Blogging News

You can get some really interesting marketing lessons at the Tennessee Grill in San Francisco... especially if you take your newspaper with you and you happen upon interesting stories.

Now you know that Apple Computer is an emotionally charged subject for me.  I am strongly in favor of Apple’s right to find out who leaked the iPod Mini info to the bloggers; I am in the throes of a love-hate relationship with my own new iPod Mini.

That’s fair disclosure, and that’s not what I’m writing about here today.

This has to do with branding.

Your branding is your identity in the marketplace.  It can be whatever you want it to be, if you do a good enough job telling the story and making it stick in the mind of the public (whether it’s the general public or a specific business or consumer public you’re going for).

Now, Apple has a really interesting branding.  It’s the un-computer.  Utopia with a microprocessor.  A dream come true in a world of disappointing and clunky nightmares.

People buy into that.  Macs have fans.  I’ve never heard a businessperson rave about their IBM Thinkpad the way Mac people wax eloquent about their Powerbooks.

But... and here’s what I want to get into with all this... live by the brand, die by the brand.

Yesterday Apple had its annual meeting in Cupertino.  A dozen protesters, dressed as gigantic iPods, stood outside the meeting -- so says today’s San Francisco Chronicle -- in front of a big sign that said "from iPod to iWaste."

The protesters were upset, charging that Apple has been environmentally irresponsible with its recycling program, which it began 4 years ago as a way for its customers to recycle their old Macs.

The Chronicle quotes Apple CEO Steve Jobs: "To say we’re insensitive or irresponsible is just bullshit."

Well, that depends who you talk to and in what aspect of their business, but environmentally, that’s probably a fair statement.  In fact, for all I know, the protestors may have done more harm to the environment in one day driving their Toyota Prius’s and VW Vans to the demonstration than Apple does in a whole year.

For all I know.

But again, facts hardly matter, when branding is at stake.  Listen closely to this next quote from the Chronicle:

Gopal Dayanemi, program director for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, complained that Steve Jobs refused to meet with his group and then said:

"I’m a little shocked that he doesn’t take this problem seriously.  It seems pretty strange for a company that has built its reputation on the images of Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks."

Apple.  The social justice company.  We just happen to make computers.  Oh, not computers.  Un-computers.  Utopia with a keyboard.

Well, that’s almost what their ads say, at the subtext level.  Now, that’s fine... until you disappoint the faithful.  Once the True Believers feel they have been crossed, you’re in for a rough ride ahead.

I don’t know if this has happened with Apple.  I suppose not.

But I hope you see how this is still a very powerful object lesson in how your branding can come back with very, very sharp teeth to bite you where the sun don’t shine.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

My friend super-copywriter John Carlton has a blog that’s... well... unique.

To say the least.

His prose is pristine, disturbing, brilliant, exciting.  His insights about copywriting are penetrating.  His sense of humor is... devastating.

Check out this PTSD-style description of LAX ("Los Angeles International Hell") from a recent post on his blog:

There are four security points, with four pissed-off guards slappin people around, tossing luggage back into the x-ray machine, wanding little old ladies who look embarrassed to be standing there in their stockings getting prodded.

This line ain’t moving, either. I estimate 400 people. I time how long it takes the line to inch forward the space of one person -- two minutes. That’s 2,100 minutes wait time to get through security. Two and a half hours.

Not the sort of writing you typically see in a memo or on a recipe site, is it?

Yeah...it really kinda takes you there, doesn’t it? :)

You’ll learn a lot from John.  Check out his Big Damn Blog at: http://www.john-carlton.com

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

First, as for my long absense on this blog... it’s been a very busy several weeks.  I just got back from Atlanta and Armand Morin’s Big Seminar... and I have lots to share with you in the coming weeks!

On my way to the airport in Atlanta, I saw a billboard that was written by someone who either "gets it" about copy or was very, very lucky.  (I suspect the former.)

It was for talk radio station WGKA and it said exactly three words:

Liberals hate us!

This is great because:

1) The type of conservative who listens to foaming-at-the-mouth talk radio generally hates liberals - a perfectly reasonable feeling for a hard right-wing conservative - and so that person would logically conclude that liberals would hate the kind of talk radio that appeals to him or her.  Brilliant bonding with the customer.

2) Many, many liberals do not hate the right.  They worry, they fret, they look down upon, they throw their hands up in disgust and bewilderment.  Hatred, however, is not a typical reaction.

So the statement in the copy is so far from factually correct.

That doesn’t matter.

As long as fraud is not being perpetrated, and for that matter as long as the advertiser is making no attempt to deceive in order to part someone from their money, the misreading of the "liberal" reaction is completely unimportant.

Why?

Because... they’re not the target market anyway.

Bottom line?  No great injustices were committed, and, in a flash (which is all you get in billboard windshield time), the prospect knows if this new radio station is for him or her... or not.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Why reinvent the wheel?

It’s a gnawing question in copywriting, because on the one hand, it’s a creative activity...

... and on the other hand, it’s a science, a function of statistics, an outcome of successful tests.

That is, so few things really work when you write copy (by "work," I mean: "get results"), that you don’t want to go off on a wild creative tear just because of an impulse, or because it feels good, or because it’s entertaining.

But... if your copy is in any way shape or form boring, then you won’t get any results either.

Now that I’ve got you on the horns of my daily dilemma, I’m going to take you somewhere you didn’t expect to go.

See, at this point, most experts in the field would talk about "swipe files" - using proven models of copy to create new copy.

I’m a strong believer in that myself.  But it’s not what I want to talk about here.

What I want to talk about is checklists.  Yes, checklists.

In conversation with this blog’s Executive Contributor, Jim Van Wyck, I rediscovered the power and importance of checklists.  In a new book I’m writing, each chapter will have a very specific and valuable kind of checklist.  (In fact, my goal is to make each checklist alone worth the cover price of the book.)

For now, let me say that the only copywriter I know who has told me he uses checklists is the amazing Michel Fortin, who is famous for having created six- and seven-figure sales days on the Internet with his copy.

Coincidence?  You tell me.

I’m going to give you a short checklist just so you can’t say I never did anything for you... well, you can say it, but I can always point back to this checklist:

My best current client emailed me this morning and asked me to write a business letter with a particularly personal tone.  His reasoning was sound.  So I am going to give you short checklist you can use to determine if your copy has a personal tone, too:

1) Is it written in the second person (using the word "you," and even the reader’s name)?

2) Is the language conversational, rather than stiff and formal?

3) Are the words short?

4) Are the sentences short?

5) Are the paragraphs short?

6) If you read it out loud, does it sound like something you would actually say in a real conversation?

Now, if you have any checklists you have created, or used from some other source, I’d like to invite you to share them in the comments section for this post.  Checklists make up an area of copywriting that has been discussed far too little until now.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Yesterday on a private teleseminar my friend copywriter Michel Fortin revealed some secrets from test results that... well, there’s no other way to put it... what he said made me dizzy.

As you probably know, Michel tests things like colors in headlines, wordings in guarantees, fonts and indentation, and width of text on a page... as well as the ’normal’ things like headlines, offers and prices.

What I’m getting at is, for my money, no one has better information on what sells and what doesn’t regarding copy on the Internet than Michel Fortin does.

THE ’LITTLE TRICK’ THAT INCREASES RESPONSE FOUR-FOLD!

I can’t reveal most of what Michel said yesterday at this time.  But I did tell him right in front of everyone listening to the call that I was going to share one thing he said with you... it’s too good for me to keep it to myself, and there’s an important new development related to this test discovery of Michel’s.

Here’s what he said:

On a sales page, when you get to your ’close,’ or ordering instructions, if you put a screen-capture video up showing and telling your prospect EXACTLY how to fill out your order form, and how to download your product (if you’re selling a digital product)...

... your sales response goes up by a FACTOR OF FOUR!

Hard to believe.  But Michel tested it.  And after thinking it through, I believe it’s true.

Think about that.  Instead of getting 25 cents per visitor to your Web page, you get a dollar.  Or, instead of getting $1, you get $4.  Instead of getting 0.35% response, you get 1.4% response.

Just by adding a screen-capture video to your order page, or to the ordering instruction on the bottom of your sales letter, you can quadruple your response.

WHY I’M TELLING YOU THIS

Monday night my friend Tracy Childers told me a new product he and Armand Morin were working on, was about ready to be released.

He asked me if I would let you (as a reader of the World Copywriting Blog) know about it.

I love the product.  I’m one of the people on the Web site who gave it a four-star, I’m-crazy-about-it, nothing-held-back testimonial.

The product is a set of screen capture tools that, to be blunt, puts Camtasia and other product like it to shame.  The reason is Tracy’s suite of products costs less, is much easier to use, and can do a lot more things for you.

But... I wasn’t going to tell you about it.

Because as much as I like the new product, and will be using it extensively myself for creating new information products for the World Copywriting Institute, I honestly didn’t see the tie-in for copywriting.

Until now.

So at this point, I would be remiss if I DIDN’T tell you about the product, Screen Cam Generator Suite.  After all, one simple use of it can increase your sales on any Web site by a factor of four.

Take a look.  Here’s the link...

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/screencam

This is something I’m pretty sure you’ll want to know about.

David Garfinkel, Publisher
World Copywriting Newsletter

I apologize for putting out this week’s NPT a little later than usual.

Unlike Phil Wiley (Mini Site Profits) who finally found his room and the fortitude to write his newsletter after spending 6 hours in the Hotel Washington rooftop bar on Wednesday night, I could barely function well enough to pack my bags after only 3 hours sleep. There’s that excuse, plus the fact that I really wanted to sleepwalk through the Museum of American History and see Dorothy’s ruby shoes before flying back to Toronto on Sunday.

OK, my priorities are a little out of whack this week - justifiable after 3 mind-blowing days at Yanik’s ‘Underground Seminar’.

That was the best internet marketing seminar I’ve ever attended.

What happened? Read my report about the Underground Seminar….

As I write this version of the NPT newsletter, it is early Friday morning, and I am on board an Air Canada Airbus 330 enroute from Vancouver to Toronto. We’ve been in the air for 20 minutes, are now zooming along at 499 miles per hour, and expect to arrive in Toronto in about 4 hours.

Usually at this point in a flight, I would be comfortably settled, and looking forward to a ‘tasty’ airline breakfast.

I could also be engrossed in the latest issue of Revenue magazine, or reading “The Best American Travel Writing 2004″ and adding exotic destinations to my travel wish list.

So, why am I writing (read ‘working’), instead of reading and relaxing?

Hint - The answer could change your outlook…

A few weeks ago we looked at monetizing your affiliate site with Adsense. Well, we got so many questions, that I decided to interview the Adsense expert, Joel Comm, author of “What Google Never Told You About Making Money with AdSense”

Read on to see what he had to say…

Also check out the new Clickbank link format, as well as the new issue of “Secrets to Their Success” and “Revenue Today” magazine.

In today’s NPT newsletter you’ll learn about Linkshare’s latest announcement, stupid merchant tricks (and how to avoid them), and read some NPT reader submissions, including the question ‘how do I get the sale if cookies are deleted?’

(Read the answer in ‘Are Your Cookies Crumbling?’)

For the full newsletter, read on…

I like Google Adsense. It contributes a nice little chunk of change to my income each and every month.

That said, I don’t and won’t follow the lead of those whose sites earn only through Google Adsense.

Find out how to REALLY profits from Google Adsense here:

Google Adsense Secrets

This is an invitation for you to join Ken McCarthy and me
this Tuesday April 5th, 2005 at 9PM Eastern for a Free
57-Minute Teleclass.

In this interview, I’ll tell you exactly what it takes to
start and succeed as an affiliate marketer.

No fluff.
No hype.
No jive. (I don’t know how to jive. )

You’ll learn about quality strategies and tactics that you
can start using today.

As a bonus, when you signup for the teleseminar, you’ll
also automatically receive Ken McCarthy’s “Pre-System”
Training course absolutely free with no 0bligation or
further commitments on your part.

Signup here:
http://NetProfitsToday.com/teleseminar-mccarthy

Hope to see you there!

Rosalind

Dear Rosalind:

Arthur P.

Hello Arthur,

The mall concept is the least likely approach to bring success.

Themed e-commerce sites that focus narrowly on the specific wants/needs of a niche market is a proven strategy that I use exclusively.

That’s because surfers don’t typically search for ‘mall’. Rather, they search for a specific item of interest to them, like ‘tennis shoes’, ‘anti-agining creams’ or ‘Britney Spears’.

Your primary objectives with any site are:

1) to provide a good shopping experience for your customers (make it super easy for them to find what they are looking for), and;

2) for your site to get found when they search for your site’s topic in the search engines.

Both objectives are easier to meet when you build single-theme content sites.

Moreover, when your site is devoted to a single theme, visitors will tend to stay longer on your site, which increases your chances of making a sale.

I suggest that for your first site, you focus on a hobby or topic that is of specific interest to you, or one in which you can become an ‘expert’. Sell your own products and sell as an affiliate.

Serve your customers, build trust and credibility and you’ll be well on your way.

When you’ve achieved success with your first niche market site, then branch out into other markets.

Although building your own site usually requires more time in effort, the rewards are always greater in the long run.

If you want to avoid some of the learning curve of building an e-commerce site, then you may want to consider using Site Build iT!. Site Build iT! has built-in market research and search engine submission tools, and will save you time and money, as it includes ALL the bells and whistles of a total ecommerce site.

How do you choose the products you buy? Do you simply accept as gospel truth all the good things a merchant says about their own product? Or, do you ask your friends’ opinions and look for independent product reviews before opening your wallet?

If you’re a savvy consumer (which of course you are), then you put more stock in your friends’ opinions and independent product reviews.

As affiliate marketers, we become much more successful when we approach our site visitors as friends and take the attitude that they too are savvy consumers.

From that standpoint, an affiliate’s real work is to pre-sell our merchant partners’ products by writing fair and balanced product reviews, also known as endorsement letters.

In this issue of the NPT, I show you how to easily write ‘friendly’ product reviews.

Read on…

Today’s NPT newsletter focuses on how to monetize your site fully… adding products and programs which your customers may want, but have so far escaped your notice.

Music, surprisingly, is something few affiliates add to their sites, yet it works with SO many categories.

To learn how to add music to your gardening, dating or other site, please visit Affiliates: Turn up the Volume on Your Sales with MUSIC Programs

Please drop me a line if you’ll be attending the Affiliate Summit 2005 being held in Vegas, June 13th and 14th. I’ll be there too, as a member of the “What Affiliates Want” panel discussion.

I’m gonna be like a kid in a candy store.

My list of affiliate ‘wants’ is as long as my arm… and the ‘powers that be’ affiliate managers will be at the Summit. Yee-ha!

Here are just a few items on that list…

Let’s start with clean, well-categorized datafeeds, shall we?

How about on-going fresh creative that includes direct email ads, product reviews and customer testimonials WITH affiliate links embedded?

Most of all… how about some responsiveness? I won’t say which major network this was (it wasn’t CJ), but it took them more than a week to respond to one simple email query, and then they still didn’t answer my question. Gee, and they wonder why I don’t/won’t promote their merchants.

Sheesh.

What about you? What are your biggest beefs and bugaboos with affiliate programs?

Let me know and I’ll do my best to get your message out to the appropriate people.

Click here to contact me.

I was dismayed this week to see that Armand Morin released his latest product, Screen Cam Generator, about which my friend, multi-media expert Jim Edwards, is all agog.

To find out why… read on.

Did you know that inaction is the primary reason most folks never realize their dreams?

They buy a how-to book or attend a conference and then don’t do anything with the information.

That’s not the case with most of the people at Ken McCarthy’s ‘System Seminar’ held last weekend in Chicago, however. TEN of the fifteen speakers at Ken’s events are actually System graduates.

So, WHY do some act on their dreams while others do not?

Find out in this week’s Net Profits Today newsletter.

I am deeply saddened to learn that Corey Rudl, founder and President of the Internet Marketing Center, died suddenly yesterday at the tender age of 34.

Here is the release from Associated Press…

“Two men were killed when their car crashed and caught fire at the California Speedway, authorities said.

The men are the fourth and fifth fatalities at California Speedway since it opened in 1997.”

In sharing his Internet marketing strategies and software solutions, Corey is credited with helping entrepreneurs and businesses worldwide succeed in their online businesses… my own included.

Only a few short weeks ago, at Yanik’s Underground Seminar in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity and privilege to thank Corey in person for his (huge) part in my success … and now he’s gone.

Corey’s passing is a great loss to the world of Internet marketing and he will be sadly missed.

Corey Rudl.

Anyone who has spent a day or more looking for Internet Marketing information knows his name.

He literally touched the lives of MILLIONS of people, and helped countless thousands achieve success on the ‘Net.

Sadly, those who never met him in person will never get that opportunity, as Corey died in a tragic car racing accident on June 2nd, 2005.

To learn more about our mentor and dear friend, please read on…

This week’s NPT covers a variety of issues, including news from the Affiliate Summit ‘05, suggestions for IMC affiliates, changes to Revenue magazine, a Brad Fallon sidebar, a cool new keyword tool, Clickbank improvements, and your last chance to join Alan Bechtold’s ePublishing Mastermind.

Read it here…