Hello again!

Before I expose some great headline secrets, I think it would be smart to explain how important headlines are.

But first, what is a headline?

Of course, for an advertisment, the headline is the “ad for the ad” — but think about it this way… the headline is simply the first thing your reader sees or listener hears.

The Godfathers of direct response marketing and other masters of the trade have found headlines can increase the response to an ad by…

1,800%

And you can confirm that with Ted Nicholas, Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, and way more.

Listen to what these Greats had to say about headlines…

“…if you use a poor headline, it doesn’t matter how hard you labor over your copy because your copy will not be read… If you have time to write as many as twenty five headlines, you increase still further your chances of writing a good one.”

– John Caples, Tested Advertising Methods

“The writer of this chapter spends far more time on headlines than on writing.  He often spends hours on a single headline… It is not uncommon for a change in headlines to multiply returns from five to ten times over.”

– Claude Hopkins, Scientific Advertising

“On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy.  It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money.”

– David Ogilvy, Ogilvy on Advertising

“I, myself, have re-headlined ads and increased their pull by 475%.  I have a client who pays me $195,000 per year to write headlines.  Headlines are where I spend more creative effort than any other aspect of my work.”

– Gary C. Halbert, The Gary Halbert Letter

Is that enough convincing?  You say it is?  Good…

Then let’s proceed…

Now you may be thinking, “Well that’s all well and good Justin, but what is a good headline?”

According to John Caples, the best headlines have at least one of the four following elements:

1) Self-interest

2) News

3) Curiosity

4) Quick and Easy Way

And keep in mind, your headline can have MORE than one of these (which I prefer).  You can have a newsy headline that promises a benefit and still creates curiosity.

Most copywriters use benefits that promise gain of some sort… but there’s another psychological undercurrent in the mind twice as powerful as the pleasure of gain.  It’s…

Loss Aversion!

While in my finance classes in university, one of my favorite professors and investors taught me this:  An investor (human) would rather not lose $1 than gain $2.

Think about those people who buy stocks and then the price goes down.  In spite of common sense, they usually do not sell because now they have lost money.  Hope becomes their strategy.  “It will go back up” they reassure themselves.  You see… the fact is they haven’t truly lost until they sell — so if they sell, then they have to accept they have lost.  I wonder how many BILLIONS of dollars have been given to the marketplace because of this aspect of human nature.

We hate to lose.

Let’s talk about how we’re going to leverage loss aversion to our benefit.

Here’s a way to use loss aversion in a positive way: When an aspiring comic asked Jerry Seinfeld how he kept up the motivation to write every single day…

“He told  me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day.

“After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.

“Don’t break the chain,” he said again for emphasis.”

That’s a great tip isn’t it?  I thought you’d like it.

So now I want to give you headline ideas that both promise a benefit to the reader AND create a sense of loss aversion.  A sense of “I’m going to lose out on something, some piece of information, some tip or trick, if I don’t read this.”

The first is…

A Case Against BLANK

You would insert something your prospect is currently doing or wants to do.

As an example, if you were a real estate agent in Charotte, NC you could run an ad in the newspaper that read…

The Case Against Buying A Home In Charlotte In 2011

I assure you, you would arrest the attention of any and every person scanning that newspaper who was thinking about buying a home.  Now… how do you pay off a headline like that?  It’s simple.  You could say crime is going up in the city and many agents were not reporting this information to potential buyers.  So if the reader wants to make sure they get a home in a safe neighborhood where they don’t have to worry about a crackhead breaking in and holding them at knife-point for twenty bucks to buy a crack rock, they better give you a call.

Or you could say the government was giving away tax write-offs to home buyers to stimulate the economy.  But most agents have no idea about the program… and even if they did… they wouldn’t tell you because it’s more work and less money for them.  However, you’ve written a special report that reveals exactly how to get this free money and all they have to do to get a copy mailed to them for free, is give you a call.

Here’s another…

Lies BLANK Tell

Imagine it were summertime.  It’s blistering hot outside — almost 100 degrees.  For some strange reason, your home starts getting warmer than usual even though your air conditioner is on full blast.  You walk to the vent to investigate and meet a wall of ice.  Your AC is frozen and you have no idea how to fix it.  The whole contraption is as foreign to you as rocket science (and fixing it might as well be).  So you open up the Yellow Pages, flip to Heating & Air, and among the normal ads you see…

Lies Heating & Air Companies Tell Unsuspecting Customers

Now, look me in the eyes, and tell me you wouldn’t read that first.  And remember, this is all we can ask of the headline; it almost forces the reader to read the next line.

Here’s another…

The Great BLANK Hoax

With this headline, what really matters is WHO is saying it.

As an example, pretend you are an investor (beginner or advanced).  But let’s imagine you put a small portion of your income into the stock market every week and then one day you sit down and open up your newspaper and see a big picture of Warren Buffet saying…

“The Great Wall Street Hoax”

or

“The Great Stock Market Hoax of 2011″

Or let’s say you own a tanning salon.  You could put an ad in the newspaper that reads…

The Great Tanning Bed Hoax

And you could go on to say most tanning beds in the city use cheap bulbs that burn you more than tan you.  But you use these special bulbs that give you a beautiful brown tan, instead of the ugly orange tan the inferior bulbs give you.

And last but not least, I want to include an adaptation of a Eugene Schwartz headline…

Revealed at last!  The Fat Melting Program That

Overcomes The Body Chemical That Keeps You Fat!

Hold the phone! You mean to tell me it’s an esoteric chemical in my body keeping me fat?  And not the McDonald’s I shove down my throat everyday?  It’s not the ice cream and never ending smoothies?  I knew it!  I can make time to read this…

Well my friend… it’s getting late.

I hope you enjoyed that lesson and do me a favor:  Never forget the importance of headlines.  They truly make or break you.

Few stop to think about it, but if your ad does not get read, you are not selling a damn thing.  Not a penny’s worth.

Take care until next time.

I’m out…

– J. Quick

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Dear Entrepreneur,

It feels like I have yelled it from a mountaintop!

So many businesses create a front-end product (the first one the customer sees or buys) and then continue to focus on getting new customers.  Yes, you do need new customers.  But why do so many refuse to sell additional products to customers they already have?

Perhaps the greatest offense is not collecting customer information!

You should, at least, be getting names, birthdays, email addresses, and physical addresses.

If appropriate, get their anniversary and their children’s birthdays too!

Here’s why:  There are two reasons.

First, it is far more expensive to get new customers than to sell an existing customer.

And second, since an existing customer has already done business with you, they probably like you. Assuming you took care of them. But if you did, they trust you and are signifcantly more likely to give you money a second, third, and fourth time (and more). In fact, they want to!

Think about your life as a consumer!

How often do you find a competent business that takes care of you?  That recognizes you indeed play a special role in their survival as an enterprise?

I think it is quite rare.

When many corporations begin to have financial trouble… what’s the first thing they do?  Cut employees.  And they don’t fire the “higher ups”, they fire the men and women on the ground helping their customers.

I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and had an incredibly horrible experience with a waiter inside the casino/hotel I was staying at.  It was unbelievable to be treated so poorly in a place known for it’s hospitality.  I figured they must be union employees or something like that… but I heard a rumor that because of the supposed “down economy”, there were less people on the floor.  Creating a bad environment that leaves (certain) businesses struggling to provide what they consider customer service.

So, think about it this way:

You are doing some type of advertising, even if it’s just the sign on your door.

You go through a lot to sell a customer, he walks out the door… then what?

The strategy I’m about to teach you is called the “Ride Along”…

Disclosure: I value the privacy of my clients and the integrity of the work I do for them.  From this point forward, in this article, I will not mention the name of my client nor the name of his products.  You do not have permission to “cut & paste” the highly effective sales copy I am about to expose.

Here’s what happened: A client has a frontend software product he sells for $99.99.

Included in this purchase, the consumer receives a usb port by physical mail.  Two days a week, my client has an employee that comes in and stuffs envelopes.  She includes the usb port and a few extra flaps of paper here and there inside the envelope.

One day, I had a thought…

He was already paying for postage to ship the usb ports…

So why not send another offer to this hot buyer?

This person just shelled out one hundred bucks for a product, surely they would be interested in some of my client’s other products.

So I wrote a simple one page letter, first thanking the customer for buying, and then making him a special offer for another software product.

Just to catch attention, I went to Stapes and bought a pack of paper that is neon yellow in color.  Apparently, Staples calls it the “pastel” series which I think is pretty stupid because it isn’t pastel.  But whatever….

It gets attention.

Here’s what the letter looks like (and hopefully you can read it too):

This letter turns $10 into $564.

Blind People: After some editing, I must admit. Even I can’t read this letter after shrinking it to fit. Thus! If you hover your mouse over the letter and click one time, it will open up much larger and you will be able to read all of the copy.

Now let’s stop for just a moment:  That pack of paper costs ten bucks.

Printing them yourself will cost you another few cents per page.  A trivial amount.

But it’s important to mention how simple this is.  They print these things themselves.  No lettershop needed.  (I used Microsoft Word to write the letter.)  No fancy equipment needed.  They stuff the envelopes themselves too, as I have mentioned.

Also, since it is done this way, the girl who stuffs the envelopes also signs a fake signature with a real pen at the bottom of the letter.  So it really looks like the business owner has signed this letter being sent TO EACH NEW CUSTOMER!

Imagine the impact….

So let’s get down to stats… to results.

Before I get into it… let me say…

Only Idiots Concern Themselves With Conversion Rates!

I hear copywriters all the time blabbing their dumb mouths about conversion rates!  Those percentage rates mean nothing.

Here’s why:  Which would you rather be?

a)  Getting a 30% conversion on a $10 product?

b)  Getting a 12% conversion on a $1,000 product?

Most would take the latter all day long!

You see: Conversion only matters when it’s being compared to something very similar to itself (apples to apples).  So if I wrote another version of the same letter, I could test which converts better and potentially increase sales further.  But simply comparing conversion rates does not make sense.

And if you see or hear a copywriter doing this, they aren’t a good or intelligent copywriter.

What really matters in business?

Return On Investment

What matters is that I spend “A” and make more than “A” in return.  That’s what matters.  Do this everyday and you will be rich.

So, let’s talk about cost.

I have already said that the pack of paper cost ten bucks.  It is a more expensive paper because it’s a heavier paper.  Not my choice… just because it is all I could find at Staples.

At first, I was excited to track conversions (a mistake).  Because there is TRULY no telling if those usb ports ever make it to the consumer (many come back, especially the International addresses) and there is also a considerable lag time between delivery and arrival.  As we speak, they are being delivered and potentially acted upon.

So I can only tell you how many people have gone to the special URL we set up.

It’s 72.  72 clicks.  (This is operating off one pack of paper, which is 500 sheets.  They are not yet finished with the first pack of paper, so this is pretty good.)

This number increases everyday and is surely higher now (as you read this).

Nonetheless, as of today, there are 12 sales (the product is $47).

That’s a conversion rate of 16.6% — certainly not shabby by anyone’s standards.

Initially, we were using a creme colored paper, but switched to the neon yellow hoping to get more people to the URL.  Of course, there is no true way to test if this will work.  We are operating somewhat on intuition.

But you’re reading my personal, professional blog.  And I will never lie to you.

I will always be real with you.

There is no way I can say, for sure, that the neon yellow paper works best.

But it looks sharp as hell! Especially when we changed the headline to red ink.  It “pops”… as they say!

So perhaps you are a smart cookie and have already tabulated the ROI… if you did, you’d know….

It’s Getting A 5,540% Return On Investment

My client is now, literally, turning every ten dollars he spends (on a pack of paper) into $564 in sales.

(Pardon The Interruption: I just want to mention that I should really be selling them something more expensive than $47.  It’s just that, I’m a man of action.  And I went with the first idea I got.  But I’m certainly a fan of “continual improvement”.  Think about it:  The customer just purchased a product for $99.99… so I do have it “in the works” to be selling a $299 software instead of a $47 software.  You should do the same.  Get them to spend more, not less.)

And guess what?: Here’s what is so great about the “Ride Along” strategy…

He was already paying for the postage to send his product (the usb port).  And to include that neon yellow promo…

Didn’t Add One Red Cent To His Cost Of Postage!

I like to call that “almost free money”.

And let me tell you!  If you are not promoting to your customers after the first transaction, you are literally leaving money on the table.

Some biz owners are shy about this because they don’t want to be “greedy”.  They don’t want to ask for more money.

That’s bull shit.

I assure you, that consumer is spending their money.  Just like you spend yours.

But if you don’t ask, they won’t spend it with you.  Don’t be a fool:  They WILL spend it somewhere else (maybe the mall).  To think they are tucking their dollars safely away into a high yield savings account because you didn’t ask…  is ridiculous.

I think it was Jesus who said, “Ask and you shall receive.”

It is written!

So do it for Christ’s sake!

Leave your comments below and tell me your opinon on this.

Very sincerely yours,

Justin Quick

P.S.  If you’d like something like this for your business, send me an email at justin (at) justinquickmarketing (dot) com.

P.P.S.  There are so many benefits to this… I just thought of another.  In the sales letter, we direct the customer to go to a special URL to take advantage of the offer.  They don’t call a phone number, mail anything, or fax anything.  That means my client doesn’t have to pay anything extra to make these sales.  And remember this:  The idea is to get them to that URL.  Just get them to the damn URL because you can put more powerful sales copy on the webpage they land on, right?  But first, you have to give them incentive to go and look at the page.  That’s why we offer the “mystery coupon”… but guess what?  Everyone gets the same high discount of 30% (nobody gets the 5%).

Peace!

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

DISCLAIMER:  This post is for a mature audience only.  It contains sexually graphic language and images.  If you are a child, please go away.

Dear Friend,

I have wanted to do a post on subliminal advertising for some time…

Why?

Because subliminal advertising is incredibly powerful.

You won’t sell billions by focusing solely on subliminal advertising, but the fact is we know that subliminal images are effective.  So I want to walk you through some real life examples of how companies use “under the radar” images to influence you.

Some of this may shock you.

Some of this may offend you.

However, my money-seeking friend, I encourage you to resist grabbing your torch and pitchfork.  There is no need for protest.

Instead, bask in the true genius of these ideas.  That you really can influence people at the subconscious level, without them being aware.

But wait! I have one more thing to say before we begin:  I consider my specialty to be direct response marketing.

Yet I have studied everything from magic to brainwashing to the ancient mind manipulation tricks of real ninja warriors.  I do so because it is intensely interesting to me.  With that in mind, understand this subliminal stuff has nothing to do with direct response.  I think of it, instead, as the red cherry on top of the most irresistible cake you’ve ever seen.

Thus, if you need to decide between creating a subliminal image or something direct response oriented — like a quality premium to add to your package — go with the latter!

I am writing this post because the subconscious mind amazes me.

Let’s get down to the fun stuff…

First, let’s start with logos.

Check out FedEx’s logo:

They are using a concept called negative space.

Check out the space in between the capital “E” and the lowercase “x”.  Do you see the arrow pointing to the right?  Does this not suggest movement of some sort?

Pretty cool, eh? Have you ever noticed that before?

Let’s look at Amazon’s logo:

If it isn’t obvious, that yellow curved arrow is saying Amazon carries products from A to Z.  Whatever it is, you’ll find it on Amazon.

Plus:  The curve resembles the mouth of a smiley face.

Now let’s progress from logos to where subliminal messages are probably most often used:  To promote sex appeal.

Check this out:

Almost everyone has had the pleasure of drinking a Coca-Cola.  But look at this “comic” style ad, and then take a closer look at those ice cubes…

Holy Catholic Nun, Batman! What is that girl doing?

You tell me:

Open up.

Alright… if that’s not bad enough… who would have expected THIS on a box of chocolate covered peanuts?

Well…

Look for yourself:

Do you see the lips, thingy, and two nuts?!?

I hope you’re not getting depressed… or aroused. 

Let’s continue, we have much to discuss.

I suppose you may be wondering, “If I wanted to create a subliminal message, where would I start?”

Well, it’s a good idea to think, “What does my prospect want?” And when those wants don’t necessarily coincide with your product (like oral sex and chocolate covered peanuts), then you can add images of those desires (subliminally) into your product.

Of course, the message does not have to be sexual…

If you live in the United States, you’ve probably tried fried chicken from KFC.  Of course I’m talking about Original Recipe.  And besides the drumsticks, thighs, and breasts, KFC also sells sandwiches.  They recently (I would guess in response to McDonald’s dollar menu) created inexpensive (I think one dollar) sandwiches called Snackers.

Look at this image taken from a TV commercial for one of those sandwiches.  What do you see?:

And the hits just keep on comin’…

Listen: Sometimes in marketing, your advertising license will only extend so far.

As an example, lets pretend I’m selling high quality dog food.

Imagine if I were to make the following claim… and ask yourself if it would be acceptable to say, “My dog food is so good, humans could eat it!”

I’d say not really.  Would you believe that statement?  Wouldn’t you have trouble accepting that statement?  Think about it this way: Picture me standing in front of you with my dog food, looking you in the eyes, and saying this dog food is so good, you could eat it right now…

What’s your reaction?

Hopefully you would scoff at the idea because you would never eat dog food.  (Though I’m sure some of you would try it, because you’re nasty like that.)

Alas, the claim does make sense… so I wonder if there’s a way to make that claim without actually verbalizing it…

It turns out there is…

Let’s make that claim in a sneaky way…

Look at this advertisement:

Think that fork is going into Fido's mouth?

This is classic marketing.  A basic demonstration.  But why use a fancy knife and fork to cut up dog food?

Perhaps using that fork INSINUATES even a human could eat this dog food, made of real meat.

Only the best for your dog!  Woof!  Woof!

If you think that’s something, wait till you see this one!

This is perhaps the most blatant and interesting subliminal ad I’ve ever seen.

It’s for cigarettes and notice the use of the words “hard” and “soft” in the headline.  I want you to notice that because the ad is being overtly sexual.  There’s no doubt in your mind what they’re talking about.  “Smoke these cigarettes and you can get laid by a girl this hot.”

It is relevant to mention the ad is overtly sexual because the subliminal message that is here is also sexual.  So you see that both the overt and covert messages can be one in the same.  In this case, the covert (subliminal) message is meant to excite and stimulate.

So can you spot it?  It’s hard to see at first.

Okay… check out the look on the guy’s face.  Even he can’t believe he’s getting a girl like this.

But look at his left hand.  The one on the small of her back.  And take a look at the air-brushed image that his hand is almost “clasping” on to.

The longer you look, the clearer it will be.

Here’s a closer look:

If you’re like me, you’re so surprised by what you’re seeing, you’re actually thinking about sending this to a friend!

But this is a real ad, I promise.

The last method I want to show you has to do with The Power of Suggestion.

This example comes from the food industry.  Let’s look at what they put on packages of butter:

How pretty...

And this one….

Now, if you stop and think about it, what impression do these logos and packages give you?

Do they not imply this butter was made on a beautiful farm with green pastures and a classic red barn?  Hand churned by the farmer who has been with those cows since they were born?

Yes, my friend, it does.

But do you think that’s reality?  The sad fact is:  It isn’t.

That butter was probably made on an “industrialized processing plant” that looks more like this:

And that’s not all.  The cows are so unnaturally close to each other, they basically have to stand in their own manure, all day.  And guess what?  If Cow A is infected with the most recent hybrid of E. coli… and he dookies on the ground… then Cow B stands in his manure… now Cow B is infected.  And on it goes…

Look:

O' where o' where does that manure go? Maybe as run-off into the spinach!

My point is you can use images to create illusions in the prospect’s mind.

Leave a note and let me know what your opinion is on this.

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Dear Entrepreneur,

How would you like to get a special glimpse, over my shoulder, as I write one of my famous emails that produce more results (and higher sales) than anything you’ve ever seen before?

I thought you would…

Well… a while back I was working on a course called How To Write Emails That Sell.  Around that time, my client and copywriting work got so heavy, there was no way I could finish.

However, instead of letting this valuable intel collect dust, I figured, why not let my incredibly intelligent subscribers see it?  And learn from it?  And implement from it?

So with that, here’s a video I really think you’re going to love.  BUT it’s over 30 minutes in length… and I’m talking about PREMIUM content.  Stuff I’ve never really talked about before.

Listen closely and you’ll discover:

The Secrets Of Subject Lines:  If your email doesn’t get opened, it doesn’t get read.  If it doesn’t get read, you don’t make sales.  Period. Here’s how I ensure mine get opened…

How to turn your rough-to-read copy into a slippery slide.  My video will make your copy easier to read than skip as you’ll learn all the A level tricks to high readership.

How to make offers that get orders, and lots of them.  It’s an amazing sight to see order-notification after order-notifcation get delivered to your email inbox.  Experience it for yourself after watching my strategies.

Use my formatting tips to make your copy more conversational and readable.  Add variety and emphasis with the clicks of your mouse.

You’re going to love this. Leave a comment and tell me your opinion.

Don’t forget to leave your opinion below…

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

That’s what I say to the argument amongst copywriters about the effectiveness of long copy versus short copy.

Anyone who participates in this quarrel is simply ignorant of the true money-making craft of copywriting.

In truth, if it takes ten pages to sell your product, use ten pages.  Certainly no more than that, but if it truly takes ten pages to create the appropriate buying environment, get the reader red-hot with desire, and tell him exactly how to order, then use ten pages.

It is an amateur’s argument that the length of the advertisement is relevant.

It isn’t.

The fact is, people sit through hours of television because they find the shows interesting.

Mary can watch all three hours of The Titanic (over and over) because she finds the romantic story (and Leonard DiCaprio’s body), interesting.

An hour and a half is seeped from your day because you stopped to have an interesting conversation with a unique individual you just met.  You didn’t intend it.  But you couldn’t help it.  It was just that interesting.

And that’s the million dollar word: Interesting.

Your copy must be intensely interesting to the reader.  If it is, they will read every word.

Statistically, we know if someone reads 25% of your ad, they’ll read the entire thing.  We humans don’t like to quit something we start.  And the influence tactic called the Invested Time Principle is leveraged to engineer the first 25% of our ad to quickly wrap the reader in a mesmerizing fantasy they won’t want to leave.

The Invested Time Principle states that we finish what we start because if we don’t, then everything we invested up until that point has been wasted.

As an example, if you were enjoying a book, would you stop half way through?

So if you can get the reader to start, they’ll probably finish.

Therefore, creating intense interest upfront, from the get-go of the ad, is imperative.

And the bad news is, if you’re not interesting, you’re boring.  And boring is a death sentence. One thing you and I have in common is we’re both on the lists of many marketers, sales folk, and industry leaders… and even most of them don’t understand what I’m telling you.

How many boring emails do you get every day?

Those three sentence emails from gurus are tiresome.  You’re expected to buy something just because they took the thirty seconds to slap the email together and hit send?

Listen…

You have an opportunity every day to give people a special moment in their life.

A moment that makes their heart beat a little quicker, to realize they can accomplish their dreams, have something they always wanted, pick them up when they need it, stand up for them when they can’t, and lead them to bluer waters and greener grass.

Yet many choose, instead, to be boring, short, and so straight to the point that even the point itself is overshadowed by the sneaky suspicion that the person who sent you that offer doesn’t really give a damn about you.

When we chose instead to be interesting and caring, to leverage our human heart instead of soul-less business monotony, prospects can’t help but make a connection with you.  It doesn’t mean they’ll buy right away, but when they do, it most likely will be with you.

(Of course, we can influence them to buy right away, right?)

And this will leave you with a major puzzle to put together when you’re preparing to write your marketing pieces (from emails to sales letters).

How long is long enough?

This leads to one of the best copywriting principles I’ve ever heard, and one I think you’ll remember for a long time.

“Copy is like a woman’s skirt.  It should be long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to keep it interesting.”

For one, make sure it’s obvious there’s a heart beat behind your words.  If your writings sound like the words of a corporate attorney, you’re out.

Use words like: I, you, me, your, we, us.

Two, it’s a complete illusion that you ever do anything to a “mass market”.  Ultimately, when the message arrives, it arrives to the inbox or mailbox or ear drum of one individual.  You’re never speaking to your market.  You’re never speaking to your “list”.  You’re speaking to one person at a time, but your marketing pieces sound like they’re going to “everybody”.

Stop.

You are speaking to one person.

Turn a message like this, “Hey guys, just wanted to let you all know we’re having a…”, into a message like this, “Hey John, you asked, I’m delivering.  Next Monday will be our first ever How To Be A Trillionaire tele-seminar and I’ve got a ticket with your name on it!”

Here’s another huge mistake I see all the time:

You are focusing way too much on the product.

The “great product” is a relevant part of the equation.  It’s important for your product to do what you say, but, let’s face it… many products aren’t that spectacular.  They’re just not.  Nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with the seller, but every product can’t be revolutionary.

Fortunately, it’s not the product that sells.  The number of pages, length of videos, quantity of those not-so-special special reports, etc… those things are not so relevant.

What’s the bid idea?

You can sell anything.

People will buy almost anything.

You can sell any product if you find the right sales-message concept.

The Pet Rock was, and I half-jokingly say “invented” by Gary Dahl, a marketer in California.  He recognized there’s a type of person who jokes that every plant they try to grow, dies, and while they might like animals, they don’t want the responsibility of owning an animal they have to feed, walk, clean up after, etc.

With that information in mind, Dahl created a gag gift called the Pet Rock, essentially, a round rock with two eyes glued to it and placed inside a cardboard carrier with straw at the bottom and breathing holes at the top.

It’s quite stupid, but ingenious.  The man became a millionaire by selling rocks.

What I want you to understand is: it’s concept that sells.

It was his concept behind the Pet Rock that caused a rational human to shell out money for a rock.

With the right concept, you can sell anything.

There is a graveyard where products go that could not be sold.

There are wonderful products in that graveyard.  Not all of them are crap.  Some are products every man and woman could use.  Products that could have an astounding impact on families and individuals around the globe.

Nevertheless, they weren’t sold because the right concept, the right “hook”, wasn’t used.

If you have a product you want to sell, search for that head-turning concept that grabs the reader by the head, heart, and wallet, and say everything essential to your sales message no matter long it takes, and keep it interesting.

You’ll have a fatter wallet sooner than you ever imagined.

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

You do a good job for a customer… he goes and tells a friend… the friend shows up sometime soon to do business with you.

Because he was referred by a friend, he knows almost everything that matters to him: prices, quality of services, location, etc. It’s hard to ask for a better situation — this prospect is pre-sold. It’s not a matter of IF they do business with you…

it’s a matter of HOW MUCH business they do with you.

Many entrepreneurs don’t realize they can intentionally spark word of mouth referrals and create incentive to ensure customers become customer recruiters.

Let’s discuss such a way…

Randy’s had back trouble ever since 2005, when he slipped on the greasy floor of a fast food restaurant.  He fought with workers comp for years and finally got a tidy settlement — a settlement which quickly evaporated into thin air.

One of the many blessings (yes, that’s sarcasm) that came with the fall was a sharp pain radiating from his lower spine.

It hurt to sit, move, and… live.

While looking in the newspaper over Sunday breakfast, Randy notices a large ad for a chiropractor only a few miles from his home.  With the promise of the first visit being complimentary, he calls and makes an appointment to see Dr. Smart.

While sitting in the Doc’s office, Randy notices a large poster of the exercise machine Dr. Smart uses for patients.  “I sure love that Back-O-Magic machine you put me on… it’s the only thing I’ve ever tried that completely gets rid of my back pain.  And it stays gone too… at least for a little bit.  So long as I keep using that machine I don’t think I’ll ever have back pain again.”

Okay — so let’s take a little break from the story.

Let’s assume that the average patient for Dr. Smart gives him $30,000 per year.  If he provides good service, the average patient could stick with him for a minimum of three years.

That’s an average lifetime value of $90,000 (not a small chunka change).

Alright… back to the story:

Dr. Smart looks at Randy, pleased with his remarks and grins.  He says, “Well Randy, I’m not sure if you know this, but that poster’s here for a good reason…”

“What’s that?“, Randy says.

Dr. Smart puts down his black pen and relaxes into his chair.  “The Back-O-Magic machine is my gift to any patient who refers another.  If anyone ever walks in my door, tells me that you sent them to see me, and signs up and pays to be a patient… I’ll buy you a Back-O-Magic machine, have it delivered to your door, and professionally put together and installed anywhere you’d like.”

Randy’s heart instantly begins to pump faster.  His eyes enlighten with the golden opportunity of which he’s just heard.  He thinks, “This guy will buy me one of those machines… the same one he uses… and all I gotta do is get a friend to come sign up.”

And that’s all that has to happen.

Dr. Smart has just played an intelligent game with Randy, a game where everyone wins… he’ll get a new patient work a potential $90,000, pre-sold with the words of his friend (Randy)… and all Dr. Smart has to do is pay about 1200 bucks for the machine and installation at Randy’s house.

Now… let me ask you?  Would you pay $1200 to get $90,000?  Damn… I hope so.

Not only that… but this tactic doesn’t cost Dr. Smart a penny… really.  Because Dr. Smart doesn’t owe Randy anything until Randy’s friend pays… the payment is what seals the deal for Randy.

So by the time Dr. Smart has to buy the machine, he’s already made money off Randy’s referral.

Didn’t I tell you this was genius?

Everybody wins: Dr. Smart gets another $90,000 patient, Randy gets the machine that saves him from life-killing back pain, and the new patient gets a great chiropractor.

So how can you apply this to your business?  Well… the first thing you need to consider is, “How much is the average customer worth to me?”

Because we can’t go buying prizes that are worth more than the referred customer — that’s not good business.

It would be smart, as is the case with Dr. Smart, that the referral prize be something related to what you sell… something that will further their results and enhance their experience.

Tip: Buy them something they wouldn’t normally buy for themselves.  You probably know someone who’s quick to spend money on others, but seldom treat themselves.  Treat them.  (Randy really really wants that machine, but he’d probably never think to actually buy the machine and put it in his house.)

See… Randy’s gonna use that machine.. but all the healing will be attributed to the services of Dr. Smart.  So even though Randy’s helping Randy get better, he still credits Dr. Smart with his success.

And the prize makes it easier for Dr. Smart to do his job.  He knows Randy is using the machine (because he earned it) and he has peace of mind that his patient is getting healthier and happier.

So think about what a new customer is worth to you, and that’s the money you have to play with.  Put up posters, pictures, or even buy the real thing and place it where the customer can see it.

Whether they bring it up… or whether you do… it doesn’t matter.

Here’s a catch: They better have interest and desire for the prize.

If the thought of owning the item doesn’t make them all giddy inside…

don’t bother.

If that sparked any ideas for you and you’d like to share the “prize” you thought of, leave it in the comment section below.

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Some of my WordPress sites, including this one, have been getting an abnormal amount of spam comments.  Because they don’t have anything else to do, spammers have developed robots that come to your site and leave a bogus comment (that can sometimes sound very real)… but their agenda is simply to create some sort of backlink and yadda yadda yadda.

Point is: It sucks having to delete those spam comments — it takes a lot of time.  You have to manually go through all the comments because some may be real (and we definitely want to keep and approve the real ones).

WordPress, by default, comes with some type of “Askimet” plugin.  I’ve never used it and find it pretty useless (and I don’t think it’s free).

But I stumbled on a very easy way to fix this problem very quickly… and it’s sorta the same way Google and others handle the problem.  The solution is to…

Add A Captcha So Robots Can’t Add Spam Comments

And how much will that cost you?

Nothing.

Because if you follow this link you can download, for free, the same plugin I use on this site.  Remember where you save the file!  You’ll need it shortly.

Here it is: http://www.quick4.com/spamplugin

I was getting a couple hundred spam comments every few days and got sick of it fast!

Since instaling the captcha, I’ve only received one spam comment.  (If you want to see what the captcha looks like, just scroll to the bottom of this article where you’d leave a reply.  You’ve got to be on the unique article URL… you can’t be looking form the home page of this site).

When you download the file it will be zipped.  Do not unzip it. I don’t know why people that download a zipped file almost always unzip the damn thing on their computer.

It’s Zipped For A Reason People!

It’s zipped because you can upload the zipped file straight into your WordPress Dashboard.

When you log in to your Dashboard (it will look like the photo below), click on Plugins, then Add New.

Then you’ll see the screen below… just click on Upload.

Then click Browse and go select the zipped file that should be named “si-captcha-for-wordpress.zip”.

Then click Install Now.

Give it a few seconds to finish and then you’re ready to rock and roll — free from worry about those stupid-ass spam comments.

Yes!

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

So we spend a lot of time, money, and energy getting an education (not necessarily from college) and becoming an expert, but then when you try to convey your expertise… you get the “Yea Right” response.

It comes in many forms.

And it comes because the prospect already expects you to say you’re an expert.  Would you ever say you’re not an expert?  Never!  So you basically have to go with expert-status and he (the prospect) knows that.

Nowadays, it’s no big deal if you went to college, really.  In the professional world, almost everyone has at least a bachelors, so…

Even A Degree Is A Common Commodity!

You have all this expert knowledge attained from years of doing what you do… yet nobody believes you’re an expert.

Why is that?

I want you to think about something.  Let’s say you’re walking down the street on an autumn day.  You’re gonna take a stroll in the park and the scenery is beautiful, particularly the orangle-leafed maple trees in the distance.  And every time the wind blows, even just a little, a shimmering orange curtain of  leaves drift to the ground.

With your next step your eyes settle back to the pavement and you notice a gentleman standing before you.  Like always, you look at his face first and it doesn’t take your brain but a split second to realize you don’t know him.

He’s a total stranger and there he stands, not yet having said a word.

How do you feel about him right now?

Kinda freaked out by him?

See… we don’t trust strangers and we’re told from a young age not to.  Strangers are dangerous, you should never get in the car with them; they’re the people that choke you, drug you, hurt you, and feel you up as you walk by them on the street.

And you’re a stranger to each new prospect.  Keep that in mind.

To win that stranger over, you don’t want to tell him how much you know.

You Want To Tell Him How Much You Care!

Only after you have built some rapport with your listener will he begin to care what you know and what you think… you have to share why you’re interested in what you’re doing.  What’s in it for you?  Why such a great deal?  Why should they believe you?

There are all kinds of ways to build rapport, but the most relevant to sales is simply why you want to help the person you’re trying to sell to.  There’s already a reason there and it rests in your heart; only you know it.  You might think of it as, “the reason you got in to this business.” Whatever it is… tell people why you care about them.

Remember the law of reciprocation?

What happens when we show someone we care?

They show us they care.

When they’re caring about you, then you tell them about what you’re selling, the great deal it is, how far it’ll knock their socks off… and then they lovingly decide to do business with you.

So remember that… before you EVER, EVER, EVER start telling someone something you know… make sure that person or that audience knows how much and why YOU CARE.

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

I’d asked you to seriously consider what question you’d ask me if I were sitting across the table… and the question I got from Jane Bradford… was a doozey.

Here it is: “How do you get your passion back after multiple disappointments and the down economy?”

Her question threw me off, it’s not really a marketing question and I was struggling to think of an answer.  I’ve never positioned myself as one who could answer these types of questions, but something so horrifying happened to me shortly thereafter, I think I can answer it.

If you know me, you know my mom died two years ago.  It was the worst day of my entire life;  I lost the most important person who ever lived and will never forget the pain.

Through that loss, my relationship with my sisters got stronger, particularly the relationship with my sister Lee.

After my father threw me out the house at 18, I moved in with my sister (Lee) and her husband Joey.  Long story short, they helped take care of yours truly.

One night this past week, Joey’s daughter Shannon called with a terrifying message.

She said they thought Lee’d had a stroke and were taking her to the hospital.  One side of Lee’s face was slanted and she could only mumble things she wanted to say.  Her eyes did not look normal.  One was totally relaxed and looking down whle the other was acting crazy, looking around from side to side, never settling on one thing.

I couldn’t believe what was happening.

Being two hours away, I could only think the worst.  All the horrible scenarios ran through my mind.  So much was being lost in an instant.

In recent history Lee desperately wanted to have a baby but was having difficult getting pregnant.  She wanted a baby more than anything and almost gave up after a miscarriage.  With enough determination she finally did get pregnant and is a proud mom of a little girl who knows she’s in charge of that house!

But I thought all that was over… just as life had drastically changed after mom left, I could see no other alternative than life changing again.

I cried.  I cried so hard the muscles in my face were sore the next day.

My trip home seemed like fate unraveling a secret plot to teach me a lesson.  Everything was okay.  She was one hundred percent okay.  No slanted face.  No mumbled words.  They kept Lee in the hospital for one extra day and let her out, a free bird.

I remember sitting at Lee’s house speaking to Joey’s mom.  At some point in our conversation she uttered a phrase I will never forget.  “I just don’t know when we’ll all learn to treasure it all.”

The last three words rang in my mind the way all things God wants you to hear ring through your mind.

Treasure it all.

It’s so easy to forget what’s important in life when we’re dream chasing.

You get your passion back by realizing why you started in the first place.

We get so lost.

We forget who we are.

Today my friend, I want you to consider how lucky and how rich you are.  I want you to consider how grateful we should be for all we have.  How much the people in your life love you and need you and they don’t want money, they just want to be with you.  Your loved ones don’t care what you buy them, they just want to spend time with you and talk to you and be with you.

Don’t get lost.

Don’t forget who you are.

Driving back to Charlotte, all I could think was “Thank you.”

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

Thanks for everything.  Thanks for life.  Thanks for breathing this morning.  Thanks for warm covers and central heating and air.  Thanks for a great mentor.  Thanks for family that loves me because I’m me (crazy and highly intelligent).  Thanks for five sister (Tina, Lee, Stephanie, Courtney, Angela).  Thanks for all my nieces and nephews.  Thanks for twenty one years with the best mom to ever live.  Thanks for good health.  Thanks for money.  Thanks for the ability to smile and feel good.

How could you not have passion?  With so much to be grateful for.  And if you don’t feel passionate about something anymore… maybe you were never really passionate about it.

And screw the economy, you just have to make your own economy.

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

The Most Annoying Thing A Writer Can Do!

What is it?

WRITING IN ALL CAPS

It has it’s purpose.  In fact, the way I just used it was great.  But notice that sentence is short and sweet (and easy to read).  Sometimes the writer goes too far and capitalizes an entire sentence… or worse… the paragraph.

Never do this:

YOU’LL NOTICE WHEN YOU READ A SENTENCE OR PARAGRAPH WRITTEN IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, THAT AFTER A WHILE, IT CAN GET VERY HARD TO READ THAT SENTENCE.  AS THE SENTENCES START RUNNING TOGETHER AND THE PARAGRAPH IS FORMED, IT GETS VERY DIFFICULT TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE RIGHT SPOT AND STAY FOCUSED.  THIS TACTIC CAN ABSOLUTELY KILL YOUR ADVERTISEMENT.  I THINK THIS IS EVEN A TACTIC THAT COMPANIES USE WHEN THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO READ SOMETHING… DOESN’T THIS LOOK LIKE A TERMS OF SERVICE AGREEMENT OR SOMETHING?  I THINK SO.

Whew… give your eyes a second to relax… let’s get back to business the normal way!

On the other hand, you can use a word or phrase in all caps.  Look at this example from a previous project:

PLUS: The Facebook-Twitter Strategy – a stealthy way to combine the profit power of fan pages with easy traffic from Twitter.  (Get people to recommend their own products using YOUR affiliate link!) Seriously: You’ll think Video 4 was smuggled out the Army Special Forces training camp.

In this case, I capitalzed the entire word YOUR because I want to slow the reader down and emphasize other people will promote THEIR affiliate link.  See… did it again.

Our language, the English language, is very flexible and pliable by nature.  Simply by changing the emphasis of a word, you change the meaning of a sentence.

Watch…

Let’s take the sentence, “Mary gave the money to Justin.”

I could say it like this, “MARY gave the money to Justin,” emphasizing it was Mary, not Roger, Mike, or Tom Cruise… Mary gave me the money.

I could say it like this, “Mary GAVE the money to Justin,” she didn’t loan it to him, she gave it to him.

I could say it like this, “Mary gave the MONEY to Justin,” but it was ROGER who gave Justin the baseball tickets.

And last, I could say it like this, “Mary gave the money to JUSTIN,” she didn’t give it to Roger.

Good emphasis in the right place gives you more power as a writer to communicate with a reader you can’t see, hear, or speak to.

As I reflect back on my life, it’s hard to believe I love reading and writing.  I used to hate both and I’d imagine you either felt the same way once upon a time, or you still do.  Let me tell you, the ability to write well and sell well can make you a ton of money and it can also make the people around you a ton of money.

One thing’s for sure. If you want to write better, you need to practice.

I’m often asked for advice on writting well and it’s kinda silly.

If you want to ride a bicycle better, practice riding the bicycle.

If you want to swim better, practice swimming.

And you know what I’m about to say, right?

If you want to write better, practice writing.  You’ve got to write.  Put pen to paper, finger to keyboard, and write.

For fun, let’s see how you write.  Don’t be bashful.

Tell me in story form what you had for breakfast or lunch today… create a story around it.  It can be as long or short as you’d like.

Don’t be a wuss.

Can’t wait to read it.

©2012 Justin Quick Marketing. All Rights Reserved.