The Art of Effective Sales Copy

Five Seconds and Counting… 

You’ve got five seconds or less to attract your reader’s attention.  If your headline fails in this regard they will click away. In fact, your entire page hinges on your headline’s ability to capture and hold a reader’s attention.  The best headlines pose a question that requires further investigation or clarification.  They are not questions that can be answered simply with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  Such as “Have You Made These Investment Mistakes?” that require further reading to identify which mistakes the author is referring to.  Titles that promise solutions such as “How To…” or “5 Ways to …” are usually a safe bet and effective. 

Build Interest

The next step in holding your readers attention is to pinpoint a problem or need in a way that readers can identify with.  This may take some research on your part but it is well worth the time. Briefly outline the problem.  Be unique, don’t just talk about the same things your competitors are.  That’s the equivalent of beating a dead horse.  Dare to use a different approach to the same problem. Search the internet for top sales letters and study them.  The internet is full of sites that are carbon copies of automatically generated lead pages.  I can spot them a mile away.  Remember, web surfers are savvy and can instantly spot these types of sites. 

Create Desire

Before offering a solution, get the reader to imagine what he/she would do if this problem or dilemma no longer existed.  Here’s an example, “One powerful sales letter can make your business a fortune creating a flood of new prospects, additional business from existing customers, increased referrals and a surge of profits. What would this do for you? How would it improve your life?”

As the reader continues he visualizes his business growing, orders pouring in, a new store location, more money, better lifestyle.  This tactic is vitally important because it touches an emotional cord.  One of the first things you learn about marketing is that shopping is 90% emotional.  The key is to get them involved and visualizing.

Use Your Own Experience

Speaking out of first-hand knowledge, something like “I’ve been there…” can resonate with your readers and keep them further engaged.  Don’t loose sight of your objective. Anticipate the questions going through your reader’s mind and answer them. 

Benefits vs. Features

The definition of a benefit is “something that has a good effect or promotes well-being”, that’s what your readers are looking for.  How will your product or service help them.  A feature describes a distinctive part of something.  So instead of writing, “This book comes in hardcover and is 200 pages long” you should focus on the benefits to your consumers, “Powerful techniques copywriters use all of the time saves you money”.  The best way to list the benefits is to use bullet points.  Construct each bullet as you would a headline. 

Return on Investment

Value does not equal price. In fact, your goal is to create a far greater value for your product or service so that price is of no concern.  Believe it or not, you already know how to do this.  We are constantly bombarded by advertising in print, television, radio, and online.  Someone is always selling you on something.  The way they do that is to create far greater value for a low price, “You get this fabulous knife set along with the revolutionary can opener, the Ginsu knife and the indestructible cutting board all for the low price of $19.99!”  Effective sales copy must build value over price.

Create a Sense of Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency motivates your prospect to take action.  Whether it’s to sign-up for the newest release of your most recent e-book, or hit the “buy now” button, your goal is to get them to act.  Remember, shopping is almost entirely an emotional response to a stimulus, in this case your lead copy.  Continuing on the last example of selling the knife set, a sense of urgency is created with, “These items regularly sell for $40 a piece but you can get it today only for the incredibly low price of $19.99.  This is a one-time promotional offer, act now and save!”

Answer the question, why?

Last but not least, you reader will undoubtedly be looking for a catch.  He or she is thinking, why is this guy selling all this great stuff for so little?  Tell them.  Perhaps it’s because it’s all done online, no middleman or retailer to pay, it costs you little to sell and you want to pass along the savings, etc. 

Give your customers a safety net. 

Always offer a 100% money back guarantee, no questions asked.  Make it real easy for them to buy and still feel safe if it does not meet their expectations.  How you handle these returns will also affect future purchases from the same buyer, so be courteous and efficient.  They will remember their positive experience with you and are more likely to purchase from you again.

Feeling overwhelmed and a little discouraged?  Don’t be, there’s help – an entire arsenal of powerful, money-making fill-in-the-blank sales letter templates guaranteed to sell your product or service.  Read about it.

Five Viral Marketing Strategies That Work

Most people are immune to traditional marketing strategies, they just don’t work online. Enter viral marketing.

Viral marketing is giving away freebies to lead your prospects one step at a time with the goal of developing trust along the way. This growing trust in your expertise, honestly, product and services goes a long way to making the big sale down the road. It gets better results than traditional advertising and marketing methods.

Offer Something of Value for Free

Give something of value away for free increases your level of integrity in the eyes of your prospective customers. Writing good articles, e-books, or writing an e-zine that your visitors can sigh up makes you look like an expert in your field. With each free offer you provide, your visitors make another small commitment developing their  trust in you and what you offer. Taking small bites at a time is more palatable than being shoved one large mouthful.

Build Your Credibility

People are more likely to believe you when you can show them your credentials, years in the business, etc. Be honest, tell them who you are, a little about you and your family or background. These kind of things make you more real in the eyes of your visitors especially when they can identify with you in some way. Providing testimonials is a good way of showing that other people like you and have had first- hand experience with what you are offering.  Photos with these testimonials is a big plus.

Get It Now While It Lasts

Creating scarcity or limited supply is a good way to motivate people to act. The idea of obtaining something that many others will not because of limited time or supply is very appealing. Do some research, find out what your competitors doing and then offer something  better.

Build Relationships

Starting a blog is one of the best ways to portray your expertise. Offering free advice is a great way to build new relationships and trust with prospective customers. It’s these kinds of relationships that leads to repeat business. Another idea is to start a club, people like to belong to something special.

Create Solid Content

I hate commercials.  My patience really runs thin when I click on a “promising” link to then be met with what reads like an infomercial. I am more likely to linger on a site if I’m getting some good solid information that I can use. Heck, I’ll even tolerate a few ads if the content is informative.

 Let me give you another piece of advice, avoid placing flash ads that run, bounce or jump across the page that your visitor is trying to read. These type of ads are annoying at best and will often send your visitor away.

The Truth About MLM One-Up Plans

First, let’s get one thing straight.  Any time you must rely on building a team to make you money, it’s an MLM.  If you cannot rely on entirely on your own efforts to succeed, it’s MLM.

Okay, what is an MLM One-up plan?  You come across a site: some guy sitting in a lawn chair at the beach sipping his cocktail.  The site claims limitless wealth is yours for the taking.  However, this opportunity is only for serious people willing to prove they’re worthy of this information.

How do you prove your worth?  You shell out $50 dollars from the get-go to “read all about it”.  One-up plans require that you first pay to receive information and/or enroll. 

I’ve already eluded to a prime example, Ty Coughlin’s “Reverse Funnel” system.  After you pay your initial $50, you discover that you are being sold a lifetime membership with the timeshare vacation company Global Resorts for only $2995.

The bait…you are paid $1,000 for every new membership you sell. Here’s why it’s referred to as the “One-up” plan.  Royalties on your first sold membership, skips you, and goes to your sponsor.  Every membership you sell thereafter goes to both you and your sponsor. 

“It’s Elementary, My Dear Watson…”

Now you’re thinking, “Wow! $1000 for each membership I sell, that’s pretty good.”  Hold on, do you believe selling $3000 memberships will be easy?  One-up plans have one big flaw, they are not duplicable.  In all MLMs, your ability to earn money is directly proportional to the degree in which the method is duplicable. 

Meaning, the greater the number of people who can copy exactly what you do and succeed equals the greater wealth you will all achieve.  A successful MLM will offer a product or service that the vast majority can easily afford and utilize.  You don’t want to sell to the top 10% and ignore the remaining 90%.  This is unreasonable and makes your job a whole lot harder.

Each member is required to set up a system website at a cost of $100.  They give you tools and services you need but it will cost you an additional $30 (very unimpressive and basic) up to $300 every month for the Rolls Royce version.

How are you going to get visitors to your site?  Advertise.  The Global Resorts Network  provides you with ads but that’s extra.  Effective advertising is not cheap.  You must budget a certain amount monthly for advertising.  Let’s go really conservative and keep it to $100 a month.

Ready, Set…Gotcha!

Okay, a few curious visitors pay the initial $50 for information.  What happens next? They drop out. They can’t afford the $3000 price tag and/or are just not interested in getting involved in a timeshare vacation program.  Again, it’s not duplicable if it’s too expensive.  In my research, I have not seen any mention of a refund.

Most people today have little left for luxuries and will not go any further.  Others will leave you behind, go searching for more information and find more alluring sites that offer them a little more than you do.  This will likely account for a good 75% – 90% of potential prospects.

I’ve been involved in timeshare programs before.  Trying to reserve one vacation week anywhere is very difficult.  As the number of members increase, availability decreases.   When availability decreases the value of the product also decreases.  Thus, the more memberships sold, the less they are worth.

Currently, there are at least three other marketing systems out there selling Global Resorts memberships.  Carbon copy marketing, I believe, is another one.  Since they are all promoting the same product to the same few who have money to spend, you are now competing against each other.

The Nitty Gritty

Now that you are better informed, how long do you think it will take you to sell two memberships (remember, you don’t get paid on the first)? Let’s say three months.  In your first three months you’ve spent:

·         $50 initial fee

·         $100 for the website

·         $3000 membership fee

·         $90 for the basic network fee ($30 x 3 months)

·         $300 in advertising costs ($100 x 3 months)

Your total expenses for your first three months are $3540.  Having sold your first two lifetime memberships, you’ve earned your first $1000, leaving you $2540 in the hole.  Of that, Ty has made approximately $540 from you.

Okay, give it another three months during which time you’ve sold another two memberships.  Add to your outstanding $2540, three months of advertising expenses ($300) and three months of network fees ($90) increasing your expenses to $2930. 

You’ve sold two more memberships and receive $2000, reducing your expenses to $930 but you still cannot claim a profit. On the other hand, you have added a grand total of $930 toTy’s bank account.

Three more months and you’ve sold two more lifetime memberships.  You’ve added another $390 to your expenses which totals $1,320.  Finally, after nine months you make a profit of $680. 

Congratulations! Your told now is the time to capitalize on your success!  If you really want to increase your numbers, spend more on advertising and upgrade your web site.  Where do you think that will land you?

In the meantime, Ty Coughlin is sitting pretty making money hand over fist on each person’s monthly fees and charges for using his system.  During your nine months of hard work, you’ve given him at least $1320.

I’m not saying you can’t make a profit with the Reverse Funnel system.  However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Even if you do stick it out this far, statistically over 60% of those under you will not.  It’s also very likely that it will take your own recruits longer to build their network.

Notice, this example did not account for “Uncle Sam” which takes a big bite of out of your commissions, further delaying the time you finally break even. 

Biography:

Visit www.buildmynetwork.org and utilize the MLM Plan Directory to compare popular business opportunities and read informative articles like this one that help ordinary people to achieve real, quantifiable success.

 

 

Major Retailers Offer Cash Back & Discounts

There are several online shopping malls, or cybermalls, gaining in popularity.  However, this researcher has found one that blows the competition away.  All 600 major retailers that you already shop at, will pay you cash back on all your purchases up to 20%.  That’s not all.

The mall is accessed through Aisle19today.com, a free shopping portal.  It’s completely free to join, but consumers must be invited.  The Aisle19 mall displays daily specials from over 600 major retailers such as Macys, Kohls, Home Depot, Verizon, Radio Shack, 1-800PetMeds, Payless Shoes, Puma, Apple, Disney, etc.  These major retailers have partnered with Escape International to offer Aisle19 consumers special member only cash back payouts on all of their purchases.  Cash back payout amounts are at the discretion of each retailer and range anywhere from .05% to 20%.  For instance, Lilian Vernon offers 3% cash back and Lens Crafters 7.5%.

The mall is completely customizable to you, displaying your total purchases and cash back pay outs at the top of the page.  A list of daily specials is accessible with a click.  There is also a category list at the left of the screen which helps you find retailers or search by name or product.  The cash back is only available to members who are also privy to exclusive promotions.

In addition to cash back, consumers are also presented with the opportunity to partner with Escape International.  Partnering is also free and the benefits are rewarding.  In a nut shell, partners can earn from 10% to 40% commissions on the purchases of every person they invite to Aisle19.  There is no membership or enrollment fee, no expiration, purchase limits or hidden fees of any kind.  Just inviting others to also save and receive cash back on their own purchases earns you the right to earn these commissions in addition to cash back on your own purchases.  Can you see the potential for some respectable money here?  The holidays are coming up and I for one, would be relieved to see some nice checks in the mail next to my credit card statements.

With gas prices on the rise I’m adjusting to shopping online instead of getting in the car and driving from store to store.  The good news is that many large retailers are offering free shipping.  For instance, Walmart offers Site-to-Store where I order online and then pick up my shipment at the store.  I paid no shipping costs and got cash back because I visited the Walmart site through Aisle19 first.  Here’s another tip, because I used my Discover card to make the purchase, I know I also earned cash back on my credit card through Discover too.  Bonus!

The site www.aisle19today.com clearly explains how Aisle19 works and also gives you an invitation ID# to use so you can sign up immediately and set up your own personal shopping mall.  I’m not sure how long membership will remain free but I for one am not waiting around.  In fact, I’ve already received $35 cash back on my purchases.

Look Before You Leap

 

Knowledge is power when searching for a solid home based business opportunity.

There are several legitimate home based business opportunities with good income producing potential.  The internet is a great equalizer.  No matter your age, race, color or educational level, every person is presented with the same opportunities online. It’s a powerful tool that anyone can learn to wield.

When considering joining a business opportunity a little research goes a long way towards feeling a little more comfortable and confident when considering signing up with an MLM marketing or small business opportunity.

Company Identity – Look at the business’ main website, can you easily find their contact information such as name, address, phone, and email? A big plus are photos of company leaders and any information about them.

Front Loaders – Watch out! You’ll often find this system in place with businesses that sell product like nutrition, health and weight loss or cosmetics. A front loading marketing plan requires you to purchase your way into a certain commissionable level. These are often referred to as “product packs” or “business builder level”. If you have to purchase $500 of product to buy into a higher profit margin, how duplicatable is that? You’ll find that most people will not spend that kind of money. What you should also consider carefully is that these businesses will also give only a short time limit for product returns and impute restocking fees. Tread carefully.

Payment Information – Always use a credit card for your protection. If a business will not accept your credit card then that should send off all kinds of alarm bells in your head.  Many scammers will only accept bank wires, money orders or checks.  What about returns?  Reputable businesses permit a money back guarantee in writing with refunds within 30 to 90 days.  If a business insists on you send money via Fedex or UPS to a P.O. Box  then WATCH OUT.    I’m not claiming that all P.O. Box addresses are scams, however, you should be aware that sending money via Fedex or UPS how scammers get past Postal Fraud Investigators.

Look It Up - Start with www.whois.net they will let you look up any domain name and registration information.  Many legitimate businesses will register their name and address. 

Just the facts please! – Unfortunately, there are a number of MLM network marketing hate sites that unfairly characterize legitimate MLM opportunities placing them all into one large umbrella.  This is unfortunate when you consider that there are many legitimate MLM network marketing businesses and many more successful MLM business plans out there. 

Check the Records – The Better Business Bureau website can help you in your investigation. Go to the National BBB website and look up the business address. Then and see if they have two or more outstanding complaints against them as this indicate problems. Keep in mind that BBB reports can provide some insight but there may be more to it. The BBB report will also confirm the address listing and phone number. “No Report” generally means that there have not been any complaints filed against the company to date. Here is the link for the National BBB Advanced Search.  Also try the MLM Companies Direct Marketing Sales Directory.

Research & Compare: An online directory of popular home business opportunities will help you compare popular home based business opportunities in the MLM industry. The directory gives you a brief description of any enrollment fees, purchase requirements and a brief description of each network marketing business’ compensation plan. This directory will help you objectively compare each MLM business opportunity easily. To view the MLM Plan Directory follow the link in the resource box.

 

 

Must Have’s To Building Your MLM Network Online

Internet network marketing is reshaping the way network marketers expand their business and increase their residual income. This researcher has found a growing trend popping up on the internet for new online marketing systems that are attractive to residual income MLM fans.

I heard many people say that network marketing does not work online because it’s too “impersonal”.  I strongly disagree. Contrary to what you may have heard before, the internet is in fact a very personal form of communication.  Consider how easy it is to “open up” about ourselves when we’re blogging or in chat rooms.  Email has rivaled the telephone as a form of constant communication between families and friends. 

The first main component to running an effective online network marketing campaign is a website from which to launch your promotional campaigns.

There are five key components to an effective internet marketing system:

• A lead capture page that will attract and hold your visitors attention.
• A well written sales page encouraging visitors to take action (i.e. sign-up for newsletters or membership, buy a product, etc).
• Generating cash flow through the sale and distribution of ebooks and special reports while your network grows.
• Well planned advertising campaigns that drives traffic to your site.
• Last and perhaps most importantly, is an automated email system that captures email addresses and keeps your consumers and affiliates in touch with your business.

With so many different home business and MLM network marketing opportunities out there, you can spend a considerable amount of time just trying to compare each of the different compensation plans. Therefore, I’ve begun to compile an online directory of the most popular MLM opportunities today.

 

The directory gives you a brief description of any enrollment fees, purchase requirements and a brief comprehensive list of each company’s MLM compensation plan. This online directory will help you objectively compare each MLM network marketing opportunity easily. Also listed are the current addresses and names of company executives followed by a link to each website.