value, and therefore of interest to their users.

Undeniably, this requires some writing skills, such as knowing how to write content that creates interest (i.e., what you write), and write it in a way that makes it interesting, too (i.e., how you write it). Which, by the way, is still copywriting. Isn’t it?

3. Content, which is third in this list but by no means the least, is the one on which the question behind this post really hinges. I think a better question to ask is, “Can you write content and copy at the same time?” Yes. But there are three ways of doing this.

Ways of doing it that doesn’t force one to sacrifice the quality of the other.

First, understand the difference between content and copy. To me, content informs. Copy invites. Content educates readers. Copy elicits a response from them.

But can you be both informative and response-driven, too? Absolutely.

I do believe that you can write content that’s appealing to both the search engines and its users. At the same time. (And really, it’s all about the audience, isn’t it?) To ensure it’s capturing readers’ attention and informing them, while also generating a response.

Personally, I don’t spend time on keyword optimization, keyword density, or things of that nature. I simply try to create good content. I look at it this way: I try to give what my users want, and by the same token I will naturally give what the search engines want.

So the objective is to focus on your audience. Find out what they want and bring value to them. Because that is why your website exists in the first place, whether it’s to educate or to sell. (It’s also what makes copy truly compelling in the first place, too.)

In terms of what kind of content to write, you can post a lot of it so that you naturally multiply your keyword density. You can focus on a particular niche so that you can zoom in your target audience. And you can also write content that’s buzzworthy, too.

Do either one of these, and you will naturally attract a lot of organic traffic as a natural byproduct, without much extra effort. That’s been my sole, core strategy for as long time.

But what about blending copy? Well, if you want to maximize your content and make it response-driven at the same time, I believe there are three ways to accomplish this:

1. Guiding
2. Funneling
3. “Newsifying”

1. Guiding

The content guides people into taking action, whether it’s directly or indirectly.

You can certainly turn your content into copy to a degree. You use the content itself to elicit a certain response from your audience, or add copy to existing content to accomplish this. (The converse is what I call “newsifying,” and I will come back to it later on.)

Press releases, product reviews, and even articles can be both educational and promotional. But guiding can also be as simple as adding links or forms within the content, and even adding words or phrases that lead people to take a certain action.

Therefore, the copy may or may not be part of the content proper. If it is, you can massage your content so it leads the reader. Even if it’s just a few key phrases or pieces of transition copy, like “keep reading for…” “later on I will…” “next you should…” and so on.

But it can be separate and distinct from the content, and can either blend within the content, or be placed in sidenotes, in pullquotes, in Johnson boxes, or in sidebars.

However, in the case of a strictly long-copy salesletter, I agree your aim is to elicit a response and not satiate the engines. If you were to optimize your copy for the search engines, its quality may suffer at some point. So the trick is to find the proper balance.

As the saying goes, you can’t be all things to all people.

But this is where the next two options come into play.

2. Funneling

This is the process of using content to generate organic traffic, such as on landing pages, and siphoning that traffic to a copy-focused, response-driven page, site, or salesletter. It can be part of the same website, or it can be on another site altogether.

These content-only pages are beacons or baits that attract people who are interested in the content first and foremost, and are then led to take action elsewhere. Unlike “guiding,” this step involves two separate processes that are distinct from one and other.

Now, these may be concurrent or not. For example, you can funnel traffic to another page, or through a multi-step process where one only occurs after the first has been completed. Such as with optin pages, or what is often referred to as “reversed optin.”

For example, we see this in part with product launches that deliver content beforehand to increase exposure, create interest, and build lists of eager subscribers who are later notified when the product is launched and the sales copy published.

But whether it’s concurrent or consecutive, when you really think about it you are still directing your visitors, are you not? So the content acts like copy, to some degree. It’s still calling for some kind of action, even if it’s to get people to read more.

3. Newsifying

This third step is where the two blend.

The term “newsifying” means turning copy into some kind of newsworthy piece — such as copy that tells a good story, reads more like an article or editorial, or educates the reader whether they take action or not. It’s a salesletter in disguise, in other words.

Rather than adding copy to your content (as in “guiding,” above), in here you are doing the opposite. That is, you are adding content to your copy, or converting your copy into an informative, valuable, newsworthy piece in and of itself.

Even though the purpose is to elicit a response (a sale, in most cases), by making your copy read like an educational piece you also make it more palatable to both users and search engines — and perhaps even more so, since you’re not overtly promotional.

In other words, it appears as a softer sell, where the content doesn’t appear as an outright promotional or sales piece. But it’s not necessarily a “soft-sell” in all cases, too. You can newsify your copy and still be strong, hard-hitting, and benefit-rich.

For example, in my white paper, The Death of The Salesletter, I talk about the increasing popularity in copy that’s newsworthy, intriguing, and informative, rather than copy that’s overtly hypey, aggressive, and mimicking every other salesletter out there.

Tests show that salesletters providing valuable content in themselves are getting better results than salesletters that appear salesy, over the top, and patronizing. These look less like salesletters and more like articles or editorials (think “advertorials”).

Here’s a forinstance: you sell an information product on how to reduce stress. Rather than a salespiece that extols the virtues of stress reduction and the benefits of owning your product, you can write a free report on 16 tips for relieving migraines without drugs.

While the report talks about how to relieve headaches naturally, it connects with the effects of stress and how reducing it can help. Later, you introduce your product.

People will not only understand the real problem behind most headaches and become better educated on all the other effects caused by stress, but also understand the benefits of reducing it, and therefore the benefits of owning your product and ultimately buy it.

(Of course, I’ve just pulled this example out of thin air for illustration purposes only. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But hopefully, you get the picture.)

Anyway, this is just one example. There are so many different ways of doing this. In the above scenario, you write content that logically fits with your product or market.

But you can also pull one topic from the many covered in your product, offer content that teases your audience to want to know more, or provide content that’s separate from your product but proves it, supports it, or emphasizes any of its key benefits.

(These articles are mini-salesletters in disguise, in other words.)

Nevertheless, the answer to the initial question is to use one of the above three steps. But in the end, keep in mind that we don’t — and shouldn’t — write for the search engines. Not really. Even when we do or think we do, we are still writing for the visitor.

Search engines exist primarily to help people find information. So the sacrifice, in many cases, is caused not by writing more for one or the other, but when we stray from either one by failing to focus on our audience and instead focus too much on ourselves.

Because I believe the more you focus on what people want and give it to them, the easier it will be to get both the search engines and your visitors to do what you want.

After all, it’s all copy.

Can Copy And Content Commingle? originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

In the wake of rumored proposals to regulate the web, in 1999 the CRTC, comparable to America’s FCC, officially declared that the Internet is not a broadcast medium.

Now, that ruling was significant for many reasons.

Technically, the Internet is a medium. But the government based its decision on the fact that the web is interactive with its audience — unlike other unidirectional, one-way broadcast media such as the TV or radio. As a result, regulators concluded the Internet could therefore police itself.

(The “Net Neutrality” debate of late is a perfect example that it is different.)

Nevertheless, my point here is not a political one but a marketing-related one.

Unlike traditional media, the Internet is both user-driven and transactional. Active and interactive. Dynamic and conversational. Particularly in this age of Web 2.0. You can say that, in many ways, the Internet is more of a process than it is a medium.

And that this is reflected not only in its benefits but also its unique challenges. For one, its biggest limitation is the lack of tangibility. People cannot physically inspect the products they are buying like they can in a retail environment, for example.

Sure, you can easily develop rapport when meeting clients face-to-face, answer their questions on the spot, and allow your products to undergo their close scrutiny.

But on the web, those abilities are nonexistent.

That’s why copy has a greater job online than offline. Greater than most people think. Other than communicating the emotions that empower people to buy, and directing them to take some kind of action, copy must also develop a level of trust with customers.

You might say, “Sure, you must build trust.” But it’s a lot tougher in an intangible world!

The question is, should the responsibility rest solely on the words you choose? Not necessarily. Granted, with the growing popularity of video and new technology that allow more interactivity with sales copy, the Internet is becoming far more effective.

I talked about these in depth in my white paper, “The Death of The Salesletter.” Plus, some of them require quite a bit of technical savvy. So I won’t go over these here.

For now, let’s take a look at some of the easiest and most efficient ways to tangibilize and dimensionalize your sales copy using some very simple elements.

First off, we are predominantly visual. Our brains are wired in such a way that they translate what they’re being told into their visual equivalent. And they do so unconsciously.

Whether it’s books, cookware, vitamins, jewelry or even software, let pictures do some of the selling for you. As the old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Stated differently, texts tell but pictures sell. Give them a visual idea of what they get.

For example, add a scan of your book’s cover and table of contents (like Amazon.com does), thumbnail pictures of your necklace line, a photograph of your vitamin bottles, or a 3-D graphic box shot of your software package (even if it’s digital and downloadable).

In short, give something people can visually appreciate.

Sure, videos would be the most effective way to accomplish this. But don’t forget low-tech ways, too. You can simply take your product out, put it on a table (preferably with a white tablecloth or background), and take a snap with your digital camera.

Do just like you would do if you were to sell your product on eBay or any other auction site, for example. (In fact, listings with pictures are proven to get more bids.)

However, a caveat: don’t overdo it!

Don’t go loading your site with graphics.

Remember, copy is more important. There must be a balanced mix of text and pictures. Also, pictures provide “eye gravity” and draw the eyes into the copy to get people to start reading it in the first place. But copy is more important. So use graphics judiciously.

Use thumbnails (i.e., smaller-sized pictures that can be enlarged when clicked). That way, your graphics will remain small and compressed for quicker downloads.

Plus, whether it’s physical or digital, have your packaging and covers professionally designed. The design is just as crucial in the trust-building process, because like it or not, people do judge books by their covers. Otherwise, you look smarmy or scammy.

I don’t say this lightly, either. If your cover art doesn’t communicate professionalism, value, credibility, and trust, it will be counterproductive and work against you.

Some people frown on the use of ecover art, especially with digital downloads. But tests show that they do improve response. My take is that people say this because most covers are poorly designed, and often accompanied by really poor copy.

(Here’s a great parody of most online salesletters these days that proves my point.)

What if you sell a service? Graphics still help. Take a picture of you in action delivering your service, possibly with a client. Or take one that represents the benefits or results of your service, such as before-and-after shots. Or include photos of happy clients.

But whether you sell a product or a service, logos are just as powerful.

Adding a logo that represents your company, website, product, or service, and especially its main benefit not only gives it an element of tangibility, but also communicates credibility, professionalism, trustworthiness, quality, and higher perceived value.

The lack of a logo on the other hand, or even worse the presence of a poorly designed one, makes you look “cartoonish,” as my friend Armand Morin would often say. A poorly designed, cartoonish logo would cause people not to take you seriously.

Here’s a tip: I often use Design Outpost for my ecovers, website designs, graphics and logos. You post your requirements, and designers will create mockups in an effort to bid for your business. You only pay for the work you select.

Also, graphs and charts also help to make the service more appealing because they can help to emphasize the benefits that your service offers. Add a graphic that communicates something important that’s relevant to your market and to the sale.

(Just look at some of the comparison charts and competitive analyses software developers use in their copy, often in tabular format, where you can see the superior features and benefits of the software, at a glance, or what’s included versus what’s not in others.)

Also, try to “samplify” your offer or your copy.

If your product or service can be sampled in some way, then great. But if they cannot be sampled somehow or if you prefer to avoid offering samples or trials, then provide an illustration or a visual representation that people can sink their teeth into.

Speaking of samples, screenshots are just as effective.

Screenshots can also be used in tours, demos, and above all, case studies, and testimonials. In addition to adding an element of proof to your copy, screenshots also can be used to provide examples, descriptions and illustrations to a point you’re making.

(I use SnagIt almost religiously and wherever I can in my copy.)

However, if your product can indeed be sampled somehow, choose the live version instead. Samples, free or limited trials, and live demos or tours help consumers to get a taste of what you’re selling before they make their decisions to actually buy.

Samples sell, not only because most of the time they’re free, but also because they help to reassure the client and communicate the value of what is being considered.

Virtually all products and services can, in some way, shape, or form, be sampled. Because of their nature, websites offer a plethora of possibilities. For instance:

• A software can be turned into a time-limited shareware download.
• A free online media kit can be presented to a potential advertiser.
• A free online consultation can show a consultant’s expertise.
• An initial assessment or needs analysis can reduce buyer skepticism.
• A publisher can offer a few free chapters from their books.
• A real estate agent can offer free online property assessments.
• An exercise equipment seller can offer a free ebook on exercise tips, perhaps how to exercise more effectively, particularly using the equipment they’re selling.
• A cookware seller can offer free recipes using the cookware.
• Ad nauseum.

But what if you have nothing to offer for free? If so, offer a more economical alternative. A cheaper, scaled down version of what you offer is like a paid sample. A loss leader.

Sure, it’s a downsell. But offering a cheaper alternative can entice customers, whether immediately or over time, into buying the central or more expensive product or service.

But these “paid samples,” so to speak, do a lot more than that. They also help penetrate new markets, prequalify customers, and build on your customers’ lifetime value.

But let’s say you can’t add pictures, offer samples, or sell cheaper alternatives. What else can you do? In that case, another element you can certainly use — one you should use in any event — is adding an “FAQ” (i.e., a frequently asked questions section).

FAQs are powerful. A section offering stock answers to common questions also help to tangibilize the user’s experience, handle potential objections, and alleviate doubt about the product or service. (Just like a live sales representative would, for example.)

Sure, you could answer questions strategically in your copy, and should do so throughout — particularly in sections where specific objections are bound to crop up.

By adding this extra section and lumping answers together, they are not only easier to spot — whether they appear on the sales page or on a separate page altogether — but also clustered for greater impact. They can alleviate many questions in one fell swoop.

Plus, an FAQ offers another benefit many don’t realize. It may answer questions customers can have later on, after the sale and not necessarily at the time of purchase.

Your answers can more than reduce reduce customer support requests. They can also reduce post-purchase doubts and buyer’s remorse (also known as “cognitive dissonance”), which often needlessly lead to complaints, returns, and refunds.

You can certainly link to a separate FAQ page for offering further details. But I like to keep my clients riveted to the sales copy. That’s why I usually embed the FAQ section within the copy, or put them at the end of the page, likely in its own “P.S.”

(It’s also important to note that, other than the sales copy, if you have an optin page and lead generation process, having an FAQ within your follow-up autoresponder sequence is also a great sales strategy. It should be included in your autoresponder cycle.)

If you don’t have a list of common questions already, ask yourself:

• “What are the most common questions people have about me, my product, my service, my business, my company, or my website? What answers do I offer repetitively?”
• “What are the most common misconceptions about them?”
• “What are they mostly confused about and have some difficulty understanding, even though I address them in my copy? What has the potential of being confusing?”
• “What are some of the most common objections people have or may have about my product or service? What can keep them from buying my product or service?”
• And, “What kinds of objections would I get (and how would I answer them) if I sold my product or service in the offline world? Face to face? Or in a store somewhere?”

Of course, it goes without saying that your copy should offer the usual suspects: testimonials with full names; strong guarantees; good, clear copy; easy-to-find contact information; a real, physical address, and clear, straightforward instructions.

But the more tangible the buying experience is, and the more senses you engage, the more people will buy. Anything you can do to make the sales experience more comfortable, easy, and secure will definitely impact your response rate in positive ways.

In the final analysis, people hate parting with their hard-earned money. And the buying process in this digital world can be a hurdle for most customers — let alone vendors.

But by giving something customers can see, appreciate, and “chew on,” you can lower that hurdle considerably. And of course, increase sales tremendously as a result.

Tangibilize Your Copy To Increase Response originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

He’s an aspiring copywriter and wants to build his own freelance copywriting business. When he read that I wrote copy for free when I started my career as a copywriter, he told me he was thinking about doing the same.

However, he wondered if he should ask for something, anything, in return. In fact, here was his question…

“Mike, my friends have a very small business, and they have asked me to do copy for them. They say they can’t really pay me that much. I have told them I will do it for free as long as I get rights to the copy and can use it for a reference and in my portfolio. I think this is a wonderful opportunity to get more experience, but my wife wants to see some money on the table.

“I value your opinion. Can you help?”

Here was my answer.

Asking for a concession in exchange for offering one is always the way to do it. While I believe your trade-off is good in principle, it’s still meager. I would consider some money — or some larger concession on the part of the client. Here’s why…

Writing salescopy completely for free is never good. I know from personal experience. What you should be looking for is a return on your “investment” (because writing copy for free is indeed an investment on your part), for two reasons:

• To stop potential nibbling, grinding away your time and resources. If getting such a valuable service for free was that easy, they are left wondering, “What else can get for free?” It’s illogical, but they feel cheated if they don’t get more.
• And to add value to your services (because doing something supposedly of high value for free paints a low perceived value and makes you, or the services you provide and especially the final product you create, look cheap).

In essence, there’s a disproportionate balance between the value of your service and the value of the concession you’re making, which will inevitably harm you.

So the goal is, you want to take the focus away from a trade-off based on free copy to one based on a concession: apples to apples, or value for value, in other words.

Otherwise, it can lead to a few problems once the service is rendered — problems that will be more difficult to resolve if not impossible than they are to prevent.

For one, the person could ask you for more, and more, and then more, slowly nibbling away at your time, your money, and your resources. They feel they can get more since it was so easy. Again, it seems paradoxical. But that’s how your clients will react.

(It’s manipulation. While some will do this conspicuously, others will do this indirectly, nudgingly, and subtly, often even without your knowledge — especially if they’re friends of yours, since your willingness to help will also make it easier for them to do so.)

I know this from personal experience.

Early in my career, I’ve written copy for free for clients who, after delivering it, kept asking for small tweaks, here and there, all the time. I never got paid for the extra work.

The worst part was, this happened more often with clients whose copy I wrote for free, or copy offered at a substantial discount after they haggled with me on price.

Even in those cases, when there was a signed contract, they still found ways around it, and continued to ask me for more concessions after the copy was delivered.

Trust me. I’ve been in these situations too many times.

One of my favorite speakers is Larry Winget, author of “Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life!” and “You’re Broke Because You Want to Be.” On his program, “Success is Your Own Fault,” Larry quotes the Sanborn Maxim, which goes:

“The customers who are willing to pay you the least will always demand the most.”

(Re-read it. That statement is profound. It certainly was for me.)

Nevertheless, the problem is that there is a “concession mismatch.” Stated differently, the perceived value of each concession is not equal to each other.

It’s not because the copy is free but because it is free and what you’re asking for in return is meager when compared to the larger concession you’re making — the concession being a finished, completely written piece of sales copy.

Look at it this way: offering copy for free is like a marketing investment. (That’s how I looked at it.) But if you offer copy for, say, $2,000, would you therefore spend $2,000 on a single ad to market your services just to get that one client? Of course not.

Psychologically, by writing copy for free you are not adding enough value to your concession. More importantly, you are literally taking value away from your product.

Think about it. By making your end-product the concession itself, then the perception will be that the end-product will be of low value, too. Why? Because the concession they are making, in exchange, is meaningless in comparison. You get what you pay for, right?

Sure, building your portfolio is important to you. But giving you the ability to add their copy to your portfolio is worth how much to your client? How big of a concession is that to them? What are they really giving up in return? In many cases, not much.

Since you are not asking the client to make a significant concession in exchange for your concession, then you’re not only devaluing what you offer but also yourself.

To be clear, asking for tradeoffs is good and you’re doing well in asking for one. It adds value to any concession you’re making by always asking for something in return.

Never make a concession, even if it’s as simple as a discount, without asking for one in exchange. Call it a “counter-concession.” This is nothing new. Most of the top negotiating experts out there, like Roger Dawson and Herb Cohen for instance, teach this.

This is an important concept to grasp, even if they’re friends of yours: the perceived value of the service depreciates immediately after the service is rendered.

Why is this important? For one, if the copy doesn’t do as well as expected, who cares if you did it for free? (Your client certainly won’t.) But it goes further than that.

If all you had were rights to the copy and it did perform well, and if anything should happen between you two, would you ever consider stopping your friend from using your copy? Even to the point of sending them a cease and desist, or taking legal action?

Friendships notwithstanding, would you be willing to work twice as hard trying to satisfy an insatiable client when you could be working on other, better, paying clients?

It’s something to think about.

Asking for a larger concession before work starts helps to stop the potential grinding-away process after the copy is delivered. If they try, then each time they ask for a concession you in turn ask for one. Always ask for a counter-concession. Always.

Plus, by asking for a substantial concession in the beginning, you also increase the perception that each counter-concession you will ask with each one they request from you will be just as large, which will force them to think twice before nibbling for more.

If they are demanding (and cheap clients usually are), ask yourself:

“Am I prepared to do two to three times the work, deal with a high-maintenance client, and divert my attention away from other, paying clients (let alone away from marketing my services in order to find better clients), for a mere addition to my résumé?”

On the other hand, making a balanced concession — giving a discount instead of doing it for free, for example — will increase your perceived worth. And a good way to do this is to raise your fees. Raising your prices is not just about increasing perceived value.

By raising your fees and giving a more substantial concession will allow you to ask for a larger concession from them in return. So ask for something upfront, even if it’s little.

Say: “I understand this may be out of your budget range. In exchange for a special consideration (a discount), may I suggest (whatever concession you want them to make).”

Even better, let them make their counter-concession for you. They might surprise you, as it might be a lot more than you anticipated. Say something like: “In exchange, what can you do for me?” Then let them tell you what they’re prepared to offer you in return.

(Incidentally, doing it this way also gives you a pretty good idea of what they think of you, and how much value they place in your services and your copy.)

Ultimately, your copy no longer becomes the object of the tradeoff. Your consideration — e.g., a discount or whatever concession you’re making — is. Apples to apples.

Also, don’t limit yourself to a discount. You can offer a bonus (such as an extra revision, free of charge), an extra consultation, an extended guarantee, an add-on service (such as writing the opt-in page copy, formatting, or even testing the copy), and so on.

That’s why the key is to breakdown and denominate each component of your service — from research to revisions. In other words, give each component a price tag. Sure, give a flat rate. But break the project down into individual parts, with individual values.

Not only will each element have a price tag, which can be used in the negotiation, but also it will help to justify your higher fees. It will seem less “pulled out of thin air.”

When a prospect sees the value behind every individual component, they also get a better appreciation of what you do, how you price your work, and how much they are truly getting if you were to concede on any one of those elements.

For example, if a client asks for a discount, you can say: “As you can see Mrs. Prospect, your project includes one post-delivery revision, which is worth $1,000, absolutely free of charge. Here’s what I can do. I can throw in an extra one. Fair enough?”

In the end, you add weight to your tradeoff, and your copy thus retains its value.

On the flip side, your client’s concession doesn’t have to be just a mere addition to your portfolio, which is minimal at best. (In fact, adding your copy to your portfolio should be automatically included in your agreement with any copy you write, anyway.)

Remember, you want to match their concession with yours. Better said, you want to match the perceived value of both your concessions. Perceived value is key.

So here’s another option. Ask for royalties or commissions. You can offer your friends a significant concession in exchange for a percentage of gross sales your copy produces, for as long as they use your copy if not for a predetermined period of time.

If royalties are not an option (particularly if you’re new, or if you don’t know the client or their business well enough), you can ask for other things. For example, you can barter — in fact, bartering is often the most overlooked negotiation strategy.

Or have them write a testimonial about you, get them to give you quality referrals, or ask them to send a broadcast to their lists promoting you. The trick is to get this in writing, and to ensure they deliver their end of the deal within a specific period of time.

Remember, the perceived value of your service — including the perceived value of the concession you’re making — depreciates immediately after the service has been rendered. The longer they wait to comply, the less meaningful your concession becomes.

That’s why this is preferably specified in a written agreement before work begins.

If they they fail comply within a specified period of time, then you can charge them your full fee — or for the amount of the concession, if they already paid you (have an agreement in place before work starts, so you will have legal recourse to do so).

In fact, having a written agreement prior to commencing any work is essential. Get it in writing, even if it’s a simple letter of understanding or intent. When it’s written down, it’s more than just for legal reasons. It’s also a psychological commitment.

Finally, remember that it’s better to negotiate on a concession (whether it’s a discount or not) than it is on the entire copy itself — such as by offering it for free.

If they want apples, stick with apples. Not oranges. And certainly not the orchard.

How to Negotiate Better Copywriting Fees originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Some of them come from guru-bashing naysayers who hate marketing, which I always take with a grain of salt.

But some are intelligent, mature, and commonsensical. They are interesting because I believe that, while negative feedback does have its place, it’s often misplaced.

Here’s why. They blame long copy when all too often it’s not the copy’s fault. More importantly, it’s not because of the length. Let’s get something clear off the bat: long, Ginsu-like copy does work. It has always worked. It will always work. And it’s here to stay.

But (and it’s a big “but”)…

People object to them not because of what they say but how they say it. Take a look at the web. Noticed how it’s being used right now by many wannabe copywriters or naive marketers? Tons. They are the culprits — not the process.

(Actually, their lack of sales and writing skills is the culprit.)

There’s an interesting point to make in all this.

Some people are muddying the facts with secondary objections that are misleading — although some of these objections are appropriate, as some salesletters are indeed too long, boring and hypey. But they are confused with the real issue, here.

There’s a difference between short copy and brief copy. Between long copy and long-winded copy. Between pithy copy that may still be long and short copy that’s curt, leaves the reader hanging, and doesn’t tell enough to make the sale.

Back to The Point…

In its defense, some have used the excuse that the sale is the ultimate result. Nothing else matters. And that those objecting to “crappy” copy are not prospects, and make the error that the copy is not meant for them and therefore they have no right to object.

Yes and no.

We can all say that “conversion is queen,” and that “someone who objects is usually not targeted for the offer.” In some cases, that may very well be true. But in many cases, I beg to differ. And I’ll tell you why in a moment…

But I also believe that, most of the time, the obvious, “hypey,” used-car approach used in copy has really nothing to do with the hype itself but everything to do with the fact that the owner (or the copywriter) doesn’t know how to sell. Period.

Why do brazen, used-car salesmen have such a stigma, when some have shattered sales records selling and even reselling cars over and over to the same people? Like Joe Girard, for example, the Guinness Record holder for selling the most cars?

You see, it’s not the approach. It’s the people.

Specifically, it’s the lack of sales and persuasion skills.

Hype may have a negative connotation. But when used properly and blended with interesting, riveting copy, as well as powerful stories (I call this “storyselling“) and targeted to the right people, is often disregarded or ignored.

In fact, when hyperbole is used properly, most readers will look at hype as “passion,” “caring,” “empathy,” “personality,” “conversational,” etc. Not “hype.”

When people object to crappy copy, they’re not objecting to the fact they are using long, hypey, direct marketing. Even though it may seem that way. They are objecting to the poor salesmanship on the part of the writer or marketer.

Specifically, on their poor use of long, hypey copy — and not the pitch itself.

You see, use this approach properly, and people will downplay the hype. But use it improperly, and you will lead people, including prospects, to see right through it and conclude that it is indeed just a bunch of hype. And therefore, a load of crap.

(And by extension, they’ll also believe that the product and the business behind it are just as crappy. Naturally. I call this a “UPA,” or an unconscious paralleled assumption.)

It’s Psychology, Pure And Simple.

For example, some people point out copy that say things like, “to be honest, Ms. Prospect…” “frankly, I’m puzzled,” or, “I’m going to be flat-out truthful with you, Mrs. Prospect, and tell you something [that's going to blow your socks off],” blah, blah, blah.

And they equate this tactic to be the sign of poor copy.

As you know, I used to be a sales trainer in a former career. Sales training says you should never to say, “to be honest,” “to be frank,” or “to be truthful with you.” Because, unconsciously, prospects will think you must be dishonest if you need to say it.

They think, “Gee, was he dishonest until now?”

Like in sales training, they tell you that instead it’s best to say, “to be candid with you,” “to be open with you,” “to be forthright with you,” or “to be more to the point with you.”

They’ve been teaching this in Sales 101 for ages!

But that’s semantics. In my opinion, I believe you certainly can say “honest” and so on, as long as you are not perceived as trying to “pull a fast one.”

If you are and, more importantly, if you appear genuine, empathetic, and passionate, then it becomes part of a normal, natural conversation — not a blatant, hypey sales pitch, where anything you say makes you look incredulous or suspect.

Anyway, it’s just one very small example of poor sales skills. Which translates into poor copy. Which inevitably leads to these kinds of objections.

Now, to The Other Points.

Personally, I do think much of the copy on the web these days downright suck. I’m not talking about the typical bland, professional, corporatespeak that makes you yawn. I’m referring to some people’s dismal attempt at long, hard-hitting, “grab-their-money” copy.

Often, it’s understandable. It’s an attempt by the marketer or copywriter to “copy” the Ginsu-like style of hard-hitting copy for their own offers.

Whether they’re swiping or mimicking them, if they don’t understand the principles of good salesmanship, they often do it all wrong. In the end, it’s those kinds of salesletters that make all long, hard-hitting sales copy look bad.

For example, they pack their copy with adjectives, superlatives, adverbs, and carnival-barking, snakeoil verbiage that makes you cringe in horror with every passing sentence.

You know the kind, right?

“Get my super-fast, heart-pumping, stunningly lightning-fast, jack-hammer-powered, amazingly sweet, orgasmic, googley-eye-inducing, whiz-bang widget right NOOOOOOWWWW!!!”

Some people say it insults their intelligence.

It’s not the fact that it insults prospects’ intelligences. It’s the fact that, if we feel it does, it means the writer didn’t do his job, didn’t know the product well enough, and laced their copy with superlatives because they don’t know how to write or how to sell.

I once interviewed my friend Gary Halbert, one of the best copywriters in the world before he passed away. And he said it best. To paraphrase, he said something like this:

“Copy that tries to make a freakin’ explosion is going to turn people off and makes the pitch so unbelievable simply because the writer doesn’t know what the heck he/she is doing. Period.”

Then I interviewed John Carlton, who said something similar. It all comes down to passion, persuasion, influence, psychology, and the power of storytelling — otherwise, it ends up with superlative-laden, used-car vernacular that makes you want to puke.

Bottom Line, It Comes Down to This…

• Know your product.
• Know your audience.
• Know how to sell (i.e., how to connect the first two).

The web has made it possible for the proliferation of wannabes, or marketers who don’t know their product enough (from their prospects’ perspective, that is) who attempt to write copy that mimics cheesy late-night informercials.

Let me repeat it: the Ginsu approach does work when it is used properly.

(And in many, many, many cases, it is not.)

In that interview mentioned earlier, John Carlton talked about passion and salesmanship in copywriting. People who use this kind of adjective-laden copy are simply not skilled in selling, and haven’t truly woken their “inner salesperson” to sell really well.

Usually, there’s no hook, no empathy, no eye-grabbing copy, no real benefits, no reasons why, and above all, no story. So, since the writer didn’t do their job, they often resort to adjectives and adverbs simply because they have nothing else to work with.

I could go on and on, but I am getting sick and tired of poor copy — particularly poor copy giving good copy (and good copywriters) a bad name. I see this all the time, with my copy critiques as well as some of the offers I come across on the web.

It’s not poor copy.

It’s Poor Selling.

Now, someone also said that, while we can bitch and complain about crappy copy, it really boils down to understanding two different marketing approaches — i.e., a marketer’s choice of approach to fit short-term or long-term goals.

That is, they can choose between the get-your-money, go-for-the-jugular, aggressive direct marketing kind, and the relationship-driven, good-customer-service, warm-fuzzy, branding kind. (And thus, there’s copy that appeals to both, respectively to the hard-hitting hype, versus the soft-selling editorial style.)

My take? It doesn’t have to be a choice, really.

I agree with the spirit of what they said. Since direct marketing is so quick, direct, and measurable, it is an opportunity for people to jump in, hit ‘em hard, and make a quick buck — and for some, run out of town. (The latter is a true snakeoil salesman.)

But, I just want to point out something, perhaps not to differ but to clarify. An my point is that, while it’s true in some cases, it’s not true in all the cases.

Many direct marketing companies who use hard-hitting copy and aggressive sales approaches have also created strong relationships, solid brand equity, great customer service, and powerful name recognition for themselves, too.

But they achieved it as a byproduct, not as a distinct goal.

They simply decided not to spend millions of dollars on ad agencies to build their brands, take huge risks, or work really hard (and wait a long time) using soft-sell techniques to create the much-needed word of mouth.

(Why? Because branding, publicity and relationship-building is risky business, because it’s not accountable, justifiable, or as measurable as direct marketing.)

And “short-term” direct marketers, as they were referred to, who use hard-hitting, seemingly “hypey” copy are not just in it for the quick buck.

Granted, some are. And granted, some companies have indeed taken the low-key approach and succeeded amazingly fast without using any hard-hitting copy.

But they succeeded for many other reasons: they’ve created a highly in-demand product or a new product with a great twist. They’ve used niche marketing, buzz creation, viral marketing, or guerrilla marketing. Or they’ve developed a cult following, etc.

Take Google, For Instance.

They “did” it with almost no advertising or hard-selling.

But just after their record-breaking IPO hit Wall Street, the Chief Exec of Marketing Communications — also said to be the brainchild behind Google’s marketing success — is resigning over differences with the company, who’s now looking into going “Madison-Avenue” style of million-dollar ad-agency advertising.

Now, something important needs to be said…

Building relationships should be the aim of every marketer. But I think there’s a distinction between creating relationships as a byproduct of good customer service versus relationship-only marketing that strives to create a brand name and image.

The latter is often expensive, time-consuming, and risky. Of course, it may indeed work. If the long-term, brand-focused business is lucky enough to make it work, the success shifts into cruise-control, and no longer requires a lot of work, time or money.

(However, that success is not permanent. There are maintenance costs involved. Because they eventually will have to fight off competition, spend more money to keep the brand alive, penetrate new markets to keep revenues leveled, etc.)

As for direct marketers being strictly “short term,” I don’t think so.

Maybe it’s a short-term approach in terms of results or campaign efforts. And maybe it’s true in some cases. But not all direct marketers have the goal of staying short-term… of making a quick sale and bailing out like some snakeoil salesman.

How many direct marketers out there have used hard-selling copy, and created great brands and name recognition, and even used their controls — their old yet ubiquitous, hard-hitting ads — for years and years? Lots. Mucho lots.

Look at DAK, Ronco, Ginsu, TimeLife, as well as salesletters and ads that are old and still running to this day: oldies like the Charles Atlas ad, to fairly newbies like Jeff Paul’s advertorial-style salesletter, “Making $4,000 a day at your kitchen table in your underwear.” (Which is still running, what, for over a decade, now?)

Blame The Copywriter, Not The Copy originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

You can hide content on the same sales page, making the page look shorter and less intimidating. And only desired content appears depending on a user’s choices.

What does using this tactic help to do?

In some cases, people break salesletters down into various pages, and add links to them in the letter. I don’t recommend this with long-copy salesletters. Traditionally, I recommend that the extra content opens up in a pop-up window instead, as to not distract.

But with this tactic, and other than the potential for personalization, which is its biggest benefit, it means that people reading a salesletter don’t have to be bothered by…

1. Opening up annoying pop-ups;
2. Being distracted such as opening another page, where you run the risk of them never coming back to the salesletter or, worse yet, come back but having lost the momentum they’ve gained by reading to that point;
3. Or being intimidated by the appearance of a v-e-e-e-r-r-r-r-y long letter when they really don’t need all of it, which may lose readers before they even begin reading.

This process, called "toggling", is done with a simple bit of javascript code and CSS.

Essentially, you insert the content you wish to hide between two <div></div> tags in the HTML code, and make it hidden using CSS (i.e., “cascading style sheet”).

When people click on a link, the content “unhides” and opens up on the same page. The link doesn’t have to be near the content. It can be anywhere on the same page.

Links are not the only triggers, either.

If the user performs any kind of action, whether it’s clicking a link or an image, scrolling to a specific area of the page, watching a video or audio, or pressing a form button (like a submit, checkbox or radio button, for example), it can still work the same.

Admittedly, I’ve seen some truly creative, out-of-this-world ways of applying this. I call them “smart salesletters.” But this tactic is just a very basic way of doing it.

And it won’t work on javascript-disabled browsers — I’ve seen slick Flash salesletters accomplish this better. But it will work on 98% of browsers out there, if not more.

Keep in mind, more and more browsers have pop-up blockers than they do have their javascript disabled. So this technique is the lesser of two evils.

Bottom line, toggling content as a basic way of interaction is really simple and possibly the easiest way to make readers interact with salesletters.

But granted, not everyone is a techie. I’m certainly not. So to help you, here’s some coding and a bit of a tutorial to help you. (And what follows is just a basic example I copied from some tutorials available online. There are tons of these out there.)

If you have a basic understanding of HTML, this will be relatively easy. First, add a bit of javascript code in the page’s HTML <head> tags (just before the closing </head> tag):

<script language="javascript">
function showHide(element) {
if (document.getElementById) {
// W3C standard
var style2 = document.getElementById(element).style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
else if (document.all) {
// old MSIE versions
var style2 = document.all[element].style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
else if (document.layers) {
// Netscape 4
var style2 = document.layers[element].style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
}
</script>

Then, you add the style inside the page’s head tags or in your CSS stylesheet, if you’re using an external CSS file to manage all your styles, which hides the content:

div#hiddenContent {display: none;}

If you’re adding it directly to the web page, place this in between your <style> tags, inside the <head> tags as well. So the whole thing would look something like this:

<script language="javascript">
function showHide(element) {
if (document.getElementById) {
// W3C standard
var style2 = document.getElementById(element).style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
else if (document.all) {
// old MSIE versions
var style2 = document.all[element].style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
else if (document.layers) {
// Netscape 4
var style2 = document.layers[element].style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
}
</script>
<style>
<!--
div#hiddenContent {display: none;}
-->
</style>

That’s the hardest part.

Next, what you simply do is wrap the content you want to hide around “div” tags, and call it a name. A name is labeled “ID.” In this case, I called it “hiddenContent” so that it matches the style in your stylesheet, above. For example:

<div id="hiddenContent">
Blah, blah, blah.
</div>

Next, you need to determine which link will toggle the content. You can add this to any link on the page, like a question for instance, or to a link that specifically asks for the content, such as “click here to view the testimonials.”

All you do is add a javascript call to the link that tells the page to “unhide” the content placed between the “div” tags earlier. For instance, the link should look like this:

<a href="javascript:showHide('hiddenContent');">
Click here
</a>

And that’s it! You’re done.

Now, what if the content is not directly requested in the link, and the content simply “opens up” when another link, for anything else, is clicked? Simple. All you need to do is add the “onClick” string to the link of your choice.

Let’s say there’s a link to a section of the same page called “whatever.” These care called “bookmarks.” When someone clicks on that link and jumps to that bookmark, the hidden content also opens up. Here’s an example:

<a onclick="javascript:showHide('hiddenContent');" href="#whatever">
Whatever
</a>

You can add this to any link, including graphics, pages, or sections.

Again, this is not limited to links. You can use it with different mouse actions, such as “onSubmit,” “onMouseOver,” “OnScroll,” and others. There’s a javascript call for pretty much every mouse action a reader takes.

Plus, hiding and unhiding content are not the only things you can do — you can make content fly in, change (that is, unhide some content while hiding others), appear on other pages (usually using cookies), and much, much more.

Nevertheless, here’s a great example of it in action.

An opt-in landing page I worked on for Brian Keith Voiles offers a free report. The landing page was already quite wordy, and initially we had a link to the table of contents, which opened up in a separate window.

So rather than push people away, we decided to toggle the content on the same page. Simply scoll down about halfway, below where the testimonials are, and click on the link to the table of contents. When you do, it opens up on the same page.

Neat, huh?

Now, what if you have multiple areas you wish to hide/unhide, individually, on the same page? You don’t want all the hidden pieces of content to unhide simultaneously.

There is a way to do this.

If you are adding more than one area, then each section you wish to hide must have its own “div” with its own unique name (or ID), and its own corresponding link, so that the scripts can do its magic to that specific block of content and not the others.

In the link that will expand or contract the specific content, simply pass each ID individually. That way, by clicking on a specific link, it opens its related content. For example:

<a href="javascript:showHide('hiddenContent_1')">
Click here
</a>
<div id="hiddenContent_1">
Piece of content #1
</div>

And then for the other…

<a href="javascript:showHide('hiddenContent_2')">
Click here
</a>
<div id="hiddenContent_2">
Piece of content #2
</div>

And don’t forget to add the “div” style and its appropriate ID in the stylesheet for each section (you can have as many as you wish). For example:

<style>
<!--
div#hiddenContent_1 {display: none;}
div#hiddenContent_2 {display: none;}
-->
</style>

That’s all there is to it.

But, what if you want all the toggled content to hide or unhide with a single gesture, such as clicking a single link? In other words, you click on one link, and it opens up several if not all the pieces of content simultaneously?

Simply, name your “div” sections as above. Then add this Javascript function in the “head” tags, which loops through all of the “div” tags on the same page, and calls the existing “showHide” function on each one that it finds:

function showHideAll() {
var cCommonDivName = "hiddenContent_";
var arrDivs = document.getElementsByTagName('div');
for(i = 0 ; i < arrDivs.length ; i++) {
if (arrDivs[ i ].id.match(cCommonDivName)) {
showHide(arrDivs[ i ].id);
}
}
}

So your HTML, in the "head" tags, would look something like this:

<script language="javascript">
function showHide(element) {
if (document.getElementById) {
// W3C standard
var style2 = document.getElementById(element).style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
else if (document.all) {
// old MSIE versions
var style2 = document.all[element].style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
else if (document.layers) {
// Netscape 4
var style2 = document.layers[element].style;
style2.display = style2.display ? "" : "block";
}
}
function showHideAll() {
var cCommonDivName = "hiddenContent_";
var arrDivs = document.getElementsByTagName('div');
for(i = 0 ; i < arrDivs.length ; i++) {
if (arrDivs[ i ].id.match(cCommonDivName)) {
showHide(arrDivs[ i ].id);
}
}
}
</script>
<style>
<!--
div#hiddenContent_1 {display: none;}
div#hiddenContent_2 {display: none;}
div#hiddenContent_3 {display: none;}
-->
</style>
</script>

And you can call the function like so:

<a href="javascript:showHideAll()">
Toggle everything
</a>

And don't forget, you can also switch them, such as having the content visible and hide it once a user clicks on the link. Simply change the word "block" to "none" in the javascript, and "none" to "block" in the CSS' "div" style.

Want to see multiple links in action?

My friend Frank Deardruff, the creator of the AskDatabase.com software (a service I highly recommend, too), uses this script for his "frequently asked questions" page.

Frank also uses it for lengthy testimonials on his Webmaster Crash Course letter. Scroll about halfway down to the testimonials section, and go to the last one in the bunch.

It's from another friend of mine, professional photographer Mary Mazzullo, the lady with the camera in her hands. Click the "read more" link at the end of her testimonial.

(Mary, by the way, is not only the photographer we chose for our wedding, but also the one who took those new pictures of me. One of them is at the top of this website!)

Another great copywriter and friend of mine, Ray Edwards, uses it on a letter he wrote for Jack Canfield. He was able to fit the FAQs into the sales letter but still keep the letter feeling "lighter" on copy. (Just click in the "FAQs" link at the top.)

Aside from toggling testimonials, FAQs, and wordy blocks of content, you can use this technique in various ways. For example, you can do it with videos. If the video starts playing automatically, then the video will only start playing as the video opens up.

You will likely see more and more of this as time goes by. So keep your eyes peeled!

How to Make Salesletters Interactive originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

If there is something about which I’m pretty adamant, it’s the idea of attracting qualified prospects who are willing to do business with you. And this involves many different things.

Positioning is one of them. In fact, it has been one of my favorite marketing concepts for this very reason.

However, this fundamental magnetism is not only based on pure marketing practices or strategies. It also involves something at a much deeper level that is far more effective than any other marketing tool or process in existence.

This “thing” to which I am referring is, I believe, the most important marketing secret I can ever teach you — and it’s far from being a secret at all. It is considered as one simply because it is often neglected or ignored by many marketers and businesspeople.

What is this “secret” that’s so elusive?

Before I divulge it to you, I must first admit that it upsets me terribly to see when people tend to scoff their most valuable marketing assets. No, I’m not referring to salespeople or promotional activities. I’m not referring to prospects or clients, either.

I’m referring to love and passion.

The love they have for what they do, what they offer, and who they serve.

(Or the love they should have, anyway.)

Jack Trout and Al Ries, the fathers of positioning, once wrote: “Marketing is not a battle of products, but of perceptions.” Like it or not, marketing really is all about perception.

When I first started out in business, my mentor once told me something similar. He said, “Perceived truth is more powerful than truth itself.” Little did he know how this one statement affected me — and how it literally changed the way I look at business.

My business. My products. And particularly, my clients.

If people perceive doing business with you has an implicit added value, especially when compared to your competitors fiercely fighting for your market’s attention, you will often end up with their confidence, their business, and their loyalty as a result.

Of course, there are numerous ways you can add value to your business. Beyond applying fundamental marketing practices, you can and should find new and unique ways to differentiate yourself, increase your exposure, and promote your business.

But to me, the best marketing doesn’t rely on tactics.

To me, the most effective way to communicate added value is through the genuine, sincere, and passionate zest you have for what you do and the clients you serve.

People have a tendency to gravitate toward other people who love what they do — their enthusiasm, charisma, and authentic desire to serve others are instantly communicated through their actions and particularly their marketing efforts. No matter what they are.

Sadly, however, the marketplace is filled with so many people who jump into business for one sole purpose: Money. Granted, the economy might be to blame. But is it, really?

People work for a pension instead of a passion. Entrepreneurs are so profit-minded that they fail to enjoy the process. Marketers focus on how many sales they can achieve, but then wonder why they have to keep repeating the process to sustain their businesses.

I believe the real secret to success lies much deeper. In fact, the great mythologist, Joseph Campbell, said it best when he said that old cliché decades ago.

“Follow your bliss.”

But that saying is a lot older than you think. In fact, it was in 500 B.C. when Chinese sage Confucius said: “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

Since then, author Marsha Sinetar wrote: “Do what you love and the money will follow.” In his book, “Life 101,” Peter McWilliams claimed: “Do what you love and the necessary resources will follow.” I’ve read all those books and I agree with all of them.

However, I believe this concept can also be applied to business. That’s why I say…

“Do what you love and the business will follow.”

That’s the greatest marketing secret of all time. It’s to do what you love or to love what you do. And if you don’t love what you do, then find it. Make that your bliss.

As Jim Rohn once said, “If you don’t like where you are, then change it! You’re not a tree.” (And “where you are” may not always be limited to a physical location, either.)

Doing what one loves is a fundamental marketing process.

For example, when you deal with two people competing for your business, and if one of them has the “fire burning in their belly” (a genuine passion for what that person does), then how much more willing will you be to do business with that person than the other?

How much more believable and credible will that person be compared to the other? And most important, how much more value will that person bring to the table than the other?

Enough said.

People who love what they do generate far more word-of-mouth advertising. In subtle ways, they communicate that they are experts, that they are interested more in your needs than in your money, and that they will go out of their way to please you.

They develop far more enriching, rewarding, and superior customer relationships — let alone fans, referral-sources, and advocates for you, your products, and your business.

Entrepreneurialism has increased in fervor these days, and that’s good. But as a result, the hypercompetitive nature of the marketplace will in turn increase the demand for more uniqueness, more competitive value, and greater customer service.

However, if you do what you love or love what you do, your passion will communicate all of those things combined. It will come naturally and, I daresay, seemingly effortlessly.

Just as people choose to work in jobs they hate, many will choose a business or an endeavor that gives them absolutely no sense of purpose. They do it just for the money.

Workers will attempt to earn a living and do so with retirement in mind. Similarly, many entrepreneurs will start a business with the mere thought of financial independence.

In either case, they are anxiously awaiting those golden years when they will finally be able to start enjoying their lives. (The funny part is, the future is guaranteed to no one. So the key is to enjoy it now, not later. Because later may never come.)

But don’t confuse “enjoyment” with “love.” Doing what you love doesn’t always mean enjoying what you love. It does take work. Often, work you might not enjoy.

However, if your goal is to focus on creating a successful business, then do it at the service of others, not at the expense of others. Do what you love, and the business will follow. Love the people you serve, and the customers will follow. That’s the key.

Needless to say, if you do what you love in a business you enjoy, you will not only make money as a natural byproduct but also enjoy much happiness, satisfaction, joy, inner peace, and of all things, security in the process. And that’s what we really want, isn’t it?

Ultimately, your love will emanate in all that you do. You will naturally attract more business by the sheer fact that your passion is also communicating that you are offering the best solution to their problems. That solution is… you!

The Greatest Marketing Secret of All Time originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.

Since my coaching students also get access to any of my digital programs, they also get access to my Copy Doctor website, where I share over 50 hours of salesletter and copy critiques, recorded on video. It’s a great start.

But one student said something that struck me:

“I learn better by doing than by watching. Is there anything you can recommend?”

Great question. Some people are more visual (they learn better by watching), some are more aural or auditory (by hearing), others are more kinesthetic (by doing or feeling). And I also thought it would be a great question to cover on my blog. So, here goes…

#1: Courses

If you want some basic guidance to get you started, there’s a course I recommend, which is really popular and pretty well-rounded. It’s the Six-Figure Copywriting course by the American Writers And Artists Institute (AWAI). I own a copy myself, and it’s pretty good.

It’s a great primer if you’re just starting out and want to learn the fundamentals of writing good copy. There are some advanced topics, but I like it more for its basic training.

The reason I also recommend it is, for those kinesthetic students who prefer to do the work, which I applaud, the AWAI course offers assignments with the curriculum. And you get graded on those, too, and they give you feedback along the way.

(I’ve never handed in any work myself, so I’m not exactly sure how the process is done. But even with just buying the course, I’ve pulled a few gems and used them.)

One course I’ve co-authored and recommend is The Copywriting Success System with Ken Calhoun. This course offers training from basic to advanced, including understanding the writing process, formulas, and using tools to boost your chops.

In it, I also offer my formulas I recommend and personally use, such as my OATH formula (for determining the stage of awareness of your market), QUEST formula (the proper structure of a salesletter), FAB formula, the storytelling process, and more.

Finally, here’s a product I intimately know and highly recommend.

Daniel Levis is not only an amazing copywriter himself, but he also created a product that packages brilliant interviews with some of the best copywriters on the planet. He grills top names in the business — some of whom have never given interviews before.

Those interviews are worth the price of admission.

#2: Websites

Next, check out this blog and look on the right for “most popular posts.” It contains links to some of the most viewed articles, which I recommend for someone learning the ropes — including some of the formulas I talk about in my copywriting course above.

Another fantastic resource is Brian Clark, a lawyer-turned-copywriter who has some of the best copywriting articles online. His blog, CopyBlogger, offers an entire section called Copywriting 101, which contains articles I recommend to anyone just starting out.

I’m sure you also know about Gary Halbert’s repository of articles. There are tons of great stuff in there. Don’t forget my interviews with the late Gary Halbert on this blog.

There are many other sources, too. There are tons of copywriting blogs out there. Or ask other copywriters in popular forums. There are also copywriting forums, too.

But the very best learning process I’ve found, particularly for kinesthetics (and visuals alike), is to take a successful salesletter and write it out, word for word, by hand. This is by far the best way to learn because it enables you to internalize the information.

There are tons of copywriting newsletters out there, too. One I particularly love is John Forde’s Copywriters Rountable, of which I’ve been a subscriber for years. Some of these blogs and newsletters offer swipe files or examples you can easily copy by hand.

Another great way to get your hands on some of the best salesletters out there is to visit Clickbank’s Marketplace. Just click on the “Marketplace” link at the top of the page.

Look at some of the most popular items being sold. But don’t stop there. Check out the listings in your preferred category (I tend to check the “Marketing and Ads” section).

With each product they list, which are listed in order of rank (by sales and popularity), you get the actually sales copy link, with a number of useful stats to gauge how good the salesletter is — such as payouts, percentages, gravity score, and more.

Reason is, you want to do this exercise with only salesletters that are proven to sell.

#3: Books

Finally, let’s not forgot some of the most popular books on copywriting. Many of these are timeless classics, which all copywriters should have in their library. I certainly do.

There are quite a few of them. So rather than list them all here, let me share with you my top favorite ones. (I own a copy of all of these. And my copies are note-filled, dog-eared and heavily used. For good reason. So I highly recommend them.)

• Scientific Advertising (Claude Hopkins)
• The Robert Collier Letter Book (Robert Collier)
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Dr. Robert Cialdini)
• Breakthrough Advertising (Eugene Schwartz)
• Tested Advertising Methods (John Caples)
• On Writing (Stephen King)

Hopefully, these resources will get you started and point you in the right direction.

New To Copywriting? Start Here… originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.