Stuart Elliott Copywriter

Hey there,

I need your help…

I just submitted a video to a website that’s holding a huge contest where I can win an all expense paid trip to Dallas, Texas. Once there, I’ll be provided with a complete business makeover by Internet Marketing experts.

Winning this would be so incredible for me!

If you could take just two minutes and vote on my video, I would greatly appreciate it.

Here’s the video:

Now go to: http://www.marketingdoover.com/contestant/812990

Once you register as a voter or a contestant, you’ll be able to submit your vote. (One being the worst and ten being the best.)

Of course, giving me a 10 would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to do this and for helping me!

Again, the link is: http://www.marketingdoover.com/contestant/812990

I really appreciate your time!

Speak to you soon,

Stuart

PS
Don’t forget to leave a comment - I’d love to know what you think. Good or Bad!

A little while ago certain well-known marketers were ‘tricking’ subscribers into signing up for paid subscriptions to their newsletters.

Now that the dust of that settles it seems that at least one of these well-known ‘gurus’ is selling subscribers contact details!

This is soooo wrong in my view, take a look at this article for more information… And be sure to read the privacy policy BEFORE you give out your contact details to anyone. Must admit here I never bother, just assume that they will treat me with respect, but now…

Article reprinted by kind permission of Amber Jalink www.dime-co.com

WARNING: Your Privacy is being breached!

No pitch-Your privacy is being breached. Read now for proof.

Today is a holiday in Canada, but I came online to get things ready for our launches.

I opened my emailbox to find a message from Matt Bacak, a well known “guru”… recommending a product from another “guru”, Justin Blake.

(It’s basically a self-hypnotizing thing for success… supposedly).

I read through the sales letter.

I had something niggling in the back of my mind, so I decided to check out the privacy policy.

~gasp~ !

If you have bought from him OR were thinking about it:

Fair warning: He will sell your information to anyone
who wants it! (Except financial - at least he admits that).

He also states you have no recourse and cannot accuse them of spam. Eesh!

(Proof: http://www.manifestationmeditation.com/privacy.html)

Whether the product is good or not, the fact is “gurus” should be protecting your private information, not sharing it.

Also - another tidbit: The copyright on the privacy policy states “Mining Gold Corporation”. Is that him, or did he “copy” the privacy policy?

Kinda scarey. His main page says, “JB Virtual Enterprises, Inc.
PO Box 6543; Traverse City, MI. 49696 231-930-4043″

Not - mining gold corporation.

So there you have it - it could in fact, be both companies selling your info!

I did more research while writing this…

Shawn Casey’s “Mining Gold” (All his products actually), but I researched the “Mining Gold Corporation” Privacy policy. It states:

“we supply our member’s contact information, to our business partners…”

“We may also supply other companies with contact information, for mail offers we believe would be of interest to our members, with or without comepnsation from those companies.”

“If you order services or products directly from our company, we use the personal information you provide to process that order. We do share this information with outside parties that we do business with.”

!!!

Justin Blake’s has been formatted and claims permission to use the privacy policy from Mining Gold. They’ve revised theirs to say:

—
“HOW INFORMATION MAY BE USED

The use of information as described below may or may not be how information that is collected is customarily used by this site. While actual use of any information collected may be used quite conservatively, you must assume that it is not. You must assume that information collected is shared with other persons or entities for commercial purposes. While this is uncommon in practice, you must assume that it is as you make your decision whether or not to view or interact with this website. This type of shared information may include your name, address, phone number, email address and buying habits, as well as other information. This information may be used for general commercial solicitation by this website or other persons it is sold to, rented to, or shared with.

SPAM

By providing to this website information that forms the basis of communication with you, such as an email address, you waive all rights to file complaints concerning unsolicited email or spam from this website since, by providing such information, you agree to receive communication from us or other marketing organizations. However, all email communication with you shall contain an ‘unsubscribe’ link where you may notify the website that you no longer wish to receive solicitations or information from the website and your name will be removed from the general solicitation database.”

—

The fact is: they’re admitting to SELLING and SHARING your private information.

Do you Really want that?

Be very careful about the privacy policies of companies.

Every company should have one - and if there isn’t one that clearly states they protect your private information, you might want to avoid joining (Unless you don’t care about spam or phone calls!)

We maintain our own newsletters, but we never rent, share, sell or trade our lists or customers in any way. Why would we? (That is a link to OUR privacy policy by the way).

It’s pretty sad that these guys complain about spam…
but are a major part of the problem. Of course, it allows them to then create “anti-spam” software.

Okay, safelists - we expect to get spam because the email
addresses are open for everyone to see (usually). And spammers have access to scripts that will actually create possible email addresses, even if you thought you kept it private.

But a purchase from a ‘guru’ product? You shouldn’t have to worry about that.

Sorry, I shouldn’t rant. We all have our good points and bad points, no one is perfect.

But selling someone’s private information is one of the worst things a marketer could do, and it shouldn’t be done.

Protect your privacy. Be wise to it.

(c) 2008, Amber Jalink. Amber Jalink is the Founder and Creator of many websites, including the popular article site, www.dime-co.com. This article may be reproduced in its entirety as long as this resource box is included.

Kind of leaves a nasty taste in your mouth doesn’t it?

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

***Trivia question… Which famous copywriter sends bullets to his readers? (Read on to find the answer.)***

Using psychology to sell is such a fundamental part of marketing isn’t it?

You may not realise it but every time you write a sales letter or send an email there are hidden phsycological triggers that you should use to communicate with your reader.

And be warned… if you’re not using these triggers right now you could well be losing more sales than you realise.

One that is put to good use on your everyday soap operas and sports programs is the Ziegarnick Effect. This is the official name for the cliffhanger scenes that always end each episode and leave you in a state of high drama, desperately wishing tomorrow would come so that you can get some release.

Imagine how you’d feel if tomorrow didn’t come and you couldn’t see the next episode. You’d be grumpy, agitated and probably cross with your friends and neighbours. That’s how powerful this psychological trigger is.

In TV sports programs it’s use is characterised by asking a trivia question at the beginning of the program with the promise of the answer later on. This often keeps you glued to the screen just to get the answer to the question. Often you have no real interest in the program but have to have the answer so you watch anyway.

Here are Nine of the most important triggers, study them and you’ll understand how psychology affects your customer’s buying decisions and how you should be using it to your distinct advantage.

1. Using the psychology of authority figures
2. Ziegarnick’s discovery - the power of unfinished business
3. Understanding the ‘herd’ phenomenon or social proof
4. Foot in the door phenomenon
5. Conformity to emotions – smile and the world will smile with you
6. Cognitive Dissonance – not wanting to admit you’re wrong and ‘because’
7. Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs
8. Framing
9. Price Conditioning

I’ll explain more about each one in later posts but if you’re in a hurry to find out more (and you should be) I suggest you take a look at my new manual. it’s called the ‘Three “R’s” of Copywriting‘ and has helped many a writer get higher conversions from their sales copy, no matter what form it is in… and it’s guaranteed to help you too.

Take a look now, you’ll be glad you did, it’s extremely reasonably priced.

Oh and before I go let me answer the trivia question. The copywriter is Gary Bencivenga. He sends regular bullets to his readers. Lots of good info there, after all he’s been writing winning copy for many years now.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

Don’t forget to drop me a line if you need a sales letter critique or other copywriting services. I’m always happy to help out. Drop me a line to copy {at} kungfucopywriter.com

Tags: Sales Letters

Hypnotic Marketing has just become Dr Joe Vitales best selling book ever…

It’s not just one ebook either… Along with all the bonuses, I’ve downloaded 32 pdf’s and mp3’s… Secret after secret, so much information crammed into every one…

Imagine how much money you can make with all those hypnotic tools in your arsenal

“Get it, Use it, Profit from it…”

Do yourself a favour and grab a copy today, it’s a measly $27…

Speak to you soon,

Stuart

PS
Do you like Kylie?

Hi there,

Here’s a short excerpt from a new book I’m busy with. It’s provisionally titled: ‘Writing With the Customer in Mind’

Whilst writing your sales letter you’ll agree that the customer’s thoughts and feelings are the most important thing to keep in mind as you write.

Your sales letter should address those feelings specifically, but what type of things concern the potential customer whilst they visit your website?

Look at this quote from a client…

“The three things that make me want to buy online are:

• Testimonials available about the product or the buying process
• Quality of the graphics/words used to highlight the product
• A good description of the product or service and not just a flashy picture

The three things that make me want to click-away are:

• Offers that seem to good to be true or that make too many promises
• Language or graphics that “talk-up” or “talk-down” to my intelligence
• Adverts that take me away from the information at hand

- Submitted by Luz Willis”

The number one reason Luz states for wanting to buy online are testimonials, and what’s interesting is that he states they SHOULD be about the buying process as well as the product.

You’ll probably agree that most marketers miss this when adding testimonials to their sales copy… they solely concentrate on the product testimonials.

Don’t make this mistake yourself.

If you don’t have any testimonials about the buying process create a small video walking the customer through it. Be sure to include info about the security of the site, pointing out the ‘padlock'’and https’ in the browser window.

Independent tests have shown that this one step alone can increase sales by as much as 7% so it’s worth the extra time and effort.

Hope you enjoyed this tip, and do leave me a comment if you’ve any tips you’d like to add yourself, I always like to hear from you.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

PS
If you don’t have time to write a sales letter drop me a line at {copy at kungfucopywriter.com} and let’s talk about how I can help you.

Tags: Sales Letters

My last post certainly caused a storm. A big thanks to all of you who have taken the time to comment or email me - your feedback is much appreciated.

You’ve probably noticed all the ruckus that has been traveling around the Internet with regard to the tactics I spoke about. The subject in question is called ‘Hidden Forced Continuity’ and there’s nothing new about it.

In fact if used correctly it’s a legitimate marketing tactic that relies upon a clients inertia to generate sales. As an example:

Joe Bloggs has a really great newsletter that he wants people to sign up for, but he feels that a free trial for 30 days would give his prospects a chance to experience it and see how good it is. So he writes an ‘ad’ that states you can have free access for thirty days and if you feel it’s not worth the money then you can cancel without paying a cent.

What he states very clearly, however, on the sign up form is that you must enter your credit card details but won’t be billed for thirt days. If you don’t cancel before then you will be billed monthly until you cancel.

From a marketing point of view this is a good tactic because more people will be inclined to sign up for the free trial than if they had to pay up front. And a lot of those people will stay on as members, also a few will simply forget to cancel - I’ve been there and kept a membership running when I didn’t bother canceling in time. That was my fault though because I knew what I was letting myself in for at the outset.

I think this is a legitimate and ethical tactic don’t you?

However, what I have a problem with is when this is forced upon one without ones knowledge; either by simply omitting to tell you or by hiding the wording in the copy, and this is what has caused the ruckus.

This is what has been brought to light recently…

Matt Backack initially didn’t mention that subscribers were being put on auto-bill until after they had already signed up for his offer. As mentioned in my last post he has now changed it but when I complained to him about this ploy there wasn’t an apology, only a curt email stating that the membership had been canceled.

Now another well-known marketer has been accused of employing a similar tactic. This time however the wording was stated on the sales page but was ‘hidden’ in the copy so most people didn’t know about it. The offer was for Joel Comm’s new adsense book, it caused quite a storm and many people had a lot to say about this tactic.

Here is a quote from an email that Joel received:

… Did you seriously believe people would read every word at the top of your shopping cart page? It’s invisible real estate. It passes for a logo or a header, especially the way you have it set up. If you were being as transparent as you claim, the reader’s eye would not travel from “Yes Joel” (in bold red) to “I am ready to take action” (in yellow highlight) and skipping down to the next yellow highlighted phrase in bold and larger type (after the paragraph about the newsletter) : “I am ready to get started,” completely bypassing the information about your continuity program…

Later in the email she writes:

… Nice try. This is about FORCING us to have to cancel to get out of something we didn’t ask for to begin with and might not be able to afford…

As you can see the writer is, quite rightly, vociferous in her objection to the tactics used, it’s a big email and Joel has published it on his website - more about that in a moment…

This was obviously not the only complaint he received and, to his credit, Joel decided to make a ‘public apology’ and offer to give the profits from two weeks sales to charity.

Now, I’ve nothing against someone apologising for a mistake, in fact that is the only thing you can do. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that this was not a genuine mistake - this is only my opinion as I’ve no way of proving otherwise.

Why do I feel that way?

Well there are several reasons:

• Joel Comm is a seasoned marketer with several years successful experience under his belt
• The copy on his website is professionally written
• The ‘public apology’ has been turned into a sales letter for the product
• There is an image on the ‘apology sales letter’ that I’m dubious about the use of. Tell you about that in a minute…

Understand the Psychology of Selling

To be successful in business you need to have an understanding of the psychology of selling… that means you need to know what motivates people to buy. This is quite a complex subject and warrants an article of it’s own but suffice it to say someone who is successful like Joel surely understands this subject.

He also has a good understanding of sales letters and how people read/react to them. (The majority of people do not read a sales letter in it’s entirety a fact that John Carlton proved when his mailers inadvertently mailed a sales letter of his with nearly half the pages missing. He was not happy when he found out but astounded when the conversion rate didn’t change on a subsequent mailing of the COMPLETE sales letter.)

So I suspect that Joel either knew or had a strong feeling that many people wouldn’t notice the fact that they were being signed-up for a newsletter subscription when they bought his book.

When the complaints started coming in thick and fast he writes an apology but turns it into a high-powered sales letter and cleverly publishes one of the most damming testimonials in it. Then, to gain even more social proof and credibility for himself, he gets that testimonial giver to review his new sales letter and give a favourable report about him and his new sales letter!

Outcome

The result is that Joel has turned a lot of negative criticism into credibility by stating that he’s human and makes mistakes. He’s turned a big critic into a fan and will probably get great mileage from it.

My question to you is…

… “Do you think this was a genuine mistake or a clever marketing tactic?”

Take a look at Joel’s apology website, he’s even included a link on it for you to see his original letter, and see for yourself. http://www.adsense-secrets.com/apology.html

I’d love to hear your feedback on this one - post a comment below.

Worried…

What worries me now is that we’ll see a whole string of less ethical marketers trying to use these or similar tactics and that will cause havoc for the rest of people online; especially newer marketers who may not be as aware of the underhand tricks some people stoop to in order to steal their hard earned cash.

Dubious Image…

When you look at Joel’s ‘apology’ website (I’m not advocating you buy his product, I haven’t so can’t comment on it’s quality.) see if you can spot the image I mentioned earlier on. I’m busy researching this topic now and will talk about that on my next post. Add yourself to my feed or email list to make sure you get notification about it.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

You’ve probably seen the emails flying around the Internet stating “There Will Be Blood” haven’t you? And when you read through them you see that there’s this big, well respected marketer who’s so pissed by a student of his who has supposedly ripped off a course of his and is now selling it that he’s going to let you have the same course for only one dollar.

And he implies: “to make me an even better person than this low down skunk who’s ripped off my course I’ll donate that one dollar to charity.”

Now I don’t doubt the dollar has gone to charity but what he doesn’t tell you is that when you donate that dollar and enter your credit card information he is actually capturing you on an autobill for his newsletter!

And in my eyes this sneaky, lowdown trick is just as bad as the guy ’stealing the course’ - if that ever happened.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think a $5000 course for only $1 is good value (that’s what was offered) and I did sign up. I’ve no problem with him trying to upsell a physical copy of the product either but when I received notification that I’d been added to an autobill sequence (by email, AFTER entering my credit card details) I cancelled my subscritpion.

I haven’t even been to the members area and won’t either, the marketer in question has lost all respect from me and many others by the look at it - take a look here for instance.

Apparently he has now modified his page so there is a note on it stating that entering your credit card details will add you to an autobill sequence for his newsletter; but this only after some people pointed out to him that his money grabbing tactic - for that is surely what it was - is against the law in the States.

Yet another big name bites the dust in my eyes - anything seems fair game to ’steal’ the poor punters money these days!

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

Hi There,

How are you today? Feeling fantastic I hope.

Direct response veteran Tom Collins suggests asking these 5 questions when assessing print advertising effectiveness:

1. Does the ad state or imply the problem? - Every ad presents a solution to a problem, whether it’s how to quench your thirst or choose your next car.
2. Does typography invite reading? - Text type not too small or pale, lines not too wide?
3. Does it include proof? - Favourable facts beat claims.
4. Does it identify the product? - Best way to attract buyers of what you’re selling is to make instantly clear what it is.
5. Does it tempt and reward response? - Display Web site address clearly, promise something relevant and worthwhile there.

Source: Collins, Tom, “How I would Have Done These Ads”
(Wizard Press, 2006, p. 178).

You should ask these questions about your online writing as well.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

PS
Want some help with your ADs? Drop me a line to:
[copy at kungfucopywriter.com] - I’ll be glad to oblige. (Remove the brackets and replace ‘at’ with @)

Want to jack-up the results that you get from your advertising?

Next time you plan a campaign be sure to follow these 7 guidelines and you can create a winning advertising strategy:

1. Plant Your Flag! Ask yourself, “What is the one great thing I can say about my product that none of my competitors can say about theirs?”

2. Dig Your Trench! Ask yourself, “How can I find a place for my product in my customer’s mind by relating it to what’s already in there?”

3. Take Dead Aim! Ask yourself, “What does my best prospect already believe that will make her want to buy my product without persuasion?”

4. Take Your Best Shot! Ask yourself, “What is the most I can afford to give away to get a new customer?”

5. Take a Risk! Ask yourself, “How can I make buying from me as easy, safe, and convenient as possible?”

6. Make an Impact! Ask yourself, “How can I break through the clutter?”

7. Make it Count! Ask yourself, “How can I move my customer from awareness to action?”

Source: Richard Armstrong

The above steps will also help you write more effective sales copy, give them a try, you’ll be glad you did.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart

I would say so, let me tell you why…

Recently a client of mine wrote to me recently saying that he was having trouble making sales from his website.

I took a quick look and it was obvious why he was having problems; all that was on his page were a few lines of writing and half a dozen or so banners. And, to make things worse, there was no targeting of these banners to whoever may drop by for a visit.

Now, many would-be entrepreneurs fall into this kind of trap when they start out on their marketing journey. Often they simply put up a website with a whole host of unrelated affiliate links on the page, little or no copy there, drive any kind of traffic to the site then sit back and wait for the sales…

Only there aren’t any sales.

And why not?

Because they have committed many fundamental mistakes…

From the non-targeted traffic to the forest of affiliate links, the visitor has nothing of interest to focus on. So he leaves, never to return.

Please don’t make the same mistakes. Make sure the traffic you drive to your site is targeted to the product you have to sell and write your copy in such a way as to inform and educate your reader. Identify his or her needs or problems then show why your product is the only product that will solve them and you will get sales.

When you write, adherence to the following five ‘rules’ will ensure that more of your visitors stay focused on your words and want to buy from you.

The 5 Commandments of Writing For Your Reader

1. Educate and enlighten your reader by providing information in layman’s terms. Think of yourself as a translator for someone who may not be familiar with technical language.

2. Adopt newspaper format in writing your text. Speak to your reader in short, easy-to-read sentences and paragraphs.

3. Guide your reader through the article by using bullet points, subheads, underlining and italicization.

4. Stay focused. Don’t lead your reader through a maze of information that does not provide much of a background and does not support your point.

5. Make sure that you understand the information completely before translating it to your reader.

Source: Marcy Kowalchuk, Mealey Publications (NEPA conference, 6/02)

Have a good week.

Speak to you soon,

Stuart.

PS
If the thought of writing your own sales letter is a little daunting or if you are just too busy to write, drop me a line to: copy[at]kungfucopywriter.com - I’ll be happy to write for you or review one you have already written.

Tags: sales letters