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Welcome to AdSECRETS.
If you subscribed to AdSecrets prior to Jan. 14 and did not get
issue #2, please let me know by emailing me at:
carlg@sedona.net
Apparently, not everyone got their issue (Paulette Ensign of all
people being one). You can pick up both of the first two issues on my
website at:
http://www.magic7.com/htg
in the FREE REPORTS section. But, if you didn't get your issue #2
and you should have, still email me to let me know so I can see if
there was some problem with the listserver.
Onward.
Obviously there are millions of Internet advertisers who have not
read my last newsletter because I keep seeing ads without headlines
all over the Internet. Big surprise.
Well, that just puts you way ahead of the crowd -- now that you
know the importance of headlines.
Don't be surprised if you start noticing lots of ads without
headlines. David Ogilvy called these "headless wonders."
My philosophy is "any headline is better than no headline but a
good headline is worth it's weight in gold."
I got you started writing your own headlines in the last issue.
How did you do?
The exercise I gave you is very effective at training you to write
good headlines but you must practice it a lot. Try coming up with as
many variations as you can.
Another similar exercise which is also good is to write the
headline for a variety of different products. It doesn't matter
whether you sell computer software or insurance (ed: "gadzooks, oh
no, not that"). The act of writing it for different products is a
learning exercise that will improve your headline writing
ability.
So, for example,
Do You Make These Mistakes in English?
becomes:
Do You Make These Mistakes When Exercising?
Do You Make These Mistakes When Buying a Car?
Do You Get These Results When Writing Headlines?
Does Your Horse Do These Tricks After You've Trained
Him?
Can You Make This Much Money in Any Other
Profession?
As you can see, I didn't just substitute words. In the
beginning I did, just to get the feel for it. But later, I was
able to "grok" the
essence of the headline and transform it into something which
was wholly new but yet captured the effectiveness of the
original
headline.
That's one way to learn headline writing. We'll discuss more
in future issues.
Advertising's New Secret Weapon
=========================
Every once in a while something new pops up and captures
everyone's attention. The Internet/Web is one example. And it
was
made possible through the penetration of new technologies into
our culture.
But, sometimes older technologies combined with some new ideas
give birth to some pretty exciting things.
The TeleClass is one such example. Basically, it is nothing
more than a conference call. Callers dial in to a specific
phone
number at a certain time and are treated to a seminar on the
phone.
What has kept TeleClasses in the background until recently is
the cost of the conference call. It used to be (and in some
cases
still is) that the person sponsoring the conference call would
have to reserve a certain number of lines and pay a per
minute
charge per line for each caller, regardless of whether they
showed up for the call or not.
All that has changed with a new type of "bridge." The sponsor
rents these by the hour or can lease one for a year. Callers
pay
for their own long distance phone call (which can be as little
as $5-$6/hour, given the current discounters and 10-10
numbers).
Since these lines rent for as little as $10-$50 an hour for
the sponsor, it makes it possible to offer low-cost courses and
even
FREE classes.
One place to check out these courses is at TeleU:
http://www.teleu.com
You might especially want to check out these particular
courses (which I will be participating in):
http://www.life-mission.com/c2000.html
http://www.life-mission.com/lm.html
http://www.life-mission.com/vvmap.html
Now, why are these advertising's new secret weapon? Because
the cost is low enough for you to offer FREE TeleClasses.
Basically, your cost is only the price of the bridge, which
can be as little as $10-$50/hour. For this price you get to spend
an
hour on the phone with your hottest prospects, showing them
your stuff. Look, after you spend an hour with 20-30 or more
people, they will get to know if you know what you are talking
about. And if you do...and if they are viable prospects for
your
service, some of them will buy something from you -- not all,
but enough to make it all worthwhile.
Let me tell you a secret. The two longest running ads of all
time were full page ads that offered something for free. They
were:
"Do You Make These Mistakes in English?"
"They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano - But When I
Started to Play..."
Neither of these ads sold anything from the ad. And both ran
successfully for nearly 40 years. Why? Because they first built
a
RELATIONSHIP with their readers BEFORE asking them to buy
something.
The TeleClass is an excellent tool to do the same thing. Offer
a low-priced or FREE class to demonstrate your expertise and
build a relationship with interested people.
Recently, I took a TeleClass taught by the founder of the
concept, Thomas Leonard. As part of the class he shared an
interesting article called "The Top Ten Points About Becoming
the Host of a Network."
I think he made an excellent case for just what I'm talking
about. Now he's talking about it for "coaches" but I think
that
anybody who is in business should have no trouble following
and profiting from his advice.
He gave participants in his class permission to share it with
our network. That means you. So, I've uploaded it to my website
for your benefit. You can find it in my FREE REPORTS section.
Please download this and read it now.
Done? OK. Well, all this TeleClass stuff has got me thinking.
I really need to be offering some free TeleClasses and I need
to
offer some TeleClasses as part of some other stuff I am
selling.
Sure, I am planning on doing one or two TeleClasses myself
through the TeleUniversity system. But they want $50/class. I
know where I can get them for $10/hour but I was looking for
something even better.
Synchronistically, I got a message from one of my subscribers
and good friend, Susan Berkley. Susan's a voice over expert
and
voice coach. She does the voices in commercials and telephone
messages. In speaking with her she said she had some time on
her voice line that she would be willing to rent for only
$50/hour. I explained how that was way too much.
To make a long story short, after much intense negotiating I
got her to agree that if I handled all the registration and
scheduling I
could get the time I needed plus I could sell 6 people an hour
a week for only $100/year. That's less than $2/hour!!!
In case you don't grasp the usefulness of these TeleClass
stuff, here are some of the way to use a teleconferencing "bridge"
(as
they call it):
Group Coaching. Coach/consult 2-25 clients with similar
interests/backgrounds/needs.
TeleClasses. Teach 6-150 students/participants in one or two
hour blocks of time.
MasterMind Groups. Meet weekly, regardless of where you
live!
TeleCourses. Like TeleClasses, but lasting 2-12 weeks.
TeleTraining. Conduct skills training sessions with small
groups.
Program Previews. Invite potential clients/customers to hear
you speak about your product/service.
Demonstrations. Invite interested parties to listen to you
coach, speak, perform your talents, via phone.
TeleDiscussions. Host discussions on any number of topics,
from R&D to philosophy, cars to computers.
TeleMeetings. Conduct planning, strategy, board or executive
committee meetings via conference call.
TeleManagement. Manage groups of individuals, all via
phone.
Sales Motivation. Conduct a weekly sales meeting/pep talk, all
via phone.
Family Discussions/Reunions. Get together each Sunday evening
or whenever the family wishes.
Emergency Discussions. Need to quickly speak with several
individuals? Have them call your bridge.
Project Management. Manage projects via phone, not just via
fax or email. Telephone is more personal.
Branch/Satellite Office Management. Manage your branches via
regular conference calls vs just traveling.
12-step/Recovery Meetings. Talk about anonymous!
International Conference Calls. Often less expensive for
everyone to call to the U.S. than via intl. operators.
The above suggestions were courtesy of TeleUniversity
(www.teleu.com).
My plans are to use my hours to give FREE Introductory
TeleClasses on Copywriting. Here's why I am doing it. See if
there
are some ideas here that you can use in your own
business.
I offer a Copywriting Coaching program that I call the
"Copywriter Protege Program." It's not cheap at $1995 (soon to
be
going up to $2997). But there are two problems prospective
buyers have.
One is "will I get my money's worth?" And the other is "am I
able to do this?"
The "will I get my money's worth?" question is really a
no-brainer since the average professional copywriter charges
about
$6500 to write a standard direct mail sales letter (8 pages of
copy plus incidentals). But what the person really wants to
know
is: am I capable of teaching them? In other words: can I
transfer my skill to them? They already know I can write (they've
seen
samples). But can I teach them.
Well, anyone who has spent even a few minutes on the phone
with me knows the answer to that question. I am very good at
what I do and I know how to teach someone else how to do the
same thing. Not everyone can. I can. And after spending a few
minutes with me on the phone they realize that.
Of course that's harder to do in a sales letter but it's a
cinch in a TeleClass.
The second question is easily answered in the same way because
when I explain the reasons behind my opinions they can see
that it is something they can pick up. What they don't know
right away but will later learn is that the exercises I give
them
quickly accelerate their writing ability beyond what they even
imagined.
Now all of the above is evident to the new student who buys my
course and spends a few minutes on the phone with me. God
bless these people because they had enough "faith" that I knew
what I was doing to take the plunge.
So, do you see what an advantage it would be to others --
those who are just on the "edge" to buy -- to experience an hour
on
the phone? Of course, spending an hour with each prospect
might get out of hand. But with a TeleClass, it is very
workable.
Do you see how that can improve my sales? Can you see how YOU
might be able to use the same concept in your business?
I hope so because if you don't your competition will. There
are well over 3000 students who have plunked down $2995
dollars
to go through the CoachU program. You can bet they are going
to know how to use this tool. Pray none of them are in your line
of business.
Now let me tell you that as soon as I let the TeleU and CoachU
people know about the offer to get these hours so cheaply,
they are going to jump at the opportunity. But I thought I'd
first offer them to my subscribers and give you guys first crack
at
them.
The offer is simple. For $100 you get an hour a week for a
year. You get the same hour each week. It's your pick as long as
it
doesn't conflict with Susan's time or someone who has
scheduled before you. It's first come first served. In the future,
if you
want to change your hour, you can as long as the one you want
is open and you don't make it a habit.
If you are interested in this, call or email me within the
next week. After that I'm opening it up to the TeleU/CoachU crowd
and
I know any remaining hours will be gone in a flash.
By the way, every penny of your $100 goes to Susan to help pay
for the bridge. I don't get any of it. I take my commission
in
"free" hours on the bridge. So, you see, this is a win-win
deal for everyone concerned.
Susan gets some money to help pay for her bridge, I get some
"free" TeleClass hours and you get your hour a week at a
dirt-cheap $2/hour. Now, if you can't take this deal and
parlay it into some sales, then...well, I shutter to think of what
that might mean. But, if you're smart enough to subscribe to this
newsletter, you're not in that category.
Next issue:
The 3 Most Important Things EVERY Web Page Should Have