Devised …
and Why It Fails So Spectacularly

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain and most fools do.”
Benjamin Franklin

Many years ago, I taught a class at the Learning Annex in New York City on how to make a six-figure income as a freelancer. One student, JR, wanted to break into writing TV commercials for Madison Avenue, and he had devised what was (according to him) a brilliant self-marketing strategy for getting hired.

In actuality, it was the second-worst self-marketing idea I’d ever heard in my life.

JR told the class that he had written some “brilliant” TV commercials.

The Super Bowl was only a few weeks away at the time. JR’s strategy was to show up at the offices of Madison Avenue’s biggest ad agency and show the copy for his commercials to the creative director.

Continue Reading »

Share This

     While I’m researching a project, I’m always on the lookout for “the big idea” … “the hook” … or for you English teachers out there – “the theme” – for my package.

     One way I hone in on my big idea is to answer this simple, yet powerful question:

     So what?

     In other words, what’s so great about your product? What makes it unique … desirable … and a MUST HAVE – RIGHT NOW? Usually when I can answer that question, I’ve found my big idea.

     For example …

     A few years ago, when I was researching a Co enzyme Q10 product, I discovered statin drugs drain your Coq10 levels. And CoQ10 is especially critical for your heart. So people taking statin drugs to prevent heart problems were actually DROPPING DEAD from heart attacks! 

     Kapow! Now, that’s what I call an answer to a “So what”!

     This became my big idea which led to this headline:

“The shocking truth about 
cholesterol-lowering drugs”

     Rob Davis, one of my all-time favorite designers, came up with a cover where you see the soles of a man’s shoes while he’s lying on the floor. It was a brilliant design – and the package KICKED BUTT!

     Sometimes you gotta dig really deep to find a powerful big idea. Last year, I worked on a product called “DIM” – a natural hormone balancing nutrient. 

     There was all kind of great scientific research on this product. So I thought I would go with that angle. But …

     … then I started reading the testimonials.

     There was one emotion that just kept rising to the surface: Fear. 

     These folks were scared to death of hormones. They didn’t understand what they were or why their bodies were out of whack.

     Aha!

Continue Reading »

Share This

 A few years ago, for an anniversary present, my husband Mick surprised me by replacing my car radio with a complete entertainment center.Now, you may not know this, but I’m a genuine “technophobe.” I’m scared of technology and all those dang blasted new gadgets. I was perfectly happy getting into my car and turning on my radio. In fact, if I had my way, I’d still be using 8-track tapes!

But when I went to look for my radio — I couldn’t find it. It was really GONE! There was a thingy in its place and I had no idea what that monstrosity was!

It took me over two hours to get a hold of my husband. Meanwhile, I was driving my car with no music – IN ABSOLUTE SILENCE - and I was fuming.

When he finally called me back, I was frustrated and furious and wanted to know what he did with my radio!

Continue Reading »

Share This

 by Daniel Levis

“Success is neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of  consistently applying basic fundamentals.”
– Jim Rohn

Dear Web Business Builder,

A veteran pilot would never dream of taking off without going over his or her pre-flight check list. And neither should you before driving traffic to your sales page. 

So in today’s issue of Web Marketing Advisor it’s back to basics, and a handy little checklist of copywriting essentials.

I invite you to print this page … grab a cup of what pleases ya … and work your way through the money pages on your most important campaigns …

1 – Is Your Headline Supported On These Four Pillars? 

Does it arouse relevant curiosity? Does it make a simple, easily understood, ultra compelling promise? Does it trigger the dominant motivating emotion you’ve identified in your research? Does it imply proof of promise?

Big secret: Your headline is the ad for your web page, NOT necessarily the ad for your product. Give people a reason to read other than to find out whether they may want to buy your product. Promise them great things if they’ll just STOP and consume your web page.

With this in mind, I normally write 25 headlines before I begin the body of the page. Then I’ll pick half a dozen or so that I think will work and test them. The best of the rest, I use as subheads sprinkled throughout the page to propel readership, and draw skimmers and skippers back into the copy as they move down the page.

2 – Does Your Headline Have The Look?

I most often find that headlines work best when they are centered on the page presenting a balanced appearance in terms of the shape they create. Sometimes encasing them in quotation marks can also serve to grab more attention.

Brevity is desirable. If there are words you can remove from your headline without weakening it, remove them. Where you break lines is also important …

You want maximum impact and momentum when your prospect collides with your headline. Anything that can enhance immediate comprehension will help your conversion. 

Each line of your main headline should contain a kernel of thought. 

Right way:

Grow Up To 1436% Richer 
In A World Gone Mad! 

Wrong way:

Grow Up To 1436% Richer In
A World Gone Mad! 

3 - Is Your Opening Provocative? 

Does it trip the reader, interrupting the internal turbulence of the day? Does it cut through the noise and enter the conversation your prospect has been having with himself about the area of concern you want to help him with? 

Continue Reading »

Share This

Here is  a blast-from-the-past  bold Idea  you can  model to create  perfect   landing  pages   for  your   products  and services….

40 years later,  Eugene Schwartz’s ad  in the Health  & Wellness market can still teach us a thing or two…

- The  irresistible “Try-Before-You-Buy”  offer.

-  The BIG Promise….

http://www.multiplestreammktg.com/ads/eugene_swartz_ad_1.html

After you’ve created your kick-butt landing page,  give us a call or visit our Advertising Special offer page here:

=> http://imttrack.com/t/c/msmedia/ral_sp/

Have an OUTSTANDING day!

Sincerely,
Abe Cherian
CEO, Multiple Stream Media, LLC.

Share This

I can only assume the reason why most email marketers receive messages from other email marketers, is to learn how to become more successful. Whatever the reason, I have to ask, what do you write about in your ad copy?

Here’s a few tips…

Grab them by the eyeballs: Seize your prospects attention with a powerful, benefit-based, emotionally driven headline.

Support your headline: In a short deck, expand upon your headline with a deck structure that drives it home in a powerful way.

Bribe them to read this: Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Blast-off any value-added information that you’re going to give them for free in the copy.

Get their juices flowing: Open with a powerful, emotionally driven, benefit-based paragraph or two.

Make them believe it: Add credibility elements, a series of paragraphs presenting statistics, expert endorsements, track record info or customer testimonials that prove you really can deliver the benefit.

Get back on track: You’ve demonstrated what you’ve done for others and what others say. Now it’s time to get back to talking about your prospect?s favorite person - YOUR READER.

Repeat your lead benefit and transition into your secondary product benefits, each written in a way that connects with the prospect’s most compelling resident emotions ? their dominant emotions.

If you have room, make each benefit a subhead, followed by two or three paragraphs of copy (or more) that is dimensional. If you’re cramped for space, turn each benefit into a bullet. If you?re somewhere in-between, lead with your strongest benefits as subheads with explanatory copy and bullet the rest.

Make the offer: Repeat your headlined benefit, allude to the others, present your offer, and justify your price.

Relieve risk, add credibility: Add your guarantee and point out that, since the prospect’s delight is a sure thing, they have nothing to lose.

Sum it up: Repeat your main headline benefit, the strongest secondary benefits, justify your price again, remind them of the guarantee and ask for the sale by getting the click!

Abe Cherian
CEO, Multiple Stream Media, LLC.

Share This

It is extremely important to keep accurate records in any form of email marketing. It is only through these records that you can determine which ads pull the best, which advertising lead is the most enticing, and how well your product or service is selling.

Good records are the follow-up of good testing!

Keep copies of all ads and conversion material in a spreadsheet or a reliable file. You may also include in that file, or a separate folder, a record of all of the addresses you have used. The separate records per addresses or publication will help you to compare which ads are bringing in the profits.

You may have your own way of filing these ad campaigns. You’ll need a separate document for each ad you place. At the top of the document, place the name of the publication the ad appeared in, the issue number or date, the date the issue was placed on sale, the address, the size and cost of the ad, which ad you used, and the price of the product or service. This will be needed to calculate your profits later.

The main body of the document has two main categories - inquiries and sales.

First, the number of days should be listed in a column at the left. These don’t necessarily coincide with the days of the month, rather, start with the first days responses came in.

The subheads under “inquiries” should be:

- Date Received
- Number Received
- Running Total

The subheads under “sales” should be:

- Number of orders received
- Running total
- Cash sales
- Running total for cash sales

These records will help you figure out the responses to ads, orders from sales copy, and how much money you’re making.

To calculate the cost per inquiry, divide the cost of the ad into the number of inquiries received.

To find the cost per order, add the total of sending the sales copy to the cost of the ad and divide that by the number of orders received.

The ratio of conversion is the number of orders compared to the number of inquiries. For example, if you get twenty orders from one hundred inquiries, the conversion is twenty percent.

How To Calculate Profit

This is total the amount of cash sales. That is your gross profit. Subtract the cost of the product or service, mailing, conversion of the ad. That is your net profit, the one that counts.

Just stick with it and you can watch your profits grow larger with each ad - each conversion - each sale.

Abe Cherian
CEO, Multiple Stream Media, LLC.

Share This