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Grab attention QUICKLY and NEVER LET GO.

10/30/2014

You could have the best copy in the world, but if nobody sees it. You have nothing.

But just how do you get their attention. Just how do you entice them, just how to get them to bite.

Well my friend, you have walked through the right door and met the right man for your inquiries.

Because I have 15 different tips to get their attention. 15 different tips to get your ads noticed. 15 different tips to entice them, 15 different tips to make them bite.

And I will give them to you now…

15 Ways to bring attention to your Advertising.

1. State the Offer

Here you give the offer they can’t refuse.

Free stuff. Free information.

Anything they need to make a buying decision.

·         The offer consists of the product for sale, its price, the terms of the sale (including discounts), and the guarantee.

·         If your offer is particularly attractive, you may make the offer—and not the product or its benefits—the theme of the letter.

2. Highlight the Free Literature

Here you highlight the free literature they get by following the Call-to-Action.

All theirs by giving an email. A phone #. An inquiry.

Giving them anything they need to learn more.

·         Generate inquiries by offering

o   Free brochure, booklet, catalog, or other piece of sale literature.

o   Stressing the offer and center the sales pitch around it

3. Make an Announcement

Here you announce something new.

Something exciting. Something they should want.

And announce what they need to know and do to get it.

·         Announce—a special offer, a new product, a new club, a one-of-a-kind event—start your letter with this important news.

4. Tell a Story

This is where you appeal to the fact everyone likes a good story.

You grab their attention with a story with action, romance, etc.

Ending with a cliffhanger, something they just can’t miss.

·         Use a narrative format to interest and help reader remember it.

·         For more on Telling a Story

5. Flatter the Reader

Let them know that even though it is a mailing list.

You care. You know their name.

And you appreciate everything they do for your business.

·         Make it personal.

·         Acknowledge the fact that they are from a mailing list, but an important group

6. Write to the Reader Peer-to-Peer

Write not as a writer, but someone who is the same.

Who knows the same highs. Knows the same lows.

Knows what it’s like to be them.

·         Peers are more receptive to a sales pitch from a peer than from an outsider.

·         Example: letters aimed at farmers should be signed by a farmer and written in the plain, straightforward language of one farmer talking to another.

7. A Personal Message from the President

Getting to talk to the man in charge is always better than speaking with his talking heads.

Give this experience to your customer with a personal message from him.

Signed and all official.

·         In direct mail, the owner or manager of a business can talk directly with his or her customers.

·         Customers like dealing with the person in charge. When the top person in your company signs the letter, it makes the reader feel important.

8. Use a Provocative Quote

Say something so profound or shocking that they can’t look away.

Then follow-through with the best copywriting in the world.

That way they have no way to escape.

·         Contain news, a startling statistic or fact, or say something outrageous.

·         Must raise a question or arouse curiosity to make the reader want to read

9. Ask a Question

Ask a question.

They will want to answer it or to find the answer.

Accommodate them.

·         Question leads are effective when the answer to the question is interesting or important to the reader, or when the question arouses genuine curiosity.

10. Make It Personal

Let them hear their name.

Speak to what they want to hear.

Make it as if you’re talking just to them

· Use their names.

·         Use hand written signature

·         Speak to their ego

11. Identify the Reader’s Problem

Grab their attention by knowing the problem they have.

The problem they could have.

Or the problem they don’t even know about.

·         Product or service solves a problem

o   create a strong sales letter

o   featuring the problem in the lead

o   Tell how the product or service solves the problem

12. Stress a Benefit

Stress the benefit that will greatly affect them and their daily lives.

Stress how they can’t live without it. Stress how they must have it now.

By portraying a future without pain, without suffering, without knowing.

·         To get results, a benefit-oriented headline must appeal to the reader’s self-interest.

13. Use Human Interest

Hit them where they are their most vulnerable.

Needing top know they are not alone.

That others have the same fears and problems as they do.

People enjoy reading about other people

·         Use anxieties, fears, problems, and interests similar to target customer

·         Use dramatic human interest stories.

·         Relate it to their lives

14. Let the Reader in on Some inside Information

Everyone loves a secret.

But everyone loves more to learn about a secret.

Give them what they want.

·         Appeal to the reader’s need to feel special, important, and exclusive.

·         Reveal inside information on a sale or product

15. Sweepstakes

Appeal to their optimism.

Their optimism that it could be their lucky day.

And they could be a winner.

A sweepstakes can greatly increase the response to a direct-mail campaign.

There are three ways of structuring a sweepstakes:

·         YOU MAY WIN . . .

·         YOU MAY HAVE WON . . .

·         YOU HAVE WON . . . (Give complimentary prize)

And there you have it.

The 15 ways to grab your readers attention and never let go. Increasing the click-through rate. Increasing the coverage. Increasing the sales. Increasing your business.

How do you grab attention?

Let us know in the comments.

5 Comments

Want to get the Job you always dreamed of?

10/23/2014

3 Comments

Pinpoint your Success and get the BULLS-EYE.

In my years as a writer, I have edited hundreds of resumes. And what I have learned is that many people have no idea the process you have to follow to be hired. Especially when it comes down to their resume.

And the saddest part about this is that your resume, albeit is only used once to get an interview for a job, is the most important piece of paper you can have to boost your career and your income.

Because even if you have a job, you should continually be updating it and having it out to be found by recruiters everywhere. This is helpful in leveraging for a raise and getting a better opportunity to be paid what you’re truly worth. Certainly not minimum wage or other outrageously low sum.

But before I go into the 3 things I have learned to get hired, I’d like to give a quick overview of the hiring process. Because I have worked specifically with Human Resource Departments for technical writing, and know exactly how they work.

First, most human resource departments get hundreds or thousands of applications. Being human, they don’t have the time to go through them all. So they go through two different strategies.

·         Strategy ONE

o   Let the hiring software root out the good resumes by looking for keywords that they want from their candidates

·         Strategy TWO

o   Go through themselves and eliminate resumes by how good they look

§ Eliminating resumes for any arbitrary thing such as font type, where you live, or if it was hit by the dart they were throwing.

Because of the volume of resumes and the strategies they use. Your resume has an extremely low chance of being seen, let alone accepted for an interview.

Keep this in mind as I proceed with the 3 things I have learned about getting your dream job…

1.       You need multiple resumes at one time.

The first tip is to have multiple resumes at one time. This allows you to have a customized resume for a particular job and not a particular company. As the jobs across the board are relatively generic from worker (customer service, engineer, cashier, etc.) to manager (Supervisor, Manager, VP, GM, etc.).

With worker jobs, the fundamentals are the same. The hiring manager needs someone with a certain set of skills that they need for a job to get down. This involves similar soft skills like being able to socialize and sell. And hard skills like engineering, being licensed (doctors, etc.), information technology, etc.

With management jobs, they need to know you can manage a group of people. And successfully lead them to meet company’s goals. This is the same from being a CEO to being a team manager.

Due to this, you should know exactly what job you want and build a resume to fit that job. If you want to be a salesperson. Have a sales resume. If you want to be a professional writer. Have a professional writer resume. If you want to be a manager. Have a management resume.

Making a perfect segue into the next thing I have learned... the power of the Law of Averages.

2.     You need to build your resume off job descriptions.

The Law of Averages is that if you take the average of answers, you will get closer and closer to the exact answer. In this sample, you use it to get closer and closer to becoming exactly what the hiring manager wants.

Make a resume that impresses by being exactly what your employer wants. While also beating the search engine by having the keywords it needs.

The strategy to get such a resume goes as follows.

·         Step One: Identify

o   Identify the exact position you want and the skills you need to be successful in it

·         Step Two: Average

o   Find 5 job descriptions for the exact position you want

o   Average them out to find the key things that multiple hiring managers are looking for

o   Use a lot of the job description words as well as it is what they use for the hiring software

·         Step Three: Write

o   Using the job descriptions, write your resume to fit exactly what a hiring manager wants.

o   Using the words that they use to search with the hiring software.

Now that you know how to write the best resume possible, you need to ensure it is seen by the one in charge of hiring.

Which leads into the last thing I have learned…

3.     It is MANDATORY to follow-up with the person in charge of hiring.

The biggest problem facing your resume when it is sent in, is getting past the gatekeepers. Including the hiring software, the recruiters, and others it goes by.

To get it passed them, you need an over-the-top resume that gets noticed.

The best way for your resume to get to the top of the pile is it being Unique.

Unique Resume Strategies

·         Know someone who you can put as a reference who works there.

o   Find someone through LinkedIn and get the referral

·         Use a gimmick like a shoe with a resume attached that says, just want my foot through the door.

Or just get in contact them and become human and real to the hiring manager, instead of just a number.

This is easiest with calling, showing up, or building a relationship through different channels.

With these 3 things I have learned, you can maximize your exposure to hiring managers everywhere. You can increase your income and be paid what your worth. Get the job you always wanted and live the life you deserve.

3 Comments

6 Strange things that make people buy…

10/17/2014

6 Comments

Get them to respond to your direct mail…

#1

One is to always have a way for your prospects to contact you immediately. Through the mail, the phone, or the internet. This is perfect to compliment your offer and allow them to instantly respond. Without it, most will never be motivated to do your call to action.

Always include a response mechanism.

·         Business reply card, reply envelope, order form, Web site URL, or toll-free number.

·         Self-addressed business reply envelopes.

·         Order forms and reply cards with tear-off stubs or receipts

*Order forms printed in color, or designed as an elaborate certificate, or printed with a lot of information get more responses

#2

You need an offer for your prospects to accept. An offer they can’t refuse.

And the best way is to bribe them. Give them something they would want or be interested in for free. Repeat it a few times so it sounds better each time and has more chances to work.

Offers

·         Offer a premium: a gift to prospects who respond to the mailing.

·         Offer a free brochure, booklet, catalog, demonstration, survey, estimate, consultation, or trial offer.

·         Allow for a negative response.

o   Example: “Not interested right now. But try us again in ________.”

·         Repeat the offer on the reply card.

·         Use action words in the first sentence of the reply card and restate the offer in the body copy.

#3

Lump Mail is a great way to get an in for any prospect, potential client, or customer because they want to know what is inside. They want to know what the lump is and love to respond if it is a free gift.

Lump Mail

·         Use physical objects in the mailing.

·         3-D pop-ups, and other gimmicks.

#4

Make the offer scarce. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity they can’t miss. This ensures they will at least think twice about it. And at most buy 3x as much for the value. Creating a possibility of a lifetime customer.

Create Scarcity

·         Urge her to act now . . . by putting a time limit on the offer.

o   General – in 10 days, but hurry—supplies are limited, the time to buy is before tragedy strikes. Not after.

o   Specific – Actual date 10 days from now

#5

The envelope can matter more than anything else. Because even if you have the best copywriting in the world, with the most perfect mafia offer, and everything else. It is worthless if they never open the envelope.

The Envelope

·         Outer envelope

o   Resemble an invoice, telegram, or other “official-looking” document.

o   Use a plain outer envelope with no copy, not even a return address.

o   Envelopes addressed with labels are effective

o   Use titles if no names, print a description of the person

o   Use A preprinted postage permit or postage-metered envelope

o   A separate letter and brochure does better than a combination letter/brochure

#6

The last thing to remember when writing your sales copy for direct mail is to include these tired and true techniques to get the most responses. The more you use the better as each works on different types.

The Letter

·         Use a P.S. in the letter to restate the offer or reemphasize a sales point

·         Guarantee the offer. When you sell by mail, make a money-back guarantee good for 15, 30, 60, or even 90 days.

·         When you are generating leads, tell the prospect that he’s under no obligation and that no salesperson will call (unless he wants one to).

·         Letters with a lot of “bells and whistles increase response from low and middle-class

·         Form letter with a headline works as well as their name and address typed in by hand.

·         Avoid intimidating, legal-type wording

6 Comments

Top 10 ways to write a speech and Increase your Influence

10/9/2014

10 Comments

The 10 Things you don’t know about writing Speeches

How to write a speech?

Speech writing is an art in and of itself.

Due to the fact you are not writing to read, but writing to be spoken.

Because of this, you have to know these fundamental figures…

Average speaker - speaks 100 words per minute

20-minute speech - 2,000 words long (Eight double-spaced, typewritten pages).

Best length of time - 20 minutes

20 minutes is the opitmal speech time as any time after is considered long-winded, and any time before is not enough time to portray fully what you want to say. Therefore 20 minute keeps them from being bored, but not wanting more.

But how do you write the perfect 20 minute speech?

Doesn’t sound hard but you have to consider these 10 things…

1. Find out What the Speaker Wants to Say

Interviews with the client reveal the basic thrust of the speech and provide most of the facts. Information gaps can be filled in through library research or by browsing through the client’s private files on the subject.

2. Know Your Audience

Learn as much as you can about the group you’ll be speaking to. This will help you tailor your talk to their specific interests.

3. Write a Strong Opening

An engaging opening grabs attention and gets the audience enthusiastic about your topic.

4. Then, There’s Humor

Pepper the speech with little tidbits of warm, gentle, good-natured humor. Not big gags, old jokes, or nightclub-comic routines.

5. Don’t Try to Cover Too Much

Break off a little piece of the subject and tell your story with warmth, wit, humor, and authority. Delete trivial information and limit your talk to the important key points.

6. Write in Conversational Tone

Write in a conversational tone. That means short words. Short sentences. Plenty of contractions. Even a colloquial expression every now and then.

Read it aloud. If it doesn’t sound natural, rewrite it until it does.

Use bullets, headings, and numbers to divide the speech into sections.

o Use as pauses for speaker to catch her breath between sections.

7. Keep It Simple

Ideally, your speech should be centered on one main point or theme. Give the listener easy-to-grasp tidbits of information and advice.

8. What About Visuals?

In some cases, visuals can be useful. If you want to introduce the new corporate logo, you must show a slide or a chart; words alone can’t adequately describe a graphic concept.

Avoid Word Slides!

9. Handouts

Do not distribute your handouts until after the speech is over.

A typed or typeset copy of your speech, cleanly reprinted on good-quality white paper

10. Pick a Catchy Title for Your Speech

The title will be used in mailings, flyers, and other promotions aimed at attracting an audience

There you have it.

The 10 ways for a successful speech to build your listening base, customers, or organizational members.

Now go and take over the world with the most powerful tool at your disposable.

The “WORD”.

10 Comments

11 Tips for making money in print...

10/2/2014

8 Comments

11 TIPS FOR WRITING CLEAR COPY

In the world, tips are for the most part, are the most important things to us in any industry. They are helpful in remembering what you need to do as well as the seed to change your thinking, and views to turn your world upside down. Inspiring you to take the next step to your success.

And the best part, they are easy to remember and many times roll right off the tongue. Now here are 11 tips to effective, clear copy

1.       Put the Reader First

Write not for yourself, but others. Unless all they want is you of course.

You have to put the reader first. Not doing so ends in much confusion as they may not know what you know.

This means you could be explaining for 10 pages, but you lost your audience on the 1st page because they don’t understand what you’re saying.

2.       Carefully Organize Your Selling Points

Organize your selling points logically and have them flow from one to another. This helps with communicating and with keeping the audience involved.

a.       Primary headline – main selling point

i.      Sub-Headlines enhance it

b.      Examples –

i.      Make a promise
ii.      How to Fulfill that promise
iii.      And the rest proves the product is everything that the copy says it is
iv.      How to order
v.      And how the price is insignificant to how much value the product creates
3.       Break the Writing into Short Sections

Break up the flow with easy to read and understandable pieces. Having them in this form make it easy for people to remember.

c.       Bullet list points

d.      Break five sentence paragraphs into three paragraph sentences

e.      Make simple sentences

4.       Use Short Sentences

The memory is fickle and remembers best in story-lines and bites. SO feed it small chunks of sentences.

Sentence Chunks Scale:

f.        Best – 6-12 word sentences

g.       Good 14-16 words

h.      Passable 20 -25

i.         Bad - Up to 40

j.        Unreadable – 40 +

i.      Good punctuation to use to break sentences up

1.       -------

2.       …

5.       Use Simple Words

Don’t use big words. People are not impressed, and don’t understand what you are saying.

k.       Use short words in comparison to large words

i.      The shorter the better

ii.      7 and above is too much

6.       Avoid Technical Jargon

Use words only as select people know, and only a select people will know. Not much sense for the rest of us.

l.         Leave the noobs to the geeks, the electrons to the physicist, and the compounds to the chemists

7.       Be Concise

Write the best with the most. But slim it down to what you actually need and what people actually want.

m.    Write with vigor, then apply Occam’s razor to glean the best clarity from your work

8.       Be Specific

Don’t be ambiguous. Vagueness doesn’t tell people anything.

n.      Bullet list your points and give only what matters, and only that

9.       Go Straight to the Point

Go for the jugular. People understand quickly and effectively when you do. As there is not much room for interpretation.

o.      Don’t warm-up with fluff or try to explain background information to the reader in the first paragraph, the reader should know already what your selling

p.      We do this and this and this and that’s why you friggen want it.

10.   Write in a Friendly, Conversational Style

You don’t like monotony. I don’t like monotony. Nobody likes to read monotony.

Don’t force it on others.

q.      Talk like I’m your lost best friend who wants to talk of good old times

11.   Avoid Political Language

Its best to avoid political incorrectness as it promotes emotions in the audience that distort anything else they read.

r.        Be politically correct or you will be in trouble.

So…

Use one or use them all to have clear communication to your prospects and customers. Because no one likes to not understand what someone is saying, especially when you’re trying to sell them something.

8 Comments

Grab attention QUICKLY and NEVER LET GO.

Want to get the Job you always dreamed of?

6 Strange things that make people buy…

Top 10 ways to write a speech and Increase your Influence

11 Tips for making money in print...

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