KickAss Copywriter

Hello,

Are you a business owner, with a web site — but haven’t been published, yet?

Well, I don’t want to chastise you, but you must do it!

Why?  Well there are lots of reasons, and I’ll list some of them.

7 Reasons You Want to Get Published …

1.  Get noticed.

2.  Establish yourself as an expert.

3.  After you’re seen as an expert.

4.  Enjoy the recognition from being an expert.

5.  Get more business from those who read your published materials.

6.  It’s easy to do.

7.  If you can’t do it, you can hire someone inexpensively to ghostwrite it.

And there are so many different things you can write that will give you the prestige for ‘being published.’  You can, for example, write a real book — you know, the old-fashioned, printed kind?

3 Ways to Get Published & Get Noticed:

1.  Self Publish a Print Book …

You can even self-publish and you don’t have to worry about finding an agent, who’ll represent you to the big publishing houses … with whom, your chances are slim and none anyway.

For self-publishing, there are a lot of companies, who do ‘on-demand publishing.’  That’s when you order a book online at amazon.com and if it’s an ‘on demand’ book, one computer will tell another one to print off one copy of this book and mail it to you.  (It’s seamless to the buyer.)

In fact, I published my book, The Wacko From Waco, this way, with iUniverse.  They were great!

2.  Publish an eBook …

This is super easy.  Just write your manuscript in a Word document.  Then, when complete, you’ll want to convert it to a pdf file.

If you know how to do this, great.  But if not, you can hire it done very inexpensively.

Next, decide if your objective is just to enhance your reputation — to be seen as an expert and, therefore, get more business because more people will recognize you as an expert in your field …

Or, is your objective to sell the ebook for profit?  If so, you’ll have to decide if you want to sell it on your site, assuming the subject matter is compatible.  If it isn’t, then I suggest you get a new domain name and a hosting account, so you can sell your ebook.

You’ll also need a shopping cart, of course, where you’ll upload your ebook’s pdf, so your customers can download it, after they pay for it.  A great source for how to write an ebook is Bob Bly’s site.

3.  Publish Some Articles …

Most likely, you’ve heard/read a lot about this one.  There are many article directories you can use to do this.  Aside from the obvious reason of being seen as an expert, you’ll also do this, in order to get back links to your site … that means that those who use your article will link back to your site.

When you write the article, you’ll get a ‘resource box’ at the end.  Here is where you get get to tell a bit about yourself – and provide a link to your site … the real reason to do this, IMO.

There are many of these, but the one I like best is Submit Your Article.com.

So, there you are — 3 ways you can use to establish yourself as an expert and, hopefully, get more business, as a result.  Don’t expect overnight success, though.  You need to be diligent and write often about topics your prospects would find beneficial.

And, whether you publish an ebook, articles or promote your print book on your business web site or on a different URL — be sure to get it optimized by a real expert — so the search engines will be sure to find you when someone looks for you.

I work with two excellent SEO experts.  They are very responsive, fast and know their stuff!  Aly at WordPress Consultant and SEO and Ryan at clarkeconsulting@comcast.net.  Aly has gone well above and beyond the call of duty both for my site and my blog!  And Ryan can also produce a simple web site that won’t cost an arm and a leg.

If you need help to develop an overall marketing plan or marketing strategy that will include the expertise of a kickass copywriter, I’ll be happy to assist you.

Good luck getting noticed!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Q:  Who are the best customers? 

A:  Referrals.

Q:  What’s the best form of marketing? 

A:  Word of Mouth.  (WOM)

So, if everybody knows referrals make the best customers and the way to get referrals is thru WOM marketing — what are you doing to generate more WOM?

Have you considered what you can do for your existing customers that would absolutely compel them to tell all their friends and family to buy from you?  Something that’s so unique and memorable they’d just have to talk about it?

Consider Disneyland and Disney World.  When first time visitors are asked what sticks in their minds most, they say it’s the parks’ cleanliness and the authentic environments.

As Dan Kennedy points out, the marketers know that ‘clean’ is not just about maintenance crews — it’s also about good marketing!

Your customers want to feel really GOOD about doing business with you, right?  So, come up with something quirky or unusual to do for them … surprise them in some way  they won’t expect.

Going the extra mile works for personal relationships and also for business ones. 

If you can’t think of something that feels right for your business, maybe you could hire a very creative marketing mind to help you? 

Maybe that person would also be a copywriter and could not only come up with the great ideas, but also know how to promote them!

 Here’s to creating more WOM!

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

In the June, 2008 issue of Direct Magazine, I read something pretty interesting about the way business is coping in the current recession. 

It’s no secret to anyone, except the Feds, that the U.S. is in a recession. The economy is slowing, consumers are spending less and (as the article points out) firms are deliberating more over purchasing decisions.

What we’d expect to see happening in times like these is for direct marketers to focus on their existing customers, right?  But they are, in fact, spending more on prospecting … according to Direct’s annual forecast survey.

They say consumer firms allocated 72% of 2008 direct mail (DM) budgets to acquisition.  That, compared to 63% in 2007.  The article said B2B marketers were holding steady at 58% of their budget being spent on acquiring new customers.

The survey showed that marketing dollars are allocated to search engine optimization and other online marketing … trying to build their in-house lists.

The article said that financial services are doing more with house files than in years past … meaning, they’re not renting new lists, but just mining the ones they have.

It seems that a lot less testing is going on, for print media anyway, with 1Q08 showing a 25% drop in catalog tests, 12% drop in testing for publishers and 10% drop for nonprofits.

More companies are using email marketing to both existing customers and to prospects in 2008 than last year.  And SEO and SEM are also being used more than in 2007.

No matter what marketing method is employed, copywriting will always be vitally important.  Whether a company markets offline or online, the message still has to be right on target. 

One degree off in any direction — and missfire!

 So, whether you need an online sales letter, email campaigns, PPC ads, landing pages, squeeze pages or even postcards … it needs to sizzle. 

 The copy sells the product.  So, in these recessionary times, cut back on whatever you have to.  But whatever you put out there, make sure the copy scorches!

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Copywriting has often been defined as “salesmanship in print.” 

 This is easy to comprehend in the direct response world — crafting a sales message designed to persuade the reader to whip out his/her credit card, right now.

But, as anyone knows, a good copywriter has to know how to think really well.  Even if the writer isn’t trying to sell something immediately, they still have to think critically and analyze a lot of information.

It’s been said that the writer should have 7 times more intel than she’ll ever need.  So, a good writer collects a ton of information about the company, product and the audience she’ll be writing to … waay before a single word is written.

Gary Bencivenga says, “Every situation is unique, especially when the product or market place is different from what’s gone before.”

I, personally, abhor the notion of using the same angle or style for one client that I used for another  — just because it’d be easier.  If I thought it was the best approach, perhaps I would, but only if it were in disparate industries.

I like to forge a new path, though, and create something totally unique for each and every client.  As they say in fashion, you don’t want to meet yourself coming and going. 

Who’d want to go to a party and see ‘their’ dress on someone else?  Not I.

So, again, it’s critical to find a copywriter who can think on paper.  One with sufficient grey matter to examine all the data and come up with a new idea, a BIG idea … something unique and fresh for your business.

 There’s so much ’me too’ stuff going around … oy vey, don’t get me started! 

Whether it’s good or not, successful or not, something gets out on the Internet (especially) — and before you know it, you see the same style or tactics being used everywhere!

Where’s the differentiator?  How do you set yourself apart, when you look like everyone else?  You don’t.  You look like a carbon copy; not the genuine article.  UG!

Thinking on paper …

Critical thinking is the key.  It’s a lot like the attorney’s discovery, I think.  Then, one must draw the right conclusions from the vast body of evidence and, hopefully, be able to make a viable case for whatever product or service we’re writing about.

The ability to think clearly and confidently is also key.  I can’t think, with a lot of noise, for instance, so I have to have quiet.  I also have to be comfortable and in pleasant surroundings, with lots of natural light.

Expect the BIG idea and the BEST way to present it to emerge from an all-knowing sub-conscious … and it does.  Sleeping on it, after gathering so much information and immersing myself in it, is something I always do, as do so many other copywriters I know.

Often, I have so much information swirling around in my head, I feel I’ll never be able to rummage around and find just the right bits to use.  But, when I trust my inner knowing … it never fails me.

Think.  Think on paper.  Hire a kickass copywriter, who knows how to do this.  There are some exceptional ones out there.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

I’ve just listened to and read something amazing … and I want to share it with you!

You’ll see a great video, with the ‘bad ass’ guy, from the movie, “The Matrix.”  He’ll be talking about some scarry stuff, like the next Influenza Pandemic that most experts agree will happen.

We’re unprepared.  There is no vaccine and no antibiotic to counteract the virus.  Bad news for one and all. 

The worst outbreak the world has seen was in 1918, when 40 million people died, globally.

Then, the report goes on to discuss ‘mental viruses’ and how they infect entrepreneurs.  This is really good stuff!  (Not the best written, but the content is so insightful.)

You can travel deeper down the rabbit hole, by taking the red pill.  I suggest you absolutely take the pill. 

Charge forward and take off your rose colored glasses, as you have the chance to really SEE what’s preventing us from becoming and achieving all we can be.

It’s a 14 page, NO B.S. report called: PANDEMIC - Bird Flu of the Mind: How Underground Mind Viruses are Relegating Millions to “Living Death” and What You Can Do to Protect Yourself and Your Family

If that title sounds serious, that’s because it is serious.

The fact is, Mind Viruses are destroying the lives and business dreams of thousands of entrepreneurs just like you.

You’ll find an amazing phrase used.  Instead of ‘entrepreneur,’ they use the word ‘transfopreneur.’  Why?  Because most entrepreneurs want to transform their world in some way …

* for themselves

* for their families

* for their communities

* for the world

Go ahead, be brave and check out the red pill.  Your entrepreneural success may depend on it.

Go to:  http://www.givemetheredpill.com/letter.htm

Here’s to a higher octave marketing!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

As a copywriter (translate marketer), one of the things I do is to present my clients and their products or services in the best light possible.

Sometimes, I must confess, I have to look pretty hard to find anything genuinely distinguishing about them.  It’s sometimes a challenge to isolate one or two things that can provide something special — if not truly unique.

Many times, though, it’s only a matter of talking about an aspect of a product or service that’s not so unique, really.  But, instead, we focus on something common among all the competition … but they’re not talking about it.

The copywriter and advertising pioneer, Claude Hopkins, told this great story about how to build preeminence in his book “My Life In Advertising”…

He said:  Schlitz Beer was another advertising campaign which I handled for J.L.Stack. Schlitz was then in fifth place.

All brewers at that time were crying “Pure.” They put the word “Pure” in larger letters.

Their claim made about as much impression on people as water makes on a duck.

I went to brewing school to learn the science of brewing, but that helped not at all. Then I went to the brewery.

I saw plate-glass rooms where beer was dripping over pipes, and I asked the reason for them. They told me those rooms were filled with filtered air, so the beer could be cooled in purity.

I saw great filters filled with wood pulp. They explained how that filtered the beer.

They showed me how they cleaned every pump and pipe, twice daily, to avoid contaminations. How every bottle was cleaned four times by machinery.

They showed me artesian wells, where they went 4,000 feet deep for pure water, though their brewery was on Lake Michigan.

They showed me the vats where beer was aged for six months before it went out to the user.

They took me to their laboratory and showed me the original mother yeast cell. It had been developed by 1,200 experiments to bring out the utmost in flavor.

All of the yeast used in making Schlitz Beer was developed from that original cell.

I came back to the office amazed. I said: “Why don’t you tell people those things? Why do you merely try to cry louder than others that your beer is pure?  Why don’t you tell the reasons?”

“Why,” they said, “the processes we use are just the same as others use. No one can make good beer without them.”

“But,” I replied, “others have never told the story. It amazes everyone who goes through your brewery. It will startle everyone in print.”

So I pictured in print those plate-glass rooms and every other factor in purity. I told a story common to all good brewers …

but a story which had never been told. I gave purity a meaning.

Schlitz jumped from fifth place to neck and neck with first place in a very few months.

That campaign remains to this day one of his greatest accomplishments.  And it’s given many copywriters a very good model.

So, if your business has a product or service that isn’t really so different from others just like it … maybe you could simply tell a story about, precisely, how your product is made? 

For service businesses, maybe telling your story about exactly how you do what you do would capture the essence of something or explains it in a slightly different way than your prospects will have thought about before.

By being the first to use this strategy in your industry — YOU will have done it.  So, anyone who follows as a ‘me too’ will never be the first.  You will!  

And that’s preeiminence.      :)

You can tell your story in print, on your site, or in your email campaigns.  And if you need a savvy copywriter and marketing strategist … I just might know someone.

Establish preeiminence in your market …

Then, everyone will listen and reward you, by giving you their business … because you took the time to educate your audience in a way that made sense, while your competitors ‘assumed’ they already understood — or wouldn’t care.

Till next time, 

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Are you still plunking down money on marketing that doesn’t, directly, put money in your pocket?

That won’t seem like a silly question to direct response copywriters and marketers, but it may feel a bit vague to some business owners.   
For those of us, who have discovered and highly believe in direct response — offline or online — we try to help our clients to always spend advertising and marketing dollars on the kinds of marketing you can truly measure.

If you just pay for a glitzy ad to be written and designed and then pay for the space in a spiffy publication, without making a direct offer to buy, you’re not doing direct response.

By its very name, it’s the kind of marketing/advertising that asks for the sale.  So, you can judge the success or failure of it by how many orders you get, right?

This, IMO, is the only kind of marketing that makes any sense to any business, unless perhaps you’re Coke or Microsoft.

Why does anyone care about ‘image’ or ‘branding,’ anyway?  Making profits is not about you, your business or your products.  It’s only about your customers!

No one really cares about all the techno-babble about how your widget is built.  All your prospective customers care about is, “What will this product do for me?”

So, in all of your marketing, tone down the features of your newest widget and focus on how it will alleviate the pain of your customers.  Or how it’ll make their lives easier, sexier, faster or more fun.

You’ve probably all heard it before, but it’s still true.  The only station a consumer is tuned to is:  WIIFM.

Always do these Things in your Marketing … 

1. Answer their question, “What’s in it for me?”  (WIIFM)

2. Tell them why they should believe you.

3. Tell them how much it costs.

4. Tell them how to order right now. 

5. Tell them they only have a limited time to order.

6. Tell them you only have a limited quantity.

7. Then, tell them you’ll refund their money, if they don’t like it.  

Tell them these things in everything you print or put online!

If it don’t bring in the bucks … don’t do it.

If you need a kickass copywriter and marketing strategist to help you out with these kinds of things that SELL … I know where you can find one.

Here’s to making the phone ring, the server crash and the cash register ka-ching!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Did you see the deplorable ‘presidential’ debate on ABC last week?  Have you seen the fallout?

Maybe you don’t think ABC’s Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos acted more like lame ducks than respected TV news journalists …  but I found it deplorable!

With our nation in dire need of new leadership, due to the mess our current illustrous leaders have gotten us into, and for the billionth debate … shouldn’t they at least attempt to get Clinton and Obama to talk about something more important than a lapel pin?

 As I sat stunned on my couch, I was hoping against hope that Obama would stand up for right … and refuse to wallow in the pettiness of such idiotic questioning.

But he didn’t.

Was it political correctness or the response of a genuine gentleman?

In Denny Hatch’s, Business Common Sense, he captured my sentiments exactly.  To Mr. Gibson’s question about the lapel pin, Barack Obama replied …

SEN. OBAMA: Well, look, I revere the American flag, and I would not be running for president if I did not revere this country. This is—I would not be standing here if it wasn’t for this country.And I’ve said this—again, there’s no other country in which my story is even possible; somebody who was born to a teenage mom, raised by a single mother and grandparents from small towns in Kansas, you know, who was able to get an education, blah, blah, blah …Among Barack Obama’s many attributes is that he is a gentleman.I was not in the mood for a gentlemanly rejoinder. I cringed with embarrassment at the question and Obama’s failure to serve a high hard one back into ABC’s court.

The Exchange I was Hoping for
SEN. OBAMA: Excuse me, Mr. Gibson. Are you going to also ask Senator Clinton why she does not wear an American flag pin on her lapel? Or around her neck? Or in her hair?

MR. GIBSON: Uh …

SEN. OBAMA: Because, Mr. Gibson, people are dying all over the world in wars and acts of violence. The price of food is skyrocketing and millions are starving in Haiti, in Africa and places in between.

MR. GIBSON: Senator Obama …

SEN. OBAMA: Let me finish. Forty-seven million Americans have no health insurance. We are involved in two endless, unwinnable wars that are costing over $20 billion a month—wars that are bankrupting our military, our country, and our children and grandchildren.

In the city of Philadelphia, where we are right now, more than one person every day is murdered. Every month, thousands of illegal immigrants are pouring unchecked into the country, bringing with them drugs and crime.

The Middle East is turning into a vast cauldron of sectarian violence, and the United States is regarded as a pariah all over the world as the invader and occupier of a Muslim nation. The price of oil is $110 a barrel and rising.

These are just some of the huge issues facing the next president of the United States, and you have reduced them to a quarter-inch-square piece of jewelry that you claim is missing from my lapel.

And, the story continues on the next page, getting even better!

Personally, I’m an Independent.  But, so what?  I still don’t have anyone to vote for out of all 3 of the candidates.  And I know I’m not the only one, who feels this way!

With America teetering on the brink of too many disasters to even list … why can’t someone step up to the plate of ‘right’ and tell it like it is!

I fear, with all of my heart, that we could very well be on the verge of a revolt.  When the people do not have sufficient leadership in Washington to run the country for the good of the country (middle class?), but rather sell-out our country to special interests, other countries and wage war under the guise of ‘freeing another country’ (after WMD didn’t work) …

a revolution may soon be the only answer.

How applicable might these immortal words, of Thomas Jefferson in 1787, be today, I wonder?

“What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? … The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.  It is its natural manure.”

There may not be a helluva lot we, as individuals, can do about this runaway train, headed for disaster right now.  But, in our own lives, as mothers, fathers, sons, daughters … at school and in our work with each other and our customers … let’s stand for right every chance we get.

In business, let your word be your bond.  Let your marketing messages be transparent, without hidden traps that set out to trick, rather than honestly communicate your sales/marketing message.

I think when we stand up for the little things, they’ll accrue to the bigger things.

And, if your marketing calls for a “higher octave” copywriter, I know where you can find one!   

Standing up,

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Does anyone actually feel sorry for ole Eliot?  I sure
don’t.  I never liked him from the very first time I saw
him — for what it’s worth.   
Unless I’m missing something, he hasn’t really apologized
for what he did. 

He’s just done a soft-shoe shuffle around his dalliances
with women of ill-repute, after prosecuting “escort services”
in New York … and closing them down.

Reeks of hypocrisy to me!

And have you heard the latest?  The girl, with whom he was ’seeing,’ had worked with the New York group that he shut down?  Curious irony, eh?

And his poor, ignored wife, standing by his stoic, puffed-up
side, while he pontificates in a manner that has nuttin to do
with nuttin.  Posturing, no doubt.

I guess the bigger deal, for him anyway, will be to hope and
pray that the money he used to pay for his little flings was
NOT public money.

Or, if it was, he’ll work real hard to keep that out of the
news, don’t you imagine?

Even before his debacle over issuing drivers licenses to illegal
aliens, he gave me the creeps.  (Keep in mind, as soon as I saw
the first plane crash into the WTC, I knew it was no accident.)

Devoid of emotion, he was and is as cold as an igloo in Iceland. 

So, I’d like to make two observations about all this:

1. My radar for distinguishing genuine from fake.
2. What we all can learn from this very unlikable fella.

To the first point … I just want to share how much my radar,
my BS meter, woman’s intuition or my sensitive Cancer sign allows
me to read people and situations SO quickly and accurately.

In my personal life and in my work as a copywriter and marketing strategist, this is a most valuable tool. 

I intuitively know what the ‘real deal’ is and am able
to zero-in on what really matters to the audiences my copywriting is written for.

To the second point … I think we all can see from a business
POV, being an unlikable person is the kiss of death. 

Who wants to do business with someone so abrasive and next to
impossible to deal with?  I sure don’t.

And then there’s the little annoyance called honesty.  Don’t
you think that everyone (esp Americans) is quick to forgive
someone, who admits he/she has done wrong?

Lessons to take away from the Eliot Spitzer fiasco …
1. Be a genuinely nice person
2. Care about others
3. Be warm, considerate
4. Don’t be hypocritical
5. Be honest and admit your mistakes
6. Take responsibility for your actions

What do you think we can learn from this BIG news story?

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com