Bob Bly Loves Leverage By Jason Holland You know Bob Bly as one of the world's top copywriters. But he's also a direct marketer with his own Internet business. His copywriting work is a full-time job. So he has only a couple of hours a day, at most, for his business. And it still brings in $16,000+ per month. How does he do it? For openers, he's found ways to spend as little time as possible on product creation. As Bob recently told me, one of his most successful products, The Copywriter's Toolkit (a simple collection of forms he uses as a copywriter), took just a few hours to put together. And so far, he's sold $60,000 worth. Bob says there are two lessons here: 1. Look to see what content YOU'VE ALREADY CREATED AND OWN that can be turned into new products. 2. People love forms, and they are easy to sell. You can find out more about how Bob leverages his time and efforts in his program, the Internet Cash Generator. Meanwhile, in his essay below, he reveals a very important marketing technique that applies whether your business is online or off. It will help you avoid a fatal mistake that's made by advertisers in every industry. As a beginning marketer, I found this to be very useful. It's a mistake I would have made if I hadn't read Bob's piece. -----------------------------------------------------Advertisement----------------------------------------------------- Billions of dollars every month... millions every week... go right by you through your phone, TV, computer, and mailbox... The problem is, those dollars are invisible. There is a $2.3 trillion industry all around us. You've seen its products and ads, but you probably couldn't put a name to it. The profit opportunities for people just like you are enormous and easy to tap into... if you know how to get your "foot in the door."
"We grew up founding our dreams on the infinite promise of American advertising. I still believe that one can learn to play the piano by mail and that mud will give you a perfect complexion." Zelda Fitzgerald The Worst Positioning Statement in the World: "We're Better"
By Bob Bly Here's a trick question: What's better -- chopped liver or filet mignon? Most people would say "filet mignon." But filet mignon isn't better than chopped liver. Nor is chopped liver better than filet mignon. If you said "filet mignon," what you should have said is "I like filet mignon better"... not "filet mignon is better." It's a matter of taste. You like filet mignon. So to you, filet mignon is better. But I like chopped liver... so to me, it's not. What does this have to do with your business? Plenty. Every business needs to have a Unique Selling Proposition or "USP"... a reason why customers should buy from you instead of from your competitors. Do you know what the weakest USP is? It's "We're better." "Better," you see, is nonspecific... and it's difficult to prove. You say you're better. I say I'm better. Just saying it -- without being able to prove it -- makes prospects disbelieve you. Also, "better" is such a general term that it has little meaning. Same thing with the overused word "quality," as in Ford's old campaign, "Quality Is Job One." So how do you create a Unique Selling Proposition that actually makes people want to buy your product instead of your competition's? One way is to focus on a feature of your product -- one that is not only different but delivers an important benefit to the user. Sometimes the "feature" differentiating the product is a brand name or label the consumer trusts. The problem with the branding approach is that it usually requires a massive, costly advertising campaign that most small businesses cannot afford. A great example is the George Foreman grill. This is clearly not the world's best grill, nor do I recall the manufacturer ever claiming that it is. But it is the only grill you can buy with the name "George Foreman" on it. So if you want a grill that cooks good food, you can get one in lots of places. But if you want a "George Foreman" grill, you can get it only from the George Foreman grill company. Another way to create a USP is to base it on a unique feature -- one the competition does not have -- or on a feature the competition has but does not mention in their advertising. In his book Scientific Advertising, for example, Claude Hopkins tells the now-famous story of a copywriter assigned to the Schlitz beer account. As the copywriter was touring the brewery, he noticed that the beer bottles were being cleaned in live steam. When he commented on this, the brewmaster urged him to ignore it. "Every beer company washes its bottles in steam," he explained. "Yes, but the consumer does not know that," countered the copywriter, who went on to create a successful campaign based on the concept of purity. One of his ads trumpeted, "Beer so pure, the bottles are washed in live steam." But what if your product is not unique? Not a problem. Take a feature and make it seem unique by being very specific about it. Here are some examples: - Crispix. They didn't say it tastes better than other cereal. They said Crispix "stays crisp in milk."
- Wonder Bread. They didn't say it's more nutritious than other bread. They said Wonder Bread "helps build strong bodies 12 ways."
- M&Ms. They didn't say M&Ms is higher in quality than other chocolate. They pointed out that, because of its hard candy shell, M&Ms "melt in your mouth, not in your hand."
- Verizon did not say its network is more reliable than that of other carriers. They show its coverage map side by side with AT&T's and state what is then obvious: Verizon has "5 times more 3G coverage."
- Geico does not say it's superior to other insurance companies. Their slogan -- "15 minutes could save you 15 percent" -- promises a fast rate quote. (Note that they don't promise to save you money, they just say they could.)
- Domino's never claimed to have the best pizza. They promised to deliver hot, fresh pizza within a half hour.
You can't confidently promote and sell your product without a strong USP. After all, if you don't have the reason why people should buy your product on the tip of your tongue... how will you persuade them to buy what you're selling instead of going to your competitors? To formulate a USP, start by asking yourself these questions: - What is different about my product that delivers an important benefit to the user?
- Is there an industry, application, or other niche I can specialize in?
- Is there a way to brand my company or product to give it consumer appeal?
[Ed. Note: Developing an effective USP is just one technique you'll learn from Bob Bly in his Internet Cash Generator program. Search engine optimization, copywriting, landing pages, e-mail list building, social media... you'll learn it all. Find out more about here.] -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Why You Don't Need to Be an Author to Have a Bestselling Book A Florida martial arts expert "found" a dusty old book. Then he turned it into estimated sales of over $20,000 in one month. With another book, he's pulled in over $332,250. A 30-something Internet marketer used the same formula to dig up his own bestseller. The little-known art book he found made $19,453 in just 3 weeks. These books weren't first editions. They weren't famous. They weren't wildly popular. Best of all? These hidden treasure troves don't have to cost you a penny. You could unearth the next bestseller. Find out how right here.
There's a young man I know -- someone I'm mentoring -- who has great potential but no obvious advantages. He doesn't have an impressive education, has no money to speak of, and has only one beneficial business connection -- me. He has good natural talents, a good mind, a good attitude, the willingness to work hard, and good values. But he fills up his spare moments by surfing the Internet or engaging in similar amusements. There's nothing terribly wrong with that, one could argue. He finishes the tasks he's assigned. He works extra hours when asked. He doesn't complain. But for him -- and his future -- it's a shame. Because each of those spare moments presents an opportunity for him to move himself forward. Each is a chance for him to learn something new, refine a skill, or make a new contact. Whether he realizes it or not, he is competing against others who are about his age, have similar skills, and earn similar incomes. From the perspective of his employer and future employers, his value will grow or diminish relative to the rest of these people. To the degree that he can exceed them, he will become more valuable and his income and his opportunities will expand. If he slips behind -- and he surely will if he gives up too many of his spare moments to fooling around -- he will gradually be thought of as just ordinary and, eventually, expendable. We are all busy. We all have multiple responsibilities. But success is a result of your behavior. And the way you act when you have spare time is a crucial part of it. Every 15 minutes invested in your future is a deposit that will grow and compound over time. It may not seem like a big deal now -- whether you spend that time surfing the Internet or updating your Rolodex -- but in the long run, it will make all the difference in the world.
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"Jon Herring's take on the food pyramid needs to be pumped for all it is worth -- maybe a new pyramid, strongly backed and disseminated widely -- until it gets recognition and the old pyramids are permanently toppled." NB
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- Do Achievers Waste Time Surfing the Web? - Of course not! They realize that every minute of every day is precious. Any minute wasted on trivial activities robs you of the opportunity to work toward your most previous goals. Bob Cox understands this. He's the master of his time and he can teach you to be the master of yours. Find out how...
The Language Perfectionist: "The Cry of the Awk"
By Don Hauptman
When editing the work of others, I frequently find myself imagining a mythical bird: the awk. In my fantasy, the creature would alert the writer of an awkward sentence with a terrifying cry: "Awk!" Here are specimens, culled from the media, where this warning might have proven useful: - "The discussion... has gone into considerable detail with a number of ideas and proposals for dealing with these complex subjects..."
The phrase "a number of" is vague and unspecific, and characteristic of lazy writing. Where possible, give the precise number. If it's unknown, better options include several, some,and many - "Do you think the 'This Is It' movie is a good idea, especially this soon after Michael Jackson's untimely death?"
Delete untimely.When I was a military journalist, I was taught never to use this phrase. The reasoning behind the rule is that every death is untimely. - "A Russian column of at least a dozen armored vehicles moved to within roughly 25 miles of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, by far the Russians' closest approach to the city."
This isn't exactly a mistake, but describing "closest approach" with the words "by far" creates a contradictory and ludicrous effect that probably wasn't intended. - "How do you utilize the services of convention and visitors bureaus?"
Many people say utilize where use would suffice. It's a common phenomenon: choosing a word just because it sounds more impressive. The cop tells the newscaster, "I apprehended the perpetrator." Later, at the bar with his buddies, he boasts, "I collared da bum!" [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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