Copywriting Extraordinaire

Few Things I Learned About Copywriting

2009-10-18T00:44:00.003+08:00

I forget when I became a copywriter. To be exact, I became a copywriter by chance. I don't choose it. It choses me.

At first, I only thought copywriting as a way for me to make money but later, I found out that there are many things you can learn with copywriting. I for example, learned that we need to empathize with others or else, they will leave us.

I also learned that we as a copywriter must first understand people, before they understand us. By leading them from our understanding, we make them realize that we are offering to them is the best for them at the moment and they should be willing (or even glad) that we are giving them the opportunity.

However, it is easier to say than done. I have seen, edited, written so many sales letters that the line between good or bad has been blurred. I mean, right now I am having an even harder time to choose which one of my works is the best.

Yes, I do know the data speaks the truth, but the same formula won't work twice. Or it might work only for that niche.

In seeking the Truth in copywriting, I see that human is something that... in conflict. We have mind and heart, but we always conflict with each other. Some people would love to spend their time doing works that doesn't benefit them in any way (materially) but would spend thousands of dollars doing things that will satisfy their inner self.

And then we have another type of person who would do everything to be practical, or pragmatic. It seems good choice... until we say how extreme they are in their way of living.

Not all of course. Most people are in the middle. I, too, could be considered to be in the middle.

Not a bad thing though.

To become a copywriter is to be someone who understands others. To try to understand human nature even though it's hard since we are clouded with our own prejudice.

To become a copywriter means to open our eyes and see the world as-is, and use that as a tool for world domination.

I Still Don't Get Social Media

2009-10-11T19:07:00.002+08:00

So what is social media? I looked up at Google and I saw few definitions:

According to Wikipedia:

Social media is content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies.

According to Search Engine Watch:
A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Reddit, and other sites that are centered on user interaction.

So, we can agree that social media is something created by people, or the masses. (Maybe I should call them the Sheep)

The problem with social media is, some of the things we "vote" are not a popular item. For instance this one. I doubt this will go high up in Digg or Reddit because there are no entertainment value in it.

How can we find posts or stuffs that will interest these people?

That's the question. How do I know what I post will interest you people?

Funny? Thought provoking? Hate-filled post (especially to US government)? Cartoons that could make you laugh?

Hm... I don't know.

Let me know what you want so that I can post something that could make you come back here again and again using Digg, Reddit and those social media websites.

Long Enough To Make a Point

2009-09-09T22:38:00.002+08:00

I should have said "sorry, I don't do a daily blog post" because I break my own promise to you. But no, I won't do that today. I will explain that later, and will explain what I will do for this blog in the future.

Today, what I would like to do is to give you a link to Leo Babauta's new post, Do Interesting Things. Most of his articles are long, but this one is not long (and tiring), but it is long enough to keep people interested in reading till the end (and avoid skimming).

Here's the link, and I'm sure you'll like it.

Analysis of Gary Halbert Sales Letter - Part 2

2009-08-05T22:55:00.003+08:00

Update: Just got a report from my client about a sales letter I wrote for him - it converted 13% - damn happy with that result.

Hopefully it will hold for a long time.

Anyway, here's the second part of the analysis.

He begins the second page with bullets of who needs his money-making secret. He listed down 8 types of people who needs his secret from a salesman who needs more leads to "someone who needs anything to sell".

And he asks the reader, if they say yes to any of the above, they should try his crazy idea. And then he introduced his book called...

"How to Make Maximum Money In Minimum Time!"

He talked about how he sold from door to door selling encyclopedias and what problems he faced even though he got good at selling it.

Later in the same page, he talked about his RCS (Remote Control Selling) and "Killer Advertising". For those who don't know, naming an idea and credit it to yourself will boost your credibility significantly, and make people curious (because no one talked about it before).

He then talked about the benefit of RCS, in his words:

And, what RCS lets you do is, sell almost anything to almost anyone without ever meeting your customers in person...

Or Even Talking to Them on The Phone!

Below of that subhead, he talked about how it can be used by anyone whether you are a housewife, a student or someone who is unemployed.

That's the end of the second page analysis of Gary Halbert's Sales Letter.

Since I skipped a day yesterday, I will make 2 posts tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Analysis of Gary Halbert Sales Letter

2009-08-03T20:18:00.004+08:00

Hi, today I would like to share with you an analysis of a sales letter written by the late great Prince of Print, Gary Halbert.

The sales letter is about a sales letter with a headline "The Amazing Money-Making Secret Of A Desperate Nerd From Ohio". I will only explain the first page of the letter for today as I don't have time to share a full analysis with you today.

The first paragraph of the letter used his typical "If... this may be..." opening. It is used to qualify the right audience.

Right in the second paragraph, he already explained why he is desperate. This is a good way to start as he, right after a first paragraph, he explained why he is in desperate condition.

In this letter, he is introducing himself as "once broke, now rich". He tried to bond with the readers quickly (and he was successful with this).

Of course, he also builds credibility by showing how powerful his campaign was. He made his proof/claim powerful by making it into a sub headline (More Than 7,300,000 Replies!).

Right after the subhead, he wrote paragraphs to support his claim on how powerful his campaign was.

He ends the letter with a subhead Who Needs This Secret?

Note: you've got to read the letter to understand it. Do email me at uniquelyislam [at] gmail dot com to get it. I will continue analyzing this letter tomorrow.

Quick Update

2009-08-02T16:08:00.000+08:00

Damn. It's 2 August today and it's my good friend's birthday. I didn't know what to buy for her.

Well, I do know this: I haven't updated this blog for more than 2 months! What the heck. I should continue my journey on becoming a copywriting extraordinaire. Now, I think the best way to learn copywriting is to study, and analyze winning ads, or controls.

And maybe, the best way to learn is to post it here and use this blog as a stepping stone for me to see what others think of my analysis. Since I am learning and using English (right now) as a second language, I should speak to a lot more people, especially those who came from Britain and America.

I disliked the way I speak right now. It seems... stilted. Unnatural.

That's my goal - to be a good writer in 2 languages. Malay (my mother tongue language) and English.

And to do that, I have to begin by writing for this blog in the next 30 days - straight.

Bye people. You'll see me writing here for 30 days.

WTF. Frank Kern and his email...

2009-05-02T11:46:00.004+08:00

Howdy,

I just opened up my email and I found Frank Kern's email and I found out one principle that he used that made me click that damn link.

Curse him!!!

Anyway, want to know what he did with his email? Let us examine it together.

Subject line: I have totally hooked you up.

I just uploaded this brand new pdf to my blog for you:
http://www.frankkern.com/blog-report.html

No need to opt in or anything. You can get it straight
from the blog post here:

http://www.frankkern.com/blog-report.html

I had to pull a few strings with the author to do this
for you but I'm happy to do it ...and I know you'd do the same
for me :-)

Enjoy!

Frank

P.S. After you read this you'll agree that it's far better than what
the other guys are charging you big bucks for.

Please leave your thoughts here on the blog:
http://www.frankkern.com/blog-report.html

See the line "I know you'd do the same for me :-)"?

That's reciprocating principle from Dr. Cialdini's book. Darn, he's good. A blatant use, but it worked.

Curse Frank.

Personality Letters That Settle Most Accounts

2009-05-01T19:53:00.004+08:00

Wow, it's been... 3 months since I last posted in this blog.

That's a long time.

Anyway, today I want to share with you something that I found in one of my folders. I don't know who wrote it or from what book, but it's a good stuff, and I'm sure all of you direct marketers would love what I wanna share today.

Personality Letters That Settle Most Accounts

Make Your Letter Talk

Men neglect at long range--they cheat in the crowd. It's the stranger that is sent off with scant consideration.

When a man dodges payment, he dodges creditors. Neighbor are easiest remembered--close-at-home debts are first repaid.

Get close to your man. Keep your debtor in sight. In your letter, "talk it over" with him personally.

Most accounts are lost because the debtor feels sheltered by the mass--because your letter comes as one of hundreds put out to delinquents you follow in droves.

Make the man who owes you money feel your presence. Stand him out alone. Get to him with your reminder on the day.

Talk to him man to man. Make his debt a matter between neighbors. Keep a shrewd but kindly eye upon him. Let your letter show precisely--and undeniably--why it is an advantage to him personally to pay you in particular.

Go to him with your letter as you would in person. Let him feel that you know and read him.

Make your letter talk.

Perry Marshall Dissected

2008-11-17T11:12:00.004+08:00

If you've been reading Perry Marshall's stuff, you know how good his stuffs are. You could be reading from A to Z, without doing anything else but reading his thing. Since he's quite close with John Carlton, that might explain one of the reasons why he's so good in writing his promos.

However, instead of being his fan boy, why don't I just dissect one of his e-mail promotions he sent to me, and see what tricks he used to make me bit my lips in anger for not having the money to join his club.

I used SnagIt to capture his e-mail and do some quick highlighting across that email.

4-man... urrgh... have to find more money to jump in...

Now in Twitterland

2008-10-09T19:38:00.002+08:00

Howdy,

If you want to see what I'm working on in my life as a student, internet marketer, and as a copywriter, you can do so by following me at Twitter.

Here's the link:
http://www.twitter.com/arahman

See ya. ;)

Perry Marshall Guerilla Marketing E-Mail

2008-09-06T22:44:00.003+08:00

Hi, just received an e-mail from Perry Marshall on Guerilla Marketing (which you can get for free at this link).

What I like about this particular e-mail is the story told in it. It's so riveting that I really want to re-read it. He's such a good copywriter.

Anyway, I'm going to reproduce it here (I have not asked for permission, but if you think it is illegal, please tell me at uniquelyislam[at]gmail.com, thanks).

I'm sure you will love this e-mail as much as I do.

Hi Abdul Rahman,

April 19, 1775: The shot was fired that was
heard 'round the world.

At the Battles of Concord and Battle Road in
Massachussetts, the British met a surprising militia
formation of American farmers. The Redcoats marched
in plain view while colonial minutemen hid behind every
house, tree and fencepost.

The score: Americans lost 93, but the British lost 273.
It was a humiliating start to a war they would eventually lose.

That's Guerilla Warfare, my friend. Traditional warfare is
"playing by the rules," but Guerilla warfare means re-defining
the rules, even as the game is being played. It's tossing
conventional wisdom out the window and becoming your
opponent's unseen enemy.

Every week I talk to people who are sick and tired of
playing by the rules, and not winning nearly as much
as they could or should.

They're sick of pulling that black checkbook out of
their top desk drawer, giving money to some media rep
and not knowing if that money is coming back, when
it's coming back, or how they'll ever know.

They're sick and tired of dialing for dollars every
day, trying to get in to see prospects who need what
they have but aren't willing to listen to "just another
peddler."

They're sick and tired of competing only on the
basis of price, when they know that what they sell
is worth far more than what they ask for it.

In marketing, the old rules go something like this:

-"You've just got to get your name out there."

-"Make more phone calls than you made yesterday."

-"You have to prove to your customer that you're willing
to work harder, drive more miles, and bend over further
to get his business."

Today, those rules are a recipe for suicide.
Here's what some of the NEW rules are:

-When you automate the most labor-intensive parts of
your sales process, you only have to spend time with people
who are ready and willing to buy something from you

-Every marketing and advertising dollar you invest is
held accountable for ROI. It comes back to you with
friends attached.

-All that Madison Avenue talk about "branding" and "image"
is a bunch of BS. It doesn't work. It's a waste of money.
But... when your advertising really works, it's the best place
to invest your money, period.

-You can become a well-known expert, even a celebrity
within your industry, by exercising the power of media and
publicity. When you have that kind of status, it
becomes easy to get appointments and close sales.

Watch for the Guerilla Marketing packet in the mail --
and stay tuned for future updates.

To your success,

Perry Marshall

So, what lesson can we get from this e-mail? Simple. This e-mail, as you noticed do not contain any call to action, but it does build anticipation for this Guerilla Marketing package to arrive.

God knows how much I want this stuff. :D

The Admiral Byrd Transpolar Expedition Letter Swipe File

2008-09-01T16:54:00.003+08:00

All I know about this sales letter is that Gary Halbert recommend wannabe copywriter to hand copy this piece. And I tell ya, it's a good read too. I've read this letter at least 3 times and I still wanting to be part of the journey.

Click here to download it.

In the next post, I will write about how this letter was constructed.

Nilus Mative Investing Shop Sales Letter Swipe File

2008-08-31T23:47:00.005+08:00

Just browsing through my swipe file in my hard disk and I found Nilus Mative's Investing Shop sales letter. This sales letter promotes his newsletter and the interesting thing about this sales letter is how straigh forward it is in giving you the offer.

This sales letter is perfect example for this formula:
1. Here's What I Have
2. Here's What It Can Do For You
3. Here's What I Want You To Do

I like the story in this sales letter as well.

So, if you want to get this sales letter, click here to get it.

Irritated.

2008-08-06T22:16:00.004+08:00

Just visited one website, BumpZee to try out their stuff. I am trying to install their widget on my anime blog and lo and behold! I can't even find the link to download that Wordpress plugin.

What that has to do with you marketers?

Simple - just don't make your readers irritated. Another word, don't make them think that you suck.

Even though you got cool feature like small, niche community and updates on my community, that don't give you any license to stop short and do one thing wrong.

Fortunately, I found the link hidden in the instruction (another proof that people do skim and scan online a lot) and currently troubleshooting any possible errors in it.

Imagine if it's ADD guy trying to use BumpZee. Will he search for it, or will he get so angry and leave the website once and for all? Don't make people suffer or you lose your audience as fast as Bugatti Veyron went from Penang to Johor in just few hours.

Want Gary Halbert's Swipe File?

2008-07-25T19:14:00.009+08:00

If you are interested in getting your hands on the swipe file of the one of the best known copywriters on the Internet... then this will be the most important little letter you'll ever read!

We all know that kind of If... Then... opening. It was made popular by Gary Halbert in his newsletter and he loved this If Then stuff. Anyway, this is just a quick post. I'm going to upload every single sales letter I can find at www.thegaryhalbertletter.com and post it here with all the relevant links.

Why?

Most people are so lazy of finding all those sales letters themselves. Since I want to spend my time other than studying for my STPM (known as the 2nd toughest pre-U exam in the world), so I've taken the liberty to search for sales letters I can find in Gary Halbert's letter and post it up here. Hope you're okay with that.

What format will I use to upload? It will be in PDF... or DOC... or any format that I prefer.

Opps... I just read our beloved Prince of Print's website and I found that little tiny paragraph that states that everything we found there are copyright-protected... so I won't be giving you the PDF or DOC but I'll give you the direct link instead.

Okay, without going any further, here are some of the sales letters I found in Prince of Print's website:

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletters/2005/04-25-05.htm (Caleb O'Dowd Sex Enhancement Pill)

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/Newsletters/2005/06-28-05.htm (Eye Center of Tennessee)

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletters/2007/october_2007_pandora/pandora_october_2007B.htm (James Sheridan Sales Letter --- for Agora, I think)

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/Newsletters/zjlk_personal_computer.htm

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletters/2007/youtube%20newletter/youtube%20newsletterd.htm (Not Gary's stuff but... Gary loved that sales letter)

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletters/zslj_bill_gates.htm (He consider this as the best sales letter that he has ever read)

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/Newsletters/2005/07-29-05.htm (Sales letter he wrote for Agora)

Lawrence Bernstein has one category devoted to Gary Halbert. Click here to see his archives.

*Still under progress. Check out this blog more often, or you can just subscribe using the Really Simple Syndication (RSS). Click here to be notified through RSS.

Writing

2008-06-10T20:22:00.007+08:00

This is just a thought on writing... and don't expect it to be anything grammatical structured or a masterpiece or a good one.

Just a rambling thought of mine.

---

I noticed that when I write effectively (less of B.S. and more of salesmanship principles), my vision for that work is different than just "write word". I'm not even thinking of "selling".

I'm thinking more of "what is in it for them?" And while thinking so, it will increase my chance of creating persuasive sales letter even more.

Instead of thinking of the layout of that ad, I will write whatever I think will attract people and I will stop whenever I think I'm not adding any relevant point in the copy.

Sometimes, I will write too much (go into details too much that I revealed almost all of the secrets I'm selling). Or I will write reasons that shouldn't be there too. Reasons that could backfire and kill the "getting the sale" process.

I know most of you especially the pros believe that the fastest writing is the best writing and it is true.

Some will write from A to Z of the ads and some will do it in part (like me: I will create the outline of the ad in my brain and then I will write it from A to Z, depending on my mood at that time).

I will write anything that comes into my mind (most of the time, I will write the offer first) and I don't really care if it is bad, I just write it... though sometimes I get back (while writing) and just cancel it. A habit I got from the school I think.

Below is what I will write *first* when I write any ads. The product is of course, doesn't exist at all.

And this is a rough draft too.

---

Buying "ACME guide book for IT department manager" is probably too expensive for you considering this is just an e-book with interviews with the top experts in software industry.

But compared to seminars you attend yearly (that cost you $5,000 per seminar), new whitepapers you read weekly to know the latest, the best way to solve your problems (and risk getting new promotions from one to another every week), this e-book is no brainer for you.

You can get it at just $197 and backed up with our awesome 12-month full money back guarantee and you keep all the bonuses you received.

Remember, you could ask us to give you your money back if you think, in the first 5 minutes you read this guide, it can't solve you problems dealing with your IT department.

---

Everyone is different, even the way to write the ad is different to every copywriter.

Here's More Winning Ads For You

2008-06-06T15:36:00.010+08:00

Lurking around the web and trying to find more and more ads to add into my swipe file and I found some nice stuff.

Here they are:

For example, you can download Claude Hopkin and Maxwell Sackheim from Credible Copy.

If you want a very good online sales letter, you can see it all at Stansberryonline.

The website not working for you? Use this link. Or go to Google and type "site:http://www.stansberryonline.com/" (without the quote)

Early to Rise Bootcamp 2007 is a good read too.

This list won't be complete without Gary Halbert's famous Water Ad.

Want to read Gary Bencivenga's online sales letter? You can find it David Rosengarten's website.

Do I have Gary's work on financial field? Yes I do. Click here to get it.

Do you worship John Carlton? Here's his stuff: http://www.trsdirect.com/ and another one.

If the rumor said Clayton Makepeace writes for Alan Weiss is true, you can see it all by using Google: "site:investingshop.com/reports" (without quotes of course)

Last but not least, Mal Decker's legendary ads can be found here.

More swipe file materials:
25 Headlines For You
More Ads

If you like this post, please vote it in PlugIM. Thanks!

Ads, Ads! Do You Want Another Ads To Be Put Into Your Swipe File?

2008-05-11T20:45:00.004+08:00

Howdy,

Here are some of the sales letters (all online) which I have in my hard drive. I know most of you have it as well. ;)

Harlan Kilstein's Sample

Bencivenga B 100 Seminar

Business of Copy Six Figure Copywriting

Hypnotic Marketing

JP Maroney's Speaker 101 Crash Course

Mark Joyner's Farewell Package

Shortcut Copywriting Secrets

Product Launch Formula v2

*Still under progress. I will update this post and I will tell you when I update it. Some of the files are seriously large and I don't have the time to upload all of them.

Next, I will motivate myself and hopefully all of you will feel the same as I am by posting 9 Commandment of Success by Zaccheus (in Og Mandino's book, The Greatest Success in the World)

"Cherish each hour of this day for it can never return." - Og Mandino

Cheers! :D

25 Headlines Swipe File That May Inspire You

2008-05-10T15:26:00.008+08:00

Howdy,

I haven't posted here for more than 2 months and I think maybe I'll add these headlines into this blog and I hope it will be beneficial to you.

1. Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes (Maxwell Sackheim)
2. Confession of a magazine reader (David Ogilvy)
3. How to Make Your Telephone as Easy to Use as Your Telephone
4. Do you have a courage to earn half a million dollars a year?
5. Tori Spelling Lost 36 lbs. With NutriSystem! (The use of celebrity's name to create a headline? Interesting)
6. My Big Mouth Could Make You A Millionaire! (Robert Allen)
7. At 60 miles an hour in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock (David Ogilvy)(I like this headline!)
8. Exercise Your Heart Without Beating Up Your Legs
9. About This Stock and Bond Business
10. Your First and Last Chance To Get Free!
(With sub-head: My 6 great body building prizes to help give you smashing strength and he-man build!)(I got this from Ben Settle, if I remembered it correctly, or Ryan Healy... I don't know)

(All of the headlines I listed below are stolen from online sales letters)

Some of the sales letters are assumed have been written by Copywriters Board member such as Jason, John, and Mike. Please visit CB to learn more about salesmanship multiplied (copywriting).

11. $187,296 in 24 Hours! (Agora's sales letter)
12. How I Became A Six-Fure Copywriter In 273 Days... (Jason Leister, Business of Copy)
13. China's Deliberate ECONOMIC ATTACK ON AMERICA! (Agora)
14. "The Amazing Secret Behind The Single Most Successful Piece of Advertising In The History Of The World" (John "Angel" Anghelache")
15. How to Get Your First Real Copywriting Client in...

"14 Days Or Less!" (Ryan Healy)
16. Professional Copywriter Unleashes Hell On Ice-Cold Underperforming Sales Letters (Mike Humphreys)
17. "Who Else Wants The 3-Step Hypnotic Marketing Formula Backed by 8 Years of Multi-Million Dollar Results?" (Joe Vitale, probably)
18. "7 Secrets To Tap You Into The HOTTEST Cashed Up Online Market For Copywriters" (Ben Settle)
19. At Last, Learn Everything You Need to Know To Get A Fast, Profitable Start In Public Speaking... In Just Six Hours... (JP Maroney)
20. Grow Rich The "Lazy" Investor's Way
21. In The Last 30 Days, 2 Online Marketing Heavy Hitters Set Out To Prove One Thing... Anyone Can Build And Make Money From An E-Mail List!
22. I'm Going To Give You All The Tools I Used to Build a Multi-Million Dollar Virtual Empire
23. This Money-Getting System Has Been PROVEN For Times In A Row, Bringing In Over $23.8 Millions... In Just Under 24 Hours (Frank Kern and John Carlton? Can anyone comment?)
24. Who Else Wants Proven Advice To Write Super Responsive Ads And Sales Letters... From 44 Of The "Top Money" Marketing Minds Of All Time? (Daniel Levis)
25. Don't Spend A Penny More On Advertising Until These Marketing Masters Transform Your Sales Message Into A MONEY MAGNET!

Next, I will post a boatloads of online sales letter which I believe will help you. I am learning from it and I know you will! :)

Sincerely,
Abdul Rahman

P.S I just noticed one thing: my readers are waaaaayyyy better than me in copywriting. What an honour to have someone better than me reading my tiny little blog! :D

P.P.S Yoosh!!! Time to work!

The Right Hook

2008-02-21T23:32:00.000+08:00

Every good sales letter has their unique hooks. Just take a look at sales letter made for Agora; I believe all the letters I have read from Agora contained their own unique hook. You can also read sales letter made

Some of them use specific event as the hook and some of them are using the pleasure, place or story as the hook. It doesn't matter what type of hook you're using as long as it can capture people's mind.

One great copywriter once said that your hook is already there, hidden, and your job is to find it. You present that hook by telling a story to your audience. The best example of using story as the hook is Dan Lok's Ruthless Secrets.

If you want to find your hook, you should ask your clients everything about that product. Ask them if there's anything unusual when he is creating that product. You can also ask where he finds the idea to build that product. There are plenty of ways to find hook, and you can always find it if you want to.

Claude Hopkins: My Life in Advertising Selected Quotes II

2008-02-19T13:35:00.003+08:00

"Safety first" - page 6 (referring to the fact he is raised as such by his mother)

Most business wrecks which I have encountered are due to over-reaching. - ibid

I am not advising others to follow my example. I would not advise a boy of mine to do so. Life holds so many other things more important than success that work in moderation probably brings more joy. - page 8 (he is workaholic, usually worked till 2 a.m. in the morning and Sunday is his best day, working with no interruptions).

We are influenced by our surroundings. The prosperous mingles with the prosperous, so do those of certain likes or inclinations. - page 19

"Either tells the truth or I quit" - Powers, page 31 (referring to telling the truth in ad)

I knew all of the leading advertising agents of Chicago. They had solicited my business. So that afternoon I went to each and said, "Please write today to I.H. Rich, care Swift & Company, Union Stockyards Chicago, and say what do you think of Claude Hopkins." All promised to do that, and I knew that some of them would write very flattering things. - page 40

This is probably the birth of testimonial in the modern age. Just my guess though.

Seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.

- Mahatma Ghandi

Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right, nor any preference to claim over another. You are brothers.

- Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h)

It is better for any of you to carry a load of firewood on his own back than to beg from someone else.

- ibid

My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins Selected Quotes

2008-02-18T13:13:00.003+08:00

"That is about the only way to advertising success. Perhaps one time in fifty a guess may be right. But fifty times in fifty an actual test tells you what to do and avoid."
- page 106

"You cannot go into a well-occupied field on the simple appeal, "buy my brands". That is selfish appeal, repugnant to all. One must offer exceptional service to induce people to change from favorite brands to yours. The usual advertiser does not offer that exceptional service."
- page 99

"There lies the chief reason why no manufacturer should ever conduct his own advertising. Few attempt it now. The advertiser is too close to his factory. His own interests tend to blind him to the interests of his customers. He fails to appreciate the customer's side."
- page 88

Characteristics of Successful Headlines

2008-02-13T19:16:00.002+08:00

Everything that is successful have something in common, including headlines. In every successful headlines, there are few characteristics which you can use in your ads, namely, your sales letters, direct mails and everything you use to advertise your products.

1. It conveys message to its intended audience
Every successful headline conveys message to its intended audience. If you can't target the right audience, you will lose your ad money in the drain. If you are going to sell graphic cards for computer, you might say:

Announcing The New, Performance-Enhancing Unified Shader Architecture for Casual and Enthusiastic Gamers Alike by 2 Fold! Facts Inside!
Above headline talks about the new architecture in the new GPU (graphic card) which will improve performance of your graphic card and the prove it really work.

Another example and this time it is for non-technology industry:

The Deaf Now Hear Whispers
Above headline appeals to the right audience, with their self-interest in mind namely, an invention that made the deaf hear something.

2. It doesn't depend on illustration to drive home their point
Most powerful headline doesn't depend on the accompanying illustration to arouse readers interest. There are headlines that worked well when combined with illustration. For an example:

What's wrong with this picture?
[illustration]
The illustration show 2 ladies accompany a man, side by side. This book is about etiquette and even though people think they know the answer, they still want to read the copy of that sales letter (curiosity factor).

3. Gun to your head - people read the headline, then the rest of it.
Imagine having a gun point at your head. The condition for that gunner to not shoot you is that you must make your audience for your sales letter to read your copy. If not, you're dead. You know, if your life depend on that sales letter to make a living, you really need to make that headline powerful enough, attractive enough to make people read it. You need to spend a lot of time to create it. Some gurus spend time creating 100 and more headlines before deciding which one to use.

Talk about being marketing genius. They are persistent people who knows the value of hard work. Long story short, you need to spend enough time in crafting your headline.

4. And if you want to know if your headline is successful...
Just ask anyone to read your headline and ask them whether will they read the rest of it? If it is for specific field, ask someone, probably in the forum (who's familiar with that field) about what they think when they read your headline. If they want to read more, cogratulations, you are on your away of making good headline (and sales letter as well).

That's it. If you want to have successful headlines, you can use above tips and see your sales letter cashing in your bank account everyday.

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2007-12-30T00:55:00.000+08:00

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27 Ways to Have More Clients - Part 3 (Final)

2007-10-01T15:32:00.000+08:00

As if the first and the second list of ways to have more clients are not enough, here are the final part to conclude and this by far, the biggest list in this series.

1. Make Yourself Unique - Tell a Story
What makes you, "you"? Is it your fine copywriting skills or your dedication? Tell a story to your prospects who you are and make it believable. This is what you should do in this low trust world.

2. Do Your Have Your Sales Letter Ready?
I am not talking how much you have done but are you ready to sell yourself? Many people have said it, and I will repeat this again: you should be ashamed of selling yourself and don't sell yourself cheap. You are not cheap and don't consider yourself as such.

3. Niche: Are You In?
Do you specialize in any niche for example, muscle building? If not, you should try to do so because it will be easier for your former clients to refer their friends to you.

4. Make Yourself Social-Friendly
I wonder if social-friendly is grammatically correct word. What I mean is that you should not let yourself to be defensible, or reserved person. How people should go to you when you don't want to receive them?

5. Bid for project
This is easier said than done. Go to Get A Freelancer website and see how many copywriters struggling to have just one project for them. If you have the knack of bidding, do this.

6. Post Yourself
Make yourself listed in directory or websites. You could go to www.marketingtools.com or www.pr.com/business-directory/1642 and enlist yourself on that website.

7. Read Get Clients Report by Ryan Healy
I read that book and I must say it is great. Some of the tips listed here are from that book as well but if you need working examples behind these tips, get this book NOW.

8. Social Network Profile
What's the use of MySpace, LindkedIn and Facebook when you don't use them? Use them for your own advantage. Set up your "official" profile and make reasons for people to use your service or better, use their desire for more money to use you.

9. Get Testimonials - Get Social Proof
Get testimonials for yourself. Ryan Healy categorise testimonial into 2. The first one is "feel good testimonial" and the second is "result". The latter is better than the first one but if you don't have any result to show off, get your friend testify, how good you are.

10. Write for A-list copywriters
Some of them have too much work that they can't handle all of them and you could take advantage of that by proposing to them that you could write for them. I don't like this because if it is successful, the one who's getting the name is not me but that copywriter. How sucks.

11. Position Yourself
How do you position yourself? Are you sales letter writer or press release writer or are you all-round copywriter? The idea of all-round copywriter is not that great because you won't get more clients than someone who have positioned himself as a "sales letter writer" or "website content copywriter". Reason: because it will allow people to refer to you easier and they know where you are good at.

12. Don't Write Samples
Don't write anything for free because it will make you look cheaper to everyone. When you write for free, it might suggest to your potential clients that YOU ARE cheap. I know, this is contrary to my previous tip but it's up to you isn't it?

13. Attend Seminar
Attend seminaries is a good way to have more clients. All the attendants already have one thing in their mind; they want to make money/more money. This way, it is easier for you to make money and you can do this easily (given that you have the money of course).

14. Be Active in Forum
Do you know Copywriters Board (http://www.copywritersboard.com)? If you don't, you are missing something. You could actually get clients from there. Another good forum to be active in is Warrior Forum (http://www.warriorforum.com). In Warriors Forum, you could get a very good offer, offering discounted price of certain IM products or you could offer your skill there!

15. Dedicate Yourself to Master Only ONE Niche
Why only one? With this, you will be able to become the "obvious expert" in this field. It is similar with position yourself and makes you unique tips.

16. Blast Mode: Do Something
Just do everything you have read in this list and I can guarantee you will get your first (or more) clients in 2 weeks or less.

So that's all I can think of on how to get clients faster. If you want something that 100% will work, try one of the following and I can assure you that.

17. Threaten Your Prospect
This is the best way to have clients. Threaten them, says that you're going to kill their family if they don't hire you. (I hope no sane people will do this though)

18. SPAM everyone
This is easy. Go to technorati, search for anything you think of in that moment and spam the first 5 results and move on by searching another one.

19. Say that you are Ahmedinejad marketer
Say that you are the one who asked Ahmedinejad to deny Holocaust. I am sure everyone knows that you are insane and a very 'great' marketer. You attract the whole world with just one denial of truth. :)

So, that's all for 27 Ways of Getting More Clients. Some of them are contradicting each others but it is up to you to decide whether it is useful for you. Having more ways to do things is not a problem but not doing anything is a problem.

Next, I will post a complete way to find your own unique niche easily (or should I say, time consuming). To date, this is the longest piece of post I have written for this blog with more than 900 words long.

You hear 'no' in so many ways that you develop a thick skin. You learn that 'no' just means 'no today,' not tomorrow," Crasnick said. - Crasnick (source: La Times)

Stay profitable, Abdul Rahman