Business: copywriting

Showing posts with label copywriting. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2011

Why Most Business Owners Aren't Productive

I made a post on Facebook the other day which read...

"One of the secrets of life is making stepping stones out of stumbling blocks."

And a number of people liked it, so I want to talk about that now.

Recently, I lost my assistant for a few months over the festive season due to personal and health reasons. And that means I have been handed several hours of administration tasks a week I wouldn't normally have to do.

That's painful because there are so many other areas of my business that I want to focus on.

But I cannot ignore things like responding to phone calls... paying bills... sending out invoices... etc. or the business wouldn't run very efficiently.

Initially, I was frustrated. And to be honest, I still am.

But I also believe this could be one of the best "stepping stone" opportunities I'll ever receive.

Why?

Because it's so painful to do all of this stuff I don't normally do I am systematising it. That's right.

Every time I do something, I ask the question:

"Will I need to do this again?"

And if the answer is yes, I put it in a little folder I've added to my computer called "systems and procedures."

Now what I've also started doing is passing these jobs across to my virtual assistant as I systematise them.

And as I am doing this, I am also realising there are things I have done in the past which I could have outsourced.

Now I was chatting with Google AdWords expert, Mike Rhodes yesterday (who is a former e-Myth consultant) and he was saying this act takes a lot of discipline.

And it's so easy to say "I'll just do it myself for now. It will be quicker than training someone up."

But the reality is your results are very different short term than long term.

And just like if you stuff your mouth with chocolate now, you'll feel great for a few minutes only to suffer the effectst later.

If you do the job yourself now, don't systemise it, and just get on with business - you'll get it done faster. But you'll be suffering through that job for the rest of your business life. And that's why most business owners (including me) aren't as productive as they could be.

Systems are the key to greater productivity. But very few people do it because it takes more hard work.

It's the same with marketing systems. Most people fumble along making cold calls and doing things "off the cuff" and ineffectively, rather than getting the knowledge they need and taking the time to implement something which will make the phone ring week in, week out for the rest of their business life.

So what will you do?

Take the short term pleasure, long term pain approach of cold calling and off-the-cuff marketing?

Or set up the customer generating systems which will generate consistent profits for your business over the coming years?

About the Author

Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter and the author of Cash Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. Although Scott is accepting very few clients, he generously shares his experience on copywriting at his web site at http://www.scottbywater.com

Turning Useless Facts Into Moolah

I was sitting here doing a meditation this morning, wondering what I would write about today, when I saw a little book on my desk.

I picked it up last year. It was a publication from Zoo Magazine entitled PUB AMMO: 1001 guaranteed useless facts.

However, I am not so sure they are useless.

Let's open the page and take a look inside at some of the facts...

At weddings in part of North India, groups of women sing abusive songs directed at the family of the groom.

A Tupperware party starts somewhere in the world every 23 seconds.

The soft drink 7-Up got its name from the inventor, who had already rejected six other names for the product

In a feeding frenzy, a shark may eat parts of its own body.

It is a criminal offense to drive around in a dirty car in Russia.

Polar bears are so perfectly insulated against the cold, they actually spend most of the time trying to cool down.

Nine out of 10 people believe Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Joseph Swan did.

Ok, I am sure you found these ideas interesting.

But how can you use them in your copy to boost sales?

Let me have a crack at a few of them for a few businesses...

A Conflict Management Seminar...

Did you know at weddings in part of North India, groups of women sing abusive songs directed at the family of the groom?

Thankfully, this probably won't happen at your wedding, but if you're like many customer service people I know you've certainly had your fair share of abuse hurled at you over the years.

And in this letter, I am going to show you how to put a stop to it.

Here's what it's all about... etc

A Clothing Shop

Did you know Polar bears are so perfectly insulated against the cold, they actually spend most of the time trying to cool down.

Unfortunately, you're not going to have the same problem over winter.

However it really doesn't matter, because with our special winter sale, it's the next best thing to turning yourself into a polar bear for the next 6 months.

Here's the deal... etc.

A car cleaning company

Did you know it is a criminal offense to drive around in a dirty car in Russia?

Thankfully, you're not going to be locked up for driving around without cleaning your car in Australia. But you'll certainly cause a crime against yourself because when your car is dirty, you are exposed to germs which can cause illnesses within your family. What's more, it just doesn't make you feel good to drive around in a dirty car now does it?

Can you see how you can use so called 'useless facts' to get your readers attention in virtually any industry.

The reality is it doesn't matter how good your product is, it's catching people's attention so you can get the message across and position your product well.

Think about it: Rightly or wrongly, Thomas Edison got the credit for inventing the light bulb because he was better at promoting himself and getting the attention of the public.

That made him famous and no doubt made him a fortune.

The message: You need to know how to promote yourself to get the attention of your target market or you're dead in the water.

About the Author

The Passing of a Legend

I remember attending an Anthony Robbins seminar when I was about 16. I begged and pleaded to go and eventually my parents gave in and my mother and I went to Darling Harbour for the weekend to check the "BIG MAN" out.

Fantastic event. And I enjoyed it so much I ended up promoting Mr. Robbins several years later.

After that, I had learnt what I feel I needed to learn and haven't attended any of his events since.

But he was someone who influenced my thinking and progress along the way.

Now what most people don't realise is that Anthony Robbins mentor was a guy named Jim Rohn.

And you might have heard that Jim Rohn passed away yesterday.

That made it a sad day.

Over recent years, we have lost some true legends.

Gary Halbert in the world of copywriting.

Michael Jackson in the world of music.

Patrick Swayze in the world of acting.

Christopher Reeve, the world's Superman.

And now Jim Rohn in the world of motivation.

So I thought I would dedicate today's email to Jim Rohn, the father of motivational speaking and the guy who has influenced many thousands of people over the years.

And what better way of doing so than by talking about one of his famous quotes:

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better."

After all, that's the way it can feel in business sometimes, can't it?

You find it tough to get customers.

Client don't pay on time.

Jobs fall through.

Employees leave you in the lurch.

The reality is business can be very, very tough at times.

I can remember my first year in business... wondering where the money was going to come from every single week... living from hand to mouth... it all felt like an uphill struggle.

I got locked out of one business.

I almost got kicked out of my apartment.

I sometimes felt like throwing in the towel.

But I was inspired by mentors like Jim Rohn to keep going, even when I felt like giving up.

I knew that if I could just get that piece of knowledge... if I could master the art of getting more customers... of getting my message across... then I would succeed.

And a lot has changed since then.

But let's face it. Business never gets any easier.

Those who succeed just get better.

They put in the discipline...

"For every disciplined effort, there is a multiple reward" - Jim Rohn

They manage their time because they understand that...

"Either you run the day or the day runs you" - Jim Rohn

They take time to learn something new every day because...

"Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune" - Jim Rohn

They start to give more, understanding that...

"Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process" - Jim Rohn

They learn to have discipline. After all...

"Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion" - Jim Rohn

They ask for what they want. Think about it...

"Asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don't go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won't laugh at you" - Jim Rohn

And the understand the power of ideas, because...

"Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea." - Jim Rohn

We lost a legend recently.

Someone once said "when you are born you enter the world crying while everyone else is rejoicing and when you die hopefully you have lived such a life that everyone will be crying while you are rejoicing."

And I believe Jim Rohn lived such a life.

About the Author

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Prepare For a Disaster

Ever since I was a kid, I was a bit of a sports nut. I was into cricket, tennis, soccer and even made the Teal Cup Squad for the Northern Territory Football team before moving to Coffs Harbour when I was about 15 years old.

Anyway, one of the things I have discovered is most of the great coaches walk into the game with more than one plan in their head. They have a plan to go by if their team gets off to a flying start. and a different plan if their team starts getting hammered early on in the game and its looking like a disaster.

They have already thought about every obstacle to their potential success: what will they do if a key player is injured during the game? How will they handle it if one of the opposition teams top players starts firing on all cylinders? But while conventional positive thinking tells us we should just keep staying positive no matter what, in reality the best approach is putting the positive power of negative preparation to work.

1. Starting out the year, we need to consider how we will handle things if we achieve our objectives early and get off to a flying start? How will we capitalize on this? How will we leverage our momentum to take advantage on everything? On the other hand, what will we do if things start out slowly? Whats your back up plan? Whats your second back up plan? And your third?

For instance, if you are hedging on a particular marketing campaign getting you a bundle of new clients, what will you do if it doesnt? You will need back-up strategies like:

-The web site lead generation strategy

-The fake cheque letter

-The joint venture program

-The special report program

-The convert more customers program

-The get more referrals program.

To name a few. In a nutshell, by using negative preparation, even if one thing doesnt work, youve got plenty of proven back up plans to put in place to ensure you dont end up getting crushed like so many other businesses.

2. Secondly, when you are selling in print, you need to take negative preparation into account. For instance, whenever I create a newspaper or magazine ad, direct mail piece, internet copy or a brochure, I write down all the reasons I can think of which would hold someone back from responding to my offer.

By identifying the negatives I can hit them between the eyes in the copy and cover every single objection which might hold somebody back. I go through an advanced way of doing this and the results you get from following this process will prove to you this approach is one of the most powerful selling strategies there is.

Apply the power of negative preparation and youll get far greater results than you ever thought possible, despite the economic uncertainty. And make sure you send me a note and tell me about the success you have as a result. Success is a matter of how fast you apply a strategy and start enjoying the results.

Make it happen despite the obstacles in your path.

About the Author

Scott Bywater is a direct mail copywriter and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To get access to his highly prized complimentary copy of '7 Ways To Get More Customers" (valued at $29.95) and to join his controversial and insighful "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter where you'll uncover the truth about why most ads and sales letters don't work (and how to make yours stand out from the rest) head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au

The "It's Who You Know" Myth

I must have heard this hundreds of times over the years: "It's not what you know, it's who you know."

And while there may an element of truth to this, it seems like a damn fine excuse for anyone who isn't born into the right social circle...

"It's not my fault I can't get ahead. I just don't have the right contacts"

"John is so lucky. But he did have the contacts, after all, didn't he"

"What do you expect? I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth"

... of course, there are a million different 'excuse variations', but they all have one thing in common.

They hold you back.

Don't get me wrong. Some people do get luckier than others. For instance, I know someone who was handed a business from a family member... got free rent for months... and had dozens upon dozens of pre-qualified clients sent his way.

No prospecting... no hard knocks... just hang out your shingle and you're on your way.

But most of us don't have it quite that easy.

You and I have to hustle. You and I have to work hard. You and I have to put in the hours to get ahead. You and I have to think hard on a daily basis.

But you and I should not EVER fall into the victim thinking that we can't succeed because we're not in the right social circle.

There is another way.

I call it the "What you know determines who you know" philosophy.

And it's worked for me.

Here's what I mean: the contacts you make are determined by what you know.

For instance, as a copywriter, I now have many well known friends and acquaintances in the direct marketing circle.

And the reason we make time for each other is because we both know something which can help each other out.

But the truth is "If I didn't know anything about direct response marketing, I wouldn't have that relationship with them."

If all I wanted to do was call up and chat with them about nothing or TAKE... TAKE... TAKE... and not give anything in return, obviously they wouldn't return my calls and the relationship would not be there.

And when you consider there are six degrees of separation between you and anyone else on the planet, once you

have a handful of contacts, it's not hard to get in touch with virtually anyone... if you really set your mind to it.

And that's why WHAT you know determines WHO you know.

But I'm not just talking so much about university education that everyone else knows. I am also referring to getting information nobody else knows. I am talking about being able to add so much value to other people that they want to keep you in their "inner circle" of contacts.

Because we're all busy. And successful people are even busier. Therefore if you want to know them and get all of the advantages of being in the "inner circle" you need to know stuff other people don't know.

Stuff which you can find at this web site (or this one ) which not 1 in 100 business owners truly understands.

Anyway, this is an important point we all must keep in mind for the rest of our lives:

What we know determines who we know.

Print it out and tape it up on the wall next to your computer for a month if you want to ensure you don't forget it.

About the Author

Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining and eye opening Copywriting Selling Secrets newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au

Are You an Advertising Victim?

Have you thrown good money after bad as a result of advertising disinformation & falsehoods which have robbed you blind?

I've spoken to plenty of people who have.

Business owners who didn't know any better. Business owners who took the advice of their sales rep on good merit. Business owners who hadn't listened to the suggestions in my newsletter.

Usually their story goes something like this...

They get a redundancy from their job (or just get fed up) and think let's start a business. Usually they know nothing or very little about marketing, (hey, we're not taught this stuff at school) so by the time there business has opened, they are expecting everyone to be flocking into it.

But nothing happens. And they start to worry.

Of course, most people aren't proactive, so the next thing that happens is they receive a knock on the door from their local advertising sales representative.

""The reason why you are not getting customers is because you need to advertise"" they are told. Which in a sense is true. But only half true.

The real truth is if you want more customers, you need to:

Advertise in the right place with the right message... the right headline and the right offer. And you need to have a follow up campaign to ensure you get those customers to come back once they have bought once... to refer their friends and family to you... and to capture the ones who don't buy and turn them into customers too.

But of course the people selling you the advertising don't get paid to tell you that. So you never hear it. Nor do you get told to test your advertising message to see if it works before rolling out a big campaign.

Instead you get told something like this: if you would just advertise for 26 or 52 weeks, you'll get your name out there and everything will be hunky dory... in fact, your customers will be lining up and practically begging you to take their money.

Yeah, right. And pigs might fly too!

But if you haven't been educated, then you don't know that.

So you end up spending $300 a week on an ad for 52 weeks ($15,600) to find out an advertisement won't work... when you could have done a small test and found that out for $600.

There are three messages here:

Don't be an advertising victim. Don't trust anyone for advertising advice.

Educate yourself to ensure you don't get ripped off. Test everything in a small way first (before rolling out a larger campaign)

Nobody cares about your business as much as you do.

It's comparable to robbery... the way good, honest, decent business owners are misinformed about these things year in and year out.

But if you've fallen for these dirty little tricks - it's not your fault. You've just never been shown the way advertising works.

However if you place an advertisement or run a campaign without checking out this site or this site then you've only got yourself to blame.

Remember, if you take the gold out of your pockets and put it into your mind, your mind will fill your pockets with gold.

About the Author

As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the right type of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and outside of the box strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening Copywriting Selling Secrets newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au

My Rags to Riches Story

My rags to riches story

The subject line at the top of this letter is actually a lie. Im not yet rich. Im no Donald Trump or Warren Buffet. I dont drive around in a Porsche and walk into restaurants and order whatever I want without looking at the menu.

But Im a damn sight better off than I was a few years ago.

Let me start at the beginning.

I was working on a wage of about $35,000 a yearthen I applied to be the telemarketing manager of a recruitment call centre that paid me more than double my previous income.

It seemed like a fortune at the time.

In fact, I remember the first few weeks I worked at that job I felt like a charlatan. Amazing how things change as today I would NEVER work for that amount of money.

But then something changed. I went to a seminar and they talked about taking over a business for free building it up and selling it. So I looked through the papers, found an opportunity, quit my job and jumped in head first.

What happened? My business partner and I had very little money no skill in the area (it was a hairdressing salon) and had never been in business.

To cut a long story short, despite our best efforts, the business folded within 6 months and I found myself broke and on the bottom of the world.

Id already borrowed money from my mother so I couldnt turn that way and I didnt know where else to go.

I found a guy in Paddington who let me rent an apartment with low rent in the first week but half-way through that week I couldnt afford to eat and I am serious.

I literally did a sales presentation on marketing to the local Indian restaurant (who was never going to buy) and invited myself to a meal afterwards.

Anyway, I was desperate and penniless, so I placed a classified ad in the newspaper on credit (cost: $18) and I hung out my shingle. Managed to borrow some money off a friend to pay the rent for the week and when the ad went in, the phones rang and slowly but surely I got clients.

It was tough probably the toughest experience of my life.

But a few months later I met my wife and fell madly in love she said I looked like a guy who was on drugs because my eyes were so sunken in but she was wonderful enough to love me anyway despite my terrible dress sense and the ordinary state of my life.

Thankfully, she also cooked for me which was great, because I was still living on the smell of an oily rag.

I was living hand to mouth week to week cold calling & hustling in order to get by. And thats when I decided I needed to get something stable.

I found a client who would pay me a reasonable amount of money for three days a week of work M & M Pest Control and I transformed his business over a period of several months.

Anyway, that lifted my confidence and gave me a spring in my step. I worked with various clients, before eventually seeing a job opportunity for Readers Digest. My wife had a strong gut reaction to this and told me I must apply for that position.

If you want to know what the copywriting manager at Readers Digest thought of my skill level, simply click here and scroll to the top of the page.

Anyway, for a number of reasons, I didnt ever work for Readers Digest, but all this gave me the confidence to move forward.

I started focusing on copywriting and work just swarmed in. More money than Id ever earned in my life. Then I built my database got some larger clients on board and the rest is history.

Today I earn a great income never make cold calls work in my shorts in an office near my home dont have to slosh through rush hour traffic and all the work comes to me as a result of the turn-key systems I have developed over the years.

About the Author

Scott Bywater is a successful direct response copywriter and heads up Copywriting That Sells, a direct response advertising firm. Want to learn how to get more customers then get your hands on his popular 17 page ebook 7 ways To Increase Your Turnover... No Matter What The State Of The Economy. Its been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years and you can get your hands on it now at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au

Is Your Business a House of Cards?

Did you know theres a guy called Bryan Berg from the USA who constructed a free-standing house of cards that measured 7.86m tall?

Its true.

It was completed on 15th October, 2007 as part of the State Fair of Texas, in Dallas, Texas, USA.

What an achievement. Not only did he do something which most people would have considered impossible but he landed himself in the Guinness Book of World Records, too.

But a word of warning. I wouldnt be following his example and applying it to your business.

Far too many people do that.

They build businesses which just like a pack of cards will fall down right around them with the slightest hint of a breeze.

How do they do this?

They rely on one or a handful of customers for the vast majority of their business. That customer leaves and their house falls down.

They rely on one method of generating leads. A telephone directory they have used for years. Google Adwords. Telemarketing. Truth is, it doesnt matter what it is it can all come crumbling down around you if youre faced with a change in telemarketing laws, a google slap, or a change in market conditions making one mode of advertising less efficient. One gust of wind and their house falls down.

They get lazy in the good times. They generate leads and dont have a proper multi-step follow up sequence, so tens even hundreds of thousands of dollars slip through their fingers every year.

They dont train the people who answer their incoming calls to close the sale over the phone. More money goes missing.

They dont follow up their existing customers, who end up going elsewhere. The truth is most customers leave because they dont feel cared about, not because of a bad product or service. More money down the drain.

They dont test and measure their advertising, which means their ads may be doing just 20%, 30% or 50% of their true potential.

Its starting to add up isnt it?

And thats why you should look at the recession thats staring us in the face as a GOOD THING. Thats right. Because it forces you to tidy up your game look at your weaknesses plug up the leaks so and catch the hidden profits which have been sliding past your nose for years.

If youre truly serious about changing the way you look at todays economy and making more money in the recession than you did in the boom, theres two things youll want to do:

1.Make the decision to test, measure and fix any advertising you are doing now.

2.Make the decision to have not just one not two but at least six different methods of getting new customers for your business.

And while youre at it, print this quote out from Walt Disney and stick it on your wall:

You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you

About the Author

Scott Bywater is an advertising copywriting expert and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To gain access to all of his copywriting tips on how to get more customers via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter, simply head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Can You Bust Through Your Personal 4-Minute Mile?

I am sure you have heard of the Four Minute Mile and the story behind it.

Everyone thought it was impossible until Roger Bannister made the breakthrough. Since then it has been broken over and over again and is now the standard for all professional middle distance runners.

In fact, over the past 50 years it has been lowered by seventeen seconds.

Now let's take a moment to look into the psychology of this and what it means to your business.

Because I think this is valid in any capacity.

For instance, I've got this spin cricket game on my iPhone which I am addicted to, to my own detriment.

Anyway, on Saturday night I was trying to crack the 100 in 10 overs score.

I had tried and tried and tried.

Often reaching 97, 96, 88... but just couldn't seem to make that breakthrough.

But when I finally did, I made 114.

And I am sure I will beat it again and again now that I have gotten my way past that psychological barrier.

Anyway, it's the same in the business world isn't it.

There was a time when I was paid $15 or $20 an hour.

I doubled my wage with a single job and felt like a fraud.

Now I look back on that and think: "What was I doing charging so little?"

My point is that once you have a breakthrough in your business, it's very very difficult to move backwards.

And that's why you should focus your energy on achieving breakthroughs.

For instance, let's say you wrote an ad tomorrow which allowed you to have people chasing you rather than you chasing them to do business...

How would that change your life?

What if it added 20%... 30%... 50% or 80% onto your bottom line?

Would you ever turn back and go back to the old ways?

No way?

How about if you applied a strategy about joint ventures and found a way of getting other businesses to happily refer clients they have relationships with to you.

So that you automatically had trust as soon as you got a new prospect?

Would you go back to the old way of doing things?

Or would you change your ways... and your income and enjoyment levels of doing business... forever?

The bottom line is this...

Our mental barriers stop us from jumping to the levels which are possible.

But once we surpass those mental barriers it is virtually impossible to go back.

That's why wealthy people can lose everything and make it back again in record time.

They have already achieved great success and they know and believe they can do it again.

Doing it the first time is always the hardest.

So with that in mind...

What are you going to do this week to move your business to the next level?

What will you do to instigate that breakthrough?

Focus on that. I certainly will be.

... because once you breakthrough, you achieve more than that breakthrough.

You get the confidence... the knowledge... and you internalise the fact that you can do it over and over and over again.

And that, my friend, is better than money in the bank.

About the Author

Quack Like an Eagle

All of those motivational plaques you see on the walls of corporate offices tell us we should soar like an eagle.

But I reckon we should all start quacking like eagles instead.

What do I Mean by That?

Over the years, I've met with hundreds of business owners. And it's very unusual to meet someone who is willing to break the mould (the ones who do are usually quite wealthy) - most prefer to copy what everyone else in their industry is doing.

They are afraid to break away from their industry's "pack of ducks" for fear they will look silly. So they all quack like ducks because...

They are scared of putting a compelling headline on top of their advertisement.

They are scared of writing a long copy advertisement

They are scared of trying a bundle of different strategies instead of just following along like a flock of ducks as all their competitors do.

That's why getting together with people in your industry at meetings and events aren't always the best use of your time. You always end up going over the same strategies because in most cases, almost everyone is doing the same thing.

(Idea: what would happen if you got together with the leading entrepreneurs from different fields and exchanged ideas? Wouldn't that be more productive?

Could you find a unique new strategy which would work for you. Trust me, your business isn't really that different - you're all selling to human beings with the same needs, wants and desires!)

In a nutshell, they are scared of doing new things. Many years ago, when I was about 18 I picked up a book from a bookshop in Melbourne called "Jonathon Livingston Seagull." It was a lovely story about a REBEL seagull that dared to step outside the mould and live his life to the fullest.

Rather than scavenging from the beach and just focusing on survival, he decided he wanted to explore the world and see all the wonders it had to offer. He was rejected by his clan and labelled an outcast. But from memory, he ended up being a big hero and a leader.

It's a great book if you ever get the chance to read it. Anyway, I don't think any business owner is a natural eagle. At the end of the day, we all start out as ducks.

Most of us are scared out of our mind of making a mistake... breaking the mould and doing something different.

So when it comes to advertising, we ask everyone's opinion about which ad is the best. And that's a BIG MISTAKE because everyone will tell you the ad they like is the one with the shortest copy that looks the prettiest.

But that's not true. In fact, in one of Peter Sun's books, he gives an example of two advertisements. Almost everyone -

I think it was over 80% picked the ad, which ended up receiving 2 calls versus the one, which resulted in 11 jobs in the same time period. And the ads were right next to each other in the phone directory.

So DARE TO BE THE DUCK in your industry who breaks the mould, "quacks like an eagle" and does something different.

Quack like an eagle, apply what you learn and eventually (just like Jonathon Livingston Seagull) you could end up being the leader in your industry, too.

About the Author

Scott Bywater is an income boosting, results focused direct response copywriter and the author of Cashflow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. His popular ebook 7 ways to get more customers has been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years. You can get your hands on it by heading on over to http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au

Running From the Hungry Lion

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up knowing it must outwit and outrun (at least) the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better start running.

It's not a pretty vision, but that little saying pretty much sums up the world of business, doesn't it? Thousands of businesses in Australia die every year. And with the state of the current economy, the bloodbath is sure to continue.

But in my experience most people don't start the day running. They get up... shower... shave and prepare for their day which is fine. But the first thing they do when they get to work is CHECK THEIR EMAIL. And that's a big no-no in my books. Why? Simply because you start the day by answering to everyone else's demands rather than focusing on what you need to do to grow your business.

Checking your email is not really important. And in 9 cases out of 10 it's not urgent. Truth is, in the first 15 minutes you start work, it's critical you take control of your day. Otherwise you end up getting caught up and letting the day run you. Other people's needs become more important than your own.

Here's what I try to do every morning. I am by no means perfect, but I am getting closer to living by these rules:

1. A quick meditation and visualisation of my goals.

2. Plan out my day, prioritising the top 6 things in order.

3. Get to work

And only after I've done a couple of hours of work do I resort to clicking that send/receive button on my email to see what the rest of the world wants. In short, I start my day running. I start my day focusing on the most important priorities which will get me from where I am to where I want to go. That's how you become the metaphorical lion who catches the gazelle (goals).

I remember back when I was an employee (before I used to affirm to myself on a daily basis "I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever work for somebody else again - and I never have since") I knew these sales guys who used to get to work half an hour late, have a coffee and a chat for half an hour and then get to work.

I didn't dislike them, but if I were their boss I would have fired them. Because at the end of the day, they were lazy gazelles who the lion would eventually eat for lunch. That's one way of starting the day slow and it requires enforcing the habit of discipline.

But there's another way of losing the game... even if you wake up at 4:30am and don't start running until 8pm. I know a guy who does this. Works three jobs. Doesn't see his kids all that much. And doesn't earn a heck of a lot of money.

Why? Because he doesn't have the right tools. He hasn't taken the time to fill his mind with the sort of education which turns to gold. You see, a doctor can earn far more than a tradesperson because he has filled his mind with the right information.

And the same applies to the world of business - a business person with the right tools can get twelve hours out of an eight hour day and make more money than someone who works from dawn to dusk, by simply furnishing himself with the right education and tools. "Survival of the fittest" used to be based on physical strength. Today it is based on personal discipline combined with getting the leverage you require through specialised knowledge. And you can get that specialised knowledge you need to get more customers and be the gazelle that outruns the lion (recession).

About the Author

The Druggie and the Con Man

Life can be pretty funny sometimes.

For instance, there are two people I have loved most in my life who when they first met me...

One thought I was a con man.

The other thought I was a druggie.

Let me explain...

I first met a very dear friend of mine at a SWAP networking conference.

A few months after that, I called him (after only meeting him once). He was running a marketing company. I had just gotten into my hairdressing business and was struggling.

I asked him if he wanted to joint venture with me and hand out free haircuts to his clients.

Probably not the best fit.

Anyway, as a result of this offer, for months this guy thought I was going to try and con him out of something.

But that didn't last forever...

We ended up working in the same office building and he ended up becoming my best friend. We shared a lot of laughs together.

And one of the saddest days of my life was seeing him pass away in his thirties due to a rare skin disease.

I bawled my eyes out that day because my friend, Francesco, the Skin Warrior, never lived his full life.

He did, however live long enough to work out I wasn't a con man. And also long enough to inspire a lot of people with his passion for life, his motivation, and his determination despite all the challenges he faced along the way.

Whenever I feel challenged, I think of my old friend and what he would do. Because I don't think I've ever met a more positive person who managed to maintain his positive outlook despite so many things going against him.

The other person in my life who thought I was a druggie was my wife.

That's because when I first met her at Sydney's Bridge Bar one balmy night, she said I had haunted eyes.

But no, I wasn't a druggie - I had just been to hell and back in a failed business.

Sleepless nights...

Living in halfway houses...

Dealing with staff who would shaft you at a moments notice...

And wondering where the next dollar was going to come from...

Constantly looking at the guys on the street and thinking "Will I end up like them?"

Things have changed since then. I have managed to get my head around how business works, learned to approach people in a way which develops trust, and I'm under a lot less stress.

So if you saw me today, you wouldn't think I was a druggie. And hopefully you wouldn't think I was a con man either.

However, at the back of our heads whenever anyone promotes something to us, we are always wondering:

Is this guy for real or is he just after my money?

Will they deliver on their promise?

Do they have a proven track record?

And that's why it's so important to generate a lot of testimonials.

As well as understand how to write ads, sales letters and web copy that answers your customers' objections, explains what benefits you have to offer and makes it attractive for them to take action now.

About the Author