Business Lyceum
e-Letter
Practical
Instruction in the Arts and Sciences of Making Money
OCTOBER 2000
Greetings & Salutations:
Please, don't ask me ...
What's Wrong With My Ad Copy?
I don't know - and - neither does anyone else. -- Beyond that,
you are asking the wrong question.
Granted, there may be obviously inappropriate, unfitting,
unsuitable, improper, inept, inapt, incongruous, unseemly, or
unbecoming words or phrases - or - an over use or misuse of jargon,
vocabulary, dialect, idiom, terminology, lexicon, cant, or vernacular
in your ad copy - but - whether it is right or wrong cannot be
determined by simply "reading" the ad copy.
The only thing that separates real "professional"
marketers from "amateur" and "beginner" marketers
is testing, and retesting, and testing some more. รณ Only
the "tested and proven" techniques, methods and approaches
that produce results ... money in the bank ... are "right."
"Professional" marketers ...
Don't Test To Find Out What's Wrong With An Ad!
By testing, retesting, and testing some more, each "Professional"
marketer creates, keeps and maintains a catalog of techniques,
methods and approaches that have worked for them in the past
... whether that catalog is written down to share with others
or just maintained in their cranial sarcophagus.
Further to their own "tested and proven" techniques,
methods and approaches, the "Professional" marketers
also keep and maintain the successful techniques, methods and
approaches that other "Professional" marketers have
written-down to share with others ... in books, booklets, reports,
articles and clipped ads they keep in their archives and swipe
files.
If "Professional" marketers tested to find out what
was "wrong" with the ads they write, each of them would
only have a catalog of techniques, methods and approaches that
don't work ... instead of the catalog of techniques, methods
and approaches that do work; upon which they have built successful
ad campaigns for themselves and their clients.
But, all of the "professionals" are right - and
- all of the "professionals" are wrong - because ...
No single technique, method or approach is "always right"
for "every product or service."
Even if a specific technique, method and approach has worked
a million times, it may or may not work for your product or service.
Think about it. -- If there were only one technique, method
or approach that worked all the time, every time, for every product
or service, ad copywriting would be the easiest job in the world.
All you would have to do would be to copy that technique, method
or approach and plug-in the name and description of your product
or service. -- Wouldn't that be wonderful?
As it stands, if you were to hire the 10 best copywriters
in the world to create an ad campaign for your product or service,
you would get 10 different ad campaigns. -- Each campaign would
be based upon the "tested and proven" successful techniques,
methods and approaches each copywriter had cataloged from their
own experiences. -- There would, no doubt, be similarities in
some of the campaigns, but no two of the ad campaigns would be
alike.
Real "Professional" marketers aren't greatly concerned
with what is "wrong" with any given ad-copy because,
what may appear "wrong" to them today, may well be
the next great marketing approach of tomorrow. After all,
how many of them might have thought it was "wrong,"
when the first letter with a $1 bill attached to the top of it
was mailed.
In the marketing game ... whether it is mailorder marketing
or not ...
Anything that works is "right" ...
anything that doesn't work is "wrong."
Therefore, instead of asking "What's Wrong With My Ad
Copy?" you should, more rightly, be asking ...
What's Right With My Ad Copy?
Eliminate every thing else and you will have the foundation
upon which you can begin building a successful ad, sales letter,
or whatever.
When a new client employs me to create an ad-campaign ...
or just write a sales letter ... or create a brochure ... for
their product or service, the first thing I do is read and reread
the ad-copy they are currently using.
As I read, I use my bright-pink highlighter pen to highlight
those words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs that ... in my
experienced opinion ... would have the greatest positive impact
upon a potential buyer. -- Those highlighted words, phrases,
sentences and paragraphs will be the foundation of "right"
stuff upon which I will build the ad I write. (Another
copywriter, depending upon their own experience, may not highlight
some of the words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs I choose
- or - they may highlight other passages that I wouldn't.)
But, I'm not through, yet.
After I finish highlighting the "right" stuff in
my client's sales materials, I go back through it with my red
felt-tip pen to cross-out any passage that doesn't pass ...
The "Who Cares?" Test!
The "Who Cares?" test is exactly what it sounds
like. -- I just read each passage and ask myself, "Who cares?"
If I don't care, why should I believe the customer will care?
-- Cross it out.
By the way, it is much, much easier to conduct a "Who
Cares?" test on someone else's sales piece than it is to
do the test on your own ad-copy. -- That's why I have my wife
do the "Who Cares?" test on my ad-copy. -- You should
have someone else do the "Who Cares?" test on your
ad-copy because you may "care" deeply that you wear
boxer shorts, rather than briefs, but nobody else may ... unless,
of course, the nature of your underwear is important to the sale
of your product or service. (Don't ask me what that might
be. Maybe, running for President?)
In other words, anything that isn't relevant to your customer's
decision to "buy" your product or service ... or only
satisfies your ego ... fits into the "Who cares?" category.
Next, I cross-out and ...
Eliminate anything that detracts from the perceived
value of the product or service.
Sometimes these "detractors" are very subtle ...
only perceived at the deepest subconscious level ... other times,
they stick out like sore-thumbs.
Actually, I can't give you a hard, fast rule for finding "detractors"
in your ad-copy. It is, usually, just an "uneasy"
feeling you get about the product or service, or marketer, when
you read a word, phrase, sentence or paragraph. It just
doesn't make you feel right about buying ... either the product
or service, or from that marketer.
One of the most often used "detractors" is a line
I find in countless MLM offers. -- It usually goes something
like this ...
"We know you've been trying to make money
in MLM, but you have never made it."
I get a dozen or so sales pieces with a line like that every
week and I'm not even involved in MLM. So, how do they
know I've been trying to make money in MLM, when I don't know
it myself.
I wouldn't trust the marketer that makes that statement any
farther than I can throw a loaded B-52 bomber. -- Why?
Have you ever heard the biblical admonition "Judge not,
lest ye be judged"?? -- Most people have heard it but very
few of them understand it.
The only "norm" YOU can use to make a "judgment"
is your own knowledge and experience. -- Therefore, when a marketer
tells me he knows I've been trying to do something (anything)
but haven't been able to do it yet, that marketer leads me to
believe that he has been trying to do it but hasn't done it,
yet. Maybe, if I "buy" into his plan, he'll be
able to finally do it himself.
Anytime you pass "judgment" on anyone, about anything
... especially when you make that judgment without all the facts
... you are revealing to the world your own personal thoughts,
experiences, personality, and beliefs ... good and bad.
-- Think about it! ... it goes a lot further than
just ad-copy.
Of course, using this technique to find out what is "right"
with your own ad-copy sounds a lot easier than it usually is.
-- To do it right, you have to be unmerciful about crossing out
words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs - and - highly discerning
in your selection of passages to highlight. -- Unfortunately,
most people find it very difficult to honestly pass judgment
on themselves. Therefore, it is best to have someone else
do the crossing-out and highlighting for you.
But, once you have crossed-out all of the "Who cares?"
passages, and the "detractors," from a sales piece,
anything you have left-over ... especially the highlighted areas
... can be used as the foundation upon which you can begin building
a successful ad, sales letter, or whatever.
Writing effective mailorder ad-copy ... or any other kind
of ad-copy, for that matter ... is more "art" than
"science." -- That's why I have never tried to "teach"
ad-copy writing.
What I have told you about ad-copy writing in this issue,
is nothing more than the "preparation of the canvas."
But, once you are comfortable preparing your canvas, and applying
the first broad brush strokes, the rest is only a matter of practice
and testing, retesting, and testing some more.
Then, as you adapt, adopt, reformulate, enhance, alter, and
otherwise employ the various and many marketing methods you encounter
... as we professionals do ... catalog the things that work for
you. -- Those self-learned, self-tested and self-proven
techniques, methods and approaches will serve you well ... as
you add to them ... throughout your lifetime.
What did people do before we had
Doctors, Hospitals and Pharmaceutical Companies?
In every society ... before Medical Doctoring became a profession
... there were those people in the community who were knowledgeable
of the various herbs and spices, and how to prepare them, to
affect cures; or at least offer relief, for the ailments suffered.
Today, those herbal preparations ... once the well guarded secrets
of the medicine men and healers ... have been researched and
synthesized into un-natural substances by the Pharmaceutical
Companies, for distribution by the Medical professions.
But ... in some of the lesser developed nations, the populace
still depend upon the local medicine men and healers for their
herbal remedies.
Zanzibar ... an island off the eastern coast of Africa ...
is such a place. -- On Zanzibar, the local Madawa (medicine man)
is still the keeper of the healing secrets. Now ...
The secrets of the Madawa can be yours!
Lyceum attendee Anita Schiltz ,
has brought some of the herbal preparations of the Zanzibar Madawas
here; in the form of soaps, lotions, creams, teas and capsules
... offering those remedies for the relief of some of the common
ailments and conditions in our society.
Rather than trying to give you a complete description of the
"Madawa's" products ... and for what conditions they
are used ... do yourself a favor and go look for yourself. --
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Visit Anita's web site at: http://www.madawas.com
Now, let's do some ...
Comments & Questions
Steve Kopcha asked:
"In preparing to begin my mailorder business in which
I will run inquiry ads to get handraisers interested in "making
money" and who will then receive your flyers from me for
your line of books.. I notice that most of the classified ads
in a recent issue of The National Enquirer are not "signed"
with mailing addresses, but 800 telephone numbers. What
do you think? Do you have any experience with any possible
difference in rate-of-response when the advertiser uses an 800
number versus a mailing address? It sure is a lot easier to reply
to an ad by calling a phone number, it seems to me.
This is something I need to figure out before I start running
my inquiry ads... so thanks in advance for your info!"
Steve:
You will get a higher response to an 800# than to an address
- but - in many cases, people will just call because it is a
FREE telephone call. -- The best method is to use the 800# along
with your mailing address.
I think you will find that those who "write" for
info are more responsive because they had to take action on their
own in order to get in touch with you.
Sandy wrote and asked:
"Just wanted to let you know that your material is the
best I've seen on the internet ... I will be ordering via mail
in the near future ... My question is this: Can people
still make a decent living selling reports offline by direct
mail? I ask this because if you will take the time to visit a
website I give to you...you will see that the author "use"
to sell his reports offline and then turned the whole operation
over to an online store ... Please look at his site all the way
through and tell me what you think. ... With sites like
his it is going to be harder to sell people information don't
you think?"
Sandy:
YES ... you can not only make a decent living selling offline,
you CAN make a fortune. -- Internet marketing is just another
method of selling. There are still more mailorder buyers
than there are internet buyers.
The promoter you mentioned has chosen to cater only to the
on-line crowd - but - he will be missing the yet larger audience
in the direct mail market. Then again, maybe he wasn't
selling very much by direct mail and, since he is still getting
the same small returns on-line, he is satisfied with only one
side of the market.
Matthew Pierce wrote:
"I received my first issue of your e-zine today and am
writing to you having just read the entire issue. I receive
SOO many of them and read so few (beyond the headlines, that
is) that I was so amazed that there is actually someone out on
the "Net" who provides actual knowledge (what an amazing
concept!). As of yet, I haven't quite decided how to go
about USING what I learned tonight. I've become so jaded
on the whole Internet marketing idea as being a venue for scams,
frauds, and worthless "guru" advice. I received
a wonderful breath of fresh air tonight. I'm actually holding
out hope again that there JUST might be a way for me to work
for the best boss in the world...ME. Thanks again, Mr.
Straw. I'm looking forward to next month's issue."
Matthew:
Thank you! -- Keep looking. There IS a way
for you - but - no one but you can find it for you.
Mike McGroarty wrote:
"I have been studying mail order and direct marketing
for years, and as soon as I saw your name online I immediately
recognized it and ordered your materials. I have the complete
collection of Jerry Buchanan's Towers Club newsletters, and I
know Jerry spoke highly of you many times. How is Jerry doing,
and is he still publishing a newsletter? After years of trying
and experimenting with different products I finally have a line
of self published info products that are selling well on and
off line. My best selling products have to do with gardening
and starting a backyard nursery. http://www.freeplants.com--
I know that a lot of your members are trying to find the key
to the vault, just as I was for years. I have a new site
and a free e-mail newsletter where I tell others how a "meter
reader" with few computer skills can go from reading electric
and water meters to selling tens of thousands of dollars worth
of books, reports, and homemade videos. Interested people
can go to http://www.homemadebooklets.com
and subscribe to the newsletter. I am looking forward to
receiving your materials and reading your newsletters."
Mike:
Thank You for your kind remarks. I haven't heard from
Jerry in over 7 years. I do, however, know that Dan Kennedy
bought a lot of his stuff and is reprinting it in his newsletter.
And, I have just told my readers about your websites, too.
Joe Trevison wrote:
"As a newsletter writer ...I feel awkward to recommend
most of the other newsletter writers with ads and such feeling
the newsletters...Yours is like mine ...not afraid of giving
information and no ads ....I will be recommending your site to
my readers and at some of the posting I do. I am an accountant
that worked for 15 years as a Revenue Agent for the IRS.
I also spent years studying marketing of Dan Kennedy and Jay
Abraham and many others. I plan to add business plans,
financial consulting and finders services in my business and
add several associates.. Your article has helped me with
the financial services already...I was worried about the sources...it
is the clients that I have to concentrate on."
Joe:
Thank You for your kind remarks. -- It is always a pleasure
knowing I have been able to help in some small way. -- You won't
go wrong studying the works of my old friends Dan & Jay.
-- And, for those readers who love the IRS as much as I do ...
Joe Trevison (BS./MBA Former IRS Agent and CPA) is the
author of the Book "The Secrets Of The IRS By The Renegade
Ex-Employee" -- http://www.somuch.com/renegade
Online Marketing Today ... http://www.onlinemarketingtoday.com
... is a good place to get free online marketing info.
Try it ... if you can't get through, keep trying. The
website is getting a major overhaul and may not be available
all the time - but - when it is, I feel sure you'll find it a
super-place you want to add to your bookmarks.
Well ... That's it for this month. -- In order to make every
issue responsive to YOUR needs, please send me your questions;
or tell me what sources or resources you need to build your business;
or give me any thoughts you want to share with your fellow members.
Believe it or don't ... I ain't a mind-reader. -- If'n you
doesn't tell me what you need, I may never touch upon the information,
sources or resources you need.
This is your publication for you to use to your benefit ...
I am just your moderator.
Until next month, keep well ...
J.F. (Jim) STRAW
A Business Tortoise
Thought For The Month!
"Where you're headed is far more important
than how fast you're going." -- Stephen R. Covey
In our hi-tech society, we seem to have forgotten the lessons
we learned in kindergarten ... one of the most important being
the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare.
Slow and steady always wins the race to success.
Can you stump the old master? -- Betcha can't!
Over the past 40 years (man and boy), I have made bundles
of money in direct selling, service contracting, wholesale merchandising,
entertainment (I was a professional Trumpet player, vocalist
& Radio Announcer), freight forwarding, import/export, retail
merchandising, warehousing, real estate, electronics manufacturing,
finder's fees, closeout merchandising, financial brokerage, business
consulting, steel fabrication, gold and coal mining, offshore
banking, mailorder, writing, and publishing. -- That being the
case ...
No matter what business you're in ... whether you're just
starting, well on your way, or at the top of the heap ... I've
probably been where you are, done what you are doing. -- So ...
Anytime you have a question about 'how' to do something
in your business - or - if you have any comments about
anything I've said in issues of this e-Letter; or if you want
to add your 2 cents worth ... just "ask" me or "tell"
me.
Send your Questions, Comments or 2 Cents Worth to ...
with "Question" - "Comment" -
or, "2 Cents Worth" in the SUBJECT.
If I, personally, don't have an answer to any question you
may ask, I will contact some of the professionals in your field
of endeavor (I will probably know one or more personally) to
get the real 'skinny' for you.
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Copyright - 2000, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.