| Rush Limbaugh is a college dropout and an admitted drug addict. And he's come under fire countless times for comments his detractors say were racist, sexist, or homophobic. Yet, he has the most listened to radio show in the country. And he makes almost $40 million a year. Clayton Makepeace understands why. In today's essay, he explains Limbaugh's secret and how you can apply it to your business. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- Paul Lawrence Used to Be Ashamed of What His Wife Was Doing for a Living... But everything changed after she started her own "microbusiness." Microbusinesses can give you immediate income. Not a fortune, but a solid, extra cash stream. Plus, they can be accumulated, one after the other. And one day they may be worth more than everything else you have put together. Learn how to launch your own microbusiness for less than $100.
"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself." Peter F. Drucker The Secret to Making a Billion Dollars Without Offering a Single Benefit
By Clayton Makepeace
Love him or hate him, you have to admit it. Rush Limbaugh is a phenomenon. He doesn't promise riches, better health, social status, to ease your workload, or get you dates. In fact, he never offers anyone one single benefit or presents a single "Reason Why" listening to him or reading him will improve your life in any way. And yet, 20 million Americans religiously tune into his radio broadcasts. Hundreds of thousands subscribe to his newsletter. And masses rush to bookstores and snap up every book he writes. In short, Limbaugh has broken every "rule" of effective marketing. And he's become a billionaire (or darned close to it)! How does he do it? A year or so ago, he himself gave us the answer in his newsletter: "The first year of my radio program callers would tell me how thrilled they were that there was finally somebody in the national media who expressed what they believed. "For decades, conservatives had seen their values laughed at, impugned, run down. My radio program validated thinking that existed all over America...." Put simply, Limbaugh makes millions because he offers his followers something they value more than money: Validation. And the emotional release it brings with it. Until they discovered Mr. Limbaugh, his devotees were frustrated with politicians, the media, and the direction in which they felt our culture was headed. But they had no voice. No power to change things. And, worst of all, no outlet for their frustration and anger. The Astonishing Power of Powerlessness Nearly all of us feel powerless at some time or another. That powerlessness causes frustration and even anger to well up. And unless we find an outlet for those negative emotions, they gnaw away at us. Psychiatrists have long known that the feeling that we are not in control of things that directly impact our lives is a major cause of both aggressive behavior and depression. And medical studies have even linked the frustration, anger, and rage that powerlessness causes with weakened immune response and frequent physical illness. That's where Limbaugh comes in. He understands that millions of conservative Americans disagree with and are worried about the direction our government and/or society are taking -- and feel powerless to "make things right." And his magic is in providing a much-needed OUTLET for those pent-up negative feelings. - By acknowledging his audience's deepest and most intense emotions, he validates them.
- By expressing their feelings in ways that get heads nodding and listeners laughing, he gives his followers desperately needed emotional release.
- And his followers reward him handsomely by buying just about everything the man produces or plugs!
In short, like any good businessperson, Limbaugh provides a product that brings value to people's lives and that they're willing to pay for. And although his product is both invisible and intangible, the emotional release he delivers is worth far more to his followers than the money they pay to get it! Adding an Emotional Overlay to Your Sales Message Pays HUGE Dividends! Now, you gotta ask yourself: If Limbaugh can make a gazillion samolians selling nothing BUT emotional release... How much more money could you make by including an element of emotional release in your next promotion? Every single grand-slam homerun promotion I've ever written has that one thing in common. Each one acknowledged, validated, and put my prospect's sense of powerlessness -- and his negative emotions about his powerlessness -- into words. And by doing that, each of these blockbusters: 1. Provided an emotional outlet for my prospects that made them so eager for more that they bought my product and... 2. Positioned my ersatz author NOT as a salesman, but as the prospect's friend, advocate, and champion -- and, in the process, completely neutralized my prospects' "anti-salesman" defenses. And you know what? This simple technique can work wonders for YOU -- no matter what you're selling! - Put your sales copy into the voice of an advocate who acknowledges and validates your prospect's sense of powerlessness, his frustrations and his anger...
- Who provides an OUTLET for those pent-up frustrations by expressing them in ways that get the prospect's head nodding and even get him chuckling...
- And then does something even "The Great Rushbo" can't do. He demonstrates how the product will permanently relieve the prospect of those negative feelings...
And you've probably got a HUGE winner on your hands! Four Steps to Breakthrough Bliss Creating a sales message that harnesses this powerful technique is as easy as 1-2-3-4. 1. Identify the enemy -- and make it personal! No matter what you sell, there's somebody out there in the same, a similar, or a competing field who's doing your prospect wrong. In alternative health, it's probably dimwitted mainstream doctors and drug company fat cats. In the investment field, it could be greedy brokers, idiotic self-appointed experts, and "talking heads" on TV shows. In the personal finance field, it could be money-hungry bankers, heartless tax collectors, and everyone else who assumes that your money is really their money. What enemy is making YOUR prospects feel powerless, insulted, frustrated, and angry? Whoever it is, personalize the enemy. It's not half as much fun lampooning hospitals, drug companies, banks, and the IRS as it is skinning the jerks who run them! 2. Identify the things "the enemy" does that frustrate or anger your prospect, insult his intelligence, or render him powerless. Does the enemy hide important information from your prospect? Does he lie to him outright? Does he treat your prospect as if he's a dunce? Is he arrogant and self-important -- an authority figure just begging to be brought down a couple of pegs? Is he a sneak thief who nickels and dimes your prospect half to death? List as many offenses as you possibly can. 3. Pinpoint how YOU feel about these kinds of people -- and how you would feel if someone did these things to you. Then express those feelings more articulately and with greater emotional power than your prospect possibly could. 4. Position your figurehead and his product as being the solution to the negative things the enemy does AND the balm that soothes the negative emotions your prospect has about them! Make your author righteously indignant. And explain why he is absolutely livid about the way the prospect is being treated. Say everything your prospect would just LOVE to tell the enemy. If you feel it's appropriate, call him names. In a promotion based on the Vioxx scandal, I had a sidebar with the headline: Modern-Day Murder-for-Hire Ring BUSTED! Beneath that headline, I had pictures of the CEOs of Merck and Pfizer. Then the story (taken from The Wall Street Journal) about how they knew all along that Vioxx, Bextra, and Celebrex would kill people, but promoted them anyway just to make a fast buck. Now I am NOT suggesting that you accuse your competitor of murder -- or say anything else that might get you sued for libel. But to paraphrase Barry Goldwater, "Extremism in the pursuit of your prospect's well-being is no vice." P.S. 2009 was my best year ever. By a long, long shot. My clients made money hand over fist and grew to beat the band. - In December -- during the "dead" week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, we pulled in $1 million per day.
- In August alone, we generated more than $8 million in sales for one client -- the second-best month he's ever had.
- In five weeks in late February and March, we hauled in more than $16 million in sales -- about a half-million a day and $37 for every prospect and customer name in my client's file.
The best part? My clients paid me millions of dollars in royalties on those sales -- royalties that would make most small businesspeople turn green with envy. And today, I'm going to show you the online marketing strategy I used to do it.
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- So Where Do You Invest Your Money? - Traditional investments are a bit unpredictable these days. If you haven't noticed... But certain "off the Street" investments are booming. Why? They make money whether the market goes up or down. Find out more about them here.
"This article resonated with my dreams and goals." "I'm so grateful for Marc Charles's informative article. It comes at just the right time. "In spite of all the pitfalls I've endured, my next step is to take 'action'... just as Marc mentioned in his article. His article was encouraging and full of great ideas and advice for anyone with the determination to create a residual or passive income, particularly in tough times. Real 'free' advice for those short on money and ways to turn this around... put a stop to money worries... start living life the way it was meant to be. "This article resonated with my dreams and goals for the year. "Thanks so much! Love you guys!" Darlene
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- Success Comes in All Shapes and Sizes - Success coach Bob Cox helps people achieve what they want in any area of life. But he has one stipulation. They don't have to be nice (although most are). Or good looking. (They may very well be -- but he hasn't seen most of their faces.) All he asks is that they listen, learn, and stay committed to work with him for just minutes a day. Find out what they've achieved here...
The Language Perfectionist: What's Due and Proper
By Don Hauptman
I found the following sentences online. Can you spot what's wrong with them? - "NYC's 'Sidewalk Santas' sidelined due to economy."
- "When is school closed due to weather?"
- "[Basketball's Utah] Jazz star Deron Williams had to leave his team on a road trip to return to Salt Lake City due to a family illness."
Properly, the phrase due to should be used only in the sense of "attributable to" or "caused by." For example, this sentence is correct: "Low crop yields in Africa are not due to climate change but rather farmers failing to exploit opportunities in wetter years...." But in the three bulleted examples above, the meaning is owing to or because of. In such cases, one of these phrases should be used instead of due to. Confused? It all has to do with parts of speech, and the explanation can be complicated. But if you're ever in doubt, here's a simple test: Substitute the word attributable for due. Is the sentence still grammatical? If so, due is okay. If not, use owing to or, less formally, because of. Some language gurus contend that due to is awkward and clumsy, even when it's used correctly. They recommend avoiding the phrase entirely. I'll give them their due! [Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.]
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