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Hire a Copywriter – Here is the Secret Weapon

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Copywriting is the Secret Weapon for Advertisers Wanting to Double Response Rates and Multiply Profits, But What is the Secret Weapon for Freelance Copywriters?

Good ad copy will improve any ad and increase response by 20%. Great ad copy will triple your response. 

A well written advertisement may not be what you think. It is not your typical Madison Avenue junk that burns a hole in your pocket with little to no measurable response. Those ad writers suggest you spend more on advertising or change the type of media you use to get a better response.

The truth is…

Write a better ad and it will perform better in ALL media. 

Your ad should be targeted and written to that target. Most people know this but they do not narrowly define the target. When possible, you should target your ad right down to the length of their toenails — even if you sell cars.

Okay, so that may be ridiculous but it is no more ridiculous than the lack of targeting you normally see.

The first thing most ad sales people want to put on your ad is a big picture of you and your building or logo…BIG MISTAKE.

Nobody cares about any of that. They want to know what you can do for them. If you expect them to even look at your ad, let alone read it and take interest, and maybe even take action, it better be interesting and provide the reader with believable benefits. Heck, even the copywriting itself should be beneficial to the reader. 

I Collect Bad Ads as Well as Good Ads

In our monthly newsletter, I sometimes share these ads because they are so full of mistakes or they are an example of a high performing ad that most business owners would balk at…because it is not the norm.

Enough of the bashing of good ads and bad ads bucko, you are now about to discover copywriter weaponry.

Kelly Clarkson Endorsed Ron Paul?

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Did Kelly Clarkson endorse Ron Paul or did she only say she kinda likes him?

During the holidays it is not good to get into political discussions at my family gatherings. One side is heavily favored, but more than one side is represented. It can get heated.

You may have heard, “Don’t discuss politics or religion in your place of business.”

According to this interview with Kelly Clarkson her sales skyrocketed after she said, “I kinda like this dude” after seeing Ron Paul on Jay Leno.   Other reports said her sales went down overall.

There are a few things to consider here. The first is someone says, “Kelly Clarkson just said she likes Ron Paul.”

Then the next person says she endorsed him.

Then the next person says, “Kelly Clarkson said she is going to vote for Ron Paul.”

Then another person says Kelly is part of Ron Paul’s campaign.

It is like the telephone game you play as a kid. The teacher says something to the first kid in the circle and he whispers it to the student next to him and so on. By the time it gets to the last kid, the original message is nothing like the first message.

Listening to the interview, you can hear Kelly say she “kinda likes this dude.” Whether the message gets twisted or not, Kelly is getting possibly millions of dollars in free publicity after tweeting a message about her personal views or personal life.

This may make total sense for celebrities because fans want to know what they think and like, not just listen to their music and watch their movies.

With struggling ratings on some of the more traditional shows, television networks launched several celebrity reality shows. The shows have nothing to do with acting, yet they are all about actors living their normal lives or doing something other than acting. Some of them are not hits but some of them are.

If you are not a celebrity, should you share your personal beliefs and thoughts? Should you publicly endorse anyone if they are your choice to be the next President of the Unites States?

If you are laser targeting your niche, then people who visit your website or Facebook Fan Page will quickly know they are in the right place.  Others will know right away that they are NOT in the right place. You can’t have both.

In other words, to make that connection with one group you run the risk of severing a connection to another group. In some cases it is well worth it.

So back to your endorsement of whomever you endorse.  If you publically back a candidate, some people will become fans of your business and may frequent your business; others will avoid it.  Where you live and the type of product you sell may make a difference.

The answer is…it depends. You need to decide for yourself.

I will say this…

There are some things you DO want to share so that you build a relationship with your customers. If you are a faceless business with no beliefs other than make the sale then you are at risk of losing business to the other guy who builds relationships with people. Do not forget you are selling to humans, and humans buy from other humans. Your beliefs are part of what makes you human.

Religion may be treated differently than politics when it comes to hiding your beliefs in the business or letting it be known. For example, I am a Christian and I would feel wrong in my heart if I was to keep that a secret. If it costs me business, I don’t care. My belief is more important than business. However, I do not shove it down anyone’s throat.

When reading articles on my website or listening to me when I am a speaker in Las Vegas or elsewhere, you may hear things here and there if you are a Christian. If you are not, you may not notice or at the very least, you won’t be offended.

I have not publically endorsed any candidate yet and IRon Paul may not. It is not because I am hiding it. I have not yet fully decided. Some candidates have great ideas, and there are some things I disagree with. 

Did some people refuse to vote for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon? I don’t know. Some of the nicest people I have ever met are Mormon. I have friends and clients who are Mormon.

Some people who are Christians did not vote for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon. It was not that they despise Mormons. Some of them just thought that a President should follow Biblical principles and he/she should be a Christian. That makes some sense if you read Newt Gingrich’s book, Rediscovering God in America. In this book, he reveals how the founding fathers drafted our constitution with Biblical principles in mind.

Does that mean you need to be a Christian to get a Christian vote? No.

I have friends who are Christian Pastors that voted for Mitt Romney.

What would happen if I shared my faith and political beliefs at the same time?  That could hurt business or help it as well.

If I said I refused to vote for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon, that could hurt business that comes from many directions. Mormons might be pissed. People who have no belief in any “higher power” may think I am ignorant for saying that and choose not to do business with me. Some Christians may think that is a dumb statement because the two things are separate.

Now what if I said me and Kelly Clarkson voted for Ron Paul because he is a good Christian man with great ideas? What would that do for business?  Christians may not agree, but they would not refuse to do business with me because of it. Mormons may not agree, but they may not be offended and will still do business with me.

Here are a few tips:

  • Think about what you say before you say it unless you are a “personality” who gets paid because of your outrageous remarks. Let it fly!
  • Do not be wishy washy. Make a decision and earn respect, even from the other side of the argument. But do not go back and forth and demonstrate lack of confidence in yourself or your beliefs.
  • Remember that seemingly everyone has a video camera on their phone and can download your remarks to YouTube and Twitter in seconds.
  • This is one more reason to do everything you can to avoid being considered a commodity. If your business is just like the “other guy” and you share a political belief, it could hurt business. If your business, product, or service is unique it should not matter as much.

The Big Marketing Idea For 2012 is…

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Everyone with an opinion wants to predict big trends and ideas for 2012; so here is mine:

  • Create a Youtube video series like Blendtec did with “Will it Blend” and get millions of dollars in free advertising.
  • Get millions of dollars in free advertising, exposure, get fans involved in the success of your company, and let fans create your next commercial like Doritos did for their SuperBowl ads.

The next big idea for your business to dramatically increase your profits or enjoyment of your business may come from completely outside of your industry. It may come to you out of the blue. It is more likely to occur if you immerse yourself in a regular digital or physical newsletter, books, articles, news outside of your industry, and occasional news inside your industry.

If you ever use the phrase, “Nobody else is doing that,” remember that most people and businesses fail. So if nobody else is doing it…Great!

At the very least, ask yourself if the businesses that are NOT doing that as passionate about success as you are? Are they lazy? Are they lacking confidence and therefore unable to try something new?

When a kid copies his classmate’s answers and turns in his test, he may get caught because he turned in his paper second. When a kid on the playground gets in trouble for hitting, he is often the person hitting back.

You may not get detention or suspended from school for copying other businesses in your industry, but your business may suffer. You will lack creativity. If you copied the most successful business in town in your industry, you would both lack differentiation.

The only way to differentiate your businesses is to wage a price war. Keep lowering your prices until someone goes out of business…everyone loses.

Whether it is a successful or unsuccesful business in your industry, there are other motivating factors for you to look completely outside of your industry and outside of the box.

A $400 dollar blender by Blendtec is sold at 500-600% higher than the competition. A big part of that is their ridiculously great idea of blending iPhones and glow sticks and putting the videos on Youtube. In this case, Blendtec actually has a product that is different than the competition (I know. I have the blender.)

Their blender has been a great investment for me. I make protein shakes and smoothies for after workouts. I now make my own peanut butter. This alone made it worth the price…I love peanut butter.

I have gone through several blenders over the years because they frustrate me for their lack of power or chunky smoothies…or worst of all, the motor burns up because I actually tried to blend something that wasn’t already liquified.

It was probably difficult to express the huge difference between the Blendtec blenders and every other blender, especially to justify the price difference.

They could put the blender on Target shelves and put a label on the box that says, “Most powerful blender in the world will blend your frozen bananas in your protein shakes.” But that would be advertising like everyone else.

Instead they chose to do something completely out of the ordinary and blend golf balls, iPhones, etc. to give a lasting memory of how different their product is. It has had a viral affect with millions of views and the eqivalent of millions of dollars in free advertising.

Imagine if Blendtec founder Tom Dickson said, “That is a stupid idea. Nobody cares if our blender can blend a golf ball or a handful of marbles.”

When you keep your eyes peeled and your mind open, you will find ideas to give you a strategic advantage in your marketing, your processes, sales techniques, handling of employees, and more.

Learn about Discovery & Diagnosis and find new ideas or tweaks to old ideas to improve your marketing.

Will Google Places make Yellow Pages Obsolete?

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Phone books have become a nuisance to many consumers as they pile up on the driveway or by the front door.  They fill the trash can (oops, I mean recycling bin), they waste paper, ink or toner, gas(from delivery), and time…yet some businesses continue to advertise.

Local Marketing Online is now more important than ever but the place to do it has changed.

National Yellow Pages and Consumer Choice Opt-Out Site

Some phone books added an online version which may be more beneficial than the printed versions.  However, in 2011 Google decided to place more relevance on local searches and they did a big push for Google Places.

Google Places was formerly known as Google Local.  I personally do not know why the name change but a good reason would be, people searching for a local business are searching for a place, not just information.

This makes appearing high in the search rankings even more important because someone looking for a Place instead of basic information, is ready to spend.  The decision to spend has already been made and now they are looking for a place to spend it!

Local listings attract people with high buyer intent.

Think about it…

If someone types Italian Food Recipes into Google they are probably looking for free online recipes, Youtube videos, or cookbooks.  The search results will show traditional websites, videos, and maybe a Facebook Fan Page of Italian Food Recipes.

If someone types Italian Restaurant into Google they are looking for a Place to eat Italian food…tonight or soon.

If someone types in 2004 Ford Explorer they may be looking at a vehicle they already found, they are researching, or even looking for pictures.

If someone types in Ford Dealership they are looking for a Place to visit because they may be ready to buy a car.  They already researched vehicles and now it is time to test drive or buy.

When typing the local types of searches you are not likely to see any yellow pages listings.  The online version of the phone book may be of some use because they do get some visitors but nowhere near what Google gets.

Google owns the #1 and #2 search engines in the world, Google and Youtube.

If you are tracking your phone book ads and they are making a profit you should continue using them.

If you want the most local exposure you can get learn about or hire someone to do your Google Places Marketing.

Does the Online Customer Have Higher Value

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Is a customer that comes from online lead generation worth more to your business?

In a previous article I mentioned the possibility that the customer that comes from online marketing may have higher value to your business.

The customer that walks through the door, hears about you through a friend, or sees a print ad, can all have the same value.  They can personally have more immediate value if their purchase is larger than the online lead turned customer.  However, the value they bring over time may differ simply because of the referrals they send.

Let us take it to the extreme to illustrate a point.

There is a possibility that the customer that walks in the door does not have an internet connection at home.  There is a possibility that they have internet but not a Facebook account.  If they do not have a Facebook account then they do not have any Facebook friends.

There is no chance that the customer without a Facebook account can go on Facebook and “Share”, “Suggest”, “Like”, or tell all their friends how great your product or service is. 

The customer that was originally a lead from Facebook definitely has a Facebook account.  They may have 5 friends on Facebook or they may have 5,000.  The possiblity exists and is much more likely than the person that does not even have a Facebook account.

Now imagine having 1,000 customers that ALL came from print ads or 1,000 customers that all came from Facebook ads or other Social Media.  Which group is more likely to have a reach of 1 Million friends? 

The way in which you get your marketing in front of a new customer may dictate their customer value to you. 

Word of mouth has always been important to business and it is more important now as some customers may BLAB about your business to 5,000 people using their cell phone even before they leave your place of business.