Youmust know who you are and be true to who you are if you are going to be who you can and should become.
Success
is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you
did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
Big
things are accomplished only through the perfection of minor details.
The Five Big Ideas
You must know who you are and be true to who you are if you are going to be who you can and should become.
You cannot have a perfect day without helping others with no thought of getting something in return.
You have to apply yourself each day to become a little better.
If you sincerely try to do your best to make each day a masterpiece, angels can do no better.
Drink deeply from those great books of your own choosing and you will enrich yourself.
It
took me a long time to understand that even a stubborn mule responds to gentleness.
Four
things a man must learn to do if he wants to make his life true:
Think
without confusion clearly
Love
his fellow-man sincerely
Act
from honest motives purely
Trust
in God and Heaven securely.
Be
true to yourself.
Help
others.
Make
each day your masterpiece.
Drink
deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
Make
friendship a fine art.
Build
a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray
for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.
You
must know who you are and be true to who you are if you are going to be who you
can and should become.
You
cannot have a perfect day without helping others with no thought of getting
something in return.
You
have to apply yourself each day to become a little better.
If a
player appeared to be taking it easy in practice, Wooden would tell him, “Don’t
think you can make up for it by working twice as hard tomorrow. If you have it
within your power to work twice as hard, why aren’t you doing it now?”
If
you sincerely try to do your best to make each day a masterpiece, angels can do
no better.
Drink
deeply from those great books of your own choosing and you will enrich
yourself.
Your
faith, whatever it may be, is the greatest shelter of all.
So
often we fail to acknowledge what we have because we’re so concerned about what
we want.
It’s
important to keep trying to do what you think is right no matter how hard it is
or how often you fail. You never stop trying. I’m still trying.
Never
believe you’re better than anybody else, but remember that you’re just as good
as everybody else.
Very
early we understood that there would be times when we disagreed but there would
never be times when we had to be disagreeable.
Abraham
Lincoln once said that the best thing a man can do for his children is to love
their mother.
The
person you are is the person your child will become.
Be
more concerned with your character than your reputation. Character is what you
really are. Reputation is what people say you are.
Make
the effort to do the best you are capable of doing—in marriage, at your job, in
the community, for your country.
Perfection
is what you are striving for, but perfection is an impossibility. However,
striving for perfection is not an impossibility. Do the best you can under the
conditions that exist. That is what counts.
“I
tell people I definitely believe in God,” Wooden writes. “I just hope God
believes in me.”
There’s
nothing wrong with having faults so long as you work conscientiously to correct
them.
People
want to believe you are sincerely interested in them as persons, not just for
what they can do for you.
True
happiness comes from the things that cannot be taken away from you.
Wooden
believe that things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things
turn out.
You
have little say over how big or how strong or how smart or rich someone else
may be. You do have, at least you should have, control of yourself and the
effort you give toward bringing out your best in whatever you’re doing. This
effort must be total, and when it is, Wooden believes you have achieved
personal success.
Try
your hardest in all ways and you are a success. Period. Do less than that and
you have failed to one degree or another.
Preparation
is where success is truly found.
A
successful journey becomes your destination and is where your real
accomplishment lies.
Likewise,
in Wooden’s coaching, he informed every player who came under his supervision
that the outcome of a game was simply a by-product of the effort they made to
prepare.
You
never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are
capable. I did my best. That is all I could do.
You
always win when you make the full effort to do the best of which you’re
capable.
You
can make mistakes, but you aren’t a failure until you start blaming others for
those mistakes.
Do
not become too concerned about what others may think of you. Be very concerned
about what you think of yourself.
Goals
should be difficult to achieve because those achieved with little effort are
seldom appreciated, give little personal satisfaction, and are often not very
worthwhile.
Mix
idealism with realism and add hard work. This will often bring much more than
you could ever hope for.
Understand
there is a price to be paid for achieving anything of significance. You must be
willing to pay the price.
The
worthy opponent brings out the very best in you. This is thrilling.
Wooden
told his athletes in basketball, “I don’t care if you are tall, but I do care
if you play tall.” It’s just another way of saying that he judged them by the
level of effort they gave to the team’s journey.
Perhaps
you fret and think you can’t make a difference in the way things are. Wrong.
You can make the biggest difference of all. You can change yourself. And when
you do that you become a very powerful and important force—namely, a good role
model.
Promise
to give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize
others.
Don’t
measure yourself by what you’ve accomplished, but rather by what you should
have accomplished with your abilities.
Nothing
in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is
more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded
genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated
derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Leadership
is the ability to get individuals to work together for the common good and the
best possible results while at the same time letting them know they did it
themselves.
Develop
a love for details. They usually accompany success.
The
four laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, and
repetition.
People
learn more effectively if given information in bite-size amounts rather than
everything all at once.
There’s
a difference between the journey and the inn.
Success
is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you
did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
Big
things are accomplished only through the perfection of minor details.
Copywritingis a mechanical process rather than an art
Greatsales copy is indispensable in today’s ultra-competitive world
The Five Big Ideas
Determine your ideal buyer’s priorities
Never attempt to divert your reader’s attention from the object it is focused on.Rather, enter the conversation already occurring in their mind
Organize your product or service’s features and benefits in order of importance
Build credibility by admitting openly discussing the drawbacks to your offer
No
one is sitting around hoping and praying that he or she will receive your sales
letter
The
Ultimate Sales Letter Summary
Step
1: Get “Into” the Customer
Step
2: Get “Into” the Offer
Step
3: Create a Damaging Admission and Address Flaws Openly
Step
4: Get Your Sales Letter Delivered
Step
5: Get Your Sales Letter Looked At
Step
6: Get Your Sales Letter Read
Step
7: Beat the Bugaboo
Step
8: Motivate Action
Step
9: Write the First Draft
Step
10: Rewrite for Strategy
Step
11: Rewrite for Style
Step
12: Answer Questions and Objections
Step
13: Spark Immediate Action
Step
14: The Creative PS
Step
15: Check the Checklists
Step
16: Use Graphic Enhancement
Step
17: Rewrite for Passion! Edit for Clarity!
Step
18: Compare Your Draft to Examples
Step
19: Pretest
Step
20: Bring Your Letter to Life
Step
21: Change Graphic Enhancements
Step
22: Edit Again
Step
23: Mail a Mockup
Step
24: The Cool-Off
Step
25: Get Second Opinions
Step
26: Give It the Final Review
Step
27: Go to Press
Step
28: Test
Step
29: Sometimes, Outsourcing
Writing
copy that sells is not a creative act so much as it is a mechanical process,
adhering to formulas, and assembling essential component parts within a
reliable framework.
Before
writing, you may find it useful to build reference lists or stacks of
3-by-5-inch cards—“What I Know about Our Customers … about Our Product … ” and
so on.
Kennedy’s
“10 Smart Market Diagnosis and Profiling Questions”
What
keeps them awake at night, indigestion boiling up their esophagus, eyes open,
staring at the ceiling?
What are they afraid of?
What are they angry about? Who are they angry at?
What are their top three daily frustrations?
What trends are occurring and will occur in their businesses or lives?
What do they secretly, ardently desire most?
Is there a built-in bias to the way they make decisions? (Example: engineers = exceptionally analytical)
Do
they have their own language?
Who
else is selling something similar to their product, and how?
Who
else has tried selling them something similar, and how has that effort failed?
Once
you’ve begun that process of identification, you’ll be in a good position to
determine what the recipient of your letter wants. Write these items down in
order of priority.
You
must determine accurately, in advance, what your customers’ priorities are. And
you must address their priorities, not yours.
The
danger for the business owner writing copy for himself and for his own business
is ingrained assumption—encouraging shortcutting or altogether neglecting this
step.
“Always
enter the conversation already occurring in the customer’s mind.” — Robert
Collier (also known as “The Collier Principle”).
Ask
yourself, “What will your customers be thinking about and talking about the day
they receive or see your sales copy?”
Do
not arrive as an interruption or disruption, attempting to divert your reader’s
attention from the object it is focused on, fighting to interest him in
something different from what he is already, at this moment, interested in.
Just
as you try to crawl inside the letter recipient’s mind and heart, you want to
crawl around in your product or service, too.
List
every possible feature and benefit, then organize them by importance.
“People
do not buy things for what they are; they buy things for what they do.”
By
acknowledging the flaws, you force yourself to address your letter recipient’s
questions, objections, and concerns. You also enhance your credibility.
By
admitting and openly discussing the drawbacks to your offer, your “credibility
stock” goes way up on most of your letter recipients’ charts. This is called
“damaging admission copy.”
Look
at the flaws and disadvantages of your product, service, business, or
proposition as problems and obstacles as building blocks in a believable,
interesting, and persuasive message.
Early
in the process of putting together your sales letter, think about getting the
finished letter into the hands of people who can respond.
Kennedy
writes,
In
case you had illusions to the contrary, no one is sitting around hoping and
praying that he will receive your sales letter. When it arrives, it is most
likely an unwelcome pest. How do you earn your welcome as a guest? By
immediately saying something that is recognized by the recipient as important
and valuable and beneficial.
Fill-In-the-Blank
Headlines with Examples
They
Didn’t Think I Could ________, but I Did.
Who
Else Wants ________?
How
________ Made Me ________
Are
You ________?
How
I ________
How
to ________
Secrets
Of ________
Thousands
(Hundreds, Millions) Now ________ Even Though They ________
Warning:
________
Give
Me ________ and I’ll ________
________
ways to ________
One
of the simplest ways to strengthen a headline is attaching a “flag.” The Flag
is brief, as brief as a single word, stuck on the front of the headline, to
reach out and grab the attention of certain specific prospects, by telegraphing
that the message is specifically for them. This puts the “who is this for?”
ahead of what is being advertised and sold (if you’re writing online, Brian
Dean discusses doing this for on-page SEO, by “frontloading” your target
keyword at the front of your headline).
Another
form of flagging is to focus on the “ill to be cured” or “problem to be
solved.” This is usually best done by posing a question, as in these examples
If
we were writing a sales letter for an ordinary apple, instead of just saying
that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” we might list every vitamin and
mineral provided by the apple, then list every health benefit delivered by each
of those vitamins and minerals. We might then show the huge bulk of other foods
you’d have to consume to get those same nutrients and benefits—all to turn that
little apple into a huge “bulk” of benefits and value.
Three
Letter Formulas That Let You Transcend Price Questions
Formula
#1: Problem Agitation Solution
Kennedy
says it may be the most reliable sales formula ever invented.
When
using problem, agitate, solution, first, define the customer’s problem in
clear, straightforward terms (saying only enough to elicit agreement). Once the
problem is established, clearly and factually, inject emotion and agitate the
problem. Lastly, unveil the solution, the answer—your product or services and
the accompanying benefits.
Kennedy’s
sales trainer friend, the famous (late) Cavett Robert, said to sell life
insurance or cemetery plots, you have to make your customer see the hearse
backed up to the door.
Formula
#2: Fortune-telling
We’re
fascinated by those who can predict the future.
Formula
#3: Winners and Losers
Your
copy needs to polarize your audience. Kennedy refers to “The $2 billion dollar
sales letter” from The Wall Street Journal as a good example of putting the
reader in “either/or” camp.
All
successful selling is by nature and necessity manipulative and must apply
pressure to get decision and action.
How
to Motivate Action
Technique
#1: Intimidation
i.
Limited Number Available
Also
known as “Scarcity” (See Influence by Robert Cialdini)
ii.
Most Will Buy
This
technique relies on what is sometimes called the “bandwagon effect,” creating
the idea that a huge trend has developed, everybody is getting involved, and
anyone who passes it up is, quite simply, an idiot.
iii.
You Will Buy Only If …
Challenge
the reader’s ego and pride.
a.
You Can Buy Only If …
Use
an “application process” to make people qualify to buy.
b.
Only Some Can Qualify …
This
appeals to the person’s desire to be part of an elite group, for approval and
recognition.
Show
the prospect something interesting, appealing, or desirable, then snatch it
away and have it play hard to get.
Technique
#2: Demonstrate ROI—Sell Money at a Discount
In
business-to-business sales letters, it’s very important to talk about, promise,
and if possible, demonstrate ROI.
Demonstrating
ROI puts you in the position of “selling money at a discount.”
ROI
can be presented in terms of dollars to be made or in terms of dollars to be
saved.
It
sometimes pays to exaggerate our ROI promise, then bring the reader back down
with copy like this: … and even if I’m only half right, you’ll still pocket
over $ …
Technique
#3: Ego Appeals
When
a product, a service, an association with a certain company, or any offer is
convincingly portrayed as a status symbol, you’ve got the basis of a good sales
letter.
Technique
#4: Strong Guarantee
i.
Basic Money-Back Guarantee
This
is the simple, basic approach: “If, for any reason, you are not fully satisfied
with your purchase, return it for a full refund.”
You
might say “delighted” or “thrilled” or even use fancier language, rather than
“satisfied.”
ii.
Refund and Keep the Premium
You
can strengthen your guarantee by linking it with a premium (free bonus gift).
iii.
Redundancy
Be
deliberately redundant. Say the same thing twice or even three times! For
example: “Receive a full 100 percent refund of every penny you paid.”
a.
Free Trial Offer
You
can give your guarantee a different twist by presenting it as a free trial
offer.
b.
Make the Guarantee the Primary Focus of the Offer
You
can sometimes increase the effectiveness of your entire sales letter by making
the guarantee the featured item.
Technique
#5: Be a Storyteller
Study
good fiction and fiction writers so you can write good stories and create good
storylines for sales letters.
“Who’s
going to read all your copy?” Those people most likely to respond.
Write
for the buyer, not the non-buyer. Real prospects are hungry for information.
You
can divide recipients into two personality extremes: the impulsive and the
analytical.
In a
sales letter, you can convey your basic sales message and promise:
In a
straightforward statement
In
an example
In a
story, sometimes called a “slice of life”
In
testimonials
In a
quote from a customer, expert, or another spokesperson
In a
numbered summary
How
to Stimulate Immediate Response
Limited
Availability
Premiums
Deadlines
Multiple
Premiums
Discounts
for Fast Response, Penalties For Slow Response
Ease
of Responding
By
properly summarizing the offer/promise in your PS, you can inspire the
recipient to dig in and read the entire letter, or simply add an extra
incentive to respond.
Dan
Kennedy’s Copywriting Checklist
This
step is the way to be certain you incorporate as many successful strategies,
formulas, and techniques as possible in your sales letter.
Did
you answer all 10 Smart Questions about your prospect? (In Step 1)
How
many of the ten were you able to use?
Which
of the ten did you decide to emphasize?
Are
you writing to your reader about what is most important to him/her (not you)?
Did
you build a list of every separate Feature of your product/offer?
Did
you translate the Features to Benefits?
Did
you identify a Hidden Benefit to use?
Did
you identify the disadvantages of your offer and flaws in your product?
Did
you develop “damaging admission copy” about those flaws?
Did
you make a list of reasons not to respond?
Did
you raise and respond to the reasons not to respond?
Did
you give careful thought to getting your letter delivered and/or through
gatekeepers to its intended recipient?
Did
you look at, compare, and consider different envelope faces?
Did
you picture your piece in a stack of mail held by your recipient, sorting it
over a wastebasket? … and take care to survive the sort and command attention
and pique interest immediately upon being opened?
Did
you craft the best possible headline for your letter?
Did
you craft the best possible subheadlines to place throughout your letter?
Did
you make careful choices about your presentation of price?
Were
you able to sell money at a discount?
Were
you able to incorporate intimidation into your call to action copy?
Were
you able to appeal to the ego of your buyer?
Did
you develop and present a strong guarantee?
Overall,
did you tell an interesting story?
Did
you use an interesting story about yourself?
Did
you write to the right length? (Not longer than need be due to poor or sloppy
editing, but not shorter than necessary to deliver the best presentation?)
Did
you use Double Readership Path?
Did
you use Internal Repetition?
Did
you keep the reader moving, with yes-momentum and end-of-page carryovers?
Did
you bust up paragraphs, keep one idea per paragraph, and make the letter easily
readable?
Were
you interesting and entertaining? … Is the letter enjoyable to read?
Did
you use five-senses word pictures?
Did
you choose words carefully, consider options of one word versus another, and
create high-impact phrases?
Did
you make your copy personal and conversational (not institutional)?
Did
you go back through your copy and think of the possible questions or objections
it might leave unanswered? … then find ways to ask them, raise them, and answer
them? (Leave no unanswered questions!)
Did
you choose and use devices to create urgency and spark immediate action?
Did
you write at least one PS at the end of the letter for a strategic purpose?
27
Essential Copy Cosmetic Enhancements
Boldfacing
Borders
Capitalization
Captions
Cartoons,
Comics, and Caricatures
Color
Columns
Drop
Caps
Fonts
and Typefaces
Highlighting
Indenting
Italics
Line
Justification
Line
Spacing
Lists
Personalization
Photographs
and Illustrations
Screen
Tints
Short
Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs
Sidebars
Simulated
Hand-Drawn Doodles
Simulated
Handwritten Margin Notes
Simulated
Rubber
Subheads
Text
Boxes
Underscoring
White
Space
If
you can’t romanticize your product or service or its direct benefits, you’ve
got to be able to create excitement out of the feelings of owning it or using
it, or the enjoyment of the money or time it saves. Find something for the
reader to get excited about.
Regardless
of who you are addressing your copy to, it is better to err on the side of
simplicity.
Other
Books by Dan Kennedy
My
Unfinished Business
No
B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs
Recommended
Reading
If
you like The Ultimate Sales Letter, you may also enjoy the following books:
Joseph
Sugarman, recognized as one of the nation’s top copywriters, marketers and
catalog pioneers, has sold millions of dollars’ worth of products through
copywriting.
In
Triggers, Sugarman takes the principles he learned from direct marketing and
applies them to the field of personal selling with 30 powerful techniques he
calls Psychological Triggers.
Psychological
Triggers are sales tools for effectively influencing, motivating and persuading
a prospect to make a positive buying decision.
The
Five Big Ideas
Direct
marketing is a general term that applies to any form of marketing where the
prospect orders directly from the product source and does not touch the product
until it is delivered (usually the prospect pays for the product before
receiving it).
As a
direct marketer, Joe Sugarman has determined that the most important thing you
can do to turn a prospect into a customer is to make it incredibly easy for
that prospect to commit to a purchase, regardless of how small that purchase
may be.
Always
make that first sale simple. Once the prospect makes the commitment to purchase
from you, you can then easily offer more to increase your sales.
Bring
out an objection very early in the sales presentation. Further, figure out a
strategy for resolving the objection.
Be
honest in everything you do and say.
Triggers
Trigger
1: Consistency
Once
a buying decision is made, the buyer is inclined to continue to buy or to
continue to act in a way that is consistent with the buyer’s previous action.
Trigger
2: Product Nature
Each
product has its own personality and nature—a special series of characteristics
that can relate your product to a prospect. Recognize the nature of the product
and relate its characteristics to the prospect and you will have the key to
selling your prospect.
Trigger
3: Prospect Nature
Discover
the emotional and logical reasons that your prospect will buy your product.
Once you know these reasons you’ll have the key to effective selling.
Trigger
4: Objection Raising
Raise
the flaw(s) or the objection(s) to purchasing your product right up front in
your ad copy or your selling approach.
Trigger
5: Objection Resolution
Resolve
the flaw(s) or objection(s) you raise in your ad copy or presentation to
reinforce why your prospect should buy from you.
Trigger
6: Involvement and Ownership
Make
your prospect use their imagination to feel more involved in the buying
process.
Trigger
7: Integrity
Your
prospect will be more likely to buy from you if everything you say is truthful
and that you match your words with your action.
Trigger
8: Storytelling
A
story provides a human element to your presentation and helps you bond with
your prospect.
Trigger
9: Authority
It
makes a big difference if the prospect can buy a product from somebody or some
company recognized as an expert in the field.
Trigger
10: Proof of Value
Truthful
comparisons with other products, savings possible, or simply bargain pricing
should be emphasized.
Trigger
11: Emotion
In
the selling process, emotion sells while logic justifies.
Trigger
12: Justify with Logic
For
many products or services, it’s important to give logical reasons why your
prospect should buy.
Trigger
13: Greed
People
like to get more than they think they deserve. And this can be used to your
advantage by pricing your product very low and making the perceived value high.
Trigger
14: Credibility
If
something about your message is not believable, chances are your prospect will
sense it. Make sure each statement you make is truthful, not too exaggerated
and utterly believable.
Trigger
15: Satisfaction Conviction
A
satisfaction conviction says “I am so sure you will be satisfied that I will
put my money where my mouth is and do something that you would suspect many
will use to take advantage of me.”
Trigger
16: Linking
A
technique of using what the consumer already knows and understands to what you
are selling, to make the new product easier to understand and relate to.
Trigger
17: Desire to Belong
People
want to belong to a group that already own a brand.
Trigger
18: Desire to Collect
There
is a strong urge in the human psyche to collect.
Trigger
19: Sense of Urgency
Make
your call to action as compelling as possible with a sense of urgency that
won’t allow procrastination.
Trigger
20. Exclusivity
To
be the owner of something that the few others can own is one of the strong
human motivations.
Trigger
21. Simplicity
By
keeping the offer simple you, in essence, make the choice for the prospect.
Trigger
22: Guilt
Give
something to somebody and you automatically engender a feeling of reciprocity.
Trigger
23: Specificity
When
you use specifics, your advertising copy is a lot more believable. By using
specifics, you enhance your offer and make your offer more credible.
Trigger
24: Familiarity
People
are much more likely to buy if they are familiar with the brand name, the
product or the company offering the product. The more familiar your prospect is
with your brand, the more inclined they are to accept and buy your product.
Trigger
25: Patterning
If
you have a product to sell and others have sold a similar product, find out how
they did it and pattern your approach after theirs. But don’t copy. Later, when
you are successful, you can pioneer new ways to sell your product.
Trigger
26: Hope
An
implied hope tied to your product can be a very strong motivational factor in
causing your prospect to buy from you.
Trigger
27: Curiosity
Use
this trigger to keep the prospect interested and involved until the very end of
your presentation.
Trigger
28: Harmonize
Get
your prospect to agree with your truthful and accurate statements and start
nodding their heads in agreement.
Trigger
29: Mental Engagement
By
challenging the mental process of the reader or the viewer and not making your
presentation too obvious, you will evoke a sense of mental engagement that
leaves the prospect with good feelings toward your message.
Trigger
30: Honesty
Be
truthful in everything you say—almost to a point where you are disarmingly
truthful.
Triggers
Summary
It
is estimated that 95% of the reasons a prospect buys involve a subconscious
decision.
Once
a commitment is made, the tendency is to act consistently with that commitment.
How
do you determine or learn about their nature? There are two ways. The first is
to become an expert on the product you are selling. Specifically, learn about
the emotional appeal of the product or service to a prospect. The second thing
you can do is tap into your own broad knowledge.
Every
product has a unique nature to it—a unique way of relating itself to the
consumer. If you understand this nature and find the way to best relate the
product to your prospect, you’ll hold the key to a successful sales program.
In
selling, it is important to understand not only the nature of the product you
are offering but the nature of your prospect as well.
Get
to know the nature of your prospect relative to the nature of your product.
Become an expert on your prospect. Be a good listener; talk to your prospects
and those who know and have dealt with them. You’ll soon discover the very
nature of your prospect and the emotional reasons he or she will buy.
Whenever
Sugarman sold a product that contained some obvious blemish or fault, he
brought the blemish or fault up first in his copy. In short, he shared his
dirty laundry openly and honestly right up front. By presenting the negatives
up front, he reduced and often eliminated a major objection to a sale.
You
can’t just resolve an objection without first raising it.
You
are wasting your time resolving any objection unless you raise it first.
If
you raise an objection that really isn’t much of an objection in the mind of
your prospect, you are raising a red flag that doesn’t need to be raised, let
alone resolved.
In
direct response, using a gimmick to get involved with the reader is often
referred to as using an involvement device—something that involves the consumer
in the buying process.
An
involvement device that ties in with what you are selling can be very
effective.
Advertising
copy that involves the reader can be quite effective, especially if the
involvement device is part of the advertising.
Whatever
you say, you’ve got to walk your talk. If you say you are going to do
something, do it. If you make a promise, deliver. If you agree to provide
quality service, deliver quality service. In short, walk your talk.
People
love stories and one of the really good ways to relate to your prospect is to
tell a story.
If
you tell a story in your sales presentation that is relevant either to selling
your product, creating the environment for selling your product, or getting the
prospect involved with your sales presentation, you are using this wonderful
and powerful trigger in a very effective way to sell your product or service.
A
good story should capture a person’s attention, relate the product or service
to the sales message, and help you bond with the prospect.
Establishing
your authority is something that should be done in each sales presentation,
regardless of how big or how little you are.
Knowledge
is a strong way to express authority.
Authority
can be expressed by dress.
In
Sugarman’s advertising, he always wants to convey, through examples or by
comparison, that what the customer is buying is a good value.
By
comparing your product with others and proving its value, you are providing the
prospect with the logic from which he or she can justify a purchase.
In
short, there is a value associated with the education you are providing your prospect
and your prospect will be willing to pay more as a result.
No
matter what Sugarman was selling, he’d express proof that he was providing real
value to the prospect and that he was providing more than anybody else.
In
short, it is up to you to visibly demonstrate, by example, that the product you
are offering will, in the long haul, give more value than any other choice
possible. Period.
There
are really just three points to remember about the subject of emotion in
advertising, which relates to the subject of personal selling.
Every
word has an emotion associated with it and tells a story.
Every
good sales presentation is an emotional outpouring of words, feelings, and
impressions.
You
sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase with logic.
John
Caples, one of the legendary direct marketers, changed the word repair to the
word fix and saw a 20% increase in response.
When
you justify a purchase in the minds of the consumers, they have no excuse not
to buy, and in fact may even feel guilty if they don’t.
The
higher the price point, the more need there is to justify the purchase.
View
logic as the answer to the unspoken objection, “Why should I buy this thing?”
Greed
is simply the psychological trigger you use when you provide the prospect with
more value than he or she really feels entitled to.
If
you convey honesty and integrity in your message, chances are you’ve gone a
long way toward establishing your credibility.
Credibility
is being believable.
One
of the biggest factors that can affect credibility is not resolving all the
objections that are raised in your prospects’ minds so that they think you’re
hiding something or avoiding an obvious fault of the product or service.
You
can also enhance credibility through the use of a brand-name product.
One
of the techniques Sugarman used in his mail order ads to build credibility was
inserting a technical explanation to add a certain expertise to my advertising
message.
In a
mail order ad or in person, technical explanations can add a great deal of
credibility, but you must make sure that you indeed become an expert, and your
statements must be accurate.
A
satisfaction conviction conveys a message from you that says, “Hey, I’m so
convinced that you will like this product that I’m going to do something for
your benefit that will surprise you and prove how incredible my offer really
is.”
The
ideal satisfaction conviction should raise an objection or the last bit of
resistance in the prospects’ minds and resolve it, but in resolving it, go
beyond what your prospect expects. The resolution should be a passionate
expression of your desire to please the person you are selling and to remove
the last ounce of resistance he or she may have.
Basically,
linking is the technique of relating what the consumer already knows and
understands with what you are selling, to make the new product easy to
understand and relate to.
One
of the easiest examples of linking is to explain how it works in a fad.
The
minute there is a lot of publicity about something and it has the potential to
turn into a fad, it could be a great opportunity to link it to something that
you’re doing, either to get publicity or to promote a product.
The
consumer who buys a specific brand has been motivated to buy that brand by a
desire to belong to the group of people who already own that brand.
The
desire to belong is one of the strongest psychological triggers on why people
purchase specific products or services. Use it to your advantage by realizing
what groups your prospect belongs to and then matching the needs and desires of
your prospect with those of your product.
When
selling (whether in print, on TV, or in a personal selling situation),
recognize that there is a very large segment of the population who, for
whatever reason, has an emotional need to collect a series of similar products.
One
of the ways the direct marketers optimize sales via the collecting instinct is
by first sending, free of charge with the very first shipment, some sort of
device to hold the collection.
Just
because you have sold a customer a product, don’t ignore the opportunity to
sell him the same product again or a new variation of that product.
In
selling, the concept of a sense of urgency involves two emotional aspects in
the selling process. One is loss or the chance of losing something, and the
other is procrastination.
Always
make sure there is a sense of urgency in your sales presentation so that the
prospect does not leave without you making that sale.
Elmer
Wheeler recognized that if you reached a point when your prospect says, “Let me
think about it,” or “Let me discuss this with my partner,” chances are you’ve
lost the sale.
It
is critical that you make the sale and not accept a delaying tactic.
The
basic concept of exclusivity is to make the prospect feel that he or she is
special—that you are really allowing that prospect to buy a particular product
that few people can obtain regardless of price.
Always
make your offer simple.
Realize
that only after your prospect becomes your customer can you present more
complicated offers and products.
Consider
many of the creative ways to instill the feeling of guilt in your prospect.
You’ll find your selling to be a lot easier with a receptive buyer when you
grease the way with this powerful psychological trigger.
When
people perceive certain general statements as puffery or typical advertising
babble, those statements are at best discounted and accepted with some doubts.
In contrast, statements with specific facts can generate strong believability.
There’s
a greater tendency to buy from somebody with whom you are familiar.
Whatever
you are selling, with the proper credentials, you will automatically engage the
power of hope—a powerful force that could motivate, inspire and even trigger a
sale.
Realize
that often you must go with the established way of doing things in order to
accomplish your goals. You’ve got to pattern yourself with what is working and
then harmonize with the marketplace. Once you have an established reputation,
it’s easier to try something different that you yourself want to do.
The
more the mind must work to reach a conclusion which it eventually successfully
reaches, the more positive, enjoyable, or stimulating the experience.
If
you make your sales pitch too obvious, the prospect will feel either patronized
or bored. Make the prospect think, in order to come to a conclusion, and you
create a very stimulating mental effect.
The
more the mind must work to reach a conclusion that it eventually successfully
reaches, the more positive, enjoyable, or stimulating the experience.
Books
Mentioned
Confessions
of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
How
to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins
How
to Sell Anything to Anybody by Joe Girard
How
to Sell Yourself by Joe Girard
Influence:
The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D
Sales
Magic by Steve Bryant
Selling
Dangerously by Elmer Wheeler
Selling
the Invisible by Harry Beckwith
Successful
Selling with NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) by Joseph O’Connor and Robin
Prior
Recommended
Reading
If
you like Triggers, you may also enjoy the following books:
Positioning
is what you do to the mind of the prospect. Put another way, it’s how you
differentiate yourself in the mind of your prospect.
Positioning
Summary
Chapter
1: What Positioning Is All About
Positioning
is not about creating something new and different. It’s about manipulating
what’s already in the prospect’s mind. It’s about bridging the connections that
already exist.
“The
mind, as a defense against the volume of today’s communications, screens and
rejects much of the information offered it. In general, the mind accepts only
that which matches prior knowledge or experience.”
“Once
a mind is made up, it’s almost impossible to change it.”
Trying
to change the prospect’s mind is an advertising disaster.
“The
best approach to take in our overcommunicated society is the oversimplified
message.”
“You
have to sharpen your message to cut into the mind. You have to jettison the
ambiguities, simplify the message, and then simplify it some more if you want
to make a long-lasting impression.”
“Once
you own a word in the mind, you have to use it or lose it.”
“When
you want to communicate the advantages of a political candidate or a product or
even yourself, you must turn things inside out. You look for the solution to
your problem not inside the product, not even inside your own mind. You look
for the solution to your problem inside the prospect’s mind.”
“The
essence of positioning thinking is to accept the perceptions as reality and
then restructure those perceptions to create the position you desire.” The
authors call this process “outside-in” thinking.
Chapter
2: The Assault on the Mind
Another
reason our messages keep getting lost is the number of media we have invented
to serve our communication needs.
Chapter
3: Getting into the Mind
“Positioning
is an organized system for finding windows in the mind. It is based on the
concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the
right circumstances.”
“The
easy way to get into a person’s mind is to be first.”
“‘It’s
better to be first than it is to be better’ is by far the most powerful
positioning idea.”
“If
you want to be successful in love or in business, you must appreciate the
importance of getting into the mind first.”
“If
you didn’t get into the mind of your prospect first (personally, politically or
corporately), then you have a positioning problem.”
“‘If
you can’t be first in a category, then set up a new category you can be first
in’ is the second most powerful positioning idea.”
To
succeed in our overcommunicated society, you must create a position in the
prospect’s mind. A position that takes into consideration not only a company’s
own strengths and weaknesses, but those of its competitors as well.
“Don’t
give your brand a generic name.”
“The
name of your brand is just as important as its positioning, maybe even more
important.”
Chapter
4: Those Little Ladders in Your Head
“To
put a new brand into the mind, you have to delete or reposition the old brand
that already occupies the category.”
“The
mind has no room for what’s new and different unless it’s related to the old.”
“For
13 years in a row, Avis lost money. Then they admitted that they were No. 2 and
Avis started to make money.”
“The
best headline for an advertisement is always incomplete. The best headlines
always let the reader supply a word or phrase to complete the idea. That’s what
makes an advertisement ‘involving.’”
“To
find a unique position, you must ignore conventional logic. Conventional logic
says you find your concept inside yourself or inside the product. Not true.
What you must do is look inside the prospect’s mind.”
“More
than anything else, successful positioning requires consistency. You must keep
at it year after year.”
“If
you want to be successful today, you can’t ignore the competitor’s position.”
Chapter
5: You Can’t Get There from Here
“Don’t
fight perceptions with facts. Perceptions will always win.”
“Positioning
has nothing to do with whether you mention a competitor or not. It has to do
with ‘considering’ competitive strengths and weaknesses before you launch a
marketing campaign.”
Chapter
6: Positioning of a Leader
“History
shows that the first brand into the brain, on the average, gets twice the
long-term market share of the No. 2 brand and twice again as much as the No. 3
brand.”
“Leadership
alone is your most effective marketing strategy.”
“Leaders
should not try to drive their competitors out of business. They need them to
create a category.”
“Leadership
is your best ‘differentiator.’ It’s the collateral for your brand’s success.”
“In
every category, there are two brands which will ultimately dominate the
category.”
“When
two brands are close, one or the other is likely to get the upper hand and then
dominate the market for years to come.”
“You
can’t build a leadership position on your own terms. ‘The best-selling under-$1,000
high-fidelity system east of the Mississippi.’ You have to build a leadership
position in the prospect’s terms. There are two basic strategies that should be
used hand in hand. They seem contradictory but aren’t.”
“The
ultimate objective of a positioning program should be to achieve leadership in
a given category.”
Chapter
7: Positioning of a Follower
“Most
me-too products fail to achieve reasonable sales goals because the accent is on
‘better’ rather than ‘speed.’ That is, the No. 2 company thinks the road to
success is to introduce a me-too product, only better.”
“It’s
not enough to be better than the competitor. You must launch your attack while
the situation is fluid. Before the leader has time to establish leadership.”
“‘Look
for the hole’ in the prospect’s mind is one of the best strategies in the field
of marketing.”
“You
don’t have to be first to succeed, as long as you can create the perception
that you were first.”
“Your
high price must have a real difference to justify the price. If nothing else,
it rationalizes the spending of more money.”
“Being
the first to (1) establish the high-price position (2) with a valid product
story (3) in a category where consumers are receptive to a high-priced brand is
the secret of success.”
“In
positioning a product, there’s no substitute for getting there first.”
“The
biggest single mistake that companies make is trying to appeal to everybody.”
“Rather
than asking yourself, ‘Who are we trying to appeal to?’ try asking yourself the
opposite question, ‘Who should not use our brand?’”
Chapter
8: Repositioning the Competition
“To
move a new idea or product into the mind, you must first move an old one out.”
“For
a repositioning strategy to work, you must say something about your
competitor’s product that causes the prospect to change his or her mind, not
about your product, but about the competitor’s product.”
“The
late Howard Gossage used to say that the objective of your advertising should
not be to communicate with your consumers and prospects at all, but to
terrorize your competition’s copywriters, and there’s some truth in that.”
“‘We’re
better than our competitors’ isn’t repositioning. It’s comparative advertising
and not very effective. There’s a psychological flaw in the advertiser’s
reasoning which the prospect is quick to detect. ‘If you’re so smart, how come
you’re not rich?’”
Chapter
9: The Power of the Name
“The
name is the hook that hangs the brand on the product ladder in the prospect’s
mind.”
“What
you must look for is a name that begins the positioning process. A name that
tells the prospect what the product’s major benefit is.”
“One
of the things that makes positioning thinking difficult for many people is the
failure to understand the role of timing.”
“When
you want to change a strongly held opinion, the first step to take is usually
to change the name.”
“In
naming people or products, you should not let your competitors unfairly preempt
words that you need to describe your own products.”
“The
name is the first point of contact between the message and the mind.”
Chapter
10: The No-Name Trap
“When
they have a choice of a word or a set of initials, both equal in phonetic
length, people will invariably use the word, not the initials.”
“In
general, if you remember the set of initials, you also remember the name.”
“A
company must be extremely well known before it can use initials successfully.”
“Make
no mistake about it. Initials make weak brand or company names.”
“The
mind works by ear, not by eye.”
“Before
you can file away a picture in the mind, you have to verbalize it.”
Chapter
11: The Free-Ride Trap
“A
big company with a big reputation usually cannot compete successfully with a
smaller company with a well-defined position. Size doesn’t matter. Positioning
does.”
Chapter
12: The Line-Extension Trap
“What
does it mean to own a position in the mind? Simply this: the brand name becomes
a surrogate or substitute for the generic name.”
“The
stronger the position, the more often this substitution takes place.”
“The
easiest way to kill a brand is to line-extend it.”
Reverse
line extension is called “broadening the base.”
Chapter
13: When Line Extension Can Work
“One
of the keys to understanding the line-extension issue is to separate the
short-term effects from the long-term effects. Is alcohol a stimulant or a
depressant? Actually, it’s both. In the short term alcohol is a stimulant; in
the long term alcohol is a depressant. Line extensions generally work the same
way.”
“The
classic test for line extension is the shopping list. Just list the brands you
want to buy on a piece of paper and send your spouse to the supermarket.”
“If
your competitors are foolish. If your volume is small. If you have no
competitors. If you don’t expect to build a position in the prospect’s mind. If
you don’t do any advertising.”
Chapter
14: Positioning a Company: Monsanto
“Rightly
or wrongly, the bigger, more successful companies have the better people. And
the smaller, less successful companies have the leftovers. So if your company
occupies the top rung of the product ladder in the prospect’s mind, you can be
sure that the prospect will also think that your company has the best people.”
Chapter
15: Positioning a Country: Belgium
“The
perceptions of people living in a place are often different from those visiting
it.”
“To
position a country as a destination, you need attractions that will keep the
traveler around for at least a few days.”
“In
any positioning program, if you can start with a strongly held perception,
you’ll be that much ahead in your efforts to establish your own position.”
“To
create an effective positioning program, you have to ‘verbalize the visuals.’
Alliteration can also be an effective memory device in this process.”
“A
successful positioning program requires a major long-term commitment by the
people in charge.”
Chapter
16: Positioning a Product: Milk Duds
“The
first step in any positioning program is to look inside the mind of the
prospect.”
“Isolating
a narrow target is usually the first step in finding an effective position.”
“The
solution to a positioning problem is usually found in the prospect’s mind, not
in the product.”
Chapter
17: Positioning a Service: Mailgram
“Visuals
can be extremely memorable, but unless they are connected to a verbal idea they
lose their effectiveness.”
“Regardless
of how much money you spend, regardless of how technologically interesting your
service is, to get inside the prospect’s mind, you have to relate to what’s
already there.”
Chapter
18: Positioning a Long Island Bank
“To
successfully position a retail outlet, you must know the territory.”
“‘Mapping
the prospect’s mind’ is normally done with a research technique called
‘semantic differential.’”
“Most
marketing research is overly concerned with the attitudes of customers and
prospects to the company itself. It doesn’t really matter what customers think
about your company and your products or services. The thing that counts is how
your company compares with your competitors.”
“In
semantic differential research, the prospect is given a set of attributes and
then asked to rank each competitor on a scale, generally from 1 to 10.”
Chapter
19: Positioning the Catholic Church
“Once
a positioning strategy has been developed, it sets the direction for all the
activities of the organization. Even one as large and multifaceted as the
Catholic Church.”
Chapter
20: Positioning Yourself and Your Career
“The
most difficult part of positioning is selecting that one specific concept to
hang your hat on. Yet you must, if you want to cut through the prospect’s wall
of indifference.”
“Confusion
is the enemy of successful positioning.”
“Always
try to work for the smartest, brightest, most competent person you can find.”
“If
you look at biographies of successful people, it’s amazing to find how many crawled
up the ladder of success right behind someone else.”
“The
more business friends you make outside of your own organization, the more
likely you are to wind up in a big, rewarding job.”
“It
is possible to succeed in business or in life all by yourself. But it’s not
easy.”
Chapter
21: Six Steps to Success
What
Position Do You Own?
What
Position Do You Want to Own?
Whom
Must You Outgun?
Do
You Have Enough Money?
Can
You Stick It Out?
Do
You Match Your Position?
Chapter
22: Playing the Positioning Game
“The
meanings are not in the words. They are in the people using the words.”
Alfred
Korzybski, who developed the concept of general semantics, explains that insane
people try to make the world of reality fit what is in their heads.
“It’s
a whole lot easier to change the facts to fit your opinions.”
“Unsane
people make up their minds and then find the facts to ‘verify’ the opinion. Or
even more commonly, they accept the opinion of the nearest ‘expert,’ and then
they don’t have to bother with the facts at all.”
“Language
is the currency of the mind.”
“To
be successful in the positioning era, you must be brutally frank. You must try
to eliminate all ego from the decision-making processes. It only clouds the
issue.”
“One
of the most critical aspects of positioning is being able to evaluate products
objectively and see how they are viewed by customers and prospects.”
“Often
the solution to a problem is so simple that thousands of people have looked at
it without seeing it. When an idea is clever or complicated, however, we should
be suspicious. It probably won’t work because it’s not simple enough.”
“The
big winners in business and in life are those people who have found open
positions near the center of the spectrum. Not at the edge.”
“The
secret to establishing a successful position is to keep two things in balance:
(1) a unique position with (2) broad appeal.”
“To
repeat, the first rule of positioning is: To win the battle for the mind, you
can’t compete head-on against a company that has a strong, established
position. You can go around, under or over, but never head-to-head.”
“The
leader owns the high ground. The No. 1 position in the prospect’s mind. The top
rung of the product ladder. To move up the ladder, you must follow the rules of
positioning.”
“If
you’re not the leader, set up a new category you can be the leader in.”
Other
Books by Al Ries and Jack Trout
The
22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
Recommended
Reading
If
you like Positioning, you may also enjoy the following books:
Cashvertising:
How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money
Selling Anything to Anyone by Eric Whitman
I love Ryan’s work. And I’ve read many of his books (see below). But I was compelled to read Perennial Seller after Ahref’s Head of Marketing, Tim Soulo, recommended it in his course, Blogging for Business (notes available in my commonplace book).
While
I enjoyed it I felt there could have been more for the reader to act on. I
understand Ryan’s decision to focus on principles in an effort to write a
timeless book, but it would have been nice to know what to do other than
“create great work.”
For
more on why things catch on, I recommend reading Jonah Berger wonderful book
Contagious.
The Five Big Ideas
Make
creating great work your primary focus.
Be a
verb rather than a noun (in other words, make creating a “need” rather than a
“want”).
“The
Dip” is inevitable in any creative endeavor.
Nobody
creates better second drafts without the intervention of someone else (e.g. an
editor).
The
best marketing you can do for your book is to start writing the next one.
Perennial
Seller Summary
Introduction
In
every industry, certain creations can be described as “perennial.” By that Ryan
means that, regardless of how well they may have done at their release or the
scale of audience they have reached, these products have found continued
success and more customers over time.
Part
I: The Creative Process
Derek
Halpern says you need to “create content 20% of the time. Spend the other 80%
of the time promoting what you created.” Ryan makes an interesting counter
argument,
The
kind of important, lasting work we are striving for is different—we’re talking
about making something that doesn’t rely on hype or manipulative sales tactics.
Because those methods aren’t sustainable. And they do an injustice to great
work.
Ryan
on creating great work,
To
be great, one must make great work, and making great work is incredibly hard.
It must be our primary focus. We must set out, from the beginning, with
complete and total commitment to the idea that our best chance of success
starts during the creative process.
Austin
Kleon says, “Lots of people want to be the noun without doing the verb. To make
something great, what’s required is need. As in, I need to do this. I have to.
I can’t not.” (Sam’s note: Austin has a wonderful book on creativity called,
Show Your Work which I highly recommend.)
“You
must have a reason—a purpose—for why you want the outcome and why you’re
willing to do the work to get it. That purpose can be almost anything, but it
has to be there.” (Sam’s note: This echoes Simon Sinek’s thesis in Start with
Why).
Ask
yourself,
Why
are you creating?
Why
are you putting pen to paper and subjecting yourself to all the difficulties
you will certainly face along the way?
What
is your motivation?
“If
you’re to create something powerful and important, you must at the very least
be driven by an equally powerful inner force. If there is anything to
romanticize about art, it’s the struggle and the dedication required to get it
right—and the motivating force that makes it all possible.”
“In
the course of creating your work, you are going to be forced to ask yourself:
What am I willing to sacrifice in order to do it? Will I give up X, Y, Z? A
willingness to trade off something—time, comfort, easy money, recognition—lies
at the heart of every great work. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always a
significant sacrifice that needs to happen. If it didn’t, everyone would do
it.”
Ryan’s
analogy for creating art,
“Art
is the kind of marathon where you cross the finish line and instead of getting
a medal placed around your neck, the volunteers roughly grab you by the
shoulders and walk you over to the starting line of another marathon.
There
is inevitably a crisis and a low point in every creative work. You will run
into what author and marketer Seth Godin calls “the Dip.” The existential
crisis where you’ll have to ask yourself: Is this even worth it anymore?
Ryan
on creating work that matters,
Creating
something that lives—that can change the world and continue doing so for
decades—requires not just a reverence for the craft and a respect for the
medium, but real patience for the process itself. By patience, I’m not
referring just to the amount of time that creation will take, but also the long
view with which you evaluate your own work. And the long view can be really
long.
Ryan
on creativity,
Art
can’t be hurried. It must be allowed to take its course. It must be given its
space—and can’t be rushed or checked off a to-do list on the way to something
else.
The
risk for any creator is over-accounting for what’s happening right in front of
them.
“The
best we can do is sit down and create something, anything, and let the process
organically unfold. Tolerating ambiguity, frustration, and changes in the grand
plan and being open to new experiences are essential to creative work. Indeed,
they are what makes creativity work.”—Scott Barry Kaufman
Holding
multiple contradictory ideas in your head at the same time is an essential
phase of creativity. (John Keats called it “negative capability”). You have to
be able to tolerate this and then refine your idea like mad until it gets better.
“You
don’t have to be a genius to make genius—you just have to have small moments of
brilliance and edit out the boring stuff.”
“An
audience isn’t a target that you happen to bump into; instead, it must be
explicitly scoped and sighted in. It must be chosen.”
There
is a small publisher whose slogan is “Find your niche and scratch it!”
“Successfully
finding and “scratching” a niche requires asking and answering a question that
very few creators seem to do: Who is this thing for?”
“For
any project, you must know what you are doing—and what you are not doing. You
must also know who you are doing it for—and who you are not doing it for—to be
able to say: THIS and for THESE PEOPLE.”
The
best way Ryan’s found to avoid missing your target—any target—entirely is to
identify a proxy from the outset, someone who represents your ideal audience,
who you then think about constantly throughout the creative process.
“Just
as we should ask “Who is this for?” we must also ask “What does this do?” A
critical test of any product: Does it have a purpose? Does it add value to the
world? How will it improve the lives of the people who buy it?”
One
of the best pieces of advice Ryan received as a creator was from a successful
writer who told him that the key to success in nonfiction was that the work
should be either “very entertaining” or “extremely practical.”
“You
want what you’re making to do something for people, to help them do
something—and have that be why they will talk about it and tell other people
about it.”
“The
bigger and more painful the problem you solve, the better its cultural hook,
and the more important and more lucrative your attempt to address it can be.”
Ask
yourself,
What
does this teach?
What
does this solve?
How
am I entertaining?
What
am I giving?
What
are we offering?
What
are we sharing?
What
are these people going to be paying for?
“An
essential part of making perennial, lasting work is making sure that you’re
pursuing the best of your ideas and that they are ideas that only you can have
(otherwise, you’re dealing with a commodity and not a classic).”
Goethe
observed that the most original artworks “are not rated as such because they
produce something new” but because they are saying something “as though it had
never been said before.”
The
higher and more exciting standard for every project should force you to ask
questions like this:
What
sacred cows am I slaying?
What
dominant institution am I displacing?
What
groups am I disrupting?
What
people am I pissing off?
“You
cannot violate every single convention simultaneously, nor should you do it
simply for its own sake. In fact, to be properly controversial—as opposed to
incomprehensible—you must have obsessively studied your genre or industry to a
degree that you know which boundaries to push and which to respect.”
“You
want to provoke a reaction—it’s a sign you’re forging ahead.”
“Your
work may shock people, they might not be willing to accept it right away—but
that’s also a sign that you’ve created something fresh and truly
original.”
“Deep,
complex work is built through a relentless, repetitive process of
revisitation.”
“Ignore
what other people are doing. Ignore what’s going on around you. There is no
competition. There is no objective benchmark to hit. There is simply the best
that you can do—that’s all that matters.”
“It
takes time and effort and sacrifice to make something that lasts.”
Part
II: Positioning
The
first wake-up call for every aspiring perennial seller must be that there is no
publisher or angel investor or producer who can magically handle all the stuff
you don’t want to handle.
Perennial
sellers are made by indefatigable artists who, instead of handing off their
manuscripts to nonexistent caretakers—“kissing it up to God,” to use a
Hollywood expression—see every part of the process as their responsibility.
They take control of their own fate. Not simply as artists but as makers and
managers.
Instead,
prior to release, considerable effort needs to be spent polishing, improving,
and, most critically, positioning your project so that it has a real chance of
resonating with its intended audience.
We
have to take this thing that means so much to us and make sure that it is
primed to mean something to other people too for generations to come. That it
will stand out among a crowded field of other creators sincerely attempting to
do the exact same thing. That it will be the best that it is capable of being
and that the audience it is intended for is primed to love it. And the best
person in the world to accomplish this difficult task? You.
The
competitive landscape for creating something that lasts is not one for the
entitled or the half committed.
Once
you understand that this project’s chances of success or failure rest entirely
on you, you must undertake a paradoxical and difficult task: finding and
submitting your work to the feedback of a trusted outside voice (or, in some
cases, voices).
But
ultimately, to take a project where it needs to go, you’ll need to rely on an
editor to help you get there.
As
infuriating as it may be, we must be rational and fair about our own work.
Ask
yourself: What are the chances that I’m right and everyone else in the world is
wrong? We’ll be better off at least considering why other people have concerns,
because the reality is, the truth is almost always somewhere in the
middle.
“Remember:
When people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are
almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and
how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”—Neil Gaiman
Getting
feedback requires humility. It demands that you subordinate your thoughts about
your project and your love for it and entertain the idea that someone else
might have a valuable thing or two to add.
Nobody
creates flawless first drafts. And nobody creates better second drafts without
the intervention of someone else. Nobody.
Sometime
after the bulk of the creative production is done but before a work is fully
wrapped up, a creator must step back and ask: “OK, what was I trying to make
here? Did I get there? What do I need to change or fix in order to successfully
do so?”
A
similar exercise that I like to do with all my projects is one I call “One Sentence,
One Paragraph, One Page.” It goes like this: Put the website or the beta
version of your app or your manuscript aside and grab a piece of paper or open
a blank Word document. Then, with fresh eyes, attempt to write out exactly what
your project is supposed to be and to do in … One sentence. One paragraph. One
page. This is a ______ that does ______. This helps people ______.
When
you know what genre you’re in and you know what you’re trying to accomplish, it
becomes clearer which decisions matter and which don’t.
You
say to them: “Here’s what I’ve been aiming for. Do you think I am close? What
do I need to change with my [writing, design, music, art, etc.] to get where
I’m trying to go?”
Regardless,
you must start somewhere—ideally somewhere quantifiable. By which I mean: Who
is buying the first one thousand copies of this thing? Who is coming in on the
first day? Who is going to claim our first block of available dates? Who is
buying our first production run?
With
a concrete number in mind, it’s a lot easier to establish and empathize with
what your audience is going to need.
You
must create room for the audience to inhabit and relate to the work. You must
avoid the trap of making this about you—because, remember, you won’t be the one
buying it.
Today,
in order to even have a chance at people’s attention, your project has to seem
as good as or better than all the others.
Three
critical variables determine whether that will happen:
Positioning
is what your project is and who it is for.
Packaging
is what it looks like and what it’s called.
The
Pitch is the sell—how the project is described and what it offers to the
audience.
Work
that is going to sell and sell must appear as good as, or better than, the best
stuff out there. Because that’s who you’re competing with: not the other stuff
being released right now, but everything that came before you.
That’s
why it’s critical that you be able not only to clearly and concisely explain
who and what you are, but also to show it, too.
If
your goal is to create a perennial seller, you can’t measure yourself against
people who aren’t aiming for the same thing—you can’t be endlessly checking
industry charts or lists, and you can’t be distracted by the trends and fancies
of other creators who are hopelessly lost.
Knowing
what your goal is—having that crystal clear—allows you to know when to follow
conventional wisdom and when to say “Screw it.”
Part
III: Marketing
“Marketing
is your job. It can’t be passed on to someone else.”
“The
mark of a future perennial seller is a creator who doesn’t believe he is God’s
gift to the world, but instead thinks he has created something of value and is
excited and dedicated to get it out there.”
“No
one has the steam or the resources to actively market something for more than a
short period of time, so if a product is going to sell forever, it must have
strong word of mouth. It must drive its own adoption. Over the long haul, this
is the only thing that lasts.”
“The
strategy of perennial success is about trying to create work and products that
will sell over the long term, but ideally we also want to sell in the short term.”
“Selling
in perpetuity and launching strong are not mutually exclusive.”
“The
first thing anyone planning a launch has to do is sit down and take inventory
of everything they have at their disposal that might be used to get this
product in people’s hands.”
“As
creators, we have to get more comfortable with giving people a taste of our
work—or, in some cases, giving some people the entire meal for free. That’s how
we build an audience and gather momentum.”
What
is the right price to create a perennial seller? Ryan’s answer is “as cheap as
possible without damaging the perception of your product.”
One
of the best ways to build a readership, viewership, listenership, user base, or
customer base early on is by making it cheap.
According
to Amazon’s data, the cheaper a book is, the more copies it sells (and,
counterintuitively, makes more money than if it were expensive).
As a
general rule, the more accessible you can make your product, the easier it will
be to market. You can always raise the price later after you’ve built an
audience.
“Try
to find the people least likely to get a request from someone like you, and
approach them first, instead of going where everyone else is going.”
“The
most newsworthy thing to do is usually the one you’re most afraid of.”
Don’t
be afraid of pissing people off either. (Sam’s note: As Dan Kennedy says, “If
you haven’t offended someone by noon each day, then you’re not marketing hard
enough.”)
Publicity
is about temporarily breaking through the noise and contributing to the word of
mouth that a product eventually needs to succeed.
“Advertising
can add fuel to a fire, but rarely is it sufficient to start one.”
When
it comes to creating a perennial seller, the principle to never lose sight of
is simple: Create word of mouth.
Part
IV: Platform
Becoming
a perennial seller requires more than just releasing a project into the world.
It requires developing a career.
In
Ryan’s definition, a platform is the combination of the tools, relationships,
access, and audience that you have to bear on spreading your creative work—not
just once, but over the course of a career.
“Creating
a perennial seller and word of mouth is possible when you have high-level
supporters who are willing to evangelize what you do and bring other people to
your work.”
“If
you want people to consume your work and to know what you do next, you have to
make it possible for them to hear about it as easily and regularly as
possible.”
The
best marketing you can do for your book is to start writing the next one.
Ryan
on achieving mastery,
It’s
not enough to make one great work. You should try to make a lot of it. Very few
of us can afford to abandon our gift after our first attempt, convinced that
our legacy is secured. Nor should we. We should prove to the world and to
ourselves that we can do it again … and again.
“One
of the things all creatives must do during their downtime is explore new ways
of reaching new fans.”
A
great example of profiting from haters: Colonel Parker, the infamous manager of
Elvis Presley, came up with the idea to sell “I Hate Elvis” memorabilia so that
Elvis could profit from his haters too.
Other
Books by Ryan Holiday
The
Daily Stoic
Ego
Is the Enemy
The
Obstacle Is the Way
Recommended
Reading
If
you like Perennial Seller, you may also enjoy the following books:
“When
I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it
‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product.”
“Consumers
still buy products whose advertising promises them value for money, beauty,
nutrition, relief from suffering, social status and so on. All over the world.”
Chapter
2: How to Produce Advertising That Sells
“You
don’t stand a tinker’s chance of producing successful advertising unless you
start by doing your homework.”
When
doing your homework, study the product you are going to advertise, first. The
more you know about the product you are going to advertise, the more likely you
are to come up with a big idea for selling it.
Then,
research what kind of advertising your competitors have been doing for similar
products, and with what success. This will give you your bearings.
Finally,
research your consumers. Find out how they think about your kind of product,
what language they use when they discuss the subject, what attributes are
important to them, and what promise would be most likely to make them buy your
brand.
Ogilvy’s
own definition of positioning is ‘what the product does, and who it is for.’
“Doyle
Dane Bernbach created one of the most powerful campaigns in the history of
advertising. ‘When you’re only Number 2, you try harder. Or else.’ This
diabolical positioning made life miserable for Hertz, who was Number 1.”
“Image
means personality.”
“When
you choose a brand of whiskey you are choosing an image. Jack Daniel’s
advertisements project an image of homespun honesty and thereby persuade you
that Jack Daniel’s is worth its premium price.”
“It
takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your
product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship
in the night.”
“I
am supposed to be one of the more fertile inventors of big ideas, but in my
long career as a copywriter I have not had more than 20, if that.”
“Big
ideas come from the unconscious. But your unconscious has to be well informed,
or your idea will be irrelevant.”
It
will help you recognize a big idea if you ask yourself five questions:
Did
it make me gasp when I first saw it?
Do I
wish I had thought of it myself?
Is
it unique?
Does
it fit the strategy to perfection?
Could
it be used for 30 years?
“Sometimes,
the best idea of all is to show the product—with utter simplicity. This takes
courage, because you will be accused of not being ‘creative.’”
“Whenever
you can, make the product itself the hero of your advertising.”
“There
are no dull products, only dull writers.”
“If
you and your competitors all make excellent products, don’t try to imply that
your product is better. Just say what’s good about your product—and do a
clearer, more honest, more informative job of saying it.”
“You
aren’t advertising to a standing army; you are advertising to a moving parade.”
Leo
Burnett once said, “When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one,
but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”
“If
it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.”
“Advertising
reflects the mores of society, but does not influence them.”
Chapter
3: Jobs in Advertising—And How to Get Them
“‘Most
good copywriters’, says William Maynard of the Bates agency, fall into two
categories. Poets. And killers. Poets see an ad as an end. Killers as a means
to an end.’ If you are both killer and poet, you get rich.”
Chapter
4: How to Run an Advertising Agency
“When
people aren’t having any fun, they don’t produce good advertising.”
When
new hires were appointed to head an office in the Ogilvy & Mather chain,
Ogilvy gave them a Russian doll. Inside the smallest was this message: “If each
of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of
dwarfs, but if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, Ogilvy &
Mather will become a company of giants.”
Chapter
5: How to Get Clients
“The
easiest way to get new clients is to do good advertising.”
“Tell
your prospective client what your weak points are, before he notices them. This
will make you more credible when you boast about your strong points.”
“The
day after a new business presentation, send the prospect a three-page letter
summarizing the reasons why he should pick your agency. This will help him make
the right decision.”
“Avoid
clients whose ethos is incompatible with yours.”
“Erosion
of morale does unacceptable damage to an agency.”
“If
you get an account which also advertises in overseas markets, you stand a good
chance of getting it around the world. I call this the domino system of new
business acquisition.”
Chapter
6: Open Letter to a Client in Search of an Agency
“Don’t
keep a dog and bark yourself Any fool can write a bad advertisement, but it
takes a genius to keep his hands off a good one.”
Chapter
7: Wanted—A Renaissance in Print Advertising
“On
the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body
copy.”
“It
follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90
percent of your money.”
“The
headlines which work best are those which promise the reader a benefit”
“Headlines
of ten words sell more merchandise than short headlines.”
“Headlines
that offer the reader helpful information, like ‘How to Win Friends and
Influence People’, attract above-average readership.”
“I
advise you to include the brand name in your headline. If you don’t, 80 percent
of readers (who don’t read your body copy) will never know what product you are
advertising.”
“If
you are advertising a kind of product which is only bought by a small group of
people, put a word in your headline which will flag them down, like asthma,
bedwetters, women over thirty-five.”
“If
you need a long headline, go ahead and write one, and if you want a short
headline, that’s all right too.”
“When
you advertise in local newspapers, you get better results if you include the
name of each city in your headline. People are mostly interested in what is
happening where they live.”
“On
the average, long headlines sell more merchandise than short ones. This
one-word headline is the exception that proves the rule.”
“Specifics
are more credible and more memorable than generalities.”
“When
you put your headline in quotes, you increase recall by an average of 28
percent.”
“I
am the only copywriter who has literally bled for his client.”
“When
people read your copy, they are alone. Pretend you are writing each of them a
letter on behalf of your client. One human being to another, second person
singular.”
“You
cannot bore people into buying your product. You can only interest them in
buying it.”
“It
pays to write short sentences and short paragraphs, and to avoid difficult
words.”
“Copy
should be written in the language people use in everyday conversation.”
“Tell
your reader what your product will do for him or her, and tell it with specifics.”
“Write
your copy in the form of a story, as in the advertisement which carried the
headline, ‘The amazing story of a Zippo that worked after being taken from the
belly of a fish.’”
“Avoid
analogies.”
“Stay
away from superlatives like ‘Our product is the best in the world.’ Gallup
calls this Brag and Boast. It convinces nobody.”
“If
you include a testimonial in your copy, you make it more credible.”
“Always
try to include the price of your products.”
“When
the price of the product is left out, people have a way of turning the page.”
“All
my experience says that for a great many products, long copy sells more than
short.”
“I
believe, without any research to support me, that advertisements with long copy
convey the impression that you have something important to say, whether people
read the copy or not.”
“Dr.
Charles Edwards concluded that ‘the more facts you tell, the more you sell.’”
“On
the average, headlines below the illustration are read by 10 percent more
people than headlines above the illustration.”
“More
people read the captions under illustrations than read the body copy, so never
use an illustration without putting a caption under it. Your caption should
include the brand name and the promise.”
“Your
poster should deliver your selling promise not only in words, but also
pictorially. Use the largest possible type. Make your brand name visible at a
long distance. Use strong, pure colors. Never use more than three elements in
your design.”
Chapter
8: How to Make TV Commercials That Sell
Sixteen
Tips:
Brand
identification
Show
the package
Food
in motion
Close
Ups
Open
with the fire
When
you have nothing to say, sing it
Sound
effects
Voice-over
on camera?
Supers
Avoid
visual banality
Change
of scene
Mnemonics
Show
the product in use
Everything
is possible on TV
Miscomprehension
The
great scandal
Here
are two ways to register your brand name:
Use
the name within the first ten seconds.
Play
games with the name. Spell it.
“When
you advertise a new product, you have to teach people its name on television.”
“Commercials
which end by showing the package are more effective in changing brand
preference than commercials which don’t.”
“In
commercials for food, the more appetizing you make it look, the more you sell.”
“It
is a good thing to use close-ups when your product is the hero of your
commercial.”
“If
you grab attention in the first frame with a visual surprise, you stand a
better chance of holding the viewer.”
“When
you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire.”
“Never
use a jingle without trying it on people who have not read your script. If they
cannot decipher the words, don’t put your jingle on the air.”
“While
music does not add to the selling power of commercials, sound effects—such as
sausages sizzling in a frying-pan—can make a positive difference.”
“Research
shows that it is more difficult to hold your audience if you use voice-over. It
is better to have the actors talk on camera.”
“It
pays to reinforce your promise by setting it in type and superimposing it over
the video, while your soundtrack speaks the words. But make sure that the words
in your supers are exactly the same as your spoken words.”
“If
you want the viewer to pay attention to your commercial, show her something she
has never seen before.”
“On
the average, commercials with a plethora of short scenes are below average in
changing brand preference.”
“It
pays to show the product being used, and, if possible, the end-result of using
it.”
“The
technicians can produce anything you want. The only limit is your imagination.”
“If
you want to avoid your television commercials being misunderstood, you had
better make them crystal clear.”
“The
easiest way to reduce the cost of a commercial is to cut actors out of the
storyboard.”
A
pilot study Ogilvy commissioned suggests four positive factors to radio
advertising:
Identify
your brand early in the commercial.
Identify
it often.
Promise
the listener a benefit early in the commercial.
Repeat
it often.
Chapter
9: Advertising Corporations
“Opinion
Research Corporation has found that people who know a company well are five
times more likely to have a favorable opinion of it.”
“Advertising
whose purpose is to influence public opinion is more likely to be successful if
it follows these principles: If the issue is complicated, and it almost always
is, simplify it as much as you reasonably can.”
“Present
your case in terms of the reader’s self-interest.”
Chapter
10: How to Advertise Foreign Travel
“People
dream about visiting foreign countries. The job of your advertising is to
convert their dreams into action. This can best be done by combining
mouth-watering photographs with specific how-to-do-it information.”
“When
you are advertising little-known countries, it is particularly important to
give people a lot of information.”
“I
believe that charm works well in tourism advertising. And differentiation.”
Chapter
11: The Secrets of Success in Business-to-Business Advertising
“An
effective strategy in business advertising is to show the reader how he can
calculate the money your product would save him.”
Chapter
12: Direct Mail, My First Love and Secret Weapon
“The
more people trust you, the more they buy from you.”
Chapter
13: Advertising for Good Causes
“It
is difficult to persuade people to give money to a charity unless they know
something about it.”
Chapter
14: Competing with Procter & Gamble
“The
best of all ways to beat P&G is, of course, to market a better product.”
Chapter
15: 18 Miracles of Research
“Advertising
which promises no benefit to the consumer does not sell, yet the majority of
campaigns contain no promise whatever. (That is the most important sentence in
this book. Read it again.)”
“Sometimes
you will find that the promise which wins your test is already being used by
one of your competitors. Poor you.”
Chapter
16: What Little I Know About Marketing
“The
manufacturer who finds himself up the creek is the short-sighted opportunist
who siphons off all his advertising dollars for short-term promotions.”
Chapter
17: Is America Still Top Nation?
“I
would give my right arm to have made the nostalgic commercials for Hovis
bread.”
Chapter
18: Lasker, Resor, Rubicam, Burnett, Hopkins, and Bernbach
“Lasker
held that if an agency could write copy which sold the product, nothing else
was needed.”
“Lasker
used to say, “I make my men so good that I can’t keep ’em”.”
“The
secret of [Stanley Resor’s] success was his ability to attract exceptionally
able men, and to treat them with so much respect that they never left.”
“[Raymond]
Rubicam used to say, “The way we sell is to get read first”.”
“Without
any doubt, Leo [Burnett]’s greatest monument is his campaign for Marlboro.”
“Nobody
should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read
[Scientific Advertising] book seven times. It changed the course of my life.”
“[Claude]
Hopkins was interested in nothing but advertising.”
“I
am told that [Bill Bernbach] used to carry a card which bore the
self-admonition Maybe he’s right.”
Chapter
19: What’s Wrong with Advertising?
“There
is one category of advertising which is totally uncontrolled and flagrantly
dishonest: the television commercials for candidates in Presidential
elections.”
“In
a period when television commercials are often the decisive factor in deciding
who shall be the next President of the United States, dishonest advertising is
as evil as stuffing the ballot box.”
“The
best way to increase the sale of a product is to improve the product.”
Chapter
20: I Predict 13 Changes
“The
quality of research will improve, and this will generate a bigger corpus of
knowledge as to what works and what doesn’t.”
“There
will be a renaissance in print advertising.”
“Advertising
will contain more information and less hot air.”
“Billboards
will be abolished.”
“The
clutter of commercials on television and radio will be brought under control.”
“There
will be a vast increase in the use of advertising by governments for purposes
of education, particularly health education.”
“Advertising
will play a part in bringing the population explosion under control.”
“Candidates
for political office will stop using dishonest advertising.”
“The
quality and efficiency of advertising overseas will continue to improve—at an
accelerating rate.”
“Several
foreign agencies will open offices in the United States, and will prosper.”
“Multinational
manufacturers will increase their market-shares all over the non-Communist
world, and will market more of their brands internationally.”
“Direct-response
advertising will cease to be a separate speciality, and will be folded into the
‘general’ agencies.”
“Ways
will be found to produce effective television commercials at a more sensible
cost.”
Recommended
Resources
Scientific
Advertising by Claude Hopkins.
Tested
Advertising Methods by John Caples.
Reality
in Advertising by Rosser Reeves.
Madison
Avenue by Martin Mayer.
Confessions
of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy.
New
Advertising: Twenty-One Successful Campaigns from Avis to Volkswagen by Robert
Glatzer.
The
100 Greatest Advertisements by Julian Watkins.
The
Art of Writing Advertising by Denis Higgins.
How
to Advertise by Kenneth Roman and Jane Maas.
Advertising
Inside Out by Philip Kleinman.
Successful
Direct Marketing Methods by Bob Stone.
Or
Your Money Back by Alvin Eicoff
The
Art of Plain Talk by Rudolph Flesch
Writing
That Works by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson.
The
Elements of Style by William Strunk and E B White.
Thirty
Seconds by Michael Arlen.
Speech
Can Change Your Life by Dorothy Sarnoff
The
Duping of The American Voter: Dishonesty and Deception in Presidential Television
Advertising by Robert Spero
Obvious
Adams by Robert Updegraff.
Recommended
Reading
If
you like Ogilvy on Advertising, you may also enjoy the following books:
Positioning
by Al Ries and Jack Trout
The
22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
If you don’t know what your time is worth, you can’t expect the world to know it either.
People who can’t be punctual can’t be trusted.
Regimen, ritual, commitment, and discipline are of vital importance in relation to successful achievement.
The Five Big Ideas
Calculate your base earning target.
SlayTime Vampires.
Stop“productive interuptuts.”
Practice“clearing the calculator.”
Link everything to your goals.
Dan
Kennedy’s No B.S. Time Truths
If
you don’t know what your time is worth, you can’t expect the world to know it
either.
Vampires
will suck as much blood out of you as you permit. If you’re drained dry at
day’s end, it’s your fault.
If
they can’t find you, they can’t interrupt you.
Punctuality
provides personal power.
By
all means, judge. But know that you too will be judged.
Demonstrated
self-discipline is MAGNETIC.
Good
enough is good enough.
Liberation
is the ultimate entrepreneurial achievement.
Chapter
1: How to Turn Time into Money
The
use or misuse (or abuse by others) of your time—the degree to which you achieve
peak productivity—will determine your success.
Entrepreneurship
is the conversion of your knowledge, talent, guts, etc.—through the investment
of your time—into money.
The
more you think like an investor-entrepreneur than just an entrepreneur, the
better you do financially. It is “investor-think” that makes you wealthy.
You’ve
got to decide how much money you’re going to take out of your business or
businesses this year in salary, perks, contributions to retirement plans, and
so on. What is that number?
Second,
you have to eliminate the need for doing or delegate those tasks and activities
that just cannot and do not match up with the mandated value of your time.
Deciding
what you shouldn’t be doing—this moment, or at all—is at least as important as
deciding what to invest your time in.
Chapter
2: How to Cheat Time
There
are only three ways to make money: your own work; overrides or profit margin on
other people’s work; money making money for you.
You
should consider any resource you are having to create, manage, or maintain with
your time and ask yourself who else is doing the same work and how you might
get some kind of “ride along” on their efforts.
Few
entrepreneurs understand the incredible leverage, time savings, and capital
investment reduction available from using OPC: Other People’s Customers.
Chapter
3: How to Drive a Stake Through the Hearts of the Time Vampires Out to Suck You
Dry
Time
Vampires are needy, thirsty, selfish, and vicious creatures who, given an
opportunity, will suck up all of your time and energy and leave you weak and
debilitated.
Being
willing to deal with Time Vampires as you would a vile, evil, blood-sucking
creature of the dark is the first step in freeing yourself from them.
“Mr.
Have-You-Got-a-Minute?” is perhaps the most insidious of all the Time Vampires.
How
to deal with “Mr. Have-You-Got-a-Minute?”: “I’m busy right now. Let’s meet at
4:00 P.M. for 15 minutes, and tackle everything on your list at one time.”
“Mr.
Meeting” is another dangerous Time Vampire.
Being
in meetings is seductive. It is a way to feel important. It’s also a great way
to hide from making and taking responsibility for decisions.
You
need to stop and ask yourself: do I really need to be in—or hold—this meeting?
Is there a more time-efficient way to handle this? A conference call? A memo
circulated to each person? Heck, a posting on a bulletin board. On an internet
or intranet site. An email. Hey, anything BUT another meeting.
If
you are going to hold a meeting, there are several stakes you can use to stop
the vampires from making it an endless “blood klatch”:
Set
the meeting for immediately before lunch or at the end of the day so the
vampires are eager to get it done and over with, turn into bats, and fly out of
there.
Don’t
serve refreshments.
Circulate
a written agenda in advance.
Have
and communicate a clear, achievable objective for the meeting.
If
you must attend a meeting, you also have some stakes available so you can slay
Mr. Meeting:
Determine
in advance what information you are to contribute, and then do it with a
prepared, minimum-time maximum-impact presentation.
Have
an exit strategy: someone coming in to get you at a certain time, a
pre-arranged call on your cell phone, whatever. You can then excuse yourself
only long enough to make a call and return if you need to—but you probably
won’t. Or get a drop-dead end time pre-set for the meeting—the tighter the
better.
Another
Time Vampire to watch out for is Mr. Trivia. He either can’t or doesn’t want to
differentiate between the important and unimportant, minor and major.
How
to deal with “Mr. Trivia”: “I have an exceptionally busy day, so I am only
dealing with 9s and 10s on a 1 to 10 scale. Everything else MUST wait until
tomorrow. Are you convinced that what you want to talk to me about is a 9 or
10?”
Chapter
4: Stopping “Productivus Interruptus” Once and for All
If
you’re going to achieve peak personal productivity in an interruptive
environment, there are five self-defense, time-defense tactics you’ll have to
use:
Get
lost.
Don’t
answer the phone.
Get
a grip on email, texts, and faxes.
Set
the timer on the bomb.
Be
busy and be obvious about it.
Leadership
is not about visibly outworking everybody. Actually, brilliant leadership is
about getting everybody else to out-work you.
You
have absolutely no legal, moral, or other responsibility to answer the phone or
take a call unless you want to.
If
your clients, customers, or patients, and prospective clients, customers, or
patients view you as one of and the same as many—so that if you aren’t
instantly accessible or responsive and, whoever’s next by alphabet or Google
Local or whatever reference will do just as well, you have lost—you will suffer
and die in the marketplace.
When
you are visible to others, it’s best to be visibly busy.
Have
pre-set appointments with start and end times.
The
average worker is interrupted every 3 minutes, 50 seconds. 44% of these are
self-interruptions, 56% inflicted by others, in person or via phone calls,
texts, email, etc. given attention. That equates to 137 interruptions in an
8-hour workday. If you aspire to be only an average worker achieving average
performance and average outcomes, then going along with this will meet your
needs and guarantee your mediocrity.
Attitudes
and actions have direct consequences. If you accept the attitudes of the
average—in this case, accepting frequent interruptions as unavoidable, and you
accept the behavior of the average—in this case, the habit of distraction and
self-interruption and of instantly or quickly or even same-day response to
interruptions inflicted by others, you can count on being and staying average.
Chapter
5: The Number-One Most Powerful Personal Discipline in All the World And How It
Can Make You Successful Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
Dan
believes a person who cannot keep appointments on time, cannot keep scheduled
commitments, or cannot stick to a schedule cannot be trusted in other ways
either.
Chapter
6: The Magic Power That Makes You Unstoppable
Regimen,
ritual, commitment, and discipline are of vital importance in relation to
successful achievement.
There
are three kinds of action: starting things or implementation, follow-through,
and completion.
The
two things that seem universal are that self-disciplined action is evident in
every winner, as is the ability to differentiate between action and
purpose-specific action—between busyness and purpose-driven busyness.
Chapter
7: The Ten Time Management Techniques Really Worth Using
Information
marketing revolves around the public’s stubborn belief that there must be a
“secret” to success concealed from them, possibly by conspiracy, that, if
uncovered, would change everything.
Technique
#1: Tame ALL the Interruptions
Technique
#2: Minimize Meetings
Technique
#3: Practice Absolute Punctuality
Technique
#4: Make and Use Lists
Technique
#5: Fight to Link Everything to Your Goals
Technique
#6: Tickle the Memory with Tickler Files
Technique
#7: Block Your Time
Technique
#8: Minimize Unplanned Activity
Technique
#9: Profit from “Odd-Lot” Time
Technique
#10: Live off Peak
Bonus
Technique #11: Use Technology Profitably
For
years, Dan’s operated with four basic lists:
My
Schedule.
Things
to Do List.
People
to Call List.
Conference
Planner.
If
you aren’t making lists, you probably aren’t making a lot of money either.
Jim
Rohn often said that the only real reason more people do not become
millionaires is that they don’t have enough reasons to.
Similarly,
Dan insists that the only real reason more people aren’t much, much more
productive is that they don’t have enough reasons to be. A secret to greater
personal productivity is more good reasons to be more productive. That’s why
you have to fight to link everything you do (and choose not to do) to your
goals.
If
you’re going to achieve peak personal productivity, you’ve got to define peak
personal productivity.
Dan
defines productivity as, “The deliberate, strategic investment of your time,
talent, intelligence, energy, resources, and opportunities in a manner
calculated to move you measurably closer to meaningful goals.”
To
determine whether you’re being productive, ask yourself, “Is what I am doing,
this minute, moving me measurably closer to my goals?”
Anything
beyond a 50% “yes rate” qualifies as peak personal productivity.
One
of the real, hidden secrets of people who consistently achieve peak
productivity is that they make inviolate appointments with themselves.
The
more you know about yourself and what works best for you, to liberate your
creativity and to power your performance, the better you can arrange things to
your satisfaction.
If
you do project work, it’s important to estimate the minutes or hours required
and work against the clock and against deadlines. Every task gets completed
faster and more efficiently when you have determined in advance how long it
should take and set a time for its completion.
Deadlines
refine the mind.
Dan
can tolerate some compromise of desired quality, but he cannot tolerate winding
up underpaid.
You
can’t actually manage time; you can only manage yourself and those around you.
There
is no excuse to simply waste time while waiting in an airport, stuck in
traffic, or parked in a reception room.
When
you say to yourself, “It’s only ten minutes,” you miss the entire point of
time. You either take it seriously or you don’t.
Acceptance
of ordinary realities that are counter to deriving maximum benefit from your
time equates to surrender of control.
Guilt
about creating benefit for yourself blocks any benefit coming to you.
If
you are to take a goal, objective, or target seriously and have a hope of its
achievement, you need to link it to time. Time must be made for it, allocated
to it, budgeted for it, and booked into your schedule as firm, inviolate
appointments with yourself and/or with others.
Chapter
8: Decisiveness
We
do not get paid for our ideas, our intentions, our thinking things over, for
trying, even for doing. In the real world, there is no A for Effort. We only get
paid for DONE.
Chapter
9: Fire Yourself, Replace Yourself, Make More Money, and Have More Fun
You
must systematically, aggressively divest yourself of those activities you do
not do well and do not do happily, or you must find routine, so as to systematically
invest your time (and talent, knowledge, know-how, and other resources) in
those things you do extraordinarily well, enjoy doing, and find intellectually
stimulating.
There
is a profound difference between delegation and abdication.
You
cannot delegate if you believe there’s only one way to get things done right.
You
cannot move ahead without jettisoning some responsibilities and tasks in order
to make room for new, more valuable tasks and responsibilities.
A
six-step process to effective delegation:
Define
what is to be done.
Be
certain the delegate understands what is to be done. This means asking to have
the assignment restated by that person. Never assume you’ve successfully
communicated. Hope but verify.
Explain
why it is to be done as you are prescribing it to be done. With anything but
the most menial of tasks and lowest level worker, there is room for differences
of opinion about how a thing should be done. If they have a better sense of the
actual doing than you do, they should be encouraged to voice it. If you want
exactness of your instruction followed, you need to make it clear that you have
“method to your madness.” Be sure the delegate understands the how-to process.
Establish
what defines a successful outcome. Dan often catches his clients putting people
in charge of important and relatively complex projects without clear agreement
about what will constitute success or how it is to be measured. Everybody ends
up frustrated.
Set
the deadline for completion or progress report. Open-end delegation without a
timeline is doomed. YOU have to set the timer.
Follow-up.
If the person and delegated task do not return to you at the agreed-on date and
time, you need a means of noticing the absence (failure) so you can deal with
it at one minute late—not hours, days, or weeks.
If
you’re looking for the answer that turns your time into the most money and
wealth possible, then turn your attention to marketing. Why? Because it is
infinitely easier to find or train someone to take care of a business’
operations than it is to get someone to do its marketing. Marketing is the
highest-paid profession and most valuable part of a business. The person who
can create systems for acquiring customers, clients, or patients effectively
and profitably is the “money person.”
Chapter
10: The Link Between Productivity and Association
The
phrase “time management” is inaccurate shorthand. You can only manage things
that affect your ability to convert time to value, like environment, access,
and all the other things discussed in this book.
One
of the most significant, that you can control to a great extent, is
association—your choices of whom you permit into your world, whom you give time
to or invest time with, and whom you look to for ideas, information, and
education.
Each
minute of your time is made more or less valuable by the condition of your
mind, and it is constantly being conditioned by association.
Chapter
11: Buy Time by Buying Expertise
Here
are four questions to ask when considering hiring an expert:
Has
the expert actually done the thing he is advising you about—or is he an
academic theorist giving book reports?
Is
the expert current?
Does
the expert have satisfied clients?
Are
there at least three other successful entrepreneurs who have done more than one
deal with you?
Do
you understand what your chosen expert is doing and how he does it?
Never
blindly delegate to mystics. If you can’t understand how the investment makes
money, how the sales strategy works, or how the expert’s advice about anything
works—run.
Chapter
12: The Inner Game of Peak Personal Productivity
There
is a certain state of mind that best facilitates achieving peak productivity.
Achieving
maximum personal productivity requires that you become extraordinarily facile
at stopping, storing, and clearing so as to direct 100% of your mental powers
to one matter at a time—to the matter at hand.
Dr.
Maxwell Maltz, the author of Psycho-Cybernetics, called it, “clearing the
calculator.”
If
you can’t control your thoughts and manage your mind, you can’t control or
manage your time.
Dan
is a big believer in populating my work environment with “psychological
triggers”—objects that remind me to think a certain way.
Chapter
13: Reasons Why a Year Passes and No Meaningful Progress Is Made
This
is one reason why a person fails to advance much from one year to the next: he
is so busy whining about how unfair everything is and feeling sorry for himself
that he has no time left to make anything happen.
Eric
Hoffer, the author of The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass
Movements, wrote: “There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive
than an achievement, for an achievement, does not settle anything permanently.
No
one who is good at making excuses is also good at making money. The skills are
mutually exclusive.
Alibi-itis:
Choosing a nifty alibi over a difficult path to achievement.
Here’s
how to get focused if you’re too majoring in minor matters: identify and write
down the three most important, most significant, most productive, and most
valuable things you can do to foster success in your particular enterprise—just
three. Write them down. From there, translate them into three actions you can
take each and every day. Write them down.
For
about 30 years, Dan has not let a day go by where he did not send out a letter
or a package, get an article published, do something to keep my books on
bookstore shelves, secure a high-profile speaking engagement, or do something
else to create and stimulate “deal flow.” It didn’t matter how busy he was or
how tired—or if it was the Friday before a holiday weekend. Whatever. Before
sunset, at least ONE thing had to be done intended to stimulate demand. He has
only eased up on this in very recent years, as he chooses to rein in myself and
wind down my work schedule, but still, at least half of his days include this.
Chapter
14: Taming Tech and Surviving the Social Media Swamp
We
have finite amounts of willpower that become depleted as we use them, get
drained away, and replenish slowly if at all. Therefore, it is far more
beneficial to structure a success environment and install and enforce
protections for your mind and its ability to do deep work than to cultivate and
call on superior willpower.
Technology
tempts us to ignorance and sloth.
The
embracing of new technology often masks a downgrade.
Dan
is not a fan of social media for reasons Cal Newport outlines in his book, Deep
Work.
Other
Books by Dan Kennedy
My
Unfinished Business
The
Ultimate Sales Letter
Recommended
Reading
If
you like No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs, you may also enjoy the
following books:
“There
is virtually no other skill that can make you as much money as copywriting.”
“You
must distil your ‘big idea,’ or Copy Thesis, down to a single, clear sentence.”
“The
more accurately you can describe your reader’s problem in terms they relate to,
the more they instinctively feel that you must have an answer to that problem.”
The
Five Big Ideas
“Make
the reader aware of the cost of indecision.”
“Make
certain that you focus 80% of your copy should focus on the transformation
itself.”
Copy
that converts at a high rate usually has a lot of bullets.
“As
much as 30 percent of your sales may come in the week after your big launch
day.”
“Stories
are the process by which we learn, live, and believe anything.”
How
to Write Copy That Sells Summary
“Advertising,
and by extension copywriting (which is the writing of ads) is simply
salesmanship in print.”
“There
is virtually no other skill that can make you as much money as copywriting.”
Ask
yourself, “What are you selling, and how does it benefit the customer?”
You
must distil your ‘big idea,’ or Copy Thesis, down to a single, clear sentence.
“Any
[YOUR AUDIENCE] can [SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM] by using [YOUR PRODUCT], because [HOW
IT SOLVES THE PROBLEM].”
The
P.A.S.T.O.R. Copywriting Framework
Person,
Problem, and Pain
Amplify
and Aspiration
Story,
Solution, and System
Transformation
and Testimony
Offer
Response
“You
must begin by identifying the person you are trying to reach with your message,
understanding the problem that you are solving for them, and the pain that
problem causes.”
“The
simplest, most effective way to do this is to describe the problem in great
detail.”
“The
more accurately you can describe your reader’s problem in terms they relate to,
the more they instinctively feel that you must have an answer to that problem.”
“Use
the reader’s own language, the very words, and phrases they use to describe the
problem they want to solve.”
“You
have to join the conversation that is already taking place in the reader’s
mind.”—Robert Collier
“You
must first empathize with your reader, and have the feelings they have. Then
you must develop the feelings of excitement that come from knowing the problem
can be solved.”
“Amplify
the consequences of not solving the problem, and the aspirations the reader
holds for the future.”
“Get
the reader to fully experience the consequence of not solving the problem.”
“You
need to place a dollar cost on this failure to solve the problem when at all
possible.”
“Make
the reader aware of the cost of indecision.”
“Help
your prospect see the real long-term consequences of ignoring their problem.”
“Whatever
you’re selling, whether it’s a home study program, a book, a seminar, your
consulting services — anything at all — what people are buying is not the
‘stuff,’ it’s the transformation.”
“Offer
testimonials, real-life stories of people who have successfully made the
transformation that you are providing.”
There
are three questions people are asking when you sell them coaching, consulting
or instruction about anything:
Has
this person been able to do what they are describing for themselves?
Has
this person been able to teach other people to achieve the results they are
describing?
Will
this person be able to teach me how to achieve these results?
“Provide
the prospect with proof that the answer to all three of these questions is a
resounding “Yes!”
“Make
certain that you focus 80% of your copy on the transformation itself.”
The
response request is one of the areas where copy tends to often be the weakest.
Tell
the customer exactly what to do in order to get your program, your consulting,
your book, etc. and remind them why it’s important to do so.
Example:
“You’re
at the point of decision. You can either continue down the path of least
resistance, the path you have already been traveling, or you can choose the
road less traveled. The path of least resistance will probably result in you
getting the same outcomes you’ve always received. But if you want something
different to happen, if you want to change the direction of your health (or
your relationships, or your finances, etc.) you’re going to have to do
something different. Make a new choice, and pursue your new outcome. Click the
button below, fill out the order form, and we will immediately ship your entire
package to you. It will contain everything you need to get started.”
The
15 Building Blocks of a Sales Letter
Pre-head
(also known as the “eyebrow”)
Headline
Deck
Copy
Lead
Body
Subheads
Rapport
Bullet
Points
Credibility
Testimonials
Value
Justification
Risk
Reversal
Bonuses
Call
to Action or “Explicit Offer.”
P.S.
The
headline is the “ad for the rest of the ad”.
All
your headline has to do is make the reader want to keep on reading—specifically,
to get him or her to read the next sentence.
“Studies
show that you have about two seconds to grab the attention of people who are
reading your copy for the first time.”
The
deck copy is the block of type that is usually in black bold type and set apart
from the rest of the text. It comes between the headline and the beginning of
the letter.
“The
job of the Deck Copy is to reinforce the impact and expand on the idea proposed
in the headline. It can also be used to arouse more curiosity.”
The
lead is the very beginning of the body of the sales letter.
The
body is the bulk of your text; most of your sales letter.
The
subheads are smaller headlines that separate the major sections of your sales
letter.
“Prospects
never read anything at first; they never believe anything at first, and they
never buy anything at first.”
Rapport
is relationship building.
“People
like three kinds of people: one, those who are like themselves; two, those they
would like to be; and three, those who like them back.”
“Rapport
demonstrates that you know the reader’s pain, that you understand his or her
problems, and that you have some common experiences that you can share that
proves you understand his or her pain.”
“A
bullet point is a brief statement that identifies a single benefit offered by
your product or service.”
Copy
that converts at a high rate usually has a lot of bullets.
“You
must build credibility with your prospects in order for them to lower the
resistance they’re naturally feeling.”
“Establishing
credibility will answer the top question that they have once they’ve started
reading your letter and that is, ‘Why should I listen to what this person has
to say?’”
“Testimonials
are third-party verification that your solution does what it claims to do.”
“You
want to make your testimonials as believable as possible. Usually that means
getting a video testimonial.”
“The
next best thing is to get a photograph of the person, not a studio shot, but a
candid shot, and include his or her full name and website address or, even
better, his or her phone number.”
If
you’re just starting out, you could use quotes from famous people, as long as
it’s clear you’re not implying that the famous person is personally endorsing
your product.
Value
justification is where you start to talk about how valuable your product,
service, or solution actually is to the user.
“You
highlight the value to your offer and do it in a way that contrasts it
favorably to the price.”
“My
goal when writing copy is to demonstrate the value to the buyer is at least 10
times the price.”
“The
simplest form of risk reversal is simply to say you have a 100 percent money
back guarantee.”
“Your
job is to find a way to express the guarantee or the risk reversal in such a
way that you’re taking all the risk off their shoulders and putting it onto
yours, so that they feel they’re taking no risk at all.”
“Your
bonus is a related but unexpected gift that enhances the value of your offer.”
“The
mistake I see people making in their online sales letters is offering bonuses that
are not related to the product that they’re selling and that don’t enhance the
value of their product.”
“The
explicit offer is simply the place in the copy where we ask for the order and
tell the reader what to do.”
“The
research that I’ve seen shows that either one or three PS’s seem to work best.”
PS
is important because readers skim, scroll, and scan. They start at the top and
scroll all the way to the bottom because they want to know, “What is this
person selling and how much is it?” and that’s usually near the bottom of the
page. If you put a good, properly formatted PS at the bottom, you can restate
your entire proposition in one sentence.
How
to Write Compelling Headlines
To
do its job, a headline must accomplish three tasks:
Stop
the reader in their tracks. They must stop scanning through the copy on the
page, and consider the headline.
Make
a promise (either explicitly or implicitly) that interests the reader.
Evoke
enough curiously to compel them to keep reading the ad.
Here
are five essential qualities of a compelling headline:
Grabs
Attention. Your headline’s number-one job is to grab the reader’s attention. To
accomplish this, your headline must either: make a claim or promise, evoke an
emotional response, or stir up curiosity.
Screens
and Qualifies Readers. Choose specific words that segment out the exact “tribe”
you want to reach. Headlines that apply to everyone can just as easily apply to
no one.
Draws
Readers into the Body Copy. Remember you’re not selling your concept or
proposition in the headline. You’re making one sale only: the idea of reading
the rest of the post.
Communicates
the “Big Idea.” What is the one true benefit of your post, and how can you
communicate that to your readers in a way that is meaningful to them? Put that
in your headline.
Establishes
Credibility. Authority is one of the most powerful ways of gaining attention.
If you have an “authority card” to play, play it in the headline if possible.
Headlines
Formulas
The
“How-To” Headline
The
“Transactional” Headline
The
“Reason-Why” Headline
The
“Probing Question” Headline
The
“If-Then” Headline
“The
key to making the “How-To” headline work is that you need to tie it to a
benefit your reader cares about (related to your content, of course).”
“The
“Transactional” headline is all about the promise. When you truly have ‘Wow!’
level content, this headline will grab attention.”
Cialdini’s
research showed that simply adding the word “because” to a request makes it
more likely you’ll get what you’re asking for.
“With
the ‘Probing Question’ headline, you ask a question that creates an intense
desire to know the answer. The kind of question you want to ask is one that
really evokes strong curiosity or taps into a problem you know your reader
has.”
“With
the ‘If-Then’ headline, you contrast something that’s easy for your reader to
do with the major benefit of your post.”
The
ultimate secret to writing really good headlines is to write a lot of really
bad ones.
Write
lots of possible headlines for your sales copy, subject lines for your emails,
and titles for your blog posts before you finally settle on one.
“Email
is still the number one way to get things sold on the Internet.”
“Bullet
points are a great place to start writing when you’re in that ‘stuck place,’
when that resistance-to-writing feeling sneaks up on you.”
“A
blind bullet is a bullet that tantalizes your reader with a curiosity-inducing
statement, yet does not reveal the actual secret behind it, in effect setting
up an ‘open loop’ that the mind longs to complete.”
Bullets
that are not blind are called “naked” bullets.
21
Winning Bullet Point Templates
The
“Wrong” Bullet
The
“Themed Sequence” Bullet
The
Two-Step Bullet
The
Giveaway Bullet
The
Reverse Hook Bullet
The
Naked Benefit Bullet
The
Transactional Bullet
The
If-Then Bullet
The
“Truth About” Bullet
The
“Single Most” Bullet
The
“How-To” Bullet
The
Number Bullet
The
Sneaky Bullet
The
“Better Than” Bullet
The
“Simple Fact” Bullet
The
“What” Bullet
The
“What NEVER” Bullet
The
“Do You?” Bullet
The
“Reason Why” Bullet
The
“Secrets Of” Bullet
The
Probing Question Bullet
“The
wrong bullet is simply a case where you can contradict a common assumption.”
An
example of the “Wrong” bullet: “Eating lots of salt in your diet is bad for
your blood pressure, right? Wrong! We’ll explain why when you order our special
report.”
With
the “Themed Sequence” bullet, you are going to spell out, for instance, the
“seven deadly diet sins,” or the “three humiliating secrets men don’t want
women to know.”
“A
two-step bullet offers a parenthetical elaboration on the main benefit
statement.”
Example:
“What to never do with your business card, and why. (If you get this wrong,
people will walk away and you’ll never hear from them again.)”
Every
now and then in your bullets, you should give something away.
“If
you can give people a tip or trick that’s stunningly good, they are more likely
to think, ‘If that’s what they’re giving away in their sales promotion, what
are they hiding behind the scenes? If the free stuff is this good, what kind of
information do I get when I pay it?’”
The
Reverse Hook Bullet is a bullet that presents, first, an interesting fact, and
then presents an unexpected benefit that arises from that interesting fact.
Example:
“37.1% of the keywords in your Google AdWords account are not getting enough
traffic to give you reliable test data.” Now, this is the parenthetical
statement, “Here’s a simple trick you can use to eliminate these keywords from
your ad campaigns forever and save yourself loads of money.”
“The
Naked Benefit Bullet makes a direct benefit claim, but it has got to be
supported by some additional facts, or what I call ‘intrigues’ that deepen your
reader’s interest.”
Example:
“How to effortlessly generate dramatically different ideas and know instantly
if they are worth pursuing.”
“The
Transactional Bullet is simply a proposition that says, ‘Give me (X), and I’ll
give you (Y).’”
Example:
“Give me one hour, and I’ll teach you how to write effective headlines.”
“Whenever
you’re using a transactional bullet, it’s often best if you can use it in a
case where what you’re asking from your readers seems of small consequence in
contrast to the benefit you’re offering to them.”
“With
the “If-Then” bullet, you’re giving the prospect something easy for him or her
to do or comply with, and you’re associating it to a more valuable benefit.”
Example:
“If you can spare 10 minutes a day, you can lose five pounds a month.”
“Find
an issue where the controversy is well-known in your market.”
Example:
“The truth about carbohydrates – and chances are, it’s not what you think it
is.”
“Use
the “Single Most” type of bullet when you have a superior benefit that you can
prove.”
Example:
“The single fastest, easiest, and best way of lowering your blood pressure
documented and approved by the American Medical Association.”
“You
want a bullet that uses specificity to dimensionalize the benefit you’re
claiming.”
“Any
time you use the how-to bullet, make sure you’re using a few more specifics and
make it more real, more tangible to the reader.”
Use
the Number Bullet when you have a specific number of techniques or multiple
ways of doing a certain thing, multiple reasons why, or multiple reasons why
not.
“You
want to use the Sneaky Bulley when you can imply some kind of element of
conspiracy.”
Example:
“The sneaky methods drug companies use to keep you hooked on their products.”
“This
is most effective when you can confirm a suspicion that your reader already
has.”
“You
want to find something good that you can make better.”
“When
you can’t use a blind bullet, use simple facts—but make them interesting.”
Example:
“Healthy people are dying of sudden cardiac arrest,” quote the study, then
follow up with a comma and say something to this effect: “There are steps you
can take to prevent this from happening.”
“The
‘what’ bullet simply answers the question ‘What?’”
Example:
“What inoculations you need to travel abroad.”
The
“What Never” bullet is the negative form of the “what” bullet.
Example:
“What never to eat on an airplane (unless you want to die).”
Use
the “Do You?” bullet when you believe your readers are doing something that is
a mistake. Something that your product, service, or information will help them
avoid.”
Example:
“Do you make these mistakes when filling out your business tax returns?”
The
“Reason Why” Bullet is a simple version of “reason why” copy.
“It’s
just explaining the reasons why they should buy your product or service.”
Example:
“The reason why you should always use the lowest octane fuel available at the
gas pump, not the highest.”
“If
you have an unusual solution, device, tactic, or method, then you can use this
bullet to build curiosity.”
“Ask
a question you are reasonably certain you know the answer to.”
Example:
“Do you know the seven kinds of deductions the IRS looks for to flag your
return for an audit?”
“The
triad of selling—the offer, the close, and the risk reversal segment.”
21
Steps to Writing Irresistible Offers, Rock-Solid Risk Reversal Copy, and
Powerful Closes
Make
your offer stand alone
Apply
the P.A.S.T.O.R. Framework™ to your offer.
Enclose
your order area copy in a differentiating text box
Use
the prospect’s positive voice in the offer
Use
aspirational language
Use
credit card logos and secure site symbols
Use
both an order button and a text link (such as “click to order”)
Do
not sleepwalk through the guarantee
Put
your risk reversal inside a certificate
Keep
selling, especially in the risk reversal section
Use
“100 percent money back”” language, but don’t rely on that to convey the
message of your guarantee
Add
video to your risk reversal section
Use
your signature in the risk reversal section
Use
a handwritten guarantee
The
“close” is you asking for the order
Use
all the tools that are available to you at the close
Tell
your reader what to do to close the deal
You
want to reassure and praise your readers
Explain
what’s going to happen
Maintain
the look and feel of your website
Test
your order form
“Construct
your offer so it’s like a miniature sales letter. It needs a headline, a little
deck copy, a string of benefit-rich bullets that describe what the product is
about, and exactly what your prospects are going to get when they buy. Then
give them a call to action, where they can click and actually order your
product or service.”
“Give
your prospects the words to say inside their own minds.”
“You
are thinking thoughts for the reader.”
“The
reason this is so powerful when related to offers is that when you write in the
prospect’s positive voice (‘Yes, Ray, I want to take advantage of your
Copywriting Academy Coaching Program. I want to possess the power of turning
words into wealth.’), you’re telling him or her what to think.”
“Invoke
your reader’s desire. Focus on the outcome your reader desires and use language
that aspires to that outcome, to gain the emotional state or the sense of being
that this outcome will give them.”
Credit
card symbols are important because we’ve been trained to accept as trustworthy,
reliable, and stable. By including them, you are reassuring your prospect that
your site shares the same qualities.
“Give
them every opportunity to succeed at giving you money.”
“It’s
always best to assume that your user or reader doesn’t really know with 100
percent certainty what to do next.”
“The
guarantee is also known as the ‘risk reversal’ section of your copy.”
“You
want to reassure them—as much as possible—that the decision they’re making is
the right decision and that they cannot make a mistake.”
“Putting
something in certificate form lends it credibility.”
“This
is a perfect place to restate the benefits of your offer.”
“Describe
the benefits in your guarantee or risk reversal language.”
Example:
“Order my e-book, read every page. If you’re not delighted with the results, if
in fact you don’t lose at least 30 pounds in 30 days, find it easy to eat the
right foods without feeling hungry or deprived, know in an instant what you’re
supposed to eat without ever having to refer to a calorie chart or point
system, then I refuse to keep your money.”
“Use
active language to dimensionalize your guarantee.”
“Use
it, but don’t make that the only guarantee you offer; be more descriptive.”
“Make
your risk reversal or guarantee personal, persuasive, and passionate. One of
the best ways you can do that is by using the human voice and face, especially
if your personality is part of your marketing. A video of you personally
delivering the guarantee is more powerful than text alone.”
This
increases conversions because if it’s signed, we feel like it’s a deal; it’s
official; it’s a contract.
“If
a signature works, a handwritten guarantee often works even better.”
“If
you’re going to use a handwritten guarantee, make sure that it’s short,
powerful, and most important, legible.”
“That
means you want a headline on the order page just as I described: one that’s
affirmative, congratulatory, and lets them know they’ve made the right
decision.”
“You
want to use urgency, scarcity, and reward.”
“If
you can introduce some urgency into the selling process ethically and honestly,
then you should do it.”
“Make
sure you’re offering a limited number or a limited time on your bonus items,
and make certain it’s all honest and ethical.”
“Make
your promotions real, honest, and ethical.”
“This
is where you need to be as specific as possible.”
You’re
going to use language like this: “Okay, now’s the time to type in your name and
your address, double-check that the information is correct, then type in your
credit card number and click on the ‘Buy now’ button.”
“You
want to be just that specific in your instructions.”
“If
you can give these instructions in audio or video, that’s even better.”
“Reassure
and praise your reader for the good decision he or she made.”
“Tell
them exactly what’s going to happen when they press the ‘Submit’ or ‘Buy now’
button. This is a question your reader is wondering about.”
“The
best way to reassure them is to tell them what’s going to happen or even show
them if you can make a screen capture video that shows exactly what’s going to
happen.”
“Your
order form should look exactly like your website.”
“Order
your own product. If it’s an expensive product and you want to minimize your
processing expense, set it to zero dollars or one dollar and make multiple
orders.”
10-Part
Guarantee That is Powerful Beyond Belief
Start
with the words “100% unconditional money back guarantee”
Sell
your benefits and transformation in the guarantee itself
Integrate
your USP (unique selling proposition) into the language of the guarantee itself
Personalize
the guarantee
Give
the longest guarantee possible
Demonstrate
that returns are easy and hassle-free
Assure
them that this is a no-strings attached, unconditional guarantee
Emphasize
the speed of refunds
Amaze
them with what I call the “I’ll-take-the-risk twist.”
Give
your guarantee a name
5
Closing Templates That Get The Job Done
“You
Will Certainly Arrive” Close
The
“Different Results” Close
The
“Crossroads” Close
The
“Decision Time” Close
The
“Handholding” Close
Example:
“Here’s what you and I both know, one year from today you will certainly
arrive. The question is where? That is your decision to make right now.”
Example:
“Here’s the tough truth you probably already know. If you want different
results you need to do something different. Make a definitive decision right
now to get different results.”
Example:
“You’re standing at the crossroads. To the left is the same rough, rocky road
you’ve been traveling. To the right is the road fewer people will choose. This
road is not harder it’s different. Choosing the right road makes all the
difference. I’m hoping you’ll choose the right road and join us today.”
Example:
“It’s been said that in your moments of decision your destiny is shaped. What
will you decide to do right now? The same thing you’ve been doing so you get
the same old results or will you decide to change your results for the better
by joining the Champion Circle…”
Example:
“And you won’t be alone, I’m going to hold your hand every step of the way and
walk you through this process.”
The
Offer is the core of your sales copy. It consists of:
The
benefit of what you’re selling (the transformation)
The
vehicle or mechanism that delivers the transformation
The
price & payment terms
The
O.P.E.N. Framework
Oblivious.
These are the people who do not know there is a problem. They don’t know they
have a problem, and they don’t know that you exist with a solution. These are
the hardest people to sell to.
Pondering.
The pondering person is considering a solution to their problem.
Engaged.
The engages person is actively looking for something to solve their problem
Need.
This is the person who’s in “agony”. You don’t have to sell or pitch a solution
to them. These are the easiest people to sell to.
“The
secret is to address each of these levels of awareness with a different kind of
offer; the Oblivious with something like a Soft Offer, while the person in Need
probably only requires a simple Hard Offer.”
Power
Moves for More Compelling Offers
Power
move #1: Make sure you’re selling them what they want. “You sell them what they
want and you also give them what they need.”
Power
move #2: Make your copy crystal clear. “If you can read a paragraph and not be
sure of what it said, or if you read it to someone and they aren’t sure what it
says either, that’s ‘voodoo copy.’”
Power
move #3: Use tipping point bonuses. “You need to pay special attention to the
bonuses you offer.”
“Spend
as much time on your bonuses as you do on any other part of your product
creation, and as much time on the copy for the bonus as you do on any other
copy that you write.”
“The
bonus needs to be as good as or better than what you’re selling.”
“Product
launches work because they employ all the psychological triggers of influence.”
11
Launch Copy Components
List-building
copy
Survey
copy
Product
JV
Recruitment copy
Prelaunch
copy
The
“Big PDF”
Unpredictable
plot complication copy
Countdown
copy
The
sales letter
Post-launch-week
copy
The
missing piece
“As
your list and traffic grow, you want to start asking your market what bugs
them. Find out what their pain is.”
“There
are two ways to go about this when you’re thinking about how you’re going to
create and market your product. You can focus on relieving a certain pain in
the life of the prospect or you can focus on moving the prospect towards some
type of pleasurable outcome.”
“People
will respond more readily and will do more to get out of pain than to get into
pleasure.”
“I
recommend focusing on finding their pain and ways to relieve it.”
“You
want to think of your product itself as copy because it’s making a continual
sale to your buyer.”
“You
need to think in terms of how you structure the product, how it is written in
language that reaffirms the decision the prospect made when he or she decided
to invest in it.”
“Think
of the product as an extension of your copy.”
“When
you’re performing a launch, you don’t just want to rely on just your own list.”
“Here
is where you begin building anticipation, scarcity, and social proof.”
“This
is where you’re going to write a white paper, a position paper or special
report that spells out your platform or USP (unique selling proposition).”
“Unpredictable
plot complications” means things will occur you didn’t plan for.
Example:
“Wow! We had so much traffic from people who wanted to get a copy of our big
PDF that our server went down.”
“This
is where we start playing on the anticipation and scarcity.”
“Even
if a buyer never sees your actual sales letter—they are still sold by it.”
“As
much as 30 percent of your sales may come in the week after your big launch
day.”
“I
see this component left out all the time: following up with your buyers and
prospects to make your launch become a profitable business.”
“Stories
are the process by which we learn, live, and believe anything.”
The
best and most successful movie trailers do three things without fail:
Give
you the Dominant Story Idea (DSI)
Offer
a sample of the feelings you’ll get from the movie itself
Provide
proof that the movie ‘works’
Recommended
Reading
If
you like How to Write Copy That Sells, you may also enjoy the following books:
The
7 Day Startup: You Don’t Learn Until You Launch by Dan Norris by Dan Norris
Contagious:
Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
The
Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by
Robert W. Bly
Donot underestimate what you, your laptop, a good Wi-Fi connection and some hardwork can accomplish.
In
order to be an entrepreneur, you need to act like an entrepreneur.
Build
a viable business that gives you the money and freedom to do what you love.
The
Five Big Ideas
“We
always overestimate the size of our hurdles, until we overcome them.”
“Life
is short. Do work that matters.”
“Move
from being a consumer to being a producer.”
“Always
be proud of creating something out of nothing.”
“You don’t have to outsmart your competition or have more resources, you just have to outwork them.”
“Do
not underestimate what you, your laptop, a good Wi-Fi connection, and some hard
work can accomplish. These are the new rules of business. Get used to it, or
keep your day job.”
“Overcoming
my sense of inadequacy was one of the most liberating feelings in my life.”
“Yes,
of course, you have to find your periods of hustle and hard work, but you also
have to nurture your periods of stepping back and taking time off from
business. Allowing yourself this time, without becoming anxious you are not
working enough, will give you the energy and focus required to build and launch
your next project, and grow your business.”
“In
order to be an entrepreneur, you need to act like an entrepreneur. That means
acting however you want, as long as you build things and put them out into the
world.”
“Rather
than building a business around what you love, build a viable business that
gives you the money and freedom to do what you love.”
“What
do you want your lifestyle and businesses to look like? Think about this when
starting, and begin with your end goals in mind.”
“Determine
exactly what you want from your business. Then begin with the end in mind.”
“We
always overestimate the size of our hurdles, until we overcome them.”
“Accept
that the starting point is the worst your business will ever be.”
“Life
is short. Do work that matters.”
“You
will never have all the information, only the information that is available to
you where you presently are.”
“Move
from being a consumer to being a producer.”
“Enjoy
the lows, because they make the highs much higher.”
“Remember,
your business is not about you. It is never about you. It is about your
customer.”
“Luck
is a by-product of hard work.”
“I
have a piece of paper, a “fears page” if you will, where I write down whatever
is keeping me from doing something at a specific moment. By doing so, I can
dimensionalize my fears as Jay said. This has allowed me to see what mistakes I
have made and how limiting fears can be.”
“The
future needs goals, today needs appreciating, and yesterday needs to be
acknowledged.”
“Your
ideas are worthless until you take action.”
“In
order to win in your market, you need to understand your competition better
than they understand themselves.”
“Find
people that will push you as far as they can.”
“The
value of an idea is only realized during its execution.”
“What
you make in your business or your spare time, no matter how insignificant it
may seem, has the ability to change someone’s life.”
“Failure
is not the end of an idea or business venture, but the starting point of the
next one.”
“The
only way to fail as an entrepreneur is to quit before you’ve seen enough
failures to find your success.”
“In
order to be really successful, you have to be able to work hard every single
day, celebrating the wins and accepting the failures.”
“When
you fall while climbing an obstacle, you simply land back on the plateau you
were just on. You don’t have to start from scratch again.”
“Always
be proud of creating something out of nothing.”
“Even
if you don’t make a bunch of money out of it, you have done something most
people in the world will never do and you deserve a pat on the back. You have
executed your ideas, which gives them value.”
“When
you find yourself in the dip, put your head down, keep working, and don’t look
up until it’s clear you’ve made it through.”
“Entrepreneurs
are not born – they are created through mindset, determination, and a
willingness to work hard.”
“You
have to appreciate what you’ve accomplished, no matter how small it might seem,
while remaining unimpressed, because that will drive you forward.”
“Be
the CEO of your show.”
“At
times, we have to do the work that has to be done, even if we’re not great at
it and don’t like doing it. It is the nature of running a business. Think big
and work small.”
“Our
businesses do not need us to be good at everything, but they do require us to
acknowledge our shortcomings with courage and humility.”
“You
don’t have to outsmart your competition or have more resources, you just have
to outwork them.”
People
settle for good enough instead of best in the world.
Being
well rounded is not the secret to success.
The Five Big Ideas
“To
be a superstar, you must do something exceptional. Not just survive the Dip,
but use the Dip as an opportunity to create something so extraordinary that
people can’t help but talk about it, recommend it, and, yes, choose it.”
“The
next time you catch yourself being average when you feel like quitting, realize
that you have only two good choices: Quit or be exceptional. Average is for
losers.”
“Winners
understand that taking that pain now prevents a lot more pain later.”
“The
decision to quit or not is a simple evaluation: Is the pain of the Dip worth
the benefit of the light at the end of the tunnel?”
Quitting
as a short-term strategy is a bad idea. Quitting for the long term is an
excellent idea because it frees you up to excel at something else.
The
Dip Summary
“Winners
quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.”
“Extraordinary
benefits accrue to the tiny minority of people who are able to push just a tiny
bit longer than most.”
“Quit
the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the
other.”
“With
limited time or opportunity to experiment, we intentionally narrow our choices
to those at the top.”
“People
settle for good enough instead of best in the world.”
“Just
about everything you learned in school about life is wrong, but the wrongest
thing might very well be this: Being well rounded is the secret to success.”
“Almost
everything in life worth doing is controlled by the Dip.”
“At
the beginning, when you first start something, it’s fun. Over the next few days
and weeks, the rapid learning you experience keeps you going. Whatever your new
thing is, it’s easy to stay engaged in it. And then the Dip happens. The Dip is
the long slog between starting and mastery. A long slog that’s actually a
shortcut, because it gets you where you want to go faster than any other path.”
“The
Dip creates scarcity; scarcity creates value.”
“The
Cul-de-Sac is boring, the Cliff is exciting (for a while), but neither gets you
through the Dip and both lead to failure.”
“In
a competitive world, adversity is your ally. The harder it gets, the better
chance you have of insulating yourself from the competition. If that adversity
also causes you to quit, though, it’s all for nothing.”
“It’s
not enough to survive your way through this Dip. You get what you deserve when
you embrace the Dip and treat it like the opportunity that it really is.”
“Knowing
that you’re facing a Dip is the first step in getting through it.”
“It’s
human nature to quit when it hurts. But it’s that reflex that creates
scarcity.”
“Quitting
when you hit the Dip is a bad idea. If the journey you started was worth doing,
then quitting when you hit the Dip just wastes the time you’ve already
invested. Quit in the Dip often enough and you’ll find yourself becoming a
serial quitter, starting many things but accomplishing little.”
“If
you can’t make it through the Dip, don’t start.”
“If
you want to be a superstar, then you need to find a field with a steep Dip—a
barrier between those who try and those who succeed. And you’ve got to get
through that Dip to the other side.”
“If
you can get through the Dip, if you can keep going when the system is expecting
you to stop, you will achieve extraordinary results.”
“To
be a superstar, you must do something exceptional. Not just survive the Dip,
but use the Dip as an opportunity to create something so extraordinary that
people can’t help but talk about it, recommend it, and, yes, choose it.”
“The
next time you catch yourself being average when you feel like quitting, realize
that you have only two good choices: Quit or be exceptional. Average is for
losers.”
“Selling
is about a transference of emotion, not a presentation of facts. If it were
just a presentation of facts, then a PDF flyer or a Web site would be
sufficient to make the phone ring.”
“If
you’re not able to get through the Dip in an exceptional way, you must quit.
And quit right now.”
“Winners
understand that taking that pain now prevents a lot more pain later.”
“The
decision to quit or not is a simple evaluation: Is the pain of the Dip worth
the benefit of the light at the end of the tunnel?”
“If
your job is a Cul-de-Sac, you have to quit or accept the fact that your career
is over.”
“Strategic
quitting is a conscious decision you make based on the choices that are
available to you. If you realize you’re at a dead end compared with what you
could be investing in, quitting is not only a reasonable choice, it’s a smart
one.”
“Quitting
is better than coping because quitting frees you up to excel at something
else.”
“Actually,
quitting as a short-term strategy is a bad idea. Quitting for the long term is
an excellent idea.”
Other
Books by Seth Godin
Tribes:
We Need You to Lead Us
Recommended
Reading
If
you like The Dip, you may also enjoy the following books:
Essentialism:
The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Getting
Things Done: The Art of Stree-Free Productivity by David Allen
The
War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by
Steven Pressfield
