How To Pump-Up Your Customers Into Lean Mean Success Machines.
By Hans | September 1, 2010
With the downturn of the economy…
A lot of has changed inside the Internet marketing community.
Recently… a problem that has been around for a long time has been amplified.
Mainly, low success rates of purchasers of information products.
Most do not consume what they bought… fewer implement them… and only a tiny portion succeed.
Typically, these numbers follow the 80/20 rule…
With 80% not even completing an advanced course or product… 20% consuming it… and maybe 5% success rates (if that).
In niches like weight loss or Internet marketing… this leads many folks to jump from one product to the next.
It’s a heartbreaking state of affairs… where good folks are essentially throwing their money away…
And often get hurt in the process.
After all, we’re talking about retirement funds, kids college funds, relationships with friends and family, and people’s self-esteem may get wrecked in this process. Serious stuff.
For the information publisher… this poses a dilemma.
You may have spent your time creating a high-quality product…
Some of your users are getting phenomenal results. Lives changed forever for the better.
You feel great about it. However, this is far from the case for everyone.
A majority of your customers just don’t get it.
You feel helpless. After all, you can’t force the purchaser to implement your advice to the tee.
This leads many marketers to give-up and say…
“It’s their fault for not taking action.”
To me, this has truth… and I understand where this viewpoint is coming from.
But, there’s a problem with the statement.
Just like a teacher in a failing school may give up on his/her students… and accept the status quo…
Others are able to persevere where others fail. They don’t take failure for answer. Success is the ONLY option.
The stakes are too high for anything less.
They care about the success of their students first and foremost.
Sure… there may always be some who never make it… and despite your best efforts probably weren’t a good fit for you to begin with.
But, it’s not because you didn’t try… and kept pushing.
So, how do I propose you do this?
Well, here are some ways to rocket your customer success rates:
- Make it easy for positive movement to occur rather stagnation. What I mean by this is… your product should be structured in a way as to not overwhelm right away. Get the customer to take step one. Then, you can move on to more advanced steps.
- Systematize your information. Make it flow step-by-step. Rather than overwhelm, you take the customer by the hand and show him or her everything he or she needs to know. Nothing is left out.
- Add software to your process. The beauty of a simple software program is it forces users to follow the steps. To move on to the next step… he or she MUST complete the steps before then. Put another way, you can make software so it’s impossible for it to not work.
- Add “event based” coaching. Rather than having sessions every month for the sake of having them… you may structure them as to tie in with accomplishments or based on what each particular student is working on.
- Offer “done-for-you” services. Some folks may struggle with your “how to” advice for a variety of reasons no matter how good it is. However, you can still help these folks by offering to do it for them… either by yourself or by putting a team in place who can do so much more affordable for the client. With the right coaching, systems, and training in place, the staff can effectively take your place in a lot of cases.
- Sell “Quick fixes,” sure, but not at the expense of your customers. Listen, I understand the need to sell your product or service. However, at the end of the day… it’s important you don’t mislead your prospects in a dangerous direction. The goal of selling should be to match your prospects with the best possible fit.
- Price your information based on your past track-record and your ability to deliver. Your product should have the likely potential to make far more than it’s cost.
- Get on the phone and answer questions. Build relationships… one-on-one. Show you care. Do what you can within reason based on your time demands.
The bottom-line is this does NOT have to cost you money. But, it MAKES you money in both the short and long run…
With products that are perfect fits for the customer (and thus, are worth a higher price based on the results they deliver)… and when you have more successful customers… you have more repeat customers down the road.
In other words, it’s not just a choice… but vital for the long-haul.
In addition, I should also mention that this does not mean your product has to be perfect before it launches. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. However, the point is… there are a lot of steps we can all take to help our clients get better results.
Give your best effort.
Alright… now I want to turn this over to you.
Can you think of a time when a guru, mentor, consultant, or teacher went above and beyond to help you? How could this be tied into making information products more effective?
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Why You Want To Be In The Results Business
By Hans | May 2, 2010
From web designers who kick-out “Pretty” websites…
Ad agencies who struggle to come-up with “funny” ads…
Or painters who slap on the paint to get the job done fast…
In market-to-market… there’s a common thread…
Most businesses are more than clueless…
They’re incompetent.
Because… to them… they’re in the manufacturing business, NOT the results business.
They DON’T care what happens once the product or service is delivered…
As long as the customer likes what he or she sees… positive first impression… all is good.
Job well done. Pats on the back. Money is in the bank.
That is, until… it hits… you know, reality.
When the paint starts peeling off…
The tower crashes down…
And the results you need don’t come-in.
From my experience…
In any given market, typically 90% of businesses are “go through the motions” incompetents… while 5-10% are results-oriented action takers.
They deliver the goods. What you’re after.
Because rather than doing business on how things are “supposed” to work…
After all, people are supposed to respond to attractive websites… they’re supposed to always buy the cheapest product… and they’re supposed to make ALL their decisions in a reasonable, fact based way…
They care about one thing… and one thing only… at the end of the day… did the client’s life improve? Was the intended result achieved?
If not, why not… what needs to be changed?
Of course, you can see the problem with the reality-based approach… accountability. Both the customer and the producer must reflect back on themselves and ask if what they are doing works.
This isn’t easy. Most would rather blame the outside world, ignore it, and keep on doing what they’re doing. Bury their heads in the sand and hope for better days.
But, when you do begin to test, measure, and optimize… this is how breakthroughs occur… Ones that send your prices soaring and you to the top of your market.
Technorati Tags: copywriter, copywriting, direct-response, direct marketing, sales copy, sales copywriting
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The Power of Presell
By Hans | April 26, 2010
The one-two-three… maybe even more… punch…
This is what an effective pre-sell… or “sales page warm-up” system… does for you.
It bangs your sales message home…
By grabbing eyeballs…
Engaging multiple senses…
And telling your narrative in different ways everyone imagines…
Time after time. You hit… til’ the choice is clear… the sale is made.
But, how important is it? Do you always need one?
The answer “no.” Great direct-response sales copy can often hit home runs with your very first interaction with prospects.
However… more often than not… creating that home run is hard. This is why a far better strategy may be to put an effective pre-sell system place. At worse, you likely get more sales than if the traffic hit your sales page cold.
Let’s talk about what might comprise it:
- Video series… most of the high-profile launches usually use 2-3 videos before the main sales page is released. The key here is that you need to start by loading-up the first video or two with content. A big job of the pre-sell system is to capture market attention with so many others competing for it. Do this by overloading with value.
- Free report… Typically, these might go one of two routes… offer some type of new information, such as “Major myths,” “7 mistakes of…” or “Secrets they don’t want you to know”… OR… it might just be a recap of the main salesletter put another way. The less competition you have, the more pitch your pre-sell content may be.
- Webinar… Webinars are great because when someone signs-up and agrees to show-up, he or she is agreeing to give you an hour of his or her time. You can cover a lot of ground and even open-up phone lines to cover objections on-on-one.
- E-course… Don’t overlook the power of small bite size sales messages. Inside each email you can hammer home your main selling points… build relationships… and bust objections one-by-one.
- You also might add in phone contact and offline direct-marketing (where there may be less competition for attention).
The key to create an effective pre-sell system is it must 1. Capture attention 2. Hold attention 3. Build-up to your main offer. To do this, keep your list off balance. Engage with BOTH text, audio, and video. Tell them something that they don’t already know… and that helps them make a wise buying decision.
Technorati Tags: prelaunch, pre-launch, presell, pre-sell, copywriting, copywriter, turnkey copywriter, direct marketing, direct-response
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Quick Fixes and Magic Pills
By Hans | August 23, 2009
It may not do wonders for your ego.
But, truth be told, your customers DON’T want your product or service.
They only want their problems to disappear…. and desires satisfied.
Your product or service is merely a means to an end.
Ideally, they just want a “Magic pill.”
That is, they want their problem to immediately disappear with one simple action.
A perfect example of this being offered is the promise “3 Minutes Abs.”
Or, vibrating weight loss belts.
There’s just one problem with magic pills: They don’t really exist.
There’s always a catch.
It’s true that those weight loss belts may cause you to lose weight.
But, it ain’t cause you’re burning fat.
Just water weight.
As a business owner, this poses a dilemma.
You want to give your customers what they want.
But, you also want to be honest and upfront with what it takes to succeed.
How can you do this?
The answer is that you can offer 2 solutions:
1. A long-term solution. This is the good stuff that requires time, energy, and possibly an investment of money.
For instance, you may offer a weight loss system and a big part of it are strategies to change exercise and diet habits.
You may sell this aspect of your system by telling your prospects, “If you’re fed-up with yo-yo diets, pills that ruin your metabolism, and other short-term fixes that cause long-term pain, then we’ve got a solution that finally allows you to lose and keep off the weight for years to come.”
At the same time, you can offer…
2. A legitimate quick fix. There are real shortcuts in every area of life. From getting fit to increasing your sales and strengthening relationships.
For instance, sit-ups are inefficient. In addition to your complete system, you might offer an easier alternative that gives you faster results with less work.
This is what your customers want and what you’d focus on when selling. Legitimate quick fixes.
Your product then may have a greater focus on the long-term solutions. Similarly, more expensive backend products are where you can go much deeper with serious clients. Because once customers see that a short-term fix works, then they may be more willing to invest time, energy, and money.
Technorati Tags: copywriting, direct-response, direct-response marketing, direct marketing, direct response, direct-response copywriting, copywriter, advertising
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Is It Really Amazing?
By Hans | August 21, 2009
One of my favorite words to use in ads is the word, “Amazing.” It’s usually used to express wonderment, such as, “It’s amazing what this widget can do for you.”
However, more often than not, it’s used in every day conversation to express disbelief or disdain, such as “It’s amazing how ‘Stupid,’ ‘lazy,’ or ‘foolish’ one can be.”
As a business owner, this can be dangerous.
Let me give you an example.
The other day I was talking with someone in the alternative health arena. This person said, “It’s amazing how people still eat processed foods, despite all of the crap in them.”
Another person chimed-in with agreement, “I know. It’s disgusting.”
I replied, “Why are you amazed?”
Not because I disagreed with the sentiment.
But, I wasn’t exactly sure why it was amazing.
Trusted M.D.’s aren’t telling them. And, even if they wanted to give it-up, change is a scary thing. It ain’t easy to give-up what you know for what you don’t. There are a lot of deeper reasons holding them back.
In other words, it’s not as if the folks can be expected to instantly change.
By saying, “It’s amazing…”, we’re simplifying their rational. We’re not looking deeper into the real reasons of what’s behind their actions.
Here are some examples in different markets:
* Internet Marketing Arena: “My customers fail because they are just lazy and don’t take action.”
My question is, is it really because they’re lazy? Or is there something else going on?
For instance, maybe they’re overloaded with conflicting information. Maybe there is a lot of hype around. Maybe it’s a lot harder for others than what you experienced. Maybe your system isn’t as complete as you think. And so on.
* Weight loss industry: “People don’t lose weight because they’re too lazy to exercise and don’t stick to the plan.”
Why are they too lazy to exercise and fail to stick to a dietary plan?
If you watch weight-loss infomercials, they often claim, “This isn’t exercise, it’s fun.” Why do they do this?
They are not blaming the customer as being lazy. But, they are addressing the reason they give others for not exercising, which is that they hate it.
The bottom-line is instead of being amazed by the behavior of your customers, embrace it. Uncover the deeper reasons of “Why” to craft killer marketing that builds relationships and increases sales.
Technorati Tags: copywriting, direct-response copy, direct-response, direct response, direct response copywriter, direct marketing, direct response marketing, copywriter
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Shortcut Secret To Generate Quality Content At Lightning Speed.
By Hans | May 7, 2009
If you want to capture free search positions, then you need quality content.
The problem is that it takes a lot of time.
In addition to this blog (I don’t get to nearly as much as I’d like), I frequently write upwards of a hundred pages of content a month.
One of my biggest shortcuts to do this is by using the power of RSS feeds.
You see, the most time-consuming part of writing content isn’t so much the actual writing. But, most time is spent on first coming-up with good ideas and then doing research on it.
Google’s RSS reader over at: http://www.google.com/reader is one of the best tools to take advantage of RSS.
If you’re not already familiar with RSS, it simple stands for Really Simple Syndication.
You typically see it on any site with a ton of content. It is usually denoted by this graphic:
You can then import this feed inside Google reader. Everytime, a new story, article, or video is posted, you get notified. You can look through all of the sites’ old and new content in a flash.
The best way to find feeds for your content generation is to first use the search feature inside Google Reader:
Look for content related to your topic.
You can access this search feature on the left menu by selecting “Browse for Topics:”
When you have imported a list feeds, you can then take advantage of them in several ways:
1. Subscribe to RSS feeds of forums and see what kinds of questions readers are asking. You can then do a post on their questions.
2. Link to a cool post you saw and then give your take on the topic. A technique that I like to use is to subscribe to news sites. Then, give my take on the latest industry news.
3. Take the idea (not the actual content) the post is about and give your take on it.
In addition, many marketers use Digg.com (http://feeds.digg.com/digg/popular.rss) and Cracked.com (http://feeds.feedburner.com/CrackedRSS) to come-up with killer subject headlines for their emails or other content. RSS is a great way to stay on top of these sites.
You also might subscribe to RSS feeds from general news sites, such as CNN.com (http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition.rss)
Using this technique, you can slash HOURS off of the time it would otherwise take you to come-up with a blog post or other content. Your brainstorming is done for you.
Technorati Tags: copywriting, content, content writing, email, copywriter, writing shortcut
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The Local Business Web Marketing Disconnect.
By Hans | April 4, 2009
It’s crazy. OVER 50% of local businesses still don’t have a website. And even fewer do ANY kind of online marketing. Only the select few are gaining a taste of the profits so readily available.
At the same time, newspapers, radio, and the yellow pages are slowly, but surely dying. Younger consumers are moving online to find information. They are proficient at uncovering every little detail they want to know — fast.
And, while television is still around, the web is quickly becoming a “second television” where loads of quality video content is found.
When I talk to local business owners, they tend to have a vague understanding that they should have a website.
The belief tends to be “Attractive website = new customers.” They think “if only I had an attractive website, I’d get new business.”
When in reality, a better equation is, “High-quality site traffic + Website that sticks and converts = new customers and increased revenue from old customers.”
After all, a pretty website doesn’t do a whole lot of good if you don’t have the right visitors viewing it AND the key ingredients that transform them into customers.
What exactly does having this entail?
Let’s walk though the process of how a local business should approach their online marketing:
Component # 1 — Traffic Generation. You can put-up a website. But, where’s the traffic coming from? Here are different traffic techniques to give you an idea of the potential:
1. Google. Just as all roads led to Rome, all traffic leads through Google. They consistently own around 60% of the search market. In addition, they have a HUGE advertising network. Through their Google AdWords advertising program, ads can be placed on sites like YouTube.com, TheFoodNetwork.com, TheNewYorkTimes.com, and thousands more sites (including local blogs).
Yahoo and MSN are important, but less so than Google.
You can get free or paid traffic through the search engines.
For local businesses, the free listings can be effortless to gain with just a little bit of effort. Your competition is virtually non-existent. Similarly, paid search advertising is likely FAR more affordable and accountable than other types of paid advertising.
2. Your email list. Here’s an example of you might use email:
You own a restaurant. On every table is a card to sign-up for your email list. In exchange, folks get a free desert with their next meal or a similar compelling offer.
You accumulate hundreds of sign-ups. Each week you send-out a newsletter. Inside you talk about the latest dishes you’ve added to the menu, special events that happened or are upcoming, and you give folks a chance to get to know you and your employees better.
Then, one day business is slow. So, you get an idea. You decide to send-out an email around 4 P.M. For the next few hours, anybody that comes-in gets a special discount on drinks. Your restaurant then fills-up as soon as work lets-out at 5.
You can apply this to any business. It’s a free way to stay in touch and build relationships with your customers.
What’s more, using an autoresponder service, you can plug-in your emails once and they’re automatically sent for you. Your email marketing can run on autopilot.
3. Social media. Just like with e-mail, you can use sites like Twitter.com and Facebook.com to stay in touch with your customers and build relationships.
4. Offline traffic generation. For instance, let’s say you ran a church. Whenever you had new folks walk-in for the first time, you can refer them to your website. On your website, you might have an “E-course” or Blog where you allow new folks to get to know you in a “low-pressure” way.
5. Reviews from local bloggers or review sites, such as Yelp.com and Maps.Google.com.
Component # 2: Creating a Website That “Sticks” and “Converts.”
Most local biz owners have a site that’s a lot like a business card. It gives basic information and then is “tossed aside.” You may get somebody to visit it once, but they’re not coming back.
Instead you can focus on:
A. Creating a site visitors want to come back to. This might be done through publishing articles, tips, or creating a community where you interact with customers.
B. Getting the sale. This might be through collecting contact information so you can follow-up with direct-mail, email, or a phone call from sales.
By creating a “sticky” site and focus on converting visitors into customers, your get more from it. You go from driving your traffic to a business card to an autopilot “profit multiplier.” Even when you’re sleeping, your web presence is making you money.
You generate more from existing clients and pull-in more of those who just getting to know you.
But, even more importantly, you’re taking advantage of changing consumer habits. You can connect with your customers and prospects on a regular basis. Those otherwise out of your reach become loyal customers.
Technorati Tags: local marketing, local search marketing, local advertising, internet marketing, local internet marketing, offline business marketing, small business marketing, offline business marketing
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Stuck On Formatting.
By Hans | March 31, 2009
A lot has been made about the power of formatting.
Even a simple headline-style or background color change may make a big difference in your response.
This excitement usually leads to a common pattern. It usually starts like this:
First, a well-known marketer comes-out and says, “A giant yellow order button increases response by 300%.”
The original audience then begins to copy it.
Others then see it and do the same.
And you know what often happens?
The giant yellow order button slowly begins to decrease in effectiveness. It’s everywhere. The effect of it on your prospects changes.
All the while, most of the people copying have no idea if it actually worked for them.
Of course, this does not mean you should ignore other’s test results.
The point is simply this: When a marketer makes a claim, it likely only worked for his or her particular product, offer, and traffic source.
It does not mean that if he drove a ton of AdWords traffic instead of mailing his email lists that he would get the same response.
Nor, does not mean that YOU will get the same results. You have a different product, offer, and you probably have a different traffic source.
You need to take it for what’s it worth. You should NOT blindly copy it.
What you should do is first decide if the formatting change makes sense for you.
Then, as you format your site for the first time, use your best judgment about what you should use.
Finally, as it launches, you should test to see what actually works.
Moreover, a formatting change only does so much.
Too often marketers focus on formating, while ignoring what the formatting is supposed to enhance…Your actual sales message!
They put formatting ahead of content.
Listen, you can use all of the formatting tricks in the book. But, it means nothing if there’s nothing worthwhile to format!
Simply put, focus on getting good copy first. If you have killer copy, your customers will put-up with a lot of formatting mistakes to get what you have to offer.
Technorati Tags: copywriting, formatting, web design, internet marketing, direct-response, web marketing, marketing, IM
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Missing or Misrepresenting the Key Benefits
By Hans | March 26, 2009
For every market, there are key concerns that stand above the rest. By addressing them, you capture your reader’s attention and build desire for your product or service.
For example, let’s say you’re selling a dog training product or service.
What makes someone go online and search for such a product?
Here are just a few potential answers:
* The dog’s barking has gotten him or her in trouble with the neighbors. If the dog doesn’t stop, drastic action will have to be taken (surgery or pound).
* The customer had a bad experience in the past with an old dog and doesn’t want to make the same mistake again with a new one.
* The dog is causing family fights by tearing-up the home and not being potty trained.
* The dog is creating stress in his or her life by non-stop barking, jumping-up on guests, and not listening to orders.
If you look at these, there appears to be two key underlying concerns: Added stress and social embarrassment.
Through research and testing, you uncover what is the most important concern of your market. You can then address the most important concerns in your headline and early in your sales copy.
The less important concerns might still be addressed briefly and later in the copy.
With this said, a common temptation once these main points have been identified is to make exaggerated claims of how your product or service addresses them.
This is a problem because if you’re not believable, your sales suffer.
Instead, you need to think in terms of how you can back-up your claims.
Do this by first making sure your product addresses the main concerns in an effective way. And, second, by backing-up your claims with proof (testimonials, case-studies, video demos, screen shots, etc…).
The result is you stand-out above the competition and skyrocket your conversion rates.
Technorati Tags: copywriting tips, copywriting, direct-response, direct-response copywriting, web copywriting, copywriting strategies, copywriting strategy
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Distracting From The Main Goal
By Hans | March 25, 2009
In today’s world, there are options for just about every single decision you make. From which of the 15 brands of toothpaste to use to which of 50 flavors of ice cream you want to eat.
Most of the time having all of these options is a good thing. It enriches your life.
This is why there’s always a temptation to create lots of options for your visitors.
It seems like if there are more choices, then you’re more likely to have a product the visitor wants to buy.
This may be true. However, a deadly mistake occurs when your prospect is presented with too many options at once. It slows your sales presentation to a halt. He or she isn’t making just one decision, but multiple.
It’s no longer a simple “Buy this product or not” decision.
The problem with bigger decisions is not that your customers can’t figure them out. The problem is that they distract from your main goal – which is to transform prospects into customers.
They “suck” your visitors’ attention away from the most important action you want them to take.
With this said, there are times when more options boost response.
For instance, adding a payment plan or selling a complimentary product as an up-sell can be effective.
You should test to see what options boost response and which don’t. But, generally, outside links to other websites and offering multiple products at once almost always reduce response.
Technorati Tags: copywriting, direct-response, web copy, web copywriting, online copywriting, copywriter, marketing
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