MIBW
Archives
July
13, 2004
Please
note that these are archives so many links to ads and
old pages may not work.
Of
course any contests or special sales you may read about
are obsolete so please don't email me about any
promotions, thank you.
Any
reference to my old domain My IBiz Helper.com will
redirect to Ezine Ad Helper.com, this includes any
email sent to myibizhelper.com
So
please do not send any mail to myibizhelper, it will be
treated as spam.
If you need to contact me, use the
contact
form here
July 13, 2004
KDM Publishing,is a Proud Master Member of iCop
The Seal of Integrity in Online Business
Created BY the Members, FOR the Members!
http://www.i-cop.org/ref.cgi?id=donesiam
===============================================================
Top Sponsor Ad
===============================================================
Publishers, Stop the Nickel And Dime Profits and Make Real
Money with Ezine Ad Helper Ad Coop services.
Join Now and make a lasting profit. Sign up Here
http://ezineadhelper.com/join.htm
===============================================================
In Today's Issue:
===============================================================
>> Editors' Notes.....
>> Are Long Copy Sales letters Scams? By Michael Fortin
>> Looking For Some Good Ezines To Read?: Ezine Ad Swaps
>> Crisis On The Home front By Lisa Reddell
===============================================================
Welcome From Your Publisher...
===============================================================
Hi, and welcome to another edition of MIBW.
Welcome all new subscribers. A while ago we talked about long
sales letters and whether it is even worth it to have such a
long sales letter.
Everyone has seen them online, it looks like pages and pages of
scrolling just to get to the main item, the price and it drives
most of us crazy.
I will admit I don't read long sales letters word for word
until I actually want to buy that product. That is when I read
it word for word to make sure I am getting my money's worth.
The fact is we ALL don't like huge long sales letters that lead
us no where, especially if the product is very simple to
understand, then why bother. Read Michael Fortin's article on
why in some instances long sales letters are appropriate.
I also have a great article from one of our readers and fellow
publisher Lisa Reddell who publishes The Left Handed Times
http://www.ad-alyzer.com/727/arthfme0707
Her article addresses what we all need, more storage for our
important files and documents. But what are you going to do,
wait for the next Natural Disaster to come in before you decide
to say" hey I guess I should have backed up my file" Don't
wait. Lisa has some great links to help you save all your
important files. Thanks Lisa
Your Publisher,
Donesia Muhammad
===============================================================
Hot Off The Presses
===============================================================
No Website? No Mailing List? No Problem! We'll Handle those
Details! AND ... We're going to Guarantee that you'll be
making a profit within 30 Days or... We'll Refund Every Penny
You've Invested!
http://thesixfiguresecret.com/member/dmh0226
===============================================================
Are Long Copy Sales letters Scams?
===============================================================
By Michel Fortin
A passionate debate is currently raging in the Copywriters Forum
about long versus short copy.http://forum.successdoctor.com/
(If you haven't joined, do so. Click the "register" link the
top. It's free. There are tons of tips from other very
successful copywriters.)
The debate was originally sparked by a comment a very well-
known Fortune 500 "guru" made about Armand Morin's
http://AudioGenerator.com.
I love it, because debate ignites passion, provides insights
and shows some very interesting clues in the way people think —
and feel. Which is the very point I'm bringing up with the
issue of "long copy."
Before we begin, let me remind you of a truth we must keep in
mind...
Copywriting is "salesmanship in print."
And that hasn't changed since former Canadian policeman John E.
Kennedy changed the face of advertising forever with those
three words in 1905. (Selling has been around since the
beginning of time. As sales trainer Zig Ziglar once noted,
selling is the oldest profession in the world. Not that "other"
job.)
Because long copy is exactly that: a printed form of a sales
pitch. Every question, every handled objection, every attempt
the close, all the way to asking for the order, are elements
that are applied in long copy salesletters.
Copywriter Paul Myers made a wonderful point: "Your copy needs
to be as long as is needed to make the sale, and not one
paragraph more."
Gary Halbert once remarked: "There's no such thing as 'too
long' but 'too boring'." In other words, if the copy seems too
long, it's probably not because of the length, but rather,
because at some point it started to bore you.
But the best advice on this comes from Dan Kennedy...
The person who says 'I would never read all that copy' makes
the mistake of thinking they are the customer. And they're not.
We are never our own customers. There's a thing in copywriting
I teach called 'message-to-market match'. It is this: when your
message is matched to a target market that has a high level of
interest in it, not only does responsiveness go up but
readership goes up, too. The whole issue of interest goes up.
The truth about long copy is that, first of all, there’s
abundant, legitimate, statistical research, that's split-
testing research, to indicate that virtually without exception,
long copy outperforms short copy. There’s some significant
research has been done that indicate that readership falls off
dramatically at 300 words but does not again drop off until
3,000 words.
The conclusion you can draw from that is this: If they're NOT
targeted from the "get-go," they won't read 50 words much less
5,000. (I urge you to read
http://dankennedy.com/paulson.html
for the entire interview.)
If they are targeted and genuinely interested in what you have
to offer, then they're going to want more information about it,
not less. And that is the key — because the debate really boils
down to three important issues:
Market.
Objective.
Results.
Respectively, in that order.
1. The Market
The approach you take (long or short, institutional or direct
response, and hypey or toned-down) depends on the product and
the offer (such as the price), because both depend on something
more important: the audience.
Long copy does outperform short copy in almost every case. But
I do say "almost." Different audiences warrant different types
of approaches. In a handful of cases, shorter copy is best.
It's all about targeting your market.
Target marketing will tell you everything you need to know
about how to write your copy. A common obstacle I see is when
business owners are "married" to their products and write copy
for their products instead of their audiences.
Second, if your message is not targeted to the right audience,
no matter how long or short the copy is, no matter how
emotionally charged or not it is, and no matter how innovative
or poor the product is...
... The copy won't sell. Period.
Find out who your market is. If you have more than one, I also
submit that you should have a different salesletter directed at
each different market — it's market segmentation, pure and
simple. Even if it's the same product.
As the saying goes, "Different strokes for different folks."
2. The Objective
The approach itself will be based on the objective of the copy.
Personally, I love direct response marketing (whether it's a
long copy salesletter, a direct mail piece or an infomercial)
specifically because it's measurable, quantifiable and
immediate. It's one in which you ask for the order outright.
Or one in which you directly ask the reader to do something.
Anything.
It's different if you wanted to use institutional advertising
in order to build the brand of your product, penetrate a new
market or create top-of-mind awareness and not attempting to
sell and generate orders on the spot.
Some people choose institutional advertising over direct
response advertising. That is, short, pithy, clever copy, with
a lot of whitespace, corporate logo and highbrow, highfalutin
language. No phone number. No address. No selling.
And no urgency.
That's fine, but this will require a massive advertising
budget, a lot of repetition and a ton of patience before
knowing if the approach works. But if it does (and once it
does), orders will start pouring in. Still, it's very risky at
best.
Nevertheless, the question is, what is the copy's goal? Think
about this. Is it to educate and inform? To build a brand and
penetrate a new market?
Or to make an offer and SELL?
3. The Results
You will approach each market differently. And the language,
and particularly the offer, must fit THAT specific market.
Again, it depends on #1 and #2.
For example, do you use hyperbole, emotions and even "used-car"
vernacular to make your pitch? Maybe. Maybe not. But consider
this: while the language may or may not be hypey, "go to the
court of last resort," as Claude Hopkins said. That's "the
buyers of your product." And that's the key: testing.
If the language is indeed turning them off and causing them NOT
to buy, that's what's important. Again, your audience will
ultimately dictate your approach.
Is it too hypey? Too cheesy? Too "scammy?" If so, how do you
know? Aside from your market and objective, the language you
choose depends on your offer. But more important, it all
depends on the results your offer creates.
Whether the reader likes the language or not is not the issue:
if the language makes the sale, that's the true test. In the
end, your prospects will cast their votes on your copy not with
their opinions or feedback but with their wallets.
Projecting a professional, poised and credible image doesn't
mean you can't be emotional in your pitch. People buy on
emotion first and justify their decision with logic. Even
engineers, C-level executives and politicians.
You can still fire up hormones and press hot buttons and stir
emotions — without appearing cheesy, overbearing or downright
crude.
Some final words.
Don't go on long-winded tangents, and don't add copy just for
the sake of making it long. Keep your eyes on the prize. Stick
with the sale. Be relevant. Make your case, tell your story and
provide as much information as is needed to make the sale...
And not one word more.
Because the bottom line is this: the length and tone of your
copy are dictated not by what you think, and not by what a
copywriter or advertising agency thinks, but by your audience,
your objective and, above all, your results.
About the Author
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter and consultant
dedicated to turning sales messages into powerful magnets. Get
a free copy of his book, "The 10 Commandments of Power
Positioning," when you subscribe to his free monthly ezine,
"The Profit Pill." See http://SuccessDoctor.com/ now!
===============================================================
Looking For Some Good Ezines To Read?
Ezine Ad Swaps
===============================================================
<<< Succeed Online News >>>
Don't Miss Out! on the Best News for any Marketer...
Learn from Timely, Informative and Result Oriented
Articles... The Latest and Greatest Marketing Strategies,
Tools and Resources, Tips & Advice... AND it's FR E!
http://www.succeedonlinenews.biz
<<< Home Business on a Budget Newsletter >>>
Home Business on a Budget Newsletter - helping you succeed
without spending an arm and a leg. Each exciting issue is
jam-packed with helpful articles, contests, scam reports
and a whole lotta fun! Claim your free gifts valued at over
$120 now at
http://tinyurl.com/36e5s Join us, won't you?
<<< The Left Handed Times >>>
Do you want to learn a lot, have fun, get free ads
and find terrific resources to help you with your
business? It's easy! You'll find all that and more in
our quality online newsletter. Its got a personality
you'll love! It's free to subscribe so go take a peek
http://www.ad-alyzer.com/727/mibwas0614
<<< Tip of the Day >>>
Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine
"Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business on his Web
Page? Subscribe at:
http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm
Great Business and Computer Tips Monday thru Friday
Instructions to place your ad are in the Newsletter.
===============================================================
Crisis On The Homefront
===============================================================
By Lisa Reddell
Copyright 2004
Viruses, spam and system crashes are just some of the
challenges that online business owners face on a daily basis.
But there is another challenge that many online entrepreneurs
may overlook. Across the globe, Mother Nature wreaks havoc
with monsoons, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Would
one of these natural disasters create a crisis on the homefront
for your e-biz? What would you do? Are you prepared for the
worst?
Recently, a natural disaster hit my town. Seventy to eighty
mile per hour straight line winds ripped through Cheney Kansas.
The damage left in the wake of the storm was unfathomable. The
town was in shambles. It really got me to thinking about how it
would have effected my business if the storm has destroyed my
home. Since I work from home, the destruction would have likely
taken my business down as well. Looking over my files on my
computer, just my documents folder alone is 336 megabytes.
That's not including my website, graphics and the other tons of
files I have.
I remembered reading an editorial from an ezine recently that
spoke of online back up services. I decided that an online
back up service would be worth looking into. After all, how
would I recover from a tornado or flood, if it destroyed my
home and business? Computers can be replaced, but what about
the data and files? After a quick search using the keywords
"online backup" and "online storage" (without the quotes),
I had a starting point for my research.
What I found was a cornucopia of options, from pricey to quite
reasonable in regards to fees. I chose the companies at random
after careful consideration of features included, security
issues, and amount of storage verses cost. The companies I
chose, in no certain order are as follows:
http://www.bullguard.com/antivirus/backup.aspx
Free trial - no
$39.99/year/10 MB
Type - back up
http://www.backup.com/
Free trial period the first 30 days
$49.95/year/50 MB
Type - back up
http://www.streamload.com/
30 day free trial
$4.95/mo/3000 MB
Type - storage
http://www.usdatatrust.com/service/default.asp
30 day free trial
$199/month/5 GB
$150 activation fee
** Online information kit - very helpful
Type - back up
http://www.iomega.com/istorage/
30 day free trial
$2.49/mo/50 MB
Type - storage/back up
http://www.xdrive.com/features/backup.jsp
15 day free trial
$9.95/mo/500 MB
Type - back up
http://www.filesanywhere.com/Features.htm
30 day free trial
$8.95/mo/500 MB
Type - back up
http://www.ibackup.org/
(back up only)
30 day free trial
$14.95/mo/4 GB
Type - back up
http://www.ezbackup.com/
30 day free trial
$9.95/mo/250 MB
Type - back up
How does one know exactly how much storage one needs? Well,
that's a good question. I recommend that if you use your PC on
a regular basis, you probably have between 100 to 500MB of data
to protect. You should only backup files that you can not
easily replace. These files are usually created or named by
you.
Do backup documents, financial files and pictures, etc. Don't
backup operating system files or applications. A good starting
point in determining your storage requirements is your "My
Documents" folder. To do this, right click "My Documents" and
select properties. The size displays on the General tab. Take a
look at other folders or files you want to protect in a similar
manner to determine your storage requirements. You can always
upgrade or downgrade your account.
I would not recommend using an online service in the direct
vicinity in which you live. If your community is hit by a
natural disaster, chances are, your back up service would be
affected also. Location of your back up service should be a key
consideration in protecting your data and files.
So, are you prepared for a disaster on the homefront? If not,
you should be. Take control of your online business. Don't wait
until its too late to take action.
Lisa Note: It is my most sincere desire that this article has
made you go hmmm...and answered questions about online services
available that can be utilized to protect an important
investment. Your business.
Lisa A. Reddell is a Freelance writer, owner of
Reddell Marketing and publishes the bi-weekly Ezine,
The Left Handed Times. Lisa has started achieving
dreams of online success & YOU can too!
Read the latest edition of The Left Handed Times.
http://www.ad-alyzer.com/727/arthfme0707
Join TLHT family and grow with us.
Menu
Of Services
