Posts Tagged ‘Marketing strategies’

Six Pro Copywriter Tips To Make Your Copy As Strong As Possible

By: Darcy Juarez on: April 25th, 2013 25 Comments

What is good copy? What is bad copy? And how do you tell the difference?

This past year, I attended the American Writer’s and Artist’s Inc. (AWAI) copywriting boot camp.

AWAI is best known for training professional copywriters. Which is why I went to scout out copywriters at AWAI’s Job Fair. While there, I spoke with AWAI’s co-managing partners Katie Yeakle and Rebecca Matter.

One of the things I learned was some great tips for how they review the copy they receive from writers to help make the copy they receive even better.

Because let’s face it, whether you write your own copy or hire someone else to do it, you want to make sure it’s the strongest it can be.

So here are some tips I learned from Katie and Rebecca about how to review your copy:

1)     Read the copy out loud.  When reading your copy out loud, if you find a place that you stumble, inevitably this is where your reader will stumble too.  This is a great indicator that there is something wrong that needs to be fixed.

2)     Read for one type of edit at a time.  When editing, there are really different types of editing you should do. One type of editing involves looking for spelling and grammar errors, missed words such as “not”, or misused words such as “they’re, their, or there”.

The second type of editing involves looking for clarity and accuracy in the copy. Is the come clear? Does it get your message across clearly? Are there better word choices that could make your copy stronger or places where an example might help to clarify?

By reading through copy more than once, focusing on only one specific type of editing task each time, you’ll be able to zero in on places that may need work. Some editors suggest you narrow down your focus even further, for example, looking for places where you can use action verbs instead of passive ones for example.

3)      Use the CUBA method.  This is a great method that anyone can use. In fact, you can have your family, your staff, etc. use this to help make your copy stronger.

The idea is to give the content to several people to read. As they read through, have them identify any areas where they find the copy confusing, unbelievable, boring or awkward. To indicate these areas, have them mark a C, U, B, or A (Confusing, Unbelievable, Boring, Awkward) directly on the copy.

4)     Use track changes and comments.  Having several reviews/editors with different comments can get confusing for anyone. If you want to make sure all of your edits are addressed, using the “track changes” and “comments” under your review section in WORD is one of the best ways to send edits back to a writer.

5)     Check for readability. When proofing your document in Word, you can check “show readability statistics” under your preferences for Spelling and Grammar.

When Word has completed checking your spelling and grammar, it will show a screen that gives your Readability score. This measures three things:

The first is your percentage of passive sentences. Reducing passive sentences makes your document stronger.

The next measure is something called the Flesch reading ease. You’ll find the best copywriters keep this around 80% or better, although this can be difficult and may not be achieved when there are technical terms involved.

The last score is the Flesch-Kincaid grade level. This rates your text on a U.S. school grade level. Ideally you want your level to fall around a sixth grade level, no matter how intelligent your audience is because it makes your message easier to read.

6)     Print it out.  It is easier to catch mistakes on a printed page than on a computer screen.  This is especially true if you do your own writing and don’t hire someone else to write your copy for you.

What methods do you use to help make your copy stronger? I’d love to hear them in the comments below.

NOTE: Knowing that you are looking at reasonably good copy and understanding why it’s good will help you make better decisions, hire better copywriters and get better results. Inside “The 7 Key Questions Every Copywriter You Hire MUST Be Able to Answer To Write Killer Direct Response Copy and Create Marketing Campaigns That Will Outsell The Pants Off Your Competition!”  is what every business owner should ask before hiring a copywriter.

So if you plan to hire a copywriter to give you an advantage, be sure to get GKIC’s FREE report here.

Three Ways To Increase Your Clicks & Revenues Online

By: Dave Dee on: April 23rd, 2013 7 Comments

Recently I heard sad news about a small business that has been an industry giant for decades.

I’ll refrain from using their name as it is one you would undoubtedly recognize. Their products are fantastic and have helped hundreds of thousands of people.

The company has done a great job building their subscription list. They send out emails and hold free webinars with formidable guests. They engage in social media and have hundreds of thousands of followers. Their posts are shared, liked, and commented on. They have even been successful generating viral activity.

And selling is, if not their top strength, close to it.

The thing is…unfortunately, this company is struggling and I’m afraid might not survive.

Why? It’s the same problem many small businesses suffer from…

Not only did they eliminate almost all of their direct mail activities and move the majority of their marketing online, they failed to use direct response concepts in ALL of their online marketing.

You see they didn’t quite understand that while it’s cool to have a big list and necessary to engage with people online…it’s really important that every aspect of online marketing is about hardnosed direct response marketing.

When you engage with a prospect, there must be a purpose behind it. Every time you…

  • send an email
  • write a blog post
  • direct someone to a page on your web site
  • make a post on social media…

…you should be thinking about how you can generate more clicks to your sales pages.

This does NOT mean you should be “selling” or promoting in every online activity. Let me say that again in a different way, because it’s really important. It’s not always about making a sale, but rather about “selling the click.”

For example, let’s say you have an event coming up that costs $500 to attend. You can’t sell someone on a $500 event in a 140 character tweet; however you could send them to a sales letter.

Even better though, you could send people to an opt-in box to get a free video, a free booklet, or attend a free teleseminar that relates to a topic you’ll be talking about at your event. Not only will you get more people to click through to something that is free, but now you’ve captured their email address and can market to them about your event (and your products and services and future event.) This means that instead of getting one chance to get them to click through to your sales page, you have multiple chances.

When you start focusing on how to use direct response in everything you do online, you’ll increase clicks.  And when you increase clicks, you’ll convert more clicks into sales. Just imagine increasing your conversion rate from 5% to 10%. If you did that consistently you would double your revenues.

Here are three ways you can use direct response to increase your clicks…

1) Use Active Verbs. Many businesses will create a link and write something like, “This week’s specials” or “Calendar of Events”. Instead trying putting an action verb at the beginning…”Find out what this week’s specials are here” and “Explore our calendar of events.”

2) Add urgency. Give them a reason to respond right now. While you don’t want every email or social media post to be promotional, using urgency when you are doing a promotion is really effective. You can accomplish this in many ways including using a limited-time offer, scarcity, or a fast action bonus.

3) Make offers. One of Dan Kennedy’s Direct Response Rules is to always make offers.  Look at ways you can incorporate offers into more of your online activities. Offer the first ten people that post a comment on your blog post a copy of the template you mention in your post. Or offer a free webinar on the topic you discussed in your email in your P.S.

If you don’t have a plan that includes how you will insert links that click through to a sales page, your time is wasted. Even worse, you could be the next small business that “bites the dust” because you didn’t put enough focus on how to get people to take a specific action.

Study direct response and start looking for more ways you can implement direct response marketing into your e-newsletters, emails, blog posts and social media. When you do, you’ll see an increase in clicks, which will lead to more sales.

How do you regularly use direct response in your online activities? Share your ideas in the comments below.

NOTE: Do You Want To Discover The 8 Steps To Growing Your Business By 25% to 75% in Just 48 Hours?

Then come to one of GKIC’s Fast Implementation Boot Camps where you’ll walk away with the blueprint in hand of what you need to do to grow your business and see results almost immediately!  This event is totally FREE to GKIC Insider’s Circle Members.  Simply go to www.dankennedy.com/bootcamp to reserve your spot now.

Not a member?  Take GKIC’s FREE Trial Membership by going to www.dankennedy.com/incrediblegift now and get access to thousands and money-making strategies, this FREE two day workshop and best of all…full access to the GKIC Insiders Circle area online.

Four Key Factors You MUST Know If You Want To Hold Onto Your Online Audience

By: Dave Dee on: April 11th, 2013 2 Comments

Last week I was in Ohio with Dan Kennedy and a packed room of entrepreneurs at the New A to Z Info-Biz Blueprints event.

I’m amazed that after 17 years of reading and studying and attending everything Dan does, I still discover new “ah-ha action items” for me to implement.

While I won’t be sharing my action items here today, I do want to talk about the psychology of how you get clients to continually come back to you.

Whether it’s getting your prospects and clients to come back to your events or come back to your website, there are specific ways to accomplish this.  Things you’ll want to implement ASAP because “returning prospects and customers” are key to growing your income.

Today I’ll discuss four ways specific to your online marketing.  It’s important to…

Understand the difference between the way customers view online and offline media.  The Internet was not created to sell. It was created by the U.S. military as a communication system and was later made available for academic institutions.

The idea was to create a place where people could connect and share information, not to sell.  And if you think about what most people do online, they go there to search for information or connect with people on social sites like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

This means they are in a very different mindset when they read something on your website versus when they read something you’ve sent in the mail.

Reading a sales letter that came in the mail, they may be more relaxed and sitting in their easy chair. But online, people are more alert and searching for specific answers. Make it simple and easy for them to find the answers they are looking for and don’t waste their time with copy that is focused on  branding your product, service or company.

Create specific landing pages. Online your customers compare prices. Offline they don’t. The truth is online audiences do price comparisons… frequently. This is bad news for you.

To help avoid price comparisons and drive your customers to your website, try sending something offline that drives customers to a specific online landing page that then drives them offline again. (KEY POINT: drive your audience to a landing page created specifically for your offer. Do NOT send them to your home page and make them search for your offer or you will lose them.)

For example, an offline postcard could drive people to a landing page with a specific low cost or no cost offer that requires them to enter their address to receive a CD mailer, report, etc. This gets them to raise their hand and say they are interested and gets them offline before you start talking price, thus avoiding the price comparison online.    The next step would be to send them what you promised with an offer to buy your product or use your service. By taking this approach, you’ll have a captive audience and loyal audience that are more apt to buy.

Have a system for capturing email addresses and use auto-responder emails. Another way to get people coming back is to use autoresponder emails. There is always a large portion of people who won’t buy your product or service the first time they find you.

Be sure to include an email capture box on your website so you have a way to continue marketing to them. Then create a series of emails designed to send prospects and customers back to your sales page for your product or service.

Be relevant. Always. If you are looking through the business section in the newspaper searching for information on ways to market your business, you’d expect to see ads about business, travel and things which aren’t related to marketing your business. But online, if you typed in Google, “Ways to market my small business” you’d expect to find exactly what you are looking for, right?

Your content on your web pages, in your emails, etc. should be very relevant to what your reader is looking for and not wander off topic. Because it’s much easier for people to click away from your website than it is to find another book, magazine or newspaper on your topic. This means if you stray they are gone.

Of course these are just four of many things which will help you keep readers returning to you online. If you want to be profitable online, you’ll want to beef up your understanding of the online reader’s mindset. Concentrate on learning and using online marketing strategies that make it simple for you to not only capitalize on this audience, but keep them coming back for more.

NOTE:  I’ll be leading a panel of marketing titans, expert in and using online and social media such as Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more. These experts create and keep online audiences coming back for a variety of products, services and businesses. They’ll be sharing how to quickly use online marketing to create something today, test it tomorrow, and have profitable results and knowledge almost immediately.

Join me and this incredible panel for an IN-DEPTH discussion with absolutely practical, 1-2-3, step-by-step instructions so you can make immediate, practical use of these. We’ll be holding this discussion at SuperConference May 2nd-4th. Go here to register now www.dankennedy.com/sc2013.  ALL discounts end NEXT week on April 19th. Don’t miss your ABSOLUTE LAST CHANCE to save.

Get an “Unfair” Advantage Over The Competition With These 7 Event Strategies

By: Dan Kennedy on: April 9th, 2013 2 Comments

Over the past week, I spent three days conducting the first of only four live events I’ll do this year.

Although I’ve considerably shrunk the number of events I do, I still consider there to be no substitute for getting people together in a room. Never underestimate the power of holding live events for your customers, clients and patients. You sacrifice a lot when you don’t get them in the same room with you.

Years ago, Gary Halbert held a seminar in Key West, Florida. It was about as easy to get there as hooking up horses to a wagon and taking three days to haul yourself there.  I said to Gary, why not have it in Miami? You like Miami. There’s an airport that flies right into Miami. But Gary didn’t budge. He knew the people who were serious about their business would come, no matter where he was at. He knew they were the truly ambitious, the ones most likely to succeed.

Holding events allows you to identify the people you should pay the most attention to. These are the people who are searching for solutions, committed to finding answers and willing to do what it takes to solve their problem. These are the people you should focus on and engage with the most. And they will come to you no matter where you’re at.

At the New A to Z Info-Biz Blueprints event I spilled everything I know about what I’ve discovered over the past 40 years to work as well as what doesn’t work in Information Marketing.  The positives and the negatives in boom times and in bad times. The good trends and the evil trends. How to find the right combination to “the vault.” Key factors when considering a market for entry or expansion. Blueprints for everything from product development to presentation of price to lead generation and more. I gave insider information that you won’t find in writing and will be stricken from any audios or videos made.

Rewarding customers, clients and patients with information or other items they won’t get from you any other way, not only makes your customers, clients and patients feel special, it gives them an advantage over others. This will improve your bond with clients and create better retention.

It wasn’t until I attended a Gary Halbert event that I realized I could charge royalties for my copywriting. Until I heard Gary say he charged royalties, it hadn’t occurred to me that I could get them too… despite me being well aware that writers are often paid royalties on other types of work such as books. Events allow people to see firsthand that they can be successful using your methods. This can prove very valuable to them (and to you.)

You also create fraternity and community while facilitating connections. I’m accustomed to hearing stories from members about alliances formed and money made as a result of meeting someone at an event. One year at SuperConference (click the link now and check out the latest video!) Ed O’Keefe struck up a conversation in the bathroom that was later worth $1.5 million to him.  I’d tell you the details, but you kind of had to be there.

For years I’ve attended events just because it allowed me to see friends that are separated from me geographically. It’s much easier and frankly less expensive for me to see everyone by attending an event.  Similarly, your customers will form a fraternity too.

You’ll often hear, just as we do, that your clients, customers and patients don’t have time to trek off to a conference, seminar or event. But make no mistake, conducting live events and seminars gives you an enormous advantage over your competition. And it gives those who attend your event an enormous advantage too.

NOTE: Dave Dee and “Mr. X” will be holding a FREE Webinar on April 11, 2012 at 3:00 PM EST/2:00 PM CST on How To Turn The Coming Crisis Into Extraordinary Wealth. “Mr. X” has more than 20 years of successful entrepreneurial experience in a wide range of industries including information and event marketing and teaches others how to create wealth and prosperity for themselves based on principles he personally uses. Click here to register for this FREE event.

Begging For Change To Millionaire In One Year. His Secret Revealed…

By: Darcy Juarez on: March 26th, 2013 1 Comment

He was abused and started drinking as a teenager.

Ending up homeless, he begged on the streets for change in order to survive.

Today Toronto Canada native Francis O’Dea is a multi-millionaire.

O’Dea says, “One year I was broke, the next year I was a millionaire.”

What is his secret?

He says for six months he lived on the streets with no clue as to what he wanted or how to get out of his current situation.

He changed his circumstance by changing his focus. 

He got a job and focused on turning his life around.  Later, with a friend, he opened a little coffee shop naming it, “Second Cup.”

Today, Second Cup is Canada’s largest Canadian-based specialty coffee retailer with more than 360 cafes across Canada.  Although, O’Dea sold his shares in Second Cup in 1988 when they had 150 locations, he went on to enjoy an extremely successful business career, receiving the Order of Canada in 2004.

While sometimes it’s a lack of focus on what we want that causes us to stay stuck, other times it’s caused by getting too comfortable in our routine and not knowing how to change our situation.

By just shifting your focus, even slightly, you can create big wins.

Here are some simple ideas for where you can shift your focus to improve your business and your income:

Sharpen your marketing. If your marketing isn’t working the way the way it used to, a quick way to correct the problem is to consider hiring a professional copywriter to audit your copy. While it may make more sense to start fresh, sometimes an audit of an existing piece of copy or funnel can identify slight changes and quick fixes that will make your marketing fresh and profitable again.

Before you hire a copywriter, be sure to read our FREE report:  The 7 Key Questions Every Copywriter You Hire MUST Be Able to Answer To Write Killer Direct Response Copy and Create Marketing Campaigns That Will Outsell The Pants Off Your Competition.

Check your client-attraction system. If you aren’t earning the income you desire, focus on doing one thing every day towards getting more and better clients.  Fine-tune your approach, learn how to identify and attract clients who can pay you big money right now. (Dan Kennedy will introduce and present his new “Specific –Customer-Focus Process® at SuperConference May 2nd –May 4th)

Specialize in a niche. Narrowing your focus in your industry can quickly increase your income.  If you’ve already picked a niche, see if there are courses or certifications which can further qualify you as an expert in your chosen specialty.

Identify a gap. Look for an area which is not being covered well or is in big demand.  For example, Mike Capuzzi of CopyDoodles saw a need in the copy cosmetics field as there were no real options other than to hire a graphic artist or to individually mark up your copy and try to photo copy it. By creating a product to fill that gap, he quickly rose to the expert in his field. Concentrate your effort on identifying and filling a need.

Focusing on the most important activities which keep your business growing is what separates the most successful businesses in the world from the businesses that spend their entire shelf life wondering why nothing they do seems to work.

So if you’re wondering how to bring your business up a notch, look at how you’re spending your time—you might just need a slight focus adjustment.

NOTE: Just a quick reminder that Dan Kennedy will be presenting a very special and rare Internet Webinar with Infusionsoft TODAY – Tuesday March 26th – at 2 pm EST. It’s on the crucial topic commonly referred to as “Lifecycle Marketing”… the real-world “Survive and Thrive” principles Dan has identified based on the many years of research he’s spent looking at the “what works/what doesn’t” marketing efforts of over 10,000 small businesses. When you attend this webinar, you’ll discover:

  • How to fix “follow-up failure”… the devastating death spiral a business experiences when leads wander off into the weeds to disappear forever… without wasting endless hours of your valuable time!
  • Discovering your company’s own unique WOW – the powerful, emotional experience that only YOU bring to the table – and the easiest way imaginable to deliver it to the surprise and delight of your satisfied customers
  • A ferociously simple trick that you can do RIGHT NOW that will enable you to quickly and easily attract, capture and nurture WAY more leads!
  • The crippling disease of multiple system madness… how it’s killing your profits without you even knowing it… and clear steps to take NOW to put you on the vital path to thrive in your business.

And MUCH MORE Besides! Dan doesn’t do these kinds of presentations very often and this one is particularly near and dear to how he thinks about running a successful business. Register for this FREE, rare webinar here.

Six Tips For Using This Shortcut To Success Tool

By: Darcy Juarez on: March 14th, 2013 3 Comments

Last week at the Fast Implementation Boot Camp, I witnessed the magic of networking.

Connections were made, budding friendships and accountability partners started, alliances were formed, and even some possible joint-ventures emerged… all through networking.

Networking is one of the best ways to make powerful connections that can propel your business forward and shortcut your path to success.

Of course, there are tons of opportunities for networking, (too many, actually) some better than others.

But here’s the thing…

You don’t want to end up with a stack of business cards you’ll never look at again or spend time in a room with non-decision makers who are schmoozing you.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your networking encounters:

Find learning environments. Business card exchanges and other networking focused events are high pressure. People are there to meet others for the purpose of doing business, which means their defenses are up. Educational events, such as seminars, conferences and bootcamps are more relaxed, therefore defenses are lower. People are more at ease.  Plus, because the most successful people are continually learning, you are more likely to meet high quality like-minded contacts..

Start conversations. Don’t wait for someone to come to you. Sit next to someone you don’t know or cross the room to talk to someone. Strike up a conversation with the person standing in line next to you. Find out what they are working on or trying to accomplish. A simple conversation can turn into ideas, alliances, new business, referrals, joint-ventures, and a host of other opportunities.

Focus on making quality contacts, not quantity. The goal should not be to meet as many people as possible, it should be to build quality relationships. If you are in a conversation that is going well, stick with it rather than trying to move on to meet more people. That said, don’t hang with one person the entire time.

Do more listening than talking. Ask a lot of questions, then listen and respond to what you hear. By listening you may find you can provide a solution they are looking for.

Do your research. Find out about the speakers and what their specialties are before you attend an event. Pick a couple that you want to meet who work in something related to your field, have a similar business set-up or might be able to answer a question or help you with what you are working on. Then seek these people out. To prepare write down three intelligent questions about your most pressing matters. For example, if you are attending SuperConference and have a brick and mortar business you might want to seek out extraordinary entrepreneurDonna Krech with 25 years’ experience, a thriving local brick and mortar business, a national coaching and franchise business, and a direct-to-consumer products business. She is sure to have plenty of answers about what it takes to make your business ultra-successful.

Write down what you are looking for before you go. Are you looking for someone to give you feedback on an idea you have? Similar businesses to compare promotions? A good “power partner” for referrals? An affiliate or joint-venture partner? Advice about a particular business problem? When you take the time to define what you are looking for from networking, you’ll ask better questions and get much better results.

Armed with these ideas, you’ll be able to brilliantly network and use these opportunities to blast your business forward.

NOTE:  SuperConference Countdown has begun. You’ve got less than two months to prepare for this life-changing event. I recommend you get ready by clearing as much off your plate as possible before you go.

That’s because once you get there, you’re likely to be flooded by the opportunities and new promotion strategies that come out of the event.

And that’s just the beginning. Come prepared to network with some of the most successful GKIC members. You’ll get a ton of value out of the event, no question. In fact, here is a quick list of six of the best things you’ll receive from SuperConference:

1)     Kindred spirits. You’ll meet entrepreneurs from all over the world, of all ages, and varied backgrounds. Yet you’ll share a burning desire to be top dog in your industry, niche or marketplace, bust through barriers and recognize GKIC as the vehicle that can get you there. Since most of the people “back home” can’t relate to what it is you’re trying to do with this “direct-response stuff” and “deliberately positioning yourself against trends,” it’s an awesome feeling to finally connect with people who share your passion for independence.

2)     Meet GKIC Experts Face-to-Face. Sure you’ve “met” Dan Kennedy, our expert panel and GKIC crew members through emails, teleseminars and Google Hangouts. But it’s even better to meet people face-to-face.  You’ll meet the entire GKIC crew, some living legends including Dan Kennedy himself and Brian Tracy, and members of our GKIC Expert Advisory Panel. They are living proof that GKIC strategies work. Meeting them in the flesh will highlight the advantages of this lifestyle, not to mention ramp up your enthusiasm. (If you’re new to GKIC and our successful direct-marketing strategies, check out our flagship product Magnetic Marketing)

3)     Supercharge your professional network. Events in general tend to host the most ambitious, most successful entrepreneurs, sales persons and business owners. SuperConference is no different. These are the go-getters who make things happen. This is a great shortcut for making a list of go-to professionals, joint venture partners, and peers willing to swap promotion ideas.

4)     A reality check. It’s easy to doubt whether the freedom and independent lifestyle really exists…until you meet people actually living it. This is the perfect place to meet people living their dream lifestyle… and find out their best tips for getting there yourself.

5)     Cash, Investment, “Brain Capital” and a Free Vacation. If you participate in GKIC’s Marketer of the Year or in GKIC’s Shark Tank, you could walk away with a winner’s weekend win Dan and an all-expense paid trip to sunny Florida or up to $50,000 in cash, investment opportunity or “brain capital” for your business.

6)     An adrenaline shot. You’ll hear stories that will remind you it’s possible to have complete control over your life, the best and most current information of what’s working now, and loads of tools and strategies to propel your business forward. Not to mention how fired up you’ll be when you leave. You’ll be ready to take on…and conquer your biggest goals.

And if you haven’t registered yet – don’t delay!

Take advantage of the special early-bird discount until March 21, 2013 at midnight!

Register Now by clicking here…

ALSO!!! On Monday, March 18, 2013 at 8:00PM EST Dave Dee will be doing a FREE TRAINING Tele-seminar with Brian Tracy and Barbara Corcoran where he Guarantees: “This FREE 60 Minutes Call With These TITANS of Marketing Will Reveal At Least 7 GIANT Secrets You Never Imagined Existed That Could Easily Double, Even Triple Your Business’s Revenue”

During the call they’ll reveal:

  • Core secrets to programming your subconscious mind for superstar sales results — and they only take moments!
  • Barbara’s contrarian secret to success and how not knowing and implementing this secret is hold you back. (This will surprise you!)
  • The single biggest mistake entrepreneurs make and how to overcome it to get from where you are to where you want to go- this is NOT what you think.
  • The powerful lesson from Barbara’s journey to the star of ABC’s hit show, Shark Tank — this might be exactly what you need to hear now.
  • How to accomplish more in a mere 90 days than you ever imagined possible… you’ll discover how to apply MASSIVE ACTION on a number of fronts to ramp up your business exponentially!
  • And lots more!

Just Click Here Now…to reserve your spot and then mark your calendar, your phone and tie a piece of string around your finger…because this is 60 minutes you won’t want to miss if you want to grow your business.

Are You Hunting In The Wrong Place?

By: Dan Kennedy on: March 12th, 2013 9 Comments

I’ve been in the advice dispensing business for 40 years.

Throughout my career I’ve been paid millions and millions of dollars by CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, small business owners, even my peers, professional speakers, authors and consultants.

Whether the economy is good or bad, I remain fully booked and in demand.

On occasion I have run up against ‘professional norms and guidelines’ dictated by some association or certifying organization, and had my fees and the fees I recommend others charge criticized. Some say they are unethical, some say they are impossible to receive.

Nevertheless, I’m fully booked with demand left over.

And people I’ve guided routinely command premium prices in return for their products and services.

I’m not telling you this to brag.  My ego doesn’t need the boost.

I’m telling you this to let you know that these sort of opportunities exist and are there for the taking by people who may have never dreamed they could command such, “aggressive compensation.”

(I reveal how I’ve done this in detail in my course Super Powers of Price Elasticity which right now you can try for just a single dollar by clicking here!)

And at no time is it more critical than right now thanks to the rising costs of marketing and customer acquisition and the overabundance of marketing streams fighting for people’s attention.

Right now you may be asking yourself, “Given the habits of consumers seemingly flocking to pay the lowest price is it still possible to find consumers willing to pay top rates?”

It is, I assure you. In fact, I guarantee that hugely valuable customers exist for every business. It may just be you’re looking in the wrong place.

The truth is if you lack the kind of customers, clients or patients I’m talking about, you are most likely lacking specific customer focus and using ineffective approaches that are dangerous to your business’ long-term survival.

Amir Karkouti, owner of a successful group of restaurants in San Diego and an author, speaker and mentor to other restaurant owners wrote this letter…

“It wasn’t that long ago that my restaurants were going to fail and I was losing hope. I spent the last money I had to go to the SuperConference, and I went home determined to utilize everything I learned from you and all the other marketers.

I went straight to work. I got lists, created letters, improved my copywriting.

I realized that my business wasn’t failing—I was failing at marketing it. “

Amir says since that time his restaurants are booming. He’s been written up in publications, began speaking to and coaching other restaurant owners, and written a book on how restaurant owners can market their business to explode their profits. He developed a Marketing System that includes a turn-key, automated email marketing program, the “4X2 SECRET”- which brings customers back 4 times within 2 weeks and The Restaurant Sales Letter Template.

Amir used specific-customer focus—targeting the right customers—and combined that with effective marketing strategies to get him out of peril and onto a prosperous path.

Any business owner can attract higher value customers and clientele. Ask yourself, if you could double your net profit, without getting any more customers, wouldn’t you want to do it?

NOTE: Is your business positioned properly? At this year’s SuperConference during one of my two entirely new presentations, I’ll show you how to rate and judge your positioning strengths and weaknesses and help you determine whether consumers see you as a one-of-a-kind business that people can’t ignore or one that is swimming to keep up with the competition..

Find out how to correct your course and locate, target and attract those consumers which will be highly valuable to your business. Plus the five X-Factors found in exceptionally successful businesses that “own” much higher value customers or clientele than 90% of their competitors or peers.

You’ll also have a chance to win free advice from me and an all-expenses paid vacation in sunny Florida in our Marketer of the Year competition.

And if you have a great business or product idea that could use a surge of cash or “brain capital” to get it off the ground or take it to the next level, enter “THE TANK.” I along with Barbara Corcoran and the other GKIC Sharks are giving you a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to pitch us on giving you cash, investing in you, or providing “brain capital” for your business.

Don’t miss these opportunities and your last chance to save over $1000 on registration.

Four Secret Principles Between The Haves And Have Nots

By: Darcy Juarez on: February 21st, 2013 4 Comments

The other day I read that Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are due to release a new TV series…

The name of their new series is The Haves and the Have Nots.

Based on the musical play written, produced and directed by Perry, it follows the dynamics of the affluent Cryer family and the family of their not-so-affluent housekeeper – and the dramatic secrets that reside within each.

The show made me think about what I’ve read in recent months about the differences between the “haves” and “have nots” in real life.

A vanishing middle class caused by globalization has driven down wages for people with routine skills. Yet incomes at the top have skyrocketed.

I’ve read that students should focus on science, technology, engineering and math to earn the best money in the future.

The truth is that if you want to be a part of the “haves” it doesn’t matter if you focus on art, English or technology. Or if your business sells services or products that are widely accessible with lots of competition or your business sells products or services that are normally in a low-price point…

Because people will pay more for products and services than you imagine. Plus somebody will always be at the top of the food chain, so to speak, dominating their market, so why shouldn’t it be you?

In Dan Kennedy’s Marketing to the Affluent program, Dan shares story after story of businesses that could easily be commoditized and competing on price, but instead are dominating their market and selling their products and services at top dollar. From pet sitters to guys selling lobster to his story of buying a $350 rubber ball at Disney World.

Here are four simple secret principles you can put into practice immediately to instantly align yourself and guide your business to be among the “haves”:

1)    Stop believing your business is different. In the GKIC February 2013 Gold Letter, Dan Kennedy discusses and shows evidence of how human emotions are the same no matter the educational level, income and affluence level, life experience or sophistication. In other words, no matter their differences, people respond the same to GKIC marketing strategies.

Once you stop believing GKIC marketing ideas won’t work in your business because your clients, customers, patients or business are different, you will experience tremendous financial breakthroughs. So next time you think one of our marketing ideas won’t work, try it first and see what happens.  (If you aren’t currently receiving the Gold Letter, click here to get 2 issues, along with $633.91 of free money-making Info.)

 

2)    Make big changes with small choices.  Every business owner understands the painful necessity of choice in decision-making for their business. It’s these choices and the fear of making the wrong choice that sometimes paralyzes a business owner.

If you find yourself paralyzed by indecision, make a smaller choice to get you started. For example, if you are unsure about a marketing strategy, test a small portion of your target market first to see if the strategy works.

After all, it’s better to do something than nothing. Plus by making a smaller choice, you don’t have to worry so much about making a wrong decision.

 

3)    Differentiate yourself. This is especially important in highly competitive markets. If you want to be able to charge the highest possible fees and never compete on price, you must distinguish yourself from your competitors.

Think you can’t charge more for your products? Think again. Disney charges $350 for a rubber ball that you can buy at Walmart for $5.00.

Think your business is different?

See point one.

(Learn about how to differentiate and avoid commoditization on our upcoming Diamond Member Calls in March and April where Sally Hogshead discusses using customer fascination and three great GKIC members discuss strategy for fighting differentiation in highly competitive and commoditized markets.  Not a Diamond Member? Get access here.)

 

4)    Do something to market your business every day. Many of our most successful members talk about how taking “massive action” has generated a lot of their success. However, for some that seems overwhelming. Realize that even doing one small marketing activity every day can have enormous impact.

Dan has a rule of doing something to drive his business forward every day. That means that sometimes you have to make the choice between quitting work at your normal time or staying ten more minutes to send an email or fax to a potential client. What small choice can you make today that will make a difference in your business tomorrow and beyond?

Follow these four simple principles and before you know it you’ll be one of the “haves” experiencing more freedom, less stress and an income that can provide you with both everything you need and everything you could ever want.

NOTE:  How would you like to be among the “haves” within the next 90 days? You can double your profits when you attend Chief Marketing Officer Dave Dee’s FREE webinar, “The Top 10 Ways to Radically Transform Your Business and Double Your Profits In Just 90 Days”,  on February 21, 2013 at 8:00 PM EST

If you look around and see businesses in your niche doing better than you…or wonder how you can be the leader in your field and one of the “Haves” then you won’t want to miss Dave’s free presentation. Make the choice to register right now so you can begin transforming your life immediately. To register for this FREE event, click here NOW.

Make Something Happen NOW

By: Darcy Juarez on: January 29th, 2013 1 Comment

Can you believe it’s almost the end of January already?

In an attempt to help members stay on track with their new 2013 goals, the other day we asked members to share what they were doing to improve their business…

A variety of answers came in such as attending mastermind meetings and conferences, studying courses like Magnetic Marketing, finishing a website, working on blog posts, articles and newsletters, writing a book and more.

Another question we asked, “If you could only share one thing, what is the one piece of business advice you would give?”

Again a variety of answers flooded in…

“Create your own product or service and promote it like crazy.”

“Don’t compete on price.”

“Test and tweak, and test and tweak, then test and tweak again.”

Lots of great answers to consider.

Some look at the most successful business models for inspiration.  It’s not uncommon to see successful entrepreneurs doing 20 different things all at once—from lead funnels to newsletters to events to releasing books to coaching programs.

Seeing and hearing all these ideas, it’s easy to come up with ideas and be inspired to do some of them in your own business.

But sometimes instead of ending up with “a success story” you end up with a big “to do” list and a case of overwhelm.

After all, with so many great pieces of advice and so many different ideas to choose from, how do you pick what to do first?

I mean, even just seeing 18 different ideas that are shared as the one “best piece of advice”, makes it hard to pick. Am I right?

If you’ve ever felt that way, I’m here to help with a few suggestions to eliminate overwhelm and get your business moving so you can make things happen in 2013.

Clear out the clutter. Sometimes our lists simply have too many things on them and they need to be simplified. At the end of the year, the GKIC marketing team sat down to evaluate where we were, where we were going and what we wanted to achieve. We realized we were trying to execute too many ideas. We needed to focus more on automating and on making core initiatives run well. So we removed a few items from our list…for now anyway.

Another place that clutter can get in the way is in your head. Instead of lying awake at night with mental clutter, write down all the ideas you like or think of. Then put them aside for when you have time and are ready to implement something new.

Realize there is really only ONE thing you need to do.   There is an old proverb that says, “Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened.”

Of the three, you definitely want to be in the category of the people that “make things happen.” To do this you have to take action immediately.

Disney ran out of money before they finished Disneyland and couldn’t finish some landscaping. So he had his people make up some signs with phony Latin names on them and stick them in the ground next to the weeds.

There are a lot of people with good ideas out there. But very few who take immediate action. They wait to gather all the information, or have enough money, or for the “perfect timing.” Don’t worry about having all the details figured out, just get moving. Because as Dan Kennedy says, “Just by getting into action you’ll leapfrog ahead of 95% of the people around you.”

It’s a million little things. Not one.  Often we hear of the “overnight success” story. People want to know, how someone arrived at success so quickly? The thing is, there is no such thing as overnight success. It’s doing a lot of different things that all add up.

So just pick one or two things and focus on getting those done. When you’ve finished with those, pick two more from your list and focus on those. Give yourself a deadline to shoot for so you keep moving forward. Before you know it, you’ll have done a million different things and you’ll have leapfrogged ahead.

It’s great hearing from members that they are already making things happen in 2013…

Keith Madison writes,

“Though it’s only 14 days into the new year, GKIC has helped me discover some damn stellar breakthroughs for my clients…No B.S. has me generating B.S. (big sums.)”

I hope I’ll be hearing from you soon about the “Big Sums” you are making as a result of clearing the clutter and taking action immediately.

Share your tips in the comments below for clearing out the clutter and making things happen in your business.

NOTE:  Tens of thousands have been on the same road you are now traveling…but only those that take immediate action and implement reach the finish line. If you are new to GKIC, having trouble deciding what to do first or just need some direction on what to do first, check out our FREE Fast Implementation Bootcamp. In just two days’ time, you’ll walk away with a fully loaded marketing campaign ready to send out. Our next Bootcamp takes place March 7-8th. But you’ll want to register now, because seats are filling up quickly and there is only limited room available.

The 3 Biggest Mistakes To Avoid When Creating Info-Products

By: Dave Dee on: January 10th, 2013 3 Comments

“Anyone who never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”—Albert Einstein

Recently I was reading about some of the top mistakes made in 2012.

From political campaign miscues to Apple’s Public Relations nightmare with their new mapping service to Facebook’s mobile strategy which relied too heavily on one type of technology…companies talked about what they did wrong.

Mistakes are inevitable when you are out there giving it your all to create the business and life you want. I know I’ve made my fair share of them and my guess is you have too.

There are two things about not getting it right: Don’t be afraid to mess up. Failures, mistakes happen more often to those who are most successful. So it goes to follow that the more mistakes you make, the more successful you will be.

Secondly, whenever possible learn from others’ mistakes so you don’t have to repeat them.

So here are three of the most common mistakes made when creating Info-products (and how to avoid them).

1) You create a product your clients, customers or patients don’t want.  Sometimes, especially when starting out in info-marketing, businesses create a product that their target audience doesn’t want. In fact, this happens more often than you think.  You have a great idea for a product, but it turns out that your clients have no interest in it. Or maybe they don’t like the format it’s delivered in. For example, you create a set of videos or an audio program when your customers would prefer something they can read and write notes on instead.

How to avoid: Find out if your new product or service will be successful BEFORE you create it.

With the help of computer-generated imagery, you can design a virtual product and showcase it on a web page. You can test colors, the price of your product, the benefits of using it and more before you ever actually create the product. Then, take orders and with sales already in hand, create the product.

Using Pay Per Click (PPC) is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to gather information about key points such as pricing, features that are most important to your potential consumers, who your target audience is, offers, guarantees and more.

Focus on things that will make the biggest difference, such as your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), the benefits of your product or service, pricing and things that make your product different.

You can also write a sales letter for your product and see if your target audience will buy it. If they do, then create the product, and try mailing to a larger segment of your target audience. Remember to start small when testing, using a small geographic area to test first.

What to do if you’ve already created the product and it didn’t sell? This doesn’t mean it’s a bad product. It might just mean you need to market to a different audience. Test different audience segments to see if the product will sell in a different market.

2) A weak guarantee. Two facts you have to get used to with the info-marketing business are that there will be returns and there will be people that try to cheat you. However, most people won’t cheat you and as Dan Kennedy says, if you aren’t getting at least 10% asking for a refund, you aren’t selling hard enough.

How to avoid: Because people are afraid of refunds and being cheated, often times the guarantee is weak, if there even is one. You will sell far more with a strong guarantee, even with refunds, when you have a guarantee that removes all the risk from your customer making a purchase.

The instinct here is to have a short money-back guarantee. A week, two weeks, maybe a month. However testing has shown that a longer guarantee, 90 days or a year, out pulls the shorter guarantee.

3) You take too long to create your info-product. Of course, if you follow my advice to not create your product until after you know there is a demand for it, you’ll have no choice but to create your product quickly, because you’ll have orders waiting. However, if you don’t follow my advice, you may fall into this category.  Keep in mind that the longer you take, the less money you will make. Plus, if you have a great idea and take too long to bring it to market, there is a chance someone else will start marketing an info-product based on your idea before you do. Get it done and out there.

How to avoid: Instead of waiting for the perfect version, plan to create new versions with updated or improved material. Or, if you’re having trouble, invest in whatever you need to get it done, whether that is a ghost writer or resources that hand you shortcuts to creating an info-product. For instance, Dan Kennedy’s Info-Product Recipe includes the ingredients and how to’s for developing an enduring, successful million dollar info-product that cannot fail.

Adding info-products to your business is one of the smartest (and most lucrative) business decisions you can make. Don’t let the fear of making mistakes stop you. But avoid them whenever possible. And remember every day you wait is another day you aren’t making money on your idea.

NOTE:  Make this the year you reach an incredible new level of success with new info-products. And if you really want to avoid making mistakes and create the most profitable info-marketing business possible,  plan to sign up for Dan Kennedy’s A- Z Info-Biz Blueprints Re-boot in April. No one has guided more people to millions through info-marketing than Dan. Spending three days with him you will quickly get the most complete and detailed and valuable training on this subject that he has ever created. [Link]