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Posts Tagged ‘copywriter’

 

Awkward, Embarrassing and Uncomfortable Moments That Can Fill Your Bank Account!

September 16th, 2013 |

Awkward, Embarrassing & Uncomfortable Moments That Can Fill Your Bank Account!

Awkward iStock_000014821397XSmall

The Untold Truth About My 7-Year Journey
To Become An Overnight Success

I was interviewed by an Internet-marking-gun from the UK last night on Skype.

He interrupted my perfectly scripted story with this curve-ball question…

“Bret, this doesn’t make sense. If you hardly read books growing up… and you pretty much partied yourself to oblivion for years… How did you become an overnight copywriting success?”

Then it came out.

A part of my story I rarely share, if ever.

In my early twenties… whilst keeping many a pub afloat with an award-winning partying career… I lived a double life.

I was also a clean-cut, wide-eyed, robotic, network-marketing fanatic.

Cringe all you like… We’ve all got horror network marketing stories… Be it with Amway, Herbal Life, USANA, Avon, Tupperware, yadda, yadda…

Save your breath… This isn’t a slinging match. You’re about to see how life changing this was for me…

Sure, I busted my @$$ for more than seven years… I was in game-mode five, six, seven nights a week.

I could barely meet a stranger without an ulterior motive…

If anyone asked me how i was doing, i was alway “FANTASTIC” – Yep, every day for seven years!!

Any given night, wearing a suit two-sizes too big and a mismatched tie, I’d drive 3-4 hours from home, show up to a stranger’s house, whiteboard under arm, marker pens ready, and show a room full of sceptics my amazing business plan…

This is me (draw a circle)

This is you (draw another circle)

These are your friends (draw a bunch of circles)

And these are their friends (draw a bunch more)

And so on… you probably know the spiel, right?

After 7 years of constant hard-yakka, persistence and dedication, I think I made around $42,000 (collectively over 7 years).

For a little while I was making around $2,500 a month… but it was only short lived… and most months i would spend more than i made.

From a business standpoint… After 7 years slogging away… some would call it a disaster.

Not me.

No way.

From a personal development and sales training point of view… Well, it was EASILY the GREATEST training I’ve ever done in my life.

You know, it was more than the “school-of-hard knocks”, ha, friend…

… It was pure “Salesmanship-Bootcamp-On-Steroids!”

… Where YOU became your own hard-nosed, battled-hardened, drill sergeant for success.

Yet, it’s a part of my story that I’ll be forever grateful for with zero regrets.

So, for those curious folk who are baffled at how quickly I burst onto the A-grade copywriting scene… Here’s the reality…

It took me 7 long hard years to become an overnight success

And now it’s time to share some untold gems from those days…

Little known secrets that’ll hone YOUR copywriting skills into lethal weapon for mass conversions…

You see, my days as a circle-drawing road warrior earned me a…

6-Dan Black Belt in ‘Sales Intuition’

In fact, any face-to-face selling will sharpen your intuition to make a sale.

I’ll show you what I mean…

Back in the heyday, I could be talking to someone face-to-face and if I saw just a slight twitch or the tinniest inflection on their face, I instantly knew exactly what they were thinking.

I intuitively knew the temperature of the sale. Meaning, if the sale was getting cold and I was losing them… Or if they were warming up and starting to believe me…

I’d quickly gauge the right tempo to deliver my message… and more importantly… when to balance it out and wind it back if there was a hint of resistance…

That, my sale-savvy-ruffian, is SALES INTUITION

Not all of us have it as strong as others… Yet, we use different shades of it almost every day.

You already use a form of it now with your partner… your kids… your friends… workmates… Heck, you can even spot it on a stranger immediately if by small expressions on their face.

Small microscopic expressions on someone’s face will instantly trigger a feeling in you… And you can tell if the person is interested or not.

Take note, ‘cos it’s those sometimes-awkward, embarrassing and uncomfortable moments where your intuition-throttle is squeezed full-ball.

Admittedly, not everyone harnesses this perception…

You’ll laugh, but isn’t it amazing when the shoe is on the other foot? When you’re trying to escape a conversation with someone who just “doesn’t get it” (despite your blatant signs of disinterest).

We’ve all been there… You’ll be as subtle as a Mack-Truck… even looking down at your wristwatch to check the time, yet the other person seems totally unaware and clueless.

So yeah, not everyone has it…

But since you’ve read this far, I’d bet my house on it that you do posses a level of ‘sales-intuition’…

My question to you is…

Are you using your sales-intuition in your marketing?

Or are you dishing up a one-size-fits-all, over-hyped message with no consideration of how it’s being received in every reading-second.

Or even worse… A meek, timid and soft message that lacks any urgency or strong call to action because you’re too nice?

Look, you have to intuitively know when to push the pedal to the floor and when to back it off.

Most (not all, but most) people do have this sales-intuition from their visual senses. Meaning when they look at someone’s face or body language.

Telemarketers can do it audibly, by sound. A fraction of a millisecond pause and a good telemarketer will know exactly what they’re thinking. This will then sets them up for the next sentence.

Great copywriters can do it in their mind – while they write. This is the highest level of sales intuition.

Like a psychic who predicts what someone is thinking. That’s the game we play…

And that’s why the gap between an A-Grade copywriter and a B-grade copywriter is so wide… it makes the Grand Canyon look like a pothole.

Okay Bret, But How Do I Tap Into My Sales Intuition?

Great question.

Wanna know how I do this? You do? Good. Listen up…

As I’m writing sales copy, if I get an ‘intuitive feeling’ that the pitch is coming across too strong, or the reader might have doubts and not believe it…

… I immediately intercept this thought and inject a ‘save-line’.

A successful save-line will buy you time and suspend their disbelief.

Example time… If I predict the customer would feel sceptic, I’d throw this save-line in…

“I know, it almost sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? I don’t blame you, that’s exactly how I felt when I first heard this, but when I started to… blah, blah, blah…”

See what I did there?

I validated how they were feeling. I let them know it was perfectly normal and they weren’t alone. I then let them know it was safe to continue.

That’s what save-lines do.

I even hooked them into a story so it would be harder for them to stop reading, since people instinctively need to know how a story ends.

Easy, right? With practise, yes.

The good news is (you’ll probably hate the answer) you can enhance your sales intuition with dedicated research.

Eeeek!! Quit whinging… this is where the magic is found.

It’s about getting to know your target market so intimately that you too can predict their feelings and reactions.

Think about it… After years of marriage, you know exactly what your partner is thinking during a conversation, right?

You’ll know when to push your point… and you’ll definitely know when to back the hell away!!

That’s what I’m talking about.

Same goes with a gun-copywriter who is disciplined enough to know their target market… intimately… so they can craft the right sales pitch with the right flow, rhythm, tempo and pulse…

… And effectively lead their prospect to the order button to take action… Like the Pied Piper blowing his hypnotic sales flute…

Your next step? Stop thinking

Your sales intuition doesn’t live in your cluttered, million-mile-per-hour-racing-mind… no, no, no…

It’s resting in your subconscious mind… when you slow down… take a breath… relax… and create space to quietly think and feel.

…Not just think… but feel also.

So tap into your sales intuition before you steamroll ahead with your next marketing piece.

Or… If you can’t be bothered… you could scrap that idea all together and get me, and my Project Success team, to do it all for you.

That’s what we do… we spend the most part getting to know your client so intuitively that they’ll believe you, trust you and feel safe to buy from you.

Click here to enquire about us making your next project a success

Either way… there are valuable gems hidden inside this here little post, so take them, polish them up, take them to market and cash them in…

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. Do you have any past stories that turned out to be a blessing for your business today? Let me know by leaving a quick comment below… and be social and share 🙂

When It’s Okay To SUCK At Writing!

June 18th, 2013 |

When It’s Okay To SUCK At Writing!

Sobering (and profitable) advice to sell more of your goods… even if you failed English at school

Writing picThis’ll be a relief for you…

Because I often speak from stage to complete newbies about copywriting, I have to remind myself to first teach the basics.

So this quick lesson is a reminder (to us both) about one steadfast principle to master before you dive too deep into the copywriting ocean.

And that is…

You don’t have to be a wordsmith to be a great copywriter – you just have to know the psychology of your prospect.

Takes the pressure off a bit, doesn’t it?

Let me pack this out a bit more…

Most people are “institutionalized” to use BIG words when they speak and write.

Why? Well, I guess it’s a stroke of ego to make them sound less thtupid and more smarterer.

Whatever the case, great copywriters don’t play that game.

We get paid to simplify things.

We take a concept or idea and dumb it down. We simplify it so it’s easy to read and digest for the reader.

You know it’s funny to see the journey of a new copywriter.

The more they learn at the start, the more they waffle on with unnecessary babble before they get to the meat.

You can pretty much slice 30%-40% (or more) of gibberish that was only there to entertain their own copywriting ego.

Might sound harsh, but I was the same.

Lesson for you…

Brevity is key. Well, make that, brevity with emotion is key.

Keep your words short. Too many syllables will trip up your reader. If they trip over your words, they’ll start skim reading.

You don’t want that. Remember, the more they read the more they buy.

Also…

I try to keep my sentences 7 words long. (Not including the tiny words like, “a, I, it, in, if, is, on, and so on). Easy to digest.

Same rule with paragraphs. Keep ‘em short. One or two sentences… occasionally three.

For the most part, people hate reading.

It’s been estimated that the comprehension rate of most adults is equivalent to a 13 year old.

So dumb it down and keep it simple cos the more they read the more they buy.

Look, they’re a few surface-level-tips to help you convert more sales from your copywriting.

To go deeper, grab your copy of my book “Client Rush”

It’s a simple read, crammed full with hundreds of marketing breakthroughs for attracting more clients fast.

You’ll be a better marketer for reading it…

Till next time

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. If you prefer, you can grab the kindle version too. There’s a small yellow link under the main buttons.

Follow this link now to grab your copy

Strip Searched on Mexico Border

November 20th, 2012 |


Strip Searched on Mexico Border

Hola from Mexico

We’re over here for a few weeks… Lynika and I… on the back end of a trip to Nashville to see the legendary marketers Dan Kennedy and John Carlton in action. Waaaay cool.

But more on that later…

Anyway… On the way to our hotel in Tijuana, Mexico… we were picked up at San Diego airport by a Spanish-speaking driver.

You know… It’s funny trying NOT to stand out like Gringos (tourists), but since my only source of Spanish was from watching “Speedy Gonzales” cartoons as a kid, we kinda stood out like a fluorescent Christmas tree in a cactus farm.

There was a 20-minute drive to the Mexican border, then another 15-minutes to our hotel.

Packed with a mind-load full of shady movie scenes about crossing the Mexico border… I was excitedly curious as to how it would play out.

Couldn’t get any advice from our Mexican driver.

“Notta mucha speaka engalisha”, he said.

“Just little bit”, he muttered, as he lifted his hand to show us a tiny gap between his pointer finger and thumb.

And seeing my Mexican vocabulary ran dry after “Taco, Nachos and Amigo”, we quickly reverted to the world’s universal language mode.

Smile and nod.

So get this…

We drive up to the Mexican border. To paint the picture… imagine these big-ass-wide-berth tollbooths that you drive into.

We get waved to the side and the driver pulls the car up. A couple of Mexican officials, all dressed in black, walk up to our car and tap on the windows.

There’s a steady flow of conversation going on between the driver and these officials.

Are we in trouble?

What’s the hassle?

Have drugs been planted on us for a set up?

What’s going on?

You know… All the usual stuff racing through your brain when approaching Tijuana (notorious as Mexico’s most corrupt city)

They triple check our passports then motion for us to get out of the car.

They take our luggage out and walk us into a building. Our bags go through a big scanner. Kinda like what you see at an airport, but twice as big.

They take Lynika to the side. In broken English, they say,

“I’m going to ask you to press this button. If the button turns green, you can go. If the button turns red, you will both have to be fully searched. Bags and all”.

Seriously? All because of the luck of pressing a button? I’m thinking, “What the hell determines it blinking green or red anyway?

As it turns out… it’s pot luck. 50/50 chance. Totally random.

Green = Go

Red = Full search

Great.

So Lynika steps forward to press “the button”.

We nervously look across at each other. As you can imagine, we’re not really hip to the idea of a strip search. No thanks.

Lynika presses the button.

We wait.

Red or green? Waiting… waiting…

Okay, let’s pause here for a second.

I know what you’re thinking…

I bet you’re secretly hoping for the RED light, aren’t you?

You cruel bastard.

Well guess what?

Luckily, us Aussie gringos got the green light that day, amigo! (Thank god)

But a 50/50 chance of a strip search… well… that’s not the kind of odds I like play’n with. Know what I mean?

Same goes with your marketing. You wanna tilt the scales more in your favour.

So, instead of throwing your website, sales page, video, or promotion up… and leaving it up to chance… “Hoping” for a good response…

There are some things you can do to stack the odds in your favour.

There are plenty of ways to do this. Here’s just one.

A smarter move (for you) is this.

You see hombre, I can change the numbers for you.

In just one sitting… I’ll run my masterful eyes over your marketing piece… and critique it word-by-word, line-by-line.

I’ll hack into it and cut out the lame, drivel and uninspiring fluff… and inject some pulse racing, compelling elements to cause a manic rush of sales.

That’s what I do.

Here’s how it’ll play…

After I grill you about your biz (on Skype)… I’ll start on your copy.

I’ll shoot a screen-capture video of me going through your copy (in real-time) with microscopic detail, like an OCD sales detective.

Next… You and I will hook up on a live follow-up call… just to make sure you’re crystal clear on what changes need to be made… and you’re hip with any strategy suggestions I have for you.

But be warned… you’ve gotta be thick skinned. I kid you not. It’s not for the faint hearted, that’s for sure.

Look, my role isn’t to blow roses your way (unless it’s truly deserved)… and I won’t waste your time sugar coating the facts.

I’ll critique it as if it was my very own piece going to market.

I’ll give your sales copy a much-needed adjustment so you can boogie to the sound of more sales.

Perfect (and an affordable) substitute if you sweat bricks when thinking about paying for an A-class copywriter to write your copy.

Thomson-style critiques are hard-core… but lighter on the pocket for you… my mission is to obliterate any sales obstructions I see… so you can bask in more sales while you sleep.

This is how to make sure the light goes GREEN… So you can cross the border to prosperity.

Either that… or you can leave your marketing up to chance and hope the “sales fairy” sprinkles magic dust your way…

Anyway. I’m here to help. You just gotta ask.

Let me send you more details about this. Shoot us an email at info@BretThomson.com and I’ll reply back with the options.

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. Best I mention, I don’t take on everyone either. Don’t take offense if I politely knock you back. I just wanna be sure your idea will fly first…

Don’t forget to comment or share below so we know you want more 😉

What NEVER To Ask Your Wife…

October 22nd, 2012 |

What NEVER To Ask Your Wife…

PLUS… Two Simple Ways To Get Your Prospects To BUY More!

 

I’d hate to think how the conversation went after this…

Little known computer guru Gary Kildall, could have been the richest man in the world…

You see, he was out flying his private plane when IBM executives called, asking to buy his computer operating system for their revolutionary new PC.

That day, in 1981, Gary asked his wife to take the call. When Kildall’s wife answered the phone, she refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement with IBM.

So IBM called a guy in Seattle instead – Bill Gates.

Evidently… Bill Gates became the richest man in the world instead…

Ouch!! Missed opportunity

There’s a deeper reason I told you this story… and an underlying powerful lesson to boot. I’ll gift wrap it all together at the end so it all makes sense to you.

Let’s start…

Right now, I’m up to my ears in creative dust from chipping away a masterpiece promotion for a client.

It’s nothing short of brilliant, I must say…

No surprise.

Anyway… to pre-empt this lesson, you’re gonna want to remember this principle:

“The more they read, the more they buy”

So, in case you’re wondering how to get more of your “stuff” read… all the way to the end… here’s one way (one of many).

To start… and stick with me here… I’m going to debunk everything you’ve ever learnt about headlines, in one fell swoop.

Here’s how. See if you can answer this…

“What is the purpose of your headline?”

Is it to grab their attention?

I need more than that. Try again.

Is it to solve a problem?

Sorry, no cigar…

Is it to build desire? 

Try again.

Is it to create curiosity? 

Okay. Stop. I’ll put you out of your misery. Here’s what it is.

The sole purpose of your headline is to make your prospect read the next line (the sub-headline).

That’s it. Nothing more.

Its job is purely to make your reader want to read the next line.

Got it? Good.

Next question.

What’s the purpose of the sub-headline? 

I’ll give you a hint. No bugger that, I’ll tell you straight.

The sole purpose of the sub-headline is to make your prospect read the next line (the opening sentence).

And what’s the purpose of the opening sentence?

Correctomundo

The job of the opening sentence is to get them to read the next line.

And so on. You get the idea.

Now for the magic…

If you can get your reader to make these small decisions more than 4 times, chances are they’ll read your whole letter (or email, or web page, video, whatever).

I learnt this from the Copywriting Einstein “Eugene Schwartz”.

Another thing. The single best way to start your letter (so your prospect reads more) is with a story.

Remember this. Heck, write it down if you have to. It’s far too important to let slip past the keeper.

You see that’s why I kicked this email off with the “missed opportunity” story. Pulled you in, right?

Well, there’s another reason I used that story.

Since we’re talk’n ‘bout “missed opportunity”… I’m gonna save you from some future grief.

A few weeks ago I rejected 7 copywriting projects.

The reasons why aren’t that important, but they varied from:

  1. I didn’t think their idea would fly
  2. I sensed they’d be a problem client
  3. Their timeline was unrealistic

In other words… missed opportunity for them.

So I thought I’d give you the heads up in advance…

I reckon my A-Team copywriters and I have another 2 or 3 projects left to squeeze in before the end of 2012…

Maybe you? Just maybe it’ll be your biz we take to a whole new moneymaking stratosphere…

You know the deal… first in best dressed…

Bottom line, if you want to launch a new project… or revamp an existing one… then don’t part with another dollar (or minute of your time) until you’ve read this and had a personal chat with me…

Click here for more info:

http://www.BretThomson.com/project-success 

In simple language… That’s the ONLY way to get MY brain working on YOUR business…

This is the gateway to prosperity.

Okay, that sounded lame.

See if I can do better…

Your business without ME would only be AWESO.

All right, I’ll stop there.

I’m GOOD but I’m not GOD.

But when it comes to filling up your bank account…. I’m pretty damn close.

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. As per the opening story… Don’t let your partner make the decision without you… Cos I’d have no choice but to pour all my creative genius into someone else…

Let’s chat. Follow the shiny link below

http://www.BretThomson.com/project-success

P.P.S. If you’re not going to click the link, then use the buttons below to share this post … or leave a comment to let me know if these tips helped you at all…

 

 

When NEVER To Use A Copywriter

June 27th, 2012 |

When NEVER To Use A Copywriter

I just knocked back a quick $3,000.

I’ll tell you why.

Firstly, she was a lovely lady.

No… not because she was happy to pour some moolah into my bank account.

Had nothing to do with it…

Just one of those deserving souls trying to crack it in this unforgiving (sometimes ruthless) Internet marketing world

There’s a good lesson here, so pull up a chair.

She’d recently dropped another $5K into her project – for a big fat ZERO return. Small for some – but painful for most, would you agree? Anyway…

I checked out her copy and sure enough, it needed a thorough overhaul. That’s why she came to me.

My A-team and I could’ve whipped it up to perfection – no probs – but I canned it for 3 reasons.

1) It was her last $3,000

Folks, that’s what we call “scared money” – wrong energy. You don’t wanna be someone’s life raft.

2) She had no list

Well, a tiny (very tiny) list that she hadn’t contacted for months – so pretty much no list. Meaning, she needed some heavy marketing muscle. Which brings me to point 3…

3) No funds for marketing

No use having a killer sales page if you’ve got no resources to get it seen by your target market. She needed a marketing solution – not a better sales page.

And because I actually care about my people…

I gave her this advice on how to get clients fast (on a shoestring budget).

Instead of spending time looking for clients or customers – spend that energy on finding “Joint Venture (JV) Partners” who have a list of hungry prospects in your niche.

Offer the JV a percentage split of profit if they send out an email promoting your product or service. But if your sales page sucks, then try this…

Offer to do a webinar or teleseminar to the JV’s list – give massive value – then make your offer at the end.

That way, you’ll build instant trust and rapport that’ll carry the sale… despite what your page looks like.

Cost to do this: ZERO
Potential results: Instant sales and leads

If she does this – she’ll make it – I know she will

I told her to do this, get a bunch of sales, then come back and see us – so we can crank her conversions even higher.

Think big. Be different.

Bret Thomson

P.S. Of course, if you want to crank up your own sales letter in warp speed time… by yourself… just follow this link to my famous 7-hour sales letter system (Check it out)

Then ALL your marketing efforts will come back to you tenfold…

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