KickAss Copywriter

Some of the law of attraction stuff lacks a deeper
understanding, I feel, that is necessary to be in
total alignment with the law.

In his book, “Law of Attraction:  Attract more of
what you want and less of what you don’t want,” Michael
Losier says there are two vibrations in the Universe:

· Negative
· Positive

Whatever vibe you are experiencing in every moment, you
are sending out, attracting the same vibration to you. 

Just saying the words, “I now attract wealth, love, a new
career, a new car or more customers to my web site,” is
NOT enough.

It’s the feeling behind it that really counts!

IF you’re affirming that you already have something you
want, but don’t really believe it … the negative doubt
will cancel out the positive affirmation/vision.

Does that make sense to you?

For example, if you hire a professional copywriter to  write a killer sales letter for you, make sure she/he (and you) understands this law, so the readers you want as customers will feel it and respond!

Mr. Losier suggests this:  “I’m in the process of
attracting whatever I want, need, know or have.”

Another ‘truism’ that I feel deeply and that Mr. Losier
also mentions is this:

Focus my attention/awareness on what I DO want to see,
know or have … not on what I DON’T want to see, know or have.

Why is this important?

Again, following the logic of Mr. Losier, myself, and many
others … there are but two vibrations/frequencies we can telegraph: 

Positive or negative.  (I can’t even give it an upper case.)    

Translated, this means that if I focus on what I don’t want
(negative) then I just get more of what I don’t want.  Make sense?

If I keep on saying that I don’t want clients who do not
understand the importance of business copywriting, then I’ll
keep getting clients who don’t understand this.

Conversely, when I focus on what I DO want (positive) …
I get more of what I want, assuming my feeling about that
is in alignment with the words I’m mouthing.

I repeat … the whole law of attraction is more than just
spewing out some positive words, based on some loosely-held
intellectual theory.

I AM What I Think About and Feel All the Time.
 
The Way to Prove How Well I’m Doing is to Assess the
Results of my Actions.

I only have to look at my results to tell me what kind of
energy I’m putting out there.

In my own life, I am constantly aware of the moments I am
out of alignment with my thoughts and feelings. 

When they’re all jumbled up, I get confusing, erratic results
from my half-baked, semi-focused actions.  Oy vey!

Your Business Efforts …

In your marketing efforts, do you focus on what you DO want,
rather than putting your attention on what you don’t want to
happen?  (Or how you’ll avoid bad things.)

Make sure all of your web site content, articles, your email
campaigns or sales letters telegraph a positive vibration. 

Everything you think, say, do and write will attract the
same energy.

To make sure you’re putting out what you want to get back,
I recommend that you find a business copywriter and marketing
strategist, who lives these principles.

If you can find a marketing copywriter and strategist, who can
help you understand and use these powerful “attractor factors,”
then you’ll be able to connect/attract just the right customers to you …

And they’ll just naturally want to do business with you.

Here’s to positive attraction!

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Do you believe in Luv?

Most of us, at some point or another, believe in parental love.  If you’ve been a parent, you know what I mean, right?

A very large portion of us, at one time or another, have believed in romantic love.  Otherwise, there wouldn’t be parental love.    

Especially today … people all over America are celebrating with flowers, jewelry, cards and candy.  Some will be taking their sweeties out for dinner tonight, too.  Yum.

Today, then, like folks everywhere, I’d like to celebrate and honor LOVE!

Isn’t it a wonderful thing?  When we have it, all is right with our world.  And, if we don’t have love, but have everything else good in the world … all that isn’t enough, is it?

They say that little babies will die, without human touch.  Assuming that’s true, we must accept that we’re hard-wired to require love and affection from another human being.

What does all this have to do with copywriting and marketing your business, you ask?

I believe that everyone in business, as in life, has the opportunity to evolve into ‘higher love.’

You and I have a phenomenal opportunity to SEE our clients and customers as our brothers and sisters in the ONE human family – and to love in the form of acceptance and understanding.

I believe all of us, business owners, CEOs, marketing managers, copywriters, web designers, SEO companies … all of us have an obligation in our business lives … to always, always do the right thing toward those we work with and serve.

I talk about this in my Co-Conspirators Mastermind work. I do mastermind sessions, with some of my clients, within the framework of  ‘being that’ which we want to attract.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the quote from Ghandi …

 “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

So, in order to operate from a higher, more enlightened or awakened place … we all need to communicate and treat each other, and the customers we serve, with dignity and utmost respect.

I read my daily message from TheDailyGuru.com and today’s was, of course, on love.  Here’s what it said:

LIFE IN ABUNDANCE COMES ONLY THROUGH GREAT LOVE
 
There is no force more potent than love.  Take away love and your world is a tomb. Your life echoes emptiness without love.

With it, your life will vibrate with warmth and meaning.
Even during hardship, love will shine through.

As you look back upon the events in your life you will find the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.

If you have it, you don’t need to have anything else, and if you don’t have it, it doesn’t matter what else you have.

Therefore, search for love.

Once you have learned to love, you will have learned to live.

Love is the most important ingredient to your success.

The end …
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
 

I just had to talk about this today.  Not that I know so much about it, because I don’t.  But, I can voice my concerns in this free country of ours … at least for now.  

Today is a long-awaited day in the eyes of the Democratic and Republican contenders, who are competing to become their respective party’s presidential candidate.

According to the AP:
The two dozen contests Tuesday are delivering 1,023 Republican and 1,681 Democratic delegates.

The number needed to win the nomination: 1,191 Republican and 2,025 Democratic.

So, the winner after today for the Republicans could be pretty solid.  But the Democrats may be a little tougher to call.

Being an Independent, I can vote for the individual man or woman, who I believe will lead our country out of the mess it’s now in.

But, I don’t really trust any of them.  And, I really don’t see a tinker’s damn bit of real difference among all of them.

Maybe John Edwards was the real deal … too real to pay the price.  And now that he’s gone, who to trust?

Clinton and Obama …

In their last debate, they were so civil to each other, one would have never believed the diametric opposite could have been true just a few weeks earlier!

So, who are they?  The snippy, petty little people we saw earlier or the nice, civil, grown-up folks we saw last week?

Who knows!

And, there really isn’t any real discernable difference between them, is there? 

OK, in Universal health care, Hillary would mandate coverage, making everyone pay what, she says, would be affordable.

Whereas Obama, desperately looking for a discernable difference, says his plan would call for making health care affordable enough that folks would be able to buy it; but their wages wouldn’t be garnished, if they elected not to.

That may be a legitimate difference, but is it true? 

McCain, Romney and the Other Guy …

Looks like Preacher Huckabee’s hard play on religion only worked in Iowa, huh?

So, if he’s out of gas, then there’s McCain and Romney, both trying to distinguish themselves from the religion card as much as possible.

Don’t smart people see through the whole right to life thing? 

Even if you do believe in this, morally or religiously, what right does the government have to dictate a course of action to a woman, facing this horrible dilemma?

This is really scarry.  Remember, the separation of church and state is one of the BIG reasons we escaped the tyranny of the King?

Now, this is pretty scarry, too …

According to the American Thinker, Senator Obama’s appointment of Zbigniew Brzezinski as a foreign policy adviser worries Israel supporters.

“His deep bond with Pastor Jeremiah Wright, Jr. (who has close ties with Louis Farrakhan — a notorious anti-Semite, elicited a critical column by Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen — a column which seemed to open a window for others to come forward.”

Now, if there’s any truth to this (and other articles) and Senator Obama is really NOT color-blind and race-blind — boy is he pulling the wool over a lot of eyes!

THINK for Yourself!

Then, what about Hillary?

What about the race card?  Is she playing it?  Many think so.  What do you think?  What are the implications?

I wonder if it portends a kind of power-hunger that most of us can’t conceive.

Here’s a pretty disturbing article in Slate, if you want to read a bit about our beloved, benevolent Clintons. 

What to Do?  What to Think?  For Whom to Vote?
Why doesn’t the popular vote count, instead of the electoral votes?

The popular vote does not elect the president.  To me, this is insane.  Just insane.  And we have no guarantee that all the votes cast will be counted properly anyway!

This is what lies at the foundation of why I’m so apolitical.

The system is set up to make the bleating sheep ‘think’ they have a voice.  But we don’t when it counts.

We can fuss and argue, blog and write letters, but for the big stuff … we have no voice. 

We can only hope we don’t get trampled and killed in the race to power.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Are you getting and keeping customers the way you’d like to?

Are you making yourself the star in your own show? 

If you, the business owner or CEO, are not the STAR … you’re not getting and keeping all of the customers you should be.

What do I mean by that?  I mean that you should be selling YOU … not your products or services!

Let’s face it, most of the time there aren’t that many real differences between one product and another. 

One dentist is about the same as another.  And one automobile does pretty much the same thing as the others do …they all run on some kind of fuel, have 4 tires, windows and doors, yes?

So, the thing that sets one product or service apart from the rest is YOU. 

Have you developed a unique character that folks will really like, trust or find amusing?

Are you a bit edgy?  Are you funny?  Do you have some kind of quirk that your customers would be drawn to – IF they knew about it?

People Buy From You Because of YOU!

In my copywriting business, I am the KickAss Copywriter, and my tagline is:  Where Mediocrity is Outlawed.

Since I’m from Texas, originally, I chose a Western theme.    And I have a donkey kicking out the “m” (for mediocrity).

This works for me because I’m a straight-shooter, my word is my bond, and I won’t settle for just “OK” copy for my clients. 

There are many good copywriters out there, in addition to the greats we all know and respect.  And, I’m sure if you develop a relationship with them, they’ll do a fine job.

Those who hire me are impressed with my work, but they are more interested in WHO I am, as a person-ality.  Because I infuse my copy with personality that folks like to read.

Have YOU adopted a personality that keeps your customers enthralled with you? 

A Story of the Man Who Dared to Be Waaay Different …

I have one client in Belgium, who sells projection screens.  His latest addition is a sleek, sexy, black piece of furniture that totally contains the screen when not in use.

And at the touch of a button, the screen ascends skyward.  Impressive.  And it’s 80″ diagonal. 

I’m calling this, “The Seducer in a Box.” 

Why?  Because there is a well-known factor – the WAF – that we have to address.  The WAF is the wife approval factor, which his audience (men) all know and must adhere to!    J

Its first entre’ will be in a black, sleek, sexy brochure.  When it’s on the web site … I’ll reveal it for you!

You see, this owner knows that men are crying out for help with the WAF.  So, he’s answering the call … with “The Seducer in a Box.”

We’re also building a ‘men’s-only club’ out of this.  Members will get a T-Shirt to tout their BIG Screen-dom.

Since he’s International, we fully expect it to cause a World-wide fire!

How’s THAT for Personality-Marketing??

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Fear is an interesting phenomenon, isn’t it? 

It can paralyze people to the point of total inaction.  Or, it can render an otherwise smart, capable person into a ‘fraidy cat.’

Numerous writers have said that the only thing to fear is fear itself.

Do I believe that?  Do you believe that?

Obviously, there are very legitimate reasons to be afraid sometimes.  If I were out on a hiking trail and, suddenly, a big black bear appeared … I’d be very afraid!   J

Unless you had taken leave of your senses, I bet you’d be afraid as well, yes?

We could go on and on, finding real life situations where anyone would be lying, if they said they weren’t afraid.

However …

This isn’t the kind of fear I’d like to talk about today. 

I want to talk a bit about unrealistic fears.  The kind that’s between our ears and that got put there, often by someone else we looked up to a long time ago.

You know the kind, those things we actually heard our parents say to/about us – or our interpretations of what was said or done.

Either way, we all made decisions, as children, that we carry with us well into adulthood … until/if we become aware enough to SEE that they were wrong … and change our minds!

Those Voices in our Heads:

I feel that any negative voice (idea, notion, belief) that tells us we aren’t __________________enough to accomplish or experience  ______________________ is a voice that needs to be replaced with a positive voice.

What Are the Negative Voices Inside Your Head, Keeping You From Accomplishing or Experiencing ALL That You Would Like To?

Once we isolate the negative voices, we can turn them into a positive statement and alter our experiences or accomplishments — for the BETTER!

It All Resolves to What I Choose to Believe to be True.

I really feel, believe and know that what I choose to believe TODAY, in my awakened self (one who sees clearly), will be my experience. 

If I don’t like the results life is giving me, then I need to examine the negative beliefs about myself that I’m holding onto.  (Neg beliefs = Neg results) 

When I look at the beliefs that cause me to act/respond to life in a fearful way, I find that most are not REAL.

My job is to re-write my script!  It’s no harder nor easier than that.  Thoughts are things, and when we change our thoughts, our outer world (results) changes accordingly.

For example, in my copywriting business, if I notice I’m feeling some self-doubt about the direction to take with a certain project …

I simply turn the negative thought/feeling into a positive statement, like this:

I am confident in my abilities.  I trust my inner guidance to direct me toward the very best direction for this client.  I intend it.  And so it is.

 Try it.  Pick just one thing that you’re fearful about and consciously change your thoughts about it … for the positive …  for 30 days.  Then see what happens!

Let me know about your success?

I have a dream on this memorial day, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I SEE the world as ONE also.   I believe the world will show up, according to the way we view it! 

If I believe in hate, or if I live with hate in my heart … that’s exactly what I will SEE manifested in my world. 

Ghandi said it best:  “Be the change you want to see.” 

Dr. King actually visited Ghandi and, I think, he was trying to incorporate his world view, starting with baby steps in the South. 

As we know, Dr. King made his mark on human history, during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, by protesting segregation. 

Although it required his life to effect the change he sought, his heroic efforts led to the desegregation of the country and, ultimately, carved out the path toward racial equality for all. 

Here are just a few famous quotes, from this giant of a man: 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

- “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963 

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ ”

- “I Have a Dream” speech, Aug. 28, 1963 

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

- Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dec. 10, 1964

Sources: The King Center; documents from the King Research and Education Institute at Stanford University; www.mlkday.gov.honor him (http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/334093.html

Question?

What will you do in your business and personal lives to foster equality for all men and women? 

For me?

As it relates to my business of copywriting and strategic marketing, I pledge to remain vigilant in my dealings with clients. 

I will see my clients and the potential customers I’m writing to attract as part of my family … the human family. 

I believe we’re all part of this ONE family.  And, to the extent that I dishonor one member, I dishonor myself at the same time. 

For me, then, my copywriting dream (and my personal dream) can be summed up this way … 

Do the RIGHT Thing!

May we emulate Dr. King and others who have stood for right, for peace and for acceptance of each other. 

Your thoughts and comments are cherished.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Admittedly, I’m having a difficult time deciding what I want to write about here on my professional blog! 

Get it right and people will read it and love it.  Get it wrong, and they’ll hate it and speak ‘evil’ about it … and me.

What’s a girl to do?

I’m a copywriter, so why not just jot down more overly-simplified bullet points on how business folks can write GREAT copy?

Or, maybe I could join the ranks of some copywriters and try to tell budding copywriters how to write GREAT copy?  (It’d be good for the spiders, too.)

But being a great copywriter, I feel, is the result of being a good student of life. 

And, I think one must be awake and aware of what’s going on in the world on a deeper level, in order to write real kickasscopy.

I AM Aware … (A blessing and a curse)

Being able to genuinely connect with people, lots of different kinds of people, isn’t because I’m a schmoozer or because I’ve learned all the ‘catch phrases’ from a self-styled guru.

I’m able to connect heart to heart because I genuinely care about and understand the human condition.

And, quite honestly, I’m appalled at the hype, dishonesty and psychological/emotional manipulation used by some copywriters to prey on their unsuspecting victims.

The Rub …

If I talk about controversial things, like politics or religion, it’s because as an ‘aware’ being, I have some views on both of these most divisive elements of our society … or any other society, for that matter.

Rather than have one political or religious view that I feel a need to harp on, trying to convince everyone of why I’m obviously right (and by contrast, they’re wrong)…

I just don’t have any specific beliefs that I need to proselytize.

It’s all insane and inane to me!   (Ooops, did I offend?)   J

Julius Caesar said to his wife, Calpurnia  …

Cowards die many times before their deaths.  The valiant never taste of death but once. 

I wonder if I’m just being a coward, fearing someone will be offended by what I say here on my expert copywriting blog, if I speak from my heart?

And, God forbid that a prospective client may be so offended by me that he or she wouldn’t want me to write for them!   J

Conclusion?  I think the real reason I’ve been derelict in my blogging is that I’ve been so conflicted as to what I ‘should’ write.

Might I suffer from cowardice?

I’m tired of worrying about it. 

And, what’s more important anyway …

To please or not to please … myself? 

I choose to please myself — to be brave and valiant and trust that I’ll attract others who’ll appreciate the depth and breadth of who I AM.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Most of my clients are savvy enough to know that effective Internet marketing requires a lot of misses, before they get a hit. 

But once in a while, I run into someone who doesn’t understand that copywriters can’t promise a ‘home run’ every, single time.  (I usually gracefully decline these folks.)

Look at even the best baseball players … they strike out more often than they get a hit.  A GREAT hitter, with a .300 batting average, misses 7 out of 10 times that he steps up to the plate.

And, then there’s the Einstein story of failure.  After a thousand experiments that didn’t work, he didn’t give up. Thankfully, he didn’t cave in because the next one (#1,001) testing a tungsten filament … worked brilliantly! 

And we’re still benefiting from that brilliance.  So, the question is … are you a business owner, with realistic expectations, who understands you have to test, test, test?  Or, are you looking for that impossible homerun every, single time at bat?

Marketing online, using Google ads to drive traffic to a landing page, for example, expecting you’ll become a millionaire in 30 days … is probably NOT going to happen, no matter how convincing the copy is!

Yes some Internet marketers, who sell information products on how other Internet marketers can get rich at least ‘claim’ to do that. 

But for most businesses, whether you’re selling a product to consumers or B2B or you’re selling a service … it ain’t gonna happen.

 So, what IS the realistic approach to marketing online? 

If you want to be profitable and competitive over the long haul, you’ll need to test a lot.  Marketing tests will reveal what works and what doesn’t.

Test the offer.  Test the way you ask for the order.  Test the way you ask for their email address.  Test your ads.  Test everything … and go with the winner.

One Google ad that I know of, increased click-thrus by 30%, just by changing ONE word. 

The tests, themselves, won’t make money.  But, they’ll tell you what the searchers respond to best.  And that, after all, is what you care about, right? 

And, when you find a winner that’s withstood the ‘test of testing’ … then you can make money, by using it again and again, with sound strategy and carefully planned roll-outs, hopefully.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

It’s Sunday — two days before the blessed event, when everyone in Christian-dom celebrates Jesus’ birth.

I’ve never read anything that proved when Jesus was born, but somehow I guess the scholars have concluded it’s true.

This is a rather peculiar time of year for me, as I claim neither Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Muslim-ism or any other ‘ism’ for that matter.

 But, I do enjoy the spirit of giving! 

And do you notice how everyone’s just a little bit nicer to each other, during the holidays?  (With the exception of pulling and tugging in the stores or fighting for the coveted parking places.)    J

I’m a normally-giving person, though I’ve tried to learn some tight-ass business tactics to survive – which aren’t part of my true nature, really.

Well, seeing that I’m always prone to becoming infected with the Christmas Spirit, during the month of December … I’ve also operated in that Spirit with my clients this month.

For instance, I drastically-reduced my fee to accommodate the budgets of two new clients this month.  And I also included much more than agreed to.  (I like to over-deliver.)

 Usually, my clients really appreciate the extras I provide!

But for these two novice clients, they simply didn’t see the value in all the extras I’ve given them.

Like instead of writing just one headline and sub-head, I wrote 4 or 5, so they can test them.  (Testing is crucial for online searches.)

And I provided the latest studies and best practices with this client … all of which was extra, yet vital to the success of his site.

 What other copywriter does that?  Or any other business person for that matter? 

Stunned, I realized that neither of these novice clients was able to appreciate what this meant in terms of ‘value added’ services!

So, these are some lessons learned to carry into 2008:

*  Never reduce my fee, in order to accommodate a client’s budget.  (If they can’t afford me, they can hire a junior copywriter.) 

*  Only provide them precisely what I’ve agreed to and no extras, since they can’t see the value.

*  Require the entire fee upfront, because some will even ignore the signed agreement to pay the other half upon final copy approval and not when his web designer gets it on his site.  (One just did that, too.)

Yeah, I know, I’m a woman.  We’re natural givers … 

but in the business world, maybe over-delivering weakens my value, rather than increases it.

In 2008, my business model is going to be …

I’ll give you exactly what you’re paying me for, and it’ll be high quality … but without extras.

I think this confirms the age-old adage that folks don’t appreciate anything that’s free.  We’ll see how my new resolve serves me.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Where Mediocrity is Outlawed!

(But you only get what you pay for.)

It’s all over the news.  Every day we hear about more scams, frauds, lies and law suits.  Like the class action law suit, the second one this year, against Wachovia.

MortgageDaily.com had this to say about Wachovia today:

 “The Charlotte, N.C.-based company and two subsidiaries are being sued under the Truth in Lending Act for failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose in loan documents and disclosure statements that payments on ARMs, with payment options at the teaser payment or teaser interest rate, will result in negative amortization, and that the principal balance will increase.”

Ooops.  Minor detail.

And another one reported today from MortgageDaily.com:

 “Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings has filed a lawsuit against Fremont Investment & Loan, charging the former sub-prime lender with failure to cure or repurchase 231 loans because of misrepresentations that drove down the value of the mortgages.

Another …

“Lehman Brothers Bank FSB has been sued by a Tennessee storage company, charging that the bank failed to honor rate lock agreements for a commercial mortgage of more than $3 million and failed to return a total of $186,500 in rate lock payments and other deposits.”

And it goes on and on, with other stories involving scams, fraud, misrepresentations, yada, yada, yada!

So, why am I talking about this?  Because I think there’s a BIG lesson here for everyone in business …

Do the Right Thing!

The right thing is very simple, really.  If I wouldn’t want it done to me, I shouldn’t do it to others.

There are a lot more conclusions to be drawn from the mortgage melt-down, but I’ll confine my observations today to just this one.

No matter how BIG a company gets, I believe the guiding principle should always be to ‘Do the Right Thing’ by our employees, stakeholders and customers.

Didn’t most of us learn this from our parents?  In school, didn’t everyone learn that cheating is not tolerated?  And, you get punished, when you get caught!

So, if doing the right thing doesn’t guide a business owner, doesn’t it make sense not to lie, cheat and steal out of the probability that you’ll eventually get caught? 

It takes a lot more effort to ‘undo’ a BAD story, and try to repair your reputation, than it does to keep your word, do the right thing and never have to worry about ruining your reputation in the first place.

But more than anything … it’s just the right thing to do, don’t you think?

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com